DISCLAIMER: I do not own Digimon or any of its characters. I just like to torture them. Please don't sue.
Authoress's Notes: I was trying to write something else and was coming up with zilch. Then this flitted across my mind as a flashback for the other, but I think this by itself will be more fun. I go by how old they *look* in 01, that's why the ages are messed up from what they say on the first episode of the Japanese. Don't flame me for that, please, I warned you in advance. Also, since Kari is like, what, three? on the first movie, I think it's safe to say that six months have passed since the Highton Views thing, and no one is still living there. (Please do not ask unless you have *seen* the 01 ep "Return to Highton View Terrace", or the Digimon movie.)
BTW, I have a DigiQuote encyclopedia started! It's under Misc.Lists, because if you put it under Digimon, they'll boot it. Please check it out and just, like, leave a one-word review, or an emoticon, or just one letter so I know you read it.
Five years before soccer camp...
Ten-year-old Sora Takenouchi juggled a soccer ball on her knees. She smiled. The champion girl's team was playing the champion boy's team. It wasn't arranged by the schools or anything, just a friendly match that the two teams had set up in the park. Sora didn't really care about that. She just cared that it meant her team was finally playing Taichi Kamiya's team. In fact, it wasn't even that. She just liked being around her best friend.
At least, her best friend that was a guy. Mimi Tachikawa, who had been her best friend since kindergarten despite their contrasting characters, was there, sitting on the front row of bleachers, ready to cheer her on. Sora giggled. It was hard to believe that Mimi was almost six months older than her. Until, of course, you took into consideration the fact that Mimi was already into guys. She had her latest crush beside her today.
Jyou Kido looked a little scared. Mimi was clinging to his arm, trying to make conversation. Sora laughed again. The poor guy was too old for Mimi--twelve--and wasn't really wasn't into girls. Rarely did one see him around school without his nose in a book. That, his glasses, and his preppy way of dress did not help his reputation as a geek. ~Give him time,~ Sora thought. But, despite all this, Mimi had taken a shine to him.
"Oh, Joe!" Mimi squealed, laughing. "You're so funny!" Her pink cowgirl hat, several sizes too big, fell off her head and onto her back. Long, straight, light-brown hair tumbled down.
A short, dark-eyed, auburn-haired kid waked up to Jyou and sat beside him. "Joe! Look what Mom and Dad gave me!" He opened up a yellow laptop, and Joe started looking over his shoulder, dark brown eyes filling with envy. Mimi started pouting, but didn't say a word.
A hand tapped Sora's shoulder, and she spun around with a squeak. "Oh! Tai!"
Taichi rolled his eyes. "Who else would it be?" His goggles were hanging around his neck, and he took the opportunity to put them on around his forehead, pushing his chocolate-brown mop of hair up and out of his face.
She smiled. "What'dja want?"
"Nothin'. Just wanted to say hi. You got anyone cheering for you?"
"Yeah--that's Mimi." Sora pointed out her friend.
Taichi nodded. "So that's what she looks like. You know, you never shut up about her."
Sora blushed, but it didn't mean she couldn't retaliate. "Well, *she* says I never shut up about *you*. Anyway, who's cheering for you?"
Tai scanned the crowd. "There he is!" he said, pointing to the far end of the bleachers. "That's my best friend Matt. There! With my sister Kari and his little brother."
Sora nodded, spotting a guy around their age with two small kids, one of which she recognized as Taichi's four-year-old sister.
"Say, Sora, who do you think is going to win today?"
Sora tilted her head, indignantly placing her hand on her hip. "Us girls, of course!"
"Wanna bet?" Taichi smirked.
"You're on! Waitaminit--what're the stakes?"
"Let's each keep our prize secret. Makes it more interesting that way."
"Okay. Just, it can't involve the rest of the team. That wouldn't be fair, it's not their bet."
"Okay," Taichi nodded. "Makes sense. Start thinking about what you want." He gave her short, coppery hair a mischievous tug. He was smart and took off quickly.
"Hey!" Sora cried as he ran off. ~I *know* what I want. If we win, I'm going to kiss you!~
Taichi ran over to his friend to make sure his sister was okay. "Hey, Matt, you okay over here?"
