Chapter 2

(Haruki's POV)

It was finally Friday, the day Mom and I were flying to California. While Mom is busy packing necessary supplies, I was lying on the couch, bored out of my mind.

"Mom!" I shout. "I'm bored; there's nothing to do!"

"Packing comes to mind!" She shouts back.

"Oh yeah! Guess I better pack if I want to see T.K. and Shaun again." I say to myself.

I wish T.K. was my dad. Then Shaun could be my brother and we could all be a family. A really happy one, I thought to myself. Hmmm, if you really think about it, I look a lot like T.K. and Shaun looks a lot like Mom. I wonder... Nah! I must want it to happen so much that I actually see a resemblance. I want to be just like T.K. when I grow up! He's inspired me to write and that's just what I'm gonna do. I'll be a novelist just like him. I may not be as great when it happens, but I'll be close!

Here's the thing, I think big about T.K. He's my idle! That's why I want him to be my dad. It would be the best thing ever and make me the happiest kid in the world!

"Haruki! Are you packing? We need to leave in... four hours! Hurry up!" My mom yells. I think big of my mom too. She's not only a kindergarten teacher, but she's a pretty one and a great mom to me and an awesome mother figure to Shaun. She's my best friend. We get along great! "Haruki! Pack already!" But I hate it when she yells at me!

"Okay!" As I run to my room and to my closet to get my suitcase, I start thinking about all the fun things we could do. I can't help the feeling that something's going to happen, though.

I'm just like my mom! I can sense things that aren't exactly bad, but confusing, that will happen in a short amount of time. Sometimes, I wish I knew what it was. And just like Mom, I hate it when I'm right. Maybe it's because of my light that I can sense these things. Mom always said that my name means 'light' and I was given the name 'Haruki' because I brought light into her life when she lost it. But since T.K. and Shaun started visiting us, I think she got her light back.

See, in her adventures in the Digital World with T.K., Uncle Tai, and everyone else, Mom got the Crest of Light. It's weird, though because her name 'Hikari' means 'light'. Maybe that's why she got the Crest of Light. I don't know, but ever since something happened nine years ago, her light was slightly tainted. But I was the light that renewed her spirit and as of four years ago when we started seeing T.K. and Shaun, her light is making her shine brighter than I've ever seen her shine before, and it's beautiful.

Mom of course had help from T.K., Uncle Tai, and everybody else. But she also had the help of the Digital Monsters, or rather, Digimon. She said that her partner was Gatomon. T.K.'s partner was Patamon. Mom was Light and T.K. was Hope. She always told me that the two of them were the most special of the Digidestined, like they were connected somehow- a part of each other. I ended up getting a Salamon, the rookie form of Gatomon. Shaun got a Tokomon, the in-training form of Patamon.

Uncle Tai's partner was Agumon and he possessed the Crest of Courage. Matt, T.K.'s older brother, possessed the Crest of Friendship and his partner was Gabumon. Sora, Matt's wife and T.K.'s sister-in-law, possessed the Crest of Love and her partner was Biyomon. Izzy's partner was Tentomon and he held the Crest of Knowledge, which really suits him because he's very intelligent. Mimi's partner was Palmon and her crest was the Crest of Sincerity. Joe, Mimi's husband, had Gomamon as his partner and his crest was the Crest of Reliability.

They all made a great team as the first Digidestined, but Mom made the second group of Digidestined, which included T.K. and herself, sound really hilarious! Something was different about this group, though. Except for Mom, T.K., and the newcomer Ken- who used to be the Digimon Emporer- they all had two crests.

