Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
Searching
Kacey gasped as Izzy's hand tightened on her shoulder. Did Mizuhara just say Gennai was…their father?
Gennai whipped around to look at Youshiro again. A hand connected with Youshiro's cheek. "You asshole! You knew they were hiding there!" Gennai screamed, his clenched hands shaking in rage.
Youshiro steadied himself on his feet, holding his cheek. "So what? It's a week from their eighteenth. Its about time they knew."
"They weren't supposed to know until after their eighteenth birthday," Gennai growled at him.
"I'm sick of lying Gennai," Youshiro barked, jabbing himself in the chest. "Its time to take care of your responsibility."
"Youshiro, I came here to talk to you. To YOU! I was going to offer you an explanation. But I can't now." He let out a frustrated sigh. "Goodbye Youshiro." In a flash he was gone. "Goodbye Koushiro, Cassandra. I'm sorry you were caught in our mess." With that he turned and walked from the clearing.
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Izzy forced open his eyes as a groan escaped from his lips. The room he was lying in was dark and his eyes wouldn't focus. There was a weight on his chest, making breathing harder, but he ignored it. He and Kacey had been in the Digital World and it was bright there. This place was dark and there were most certainly inside. He blinked a few times to get his eyes to clear.
Now he was staring up at the ceiling of what he recognized to be Kacey's apartment. Kacey was lying on top of him. And he top was soaked through with a dark red substance. Blood.
"Kacey!" He pushed her unconscious body off him as he attempted to get up. Had she bee shot? A sharp pain ripping through his arm answered his question. No, he had. It was his blood soaked into her shirt.
Kacey sat up, looking groggy. "Izzy, what happened?" She asked, her voice sounding weak.
"I…don't know." He moved his hand over his arm, trying to hide the blood trailing down it. Suddenly he wasn't feeling so good. "We're at your apartment."
She stood up. "Connor! Victor!" She called. She turned around and froze. Izzy followed her eyes to see Youshiro unconscious on the couch. "I guess it's just us three. I better call Victor's cell and find out where they are."
"Right," Izzy replied, his voice wavering.
She glanced back at him. "Izzy, what's wrong?"
"N-nothing," he insisted, steadying his voice. "Go call Victor."
She crouched down beside him. "Lemme see your arm. You wouldn't be hiding it like that if it were nothing." When he refused she grabbed his hand. "Hold still!" She pulled his hand away from his arm and her eyes widened. "Holy shit," she whispered.
He gritted his teeth. "Its fine. Don't worry about it."
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, tough guy." She stood up and pulled him onto unsteady feet. Lose of blood made him unbalanced. She wrapped his arm around her shoulders and they staggered to the bathroom. She let him collapse on the toilet. "Hold up your arms." He did, grimacing in pain. She hefted his blood soaked over his head and arms and tossed it into the tub with a splat. Blood trailed down the drain. Soaking a cloth in water, she gently wiped his arm clean to reveal a graze across his upper arm. "Its not too deep. Don't worry, you'll live." She reached under the sink and pulled a first aide kit out.
"Your good at this," Izzy commented as she pulled some gauze from the box.
"I've had experience," she replied, covering the wound in gauze. "Victor used to run with a gang. He was constantly getting into trouble." She wrapped his arm with a soft white bandage. "I've treated him with three gun shots. All so he wouldn't go to jail." She laughed. "This is no problem." She tugged at the knot of the bandages. "Done," she replied, satisfied.
He moved his arm and forced down the pain that ripped through it. "Thanks. It feels a lot better."
She rolled her eyes. "Don't lie, I know it still hurts like hell. The bandages are just to stop it from bleeding." She was laughing at him now. "I'll get you some pain killers and a shirt." Out front there was a knock at the front door. "I'll get that first."
"Kac," Izzy called.
"Yeah?"
"You may want to change your shirt too," he gestured to her blood soaked shirt. She nodded and stripped off her tee shirt, tossing it into the bathtub with his shirt. He automatically looked away, a blush creeping over the bridge of his nose and through his cheeks.
