Day 7 - Free Day: Overcoming
Koushiro didn't know how long he had spent sitting on his bed. The clock kept tickling, but he still wasn't able to move an inch. He knew he would be late and it was the last thing he wanted, but his nervousness and fear were paralyzing him. Somehow he found the strength to pick up his phone and tried to call Sora, but she didn't pick up. So he kept scrolling down his contact list and pressed the call button as soon as he came across his second choice.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Jou. It's me."
"Is everything alright?"
"Yes, yes, it is. At least, I think so." Koushiro took a deep breath. "Actually, no, it's not."
"What happened, Koushiro?"
"I'm freaking out."
"Why? What's wrong?"
"I have a date and don't know what to do or to say."
"Okay, take a deep breath. It's not the end of the world. You can do this."
"What am I supposed to do?" He asked desperately. "Is it a rule to kiss a girl on the first date? Should I pay for her?"
"The kissing part depends on how the date goes."
"And how do I know that?"
"If you two are having fun; if you can talk to each other almost all the time. These are two of the things that indicate the date is going well. Then a kiss can happen at some point."
"I should just cancel it." Koushiro ruffled his red hair roughly. "It's better for everyone."
"How much do you like this girl?"
"What?"
"How much do you like this girl?" Jou repeated. "And does she like you too?"
"I suppose so. We kind of asked each other out together, so that must mean something. Right?"
"Usually, yes. How would you feel if she canceled it with you?"
"I would be upset, probably."
"So you have your answer."
"How do you know so much about this?"
"Actually, I've recently started dating."
"What?" Koushiro asked surprised. "You're dating? Is it someone from the hospital?"
"Yes, she's a pediatrician. We met when we were doing rounds during med school. But I'll tell you about her another time. What about you?"
"We met in college. She's a friend of one of my classmates. We got along right away and walk home together everyday."
"Interesting. And tell me… do you miss it when you don't go home together?"
"Yes…" He confessed. "I do. Does that mean I'm in love with her?"
"That's something you'll figure out on your own. But you do have feelings for her, though you've realized it by now."
"Yeah… what do I do, Jou?"
"You go out with her and see what happens. The best thing it can happen is you end up with a girlfriend."
"And the worst one?"
"You realize you two are better of as friends, which is totally fine by the way."
"I guess so."
"I guarantee you'll enjoy it. It's almost like going out with a friend, like how you and Mimi did a few years ago."
"Okay, I can do that." Koushiro looked at his watch. "I have to go, or I'll be late."
"Alright. Good luck."
"Thank you."
About fifteen minutes later, Koushiro was standing in front of the bathroom mirror taking a final look at himself after he fixed his tie. Then he returned to his bedroom and grabbed his two favorite colognes.
"Tentomon, can you help me with something?"
"Sure." The Digimon landed beside him. "What do you need?"
"Which one do you think it's better?" He sprayed the perfumes on his partner and he immediately started sneezing. "Oh my God, I'm sorry! I didn't know you were allergic to perfume."
"The smell is very strong."
"I think so too. I'm very sorry about this."
"Don't worry about it." Tentomon said tearful. "I get so emotional seeing you getting ready to go out on a date. I've been waiting for this moment so long."
"Oh no, don't cry, Tentomon. It's not a big deal, really."
"To me, it is. I'm so happy!"
"Silly." Koushiro couldn't help but laugh. "So which one?"
"The second one, for sure. Where did you get it?"
"That's my favorite one too. Takeru gave me for my birthday last year. I didn't enjoy the scent back then, but now I think it's not so bad." He sprayed some of the cologne on himself and turned to Tentomon. "So, how do I look?"
"You look great, Koushiro!"
"Do you think it's too formal? Maybe I should take my tie off."
"Maybe a little, but if you're comfortable about it, that's what matters."
"I am, but I want to try something more casual."
"Like leave the top button open like Taichi does sometimes?"
"That's a little too much for me." The man laughed and removed his tie. "What do you think?"
"Definitely without tie."
