After the Storm
by Leto
Part 2 - "School days are the happiest ones in my life?!"
"I am saying I think I could bring your Digimon to this world, but they would have to have human-like forms. Would you want me to do this? Their personalities should be largely unaffected by the reconfiguration but of course, they could change while in this world. You may find you relate differently to your Digimon when they appear as a human. And they may voluntarily change their character to better fit into the human world."
"Well," said Joe, with no hesitation, "if Gomamon's happy to do it, definitely bring him over!"
"That'd be great," agreed Matt.
"It was so hard to leave Biyomon," said Sora, "if you could bring her to this world, I wouldn't care what she looked like!"
"Patamon was my best friend," said TK, "even if we fought sometimes."
"I'd really like to be with Gatomon again, if she doesn't mind."
"Me too! The more the merrier, bring Palmon back too!"
"It would be truly magnificent if Tentomon could live in the real world."
There was a pause, and everyone glanced at Tai, who hadn't said anything.
"I think you guys are rushing into this," he said cautiously, "I mean, remember what Jennai just said. It would be a lot different if they were humans too, and we were all living in this world. Wouldn't you rather remember them as our friends the way they were then?"
"I can't believe you just said that, Tai," snapped Matt, "don't you care about Agumon at all?"
"Of course I care! That's why I think it's not fair to expect him to come to some world he doesn't belong to in a body that isn't his and try to fit in just for my sake!"
"Wow, Tai's actually making sense for once," said Sora.
"What do you think, Jennai?"
"Tai has a valid point, but I do believe all your Digimon want very much to stay with you. After all, their sole purpose for being created was to accompany you digidestined and rescue the digital world. Now that all that's over, they have nothing left in the digital world."
"Agumon always... made me feel stronger, and vice versa I guess. But would he still be my guardian if we were both humans and as strong as each other? And is it really a good idea to stay so attached to each other? I mean, what if something happened to one of us after we'd been around each other for years?"
"Tai, this doesn't sound like you," said Mimi.
"Yeah, sounds more like Joe," agreed Matt.
"I just think it's a really big decision, okay? Jennai, do you have any answers?"
"I'm afraid not. You kids know your Digimon better than I do. Would you be willing to take the risk and accept the consequences? Go with your gut, Tai. That's how you operate."
"My gut says, what're we standing around talking for, let's get those Digimon, especially Agumon, over here!"
The others smiled, relieved, at each other. Privately, most of them had some secret inhibitions about their Digimon coming to the real world permanently - would it really be best for them both? Would they revolve in the same social circles? Would their Digimon find it difficult to fit in? Jennai was speaking again, interrupting their thoughts.
"It will be a tedious and time-consuming process. There are also a couple of hurdles I can think of that might take a while to work out. Perhaps Koushirou could help me with that."
"I'd be happy to, but why do you call me Koushirou? You didn't in the digital world."
"Ah, but in the digital world, I couldn't let you know I was your father and knew your real name. It would be dangerous for either of us to get too attached, and you had to stand on your own feet in the digital world. But I have always thought of you as Koushirou; of course when you were a baby everyone called you that, and you couldn't acquire your nickname until the Izumi adopted you. So for many years in the digital world I was wondering how you were growing up. I was glad when you took to computers, because I could follow your e-mails from the digital world."
"I see," said Izzy, "I think we have a lot to talk about. Do you mind if I stay here for a few hours? We could begin reconfiguring our Digimon."
"Of course," said Jennai, and the others took this as their cue to leave.
And so, school began again.
~~Joe~~
Having missed most of the exams for more prestigious junior high schools, Joe started at Odaiba Junior High, assuring his father that he would definitely get into a good high school.
Resulting from this, many of his old classmates went up with him, the ones who had teased and belittled him, and generally made his life miserable. Tome, Roshi, Jae, Ken... Of course, none of them knew how Joe had spent his summer vacation, and thus felt no inclination to treat him with any more respect than they previously had.
