Reviews:
Clefeifei: I thought so too. Thanks. You'll like this chapter then.
Music Chick: I'm glad you liked it :-)
Sweet Cari: I had a great Easter and I hope you did too. Nostalgia is a powerful thing, and I think that plays into it but I am under no delusions and I know most of you guys aren't either. They pigeonholed themselves with saying the 02 ending is canon so no matter what the ending was, we knew what was going to happen. For TK, that's what I was thinking, hence why I decided TK would think that to be a good idea. You'll like how I do Sora. Pinky promise.
Ackbarfan5556: Yup. There's plenty to establish before we jump into the conflict. Once we do, it's off to the races.
Malalala11: We'll see :-) You never know. Glad you liked it. Thanks for the favorite too.
Sakura0410: Yup. It was well worth the wait. I think manga is a better medium for something like this because of how visual some of this stuff is. Thanks for the review ;-)
Greymon Leader Batx flashpoint: Yes we did make it :-) I told you it was going to be well worth the wait. Thanks for your awesome words as always and I hope you get to feeling better soon. It always gets better. Trust me, I am living proof of that right now.
Shout out to Malalala11 for the favorite and Ltpham for the favorite and follow. I am amazed at how quick you guys have embraced this story, and we've only just begun! I am also happy to see so many familiar faces come back.
Hi, everyone. Hope you all had a great Easter and week as we now move into chapter 3. I have to be honest, the week building up to updates are killing me because I'm so excited about where this will be going. Things are going a little slow in terms of building up to the action, but it will be worth it once it gets going. I hope you guys don't mind that.
As I hinted at last week, Sora now comes into the picture. I think I can speak for many of us when I say I was spitting angry at what they did to Sora in the movie. It was like she didn't care about what happened to everyone and even when they started dropping like flies, she couldn't be bothered to help. I feel so bad for Colleen O'Shaughnessy but admire her devotion to the character. Well, I am going to do her right and this chapter signifies the start of that promise. I hope you all enjoy it ;-)
Tai stood in front of the door to an apartment in Odaiba feeling like a lamb going into the wolves' den to decide what's for dinner. The nameplate on the side said 'Takenouchi'. After finishing the day at his part-time job––a pachinko parlor in Shinjuku––he opened a portal to Odaiba that brought him to Sora's parents' house. He had something he needed to ask them about. The nervousness and fear of rejection stopped him from knocking on the door. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself to rap his knuckles on the white door.
Knock knock knock.
A few seconds later, the door opened and Sora's mother, Toshiko Takenouchi, greeted him with a smile. She had brown hair that was put up in an extravagant bun and piercing crimson eyes like her daughter. Those eyes would always send chills down Tai's spine, instantly making him feel like he had done something wrong. A lovely purple and teal kimono wrapped around her petite frame. Mrs. Takenouchi was a Grand Master of ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging. She was a few inches shorter than Tai, but her presence loomed over any room she was in.
"Tai," she said. "What a surprise."
The young man smiled back and bowed. "Good evening, Mrs. Takenouchi," he returned.
"What are you doing here this late? You should be getting home," the woman said. "Asagaya is a long way from here."
Tai nervously scratched the back of his head. "I know, but I needed to ask you and your husband something."
She bowed and stepped aside for him to come inside. "Sure. Come on in."
He took her up on that and walked into the foyer, taking off his shoes and stepping into slippers before he officially walked into the apartment. As Tai made his way into the living room, he passed by Sora's old bedroom and peeked inside. It was still the same as she had left it before she moved in with him three years ago. When he got to the living room, he saw Sora's father, Professor Haruhiko Takenouchi, sitting on the floor in front of the rosewood coffee table.
"Tai," the man said with a smile. "How nice to see you."
"Professor," Tai replied and bowed. "Nice to see you too."
"I'll go make some tea," said Mrs. Takenouchi as she went off to the kitchen.
Tai sat down across from Professor Takenouchi. The professor was a scruffy-looking man with greying black hair, but his face and eyes were soft and warm. He was a professor of archeology at the University of Tokyo and had traveled all over Japan in search of artifacts and deciphering myths and legends. Because of that, he was never around a lot when Sora was younger. Tai knew how much that affected her and her mom's relationship without having someone to be there as a buffer between them. Over the last few years, the professor had decided to stay in Tokyo full time to be with his wife and daughter more often.