She walked out of the bathroom and into the living room. The person outside her door knocked again. "Just a second," she called as she stopped at the laundry basket by the end of the couch and pulled a pull tank top over her head. She opened the door to reveal a white haired and wrinkled older woman standing there, looking at her with soft worried gray eyes. "Hi, Mrs. Demagio, how can I help you?" She smiled as the scent of lilies, the woman's perfume, rose to her nose.
Mrs. Wendy Demagio was her next-door neighbor. The sweet sixty-some woman was a wonderful help to Kacey constantly. "Is everything all right here?" The woman asked, her voice soft and frail. "I thought I heard a gun shot."
Kacey swallowed hard and forced a pained laugh. "No, it was the TV. I had it up way too loud."
The wrinkled woman nodded in understanding. "Why are your hands red, dearie?"
Kacey glanced down at her hands. They were red from Izzy's blood. "Kool Aide!" She replied quickly.
"Kool Aide?"
Kacey nodded. "I was making Kool Aide for Connor. And when that gun shot on TV went off I jumped and knocked over the container. I've been cleaning it up."
"Well do you need any help?" She offered.
"NO!" Kacey snapped. "No, thank you. I'm almost done."
"Alright, well, I'll let you get back to cleaning." She started to leave and Kacey breathed a sigh of relief. She really hated lying to this woman. Then she stopped and Kacey tensed again. "Did you and Victor break up?"
"No, what would make you think that?" Kacey laughed nervously.
"Well, him."
Kacey looked over her shoulder. Izzy was standing at the far end of the living room with no shirt on, watching them. An embarrassed blush covered her cheeks. "No, that's my brother. He's visiting from Japan."
"Nice to meet you," Mrs. Demagio called to him. "Well, I'll talk to you later, Kacey dear. Oh here." She pulled out a folded twenty-dollar bill from the pocket of her apron and pressed it into Kacey's hand. "I know your birthday is coming up and-"
"Oh, Mrs. Demagio, I can't accept this," Kacey replied as she tried to hand it back.
"Yes, yes you can. Have a good day Kacey." With that the woman turned and left.
Kacey closed the door and unfolded the bill. A second fell to the floor. "She gave me forty dollars," she said dumbfounded. She sighed, "Now I have to figure out how to give it back." Izzy coughed and she looked up at him. "Oh, I'll get you a shirt." She disappeared down the hall into her room.
Izzy looked around awkwardly and focused on Youshiro Mizuahara. Who was this man?
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He wasn't sure where he was, but he was sure it was the real or Digital World.
"Youshiro."
He whipped around at his name, but only saw white. There was no one there. He closed his eyes.
"Youshiro."
'Leave me alone.'
"'Shrio."
He opened his eyes and wished he hadn't. Before him stood a tall woman, dark red hair and olive colored skin. Her small red lips held a small smile as her hands rested, folded together against the front of her blue kimono.
"Cassandra," he breathed out.
"Hi 'Shiro." Her voice was small and her gray eyes were soft. "We need to speak."
"I'd rather not," he replied honestly. "Why are you here? You're supposed to be dead."
"And I am." She stepped towards him. "You know what this is about, 'Shiro. You know why I've come here to talk to you."
"So what if I do?" he snapped stepping away.
"Youshiro, I'm sorry. I will tell you this a hundred times over and I can't feel it any more then I do and you won't believe me still. What do you want of me?" She begged. "I love you. Do you remember when you said that and meant it? The day I died. Do you remember what else you told me? Do you remember your promise?"
"What does a promise matter?" He retorted back angrily. "Gennai made a promise to me and he broke that!"
"Gennai made a promise he shouldn't have. He has no control over who the DigiDestined are. What he did was wrong. He just wanted to do what was right."
"Pawning off his kids onto me isn't right!" He screamed.
She looked away. "We're sorry," she whispered. "'Shiro, I don't know what to say anymore. Koushiro and Cassandra were a mistake, but I can't and I wouldn't want to reverse it."
"Cassandra I promised to look after them, but I couldn't. I didn't want them and I didn't need the responsibility."
"Why won't you listen?" She demanded. "That's all Gennai wanted. He just wanted to explain to you why you got 'stuck' with our kids."
"Because he's a dead beat."
"He has responsibilities."
"He's scum!" Her hand slapped him across the face and he just stood there. Then, "You hit pretty hard for a dream waking ghost."