"I think so too. It's settled then." Koushiro put it back on a hanger and put it away. "Are you ready?"
"Can't I really go with you? I promise I'll stay outside and won't bother you."
"It's safer if you stay with Jou while I'm out. I promise I will pick you up when the date is over."
"Okay."
"Come on, it will be fun with him and Gomamon."
"I know, I just really wanted to meet your girlfriend."
"She's not my girlfriend, Tentomon."
"But she will be."
"You'll get to meet her soon, I promise. Let's go, I'm already late to meet her."
"Alright." Tentomon followed his partner closely out of their apartment and then to the garage.
.
Koushiro felt all the air leave his body and his heart skip a beat when he spotted Akemi walking in his direction. They had agreed to meet in an 80's themed cafeteria Hikari told him about.
"Hey." She said with a smile. She was wearing a black skirt that came to her knees and a white top. Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail and she was also wearing short length black boots. Koushiro didn't think he's ever seen her like that before.
"Hi." He quickly stood up to greet her.
"You didn't have to stand up for me." Akemi sat down on the bench beside her.
"It's a habit." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously and sat down again. "I'm also a little nervous."
"Me too, honestly." She confessed. "But it's normal I think. We'll feel more comfortable as time goes."
"I hope so." He gave an awkward laugh. "So what do you think of this place?"
"Hmmm." She looked around, paying close attention to every detail before looking back at him. "I think it's a cool place. I like the atmosphere."
"I wasn't sure if it would be your kind of place."
"It wouldn't be my first choice, but it wouldn't mind coming here with my friends."
"I'm relieved to know that."
"What about you?"
"I found out about it from a friend. She came here with a friend and said it was a good place."
"It really is." Akemi grabbed the menu and went through it. "Do you know what you want to order?"
"Not really." Koushiro followed her suit. "But they have some great options here. I might go with the traditional hamburger with fries. And you?"
"I will have the same. And coconut with condensed milk milkshake."
"Coconut with condensed milk?" He asked surprised. "Isn't it too sweet?"
"Not at all, it just seems like it. But it's very tasty, I can guarantee." She looked down at the menu in his hands. "Aren't you going to get anything to drink?"
"Oh right. I completely forgot about it." He lowered his gaze to choose a beverage. "I'm going with a chocolate one."
They handed their menus to the waitress, who walked away after taking their orders.
"So how did you become a Chosen Child?"
"What?" Koushiro was taken aback with her going straight to the point with him. Even if a lot of people got a Digimon partner in the past few years, but he still didn't expect that question.
"I've seen you on the news a few weeks ago. You were fighting an evil Digimon with some friends."
"Oh. We do appear on the news quite often. So, everything started nine years ago, on summer vacation. We went to the same summer camping, but most of us didn't know each other. Well, I was already friends with Taichi and Sora, but that's it. I hadn't seen the others before that."
"That's cute. And then what happened?"
"Then the weather changed completely suddenly. It didn't seem like summer at all, it even snowed."
"What? Are you serious?"
"Yeah. And then there was an aurora and the sea turned into a wall. When we woke up, we were in the Digital World."
"How crazy!"
"Tell me about it. Thank you." Koushiro looked up at the waitress and thanked her for their order. "What about you? How is it like to live in Hokkaido?"
"Sapporo is great actually, especially on winter. There's a lot of snow."
"Well, it's the coldest area in Japan."
"That's true. And there are some great winter events there, like the Snow Festival. You should really go there one day."
"Maybe I will."
"Schools are great there as well."
"I hope you don't feel offended by it, but why did you come to Tokyo then?"
"I'm not offended at all." Akemi smiled reassuringly and drank a sip of her coconut milkshake. "I love living in Sapporo, really, but I thought it was time for me to experience new things, you know? Visit new places, meet new people."
"I think that's pretty great."
"It is. But I'm not gonna lie, it can be scary sometimes. I'm glad Natsuki came to Odaiba this year. I had someone to rely to when it gets lonely and I miss my parents."
"I'm surprised that you two don't live together."