A blue-eyed boy raked thick blond hair out of his face. "Yamato Ishida has got it under control. And I think my brother and your sister are getting along."
Taichi looked at the two small children, playing in the grass in front of Yamato. His sister was laughing at the little boy's antics. He seemed to be trying to do a somersault, but he wasn't doing it too well.
"Yeah, well, don't let 'em run off. Mom will kill me if anything happens to Kari."
"And *I'll* kill me if anything happens to T.K.. Quit worrying, Tai."
Taichi nodded.
Hikari put a hand on Takeru's shoulder. "I'll do it," she said. She tried to do a somersault, but she, too, wobbled and fell over halfway through.
Takeru laughed. "We need more practice, Kari," he said.
She didn't get up, but continued laying on her back, looking up at the sky. Suddenly, she pointed up. "Hey, T.K., that cloud is like a kitty-cat!"
Takeru turned and looked up. "Hey! It is!" He sat on the grass beside her and they chit-chatted about the things they saw.
Yamato kept his eyes carefully on his little brother, but his mind was elsewhere. His parents had sat him down a week before and told him that they were getting a divorce. They'd already started filing the papers. That was no surprise, they'd been fighting for months--since the terrorist bombing at Highton View Terrace, Mr. Ishida had developed a drinking problem. What had shocked Yamato into this new state of near silence and sarcasm was the fact that they planned to split up him and Takeru, and there wasn't a single thing he could do about it. Their mom was taking Takeru, and Yamato was going with their dad.
It killed Yamato to think of being apart from his little brother. Four years ago, he'd been opposed to the idea of no longer being an only child, but after Takeru had been born, he'd warmed up to him pretty quickly, and now, at eleven, Yamato could hardly remember life without him.
Takeru laughed at something Hikari said, and Hikari girlishly covered her mouth with her hands, trying to hide a smile. Takeru turned to Yamato. "Hey, Matt, Kari told me a joke. You want to hear it?"
Yamato picked up his little brother and sat him on his knee. "Sure, Squirt. Tell me."
Takeru smiled. "A man goes to a doctor with a strawberry growing out of his head."
"Yeah...?" Yamato raised an eyebrow.
Hikari giggled as Takeru took a deep breath for the punch line. "And the doctor told him, 'Don't worry, I'll give you some cream to put on it!'"
Yamato chuckled, making Takeru glow with pride. He'd made his big brother laugh. Yamato ruffled his hair. "Good one, Squirt."
A whistle sounded shrilly, announcing the start of the soccer match.
Miyako Inoue dropped her book again. "Cody, you can't just run off like that!" The seven-year-old pulled the two-year-old boy back onto the picnic blanket.
Small Iori whimpered. "Bu'fly..."
Miyako blinked through large, round glasses. "Butterfly?" She glanced up, and saw that there was, in fact, a monarch fluttering away toward the nearby field where some soccer game was going on. She smiled. "Cody, listen. Sit on the blankie and watch the butterflies."
"Bank-ee?" the child mimicked.
"Yes. Blankie." She sat Iori down beside her so she'd know immediately if he moved, and checked on the other occupant of the blanket. Daisuke was asleep. Miyako rolled her eyes.
He was the one who had heard Mrs. Hida complain about wanting some quiet time, and offered to bring baby Iori to the park. She remembered what he had told Mrs. Hida. "Well, I'm five, and Yolei is seven. That means together we're twelve!" It wasn't a hard job. Iori wasn't a tiny baby--he was big enough to walk and talk, and was out of diapers. He was good at keeping himself entertained, and if they needed anything, the apartment building where they all lived was right across the street. She could see the window of her room right from where she sat, and the Hida family was just a few doors down--which was probably the main reason Mrs. Hida had entrusted her child to them for just an hour.
Miyako liked Iori. He was a kawaii little kid, and she liked kawaii-ness in general. And Iori's dad--the one who had nicknamed him Cody--was a police officer. Knowing a police officer made a person feel safe.
