Terribly sorry this chapter took so long to get up. I've been so busy, it's not even funny. Before I begin though, I want to thank everyone for their kind reviews! For those who were sketched by the changes in character, don't fret! It will all play out in the end. I pinky swear. But once again, thanks to everyone for the feedback. Now, onto the fic!
Yamato Ishida trudged down the steps of the large stone building with a grimace on his face. If it weren't for the chilling morning wind drying his eyes, he would have been crying. The man felt a hand come down on his shoulder. Without looking back, he heard a deep voice say "Sorry Yamato, we tried."
Without a word, Yamato walked away. The infinite amount of steps finally ended and his feet hit the damp pavement. Apparently, it had stormed while he had been in court- both inside the building, and out. A familiar scent blew by him as he felt someone brush his shoulder on their way by. He scowled at the woman who walked by. Actually, he had the urge to slap her. He held it back, however. How was he supposed to explain what had happened to his kids? Really, this is the one thing he knew, since childhood, that he never wanted to happen.
Reluctantly, Yamato finished his march down the steps and walked himself to his car. Tears swelled in his eyes the entire way home, however, he managed to hold them back until he walked in the door of his tiny apartment. He looked around. The front room was dark and messy. Pots were dirty and were beginning to pile over the top of the sink. Laundry that needed to be done took over the kitchen table. The carpet clearly hadn't been vacuumed in months and dust stood strong on every surface the eye could see. Truly, the house matched his mood. Yamato trudged into his small bedroom and struggled to close the door. He pushed against it with all his might until it shut, not bothering to lean down to move the pile of clothes that were blocking its way. Once closed, Yamato walked in a daze over towards his bed. On the left side of it stood a night stand. There was a single lamp on it without a lamp shade. It wasn't needed, really, considering the man tried to use as little electricity as possible. The window always sufficed. On the other side, though, was a guitar stand, and in that guitar stand stood Yamato's most prized possession. His guitar, blue and shining, stood tall and straight in all its glory. Usually, the boy would walk over and pick it up the moment he saw it but now, he simply walked over towards his bed and collapsed on the hard mattress.
Yamato tried to shut his eyes, but a red flash kept appearing in the dark of his eyelid. Gently, he allowed his eyes to open and saw the light of the answering machine flashing on and off. Yamato questioned whether he should even check the message- it was probably just a lawyer or some angry relative- ex-relative, for that matter. However, the man managed to pull himself off the bed and over towards the machine. He heavily pressed down on a single button, letting a loud voice ring through the speaker.
"You have one new message."
Yamato braced himself. The soothing voice of a woman quickly turned into the exasperated one of a man- a man who sounded all too familiar.
"Yamato, it's Jyou. It's been awhile since I've heard from you. I hope everything's alright. Listen, me and Koushiro need you to meet us at his house tomorrow. It's extremely important, we need you here.."
Yamato listened to the message. He was honestly surprised when he heard Jyou request his attendance at Koushiro's. He decided in a split second he wouldn't be going- that is, until he heard the last line.
"As our friend."
Instinctively, the man grabbed at his chest. However, what he was searching for wasn't there. Yamato opened his palm to reveal nothing- the emptiest bit of nothing he could have ever seen. The emptiness carried through to his heart and tugged his entire body back down towards his bed. Effortlessly, he collapsed again, and let himself free into a land of sorrowful dreams.
X
Taichi awoke the next morning the way he loved to. The sun came through the blinds in stripes, the house was quiet, and his beautiful wife was wrapped in his arms. The covers were slightly off the man's shoulders, which was odd- normally, he liked to steal the blankets during the night. Taichi gently lifted the covers off him and got out of bed. Quietly, he leaned back down though to tuck his wife back in. Sora murmured something the man couldn't understand, but the creases that appeared between her clenched eyes told him that she was in the middle of a dream and didn't want to be disturbed. With a smirk on his face, he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before he walked into the bathroom and shut the door.
Taichi looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was messy as it was every morning, his skin was tan, yet dewy, and his eyes were nearly glued shut. The man turned on the faucet and splashed some cold water over his face so he'd be able to see more clearly. When he looked back into the mirror, he gave himself a reassuring smile, flashed himself a thumbs up and clucked his tongue. In one swift movement, Taichi turned around and slipped out of his boxers while turning on the water in the shower. It was going to be an interesting morning, he was sure, and he figured he should probably look his best.