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Kacey held the phone to her ear and continued to talk to Connor as Izzy switched on the television. After a short phone search they had found out that their friends had been transported to Izzy's hotel. Izzy and Kacey decided it would be best for them to stay there while they spoke with Mizuhara. Everyone, but them, would be safe that way.
"Connor, I'll come get you later, okay?" She cooed to her sobbing three-year-old son. "I know you want to come home, but I've got some stuff to do." Izzy listen to her over the sound of the television. "I'll see you later, okay… Love you." She clicked the cordless phone off and sighed. "He's been throwing a fit since we disappeared."
"Poor kid," Izzy replied from where he sat in an overstuffed red chair.
She walked over to him. "Scoot over." He shifted over and she plopped down beside him, half in his lap. "So what are you going to do now?"
"Huh?"
"Well, I kinda got you figured out. Ulterior motive and stuff. Now that you've told me that I'm a DigiDestined and practically destroyed my family life, what are you going to do? Go back to Japan?"
Izzy let out a nervous laugh. "I seriously never meant for any of this to happen. But you figured me out. This was all about the DigiDestined. I didn't even want to come out here, but Gennai said I had to."
"Why didn't you want to?" She asked sounding disappointed.
"I dunno. Somethings are better left unsaid. When I originally found out I was adopted I hated my parents. I felt betrayed and refused to acknowledge them into my life. When I finally fixed my relationship, I just didn't want to know about my real parents. I felt that if I asked it would be like I was betraying them."
"That's logical," she nodded.
"But I guess it wasn't betraying them. Actually, come to think of I, my anger was justified. They did lie to me."
"About being your parents?"
"No, about what happened to my parents." His hand traced circular patterns into the arm of the chair. "They said my parents died in a car accident."
Kacey didn't say anything at first. Then, "I'm going to try and put this into perspective for you." He gestured for her to go on. "Put yourself in their shoes. You have a son whose mother died giving birth to him and his sister. Even more the father of said son abandon him for America, taking his sister with him. How do you explain that?"
"Good question," he replied. "Kacey, I'm sorry about everything that happened. This thing with your dad-"
She pressed two fingers to his lips. "Its cool. Don't be sorry for any of this."
He opened his mouth to say something else, but the sight of Mizuhara shifting on the couch stopped him. He sat up, his chin rested on his chest and his eyes closed tight. "Dad?" He waved her off.
Izzy got up. "Mr. Mizuhara? Are you alright?"
"What are you still doing here?" His voice sounded strain and his face contorted in pain.
Izzy's blood boiled. "I'm not leaving."
"Good. I owe you and your sister an explanation." He rubbed his temples. "Cassandra, get me something to drink."
"Yes sir." She hurried off to the kitchen.
He pushed himself around so his feet were on the floor. "Sit down, Koushiro," Youshiro Mizuhara ordered. Izzy sat down on the chair as Kacey came back into the room carrying a tall glass of water. He took the glass and thirstily drank the entire thing. "Sit down Cassandra." She sat down beside Izzy again. "I assume you realize what Gennai and I were speaking about in the Digital World."
"Gennai's our father?" Izzy answered.
"Yep."
Izzy let out a loud breath. "Why? How?"
"A year after your mother and I got married, she cheated on me. With Gennai. And she got pregnant."
"Then why convince us you're our dad?"
"Shortly before you were born Gennai disappeared. I thought he was being a dead beat, but he wasn't. And your mom knew. So your mother and I planned on settling down together with you two. But then when you were born she died. Before she died she made me promise to take care of you and not give you up, despite having every intention to. I agreed." He looked up at the ceiling. "Gennai visited me at the hospital that night. He wanted to talk to me about you two because he didn't know about the promise I made to your mother. So he begged me to take care of you too. I agreed on one condition."
"We'd never become DigiDestined," Izzy speculated.
"Bingo," Youshiro nodded. "But you did and I gave you up. I was angry and the pain from losing my wife and being cheated on by my best friend was still there. I couldn't have you there as a reminder. I'm sorry Koushiro for what pain I may have caused you."
"Why couldn't Gennai stay with us?" Kacey asked.