Davis had Uncle Tai and Matt's crests. His partner was Veemon. Yolie, Ken's wife, had Sora and Mimi's crests. Her partner was Hawkmon. Cody had Izzy and Joe's crests. His partner was Armadillomon. Their Digimon used those particular crests and two Digi-eggs to Armor Digivolve into two different Digimon. Ken's crest was the Crest of Kindness and his partner was Wormmon. Even though Ken had a D-3, Wormmon couldn't Armor Digivolve like the other Digimon could because he wasn't around to find his own Digi-eggs; he was too busy being the Digimon Emperor. Mom and T.K.'s Digimon could also Armor Digivolve, but they only got one Digi-egg each. Another thing that was different about them was that their Digimon could DNA Digivolve: Gatomon with Aquilomon into Silphymon, Angemon with Ankylomon into Shakkoumon, and ExVeemon with Stingmon into Paildramon- the strongest out of all of them, especially when they Digivolved to Imperialdramon.

I'm finally done packing with three hours left over. I take my suitcase to the living room and set it beside the couch. I'm once again bored.

"Haruki? Are you done packing, sweetie?" My mom asks in a sweeter tone than before as she comes into the room.

"Yeah," I answered as I picked up my suitcase to show her.

"Okay. Why don't you go outside and play with your cousin Dru one last time?" She suggests.

"I hate playing with Dru! He's totally bossy and never wants to play anything besides soccer.

"Honey, he's seven!" She chuckles. "How bad could it be?"

"It's every time we play together! It's all he wants to do. Don't his legs ever tire out? I like soccer too, but he's obsessed with it!"

"Just like his father," she- basically- reminded me.

"Oh... yeah." I sweat-dropped at the mention of my uncle whom I'd forgotten was a soccer-maniac. "Fine. I'll go play with him!" I gave in with a smile. As I left the apartment to go down one floor to my Uncle Tai's apartment, I started thinking again about what all Mom, T.K., Shaun, and I could do together. It was gonna be great to finally see them again!

It's been about two months since they visited us. I can't wait! I raced to the elevator as fast as I could, so that I could make Dru happy before Mom and I left for the weekend. I also wanted to see Uncle Tai and Aunt Cathy, of course. I really look up to Uncle Tai. He was the leader for the first set of adventures that Mom and T.K. were in. I think that's why Dru is so bossy when we play.

I wonder, though... Why does Mom get so happy when we hear from T.K? Is it because she thinks of him in the same way I do? No! That's not it. Hmmm... No way! It can't be! Mom... She's in love with T.K! If he feels the same, I'll have a dad in no time! And Shaun will have a mom and me as an older brother. I'll tell Mom "I know" when we get there.

I've finally arrived to Uncle Tai's apartment. I knock on the door and Aunt Cathy opens it. "Hi Aunt Cathy!" I greet happily.

"Hello Haruki!" She greets back. "Do you want to play with Dru?"

"Yes! Mom told me I should probably play with him before we leave for California. We're gonna go see T.K. and Shaun," I informed.

"Oh! Well, why don't you come in and tell your Uncle Tai. I'm sure he'd want to know where his baby sister and favorite nephew are going," she suggested, so I walked in accepting her offer. "Make yourself at home, dear," she said as she went to get Dru and Uncle Tai.

I sat down on the couch and waited. It wasn't long before I felt two small hands cover my eyes. The person the hands belonged to said, "Guess who, Har Har!" He taunted with a laugh.

"I know only one person who would call me that! Dru!" I confronted, turning around.

"Come on! Let's play soccer now!" He said holding up his favorite soccer ball. He sounded so excited that I couldn't say 'no'.

"Alright," I said sounding down that we couldn't do something else. "Let's go to the park downstairs! I'll race ya!" I challenged. Fortunately, he agreed to my offer.

We ran out the apartment, to the elevator, through the lobby, and out the door to the park across the street that Mom and Uncle Tai used to play at when they were kids. It's a good thing I carried the ball to the park because Dru definitely would've dropped it on the way. I know he's only seven, but he runs with his arms and legs flailing like he can't control himself! It's the funniest thing to see!

Anyway, we kicked the ball around for what seemed liked hours, which was impossible at the time because Mom and I were supposed to leave in two hours- of course, that was before I left to play with Dru. I checked my watch. It said... 4:15!? I should be leaving! "Dru! Time! I was supposed to be in the lobby at 4:00. Mom's gonna be mad. Come on, let's go!" I said as I picked up the ball.