Sora, on the other hand, didn't want to get out of bed. This was quite odd for her. Usually, she was the first one to shower so she'd have hot water- Taichi always used it all. Today, she felt like sleeping in. More importantly, she felt like sleeping in would be a better idea than going to Koushiro's to meet about who knows what. However, she eventually willed her body to wake up so she, in turn, could wake her daughter.
As the water went off in the bathroom and the curtain slid open, Sora walked out the bedroom door and into the hallway. Past a modest guestroom was where Manami slept. The woman walked in and saw her daughter laying partly off the bed. Her arm stretched down the side of the mattress and her right foot hung off the side, gently kicking at the wooden floor. Sora leaned against the doorway and crossed her arms. She couldn't help but smirk at the girl- she was the exact replica of her father.
"Time to get up!" Sora chirped from where she stood. The young girl groaned as she pulled herself completely onto the bed and rolled onto her other side.
"I don't want to." She replied without opening her eyes.
"Come on," Sora responded, walking over to open the blinds. Once she did, rays of light shot into the pitch black room. "Don't you want to see everyone today?"
"I want to sleep." Manami said with a monotone voice, stuffing her face into the pillow. "I don't even know why you're friends with so many people. You're parents."
Sora raised an eyebrow as she tried to figure out what her daughter meant. She decided it was better not to ask, so she simply walked back into the hall, calling for her daughter to be ready in forty-five minutes.
X
When the doorbell rang, Koushiro jumped up to open it. A look of worry appeared on his face, for some reason. His daughter, however, retreated to the rear end of the kitchen.
"Don't you want to come say hello, Chikao?" Koushiro asked as he walked down the front hall.
"No." She replied blatantly. "I don't remember most of them.."
Koushiro's expression softened. "Ah, don't be shy. I assure you, they're all quite nice."
However, as the man reached the door, his daughter remained near the corner, pretending to busy herself by counting the tiles on the floor.
"Koushiro, it's so good to see you!" A woman exclaimed as she pulled the red-haired man into a tight hug. "How have you been?"
"Great, Hikari!" Koushiro responded happily. When she finally let him go, he turned to the man standing with her. "Takeru.." He smiled, extending his arm. However, the blonde ignored his professional gesture and pulled him into a friendly hug as well.
Caught up in the reunion, Koushiro didn't notice the two boys standing behind their parents until Takeru pointed them out.
"I'm not sure if you remember them-" Takeru began, only to be cut off.
"Of course I do!" Koushiro smiled. "Ryo, Ryu, how are you guys?"
"Good." They mumbled simultaneously as they pushed past their parents inside.
"Boys, that's not polite!" Hikari called after them, but they were already too far down the hallway to hear.
Koushiro smirked. "Ah, don't worry about it. They must've smelled the breakfast I made."
"Probably." Hikari agreed, her voice trailing off. "But now tell us, what is it you've called us here about?"
Quickly, Koushiro ushered them inside and shut the door.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Ryo and Ryu had discovered Chikao.
"What's your name?" They kept asking her, but they could barely understand her whispered response.
"You're really short." Ryu blatantly said.
Ryo continued for him, "Are you in school yet?"
When the young girl saw her father walk back into the kitchen, she ran towards him and hid behind his leg, gripping it with her tiny fingers.
"What's the matter?" He asked her, as Hikari shot her boys a warning glance. Quickly, the two quieted down and sat themselves at the kitchen table. "Why don't you show Ryo and Ryu your room, Chikao?" Her father continued, "I'm sure they'd love to see it."
The boy's ears perked up. "Aw, we don't want to see some-" Their complaint was cut off by another glare, this time from their father.
"Come on you two, go see." Takeru ordered more than he suggested.
In defeat, the two boys rose from the table and waited for the young girl to lead them upstairs. Koushrio gave her a slight nudge, and quietly, she walked ahead of them up the stairs. Ryu shot one last helpless look towards his parents, but it went unacknowledged.
