Day 6 - Life Outside of the Chosen (mixed with Confidence & Koushiro as the Head of the Chosen Information): New Beginnings
"Daddy!" Megumi climbed on her parents' bed and started jumping up and down.
"Sweetheart, I'm trying to sleep."
"Mommy said it's time for you to wake up. You're going to start your new job today." She sat down and crawled towards him after realizing he wasn't going to move. "Daddy!"
"I'm up." Koushiro tapped over his bedside table looking for his phone, with his eyes half open.
"Mommy made pancakes with chocolate sauce. She said it's your favorite. Did you know it's mine too?"
"Really?" He sat down and pulled her down on his lap, immediately tickling her body.
"Daddy, stop it! It's itching!" Megumi couldn't stop laughing as her father kept playing with her.
"Are you ready to spend the day with grandma?"
"Yes!" She exclaimed excitedly and then threw herself into his arms. "She said she's making my favorite cake."
"Oh yeah? Are you going to bring a slice to me and mommy?"
Megumi nodded with a smile. "And to Tentomon and Motimon too."
"Megumi, come have breakfast, so we can go to grandma's apartment."
"Okay!"
"Daddy will get ready and will be there to have breakfast with you in a few minutes."
"Okay!" Megumi ran to the kitchen as soon as Koushiro put her down on the ground.
Tentomon flew into Koushiro's bedroom when he opened the door after getting dressed. He landed on his bed and watched his partner fix his red tie.
"What do you think?" Koushiro turned around so Tentomon could see his outfit.
"I think you look great! Are you excited for your first day?"
"I am." He nodded with a smile. "But I have to admit I'm a little nervous too. I never really talked to Sora's father and Jou's brother before."
"They are nice people."
"I know, but it's a little more different now. They will be my work colleagues."
"I'm sure it will get better as the days go by. Besides, she said that she'll be there with you, didn't she?"
"She did and I couldn't be more grateful for her. She didn't have to go through all of this."
"She's an amazing person."
"She is. You'll pull this off within no time."
"I hope so." Koushiro turned around and gave one last look at himself in the mirror before heading to the kitchen.
Megumi started swinging her little legs happily when she saw her father sitting on the chair beside her. She grabbed her Frozen decorated plastic cup with orange juice and drank a little of it.
"Do you think I look good?" Koushiro asked Akemi, who had just placed a plate with scrambled eggs on the table.
"I think you look amazing. It's perfect. I made these eggs for you as well."
"Thank you."
"Is Sora coming to pick you up?"
"Yes, she is. She wants to be there for the first few days, until I feel comfortable with her father."
"That's very nice of her." Akemi smiled. "Does she know anything about Digimon research?"
"A little. She's helped Mr. Takenouchi with it when he decided to quit his job as a professor to work as a Digimon researcher. I'll get to work closely to Taichi as well."
"That's great! It should be exciting."
"I think so too." He drank the rest of his tea and quickly stood up. "I should get going."
"You only start working at 8:30." She looked at the clock hung on a wall in the kitchen. "You still have some time."
"I know, but Sora wants to go a little earlier in case we get stuck in traffic. She's also dropping Aiko at her mother's house."
"I see."
"My mother is going to take care of Megumi today, isn't she?"
"Yes, she is. I'll stop by before work. Don't forget you have to pick her up after you come back. I'm going to work late today and don't know what time I'll arrive."
"I won't."
"There's food in the fridge for dinner. Megumi's food is here." She walked to it and grabbed a couple of small pots to show him.
"Got it."
"Are you sure you're gonna be okay?"
"Absolutely! I've been alone with Megumi a few times before. I can handle it."
"Okay. If you need anything, you can call me."
"Alright." Right after that, his phone started ringing. "Sora is here. I have to go."
"Good luck on your first day at work." Akemi handed him the obentou she had made and kissed him briefly.
"Thank you." Koushiro gave his wife a tight hug and then kissed his daughter on the top of her head. "Be good to grandma Kae, okay? Daddy is going to pick you up in the evening."
"Bye daddy!" She stretched her little arms towards him and he gave her a hug too.
"Bye sweetheart."
About five minutes later, Koushiro walked out of his building towards Sora's car. He had barely sat on the passenger seat when Aiko tried to get his attention.
"Good morning, uncle Koushiro!"
"Good morning, Aiko! Did you sleep well?"
"Yes!" She replied excitedly and drank some of her grape juice, swinging her legs the whole time.
"She woke up in a very good mood today." Sora said as she turned on her car. "It doesn't happen that often."
"I know what you mean. Sometimes it happens to Megumi too."
"So, are you excited for your first day?"
"I am. And also a little nervous."
"That's absolutely nor…" She cut herself off and made a painful pace, rubbing the left side of her belly.
"Is everything alright?"
"Everything's fine." She assured him. "The baby is moving non-stop today and has already kicked my ribs a few times."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"It's alright. I prefer it like that because I know everything is fine with him."
"Him? So it's a boy?"
"It is." Sora smiled. "Now we have both."
"Congratulations."
"Thank you." She turned off her car. "Here we are. Are you ready?"
"No, but let's do this."
.
Koushiro was in absolute awe as he walked down the hall at his new work place. He couldn't help but notice all the ultra-modern computers and machinery. "Your father really invested in great equipment, I see."
"Yeah, he's very excited about it. I told him to slow down a little, but he barely listens to other people when he's excited."
He swallowed hard and bit his lower lip. He was getting more nervous by each second. Sora couldn't help but smile and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, don't be nervous or intimidated by everything you're seeing here. My father is a very simple man, you'll know it pretty soon."
"I hope so."
"Hi, dad!" She said excitedly.
"Hello, darling. Look at your belly! It's so big!"
"Well, I'm due in about two months. I can barely wait. So, your newest work mate is here."