But Joe had learned one or two things through fighting monsters, having friends and risking his life. After being confronted by giant metal sea serpents, having fire shot at him, climbing cliff faces in the middle of the night and nearly drowning, he wasn't so likely to be afraid of a few kids his own age.
"Hey! It's the dweeb!"
His first day back at school, and the usual group had found their favourite target.
"Hey Joe, we didn't see you around much in the holidays."
"Guess he doesn't get out of the house much."
"Too busy studying."
"Not that it helps him at all!"
One of the boys, Ken, shoved him in the chest, pushing him against the wall. Joe cringed back instinctively, and then seemed to remember Gomamon proudly saying that Joe would be anything he wanted to be.
"Got any lunch money?"
"Yes," he said calmly, ignoring their looks of surprise that he had replied to them for once, "and I prefer to use it for lunch, thank you."
"Oh, such good manners!"
"Awww, don't you wanna share?"
"C'mon Joey-boy, hand it over!"
Jae made a move towards him, but Joe grabbed his hand in mid-swing. Months of running, climbing, carrying and walking paid off. He clenched his fist around the other boy's hand and threw him back into the following corridor wall. Jae sat dazed for a moment, before standing up with an unpleasant look on his face.
"I'll teach you to shove me," he snapped, lunging towards Joe who shook off the hands of other kids, ducking neatly to escape down the corridor. Jae slammed his fist into the wall, then leapt around clutching it in pain.
"I'll get you for that, you jerk!"
"We'll teach him a lesson after school, heh Jae."
He scowled in agreement, still holding his injured hand.
*
The day passed surprisingly well for Joe; as most people in middle school were older and more mature, he found a few people he could get along with, as well as an old friend or two. He found himself in the same maths class as Koj, a casual sort of friend from the year before.
After school, the two walked out together and saw a crowd gathered on the front lawns of the school. Tome, Jae, Ken and Roshi stood in the middle. Jae was punching one fist in the air, and his friends grinned at him. There was the uneasy atmosphere of upcoming violence.
"Hey Joe," said Koj, "looks like they're gearing up for a fight again."
Joe hesitated, taking a few steps back, back behind the front doors of the school. "Yeah, and I bet I know who the challenger is. I think I'll take the back way home."
"There is no back way," said Koj, "unless you're thinking of climbing an 8-foot fence and sneak around the apartment block without the caretaker seeing you, and then walking around the block which will take you an extra twenty minutes at least..." he finally cottoned on, "oh, you're the guy they're gonna beat into a pulp, right?"
"Thank you for putting it so nicely," said Joe dryly. "I guess you're right though. Anyway, I'm going to have to face them some time."
"Wow, is that you talking, Joe? Guy most likely to chicken out?"
"Maybe once," muttered Joe, and walked towards the school gate, willing himself not to look anyone in the face, to just make his feet keep moving. Of course he was intercepted before he made it halfway. Koj, not a hero himself, slipped out the way and joined the rest of the group - it was safer.
"Fight! Fight!" the crowd was shouting, and Jae stepped in front of him. Joe, concentrating on just walking, moved right into the other boy, pushing him a few feet backwards. Half the crowd started laughing, the other grumbled with hostility.
"You and me, Joey-boy," snapped Jae.
This is just like a bad movie, thought Joe, before Jae ran at him, tackling him to the ground. He landed painfully on his bookbag, feeling his chemistry book digging into his back. Joe numbly put one arm over his face as his new rival swung at his face. Impacts... nothing to get worried about, nothing compared to before... ignoring the haze of the cheering crowd and the boy pounding his face in, Joe's mind wandered back to the digital world, and Gomamon...
A punch caught Joe off-guard, slamming into his face, knocking his jaw out of alignment. Joe squawked in pain and tried to move one arm to his face, but now Roshi had entered the fight, helping to pin him to the ground. He couldn't help himself as another blow sent stars flying in front of his eyes...
I shouldn't fight back, Joe thought, it's against everything Jim taught me. Against everything I believe in... people just get hurt, and no problems get solved, when you fight... but letting them push me around causes more problems. And what'd I do anyway?
