THE CREST OF ORIGIN PART 2

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon.

CHAPTER 2

"Since when were you two dating?" yelled Sora as they were walking in the school hallways.

"Well we started dating two months after he started his soccer program back in America." Mimi said blushing.

"Why didn't he tell anyone then?" said Yamato who was walking next to Sora.

"I don't know either. But he didn't want to talk about it so I just went with the flow."

They were walking towards the soccer field to watch Taichi in their practice game. After the events that happened last night, they have been anxious. Taichi was able to send Koushiro the names of the Original Digidestined and told them that he would be talk to him and whoever was available tomorrow after the soccer game. When they reached the field, Taichi and his team were taking a short break. He didn't seem that tired as he was discussing with the others.

"Looks like they're off to a great start." Yamato said pointing at the score board. Taichi's school was in the lead by a massive gap.

"Oh look they're about to start again." Sora said and tried to look for seats when she saw Daisuke and Ken waving at them. She called over Yamato and Mimi who nodded and walked towards the two.

"Oi Daisuke!" Yamato said as he sat down next to them.

"Glad you can make it! Taichi's doing awesome right now!" Daisuke said. Ken nodded.

"Yeah, he's even better than the last time we fought."

"So.. do you think you can hit a goal versus him?" Yamato asked playfully.

"Sure! We've been training really hard! Oh look here he- ha!?" Daisuke stood up and looked at the field closely. Confused, Sora looked as well and saw that a teammate of Taichi was injured.

"Wah… looks like the goalie got hit in the shoulder by accident." said a spectator who was near them.

"Then who would be replacing hi- ha!?" Daisuke said once again almost falling off the bleachers but was saved by Yamato.

"Daisuke you have to calm down. Who is it anyway-" Yamato froze. The one who stood in for the goalie was none other than Taichi himself. A new member was now playing on the offensive.

"I've never seen Taichi play as the goalie before. Have you Sora?" Mimi asked. Sora shook her head and observed the scene.

"I wonder how he plays? But… wouldn't that take a toll on the offense?" Ken said observing the event.

Just as the referee blew his whistle everyone was off. As Ken said, Taichi's team was not as agile as they were earlier. The other team got the ball quickly and started towards the goal. The player kicked with all his might and the ball was flying fast towards the net but, in a blink of an eye, Taichi caught the ball and kicked it to the other side of the field with ease. His teammates ran towards the other goal while the other team was still a far away from them and scored a goal. They were all amazed at this, especially Daisuke.

"Whoah! He's a great goalkeeper!" Mimi said. Sora nodded and looked at Yamato who had a skeptical look in his face.

"Something wrong Yamato?" she asked.

"Taichi… doesn't he seem a bit… angry?"

Mimi looked at her boyfriend and saw it. Taichi was enraged, it wasn't that obvious but anyone who knew Taichi ever since the digiworld would know he's angry at something. And that something really got to him. The game ended with the other team not even being able to get a goal in. The team captain, upon shaking hands looked scared at Taichi who was now smiling at him.

"I-I'm sorry… it won't happen again." He said.

"It was a good game!" Taichi said energetically and walked away.

A few minutes later and Taichi went back to the field only to see Sora and the others still waiting.

"Oh! You're still here?"

"Yeah, hey what happened out there earlier?" Sora asked. Taichi sighed and held his neck looking embarrassed.

"Oh… ahaha that. The thing is." Taichi started explaining. Apparently, the team captain's accidental kick to the shoulder wasn't an accident. Taichi could see from the guys face that he was making sure the goalie couldn't play another game. Taichi confronted the captain but all he said was 'good luck finding someone else.'

"And I got angry… what kind of manipulative prat would do that to another player?" Taichi said.

"Remind me not to get you angry…" Mimi said.

"Still, that was a good game Taichi!" Ken said.

"Thanks! I guess I got a little carried away but I'm glad you liked it. Ah- speaking of which, have you guys seen Koushiro?"

"No, now that I think of it… I think he wasn't even in class earlier." Mimi said.

"That's odd…"

At that moment, they heard footsteps running to their direction. Everyone stared to the direction where they thought the sound was coming from and saw a person with a laptop in their hand.

"Taichi!" Koushiro yelled as he ran faster and faster towards them. Koushiro had a shocked look on his face that no one understood why. But then, Taichi realized that he might have found out where the Original Digidestineds were. Koushiro reached them exasperated from running.

"Koushiro… you alright?" Yamato asked.

"T-taichi! Did you write the names correctly?" he asked.