"We wanted to, but my apartment was already full. Maybe next year, who knows?"
"Have you two been friends for a long time?"
"Yes." She nodded. "Since we were very little, three or four years old. Our mothers are teenage friends."
"That's so awesome! So you are best friends."
"That's right. We're inseparable, though I'm a year older than her. We do a lot of things together."
"I think that's great."
"Thank you. Are you like that with your friends?"
"I suppose so. I mean, I'm somewhat anti-social and shy. So I'd rather stay in."
"I wouldn't notice it. You've been talking a lot tonight."
"Well, I got a little better at it along the years, I guess."
"You're sweet."
"T-Thank you." Koushiro blushed and looked down to hide his red cheeks from her.
"Oh I almost forgot!" Akemi slapped her forehead lightly. "Would you like to try my coconut milkshake? I promise you won't regret it."
"Sure. A trade?"
"Sounds perfect to me."
Both of them took their straws out of their cups and switched their beverages. Akemi stared at her friend intently and anxiously.
"Come on, try it. I want to know what you think."
"Alright." He put his straw on it and drank a little. He tried to keep it a suspense, but couldn't hold his smile for a long time. "You were right. This is actually very good."
"I told you." Akemi grinned.
"How did you know about this, since you've never been here?"
"Wanna know a secret?"
"Of course."
"They don't have coconut milkshake with condensed milk. I asked the waitress to put it on."
"You didn't!"
"I did." Akemi laughed. "Believe me."
"That is amazing."
"Do you want anything else?"
"No, I'm good. What about you?"
"Same."
"I'll ask someone to bring our bill."
.
When Koushiro was near Akemi's apartment, her cellphone started bleeping and vibrating like crazy and the woman tried her best to ignore it.
"I think you better answer it." He looked down at the phone in her hands. "It might be something important."
"It isn't." Akemi rejected a call and looked at him. "It's Natsuki. She's anxious to know how our date went."
"Are you sure about this?"
"Oh yes, absolutely. She gets a little too impatient whenever I have a date."
"So she's done it before?"
"She does it all the time, actually. At first, I didn't mind it. But now it's just plain annoying."
"So why don't you tell her that?"
"Because she doesn't do it on purpose. She hasn't been lucky lately when it comes to love and relationships, unfortunately."
"Her boyfriend broke up with her?"
"Something like that." Akemi pressed her lips together for a moment. "It's complicated and something personal."
"Alright, I get it." Koushiro parked his car in front of her building. "Here we are."
"Thanks for bringing me home."
"You're welcome." He smiled at her. "I hope you enjoy tonight."
"I really did. It was so much fun. What about you?"
"I liked it a lot. I'm sorry if I was nervous, by the way."
"Hey." She reached for his hand. "It's okay. I would be surprised if you weren't nervous."
"Good to know."
"I should go, before Natsuki calls the police. I'm joking." Akemi quickly added when she saw Koushiro's widened eyes.
"Right."
"I'll see you in school on Monday." She leaned over to kiss him on the cheek, but a lack of understanding about which way to go made them kiss on the mouth.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" He blushed when they pulled away from each other.
"It's my mistake, so I should be the one apologizing. I'm sorry."
"That's fine." Koushiro assured her. "These things happen."
"That's true. But you know what?" A wave of courage overwhelmed Akemi and she just poured her heart out there. "I'm actually not sorry. This kiss might have been an accident, but I wanted it to happen. So yeah, I don't really regret it. There, I said it."
She turned around to leave and Koushiro grabbed her arm in a moment of desperation. She looked at him with her eyebrows raised and an expression of surprise and confusion. He could have sworn that he saw hope in her eyes as well.
"You're not the only one who wanted it to happen. So, in that sense, I don't regret it either."
"So what does that mean?"
"I'm not really sure…" Koushiro bit his lower lip. "But I am sure I want to go on another date with you."
"It's a deal!" Akemi's face lit up in happiness. "But I'll choose where we're going this time."
"That sounds great to me." He grinned at her, feeling both happy and relieved for realizing Jou was right all along.