I just realized that less than half of this story is left. Bummer.

Disclaimer: Out of tradition, don't own Digimon.

I've been thinking of just dropping the disclaimer. Except maybe at the beginning of new stories?

Anyways, I've been toying with an idea for the 'Home' 'verse as I call it, about maybe doing a story showing Taichi's POV as he and Yamato and Jun went through high school? Particularly interesting to me would be that whole pregnancy thing.

Just a thought though.


Even though it had been two weeks since he had been released from the hospital, and even though those around him were indeed curious about it even if they knew better than to ask, Yamato had said nothing about the familiar woman named Takaishi Natsuko. His mother, though he used that term loosely, had somehow found out about the shooting and had paid for his hospital bills, which Yamato was grateful for, but he hadn't said a single word more about it ever since Jou revealed the information to him. It would have been a lie to say that he didn't have questions about it, but in his mind, in his heart that still hurt from the memory of watching Natsuko walk away never to come back, he felt that the woman had made her choice about being in his life ages ago.

"She was cute, don't you think?" Taichi asked him as they continued to walk down the streets of Osaka, and as his thoughts drifted away from Natsuko, even though Yamato knew that eventually they would return to the woman.

Yamato thought for a moment on who Taichi could have been talking about, honestly it was abrupt and came out of nowhere, and part of him figured that Taichi had probably brought it up because he was starting to get into one of his more contemplative phases. He actually laughed though when it hit him that the person who Taichi was talking about was the waitress at the restaurant where they had just had dinner. The whole night she had spoken to them all flustered and starry eyed, giving them appetizers on the house for being such good customers apparently, and neither of them had known why until the waitress had slipped him her phone number, and had watched them while clutching her chest as they walked out of the restaurant.

He chuckled at the thought that this young woman had no idea that the two men she was serving earlier had been an item, but she seemed sweet enough to the point where Yamato hoped that she would eventually find her Prince Charming, because it wasn't anything new for the Ishida brothers to have people fall in love with them at the drop of a hat. "She isn't my type, but maybe I should give her number to Koushiro? The dude needs to get laid already."

Beside him, Taichi shrugged, not quite believing that the lovestruck waitress would appreciate Yamato passing her off to his buddy. Either way, the brunet didn't think that Koushiro would even want the girl's number if he had to be frank. "I'm pretty sure he's already tapping Mimi, so yeah I don't think he needs that number."

Yamato scratched his head for a second, never once having considered the possibility that Koushiro and Mimi would ever get together. "Are you sure? I mean, the guy told me that he was in love with Jun."

"And how long ago was that?" Taichi replied as the two of them split away for a second, making room for a businessman that was walking very purposefully. "Think about it." he started again once the businessman had passed them, "The chick left the United States to come over and live with him in another country, and to try to get him to be more mentally better, considering the whole hearing voices thing."

It was something to think about at least, but Yamato only sighed and didn't say anything more about the subject, figuring that no matter how all of that mess turned out, it would all unravel soon enough. They continued to walk in silence, which was almost never uncomfortable for them, as they made their way to the movie theater since it was in fact date night, and at least in a movie theater they would be able to hold hands there in the hetero part of Osaka that they were in for the night. He didn't quite remember whose idea a date night was, but it was a nice field trip away from the rest of the world, even if it didn't completely distract him from the thoughts that wouldn't stop swirling around in his mind.

It took a few minutes for it to happen, which in those minutes Yamato remembered the sight of serene rain that he would later grow to hate, and the familiar smell of cigarettes and lavender that faded away more and more as time went on, but Taichi purposefully bumped into him as they walked the sidewalk, voice losing that spark of laughter that had illuminated their date so far. "Are you okay, Yamato? Right now you're kind of supposed to be happy."

Taichi had delivered the words with a smile to try and prod him away from whatever it was that was haunting his mind, but Yamato could only frown at that. The night was supposed to be something jovial, jolly even, and he was ruining it with his usual doom and gloom. "I'm just thinking about things right now."

"About Natsuko?" the young Yagami man prodded, knowing that the woman was a ghost of Yamato's past that he had to address eventually.

"Yeah," he replied honestly before he stopped walking, and before Taichi did as well. He took the moment to look around the city, at all the different couples who walked hand in hand with each other, and the businessmen who were headed home after a long day at work. It was a familiar scene of unfamiliar people, and Yamato realized that Osaka was a whole different world that he had traveled to years ago to go and be with Taichi, but that it was a world that he wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to be a part of anymore, "but about other things as well."

"Like?"

"I don't think I can stay in Doyama anymore."

He hadn't realized what he was saying until he had already said it, but the moment that it came out, the moment the words drifted out of his mouth and sailed into the city that he had never truly embraced, he knew that they were true. His frown worsened at the thought that he had ruined the date beyond repair with those words, but it disappeared the moment he heard what Taichi said next.

"So," Taichi responded with the famous understanding tone that every Yagami had, "where are we headed next then?"

He turned from looking around the city back towards Taichi, "What are you talking about?"

Taichi shrugged once more, nonchalantly speaking as if it was the most normal thing in the world, and perhaps, perhaps to him it was. "If you can't stay in this city, then neither can I. Your home is my home, Yamato. Simple as that."

He raised an eyebrow, unsure of whether or not he should be skeptical. "Simple as that?"

Taichi said nothing at first, but the young man's eyes softened after a moment. The brunet took a deep breath, and Yamato's eyes widened when he saw Taichi hold his shaky hand out, prepared for the first time ever to hold his hand outside of a gay district. "Simple as that."


There are moments when you realize that perhaps it's time to move on...