Hi everyone! I hope all of you had a Merry Christmas. I'm in a writing mood now so here's chapter three! But first, review replies:
mistress_editor: Hey! The Yamato-Sora thing weirded me out at first too; I was always more of a Taiora fan, but it seems that Sorato is the canon ship, so I decided to go with that. (If you've ever heard the audio clip, Yamato was declaring his love for Sora in it.) And about the formal speech thing, I didn't think I made them THAT polite; and besides, this is Japan, where people are gfenerally polite to one another. I use "shall" in my speech sometimes when asking questions, it seems fine to me.
I've always got the impression that Yamato's side was the less well-off onef. I was judging based on their houses; Yamato's was smaller, messy, kind of cramped; Takeru's was spacious, modern and clean, and he had a pretty big bed. Of course, this could be due to reasons other than financial, but I'm going to be sticking to this, because it flows with the story and adds to Takeru's emotions about the divorce.
Lastly, about episodes: I grew up watching the Mandarin-dubbed episodes, they were far more accurate than the American ones (the Chinese versions of their names are pretty funny though!). I only recently discovered some fan-subbing groups that sub episodes of Digimon. They're not completed yet, but the ones they've subbed so far are available for download. If you could give me your email address (you could PM me or something, if you have a account), I'll send you the URLs of the websites!
Blazing Chaos: Thanks for the reviews! Takeru's my favourite character and I'm glad you think that I'm writing him well.
Aster Selene: Um, milk? What milk? I don't think I mentioned anything about milk... your review has got me a little confused, ha. But I'm glad that you enjoyed the story! And yes, Takeru's probably going to be pretty screwed.
Also thanks to PrincessJaded, Lord Pata, Light-of-Hope-07 and Xanpluto for reviewing! Eight new reviews made me happy! Alright, on with the chapter now.
Wish In A Bottle: A Digimon Fanfiction
Chapter Three
20th May, Thursday
Takeru made sure that he wouldn't forget meeting with Yamato (again) by making use of the Calendar function on his hand phone. Hikari had once again mentioned the planner, but he didn't think he would even remember to bring it out with him. However, as the day neared he found that it wasn't difficult for him at all to remember meeting his brother. He was getting pretty excited about baking his father's birthday cake.
On Thursday morning he woke up earlier than usual – he wanted to have sufficient time to pack the baking ingredients. He headed to the kitchen and saw that his mother was already up. She was sitting by the dining table, reading the morning papers and sipping a cup of steaming hot coffee.
"Good Morning, Mum," Takeru yawned.
"Good Morning, Takeru!" Natsuko looked surprised to see him; Takeru usually didn't wake up for another half an hour, and sometimes she even needed to wake him up when he slept past his alarm. "Why are you up so early today?"
"I -" Takeru started, then realised that he never did mention anything about his father's birthday surprise to his mother. He couldn't help but wonder how she would react to it. He paused, then continued hesitantly, "I'm meeting Yamato later to bake a birthday cake for Dad, and I want to pack the ingredients now."
"Birthday cake?" For a minute, Natsuko looked stunned. "Oh, so it's..." Takeru saw her gaze drift over to their wall calendar.
"Yeah... it's the coming Monday," Takeru said quietly. "We're celebrating on Saturday," The next few words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop himself – "Do you want to come?"
Natsuko looked slightly startled at this, and Takeru could have kicked himself. Are you retarded, or what? How awkward can it be, celebrating your ex-husband's birthday! His mother would never go, he was sure of it.
"Do you want me to come?" Takeru's head snapped up in surprise. His expression was mirrored on his mother's face – she looked as though she had blurted out those words without thinking, too.
"I..." Takeru said, uncertain. Part of him did want his mother to go, but he knew that things would be terribly awkward, then. Would his nii-san get angry at him for inviting their mother over? How would his father react? Would the birthday celebration be ruined?
"It's been a long time," Natsuko murmured, her gaze fixed on the calendar. "He always used to forget his birthdays; I would surprise him with a cake every year. Strawberry, his favourite."
Takeru stared at her, understanding dawning on him. Strawberry, his favourite. The way he and Yamato were planning to surprise their father... was exactly the same as how Natsuko used to celebrate with him, when they were still together. "It would be nice if you come," he said finally. "I'm sure nii-san and dad will like it."