"But Har Har!" He protested. "We were having so much fun! Do you have to leave?" He whined. It really broke my heart. He obviously looks up to me... more than I thought.

"Sorry bud. I have to see T.K. and Shaun. We miss each other. It's only for the weekend. It'll be over before you know it!" It looked like my mini-speech cheered him up a little because he gave a small smile saying that he understood.

"Okay," he responded. We ran back to the lobby to find my mom, Uncle Tai, and Aunt Cathy waiting for us. "Hi Mama! Hi Dad! Hi Aunt Kari!" Dru greeted merrily. Mom nodded her head in greeting her nephew.

"Hey son! Did you have fun?" Uncle Tai questioned.

"Mm-hm! Tons!" Dru replied.

"That's good," Aunt Cathy chimed in.

"Haruki Sanyu... you're late," my mom scolded firmly.

"S-sorry... Mom," I winced. I'm such a wimp!

"Oh, come on Kar. Haru's just having some fun with his cousin before you leave. Right?" Uncle Tai defended. That's why I love Uncle Tai! He always has my back... just like T.K.

"R-right!" I said as cheerfully as possible, but I was a bit afraid to speak up in front of my mom since she was a bit upset with me for being late.

"Do you always have to take sides Tai?" She sighed.

"Of course! He's my favorite nephew!"

"Har Har's your only nephew, Dad!" Dru cut in.

"That doesn't mean he's not still my favorite nephew!" He playfully argued while ruffling Dru's hair. Dru giggled.

"Well, come on. Let's go catch our plane, Haruki," Mom suddenly reminded me.

"Okay!" I agreed. We left for the airport in Uncle Tai and Aunt Cathy's car at 4:30 and arrived at 5:05. Strangest thing happened: everyone was there! I was happy to see that they were there to see us off.

"You guys! You didn't have to do this," my mom said sounding very grateful that she had a wonderful big brother and sister-in-law.

"We wanted to," Aunt Cathy insisted. She giggled. "You're welcome!" She sing-sung.

"Yeah Sis!" Uncle Tai chimed in. "We knew you'd want some big farewell, so we called everyone while Dru and Haruki were playing. And here they are."

"Ohhhh... you both are awesome! You guys are the best!" She said giving them a hug. She turned to me. "Come on Haruki! Let's go say 'good bye' to everyone!" She said as she started walking towards them.

"Okay!" I said as I tagged along.

"Hey guys! What're ya leavin' us for?" Davis teased as he and Keiji came strutting up to us. Davis's wife, Sonya, was out of town to spend time with her dying grandma in Italy.

"Yeah! Don't you like us anymore?" Keiji said as he backed up his dad.

"No! You guys smell!" I said while smirking triumphantly at my answer.

Davis chuckled. "I'm really gonna miss you Haruki!" Mom says he hasn't changed since they're adventures in the Digital World. You can tell what she's talking about because he still talks like he's in Junior High.

"Me too!" Keiji agreed as he slapped me on the back. He and Davis have a very close father/son relationship. I wish T.K. was my dad. We already have that kind of bond. We'd be a perfect father/son pair! By the way, Keiji and I are, like, the best of friends. It's because of our closeness in age. Along with Carly and... Michiko.

Michiko is the best! Her dad, Cody, is a lawyer and her mom, Rebecca, is a veterinarian. If you're ever going into court, Cody is the best lawyer to get. If he's a court lawyer, though, then why did Mom get the divorce papers from him to divorce my dad? He's not a divorce lawyer. I guess being a lawyer means you get connections. Anyway, Rebecca is the best veterinarian because she'll heal any animal. Michiko gets her brains and shyness from Cody, and her beauty and kindness from her mom.

In case you haven't realized: I like Michiko. She's cute, sweet, and very shy and quiet until you get to know her. Plus, she's a very happy girl and an awesome friend! The sad thing is, though, I can't tell her I like her. I can't tell anyone! Not Mom, Shaun, or even T.K! For one thing, I don't want to be laughed at by anybody... especially her. And another thing, I kinda don't want anyone to know.