"Good morning, Koushiro."
"Good morning, Mr. Takenouchi."
"Please, call me Haruhiko. Are you ready to start your first day?"
"Absolutely! Let's go."
Koushiro sat down in front of one of the computers and quickly began to type on it. Soon an image from the Digital World appeared on the big screen.
"So is this the famous Digital World?"
"That's right." He nodded. "It's just a small part, it's much bigger than that."
"Amazing."
"I'm so sorry for being late." Shuu Kido said apologetically after he walked in and joined them. "I was stuck in traffic."
"Don't worry about it." Haruhiko assured him. "Shuu, this is Koushiro Izumi. Koushiro, this is Shuu Kido."
"So you're Jou's oldest brother?"
"That's me." He joked, smiling. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too."
"The Digital World is so similar to the parks we have here." Shuu looked at the screen with curiosity.
"They are both very similar worlds, but there aren't many buildings over there."
"That's so interesting."
"Sora also told me you have a network with all the Chosen Children around the world."
"That's true, but with the very large amount of people with Digimon partners nowadays, it's getting useless to keep it."
"There's been a considerable growth of Digimon in Japan for the past few years. I remember when Sora told me Aiko had gotten hers."
"Both worlds are merging. Actually, I think they already are merged."
"That's very likely."
"I'd like to see more of the Digital World. Can you show us?"
"Absolutely." Koushiro spun his chair around until he was staring at the computer screen again.
.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Sora asked with a smile when she parked her car in front of Koushiro's family house.
"It wasn't bad at all, but starting something new is often scary."
"I'd say it always is. But it'll be much easier now."
"True. Thank you for being there with me today. It meant a lot to me."
"You don't need to thank me. It was my pleasure. I should get going, it's my turn to make dinner."
"Alright. I have to pick Megumi up. Thank you again."
"You're welcome. I'll see you on the weekend."
"Of course! See you. Say hi to Yamato."
"I will. See you."
.
Megumi was already standing by the door when Koushiro opened the door. She immediately wrapped her arms around his legs and looked up at him. "Daddy!"
"Hello, princess." He picked her up and kissed her on the cheek. "Were you a good girl to grandma?"
"The best one." Kae walked to them. "She didn't give me any trouble at all."
"Good. Did she sleep?"
"For a couple of hours, and then she ate an apple and drank some milk. I don't think she will want to eat anything else today."
"She will, trust me." Koushiro started stroking his daughter's hair softly and she rested her cheek on his shoulder, yawning right away. "And she's sleepy again."
"I guess she didn't sleep enough in the afternoon."
"She did, but she always takes a short nap at this time. She likes sleeping."
"So how was your first at your new job?"
"Oh it was amazing! Sora's father and Jou's brother are so nice. I really think we're going to get along greatly and make a good team."
"I'm so happy to hear that, son. I always knew you'd be great at it."
"Thanks, mom." He smiled at his mother. "I still think it's crazy to know Sora did all of this to me. She didn't have to."
"That shows how nice she is. I wouldn't expect anything less from her."
"That's Sora. I feel like I finally found what I really want to do for living. I'm just upset I took this long to figure out."
"It happened at the right time for you. Each person has their own time, always remember that."
"I'll keep that in mind." He looked at Megumi. "Mom, can you please drive me home? Sora gave me a ride to work, so I don't have my car with me tonight."
"Sure, darling. Let's go."
.
"Akemi, I'm home." Koushiro announced when he walked into their apartment with Tentomon, Megumi and Motimon. She was still sleeping, so he went to put her on her bed.
"Hey." Akemi came out from their bedroom and greeted him in the hall with a brief kiss. "I was expecting you to come earlier."
"I'm sorry. I stopped by at my parents' house to pick Megumi up and ended up losing track of time because I was talking to my mother."
"I see. How's she?"
"She's good. She drove me here actually."
"She didn't want to come up?"
"No, she said she still needed to make dinner for dad."
"Well, there will be another opportunity. Speaking of dinner, it's ready, so you might want to have a shower first."
"Great. I'll be there in a minute. Oh, and Megumi is sleeping in her bed."
"Okay. I'll wake her up."
When Koushiro walked into the living room, his whole family was already there waiting for him. He sat next to Akemi and poured some food for himself.
"Dinner smells good."
"Thank you." She smiled and then gave some more food to Megumi. "So are you going to tell me about your first day?"
"Of course." He replied after he swallowed his food. "It was great. All the equipment is amazing and both Sora's father and Jou's oldest brother are very nice. I'm really motivated and confident things will be great for us."
"I'm glad to hear that. Seeing you this happy makes me happy too."
"Thank you. I'm still surprised with the way everything happened, to be honest." Koushiro confessed. "I wasn't expecting Yamato to tell Sora about me selling my company at all, but I should have seen it."
"He told her?"
"I'm assuming he did. How else would she know about it?"
"Well…"
"Wait a moment… you told them too?"
"I mentioned it to her, but in a casual conversation. It wasn't my intention for her to do something about it. At least not entirely." Akemi admitted.
"So you were part of this plan too."
"It wasn't a plan. She had a solution for you, so she helped. She's an amazing friend."
"She is. I can't believe you all did that."
"Well, we just wanted to show you that we love you very much and that you're important to us."
"Mission accomplished." A warm smile appeared on his lips. "I'm so lucky for having so many special people in my life."
"I love you, daddy!" Megumi suddenly spoke; her eyes focused on him.
"I love you too, princess. I'm so grateful for my family. I don't know what I'd do without you all."
"We are grateful for you too. We love you."
"Thank you for doing this to me."
"You don't need to thank me. At was the least I could do."
Koushiro reached for his wife's hand and laced their fingers together. He couldn't help but feel confident about what would come next in his life. And he was more than ready to accept it.