Y/N: This is the end of the final full length story in the Digimon Adventure series. There are still a few more one-shots headed your way and a six chapter epilogue, but this other than that, this is it. I do hope that you're ready for a long read though. It's a big one. I wrote Taichi, Koushiro, Mimi, Daisuke, Miyako, Iori, Ken, Hideto and Kiyoko this time around too. Everyone plays a role in this chapter.
U/N: ALRIGHTY people. Are you comfortable? If you plan to read this in one sitting you MAY be here a while. It's QUITE the chapter. The true 200th chapter, which is a good way to end things off, right? If only they were finishing off...
Just a quick rundown of the future chapters: four oneshots will go up this week that take place between this story and the final six chapter epilogue piece. So we're not totally over yet since Iori got his six chapter story and Miyako got hers, its Daisuke's turn.
Back to this one, I hope you like it, really I do. I wrote Yamato, Sora, Jou, Takeru, Hikari, Michael, Willis, Kurayami and Mari. In case you all forgot. Because EVERYONE get's a part here. We tried really hard to include every non-narrator too.
Anyway, I'm really happy that those of you are still here are... well, still here, thank you for reading our endless rants through our stories and thank you all very much for reviewing. It would be so much more boring to do this without the constant feedback, so thanks xD SO. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter and leave a review :)
Title: Digimon Adventure 05
By: Yukira and Urazamay King
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or its characters.
Part 3: Battle of the Nine Worlds
Chapter 51: Next Chapter
Jou Kido:
"Perfect," Koushiro said to me, smiling. It was weird to think he was actually happy for me. Actually interested in the relationship Momoe and I shared. He'd always seemed too passive and uncaring. But he was most definitely smiling, "Momoe?" He slid the papers closer to her and she looked up at him, excited to sign the papers. She scribbled her name down quickly and then passed it back to Koushiro, "Now, Mimi and Miyako—I'm going to need you to sign it as well."
"Obviously," Mimi grabbed the papers from Koushio and took the pen from Momoe, with the same amount of excitement in her voice, "That's why you made us come." A couple seconds later Mimi had signed the papers, and passed them to Miyako. And then, finally she was sliding the papers toward Koushiro again.
"Alright," He said, flipping through the papers, and nodding, "Everything seems to be in order. I officially pronounce you husband and wife."
I tuned to Momoe instantly. Just the thought of those words being spoken in my general vicinity would usually boost my spirits and make me think in rants about how excited I was for my own wedding—but now it was over. Now my wedding was done, and I was the husband to my beautiful wife—and the words had opened up a whole new world of feelings and thoughts. I couldn't stop myself from picturing our life in the future, where we'd live, or even what we'd be having for dinner because now, for sure, I knew Momoe would always be with me, there by my side. Through everything. And we'd be able to do it in peace now. Because the worlds were officially saved. Well, all that we were destined to do anyway.
Momoe, whose head was rested in her hands turned to me slightly and smiled, "What now Husband?"
"We could go find our daughter?" I suggested, sliding off the stool in our kitchen.
"No," Momoe said quickly, "We can't! Your Dad is testing his Grandfather skills with her right now, we have to give him some space until he's ready to come to us."
"You left Emiko with your dad?" Mimi wasn't even looking as she said it, she was helping herself to some food from our cupboards. "Isn't that a tad dangerous?"
"Why would it be dangerous?" I asked quickly, the feeling of imminent danger rising inside of me quite quickly. What did Mimi know that I didn't? What was he going to do to her?
Mimi shrugged it off with a simple, "I dunno."
"No, what were you thinking?"
"Just that... your dad's always been a little... controlling. Don't you think he might change her a bit?" She asked awkwardly, pulling a pan out of the cupboards and placing it on the stove top.
"Don't worry about that," Momoe insisted, "He's come to his senses. Really he has. He and Aimi took Emiko out for lunch, and I really do... trust him." Momoe's hand surprised me as it slipped into grips with mine. "He's a good Dad."
"A great Dad." I agreed. It felt weird to say, but he'd realized his mistakes and made all his wrongs right again. There was nothing better than that.
"Can I cook something?" Mimi asked, as she dropped some vegetables into the already heated up pan.
"Help yourself." Momoe said sarcastically. Mimi grinned at her and winked.
"If... you don't mind," Miyako said, "I'm going to go now. I just want to be with Mari."
We all looked to her as she stood up, sliding her stool back into its place, "We understand." Momoe said with a nod. "Please, tell her we send our love." Miyako nodded and hastily hugged Momoe before heading to the front door, and weakly waving goodbye.
"Is anyone else hungry?" Mimi asked.
"Oh me!" Momoe said.
"And me!" I grinned.
"Koushiro?" Mimi prodded his head with the end of her wooden spoon, "Are you listening?" Koushiro was staring down at his computer that he'd pulled out. There was a crack on the screen, not too big, but still recognizable. There was also a large dent on the bottom of it that was clearly visible, and a large piece of plastic missing from the corner. If there was one time in my life that I'd found a symbol of growth in Koushiro, it was right now. With that computer. He had never overly been fond of that particular computer, and always missed his old one, but at the same time, it was still his computer, and he'd gave it up for not only Mimi, but everyone else. He tossed it aside and looked at things in the right perspective. "Anyone who has the name of 'Koushiro' should answer me immediately."
"Guys..." Koushiro said, having literally just not heard her at all, "What happened?" It didn't take long for us all to know what he was talking about because we'd all been wondering the same question. That flash of light was the last thing that made sense, and then between that light and our leave of the Digital World there was just nothing else that seemed real.
"Stop talking about it!" Gomamon shouted from the living room. "Gosh! You guys are so hung up on this!" A second later he was in the room, pulling himself onto the stool that Miyako had left unoccupied. "You humans need to let it go. I have. I know it'll never make any sense."
"But it has to make sense." Koushiro insisted, "I need to know what happened. It's just who I am."
"Well then your best bet is to talk to Kurayami or Miyako, now isn't it?" Gomamon said. He had a point... the flash of light had blinded us all, but the second it had surrounded us I'd felt free. Happy. Better. It was like a lifelong ache in my shoulder had finally been relieved. It was the best thing I'd ever felt. But then the light faded and Norn was floating in front of us all, talking to Miyako. Kurayami ran toward her a moment later and the three of them had a private conversation until finally, with another small flash of light, Norn was gone, leaving Miyako and Kurayami to keep her secrets. But was it even a secret? Had anyone even bothered to ask them?
"You're right." Koushiro said, standing quickly, "I'll do that just now!"
Mimi slapped her spoon onto the counter, "No, Koushiro," She turned to face him and put her hands on his shoulder, "We won. We really, truly, won. No more Arkadimon, no more Apocalymon, no more Yggdrasil—no more evil. We got Sora back, we saved all nine worlds. Don't you think it's time to just let it all go? At least for now? Can we please all just take a nice, long break and relax in the sunlight? We can go to the beach or something."
"Well it's a bit cold," Koushiro pointed out, looking to his computer. "You're right Mimi. I'll figure it out later. Now is time for celebration! Our friend was just married!" I'd honestly never heard so much excitement in his voice than I did at that moment.
"Oh my goodness!" Mimi gasped, "You two didn't have your first dance!" She nudged Koushiro out of the way and began clicking away at her laptop. Momoe squeezed my hand, and when I looked to her she was positively beaming. I didn't know what it was about the first dance, but it was definitely important to Momoe, so it was important to me.
Soon Mimi had picked a song and it began playing loudly, if not distorted, from Koushiro's speakers. I jumped to my feet and pulled Momoe after me, "May I have this dance?" I asked her, causing her to giggle.
And then we were dancing. I was an awful dancer, I knew that, Momoe knew that, and the others knew that. But it didn't really matter because I didn't care what they thought—only that I was dancing with Momoe.
"Can I cut in?" Mimi asked, poking Momoe, "It's customary for someone to ruin the first dance." Momoe nodded and stepped aside, allowing Mimi though to dance with me as Momoe scooped Gomamon into her arms and began to spin around with him. "Jou..."
"Yes Mimi?" I asked as she looked away, biting her lip and flaring her nostrils. Was she trying not to cry? What did she have to cry about?
"You know how you always wanted to be a hero?" She asked, and I nodded, "You are a hero. You've saved the world countless times. You took on Apocalymon all on your own. You were the leader to us on Earth—a great leader. A perfect leader. You are the best father I've ever seen—the best husband now, and you're my best friend." There were tears in her eyes now, and one even escaped and rolled down her cheek as she turned to look directly into my eyes.
"And I just want you to not hurt him," I heard Gomamon saying, "You be good to him." I couldn't help but smile as I spun Mimi around.
"Thanks Mimi," I said, unable to keep from smiling, "You're my best friend too."
She nodded, "I know," She laughed a little, and then added, "And you know how you've always wanted a happy family?" She was interrupted as Koushiro pulled her from me, spinning her into his arms. Bearmon was poking his head into the room a second later, and interrupted Momoe dancing with Gomamon. Momoe practically tossed Gomamon to me as she started dancing with her partner.
"Momoe needs to work on not mon-handling me." Gomamon said, rolling his eyes. Finally though he looked back to me, "Jou, this whole marriage thing is weird. You humans have weird rituals. I mean, does it really change anything?"
"It changes everything," I told him as I tossed him into the air with a laugh, "Now Momoe and I are a true, perfect couple. I mean, the marriage thing isn't important, but to me it is. I've always wanted the happily ever after, and now I have it."
"Well, I'm happy for you." Gomamon said, "But are you sure you've got everything you've ever wanted?"
"Yes," I said, but even as I said it, it felt like there was something missing.
"Jou, are you sure?" Gomamon asked, and this time I shook my head. How did he know that there was something off? How did he know, when I didn't even know? Did he know what it was?
Mimi practically ripped Gomamon from my arms as Koushiro spun Momoe toward me. She landed in my arms and looked up at me with her big eyes. "I love you Jou Kido," She said, standing on her toes and kissing me.
"I love you too Momoe Kido." I grinned at the sound of her new name. I wasn't sure I'd ever get over that.
Well, the loving moment didn't last too long, as it was interrupted by a mangled drowning sound as the song died. Koushiro froze and moved around the counter to look at his computer. His face fell instantly. "This cannot be happening." He groaned, "No! No, no no!" With a quick snap there was smoke coming from the computer. "I'm taking this outside." He said, grabbing it and running for the door. Before he could get out however, the door had flung open and Aimi led the way in with Emiko in her arms.
"Daddy!" She screamed, "Mommy!" She slipped out of Aimi's arms and ran toward us. Momoe scooped her into her arms and spun around, kissing her on the nose.
"I missed you!" Momoe cooed.
I looked to the door as Koushiro slipped past my Father who had entered the room next looking pleased with himself, and yet a bit awkward. He smiled at me so I waved, and then he and Aimi were walking into the kitchen. Aimi launched into the stories of their day instantly to Mimi and Momoe as Gomamon and Bearmon looked really bored.
"Jou," It was Dad, his hand on my shoulder, "Could I talk to you for a moment please?" I nodded and followed him to the Living room, aware of Gomamon following behind me. Dad sat down on the couch, so I sat down on the other side, allowing Gomamon room to sit between us.
"What did you need?" I asked Dad.
"I don't need anything," He insisted, "I just want to talk to you about something." He turned and pulled out a bag I'd not noticed him carry in. He pulled out a familiar blue book and showed it to me. "Your diary."
"It's a journal." I defended myself.
"Well it's really just a diary," Dad said with a shrug, "I'm sorry, but I read it."
"I don't really mind." I said nervously, "There was probably some stupid stuff in there." But Dad shook his head quickly.
"No, no there wasn't." He said, opening the book to the first page, "It stars with you getting the diary from your mother, and then about how awful I was treating you, and how annoying your brothers were and how much you loved Asami. And then how much you missed her. And then you stopped writing in it for a while." That seemed pretty accurate, but I could honestly not remember writing any of it, so I wasn't sure where this was going. "And then there was only one more entry." Dad said, "August sixth nineteen-ninety-nine."
"Just a few days after we met," Gomamon noted.
"Yes, well..." Dad said, clearing his throat and looking to the page. "The entry is about how you don't want to be a normal doctor. You don't want to do what everyone else thinks you're good at, or what they think that you want. You want to do what you want no matter what it costs you."
"But—" I started.
"No," He cut me off, "You were a very smart kid Jou. And I'm sorry for not allowing you the freedom that you deserved in planning out your future. If your mother was here you wouldn't be where you don't want to be, and so I have to tell you exactly what she would tell you. Do you remember what the last thing she said to you was?"
"Jou!" Mom called, "One more thing. If your father ever has a new woman in his life—I want you to love her exactly how you'd love me. Okay sweetheart?"
"I will pretend. But I can't love anyone as much as I love you."
"I love you Jou..." She said.
"I love you forever."
Slowly my eyes turned to the kitchen, to Aimi. I shook my head. I knew that wasn't what Dad was talking about, but I did promise Mom that I'd try to love Aimi... and so I'd start doing that. I would try very hard to love her.
"She said that she loved me." I tried.
"Oh," Dad said, "Well... not that. She said she was going to tell you... we had an argument about it—" As Dad started to explain the details of his argument with Mom I knew exactly what he meant. They only ever had one argument about me, and so I knew what he was talking about.
"Jou, I want you to promise me, that no matter what happens to you, or what happens to those around you... you will always stay exactly who you are. Always be Jou. Always be responsible—wise, caring... and when you grow up—promise me that you will follow your dreams, andnotas your father instructs."
"She told me to always be true to myself." I said quietly.
"Yes—that one." Dad said, clapping his hands together. "Jou... I admit to you that I've not been there for you when I should have been, but now I have to be. And as Asami would say, 'look inside your heart and find what you truly want.'"
"But I have everything I've ever wanted."
"No," Gomamon and Dad said together.
"Jou, you're not happy." Gomamon said.
"You don't want to be a normal doctor, Jou." Dad added, "You've never wanted that, and now here you are, being just that, because I drilled it into your brain, telling you that's what you wanted."
"But I'm also a veterinarian," I added quietly.
"But why?" Gomamon prodded, "Why did you want to be a vet?"
"So I could help Digimon and animals too." I explained, "I really am happy with this..." But was I really?
"Taichi moved to the Digital World." Gomamon pointed out. "You... could too?"
"You could become a Digimon doctor." Dad suggested, "Jou, you are the most fragile and frightened person ever, and yet you've been on so many adventures to save those digimon. You care so much about them. It's time you looked at what you truly wanted and put it to use. Unimon told me that there's never been a Digimon doctor before. That's you Jou. This is your destiny."
As he said it, I knew full well that it would be right for me. I knew that I wanted to be a doctor for the digimon that I'd fought so hard to protect. But I couldn't do that. I could never get money for that, and without that money I'd never be able to support my family...
"We're buying a house here in Japan," I said shaking my head, "I can't."
"But you can." Dad said with a grin. "Gomamon was helping me out..." he turned and pulled the bag back up and pulled out a folder full of papers. "That egg digimon and your quiet architect friend helped too."
"Who?" I asked.
"Kiyoko," Gomamon said, "Just hush up and listen."
Dad showed me the papers and instantly I felt like my entire world could fall into place. It was basically designs for an add-on to the house I was about to buy—but the add-on was in the Digital World. The location of the house was in exact correlation of my new home. The portals would lead to one another—I could have one big home spread across two dimensions. That way my family could still be on Earth, and I could be in the Digital World. Doing my job. Emiko could still live a normal life, and yet Bearmon, and Monmon, and more importantly, Gomamon, could live their lives in the world they were supposed to.
There was no downside.
Except Money. But before I could even bring that up, Dad had explained how he was paying for the add-on to be built to attempt to make up for all the wrong-doings he'd done to me in the past.
Everything was perfect. I threw my arms around him and hugged him.
"I helped!" Gomamon growled, hugging my waist.
"Isao?" We all turned to see Aimi in the doorway of the kitchen, "We really should get going."
"Oh, right!" Dad shouted, jumping to his feet, "We're going to be late! We have a date you see," he explained as his face flushed.
"I'll see you out." Momoe said. She led them to the door, Mimi at her heels and with a few quick goodbyes, they were all out the door.
"How do you feel?" Gomamon asked as I picked him up to head to the kitchen to find Emiko.
"Like everything in my life is perfect." I said with a giant smile, "You're the best Gomamon. Thank you."
"No problem." He said as I picked Emiko up before she could do anything evil.
"Daddy!" Emiko squirmed in my arms until I tickled her a little. She began laughing loudly and then snuggled up to me, tired after a long day with her grandfather. I was so happy that she'd have him in her life now. I was so happy about everything.
As I stepped into the living room I saw a frame of pictures that I usually would just walk by, and I remembered what Mimi had said.
You know how you've always wanted a happy family?
It really was all I ever wanted...
I was standing right in front of the fame of pictures now, looking at them all.
There was one of Momoe in the hospital after Fanglongmon's defeat, a few of my trips to New York to visit Mimi, the one that we'd taken after fighting Apocalymon, a slew of pictures of all of us from Miyako's wedding, a picture we'd taken the other day to symbolize our own wedding day, pictures of Iori and I on countless picnics and hikes and all the other things we'd done, a picture of Emiko throwing Daisuke's noodles back at him, and of course, the center picture. A picture of Gomamon and I on our first adventure together.
"Gomamon," I said suddenly, my smile even wider, "I finally have everything I've ever wanted. My life is perfect."
"For now." Gomamon joked, "Just wait until this one gets older." Emiko, as if on cue, had started pulling Gomamon's hair ferociously.
"Emiko!"I said loudly, "Not nice."
"Sorry." She said.
"I'm glad." Gomamon said, rubbing his head. "That your life is perfect. But why are you telling me?"
"Because it's important." I said with a shrug. "And the turning point, where everything started falling into place... was when I met you."
"Enough with the mushy stuff!" Gomamon said, but he was blushing, and I knew that he was happy. Just like I was. My life was going to turn out pretty darned well.
Daisuke Motomiya:
"Ramen's ready!" I shouted happily, ringing the bell, even though Jun was standing right next to me, rolling her eyes.
"I get it," she said. "You're thrilled to be working at your noodle-cart, whatever. We're your only customers right now, Daisuke."
"It's ten in the morning," I pointed out.
"Exactly," she said, grabbing my arm and dragging me to the picnic table next to my cart. I had set up in the park today, planning to use the various picnic tables to my advantage. "So sit down, and relax. You're not going to miss anything."
"And if anyone comes," Kurayami added. "You'll see them."
"I guess…" I said, sitting down, awkwardly watching Jun, Shuu and Kurayami eat their noodles. They had all ordered something different, and were sampling each others' dishes. Kurayami was being really enthusiastic about my new udon recipe, and Shuu was stuffing somen into his face at an alarming rate. They couldn't seem to stop themselves from raving about the food…which would have been great, had I not realized they were only being so enthusiastic because I happened to be sitting with them. The food was good don't get me wrong, it just wasn't that good. Not shout-it-from-the-rooftops good, like they were acting. I was all about the practical food choices that managed to be delicious. Mimi was insisting that I work on some healthier options…but I was a noodle cart. There was only so much I could do on that front.
"You should definitely try the somen," Shuu announced.
"I've tried it," I told him. "I created the recipe…"
"Right," Shuu said slowly. "So…"
"So…." I repeated.
"The wedding's coming up," Jun said. "It's going to the best wedding you've ever been to. I guarantee it."
"That's not hard," Kurayami pointed out. "The only weddings I remember attending were disastrous."
"Mine won't be," Jun said firmly, as if daring the world to prove her wrong. I was just glad there'd be a chance for her wedding to be destroyed. Not too long ago, things were a little iffy. We didn't know if there'd be a world to get married in. Now we did. And I was pretty sure that anything could've happened at her wedding and she wouldn't care, so long as she was Mrs Shuu Kido at the end of it.
"What's new with you guys?" Shuu asked, stuffing more somen into his mouth.
"Nothing, really," I said with a grin.
"How boring," Jun commented.
"Exactly," I said with a laugh. "We aren't risking our lives; we aren't a step behind some mysterious villain. Nothing. We are just relaxing. I mean, I'm working, but it's a noodle cart, it's not saving the world. It's a nice change of pace."
"I'm going to America soon," Kurayami offered. "With my father. There's something we need to do. Together. As what's left of our family."
"I hope you can manage to have fun while you're at it," Jun said uncertainly. I loved Kurayami, really I did, but sometimes I could've sworn that she said things just to see how Jun would react.
Shuu reached across the picnic table and rested his hand on top of Jun's. She smiled at him brilliantly, and turned her smile at us. She didn't say anything, she just exuded happiness. Veemon and Labramon were running around the park, having a blast as they played tag.
"Where are Otamamon and Meramon?" I asked.
"At home," Shuu said. "They're bonding because of the wedding. They're going to be family. They want to get along better, like Jou and I, or Jun and you, Daisuke."
"I make fun of Jun all the time," I said, causing Jun to slap me in the arm with a gasp. "Not to your face!"
"That's worse," Jun said with a laugh.
"He's just covering up the fact that he raves about how awesome of a big sister you are," Kurayami told her, giggling.
"Really now?" Jun asked, raising her eyebrow.
"Kurayami," I hissed playfully. "That was a secret."
"I love secrets," Jun said. "Especially ones like that one. I am an awesome big sister, aren't I?"
"When you're not being pigheaded," I teased.
"I am not!" she gasped, pushing me again.
"Excuse me?"
We turned to see a conserved, middle-aged woman. Her brown hair was cropped shorter than I remembered, and it was starting to streak with grey. She was looking at me nervously, and fiddling with the strap on her purse.
"Do you need something?" I said. I had to admit I was being cold, but she hadn't even attempted to contact me in four years. I was being perfectly justified.
"C-Could I get an order of noodles?" she asked quietly.
"You're going to need to be more specific than that, I've got several varieties to choose from."
"Some soba, perhaps?" she questioned. I sighed, she wasn't being very helpful, but got to my feet anyway, and threw some noodles into the pan, hesitating only for a second, as I tried to decide whether to give her a cilantro noodle bowl, just to spite her—as she didn't particularly care for cilantro or broccoli florets—but went with a different recipe instead. I tossed the noodles with a creamy ginger dressing and topped them with crispy tofu, tarragon and toasted delicata squash seeds. I put the noodles in a takeaway container and offered them to her. She handed me more money than necessary, and then refused to take the change.
"Keep it," she said. "It's not a big deal."
"Neither am I," I told her, only a little bit bitterly.
"You are though," she insisted.
"What are you doing here, Mom," I asked her with a sigh.
"I wanted to see my son," she told me, her eyes watering. If I hadn't felt the sting of abandonment for four years, the tears in her eyes might've warranted sympathy from me.
"Tired of the low grade food my competition offers?" I asked.
"This is far better," she admitted. "But that's not why."
"Why now?" I asked. "Why not when I needed you?"
"Jun said something," Mom said softly. "And then the world was invaded by giant robot monsters, and I didn't know where either of my children were. Or if you were okay. No one contacted me afterwards, and I assumed the worst. I've been trying to find you. Even before the attack. But I didn't want to seem weak. I wouldn't ask for help."
"Pride does that to you," I told her. "It's makes things harder, it's dangerous. I would know, not that you cared then either."
"I did care," she protested. "I've always cared."
"You've got a funny way of showing it," Jun said, taking my hand and standing next to me. "You started looking for him because of what I said? What part of my speech? The part where I told you that all Daisuke wanted or needed was love and support, or the part where I said you couldn't come to my future wedding unless you made up with him?"
"Both," she said. That wasn't such a fun thing to learn. Attending my sister's wedding was more important than me? Harsh.
"You should go then," Jun snapped. "He doesn't need a half-assed attempt. He needs his mother."
"I'm trying to give that to him!" Mom shouted. Jun stared at her with wide eyes. She hardly ever yelled when Jun was involved. The last time we'd had a conversation, there was a lot of yelling going on—mostly on Dad's part, but still…
"I miss him," Mom continued. "I've always missed him. There's a part of my heart that's been ripped away from me, and nothing I did could ever fill the void it left behind. You're my son. My baby boy. Your father is wrong, and I know that now. I didn't have the strength to disobey his orders before. But thinking I lost the both of you in that attack made me change my mind. Hearing Jun refuse to invite me to her wedding—thinking I pushed her away from me too—made me change my mind. I want my children."
"Why did it take so long?" I asked sounding ridiculously choked up.
"Daisuke," Kurayami said softly. "Are you okay here without me? I have to pack for my trip, but I can postpone it if you need me."
"Go ahead," I told her, looking between my girlfriend and my mother, my future and my past. It was time to face that past. "Send Veemon over though?"
"I will," she promised. She leaned over and kissed me softly on my cheek, but I caught her as she was pulling away, and gave her a swift kiss on the lips instead. I watched her walk across the grass to our frolicking digimon.
"She's pretty, Daisuke," Mom offered.
"Try gorgeous," Jun snapped.
"That too," Mom said softly.
"She is," I smiled. "She's great. Not perfect—she keeps reminding me—but nearly."
"She feels the same about him," Jun said. "It's almost sickening just how adorably in love they are, you know? Oh that's right. You don't know. Because you haven't been around."
"Jun, sweetheart," Shuu said. "Sit down and eat your noodles. Daisuke can defend himself. This is something he needs. Don't scare your mother away."
"But she could hurt him," Jun said. She was close to tears now, and I rolled my eyes. Mom couldn't hurt me much more than she already had.
"I don't want to hurt him," Mom insisted. "Not anymore."
"You could just be saying that," Jun protested.
"Sit down, Jun," I said. "Veemon can protect me, can't you buddy?"
"Sure can," Veemon said as he skipped to my side. "What are we talking about?"
"Doesn't matter bud," I said, patting his head. "Let's go for a walk Mom."
"Your noodle cart…"
"Jun can watch it, right Jun?" I asked.
"Sure, because I support it fully and always have," Jun said, not being able to resist another jab at Mom. I rolled my eyes, but found that a small part of me—just a teeny tiny part that was buried really deep down—was pleased to see that Mom winced at that. I led Mom down the path, and she took a second bite of the noodles she'd paid far too much for.
"I love you," Mom told me. "It might be hard to believe, but it's true. And nothing is going to change that, even if you do something that worries me, like open a noodle cart instead of furthering your education."
"I did further my education," I said. "I went to school for cooking. I know what I'm doing Mom. I've got a vision, and I'm really stubborn. I'll reach my goals. You know that."
"I don't know that," she corrected. "Not for sure. And that's what scares me."
"So instead of making sure I'd be okay, you send me off to fend for myself?" I asked with a snort. She was ridiculous.
"You left," she said. "I didn't make you leave."
"Yes, you did," Veemon informed her.
"You don't think you did, because you never said it. But it was either head to the streets and find happiness, or stay in a warm house and be miserable. It wasn't a real choice Mom," I told her.
"You lived on the streets?" Mom asked with wide eyes.
"No, I lived with the Yagamis," I said. "Now I live with Kurayami and Takeru Takaishi. I'm doing okay, Mom."
"I'm too late, aren't I?" she asked sadly.
"I don't know," I admitted.
"I am sorry…" she said, looking for all the world like she was going to burst into tears, but was holding it in. "I can just go."
She turned away from me, and took six steps before I could bring myself to do anything.
"Wait," I called. "You're still my Mom. There's a lot that's happened to me since I saw you last…if you wanted, you could stay. You've still got some noodles, right? I could maybe…tell you about it."
"I'd like that," she said.
"I don't know if this'll go anywhere," I warned.
"And I won't assume," she assured me.
"Go sit down," I instructed. "I'll meet you there."
She nodded and headed off to the picnic table, where Jun gave her a steely look, but let her sit down. One well placed comment about wedding plans, and Jun was suddenly blabbing on and on about her centre pieces.
"Are you sure about this Daisuke?" Veemon asked.
"You're goal was to be a Knight, and you did that. Mine was to connect with my family, if I could," I told him. "I can't risk missing this chance. This could be the only one I get, and I want my mother back."
"If it's going to make you happy," Veemon said. "Then go for it."
"I don't know if it will or not, but it might be fun to find out," I said with a grin.
"Then we'll both be happy," Veemon concluded.
"Finally," I agreed.
It sparked something in my memory though, of a time that seemed to be years ago, but only six months. On New Year's Day I made a vow to make sure my friends were as happy as I was then, with Kurayami. I didn't do a thing to work on my goal. If anything, with my bout of pride, I did the exact opposite. Hikari and Takeru got together, and were happy though. And Mimi and Koushiro were still together. Rei and Taichi started dating too. Yamato was alone again though, and so were Willis, Mari, Hideto, Neo and Kiyoko…
And Sora.
She'd had the worst year of us all. She'd dated Neo twice, ending it both times, and she didn't make it into school, and there was the hate club and of course…she died too.
She was the perfect choice. I'd have to do something to help her get to happiness. It wouldn't involve a guy though. She didn't need that. She needed something for her. Just for her.
"Hey, Veemon," I called suddenly, looking over to the picnic table quickly, noticing that Shuu's brother Shin had joined them, and was trying to steal what was left of Jun's noodles. I supposed I'd have to get back to work.
"Yeah, Daisuke," he asked.
"I was thinking of hiring someone to help out at the noodle cart," I told him. "What do you think?"
"Sounds…good…I guess," he mumbled.
"I'm looking for someone about three and a half feet tall, preferably a bright blue, ancient digimon. Any ideas?" I questioned. He looked up at me with wide eyes.
"You mean it?" he asked with a grin. "You said no one wanted to buy noodles from a blue dinosaur thing though…"
"Nah, with Katsue's new movie coming out, everyone's going to want to buy from the mon that saved the world. So, what do you say?" I asked. "I'd really like to work alongside my very best friend."
"You got yourself a deal," Veemon said, jumping up and down in excitement. "Now let's talk paycheck."
I started laughing, and he broke into peals of laughter not long after. "C'mon," I said, sticking my hands in my pocket and gesturing over to my noodle cart, where my mother was waiting. "Let's get to work, partner."
"I'll race you there!" Veemon shouted, and we started running.
Takeru Takaishi:
"Are you sure I should be doing this?" I asked nervously, confused as to how the whole relationship thing worked since the only one I'd ever been in was sort of one sided. Hikari was walking with me, her hand in mine—everything I'd wanted for the longest time—and Patamon was sitting on my head. The three of us were headed through the crowded street toward the airport to see Catherine off. She'd come and stopped by after the big battle to check in on us all. I was relieved to find that she was okay, but she didn't say a word to me, instead she'd just sent me a text message in mostly correct Japanese telling me to come see her off at the airport.
"Of course." Hikari insisted, "Takeru I love you. I think I trust you enough to say goodbye to your ex-girlfriend."
"Well she doesn't know we're dating." I told her quietly, "What if she tries to get back together with me?"
"Then you do what you think is right." She said. I felt her hand twitch a little in my hold and I had a feeling I knew what she was thinking. She was scared I'd leave her for Catherine—which was the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard.
"Hikari," I said, stopping and looking to her, pulling her hand up high and holding it with both of my own. "I love you too. So much. I always have. No other girl, and that includes Catherine, could ever change that fact. I know you probably have trust issues due to your relationship with Willis—but you genuinely don't have to worry about anything like that. I'll be with you for as long as you'll let me to be."
Hikari bit her lip as she looked up to me, and with a sudden jump, she'd thrown her arms around my neck and kissed me again. "You..." She stumbled, "You just..."
"You don't have to say anything," I told her with a laugh, unable to force the smile away. That was only the second time she'd kissed me—I'd waited so long for that, and it was going to take a lot of getting used to. In a good way.
"No, I do." She insisted, shaking her head, causing her little braid to bounce a little. She was wearing a pink shirt that almost looked like a dress, with white capris underneath, and a white cardigan as well. She was so pure and wholesome—all the time. And it was adorable. I wasn't wearing anything similar at all—which was good because I probably couldn't pull that look off. I was wearing a buttoned t-shirt with one of Yamato's hand-me-down jackets—not leather of course, he'd never let them go. "Takeru, just listen for a minute. I'm terrible with words." She laughed nervously then shook it off.
"Just say what's in your heart." Patamon suggested. I looked up at him and rolled my eyes, but when I looked to Hikari she was smiling.
"Well," She said, "it's weird because this feeling has always been there—always. But I never really noticed it because I never understood it. I just thought it meant that you were close to me—which it did, but it meant so much more than that as well. It meant that I was in love with you, and it meant that I always wanted to be there for you, and it meant that we were meant to be together. And Takeru... I am so sorry for not noticing it sooner—"
"Don't be." I said flatly as I continued walking, her hand in mine again, "It doesn't matter about our past relationships, really, because we're together now, and we have the rest of our lives to work that out."
"You're moving pretty fast there." Patamon pointed out. "I'm not even programmed for relationships and I know that."
"I don't mind though." Hikari said, staring to the ground, "We deserve an odd relationship. We're quite an odd couple." I looked to her confused, "Well, I mean, how many couples can say that they got together in the midst of saving the world?"
"Koushiro and Mimi," Patamon said quickly.
"Yamato and Sora," I pointed out.
"Taichi and Rei," Hikari added quietly. "So just three."
"Daisuke and Kurayami," I said.
"Alright, well four." She laughed, "Out of all the couples in the world. That's pretty spectacular if you ask me."
"Spectacular..." I said slowly, "That's a good word to describe us." I motioned my hand across the sky, "'Takeru and Hikari, the spectacular couple.' It'll be on signs everywhere!" Hikari laughed but Patamon just rolled his eyes. I could tell because he did the dramatic sigh he always put along with it. We continued walking toward the airport which was only another ten minutes away.
So much had happened in the last few days. First Iori had had a seizure mixed with a prophetic vision, then Sora was killed, then we had a giant battle for all nine worlds, then Sora came back, Hikari and I got together and we saved everything.
Except Lalamon.
I felt terrible for Mari. I sympathized with her well having lost Patamon twice, but I'd never had to face the music when it came to losing him for good. Lalamon was killed on Earth with no chance of her coming back. It was the worst thing that could have happened. We get one friend back just to lose another. I was hoping desperately for a happy ever after for every one of us. We all deserved it, really we did...
But at the same time, Sora coming back was a giant miracle. Honestly I hadn't noticed. Not even for a second, and I felt terrible—but to be fair, Hikari and I had arrived in the heat of the battle, there wasn't exactly time for us to notice our friend had come back. But when we had...
"What do you think they're saying?" Jou asked quietly, as we watched Kurayami and Miyako talk to Norn who was glowing and floating in front of us. I could see that Daisuke wanted to go over and talk too, even more than I did, but we both knew this was between the three of them, for whatever reason. But Daisuke definitely had more right to go over than I did, being one of the Holy Three, and her adoptive... friend person.
"Honestly, I have no idea." Koushiro muttered, "I'm not sure." As he said it, the other two groups were merging with ours, until all of us were watching together. "It's probably something about Norn ruling over the worlds or something."
"I still don't think it's fair that I can't go." Daisuke groaned.
"Tell me about it." Ken sighed.
"Oh get used to it boys." Sora said, "When you want to get in on private conversations in this group of friends you only find yourself in a state of constant disappointment." She was obviously talking about how she'd been constantly nagging Taichi and Koushiro in attempts to join the ranks of the Council that Taichi ruled over.
"Oh boo," Taichi said, "You listen in on every meeting."
"Plus every other private conversation any of us have ever had." Iori said.
Sora stuck her tongue out at him and I remembered that the two had had a falling out over Iori dating Natsuni. That was right before Sora had gone out after Neo and—died.
"Sora?" I said suddenly. Apparently the shock in my voice had flipped a switch in Hikari's brain too because suddenly she was staring at her as if she was a crazy monster—not that I blamed her—the last time we'd seen Sora she'd transformed into a giant monster trying to kill her. Sora turned to me with an attempted smile on her face as if she was confused. "Sora...?" I said again, unable to say anything. She nodded and then I was hugging her, with Hikari doing the same a second later.
"How?" Hikari asked, squeaking with excitement.
"Ask Mimi." Sora said, waving her hand lazily.
"How?" I asked, turning to Mimi instatntly.
"Well," Mimi started.
"You went back in time?" Hikari cut her off, and Mimi nodded, "Brilliant! Mimi that's brilliant!"
"You can go back in time?" I asked.
"Of course I can," Mimi said with a shrug of her shoulders, "I told you this."
"You were serious?" I asked her, my voice rising.
"Brilliant!" Hikari said again, before turning to hug Sora.
"Was it though?" Mari asked quietly, "You went back and saved Gennai and everyone died. What... what if saving Sora... does that again?" Mari winced at the looks everyone gave her, but if what she said was true, then she had a point. Plus she had nothing to fear, no one would ever say anything to her that would hurt her—she'd just lost her partner.
"It won't." Mimi assured everyone, "Gennai made it clear that all the Digidestined had to survive, and need I remind you all that we completely won? And saved the world? What could possibly go wrong?"
"Well, theoretically—" Koushiro started.
"It was a rhetorical question dear," Mimi said, rolling her eyes. And I was most definitely on her side. I turned my attention back to Sora and hugged her again.
In the midst of our celebrations back on Earth I had demanded that Sora and I spend a day together—she was back and I couldn't waste any of my time with her. We'd set a day on the weekend where we were planning on going to the beach or someplace fun.
"Well," Hikari said, drawing my attention back to her and the present time, "We're here."
I looked up and almost groaned when I saw that we were standing in front of the airport. There were so many people moving in and out of the building. How was I even going to find Catherine?
"Well, let's go." I said, trying to pull Hikari along with me, but she stood her ground and her hand slipped from mine. "Uhm, you forgot to come."
She smiled and shook her head, "This one is all you Takeru." She said with a wink.
"Okay." I nodded, "You wait here, come on Patamon." I turned to walk to the door, but Patamon was floating away from my head a second later, heading toward Hikari. I turned and glared at him, "You too?"
"It's like Hikari said," He said, "This one is all you."
"But I can't do it alone!" I said, "I'm scared!"
"You slew a dragon with a sword Takeru," Hikari giggled, "I think you can handle a pretty French girl."
She was right of course. It was just Catherine. What was the worst that could happen? I waved fairly confidently to Hikari and Patamon before turning and striding straight into the crowd heading into the building.
Inside was cramped, and as the crowd moved there was no getting away from them, I felt like a sheep being herded. They were surrounding me and pushing me around, and stepping on me. There were so many different voices painting the air in front of me that I couldn't even concentrate on what was happening in my own head. I decided that the best chance I'd have would be to get out of the crowd and find some higher ground to find Catherine with, but getting out of the crowd wasn't an easy task. Eventually I did however find myself stumbling away from the crowd and toward a wall.