He wasn't sure if that was a lie. Natsuko smiled a little sadly.
"No, Takeru, it's alright." Their eyes met, and she patted his hand gently. "I think I've to work on that day, anyway. You go on ahead and enjoy yourself."
Takeru nodded. His mother returned to her newspaper, and he turned to the cabinet where the baking supplies were kept. He concentrated hard on retrieving the correct ingredients, checking each one off his piece of paper as he placed it in a large paper bag. Finally, he put in the bottle of Miracle Powder, or, to be precise, all-purpose flour.
He hadn't expected his mother's response; he had expected an outright rejection to his invitation. It made him wonder...
Did she actually want to go, after all?
Takeru entered his classroom and was happy to see that he wasn't late – he had thought he would be, but he had made it with five minutes to spare!
"Wow," Hikari said, staring at the paper bag that Takeru was holding. "That looks heavy. Do you want me to help you carry it later?"
"No, it's okay," Takeru answered, brushing hair from his eyes as he sat down on his seat, next to Hikari. "It's not that heavy."
"So, today's the day, huh?" Daisuke asked, examining the bag's content. He now sat right in front of the two, and often turned around to talk to them in between lessons.
"Yep. Baking day," Takeru said with a nod. "I hope the cake comes out alright."
"I'm sure it'll be fine!" Hikari said encouragingly. "Yamato is an excellent cook, it's bound to come out great."
"Yeah, his cheese omelette is to die for-" Daisuke began eagerly, but was sadly interrupted by their teacher, who had entered the classroom at that moment. "I would give anything to eat it again," he finished in a whisper.
Takeru smirked slightly. The only time Daisuke had ever tried Yamato's legendary omelette was during the Chosen Children's last get-together, and he had raved about it ever since. "I've eaten it at least five times," He whispered back. Hikari rolled her eyes, but she was smiling slightly.
"Idiot!" Daisuke whispered back. Mrs. Akiyo shot them a stern look, and that was the end of their conversation.
Ding Dong!
Takeru sighed as he pressed the doorbell for what felt like the thousandth time. Where was Yamato? Takeru knew that High School students were let out earlier than Elementary School students, so shouldn't Yamato be home by now? Takeru had made a little detour to the fruit stall for fresh strawberries before heading to Yamato's house, so he had taken quite a while. But apparently Yamato was even later than he was!
After a few more rings, it was clear that Yamato was not at home. Giving up, Takeru sat down on the small staircase that led up to the front door. His schoolbag and the bag of baking supplies sat next to him rather forlornly.
He checked his watch. He had been waiting for nearly twenty minutes.
The seconds ticked away steadily. Takeru scowled.
"Oh, where are yoouuuu," He sang. The corridor was deserted, and Takeru was so bored, he was going out of his mind. Takeru did weird things when he was bored - it was a general source of amusement for his friends. "I've been waiting for sooo long..."
"I'm here, little brother!"
Takeru looked up in mid-song. Yamato was strolling up, looking a little dishevelled. His uniform was, as usual, untucked and a little creased, and he was striding along in the cool, confident way that girls always swooned over. Sometimes, Takeru secretly envied his brother's "cool-ness", but he would never admit it.
"What happened to you?" Takeru queried as he stood up. "Why are you so late?"
"Had to settle a sudden dispute between two of my band members; they were arguing over this new song we're in the midst of producing," Yamato sighed impatiently as he searched for his keys. "Those idiots." He unlocked the door. "I'll carry that," he said, picking up the bag of baking supplies and heading into the house.
Takeru followed behind, shutting the door behind him. The two headed into the kitchen. Yamato had already stuck his head into the fridge, and now emerged with two cans of soda. He handed one to Takeru, who took it gratefully. All that waiting had made him thirsty.
"You must have been pretty bored to start singing like that," Yamato said, smirking slightly. "I could hear you all the way from the elevator."
Takeru laughed, slightly embarrassed. "Yeah, I was bored." He retorted. "I was waiting for nearly half an hour!"
"So sorry," chuckled Yamato. "My band's been really busy recently, that's why. We have meetings nearly every day."