Hey! I *don't* deserve this.
It was a turning point.
Joe growled and forced both of his arms up with all his strength, pushing Roshi out of the way. He swung one arm up, hitting Jae in the head with one elbow. Jae swore and lunged back.
The mood of the crowd changed - now they weren't eager for blood, they were watching a good show. The shouts quietened.
The three boys bent into crouching, fighting stances. Joe abandoned his defensive and flew at Jae, hitting him in the chest and then plowing a fist into his stomach. Jae hissed, winded, and sunk to the ground. Joe narrowed his eyebrows and kicked him in the face, once, twice, grinding his foot into it. He lifted his bookbag to drop it on the other boy, but his arms were caught in mid-air - gripped strongly by Ken and Tome.
His fury wore off suddenly. Joe stared blankly at Jae, lying motionless on the ground with blood on his face. Did I just do that? wondered Joe, did I just break another kid's nose?
Now it was four against one - well, three against one, as Jae was not really in fighting condition. Joe deflated after seeing the blood all over Jae's face - it was a horrible sight, and to think he had caused it... he felt sick to his stomach, and a little weak, as he usually did when he saw blood.
He didn't move as the other kids laid blow after blow into him. The pain flooded through him but he barely registered it - he was transfixed on the lifeless figure in front of him.
~~Sora~~
Sora found that, being a senior, she had some new expectations placed on her. She overheard a couple of comments about how she wasn't acting like a proper girl, and one of the snootier groups of girls giggling at her clothes. She narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists and ignored it all, instead wrestling with her locker.
"C'MON you stupid thing," she snapped, losing her temper after a tense few lessons. She pounded one fist into it and tugged at the handle.
"Hey, Sora, doesn't sound like you."
Sora whirled, embarassed, then smiled when she saw who it was.
"Hi Sam. Sorry, this locker would drive anyone to tears."
"Make way for a man," he said with a grin, and calmly stepped up, twisted the handle once and pulled backwards sharply. The whole block of lockers trembled and Sora yelped.
"Get back! Get back!"
The entire block wobbled and fell forwards, sending an enormous crash reverberating down the corridor.
Several other students came closer, staring.
"Hey, great," shouted one boy, "I lost a baseball behind those lockers three years ago!"
"Yeah," said a girl, "and I dropped a notebook back there last year."
Suddenly the block was covered with kids crawling over to retrieve their long-lost treasures.
Sora sweatdropped. "Thanks, Sam, I'll make sure never to make way for a man again!"
Sam grinned sheepishly. "Hey, you don't hear anyone else complaining."
A teacher's crisp footsteps sounded and Miss Kuchisawa stormed up. "What on earth is going on down here! You kids clean up this mess and put those lockers in their correct position, right now."
Sora and Sam exchanged an amused look, and with the help of a couple of other boys, yanked the lockers back into place. When it was finally settled appropriately, the two friends sweatdropped.
Every locker door was open, and books all over the floor. There was only one locker door that remained firmly closed, and that was Sora's.
"Don'tcha love technology," said one of the boys who had helped right the lockers, and slapped Sora on the back, "it's gonna be so great dealing with whoever's books these are!"
"Good luck, Sora," said the other boy.
"Sorry, Sora," said Sam, and bent to start shovelling books back into lockers.
"Are you sure those go into that locker?" asked Sora, "people are going to freak out if they find their books missing. I think you should just leave them where they are."
"With pleasure," he said, "now do you still need help getting your locker open, my fair lady?"
"Yeah," said Sora, "but I'm not letting you help me in a million years!"
"There's a knack," said a short boy with dark hair, stepping up to them, "your locker looks like it might be like me - stubborn. What you gotta do is pry something in the crack and twist the handle as you open it."
Sora looked relieved as he demonstrated, and her locker finally flipped open.
"I don't think I'll dare to shut this locker again!" she said, wiping her forehead dramatically, "thanks a lot for your help!"
"Happy to do it," said the other boy, "I'm Tekuza, nice to meet you."