I slammed into it and spun around seeing that most of the crowd itself had stopped as well. They were all staring up at the television set above them. On the screen was a man in the top right corner talking about the events taking place on the rest of the screen. It was Yamato and MetalGarurumon fighting against the metal beasts that had rampaged our world.
"...we don't really know what went on," The man was saying, "But we're here with someone who does." The screen changed to the man again, sitting behind a desk, and next to him in a comfy looking red chair was Katsue, looking particularly nice. "Katsue, is it?" She nodded, "Alright, will you tell us what happened in the battle against Earth and these creatures."
"I can." She nodded.
There was a long moment of silence before the man said, "Will you tell us?"
"Nope." She said with a shrug, "The full, complete story complete with footage, not only on Earth, but also the Digital World—where the true battle took place. It'll be released in a bit, I just have to throw it together. I'll release it to the world when I have it edited, and have recorded a few interviews. I'll let you in on a little secret though. It involves Digimon."
"Boo!" I jumped, turning to see Catherine. Her hair was pulled back in a bun and she was wearing jogging pants and a sweater—comfy clothes to go flying in. Clearly she hadn't bothered with looking her best, which set my mind at ease a bit. "What are you watching?" She asked. I pointed to the screen and she turned to watch as well.
"Well, sir," She said with a shrug, "Digimon are creatures that have been constantly erased from your minds. They've been here so many times, and a lot of you might think I'm crazy. But just wait until my movie comes out. You'll all be amazed—I'll be filling you in on all the little details. That stack of books that you think looks out of place—take a closer look at it. It's not a stack of books at all. It's a digimon that has a spell placed on it to confuse your minds."
"Alright, we'll be back right after this," The host said, "Hopefully with a sane guest."
"She's not crazy!" Catherine shot loudly, but no one listened, everyone was just laughing and moving on. How could they find that crazy when they'd just been invaded by those giant robots. Well they wouldn't think she was crazy after seeing her movie. At least, I hoped not. Or did I?
"Do you think it's a good idea for her to tell everyone about the digimon?" I asked, turning to Catherine.
She nodded quickly and simply, "Yes." She said, "I think it's more important than any of us know. Don't you think it's time that everyone got a partner? Every human has a digital representative—so why aren't we allowing them to meet up? I think it's about time."
"You're right." I said with a small nod. She really was. Who were we to keep them from having their partners? I mean, it wasn't Catherine's decision to make, nor mine, but if it was, I'd let them have them. They were all missing out right now, and that wasn't fair. Iori's grandfather had only barely had time to meet his own partner—what if others didn't get even that chance?
"So," Catherine said, "I don't have much time, I just wanted to say something really quick."
"What's that?" I asked her.
"I'm so happy that you and Hikari are together," She said quickly, and before I could respond she was talking again, "I know I threw myself at you a little bit—but I really just am happy for you. Hikari and you deserve each other and it was obvious the two of you were meant to be. I'm happy."
"Thank you," I said as she hugged me. How did she even know we were in a relationship? She'd barely seen us—maybe it was just that obvious, either way, I was so happy that she was happy for us rather than angry or resenting us.
"I mean, I'm sad," She said, "But I'll get over it. And one last thing." She put her hands on my shoulders. "I want a copy of your finished manuscript. Is it done yet? Whenever it is—I need it."
"I think it finally is done." I told her. "Why do you need it?"
"Well my cousin works in publishing," She said, "He will most definitely publish it—especially when your friend Katsue releases an action movie starring all of the characters in the book. Everyone will want to know the whole story—and you are the only one who can tell it."
"Catherine—" I wanted to tell her how thankful I was, and how much it meant to me, but she just stood on her toes and kissed me on the cheek.
"I have to go." She said, "My plane is boarding. Send it to me!"
And then she was backing up before suddenly melting into the crowd, leaving me alone there. I was genuinely happy though. Everything seemed to be turning out perfectly. The humans wouldn't be helpless, my book was getting published, Hikari and I were together—what else could be fixed?
As I stepped outside and saw Patamon sitting alone, I had a feeling I was going to find the answer to that question. I looked around for Hikari for a second, but didn't spot her, so I hurried to sit with Patamon.
"Oh, you're here." He said, looking up at me with a smile, "I just have something to say." I was excited for whatever it was, and I wasn't even sure why. I could only hope it was good news.
"One of my biggest dreams has always been to feel love," Patamon said bluntly, "And I knew digimon weren't meant to love though. We don't need to. Mummymon was definitely in love with Arukenimon, but that was because they were programmed from a human. Oikawa—so I thought my life was doomed to be love-less. And when Sora died, I really thought it was a sign. But then I remembered what Kiyoko told me... you don't have to be able to reproduce to feel love."
"That's a good point," I nodded.
"Yes," He said, "Well, one day I hope to really find someone to love. But until then... I really don't need it. Because I have you. And I love you."
"I love you too Patamon," I said, pulling him into my arms. "I'm happy you came to terms with all of this, but you know you can tell me anything, I could've helped you."
"Well I wasn't sure if you'd understand."
"I would make myself understand. Just for you." I said.
"You're the best!" He said, snuggling further into my arms. "Hikari's waiting for us to finish by the way." He pointed over toward a tree where I saw her sitting, looking toward us, she waved when she noticed us looking her way. I waved back and then turned back to Patamon. "I'm kind of hungry."
"Do you want to go to that all day breakfast place?" I asked, "I know you like eggs and bacon."
"Is that another pig joke?" He asked loudly, "I'M NOT A PIG TAKERU!"
"I know," I told him with a smile.
Willis Kennedy:
"Won't be needing this..." I said sadly, dropping a picture of my mother into the trash in the corner of my bedroom.
"You can't move," Michael said flatly, "You just can't."
"I'm telling you once more," I told him calmly as I placed a pile of my boxers into the open suitcase laying on my bed. "I'm not moving Michael." Michael was sitting at the end of my bed in the center, his legs crossed, pleading me not to do something I was already not doing. Betamon was in his lap watching the two of us. It was hard to not stare at the gauging scars lining his back, but I knew it was rude to do so—they were just so frightening. How could someone have done that? I know Michael said that it had been the shadow who wanted his body—thus the Devil himself, so did he have any remorse? Probably not.
Terriermon and Lopmon were there too, jumping around across the floor like a rabbit and a dog who likes to jump.
"You certainly look like you're moving." Michael said, waving his hands dramatically at everything I'd packed, which was virtually everything. There were three suitcases already filled with my clothing, and a few boxes here and there filled with random trinkets I held close to my heart.
"Well I'm not." I assured him as the door was kicked open. Jenna led Kudamon into the room while holding a tray of fruits and cheese. The moment she'd entered the room Terriermon and Lopmon stopped playing and turned their heads toward the tray.
"I want the fruit!" Terriermon argued.
"I want the cheese!" Lopmon settled.
"Fine!" Terriermon barked, "Then I want the cheese too!"
"I wanted it first!" Lopmon shouted.
"NO I WANTED IT FIRST!" with that, Terriermon had tackled Lopmon to the ground and the two started rolling around trying to kill each other. I froze and watched them for a moment, unable to keep from smiling. On one hand, their fighting was a bad thing, on the other hand, they were fighting again. Which meant that Lopmon was truly happy again. She'd been living so far in the clouds that she hadn't paid any mind to those of us down on Earth, but now she was back with us.
"Aren't you going to stop them?" Jenna asked as she placed the tray of food on the bed. Betamon and Kudamon were hurrying toward the food a moment later.
"Right," I said quickly, moving toward the two of them and grabbing Terriermon around the waist, pulling him into my arms so Lopmon could escape. Terriermon and Lopmon were still screaming at each other before bursting into laughter. "Do you think Alice and I would fight?" I said, putting Terriermon down.
"Well it's hard to fight with someone who's..." Jenna trailed off after realizing what she was saying.
"Dead, I know." I told her, "I just... siblings fight right? I think Terriermon and Lopmon's relationship is a lot like how my relationship with Alice would have gone." It made sense to me... we were twin siblings after all, and ultimately I felt like that meant we'd love each other more than anything, but also hate each other to the core of our being. But I never got that chance. I never got the chance to do anything at all... I wondered for a moment what kind of music she would have liked, or what kind of food she ate. For some reason I had painted a detailed picture in my head as if I knew her, but how could that be? There was no way she could be the person in my head... and I had no way of asking her these things.
Slowly my eyes narrowed in on the rusted key laying on the top of my dresser.
"No." I said aloud. Jenna and Michael turned to me, but I didn't elaborate. I couldn't go, Alice had told me that it was a bad idea. Besides, she'd helped me out before... maybe she'd appear again and I could just talk to her then... I did however know that I was going to be tempted to use that key. Could I possibly go a whole lifetime without using it again when I knew that I could?
"So where are you headed?" Jenna asked, tossing a grape into the air and catching it with her open mouth.
"He's moving." Michael said flatly.
"Am not!" I shot, "I'm just spending some time in Japan for a while, okay?"
"He's moving." Michael clarified wrongly. Jenna was looking back and forth between the two of us and finally gave up trying to make an opinion.
"Just tell me what's going on." She said.
"Hikari and I broke up because our relationship sucked," I said simply. Both of them looked to me as if I was crazy, but it did tie in if they'd just sit and listen, so I continued before either could interject. "She was an independent person, and I sort of expected everything to be in my favour. That's not what love is. Love is about making sacrifices, especially when the other person needs someone there with her."
"You're living in Japan to spend time with Mari?" Jenna asked.
"Well... yeah." I admitted, "But only for a while. I'm moving back here eventually. This is my home guys. It's my dream house. I can't give it up."
"Even for Mari?" Michael asked.
"It's her dream house too." I said, "We used to sneak around and stare at it all the time. With Marshall."
"That idiot?" Jenna laughed, "Where is he anyway?"
"I dunno, lost track of him." I admitted.
"Just don't go!" Michael whined, laying down on the bed. "I don't want to be alone with her."
"You won't be." I said as Jenna slapped the back of Michael's head. "Your girlfriend lives here too, plus you have Betamon, and Monodramon and Kudamon. I promise I'll be back anyway. Why don't you believe me?"
"Because you're packing that." He said pointing directly at the nearest box. The box was topped with a photograph, and underneath it all was everything about Alice and my dad that I'd found in the attic. I moved toward it and grabbed the photograph. It was of my Dad holding Alice and I as babies.
I turned to the mirror hanging above my dresser and stuck the photograph between the frame and the glass. "There." I said. "Now you know I'll come back." I had no intention of not coming back, so it didn't hurt me to not bring the picture... but as I stared at it I found that my hand had acted on its own, grabbing the key from the dresser top. As I turned around I was placing it in my pocket. "You know I couldn't leave you guys. You're my family now."
"I finally have the brother I always wanted!" Jenna and Michael said together.
Everyone turned to Jenna confused, and she simply shrugged, "What?" She asked, "I never wanted you." She poked the side of Michael's face and he swatted her hand away as I laughed.
"Well I've always wanted a sibling too." I said, looking over my shoulder the picture for a moment. "I think it was clear in my childhood that I needed one. That's where Terriermon and Lopmon came in. They changed my life completely."
"Yeah. You changed ours too." Terriermon said, his face full of grapes.
"We didn't have a life before Willis..." Lopmon pointed out, "We weren't born yet."
"Exactly!" Terriermon said.
"Well..." I said, grinning at the two of them, so happy to have things back to normal. Even if I was throwing caution to the wind and moving to my little apartment in Japan for a bit, potentially screwing up the 'normal' I'd fought so hard to get back. "Anyway, the two of you remind me a lot of Alice." I said to Jenna and Michael, "I mean, I don't know her well, but at the same time... I just do." I turned to Jenna, "I know that she wouldn't take crap from anybody. I know she was smart and courageous..." I turned to Michael then, "And I know she wasn't afraid to be herself, and she cared so much. And she was as strong as ever..." there was a moment of silence that I found to be quite awkward, "Also she dressed gothic," I pointed to Jenna.
"I'm over the gothic look though." Jenna said, "I'm thinking I'm going Victorian next! It'll be great."
"That sounds amazing," I smiled to her. The two of them talked for a while as I packed my things, throwing my socks into my suitcase. After a while Terriermon perked his ears up and jumped up to the window.
"Hey!" he yelled, "hey! Hey! Hey!"
"Oh my God, you are a dog." Jenna laughed. "What is it?"
"Someone's coming in the lane!" He shouted, "HEY!"
I moved to the window and pulled the curtain aside and groaned. The car had stopped and my mother was getting out of the driver's seat. How splendid.
"You guys wait here." I suggested.
"No way," Jenna said, shaking her head, "I'm not hiding from anyone."
"I like bothering her." Terriermon said honestly.
"Me too." Lopmon grinned.
"Well... alright," I said with a sigh, "Just don't intentionally cause a scene."
Jenna, Terriermon and Lopmon all rolled their eyes in unison, but didn't object. Michael decided he'd wait for us to get back, and spend some time with Betamon and Kudamon instead of putting up with Mom. We all pretty much knew that this was going to be a mess. It always was with my Mom. The four of us hurried down the hall and to the top of the stairs, the others walking with so much more confidence than I was myself.
At the bottom of the stairs Tatum was wearing some sort of billowy dress that looked far too fancy for everyday wear. I had a feeling my mother was going to point that out, and I was about to find out because Tatum was opening the front door.
My mother stepped through the door and smiled uncomfortably at Tatum, and then turned to see me.
"Welcome to the home of Sir Kennedy," Tatum said in a mocking voice, "May I take your coat, perhaps prepare a cup of tea for you?"
"Oh," Mom said turning to her and nodding, "That sounds nice."
"I was joking." Tatum said, her face falling. Jenna snickered, but I ignored her, I just wanted to get this talk over with. I walked down the stairs, aware of the others following me. "I'll just go then?" Tatum offered, backing up quickly.
"No, don't!" Mom shouted. Tatum froze and turned back to her slowly.
"Well I'm not going to stand here and let you insult me again." Tatum said boldly, "I'd really rather you didn't make me cry myself to sleep again." I had a feeling Tatum hadn't actually cried herself to sleep, and was instead using this as a form of guilt tripping her.
"Well I wasn't planning on it." Mom said awkwardly.
"Then what were you planning on doing?" Tatum asked, "Because every time you talk to me I feel worse about myself. I imagine you've come to talk to your son, so please, feel free to do so, but in the process you don't need to make everyone else feel upset."
"I wanted to apologize." Mom said quietly.
I wanted desperately for someone else to say anything because I didn't know what to say. No one was saying anything though, and as I looked around they were all stone faced, just like I was. She'd been so... evil... and suddenly she wanted us to forgive her...? She was apologizing? What had happened?
"Well," Terriermon said, finally breaking the silence. "Didn't see that one coming."
"That's my fault," Mom said perfectly calmly, taking a step forward. She stopped when she noticed everyone retracting with confusion and then she began to panic. "I didn't mean for it to come so far—I just wanted—and then—and we—Willis, can't you—And I—"
"I think you'd better take a breath and relax for a minute." Tatum said, moving toward her and putting her hand on Mom's arm. Mom nodded quickly and did as instructed. After a few seconds of just breathing she finally relaxed and readied herself for her much needed apology.
"When... Willis," she looked up to me as if pointing me out. I knew who I was Mom. C'mon. Move along with the story. "When he was all I had left I had to put myself out there more than I was comfortable doing. And I didn't mind. Because I knew it was all for Willis... but everything in my life had gone wrong. My parents were right. Keith wasn't the right man for me—and they kicked me out of their house only for Keith to leave me and take my daughter with him." She cupped her hand around her mouth, her eyes watering. I was already scared to where this was going. I had no perception or predictions of what she might be aiming for. I looked to the top of the stairs and debated hiding from the story, but my mood changed quickly when I saw Michael's leg around the corner. He was eavesdropping, and that was pretty funny.
"That's great," Jenna said, "but I'm still not sure how that is an apology."
"I'm getting there." Mom said adjusting the strap of her purse, "I promise." She cleared her throat and looked to the floor, "I was an independent woman. The type of woman I always looked up to but never aspired to be. I was more of a damsel in distress. I'll admit it. Then when I found that you were a genius—and were able to take care of yourself... You didn't need me. And so I found myself feeling worthless, bathing in self pity. And then I found that you could support me too. Then there was no need to work, or even leave the apartment... and I began using you. Using you without realizing how awful it was—I was the worst person I could imagine... and when you started standing up to me... I thought I was losing you. I couldn't lose you because you were still the only thing I had left. And without you... I'd die. I needed your money."
"And the Mom-of-the-Year award goes to..." Jenna said sarcastically.
Mom looked to her, worried, and then back to me, hoping for a reaction, but my face was still expressionless. "Then I met Michael, and I honestly felt true love. I kept forgetting that he was rich. I was just... I had something else to fight for. But then I found that those two... things."
"They still have names." I said, finally saying something.
"Terriermon," Lopmon said.
"And I'm Lopmon," Terriermon joked. "Nice to meet you. I'm a girl rabbit who likes looking for things."
Lopmon glared at him, "And I'm a boy rabbit who is fat and mean and dumb."
"I'm a dog!" Terriermon barked, ready to tackle Lopmon. Jenna and I reached down in unison and picked one up each.
"Yes... you two. Terriermon and Lopmon." Mom nodded, "Well... I found out that they were doing your chores. They were taking care of you. You may have been a genius, but you weren't fully independent. You really did need me... and I wasn't there for you... but they were. And I resented them for it... when I should have been angry with myself."
"It's not your fault," Lopmon said from Jenna's arms, "When we came around you were still working. You were trying to be around."
"You just had too much to do, and Willis was alone." Terriermon said. "But he raised us really well. Because you raised him well."
"For a while." They clarified together.
"Then you screwed up." Terriermon finished.
Mom pointed to him, "That." She said, "That is what my problem was. I screwed up raising Willis, and then everything went to my head in awful, terrible ways. I began thinking that since I was rich that I was better than everyone else. I was better than your two... digimon creature... things... because... Well, I was rich, I had raised you, I knew best. Of everything. But I didn't. Jenna, your gothic attire bothered me because I didn't understand it. I didn't understand it when Keith had sent me a photograph of my daughter dressed almost the same as you either. And I thought I was the better parent because Willis turned out fine. So I tried to parent you too. And it was wrong. Because I was wrong. I wasn't the better parent... you were, Willis."
"Me?" I asked, pointing to myself with my thumb, and Mom nodded.
"I just wanted you all to know that." Mom said, "I wanted you," She turned to Tatum, "to know that you are gorgeous. Your hair is so red and pretty—I'm jealous. You are perfect Tatum. I'm so sorry for telling you otherwise. And Michael... he's such a smart boy. I haven't had much time to bond with him, but you and he will make the most beautiful children one day."
"Mom!" I hissed. Tatum's face turned red and I heard Michael choke on some sort of fruit at the top of the stairs.
Mom looked past me and to the second floor, "Michael?" She asked, "Is that you?" He leaned over and waved, but said nothing. His face was bright red since he'd just choked.
"Hi!" Betamon shouted, jumping into view with Kudamon on his back.
"And those two!" Mom said smiling, "I don't even know them. But I'd love to. As well as your friend." She said, turning back to Tatum. "I would love the chance to make things right with all of you." She turned her head to Jenna who squirmed under her gaze, "I am genuinely sorry for everything I've said and done to you. I am not your mother, and I cannot fix you."
"We—" Jenna started.
"Because there is nothing to fix." Mom said quickly. "You are a brilliant girl, and I hope we can have a bond that I've always dreamed of. I hope you can be the daughter I've always wanted. You are everything I want to be Jenna. Smart, brave, kind, strong..."
Everyone was looking at Jenna who was staring at Mom as if she was about to explode, but she said nothing, so Mom looked down to Lopmon and then over to Terriermon. "I want to apologize for taking so long to learn your names." She said, "And hating your kind because of my petty disgusting reasoning. You two saved me more times than I can count, and I need to thank you for that."
"We've saved you twice." Lopmon said.
Terriermon cupped his hands around his mouth and whispered loudly to Lopmon, "She can't count very high!"
Mom raised her eyebrows and almost laughed, which was incredible. It was so rare that I could see her smile, or laugh or genuinely be happy, and Terriermon and Lomon, who she'd hated for so long, had almost made it happen already.
"And I'd like to thank you for being there for my son when I should have been." Mom said slowly, "I owe you two more than I could ever pay you back." And finally she turned to me. "And Willis..."
"You don't have to say anything." I said, stepping off of the bottom step and walking toward her until I was standing only a few feet away.
"I do." She said.
"You've said enough." I told her, "You've said it all."
"I'll have never said enough." She corrected.
"Then there's really no need." The two of us stared at each other for a while, and as Terriermon climbed up on my shoulders I stepped forward and hugged her. "I never lost hope that you'd come back."
"I never left Hon," She said, gripping me tighter. "I was always there... just with a clouded vision. It's good to be back."
I pulled away and smiled at her, but then paused, "I do have one question though."
"What's that?"
"What brought this on?" I asked.
"Two things." She said quietly, "Firstly, your friend Marshall—" "—not my friend—" "was an ass. He was so mean and vile. I hated everything about him. But he was exactly like me. In so many ways. I realized that I thought I was better all because of the money I had. The only difference between us was that he was poor—which was awful. I truly realized how awful I'd been..."
"Marshall actually made something good happen." Terriermon laughed.
"By being a jerk," Lopmon said.
"And the other thing?" Tatum asked softly, "What was it?"
"I just... missed you Willis." Mom said, her eyes watering again. We were hugging again after that, and Terriermon and Tatum joined in. Soon Lopmon, and Michael, and even Betamon, Kudamon and Monodramon were hugging us, and I could hardly breathe...
But then we all turned to Jenna who was standing by herself, her lips pursed and her arms crossed. She looked deadly with her gothic clothing.
"What about you Jenna?" Mom asked, "Could you forgive me?"
Jenna stepped carefully off of the steps, her heels clicking against the tiled floor. She slowly looked toward Mom and sighed, "My motto is to always treat people with the respect that they treat you. And so," she stepped toward the crowd of us and reached for Mom's hand. "How about I make you that tea you wanted?" Mom took her hand and smiled brightly before pulling her into a hug. "Oh, actually," Jenna said, "Not really much of a hug person." She pushed away from Mom who was still beaming at her.
"Where is Hikari?" Mom asked, "I need to apologize to her as well."
"We broke up." I told her. Mom gasped, "Like a month and a half ago."
"I'm so sorry..." She said.
"No, it's for the best." I told her.
"I guess we have a lot of catching up to do..." She said, nervously looking away.
"How about we do that over the cup of tea?" I offered.
"Sounds perfect." She said.
"I'll be right there." I said, looking up the stairs. "I just have one thing to do first." She nodded and allowed Jenna, Michael and the digimon to lead her into the kitchen. I looked to Tatum who was staring to the other side of the room, a shocked look on her face. I spun around quickly.
Standing at the other side of the room was a woman in an autumn coloured kimono with blonde locks, a young girl in gothic clothing with her hair tied in two blonde pigtails, and a man who smiled to me with the very same mouth and eyes I saw every time I looked in the mirror. I turned back to Tatum and smiled at her, and when we looked back, the three of them were gone.
I looked back to Tatum again who just nodded and headed toward the kitchen allowing me to run up the stairs two at a time and whip down the hallway and into my bedroom. I looked around at all my packing—I'd finish that later, but as for that moment...
I reached into the trash and pulled out the picture of my mother, smiling at it before adding it to the mirror where the picture of Dad, Alice and I was still placed.
"What are you doing?" Lopmon asked, poking her head into the room.
"Just putting things back where they belong." I said with a grin as I fell back to sit on the bed, staring at the mirror.
"Well that's just cheesy." Terriermon added, jumping up onto the bed and scooting over to sit next to me.
"Sometimes cheesy is necessary." Lopmon said, reaching for the tray of food and picking up a piece of cheese, "I, for one, quite like cheese."
"I like it more." Terriermon shot.
"Guys," I said sharply, "Seriously. Important moment here." They both nodded and moved even closer to me. "Honestly... I always hoped she'd come back you know... I wanted you two to get to know her. She's really a good person deep down."
"Oh, I know." Lopmon said with a smile.
"Me too." Terriermon agreed.
"How is that?" I asked.
"Well, it's like we said," Lopmon said, "She raised you. You're the best person I know Willis."
"What about me?" Terriermon asked.
"You're the best dog I know." Lopmon smiled with caused Terriermon to blush. "We're all really awesome—but without your Mom to raise you, you wouldn't have raised us right, and if your mom wasn't a good person she'd never have made us all so amazing."
I couldn't help but smile then. "All three of us." I nodded, "We really are amazing aren't we?"
"But I'm the best." We all said together.
Kiyoko Izumi:
It was hard, letting go of Sigma entirely. There were so many things he managed to leave behind both for me and within me. The problems he caused for me would have to be dealt with over time, perhaps with help from Kurayami, who also knew what it was like to be possessed by someone so completely, that you forget who you really are. She had managed a full recovery from Fanglongmon's hold, and I hoped she could assist me in doing the same—though I couldn't fight off the bout of doubt that had embedded itself within my heart.
The physical objects that Sigma left though…I could deal with them quickly, and was sitting at the table in the kitchen of our apartment doing just that when Mari came down the steps at a sedated pace. She wasn't the same feisty girl that I'd become accustomed to. She was a watered down version of her true self, wallowing in both guilt and mourning. She'd lost her partner forever. It was going to take her time to get over that loss, just the same as it would for me to be rid of Sigma, though the sources of our internal torment were on opposing sides of the spectrum.
Tapirmon, who had been seated at my side, searching through the same papers I was contemplating over, dived under the table just in time for her to catch sight of me sitting "alone" at the table. He had been doing things like that since we got home after the final battle. He said he didn't want to rub his presence in her face, since Lalamon wasn't with us anymore.
"She probably wants you to treat her like normal," I muttered.
"What?" Mari asked, slipping into a seat across from me.
"Nothing," I told her hastily. "Just thinking out loud…like always."
"I'm sure you'll get the hang of living Sigma-less," she said with little enthusiasm. I didn't expect much from her though.
"You talked," I blurted out in surprise.
"Yeah, I can see that getting annoying real fast," she drawled, picking up a stray piece of paper and looking up at me with a raised brow. "You keeping this?"
It was a detailed blueprint of the bank down the street, with very precise instructions on where one should exploit the building's weak points, and when the best time of night was for getting around the security systems, as there was a two minute window of opportunity when the system reset itself.
"It's really interesting," I said.
"Also illegal," she pointed out, picking up another blueprint from the middle of the table. "This one is for a police station."
"I know," I told her. "I'm hoping to find a paper shredder before I throw them out. I don't want anyone getting their hands on them. I can't help but wonder what all Sigma was using them for. I don't even remember drawing some of them."
"You remember most of the other things, don't you?" she asked. I nodded.
"In excruciating detail," I said.
"Then maybe he did this when you were sleeping. He clearly had a night life, even if you didn't. He spent ages just ruining Miyako's life."
"I suppose," I said slowly.
"What?" she demanded.
"I just don't like that I wasn't good enough for him," I said, slapping my hand over my mouth and glaring at her.
"You were good enough for him," she insisted.
"Too good," I grumbled. "But I wasn't enough. I'm never going to be enough. Not when I can't keep anything to myself."
"Just look at your papers. Let me know if you find anything interesting," she instructed.
"As if I have a choice," I mumbled.
I looked through blueprints, and schemes. There were some sketches, and a couple of newspaper articles as well. Sigma might've been evil, but he was very open about his nefarious plots. He wrote everything down. All that was missing was the motive. I didn't know why he kept certain things, or why he wrote others. I unfolded a large newspaper article and let out a gasp as I caught sight of the picture accompanying it.
"What?" Mari asked quickly, rushing over to my side. "Is it bad? Wait. Who are they?"
"My parents," I said quietly. "I wondered why they never bothered to look for me. Well, I knew why they didn't, but I always hoped that they might…"
"The Izumis were killed in their homes when the building went up in flames. The neighbours called in emergency vehicles, but it was too late for the firefighters to save the couple. Their son, however, has not been located. Sources say he ran away from home a year ago, and has not been seen since, though an officer admitted to not having received word of the missing child, causing many to wonder whether the Izumi's son was truly a runaway, or if he was cast out," Mari read. "No way. You said you ran away six years ago."
"They've been dead for five of them," I said thickly. "I hated them. I still hate them."
"You don't mean that," she protested.
"I do. They hated me so much, and I didn't do anything wrong," I said, forcing my emotions to relax. "Yoshie said so."
"Maybe they didn't really hate you," Mari offered, though it was a weak attempt. Her own parents were not like the loving family that most of the digidestined seemed to possess. She knew it wasn't all sunshine and daisies in the real world. There were people that simply weren't fit to be parents, and resented their children for one or more reasons.
"They didn't report me missing, Mari," I said. "The paper says so."
"The paper also questions the fire," Mari added. "Listen. Many speculate whether the fire was indeed an accident, as no evidence was found to support such claims, but neither was there evidence to suggest the foul play that has been hinted at."
"That rat bastard killed my parents."
"Don't hold anything back there," Mari said sarcastically.
"He kept the article because he did it. I know he did. He had to have. He had no qualms with murder. I was there when he killed a dog," I told her.
"The police have been looking for you," Mari said, pointing to the end of the article. "If anyone has word on their son, one Kiyoko Izumi, police are asking you contact them with the information. They would much appreciate it. They wish for the boy to be found, and brought into proper care."
"I found my own care," I said.
"You found Sigma," Mari said dryly. "That's not what they meant by "proper"."
"Sigma led me to you and Hideto," I said softly. "And Yoshie."
"You going to be okay?" she asked awkwardly patting my back.
"Will you?" I retorted, and immediately wished I could take it back. She glared at me and snatched up the only folder on the table that hadn't belonged to Sigma, opening it angrily, and rifling through the pages.
"What the hell is this supposed to be?" she demanded, holding up a coloured sketch I had drawn. It was my pitiful attempts at merging two very different digimon together.
"I wanted to know what Piedmon would have looked like if I had gotten him to fuse," I said, grabbing the picture away from her. "It's not my best work."
"I'd hope not," she said. "I don't know why you wasted your time though. You'll find someone to fuse with someday."
"No I won't," I told her firmly.
"What about Trust?" she asked.
"It wasn't supposed to be trust, it was supposed to be you," I snapped.
"W-what?" she stammered.
"Tenacity is the crest I need to learn the most, and you struggle with desire. We would've helped each other and our partners would have fused. I know it's you, so there's no point denying it. I just wondered what they would have looked like, is all," I explained.
"They would've been much prettier than that. Rosemon was gorgeous. Granted the varying colour schemes of the two digimon clashed horribly. They still wouldn't have looked like a demented circus flower," she said firmly.
"Are we friends?"
She hesitated. I knew why. It was such a random question, one that I hadn't meant to say aloud, but without Sigma there to act as a protective wall, my thoughts escaped so easily.
"I'd like to be," I confided in her.
"Because I need friends in my time of need?" she said sarcastically.
"Because I don't have many, and I actually trust you," I corrected.
"I might like that then," she said softly. She didn't smile—she hadn't since the battle—but she wasn't mad at me anymore, which was good.
"There's one more picture in there," I told her, gesturing to the folder that was limp in her hands. She glanced back at the pages and back to me. I nodded, urging her to find it.
"I'm proud of this one. I think it's great," I said without thinking and flushed bright red as a result. She rolled her eyes at me but turned back to the papers quickly as she caught sight of the sketch. Her eyes gathered up tears, and her lip quivered, but she didn't cry. She didn't smile either though. It was a drawing I'd made of her and Lalamon. They weren't doing anything special. I'd just caught sight of them on the couch one day and was inspired to draw them, so I did. She got to her feet, clutching the drawing in both hands, sending the rest of the folder sprawling to the floor, and raced out of the kitchen. I heard her feet pounding down the hallway as she hastily made her way to her bedroom.
"That could have gone better," I said. Tapirmon was gathering up the scattered pages under the table, and I turned back to the newspaper clipping about my parents. The police wouldn't still be looking for me, would they? "Probably not. I'm eighteen now. They don't need to worry."
"Are you talking to yourself again?" Tapirmon asked from the floor.
"Sorry," I grumbled.
There were three sharp knocks on the door. I turned to look at it, but didn't feel much like having company, so I ignored it. I kept the newspaper clipping aside, and piled up the rest of Sigma's work. I'd have to find a paper shredder soon. I didn't want the papers cluttering up my life anymore.
Four more knocks came, louder than before. I heard someone move about upstairs, heading for the stairway.
"Here, Kiyoko," Tapirmon said, holding onto the folder.
"Keep it for a minute," I instructed, dumping all of Sigma's pages into a box.
Six quick knocks thundered through the apartment.
"I'm coming!" Hideto shouted. "Hold your horses."
He came scrambling down the hall towards the door, and then he caught sight of me.
"Didn't you hear the door?" he asked.
"I'm not feeling sociable," I told him.
"Answer it next time," he said.
"If you'd stop avoiding me," I murmured. "I want to see you sometime."
"What?" Hideto asked, but thought better of it and shook his head, opening the door to reveal Neo and Michael.
"A strange combination if ever there was one," I commented.
"Yeah, I guess so," Michael said with a grin. "Can we come in?"
"Hideto will let you even if I say no," I mumbled, watching as Hideto did just that.
"What brings you to Chez Alias III?" Hideto asked.
"Don't call it that, that sucks," I told him.
"Snarky these days, aren't you?" Hideto teased.
"He has a point though," Neo said. "That's a terrible name."
"I believe he asked a question," I said.
"Huh? Oh, right," Michael said. "We're here because we're friends now. And I was wondering whether you wanted to be my friend too."
"I already am," Hideto commented.
"I meant Kiyoko," he said sheepishly.
"Me?" I asked. "What do you want to be friends with me for?"
"Don't sell yourself short, kid," Hideto told me, causing me to wince.
"Kid," I grumbled. "I don't want to be "Kid"."
"I'll take that as a no then," Michael said awkwardly.
"Hey now," Neo said, throwing his hands in the air in front of him, motioning for Michael to wait. "If I decided to be your friend, he will. Even if it's only to get his name off your stupid list."
"What stupid list?" I asked.
"The list with all of the digidestined on it. He wants us all to be his friends," Neo explained. "You and Iori are the only ones left on it. Even without you two, I'm pretty sure that makes Michael the most universally liked member of the team."
"And you really want to be my friend?" I questioned. "You aren't just making fun of me?"
"I want to be your friend," Michael insisted.
"Okay then," I said. "We can be friends. I'll have two."
"Three," Hideto and Neo both corrected. "You forgot me."
"Mari, Michael and Neo," I decided. "And Yoshie. And Tapirmon, as well as a handful of other digimon…"
"We'll just let you two deal with your little problem," Michael decided looking between Hideto and myself. Neo nodded his agreement, and they backed out of the doorway, closing the door behind them.
"Oh god," I groaned. "We're alone."
Hideto chuckled lowly and awkwardly. "That we are."
I wasn't ready to talk to him. Not if he was going to continually avoid me. That gave me a pretty clear indication as to where the conversation would head, and I wasn't looking forward to it.
There was another knock at the door, this time just a light tapping. Hideto raced to the door simply to end our awkward encounter.
"Hi, hello, welcome," he said quickly. "You should come in. I'll take those. They look delicious." He headed to the counter with a tray of delicious smelling muffins, letting the woman at the door inside the apartment.
"It's Yoshie!" I cheered. And then I blushed, as my mental cheering did not stay within my head.
"It's me!" Yoshie joked. "I've come to celebrate." She stopped and looked between Hideto and myself. "Unless I'm interrupting something?"
"No," I said quickly.
"I was just leaving actually," Hideto told her, grabbing his black coat off of the hanger and slipping on his running shoes. "I'm going to find Mimi or something. Maybe we'll look into her insurance policies or something. I gotta go. Bye!"
And he was out the door in a second. I sighed. He didn't appear to be ready to talk either. Yoshie however was brimming with excitement. Her long hair was pinned back with a large clip, and she was wearing a knee length overcoat.
"What are we celebrating?" Tapirmon asked, floating in the air next to her.
"Kiyoko here sold two of his designs," Yoshie exclaimed. "Digitamamon loved one of them, and he's set to start rebuilding his restaurant any day now. And I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to remodel my kitchen. I picked one of the other designs. Masami is going to work on it next month. Two designs so soon into your career."
"It's not a career," I said sheepishly. "It's just a hobby. Architecture and interior design. They're just fun to me."
"Either way, you've got two sales," Yoshie said happily. "I'd love to stay and chat, but Masami is in the car waiting for me. He's got his Alcoholics Anonymous meeting this afternoon, and I don't want him to miss it. He hasn't been drinking too much since I got back, but he says they help, and I don't want to cause him to relapse. I'll see you soon sweetheart. Don't be a stranger. Drop by whenever you want. We could talk about your little crush some more."
I didn't bother to say anything in response to that. I couldn't even think of one, which was probably just as well. Did she know it was Hideto or did she think it was some stranger still? I supposed I'd find out eventually. She wouldn't exactly drop the subject.
She seemed to understand though, and let herself out. Tapirmon floated over to the counter where Hideto had set the tray of muffins. They had carrot in them, if my nose was correct. Tapirmon brought the tray over to the table and picked one up.
"I'm glad you're expanding your social circle," he commented. "I worry about you, you know."
"You don't need to," I told him, picking up a muffin of my own. "I'll be fine."
He nodded, and went to take a bite of his muffin, stopping when it was an inch from his mouth. I'd just taken a bite of my own, and with my mouth full had to ask, "What?"
"Didn't Koushiro say something about his mother and Yuuko making muffins that managed to defeat an ultimate level digimon?" Tapirmon asked. "They exploded on contact…"
I spit the muffin into my hand and set the rest of it carefully down onto the table.
"Just to be safe," I told him. He put his down too, nodding.
"Perhaps we should go for a walk?" he suggested, backing away from the muffin tray.
"The park sounds nice," I agreed. We raced to the door. Tapirmon grabbed my white coat and I slipped on my boots and we raced out of the apartment. I could only hope the muffins wouldn't explode on Mari while we were gone.
Kurayami Higorashi:
"You Holy Three will have less stressful lives now," Norn had said, "You will be able to move forward. You will live normal lives. You've done your duty, and now I'll step in and take over."
"You can't though." I said to Norn as she slowly floated upward. "Don't go!"
"I have to Kurayami," Norn said, "If I don't do this, then no one will."