But, still, it was the principle of the thing. The idea was that Daisuke would watch Iori, and Miyako would just be there, reading, in case Daisuke wasn't sure what to do. She hadn't even finished the first chapter, and Daisuke was sawing logs.
After a few minutes, she realized that Iori was sitting still. A few more minutes, and she heard a second snore accompanying Daisuke. Iori was asleep.
She smiled. At least he'd be easier to watch that way...
In another part of the park, two other brothers were playing.
"Hey, Sam, watch this!"
A dark-haired boy of about ten watched a smaller boy kick a soccer ball across a field.
"Good, Ken. Now, go, run, and kick it back to me."
"'Kay!"
The smaller boy did as he was told, and accidentally hit the older boy in the stomach, making him fall over.
Osamu Ichijouji fell, but not too hard. "Oww..."
The smaller boy, who looked so much like Osamu had at that age they could've been twins, quickly ran and offered a hand. "I'm sorry, Sam..."
Osamu shook his head. "I can get it, Ken. I'm okay."
Seven-year-old Ken blinked. "I'm sorry," he repeated.
"Don't worry about it," Osamu said, coldly.
Ken frowned. He'd done it again. He'd upset Osamu, and now Osamu would be irritable for the rest of the day. He tried to think of a way out. He remembered what usually calmed Osamu down. "Hey, Sam, can we go home and blow bubbles?"
Osamu blinked, and adjusted his glasses. "Well...okay. I guess." He retrieved his soccer ball, and slung his free arm over his little brother's shoulders. "You oughta practice that kick. If you can keep that up, you might get on a champion team when you're a little bit older."
Ken looked up. "Just like you?"
Osamu smiled. "Yeah. Like me."
Ken practically beamed. Maybe Osamu wouldn't be upset, after all. He was quiet the rest of the way home. He watched what they passed. Three kids on a picnic blanket, a soccer game in progress. "Hey, Sam?"
"Yeah?"
"You're the best."
An hour later, it was over. Taichi's team had won. Sora was a little disappointed, as well as her teammates, but they took it like the good sports they were. She was a little upset that she wouldn't get to kiss Taichi, though.
She came up to him the first chance she got. "So...do you know what you want?"
Taichi blinked. "Huh?...Oh, yeah. Come over here." He took her wrist and pulled her back behind the bleachers.
Her eyebrows knotted in confusion. "Wha...?"
"Now, stand still."
Sora wasn't sure what to think, but she obeyed anyway.
Taichi smiled. He put his hand under her chin and lifted her face up so he could see into her eyes. He started to lean in close, but then someone yelled.
"Tai!"
Taichi pulled away from Sora and whirled around. "Yeah, Matt?" Tai cried, blushing furiously.
Yamato stood, carrying Takeru on one arms and holding Hikari's hand with the other. "My dad offered to drive us to a pizza place. Anyone who can fit in the van and pay for their lunch is welcome to come."
"Just a second!" Taichi called. He turned back to Sora. "If you want to come, I'll walk you home."
She nodded. "Yeah, I'll come...have the van wait, and I'll see if Mimi and her friends want to come."
"Okay...it's the plain beige van with the TV station logo on the side."
"Right." Sora ran back around the bleachers and found Mimi, Jyou, and the kid with the laptop. "Hey, Mimi, we have a ride to a pizza place if you can afford lunch. Joe and...and...and his friend can come, too."
Mimi squealed. "Great! Hey, Joe? Computer guy?"
Jyou nodded, and turned to the shorter kid, who also nodded. The four of them followed Sora to the van.
Mr. Ishida was in the driver's seat. "Okay, I need to know everyone's names and who'll need a ride back from the pizza place."
Of course he knew Yamato, Takeru, and Tai, and he had met Hikari on the way in.
"I'm Takenouchi Sora. I'm a friend of Tai's. I won't need a ride."
"I'm with her! I'm Mimi!" Mimi said happily. "And this is Joe! And we'll walk, too."
Mr. Ishida glanced at the auburn-haired boy. He had re-opened his laptop and was fiddling with it. "Hey, kid..."