When the three were out of ear-shot, Hikari spoke up. "I remember when Chikao was a baby. It seems like it was yesterday- she was such a happy little girl, always smiling and chatting away."
"I know." Koushiro responded as he opened the refrigerator to retrieve a large jug of lemonade. "You know, she really hasn't been the same since Satomi passed away."
Hikari and Takeru glanced at each other.
"I don't know how you manage." Takeru stated simply. He wasn't quite sure what else to say, actually. Even though the tragic event had occurred years ago, he was sure it was still fresh in Koushiro's mind. He couldn't blame him though, something like that doesn't go away easily.
"Yeah.." was Koushiro's only response. He placed the jug down on the counter and stared into it for a minute. He watched the ice cubes move around in the yellow-colored liquid as he let himself slip back into his most hated memory.
The day had ended like any other. Chikao was tucked in bed, dinner was put away, and the house was neatly cleaned. All Koushiro waited for now was for his wife to return from work. It was Tuesday, and she always took on extra hours on Tuesdays.
The kitchen was silent except for the sound of the ticking clock that hung above the refrigerator. On the refrigerator itself hung a single sheet of paper- a piece of 'art work' that Chikao had drawn for her mother. Koushiro smiled to himself. The young girl was so excited to give it to her, but she couldn't keep her eyes open by the time her mother had left the office.
The clock read 8:30 p.m. In another hour or so, Satomi would return, and Koushiro would give her the drawing, as promised. What the drawing was exactly, Koushiro didn't know. Chikao had called it some kind of animal, but it looked more like a space ship to him. It didn't matter, he supposed. He knew Satomi would love it anyway. His wife was like that.
Satomi was one of the kindest people he'd ever met. In fact, they'd met through one of her acts of kindness. When he'd forgotten his wallet at the coffee shop on the corner of 51st and 7th one day, she tracked him down just so she could return it. When Koushiro met her though, he decided that couldn't be their only encounter. He invited her out to brunch to thank her, and that ended up resulting in another date. Turns out, they both had a love for computers. Satomi was quite knowledgeable, and quite charming. Honestly, she made Koushiro feel like a little boy on the first day of school- nervous to mess up, yet excited about everything. They dated for about a year before they married, and Koushiro had decided everything was perfect.
At 9:45, the man looked out the front window. His wife hadn't returned yet. Her parking spot was empty, and all the man could see were heavy raindrops pounding down on the concrete ground. A flash of lightening lit up the sky and outlined all the cars in the lot. At 10:00, Koushiro began to get worried. He'd made countless calls to Satomi's cell phone, but none of them were answered. Each time, he got the machine, but the repetitiveness of her soothing voice didn't comfort him. The man paced the kitchen; each time as he turned, he saw the drawing out of the corner of his eye. 'Where are you Satomi, I promised Chikao I'd give it to you.'
When the man glanced out the window around 10:30, he still saw nothing but an empty parking spot. His nerves were getting the best of him- every creak in the house made him jump. He tapped his fingers against the cold counter as he listened to the rain drops pounding away on the windows. Every second grew slower and slower, each one filling the man with more anxiety, until finally, the phone rang. Koushiro jolted from the unexpected noise. He walked towards it, and…
"Koushiro? Koushiro?"
The man snapped out of his daydream and jolted his head up to face Hikari. "Oh, sorry. I zoned out for a second."
"It's alright." She smiled, "But the doorbell rang, would you like me to get it?"
"Sure." Koushiro replied. He took a deep breath as he steadied himself against the counter.
Hikari shot one last worried glance at him before she turned to get the door. It was going to be a longer day than anyone had thought.
X
A few minutes later, the man sat on the sofa in between two friends he hadn't seen in quite some time. Taichi sat to the right of him, and Daisuke sat to the left of him. The old gang had been reunited- somewhat. One was still missing.
"Come on Koushiro, what is it you want to tell us? I can't wait for Yamato to get here."
Koushiro managed to smile a bit. "Taichi, gain some patience, really. I'm sure he'll be here soon."
"Are you sure he's going to show? As much as I'd love to talk, I'm not made of money." A voice called from a phone that sat on the end-table near Jyou.
Koushiro thought for a moment. Perhaps it would be best to begin his story now, and then just tell Yamato once- if- he came.
