chapter 4
My flight comes in at 6:56 p.m. on Saturday. I haven't figured out what the time difference is or if I'm going to get jetlag, I sure hope not. Hikari and Takeru are going to pick me up at the airport. I don't know if you're going, but if you don't I hope to see you later this week. It's weird to think that we've known each other for a few years now, but that we still haven't had a face 2 face conversation. Anyway, it'll be great living in the same city. Hopefully we can hook up and work on some stuff together soon, once my computer is shipped out. See ya!
Wallace
Wow, I can't believe he's coming today. Another Digidestined,
right here in Odabia. That's just…weird. It's like it was meant
to be or something…like it was destiny…
"Miyako, are you reading my e-mail?" Koushiro asked from across the room.
"Oh…uh…of course not. Why would I be doing that?" Miyako replied, quickly closing the window and returning to her programming. How did he know? "So, um…Wallace is coming today huh? I just can't wait for him to get here, it'll be so great having all the Digidestined together at last." She remembered that one of her best friends, Mimi Tachikawa, was now living in America with Michael, another Digidestined. However, Koushiro was too involved in his work to notice her obvious oversight.
They had been redesigning their school's web page since 10:00 that morning. Despite their mutual love for computers, it was not exactly what either of them wanted to be doing that morning. Still, Miyako relished this chance to spend some time with him. He had remained closer to her, Daisuke and Iori than any of the older Digidestined did, but it was a rare occasion that she ever got to be alone with him.
"It's getting close to noon," Koushiro said. "Do you want to go out and get something?"
Koushiro could have said just about anything at that moment, but that suggestion was more than she ever could have asked for.
"Oh…sure…I mean yes!" she enthusiastically replied. "Let's go, we can come back to this later! You know what they say, all work and no play makes…" What am I saying? Just calm down Miya, you don't want to sound that desperate!
"Prodigious. I just have to save this and then we can go. So what should we get? Ice cream? Coffee? There's a great new sushi bar by Palette Town but it might be a long walk."
Perfect, she thought. A nice, long walk with Koushiro. What could be better? Actually…
"Actually Koushiro, I'm not that hungry. Would you want to go down to the boardwalk and have some tea?" She could picture the two of them walking along the sunny beach, the wind blowing her hair, his hand…yeah, I wish…
"That sounds great! Let's go." He finally pried himself from the computer (like a baby letting go of its bottle, something he rarely did voluntarily) and followed Miyako out the door. They walked down the hall, its walls lined with lockers that during passing periods made the school sound like a percussion ensemble, opening, closing, slamming shut. Neither of them were sure if they had ever heard their own footsteps in the building before. Now they clearly echoed down the deserted halls as they reached the front door and stepped out into the sun.
It was considerably warmer than it had been earlier that morning when they arrived at school, so the two friends left their jackets behind. Koushiro was wearing a black T-shirt and some khaki shorts, a much more casual outfit than Miyako usually saw him in. This isn't so bad, she thought. I wouldn't mind doing this every Saturday.
Odabia was a beautiful city. Even though it was part of Tokyo, Miyako had always felt like it was a different city altogether. Aside from their school, the many shops and restaurants that lined the streets and were inside the mall, the apartment complexes and the television station, Odabia was full of trees, flowers and lots of open space. She saw the rest of Tokyo as a crowded place full of sun-blocking skyscrapers and noisy trains, nothing at all like Odabia.
"This job would be considerably easier if Wallace was with us," Koushiro sighed. "In fact I'm sure that he'll join the computer club once he settles in at school. He's a total wiz with HTML. Have I ever showed you his web page? It's prodigious!"
Twice in one day, wow! Koushiro hadn't said "prodigious" in months. "You two have known each other for a while, huh?"
"Well, we met online a couple of years ago and we've been corresponding ever since," he admitted. "I never knew that he was a Digidestined until after you came back from America and told me."
"Yeah, you should have seen the look on his face when we told him about the other Digidestined and mentioned your name. I've never seen anyone so shocked before-I wish you could have been there!" Miyako laughed. It's funny how things work out. They walked a bit more before Koushiro spoke up.
"Do you ever think that it's more than a coincidence? Like we were all destined to eventually come together? I mean, I know that Mimi isn't around anymore, but aside from her we'll all be in one place. Think about it, the odds of us finding each other were a million-to-one to begin with, but the probability of his family moving here is simply astronomical!"
It did seem odd to her. It had since she first met him, but without a logical explanation she simply left up it up to luck, up to fate.
"Maybe he was meant to come here so he could join us. You know, be the seventh Digidestined!" She wasn't even sure if that was possible…but it has to be! There's no other way to explain it.
"I don't know about that Miyako. He might be a Digidestined, but that doesn't mean that he's part of our group. Remember, we all lived at Heighten View Terrace, he didn't. At least, he never actually told me that he did…" Koushiro trailed off, pondering the possibility.
That's what I love about him. He's so deep. I wonder what he's thinking about now… To her, Koushiro was the smartest person she knew. She saw him a deep thinker. Even when he wasn't on his computer he was constantly trying to figure out problems and getting lost in his thoughts.