The auburn head jerked up. "I apologize for not being more attentive. I am Izumi Koushiro. I live nearby, as well."
Mr. Ishida nodded and drove off.
At the pizza place, the kids laughed and chattered like they'd been friends for years. Some of them had--just, not all in one group before.
Mr. Ishida was at the head of the table. Jyou was to his right, then Koushiro, then Takeru, then Hikari at the foot of the table, then Yamato across from his brother, then Taichi, Sora, and finally, Mimi was across from her crush.
Takeru reached for another slice of pizza and bumped Koushiro's arm, making him typo. "Oops, sorry, Kou--Kou--"
"Koushiro," the auburn-haired boy replied.
"I can't say that!" Takeru said.
"I can't even *remember* that for very long," Hikari chimed in. "You need a nickname."
"But not Kou, or 'Shiro, or anything like that," Mimi piped up. "That would be so dorky."
Sora looked up. "Yeah. What'd you say your family name was?"
Jyou reminded them for him. "Izumi." He and the nine-year-old computer genius lived in the same building, and they'd been casual friends for quite a while. Fellow smart people tend to bond with one another.
Yamato was the first one to think of it. "Why not Izzy?"
Koushiro blinked. "Hey! I like that! It's--it's--" he scrambled for a nice, long word. "Prodigious!"
Takeru smiled. "Izzy. I can say that!"
Finally, the little party broke up. Koushiro--now dubbed "Izzy"--went off in his direction, Yamato and Takeru climbed into the van, Mimi grabbed onto Jyou's arm and dragged him towards her house, since he was "walking her home". Taichi took Hikari's hand and, with Sora on his other side, headed for home.
Sora and Taichi made casual conversation, but neither one dared to mention what had almost happened behind the bleachers, especially not in front of Hikari. Sora walked up to the Kamiya's apartment with Taichi, and stood in the entryway waiting to see how things would play out.
Taichi dropped his gym bag on the floor of the room he and Hikari shared, and yelled to his mom, "Hey, Mom, Kari's home! I'm going to walk Sora home and I'll be back in about thirty minutes!"
"Okay," Mrs. Kamiya said, coming into the front hall and picking up Hikari.
As they went down the stairs, Sora corrected him. "You won't take that long. It only takes ten minutes to get to my house, and that's counting the stairs!"
"So, I'll be back in plenty of time," Tai said. "It's a lot easier than being late. Hey, let me carry your bag."
Sora handed over the bag, smiling at her friend's antics. Or, maybe soon, more than friend.
They walked up the stairs to her floor, but before they could walk to the door of her apartment, he stopped her with a gentle tug on her sleeve. They were at the top of a flight of the stairs, which wrapped around and around at one end of the building, like hotel stairs. They were bricked in on three sides, making the landing dark.
Taichi set down her bag. "Hey...my prize."
Sora grinned. She knew what to expect this time, and she was glad he hadn't decided to just abandon it. "Well...come get it." She crossed her arms.
He put a hand on each of her arms, pulled her closer, and leaned his face down. His lips pressed against hers, and she pressed back, just a little. She uncrossed her arms and put her hands on his shoulders, her arms laying on his chest. Her mouth was open slightly, in shock, just like his, and she could feel his breath on her tongue. New, amazing, and more than a little scary. Was she doing it right? Were her hands in the "right" place? Was it supposed to feel like that?
After a few seconds, he pulled back. "I...I like you, Sora. I...I hope I don't have to win a soccer match every time I want to do that--if you ever let me do it again."
She blushed, and looked down. "I...I...I liked that...and, I love you, Tai. I was going to have the same prize..."
Taichi's eyes widened with the implications of that. "I...I love you too...uh...see ya!" He ran down the steps.
Sora smiled, and touched her fingers to her lips. She stood for a few minutes, looking around the edge of the brick wall at the setting sun. Then, suddenly, she squealed. "I have to call Mimi!"
A/N: Wow. Amazing how interesting utter pointlessness can be! I'm going to do another one for the 02 kids that takes place right after the time the 01 group defeated Apocalymon. I'll do the opposite of this one, I'll focus on the 02 kids and slip in a few words about the 01 kids. I'll post it as another chapter to this.