"So how is school going, Tai? Everything okay?" the man asked.
The Jedi of Courage shrugged. "Yeah. Fine, I guess," he replied, not wanting to dive into detail because that would mean mentioning he had no idea what to do for his Bachelor's thesis. "I'm just ready for it to be over."
"That's understandable," said the professor. He then smiled fondly. "I remember my senior year of college. The only things on my mind were drinking beer and partying."
Tai chuckled. "That's not quite what I have on my mind, but okay."
"You're only young once, Tai. Enjoy it the best you can."
Mrs. Takenouchi came back into the room with a tray of tea.
"Haru, don't go making up fibs," she admonished teasingly as she poured tea for them. "I seem to remember you graduating in the top five percent of your class."
"Despite all my partying and beer drinking, honey," Professor Takenouchi shot back with a laugh and wink. "There's a lot you don't know about me, my little flower."
Tai chuckled at the display as Mrs. Takenouchi poured tea for him. Even after all these years with the professor being gone a lot, the Takenouchis were still a tight, cohesive unit. Whenever he would come back and Tai happened to be over, the Jedi of Courage saw how in love they really were. He only hoped he and Sora would be like that someday.
The three sipped on their cups for a few moments, enjoying the silence, before Tai decided to make his move. There was no harm in asking, right? The worst they could do was say 'no'.
"I don't want to stay too long. Sora's expecting me at home soon," he said. Here it goes. "The reason I came this evening is to…"
His nerve was slipping. Tai took a deep breath to try and get it back. He got control back as Professor and Mrs. Takenouchi gazed at him curiously. Tai swallowed the lump in his throat and licked his lips before completing his request.
"…To ask for your blessing to have your daughter's hand in marriage."
Both adults halted their teacups in mid-air. Their jaws were slightly agape. Tai's nervous feelings didn't subside from their reactions. Sweat dotted his brow. He reached into his pocket to finger something he had in there.
"What?" Professor Takenouchi breathed.
Tai nodded and swallowed his anxiety. "I would like to ask Sora to marry me, if that's okay with you," he repeated. "I've loved her for so many years, and now that we are finishing school soon, I'm ready to take the next step with her. Your daughter has been such a source of strength to me over the years that I can't imagine my life without her. I want to make her my wife."
He planted his hands on the ground and bowed low to them.
"Please. May I have your blessing?"
There was a long pause where nothing was said. Tai looked up from his crouched position. Mrs. Takenouchi tried to keep herself contained and proper, but the mask showed signs of cracking. A happy tear slid down her face and she sniffled. He felt a wave of relief wash over him. When he and Sora were still in high school, her mom had wanted Sora to take a break from him in hopes of her focusing more on her studies. She then broke up with him and it took him a while to find out why. During the five years since, the relationship between him and Mrs. Takenouchi had been strained, but Tai felt as though things were turning a corner recently.
Professor Takenouchi was much more reserved in his demeanor as he got up to stand in front of Tai. The younger man stood up to meet him.
For a few tense moments, Tai wasn't sure what he had to say. The professor stared at him with an intense glare, like he was grading a student's midterm paper. The Jedi of Courage held his nerve, trying hard to live up to his official title, but found it difficult with each passing second. This was so nerve wracking!
Professor Takenouchi finally smiled.
"Permission granted. You can ask her," he said, clapping Tai on the shoulder. "We've seen how happy you make our daughter with just your presence, Tai." He looked at his wife. "It was because of you that our family is still in one piece. If you hadn't convinced Sora that she was indeed loved at home, I don't know if we'd be in the position we are in now. You two have always been like peas and carrots since you were in diapers." Then the professor extended his hand. "Welcome to the family, my son."
Tai breathed a sigh of relief and shook the man's hand.
"Thank you, sir." The smile never left his face. "That's what I wanted to hear. I promise to treat Sora like the queen she is."
"We know you will, Tai," said Mrs. Takenouchi, rising to stand next to her husband. "We trust you."
Tai was so happy that he couldn't put it into words. His body trembled with excitement, knowing that he had permission to ask Sora to marry him. This was going to be the greatest night of his life.
"If I may ask one favor, please," he said. "Don't tell Sora that I came by and asked you. I want it to be a surprise."