"Of course I gave the right names." Said Taichi .

"Can you at least tell me the names again." He said opening his laptop and sitting on the bleachers. Yamato and the others sat as well while Taichi stood up.

"Let's see… Riku Ibuka."

Koushiro typed on his laptop and it yielded no results.

"What!?" Taichi said. "Okay… how about Rin Kazuko."

Koushiro typed once more but there was no response.

"What's going on here?" asked Sora.

"I don't know either Sora. But it happened last night as well. What was the last name?" Koushiro asked.

"Last? There was two other people I wrote."

"Oh really?" Koushiro said and looked at his phone so as to check. His jaw dropped and so did his phone the moment he scrolled down.

"Koushiro?" Daisuke said.

"What is it? What is it?" Mimi asked as she took a peak of Koushiro's phone and her jaw dropped too.

"Melody Benett!?" they both yelled in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Taichi asked looking at them suspiciously.

"Taichi…" Mimi looked at him in disbelief. "Are you serious with this name?"

"Of course I am what are you talking about? And how about Inori Kunimichi?" he asked. Koushiro looked up the name once more but the same thing happened. So Koushiro pushed through with his question.

"S-so… you knew about Melody Benett?" he said. Mimi was looking at Taichi in amazement and embarrassment.

"Okay what is wrong with you two?" Taichi said leaning on the post and watching them as if they were vexing him. Mimi was the first to talk as she walked towards Taichi.

"Melody Bennet is a famous model in America Taichi."

"Really?" Taichi replied. "Well she did say she wanted to be one when she gets older. Wait, does that mean I can't talk to her?" he thought sadly.

"Well… She does go to Japan during her vacations. I read in one of the magazines I have back home." Mimi replied. Koushiro, with a red face, sat down and started typing.

"If we're lucky, we can find out when her next vacation is and… whoah!" Koushiro showed Taichi the screen wherein a website was posted. The name on the search bar was "Melody Benett" and the results were of her Japan vacation that year.

"Melody is here!" he said smiling excitedly. "And it's in Odabia! I know where that is, I could meet her there!" but Koushiro halted him.

"Taichi, Melody is a famous model. You can't just meet with her like that. She must have some security." this made Taichi lose his excitement.

"Then what do I do?" he asked.

"We could send her an e-mail? Like one of her fans."

Taichi thought for a second but then he noticed the time and looked at everyone.

"We should head home."

Everyone else looked around and the place was completely empty now.

"You're right… Plus, Ken and I were supposed to hang out at his place tonight." Daisuke said patting Ken's back.

"And I have band practice later too. You coming?" Yamato asked Sora who shook her head shyly.

"My dad is coming home for the week and we're having dinner. Sorry." She said and smiled apologetically. Then Taichi turned to Mimi waiting for a response.

"Oh! I'm still helping out at the apartment tonight. Ehehe." She said scratching her head. Everyone walked home together. They bid farewell to Daisuke and Ken first and then Yamato and Sora who rode a train together. Mimi lived near the train station and they dropped her off there. Then it was only Koushiro and Taichi. Koushiro wondered why Taichi never asked him if he was busy.

"You wrote her name in the tracker software right? Melody's name of course." Taichi said. Koushiro nodded and told Taichi the results were the same. He sighed and walked past a pedestrian lane of which Koushiro got confused by.

"Uh Taichi? Don't you need to cross this path to head home?" Koushiro asked pointing at the lane. Taichi turned around and grinned at him.

"Who said I was going home?" he said.

"Then where are you going?" Koushiro asked.

"I'm just going to take a little bit of a stroll. You can go on if you want to, I won't force you to come with me." Koushiro gave him an interrogating look.

"Taichi I told you-" but Taichi cut him off and said, "I'm not. The location isn't even near here."

Koushiro didn't know what to say at this point but then he remembered something. He had to go home and fix his mother's computer today. Taichi stood there silently waiting for a reply. Koushiro couldn't break the promise he had with his mother so he bowed at Taichi and walked away. Taichi bid him farewell and waited until Koushiro was well on his way before starting off at the other direction. He started thinking of the past.

"Huh? Who are you people?" said a shocked Taichi who was just wearing his shorts and blue shirt.

"Why is there a kid here?" Riku said.

"Riku!" yelled Melody as she looked at Taichi. "Hey… how did you get here?"

"I don't know… I was just playing soccer by the river then I suddenly appeared somewhere over there." He said, pointing at a cave near them.

