(a/n) Every chapter will be a one-shot dedicated to each digidestined.

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[TAXI DRIVER]

iori & taichi

say no to businessmen

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Despite it being a weeknight, the eateries stationed around the Shinagawa district were swarming with business folk.

It was peak season for the taxis that were driving around the area, as multiple men garbed in ties and plain suits attempted to drunkenly hail them over.

Luckily, for the taxi driver, he had spotted a rather sensible young man at the taxi stand. There was no sign of him being part of an crazy, rowdy group of businessmen either. As the taxi driver slowed his car to meet the man on the curb, he got a better look at the person.

If the man hadn't been wearing a business suit, the taxi driver would have guessed that he was still in high school. The man was rather youthful looking with eyes big and innocent, brown hair gelled perfectly to the right side of his head, face neatly shaved, and a blemish and wrinkle-free complexion. In general, the man was properly groomed, but it still made the driver wary that he looked too young to dress the way he did. The taxi driver presumed that the young man was possibly a graduate or new to the working industry.

The taxi driver pushed a lever and, automatically, the passenger door opened. "Where to, young man?"

"Oh...oh! Bear with me for a sec," the man replied. He placed his briefcase onto the flooring of the taxi before gesturing for the driver to wait. "I need to get my senpai."

Just as the taxi driver was going to ask how long it would take, and how far his senpai was, the young man was already scampering off.

Five minutes ticked by.

Then ten.

If the young man hadn't left his briefcase in the vehicle, the taxi driver would have driven off my now and found himself another customer. Regardless, the driver had no choice but to wait for his customer.

When the time shied away from hitting half an hour later, the taxi driver heard bellowing.

"I LOVE YOU IORI!"

"Yagami-senpai! Could you lower your voice?" A timid voice had followed next.

The young man was returning with his senpai. He was holding his arm around his neck and he struggled to carry the older man's weight on his own. The older man was half-walking and half-dragging his feet as he supported himself onto his kouhai.

Yagami-senpai was the polar opposite, completely haggard and unkempt in contrast to his well-groomed junior. His hair was spiking up in several directions, not gelled like his junior's hairdo. Circling his head, and bowed, was a striped green and white tie. His jacket was back-to-front, white shirt half unbuttoned and - to top it all off - the man's face was burning red from, evidently, a high intake of alcohol.

"Darn it," the taxi driver cursed under his breath. And here the taxi driver thought he could get away without driving a drunk businessman. Another taxi, sporting a fellow colleague from the same company, sent him a sympathetic look as it drove past.

The young man assisted his senpai into the car. However, the senpai was even making this task difficult as he was taking his shoes off.

"Yagami, senpai," the younger man pleaded. "Keep your shoes on."

As soon as the businessmen had entered the car, the taxi driver's senses was filled with the scent of hard liquor. He cursed to himself again.

His senpai declared, "But Iori-kun! We're entering a house! Wouldn't it be rude not to?"

"We're in a taxi."

"Oh, are we?" The older man chuckled. "No wonder everything's spinning!"

Heaven's forbid…

Without a second thought, the taxi driver pressed on the glove compartment and grabbed a spare paper bag, tossing it behind the seat. The taxi driver clenched the steering wheel. He hadn't even started driving an already the man's equilibrium was unstable. He begged to himself, he hoped that the man wouldn't vomit in his car.

"Ouch!" The man exclaimed, clutching his forehead. "Iori-kun! He threw something at me...who is he?"

"The person who will take us home. Somebody you should be extremely thankful for." Iori threw the taxi driver an apologetic look as he buckled the seatbelt over his senpai's hips. "Odaiba please, sir."

These men weren't ordinary businessmen if they were residing in Odaiba. The man-made island by Tokyo Bay was quite expensive to live in. The taxi driver rarely drove to that location, and the last time he had been there was during father's day to see the Toyota Megaweb Showcase with his family. Considering driving was his profession, it was only natural that the taxi driver had developed an interest for cars over the years.

The taxi driver's foot stepped off the break, pressing onto the accelerator. He made sure not to drive too fast because he didn't want to test the drunken man's nausea. He crossed his fingers, hoping that the man would fall asleep. It was easier caring for sleeping drunks than unpredictable, babbling loud, wild ones.

Unfortunately, the silence was short lived when the taxi driver watched a hand flap out from behind him, switching on the radio without his permission.