Authoress's Notes: I was trying to write something else and was coming up with zilch. Then this flitted across my mind as a flashback for the other, but I think this by itself will be more fun. I go by how old they *look* in 01, that's why the ages are messed up from what they say on the first episode of the Japanese. Don't flame me for that, please, I warned you in advance. Also, since Kari is like, what, three? on the first movie, I think it's safe to say that six months have passed since the Highton Views thing, and no one is still living there. (Please do not ask unless you have *seen* the 01 ep "Return to Highton View Terrace", or the Digimon movie.)
BTW, I have a DigiQuote encyclopedia started! It's under Misc.Lists, because if you put it under Digimon, they'll boot it. Please check it out and just, like, leave a one-word review, or an emoticon, or just one letter so I know you read it.
Five years before soccer camp...
Ten-year-old Sora Takenouchi juggled a soccer ball on her knees. She smiled. The champion girl's team was playing the champion boy's team. It wasn't arranged by the schools or anything, just a friendly match that the two teams had set up in the park. Sora didn't really care about that. She just cared that it meant her team was finally playing Taichi Kamiya's team. In fact, it wasn't even that. She just liked being around her best friend.
At least, her best friend that was a guy. Mimi Tachikawa, who had been her best friend since kindergarten despite their contrasting characters, was there, sitting on the front row of bleachers, ready to cheer her on. Sora giggled. It was hard to believe that Mimi was almost six months older than her. Until, of course, you took into consideration the fact that Mimi was already into guys. She had her latest crush beside her today.
Jyou Kido looked a little scared. Mimi was clinging to his arm, trying to make conversation. Sora laughed again. The poor guy was too old for Mimi--twelve--and wasn't really wasn't into girls. Rarely did one see him around school without his nose in a book. That, his glasses, and his preppy way of dress did not help his reputation as a geek. ~Give him time,~ Sora thought. But, despite all this, Mimi had taken a shine to him.
"Oh, Joe!" Mimi squealed, laughing. "You're so funny!" Her pink cowgirl hat, several sizes too big, fell off her head and onto her back. Long, straight, light-brown hair tumbled down.
A short, dark-eyed, auburn-haired kid waked up to Jyou and sat beside him. "Joe! Look what Mom and Dad gave me!" He opened up a yellow laptop, and Joe started looking over his shoulder, dark brown eyes filling with envy. Mimi started pouting, but didn't say a word.
A hand tapped Sora's shoulder, and she spun around with a squeak. "Oh! Tai!"
Taichi rolled his eyes. "Who else would it be?" His goggles were hanging around his neck, and he took the opportunity to put them on around his forehead, pushing his chocolate-brown mop of hair up and out of his face.
She smiled. "What'dja want?"
"Nothin'. Just wanted to say hi. You got anyone cheering for you?"
"Yeah--that's Mimi." Sora pointed out her friend.
Taichi nodded. "So that's what she looks like. You know, you never shut up about her."
Sora blushed, but it didn't mean she couldn't retaliate. "Well, *she* says I never shut up about *you*. Anyway, who's cheering for you?"
Tai scanned the crowd. "There he is!" he said, pointing to the far end of the bleachers. "That's my best friend Matt. There! With my sister Kari and his little brother."
Sora nodded, spotting a guy around their age with two small kids, one of which she recognized as Taichi's four-year-old sister.
"Say, Sora, who do you think is going to win today?"
Sora tilted her head, indignantly placing her hand on her hip. "Us girls, of course!"
"Wanna bet?" Taichi smirked.
"You're on! Waitaminit--what're the stakes?"
"Let's each keep our prize secret. Makes it more interesting that way."
"Okay. Just, it can't involve the rest of the team. That wouldn't be fair, it's not their bet."
"Okay," Taichi nodded. "Makes sense. Start thinking about what you want." He gave her short, coppery hair a mischievous tug. He was smart and took off quickly.
"Hey!" Sora cried as he ran off. ~I *know* what I want. If we win, I'm going to kiss you!~
Taichi ran over to his friend to make sure his sister was okay. "Hey, Matt, you okay over here?"