"Well what's your name?" Melody said as she knelt down to look at him.

"Taichi. Yagami, Taichi."

"Hello Taichi. I'm Melody, Melody Benett." she said smiling vibrantly towards the boy.

Taichi just walked past a kid and was now looking at a perfect view of the river. He stared at it and sighed. He had another thought.

"Melody?" said Taichi who was petting a Koromon with her.

"Yes?" she replied.

"When we leave the digital world… what are you going to do?"

"Eh? Hmmm… I guess be a model!"

"Really?" Taichi said surprised.

"Well maybe not now… but when I grow up! Is there something wrong about that?" she looked at Taichi and started pouting.

"No… I think you would do great as a model." He said smiling. Melody's eyes glowed as she hugged Taichi.

"Oi! Melody!"

At this point, Taichi was now holding his soccer ball. He had continued walking when he stopped and went down the small hill so as he would be nearer to the river.

"You like soccer?" Melody asked.

"Yeah! I want to be the best soccer player there is!" Taichi said standing up feeling proud.

"I think you'll be great." Melody said caringly.

"I practice for fun near the river in Odaiba… You should watch me sometime when we get back home!" Melody nodded saying "Promise!" and moved her hand towards Taichi with her pinky pointing out.

"What's that Melody?" Taichi asked.

"A 'pinky swear'!"

"'Pinky swear'?"

"That's right!"

"You're weird Melody."

"What did you say!?" Melody said and looked demonically at Taichi.

"Akuma!" Taichi said crawling away.

Taichi let out a laugh when he saw someone in front of him.

"Melody! I'm just going to find some fruit!" Taichi yelled as he looked back at Melody.

"Promise you'll be back soon okay?" she said raising her right hand to show a 'pinky swear.'

"Promise!" Taichi said raising his left hand to show that he was also showing a 'pinky swear'

"I don't know why you two keep doing that." said Riku to Melody.

"It's our special signal! It means that we'll make sure to meet again!"

"You really are weird…" Rin said and got hit on the back of his head by Melody.

Taichi's soccer ball started rolling away from him as he followed it.

"Melody!" Taichi ran to her.

"T-taichi! Where were you? We were looking all over the place…" Melody said smiling at Taichi.

"How could you still say those things? What happened?" Taichi said with a traumatized expression.

Taichi's soccer ball continued to roll until someone stopped it.

There was a woman where Taichi usually played soccer in. She looked at him with a shocked expression.

"Is something wrong miss?" Taichi said.

The girl was about to smile but when she heard the word "miss" she stopped.

"Oh… uhh nothing. I just… err… promised a friend I'd meet him here. Looks like he won't come though. I'm going to America tomorrow see… So I thought I might say goodbye."

"Some friend. He even made you cry." Melody realized that her eyes were streaming with tears. Taichi took something from his pocket and gave it to her. It was a blue handkerchief. Melody looked at it and then Taichi.

"Here, you can keep it. You can wipe your tears with it." Taichi said and smiled. Melody took the handkerchief and said, "Thank you…"

"Hope you have a safe trip back to America." Taichi grinned.

There in front of Taichi was a woman wearing a hooded jacket. She turned to look at the one who stopped and her eyes opened wide. She took a deep breath and said, "Time flies when you're away right?" Taichi didn't reply.

"Oh! You might not remember me anymore… well it has been eight years… ehehe…" she said rubbing her neck. Taichi was about to reply when she started talking again.

"Looks like it's getting late… I should head home no-" she was cut off when Taichi said, "Melody…"

Melody gasped and turned around. Taichi was looking at her straight in the eyes.

"W-well… are you a f-fan of mine?" she said thinking that it was just another one of her followers.

"Well…" Taichi looked at her trying hard to keep a smile on his face. "Not really…"

"Then why are you here?" she asked.

"Oh well that's because…" that was when Taichi raised his left hand pointing out his pinky. Melody froze on the spot. "Eight years ago I was an idiot for not keeping a promise…" Taichi said as a tear fell down his eye.

"Taichi?" Melody said, her eyes starting to water.

"I'm here… Melody." Taichi said in a hush tone. Melody's tears were streaming now. The sun had started setting by that time and they were both completely alone. Taichi couldn't put down his hand as he was frozen where he stood. Melody raised her right hand pointing out her pinky.

"You're late…" she said letting out a soft smile. That was when Taichi felt every ounce of guilt that had built up inside of him since the moment he got his memories of everyone back.

"I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry…" he said with his voice cracking up.

END OF CHAPTER 2