"Anyone else would!" I shot, "Ask anyone. Anyone would love to rule over the world."
"But they would all die." Norn said, leaning forward in midair and kissing my forehead. "It's my duty now, as part of Yggdrasil, to fix the mess he's caused. To fix the mess everyone caused. I'm going to create harmony and peace."
"You can't," Miyako said, "Peace will only be found when the last of the great evils is defeated."
"True peace, yes." Norn nodded, "And that won't happen for many years to come, but I can create as much peace to fill the silence as I can. And that's what I plan to do. I cannot allow you humans to live in your world of chaos—and that's not the only world that's falling under the fog of destruction. The Digital World, Witchenly, the Dark Ocean—nearly every single world is falling to bits. It's not safe for them, and I have to make it safe. It's like a giant being is reaping all the souls from those who still live. The chaos must be eliminated."
"But why can't someone else do it?" I asked, trying to stop crying now.
"You know why." Norn said quietly.
"Then take me too!" I shouted.
"You would leave Daisuke and Labramon?" Norn asked. I faltered and turned to look at them. "Goodbye Kurayami."
I spun back quickly, "Norn, please don't go! I have so much I need to apologize for!"
"I know it all though," Norn said, now so high I had to crane my neck to see her. "I know it because I can see your heart. Your heart full of sadness and love. Kurayami, I don't know if I'll ever see you again, so know this. You are an amazing person. I love you very much, and one day I hope you see the person you truly are. Everything you want is around you if you'd just turn on the light."
Ironic really. Turning on the light. Why couldn't it have been to turn off the light? That would have been easier. I mean, I genuinely wanted to continue keeping the peace and balance I'd found inside of me with the crest of darkness, and Hikari was amazing, but she had nothing to do with my happiness. Did she? No—that wasn't possible since we'd pretty much worked out all of our problems. We were friends again, especially now that she lived in Japan again—which again, was ironic since I was actually in New York at that time.
Not only was I in New York, I was in the very place Daisuke had met my father, and met the real me. The me not consumed with total darkness. If only for a moment.
I was in the graveyard where my mother's stone laid.
I was on my knees reading it over and over. It was a lie. It said she'd died years ago, when she hadn't. She'd died a mere week ago. Maybe a week and a half. I hadn't been keeping track of days too well. But I didn't care that the stone lied. It just made it more personal. Only those of us who truly knew her knew when she died. That was fair. Because the real her died on the date on the stone anyway.
"Kura," Dad said quietly, his hand on my shoulder.
"Dad?" I asked turning to face him.
"Are you going to tell us what we're doing here now?" He asked. He was right behind me, and behind him was Labramon and Grandfather, in his wheelchair. He'd been in the hospital, but he was better now.
"Kura!" Dad shouted through the telephone, "Get to the hospital right now."
"Dad?" I gasped, "What happened?" But I hadn't waited for a response. I dropped the phone and was out the door a second later racing down the unfamiliar streets of New York until I found exactly what it was I was looking for. I wasn't too nice to the nurse lady who was helping me find him because I was in such a panic. He couldn't be dead. I wouldn't allow him to be dead!
"There's my little Blackberry!" Grandpa laughed joyously as I stepped into the room. He was eating some pudding and I couldn't help but laugh. I ran to him and hugged him as the nurse explained that he miraculously got better. She didn't know what it had been, or what had happened, but he was better, and he was alive, and he was still with me, and—well those all meant the same thing. But I was just too happy to care.
"Kura?" Grandpa prompted, pulling me back to the present. How could I tell them what we were doing here? It just seemed mean to explain it all to them if they didn't need to know. But I'd gathered them here to do just that, and they deserved to know.
"What happened in that... battle thing you kids went to?" Dad asked.
"Mom was there." I said flatly.
Grandpa looked very confused and looked to the grave, adjusting his glasses to read the date. Dad never told him what had happened? I'd have to backtrack a bit.
"When she took the darkness from me..." I said quietly, "She didn't succeed. Instead she just opened herself for a separate darkness. It was... well, it was the Devil. He was inside of her, but her body wasn't good enough for him. He tried to use my friend Michael instead, but—" I choked emotions that I'd been trying to keep down as I remembered the look in my mom's eyes. "But when he left Mom's body... she turned to ashes."
Suddenly Dad was crying, biting his fist to try and stop, but it wasn't working, the tears were streaming down his face faster than I'd ever seen on anyone.
"I don't understand." Grandpa said slowly as he scratched his head. "Your mother opened up to the darkness? Why would she do that?"
"To protect me." I said slowly, "She'd been doing it gradually though. She was taking the darkness from me and releasing it elsewhere I assume—but it sometimes got the best of her and she... well, she didn't do it. The darkness used her to kill Yukai."
Dad turned away when I said that and Grandpa gasped loudly.
"It doesn't matter." I said, "Well it does. I wish he was still around. But I mean that it shouldn't lessen what we think of my Mom. She didn't do it. It wasn't her. Someone else did it. That someone else was the Devil. And because of that Yukai is trapped on this Earth looking for the light, and he may never find it. He may never move on. But that isn't Mom's fault."
"Kura," Grandpa said, "I'm not sure my old mind can follow all of this."
"I'm sorry," I said quickly, "I know you probably didn't even want to know, but I thought you deserved it. And if you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them for you."
"I do have one..." he said, "You said your mother failed at taking the darkness from you... so where is it now?"
"Oh it's gone." I said, nodding quickly. "Well, the evil is gone. The darkness will never leave. The darkness is my life force really. It's what keeps me alive and balanced."
"So you're okay?" Grandpa asked.
I had a feeling he was asking me if I'd ever end up like my mom, so I turned to her grave and sighed before nodding to him, "I'm fine." I couldn't ever change and be like her, not with Labramon at my side all the time. I let my eyes fall to him and I smiled. He was a good partner—so much better than Apocalymon.
I looked to Dad who was still crying, so I stepped toward him and took his arm. Slowly he turned to me. "Are you okay?" I asked him, "I know that was a lot to hear—"
I was cut off as he threw his arms around me, hugging me tightly. I wasn't sure at all what I'd done to deserve the hug, but I hugged him back anyway. "You saved her." He said, answering my unasked question, "She was stuck in the darkness for so long and you saved her. You set her free. She can move on and be free now, because of you Kurayami. I love you so much."
"I love you too Daddy." I said, hugging him tighter as the tears started falling. I always hated crying in front of people, but this time I didn't care—I didn't even think about what the others thought of me, because both Labramon and Grandpa came to join the hug as awkwardly as a dog and a wheelchair-bound man could.
I couldn't stop crying for a while as I just hugged everyone, unable to even see clearly, but when I saw a flash of light in the corner of my eye I stopped abruptly and spun on my heel through the damp dirt and grass to see the glowing girl standing off by herself.
"N-Norn?" I stuttered, releasing my father and running directly toward her. I slipped through the stones in the graveyard and fell to my knees in front of her, hugging her as tight as I could.
"Kura!" she gasped, "You' gonna kill me!"
I released her quickly and we both laughed a little, "I thought you said we'd never see each other again?" I said, absorbing the sight of her in case this was the last chance I'd ever get to. She was wearing the same clothes as before, the little beret, the vest, the dress—but everything was clean now, her hair was brushed, but it still had two thin braids in it, and she was smiling to me with a set of perfect teeth.
"I said I didn't know when we'd get to see each other again actually." Norn corrected. "But I figured it out! Here we are!"
"So we can see each other more often?" I asked. Norn nodded quickly and I sighed with relief. I didn't want to lose her. She was just really important to me. Too important to lose. I couldn't lose anyone else. Not anymore. "How are things going, ruling over all of creation?"
"Oh it's fun," Norn said with a giant smile, "I started with the Land of Dreams since it was the easiest to fix, and then I headed to Witchenly and they threw a party for me, and there was a big bonfire and weird, exotic food, and everyone was so friendly. The Digital World didn't actually have much to fix, nor did Earth. Not anything I could fix anyway. Buildings aren't something I can just make. Tell your friend Mimi that I'm sorry about her restaurant."
"I will," I nodded seriously. Norn was telling me about this great adventure where she'd traveled to all nine worlds and fixed everything. It was definitely the most interesting story anyone was ever going to tell me.
"I steered clear of the Dark Ocean for a while, but eventually decided to take a trip to see what all the fuss is about... the shadows are just looking for light, you know?" she asked, "They were looking for something to purify them. So I used the crest of light that your friend showed me and I guided them all up to The World Above. That's where I met the person who brought me here."
"W-who?" I asked.
"It was your mom, Kurayami." Norn said calmly, which was incredible since I felt like I'd just walked into a big old brick wall with a magical hand that reached into my stomach and twisted up the insides. What had my mother said to her that brought her here? "She wanted you to know that she loves you, and that she's with you every step of the way. And that if you get consumed by the darkness to just remember that so many people love her and are watching over you." All of what Norn said made my heart flutter, but none of them compared to the realization that washed over me. My mother was in Heaven. My mother had truly been fixed and blessed. "Also Gennai said that he's proud that you understood your crest. And Haruki said hi."
"Who?" I asked.
"Yeah he doesn't know you," Norn laughed, "He just thinks you're cute." I couldn't help but laugh. "I have to go now though," Norn said. Before I could even think about what I was doing, my hands were around her wrists, keeping her still. "I promise I'll come back, silly. I just have to go through all of time, check on the fairies and then return home to take one last look around everything before I do."
"So how long will that take?" I asked her.
"I'll be by your house Friday at eight," Norn winked at me. I relaxed my hands and she turned to go, but froze and slowly turned back to me. "Can we be like sisters?"
"Pardon me?" I asked.
"I don't have a family," Norn explained, "I'm hardly even truly existing. Can we be sisters?"
"I thought we already were," I shrugged with a smile. Norn hugged me again. "I have the coolest little sister in all the nine worlds."
"And I have the biggest sister—I mean that best big sister!" Norn giggled into my shoulder and then finally pulled away. "Bye sister!" She said and with a flash of bright light she was gone.
"Bye Norn." I said, standing up and turning back to my family. I walked back to them with a strange amount of confidence. The biggest thing I'd taken from her speech was that she'd purified all the dark spirits trapped within the Dark Ocean. That meant that the place that had haunted my nightmares was officially vacant. It was officially the most unthreatening place ever. I'd have to make sure to tell Hikari that.
"Who was that?" Dad asked.
"Your new daughter," I said. He looked confused so I shrugged my shoulders, "We're honorary sisters. She rules all nine worlds. But don't favour her just because of it, I might get jealous." Dad laughed, but I turned to Grandpa when I felt his hand in mine.
"Kura," He said, "I love your smile... You should smile more often."
"I smile all the time Grandpa," I told him.
"That's true, she does." Labramon said. Grandpa looked to Labramon and shook his head. Clearly he forgot, once again, that Labramon was a digimon and not a normal dog.
"Well I don't get to see it..." Grandpa said. "I wish you would come visit me more Kura. I don't even know anything that's going on in your life. What are you doing? Where do you live?"
I smiled at Grandpa and set into the explanation of my life immediately. "Well I live in Japan you see with five of my friends, Labramon, Veemon, Patamon, Takeru and Daisuke. We have a lot of fun there. I'm enrolling in school for next September after my year off, and I'm going to become a therapist because I need to help everyone else out. I need to help them through all of their trials and depression. Because I know how now. And I know that any help is helpful in some way."
"That sounds like something you'd be good at," Grandpa said, "Your grandmother was a therapist before she died. Did you know that?"
"No," I said, "I didn't. There's a lot I don't know about you Grandpa."
"Then perhaps you really should visit more," He said, "Before we run out of time."
"I promise." I said with a smile.
"Perfect." He said with a grin. "Are you seeing anyone?"
I felt my face blush as I proceeded to tell him all about Daisuke and how we ended up together and how he was the love of my life—how I would never have been standing there if it weren't for him. I needed Daisuke just as much as I needed air, because he was the one who pulled my from Fanglongmon's hold. I loved him, and he made me strong enough to work and live on my own as an individual. I was sure I'd never be able to do to him what he'd done to me, but I would never stop trying.
After a while Grandpa decided that it was time to get back home before it started to rain, so Dad took him away with a quick farewell. I promised them I'd be there in a bit, I just needed to finish saying goodbye to my mom.
I was on my knees again, the sadness kicking in for a moment before I remembered what Norn had said about my mother watching over me. She was happy now. And that meant I should have been too. I didn't really know what to say then, so I whispered a quick, "I love you." And then turned to Labramon who was waiting with me.
"Have you found your resolve yet?" Labramon asked.
"What do you mean?" I asked, getting to my feet and wiping the grass off of my pant legs.
"I mean, did you find what you were looking for?" He asked, "You didn't know what it was that you wanted. Do you know yet?"
I nodded and patted his head. "It was you." I told him, "And Norn, and Grandpa and Dad—and Mom, and Michael and Hikari—and of course Daisuke."
"A family?" He asked.
I nodded, "A family was all I ever needed. And I always had it, I was just too blind to see it."
"So you turned on the light?" Labramon asked.
"No, you did." I smiled down at him. "You're the perfect partner for me. And I'm sorry I made you wait so long in that egg for me while I spent time with Apocalymon. I mean, who was I kidding? The others got little pink blobs so I thought it was fair that my partner was Apocalymon?"
"Well I'm glad you're smarter now," Labramon joked.
"Hey now!" I laughed, "Actually, I'm glad I am too." I turned to Labramon and smiled, "Thank you for showing me when the time to fight was. Thank you for showing me that you were always there, and thank you for showing me how to be strong, and brave, and truly myself."
"You're welcome," Labramon said boldly, puffing his chest out as we walked after my Dad and Grandpa. "Thank you for being everything I could have ever asked for in a partner."
"Oh!" I fell to my knees and hugged him. "You're the best." I said to him.
"You too." He said, snuggling his nose into the hug.
Michael Washington:
I lifted the lid off of the silver platter that sat on the cart of food in front of us revealing a large vanilla cake decorated with fresh strawberries. It was room service since Tatum and I were staying in hotel for a while in Japan making sure all the loose ends were tied up after the battle with Yggdrasil while Jenna bonded with Mary. Well, that was the general lie anyway. I really just didn't want everyone to keep leaving me. It was getting really hard to cope... sure I had Tatum, and of course I had Jenna and Dad... and even Mary... but Betamon was taken from me, Mimi left me, and then Willis jumped in as my brother, and then ditched me too. It was just getting really hard to live a life where everyone kept leaving me. And sure, maybe I was going over the top just a bit with trying to keep Betamon around, but he deserved everything I did for him since I was the jerk who let him be tortured for years...
"Michael," Betamon said with a sigh that was just a touch overdramatic. And that was coming from me. "I really don't need all of this."
"Yes you do," I countered, "I will get you anything and everything you want for the rest of your life."
"Well that's just a bit extreme..."
"I'm an extreme person." I shrugged it off, "Now eat up, I ordered a whole lineup of different desserts for you."
"Michael," Betamon groaned, "I don't need it though!"
"But you deserve it." I said flatly.
"Are you sure you're not just really super confused?" I asked.
"I'm sure."
"Positive?"
Betamon looked to me and rolled his eyes. Was he annoyed with me? Was I doing something wrong? I couldn't let him be annoyed, I'd have to do what he wanted. He didn't want desserts—he was a fish—he wouldn't eat meat though... maybe I could order him a gigantic salad! I snatched the menu from the cart and flipped it open.
"...are you even listening?" Betamon asked.
"What?" I asked him.
"I was just saying that you're trying too hard." Betamon sighed, "Just relax. We've been at this for over a month Michael. My time in the coliseum wasn't even this bad." I turned to him, hurt, "That was a joke Michael." I let my shoulders fall, relaxed. If I was treating him worse than the Devil, well, then that would be a pretty awful feeling. "That's just what I mean Michael."
"What is?" I asked.
"I'm ready to joke about the whole ordeal," Betamon said, shifting in his spot on the giant couch in the middle of the room. "And you're still trying to make amends for something that wasn't even your fault."
"But it is my fault." I said flatly, "I was the one who didn't notice."
"But not the one who took me." Betamon argued. "Not the one who told me to go into the waters. Not the stupid one who obeyed. Not the one who whipped me and hurt me. Not the one who insulted me and tortured me to get me to forget you. Because even the enemy knew it wasn't your fault."
"Well the bad guys are always wrong!"
"Michael..." Betamon sighed, "W-what are you doing?"
I was, once again, flipping through the pages of the menu, "Looking for a salad that you might like."
"Michael!" Betamon argued, "You don't see the point at all, do you?"
"Not really," I admitted.
"You don't have to make amends for something you didn't do!"
"If it's not my fault, then why do I feel so guilty?" I yelled loudly.
I expected Betamon to reply with as much enthusiasm as I had but instead he just stared at me with his big red eyes. "Michael," he said softly, "you feel guilty because you're a good friend. You care enough about me to feel guilty because you're too hard on yourself."
"But..." I just didn't want to lose him again. I'd lost him before, thought I had anyway—and it was the hardest thing I'd ever gone through until I found that he was still alive. Which was even harder. And nearly every night since then I'd woken up to Tatum trying to calm me from my nightmares. Every single time it was the same thing. Betamon revealed himself to be another fake and the Shadow King was back, torturing him even further. It wasn't fair... Gennai had picked me to save the world... and instead I'd just been scarred for life.
"But nothing." Betamon said flatly. "Tatum told me about your dreams." I rounded on Tatum who was sitting at the kitchen table across from Monodramon reading a thick book. She looked up when she heard her name but looked away quickly when she saw the look I was giving her. "Michael, I'm never going to leave you. This is the real me. I'm here for you, and I know you're here for me. So stop whatever it is that you think."
"It's not that easy."
"But it should be." Betamon said. "Sit with me." I thought it over a moment before obliging, sitting next to him on the couch as he slid over a little so I could fit. "Michael... do you remember the first time we met? When I saved you?"
"Yes." I said simply.
"Do you remember how you were scared of me...?" He asked, again I nodded, "And then we met up again a while later and we fixed our problems?" All I could think to do was nod again. "We fixed our problems then, and we'll fix them now. Because we always do. You're the strongest person ever Michael, that's why you have the crest of strength. You can move past this. Especially if I'm with you. I'm pretty strong too."
"But—"
"Just stop thinking about it." Betamon said harshly.
"It's hard to do when every time I look at you I see those scars."
"Speaking of those—Jou thought to give me a cream. He said it should help out." Betamon said with a shrug. "They'll never go away completely, but they'll fade he says. That's something. Will that help out?"
"I don't know Betamon." I said flatly. How could I ever just forget it had happened?
"Well, try okay?" Betamon asked. "Michael, I need you to try for me. I told you. I need to forget it happened even more than you do, and I can't do that if you're always trying to make up for things. They'll be a constant reminder forever. They don't make me feel better—they make me feel worse."
"Well... I don't know how to act anymore..." I said quietly, "I understand what you mean, but what do I do if I don't make up for it?"
Tatum cleared her throat and both of us looked to her. She had her finger in her book as a bookmark as it sat on the table. She was looking toward us with a thoughtful look, her red hair pulled back in a braid. "If I may?"
"Please do," Betamon prompted.
"Well, you need to go on more picnics." She said simply, "That's what you always used to do. I remember getting hundreds of reply texts telling me that you couldn't hang out because you were going on a picnic with Betamon. That's what your normal used to be. Take that cake and that salad you thought to order and go off on a picnic. It'll be fun." I turned to Betamon to see if he liked the idea and he nodded quickly, a smile spreading across his face. "On second thought," Tatum said, looking to the cake, "Leave a piece of that. Or two. Or the whole thing." We all laughed, but her face fell suddenly, "I'm not kidding."
Half an hour later we were stepping out of the elevator in the hotel, entering the lobby with a large basket in my hand. We'd stuffed it full of sandwiches, and fruit, and muffins and the likes. The lobby was way too crowded for my own likings, but there wasn't really anything I could do about it, so I just held the basket out in front of me and attempted to part the crowd so I could lead Betamon through. He was catching a few stray glances of fear or disgust, but I tried to ignore them all since Betamon wanted to pretend it never happened.
Just as I was getting to the door someone had stopped me, a hand on my shoulder.
"Pet's aren't allowed in the hotel sir," I spun around to see the manager of the hotel. He turned to look at Betamon and smiled to him kindly.
"I'm sorry," I said, thinking it was kind of a stupid time to tell me, especially when I was about to leave.
"Wait," He said, looking up to me, "That's a digimon isn't it?"
"You can see digimon?" I asked, shocked.
The man only nodded and then his eyes widened at the sight of me. "You're one of them, aren't you? One of the saviors?"
"Oh, well I don't know about that." I said quietly, "Why don't you just go read Takeru Takaishi's books, or watch Katsue's movie on the battle. I hear they know what's going on."
The man looked to me like I was the most awful person who ever existed because I didn't explain anything to him, but he hung his head and turned to leave. "Don't worry about your pet then," He said and then was gone, melting into the crowd.
"You realize they would have treated you like you were the king of the world had you admitted to helping save it, right?" Betamon asked as we slipped through the door and into the street outside.
"Yes," I said slowly, "But if we all go around telling everyone what happened Takeru's books aren't going to sell well, and he kind of needs them, doesn't he?"
"You're trading world fame for your friend's happiness." Betamon noted, "You've grown a lot Michael." I didn't really know what to say. 'Thank you' sounded too formal and misplaced so I just said nothing. I really hadn't changed too much... I had friends now, that was the main difference. The list that was compiled on the phone in my pocket was nearly all completed in some way or another. Everyone seemed to consider me a friend now, and that's really all I ever wanted. Well, Iori didn't, and he was the last name, but to be totally honest with myself, I'd never expected his name to be crossed off. Like, ever.
"So that manager didn't seem to hate digimon," Betamon piped up as I led him down the mostly barren street, and as if on cue, a digimon and his partner were flung out of the shop next to us.
"Keep that filthy creature out of here!" The man who had thrown them out yelled loudly to the partners on the ground. "How... how dare you!" With that, the man had slammed the door closed before I could yell at him for being a total asshole.
I turned to Iori who was on the ground next to Armadillomon and offered him my hand to help pull him to his feet. He looked at it but decided against using it, and instead pulled himself to his feet and then kicked the door of the shop he'd just come out of. "Jerk." He muttered.
"I'm sorry about that Iori," Armadillomon said, "I didn't mean to!"
"What happened?" I asked.
Iori looked up at me, his eyebrows raised but didn't answer, so Armadillomon did instead. "The shop saw me through the fairy's spell as a dog or something, but I accidentally spoke and the spell broke and he freaked out. I guess not everyone accepts digimon quite yet. Even with Katsue's declaration."
"Shouldn't the spell have made your voice sound like a dog barking?" I asked.
Iori let his face relax and finally decided to take part in conversation. He shook his head, "I guess since they all know that some people believe in digimon, most of them are on the fence about it which makes the spell weaker. Or something, I'm not really sure."
"I hope one day we won't need the spell," Armadillomon said, "I hope humans see us as friendly."
"Some do!" Betamon smiled, "The manager at our hotel does!"
"Well we're on our way the—" Armadillomon started, but he was cut off by a loud bang as the door to the shop opened up and the shopkeeper poked his head out the door.
"I'm going to have to ask you to leave or I'll call the police for loitering." He said simply, "You're scaring the customers away with your... things."
"I think what's scaring your customers away is the giant zit on your forehead." I said bluntly. The man looked taken aback and then, with a huff had retreated into the shop. "Let's go." I motioned for the others to follow but they were all laughing. I grinned at them until their laughter subsided and then we were on our way.
I looked through the shop windows and saw that it was a tuxedo rental shop. Slowly I looked to Iori with a grin, "What were you doing in there?"
His face turned red and he looked away. "Iori has to go to a thing with Natsuni in a few days!" Armadillomon explained, "He promised Natsuni he'd go!"
"Well don't rent a tux," I said with a shrug, "Buy one. You're going to need it, you're a grown man, you're probably done all your growing so it'll be safe to get one. I mean, Jou and Momoe, and Miyako and Ken are married, but everyone else still has to get married, you're going to need one for their weddings—and your own."
"I don't have enough to buy one." Iori explained, "I mean, I do—but I need to keep my money because I'm looking for somewhere that... isn't my mom's house to live in."
"Ah," I nodded, "I'll buy you a suit then."
"I can't ask you to do that." Iori said quietly.
"You didn't." I pointed out. "Besides, I have more money coming in from my dad than I'll ever know what to do with. And one day I hope to earn this money myself too!"
"You will!" Betamon assured me. "You're going to be the best actor ever!"
"Maybe one day," I winked.
Iori didn't say anything for a while as we walked down the street. I was leading us since I knew where the best shop was, all the while carrying the basket of food that was getting progressively heavier. Or, seemingly so anyway. Betamon and Armadillomon were playing around us, laughing and having fun, and I couldn't help but realize that Betamon was right—it was time to get over all the things of the past. He was free, happy and having fun. What more could anyone ask for really?
Finally we were in the shop and a man was measuring Iori whose face was growing redder and redder the more measurements the man took until finally he was told he could move. The man grabbed a pinstripe suit and held it up, but I shook my head before he could even try it on. He tried a few more, but I just kept shaking my head until he pulled out one with a thin collar. That would be perfect.
The man helped Iori into it, and I was right. It did look perfect.
"I can have the alterations done for next weekend," The man explained.
"Can you get it done by tomorrow?" I asked.
"No," The man said simply.
"I'll pay you double?" I offered him, and suddenly he was grinning like a madman.
"Tomorrow it is." He declared loudly.
A few minutes later we were walking out of the shop, a deep yellow bowtie in a brown paper bag and a pair of shiny black shoes. Iori was standing quite awkwardly alongside me as I started leading the way down the street. "I can't ever pay you back Michael," Iori said quietly. "I don't have that kind of money."
"Let me ask you something Iori," I said, "On Christmas day, when you open all the presents from your mother do you look at them and tally up how much money you owe her?"
"No..."
"Exactly." I said flatly. "You don't owe me anything because this is a gift. You're welcome."
"T-thank you." Iori stuttered, looking to me and then sighing.
"Have any plans for the rest of the day?" Betamon asked Armadillomon and Iori.
"Not really, no." Iori shrugged as Armadillomon looked up to him for the answer.
"Then you should come on our picnic!" Betamon declared loudly, "It'll be fun!"
Armadillomon started drooling instantly and his stomach screamed for the food in the basket, "That sounds amazing." And then we all turned to Iori who slowly nodded.
The second we turned to walk down the street we spotted another familiar face who was rushing down the street. It was Jou with Bearmon scurrying after him.
"Hey guys!" He said loudly on the way by, "Can't talk, forget to get toilet paper! Momoe's—well..." He cleared his throat and then was rushing off.
"Jou!" Iori called, "By the tree?"
"Friday at seven," Jou confirmed, running backwards.
"Always." Iori and he agreed together before turning their separate ways. I really admired the friendship between the two of them. They told each other virtually everything, went through no drama at all and were just genuinely good friends... maybe I didn't need a list of friends. I just needed one good friend. Or a few I supposed. Willis was my brother, that didn't count, Betamon was my partner and Tatum was my girlfriend, so neither did they...
"Michael," Iori said suddenly when we were stepping through the arch and into the park. Betamon and Armadillomon ran off immediately to find a good place to have our picnic and so I turned to Iori. "I'm sorry." he said flatly.
"Sorry?"
"Yeah," he nodded, "I... hated you." He said that really bluntly as if I didn't already know. "But I forgave Ken, and Kurayami, and Neo and Hideto and Mari, and Kiyoko, and—"
"Got i!" I interjected.
"Right," Iori cleared his throat, "Well, I had no reason to hate you, I just liked getting my anger out all the time... but... the more time I spent with my mother the more I realized something. She hated Natsuni for no reason at all, and she got over that... and I realized recently that you don't deserve to be hated for no reason at all. I need to forgive you, because you've done nothing at all to deserve such negative emotions."
"Well thank you," I said with a smile.
"No, thank you." Iori said.
"Oh, the suit?"
Iori shook his head, "Natsuni." He said, "You saved her in the battle with Yggdrasil. Without you I wouldn't have her anymore. You're a good friend Michael, and I'm sorry I haven't treated you like one."
"You can make it up to me by babysitting my unborn children all the time." I said.
"Why's that?" Iori asked, his eyebrows raised.
"I dunno," I shrugged, "Seemed like the right thing to do." We both laughed and headed to find our digmion who had found a place between a few hills so we'd be all alone on our picnic and we started eating—and then I realized what Iori's talk with me had meant.
Firstly, it meant my list was complete.
Secondly, it was like a sign. A sign from some holy force of love and peace. Because he'd basically talked me into forgiving myself. I didn't deserve the negative emotions—I was a good friend—the 'Forgiving Knight' had helped me move forward.
"You okay?" Betmaon asked after taking a large bite of a watermelon.
I smiled down at him and rubbed his head with a nod. "Yeah, yeah I think I am."
Iori Hida:
"I am proud of you, son," Mother told me as she fixed the tie that hung loosely around my neck. "You've come so far, so quickly, despite my standing in your way. I really am sorry."
"It's fine, Mother," I assured her awkwardly. She'd been apologizing for ages. She'd taken part in a complete turnabout. She no longer wanted her nose in any of my business. In fact, it was the complete opposite. She showed too little interest, though I could see her curiosity burning in her eyes. She couldn't just turn off a switch, she was still trying to find the balance that would give us both what we needed.
"Your father would be proud too," she said. Tears threatened to surface, and she dropped my tie, dusting imaginary dust off of my shoulders. "You're growing up so fast."
"I've already grown Mother," I said gently. "But that doesn't mean I'll need you any less. I promise. I just need you differently now."
"I know," she said, choking on her tears. "I should have seen that before, but I didn't. And now I've lost so much time."
"Accepting my choices, like you have, you've pretty much guaranteed that you won't be getting rid of me. I'll still be around," I said. I would've thought I'd be better at this by now. Dealing with crying women would just never be my forte. If I ever had a daughter, I knew I'd be doomed. Or one of those overprotective fathers. Hopefully not to my mother extent though. Just threaten to rough up some kid if they think they can break her heart. I shook my head quickly. Why was I even thinking of that? If it were to happen—if—it was still a long ways off. I had something more pressing to deal with first.
"You'll visit?" she asked surprised. "I was worried you wouldn't. And you're moving in with two girls…"
"Mother," I said warningly.
"I know, I know. I'm just teasing you. You look real sharp tonight, Iori. You'll sweep young Miss Ando off her feet," she told me lightly.
"It's not Natsuni I'm worried about, Mother. I'm currently more focused on getting in the door," I told her anxiously.
"Nonsense," she scoffed before sending me a wink. "Natsuni has already ensured that your name is on the list. Had to resort to a plot from a spy movie to get it done, but she was so excited about it that she didn't mind the sneaking around."
"Sounds like her." I smiled.
I glanced at the clock. Not long now. I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't belong at societal events like the one that Natsuni insisted I accompany her on. I'd stick out like a sore thumb. My manners and natural disposition could only get me so far. Though my lack of desire for most social interactions might suggest to other attendants that I had an air of superiority about me—a complete farce of course, as I didn't feel anyone was worth more than any other, with the exception, perhaps, of Natsuni—and believe that I did in fact belong there after all.
"I should get going," I murmured.
"Let me take a picture first," Mother insisted, rushing to hunt down her camera.
"Big brother?" Meiyomon asked. The little rookie digimon—my little brother—came ambling down the hallway with a collection of colourful fake flowers and feathers. Purple and blue flowers were accompanied with a large green leaf, a polka-dotted yellow lily and a large, curled red feather. "Take this with you. I made it just for Natsuni. You need a cort-saj don't you?"
"A corsage?" I clarified, smiling at his excited nodding. "Thank you. I'd completely forgotten about getting one."
"I know," he said proudly. "It's all of her favourite colours too. So don't forget to give it to her."
"I won't," I promised.
"And I really can't go with you?" he wheedled.
"No," I said firmly. He'd been asking me near constantly if he could attend. If I wouldn't blend in, I doubted a digimon small enough to appear a child and dressed entirely in a jester's attire would. "Armadillomon?"
"Yes, Iori?" he asked, slowly making his way away from the television that he and Kotemon were watching.
"Keep an eye on him," I instructed. "Don't let him go anywhere without you and Kotemon, alright?"
"No fair!" Meiyomon whined, storming off into his room. Mother came back then, as Armadillomon agreed to my request, snapping a few pictures of me, despite my protests. She moaned about the lack of Natsuni's presence, claiming she really ought to go with me so she could get a proper picture, but I put my foot down at that. It was ten minutes later that I was finally able to escape the apartment. And I was six minutes late. I wasn't going to leave a very good impression.
As I had no car, I needed to walk to Natsuni's home. Mother could have driven me I supposed, and would have saved me time, but Natsuni enjoyed walking. She also particularly enjoyed not having Mother there to watch over us, no matter how much she claimed the two of them got along. I was inclined to agree with her. I didn't like knowing that the two of us were separated from my mother by a single wall when I was trying to kiss my girlfriend.
Walking along the sidewalk under the stars, my path lit only by the light of the moon, I realized just how difficult it was going to be to knock on her door. This nervousness only increased the nearer I got to building. I slowed my pacing the moment I saw it. Her mother would be there. God. Her father would be there. I really should have taken her advice and just allowed her to come to my house to get me. But no. I had to be a freaking gentleman and go to her instead.
I shook my head again.
I saved the world—multiple times—seeing my girlfriend's father should be a piece of cake. Even if it was the first time I would see him since he found out I was dating his daughter. Sigma and Yggdrasil were nothing compared to the dread I felt for this meeting.
It only got worse when I knocked on her door. The evilest woman I'd ever seen opened the door and peered down her nose at me with narrow eyes. Her makeup made her look even more frightening with the severe black lining. And her heels made her taller than me, giving her a looming presence.
"It's you," she hissed, opening the door. I took a deep breath, preparing for a verbal lashing. And it came. "I don't know what you're doing here boy. You're ruining my daughter's future. You didn't think of that when you tempted her away from me did you? No. She's destined for much greater things then you."
"I know how that is," I said casually. "Being destined for great things I mean. I did just recently save the world…but you know. Societal rank takes precedence or something, right?"
"You cocky little bastard," she growled.
"Enough."
The voice was firm, low and smooth. Mrs Ando shut up immediately and wiped the fierce look from her face before turning to see her husband. He was dressed in a suit, just as I was, and was looking at his wife with barely disguised disgust.
"The boy is speaking the truth. Our daughter wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for him," he informed her.
She gaped at him. "You can't believe his tall tales, darling!"
"The hell I can't," he said. I was just barely suppressing my grin. "I've heard the stories from our daughter and her friend—Goblimon. There have been many accounts on the news of the battle in downtown Odaiba. Now I don't know if this young man was there—"
"I wasn't," I admitted.
"See! He's just filing Natsuni's head with lies," Mrs Ando complained.
"I was in the heart of the battle in the Digital World," I said, narrowing my own eyes at her for once. "But my brother was fighting in Odaiba. My little brother. I didn't see you fighting anywhere though…?"
"Well—" she said, preparing some pitiful defense, but her husband didn't let her get it out.
"He protected our daughter in this Digital World," Mr Ando said firmly. "And he deserves our respect for it."
"He may have yours," Mrs Ando hissed. "But he doesn't have mine. And he won't. Not until he gets rid of these foolish fancies and let's go of his hold on my daughter."
"That could take the rest of your life, mother," Natsuni said, walking into view. She was beautiful. The blush that spread across her cheeks told me that she noticed my gaping, and appreciated it. I felt a flush of my own coming and had to look away. Mr Ando looked amused, and Mrs Ando was furious with her daughter's comment.
"It's a good thing I don't need her respect then, isn't it?" I quipped. Natsuni looked at me and laughed.
"It is good," she said. "Thank you, Daddy, for accepting him."
"Anyone who puts the fate of the world above his own life—and puts my baby girl's life above the fate of the world—is alright in my books," he said with a small smile.
"I would," I told him. "I'd put her before everything."
"You already do," Natsuni said. "Though I wish you wouldn't."
"You're just saying that," I teased. "You like it."
"I do," she said sheepishly. "But not in the battle. I didn't like it then. You need to take care of yourself too."
"What do I need to do that for?" I said with a smile. "Not when I've got you and Armadillomon looking out for me."
"Is that for me?" she asked, changing the subject as she cast a quick look at her father. He looked uncomfortable with the declarations of our loyalty to one another, though he did seem slightly pleased. She was pointing to the corsage in my hand that I'd forgotten about entirely.
"Yes," I said. "It's one of a kind."
"I can see that," Mrs Ando snipped.
"It's perfect," Natsuni said. "And might I ask who made it?"
"Meiyomon of course," I said. I flitted my eyes between Natsuni and her father before awkwardly moving to pin the corsage to her dress.
"I'll be the talk of the town," Natsuni joked once I'd finished. "And it goes so well with my pale blue gown too."
"You don't have to wear it," I offered.
"I want to," she countered, leaning in close to kiss my cheek.
"It's time for our departure, don't you think?" Mr Ando said, clearing his throat. There was only so much he was willing to witness. He was thankful that Natsuni was okay and that I helped save the world. That didn't mean he wanted to see us kissing anymore than I wanted to kiss in front of him.
"I concur," I said quickly, squeezing Natsuni's hand once before letting her lead me to the car that her father had rented for the event.
"A perfectly good waste of money now," Mrs Ando had commented when she saw me splutter at the sight of the limousine. Apparently she didn't think there was a reason to have rented it now that Natsuni was going with a date. She didn't need the added attention it would bring anymore. Oddly enough, I was pleased at that. But I still wanted to ride in the limousine, so I held my tongue. Natsuni rolled her eyes at me.
"You're cute when you're jealous," she muttered as I helped her into the vehicle.
"I'm not jealous. There's nothing to be jealous of," I murmured back. She just rolled her eyes at me again.
The trip there was long and nerve wracking. Mrs Ando kept a hawk's eye on me leaving me floundering for an escape, but not willing to show her my weakness I simply stared right back at her. Natsuni kept resting her hand on my leg, and I could feel Mr Ando's eyes narrow in on her hand, but she never noticed. She only moved her hand so she could point out different sections of reconstruction to me, making comments about the battle as we drove through the street it had taken place on. When the vehicle finally did come to a stop, I nearly flew out onto the pavement, stopping only long enough to hold my hand out for Natsuni, helping her out too. I debated for a moment before holding my hand out again for her mother, but wasn't surprised when Mrs Ando refused, deciding to lower her standards and get out on her own accord instead. I could do no more than shrug my shoulders before Natsuni was dragging me towards the party.