"We won't tell her, Tai. We promise." Professor Takenouchi took his wife's hand and looked at her. "Right, dear?"
"Yes," Mrs. Takenouchi nodded. "Sora won't know anything until you finally ask her."
Tai's smile widened until his whole face glowed like a Christmas tree. He bowed to them once more.
"Thank you. Good night."
Without another word, he walked out of the apartment and checked up and down the walkway. No one was around. He smiled and opened a portal to take him back to his and Sora's apartment in Asagaya, a northwestern suburb of Tokyo.
"Hey, honey. I'm home."
"Welcome back."
Tai put his keys on the table beside the door and took his shoes off before stepping into the apartment. It was a cozy, one-bedroom unit in the Asagaya section of Tokyo. He and Sora had lived here for almost four years now and were very happy. There was a living room, a kitchen, and enough room to have some spare furniture. Their bedroom was off to the right from the living room. It wasn't a whole lot, but it was enough for him and Sora since they didn't need much to live well.
The smell of beef and rice wafted up his nose as he made his way into the kitchen. Sora Takenouchi stood at the stove tossing and mixing beef and chopped onions in a pan with soy sauce. Tai licked his lips; she was making gyudon. The rice cooker was to her right, steaming the rice that would be added to the bowl before the beef. His girlfriend wore a red apron over her plain white shirt that was open at the top, exposing her upper back, and bell-bottom jeans. Her striking, medium-length auburn hair cascaded down to the bottom of her neck.
Tai smiled as he walked up to Sora and wrapped his arms around her waist. She squealed from the initial surprise, but then laughed with him.
"Hey," he greeted.
"Hey." She kissed him on the lips before turning back to the stove. "You were coming home earlier. What happened?"
"Yeah, sorry about that, honey. I had some bad chicken in Nakano today and it finally came back to haunt me after work." Tai glanced down at the pan as he added, "I think they used parrot rather than real chicken."
Sora didn't say anything for a moment. Then she said, "So I've heard. I can't believe they've come back. I thought it was over when the infected Digimon were cleared out."
"I know! It's driving me crazy." Tai turned Sora to look at him and wrapped his arms around her. "Why can't these guys just stay where they belong?" He hissed in pain as she touched his bruised shoulder. "Ow!"
"Sorry," Sora apologized as she pushed off the sleeve of his blue over shirt and rolled up the one on his white t-shirt. "Does it hurt?"
"It's still a little tender," he said, trying to keep a straight face as she probed it. "Parrotmon really did a number on me."
Sora groaned. "Then let me take care of that for you before it gets worse."
She placed her hand on his shoulder. The heart-shaped mark on her wrist glowed a soft red color as Tai felt warmth go into his shoulder. The throbbing slowly disappeared until he couldn't feel it at all. A second later, Sora removed her hand, revealing the bruise was gone. The auburn-haired young woman then turned back to cook dinner. Tai rolled his sleeve back down to its appropriate length.
"Does trouble just go looking for you, Tai?" she asked.
Tai pulled a can of Sapporo beer out of the fridge and shrugged. "No, I'd say it pretty much knows where I am most of the time. It's like I have a homing beacon that attracts bad Digimon wherever I go."
As he crept closer to her, he made beeping sounds like a metal detector. "Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep." He wrapped his arms around her waist again and kissed her quick. Sora shrieked in delight.
"So how was your day?" he asked.
His stomach growled just as she was about to answer. Sora giggled and poked his stomach with her finger.
"Let me finish making this gyudon bowl for that growling tiger of yours and I'll tell you."
Tai beamed. "My tummy likes that idea very much."
"You're such a kid."
"Only around you, my dear." He kissed her again then went into the living room and plopped himself down on the couch. Tai switched on the TV and was happy to see that an anime he liked was on. He took a sip of his beer and settled in to watch it.
"Your mom called today," said Sora. "She wants to know why you never come by anymore these days."
Tai snickered. "Yeah, Kari told me that today too when we went to take care of Parrotmon. Between her and Mom, I don't know who's had a harder time letting go."
"She just loves you, Tai. She hasn't seen you since you got home from the World Cup."
"I've been busy. She knows that. Adulting is not easy."
"That's not an excuse," Sora argued. "Promise me you'll go see her this weekend, Tai. It's not going to kill you."