Of course Koushiro made sure to take his laptop with him, strapped to his back as usual. That was just one of the many little things that Miyako liked about him. He's got so many little quirks. He wasn't her only crush, but he was her first. Since then, she'd become obsessed with Ken, obsessed to the point that she would sit in school and lay in bed unable to think of anyone else. He had almost erased any of her affection for the boy by her side now. She remembered how devastated she felt when she finally found out the truth about him. Almost a year later, she knew that she had never completely forgiven him for his actions, even if he had changed. Sometimes she had trouble looking him in the eyes, knowing what he did to those helpless Digimon. I guess that's why I don't have the crest of forgiveness, she thought.
Not that they tried, but boys had a habit of betraying her. Not only did Ken shatter her perfect image of him when she found out that he was the Digimon Kaiser, but even boys on her side ended up disappointing her. When Mimi brought Michael to the digital world, she immediately developed a crush on him. It wasn't long after that when Mimi told her that they were more than "just friends", and that neither of them would be returning to Japan any time soon.
About the only boy that ever showed her any affection was Iori, but he was out of the question. Besides the fact that he was just too young, she just couldn't picture herself getting serious with the same boy she used to play with as a young girl. He enjoyed playing computer games, a hobby that she immersed herself in constantly as a young girl, so they became fast friends. Over time though, he became more like a younger brother than a friend, and she became quite protective of him.
Every day after school he would regularly drop by her family's store for some snacks and then go to her family's apartment. Both of her parents worked and her siblings had lessons after school, so most of the time he was her only company. She often walked with him to the kendo studio where his grandfather was the head instructor. The old man was very charming, always polite to her and always trying to get her to try kendo. Although she always wanted to, her parents had strictly forbidden it. However, she always watched the lessons, wishing that she could join.
Finally, after many months of vicarious learning, Iori's grandfather approached her after class. "Ah, Miss Inoue. Iori told me that you are ready for your first lesson."
"No, Mr. Hida. I am not even allowed to even set foot inside the dojo. My will parents would not allow it."
"On the contrary, Iori just asked them," Iori's grandfather said with a smile. "They told him that as long as I am your teacher, you may take lessons from me, free of charge."
"Thank you Mr. Hida. When shall I return? Tomorrow afternoon?"
"No, no, no, no. Since you are such a good friend to Iori, I will give you a private lesson now." He walked back to his office and returned with a uniform. "You can change in here. When you are done, come into the dojo and you will begin your training."
He led her to a doorway next to his office. Expecting to walk into a large locker room, Miyako was surprised to find an empty room with nothing but a large mirror on the wall. She dutifully changed and walked into the dojo, bowing as she had watched everyone do as they entered and exited the room. Mr. Hido was not there, so she began stretching on her own. A few minutes later he returned with a video camera and a tripod.
"Iori? Iori come here. Set this up, now." He handed the tripod to his grandson, who had an excited look on his face.
"What's with the video camera Mr. Hida?" Miyako asked.
"I always record my students' first lessons, so that they will never forget what it felt like to be a beginner. It helps mold them into better teachers."
"But you never recorded my first lesson…" Iori protested.
"Just set it up, and don't go anywhere, I'll need you in a minute." He was being much more insistent than he usually was. In fact, he almost seemed like he was nervous about something. As Iori began setting up the camera, Mr. Hido began instructing her on the basic principles of kendo. "For our first lessons though, we will not be using the shinai. First, you will learn balance, so we will work on some footwork."
Boring, thought Miyako. When do we start fencing?
"Iori, is the camera ready?" His grandfather shouted from the other side of the room, frantically closing the blinds. It's probably for the camera, Miyako thought. Too much light would mess up the exposure.
"Yes grandpa."
"Excellent. Now, start recording." Mr. Hida yelled across the room. He dutifully hit record, and a little red light lit up just above the lens. Miyako was always camera-shy, but this was an exciting occasion. She smiled and waited for her cue. "Now Miyako, I want you to take a forward stance and throw punches until I tell you to stop."
"Yes sir." She replied. Punches were not a part of kendo, but the class often practiced unarmed fighting techniques. She had actually practiced many herself while watching from outside the dojo, so she knew well enough what to do. This seems weird, but I better listen to him. She began punching in the air for what seemed to be several minutes, not even paying attention to the camera, Iori, or Mr. Hida. Where is he anyway? She looked up at the mirror and saw him behind her. He was pouring something into a rag. Is he cleaning the dojo now?
"Pay no attention to me! Return to your exercise!" He shouted. He had never been so forceful before. Miyako quickly looked back at the camera.
"Yes Mr. Hi..." She felt something covering her mouth, and the last thing she remembered before blacking out was the delightful expression on Iori's face.
It was something she had never told anyone.
"Miyako…are you okay?" Koushiro asked her. At that moment
she snapped back to reality, but could not respond to him. One word
kept running through her mind. No...no... She didn't
notice Koushiro's hand brushing her arm as she turned away from him and
walked to a patch of grass along the pedway. A sick feeling came
over her whole body, and she slumped to the ground sobbing. No...
...end of chapter 4