There were so many gowns and tuxes that I didn't know where to look. I didn't think I would've recognized anyone even if I did know them outside of the party. Everything looked far too elegant for me. I really didn't belong. But Natsuni didn't seem to notice. She was dragging me around and introducing me to people with a proud look on her face. I'd never seen her so happy, especially when it came to her mother's social events.
"This is Iori Hida," she was telling an elderly gentleman. He held out his hand for me to shake, and seemed both pleased and surprised at my firm handshake. I didn't know if I ought to be flattered or insulted.
"Is this man your suitor, young lady?" the man asked. It felt weird for anyone to refer to me as a man. Theoretically, I knew I was one, but it was nice to hear just the same. I wasn't a little boy anymore. I straightened up at the sound of it and Natsuni giggled.
"He is. And I love him very much," she said.
"I must say, I had hoped you would choose my grandson, but who am I to dismantle happiness such as your own?" the man said, before excusing himself from the conversation, and wandering over to Mr Ando, who grinned and sent a pleased look his daughter's way. Natsuni preened in her father's acceptance.
"I love that man too," she commented. "Did you know he yelled at my mother the moment she stepped in the door, demanding that he disown me? He's proud of me and what I've become, even if I'm not the little socialite he'd been hoping for. According to him, I'm something better."
"Of course you are," I told her.
"Let's dance, shall we?" she asked. Without comment, I tugged her hand, leading her to the dance floor, where I started swaying with her back and forth. "Dancing like high school students?"
"Is there any other way?" I asked with a smile.
"I'm sure there is," she said. "We're grownups now, but this is good too."
"I love you Natsuni," I murmured into her hair as I held her close. "I don't say it enough."
"You've said it plenty," she assured me.
"Not before the battle," I pointed out. "And I'm not making that mistake again. I'm going to make sure you know how I feel, because it's important."
"Well," she said, pretending to contemplate it. "I suppose I'd have to say that I love you too."
"You don't have to."
"But I feel it," she whispered.
"If it isn't the talk of the party!" Noriko's loud voice was unmistakable. Natsuni reluctantly pulled herself away to look at the intruder. "Did I interrupt a moment?"
"Yes," I said. But it didn't matter, because Natsuni was quick to assure her that she hadn't at the same time. I rolled my eyes.
"Sorry," she said sheepishly. "I just wanted to see how you were. The battle took a lot out of me and I wasn't even in the thick of things."
"Better than I expected, really," I said. "I thought there'd be a lot to work through, post traumatic stress or something, but all I feel is relief."
"You never have to risk your life again," Natsuni said happily.
"Not for the sake of the world, at least," I allowed.
"I suppose you'll risk your life for her though," Noriko said, raising her eyebrow at me. "I wouldn't fault you for that. You love her. It's painfully obvious. Sickening almost."
"What about you, Noriko?" Natsuni asked softly.
"Do I have a new love interest?" Noriko clarified. "I do actually. I've been dating him awhile now. He wants me to move in with him, and I'm really thinking about it. He goes to school north of here, and I just happened to be accepted there as well. My life's really turning around."
"And you don't…stalk him…do you?" I asked nervously.
"No," she said with a laugh. "I don't feel the need to like I did with you. My therapist helped me with that. You'll be my only stalking victim."
"Don't I feel special," I grumbled. I was saved from anymore painfully awkward conversation by loud, high-pitched screams.
"What is that?"
"Who let those in here?"
"Call security!"
I closed my eyes and prayed it wasn't what I thought it was. But Natsuni dashed any hope I had by calling out to the disrupters.
"Meiyomon, Armadillomon, Goblimon! What are you doing here?" she asked.
"We wanted to play too, right?" Meiyomon said cutely, trying to play up his innocent child look. It wasn't going to work with me. I opened my eyes to glare at him, but then shifted my glare to Armadillomon who was supposed to be watching him.
"I didn't let him out of my sight, I swear!" was Armadillomon's only defence.
"Get those monsters away!" Mrs Ando screeched.
"Meiyomon," Noriko called loudly, casting an angry look in Mrs Ando's direction. "Could I have this dance?"
"Yes," Meiyomon said, bouncing up and down. He ran over to Noriko and bowed clumsily. Noriko rolled her eyes and scooped my little brother's hands into her own, before waving them around between them crazily. Meiyomon squealed with laughter.
"I call dibs on Goblimon!" Natsuni called out over the silence of the shocked crowd. She ran at Goblimon and jumped into his arms. He lifted her high into the air before pulling her into a hug, swaying her as he did so.
"I'm next!" called a girl in a bright pink dress.
"No, me!" her friend screamed at her.
"Would you look at that," Armadillomon said shaking his head. "Just a couple days ago we were thrown out of a shop because I existed, and now they're fighting over dance partners."
"Do you want to jump in line?" I teased.
"No, no," he said. "Now that your girlfriend is busy, you'll need some company."
"Thanks," I said lowly.
"What's wrong?" Armadillomon asked after a long, drawn out silence.
"I can't help but wonder if Grandpa would be proud of me. I miss him all the time and I never told him about Natsuni. I should have though. He would've understood," I said.
"He knew though," Armadillomon said confidently. "He had to have. He was insightful and noticed almost everything about you. He was very proud of you then Iori, and I'm sure he's even more proud of you now."
"How can you know though?" I asked, watching Goblimon swing my girlfriend around in large circles. Her laughter filled the entire room.
"Because he used to say that there was nothing you could do that wouldn't make him proud," Armadillomon said. "And you just saved the world. How could he not be proud about that?"
"I guess you're right," I said softly. "So…do you want to dance?"
"How about we hit the punch bowl instead?" Armadillomon suggested quickly.
"Let's," I agreed just as fast. We looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh.
Miyako Ichijouji:
It wasn't as easy as I expected, to just slip back into a relaxed way of living. I'd been wound far too tightly for far too long to just forget it ever happened. And maybe that was the point. Everything I'd been through had shaped me into the person I was now. There would be more events in my life that would change me further still—though hopefully not as drastic of events as saving the world—and I would be okay with those changes too. It would just take time for me to relax, to accept that I was a victim of Sigma, and that I had saved the world multiple times. The hardest thing to accept wasn't either of those though. It was the fact that we were done. There would be no more world saving for us. No sir. We'd have to slip into normal, everyday, boring lives.
I just wasn't ready to let go of the adventure. I wasn't ready to let the Digital World's safety be placed in some other person's hands. I wanted to be sure that it—and subsequently all other worlds—was safe. And I couldn't be sure unless I had a hand in it. But life doesn't always give you what you want. It does, however, give you what you need. I just had to learn what to do with what I was given.
Ken would help me. I was sure of that. And Momoe and Jou. And baby Emiko. Hawkmon would too. He was perhaps the most important asset I'd have in my recovery, and he was also the only shining light I could see in our adventure-less life. He wouldn't be on the front lines anymore. I wouldn't have to suffer panic attacks thinking he wouldn't make it out of our newest fight. He could have fun, we could spend time together, bond even more than we already were simply because we were friends, and not due to the connection of our crest.
Hawkmon was sitting on the floor, discussing the downward spiral his favourite television show was taking. He'd had such high hopes from the beginning. It was the only time he'd ever branched out of his typical real-life crime shows. Wormmon didn't seem to have any problems with the turn the show took though. He actually preferred the more romantic feel to the action packed, anxiety riddled show it used to be. I rolled my eyes at the now arguing pair. I was so glad that they'd be safe from now on. I couldn't imagine my life without them. They were a part of Ken's and my family.
"Can we be in love again?" Ken asked, drawing my eyes away from the digimon.
"I thought we always were?" I said dryly.
"I want to go back to a time where we shared things with one another, not kept them away," Ken said walking over to me and grabbing my hand. "We used to be so in tune. What happened?"
"I got scared," I told him.
"And I was too determined not to mess up," Ken added. "I had to keep the crests from you because of Meiyomon. I shouldn't have. You would've been able to help. I'm sure of it."
"You could have helped me too," I said sadly. "But I was too scared. Scared to show you my weakness, and far too scared to show it to anybody else. I didn't want them to think you were doing it. Mari thought that immediately. I was just trying to—"
"Protect me," Ken finished for me. "I was too. I didn't want you to get attacked by that digimon that stole the crests from us. I didn't want Meiyomon to have any reason to blame you when things turned sour. He's a scary little guy."
"Not as scary as Sigma," I countered with a feeble laugh. "Or Daemon. I was so happy to see you when you came to get me. I was so scared and I didn't know what they were planning on doing. I'd all but given up hope. Armadillomon was the only ray of sunshine I could find, and even he was getting depressed. But then I heard your voice and it was like nothing could hurt me anymore. Because you were there."
"I don't know what I would've done if I'd been even a second late. I don't want to even speculate. I couldn't lose you. I can't lose you," he murmured, pulling me into his chest and kissing the top of my head. I threw my arms around his chest and clung to him, hating the fact that I was crying, but loving the warmth he gave me.
"Thank you," I cried. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."
"You've saved me from the darkness before," he said. "It was just time to return the favour."
I couldn't help the bubble of watery laughter that escaped me. I kissed his cheek and just held him for a few minutes.
"Are you alright?" Wormmon asked us.
"Did something happen that we were unaware of?" Hawkmon wanted to know.
"No," I said. "I'm just so happy."
"I'm happy too," Hawkmon told me.
"I think we're all happy," Ken concluded. "Do you need some tea to help calm down?"
"That would be nice," I said. "You know, we're going to have to put child locks on all of our cupboards now."
"Why?" Wormmon asked.
"Because I'm not being terrorized anymore! I don't have to worry about Sigma getting Emiko or Masa if I have them over here. I can actually babysit my niece and nephew. I can bond with them. Oh I can't wait!" I squealed. "I'm so excited. I can't wait to have the sounds of little feet filling the empty, lonely apartment while Ken's away at school!"
Ken came out of the kitchen holding an empty mug and fixed me with a strange look. He seemed both wary and intrigued…and a little bit excited—but it was as if he was desperately holding that excitement at bay.
"Are you saying you want to have kids…?" he asked.
"I need to be doing something," I confirmed. "And watching Emiko and Masa would be a dream come true. I just love kids!"
"No," he said to clarify. "I meant…one of our…own…"
I was shocked. It hadn't crossed my mind before that, but thinking about it, I really did want to have kids. I hated being one of four growing up, but there were too few of us in the apartment for me to be at ease. A couple of kids wouldn't hurt. It could be wonderful. No. It would be wonderful.
But was I ready right then?
I'd have to think that through. It didn't take me very long to come to a conclusion. It was the most obvious thing in the world.
"I—" I started. I was interrupted before I could get any further.
BAM!
My hand flew to my heart and I turned wide eyed to the door of our apartment. I just about screamed before I noticed that it was only Momoe. She burst through the door as if she owned the place, balancing Emiko on one hip and holding a file folder in the opposite hand. Her eyes were alit with excitement, and her short, brown hair bounced as she walked towards me with a hop in her step.
"Don't do that," I hissed. She looked somewhat apologetic, but only for the smallest fraction of a second.
"I just got the best news I've ever heard in my life," Momoe declared, setting Emiko onto her feet as Ken closed the door that Momoe had left open behind her.
"I might've too, if you hadn't interrupted," I heard Ken grumble, and I had to hold back a bubble of laughter as I rolled my eyes.
"Well?" Momoe asked impatiently.
"Well what?" Ken asked with a little bite. Apparently he wasn't being very patient either. We had a long time of peace ahead of us. I didn't think an extra couple minutes of waiting for his answer would kill him.
"Aren't you going to ask what my news is?" Momoe demanded.
"What news?" Emiko asked excitedly.
"Since someone asked," Momoe said, glaring in my direction. She grabbed the folder she'd been carrying, and opened it on one of her palms. She picked up the paper on the top of the pile and held it out to me. It was one of the most boring pages ever. It was a lot like those Terms and Agreement documents that websites make you read before you can use their services. I read it, but it was very dry.
"And?" I asked.
"Didn't you read it?" she asked with a gleam in her eye.
"It just goes on and on about what an employee can and cannot do while in employment with some sort of company," I said confused.
"I am that employee," Momoe shrieked in excitement. "It's telling me what I can and cannot do. Isn't that the greatest thing in the world? I'm going to make a paycheck and take the load off of Jou's shoulders. Not only that, but the job sounds super cool and interesting. It might be a little time consuming at first, since I'll need to be trained, but once I get the hang of it, I'll be able to be home with Emiko more too."
"That's great," I said with a lot of enthusiasm. And it wasn't until that exact moment that I was able to pinpoint my true feelings about Momoe's job search. I was jealous. She was married, had a daughter, and was well on her way to having a great career. I was married—and I loved my husband and that marriage very much—but other than that, my life wasn't going anywhere. Even my job at the library wasn't secure these days. The owner—Mari's grandmother—had passed away recently, and no one knew for sure whether it would remain open when all of the legal paperwork was done. I thought that perhaps Mari was designated to inherit the place, but with all that was going on in her life, I didn't know if she was going to want the added pressure.
"I know what you're thinking," Momoe told me with a smirk. "And don't worry. I've got it covered."
Clearly, she couldn't know what I was thinking. She couldn't possibly think she could fix the hole in my plans for my future. Who thinks things like that?
"Aunty 'Yako!" Emiko squealed, clinging to my legs, arms wrapped around my knees. She lifted her legs off the floor and nearly made me topple over. She was giggling up a storm though, and it was one of the most amazing sounds I'd ever heard in my life: a child's laughter. Of course it was ruined a bit a second later when I felt something oozing down the back of my right calf. She let go and ran off after Ken. He looked at her cautiously before calmly removing himself out of her target zone—basically, he ran for the bedroom like a chicken. This movement caught Emiko's interest, and she seemed to be scheming something entirely new, racing off after him with a battle cry.
"Miyako," Momoe said softly. "Willis got me the job. It's a new branch the government is working on, and it's to help monitor activities between the Digital World and Earth. A lot of people are scared of digimon, and a lot of scared digimon accidently fall through to Earth. My job is to find those digimon and help them get home before the scared humans try and attack it, prompting it to fight back in self-defense."
"You're the Digi-Gatekeeper then?" I asked.
"Hopefully I'm just one of them," she said. My mind took a few moments to process what she was suggesting.
"You want my help?" I asked in shock.
"I have very strict guidelines to work with, but otherwise, I get to pick my partner. They need to know that we'll be able to work together without fail, and having prior knowledge of the Digital World is a must. You also have the added bonus of knowing what you're doing when you use a computer, and you won't look at me like I'm stupid if I ask about a digivice. It's happened twice with people they suggested for my partner. No. I need you, no one else. How about it baby sister?" Momoe pleaded.
"I…" I hesitated, though I didn't know why. This was practically perfect for me. I would be able to continue my work at saving the Digital World and the digimon that resided there. No, I wouldn't be facing big tough digimon with Hawkmon at my side, but I would be protecting the digimon from humans that wanted to hurt them, and that was just as important. We needed to live in peace and harmony, not continue fighting.
"Please?" Momoe said eagerly. "You're perfect. Who better for the position than you, who was the most important person in any of the worlds for like ten seconds during the final battle?"
"It was actually 12.7 seconds," I said sheepishly. I blushed at the embarrassment I felt for knowing that. "Let me meet with the boss for an interview. I can't make any promises, but—"
"You're going to love it. I just know!" Momoe screamed ecstatically.
"Emiko don't!" I heard Ken yell from the bathroom. "I need that to shave my face!"
Emiko let out a squeal, and came running into the living room holding Ken's lather brush and wiping her face with the soft bristles.
"Do you think that you could watch Emiko for me this afternoon?" Momoe asked suddenly. "Jou and I really need to go out and celebrate my new job, and I think it would be better if we made a date of it, you know? We haven't spent much time alone together since Emiko was born, but we spent even less time since the problems in the Digital World started up."
"Go ahead," I told her. "I haven't watched Emiko before. I'm going to really love this."
"You say that now," Momoe joked—but I could tell she was more than a little bit serious about it. Emiko was a handful. She loved joking around and getting into trouble. But between Hawkmon, Wormmon, Ken and me, we ought to have been able to handle her. Speaking of the digimon…
While Momoe excused herself from the apartment after a quick hug and kiss to her daughter, I was on a hunt for the digimon. They couldn't have got too far. They weren't usually a quiet pair. Maybe on their own, but never when they were together. I found them, tied up with plastic wrap and gagged with a pair of socks, in the hall closet. I quickly removed the socks and asked what happened as I ripped at the plastic.
"Emiko happened," Wormmon said, nervously flicking his eyes up and down the hallway, as if he expected my little niece to jump out at any second.
"Someone really should put a leash on her," Hawkmon commented.
"How bad did she ruffle your feathers?" I asked incredulously. "She's a little girl. She doesn't need to be tied up."
"And we did?" Hawkmon asked with a snort.
"No," I told him. I let out a loud, triumphant shout when I finally tore through the remainder of the plastic wrap. Wormmon scrambled to mine and Ken's bedroom and slammed the door behind him. I could've sworn I heard the faint click of the lock a second later.
"Miyako!" Ken called loudly from the kitchen. Hawkmon and I looked at each other before racing to him for different reasons. Hawkmon probably thought Emiko was going to kill Ken or something, but I was just worried that she'd hurt herself with one of the utensils.
"Is she okay?" I demanded as I burst through the door. Emiko hadn't been in any danger at all. In fact, she was seated perfectly still on the floor staring wide-eyed and open mouthed at the shimmering blue fairy in front of her.
"It's good to see you," the Winter Queen said. She looked so very out of place next to the faded yellow cupboards and the counter that was littered with dirty dishes. I really should get doing those. No matter how long I waited for him to do it, I knew Ken wouldn't. He didn't like touching them while they were dirty. What a baby. He'd put them away and dry them though, so that was something.
"Good to see you to," I said awkwardly.
"I need for you to come with me," she said nobly.
"We were kind of in the middle of a life changing discussion," Ken said. The Winter Queen turned to look at him and suddenly he got nervous. "But it'll still be there when she gets back. Go ahead honey. I'll hold down the fort."
"Wimp," I teased, but nodded at the Winter Queen to let her know I was ready. Hawkmon fluttered over to my side and caught hold of my hand just in time for my apartment to melt away from us and for a majestic, magical forest to be painted in its place.
Daisuke was already there looking very confused, wearing his apron emblazoned with his noodle cart slogan "Noodle Noodle, Come Get Your Noodle!" He was standing next to the Spring Queen we'd saved together. She looked a little less frazzled, but I didn't expect her to be back to normal for awhile yet. She'd been tortured for information for ages. She was bound to have some difficulty recovering—just like I was. Veemon looked even more confused than Daisuke did, and kept looking around with wide eyes, expecting something to jump out of the trees and attack us.
Iori appeared just after I did, a serious look on his face, and Armadillomon was standing by his feet. His "aunt" the Summer Queen was looking jovial next to him as she chattered away to her Forgiving Knight. She stopped talking not long after their arrival, and took a few steps toward the centre of our little gathering.
"Thank you," she said loudly. "You have gone above and beyond our expectations over the years and we must thank you for it. I feel guilty, that we did not ask your permission when we laid out your destiny. It was far too much for us to ask of any of you. But I am so very proud of you. All of you."
"We would have done it anyway," Daisuke said firmly.
"I could say I forgive you, if you think that'd help," Iori offered with a shy smile.
"It would help immensely, my dear Forgiving Knight," she said happily.
"Then I forgive you," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Daisuke was right though. There was nothing to forgive, because we would have done it anyway."
"Miyako?" the Winter Queen asked nervously. I hadn't said anything, but it wasn't because I was mad at them. I was just confused.
"No one is ever asked if they want their destiny," I said. "They're given exactly what they can handle, whether they believe it or not. I would have done it if you asked, but you didn't have to. You knew I could handle it, and for that, I should be thanking you."
"Thank you," the Winter Queen said softly, bowing her head to me. I felt the need to bow back almost immediately, and did so, nearly falling on my face and causing her to laugh. Her laughter sounded like bells tinkling over the sounds of the enchanted forest.
"We will not ask of any more from any of you," the Spring Queen said. "It isn't our place to do so."
"We will never be far, if ever you be in need of assistance," the Summer Queen added. "We will not remove ourselves from your lives unless you ask us to."
"Never," Iori said quickly.
"Is…is that all?" I asked. "Not that I don't want to be here, but Ken and I were having a discussion…"
"We simply wanted to thank you, and tell you that you have completed all that we could ask of you," the Winter Queen summarized. "We wanted to tell you that we are working diligently to calm the masses in our domains. Summer in the Land of Dreams, Spring in Witchenly and myself here, in our Fairy home."
"If ever you need us, give us a call okay?" the Spring Queen reiterated. "We asked so much of you, it's the least we can do. So long as it isn't ridiculous. I won't make you a millionaire or anything, just to warn you."
"Okay," Daisuke said. Iori and I nodded solemnly. The fairy queens moved to give each of us a hug. Before they sent us home, they paused to thank our digimon for their hard work, and they hugged them too. I closed my eyes for a few seconds, and when I opened them once again, I was back in my kitchen.
"Well?" Ken asked. I knew he was asking about the meeting with the queens and not demanding an answer to his earlier question, but I couldn't help myself.
"Yes, I'm ready for kids!" I blurted out. I quickly looked around the apartment, waiting for yet another interruption, but none came. I looked to my husband and caught sight of his big grin.
"Really?" he asked.
"Yes," I confirmed.
Emiko's squeals filled the room and Wormmon's frantic cry of "No Emiko! Put that down, it's not a toy!" followed after it. Ken's eyes widened and he ran out of the kitchen to save his digimon partner for a change. It was usually the other way around.
"Are you sure you're ready for an Emiko of your own?" Hawkmon asked nervously.
"I think so, yes," I told him.
"She's a little demon in disguise you realize," he warned me.
"I'm ready," I assured him. "And that's just Emiko. Most babies aren't that enthusiastic. But it probably won't happen right away. It takes time for that. It'll happen when it happens, but you know, I'm really excited for when it does."
Mari Goutokuji:
"Everyone hush!" Hideto hissed, pulling his blanket up to his face as the light from the television flicked over him and the rest of us. "This is the best part!" The room was dark since Miyako had pulled the curtains across the window to make it appear as if it were night. Miyako had issued a girls night wherein we would watch all those lame, sappy movies about love and heartbreak, but I'd brought a few horror movies instead.
As the monster jumped out from behind the door the woman began screaming at the same time as Hikari, Sora and Mimi. Mimi, still screaming, began fumbling with the remote until the television turned off dissipating all light in the room.
Suddenly the lights turned on and they were all screaming again, this time with Miyako.
"What's going on?" Ken asked, his finger shaking by the light switch. "I thought you were watching romance movies!"
"We were going to!" Miyako snapped, getting off of her couch and kicking the blanket away from her feet, "But someone thought it was a good idea to scare the crap out of us all."
"I found it rather enjoyable." Katsue said through her hysterical laughter.
Everyone turned to her as Miyako threw open the curtains allowing the sunlight to pour into the room. Katsue was sitting on the floor with Monimon, Hikari and Gatomon on one side of the couch while Sora, Biyomon, Miyako and Hideto took up the couch leaving me to sit with Mimi and Palmon on the other side. When I looked back to Ken I saw that Wormmon and Hawkmon had come to see what was going on as well.
"You agreed to watch a horror movie?" Ken asked, "After what you went through?"
"Well I didn't know it was a horror movie, now did I?" She said loudly, throwing her hands up dramatically.
"It's called 'Nightmare's revenge.'" Sora pointed out.
"And the opening scene was a murder." Biyomon followed up.
"And the whole time there was suspenseful music." Palmon added. I looked lazily toward Katsue who was sitting in front of the television now. For some unknown reason I couldn't find energy to do anything lately. And it wasn't actually an unknown reason either... I just didn't want to think about it. Or did I?
I came back to focus when Katsue moved aside to reveal Monimon plugged into the television. We were all on the screen and then everyone started screaming, their faces panic stricken. Katsue and Hideto were both laughing uncontrollably again as everyone else glared at them.
"Let's watch it again!" Katsue laughed.
"No," Miyako moved quickly and picked Monimon up, unplugging him from the computer. "Let's never watch a horror movie again."
"I agree." Hikari declared.
"I dunno, they're kind of fun." Gatomon shrugged. "Watching all of your reactions anyway. You were all more scared than a cat that's just seen a giant squid monster."
I saw everyone turn their heads to her, but I kept mine rested on my arms.
"That's not a good pun." Hikari pointed out.
"Uh, not a pun," Gatomon defended, "Everything would be scared of a giant squid monster. That's just a fact." Everyone was laughing at her, and a moment later I felt a hand on my shoulder.
I didn't bother looking though. I could tell it was Hideto.
"You okay?" He asked quietly as the others all started talking. I shook my head, but still didn't say anything. "Mari, everything will be okay."
"Don't tell me that." I shot in a whisper. He knew I hated that. He knew that I hated how everyone kept telling me lies, and that everything would be fine when I knew that it wouldn't. He knew that it wouldn't.
"Sorry," Hideto said, patting my shoulder lightly and then retracting his hand. I relaxed and retreated into my mind for a brief moment before someone had grabbed my hand. I looked up and saw that Hideto was standing, pulling me to my feet.
"What?" I said quietly, not looking at him as I straightened my shirt out.
He didn't respond yet and instead just led me to the fire escape where he helped me through the window and then closed the window. He finally looked to me and sighed. I could see that he wanted to help—it was written all over his face, and in his eyes, but that didn't mean I was ready for it. "Mari," he said, "You haven't cried in days. You haven't eaten at all, and you're not even sleeping. You need to let out your emotions."
"Shut up." I snapped, looking away from him.
"Mari, please." Hideto said, still holding my hand. "Just talk to me. Just tell me what's going on inside that feisty little brain of yours." He used his free hand to brush a strand of hair from my face, so I slapped it away, anger rising quickly.
"There's nothing going on." I told him, "I'm just sad. I have every right to be."
"You do," He nodded, "But you also need to live, Mari. You are like, my best friend."
"I thought that was Neo."
"It is." he said, "But it's you too. And Kiyoko. And Agumon and Gabumon—all of you."
"Yeah well, I think Kiyoko is my best friend now." I said, "I don't know."
"Well fine," Hideto said flatly as I looked to the streets below. "I just want you to know that you aren't alone Mari. You think you are, I know you think you are. But you're not alone. You're never alone. You never have been, and you never will be. We'll all always be there for you." I didn't say anything to that. I didn't know how. I knew he was wrong. That's what I wanted to say, but... but I couldn't. "Look at me," Hideto said finally, putting his hand on my cheek and bringing me around to face him. "Talk to her."
"What?" I shot.
"Talk to Lalamon." He said quietly. The tone of his voice told me very clearly that he was serious. I stared at him for a while, the light from the sun beating down on his face as the cool summer breeze blew through his messy black hair and my blonde hair that I'd tied into a ponytail. "Just tell her... what you'd say if she was here."
"I'd say that I missed her," I said through gritted teeth. I wanted it to be embarrassing to admit, but it wasn't. It was just true. I just wanted her back.
"No," Hideto said, "Say it to her."
I glared at him, as his phone vibrated, but he ignored it. I then turned away, ripping my hand from his grip and looked over the fire escape and down at the city. "Lalamon... you... you took my hand and showed me how to live. You promised that you'd always be there..." It was not an easy thing to do with Hideto standing right beside me, so I closed my eyes and ignored his presence, picturing Lalamon in front of me. "And if someone said three years ago that you'd be gone... I'd stand up, and punch them out, because they're all wrong. I know better. Because you said forever."
"Mari," Hideto tried, reaching for me again, but I slapped his hand away.
"No." I said firmly, "I don't want to do this okay!" I shouted, stepping closer to him, my eyes starting to water. "You're making me hate myself! I don't resent her for it! I don't blame her—but I just said I did! I don't though! It's not her fault!" I punched his shoulder as hard as I could and bit my lip, turning for the window, and trying to open it but finding it was locked.
I punched it too.
"Mari," Hideto said, "Just tell her that you'll miss her. Tell her that you'll keep her in your heart until you meet again."
"But I won't!" I shouted loudly, "I'll never see her again!" I spun back quickly and elbowed the window this time. "HEY!" I screamed.
Suddenly the window was popping open. I peered through it and saw Miyako looking to me confused. "You alright?" She asked. I shook my head and climbed through the window, leaving Hideto there. "Do you want to help me in the kitchen?"
I walked right past her without saying anything and then suddenly froze. For some reason I really did want to. I wanted so badly to be in talking to Miyako. I turned back to her and grabbed her hand and dragged her directly into the kitchen ignoring Hideto's look.
"Are you alright, Mari?" Miyako asked the moment I let go and spun to face her. "I know how hard this must be for you. If I lost Hawkmon... I'd need someone there for me. I'd need a hug."
I nodded suddenly and stepped forward to hug her, but a scream interrupted us, and Miyako looked to me apologetically before running into the living room. I followed her and saw that Mimi had accidentally turned the television back on and the monster had scared her. I needed to get out of there. I just...
I strode across the room past the others who were all clutching their chests in fear except for Hideto and Katsue who were laughing hysterically.
"Shut up!" Mimi yelled, throwing a pillow at Hideto, "What are you even doing here? This is a girl's night!"
"I'm an honorary girl!" Hideto joked. "I'm kind of amazing that way." I decided to tune them out as I got ready to leave. I couldn't be around people anymore. I needed to do something—anything at all, or else I'd explode. I was putting on my boots when I heard Hideto say my name. "Right Mari?" I turned to them and froze. What were they saying? "You want a talk show too, don't you?"
"We could be co-hosts!" Katsue said loudly, clapping her hands together.
"Sounds fun." I said flatly.
"Uh, Mari," Hikari said, moving forward quickly, "Where are you going?"
"Out." I said, reminding myself of a teenager again.
"No," Mimi said bluntly, "You can't leave yet."
"And why is that?" I asked, zipping my boot up. "I'm just going for a walk. I can't sit around right now, okay?"
"No, you really can't go though." Ken said. I noticed they were all holding their phones. What did they know that I didn't? Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Oh, Mari, could you... get that?"
I stared at him expressing all my confusion and anger into one death glare before turning and pulling open the door.
"Willis?" I asked. He was standing on the other side of the door standing taller than I, even with my heeled boots. The others wanted me to answer the door because they knew Willis was coming. Why did they know? What did the messages on their phone say?
"Hey," Willis smiled. "Going somewhere?"
"I'm going for a walk to be alone." I told him.
"Great, I'll come with you," He said with a smile. I just raised my eyebrows and then stepped out the door passed him. "Bye guys!" Willis called as I strode down the hallway, ignoring him. As I was waiting for the elevator Willis had caught up. He didn't say anything though all the way down to the bottom floor. "After you," he said as the door opened finally.
I obeyed and walked out into the lobby of the apartment building and then out the front door. Instantly I was greeted with a gust of strong wind. I threw my arms out and stood in the wind with my eyes closed for a while.
Finally, when I opened my eyes Willis was standing with me.
"Willis," I said quietly, "What are you doing here?"
"I came here to be with you." He said, "I'm going to be living here in Japan until you're back on your feet."
"Oh look, I'm on my feet." I said as the wind picked up causing me to lose my balance. Willis caught my arm and pulled me back to my feet, shaking his head. "That was poor timing." I growled to the wind.
"It was perfect timing." Willis corrected. "Mari, no matter how sarcastic you get I'm going to be staying here. I'm always going to be there to catch you. Ever since I met you I've wanted you to be truly happy, but I've never seen it happen. Now, I'm going to do anything, and everything in my power to make sure that it does."
"And why would you do that?" I asked, playing with my hair as I looked away.
"Because I love you Mari."
I turned around, my hands clenched into fists, "Why would you say a stupid thing like that?" I asked sharply, "Willis, I never ever want to be in a relationship. Ever."
"That's fine." He said so quickly and firmly that I had to believe him. "Whatever you want, I'm happy with that. Because as long as you're happy I think I could actually be happy."
Wow he was good at this. Was he though? Or was it really just my heart getting the best of me again? Loving someone was the biggest mistake of my life every time I'd let it happen. Grandma, Marshal, Lalamon, Willis... it wasn't safe. It was too much of a risk because I didn't know if I could lose anything else and still stay alive.
"I just want to die." I blurted before I could stop myself.
"Don't say that," Willis shook his head, and took my hands, "Mari, think about Lalamon. The trait the two of you shared and worked towards was tenacity. She'd want you to power through it and move forward."
"But I can't move forward." I said through gritted teeth as I held back my tears, avoiding eye contact with him.
"You can though."
"I can't!" I shot, "Not when all I want to do is punch someone in the face and die."
"Mari..." Willis said so softly that it actually drew my attention to him. I looked up to his blue eyes and saw the same amount of sadness that I felt reflected in the glassiness of his eyes. He was equally sad about all of this. Because he really did love me. And I hated myself for loving him back. "Mari, let's go for a walk." He released one of my hands and then took the lead, practically dragging me along.
We walked in silence for a while as I constantly ran my fingers through my hair. I could tell Willis was waiting for me to say something but there was nothing I wanted to say. Nothing that felt right. I couldn't find anything that made enough sense. Nothing that ran through my mind had the right amount of emotion that I felt. No words could describe how I felt. There were too many feelings. And I was all alone.
Willis was holding my hand, but he was so far away. There were too many clouds in my mind to find him. The only family I'd had left died... and then Lalamon too... I just kept looking through the fog expecting someone to hold me but no one was there to do so, and whenever someone got close I just got scared and pushed them away. I couldn't hold on. I was slipping.
"Mari," Willis said finally, "Do you remember Lalamon's last words to you?"
"'I love you Mari!'" I said quickly as if I knew what he'd ask. But I didn't. I just couldn't get them out of my head. The entire conversation kept playing out as I'd held her in my arms.
"I love you too," I almost punched Willis for saying it again before I realized that it wasn't him that had said anything at all. "There. I said it." I turned suddenly and found myself staring at Marshal standing dramatically in the wind, his hair. Why was it that he always came equipped with a dramatic entrance.
"Oh this should be good." Willis said, rolling his eyes.
"Shut it." Marshal snapped. "You are more than unwelcome here." Marshal was moving forward now using the same tactic he'd used a thousand times on everyone he'd ever bullied, standing tall, his muscular chest pushed out and his arms tight to make them look bigger. "You live in New York. Get back there and let me and my future bride be together. Just accept it. You've lost."
"Marshal, you live in New York too." Willis said, rolling his eyes.
"I moved here."
My stomach fell at his words. I didn't have enough energy left in me to put up with Marshal.
"Me too." Willis said, stepping forward, between Marshal and I. Marshal glared at Willis and then turned to me, his expression lightening.
"Rebecca, you've done some wrong in your past," He said, "But I forgive you. So please. Just... leave Willis out of this so we can finally be happy."
"Marshal—" Willis tried, but Marshal acted quickly, using the back of his hand and smacking Willis across the face and causing him to fall to the pavement.
I reacted with anger immediately, swinging my fist toward him, but he swatted it aside easily. All the better. Rosemon wouldn't have wanted me to resort to violence. "'Lil Willy needs to know when to shut up." Marshal snapped, "And Rebecca needs to know where her place is. As a woman you are weak. You are beneath me. You obey me. You will marry me because I know how to handle you. And because my life doesn't involve all those deadly creatures like that crazy spider thing. Willy's got two of them. You had one too, but now you're free from her. Free to be with me. I can fill her place."
"Mari—" Willis warned. He knew was I was going to do before I did myself. But there was no stopping me. I wanted to punch someone, and Marshal popped up. Call it destiny.
I swung my fist as fast and hard as I could toward his face, striking him in the jaw. He gasped and fell back a couple steps, but I wasn't done. I fell to the ground and swung my foot at the back of his knee causing him to fall over, and then I was back on my feet. I turned to walk away, but he had grabbed at my feet and I fell too. Willis was pulling himself to his feet, but both Marshal and I were faster, and I turned to punch him again, but he hit me first.
His open hand struck my face.
Before I could respond once more, Willis had punched Marshal harder than I ever could—harder than I would have thought that Willis could himself.
Marshall fell back and landed on his butt on the hard concrete sidewalk as I rubbed my arms which had caught my own fall only moments prior.
Marshall looked up, angrily and used a streetlight to pull himself to his feet. "So you wanna play that game, do you?"
"What game?" I asked loudly. "Marshall you're very good at this game that neither of us are even playing. You're a jerk. A bully and to be totally honest, you're a total ass. You need therapy or something. Acupuncture therapy. With swords. In your face—"
"I think what Mari is trying to say," Willis said, "Is that you bullied us and used us for far too long and we've let you. But here's the thing. I'm stronger than you. Maybe not physically, but I did throw a pretty good punch there."Marshall grumbled something as he wiped his face where blood was pouring from an open wound on his cheek where Willis had hit him. "But mentally I've always been stronger. Spiritually, and emotionally I've always been stronger, and so has Mari—but to add to that, from what I just saw she's also physically stronger than you. You've been causing mayhem for too long Marshall, so you're going to get up and walk away."
"I don't think so." Marshall objected.
"But I do." Willis said, stepping forward, "And what I say goes in this case. Because if I ever see your face again, I'll send both of my giant digimon to squash Lil' Marshy in his sleep."
"You wouldn't—"
"Try me." Willis was being far more bold and strong than I'd ever seen him be, and I was honestly just very impressed, but it didn't change anything.
Marshall turned and stormed away without another word, and I could only hope that I truly wouldn't ever see him again...
I found that I was shaking in fear as I stared at him, finally leaving me, and Willis took my hand. "Mari," he said calmly, "Tenacity means you stand up for yourself. But it doesn't mean you have to do it alone." As I turned my head to look at him I saw that the fog surrounding my mind was clearing.
"I just want to go home." I said, my voice shaking.
"No, we can't." Willis said, shaking his head, "I have something to show you first."
He set off at a run, our hands still intertwined, and I looked over my shoulder to Marshal whose eyes were fluttering open.
Willis led me to the end of the street and through the town hall parking lot, and then straight into some trees. I wasn't sure where we were going, but he seemed to have an exact place in mind because he kept stopping and holding his chin, thinking and examining trees with a soft 'aha!' every now and then.
Finally though he turned to me smiled. "Close your eyes." He said.
"Willis..." I groaned.
"Just do it." He pleaded. I obliged and closed my eyes. "Alright, mind your step," He said as he guided me. I felt the hard dirt covered ground change under my feet. I knew there was grass where we were, and I felt the sun on my face—we were in a clearing in the trees... "Ready?" He asked and I nodded, shrugging my shoulders, "Okay, open your eyes."