"Yeah, Koushiro," Taichi continued, "None of us have seen Yamato in quite some time…"
The room grew solemn. Everyone seemed to look at their feet at once. It was as if everyone had suddenly reliezed they weren't the group they once were- they weren't the friends they once were. Koushiro sighed to himself as he looked up.
"I'm sure he'll be here, but I'll tell you now- just so Mimi won't have to spend a fortune."
"Thank you Koushiro!" Mimi chirped from the other line. "The American dollar is so bad today, you know?"
Koushiro then turned to the children who sat in the kitchen munching on snacks. "Why don't you guys go upstairs and hang out for awhile?"
All of them turned towards him. Manami looked just like her parents. Her hair resembled her fathers, it was brown and messy. However, she had the ruby eyes of her mother. Ryo and Ryu, her cousins, just looked like they wanted to get into trouble. Chikao, his sweet Chikao, remained at the far end of the table, not making an attempt to socialize. That didn't surprise him though, it wasn't unlike her. Denji, Daisuke's son, had his mouth clearly stuffed with food, while Iori's little girl, Emi, looked at him with disgust. Miyako and Ken's two children, Natsuki and Raiden, stayed close to each other. The girl and boy, respectively, resembled each other very much, although Natsuki had thick, black hair, while Raiden had hair of a whispy, purple-ish color.
"You heard him," Taichi said not just to Manami, but all the children, "go play upstairs for a bit."
Awkwardly, they all passed by the older group and ascended up the stairs. Their parents remained silent until they were sure they heard the door to Chikao's room shut completely. Once the reassuring creak was heard, Koushiro began.
"Well, here goes I suppose. Last night.."
X
"So, who are all of you?" Ryo asked.
"You don't remember anyone?" Manami asked, quite confused. "We've met them all before." She went on, pointing to the entire group.
"We definitely haven't." Ryu replied, stepping up from behind his brother. "I would've remembered."
"But we did meet!" Denji exclaimed, a piece of noodle falling out from between his teeth. "You're Ryu, and you're Ryo."
"I'd believe you if you knew which one was which." Ryo said skeptically. "I'm Ryo, he's Ryu." He continued, correcting the boy. Denji merely crossed his hands over his chest and scowled.
"We've all met each other, obviously." Manami cut in. "Our parents are friends. Some of us are just too little to remember."
"We're the same age as you!" the twins exclaimed at once.
"Stop yelling!" Chikao's little voice called. "My room's not that big.."
"You talked?" Ryo asked, surprised.
"Oh, leave her alone." Denji scoffed.
"I didn't say anything!" Ryo replied, his voice a little angrier than it should have sounded.
"Stop being so immature, guys." Manami scolded, trying to sound old herself. She turned towards Denji. "And what are you staring at?"
Embarrassed, the boy quickly moved his gaze away as he slurped up another noodle. "Nothing.." He muttered.
"Why don't we all just be quiet if we can't get along?" Emi suggested as she coolly pushed her hair behind her ears.
"We don't have to be quiet, we just have to stop yelling. It's making some of us upset." Natsuki continued, pointing towards her little brother. Raiden's eyes were squinted as if he were trying to stop his eyes from watering.
Ryu looked at the little boy for a second, as if he were trying to decide whether to apologize or not. However, it was quite clear that apologizing was not one of the things the boy was good at. "Raiden?" Ryu asked.
The boy simply nodded his head.
"Why's your hair purple?"
X
Downstairs, the conversation wasn't going much better.
"What do you mean Tentomon was in her dream?" Daisuke asked as he leaned forward on the couch. This was one conversation he was truly interested in.
"I just explained it, Daisuke." Koushiro said, beginning to get frustrated. "Chikao knows about Tentomon. Either she found out about him in some way, or it's a sign of something. I'm just not sure which theory is right."
"Either of them could be." Takeru guessed. "I still can't believe that though. It's crazy! How could she have found anything out? Everything was hidden. It's also quite impossible that anything crossed the barrier."
"The barrier's only physical you know." Ken bluntly stated. "I believe that if something's mentally strong enough to pass through, it can. Maybe Tentomon's bond to Koushiro was so strong that it allowed him to at least partially break though."