"Sure," said Sora, a little surprised, "I'm Sora."
"That's a nice name," said Tekuza, "well, I gotta get to class."
"Okay, I'll see you around," said Sora, "and thanks again for the help!"
"No problem!"
Sora smiled to herself as the small figure disappeared down the corridor. She felt really pleased at how nice people were being to her that day. Sam waved goodbye and slapped her on the back, before heading off to one of his own classes. Sora realised she had a class too, and started neatly placing books into her locker. She soon felt that there were people standing right behind her.
"I'm sorry, do you have one of these lockers?" asked Sora, stepping away, "I didn't mean to get in your way."
Three girls stood there, their short skirts clearly telling what sort of kids they were.
"You're just a big flirt, aren't you."
"Pretending to be such a tomboy, that's so unfeminine, you won't have a chance with anyone."
"Yeah, do you have ANY female friends at all?"
"A couple..." said Sora nervously, "Mimi Tachikawa and Kari Kamiya... Biyomon..."
"Biyomon? What sort of name is that?"
"The name of my best friend, that's who," said Sora, defensively.
"Wow, you don't have to get, like, all uptight about it. I bet she's like an imaginary friend or something."
"She'd so have to be, wouldn't she!"
"She is NOT," snapped Sora, feeling herself get irritated as she rarely did, "don't insult my friends."
"Hi Sora," came a voice, and Tai appeared behind her, slinging an arm over her shoulders, "it's not like you to be late to class. Me, on the other hand - man, it's a hectic day! We're both in biology together, aren't we?"
"Yeah," said Sora, the tension defusing out of her with her friend's casual touch, "yeah, let's go, Tai."
"You up for some soccer practise after school?"
"Love to," she said, ignoring the sniggers behind her.
Mimi was busy with her own friends, and she decided she wasn't going to feel bad about being friends with guys. Maybe when Biyomon came, it would prove that she was a girl too...
~~Matt~~
Matt was enjoying his first day as a senior. At first it had seemed strange and kind of superficial to be back in the real world, talking about music and sports and new students, when he'd just come from a continuous battle to save the Earth. But at the same time, it was relaxing.
He usually hung out in the popular circles, and spent a lot of time as the lone wolf, but nobody ever picked on him for it because he just didn't seem to care. Everyone knew that Matt was cool. But everyone noticed that this year, he was less preoccupied with petty things, more serious, yet more interested in the people around him.
"Yo, Matt!"
Matt grinned as he saw one of his old best friends run up to him.
"Hey, man. Jake, haven't seen you in a while."
"Yeah, where you been all summer, huh?"
"I been around. How's things going with Mikako?"
"Crash and burn, dude. Don't even ask!"
"Don't tell me Mr Lady's Man is girlfriendless at the moment?!"
"Hey Matt, it's purely temporary! You know I've got way too many girls to choose from, that's the problem."
"Sure, sure. I believe you. Thousands wouldn't."
"Well, I do have my sights set on a verrry sweet specimen in grade 5. I'm sure she's hot for me, man."
"Yeah? What is this chick?"
"Mimi Tachikawa, she's a babe."
Matt made a choking sound.
"You know her?"
"Yeah... yeah, I know her pretty well."
"Hey man, cool! You'll give me an introduction then, right? That's what friends are for, huh?"
"Wow, Jake, sounds like you're kinda desperate. I thought you said she was hot for you?"
"Yeah, well of course she is, but it doesn't hurt for her to know my name as well as feast her eyes on me."
"Sure, man, I hear you. I'll give you an intro some time."
Matt grinned to himself, wondering how Mimi would react. He realised, with surprise, that he really couldn't guess. Having been with her so long, he knew her real personality more than most people, yet he still didn't know how she would act in this situation, especially when she was back to using her real-world mask. You could know people without knowing them at all.
In the end, there was really only one person he really understood, and that was the one who was like an extension of himself. Gabumon.
