I LIVE! Finally got out of my lazy ass and wrote this chapter down. There's a little surprise there too.
Second Chance At Love
Chapter 3 : Remorse and Reunion
"Ready to go in, sweetie?"
"Yes!" Miki cried out, thrilled. Both at the idea of seeing Betamon and Agumon again and the idea of setting foot in this amazing new world. They were in the front door of the Izumi residence. Miki observed the area in curiosity. The Izumi residence was a rather spacious place, with a fresh coat of light blue paint. She could hear someone conversing with someone through a telephone inside of the home, maybe in the first floor. She peered her eyes trying to catch something inside, curious at the interior of the home.
Tai held Miki's hand with one hand and with the other rang a doorbell. "Coming!" a voice called out, Tai grinning as he recognized the voice. Tai glanced briefly at Miki's direction. She was waiting expectantly. A light blue backpack holding a few snacks and her favorite stuffed animal Shipu, a little worn out fox plush, was on her back. She was slightly fidgeting in her excitement. "Who is it?" Miki asked her father in curiosity.
Soon a familiar redheaded man opened the door, dressed in a collared shirt and pants for the summer day. Well, Izzy always likes to be semi-formal, Tai thought briefly. Some things never change. The man's face becoming astonished as he saw the two guests.
"Taichi?" Izzy said. In hindsight, Izzy realized it was a stupid question to ask. Of course it was Tai. Who else had that wild hair that defied gravity like Tai? What wasn't stupid however was the fact he was definitely delighted to see his friend again. The Digi-Destined had been dying to see Tai again. It was like if Tai had died and been resurrected in front of them. Even if that metaphorical resurrection took what, four years?, but at least better than never.
"Hey, Izzy." Tai greeted, a smile on his face. He turned to face Miki, "Miki, this is an old friend of mine. Koushiro Izumi, but I call him Izzy."
"Tai, this is incredible!" Izzy exclaimed, a grin breaking out of his face, finally released from his shock. He observed the little gray-eyed girl as he asked Tai, "This is Mizuki? Wow, last time I saw her, she was clapping her little hands and had cake on her face." He greeted the little girl, a warm smile on his face, "Hi, Mizuki."
"Hello, Mr. Izumi." Miki politely replied as she nodded, curtsying a bit. Okay, Tai didn't teach her that. Kari and or the one of the shows she watched must have influenced her to do that. It was kind of funny in a little kid kind of way. Izzy didn't seem to mind however as he joked, "Six years old and she had better manners than you did at twice her age. Like that incident with the beakers."
"She's not six yet and that whole incident where I broke the school lab's beaker was one time." Tai quipped, feeling his cheeks go red.
"You broke what, Daddy?" Miki questioned curiously.
"Well, come on in." Izzy said, smiling.
Tai and Miki entered the building, with Miki surveying the area in awe. Izzy's living room was neatly made, not a single pillow or blanket was haphazardly thrown into the floor. "Take a seat, you two so you both can feel at home. I have some orange juice in the fridge if you like." Izzy said as he headed off to the kitchen.
"Sure. Thanks, Iz'." Tai nodded as Miki showed no hesitation to take a seat. The girl continued watching over her surroundings. Photos of Izzy and his family were on the walls, as well as of the Digi-Destined. Miki laid her eyes on one of the photos. It was a group photo of eight kids with eight different creatures. Her gray eyes sparkled with joy as she recognized two of the figures.
"Daddy, is that you and Agumon?" She asked, pointing a finger at the boy with that all familiar spiky wild hair and goggles and the orange dinosaur creature. The two were grinning hugely into the camera.
"That's us." Tai chuckled, "Long before I met your mother. It was the photo we took before we had to say goodbye to Agumon and the others for a while."
"Ah those were the days." Izzy came in, holding two glasses of orange juice for the guests. A nostalgic smile was on his face.
"Thanks, mister Izumi." Miki piped up as she grabbed her orange juice and started drinking.
"So how's everyone?" Tai asked, smiling.
"They're doing pretty good. Some have had their own losses but they're doing perfectly well. But honestly, maybe you should try to connect with them. Everyone's been pretty worried about you."
"Yeah, I know…" Tai said awkwardly.
"The other day, Matt said that if it wasn't for the updates TK and Kari would give to everyone on how you're doing, he'd be thinking that you pulled off a Joyce Vincent." Izzy explained.
"Ah that's Matt." Tai laughed trying to make the situation a bit lighter. Though deep in his cockles, the guilt was gnawing on him. "He's a kidder."
"I don't think he was joking." Izzy explained. "I mean when was the last time that you hanged out with us?"