Now we're moving on to Matt, Sora, Laken, and Jorryn. Mom said Uncle Tai used to like Sora during their Digital adventures. She also said it kinda looked like Sora liked him too. This was during their first set of adventures.

During their second set of adventures, Uncle Tai asked Sora to go to Matt's concert with him, but she turned him down. She had said she and Matt were doing something together after the concert. That's when they secretly started going out. When Mom was in High School, she said she got the truth out of Sora about when she and Matt started dating. I wonder why they kept it a secret.

"I'm going to miss you guys!" Sora sobbed, making Mom sob along with her.

"Me too!" My mom bellowed.

"I don't get it! It's just the weekend, isn't it?" Laken asked to no one in particular. I looked at him. Laken's name is very mysterious. He doesn't have a middle name. I think Matt decided on that. Mom says Laken acts just like Matt did and Jorryn acts just like Sora did on their first set of adventures.

"I'm gonna miss you guys too!" Jorryn cried as he held on to my mom's legs.

"Don't you start too Jorryn!" I whined. "It's only for two days," I reasoned.

"See?" Laken said in an 'I-told-you-so' tone. "That's not long at all!"

"Kids, Kari and I are as close as sisters! We have to cry it out. We won't see each other in two days, like Haruki said," Sora reasoned.

"No, Sora, they're right. It is two days," Mom admitted drying her eyes.

"You always take their sides! Take the grown-up's side for once," Sora pleaded with a pout.

"Sora, don't make Kari do anything she doesn't want to do," Matt defended. "If she wants to take the kids' side, then let her."

"Yeah!" Sora scoffed. "Of course you say that! You act just like a child," she teased.

"... Are not!" He playfully argued. He sounded just like a little kid!

"Mm-hm!" Sora agreed sarcastically.

"You're a child too if you keep arguing with me!" He countered.

"Mommy! Daddy! Stop fighting!" Jorryn yelled. He thought they really were fighting.

"Jorryn, it's okay!" I laughed. "They're playfully fighting," I assured.

"They are?" He asked, not really believing me.

"Yes, honey. It's not a real argument," Sora said with a reassuring smile. She had overheard us.

"Well, we better move on to everyone else," Mom said as she sighed in a sad tone.

"Alright," I said. The next group we moved to was Ken, Yolie, Carly, Kayo, and Kert. We didn't have much to say to Kert because he's only a month old, so we said 'good bye' in a 'baby' tone and kissed him on the head. Mom talked to Yolie and Ken, while I talked to Carly and sometimes Kayo. I could only hear a few words being said when I wasn't talking. I heard something about their adventures and the days in High School. Mom and Yolie cracked up a few times and Ken just kept quiet most of the time.

Carly and I talked about a lot of the same kind of things we always talk about. Kayo jumped in on some of the things we talked about. We were having so much fun that Keiji came over and joined us. Same kind of thing happened with Mom and Yolie: everyone joined in. All the adults were talking in one big group, but there were three groups formed by all of us kids. I was in a group with Keiji and Carly and Dru was talking to Akio. Laken, Jorryn, and Kayo were in a group with Makoto and I noticed Channery walking up to them.

"Hey guys! Can I join?" Channery said in a cute pixy voice.

"No! You're a girl!" Kayo said in a mean tone.

"There's nothing you can talk with us about," Laken said in a tone just as mean.

"Yeah! Nothing!" Jorryn snapped, echoing his brother.

"But..." Channery started. "It looked like... you were having so much fun that I thought-"

"You thought wrong!" Laken and Kayo said in unison, cutting her off.

"But..." She started. It looked like she was about to cry.

"Back off Kayo, Laken!" Makoto said stepping in front her, holding out his arm in protection. "If she wants to talk with us, let her talk!" I smiled at his heroicness. I could kinda tell he liked her.

"What's wrong with you Makoto?! She's a girl!" Kayo protested.

"Y-you would really let me talk Makoto?" Channery asked, completely ignoring Kayo's recent comment.

