Hey guys!! Thanks for waiting! I'm back with another chapter! I need to pull some strings together, and I'll start off by pulling Mimi back in!! I couldn't stand leaving Mimi out for so long. She has her part in this story, even though she's not in this story much. She's such a great character though! I already have ideas for writing a story about her!! But that's all I'll say, Even though I gave HEr-NAMe-Is-DIVa a hint about it. See? You should review! I may end up giving you spoilers! :)
Anyways, another filler chapter! This would be my answer to why Tai became a diplomat :) Chapter 9!
Chapter 9: Mending Relationships
"Relax Sora, it'll come!!"
It was now Saturday afternoon, the day of the party. Matt had returned the night before, and he was still in bed, jet-lagged. Yolei sat from her seat at the kitchen island, watching Sora pace in the living room, in front of Davis.
Sora was waiting on one more gift. Of all gifts though, it had to be Tai's. "Yolei," Sora said, a little too impatiently. "This gift is important. I want him to know that I still..." She stopped. She came close to saying "Love him," But she still wasn't sure. "…that I'm still his friend, no matter what."
Davis was sprawled comfortably on the couch, chewing on a toothpick. "I know what you mean Sora. I mean, what if it doesn't come today? What if Tai never becomes your friends again? What if-"
"Davis!" Yolei hollered. "You're not helping!"
Sora laughed. Davis was so much like Tai. She got along fine with Davis's irritable quirks, just because they were much like the ones she had to put up with in Tai.
Davis shrugged. "Honestly, Tai may seem like he's upset at you, but deep down, I believe he still cares about you. Tai never turns his back on any of his friends, no matter what."
Sora gave him a weak smile. If only you knew, Davis…
The buzzer went off, and 3 bodies jumped at the sound of the intercom.
Sora reached the intercom and pressed the button. "Hello?"
"Yes, A delivery for a Ms. Takenouchi?"
"Yes, that's me. C'mon up!" She released the button. "Yay! It's here!" She exclaimed, dancing her way to the elevator doors. Yolei and Davis exchanged looks and follwed right behind her.
Sora turned to face them. "Thanks so much for your help guys. I couldn't have done it without you two. And because of that, I'm giving you guys these."
She handed Davis tickets to a soccer game, and for Yolei she gave her a gift certificate to the mall.
"Yes!" Davis said, pumping his fist in the air. He quickly examined his tickets, as Yolei squealed in delight. "Sora, you shouldn't have..." she said, just as the doors opened. Sora signed the forms, grabbed the box, before the deliveryman had a chance to speak.
"She's just excited, that's all," Yolei explained as the doors closed on him. Yolei joined Sora and Davis at the island to get a look at Tai's gift.
Sora managed to get the box open, and carefully pulled it out. She let it dangle from her hand.
"Wow," Yolei breathed. Davis stared in awe.
"It's perfect," Sora whispered with satisfaction.
"The next limo is supposed to be holding our most famous digidestined couple, Matt Ishida, and Sora Takenouchi! Along with their Digimon, Gabumon, and Biyomon! ...And here they come, folks!!"
The door opened, and Matt, Sora, Biyomon, and Gabumon climbed out of the stretched limo. Bulbs flashed, people cheered, and Sora stared. Matt reached into the limo and pulled out the box that contained Sora's gifts.
"You never did tell me what's in this box," He questioned, as he watched the driver close the door to the limo.
"You'll see," She said taking the box from him. Matt gave her a quizzical look before following her to the hotel.
Sora watched as her Digimon and Matt waved. She sighed, put on a smile, and followed their example.
"Ms. Takenouchi! Have you recovered from you're recent accident?"
"Are you still experiencing any difficulties?"
"How as the accident affected you work?"
Sora frowned at all the reporters, shouting question out to her. Matt put an arm around her, and frowned at the reporters as well.
Sora exhaled when they entered the banquet hall. It was packed, both of humans and digimon. She was thankful though, that the majority of reporters were not able to make it into the event, only a selected few. Sora smiled at some of the faces she recognized. She located Yolei who took the box from her a set it in a safe place.