"Oh God, that was around Miki's first birthday…that was years ago." Tai stated. And that's not even adding that Sora hadn't come. Her husband had fallen ill. "I admit I missed out on a lot and-"
"Dad? Whose that girl with the blue helmet?"
Tai and Izzy briefly turned around to see what the little chocolate-haired girl was gesturing to. Tai briefly studied the features of the smiling redhead. God, does she even want to see me? Does anyone want to see me?
"A friend of mine….her name's Sora Takenouchi."
Mizuki Kamiya was a good kid. However, she wasn't a good listener and sometimes she didn't think before she talked or acted. Today was one of those 'sometimes'.
Miki's eyes sparkled as she remarked a bit joyfully, "Ah yeah! I knew it! Sometimes at night I hear you calling out her name! I knew it! I knew it!"
Izzy stifled a laugh while Tai's cheeks grew beet red.
"I do?" Tai mustered out, astonished. Miki nodded, an innocent smile on her face, "Yeah, yeah! Sometimes you say it so loud you wake up that grumpy ole Mrs. Miyamato!"
Tai barely sputtered a shocked, "Well I, I mean-" while Izzy chuckled, saying, "Oh my God."
Tai cleared his throat asking, "So is anyone doing anything special? After all this is the anniversary of the day we went to the Digital World."
"Not that I know of." Izzy shrugged, "I mean what did you have in mind?"
"Well, I was hoping you could open the digital gate for us, Miki and I. Maybe you'd like to come."
"Sure, I'd like that."
The Digital World hadn't changed at all the last time she was there. Sora listened in to the sounds of the Digimon's cries and shouts, nostalgia hitting her like a bus. Yosuke was standing there, wide-eyed. The Digital World was just as amazing as he had imagined it to be, if not more.
"Impressed, sweetie?" Sora asked, smiling hugely.
"It's so amazing!" He exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with joy.
"Yosuke, sweetie, this is only the beginning." Sora assured, as she gently grabbed her son's hand and the two headed off to where she had an inkling feeling Biyomon and Penguinmon were at.
They didn't notice a figure, a blast from the past. Their eyes held a smirk on them. "Soon…" the figure muttered. "Soon…."
Miki's awe knew no bounds as she watched the lush green jungle of the Digital World. She was practically fidgeting like a puppy. Tai and Izzy were behind her, keeping a careful eye on their settings.
"Betamon! Agumon!" The child called out, excitement in her voice. She didn't initially get a response but she continued on calling out. Just as she was going to try a fourth time…
A small green amphibian Digimon with a red horn began waddling out of the shadows. Flanked from behind, a familiar orange dinosaur like Digimon and a ladybug like Digimon followed - all familiar to Tai, Izzy, and Miki, the latter who gasped happily.
"Betamon!" The chocolate-haired girl chirped.
"Miki-miki!" The Betamon, a rather child-like Digimon, exclaimed, as he began walking at a faster pace to meet up with Miki, who know had her arms out for a hug. Once he reached his partner, she hugged him hugely, the two laughing.
Tai greeted his beloved friend, "Agumon!"
Agumon practically jumped up and down, "Tai! You're back in the Digital World!"
Tai gently said, "And miss the chance to visit the place that started it all? On the anniversary no less? No way." He noticed Tentomon and Izzy hugging each other from a small distance and Miki feeding Betamon a few of the chocolate chip cookies in her backpack.
Tai smiled at this scene. He closed his eyes to relish the sounds of the Digital World, the familiar scents, the fresh air. Yes, nothing had changed, nothing at all. And that wasn't bad after all.
"Yosuke, let's not wander off too far."
Tai opened his eyes to hear the rustling of the bushes. And that gentle voice. It sounded familiar. The group of three and their Digimon partners watched on in surprise as out came a little redheaded boy of Miki's age, if not a few months older, with a Penguinmon by a side, and then a woman with a familiar pink bird Digimon followed the two. The redheaded woman briefly dusted off a bit of dirt from her jeans. To Izzy and Tai the woman was very familiar.
Tai let out an audible gasp, "Sora?"
Upon hearing her name, Sora lifted her head up and came face to face with the two men. Her eyes widened in astonishment as she laid her eyes on the brunette man. A gasp escaped her throat and she managed to muster out, "Tai?"
Tai, broken from his stupor, chuckled sheepishly, "Hey there, Sora….glad to see you again."
Sora gently neared the man who had played soccer with her in elementary school, who had saved her from that evil metallic Digimon that on occasion still haunted her dreams, who had comforted her when she had been distraught over her crest, who had bonded with her deceased husband.
Both of their respective Digimon and their children watched on in awe. Izzy and Tentamon shared a glance, curious as to how this reunion would work out.
"Oh God, Tai…it's been ages!" Sora finally exclaimed, practically pouncing on Tai with a hug.