"It has something to do with being a guardian to the Digital World. I'm not sure."
"So you'd be…"
"More or less your step father." They sat in silence before Youshiro stood up abruptly. "Excuse me." He disappeared onto the balcony.
Izzy glanced at Kacey. 'We're the result of an affair gone wrong,' he thought in disgust. 'Youshiro didn't do anything wrong. Besides trying to shoot me. But everything else…was Gennai.'
Kacey stared after Youshiro, a worried expression etched on her face. "I'll be back in a couple of minutes." She got up and Izzy watched her walk outside.
She closed the sliding glass door and walked out into the cool night air. From the street below cars honked and ambulance sirens wailed. It was foggy out so the streetlights looked faded. But the apartment was above the fog and the stars above shown brightly like glittering diamonds.
And Mizuhara leaned against the railing sobbing.
She had never seen him like this. He never showed emotion, he was always as hard as a rock. He could strike fear into who he pleased. He never opened up like this. And it scared her more then if he were threatening her.
"Dad?" She spoke up. "Sir?"
"Drop the sir," he muttered.
"Dad, are you okay?" She asked, her voice small and quiet. One hand gripped the railing as her black eyes stared at him in concern and worry.
"Why are you still calling me that?" He snapped. "I'm not your father."
Her anger peaked up. "So?!" She demanded. "Neither is Gennai! He didn't raise me! Well, technically you didn't, but that's beside the point. You're my dad because you were my first memory. You took care of me when I was little. You were there." She glanced away. "Sort of."
"But I gave you up."
"Yeah, you did and I fucking hate you for that!" He gave her a warning look. "I hate you more then anything for giving me up and I'm scared to death of you because of all your threats. But your still who I remember as my dad. And you did take care of me before you gave me away. You may not think you are, but I do. And you can't convince me otherwise."
"Cassie." She froze, he never called her that. "Everything I did, I was trying to do what was right. I wasn't equipped to raise you."
"Well, you did it all wrong. But you can fix it now. Let me keep Connor and let me be with my brother."
He turned and he threw his arms around her in a hug, catching her off guard. She froze, not sure what he was doing, but he didn't notice and hugged her harder. "I miss your mother so much."
She patted his back stiffly. "Its okay, dad."
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Izzy swallowed hard as he watched the pair through the window. All of a sudden he wanted nothing more then to be in Japan with his real parents, the Izumi's.
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"Happy birthday!" Kacey and Izzy grinned identical grins as they walked into the nightclub where Kacey worked. All their friends were gathered there for a surprise party for the pair. Connor jumped down from Victor's arms and ran over to the two.
"'Appy Biwftay!" He yelled as he held out a folded piece of blue construction paper with green and purple scribbling on it. "It's a cawd."
She picked him up. "Thank you!" Victor and Mac approached her with cocky grins on their faces. "Did you plan this?"
"Daddy did!" Conner cheered. "And Mac! And Tai! And Matt! And Sowa!"
Izzy hugged Sora. "Thank you!"
"I had to get you back for my party," she smiled.
"I was wondering why it said closed out front," Kacey commented.
"Yeah, I'm losing a ton of business, but its for you," Mac joked, kissing her cheek. "Happy birthday, babe."
"IZZY!"
Izzy fell to the floor as a huge weight fell on top of him. He looked up to see Kari, Yolie, and Mimi on top of him. "Wha-what are you guys doing here?"
Kari and Mimi got up, leaving Yolie clutching tightly to Izzy. "Hey!" Sora yelled in unison with Davis as he, TK, Ken, Cody, and Joe came up behind her.
Matt helped him up. "Well, we figured we couldn't let you spend your birthday with out all of us. So Gennai flew them out," he answered as he wrapped his arm around Izzy's shoulders and gave him a noogie.
"Izzy, where's your sister?" Mimi cried.
Izzy glanced over his shoulder to see Kacey being overwhelmed by all her friends. "Kac." She looked up. "Come here." She walked over, with Conner in her arms and Victor following her. They stopped beside Izzy. "Kacey, these are my friends and DigiDestined Mimi, Joe, Yolie, Davis, Cody, Ken, Tai's sister Kari, and Matt's brother TK. Guys, this is my sister Kacey, her son Connor, and her boyfriend Victor."