A blue-eyed boy raked thick blond hair out of his face. "Yamato Ishida has got it under control. And I think my brother and your sister are getting along."
Taichi looked at the two small children, playing in the grass in front of Yamato. His sister was laughing at the little boy's antics. He seemed to be trying to do a somersault, but he wasn't doing it too well.
"Yeah, well, don't let 'em run off. Mom will kill me if anything happens to Kari."
"And *I'll* kill me if anything happens to T.K.. Quit worrying, Tai."
Taichi nodded.
Hikari put a hand on Takeru's shoulder. "I'll do it," she said. She tried to do a somersault, but she, too, wobbled and fell over halfway through.
Takeru laughed. "We need more practice, Kari," he said.
She didn't get up, but continued laying on her back, looking up at the sky. Suddenly, she pointed up. "Hey, T.K., that cloud is like a kitty-cat!"
Takeru turned and looked up. "Hey! It is!" He sat on the grass beside her and they chit-chatted about the things they saw.
Yamato kept his eyes carefully on his little brother, but his mind was elsewhere. His parents had sat him down a week before and told him that they were getting a divorce. They'd already started filing the papers. That was no surprise, they'd been fighting for months--since the terrorist bombing at Highton View Terrace, Mr. Ishida had developed a drinking problem. What had shocked Yamato into this new state of near silence and sarcasm was the fact that they planned to split up him and Takeru, and there wasn't a single thing he could do about it. Their mom was taking Takeru, and Yamato was going with their dad.
It killed Yamato to think of being apart from his little brother. Four years ago, he'd been opposed to the idea of no longer being an only child, but after Takeru had been born, he'd warmed up to him pretty quickly, and now, at eleven, Yamato could hardly remember life without him.
Takeru laughed at something Hikari said, and Hikari girlishly covered her mouth with her hands, trying to hide a smile. Takeru turned to Yamato. "Hey, Matt, Kari told me a joke. You want to hear it?"
Yamato picked up his little brother and sat him on his knee. "Sure, Squirt. Tell me."
Takeru smiled. "A man goes to a doctor with a strawberry growing out of his head."
"Yeah...?" Yamato raised an eyebrow.
Hikari giggled as Takeru took a deep breath for the punch line. "And the doctor told him, 'Don't worry, I'll give you some cream to put on it!'"
Yamato chuckled, making Takeru glow with pride. He'd made his big brother laugh. Yamato ruffled his hair. "Good one, Squirt."
A whistle sounded shrilly, announcing the start of the soccer match.
Miyako Inoue dropped her book again. "Cody, you can't just run off like that!" The seven-year-old pulled the two-year-old boy back onto the picnic blanket.
Small Iori whimpered. "Bu'fly..."
Miyako blinked through large, round glasses. "Butterfly?" She glanced up, and saw that there was, in fact, a monarch fluttering away toward the nearby field where some soccer game was going on. She smiled. "Cody, listen. Sit on the blankie and watch the butterflies."
"Bank-ee?" the child mimicked.
"Yes. Blankie." She sat Iori down beside her so she'd know immediately if he moved, and checked on the other occupant of the blanket. Daisuke was asleep. Miyako rolled her eyes.
He was the one who had heard Mrs. Hida complain about wanting some quiet time, and offered to bring baby Iori to the park. She remembered what he had told Mrs. Hida. "Well, I'm five, and Yolei is seven. That means together we're twelve!" It wasn't a hard job. Iori wasn't a tiny baby--he was big enough to walk and talk, and was out of diapers. He was good at keeping himself entertained, and if they needed anything, the apartment building where they all lived was right across the street. She could see the window of her room right from where she sat, and the Hida family was just a few doors down--which was probably the main reason Mrs. Hida had entrusted her child to them for just an hour.
Miyako liked Iori. He was a kawaii little kid, and she liked kawaii-ness in general. And Iori's dad--the one who had nicknamed him Cody--was a police officer. Knowing a police officer made a person feel safe.