"Only if she doesn't cook," Tai mumbled to himself before groaning, "All right. I'll go see her on Saturday."
"You promise?"
"I promise."
"Thank you." A moment later, Sora added, "You got calls from representatives of teams wanting to talk to you."
Tai sat still, not breathing for a long pause before he said, "Who was it this time?"
"Yokohama FC, Nagoya FC, and Urawa. A team from South Korea even called to say they were interested in you."
"South Korea? No thanks," he said with a scoff, then took a sip of his funny then happened on the show, which made him chuckle. "Has FC Tokyo called back yet?"
"No. Not yet," Sora replied.
Tai's face fell. "Damn it."
FC Tokyo was the club he really wanted to play for. They had been his favorite team since they came into the J1 League in 1999 and he had the memorabilia in his bedroom back at his parents' house to prove it.
"I know they're the ones you have your heart set on playing for, Tai, but don't be disappointed if they don't call back. You're still going to play professional soccer, even if it's not here."
"I know," he said in a low voice. "The thing is I don't want to uproot us. I'd much rather play here in Tokyo in front of everybody."
He heard Sora sigh before she replied, "I understand." A second later, she called out, "Come and get it."
Tai shot up from the couch and carried his beer over to the table just as Sora came over with their gyudon bowls. She placed his bowl in front of him first before sitting down with her own.
Once they got settled, they clapped their hands together.
"Itadakimasu!"
It was quiet at first as the two ate their dinner. Tai didn't realize how hungry he was until the first bite of beef and rice made its way down his gullet. He stuffed some more into his mouth until he finally had the presence of mind to stop for a second. He had some unfinished business with Sora earlier.
"So now that we have this, how was your day?" he asked.
Sora shrugged. "It was okay, I guess. Didn't have to go to class, so I spent a few hours helping my mom out with an arrangement she's working on."
Tai became concerned. She looked sad as she said those words.
"That's good," he said slowly. "Sounds like you're really taking this whole flower-arranging thing seriously." He chuckled. "Never thought I would see the day."
"What's that supposed to mean?" she challenged. "Of course I am. Being the daughter of a grand master of ikebana has its certain expectations."
"You wanna follow in her footsteps or something?"
"I'm not sure."
"I've seen your work, Sora. It's really good. You've got a real talent for it. Let it blossom."
Sora slammed her fists on the tabletop. "I don't know what I really want right now, Tai!" she shouted.
Everything fell silent for a long beat. Tai saw that whatever button he pushed, it was a real doozy as Sora gathered herself with a deep breath.
"I'm sorry," she apologized while staring down at her bowl of food. "I thought I had it all planned out, but then again, life has a way of throwing curveballs at you."
Tai gave her a tender smile and slid his hand on top of hers, rubbing his thumb along the back of her hand.
"It's okay. You'll find your place in this world," he assured her. "Not everything needs to be figured out at once. Take it one step at a time. It's okay if you want to do ikebana like your mom."
Sora looked sadly up at him. "But what if your soccer career doesn't work out?" she asked. "Ikebana is not going to pay the bills and get us by."
That made him chuckle. "Sora, honey, you don't have to worry about a thing. My soccer career is going to work out," he boasted with his famous goofy grin. "I work hard and take good care of my body."
"Says the guy eating gyudon and drinking a beer," Sora cracked.
"One that his awesome girlfriend made for him," Tai returned. She had a point though: What he was eating wasn't the best thing for an aspiring professional soccer player like him, but he wasn't going to admit it. "This is only my third beer this month. A man must have his drink once in a while."
The auburn-haired young woman laughed and went back to eating her food. He smirked victoriously and took another bite, knowing he just won the argument.
"Can't argue with that," she said. A few moments later, she put her chopsticks down again and gave him a look that said she knew something was up. "What's going on? How was class today?"
Tai shrugged. "It was fine." He was getting tired of answering this question already. "I have to present my idea for a senior thesis soon and I have absolutely no idea what to do it on." He frowned. "I don't get why we have to do this, Sora. I'm going to be a professional soccer player. What does a thesis have to do with soccer?"
"You won't be a professional soccer player forever, Tai," Sora replied curtly. "Everyone has to do it. That's just how it is."
"It's still ridiculous."