A series of 'nice to meet you's and other greetings circulated between them.
"Oh your son is so cute!" Yolie squealed.
"Thank you," Kacey replied.
"I'm not cute!" Connor crossed his arms indignantly. "I'm a tewow." Ohhs and awws rang out from the group.
**~~~**An hour or so into the party**~~~**
Izzy followed Victor up onto the stage where Kacey's band (minus Kacey) was playing the music for the party. The band instantly quieted as the guys grabbed two mics. "Everyone look up here," Izzy announced. Everyone turned and looked at them.
"Alright, thank you," Victor spoke up. "First I want to thank all of you for coming out and to all of those who we had to pay to come, which I think is all of you, you will be receiving that payment in small unmarked bills." The crowd laughed. "But seriously my good friend, Izzy the birthday boy and I have an announcement and a question to make."
"So, here goes nothing." Izzy and Victor glanced at each other before looking at the crowd. "Sora."
"Kacey."
"Will you marry me?"
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Gennai stood at the back of the club watching the party, a sad smile on his face. Kacey and Izzy were going to be alright.
And I'm done! This story is over! Okay, I dunno about the end, but I thought it was good!
Okay, now for some explanations because people have asked me stuff.
Gennai, Youshiro and Cassandra (Izzy and Kacey's mom) were best friends when they were younger. They had a Tai/Matt/Sora friendship. Gennai and Cassandra were original DigiDestined.
Connor is NOT Victor's son. If you really want to know who Connor's dad is....lets say, he's a (as of age now) 21 year old rock star from Tennesse.
I realize in a perivous chapter Victor called Kacey his fiance, that was not a mistake. I was going to make it so he proposed to her that chapter, but I changed it. Victor is an ex-gang banger who is now interning in a lawfirm.
I think that's it as far as explanations. If I missed something lemme know. Thank you for reading this! Please review!
BoarderKC
Brittany
Searching
Kacey gasped as Izzy's hand tightened on her shoulder. Did Mizuhara just say Gennai was…their father?
Gennai whipped around to look at Youshiro again. A hand connected with Youshiro's cheek. "You asshole! You knew they were hiding there!" Gennai screamed, his clenched hands shaking in rage.
Youshiro steadied himself on his feet, holding his cheek. "So what? It's a week from their eighteenth. Its about time they knew."
"They weren't supposed to know until after their eighteenth birthday," Gennai growled at him.
"I'm sick of lying Gennai," Youshiro barked, jabbing himself in the chest. "Its time to take care of your responsibility."
"Youshiro, I came here to talk to you. To YOU! I was going to offer you an explanation. But I can't now." He let out a frustrated sigh. "Goodbye Youshiro." In a flash he was gone. "Goodbye Koushiro, Cassandra. I'm sorry you were caught in our mess." With that he turned and walked from the clearing.
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Izzy forced open his eyes as a groan escaped from his lips. The room he was lying in was dark and his eyes wouldn't focus. There was a weight on his chest, making breathing harder, but he ignored it. He and Kacey had been in the Digital World and it was bright there. This place was dark and there were most certainly inside. He blinked a few times to get his eyes to clear.
Now he was staring up at the ceiling of what he recognized to be Kacey's apartment. Kacey was lying on top of him. And he top was soaked through with a dark red substance. Blood.
"Kacey!" He pushed her unconscious body off him as he attempted to get up. Had she bee shot? A sharp pain ripping through his arm answered his question. No, he had. It was his blood soaked into her shirt.
Kacey sat up, looking groggy. "Izzy, what happened?" She asked, her voice sounding weak.
"I…don't know." He moved his hand over his arm, trying to hide the blood trailing down it. Suddenly he wasn't feeling so good. "We're at your apartment."
She stood up. "Connor! Victor!" She called. She turned around and froze. Izzy followed her eyes to see Youshiro unconscious on the couch. "I guess it's just us three. I better call Victor's cell and find out where they are."
"Right," Izzy replied, his voice wavering.
She glanced back at him. "Izzy, what's wrong?"
"N-nothing," he insisted, steadying his voice. "Go call Victor."