As I opened my eyes I couldn't help but gasp. I was right, we were in a clearing in the trees where grass was growing all over. There was a stone path that led through the middle—but most importantly we were surrounded by hundreds of flowers. All sorts of different kinds of flowers, and different colours were bathing in the sunlight, reflecting it back up so each one was glowing softly in their own colour creating a rainbow. It looked and felt exactly like magic.
"You made this?" I asked, finally cracking a smile as I turned to Willis.
"No." He said, pointing to the end of the stone path where there was a large round stone. I looked to Willis, confused but he didn't say anything, just continued pointing, so I walked down the path slowly feeling more and more free with every step I took, further into the garden.
Finally I was close enough to the stone to read it, and my heart practically stopped. I fell to my knees and ran my hands over the words engraved along it. "I love you Mari" I read slowly, "A garden of flowers. One flower for every time you said that you loved me." My eyes were watering immediately, my hand flying to my chest. I couldn't breathe. I looked back to Willis. "Lalamon?" I asked.
"Yeah." I turned back to the stone to see Lopmon poking her head out. "Sorry," She said, "Did I scare you? You said Lalamon went off and did her own things sometimes. So I asked her what it was, and she told me."
"It's really beautiful." Terriermon said quietly, stepping out to stand with his sister.
I nodded to them and stood up, turning to face Willis. I tried to speak, but no sound would come out. I was choking on my tears, and I couldn't even tell which emotion they were being caused by.
"We're here for Lalamon's funeral." Willis said quietly. "Because she deserved one." I was biting my lip now, using all of my energy to force the tears to not fall.
"And it won't be another quiet funeral." I turned to see who else had joined us and found Michael stepping out from behind a tree. "Because I know how you were scared of your and Lalamon's funeral being alone."
Suddenly there were people and digimon all around me, stepping out from the trees. Hikari and Takeru—and Koushiro and Gomamon—and Kiyoko and Neo and Rei—everyone.
"But you never had to worry about that." Kiyoko said softly, "Because we would all drop anything to be there for you Mari."
"You're not alone." Hideto added.
I didn't know where to look. Everyone was smiling comfortingly to me and I was still just trying really hard not to cry. I found myself turning sharply on my heels and hugging Willis, the tears practically exploding as I sobbed into his shoulder, our arms wrapped around each other.
He kissed my forehead and I pulled from the hug, kissing him on the cheek before walking back to Lalamon's stone. This was her funeral? A time to say goodbye. A time where everyone would pay their respects because she was the most important flower to ever walk into my life. And one of only two who ever had. I fell to my knees again and read the stone once more as everyone watched me. All my friends. I wasn't alone.
"I love you too Lalamon..." I said quietly as the fog from my mind cleared away.
Koushiro Izumi:
It was a wonder, at times like these, that anyone questioned my desire to be immersed in the escape my laptop could provide. Unfortunately, it was broken. The Damn thing overheated, and I wasn't sure it was salvageable. It was a shame, but I wasn't nearly as devastated this time as I was when I watched my first laptop fall from the cliff top. Granted, I saved Mimi instead, and I still stood by that decision, but I did miss it.
I would've even taken the piece of junk that was my new laptop over the lingering silence. I was seated in my desk chair in my bedroom, swinging from side to side; the soft squeaking of the chair was the only sound that filled the air. I would need to oil the chair later, or perhaps exchange it with the desk chair in the living room. There were two desks in our house, and this was the one I used when I needed to get some serious work done, as it wasn't nearly as noisy in the bedroom as it was in the living room, where everyone gathered together more often than not.
Tapirmon was fluttering in the air, looking between his partner and myself. I sighed and began tapping my foot. He still hadn't told me why he bothered to come to me, rather than my mother. He seemed far fonder of her than me. He was sprawled out on mine and Mimi's bed, staring up at the ceiling with a forced blank expression. His chest rose and fell slowly.
"Stop looking at me," he muttered.
"Kiyoko," Tapirmon scolded.
"It's bugging me!" he complained, rolling over onto his side so he could face Tapirmon and me. "I don't mean it in a mean way."
"You're simply saying what is on your mind," I said. "I completely understand. I act in quite a similar way most times. Mimi has tried to cure me of such behaviour, but I find myself compelled to share my opinions and thought processes."
"At least you have a choice," he grumbled.
"Why don't you talk to him, Kiyoko? He might be able to help," Tapirmon offered. I was instantly intrigued. Kiyoko was quite an intelligent individual. He was able to create an entirely different world in a small pocket of space with his computer alone. While I was sure a portion of that intelligence—as was the case with Ken—had been given to him directly through his connection with Sigma, but the fact remained that he was able to use his strategy and intelligence to assist with battles after he managed to cast the evil presence out. He even used it against the original source when he created the strategy used to defeat Sigma once and for all.
"It's not something he'd be interested in," Kiyoko dismissed.
"You're wrong on that front. You have piqued my interest," I told him.
"It's about my love life, more specifically my lack thereof," Kiyoko warned me.
Oh.
I wasn't sure I was quite as interested anymore. This was definitely not my area of expertise. I wondered briefly if I shouldn't go get Sora to help him.
"It's Hideto," he said sounding miserable.
"What exactly is it about him?" I said slowly, calculating my chances of getting out of this conversation. I had to admit, they weren't good.
"Everything," he said. "He's great. He's charming, and he has an uncontrollable desire to help others with their problems. He never admits to his own though, he just covers them up, but I can see them, and I want to help him with it. But he won't let me."
"I see…" I told him. But I didn't. I had no idea what he was going on about. How exactly did Hideto fit into his love life issues?
"I took his advice, you know, and I told him how I felt, because he said that's what you do, and…nothing…" he complained.
"So…you like Hideto?" I guessed.
"I thought you knew…" Kiyoko murmured embarrassed.
"I do now," I told him. I wasn't too bothered by the surprise news. Sora and Mimi both told me—quite often really—that I was horrible at noticing "matters of the heart" whatever that meant.
"I don't think it would've been this bad if he just told me he didn't like me the same way," Kiyoko complained. "But he hasn't. He hasn't been alone with me since I told him, except for one time, and that was the most awkward moment of my life."
"It's the lack of knowledge that's bothering you," I assumed.
"It's the stupid glimmer of hope that keeps rearing its stupid head that's getting to me. If he'd just crush my dreams, I could get over it with enough time. But he won't. He won't even sit in the same room as me anymore, and he keeps calling me Kid. Is he just trying to let me down easy without making a big production out of it?"
"I don't know…" I told him. I didn't like not knowing, but in this particular instance, I thought there would've been quite an awkward conversation involved while getting this particular information, and decided I didn't need to know that badly. "Do you think it could be because you're a boy? I don't mean to say it's a bad thing that you're feeling this, or that Hideto thinks so, but do you think that might be the root of the problem?"
"No," Kiyoko groaned. "He doesn't seem to care whether it's a girl or a boy he's flirting with. He just gets obsessed with their hair. He doesn't flirt with you because your hair sucks."
"Thanks," I said dryly.
"He's got a thing for both Taichi and Willis," Kiyoko continued. "He keeps playing with their hair every chance he gets."
"And you don't think it's just the hair he's interested in?" I asked as gently as I could…which actually amounted to a fairly blunt statement.
"I don't know!" Kiyoko exclaimed.
"We've been going in circles like this for days," Tapirmon informed me. "He always works himself up over it. It's not pretty."
"Who has Hideto been interested in—that you know for certain—in the past?" I questioned, seriously considering fetching Mimi or Sora if Kiyoko didn't come to some sort of conclusion quickly.
"That's the problem," Kiyoko groaned. "He hasn't been with anybody. He flirts up a storm, with anybody and everybody he meets, but he doesn't actually date them. Not for more than one date anyway, if that. I don't know why. But it's not helping matters."
"I don't understand how Hideto thinks," I told him honestly. "Your best chance would be to actually talk to Hideto himself."
"He's avoiding me," Kiyoko said.
"You haven't tried to get him alone either though," Tapirmon reminded him.
"I don't want to know. I mean I do, but I also don't…" Kiyoko said sadly.
"You want a positive answer," I concluded. "But you won't get one. Not at all if you don't actively hunt for it. Hideto isn't going to come to you with his answer, so you'll have to go to him. And don't let him get out of it. It might be uncomfortable, and perhaps heartbreaking, but you'll know. And isn't that worth it?"
"Not really," Kiyoko grumbled, pulling himself into a seated position. "But I can see your point. There's no point moping if I don't know for sure that I have to."
"That wasn't exactly what my conclusion was implying—" I protested, but he got to his feet and murmured a reluctant thanks. He still didn't want to talk to him, but he would. I sighed as I watched him walk through the door. Being the older cousin was hard. I was only thankful that I wasn't an older brother, like Taichi or Yamato were. A brother was meant to supply far more advice than a cousin was. I was really fortunate in that aspect.
"He'll appreciate it more later… probably…" Tapirmon said by way of thanks before rushing out the door after his partner.
I heaved a sigh of relief. I now knew with complete certainty that I was not fit to be a councillor of any sort, and was looking forward with dread at the next encounter I'd have to face.
"Kiyoko sure left in a hurry," Satoe commented from the doorway. I nearly groaned. Why couldn't she just leave our house? She lived in New York, she ought to be there with her husband instead of sticking her nose into every second of her daughter's life. She and I got along better now, but I would've much preferred to have smaller doses of her company. "You didn't say anything to anger him, did you?"
"No. He's just on a mission, if he builds up the courage to do anything about it," I told her.
"Good," she said. "He's a nice kid. I don't want you or anybody else hurting him. He helped save me you know. He and your mother did. I wouldn't be here today, able to help make up for my behaviour if it hadn't been for them."
"You could make up for it in New York. Mimi really enjoys phone calls. She talks to your husband all the time," I told her. It wasn't even a subtle hint, but she ignored it regardless. She stood there smiling and I could do nothing more than stare back at her, wondering when she would leave. She finally noticed when I started tapping my foot.
"I'll just watch a movie with Palmon and Minervamon, shall I?" she asked.
"They'd like that," I agreed, relaxing when I heard the door click shut. I wasn't prepared to have long conversations with her without Mimi present as well. There were too many uncomfortable lulls that I just could not fill with inane chatter like she could.
I fleetingly pondered contemplating Kiyoko's situation, but decided against it, turning toward the near empty notebook lying open on my desk. Typically I didn't have trouble pouring out long recounts of events, cataloguing the events as I remembered them, and following up my firsthand account with various bits of information I'd gathered from interviewing others. I preferred to have multiple views on events, as they weren't as simple as a solid fact. There was a lot that added up to the total event, and I needed to know what all added up to our victory. This time it wasn't even just a personal desire to see it before me. I needed to compose it for the Council meeting that was coming up.
But with the pitiful three jot notes looking up at me from the page, I knew I wouldn't be done on time. I'd never failed to complete a task like this in my life. But I couldn't concentrate. The rough feeling as the pencil scratched across the page was horrible, and the pen I had started out using left me with smears of ink both on my hand and across the words I'd written. I had never realized just how atrocious my handwriting truly was. I'd depended on my computer for so long that not having it in front of me was a handicap I couldn't afford to have at that moment. I couldn't bring myself to be ashamed of the fact though. I simply longed for my computer more than ever.
A distraction would be equally acceptable, however, though I didn't wish for Satoe to come back, or for more awkward attempts at dealing with another's love.
"Koushiro?" Mimi called from behind the closed door.
She was most definitely welcome.
"Come in," I told her, tossing the stupid pencil onto the desk and standing up. She opened the door, balancing a box carefully on one hip as she did so, before returning her second hand to hold the box firmly in front of her. I walked up to her immediately, leaning over the box and kissing her quickly on the mouth.
"What was that for?" she asked with a laugh.
"Thank you," I said. And I didn't even mean for the distraction either. "Thank you for helping us get passed that awkward stage we'd been in for so long of wanting to be together but not wanting to talk about it. I was on the other side of that today and I really feel sorry for the people that were around us."
She gave me a strange look, but shook her head, leaning in to kiss me quickly on the cheek. "You're welcome, I guess. Listen. I got you a present, and I really think you're going to like it."
She stuffed the box into my arms. I looked between the box and my girlfriend, raising an eyebrow, but when she glared at me I sat down with it on the bed and ripped the tape off the top. She packed the box with tissue paper, and a card fluttered down when I pulled it out.
Koushiro,
Thank you for giving me a second chance. I thought you deserved one too, with something you loved almost more than me once upon a time.
Love, Mimi.
I looked at her curiously, but she mimed sealing her lips and throwing away the key. I rolled my eyes but pulled a grey and yellow machine out of the box with an almost reverent sense of awe. "How?" I asked in amazement as I stroked the slick edges.
She pulled her key out of her pocket, put a finger to her lips and winked at me. I could hardly believe it. She'd gone back in time to catch my laptop after I'd chosen her life over it. "You look so sad without a laptop," she said shrugging as I tried to piece the idea together in my mind. She'd spent so much time hating this particular laptop, demanding that I pay attention to her instead, and she gave it back to me, the laptop that I used throughout all of my childhood, the laptop that Gennai altered for digivice compatibility. "I know there'll probably be about a million updates that need to be done, but I caught it before it hit the ground, so it should still work."
I forced myself to place the laptop down carefully, before pulling her into my arms and kissing her soundly. She laughed against my lips, and threw her arms around my neck.
"Koushiro!" Tentomon called frantically, flying through the open door and interrupting our moment.
"What?" I asked resigning myself to the fact that I wouldn't be getting a moment's peace any time soon.
"Satoe is getting unbearable. I was sitting there peacefully, watching a delightful and very informative television program about the life cycle of a tree frog when she announced that she and the others were going to watch a movie. Thinking perhaps that she would be watching a documentary, I allowed her to turn off my program, but it wasn't something interesting at all! She wanted to watch a romance movie. It wasn't even comedic to detract from the romantic scenes. It was tragic. I can't stand it," Tentomon complained.
"I'll talk to her," Mimi said, rolling her eyes. She knew how worked up Tentomon got about his nature shows. He was just as interested in learning about the creatures that inhabited Earth as I was about the various digimon indigenous to his own home. Satoe was his exact opposite. She couldn't stand anything that wasn't scripted, and held romantic films in high regards. Though she preferred the story telling of the Broadway Musical best, it wasn't as readily accessible.
I watched with a sigh as Mimi left the room to deal with her mother.
"I was interrupting, wasn't I?" Tentomon asked.
"Yes," I said, because complete honesty was a policy we stood by. "But it's fine. I really should've been working on my report anyway."
"Anything I can assist with?" he queried.
"You did have an aerial view on the attack in Odaiba…" I murmured.
"Shall I start at the beginning?" he asked. I held up a finger, telling him to wait a minute, and booted up my trusty old laptop, no older than it was the day I lost it, grinning like a fool when I caught sight of the desktop background. A picture of Tentomon and myself back in 2006, when Gennai informed us we'd never see each other again. We'd come so far since even just then. I shook the thought away and pulled up a word document.
"Okay," I told him. "Now don't leave anything out."
"Precise details," Tentomon promised, and he started his version of the tale, and I revelled in the feeling of my fingers flying across the keys, documenting every single word he said, just to be safe.
Taichi Yagami:
"This is nice," Rei commented, leaning against me, curled up in my arms on the couch in my living room. And she was right. It was relaxing. I didn't need to constantly worry about another Death Knight or a Deadly Sin digimon coming my way. I could simply sit back and revel in the presence of my girlfriend, who was a very understanding individual, and completely agreed with my need to run off to save the Digital World at a moment's notice. Not many girls could be said to do the same. Not that it mattered so much anymore. Peace was finally back, and it couldn't have come at a better time. I was getting into the swing of things with my job at the council and with the government, who continued to contact me, even though I often times forgot that they were the ones that hired me. They had a lot planned for me now that Earth was fully aware of the Digital World's existence, thanks to both the fighting we did to protect them and Katsue's announcement of her upcoming documentary. It was time for me to actively be an ambassador, rather than just holding the title. I was now officially the representative on Earth for all of digimon-kind. It was scary when I thought about it, but sounded like another adventure—hopefully with fewer attempts on my life this time!—and made me really appreciate my days off far more than ever before as well, now that I had two very fulltime jobs to deal with.
"I'm going to get you," Pal yelled. "I really am!"
"No!" Pul countered. "'Cause I'm gonna get him first!"
The two, round devil digimon were chasing Agumon around the house, laughing as they did so. Agumon seemed to be enjoying himself, letting the relaxing atmosphere sink into himself as well. He was in very high demand these days too, as a council member and the trainer of the Knights. The Knights had chosen a leader in Alphamon, but Alphamon looked to Agumon with reverence whenever he was in his Super Ultimate form, VictoryGreymon. He practically worshiped him—which of course only led to Agumon trying even harder during practices to keep up with his Knights.
"Catch me if you can!" he shouted back to the two little devils playfully. I was glad to see the pressure wasn't getting to him though. He was still the same fun loving guy I met when I was younger, he was just more powerful.
I liked to think I'd matured since then though, however little it may be.
"I remember when you seemed to be afraid of girls," Rei teased. My mind flashed to the Demon Sora I'd faced in Apocolymon's induced nightmare and shivered. Of course I'd been afraid of girls after that, though it was mostly due to my deplorable treatment of Hikari that I'd stayed away for so long. "Now look at you."
"Happily in love," I told her proudly, squeezing her tightly.
"Love?" she asked with a smile. I nodded and kissed her cheek, only for Pal and Pul to attack my head.
"Stop that," the she-devil cried.
"That's gross!" her brother agreed.
"Go and play," Rei told them laughing, before she snuggled up even closer to me. They pouted, but Agumon snuck up on them and tagged them, before running off once more. They took to the challenge and rushed after him. "I love you too, Taichi," Rei murmured.
"That's a relief," I joked.
"Thank you," she said suddenly serious. I was worried for what would come next. "You're so wonderful and patient with me. You make me feel like I'm worth your time and love, even though I sometimes doubt it."
"Never doubt it," I told her gently. "You're something special, Rei. I knew we'd be close the day I met you. There was just something about you that drew me in. Of course I never imagined coming this far, but now that I'm here…I couldn't imagine it any other way."
"Now you're just sucking up," she laughed. "But I mean it. Thank you, Taichi."
She kissed my cheek this time, and I waited for Pal or Pul to come in and chastise her as well, but they didn't seem too bothered. I actually heard them screaming with laughter as they dived down from the air to catch Agumon. I took advantage of their distraction and planted a proper kiss on Rei. It didn't last nearly as long as I would've liked however, as my watch started beeping.
"Damn," I sighed as I pulled away from her. "Duty calls."
"I'll still be here when you get back," Rei promised. "If you're lucky, I might even hang some decorations on your walls, or cook a little dinner."
"I'll cross my fingers," I told her with a wink, before hunting Agumon down. We had a council meeting to attend to, and we really ought to check in on the Knights after it finished. Agumon and I walked at a brisk pace through the trees for awhile after leaving my house. He seemed to want to continue relaxing, and to be honest, I did as well, so we weren't rushing like we might have on a different day.
"I wonder what we'll discuss today," Agumon commented as he watched some fluffy, white clouds shift in the bright blue sky to block out the shining sun. The trees cast shade upon us, and the stray twigs snapped beneath our feet as we trudged along the earth. Wind breezed through my cropped hair, and I could hear the trickle of a nearby stream. It was good to have the Digital World back to its proper glory.
"I'm not sure yet," I told him honestly. "But I'm sure Sora's got an idea. She eavesdrops enough."
"She doesn't seem very happy," Agumon said.
"She died, and then came back. She was thrust into a world that she couldn't make sense of, even if only one day had passed between the time of her "death" and the battle. Her parents are really clingy at the moment, not that it matters, because she quit her job ages ago in order to apply to that school she didn't get accepted into," I told him. "She's upset because everyone else seems to be follow their plans for the future, and she doesn't even know where to start rewriting hers."
"She's got a lot of friends," Agumon said. "She really should ask for help."
"Some things are just meant to be dealt with alone," I informed him. "This is her decision to make, and anything anyone else suggested would just make her feel pressured to follow their instructions, and she wouldn't be happy in the end."
"Maybe she could just live like in the Digital World," Agumon suggested. "There sure are a lot of digimon that would be willing to hire the digidestined of love. She helped save our world so many times."
"Maybe," I allowed. "But I don't think that's what Sora's going to pick. I don't know what it'll be, but I really think she'll go out and make a name for herself on Earth."
"Hey Taichi?" Agumon said brightly.
"Yeah buddy?" I asked. He reached over and hit my elbow with his large, clawed hand.
"You're it!" he called giddily as he raced ahead of me. I laughed and followed after him. The whole way to the Temple we played one continuous game of tag. I was "it" once again when we made it to the main gate, which was being repaired as we arrived. Leomon had been in charge of gathering digimon to help work on it, and it was going along swimmingly. Leomon himself wasn't present at the moment, as he was no doubt preparing for the meeting in the council chambers, but it was nice to see he was prompt with his duties. I ran into Yamato near the bottom of the stairs leading up to the hall where the council met. He was patting Gabumon on the shoulder.
"Hey Yamato," I called, a little out of breath from all the playing Agumon and I had been doing on our journey. "Long time no see."
"It's been awhile, hasn't it," he agreed. "It's not the same, without you living with me. It's really quite actually. Katsue moved out of course, and Gabumon here isn't much of a talker."
"I thought you said silence was golden," I joked.
"Sometimes," he said nodding. "But it's kind of depressing right now, after all the excitement and cleanup. It's just so empty."
"Maybe your next tour will liven things up," I said. "When is that anyway?"
"After I write some songs for a new album," Yamato said dryly. "A job I haven't been paying much mind to. I think I've got half of one song worked into something somewhat decent, but the rest are horrible. I wrote most of them when sloth was first getting to me. They're really boring songs."
"Get your band together for some all night jam sessions then," I suggested. "Those always gave you inspiration before."
"I might just do that," Yamato agreed. "Thanks."
"What are best friends for?" I asked with a laugh. "Sorry to just rush off, but they're probably waiting up there for us."
"Right," Yamato said. "See you later Gabumon. I'm going to walk around for a bit. Maybe the renewed beauty around me will be enough to spark a song. There's a lot of material to work with."
Gabumon called goodbye to his partner and we trekked up the stairs, waving to Sora as we walked passed her—sitting primly with a newspaper and a pencil in hand on her bench—into the chamber.
"There they are," Benjamin called happily. "Our leaders to victory."
"Stop, you're embarrassing me," I joked.
"I meant Agumon and Gabumon…" Benjamin said awkwardly.
"Oh," I said just as awkwardly.
"I'm only kidding Taichi," Benjamin laughed. "You helped too. From what I hear you attacked the big boss with your bare hands. That's awfully brave."
"It was, wasn't it?" Agumon agreed, nodding his head quickly.
"Shouldn't we be talking about our business?" I asked, my face flushed with the praise. "A lot's happened lately. The time line syncing up again being a major news factor."
"Neverland is flourishing once again as well," Tinkermon said merrily.
"The water dwelling digimon are beyond pleased by the turn of events," Divermon added.
"The sun has allowed for the plant digimon to thrive once more, and for that I must thank you," Babamon told me.
"It wasn't just us guys. Koushiro and Sora and all the others helped too," I pointed out. Koushiro looked down at an oddly familiar laptop, trying to hide his blush and I had to laugh.
"There was not a lot of damage caused to the Digital World, thankfully, that hadn't already been dealt by the Death Knights," Centaurumon commented.
"Restoration attempts have begun already," Leomon added.
"From what I gather," Benjamin said. "Digitamamon's restaurant—the one you were so adamant be saved—has started building anew as well. They'll be open for business in just two weeks."
"Excellent," I said with a grin. Marrow had managed to get it torn down, but thankfully, Digitamamon bounced back in order to rebuild so quickly. I was getting sick of my own dismal cooking skills. I learned from my mother mostly, so I didn't know too many decent recipes.
"The factory is up and running again," Andromon informed us. "Though it isn't dismantling its products properly quite yet."
"The insect digimon are helping with the rebuilding process, and now that they are not at war with one another, it's proving to be quite a useful asset," MetalifeKuwagamon offered.
"I am working with Benjamin's men, Ilya and Jackie to locate and ascertain the safety of many powerful objects and pieces of information within the Temple walls," D'Arcmon told us. "So far, nothing appears to be missing."
"Good thinking," Koushiro said. "It wouldn't do for us to allow something like that to slip past our notice. Fanglongmon did it once before, and the Shadow King as well. I don't like the idea that something else could do it as well."
"I do not think there will be any more battles for you to fight," D'Arcmon said sounding confused.
"Just the same, I'd like to be on the safe side," Koushiro said seriously. "Just because something is not prophesized, doesn't mean it won't happen. Not everything can be foretold in a prophecy, surely."
"Most everything is," Benjamin said with a shrug. "Everything major in any case."
"How interesting," Koushiro muttered, rolling the information around in his head.
"Devimon has already made his first attempt at conquering the world while it heals after this latest attack," Ogremon announced.
"Really?" Benjamin asked sounding shocked. "It seems soon, even for him."
"I thought everything was prophesized?" I asked.
"Just major events," Benjamin laughed. "Devimon attacks so regularly, and fails so spectacularly every time, that it isn't worth a prophecy."
"He did go down rather quickly," Ogremon confirmed. "Your team of Knights attacked him in an instant, he's in our dungeons right now for "questioning". I think the team of newly formed Knights just enjoy flaunting their victory."
"I'll talk with them," Agumon and Gabumon offered simultaneously, before laughing. The Knights deserved to celebrate, and maybe this would get it into Devimon's head that he just was not meant for ruling the Digital World. Though I didn't want him to succeed in any way, I couldn't help but wonder why he didn't first set his sights smaller and slowly build himself to power as Myotismon had done.
"Should we work on picking Marrow's replacement, Taichi?" Gabumon suggested.
"Right," I said, heaving a sigh. "We won't worry about Erif, as he never participated anyway, and was only present because Marrow demanded he be here. Marrow actually filled a position, so I guess we'll have to fill it, though I must say we work quite well without it."
"Taichi," Koushiro warned, and I sighed again. I really wasn't looking forward to easing another member into the council. D'Arcmon's transition wasn't too bad, but it still felt weird to have her there.
"I had another thought, yesterday," I said by way of distraction.
"That's dangerous," Agumon joked with a snicker. I rolled my eyes at him, but couldn't help but smile at the joke.
"We ought to develop a legitimate research facility to help detect and circumvent future problems," I told the council. "Daisuke informed me that there is a secret room in the basement of this very building, and from what he told me, I feel it would be quite suitable for such a group."
"Research?" Koushiro said, perking up immediately, ceasing his typing of the minutes of the meeting.
"I was actually hoping you might spearhead the venture," I told him. "You'll need to put together a team, but I'm sure you've got plans already."
"Professor Haruhiko Takenouchi would be an excellent start point," Koushiro said sheepishly. "And Jou's brother, Shuu Kido. He studied under Professor Takenouchi for years, and I've had many brilliant conversations with the both of them. I don't know who else would be suitable. Perhaps Tatum, though I feel she might have other desires for her future. I would like at least one of Gennai's people to be present as well. Tentomon would love to participate I'm sure…"
He continued to murmur to himself, brainstorming all of the possibilities. Benjamin, Andromon and Centarumon leaned over to make suggestions, and even Tinkermon offered a few of Neverland's digimon's names. Babamon looked a little put out that Koushiro hadn't immediately thought to invite her into the fold, as she was one of the "oldest and wisest digimon around these days" and had been around from the very beginning of the Digital World.
"I think…" Gabumon said slowly. "We really should do something about the keys that the digidestined have in their possessions. They aren't going to be needed any more, and even if they are, we could just get them out of wherever we'd stored them."
"We use Sora's and my keys all the time," Koushiro objected, having just caught the conversation.
"No you don't," Agumon said. "You just leave the doors open."
Koushiro looked affronted this time, and didn't appear to have put much stock in Agumon's intelligence. I felt a burst of pride for my partner as Koushiro spluttered like a fish. "Iori uses his a lot as well. He calls the Summer Queen his aunt after all."
"That's true," I allowed.
"He could just leave the door open too," Agumon guessed.
"Or he could just borrow it whenever it was really needed. The Queens can travel between worlds without them though, so it shouldn't matter too terribly much. If she was really desperate to see him, she could just come to him, rather than the other way around," Gabumon suggested.
"Sounds like a plan to me," Benjamin agreed. MetalifeKuwagamon and Ogremon nodded in agreement.
"I don't like the thought that the keys could be taken away from you digidestined at a moment's notice," Leomon said. "It is best if they were locked away here, with the digimentals."
"Or down in the secret lab," Babamon said still bitter about not being included.
"There," I said. "Problem solved. Now, if anyone has anything else they'd like to—"
D'Arcmon cleared her throat and gave me a knowing look. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
"I don't think so," I lied.
"Marrow's replacement," she said patiently.
"Fine," I grumbled. "Does anyone have any suggestions for his replacement?"
"Are there any characteristics that must be met?" Divermon wanted to know. "Should we find a specific type of digimon?"
"Not evil," I instructed. "Further than that, I don't really care. We thought Marrow was one of Gennai's men when he was hired, so we could always go that route again, but the new guy would look so much like Benjamin that we might have a tough time keeping them separate…"
There was a faint noise from outside the chamber. It was almost as if someone had dropped a pen, leaving it to hit the ground and roll down the hallway.
"Sora," I said suddenly. "Sora could do it. She wants to, and it would balance out the male to female ratio in here."
"Digimon have no gender," MetalifeKuwagamon insisted. I looked to Ogremon and Leomon, both clearly male, as their bare chests seemed to tell me. I turned my gaze to Tinkermon and D'Arcmon, who were both definitely female.
"Right," I said sarcastically. He didn't notice.
"I'll go fetch her," Babamon said. "Maybe she will get an invitation."
Babamon hopped down from her chair and slowly made her way to the doorway. When she pulled it open, Sora came tumbling in, looking both anxious and embarrassed.
"I suppose you've heard then?" Babamon asked.
"I heard," Sora said. She didn't look nearly as pleased by this news as I thought she would've been. She'd only been begging to be let in on the council since it was formed. Why would she be having second thoughts now?
"Great," I said with forced cheerfulness. "So you'll do it?"
"I…" she hesitated. "I'll think about it. It's a big decision, Taichi."
"I guess that works," I said. But I wasn't even trying to be cheerful this time. I had noticed she wasn't very happy. It was obvious enough that Agumon—who spent next to no time with her on average—was able to tell. I just hadn't realized that it was bad enough that when she was offered something she'd wanted forever, that she would hesitate so long. I was left with so much doubt that my mind was trying to sift through digimon and humans alike that could replace Marrow, since I was fairly certain Sora didn't really want to. Maybe it was something she'd gotten over and just asked to join out of habit. Drat. I was really hoping that would be over and dealt with.
"Any further questions, suggestions or concerns?" I asked. The council seemed to be content, as they shook their heads and continued chattering to one another. I took another look over at Sora, who was now seated with Koushiro, commenting on his new—or old—computer with a forced smile.
"I guess we're free then," Agumon said. "That didn't take too long."
"Not nearly as long as I thought," I said, though I knew the issue of Marrow's replacement was far from dealt with, and so wasn't looking forward to the next meeting already.
"Let's go see the Knights," Agumon suggested. "I want to see how well they're treating Devimon. He's evil, but they shouldn't be doing anything terrible to him."
"You're right," I agreed. "Afterwards maybe we could try and get into that room Daisuke mentioned?"
"Sounds fun," Agumon said. "Then we'll go back to Rei. I hope she made supper. You're not a very interesting cook."
"I play it safe," I defended myself.
"You're boring," Agumon corrected, laughing.
"I'll get you for that," I growled playfully.
"You're still "it"," he reminded me gleefully as he ran out the door toward the staircase that would lead us down to the room the Knights had deemed to be the dungeon. I laughed and chased after him, determined to win the game.
Ken Ichijouji:
It was far more awkward than I expected. I shouldn't have trusted Miyako's reassurances. "It won't be awkward at all," she said. Well, she was wrong. And I couldn't even understand why it was happening. Miyako and I ought to be spending time in the sheer bliss that we fell into after realizing that we wanted to start a family. But we weren't. We were sitting in my parents' living room waiting for the ticking time bomb to explode. I was at least. Miyako didn't seem to notice the tension in the air.
Coronamon was playing with Hawkmon and Monmon, trying to teach them the rules to Monopoly, and Hawkmon was too polite to tell him he already knew them. Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon were chasing little Masa around the room, and he was squealing with delight. Wormmon and Bearmon were watching them from their place on the couch where they were relaxing. Momoe was trying to convince Emiko that she really did want to eat her peas, while Jou talked with my father about his plans for his digital medical facility. Chiziru, Mantarou and my mother were all standing near the kitchen table talking animatedly with my wife.
The only people present that seemed to notice the awkwardness in the air were my in-laws. Mrs Inoue was growing more and more exasperated watching Masa be chased around by what she deemed as monsters. Mr Inoue was slowly getting ready to snap. I could see that he was disappointed with his children and the choices that they had made. He was especially annoyed that we were all there together in the first place. I understood him completely. I didn't want to be there anymore than he did. It was one thing to spend time with one of our families at a time, it was another entirely to try and force them to co-exist.
I watched Mr Inoue slowly rise to his feet, and suddenly all the noise in my childhood home vanished. Even the clocks seemed to hush up.
"Don't," Miyako whispered. Her soft voice carried throughout the entire room.
"Don't what?" Mr Inoue asked testily.
"Don't ruin this happy occasion," Miyako told him.
"Is that what we're calling this?" he asked, eyebrow raised.
"Yes," Momoe said firmly, looking away from her protesting daughter. There were more peas on the floor than there were that had made it to Emiko's mouth.
"My children are out of control!" Mr Inoue shouted.
"That's your problem Dad," Mantarou snapped. "You expect us to be within your control, yet you raised us to stand on our own and make decisions that best benefit us. You're a hypocrite."
"I am not," Mr Inoue growled defensively.
"You think I don't know that I should have waited?" Chiziru said. "I do know that. But I look at Masa and I see that he's the best thing that's ever happened to me in my entire life. I can't imagine my life without him. You love him too, don't you?"
"Yes," Mrs Inoue said quickly, interrupting whatever her husband might've wanted to say.
"Then you can't think he's a mistake. Just look at him. He's my special surprise," Chiziru said. "And nothing you or Mom ever say will make me change my mind about him."
"I wouldn't ask you to," Mrs Inoue told her.
"But you asked me the very same thing," Momoe said sounding a little put out. "You wanted me to put my daughter up for adoption." She whispered the word so that Emiko wouldn't hear it, not that she was paying any attention. She had discovered a new game, and was pelting Gomamon with as many peas as she possibly could. Gomamon, in retaliation had simply started to catch them in his mouth, causing her to giggle unrestrainedly.
"You were too young," Mrs Inoue said.
"Not much younger than I was," Chiziru said. "And she at least had a guy willing to stick around to help her. She married the guy Mom. She was far better prepared than I was."
"She was off gallivanting around the world," Mr Inoue growled.
"But I came home. I made a home," Momoe said. "With Jou and my baby girl. Bearmon and Gomamon are a part of our family now. I know you don't like them Mom, but they aren't going anywhere. You'll just have to get used to them."
"I can't," Mrs Inoue said sadly, staring the digimon with fear.
"You'll have to," Miyako snapped. "Because Hawkmon and Wormmon aren't going anywhere either. And they come first. Them and any children Ken and I might have in the future"—I got a little distracted by the mention of possible children—"you have to understand that. Hawkmon is so interwoven into my life that I can't tell where I end and he begins. We are that in sync. You don't understand, because you haven't found your digimon partner yet."
"And I hope I never do," Mrs Inoue said fiercely. "I could never have one of them in my home."
"Newsflash Mom," Mantarou said, rolling his eyes. "Hawkmon practically lived with us for years. Miyako thought she was so clever with hiding him, but I knew he was there. There are only so many times I could believe her when she said it was a toy. Toys talk, but they only have a few, limited phrases. Hawkmon kept changing his up. I knew he wasn't stuffed."
Mr and Mrs Inoue seemed positively outraged at this development. I had to snicker though, at Miyako's face. Clearly she had thought she was very clever when she was younger.
"And don't think I don't know you complain about me too, just because you don't do it to my face," Mantarou continued. "You rant about how Miyako was too young to marry, how Momoe did everything backwards, and how Chiziru put herself in a horrible position for her future. You frown on all of their relationships, yet you complain because I don't bring girls home for you to meet. Of course I don't! Do you even listen to yourselves? I dated a girl for three years, and I really thought hard about bringing her home. But in the end I couldn't bring her into your line of fire. She dumped me, because she thought I was ashamed of her, but really, I just wanted to save her from you."
"Mantarou," Mrs Inoue gasped scandalized.
I just tried to sink out of existence. This was what I had expected. When mixing things that ought not be mixed, explosions of this magnitude were guaranteed.
"Now now," Mom called over the noise. "You don't want to scare the children."
But no one seemed to hear her.
"You should've brought her home," Mr Inoue said firmly. "I would've accepted her. You couldn't have disappointed me."
"Not as much as the girls did, huh?" Mantarou said angrily.
"You wouldn't have brought home a nobody or a wannabe doctor with no ways to supporting my daughters. She wouldn't have left you pregnant and abandoned you," Mr Inoue told him.
"But I'm a nobody, and I didn't have a way to support her. You're so proud of me that you'll look past my faults, but her father would've seen in me what you see in Ken and Jou. No matter how great these guys are, you only see their faults," Mantarou said.
"No man will ever be good enough for my daughters!" Mr Inoue shouted. Emiko turned to him with wide eyes and Masa stopped running, causing Pumkinmon and Gotsumon to crash into him, knocking him over. They hurriedly pulled him to his feet.
"I agree with you," I found myself saying. "No one is good enough for Miyako, least of all me. I've done some pretty rotten things in my past, but I over came every one with her help. She seems to think I'm worth it, though I don't see why."
"You are worth it, Ken," Miyako said, sending a happy smile my way. "You're everything I've ever wanted, and I'm less than pleased to say that it's me that isn't good enough. Not you. You've come so far since I met you. And you keep amazing me every day."
"And don't you say you're not good enough for me, Jou Kido," Momoe warned. Jou closed his mouth sheepishly. "I'm the flighty one. I'm the one that was scared and wanted to run away. You are the strongest man I've ever met, and the most romantic too, proposing to me like that in the heat of the battle."