In the front of the room were tables in a U-shape form with 24 chairs around them. Guest of honor, She thought, as she found her name. Her eyes scanned the program of the evening, but she was interrupted when she heard a loud excitement by the door. Her eyes lifted and spotted Mimi.
Mimi hasn't changed a bit. Well, except for the hair, Sora thought, as Mimi made her way towards the table. Most of the digidestined were heading up to the table as well, including Tai, who she hadn't noticed until then. He looks so handsome, She thought, noting his Polo with his Khaki pants. She was staring at him when his eye met hers. It was warm stare, but then his eyes flickered in annoyance and he turned his attention away.
Sora looked down at her lap, trying not to let it get to her. What if he's just trying to take advantage of me? No, Tai wouldn't do that. We're still friends. Kissing friends. Ugh. She shook her head of the thought.
"Biyomon!" A voice called out.
Biyomon, who was sitting to the left of Sora, looked up. Palmon was stretching out her vines to give her a hug "Palmon!" Biyomon cried out in equal excitement. Sora looked up at Mimi who was looking at her with disgust. She was the next digidestined to sit beside Sora. Mimi quickly switched her name card with Joe's.
(A/N: Ok the seating chart: Palmon, Mimi, Gomamon, Joe, Biyomon, Sora, Gabumon, Matt, Tentomon, Izzy, Agumon, Tai, Gatomon, Kari, Patamon, TK, Veemon, Davis, Wormon, Ken, Hawkmon, Yolei, Armadillomon, Cody)
Mimi sat down without looking at Sora again. "Oh, Mimi," Palmon sighed, climbing in the seat beside her. A sudden dinging of glass was heard, the music died down, and everyone looked up to see Gennai. He was standing at the podium, waiting patiently to speak. The rest of the digidestined made their way to their seats.
Gennai smiled at the crowd. When did Gennai get so…young? Sora thought.
"Thank you all so much for coming out this evening. As most of you know, if not already, tonight marks the 6th anniversary of the fall of Vennomyotismon. We are here to honor those, that if not for them, we would not be here today. Let's go ahead and give them a round of applause."
The originals were asked to stand, and a loud roar went up from the crowd. Sora noticed a few flashing of lights from cameras going around in the room, and couldn't help but to think, Wow! they're honoring me! I was a part of this!
Gennai silenced the crowd as the originals sat back down. "Two years ago, we started celebrating this anniversary. It started small, just the digidestined, but we got the idea that they should have more respect. As the originals do every year, they elect someone to tell the story of the short reign of Myotismon here on earth. Tai was first to tell, last year was Matt's turn, and I believe this year goes to our Sora, the Bearer of Love."
Sora's eyes widened. She gave Matt a look of surprise. You didn't tell me about this! She thought, as he gave her a sheepish grin. Applause came from the audience as she stood and made her way to the podium.
Sora looked out to the crowd, and studied the faces she recognized. She turned back to her fellow digidestined, until her eyes met with Tai's. He gave her a small smile. She took a deep breath, before she spoke. "6 years ago, something very awesome happened to 7 of us. We went to camp as your plain old average kids, and came back as digidestined." She stopped, and turned to look at the originals again. Everyone, including Mimi, had a smile on their face. It was a story that would never grow old.
Sora made her way back to her seat, her face red from the crowd's positive response towards her story. Matt squeezed her shoulder. "Good job!" he said, congratulating her. "You certainly know how to capture an audience! My speech last year? I fumbled right through it! Probably only last a minute!" Sora laughed.
Gennai spoke through the microphone. "Ok, I believe at we've all been waiting for this moment. The food is hot and ready to go!" A few laughs were heard from Gennai's joke. "Please remain seated until you hear you table number called."
The digidestined were first to go. Once the digidestined had their plates filled, Matt made his way toward the podium.
"Excuse me, could I have everyone's attention please?" Sora couldn't help but wonder what he was up to, and her eyes glanced over toward Tai. Matt went on.