She crouched down beside him. "Lemme see your arm. You wouldn't be hiding it like that if it were nothing." When he refused she grabbed his hand. "Hold still!" She pulled his hand away from his arm and her eyes widened. "Holy shit," she whispered.
He gritted his teeth. "Its fine. Don't worry about it."
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, tough guy." She stood up and pulled him onto unsteady feet. Lose of blood made him unbalanced. She wrapped his arm around her shoulders and they staggered to the bathroom. She let him collapse on the toilet. "Hold up your arms." He did, grimacing in pain. She hefted his blood soaked over his head and arms and tossed it into the tub with a splat. Blood trailed down the drain. Soaking a cloth in water, she gently wiped his arm clean to reveal a graze across his upper arm. "Its not too deep. Don't worry, you'll live." She reached under the sink and pulled a first aide kit out.
"Your good at this," Izzy commented as she pulled some gauze from the box.
"I've had experience," she replied, covering the wound in gauze. "Victor used to run with a gang. He was constantly getting into trouble." She wrapped his arm with a soft white bandage. "I've treated him with three gun shots. All so he wouldn't go to jail." She laughed. "This is no problem." She tugged at the knot of the bandages. "Done," she replied, satisfied.
He moved his arm and forced down the pain that ripped through it. "Thanks. It feels a lot better."
She rolled her eyes. "Don't lie, I know it still hurts like hell. The bandages are just to stop it from bleeding." She was laughing at him now. "I'll get you some pain killers and a shirt." Out front there was a knock at the front door. "I'll get that first."
"Kac," Izzy called.
"Yeah?"
"You may want to change your shirt too," he gestured to her blood soaked shirt. She nodded and stripped off her tee shirt, tossing it into the bathtub with his shirt. He automatically looked away, a blush creeping over the bridge of his nose and through his cheeks.
She walked out of the bathroom and into the living room. The person outside her door knocked again. "Just a second," she called as she stopped at the laundry basket by the end of the couch and pulled a pull tank top over her head. She opened the door to reveal a white haired and wrinkled older woman standing there, looking at her with soft worried gray eyes. "Hi, Mrs. Demagio, how can I help you?" She smiled as the scent of lilies, the woman's perfume, rose to her nose.
Mrs. Wendy Demagio was her next-door neighbor. The sweet sixty-some woman was a wonderful help to Kacey constantly. "Is everything all right here?" The woman asked, her voice soft and frail. "I thought I heard a gun shot."
Kacey swallowed hard and forced a pained laugh. "No, it was the TV. I had it up way too loud."
The wrinkled woman nodded in understanding. "Why are your hands red, dearie?"
Kacey glanced down at her hands. They were red from Izzy's blood. "Kool Aide!" She replied quickly.
"Kool Aide?"
Kacey nodded. "I was making Kool Aide for Connor. And when that gun shot on TV went off I jumped and knocked over the container. I've been cleaning it up."
"Well do you need any help?" She offered.
"NO!" Kacey snapped. "No, thank you. I'm almost done."
"Alright, well, I'll let you get back to cleaning." She started to leave and Kacey breathed a sigh of relief. She really hated lying to this woman. Then she stopped and Kacey tensed again. "Did you and Victor break up?"
"No, what would make you think that?" Kacey laughed nervously.
"Well, him."
Kacey looked over her shoulder. Izzy was standing at the far end of the living room with no shirt on, watching them. An embarrassed blush covered her cheeks. "No, that's my brother. He's visiting from Japan."
"Nice to meet you," Mrs. Demagio called to him. "Well, I'll talk to you later, Kacey dear. Oh here." She pulled out a folded twenty-dollar bill from the pocket of her apron and pressed it into Kacey's hand. "I know your birthday is coming up and-"
"Oh, Mrs. Demagio, I can't accept this," Kacey replied as she tried to hand it back.
"Yes, yes you can. Have a good day Kacey." With that the woman turned and left.
Kacey closed the door and unfolded the bill. A second fell to the floor. "She gave me forty dollars," she said dumbfounded. She sighed, "Now I have to figure out how to give it back." Izzy coughed and she looked up at him. "Oh, I'll get you a shirt." She disappeared down the hall into her room.
Izzy looked around awkwardly and focused on Youshiro Mizuahara. Who was this man?