"I couldn't die without knowing you were at my side," Jou said embarrassed.
"And we fought side by side through our vows," Momoe reminisced. I clearly missed something, though I was sure Miyako would fill me in if I asked. She seemed to be bubbling over with excitement at the reminder.
"I know that Masa's father wasn't good enough for me. He proved it when he left," Chiziru said, shrugging her shoulders. "But there's no point dwelling in the past when we've all got bright futures ahead of us."
"Wiser words were never spoken," Dad praised her. She positively beamed. She'd probably never heard such words of encouragement before.
"Give them a chance to prove themselves," Mantarou ordered his parents. "And in doing so, maybe you'll prove yourselves to be the loving parents we thought we knew when we were younger."
"Just Ken and Jou?" Mrs Inoue asked, sounding quite hopeful.
"And Hawkmon and Wormmon," Miyako said sharply. "And you can't forget Bearmon, Pumpkinmon, Gotsumon, Monmon or Gomamon either."
"We're a family," Momoe said. "And it's about damn time we start acting like it."
"Damn time, damn, damn!" Emiko cheered.
"Momoe," Jou groaned.
"Don't say that sweetie," Momoe said quickly. "You'll get in trouble like mommy."
Emiko just giggled. It didn't sound to me like she was going to forget the word any time soon.
"What do you say Mom and Dad? Are you willing to give it a try?" Mantarou asked.
"I—I," Mrs Inoue stammered. "I will."
"If I must," Mr Inoue said, though his voice didn't have the same ferocity as it had before.
"That's wonderful!" Mom cheered. "I believe this would be the perfect time then, for me to bring out the cake I made to celebrate young Mr and Mrs Kido's recent nuptials."
"I'd love to stay for cake, really I would," I said, glancing at the clock. "But Michael's going to start wondering where I am soon. He made me swear I'd meet up with him today."
"Go ahead dear," Mom told me with a smile. "Michael's only in Japan for a short while. Go spend time with your friend. I'll keep a slice of cake for you."
"Do you need me to come with you?" Miyako asked.
"No," I said shaking my head. "You're family's just had a breakthrough. I don't think you should leave while you're ahead."
"You're such a goof," she said, walking over and kissing me swiftly, but purposefully on the lips. She was testing her father, and I didn't exactly approve, but her method of choice was enough for me to overlook it. That and the look on his face when he saw what she planned on doing. It was the brightest shade of red I'd ever seen as he struggled to maintain his anger. "I'll see you later."
"Bring my cake," I told her, kissing her cheek quickly, before excusing myself—and Wormmon—from the party. It wasn't until I made it out of the apartment building and felt the gentle breeze on my face that I was able to relax.
"I'm glad to have left," Wormmon said, sounding like he hated to have to admit it.
"Me too," I agreed. "I love Miyako and Mom and Dad, but I could've done without all the drama."
"It sounds as though you'll be having a few heart to hearts with your in-laws in the future," Wormmon noted.
"You had to point that out, didn't you," I said with a long, drawn out sigh.
"It's not as if I'm getting off free either though," Wormmon said. "Miyako just had to force them to accept us digimon."
"You can just hit them with your Sticky Net if they start to annoy you," I said with a laugh.
"If I want them to hate me forever, sure," Wormmon said dryly.
We talked more on our way to the park that Michael had picked out. It was a bright and sunny day. It almost embodied the happy, hopeful outlook I had for the future. There hadn't been a single cloudy day since the final fight. I didn't expect the good weather to last forever—it would be foolish to even think that—but it sure was going to be nice while it lasted. The upbeat feeling I got from the sun really went a long way in helping me ignore all of the wary, frightened faces of the passersby as they caught sight of Wormmon scuttling alongside me.
"Ken!" Michael called happily, waving from a picnic table. It was next to a large tree, on the opposite side of the park from Jou and Iori's—and I suppose it was also Yggdrasil's—and was completely cast in the tree's shadow.
"Michael," I said nodding to him. "Betamon."
"I'm so glad you could come," Michael said. "I wasn't sure you were going to, since you said you had that family thing."
"I made it here because of that family thing," I said with a laugh. "I swear, your invitation saved me today. I didn't want to be there at all."
"Cool," Michael said. "I just wasn't sure you know? We've never actually hung out together for the sake of…well…hanging out together. Have we?"
"I guess not," I said, trying to think back on it. "We always had something important to do."
"Ranting about your wife, ranting about how Betamon wasn't acting like Betamon," Michael elaborated, wincing only briefly because Betamon sent him a look. Michael sighed and rolled his eyes at his partner. "And of course there were the crests."
"Five crests," I said with a chuckle. "I don't know why Meiyomon trusted us with them."
"We got the job done though," Michael pointed out.
"No you didn't," Betamon said.
"What do you mean?" Michael challenged.
"Mari, Hideto, Kiyoko and Neo," Betamon said. "That's only four."
"He's right," Wormmon said. "It isn't over then. Is it?"
"I guess not," I said with a sigh, slumping onto a seat at the picnic table. As if to assure me Wormmon was right, the sun disappeared behind a large cloud. "They swore we were done. I really believed them."
"It's not so bad though, is it?" Michael said. "There's only the one great evil left, and we don't have to beat him. Whatever there is left for us to do, I think it'll be something relatively small, like finding the remaining crest bearer. Nothing too major, yet really important all the same."
"God I hope so," I said.
"Hope faster," Betamon commented. "Meiyomon's here."
"What?" we asked, turning to see that it was true. Meiyomon was skipping along the path ahead of Iori and Natsuni. The pair were holding hands, and eating ice cream cones. Meiyomon's cone was lying on the path, melting into a stream of brown liquid. I could feel the tension coming off of Michael as Mieyomon caught sight of us. He looked back at Iori and then pointed at us. Iori saw us and nodded, sealing our fate.
I may have squeezed my eyes shut waiting for the moment of impact when he got close.
"I trust you," Mieyomon said laughing. "Get it? Because trust is all that's left. I'm so funny. Aren't I?"
"Not really…" I muttered, opening my eyes, deciding it was safe enough. I nearly closed them again. Meiyomon was glaring at me.
"The fate of the worlds currently rests in your hands," Meiyomon said firmly. "Without trust, we won't be saved. He can't do what the others need to. He's a digidestined, not one of them. Not truly. He needs his crest in order to follow in their path, to save the world. You literally have the world in the palm of your hand."
"It's uh…in my pocket," I said awkwardly.
"Then keep it there. Keep it with you always. I won't be here to make sure you can give it to him in time. The when is still unclear, but you simply must find him. Promise me," Meiyomon said.
"We've already promised," Michael said, and I nodded.
"Where will you be?" Wormmon asked concerned, having focused on a very different part of his speech from Michael and me.
"Where are you getting your information," Betamon asked. "That's what I'd like to know. From what Michael tells me, you didn't know anything about the future bearers of the crests, just that you needed them found."
"Yeah," Michael said. "What gives?"
"I've been spending a lot of time with Iori's aunt. She knows lots of stuff," Meiyomon said. "And she knows that I have somewhere else to be now. I'll still visit all of the time, on a count of Iori being my big brother, but she says that it would be best if I was to move to the Land of Dreams with her. And I really like it there. So I think I'm going to go. Iori knows already. He was mad at first, but Summer talked to him and he cooled down. He's gonna miss me anyway. But she says it's very important that I go with her, just like it's very important that you find the owner of trust before he needs it. I guess I'll leave you to it though. Don't let me down."
"We won't," Michael and I swore at once.
Meiyomon skipped off towards Iori and Natsuni who waved at us. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the brown crest. The little triangle with the circle in it and a leaf shape out of either side stared up at me. It was so small and yet the world depended on it. We weren't done yet. Not really. We just weren't going to be the heroes anymore. We'd have to trust this new kid, whoever he was. Wherever he was.Whenever he was.
"So…the picnic?" Betamon suggested.
I put the crest back in my pocket and nodded. I'd have to keep my eyes and ears open. But I had a feeling it would be quite awhile before I'd ever find him.
Hideto Fujimoto:
I wasn't hiding. Not really. I was just avoiding the awkwardness that would result in the pair of us spending any amount of time alone together. I didn't have the answer that he wanted. I didn't have anyanswer. I needed time to think. Admittedly, crashing a girls' night wasn't the best idea for me to come to any conclusions, but he wasn't going to be there, and if I stayed home he and I would've been alone together. I wasn't ready for that at all.
We were pretty much alone together now though. In the house in any case. He was locked up in his room, avoiding me just as much as I was him. Mari was in the kitchen, chopping up vegetables and putting some sort of fancy topping on crackers like they do at television dinner parties. I hadn't realized that was a real thing that regular people do…apparently it was. I didn't see why she was putting so much effort into it. It was just Neo and Miyako, not the queen or something.
Miyako had been spending more and more time at our place. She was determined to be there for Mari, desperate to help 'heal her aching soul'—her words, not mine. As long as Mari would put an effort into anything, I supposed it was good.
"Stop being a lazy bum and get the door!" Mari yelled at me.
I hadn't even realized that anyone had knocked on it. I sighed and pulled myself to my feet, slowly making my way to the door. Or I had been. Mari's screeching made me pick up my speed. I was nearly running to the door when she chucked a carrot at me.
"I've got it, sheesh," I said, ripping the door open so I could glare at whoever was behind it.
"Hello to you too," Neo said sarcastically.
"Such a warm welcome," Miyako added.
"What are you doing here?" I demanded, looking at the third person standing outside my home.
"Visiting?" Yamato suggested awkwardly. "I've never been here. I thought I should check it out. I thought someone should check it out at least. Have you had many visitors?"
"Miyako," I said. "And Neo."
"I brought Michael once," Neo added.
"So no," Yamato concluded. "You'd think you were hiding a body or something. What's with the cold shoulder?"
"Hideto's the president of your hate club, remember?" Neo said with a smirk.
"Oh…right…" Yamato said. Apparently the hate club wasn't as influential as I'd hoped it would be. "You hate my music."
"Your muse," I muttered under my breath, correcting his assumption.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing," I said. "Come in, before Mari starts flinging more vegetables."
"I would not do that!" Mari gasped walking out of the kitchen.
"My shoulder would say otherwise," I pointed out.
"Whatever," Mari hissed. "Give Yamato the grand tour. Miyako, will you help me?"
"Sure will," Miyako said, following Mari into the kitchen.
"So…a tour?" Yamato said.
"I guess," I sighed. I led him to the door of the kitchen and let him peek inside it before walking off to the adjoining living room. I pointed vaguely in the direction of the dining room area, but didn't bring him to see it. I pointed at closets, offered him the use of our bathroom—he didn't accept—and stopped at the bottom of the stairs.
"What's up there?" he asked.
"Kiyoko's room and another bathroom," I said quickly. I heard shuffling at the top of the stairs and a door opening. My eyes widened, and I grabbed Yamato's arm, dragging him quickly into the last room of our house, slamming the door closed behind him.
"What the hell?" he demanded. Neo opened the door and slipped in, rolling his eyes at me.
"It was Tapirmon, moron," Neo said with a snort. "He's playing with your digimon."
"I knew that," I lied horribly.
"Where are we now?" Yamato asked.
"My room," I supplied. He looked at the room, taking in the two beds—one decorated in light blue, the other black—and the two desks, and the piles upon piles of clothing on the floors. The walls were painted grey, and one half had a lot of drawings taped to the walls. That was the half with the blue clad bed. My side—the black side—wall's were bare.
"He shares with Mari," Neo pointed out.
"Why?" Yamato asked slowly.
"Because Sigma was scary," I said simply.
"Riiiight," Yamato said with a nervous laugh. "With how clean the rest of the house is, you'd think you'd put a little effort into keeping your room clean."
"Kiyoko's the neat freak. Or, Sigma was, I guess. Doesn't matter. There's nowhere for the clothes to go, so they just stay on the floor. No big deal," I said, shrugging my shoulders.
"And the closet?" he asked.
"Is busy doing another job," I said quickly. "It stays closed."
"Oh no," Neo said with a smirk. "I think I need to see it again."
"Later," I said. "After he leaves."
"I'd like to see," Yamato protested. "I want to know what makes you tick."
"Have a look then," Neo offered. The bastard. It wasn't his closet. It wasn't his secret collection.
"No!" I shouted, trying to get to the closet door before Yamato did. I didn't make it. I tripped over a pile of jeans and landed face first into a pile of tee shirts.
"Wow. I don't—are there even words—it's kind of frightening," Yamato said stumbling over his sentences. He had the door of the closet open, and was met with a rather large collection of Teenage Wolves memorabilia. There was a large poster at the back of the closet, and two smaller ones on the inside of the doors. We had shelves put into the closet, and while Mari had a basket or two of CDs in there, most of them were mine. The Teenage Wolves CDs were, of course, on proud display with my various ticket stubs and tee shirts from the concerts I'd gone to. Which was every single concert in the Odaiba area. I still hadn't done any real travelling on Earth. There were magazine clippings of interviews with the band, and a picture of Sora I'd had glued to a dart board that I frequently chucked darts at—aiming for her face of course. Now that she'd died once, I didn't think I could actually throw darts at that anymore, but it was never her I had a problem with. It was the fact that she was at the root of every single one of Yamato's songs. Couldn't he get some new material?
"Hideto here isn't just the president of your hate club," Neo said with a chuckle. "He's the president of your fan club too. He's an equal opportunist."
"I am not the president of your fan club," I snapped, embarrassed. And I wasn't. I was, however, a member. I wasn't going to admit to that though.
"I thought you hated my music?" Yamato said, still sounding scared of the collection. I had to admit it seemed a tad stalkerish, as if I worshiped him or something. I just liked his sound a whole lot. It was the only music Mari and I could agree on listening to.
"I want you write something new," I said. "You're sound is getting stale. You need to throw something new into the mix. Hence the hate club petitions you've gotten."
"I suppose I can write a song about friendship, rather than love?" he offered.
"That would be appreciated."
"I think I hear Miyako calling from the kitchen," Yamato said quickly, backing his way out of the room and racing down the hall even though Miyako did not call for him at all.
"That was freaking hilarious," Neo said, collapsing onto Mari's bed.
"That was rude, is what it was," I corrected, slumping down to the floor and resting in the pile of seldom used sweatshirts.
"I needed him gone, and that was the most amusing way to do it," Neo said with a shrug.
"Why'd you need him gone?"
"We need to talk, Hideto."
"About what?"
"Kiyoko."
His voice seemed to ring throughout the room. I threw my head back and buried it under a truly horrendous Christmas sweater Rei bought me last year.
"I don't wanna."
I sounded like a petulant child. Neo wasn't going to let me though. He ripped the sweater off of my face before I'd even realized he'd gotten up, and he dragged me onto my bed, forcing me to look at him.
"He's fragile enough as it is. He's like your self-confidence. He's putting up a good front, but he'll shatter if you avoid him much longer. He's strong enough to handle whatever you tell him. He's just not strong enough to be without you," Neo told me.
"That doesn't make sense," I told him, rolling my eyes.
"You're the rock that's holding him together. You've always been his rock. You took that away when you decided he was the plague and started avoiding him. Mari has tried to fix this, even in her fragile state, but neither of you will let her. You're both too stubborn. She's called in the big guns now: me. I don't care if you want to talk to him. You're going to talk to him. And the two of you will feel better because of it. Understand?"
"What am I supposed to say to him Neo!" I demanded angrily. "That I can't handle it? That I've never been able to handle it. That I act like an ass because I am one? What does he want from me?"
"He's not asking for much. Not anything really. Did he demand that you feel the same way? No. He just told you how he felt. Be a man. Face that truth."
"He can't love me," I said firmly. "He thinks he does, but he doesn't."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm not worth it, Neo," I pointed out.
"Maybe you're not," Neo said—though he didn't look like he believed it. "But he seems to think you are. And that's what it boils down to, isn't it? How you are to him."
"That's not the point, Neo," I snapped. "I just don't want him getting hurt. I can't lose his friendship. It's important."
"I know," Neo said impatiently. "And you know him way better than you knew any of those other people that showed interest in you. With all of them, you just found someone to deflect their attention onto. You haven't done that with Kiyoko."
"No one's good enough for him. He's been through too much, and no one would understand except us, and damn it. None of us are good enough either. I'd say Mari or Hikari, but he's not so into girls, and I've already delegated them off to Willis and Takeru—who was my second choice by the way. I can't find the perfect fit!" I said, nearly shouting now.
"Look in the mirror Hideto," Neo growled. He grabbed my chin and forced my head to turn so I could see into the mirror on Mari's side of the room. "See that guy right there? The one with self-confident issues the size of Asia; he is the one that Kiyoko wants. Kiyoko sees something in you that no one else, least of all yourself, sees. He found something to love. Maybe he can help you find that same thing, did you ever think of that?"
"I've never made it to a second date, Neo," I reminded him. "I don't do relationships. I'll hurt him."
"I doubt that," Neo said, finally letting go of my face. "You go out of your way to dote on the kid, you'd hardly let yourself hurt him."
"Oh God, he is a kid too," I moaned, calculating there to be a six year age difference. I was a creep. He was just a kid, and I was a grown man. Was it still cradle robbing?
"I'm eighteen."
I whirled my head around and saw Kiyoko standing in the doorway, his hand slapped over his mouth. He hadn't meant to say that aloud. He didn't want me to know he was there. Not until Neo announced it probably.
"I shouldn't have said that," Kiyoko mumbled.
"This is going to be really fun," Neo said with a wicked grin. "But we'll have fun with that later, eh Kiyoko? You two have some serious talking to do."
"But—"
"Now, Hideto," Neo ordered. He pushed me down onto the bed, and made a slow retreat, giving me the eye the whole way. If I didn't talk to Kiyoko right now—and there was no way to avoid it really—I was going to have to answer to him. Not Neo my best friend, but Neo, the guy who thought dismantling the Digital World was a good idea. Yeah. I wasn't looking forward to that. I heard the soft clicking of the door as he pulled it shut behind him.
"Kiyoko," I said. "I don't know what to say."
"Don't say anything then," he instructed, waiting nervously at the end of my bed. "Just listen."
He picked at the bottom of his shirt and kept looking between me and the door. I thought about offering him a seat, but I didn't. He didn't look like he'd take it.
"You don't have to love me. Obviously, I'd like it if you did, but you don't have to. It's okay. So long as you accept that I'll love you anyway," he said.
"That's the problem!" I shouted. "I don't get it. Why would you love me?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.
"When have I ever done anything that made me deserving?"
"You were there for me. You don't treat me much different now that Sigma's gone. You feared him, but you didn't let that stop you from trying to bring the real me to the surface. Sigma hated you for that. I always responded. Always. You helped me so much. And you're fun to be around, when you're not moping. I like your sense of humour, and the way you go out of your way to make people happy, though I don't like that you do it at your own expense. You deserve to be happy too," he said. He looked down at his sock feet. "I might not be able to make you happy, but I want to try. No matter what way you'll let me."
"I'm not worth that much trouble," I protested weakly.
"You're worth every trouble," he said fiercely. "If either of us was undeserving, it would be me. I let one of the great evils use me to help destroy everything I now care about. You were just helping a friend. I aided and abetted the death of countless digimon and a dog and Mari's guinea pig. He hurt Miyako and I led him to her. You've done nothing to be ashamed of."
"You didn't know," I countered. "You were young and impressionable, and you let your guard down for a second. Just a second and he took control. I've been in control the entire time. I was in control when I did nothing to save Rei. I was in control when I joined the Alias III."
"I liked it. I liked the feeling of strength that Sigma gave me. It wasn't until he started to threaten you and Koushiro that I started questioning his judgement. I didn't like the actual killing of any of those creatures mind you, but the feeling he got after killing someone was intoxicating. I wanted him to feel that way all the time. That's worse than helping a friend or an accident," he growled.
"Are we really fighting about who's the worst good guy?" I said with a laugh.
"Maybe," he said. "And it's me."
"You're a part of Team Mom and the Digidestined. I think you're just a do-gooder in disguise," I told him. He grabbed my hand, and only then did I realize he'd made his way from the end of the bed to right next to me during our argument.
"Thank you," he said simply, squeezing my fingers once.
"For what?"
"Believing in me," he said, sending a smile. "It's because of you and Yoshie that I can believe in myself. I'm going back to school. I'm going to get a legitimate education, and then I'm going into architecture…or interior design. I like both."
"I think I'm going into counseling," I offered. His brows furrowed.
"Kurayami agreed to work with me," he said. "I'm sure she'd talk to you too."
"No," I said quickly. "I don't need counseling—well, I probably do actually—I want to study it. I want to help people."
"You're already so good at that," he murmured. His eyes widened, and his face flushed. I had to smile. He hadn't meant to say that. "I mean, you just help a lot of people with their relationship problems—"
"I get it," I said. Then I made a quick decision that I knew I could end up regretting. "Go upstairs and get changed."
"Do I look that bad?" he muttered, embarrassed.
"We're going to watch a movie," I told him, ignoring his accidental spouting. He probably didn't really want me to answer it anyway. "Dress nice though. We could get dinner too."
"We watch movies all the time, Hideto," he said confused.
"Well, it's never been a date before, has it?" I asked. His eyes widened again and flew to meet my own. "Unless…you don't…want to…?"
"I do," he said, nearly shouting. His face flushed red again and I had to laugh. He was good for my ego. Definitely good. "What made you change your mind?"
"I never made up my mind," I said. "And it might not last very long…"
"You've never gone on a second date with anyone, I know," he said quickly.
"And you're okay with that?" I questioned.
"Honestly? I'd love more than that. I would really love more than that. But if that's all you're able to give me, then that's fine. That's all I'd need. But you can't block me out again. I can't handle that," he said.
"I won't," I promised. And I really wanted things to go well on this date. I wanted to be able to get to that second date for once, and I really liked having him around. "Are you going to get ready?"
"Yes," he said quickly, flashing me a grin and squeezing my hand once more before dropping it and racing to the door. I heard him run up those steps as if the world was going to end. He was so excited. I couldn't mess this up. I looked down to my black shirt and black jeans. I really ought to change too…
The door burst open and Agumon and Gabumon piled in, grinning at me with big toothy smiles.
"We heard the news!" Agumon exclaimed.
"Kiyoko pretty much screamed at us to get out. Said he had to get ready for a date," Gabumon announced.
"I've got to get ready too," I said sheepishly.
"We'll help," Agumon swore. "You're going to need it."
"Let's get you into something acceptable, shall we?" Gabumon asked.
"What's wrong with this?" I asked.
"You always wear that. Do you want him to think you've put no effort into this?" Gabumon demanded.
"No…"
"Then get up and get ready," Agumon ordered.
I did as he instructed, sifting through my piles of clothing, looking for something different to change into. "Do I even own anything that isn't black!" I shouted in frustration after finding absolutely nothing different to wear. Black was always in. I looked pretty good in it too, so that was a bonus. I never needed anything else. Where was Neo when I needed him? He at least only wore white. That was something new, something different…
"This isn't black!" Agumon called triumphantly, chucking Rei's green Christmas sweater at me.
"I'm not wearing that on a date," I hissed. "This has to work!"
"We'll keep looking," Gabumon said, saluting me.
"Worst comes to worst, you could just wear a button-up shirt. That's fancy right?" Agumon suggested.
"I guess," I sighed. "Let's just keep looking though."
"Yes sir, boss man," the two chorused with laughter as they started chucking my black clothing at one another as if it were a snowball fight. I couldn't help laughing at them and picked up the green sweater to join in the fight. I needed to relax anyway.
Hikari Yagami:
Takeru and I had been just about to start our first official date when it was interrupted by a text message from his mother telling him that it was crucial that he get to his father's apartment at that moment. Thinking something was wrong with him, the two of us were there as quick as we could, finding that not only was he perfectly fine, but he seemed to be having some kind of party.
Yamato, Iori, Meiyomon, Ms Hida, Ms Takaishi and Mr Ishida were all in the apartment when we found our way through the front door.
Something was up, but I couldn't exactly figure what it was. Either way, it didn't matter, it had cancelled the awkwardness of our first date, and thus, our second date could come and it would be perfect, without all the adorable awkward commentary that entailed every first date.
I couldn't say I was one hundred percent happy about that, since Takeru was truly adorable when he was fumbling and awkward, but I didn't overly mind either. I knew I'd have more chance to see him in every mood imaginable.
I honestly felt like slapping myself in the back of the head every twenty seconds or so, but restrained myself. Most of the time anyway. How could I possibly have ever lived so long without realizing what I had? He was right there, always. Right now. I couldn't even take my eyes off of him as his own flicked around the room with confusion. I could honestly say that I had never felt any feeling as strong as the one I'd always felt for him. Always having him right beside me as a best friend...
Hideto was right. Taichi was right, Sora was right... everyone was right. I was confused and stupid... but now everything was clear and bright and wonderful and basically I was a head over heels teenage girl who just fell in love with her best friend. I was living the happy ending of the romantic comedy based on my life.
Then again, all the strife I'd gone through wasn't comedic, nor was it romantic. So what genre of movie was my life? As I watched Takeru sit on the couch in between Iori and his brother, his eyes flicked to me and he flashed me a smile, and I knew that whatever genre of movie my life was, it was going to be a pretty good one.
"So I'm sure you're wondering why I've called you here today," Ms Takaishi said casually, her arms crossed as she darted her eyes between the others in the room.
"You could say that, yeah." Iori said with a very heavy hint of awkward in his voice as he stared at his mother who was sitting on a stool next to Mr Ishida.
Yamato was sitting, his arms crossed against his chest as he tapped his fingers against his arm. I had a feeling he knew what was going on a lot better than anyone else did.
"Is this... you trying to get to know our friends?" Takeru tried, though I could see in his eyes he had no faith in that idea, he was just trying to get them all to talk after they'd fallen into an uncomfortable silence.
Mr Ishida looked to me and furrowed his brow, his face flushing slightly, embarrassed. Whatever he had to say he didn't want me around for it. "What is... uhm... Miss Yagami doing here?" He asked, turning to Takeru.
"Well you summoned me so urgently," Takeru said with a near monotonous tone, "I didn't have time to walk her home."
"Well, maybe I could drive her home first?" Mr Ishida suggested, jumping to his feet, but Ms Takaishi and Ms Hida grabbed each of his arms, dragging him back to his seat in between the two of them.
"I-I could just wait in the hallway?" I stuttered, realizing how nervous I was. I knew something wrong was about to happen, I just couldn't figure out what it would be.
"No," Takeru objected. He turned his head toward me and rose his eyebrows comically as he smiled to me, "Just go... find something to eat? Or whatever, just make yourself at home."
"It's not really your home..." Iori said quietly.
"Yeah well," Takeru shrugged, "You all interrupted my date, so this is the least I can do."
"Date?" Takeru's parents asked at the same time as Yamato.
"Oh." Takeru said soundlessly. "I forgot to tell you? I... might be dating Hikari." I threw my arms out and smiled at them. "Surprise..." Takeru said awkwardly. Ah. There it was. So the first date really didalways have awkwardness involved.
Takeru's parents turned to me and grinned, before looking back to their son, "Wow, I—congratulations..." Mr Ishida said slowly.
"Why aren't you happy?" Takeru asked slowly.
"I am!" He insisted, "Just—look, we have to talk."
"Hold up!" Yamato objected, holding his hands into the air. "I haven't had my say in this Takeru relationship business." He adjusted himself so he was staring directly toward Takeru. "I'm happy for you." He said simply before turning to me, "Both of you."
I nodded awkwardly and smiled at him as kindly as I could. I didn't know exactly what had gone on between the two of us, but whatever it was, it was over. Just part of my confusion I supposed.
"What am I doing here?" Iori blurted out suddenly as Takeru thanked his brother. Iori's mother turned to Mr Ishida and the two looked away quickly, their faces turning red. "Nope." Iori said, jumping to his feet, catching the clues better than I was, probably because he knew his mother a lot more than I obviously did. He looked to me and twisted his face, adding more awkward to the pot stewing in the room. "Need help with... the kitchen?" Iori offered.
"Sit down, sweetheart." Ms Hida sighed. Iori rolled his eyes and fell into his place on the couch.
"I guess I'll just go?" I offered, walking backward into the kitchen. I waved to the others before I slipped inside.
"Why weren't you shocked?" Takeru asking Iori that question was the last thing I heard of their conversation.
I knew why of course.
"Iori, sit down," I had told him as he slowly lowered himself into the desk seat in my room at my parent's house. They'd removed the computer so there was nothing to do while I hid away in my room trying to pretend I actually had grown up and wasn't still living with them. Instead I'd have to actually communicate with them, which I loved doing, it just made me feel like I'd failed. I was standing, pacing my room, and wasn't sure how to break the news to him.
"Hikari, whatever it is, just say it." Iori sighed, "It's my movie night with Natusni you see."
"Ah!" I exclaimed, "Natsuni, yes. Perfect. You know how you were in a relationship with her and you didn't tell me and we sort of drifted apart?"
"I suppose, yes." Iori nodded.
"Even though we were so close, and you were like my brother, and you jumped in front of a blade for me?" I added, "Which makes no sense, because there's no reason for us to fall apart as friends, but that was my fault and we kept things from each other, and I just need to say something."
"Okay, then do it." Iori shrugged.
"Wait, do you not want to be my friend then?" I asked.
"What?" Iori gasped, shaking his head, "What the heck are you talking about? Of course I want that. I want to be your friend, Hikari. You mean a lot to me. I wouldn't sacrifice myself for just anyone."
"Well then why did we stop talking?" I asked.
"Because you moved to New York and stopped talking to me." Iori said bluntly as if he was intentionally trying to jab the words into me so I could see what I'd done wrong. And really, I had done something wrong.
"Well we..." My voice faded, "Iori, I'm so sorry." I said, my voice choked. "I'm going to fix all of our problems though."
"How is that?" Iori asked.
"I'm not quite sure yet," I offered, "But I'm going to start by earning your forgiveness. And to do that I need to show that I trust you, and that you can trust me. So I have to tell you something that no one else knows... almost no one."
"Okay..." He said, the corners of his lips twitching slightly.
"Takeru and I kissed." I said before biting my lip and falling into a sitting position on my bed. I looked to Iori to gauge his reaction but he didn't have any emotion sketched upon his face.
"What about Yamato?" Iori asked.
"What about him?" I asked.
"Well I thought you... or Willis or something." He tried.
"No, Takeru." I said.
"Well I figured it would happen eventually, but I didn't think you two would be able to turn it around so fast,"
"You're lying." I said slowly, as his face broke out into a huge grin. "What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything." Iori said, throwing his hands up, "I'm happy for you. Really." There was no doubt in my mind that Iori had done something to get this to happen, but he'd never admit to it. He would never be the one to do something so he'd easily be able to lie his way out of it... even if his sense of honour made it very clear that he wasn't allowed to lie. But either way. I'd let it slide, just this once. I had to find a way to make Iori and I be friends again.
I was pulled out of my thoughts as Yamato barked with dry laughter in the next room.
"You're kidding, right?" Iori was saying.
I backed away from the door, realizing that eavesdropping was more of a Sora thing to do. I looked around the room nervously and quickly and found a loaf of bread. I could make a sandwich! I grabbed the bread and began unwrapping it when I heard something.
I froze and listened, but it seemed to have gone away, and all that was left was the sound of Takeru and the others talking over each other. I continued making my bread, but it fell from my hands as I spun around. There was most definitely sound coming from a different room. I crept as quietly as I could through the hallways, looking over my shoulder to be sure no one was there to watch me creep through their house.
I grabbed the first door and pushed it open slowly. Inside was a large, messy bed surrounded by a cluttered floor, but the only living being inside was Wizardmon and he was meditating silently on Mr Ishida's bed.
I backed out of the room and closed the door quietly. I knew that nothing could go overly wrong, since we were done all of our hard work for saving the worlds, and yet I was still scared. There was unmistakably the sound of crying coming from the room at the end of the hallway.
I took a deep breath and decided to do it fast. Just like a band-aid. And then I was running down the hallway and throwing the door open, stepping into the bathroom. I bit back a squeak of fear as I stared to the small boy with black hair curled up in the bathtub.
I knew who he was instantly even though I'd not seen him in his younger state yet. It was Yukai, Kurayami's brother, the boy who had been following the two of us around. He was dead. A ghost trapped on the planet earth because he was lost from life, taken at an inopportune time, drowned by his mother in the...
Bathtub.
And there he was, sitting there, crying.
"Yukai," I said, his name escaping my lips as I stood nervously. He looked to be quickly and his eyes widened, the area around them puffy and red, tears streaming down his face.
"Hikari!" He said. He unfurled his legs and spun so his body faced me. "What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean?" I asked quietly.
"Where am I?" He asked.
"Well you're—"
"Can you help me?" He asked. I nodded and fell to my knees next to him. He smiled at me but suddenly winced and backed away.
"I'm sorry." I said, throwing my hands into the air and backing away from him. "Did I scare you."
"I just..." He looked away, curling up into a ball again. "That's where my mom was when... she did it." I nodded, unsure of exactly what to say. "Hikari, dead people go to Heaven right?" He asked quietly.
"Well, yes." I told him.
"Or Hell." He said bluntly, his voice dropping dramatically. It made me realize how much this child had grown even when life hadn't given the opportunity to do so. He was wise I knew, from earlier, he was just lost.
"Not you." I told him, shaking my head. "Only those who have done wrong go there. And even then it's all wishy washy on this end. No one knows how this all works, but Yukai, no matter how you look at it, you've done nothing wrong. You won't go there."
"I'm not worried about me." He said quietly. "What about... Mommy?"
I swallowed a sudden lump in my throat as my stomach dropped. How was I supposed to do this? "Well, Yukai, I'm not sure what you want to hear, and so I'm just going to tell you the truth. Your mother did bad things here on Earth—and she may have even gone to... The Dark Ocean, but Norn, Kurayami's friend, she purified all the spirits. Your mother will be there, waiting for you." He looked to me, his eyes wide with fear. How had I gotten so bad at these talks? No. I knew I could turn this around.
I scooted closer to the bathtub until I was sitting right next to it, looking down to Yukai who was staring at me through a gap in his arms as he curled into his ball. "Do you remember what your mother was like before she did that to you?"
"Yes." He said quickly, perking up a bit, a smile spreading across his face. "She was really nice... and calm, and smart and pretty. She... was like you a bit."
I smiled at him and threw my hand toward him for him to take. He did so the best he could without any physical form, but I felt cold air where he was holding me. A shiver shot down my spine as I looked away. "Well... that's who your mother is now." I told him, "She only became that mean person because something else was infecting her, and turning her into the very opposite of who she was. But Norn fixed it all. And Kurayami too. Kurayami defeated the evil thing that was keeping her from being... your mother."
"So she's... she's my Mommy again?" He asked quietly. "She's like you?"
"I think so." I told him with a smile. "I know one way to find out."
"What if she isn't?" He asked.
"You don't have to worry about tha—"
"But say she isn't?" He asked loudly, releasing my hand and putting both of his hands on the side of the bathtub, turning on me. "You said that thing that was changing her was the reason she did that to me, but Dad said she was taking it from Kura. Kura wasn't even born yet."
"No, listen." I told him, "I know your mother was keeping the darkness away from her daughter, I just don't know why or how since you're right. She wasn't born yet. But honestly, I know it. I just do. And you can too. Your mother was taking precautions, and the darkness was always looming over your family, and I'm so sorry for what it did to you. So... sorry—but Kura has figured it all out. She's shone just the right amount of light on the darkness. She's made everything better for the future... and one day she'll be back with you... and you can all be a family again. But until then—"
"Kurayami may have found the light," Yukai said, "But she didn't turn it on. That was you. You did that. And I found you... I found the light... and I think it's... time to cross over."
"Are you okay?" I asked. "Are you okay to do that? You're ready to see your mom?"
"Well..." Yukai said, "I saw on TV a couple years ago that spirits stay earthbound to be sure something is completed. And for me... it was to be sure that everything fixed itself with my family. And it did... and if you're right, then my Mommy is waiting for me, and I shouldn't keep her waiting any longer. She's got some explaining to do." He giggled and I couldn't help but laugh with him. "Thank you Hikari. You've been a really big help."
"Are you going to say bye to Kura?" I asked as he threw his arms around my neck.
"No." He said quietly into my ear. "She hates goodbyes... but maybe you could tell her that I'm okay?"
"I'll be sure to do so." I told him.
"Goodbye Hikari."
And then he was gone. I wiped my cheek to be sure there were no stray tears as I bit my lip, staring into the empty bathtub. I fanned my face for a moment before shaking my head and standing up. No need to be sad. This was a happy occasion. Yukai was in a better place. A happy place. It was all better now. Everything was better... and everything that wasn't, was sure to end up that way. It had to.
Before I knew it I was walking down the hallway with Wizardmon, back toward the kitchen.
"So if you could just give this to Gatomon?" He asked, handing me a strange relic like wooden object painted with many shades of red and purple. "And remind her about tomorrow?"
"I'd be happy to," I smiled at him, taking the relic, "This is very cool, where did you get it?"
"Fr—" He was cut off though by Takeru poking his head into the kitchen where we'd just entered.
"Ready to go?" He asked.
"Uh—" I looked to Wizardmon who nodded.
"I'll just tell you tomorrow if you'd like," He said.
"I'd love that," I smiled to him, patting his shoulder. "See you tomorrow Wizardmon,"
I waved to him, and then to Iori and Takeru's parents before stepping through the open doorway that Takeru had opened for me. In the hallway of the apartment building Yamato and Iori were standing with one another quietly, both of them leaning against the wall with their arms crossed.
"Did you have a good visit?" I asked.
"Not really." Yamato said bluntly, turning to lead the way down the hallway.
"Why, what happened?" I asked.
"Well," Takeru said, "it wasn't as bad as these two are making it out to be..."
"It's really messed up." Yamato scowled.
"It's really not," Takeru argued.
"Yes it is," Yamato said, "Don't listen to him Hikari."
"Yes listen to me." Takeru objected.
"Will someone please just tell me what happened?" I asked, "I'll make my own decision. I'm not helpless you know. I can make my own decisions."
Takeru took my hand and squeezed it. "You've come such a long way from the little girl who refused to let her emotions out, and stand up for herself."
"I love you too." I told him as he leaned down and kissed my cheek.
"That's not what he said though," Iori said, confused.
"But it's what I meant." He said with a wink toward me.
"But seriously." I said, my expression falling. "What happened?"
"You first," Takeru said, "How was your time with Wizardmon?"