"O-of co-course! You're the only other six-year-old in this group," he said in acceptance of her.

"I'm in the group?!" She squealed in delight. She looked so happy to hear that.

"Uhhh... Hee hee! Yeah!" He said in a cheering tone. "Welcome," he said quietly and kindly with a charming smile, holding out a hand.

"Thank you!" She said, happily taking his hand in acceptance.

There was only one family missing. Cody, Rebecca, and... Michiko. I can't believe she's not here! I thought. Maybe they're just running late. There's just probably a traffic jam or something. What if they got in a crash? What if a big truck came at them and couldn't stop?! What if they're lying across an intersection bloody and motionless?!? What if-! And then they were there. As I was thinking, my heart started pounding really hard and I started getting really sweaty thinking that they had died... especially Michiko. I couldn't bear it if she died.

She, her mom, and her dad all waved to us with big smiles on their faces. Cody and Rebecca caught up with the big group of adults that had now formed into two groups: a group of women and a group of men. Michiko joined mine, Keiji, and Carly's group.

"Where've ya been Michiko?" Keiji blurted.

"Keiji! You can't just ask her that out of the blue. What's wrong with you?" Carly scolded in a surprised tone.

"It's okay Carly," Michiko kindly assured. "We were a bit late coming because..." I started thinking before I heard what she said. Man, she's pretty! I thought. I must be the luckiest person in the world to have her as a friend. I wonder if she likes me too. Oh, but I guess I'm too young to have a girlfriend, though. I could tell her I like her when we're thirteen, like Mom and Dad did. That's only two years away. I can wait that long.

When Michiko finished telling us why she was late, I felt lost and guilty. Lost because I didn't get to hear. Guilty because I wasn't paying attention to her. However, I'm just happy she's okay. Better than okay... she's here! With me. And that's all that matters.

"H-hi... Haruki," Michiko said suddenly and shyly.

"H-hi... M-Michiko," I said just as bashful. I think I was blushing because my face started to feel really hot and flushed. Then, Carly spoke.

"Hey Haruki. Is something wrong? Your face is red!" She said; concerned at first, but blunt in the last sentence. As if she didn't know why my face was red. She didn't know I liked Michiko, but she usually picks up on those kinds of things.

"Yeah, Ruki! It looks like you got sunburned real badly," Keiji said, continuing the humiliation I was starting to feel.

"Huh? What? My face isn't sunbur-" I started to protest, but Michiko cut me off.

"Ruki! Are you okay? Do you need some ointment? Maybe you shouldn't go. You can't have anybody seeing you like this!" She sounded so worried and it all just kind of fell out of her mouth.

See, what had happened was as I started to say that I wasn't sunburned, she'd gotten up close to my face with this really worried look. Her hands were clasped together and held close to her chest, and she looked as if she was going to cry for me. What really made me speechless was that she said my nickname that Shaun and Keiji only call me- this is for reasons I don't understand. No one else had ever called me 'Ruki'. The adults all call me 'Haru'- except for my mom- and Dru calls me 'Har Har', but everyone else calls me 'Haruki'. That's the first time she's ever called me that. Maybe she does like me.

"N-n-no, I'm fine. I-it's nothing," I assured.

"Okay," she said quietly. She didn't look like she was convinced. I stepped forward slightly, cupped her chin- pulling it up gently so that she was looking at me, looked into her beautiful eyes, and smiled.

"I'm fine," I reassured.

"Okay," she said simply. I think she believed me now because she was a little scared in the "I can't believe he did that" sort of way. She seemed to have melted into my gentle grasp on her face. I removed my hand and reached around her with both arms. In two seconds, we were in a tight embrace. I didn't want to let go. She was so small and fragile. That was the first time I realized just how delicate she was. I felt like I needed to protect her. "Ruki..." She started to say, but trailed off. I could feel her breathing and smell the sweet scent of her hair. I could feel how soft it was and thought about running my fingers through it, but I decided against it. She probably would've been freaked out if I had. Other than that, that was our first hug.