But, still, it was the principle of the thing. The idea was that Daisuke would watch Iori, and Miyako would just be there, reading, in case Daisuke wasn't sure what to do. She hadn't even finished the first chapter, and Daisuke was sawing logs.
After a few minutes, she realized that Iori was sitting still. A few more minutes, and she heard a second snore accompanying Daisuke. Iori was asleep.
She smiled. At least he'd be easier to watch that way...
In another part of the park, two other brothers were playing.
"Hey, Sam, watch this!"
A dark-haired boy of about ten watched a smaller boy kick a soccer ball across a field.
"Good, Ken. Now, go, run, and kick it back to me."
"'Kay!"
The smaller boy did as he was told, and accidentally hit the older boy in the stomach, making him fall over.
Osamu Ichijouji fell, but not too hard. "Oww..."
The smaller boy, who looked so much like Osamu had at that age they could've been twins, quickly ran and offered a hand. "I'm sorry, Sam..."
Osamu shook his head. "I can get it, Ken. I'm okay."
Seven-year-old Ken blinked. "I'm sorry," he repeated.
"Don't worry about it," Osamu said, coldly.
Ken frowned. He'd done it again. He'd upset Osamu, and now Osamu would be irritable for the rest of the day. He tried to think of a way out. He remembered what usually calmed Osamu down. "Hey, Sam, can we go home and blow bubbles?"
Osamu blinked, and adjusted his glasses. "Well...okay. I guess." He retrieved his soccer ball, and slung his free arm over his little brother's shoulders. "You oughta practice that kick. If you can keep that up, you might get on a champion team when you're a little bit older."
Ken looked up. "Just like you?"
Osamu smiled. "Yeah. Like me."
Ken practically beamed. Maybe Osamu wouldn't be upset, after all. He was quiet the rest of the way home. He watched what they passed. Three kids on a picnic blanket, a soccer game in progress. "Hey, Sam?"
"Yeah?"
"You're the best."
An hour later, it was over. Taichi's team had won. Sora was a little disappointed, as well as her teammates, but they took it like the good sports they were. She was a little upset that she wouldn't get to kiss Taichi, though.
She came up to him the first chance she got. "So...do you know what you want?"
Taichi blinked. "Huh?...Oh, yeah. Come over here." He took her wrist and pulled her back behind the bleachers.
Her eyebrows knotted in confusion. "Wha...?"
"Now, stand still."
Sora wasn't sure what to think, but she obeyed anyway.
Taichi smiled. He put his hand under her chin and lifted her face up so he could see into her eyes. He started to lean in close, but then someone yelled.
"Tai!"
Taichi pulled away from Sora and whirled around. "Yeah, Matt?" Tai cried, blushing furiously.
Yamato stood, carrying Takeru on one arms and holding Hikari's hand with the other. "My dad offered to drive us to a pizza place. Anyone who can fit in the van and pay for their lunch is welcome to come."
"Just a second!" Taichi called. He turned back to Sora. "If you want to come, I'll walk you home."
She nodded. "Yeah, I'll come...have the van wait, and I'll see if Mimi and her friends want to come."
"Okay...it's the plain beige van with the TV station logo on the side."
"Right." Sora ran back around the bleachers and found Mimi, Jyou, and the kid with the laptop. "Hey, Mimi, we have a ride to a pizza place if you can afford lunch. Joe and...and...and his friend can come, too."
Mimi squealed. "Great! Hey, Joe? Computer guy?"
Jyou nodded, and turned to the shorter kid, who also nodded. The four of them followed Sora to the van.
Mr. Ishida was in the driver's seat. "Okay, I need to know everyone's names and who'll need a ride back from the pizza place."
Of course he knew Yamato, Takeru, and Tai, and he had met Hikari on the way in.
"I'm Takenouchi Sora. I'm a friend of Tai's. I won't need a ride."
"I'm with her! I'm Mimi!" Mimi said happily. "And this is Joe! And we'll walk, too."
Mr. Ishida glanced at the auburn-haired boy. He had re-opened his laptop and was fiddling with it. "Hey, kid..."
The auburn head jerked up. "I apologize for not being more attentive. I am Izumi Koushiro. I live nearby, as well."