Yeah, well. Takeru thought. "So, shall we get started?" He asked.
"Oh, sure," Yamato answered breezily. He began taking the different ingredients out of the bag. "Sugar, vanilla essence, egg – oh, I have eggs here actually, you didn't have to bring them – and this is flour?" He asked as he pulled out the glass bottle.
"Yeah," Takeru said, nodding. Yamato put it down on the table and continued taking out the ingredients.
Takeru, meanwhile, pulled the rather crumpled recipe out of his bag and stuck it on the refrigerator. He examined the old assortment of magnets stuck on the fridge - they were used to hold up pieces of post-its. Some of the writing was getting pretty faded. Takeru read a few of them: "Dad – there's macaroni in the oven, heat it up for dinner", "Yamato – won't be coming home for dinner today, take care" and so on. Takeru grinned at one of them: "Yamato – if you don't want to hurt those vocal cords of yours, drink more water, damn it! I heard you coughing like a hound when you came home last night. Why were you out so late, anyway?"
"Coughing like a hound?" Takeru chuckled.
"Dad and his phrases," Yamato replied, shaking his head slightly.
"What were you doing out late that day?" Takeru asked.
"Went out with Sora," Yamato said, smiling a little.
"Ooh." Takeru said. Turning his attention back to the recipe, he read the first line of instructions. "Okay, first thing we've got to do is: preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius. I can do this. Erm..."
Yamato laughed. "You don't know how to preheat an oven?"
"Not really," Takeru said, turning red. Frankly, Takeru was pretty much useless in a kitchen. He could wash dishes, yes, but when it came to cooking... the best he could do was boil an egg. And sometimes, he undercooked them.
"Let me show you, little bro," Yamato declared grandly, striding over to the oven. Takeru grinned; he liked it when his brother was in a good mood. There was some turning of dials and then the oven lit up. A soft whirring sound emitted from it, indicating that it was switched on. Takeru tried not to look too amazed.
"What's next?" Yamato asked. He was now retrieving a cake tin out from a cupboard. Takeru turned back to the recipe.
"Cream the butter, sugar and crushed strawberries," Takeru read. "Then we have to beat in the eggs, one at a time. Hmmm." He turned to Yamato. "How do we – eh, what are you doing?"
"I'm greasing the cake tin," Yamato replied, spreading a thin layer of oil over the metal tin he was holding. "So the cake won't get stuck to the tin later."
"Wow," Takeru was deeply impressed. "You sound like an experienced baker!"
Yamato looked amused – but then, he had been wearing an amused expression ever since the preheating-oven incident. "You need to step into the kitchen more, Takeru. Let's crush the strawberries. You brought them, right?"
The next fifteen minute was spent crushing strawberries in a large bowl, using wooden spoons. Yamato hadn't been able to resist eating one. And then two. It was a good thing Takeru had bought extra strawberries.
They took turns mixing the batter, and cracked in an egg each. Takeru was glad that at least, he hadn't messed that up. In fact, he loved cracking eggs. It was one of the few culinary skills his mother had imparted to him, and it gave him a satisfying feeling, cracking the egg apart and pouring out its eggy contents.
"This is pretty fun. I should learn to bake more often," Takeru said happily as he measured out the correct amount of Miracle Powder – I mean flour – into another bowl. "Isn't it amazing that all these funny white powder and eggs can turn into a delicious cake?"
Yamato smiled affectionately at his brother. "Well, next time I'll lend you my chocolate chip cookies recipe. It's a lady-killer, better than jewellery! You'll have Hikari eating out of your hands, begging for more."
Takeru turned red again. "Who said anything about Hikari?" He grabbed the small bottle of baking powder and spooned out a tiny bit.
"Secretive, aren't you?" Yamato grinned slightly. He moved the bottle of flour aside and picked up the milk carton. "By the way, how come you guys put the flour in this nice container, while everything else is still in its original packaging?"
"Eh," Takeru said, caught off guard. What's there to be nervous about? The guy at the baking shop said it's just flour! "Mum accidentally tore the packaging so we had to transfer the flour to a container," He lied.
"I see." Yamato replied. Takeru glanced at him – he was pouring out the milk into a cup, and had apparently believed Takeru's lie. Who says I can't lie! He thought triumphantly. But... there wasn't a need to lie, was there? Why did I do that?