"Oh actually I helped Kurayami's dead brother find his way to Heaven." I said simply. Takeru grinned to me again. "What?" I asked, but he just shook his head and looked away, causing me to smile uncontrollably as well, "What?"
"It's just..." Takeru breathed a short laugh, "You never cease to amaze me."
"You two are such a gross couple." Yamato said, rolling his eyes.
"But you love us!" Takeru joked, poking his brother's shoulder, "You're just jealous because we're so perfect together."
"Am not." Yamato argued. "Or... Maybe I am—Dad's dating Iori's mother."
It took me a few seconds for the sudden change of conversation the register, and even longer for me to realize what he'd said, "Wait, what?" I asked finally, "Since when?"
"A month ago." Takeru supplied.
"Who would withhold such information for a full month?" I asked flatly. "That's kind of rude."
"Hey Hikari," Yamato said, spinning around and pointing to me, his eyebrows raised a sly smile spread across his face, "When did you break up with Willis again?"
"Fair enough," I shrugged.
"Well I don't think it's so bad." Takeru said, shrugging his shoulders, "For a long time I wanted Mom and Dad to be together because I thought they were perfect for each other but I soon realized that wasn't true. I don't mind that they aren't together anymore, and I want them to both be happy and since Dad is happy with Ms—sorry, Fumiko—she asked me to call her that," He said hastily out of the corner of his mouth, "then I'm happy with that too. I just wish Mom would be happy too."
"I see where you're coming from," Yamato said, shrugging his shoulders, spinning back around and pressing the elevator button. "And I'm happy they broke up. I am, they were awful together and they did awful things. But what I don't like is how they just threw the Ms Hida thing on us. Like, did he even regret it? How long were they together? Did he cheat on Mom? Like... I don't know. Whatever, as long as it ends fine I'm cool with it."
We were all piled into the elevator then as everyone turned to Iori whose arms were still crossed as he waited silently.
"What about you?" Takeru asked, "You haven't said much, what do you think about this?"
Iori looked to Takeru and then to Yamato and sighed, "Well I'm not really used to family." He said simply, "I love Meiyomon... and I love Mom... but I don't know if I'm ready to open up to more people yet."
"Oh yes you are." I said, my hands behind my back as I bounced on the spot, waiting for the elevator to finish its trip. "You let Armadillomon in, and me once upon a time. Miyako, and Ken—Natsuni," I nudged him with my elbow and he looked to the floor quickly, his face turning red. "You couldn't have DNA digivolved with Takeru if you hadn't let him in. You've let so many people into your life silly. You love all of us—you're just too scared to admit it."
"I..." he decided against saying anything, and changed the subject quickly, "I just want Mom to be happy. She loves your Dad, I can tell. She used to look at my dad that way. I remembered the expression when I saw it in there. I'm moving out soon and I can't leave her alone—and sure she's got Meiyomon and Kotemon, but I think she's happy to have someone there for her. And since your dad was also looking for that—someone who wasn't so independent like your mom—they'll be perfect. So I'm... well I'm happy for them."
Takeru clapped Iori on the back and grinned, "Well, I guess that makes us brothers."
"We're not brothers." Yamato and Iori said sharply.
"Hey!" I shouted suddenly as the elevator chimed and stopped on the bottom floor. Everyone looked to me as we left the elevator and started walking toward the front door, "Iori, you're moving out?"
"Soon?" he said nervously, "why?"
"Natsuni mentioned moving out too, and then we thought we could move in together." I said, "At Rei's party."
"Ugh." Takeru and Yamato groaned—the typical reaction to Rei's party being mentioned.
"Oh?" Iori asked, as Yamato held the door open for us. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that you're coming too!" I exclaimed, clapping my hands together and jumping out onto the sidewalk in the cool night air. "It'll be so much fun! And we can be friends again."
"I'll have to think about that." Iori said, turning and walking off immediately.
"Uh... okay." I nodded. "Bye?"
"Bye brother!" Takeru shouted, waving animatedly as Yamato elbowed him sharply.
I watched Iori walk for a bit, not sure what I said that had caused such a fuss, but suddenly he stopped and spun around, "Actually..." Iori said slowly, "I'd really like that." I was running toward him to hug him a second later, unable to hide my excitement.
"This is going to be the best!" I cheered, "We're going to be the best roomies ever! And I have the first decoration for our wall—that sword Taichi had for no good reason—well we have a good reason! It'll decorate our wall and symbolize our friendship and we'll be—"
"Can we talk about it later?" Iori laughed, pushing away from me, "I have to get home... Armadillomon and Kotemon are home alone. The only bonus to this is that Meiyomon's not there so I know the place is still in one piece."
"I'll email you." I decided, ruffling his hair, "Oh what fun we'll have!" Iori rolled his eyes before waving briefly and heading off toward his house.
Takeru reached out his hand for me to take, so I did and the three of us remaining set off down the street the other way.
"Are you okay?" I asked Takeru quietly when Yamato had made enough space between us.
"Okay?" He asked, "Of course I am." He nodded, "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well your parents—"
"—now have the same chance at happiness that you and I have." He finished for me, "I'm more than okay," He said with a giant grin, "I'm ecstatic."
"Then so am I," I said.
It wasn't long before Yamato had waved a quick farewell and asked me to say 'hello' to Taichi, and then was gone into his own apartment where he lived only with Gabumon. And then only twenty minutes after that we arrived at my own house, climbing a large set of stairs.
"Sorry about today," Takeru said slowly, "It wasn't the best first date ever."
"No," I agreed, "But no one else can say they had the same first date."
"That's true." He smiled, "Thinking positive. I like that."
"Learned from the best." I joked.
"Well, I suppose this is goodnight." Takeru said with a brief nod.
"I don't really want you to go yet." I said.
"Well we'll have every day for the rest of forever." He blurted before realizing what it was that he'd said, his eyes popping. I couldn't help but laugh. It was our first date and he'd just pretty much asked me to marry him, I didn't want to answer him yet, I wanted a very romantic proposal, but there was no way I'd ever want to leave... then again, it was the first date. Only time could tell...
I looked down as I thought about the best way to get Mimi's old key and take a look into the future, but before I could find a good one Takeru had cupped my face in his hands and kissed me. I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him back until we were both pulling away from one another.
"Well... see you tomorrow?" Takeru said, turning to leave.
I decided I didn't need to use the key—I had this moment right now. And that was enough for then. Before I knew it I was grabbing Takeru's hand and pulling him back. "Come inside?" I asked. "It's dinner time... we could... introduce you to my parents?"
"We've actually met several times," Takeru joked. "I'd like that." He smiled. I turned and led him into the house where the first thing I spotted was Mom bustling down the hallway toward the dining room table, a large pot of soup in her arms. "Ooh..." Takeru winced, "Your mom cooked?"
"Hey now," I laughed.
"I'm kidding!"
"Hikari?" Mom called, "you home?"
I took Takeru's hand and led him down the hallway, my heart beating fast. What would Mom and Dad say about this? Were they ready to hear it? Was I ready to tell them? Would they pull the whole stereotypic parental move and be strict about it?
As I rounded the corner all those worries vanished instantly, because I was more worried about what the other person would think. Taichi was sitting at the table with Rei, across from my parents. One one side of the table Kamemon and Gatomon sat and on the other there was an empty chair.
"I'm home," I confirmed.
"Hey sweetheart," Mom chirped, "I've made loads of dinner. I assumed Taichi would bring Agumon and Rei's friends, but they stayed behind and Dorumon cancelled last minute because of a sudden meeting with his Knights, so eat up."
"Hey Takeru..." Taichi said, his eyes narrowed in on him.
Mom turned her head and smiled, "Oh I didn't even see you there!" Mom laughed, "I'll get you another chair!" She was standing a moment later and was bustling off to find a place for Takeru to sit.
"What's Takeru up to?" Dad asked, scooping some soup into his bowl.
"I'm dating your daughter!" Takeru blurted suddenly.
"Well played." I muttered, and then we were both laughing, easing the nerves a little until I remembered that I was scared about everyone's responses.
"About flipping time." Dad laughed.
"What's about time?" Mom asked, sliding a stool into the room for Takeru to sit on.
"Your daughter's found herself a new boyfriend." Dad said, raising one eyebrow toward Takeru and I.
"Oh, had that not already happened?" Mom asked, "Huh, years late Hikari. You're years late."
"Partially my fault." Takeru said raising his hand awkwardly, but I grabbed it and pulled it back down.
"This is the most adorable thing." Rei declared, "Simply wonderful! I can't even... you can just... see the happiness radiating from the two of you, and—"
"Takeru," Taichi said, pushing his chair from the table, scraping it against the ground, "Can I have a word?"
"Uh huh." Takeru squeaked, nodding his head and following Taichi, who looked rather upset, from the room. I turned to Gatomon and motioned for her to follow me the second they'd closed the door to Taichi and Daisuke's old bedroom. She nodded and ran with me, both of us sliding to a stop by the door.
"What are they saying?" I asked as Gatomon put her ear up to the door.
"Taichi's saying that he's your brother... he's very protective and he cares about you." Gatomon filled me in with a whispered tone. "He wants you to be safe, and when Willis and you started dating he asked Willis to keep you safe... but he..."
"He what?" I asked sharply, my heart beating faster, as much as Taichi's opinions usually contradicted mine I still cared about what he thought, especially since he'd been right about me and my relationships before. "Gatomon!" I hissed.
"Before I tell you," Gatomon said, pulling away from the door, "I want to tell you how happy I am about this. I've not seen you this happy since... well, about thirteen years ago. And even then you were holding so much back, Hikari... I missed seeing your smile. You don't do it enough. I'm happy that you're happy because that makes me happy."
"Oh," I said, reaching into my pocket and pulling out Wizardmon's gift and handing it to her, "From Wizardmon. I realize it's not the most opportune moment, but I just remembered it. Because I know Wizardmon makes you happy, and... that makes me happy." I smiled at her as she looked down to the gift.
"I love you Hikari, and I'm so happy that you changed me from the dark side." She said quietly, "I really do, love you."
"I love you too." I told her, hugging her tight.
"Takeru loves you too." Gatomon said, "By the way. And so does Taichi. He was telling Takeru how he had to tell Willis to keep you safe, but he doesn't have to tell Takeru. Because he knows he will. And he's happy for you two."
Honestly I was fairly sure this was the first time I'd gotten Taichi's approval for anything at all, and when the bedroom door opened I jumped to my feet and threw my arms around his neck. "Stupid Taichi." I whispered. "I love you."
"Love you... too?" Taichi said awkwardly.
Yamato Ishida:
"Can I just say how ridiculous of an idea this really is?" I said a little annoyed. Taichi had sent out a mass text message to us all about how we really needed to get together again. This was the last meeting we'd ever really have to have. It was important because we'd finally done it. After thirteen years of fighting, all nine worlds would be safe. Well, until the Great Evil of Earth showed up, but that wasn't our fight. We were done. Finally and forever. Sure it kind of made me sad to think about the fact that I'd never need to use Gabumon to help me fight, and I'd maybe never see ZeedGarurumon again, but at the same time, I was happy that he wouldn't be in danger—I was happy that my friends wouldn't be in danger, and I was happy that my family wouldn't be in danger. Everything was falling into place now, and everyone was finding true happiness.
Well, almost everyone.
"It's really not that ridiculous." Mimi said bluntly, "Do you have a better idea?"
"No." I admitted. Our meetings usually took place in Mimi's restaurant, but with that building having exploded we obviously couldn't go there, and so we settled on having the meeting in Taichi's meeting room in the council. It was big enough, and nearly enough chairs for everyone, but it was also not very legal. I was sure Taichi could come up with a clever excuse as to why we were all using an official room as a hangout spot, but since he wasn't even there yet, I was a little nervous.
I'd come early to try and spend some extra time with Sora, but unfortunately she hadn't come with Koushiro and Mimi like I'd expected she would. She had told me that she loved me when we were fighting Arkadimon, and hadn't really talked to me since. It was a little more than annoying, but I didn't want to step too far over the line. I needed to let her come to me, or whoever else she needed to go to, but only when she was ready.
"Exactly," Koushiro said, "Besides, it is a room designed for meetings. Meetings of far more importance than this, but meetings nonetheless." Koushiro hadn't even looked up from his computer that I was fairly sure had broken like three years ago when he spoke. He was too invested in whatever it was that he was writing. He had a book propped open in front of him with drawings and notes done by someone, who I assumed was probably Tatum.
Tentomon, Gabumon and Palmon had voted to stay outside the temple to play, which was probably for the better because we were already down three chairs. I was sitting in Gabumon's place, and Koushiro had taken his own seat just next to me, around the corner of the table. Mimi was giving us both our space and sat virtually as far away as possible in Benjamin's spot. She's been fairly adamant about wanting to know whose bottom usually occupied her chair.
"What's the point of this anyway?" I asked slowly. Mimi and Koushiro looked up to each other, they clearly knew, but something told me that it wasn't something either wanted to talk about too much. "Alright," I decided not to further that topic, "How about the weather?"
"It's nice." Mimi said, "The sunshine is always nice after that rain that lasted the whole battle."
"Yes, I agree." I said awkwardly. I wasn't sure why it was so awkward. I'd known each of them for all thirteen years of our trials, and we'd been together through a lot of separate battles. Such as the most recent one—the battle of Mimi's Restaurant. Or the time when Koushiro and I had tag-teamed and fought against Yuukimon and Yuujoumon—when he'd fainted and first got Tentomon to mega. We weren't strangers, but there was just nothing to talk about. I supposed that we always had talked mostly about the battles...
Come to think of it... that was my relationship with everyone. Besides Taichi, Takeru, Hikari and Sora. Well, Miyako did produce my music for me, that was always nice, but aside from that we didn't really talk... Maybe we weren't really friends. Maybe now that the battles were over...
Thankfully the door swung open and Taichi strode into the room carrying a stack of three chairs. I jumped to my feet immediately to help him, but Mimi was closer and had taken one of them, setting it to the left of her own chair. Taichi walked down the other side of the table and set his two chairs and random intervals.
"You don't need to write minutes for this one," Taichi reminded Koushiro, patting his head.
"I'm just getting my computer up to date," Koushiro said quickly, looking away from his computer to defend himself.
"I'm kidding," Taichi said, throwing his hands into the air, "Relax." Koushiro nodded and returned to his computer. Something about all of this was starting to worry me. Koushiro was on edge. What did that mean? He was never bothered by anything. He was like a brick wall of intelligence and sarcastic comments.
Taichi sat down next to me and looked to Agumon's empty seat.
"Where is he?" I asked.
"He stayed outside." Taichi said with a shrug of his shoulders, "He's playing or something, I dunno." Taichi didn't even look to me, and slowly he looked up at the door when he heard it click open. Miyako was leading Ken through the door, dragging him by his hand, both of their faces very void of emotion. Did they know what this was about too?
Miyako sat in the chair Taichi had added next to Koushiro and Ken took a seat, rightfully, in MetalifeKuwagamon's chair right next to her. Miyako leaned over to look at Koushiro's work and he looked up at her.
"Now correct me if I'm wrong," Miyako said, "but I'm fairly certain this is your broken computer. And there's no need to correct me Mr President-of-the-computer-club because I know this is the exact computer you ranted and raved about when I first met you." Koushiro looked up to her and grinned—at least there was some glimmer of happiness, "How'd you do it?" Koushiro simply pointed his finger to Mimi who shrugged her shoulders and batted her eyes innocently.
"Have you added Gaiomon yet?" Miyako asked, still leaning over his shoulder, "He's amazing."
I zoned the two of them out because I knew that they were about to get really nerdy. "Hey Ken!" I said loudly. "What's up?"
"Not much," Ken shrugged.
"That's boring." Taichi said flatly before looking slowly to Ken. "Ken have I ever spoken to you?"
"Uh..." Ken seemed to be having trouble remembering a time if ever there was one.
"I'm sorry for that." Taichi said quietly, "I... should have."
We all looked to the door as it opened again, "It's alright," Ken said as Daisuke, Hikari and Kurayami walked into the room together. "A conversation takes two people. It's as much my fault as it is yours."
"What's Taichi's fault this time?" Hikari asked, pulling out D'arcmon and Babamon's chairs so she and Kurayami could sit as Daisuke ran for Agumon's chair to be at the head of the table muttering to himself 'I'm the leader after all,' as he did so.
"Nothing," Ken said flatly, staring down to his hands in his lap.
Before anyone could say anything else, Jou and Iori were walking into the room, both of them laughing which was a pretty good thing to see. I was still confused why everyone was being so solemn. Jou sat in Divermon's chair as Iori took the one Taichi had added to sit next to him.
"And it sounds stupid," Iori said, not paying attention to anyone around him, "But I really think I deserved a happy ever after."
"And you got it." Jou winked, elbowing Iori playfully.
"I hope so." He said before letting his face turn bright red at the sight of everyone in the room. I didn't pay him any mind because I knew he'd only get more embarrassed, so instead I rested my head in my hands and waited for the door to open again. I just wanted everyone to get here so we could deal with whatever it was that was bothering everyone.
Willis was next with my brother. And it was a really odd sight, but they didn't sit together so it made me think that maybe they hadn't come together, and only casually met up by accident. Takeru sat in Ogremon's place around the corner of the table from Hikari and Willis sat in Centarumon's place across from Jou. Hideto, Mari and Kiyoko came next, Mari sitting between Mimi and Willis in the last of Taichi's added seats, as Kiyoko sat on Willis' other side in Leomon's chair. Hideto however sat fairly far away from Kiyoko, sitting between Ken and Iori, and I wasn't sure if it was because he wanted to, or because there was literally no more room at that end of the table. I guess I'd never know. Michael burst through the door dramatically as he always did and sat next to Kurayami in Tinkermon's place and then Neo was walking through quietly, Dracomon in his arms.
"Most of us left our partners outside to play," Michael noted, "I saw them all out there playing hide and seek."
"Can't have been hiding very well then, if you saw them all," Willis said and we all laughed, but he was alone in that. No one even cracked a smile.
"Neo said he couldn't go in alone." Dracomon said from Neo's arms as he headed to one of two empty seats—Erif's place. "He didn't want to go to a place he thought might not welcome him. I think he secretly just wanted to spend more time with me because I know he loves me."
"Hush." Neo hissed quietly.
"It's okay to show some form of appreciation to your friends every now and then," I told him seriously, "And we all are. Your friends I mean. You came a long way Neo. We're proud of you. Well I am anyway."
"As am I." Jou nodded.
"Me too." Miyako and Iori said together.
"See, Neo?" Dracomon said, looking up from Neo's lap with his big eyes. "I told you they'd like you as much as I did!"
"You did, didn't you?" Neo said quietly, hugging his partner. "Sorry I doubted you."
Everyone slowly and awkwardly looked away from their moment, and the room was encased in total silence for all of two seconds before the door was creaking open and the final member of the group was stepping into the room.
"Hey," She said, waving her hand awkwardly. "Sorry I'm late." Sora was wearing a simple summer dress and a big sun hat with large, round sunglasses.
"Going on a trip?" Taichi asked with a grin.
"I can't figure out fashion anymore." Sora groaned, "I couldn't find anything appropriate to wear to the council room."
"Well you might want to get a grip on that before you come to work here," Taichi joked, "As Marrow's replacement you really should dress more like him."
"I can totally see Marrow pulling off that dress." Michael joked.
"Hold up everyone!" Mimi said loudly, "Sora, dear Sora... did I hear Taichi correctly? You got a job here at the Temple? In a boring meeting room?"
"Hey now," Taichi argued.
"The walls are beige, Taichi." Mimi said flatly.
"Why would you work here?" Daisuke asked.
"I-I..." Sora stuttered, shaking her head. "I needed a new dream and I found it." Daisuke and Mimi looked to each other, their eyebrows raised, but said nothing more.
"So what's this meeting about?" I asked finally.
Everyone turned to Taichi and I saw the corners of his mouth twitch into what I knew was supposed to be a grin. The same smile that flashed across his face every time something triumphant happened, but it was overshadowed by a wall of sadness.
"We won." He said flatly, throwing his hands into the air. Michael whooped excitedly and a few people cracked a smile, but Taichi leaned lazily back in his char and Koushiro shut his laptop. Apparently things were getting serious.
"This was our last battle." Taichi said, "The Digital World has found peace, everything is back where it belongs, our families are safe. Everything is done. You all heard the prophecies. You all know how the story goes. The cycle of the crests is closed."
"Not quite," Michael said suddenly.
"We've still got trust." Ken agreed.
"Yes, well..." Taichi's voice faded and Koushiro took over.
"The prophecy says that the Great Evil of Earth is to be defeated by Trust and a team of his own." Koushiro said simply, looking to Ken and then Michael, "We aren't that team. Our crests have had their run. We found them, we lost them, we fought for them, mastered them, and shared them with our friends." He flicked his eyes toward Sora who tried to smile at him, but she was just sad. That's all I could see on her face, and that was even without being able to see her eyes. She was sad, and there was nothing I could do to stop that. "And then they defeated the Greatest Evil of all." Koushiro finished.
"Why aren't we celebrating then?" Hikari asked. Michael and I both nodded but most of the others seemed to see why that was. Was there something I wasn't catching here?
"Because," Taichi said, "Thirteen years ago, seven of us created a team with our seven partners. We went to Camp, and started an adventure. Soon that adventure was joined by you Hikari, and then three more, and slowly it just turned into a snowball, rolling down a hill. Until finally, it rolled to a stop."
"What are you saying?" Hikari asked, and I could tell by the look on her face that she was slowly coming to the same realization that I was.
"It means that our adventure is over." Taichi said flatly.
"No." Hikari growled flatly. Again, I could tell she felt the same twisted feeling in her stomach that I felt. Takeru took her hand gently and calmed her—there was more than definitely something going on between the two of them that I didn't know about yet.
"Yes." Taichi said flatly. "I think Mimi's got something she wanted to read, or something."
"Why is everyone acting like this is the end?" Michael asked quietly as Mimi stood up and pulled out a piece of paper.
"I-I-I..." She was stuttering, her eyes running down the paper, "I was just a stupid little girl when I met all of you—I thought aliens existed, and I still think I'm probably right actually. But what I don't think any of you know is that—" She shook her head. "I'm not doing this without the digimon."
"Why not?" Takeru asked.
"Just—someone go get them." Mimi declared.
Jou, Michael and Koushiro all jumped to their feet and headed straight for the door, reminding me of the old days when they were fighting over her affections. I guess she still found a way to squeeze into a tight space in each of their hearts.
We all waited as Mimi read over her paper until the others had come back, all of the digimon pouring into the room, each of them rushing to their partner's sides. I pulled Gabumon into my lap and watched as Palmon jumped up onto Mimi's chair and hugged her from behind and whispered something to her that I couldn't hear.
"Right," Mimi said clearing her throat and brushing her hair behind her ears. "What none of you realize is how much you mean to me."And then she was crying. Just like that. "I might not tell you all the time, but each one of you means so much to me—and each of you taught me something. No matter how small it was, I'll always cherish it. Agumon—y-you taught me that if someone eats too much they'll get really cranky!" Agumon laughed sheepishly, unsure whether to take it as a compliment or not. "A-and Ken, you taught me that the darkest people have the most room for kindness in their hearts. E-each one of y-y-you will always be with me! And I... I can't—and just... I've grown so much and it's... i-it is because of each of you... and I-I-I—" She ripped up her paper and threw it behind her. "I just love you all so much."
My mouth was dry as I stared at Mimi, unable to even blink. My stomach was still twisted up, now more than ever, and my head was spinning like mad. The first time I'd ever seen Mimi she and her friends were giggling and looking to me, gossiping most likely, and now she was one of my closest friends. Funny how life can change on a moment's notice with no rhyme or reason, no warning. It just changes. And for some reason, it was changing again, but I couldn't let it happen.
Palmon hugged Mimi and pulled her into her seat. "We all love you too." Patamon chimed in from his place on top of Takeru's head.
As I looked around to the others I saw that nearly all of their eyes were watering, and the others were either flat out balling or forcing themselves to not do so.
"Why is everyone crying?" I asked flatly, slamming my fists into the table, surprising even myself. "What the hell is going on? Someone just tell me."
"Everything has changed." Jou said calmly. "We're no longer needed as a team. Each of us has realized that we've had too much on our plate, consciously or subconsciously. I have two jobs, working on finding a replacement, I'm moving and half of my house is in the works to be built, I have a daughter to raise, a partner to spend time with, and a wife. We're done saving the world, Yamato, but now it's time to move on."
"I'm not moving on." Hikari said strongly through her tears, shaking her head and crossing her arms.
"Alright," Jou said, "I didn't mean it that way. I just mean we're... And we... I just—"
"He means we aren't going to be a team anymore." Daisuke said flatly, "It means that there are no more battles to be won. It means that we won't need to meet up every week to talk about our lives. And it means we no longer need a leader." I watched as he slowly reached up to the top of his head and grabbed his goggles, pulling them from their place, and tossing them into the center of the table.
"You'll always be a leader to me!" Veemon declared, hugging Daisuke tight.
"We'll still keep in touch guys," Takeru offered. "It's not like any of us are just going to disappear from this world."
"Iori might," Patamon said, joking about how Iori sometimes vanished to the Land of Dreams.
"Actually," Taichi said, standing up, "That's another thing we need to talk about."
"The council voted that the Digidestined keep the keys to the other worlds here." Gabumon explained.
"That way, if anything goes wrong we'll still have them safe." Agumon finished.
"That's ridiculous." Biyomon said, "What could go wrong?"
"Well," Koushiro said, "When Sora..." he was unable to say the word he was looking for, "had her accident she had her key with her."
"Which means that Arkadimon had the key." Tentomon said, "Which could have been really bad had we not saved Sora."
Miyako was the first to place her key on the table, slamming it down, her palm open. "I don't really need it anyway."
"I need mine though!" Iori argued.
"You left the door open though," Armadillomon reminded him from the floor where I couldn't see him. "Iori, the door won't ever close." Iori grumbled his disagreement and placed the key on the table. Mimi followed suit, and then Jou, and Kurayami.
"What about Norn?" Daisuke asked, holding his key up in front of him.
"She can travel through any world," Taichi reminded him. "She's the Queen of everything is she not?" Daisuke sighed his agreement and placed his key on the table too. Sora and Koushiro looked to each other and nodded placing their keys down too.
"Willis?" Michael prompted.
"Shhh!" Terriermon hissed as Lopmon kicked Michael from the table where she sat.
"Willis, yours is probably the most important one to keep away from people." Iori said quietly, "It's too tempting. We all want to go meet someone up there, but it's not right. Everything happens for a reason. You should know that Mr Destiny."
Willis looked around the table and nodded slowly. He looked to Lopmon a final time and then set the key down on the table, sliding it away from it. Lopmon leapt into his arms and hugged him.
"Hikari," Taichi was reasoning with his sister who sat on the opposite end of the table. "Just let it go."
"I can't!" Hikari argued, "This key is the only thing I have left to remind me that we were a team. That I was part of it, and important."
"Well you have me," Gatomon reminded her. "And all of your friends. You've got your digivice... And that's the best reminder really. Do you remember the big ordeal upon getting that silly device."
"Miyotismon almost destroyed all of Odaiba!" Gomamon reminded her in case she forgot.
"He was looking for you Hikari." Palmon added, "It was you that he wanted, and then you came around and saved the day. You and Gatomon. That's the best symbol for your time here in our group. The thing that saved us all, the thing that brought you along in the first place."
Hikari looked from Gomamon, to Palmon and then to Gatomon and bit her quivering lip, slowly pulling her key from her pocket and placing it on the table.
"Alright." Taichi said flatly. "I guess that's—"
"Don't finish that sentence!" Mimi practically growled. "I'm not ready."
"None of us are," Taichi said, "But it's like a band-aid. Just get it over with."
"Can we talk about our favourite moments first?" Sora suggested quietly. "I want our last moments as a group to be special."
Before Taichi objected, which he looked ready to do, Mari spoke up. "I enjoyed fighting with Mimi." She said flatly, "It was pretty funny." Slowly a grin spread across her face. Mimi laughed through her tears and pointed excitedly to Mari. "I also... Lalamon's funeral." Everyone understood.
"Call it cheesy or whatever you want," Jou said with a shrug, "But our battles with Apocalymon both times, and Yggdrasil where we beat him with the crests... that felt like... really something."
"I can top your cheese with some cheese of my own," Taichi grinned. "The moment it started snowing. That was my favourite part."
"I think I can speak for the rest of the original seven digimon here," Gabumon said, "when I say that the moment you all came to us was the best. The moment we knew we didn't have to wait for happiness anymore."
"And when I found out that I was Hikari's digimon." Gatomon said with a smile to her partner, "Oh—and when I caught that fish. I'm so much better than all of you."
"You're purr-fect," Labramon joked.
"Sheesh," Gatomon said, "Cat puns coming from a dog? That's ruff." Labramon and Gatomon burst into laughter as everyone else finally began to smile. Eventually we were all talking about our favourite times, everyone had multiple turns. I was pretty sure we'd covered everything really.
Until, of course.
"My knock-knock jokes!" Daisuke declared with a boisterous laugh. "Knock-knock?"
No one was playing along, until it came from the most unlikely source. "Who's there?" Neo asked.
"No!" Mimi laughed, elbowing him, "It's not worth it!"
"Draco," Daisuke said excitedly.
"Draco who?"
"Draco some water! You look parched!" Daisuke said through fits of laughter.
"That was terrible!" Neo laughed.
"I liked it!" Dracomon declared excitedly.
After a few hours of talking, when all the tears had faded the conversation began to wind down.
"Jou, you and I are still going to meet under the tree every week, right?" Iori asked. Jou nodded and smiled to him, "Miyako... you'll babysit my children when I have them right? I couldn't ask anyone else. You're the best babysitter I've ever known."
"I'd be honoured." Miyako blushed.
"And Sora," Takeru said, "You're still my sister, right?"
"Always." Sora nodded. She turned to Hikari, "You too, alright?"
Hikari nodded, biting her lip before blurting out, "None of you are ever getting away from me."
"That sounds menacing," Kurayami joked.
"No," Hikari laughed, "I just mean that you'll all be my friends. Forever. Like Taichi and Yamato, you don't live together anymore. But you'll still be best friends forever, right?"
"Of course," I nodded, looking to Taichi with a grin. He held up his hand so I gave him a high five.
"And just because we don't see each other all the time anymore doesn't mean we won't be friends." Hikari declared.
"She's right." Willis said, "I mean, I know I don't know you all very well, but I still wouldn't be who I was today without you."
"I couldn't have said that better myself," Hideto said.
"And so," Hikari said with a smile, "I'll always remember that time Daisuke got to come to the Digital World, or the time Neo deleted said world—or the many times Ken failed to do so. I'll never forget the Dark Ocean and how Takeru came to save me. I'll never forget any of you." The room chorused similar statements and then Hikari looked shocked to Taichi, "We're still going to meet up on August first every year, aren't we?"
"Of course we are!" Mimi and Jou declared together.
"Are we still invited?" Miyako asked, linking arms with Ken.
"Of course you are." Sora said, "So is everyone in this room. Once a year we'll come back together and be a group."
"So it's not really over." Kiyoko said with a grin.
"Nope!" Mimi smiled to him.
"It'll never be truly over." Daisuke said. "We've had too much time together for it to really end. But as far as adventures of life and death go, I just want you all to know I'm happy that it was with all of you. No one else could have been a better choice."
"Gennai chose wisely," Mimi smiled.
"Well," Taichi said, looking around to everyone who was holding their breath, waiting for what was coming. I took one last look around, memories flashing through the front of my brain. This was it. Our last meeting together. Our last act as a group of heroes. We were done. And my stomach dropped as Taichi finally opened his mouth. "That's a wrap."
Mimi Tachikawa:
"Mom," I said. "It's time for you to go home. So get your butt on a plane and get gone."
"Isn't that a little bit harsh?" Koushiro asked me. He was sitting on the bed watching me as I practiced in the mirror.
"I don't know. It's how I'm starting to feel," I moaned.
"Try again," he suggested.
"Mom, it's not that I don't love spending time with you, it's just that I don't love spending so much time with you?"
"I don't think that was much better to be honest," Koushiro commented. "Why not shift the focus off of your annoyance and put it onto your father's desperation of having his wife back?"
"What, I'm just supposed to walk up to her and say, 'Hey, you're a terrible wife, go back to Dad already. He misses you.'? How is that any better than any of the other options?" I asked with sass. I shouldn't be taking out my anger on him, but I just could not figure this out! My mother was on my last straw, and I didn't know what to do about it. I mean really, how many months can you be away from your job before you don't have it anymore? She'd already spent a couple months stuck in the Digital World before she decided she'd better just stick to me like freaking glue. Yes, I really, truly appreciated her presence when I was breaking down about Sora. And yes, I was happy she was here when we were fighting against Yggdrasil's drones. But that didn't mean she was allowed to invite herself to live with me. It was fine having Sora imposing on Koushiro's and my couple time. She was his best friend and one of mine too! And she could bring a boy over and it would be a double date. It was cute when she was here. It was notcute, however, when my mother interrupts date night to ask whether or not I want her to iron my underwear. Who even does that, let alone irons someone else's undergarments, even if she was my mother.
"Don't be mean to her. Just focus on saying it as politely as possible," he suggested.
"I love you mom. Really I do. It's just that I'm not the only one that does. Remember Dad? Well, he calls about you all the time. He really misses seeing you. And so does your boss. You remember him, the one who depended on you to run the stage at a theatre—a Broadway theatre—and signs your paychecks? You should probably go and spend some time with him too, since you'll need to beg him to let you get your job back," I tried.
"You were doing so well too, until the unemployment jab," Koushiro sighed.
"I don't know what to do!" I shouted. "How can you tell your Mother that she should go home?"
"You could try asking just like that."
I whirled around to see my mom standing in the doorway, looking at me with a very unimpressed look on her face. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest, and she started tapping her foot.
"Well?" she demanded.
"Mom. I love you, you know I do. I just don't understand why you're still here in Odaiba when you love being in New York so much," I told her exasperatedly.
"There's something I need to do," she said simply. "Something I need to figure out. I'll let you know when I do. Don't worry. I'm anxious to get back myself."
"Do you think it will be soon?" Koushiro asked bluntly. I elbowed him quickly, but Mom just laughed.
"I hope it's not too much longer," she said. "But it could be, so I'm not making any promises. That's not what I came for anyway. I found some drawings buried at the bottom of one of the desk drawers? I figured their Sora's, but they seemed so out of place. Are they a secret that I shouldn't have stumbled on, or can I just file them away with the rest of her work?"
"I suppose you should just file them away," Koushiro commented. "She hasn't mentioned a secret project."
Realization struck me though, and I couldn't let Mom do that. "No. Give them to me. There's something I have to make right."
Mom didn't ask too many questions, so I didn't have to give her any answers. I wasn't proud of what I did. I was actually very ashamed of it. But I didn't have to be ashamed forever. I could still make it up to Sora. I just needed to assemble a little team to do it.
Daisuke showed up on his own accord, demanding that I give him a project he could do to make Sora happy. It was very fortunate for me, almost too coincidental, but I was happy for the help regardless. He kept talking about some New Year's resolution.
Katsue however, took a bit of convincing. Daisuke had no problems saying whatever was on his mind, and I could verbally attack someone with my honest opinions, but when it came to it, Katsue had it down to an art form. She was the perfect choice for me to make. Unfortunately, she wasn't too keen on helping Sora, since it was Sora that Yamato was in love with when Katsue broke up with him. And I could understand her point of view. It made me all the more thankful however, when—after promising her three weeks of free meals whenever my restaurant got back up and running—she finally agreed to help me.
"Why are we here again?" Katsue drawled, looking at the large-yet-unassuming building in front of us.
"We're helping Sora, silly," Palmon told her.
"Yeah, but this is pretty far out of Odaiba. I don't see what Sora has to do with this place," she grumbled.
"It's a school," Daisuke pointed out.
"And?" Katsue wanted to know.
"And Sora would've made it in if it wasn't for me," I admitted. "Now I want to make that right. She can't just take the job that Taichi offered her when she doesn't want it. I can tell she doesn't. She needs this."
"Do you know for certain that she would've made it in, because I'd hate to think that I drove us all this way for nothing," Katsue commented.
"Let's go," Veemon suggested, leading us into the building. He and Palmon were wearing sweaters to help hide their digimon status a bit. We didn't to spook the administrations officer.
It took us twenty six minutes to hunt down the administration's office. It wouldn't have taken so long, except we let Veemon have the map, and he had been holding it upside down the entire time. Not our best moment by far. And then we didn't even stop to plan our course of attack, so when Daisuke literally kicked the door open and rolled into the room like a spy, and Katsue stalked in after him clutching her pen and pad of paper like a proper journalist I just walked in with my fists clenched tightly around the folder of drawings with a very determined look on my face.
The poor guy behind the desk looked scared skinny. It was made even worse when Veemon decided that his hood was itchy and revealed that he wasn't just some kid, he was a blue dinosaur, and Palmon used her poison ivy to close the door behind us.
"C-can I h-help y-you?" the man asked.
"Yes," Daisuke, Katsue and I said at once.
"You've made a horrible decision and you have to right it at once," Daisuke said dramatically.
"Due to some digging I've found that there is at least one potential student that truly does deserve a second glance," Katsue announced.
"I made a mistake, and I need you to blame me for it instead of taking it out on my friend," I told him.
All were fine statements—except perhaps Daisuke's—but not a single one of the made sense as we spouted them off at the exact same time.
"C-can you r-rep-peat that?" the man asked.
"Do you remember the application of one Sora Takenouchi?" Katsue demanded.
"We get many ap-plications daily, miss. I don't remember ev-veryone's names," he said.
"Look it up then, we don't have all day, man," Daisuke said, collapsing into a big, comfy looking armchair. The man jumped to his feet immediately and rushed over to his filing cabinet. He fumbled about pulling out a couple of files only to put them back again. Finally, he located Sora's.
"Let's see," he said, opening the folder. "Oh my. Yes. There was a good reason we didn't accept her. The designs she sent were not up to standard. Any standard."
"They aren't that bad," I snapped. I leaned over his shoulder and winced at the sight of them. Okay. Maybe they were that bad.
"So you see, we cannot allow her into the program," he said.
"And if I were to tell you that those designs did not belong to Sora Takenouchi, but in fact are the scribbling of one Mimi Tachikawa instead?" Katsue asked, jotting things down on her pad of paper.
"I'd ask to see some of Miss Takenouchi's own work in order to even begin to consider it. But the deadlines have already passed. There's simply no time," the man told us.