He took a bite of gyudon. The lump in his pocket bulged out like water on the knee. It was time. First things first: Butter her up first to see where she was on the impending subject.
"Speaking of futures, we never talked about our future together and what lies beyond when we graduate."
Sora looked down for a second. That wasn't a good sign, but Tai hoped that it was just a passing thing. Once he said those magic words, everything would be better. With one little word, she could wipe away all his troubles from that day.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Marriage."
A heaviness fell down on top of the table like a blanket as soon as he said the word. Sora chewed on her lip. So far, the bad feeling in Tai's gut did not get any better. If anything, it didn't signal good things ahead.
His girlfriend then sighed.
"It's not time yet, Tai," she said. "Just wait until we finish school first before you worry about that."
"Joe and Jun are engaged, and he's still in med school," Tai countered. His fellow Destined Jedi, Joe Kido––the Destined Jedi of Reliability––had asked his girlfriend, Jun Motomiya––the older sister of another Destined Jedi, Davis Motomiya––to marry him a month ago, despite the fact he was in his fifth year of medical school with one more year left of practical training ahead. She had said yes without hesitation. "If they can do it, so can we. What's stopping you?"
"I just want it to be right." Sora took another bite of gyudon. "Once we get out of school and then after you're signed, we will sit down and talk about it. For now, let's put a pin in this."
Tai's posture slouched over in sadness. He was afraid she would say that. He rubbed his pocket.
"All right," he said softly. "I won't pester you about it anymore. It's just that we've been together almost ten years, excluding our little break in high school, and now we're almost done with college. Let's have that conversation when you're ready."
Sora nodded. "Thanks. I promise we will talk about it. Just not right now. When you get signed, maybe we will. Okay?"
"Okay." Tai finished the last bit of rice and beef in his bowl and took a sip of his beer. He then gave her a kiss. "Thanks for dinner."
Sora smiled and stacked his barren bowl on top of hers before taking them to the kitchen.
"I'm going to bed. Care to join me?" Tai asked.
"In a minute," she replied as she washed the bowls. "Let me wash the dishes first. It's your turn to do them tomorrow."
"Okay," he pouted before walking into their bedroom.
The room was just large enough for the two of them with a king-sized bed positioned on the right wall. Ahead of him was the sliding glass door that went out to their balcony. A few lamplights were on in the buildings across the way but it was completely dark otherwise. It wasn't much, but he was happy with it. As long as Sora was happy, he was too.
Tai turned on the bedside lamp and quietly got changed into his nighttime clothes. When he took off his pants, he reached into the left pocket and pulled out a little black box. He smiled and opened it. Inside was an engagement ring that he had been saving for months to buy for Sora. He was hoping to give it to her tonight, but it seemed that would have to wait for another time. Because it was Sora, though, he would wait forever if he had to. If she wanted it to happen at the right time, then who was he to say no? He put it in the drawer of the stand on his side of the bed and finished changing.
A few seconds later, he was now dressed in a simple plain grey shirt and black shorts. He settled into bed and lay back on his pillow. After getting comfortable, he pulled out his newest volume of the Blue Exorcist manga and read for a while until Sora finally came into the bedroom. Tai kept reading as she changed before sliding into bed beside him. He put his manga down and turned off the lamp.
"Good night," he said, leaning over to give her a kiss. "I love you."
"I love you too," Sora replied.
They both were asleep in no time.
Another nice slice of life. There will be one more major one after this, and I'm sure you guys already know what it is. Then things start kicking into gear.
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and are excited for what's coming next. As you guys have figured out by now, Tai is going towards being a professional soccer player rather than a diplomat. Aside from my disdain for politicians in general (not picking on any side in general so don't get any ideas nor think I'm starting something), it never made sense as to why Tai would get into that sort of thing hence why I changed it. Blue Exorcist is one of my favorite manga and anime so I could not help but name drop that here :-)
Next week: Tai and Matt have a heart-to-heart and we learn things are not okay in Matt Land. Hope you guys are looking forward to it. The waits to update are killing me here XD
As always, leave a review and subscribe and I will see you guys next weekend.
Tootles.
P.S. To all of you, come and join the Discord group I have set up. Get updates on material, posting dates, or just interact with your fellow readers and me. We've got a great group over there and want to expand with more friends :-) Here's the link: discord . gg / Mxq8xPK (put it all together)