With that, Taichi broke his silence. "That's damn ridiculous. If a bond could break through the barrier I'd be right beside Agumon right now."
The room grew quiet. No one dared to speak up next. Sora gently squeezed her husband's hand; it was a feeble attempt at keeping him calm. Or, perhaps, it was a feeble attempt to keep him calm while she put in her own two cents.
"I agree with Ken." Sora nervously stated. She quickly glanced at her husband, but only long enough to see the shocked look form on his face. "I think the digital world has fallen into such a state that the digimon are doing anything they can to get help. Tentomon's smart. Perhaps Ken is right. The barrier is only physical, and the digital world always seems to throw us mental curveballs. I think Tentomon somehow was able to show himself to Chikao."
The only person who dared show any response to Sora's statement was Ken. He smiled- only lightly- and tried to hide it by bending his head forward so his long hair covered his face. Taichi, if he noticed, didn't seem to care. Instead, he let his hand fall limp in Sora's grasp as he leaned back on the sofa.
After a few painful moments of silence, Koushiro decided to speak up once again. "Well, now that we have our theory, what do we do about it?"
Everyone thought for a second, although admittedly, no one could come up with any reasonable ideas. Just as an inhale was heard and someone was about to speak, a knock was heard on the door. It was quiet, yet urgent, and everyone knew who it was. The room became tense once again.
"I suppose I'll get it.." Koushiro stuttered as he lifted himself from his seat. He was walking at a normal pace, but time seemed to move slowly. His feet dragged against the wooden floor like cinder blocks on concrete. As he reached the front of the apartment, he tried to think of a proper greeting, but he couldn't come up with one in time. The door was pushed open and a blonde man stood at the entrance. He looked tired, to say the least, but his stature remained strong. He towered over Koushiro like he always had and the look on his face was nothing less than serious.
"Ah.. Yamato.." Was all the red haired man could say. "You're..late."
"Like I haven't got my reasons." The blonde replied. "Am I the last?"
"Er.. yes." Koushiro stated, glancing back into the living room, as if to assure himself of an obvious answer.
"Sorry." Was the attempted apology the man got.
Koushiro opened the door wider to allow Yamato inside. As he walked in, he felt everyone's stares piercing into him. He knew what they were all wondering, but he wasn't about to satisfy their curiosity. Once he got into the living room, he realized there were no seats left, so he merely leaned up against the wall.
"Here," Sora said as she let go of Taichi's hand and stood up. "Take my seat, I've been sitting all day."
Yamato considered it for a second, but shook his head and declined when he realized who he'd have to sit next to. He shot Taichi a cold glance, only to receive one in return. Sora easily picked up on the uneasiness and sat back down.
"Sorry." She said quickly, for something she really didn't have to apologize for. "Just thought I'd be nice. I'm sure you had a long day yesterday."
"Oh, you don't even know." Yamato coldly stated.
Taichi opened his mouth as if he were going to say something to him. However, the mature side of him came out; he decided to stay quiet rather than instigate a fight. Sora squeezed his hand again but kept her eyes on Yamato. Daring to ask the question on everyone's mind, Sora continued. "What.. what happened?"
Yamato's face clenched, partly from anger, and partly from the shock that she'd actually asked that question. "It's none of your damn business."
Taichi let go of his wife's hand and clenched his fist on his lap. "Don't you dare talk to her like that."
"I'll say whatever I damn well please." Yamato retorted, staring icily into the brunette's eyes. He held his glance for a second to make sure he relayed his anger before looking at Sora once again. In her eyes, though, he didn't see anger or hurt like he'd expected. Instead, he saw a look of genuine concern. Yamato dropped his defense and turned to stare at the wall. As he traced designs with his eyes in the paint, he stated simply, "She has Shinjiro, I have Toshio. Now Koushiro, would you mind telling me why I'm here?"
Taichi quickly looked down at his feet. He would give Yamato a break today. Koushiro stuttered and cleared his throat as he prepared himself to speak.
X
Alright, it took.. er.. a few months.. but it's done! Finally! I apologize guys, I've been at camp without electricity all summer, so it really has been impossible to work on this. I hope you all enjoyed though. Reviews would be greatly appreciated, as always.
Until next chapter,
*surflilu.