"Yes, I'll be sure to include that in my documentary, thank you," Katsue said, nodding to him before heading to the door. Daisuke and I gaped at her. Veemon didn't know what to think and Palmon looked ready to Poison Ivy her if she didn't stay in the room.
"What documentary?" the man asked.
"Oh, just a little diddy I've been working on," Katsue said with a lightheartedness that seemed far too real. "It's just about the global phenomenon that went down recently, involving millions of robots invading Earth."
"What could that possibly have to do with this school?" the man demanded.
"I've got nothing against the school personally," Katsue said. "It's just that this is the dream school of one of the major players in the world's safety. Did you know that Miss Takenouchi nearly died for her efforts in restoring peace to not only this world but all of the parallel ones as well. It would be bad press of course for me to have to reveal that you couldn't give her the benefit of the doubt, even though she couldn't possibly have tried sooner—with the world at stake and all."
"I suppose I could ask around about it," the man said quickly.
"I'd like something a little more concrete than that, but if that's all you've got," Katsue said.
"Think about it man," Daisuke snapped. "Sora saved the world. Sora therefore saved your whole establishment. The least you could do is get her a spot. You'd be lucky to have her here. She deserves this so much, you have no idea. But, as she'd probably get mad at us for making you put her on the roster due to her status as a world-saver, I don't think we should really be pressuring you into it."
"So Miss Takenouchi here didn't put you up to it?" he asked, looking to me.
"Oh? No! I'm not Sora. I'm Mimi. Mimi Tachikawa. I'm the one that ruined her application. I feel really bad about it too. So I brought her real drawings to show you. I should have done it earlier, I know, but I was busy saving the world too," I said handing the folder over.
"I will look over these," the man promised. "But I really must ask that you leave my office now, before I have to call security."
"Like we couldn't handle security," Veemon scoffed. Daisuke hit him over the back of the head, and laughed nervously, edging his way to the door.
"I can't promise anything," the man told us. "But I will look into it. I swear."
"Better than nothing," Katsue grumbled.
"Thank you," I said. "It means so much to me, and I know it would mean even more to her."
Palmon opened the door for us to leave, and the others all stalked off ahead of us. But I wasn't in quite as big of a hurry to leave.
"It's hard to believe that Sora could come here next year," I commented. "I'm so used to having her at home. I don't even want to think of her leaving."
"But this is her dream, right?" Palmon said. "So I know you'll step aside and let her do it. You stood in her way before, but you're fixing things this time around. She'll really appreciate it Mimi."
"I know," I said. "It just seems like so much. We're all getting older, getting jobs and making lives for ourselves. Joe, Miyako and Ken are already married. Sora's been engaged. Joe's got a baby. It's scary."
"Scarier than facing Arkadimon?" Palmon asked wryly.
"Yes," I said honestly. "I knew what to do then. Well, I mostly left it up to you to decide, but it was straight forward. We had two options: beat him, or die. It wasn't that big of a decision. But without saving the Digital World to fall back on, my life is an open canvas and I think I've already proven just how horrible of an artist I am."
"But Sora's not," Palmon said. "And she'll be there to help you. And so will Koushiro and Jou. All of our friends really. The future is scary just like Arkadimon was, but you'll have me to back you up the whole way, just like in all of our past fights. I won't let you fall Mimi."
"I don't know what I'd do without you, Palmon," I said.
"Not a whole heck of a lot, that's for sure," Palmon said laughing.
"I'm glad you'll be there," I whispered.
"You're not getting rid of me that easily. I'm going to be the flower digimon at your wedding, and I'm going to be there when your first child is born. I'm going to be there when you reopen your restaurant, and if I knew how, I'd be working alongside you the whole time."
"I'll teach you then," I said grinning. "I'll teach you to cook. We'll be a team. The first digimon and human cooking duo."
"I like the sounds of that," Palmon said.
"Hurry up!" Daisuke called from the doorway at the end of the hall. "Katsue's threatening to leave without you, and I think she's crazy enough to do it."
I rushed out to the car, prepared for another long drive, this time with thoughts of Palmon's words to keep me occupied. She was right of course. She almost always was. It was a gift of hers. Katsue threatened to toss Daisuke out the window twice when he started singing about ninety-nine bottles of beer on a wall, but otherwise the ride was blissfully silent.
When I finally arrived home, I opened the door and found myself staring at a dark room. There was a faint flickering of light, however, coming from the dining room, so I tossed my purse on the counter and made my way towards it. I caught sight of a beautifully arranged table, with a three candle candelabra in the middle of the table on a deep red table runner that went perfectly with the crisp, white tablecloth. There were two place settings, each with a white plate sitting on top of a gold charger plate that matched the candelabra perfectly. There were far more pieces of silverware than I would ever actually use, but it looked so well put together all on the table. A large casserole dish was on the table, with steam fogging up its lid, and several smaller dishes of vegetables were spread about sporadically.
Koushiro was seated at one of the seats and looked up to me when I walked into the room. He smiled at me and I couldn't believe his thoughtfulness in making such a romantic dinner for me to come home to.
Palmon snuck off into the darkness, presumably to hunt down Tentomon and Biyomon to tell them of our day's adventure.
"Thank you," I told him, leaning in to give him a kiss.
"I suppose I should thank you too," Koushiro said. "Though I've no idea what you'd need to thank me for."
"For dinner, silly," I said, rolling my eyes.
"I just got here," he said.
"So did I," I pointed out.
"I figured you just stepped out to get something from the store," he said embarrassed.
"If I didn't make it, and you didn't make it, who did?" I questioned.
"It wasn't Sora," Koushiro commented. "She's out with Hikari right now, helping her pick out future date attire."
A folded piece of paper caught my attention. It was leaning, suspiciously, against the candelabra. I picked it up and read it by candlelight.
Mimi,
I love you. And I've found the way to show what I truly needed to say, since I could never find the words that could do my meaning justice. I know you love this boy, and after spending a few months watching you, I can safely say that he has my approval. He cares deeply for you, nearly as deeply as your father and I, if not even more so. Seeing you deal with the crisis of Yggdrasil together and watching the pair of you struggle to move past Sora's death—no matter how short lived it thankfully was—in order to continue fighting in her name. You two will be good together. One simply doesn't live through such things together without it leaving a lasting impression, after all.
You are my daughter, through and through, and I know that my acceptance will mean little to you in the grand scheme of things. My parents never did quite accept Keisuke as my husband, still haven't to be honest. But I married him anyway. I should never have tried to force you into being who I wanted. My parents did the same to me and it didn't work for them. And you are more free spirited than even I was as a young woman trying to make my way in the world. I know you think I am pleased by the destruction of your restaurant on some level, but I am not. I was proud of you for achieving your dreams at such a young age, even if I never showed it. I know though, that you will find it in you to start anew, and reach for bigger and better goals to re-fulfill your dreams.
You are destined for great things my daughter, even if your days as a world-saving digidestined are over. I can only hope that you remember little old me when you reach the top.
Now enjoy this meal I prepared for you and your beau. I put a lot of effort into it, and I don't want it to be cold. By the time you read this, I'll be on my way to the airport. I've overstayed my welcome, and though you will no doubt miss me, I need you to be strong and have fun anyway.
I love you,
Mom.
That was the most touching thing Mom had ever done for me in my life. It figures she'd do it through a note so that I couldn't sob happily into her shoulder. She always was particular about her clothing. She was wrong about one thing though. I didn't think she was happy about the loss of my restaurant. I knew she couldn't be. She kept trying to feed me chocolate chip cookies. That was her go to comfort food when she was upset about something. She was just as upset about it as I was. More even, since I'd been too relieved to be alive to really let it sink in.
"Are you okay?" Koushiro asked, putting his hand on my back. It wasn't until then that I realized I was crying. He sounded so unsure that I had to laugh.
"I'm fine," I said. "Better than fine. I'm great even."
"Who's it from?" he wanted to know.
"Mom," I said. "She's on her way back to New York as we speak."
"We shouldn't let her hard work go to waste," he commented. I was quick to agree and slipped into my seat. I put a little bit of everything on my plate and laughed as Koushiro plopped mostly casserole on his own, forgoing most of the vegetables.
"Cheers," I said, raising a bite of casserole into the air and putting it into my mouth. I nearly gagged the second it touched my tongue. Koushiro seemed to be trying to tough it out, chewing his own bite though his face was starting to turn green. I couldn't do it though. I spit it out immediately.
"Oh thank God," he said, after forcing himself to swallow. He guzzled back the water in his glass. "I was hoping you found it as atrocious as I did."
"If you can't eat it, then you know it's bad," I teased. "I feel so bad. She worked hard on this."
"When she calls—and you know she will—we'll tell her it was delicious. As it stands, I'm thinking about ordering something in," Koushiro said, putting as much distance as he could between himself and the horrible food. I laughed.
"Why don't we have some pizza? It'll still be romantic if we keep the candles going," I offered.
"Sounds perfect," he said, sending me a smile, before hunting down the phone. I raced after him, worried about just what he'd order on that pizza.
Sora Takenouchi:
I was really starting to internally thank Mimi for ruining my applications to school. If it wasn't for her I'd never be where I was right then. Pulling a few odds and ends out of the black and white cardboard box and decorating the council room. It was just a little flair, but the room itself was more boring than I'd expected it to be. If I was going to be working here for the rest of my life voting on issues I barely understood, then I was going to have to allow my eyes to at least be satisfied.
Everything was really falling into place now though. Yamato's music was really becoming something big, Katsue got her big break, Taichi found love with Rei and Takeru and Hikari both broke out of their terrible relationships with Catherine and Willis respectively. Mimi's mom moved back to New York finally and Mimi and Koushiro couldn't be happier—Kiyoko agreed to help Jou on the Digital World extension to his house, and unless my internal relationship radar was wrong, which it never was, something big was about to go down between Kiyoko and Hideto. Mari and Willis were definitely seeing each other in secret. I'd spotted them wearing abnormally large sunglasses sneaking into a fancy restaurant. He was a good friend, helping her over her loss—and speaking of Mari's friends, Miyako's torturing was finally over, and she was living happily with Ken—Iori's relationship was finally in the open, and Kurayami was smiling a lot more than usual, and it was all thanks to Daisuke—the perfect gentleman. I wasn't sure about Michael to be totally honest, but was he ever not happy? Probably not. So really, everything was perfect. Everyone was happy.
Everyone.
Including me. I now had this desk job here in the Digital World where I could help two of my very best friends decide the future of the Digital World. I had a feeling Tinkermon and I would get along great since she'd already cornered me and asked me what my stance was on skin care, and when I told her it was important she claimed I was her new best friend... but the rest of the council wasn't nearly as welcoming. Whether it was because I was a woman, and the rest of the female-ish Digimon, since apparently someone, sometime made the ludicrous suggestion that they didn't have genders, who happened to be on the council were crazy... or perhaps they were wary because I was replacing both Marrow and Erif, the two leaders of the Death Knights, the creatures who messed with all of the Digital World's time and all that jazz.
Whatever it was I knew I'd have a lot of baking to do if I planned on winning their hearts over. That was of course, if Leomon planned on relinquishing the oven to me. He was quite the gifted chef really.
Life was finally slowing down and coming back to normal. Everyone had gotten over my death as much as they seemed to be able to, which was simply wonderful since I didn't remember it at all anyway, and they're constant hugs and tales of woe were, as awful as it sounded, starting to annoy me.
But the thing that really boosted all of this over the top was Neo. Neo was happy, and accepted. Though I was sure he still had a little ways to go before he fully gained everyone's trust and loyalty, he was on his way. And I had to admit I did understand where everyone was coming from. I vaguely remembered a few death threats, a deleted Digital World and a few punches thrown his direction from... myself—but really, he seemed happy, which made me happy. If only he could find his calling.
He'd be way better at this job than I was. But thankfully he didn't have it. I did. And I was super duper pleased about it too. Uh huh...
I dropped the cardboard box after pulling out the final item, a candle that smelled like brown sugar. It would sweeten up the place. I set it down in the center of the table and then backed up to admire my handiwork.
It looked much more exciting—homey almost.
And then the door opened. I turned, excited to show whoever it was my work. It was Taichi, followed by Centarumon, D'arcmon and Babamon.
"Oh dear!" Babamon exclaimed. "What did you do?"
"Sora," Centarumon said, "This isn't like your parents' bedroom. You cannot just redecorate it at your own free will. This is our workplace."
"It's really unprofessional." D'arcmon agreed.
"Oh what do you know?" I said, a little snippy, I'd have to admit, but I'd just put a lot of effort into this, and they were tearing down all the confidence I'd built up in the past hour. "You're like the oldest digimon ever. You're cranky and boring."
"I resent that!" Babamon shouted, but I could hear Tinkermon laughing from the hallway.
"Taichi, tell them that they're wrong." I said boldly.
"I..." He stared at me, his eyes wide before dropping them to the ground, "I can't. Sora, they're right. The place looks awesome, but it's a little... well it looks like Mimi's old bedroom—and we're supposed to be on a professional level here. I'm going to have to ask you to take it down."
"Fine then Mr Bossy-pants." I grumbled. "I'll just make it more professional then. How about cream and eggshell?"
"Sora—" Taichi objected nervously.
"Fine! Grey." I decided. "I'll just make everything grey. What better way to wake up in the morning than thinking, 'hey. At least I get to work in a room with a design based off of the Dark Ocean.'"
"Sora," Taichi sighed, "Just leave it how it was. It was fine that way."
"But it's boring." I objected.
"But it's a meeting room." Taichi said flatly, "It's supposed to be boring..." He looked to me and saw that I was hurt. Because I was. A lot. I'd just wanted to make my life a little less awful, and then it was being shut down again. I didn't blame Taichi really, I should have asked for permission... but I knew he would have said no. He had hardly ever let me into the room before, and I'd just done all but added a hot tub. Though I figured he'd be all for that idea... "Sorry." He added to me before turning to the others. "Look, I'll handle it later, okay? I'm not having a good day." He stormed toward the door and then froze, "Sora?"
"Yeah?" I asked, hopeful.
"Just... make sure you take it down, okay?" and then he was gone. The three digimon stood awkwardly before following him out of the room.
I was biting my lip, forcing back tears for the next half hour as I tore down all the decorations I'd just put up, and dropping them back into the box I'd brought in. I just wanted something to go right. Just onething.
I was following Taichi's footsteps to the door in a dramatic storm out when it popped open instead revealing MetalifeKuwagamon standing on the other side. "Oh." He said, "You're leaving?"
"I am." I nodded. "I'm just not in the mood right now."
"Well you have a visitor." He said quickly, stepping aside and revealing a very familiar blonde boy.
"Yamato?" I asked as MetalifeKuwagamon nervously flitted out of the way and down the hallway. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here for you Sora." Yamato said, stepping into the room. "Aren't you happy to see me?"
"Not if you have anything bad to say about me." I said.
"Just that your self confidence is in the basement." Yamato said.
"Oh, is that where it is?" I asked, "Thanks I'll just go get it now that you've found it for me."
"Sora," Yamato said, closing the council room door. "You're using sarcasm as a default. You only do that when you're upset. Now stop being upset and listen to me for once."
"I'd prefer you kept the door open." I said, setting the box on the table and moving past Yamato to pull them open again.
"So you're scared of me now?" He asked, but I didn't answer. "Sora... have you ever contemplated suicide?"
"Wow." Was all I could say. I turned to him, shocked and then shook my head, "No, I don't think I have."
"Good." He said with a quick, "The point of that was that I have. I've contemplated killing myself just once. And then I realized that I didn't need to kill myself if someone else could do it for me. And so I started fighting harder than I'd ever fought. And then I realized that I needed to be fighting for you, and not fighting to end up with you."
"Oh." I said, realizing when he was talking about now. He was referring to my not-really-a-death-but-kind-of. "Well I'm glad you didn't kill yourself."
"Because you love me." He said, a grin spreading across his face.
"Uh, no." I said, turning quickly to hide my flushing face as I picked up the box again. "Because you're a very close personal friend of mine. Okay? I care about you and want you alive the same amount I want everyone else alive." And then I was pushing past him and into the hallway, marching toward the gate to Earth where I could maybe lose Yamato.
"Alright, I'll give you that." Yamato chirped, "You're a good friend. And I'm pretty loving. Look at that, we've got each others crests figured out, maybe we'll fuse now."
"What are you trying to say, Yamato?" I asked, spinning on my heel and stopping him in his tracks.
"A few days ago... when we were fighting Arkadimon," Yamato said quietly, "I... may have heard you mention that you loved me."
"That was one of the many things that slipped out of my mouth that night." I said, turning away again.
"Are you denying it?" He asked.
"That I said it? No."
"Are you denying what the words meant?" He pressed.
No.
The simple word was echoing in my head. Of course I couldn't honestly take back what I'd said. I did love Yamato. Pretty sure of it anyway. But I'd also loved him before. And Neo a couple times and Taichi on and off, and maybe even Kiyoshi. It was too soon to say. I couldn't rush into anything. That's what I'd have to tell him.
"Look," He said before I got the chance. "Sora, I love you too. And I want you to know that I will wait for you. Forever."
"He wrote a song about it." It was Gabumon, popping out of the kitchen and skipping down the hallway toward us. Yamato tried to hush his digimon up, but he failed. "Really, he did." Gabumon nodded. "It's called 'I'll Wait For You' and I think it's his best one yet. But he promised Hideto he wouldn't write anymore songs about you for his album so he had to make sure it was good, right Yamato?"
"Kind of in the middle of something..." Yamato muttered from the corner of his mouth.
"Right." Gabumon nodded. "I'm not even here." But he was.
"I'm happy you'll wait for me." I said without thinking, "I'm happy you love me that much, but maybe you shouldn't. Maybe I'm not worth it. Maybe you should go back to Katsue."
"Do you want that?" He asked. "Honestly?" I didn't answer. I couldn't answer. There was nothing I could say to further my point that wouldn't be a lie. "Alright. Well I'll see you later then."
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"Train station." He asked. "Meeting a really good friend there."
"Who?" I asked, but it was his turn to avoid answering. He turned and left the hallway the opposite direction I was headed with Gabumon skipping alongside him. I turned and headed straight out the door to Earth, popping directly into Mimi's house.
"Sora!" I was greeted instantly by Biyomon who flew toward me and fluttered around my head. "How did it go? They didn't like it did they?"
"No." I said, setting the box down behind the couch as Mimi and Koushiro jumped to their feet anxiously, turning to me. "I don't really want to talk about it."
"Sora, get your coat." Mimi said.
"Why?" I asked, "I just want to have a nap."
"You can have a nap later." Mimi insisted. "I promise. You'll have lots of time. But first you need to put on your coat and follow me." Koushiro was already standing by the door and slipping his shoes on, tossing my coat to me. I put it on and allowed Palmon and Tentomon to burst through the door and lead the way to where Koushiro's mother's van was waiting for us. They let me take the passenger's seat as Koushiro decided to drive leaving Mimi to sit in the back with the three digimon.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"To a restaurant." Mimi informed me. "We're celebrating."
"Celebrating, what exactly?" I asked.
"Your happiness!" Mimi cheered. "You got that new job or whatever."
"You don't even know what we're celebrating do you?" I asked.
"Yes." Mimi argued. "You got that wonderful... job with Koushiro or something. That one you totally fit in with. The boring desk job where your creative ideas will be shut down and all that."
"Wow, thanks Mimi." I said coldly. "I really feel like celebrating now."
"Are we going to your restaurant, Mimi?" Tentomon asked, trying to change the subject. That launched Mimi directly into a long speech about how her restaurant was to be rebuilt with the money she got from insurance—plus with the extra money she'd be able to make it bigger and even hire more staff. I was happy for her.
But I was growing rather suspicious, and that suspicion increased the further we got out of town, but Koushiro knew all sorts of hole in the wall places, and I figured we'd just be going to another one of those. Until we finally pulled into a parking lot, under a big sign that told me we weren't at a restaurant at all. We were at a train station.
Koushiro got out of the car and rushed to open my door for me. Everyone was acting super weird lately, and I was really starting to freak out. What did I miss? What happened? Biyomon was by my side a second later and then Mimi was slamming the trunk of the van, walking toward me, pulling her favourite pink suitcase on wheels.
"Where are you going?" I asked her.
"Me?" Mimi asked, "No, not me. You."
"What?" I gasped. Were they kicking me out of the house? Did I do something wrong? I could help pay for the mortgage and everything now that I had a job again—did they not want to see me anymore? Was I annoying them as Mimi's mother had?
"I'll explain on the way." Mimi said, taking my hand. "Come on Sora."
Tentomon, Palmon and Koushiro followed Biyomon Mimi and I as Mimi pulled me along through the empty parking lot. "As you know," Mimi said, "I sort of screwed with your application for that school."
"I do know that, yes." I nodded.
"Well I went and had a little chat with the Dean of your fancy-pancy school." Mimi informed me.
"You did what?" I asked.
"I helped!" Palmon exclaimed.
"Guys!" I shouted, "I told you. It was destiny that chose my path for me."
"No," Mimi said flatly. "It was me. And I knew I could do it again because I'd already done it. I'd screwed your life over, and then literally brought you back to life, and then, knowing there was something I could do... I couldn't watch you rot in that stupid job you're pretending to be happy with. You're not that kind of girl Sora."
"We received an email a couple days ago telling us about your approval to the school for the second semester, but that wasn't enough," Koushiro explained, "And we may have... accidentally worked it so you got early admissions."
"H-how?" I gasped.
"Well we sent him a box of your clothes," Mimi explained, "Letters of recommendations from a few of your clients, your sketches... and lastly we got you an athletic scholarship. Turns out he's a fan of tennis." Mimi winked at me as we rounded a corner.
"You can't just get athletic scholarships like that though," I said.
"You can when you're pretending to be Katsue and threatening to change the story of the world so the Dean of your school was really the mastermind all along." Koushiro said, his face flushing.
"Why would you do all of this though...?" I asked quietly.
"Because we're your friends." Koushiro said.
"And because I owed it to you." Mimi said, "I will forever be in your dept. You stuck with me through all my crazy. This was the least I could do. You really deserve this. You deserve to be happy. Your year kind of sucked. I mean you died like—"
"I thought we agreed to stop talking about that." I interjected.
"Right," Mimi nodded, "Well the point is. You deserve to be happy. And we're not the only ones who think so."
"What do you mean?" I asked as Mimi stopped walking and pointed down a path lined with a wooden fence to where everyone was waiting for me in front of the bare train tracks.
And by everyone, I meant everyone.
"Sora," Mimi said. "Everything about you... it's beautiful. Magical even." She was already tearing up, "Sora, if you weren't my friend I don't know what I would do. I just love you—and—Oh I can't handle this... I knew I should have gone to cheerleading camp—Oh Sora!" She was hugging me suddenly, sobbing into my shoulder as I wrapped my arms slowly around her. "I'll miss you."
"I'm not disappearing..." I said quietly.
"No, but you won't be around much." Mimi said. "I know you. You need your break. And this is it. This is where you'll get to reinvent yourself as Sora Takenouchi, the most beautiful and loving person I know. You'll come back. But you and I both know that this is goodbye."
And then I was crying, because I knew it was true. Just for a while. But it was a goodbye nonetheless.
"This is just great." Koushiro said sarcastically, and when I turned to him I saw that he was wiping a tear from his cheek, and I couldn't help but laugh at him through my tears, hugging him. Then I was hugging Palmon and Tentomon, so consumed with the feeling of goodbye.
I was turning to the others next, rushing toward them. The closest person to me was Kurayami and I was hugging her quickly.
"Wow!" Kurayami gasped, "So many emotions."
"I never even got to know you!" I sobbed, "But when I come back I'm doing that. Mark it on your calendar Kura. I promise you, I will get to know you the next time I see you. How about a coffee date?"
"I'd love that." Kurayami laughed as I moved to Kiyoko who was holding hands with Hideto.
I couldn't take my eyes off of their intertwined fingers and Kiyoko realized that. He tried to escape Hideto's hold but Hideto didn't let him. I threw my arms around Kiyoko. "Thank you for saving my life like... forever ago."
"You already thanked me for that." Kiyoko pointed out.
"Yes, well it was very much appreciated." I laughed. "You're Koushiro's cousin, which really means you're my cousin too if you think about it."
"So that's how that works," Hideto said sarcastically.
"Don't start with me!" I laughed, pointing a finger to Hideto. "Kiyoko, just... remember me!"
"Oh I will." Kiyoko promised.
"You too." I said to Hideto. "Maybe we can catch another Teenage Wolves concert together."
"Another?" Kiyoko asked, his eyebrows raised.
"So I know Sora more than I'd like to admit." Hideto said, hiding his face as I turned to Mari and Willis. I didn't even know what to say to them, but catching sight of Takeru right behind them sent me into a frenzy of tears and all I could do was cry as I hugged them both. I released them and found myself clinging to Rei next in my attempt to find someone who could comfort me. Rei whispered something in my ear but I couldn't make it out.
"Miyako!" I said turning to her, embarrassed at how many eyes were trained in on me as I cried like a baby. I threw my arms around Miyako who was crying loudly too. I figured that was the best place to blend in. "How are you?"
"Fine, thank you." Miyako said surprisingly calmly which caused us both to laugh. When she finally pulled out of the hug she brandished two train tickets. "I know Mimi said that it's your time to be alone, but I bought one for me too. To come see you."
"I'd be honoured to see your face Miyako."
"Oh. Crest pun!" Miyako's tears were rushing down her face again, "Too many feels. I just can't. Anyway... this is only a one time ticket, so I'll have to drive every other day. It takes exactly two hundred and seventy four minutes, and that's if there's no wind."
"I'll miss you Miyako!" I cried out, reaching for Ken who was standing next to her. "Come here!" I hugged them a moment more before my emotions were getting the better of me. "Ken! Say something funny!"
"Uh." He froze, then backed away, arching his back and laughing loudly into the air, "Mwahahaha! It's no use! As long as I have the black digivice, there's no way they can digivolve!"
Suddenly I wasn't crying anymore. Miyako and I still had our arms around each other, but every eye in the area was trained in on Ken, and the only sound to be heard was Mimi's snuffling behind me.
"Sorry." Ken muttered, "I was put on the spot."
"Black digivices?" Hideto asked. "Sounds familiar."
"It does..." Mari and Kiyoko nodded in agreement as the three of them attempted to remember why a black digivice was ringing bells for them.
With my emotions in check now, I turned to Iori and slammed my hands on either side of his face. "I know you're grown up and all, but you're still so cute."
"Thanks." He said, pushing my hands away. "I mean—oh forget it." He grumbled. "Sora you'll come back, right?" He asked. "You did promise."
"I will." I nodded.
"Good, and uh..." He looked panicked, so he turned to Miyako, "Miyako, weren't you coming over? You told me you were going to fix my computer." Iori walked away from me to avoid any more awkward conversation, but I grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.
"I'm sorry for exploiting your secret relationship with the single girl in the world your mother wouldn't accept for my own personal gain so I could feel accomplished and get over all of my own stupid feelings. It was selfish."
Iori just stared at me for a moment before nodding. "I forgive you." The next person in my reach was Tatum so I pulled her into a hug.
"You!" I said firmly, "You... you've helped us so much Tatum. You deserve a crest. You've done a lot more than anyone else who doesn't have a crest." I turned to Michael, "Isn't there another crest? Give it to her."
"It's not mine." Tatum laughed.
"Then I'll make one for you. You can have... helpfulness. Because you're so helpful." I said pathetically.
"Isn't this a school for the creative minded...?" Michael asked.
"I'm emotional right now, okay?" I said hugging him. "How did your list go?"
"Did I ever tell you about my list?" He asked, confused.
"Uh... no." I decided. "I just know things."
"It went swimmingly." He shrugged off my random knowledge.
"I'm glad." I said, ruffling up his hair, as I was tackled into a hug from Daisuke. "Oh, hey there!"
"I didn't want to be last," He admitted, hugging me tightly and lifting me from the ground. "You're like a little ball of energy I never had a conversation with."
"I'm sure we've talked and stuff." I said, though now that I thought about it...
"Well aren't you going to thank me for helping get you into that school?" He asked.
"You helped?" I asked, "Mimi didn't mention that..."
"Of course she didn't." Daisuke said, as we both turned to look at Mimi who waved nervously. "Well I did."
"Thank you." I said, throwing my arms around his middle. "Thank you so much."
"You're very welcome." He nodded with a grin.
"My turn!" I looked down to my feet to see Meiyomon, bouncing up and down excitedly. I felt bad but I hadn't even noticed him there at all. He was holding out a strange metal contraption that looked like some cross between a model of a molecule, a planet and a cupcake. "For you!"
"Oh great!" I smiled at him, "My own personal something-or-other."
"I hope you'll remember me as your very favourite digimon disguised as Iori's little brother." Meiyomon told me.
"I promise I will." I nodded, patting his head, and standing up to greet Momoe, Jou and Emiko.
"Bye!" Emiko blurted which caused me to actually laugh.
"I hope you have fun on your new adventure Sora," Momoe offered. I nodded and thanked her, but then turned to Jou.
"Well I can safely say that I'll miss you." Jou said, showing me his hand for me to shake. I smacked it out of the way and leaned over Meiyomon's head to hug him.
"This will be the longest we've been apart since I was seven!" I said, shocked, "I'm not sure I can handle that."
"We'll get through it." Jou nodded, "An email a day keeps the doctor away."
"I don't want to keep you away though." I said softly.
Jou didn't reply for a moment but finally, after a quiet sniffle he said, "Man, I was worried I'd catch a Summer cold, but this is even worse."
I wanted to reply to him but all I could do was squeak. I spotted a couple over his shoulder. A new one. How could I not have seen this one coming? It must have been when I was dead! Curse you Arkadimon!
I nearly pushed Jou out of the way and scampered toward Takeru and Hikari excitedly, fanning my face with my hand as girly as I could. "When did this happen?"
They both looked down to their hands and blushed, pulling their hands apart. "Well... a while ago." Takeru admitted. "We were going to tell you. But we just didn't want to... do... it for some reason."
"We're dating!" Hikari exclaimed. "Surprise!" I was hugging them a moment later.
"This is so lucky." I said, astonished.
"I wouldn't call that luck." Hikari pointed out.
"I'm so happy." I decided.
"I'm with you." Takeru agreed. "Speaking of being with you though... how long is this course? Three years? Four years?"
"Uh, three years, and then a year abroad." I told him quietly.
"Okay. Four years." Takeru nodded. "Just four years. Then we'll be together. Together Again, just like old times."
"Four years." Hikari agreed. "I'm not waiting any longer."
"Sora..." I turned to see Dad and I threw my arms around him instantly. "Oh Daddy!"
"I'm so proud of you Sora... really I am." He said quietly.
"Where's Mom?" I asked suddenly, looking around.
"Perhaps she's off picking flowers?" Koushiro suggested, "Or on a nature hike?" And then there was a yell, and we all turned to see my mother rushing toward me. "Okay, so maybe she's not picking flowers."
"Sora!" Mom screamed, "I'm so sorry I'm late!"
"Mom it's okay!" I shouted as she weaved her way through the crowd and finally slammed into a group hug with me and dad.
"Did you already give her the 'we're proud of her' speech?" Mom asked in a whisper.
"Yup." Dad responded.
"Oh you jerk," Mom sighed, "Sora, I'm proud of you too. Like your Dad said already because he's impatient. I'm so sorry I'm late, I was just dealing with Mushroomon and explain to him how to run the shop. It was exhausting. But I'm here now to see you off. To see you start your future. I'll be calling every day."
"Oh please don't." I said before I could stop myself, thankfully Mom and Dad just laughed and kissed my forehead.
And then the ground was shaking. The train was coming.
"Is that an earthquake?" Daisuke asked.
"No you twit," Hideto scoffed, "it's the train."
I turned to Neo who stepped forward and hugged me, and whispered into my ear, "You don't have to say anything." I nodded and gripped him tighter for just a moment before releasing him and turning to find Yamato waiting for me.
"Just remember what I said Sora." He said quietly. "I'll be waiting." I turned from him and blushed, looking for the final person to say goodbye to. Taichi. He was distracted though by a little boy pulling on his pant leg as the train was slowing to a stop near us.
"You're the heroes, aren't you?" the little boy asked.
"No autographs, please." Yamato threw in there.
"I want to be just like you. I want a digimon too." The boy continued.
"You're pretty brave for a little guy," Taichi noted, ruffling the kid's hair. "You will have a digimon one day. If you just believe in destiny for a bit it'll come to you. Destiny is a powerful thing."
"Preach." Willis added with a wink.
"I'll be waiting." The kid said, "but... how will I find it?"
Taichi continued talking to the kid as Takeru and Daisuke caught my attention, picking up my luggage and carrying it onto the train.
"That one's heavy." Daisuke noted. "I carried it from the car." Takeru nodded and picked it up with ease. "Hey! No fair!" Daisuke interjected.
"Oh." Takeru said, "Hahaha! I get it! You're jealous of me!"
"Am not!" Daisuke argued, lunging forward and grabbing the suitcase from Takeru, "What did I tell you? Light as a feather, you really need to work out a little more."
"Sora?"
And then I was facing Taichi. My oldest friend, and one of my very best. There was so much chemistry and drama between the two of us, and honestly I couldn't even understand how we'd managed to get past it all, but I was glad we did.
"Well. Bye" Was all he said.
And then everyone was pushing me away, forcing me onto the train, but I wasn't done. I wasn't ready to say goodbye. I slipped between Ken and Kurayami and practically knocked Mom over on my way back to Taichi where I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him and he was hugging me back, kissing my forehead.
"I love you, Sora." He said quietly. "Just remember that."
I looked up to him and smiled, "Stupid Taichi."
And with that I was pulled from my place in his arms and dragged toward the train. I was trying desperately to catch a last glimpse of everyone's faces but they were all moving so fast and then there were other people pushing everyone around trying to get to their own places, and then I had been literally thrown directly into someone.
"Oh ma'am," The man said with a laugh, "I'm going to need your ticket."
"Sorry," I said, shooting a glare over my shoulder to whoever had pushed me, but I couldn't see anyone I knew anymore. I held up the ticket and the man punched a hole in it. I'd never been on a train but I didn't expect this to be so old fashioned.
"I'm tired, let's go sit down." Biyomon said. I instinctively picked her up and laughed nervously.
"It's just a talking toy," I told the man, "It encourages lazy kids."
"It's okay," The man said tilting his head down and looking up at me, "No need to lie. Didn't anyone ever teach you to tell the truth." I couldn't answer. All I could think about was Neo. "Digimon ride for free." The man said, patting my shoulder and sending me on my way.
"That was so nice of him." Biyomon giggled, "How kind."
"I think the world is actually coming around for digimon." I noted, searching the compartments on the rustic styled train, looking for where Takeru and Daisuke had put my luggage.
I finally found it in an otherwise empty compartment. I wanted to go through it all to make sure they'd gotten everything, but that could wait. That would wait, because I was already pulling open the window and scanning the crowd who was already waiting on the other side. They were all still there.
"One last thing," I said, and instantly everyone's faces lit up, hoping it would be them I was about to address. "Neo," I said, and everyone turned to his shocked face. "There's an opening in the council meeting rooms. You'd be a perfect replacement for Marrow. Great minds think alike."
"Are you passing your job offer onto me?" He asked.
"I might be?" I said, "You'll have to talk to Mr Yagami though."
"Sora, before you go..." Jou said, walking toward me, Emiko in his arms. He lifted her a bit higher and she held out her sticky hands, which held an envelope.
"Happy Birthday!" Emiko clapped.
"No sweetie—oh fine." Jou shook his head, pulling Emiko back into his arms.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Just read it." Takeru said quickly.
I nodded and ripped the envelope open, pulling out a card. Everyone had written things all over it.
"Go for it. We all know you can do it.—Jou"
"I expect some discounts in the future when you're famous—Daisuke"
"You're the only person who has managed to make their digivice glow with knowledge besides myself. That makes you an equal. And it also makes you my best friend. So make sure you don't forget me Sora. Love from Koushiro"
"Everybody watches you go by, but they can't see the sparks in your eyes. Set the world on fire, Sora—Taichi"
"You come back. You still have to marry one of our brothers—Takeru and Hikari (P.S. Please make it Yamato! See you soon, Sis—Love Takeru)
But the one that stuck out the most was Yamato's.
"You'll figure it out."
He was talking about my crest and nothing else. I bit my lip and turned to the window just as the loud horn sounded and I knew the train would be moving soon. I threw my head out the window, "Thank you. All of you. And I promise I'll be back."
"You'd better," Mimi said sharply.
"We need you Sora," Miyako added, "I think that was evident in the battle."
"Was it? I can't quite remember," I joked. A few of them laughed, but apparently I'd sparked some bad memories with Mimi and Miyako who burst into tears.
"You came back to us even when you died." Taichi said boldly, "That's how I know you'll be back. You can't get away. None of us can. Once a Digidestined, always a Digidestined."
And that was when the train started moving. I didn't know what to say so I just kept waving to them as they shouted their goodbyes. Mimi, Taichi and Takeru actually ran with the train a while, Mimi lasting the longest of course. I was convinced for a moment she'd run all the way there because when she wanted to that girl could do anything.
But eventually they were gone and I was slowly leaning back into the compartment and sitting next to Biyomon.
"Do you think you'll forget anything?" Biyomon asked.
"I couldn't ever forget anything." I said flatly. "Since the moment I met you my life has been a blur of excitement and drama and unforgettable adventures."
"Mine too!" Biyomon laughed, "Before I met you I was waiting." She was suddenly very serious, "For a very long time."
"I already apologized," I said defensively.
"I'm just joking!" Biyomon exclaimed, throwing her wings around my waist and hugging me, resting her head on me and closing her eyes. "I love you Sora."
"I love you too Biyomon." I said, patting her head.
"Tell me a story?" Biyomon asked.
"Uhm, sure." I said with a nod. "What kind?"
"Tell me... a good one."
"Wow you're really leaving this up to me, huh?" I said, rolling my eyes. But then I had an idea. "Alright, I've got one. Make yourself comfortable. This is a long story Biyomon." She adjusted herself so her head was laying on my lap. "Ready?"
"Ready."
"Alright," I nodded, "So, thirteen years ago, seven kids went to this Summer Camp. Each of them thought it was a different kind of camp you see, because the camp was run down and was pulling at all sorts of loose ends to try and make money. And then this girl found a little boy who was looking for his brother, and she decided to help him since her friend was being a jerk—but then it started to snow..."
Next Time: It's the epilogue from 02, just our perspective of it. It's coming soon!