"Yagami-senpai!" Iori groaned.

"Why'd you take me home?" Yagami screamed. "I told you that tonight calls for celebration!"

The taxi driver felt the vehicle shake as the man began to dance on his seat, moving to the beat of the music. Enough that his passenger had turned on the radio, but he had also somehow put the volume on at full blast. The taxi driver swore that he could feel his eardrums exploding.

"Customer or no customer of mine, this is too loud!" The taxi driver barked, impatiently turning the volume down to a normal, tolerable level.

"Taxi driver, sir! You're no fun!" The drunken man replied.

"No," the taxi driver said then corrected, "I'm too old for this. Settle down, or I'll have to pass you a different taxi."

"I'm not paying you then!"

"Yagami-senpai!"

Take a deep breath. In. And Out. Remember those yoga exercises your wife has been doing? They're to calm you down during times of emergency. Take a deep breath in. Hold it. And out. In. And Out. In and-

"I HAVE A PEN!"

Oh no

Just when the taxi driver had thought the man would stop yelling and behaving like a baboon, the PPAP song played. It wasn't as loud as the other song, but it was still decipherable. And even though the volume was lower, it was the businessman's large voice that boomed over the song as he screamed out the lyrics with utmost vigour.

From the rearview mirror, the taxi driver caught the junior shaking his head to himself. It was good to know that at least he wasn't the only one suffering from this drive.

"URGH!" He howled, "PINEAPPLE PEN!"

The taxi turned off the radio, but Yagami kept singing on. He then ended up making his own rendition of the song, fused with broken English and Japanese and began to sing out on top of his lungs in a tone-deaf fashion, "This is a pen! This is a apple. But I am a ringo. Ringo desu. I am a pen. Kore wa pen desu. My namae is Pen! Pen-chan desu yo. Yo-yo yo...yeahhhh!"

Iori clamped a hand over Yagami's mouth before the latter could sing yet another verse to the contorted, made-up song. Yagami struggled for a bit, then stopped. He was smirking and giggling in a high-pitched tone, like a teenage girl did around her crush. The cheeky bastard.

Thankfully, Yagami toned it down, resorting to humming a tune to himself. The taxi driver was sure he heard it somewhere. It must have been a SMAP song from how poppy it sounded. The tie was falling over Yagami's face, and instead of adjusting, the businessman began to blow at it.

"Why won't it stop blocking my sight, Iori-kun?"

Iori-kun obediently took off the tie, and zipped it into his senpai's briefcase.

The taxi driver wondered how the junior could cope with Yagami on a daily basis. How did Iori manage to still be this patient? Then again, perhaps he wasn't that bad when he wasn't drunk. He must be a good businessman if Iori continued to endure his senpai's absurdity and, it wasn't like the taxi driver could forget that the businessman lived in Odaiba.

Talking about Odaiba, they were just about to merge onto Rainbow Bridge…

"Isn't it dazzling?" Iori said, smiling.

Rainbow Bridge was definitely one of the favourite bridges that the taxi driver enjoyed passing by. The view was always a delight. Upon the bridge, it was a spectacular view of Odaiba. The city lights reflected onto Tokyo Bay and it was always therapeutic to drive on.

The taxi driver agreed. "Yes. It's quite stunning."

"We stopped it, you know..." Iori said, quietly.

"Stopped what?" Now that the younger man had started the conversation, the topic wasn't something that the taxi driver could easily divert from.

"They wanted to stop the coloured lights on Rainbow Bridge. Said it was a distraction and that many people had accidents because of it."

"Is it true, young man?" The taxi driver gawked. How could somebody want to cease the lights on Rainbow Bridge? The thought was repulsive! "There are accidents all over the place, and they're especially more prominent in the Shibuya district...and they went to the extent of get rid of the lights on the bridge?"

"We fought for it. Yagami-senpai is actually the head of the Odaiba council. We only found out today that we...were successful," Iori grinned. He waved his hand across across the window, as they continued to drive on the bridge. "We saved it."

"That you did."

The taxi driver glanced at Yagami in a different light. He was smiling that although the case was so small, the Rainbow Bridge made quite an impact to the people in Tokyo - not just the Odaiba precinct. This one man thought it was worth fighting far, and the result was plausible.

After all, the taxi driver did recall the business man saying to his junior that it was a night worth celebrating. And, perhaps, it was. He deserved to be drunk. It was something that the taxi driver would have never thought he'd find himself admit, considering he had driven his fair share of drunken passengers. However, this case was different. This man was different.