Mr. Ishida nodded and drove off.
At the pizza place, the kids laughed and chattered like they'd been friends for years. Some of them had--just, not all in one group before.
Mr. Ishida was at the head of the table. Jyou was to his right, then Koushiro, then Takeru, then Hikari at the foot of the table, then Yamato across from his brother, then Taichi, Sora, and finally, Mimi was across from her crush.
Takeru reached for another slice of pizza and bumped Koushiro's arm, making him typo. "Oops, sorry, Kou--Kou--"
"Koushiro," the auburn-haired boy replied.
"I can't say that!" Takeru said.
"I can't even *remember* that for very long," Hikari chimed in. "You need a nickname."
"But not Kou, or 'Shiro, or anything like that," Mimi piped up. "That would be so dorky."
Sora looked up. "Yeah. What'd you say your family name was?"
Jyou reminded them for him. "Izumi." He and the nine-year-old computer genius lived in the same building, and they'd been casual friends for quite a while. Fellow smart people tend to bond with one another.
Yamato was the first one to think of it. "Why not Izzy?"
Koushiro blinked. "Hey! I like that! It's--it's--" he scrambled for a nice, long word. "Prodigious!"
Takeru smiled. "Izzy. I can say that!"
Finally, the little party broke up. Koushiro--now dubbed "Izzy"--went off in his direction, Yamato and Takeru climbed into the van, Mimi grabbed onto Jyou's arm and dragged him towards her house, since he was "walking her home". Taichi took Hikari's hand and, with Sora on his other side, headed for home.
Sora and Taichi made casual conversation, but neither one dared to mention what had almost happened behind the bleachers, especially not in front of Hikari. Sora walked up to the Kamiya's apartment with Taichi, and stood in the entryway waiting to see how things would play out.
Taichi dropped his gym bag on the floor of the room he and Hikari shared, and yelled to his mom, "Hey, Mom, Kari's home! I'm going to walk Sora home and I'll be back in about thirty minutes!"
"Okay," Mrs. Kamiya said, coming into the front hall and picking up Hikari.
As they went down the stairs, Sora corrected him. "You won't take that long. It only takes ten minutes to get to my house, and that's counting the stairs!"
"So, I'll be back in plenty of time," Tai said. "It's a lot easier than being late. Hey, let me carry your bag."
Sora handed over the bag, smiling at her friend's antics. Or, maybe soon, more than friend.
They walked up the stairs to her floor, but before they could walk to the door of her apartment, he stopped her with a gentle tug on her sleeve. They were at the top of a flight of the stairs, which wrapped around and around at one end of the building, like hotel stairs. They were bricked in on three sides, making the landing dark.
Taichi set down her bag. "Hey...my prize."
Sora grinned. She knew what to expect this time, and she was glad he hadn't decided to just abandon it. "Well...come get it." She crossed her arms.
He put a hand on each of her arms, pulled her closer, and leaned his face down. His lips pressed against hers, and she pressed back, just a little. She uncrossed her arms and put her hands on his shoulders, her arms laying on his chest. Her mouth was open slightly, in shock, just like his, and she could feel his breath on her tongue. New, amazing, and more than a little scary. Was she doing it right? Were her hands in the "right" place? Was it supposed to feel like that?
After a few seconds, he pulled back. "I...I like you, Sora. I...I hope I don't have to win a soccer match every time I want to do that--if you ever let me do it again."
She blushed, and looked down. "I...I...I liked that...and, I love you, Tai. I was going to have the same prize..."
Taichi's eyes widened with the implications of that. "I...I love you too...uh...see ya!" He ran down the steps.
Sora smiled, and touched her fingers to her lips. She stood for a few minutes, looking around the edge of the brick wall at the setting sun. Then, suddenly, she squealed. "I have to call Mimi!"
A/N: Wow. Amazing how interesting utter pointlessness can be! I'm going to do another one for the 02 kids that takes place right after the time the 01 group defeated Apocalymon. I'll do the opposite of this one, I'll focus on the 02 kids and slip in a few words about the 01 kids. I'll post it as another chapter to this.