"As most of you know, my fiancée, Sora, was in a terrible accident a few days ago, and can't remember the past 5 years." Mimi gasped, and Sora couldn't help but to look at her shocked face. Why is she so surprised? She wondered.
Matt continued. "So, if you know Sora personally, I'd like it if you could share a memory with her."
Sora stared at Matt as he sat back down. She felt nervous, wondering what everyone would say. Her palms began to sweat as no one stood up. The moment of silence in room broke as Cody stood up.
"Sora, I don't know you all that well, but you're a great example to the rest of us digidestined. You encouraged us, never doubting us for a second, and for that, I'd like to thank you."
Sora smiled, tears brimming at eyes. She brushed them away. One by one, the digidestined went around sharing their memory with Sora. Sora laughed at some, like TK's memory of her dragging TK, Biyomon, and Patamon, away from WaruMonzaemon.
Tai was next. He stood up, glanced uncertainly at the others, his eyes finally resting on Sora's. "I…I've known Sora since…forever. She's been a good friend that I won't ever forget." He stopped, looking as if he wanted to say more, but quickly sat back down in his seat. Everyone stared at Tai for a moment, expecting him to jump back up, but Agumon jumped in, saying his memory. Tai looked at his plate miserably, picking at his food, while Kari reached over and squeezed his hand. Sora sighed sadly, as she tried to focus on Agumon.
Tai...
Next was Izzy and Tentomon, and then Matt stood up.
"Well, I met Sora at that camp, before we went to the digital world. I didn't think much of her then, except that I was appreciative of how caring she was of TK. Sora has always been a strong person, someone I can always count on, and it makes me love her more and more everyday. I love you, Sor." As he gave Sora a kiss on the cheek, and Tai's face twitched in annoyance.
They made their way down the rest of the table. When it was Mimi's turn, she simply nodded, and nudged Palmon to go. Sora frowned at that reaction. When Palmon was done speaking, Sora jumped up.
"I have a surprise," She announced.
"You got your memory back?" Matt asked, hopefully.
"No silly, They're gifts for the originals," She looked at Yolei, who jumped up to retrieve the box. While she waited for Yolei, Sora took the mike from the podium.
"I know that I don't have my memory at the moment, but that doesn't mean I haven't forgotten you all," She said to the originals. "Each and everyone of you hold a special place in my heart, and there is no way I could ever forget that," she said, as Yolei returned with the box. Yolei opened the box up, and passed a small gift to Sora. Sora looked down at the gift.
"This is for a special person in my life. She has inspired me to go over and beyond. I watched over her in the digital world. She doesn't have to be watched over anymore, because she's grown into an amazing girl." She turned to Kari. "Here you go, Kari. Thanks."
Kari sat there, stunned. She slowly took the gift from Sora's hands . "Sora, you shouldn't have…"
Sora silenced her. "go ahead and open it."
Kari glanced uncertainly at Tai who was just as surprised as she was. She slowly tugged the bow open, and pulled the paper off. She lifted the lid to the small box and let out a gasp. There, was a braclet, of white and purple links, with one link representing a tail ring. It had 2 charms of Gatomon's yellow paws, and in between the two paws, hung her crest: The Crest of Light.
"Sora!" Kari exclaimed, as she put it on. Sora had already moved onto the next gift.
"This guy…What can you say? He's always there for you. Ol' reliable." She went up to Joe and handed him his box. She whispered to him, "Bakemon, lose your power." Joe let out a small laugh.
Joe's gift was a black watch. But in the middle of the face of the watch, was the gray Crest of Reliablilty. "Awesome," He breathed.
Sora grabbed the next one from Yolei. "This next person, like Kari, I enjoyed watching over in the digital world." She turned to face him. "TK, you're like a little brother to me," She said, as she handed him his gift. It was a watch like Joe's, only silver, and of course the yellow Crest of Hope on the face.
"Thank you Sora," TK whispered, examining his new gift.
Sora took the next gift, and grinned at the name tag. "This next one, he's the most intelligent guy I know. He's also one of my really good friends. Without him, We would have had done a lot of things the hard way in the Digital World. Thanks for all that you do Izzy."