As if Odiaba councilman was listening to the taxi driver's thoughts, he wounded down the window and stretched an arm out. The cool breeze poured into the vehicle. Yagami chuckled, savouring the feeling of having the air brush against his arm.

"I love Odaiba."

"We already know that." Iori simpered. "Of course you do."

And then Yagami did the unbelievable. The driver gaped as he witnessed his passenger reposition himself, sliding down on the seat and attempting to kick his feet out of the window. Before he could do this action, the younger man had already receipted his actions and was tackling his senpai down.

"But the air feels so good, Iori-kun!"

The younger man cried out, "Not if you die in the process!"

If they hadn't been driving, and on a bridge, the taxi driver would have found it amusing. However, he did value his life and an accident on the Rainbow Bridge would not look good on his file. Additionally, he was certain it also wouldn't look good on Iori or Yagami's file too considering they had been fighting for the lights on Rainbow Bridge and that it did not cause accidents.

Yagami seemed to use most of his energy when they arrived on the other side of the bridge. His eyes were drooping and it looked like he was about to fall asleep. On the other hand, the younger man's eyes were wide awake.

"His place is near Fuji TV, sir."

The taxi driver nodded at his instructions, taking a turn to the right.

"You really value your drunk senior to be keeping an eye out on him in this state." The yellow light glowed, so the taxi driver stepped on the brake.

Iori gave a tiny smile. "Yes. He's done so much for me. This was the best way to repay him."

"You're young for a lawyer too."

"I was lucky."

"No. You would have worked hard." The taxi driver said. "There's no such thing as luck in the law. Although people may get in due to connections, your grades during university would have been exceptional...and look what you've accomplished?"

The young man humbly replied, "It's not that a big of a deal."

"To you, it may not be. But to many...it is." Lights turning green, the taxi driver stirred the wheel. "Look at Yagami-san. He's proud of what you did for him. He might now show it, but he's enthralled that you helped him on the case."

"It's little compared to what he's done for me."

The taxi driver didn't know whether it was best to ask him what exactly the older businessman had done for him, but he didn't need to because Iori kept speaking. "I was bullied when I was a kid. He...he-Taichi was the only one who stuck up for me."

"Really?"

"Yeah." The young lawyer smiled.

"He's a great man." The taxi driver complimented the sleeping passenger.

His heart felt warm. Every now and again, the taxi driver felt touched by stories his customers shared with him. And this...it would have to be on one of his top favourite stories that he'd always retell his wife (much to her irritation) and family friends. It hit home because when the taxi driver was new to Tokyo, he remembered how the staff in his company often bullied and made fun of him for his strong, Kansai accent. Bullying could happen no matter what age you were, and it was lucky that the young man had Yagami to defend him.

It made perfect sense why the young lawyer was protective of his senpai.

When they made a stop, Iori had to shake Yagami up. Iori was about to pay the taxi driver, but for once, the taxi driver refused to take the fee.

"But sir-"

"I'd rather you not," the driver said. "If my wife finds out that I charged the men who saved the lights on Rainbow Bridge she'd have my head."

"Why?" Yagami questioned, groggily, the most sober the driver had seen of the man.

"I proposed to her on the Ferris Wheel. When we reached its peak, she was so enthralled at the different coloured lights on the bridge, that she hadn't realised I had dropped down to kneel." The taxi driver laughed at the memory. "Like I said before, what the both of you have done is beyond commendable."

Iori beamed and Yagami gave a weak smile. The taxi driver simpered as he watched Iori help his senpai out of the car. He was about to drive off, but noticed the older man sprint off for the nearest garbage can, vomiting severely into it.

The taxi saw Iori scratch the back of his head, and motioned to the taxi driver that they were find, that the he could handle his senpai.

Chuckling, the taxi driver drove off. He wished that the businessman wouldn't wake up to a bad hangover the next morning.

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(a/n) This turned out being more heartfelt than I expected it to be. I thought it would just be about intoxicated businessmen but, alas, I was wrong. I decided to write about these two (Iori & Taichi) because I've never really explored the pair converse properly for a long period. Despite Taichi being drunk for er...all of it, I just thought it would be fun to touch on their interesting relationship.

Hope you've enjoyed it ;)

Next chapter: Mimi