"Thanks for worrying about me," I said as I squeezed slightly tighter, and then broke our embrace.

"Well, you're my best friend... Ruki. Of course, I worry about you," she replied, sounding like she was trying to say my nickname more, so that she could get used to it. I felt so happy that I thought I was on Cloud Nine.

"Flight 152 for California, North America will now be boarding. Flight 152 for California will now be boarding." A voice said on the intercom.

Shoot! That means we have to leave! I have to leave... her, I thought as soon as I heard it. Mom was quickly giving her hugs and 'good byes' while I just stood there, not really knowing what to do.

"Dude! Ruki! That's your flight man! You have to go!" Keiji yelled.

"Come on Haruki! Give your 'good byes' and go!" Carly pushed.

"What, you wanna get rid of me that quickly?!" I said pretending I was getting agitated by their words.

"No!" They said at the same time. They looked at each other weirdly, but Carly recovered and cleared her throat.

"We just don't want you to miss your flight," she said calmly.

"So move your butt and get on that plane!" Keiji finished, still yelling.

"Do you really have to push him?" Michiko surprisingly interrupted. "I don't want him to go, but it sounds like you don't want him around."

"Huh? Michiko, it's not that at all. We would love it if he could stay but-" Carly was saying, when she got finished off by Keiji.

"You get more time to put away your baggage without being crowded by a bunch of people if you get on early."

"Exactly!" Carly exclaimed.

"Okay," Michiko shyly said. "It was silly of me to think that."

"It's okay Michi," I said, being the first to give her a nickname. Then, I turned my gaze to Carly and Keiji. "It's never a bad idea to check on something." I returned my gaze to Michiko. "That's all you were doing was checking to make sure they were still being good friends. Right?"

"Right!" She giggled. I gave the little ones hugs, but saved Dru, Michiko, Keiji, and Carly for last.

First person I said 'good bye' to was Carly. I think she was really moved because it looked like she was starting to cry, and yet, trying to hide it.

Then, I moved on to Keiji. We cracked up; going over things we've said or done in the past.

Then, I moved on to Michiko. It was really hard to say 'good bye' to her. And she started crying, which made it even harder and made me tear up a little. We hugged once more. This time it went on slightly longer than our first one. We broke apart and I gave her the number so that she could call. Then, realizing I hadn't done so yet, I gave the other two the number to reach me.

Last was Dru. He was so sad that I wouldn't be there to play soccer with him. I tried to tell him that he had his dad, Davis, and Keiji to play soccer with, but he said it wouldn't be the same. Poor kid. I know exactly how he feels.

"Calling all passengers to Flight 152, the plane is ready for take-off. Calling all passengers to Flight 152, the plane is ready for take-off." The same voice from earlier stated.

"Bye!" "Have a good trip!" "Come home safely!" Everyone yelled.

"Bye!" We yelled back. We were right at the gate and I was about ready to hand my ticket to the woman when Michiko came flying at me out of nowhere!

"I don't want you to go!" She wept as she clung to me for dear life by clutching onto my arms. "I'll miss you too much," she pouted. There were massive teardrops uncontrollably streaming down her face. She actually looked so adorable!

"I'll miss you too," I chuckled. Now I'm regretting leaving. I put my hands under her forearms and moved her away to look into her eyes. "But I really want to see T.K. and Shaun again. We miss them, they miss us... We have to. It's just for the weekend. It'll be fine! Besides, you've got Carly and Keiji, right?"

"Yeah. I guess," she sniffled. She let go of her grip on my arms- as I let go- and let her arms fall to her sides. She slowly started walking back to the group, but turned half-way around to smile back at me. Of course, I smiled back and waved. She waved back and jogged the rest of the way back to the group.

Mom and I walked through the gate and disappeared from the sight of everyone else.

End of Chapter 2

Hey it's me once again! I know, there's a lot of explaining in this chapter, but it's Haruki's POV, so don't judge. R&R please! ^-^

Reminder: I accept flames.

Note: I only accept flames that will help me become a better writer.