Izzy's gift was simple, yet the hardest to pick out. Sora and Davis didn't think jewelry would suit Izzy, so Yolei suggested a jumpdrive. And that's what it was: A black 4GB jumpdrive.
"Prodigious!" Izzy said, pulling out his laptop.
"You brought that thing with you?" Davis asked, horrified.
"Of course!" Izzy responded, and plugged the jumpdrive in. A purple light shone from the jumpdrive and on both sides of it was the Crest of Knowledge.
"Thanks so much Sora," Izzy said, in awe.
Sora took the next gift. She looked at the name, and took a deep breath.
"This next person has meant the world to me since I first met her," Sora said softly, as she watched Mimi struggling to hold in the tears. "She is so brave, and always standing up for what's right. Though we can be totally opposites, nothing can ever tear us apart." Sora slowly approached Mimi. "For you, Meems. Love ya."
The tears were already streaming down Mimi's face, as she accepted the gift. She pulled the package apart, reavealing another gorgeous bracelet. This one had green leaf like links, with 2 flower charms. In between the two charms was the Crest of Sincerity.
Mimi was too shocked to say anything, and Sora had already grabbed the next gift. Sora chewed on her lip before looking over at Tai.
"I've known him forever," She began, as she slowly made her way over to him. She watched Tai fidget with tablecloth. "He's been my best friend forever, another friendship I don't ever want to lose." Tears were now at Sora's eyes. She stood in front of him, her voice low and shaky. "You may not have a favorite memory of us, but I will give you mine," She whispered. "It was the time you saved me from Datamon. Because you disappeared right after, I never got to thank you." Tai slowly raised his eyes toward her. Sora's heart warmed at the sight of his eyes, and it took everything she had to not bend over and kiss him. She took his hand and placed her gift in his palm. "Thanks," She whispered.
Tai slowly took the gift from her, his eyes still locked on hers. "Thank you, Sora," He whispered. He lifted the wristband out of the box. It was a dark blue rope wristband, tied to an orange Crest of Courage. He immediately pulled in on.
Sora took the last gift, and headed over to Matt. "For you, my lovely fiancée," She said, as she bowed her head and closed her eyes.
Matt opened the small box, and pulled out a silver ring. It was flat on top, but engraved with sapphire, was the blue Crest of Friendship.
Sora's voice croaked. "You all are very special to me. I love each and every one of you."
A sudden applause came from the audience again, and the music, laughter, and clinking of silverware continued on.
The digidestined sat in silence, all eyes on Sora. "I'll be outside if anyone needs me," Sora said to Biyomon, before walking to the balcony.
Sora took in a deep breath of fresh air. It had gotten hot and stuffy in the room, overwhelming her so much, that she needed to be alone for a second. She was leaning over the railing looking at the city life below her. She heard the door close behind her, as someone joined her on the railing.
"Did you mean all that?" Mimi asked.
"Mean what?"
"What you said tonight. And what you said over the phone last week. You…you still want to be friends?"
Sora turned to face her. "Mimi, more than anything. You've got to know that your one of my best friends, and I don't think I could go on not having you around."
"But don't you want to know why we haven't been friends?? Matt told me that you were in an accident and that you can't remember the past 5 years. Is that true?"
Sora nodded. "Yes, It's true. To me, last week we were all celebrating Tai's championship game."
Mimi frowned and looked out to the city, her pink hair floating in the breeze. "I remember that. It seems so long ago." She paused, wrapping her arms around herself. "So if that's the last thing you remember, then you really don't remember what we were fighting about."
"No. But whatever it is, it can't stand in the way of our friendship," Sora answered softly.
Mimi's eyes began to water again. "I know. And I'm so sorry Sora. I'm so sorry for acting like a spoiled rotten girl. For being horribly mean, and for being just downright selfish!"
Sora's eyes saddened. "It's ok Mimi, but I must have done something to hurt you too." She took a deep breath. "Why don't you fill me in on what happened."