"Sora, Sora, I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry…" Tai murmured to his old childhood friend.
What became just a simple trip to the Digital world was now also a reunion…and much more.
Tai, Izzy, and Sora headed off to a place where they could converse. Their children and the Digimon had also joined in. It was a small place that had a little lake, a few trees (perfect for shade), and a few rocks that could serve as seats.
Miki and Betamon had taken to skipping stones in the lake for fun. Yosuke, ever the recollected child for his age, preferred counting the rocks and organizing them in certain categories. On occasion he did a mental countdown on how many skips each of the two did. Penguinmon took to swimming, his favorite pastime. Miki and Betamon were careful not to hit Penguinmon. However he also made a game with Miki and Betamon to catch the stones. Tentomon had volunteered to watch over the children and child-like Digimon.
Tai was the first one to begin his story. His apologies, his own tales of his life without his beloved Sakura. Although the pain wasn't as potent as it was that fateful day, it was still there. Talking about Sakura still hurt his soul slightly.
And yet as he stared into Sora's red orbs, he felt a sense a warmth…a warmth he hadn't felt ever since Sakura died. Tai then realized something midway in his statement. His old feelings for Sora had returned. Maybe they had died but had resurrected from the ashes, like a phoenix of love. Maybe they were simply doormat when Sakura entered the picture and waited for a while even after she sadly passed until the time was right to resurface. Then there was Miki's innocent but telling comment that he'd utter Sora's name in his sleep recently. But regardless they had returned. His heart had pounded like a drum, his eyes bore into her warm red eyes…
"Tai? Are you okay?" Izzy asked in concern for his friend.
Tai managed out, "Yes…just thinking about…some stuff."
Sora gently held his hand. The feeling of a tenderness, of warmth, of love went through his body as she gently touched his hand.
"Just still reeling over the guilt of just dropping everything when I should have gotten closer to all of you. A support group within you guys." Tai murmured, his eyes warm at the two most important redheads in his life.
"Well at least you're back. And nothing can stop that now."
"Sora? Is it true about your husband's passing?" Tai ventured, concerned. Sora glanced down briefly before calmly looking at Tai and nodding slowly, "Yes. We did all what we could but in the end, fate had different plans I suppose."
She could feel her eyes well with a few tears of the memory. And yet as she glanced into the dark chocolate eyes of Tai, she then came to a surprising realization. She had found herself attracted to Tai, a feeling she thought she'd never feel since he started dating Sakura. A feeling that she was sure had died and she had buried. Perhaps it had died…but then was resurrected and reborn. Maybe it never died, simply deciding to step aside for her feelings for Takuya. And then those feelings for Tai waited until they felt that Sora was ready to begin a romantic relationship again. Her eyes widened and a blush as red as her eyes shone on her cheeks, without makeup. Perhaps the courage to fall in love once more had revived in her.
To continue on the conversation, Sora murmured gently, "Your daughter is growing so beautifully, Tai. When I see those eyes of hers, it's like Sakura's still there."
"We were visiting my sister-in-law the other day and she said the same thing more or less." Tai murmured, briefly glancing at the direction his daughter was that. He remembered how hard it had been to look at Miki's sweet beautiful eyes for the days after Sakura's death. It had gotten to a point where Kari and his sister-in-law were the ones to care for Miki in the first few days after Sakura's death. And how he had regretted letting his grief almost stop him from being there for his daughter.
Sora gently said, "Tai, why don't we take a walk for a bit?"
Izzy assured the two, "I'll keep an eye on the kids and Digimon…"
Tai nodded, accepting the offer of the redheaded woman.
The adults continued to walk to a more secluded area, talking more about their lives after their spouses. As they talked, it was clear that the two were realizing how strong these feelings they had for each other had come back. Tai wanted to say something…anything…just to know if Sora felt the way he did.
"Sora, I-"
"Welcome back, Digidestined!" A hateful voice exclaimed.
The redhead and brunet turned around. Sora's heart pounded as her eyes widened in horror. Memories, bad ones, began to cloud her mind. Tai's eyes widened and a glare escaped his lips.
The smirking eyes of Datamon haunted the two as his snarling voice asked, "Did you miss me?"
You guys didn't think I was going to make it easy for them, right? Oh no no no. Just one more obstacle and they'll (hopefully) hook up. ;)
So notes...
Joyce Vincent was a woman living in the UK who died alone in her apartment. Her family, friends, anyone didn't know what had happened to her for years until her body was discovered three years later.
You guys should know who Datamon is.
That's all for now...hopefully the fourth chapter will bring a conclusion to this and Datamon's interaction. How will it end?~ ...It's a secret.