Deep inside he knew that he was still a little worried. You couldn't be one hundred percent sure that the Miracle Powder was flour just because some guy said so. However, the old man had been working at the baking shop for ages, and Takeru had heard his neighbours praise the man's extraordinary baking skills. There shouldn't be a problem. I'm just overanalyzing things. I should seriously stop doing that.
"Stop! Takeru!" Yamato's urgent voice rang out. "You only need one teaspoon of vanilla extract! Just one!"
"Oh, oops!" Takeru had been so lost in thought that he hadn't been concentrating on his task. He smiled sheepishly at his brother. "Did I do any damage?"
"Not that bad. Just pour the excess into the sink." Yamato shook his head. "I guess my comment about Hikari really got you thinking, huh?"
"Oh, ha ha." Takeru snapped as he walked over to the sink. Well, at least Yamato suspected nothing.
-
Half an hour later, the table was cleared, the dishes were cleaned, and the cake was rising happily in the oven. The two brothers leaned against their chairs, exhausted.
Yamato checked his watch. "It's seven o'clock. Are you hungry? We didn't have lunch!"
Takeru nodded. "I'm starving." Then he pointed at the clock that hung on the wall. "Maybe you should get new batteries for that."
"Dad and I keep forgetting," Yamato replied with a shrug. "Anyway, I've always got my watch on, so it hardly matters. What do you want for dinner?"
"Something nice, normal and un-spicy, thank you." Takeru said at once, remembering the horrific meal his brother had prepared for him the last time he had stayed over.
Yamato laughed. "I'm too tired to cook, so I'm just going to order pizza. Any preferences?"
Takeru shook his head, and Yamato left the room.
Gazing around the kitchen and breathing in the delicious aroma of strawberry cake, Takeru felt extremely contented and relaxed. He had no idea that baking was so much fun. Especially when you were baking with someone you were close to, for somebody you cared for. This is the perfect birthday surprise, Takeru thought happily. Also, Yamato had been in a great mood today, helping out Takeru when he got stuck at certain steps and cracking lame jokes – Takeru didn't even mind the teasing about Hikari. He had seen Jun and Daisuke tease each other, as well as Taichi and Hikari. Normal siblings teased each other all the time. Takeru was glad that in this aspect, they were pretty "normal".
Yamato returned to the kitchen. "I ordered Seafood Pizza." He said, and Takeru nodded in approval.
"You look happy," Yamato commented as he sat back down on his seat. "In a good mood today?"
Takeru couldn't help beaming. "I just thought today was pretty fun. I'm sure Dad's going to love his present! Don't you think so?"
Yamato smiled slightly. "Of course he will; we made the cake, after all." He looked thoughtful. "You know, Dad did tell me that he loves strawberry cake, but I don't really remember him ever eating it."
Their mother's words from earlier that morning floated back into Takeru's mind. "Oh... that." He said, rather hesitantly. "Actually, maybe I know why."
"Yeah?"
Takeru stared at his hands. "Mum told me something this morning," he said slowly. "She said that last time when they were still, um, together, she'd bake his favourite strawberry cake for his birthday every year." He looked up at his brother. "Maybe that's why he doesn't really eat them anymore?"
"Oh," Yamato said quietly. There was a short silence, then he added, "You know... I do remember Mum baking a strawberry cake, once. I think I was four, or five. You were too young; I don't think you can remember."
"It's really too bad," Takeru murmured.
Yamato glanced at him, his gaze rather piercing. "What's too bad?"
The divorce, of course! But he didn't know what Yamato would say if he really said that. He hadn't dared to tell Yamato what his deepest desire had been when he had encountered BelialVamdemon; he didn't want his brother to worry. "That Dad hasn't gotten a chance to eat his favourite cake for so long." Takeru said quickly.
Yamato nodded, but he didn't look like he thought Takeru was telling the truth. He opened his mouth to say something. Takeru had a faint idea of what he was going to say, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear it. "You know-" Yamato began.
Ding-Dong!
"Pizza's here! That's a pretty fast delivery," Takeru said at once, jumping up. "I'll go get it, okay?"