Mimi brushed her tears away with the back of her hand, and walked over and sat on a bench. Sora joined her. "Well, I guess it did start around 5 years ago." Mimi said, wringing her hands.
This surprised Sora. "Really? But from what I remember, we were still friends!"
Mimi nodded. "Yes, we were. After you fell down the steps, you became really good friends with Matt. I tried my best to not let my jealously get the best of me, but I guess I failed."
"Jealously…." Sora repeated. Of course. I knew Mimi was starting to have feelings for Matt. How could I just ignore her feelings like that??
Mimi continued. "I ended up moving to America with my parents, maybe a month or two later. I stayed in touch with everyone, and began to notice how much you talked about Matt: Matt this, Matt that." Mimi shook her head. "The thing was you knew I was head over heels in love with Matt, but you seemed to ignore that fact. I came back to visit several times when the new digidestined needed my help, I even came back for the first time we celebrated this anniversary. But by then, I could tell it was too late. You had won Matt's heart."
Sora frowned. Why on earth did she betray her like that? She leaned over and gave Mimi a hug. "Mimi, I am so sorry for that. I…I shouldn't have done that to you. I don't understand why I did!" Sora shook her head in frustration. "And look at what it's done! Ruined a perfectly good friendship."
Mimi sobbed in her shoulder. "It's ok, I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have let that get between us. I really do miss you, and I miss our friendship so much," She pulled away, and wiped her tear stained face. "Friends?" she asked, sticking her hand out.
Sora took her hand. "Friends," She said, and pulled Mimi into another hug. When she let go, Mimi looked at Sora straight in the eye. "I do have to admit, Sora, I still think about Matt a lot, and what could have been. I know I shouldn't, but I can't help it."
The Crest of Sincerity. She looked down at Mimi's wrist, and smiled sadly at her new bracelet. "It's ok. Because I do the same with Tai."
"Yeah, Catherine, I'll come and visit sometime. Hey, excuse me, I'll be right back."
Tai had been holding it in which seemed like all evening, and had been making his way towards the men's room, when Catherine, a digidestined from France stopped him. Sheesh, can she talk, he thought, as he pushed the door open. When he was done his business, he washed his hands and looked at himself in the mirror. He sighed, and looked down at his new wristband that Sora gave him. He traced a finger lightly over the Crest of Courage. The crest would always be something special to him.
But sometimes I wonder if it really is my stongest trait...
The wristband was an awesome gift; even more so, because it came straight from Sora's heart.
Maybe I should show her, her bracelet....
He heard the door open, and in the reflection of the mirror, he saw Matt walk in.
"Hey man, how's it going?" Matt asked him.
Tai shrugged, turning to face him. "Not too bad. How about yourself?"
Matt turned on the water and began to wash his hands. "Maria keeps following me around. I think she's given up on Ken. That or Yolei scared her."
Tai snorted. Matt grinned. "Maria's strong willed, though. Even being engaged doesn't even seem to faze her."
Tai chuckled, and then cleared his throat. "How's uh, Sora doing with her memory?"
Matt shrugged, and stared at his reflection in the mirror.. "A little difficult at times," He said, simply.
Tai nodded, and turned to look at reflection as well. "Getting anywhere with it?" He honestly didn't know. He hadn't seen or heard from Sora since that night at the beach.
Matt shook his head. "No." He turned to look at Tai, a serious look on his face. "Listen man, that's another thing I wanted to talk to you about."
"Huh?"
"Sora. Listen, she's my fiancée and all, and I'd really appreciate it more if you treated her with more respect. Especially now, with her being in such a fragile state, I just don't want to see her hurt."
Tai held a straight face, as he watched him. Of course he never wanted to hurt Sora. He just wanted to put up a front so no one would suspect anything.
Matt went on. "She came home the other night pretty upset when she ran into you at Izzy's." Tai felt his heart break. He never meant that. It was an act.
"If you keep it up man, I'm going to have to do something about it," Matt finished, drying his hands with some paper towels. Tai still stared at him.
Say something! His mind screamed at him. "Is that a threat, Ishida?" Tai asked in a low voice. He knew Matt was harmless, but he suddenly felt defensive.