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He wasn't sure where he was, but he was sure it was the real or Digital World.
"Youshiro."
He whipped around at his name, but only saw white. There was no one there. He closed his eyes.
"Youshiro."
'Leave me alone.'
"'Shrio."
He opened his eyes and wished he hadn't. Before him stood a tall woman, dark red hair and olive colored skin. Her small red lips held a small smile as her hands rested, folded together against the front of her blue kimono.
"Cassandra," he breathed out.
"Hi 'Shiro." Her voice was small and her gray eyes were soft. "We need to speak."
"I'd rather not," he replied honestly. "Why are you here? You're supposed to be dead."
"And I am." She stepped towards him. "You know what this is about, 'Shiro. You know why I've come here to talk to you."
"So what if I do?" he snapped stepping away.
"Youshiro, I'm sorry. I will tell you this a hundred times over and I can't feel it any more then I do and you won't believe me still. What do you want of me?" She begged. "I love you. Do you remember when you said that and meant it? The day I died. Do you remember what else you told me? Do you remember your promise?"
"What does a promise matter?" He retorted back angrily. "Gennai made a promise to me and he broke that!"
"Gennai made a promise he shouldn't have. He has no control over who the DigiDestined are. What he did was wrong. He just wanted to do what was right."
"Pawning off his kids onto me isn't right!" He screamed.
She looked away. "We're sorry," she whispered. "'Shiro, I don't know what to say anymore. Koushiro and Cassandra were a mistake, but I can't and I wouldn't want to reverse it."
"Cassandra I promised to look after them, but I couldn't. I didn't want them and I didn't need the responsibility."
"Why won't you listen?" She demanded. "That's all Gennai wanted. He just wanted to explain to you why you got 'stuck' with our kids."
"Because he's a dead beat."
"He has responsibilities."
"He's scum!" Her hand slapped him across the face and he just stood there. Then, "You hit pretty hard for a dream waking ghost."
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Kacey held the phone to her ear and continued to talk to Connor as Izzy switched on the television. After a short phone search they had found out that their friends had been transported to Izzy's hotel. Izzy and Kacey decided it would be best for them to stay there while they spoke with Mizuhara. Everyone, but them, would be safe that way.
"Connor, I'll come get you later, okay?" She cooed to her sobbing three-year-old son. "I know you want to come home, but I've got some stuff to do." Izzy listen to her over the sound of the television. "I'll see you later, okay… Love you." She clicked the cordless phone off and sighed. "He's been throwing a fit since we disappeared."
"Poor kid," Izzy replied from where he sat in an overstuffed red chair.
She walked over to him. "Scoot over." He shifted over and she plopped down beside him, half in his lap. "So what are you going to do now?"
"Huh?"
"Well, I kinda got you figured out. Ulterior motive and stuff. Now that you've told me that I'm a DigiDestined and practically destroyed my family life, what are you going to do? Go back to Japan?"
Izzy let out a nervous laugh. "I seriously never meant for any of this to happen. But you figured me out. This was all about the DigiDestined. I didn't even want to come out here, but Gennai said I had to."
"Why didn't you want to?" She asked sounding disappointed.
"I dunno. Somethings are better left unsaid. When I originally found out I was adopted I hated my parents. I felt betrayed and refused to acknowledge them into my life. When I finally fixed my relationship, I just didn't want to know about my real parents. I felt that if I asked it would be like I was betraying them."
"That's logical," she nodded.
"But I guess it wasn't betraying them. Actually, come to think of I, my anger was justified. They did lie to me."
"About being your parents?"
"No, about what happened to my parents." His hand traced circular patterns into the arm of the chair. "They said my parents died in a car accident."
Kacey didn't say anything at first. Then, "I'm going to try and put this into perspective for you." He gestured for her to go on. "Put yourself in their shoes. You have a son whose mother died giving birth to him and his sister. Even more the father of said son abandon him for America, taking his sister with him. How do you explain that?"
"Good question," he replied. "Kacey, I'm sorry about everything that happened. This thing with your dad-"
She pressed two fingers to his lips. "Its cool. Don't be sorry for any of this."