Yamato looked at him for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. The money's on the shoe cabinet."
Takeru hurried out of the kitchen. He knew that Yamato wouldn't pursue the subject anymore, at least not for now. His brother was a pretty perceptive person, and Takeru knew that Yamato could probably tell that he was upset about the divorce. But... Takeru just wasn't sure if he wanted to talk to anybody about it.
The pizza was delicious, and went well with the cans of ice-cream soda from Yamato's fridge. It appeared that other than the essentials, the Ishidas' fridge was stocked full of nothing else but soft drinks. The cake had finished baking, and was now sitting on a cooling rack. It smelt heavenly.
"I think you had better bring that home," Yamato said, indicating the cake. "I don't know how I'm going to hide it here. Dad's nose is bound to find it, even if he doesn't."
Takeru grinned at that. "Okay. I'll just bring it over here on Saturday, right?"
Yamato nodded. "Yup! Dad's just expecting a simple meal. He'll be really surprised."
Takeru smiled at the cake. "I can't wait to taste it!"
"Well, you're not to touch it until Saturday!" Yamato warned teasingly.
"I know that, nii-san!" Takeru laughed. "I'm not a little kid; I can control myself!"
Yamato took a gigantic sip of his soda in response. Takeru looked delightedly at the cake for a while longer, then turned to Yamato. He meant to ask Yamato what kind of birthday meal his father was expecting, but the words that came out of his mouth was entirely different.
"I asked Mum if she wanted to come, you know."
Yamato choked on his drink. Takeru whacked him on the back anxiously as he coughed violently, mentally berating himself for being such an awful, gigantic idiot. He hadn't meant to say that at all. All he wanted to know was what the meal was supposed to be! What was wrong with him?
"Are you okay?" He asked uncertainly.
"Fine, fine," Yamato shook his head. He glanced at Takeru. "So. What did she say?"
"She asked... she asked if I wanted her to go." Takeru replied uncomfortably. "But in the end, she said she wouldn't be free." Yamato was still looking at him, and Takeru shifted slightly in his seat. "Look, this is stupid. Forget I said anything, okay?"
Yamato sighed. "This isn't stupid at all, Takeru. There's nothing wrong with you wanting her to come. It's just that it would probably be a little awkward for Dad-"
"I know!" Takeru interrupted quickly. Of course he knew that! He tried to thing of something else to talk about, anything to change the subject, and his gaze fell on the wall clock. "Wow, it's nearly ten! I had better get going, before Dad comes back and sees the cake."
Yamato's expression was half-worried, but weirdly enough, half-amused as well. "Takeru, that clock is spoilt."
"Oh." Takeru laughed embarrassedly. Argh! "What's the time now, then?"
"Eight-forty."
"That's not too early either!" Takeru said defensively. "Dad'll be back anytime, right?"
"He'll probably be back after ten," Yamato answered. "But I guess you had better go; tomorrow's a schoolday." He got up from his seat. "I'll get you something to put the cake in."
"Do you think it'd be okay if I decorated it, or something?" Takeru asked, glancing at the rather plain-looking cake. "I think mum has some leftover cake icing."
"Sure you can," Yamato nodded, pulling a large container out of a cabinet. "Why don't you write 'You're forty-five, and you're too old to smoke'? I can't stand it when Dad smokes."
"Maybe I will," Takeru said, smiling slightly. "But I think a 'Happy 45th' will fit in better with the occasion."
Yamato chuckled. "That'd be good, too," he said as he carefully placed the cake into the container. "Oh," he added, looking up, "I'll be getting the shirts for Dad tomorrow, so if you want to see how they're like you can come earlier on Saturday. Dad says he has to settle some work stuff on Saturday morning, but he'll be back to celebrate from the afternoon onward."
"Sure thing," Takeru answered. "I'll come around nine, is that fine?"
"Of course."
Yamato opened the front door. "I'll walk you downstairs."
Takeru grinned at him. "Just like old times!"
Yamato smiled back. "Yes," he replied, closing the door behind them. "Just like old times."
TBC
Next chapter: Birthday Surprises!
Please leave a review and tell me what you think. It's indefinite how many chapters I'm going to have (I'm not too sure about my previous estimation anymore) but there shouldn't be too many left!