*
Matt was walking to the bus stop, kicking a small stone in front of him, concentrating on it. It was really the first time he had been alone all day, and it was kind of a relief. He found it kind of unreal the contrast between that day and the days in the previous week. More superficial, perhaps, yet more real. He was glad to feel like a person again.
As he continued walking, he picked up the sound of people cheering, which became louder the further he went. He suddenly stopped watching the stone and looked around for the source. He soon reached it - the middle school, where a crowd had gathered around some brawl. He rolled his eyes and grinned. To think that only a few months ago he would have been in the middle of that sort of thing, cheering along or duking it out.
Feeling tentative - being only an elementary schooler - Matt ventured into the gates to get a closer look, and his eyes widened. He recognised his old friends.
"Hey, Matt," shouted Tome, from where he had Joe in a death grip, "good to see ya!"
"Yeah, we're just teaching this loser a good lesson!" said Roshi, delivering a punch that would have sent Joe flying if he weren't being held up. Instead, his body jerked back. His glasses lay smashed on the ground, and several spidering trails of blood ran down one cheek, a reddening bruise forming over the other.
"Wanna join us? We know how much you love a good fight!"
Matt stared, frozen. The group of kids around was silent, sensing some tension, waiting to see if this newcomer was going to live up to his reputation. And it was a matter of reputation.
Joe flashed him a brief look. It wasn't a pleading or an angry look, although it was pained. It was the expression that said "don't worry about me, do what you have to do, I understand".
Matt remembered seeing it when Joe saved TK's life, letting himself get caught and tortured outside Veggiemon's diner.
"Hey guys, nice to see you again," he said coolly, "Joe, you coming? We don't wanna miss the bus."
Joe finally spoke, thickly, "I... Jae... what would Gomamon say."
Matt stared in amazement, finally noticing the other boy lying on the ground, and glanced back at Joe. I can't belive Joe would do that, he thought. There's just no way.
"You can tell him yourself in a coupla weeks, man," said Matt, "c'mon, let's get out of here."
Matt put one hand on Joe's back. Tome and Ken dropped his arms in bewilderment. Everyone stared in silence as Matt led Joe away, like a child.
Joe and Matt did not actually catch the same bus, but nobody had to know that. Joe himself seemed barely aware of it, he limped along in a daze. Matt thought that if he didn't have one hand on his friend's back that he would probably just crumple up altogether.
"So, man, what happened?" asked Matt awkwardly, as they reached the bus stop. Nobody else was there; Matt could tell he had missed his bus. It didn't really matter.
"Nothing..." mumbled Joe, "nothing at all."
"Hey, don't say that," snapped Matt, "you're acting like you're gonna have a nervous breakdown and you say it's nothing. Did you really crush Jae's face in like that?"
"..."
"Why?"
"They were picking on me again," muttered Joe, guiltily, "and they started the fight, for no reason at all, and I just fought back for once. I'm sick of them."
"Yeah, you're probably right," said Matt reassuringly, "I know those guys, they're like that."
"You were like that," said Joe quietly, "why'd you change?"
"The crest of friendship, I guess. The digital world sure put things into perspective."
"Yeah..."
"What's the problem, Joe? You gave some jerk what he deserved. You should feel proud!"
"Yeah... right."
"Your no-fighting policy, right?"
"Something like that."
"But you fought in the digital world, Joe."
"This is completely different."
"No it isn't, not really. You had to fight to defend yourself there, it's the same deal here. Sure, the fate of the world's not at stake but you don't wanna be miserable all through middle school, do you. I bet Gomamon would understand - he was always saying, stick up for yourself. C'mon, man, he'll be alright. And now the kids know not to mess with you. You didn't break down at all out there. Never picked you for a fighter, dude."
Joe grinned a little at that.
"Neither did I."
The two friends sat for a while, staring at the traffic passing them.
"How well can you see without your glasses?" asked Matt presently.
"Well, I can't tell if that's a telephone pole or a street sign. Does that answer your question?"
"Joe, that's a traffic light."
"Oh."
There was a pause, and then the two started laughing.