Matt sighed. "Tai, you're a good friend. I just don't want you to do something you'll end up regretting later." He turned to look at Tai. "If anything, do it for me."
Without another word, Matt threw the wad of towels in the bin and walked out.
Tai raked a hand through his hair. Again he looked down at the crest of courage that was wrapped around his wrist. I'll never regret loving Sora, he thought, as walked out of the men's room.
Mimi followed Sora back inside. The level of noise was high, and no one seemed to notice the two digidestined's entrance.
"Please don't tell anyone what I just said about Tai," Sora said, turning to Mimi. She had just told her fellow digidestined about her feelings towards Tai, but couldn't bring herself to say she was sneaking around with him. What would she think of me?? She sighed. "I'm just still all confused and I guess I can't really know how my heart feels until I get my memory back."
Mimi squeezed her arm. "Don't worry, you can count on me." The two made their way back to the head table, where most of the digidestined noticed the two girls, walking side by side, in a good mood.
"Wow," Izzy said out loud, to no one in particular.
"I haven't seen those to together since…well, I don't remember since!" Tentomon said.
"About four lives ago," Gatomon purred.
Gennai interrupted all of this by tapping on the mike at the podium. "Excuse me everyone, I have one more announcement before our evening is over." The room quieted down, as everyone waited to hear Gennai.
"As some of you know, the digital world is now being consider as a "nation" here in the real world. And as most nations around the real world, they all have a government, or a leader who represents them. The digital world has been accepted into The United Nations, and because of that, we now need someone to represent the digital world.
"I've talked it over with the four sovereigns, and we all agreed that it should be a human, not a digimon to be our diplomat. So we have decided…"
It was so quiet in the room. Everyone was holding their breath, waiting for Gennai.
"That the honor should go to our original leader, Tai Kamiya!"
A gasp went up from the room, and Tai choked on his drink. "Me?" he asked, surprised. "Why me?"
"Because you our are leader!" Izzy exclaimed, jumping up from his seat. "It makes perfect sense! Tai, remember what happened to us in the digital world when you were gone for months?"
"A day," Tai muttered.
"Whatever, it doesn't matter. The point is we broke apart because we didn't have you. You were the one holding us together." He glared at the older digidestined. "I thought we explained that pretty clear to you at Myotismon's Castle," He scolded.
"Of course not, because he passed the job of the cards to you, Izzy," Gomamon commented.
Joe nudged Gomamon, while Tai glared at him. "You should've been the fake card!" He said. Gomamon stuck his tongue out at him, jokingly.
Sora stood up. "Tai, you held us together back then. You can certainly hold the digital world together now. We depend on you Tai! Without you, we wouldn't have pulled through."
TK stood up. "We would've never found Kari." Davis made a small face.
"And we would've never defeated Diaboromon." Matt added.
Kari spoke up. "Tai? Do you remember when Apocalymon turned us into data? Remember what you said?"
Tai thought hard but couldn't remember. Mimi jumped in. " 'Each person's crest isn't powered by themselves: It's powered by the faith that we have in each other!' " She said, quoting Tai's exact words.
Tai looked up at her. The faith we have in each other....
"In other words Tai," Joe said, coming up to him. "We have faith in you."
"And we'll back you up, 100%!" Matt exclaimed.
"It's like what you said the other day at the ice cream shop, Tai," Sora said, not even catching on to what she just said. "'If I have my family and friend's support, and trust, what's there to be worried about?'"
Tai smiled at Sora, looked at the others who nodded at him. I need to have faith....Everything will work out in the end. And until then, I need to rely on my Crest....
Courage.
He stood up and joined Gennai at the podium. "Gennai? I accept your offer," He said, with confidence.
Alrighty! I'm sure glad Sora and Mimi are back to being friends again! Writing about an emotional Mimi is difficult!!
So hopefully my Chapter 10 will start moving things along again! I'll try to update ASAP!
I wonder what happened with Matt and Mimi in New York...hmmm....
R&R!! :)