He opened his mouth to say something else, but the sight of Mizuhara shifting on the couch stopped him. He sat up, his chin rested on his chest and his eyes closed tight. "Dad?" He waved her off.
Izzy got up. "Mr. Mizuhara? Are you alright?"
"What are you still doing here?" His voice sounded strain and his face contorted in pain.
Izzy's blood boiled. "I'm not leaving."
"Good. I owe you and your sister an explanation." He rubbed his temples. "Cassandra, get me something to drink."
"Yes sir." She hurried off to the kitchen.
He pushed himself around so his feet were on the floor. "Sit down, Koushiro," Youshiro Mizuhara ordered. Izzy sat down on the chair as Kacey came back into the room carrying a tall glass of water. He took the glass and thirstily drank the entire thing. "Sit down Cassandra." She sat down beside Izzy again. "I assume you realize what Gennai and I were speaking about in the Digital World."
"Gennai's our father?" Izzy answered.
"Yep."
Izzy let out a loud breath. "Why? How?"
"A year after your mother and I got married, she cheated on me. With Gennai. And she got pregnant."
"Then why convince us you're our dad?"
"Shortly before you were born Gennai disappeared. I thought he was being a dead beat, but he wasn't. And your mom knew. So your mother and I planned on settling down together with you two. But then when you were born she died. Before she died she made me promise to take care of you and not give you up, despite having every intention to. I agreed." He looked up at the ceiling. "Gennai visited me at the hospital that night. He wanted to talk to me about you two because he didn't know about the promise I made to your mother. So he begged me to take care of you too. I agreed on one condition."
"We'd never become DigiDestined," Izzy speculated.
"Bingo," Youshiro nodded. "But you did and I gave you up. I was angry and the pain from losing my wife and being cheated on by my best friend was still there. I couldn't have you there as a reminder. I'm sorry Koushiro for what pain I may have caused you."
"Why couldn't Gennai stay with us?" Kacey asked.
"It has something to do with being a guardian to the Digital World. I'm not sure."
"So you'd be…"
"More or less your step father." They sat in silence before Youshiro stood up abruptly. "Excuse me." He disappeared onto the balcony.
Izzy glanced at Kacey. 'We're the result of an affair gone wrong,' he thought in disgust. 'Youshiro didn't do anything wrong. Besides trying to shoot me. But everything else…was Gennai.'
Kacey stared after Youshiro, a worried expression etched on her face. "I'll be back in a couple of minutes." She got up and Izzy watched her walk outside.
She closed the sliding glass door and walked out into the cool night air. From the street below cars honked and ambulance sirens wailed. It was foggy out so the streetlights looked faded. But the apartment was above the fog and the stars above shown brightly like glittering diamonds.
And Mizuhara leaned against the railing sobbing.
She had never seen him like this. He never showed emotion, he was always as hard as a rock. He could strike fear into who he pleased. He never opened up like this. And it scared her more then if he were threatening her.
"Dad?" She spoke up. "Sir?"
"Drop the sir," he muttered.
"Dad, are you okay?" She asked, her voice small and quiet. One hand gripped the railing as her black eyes stared at him in concern and worry.
"Why are you still calling me that?" He snapped. "I'm not your father."
Her anger peaked up. "So?!" She demanded. "Neither is Gennai! He didn't raise me! Well, technically you didn't, but that's beside the point. You're my dad because you were my first memory. You took care of me when I was little. You were there." She glanced away. "Sort of."
"But I gave you up."
"Yeah, you did and I fucking hate you for that!" He gave her a warning look. "I hate you more then anything for giving me up and I'm scared to death of you because of all your threats. But your still who I remember as my dad. And you did take care of me before you gave me away. You may not think you are, but I do. And you can't convince me otherwise."
"Cassie." She froze, he never called her that. "Everything I did, I was trying to do what was right. I wasn't equipped to raise you."
"Well, you did it all wrong. But you can fix it now. Let me keep Connor and let me be with my brother."
He turned and he threw his arms around her in a hug, catching her off guard. She froze, not sure what he was doing, but he didn't notice and hugged her harder. "I miss your mother so much."
She patted his back stiffly. "Its okay, dad."
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Izzy swallowed hard as he watched the pair through the window. All of a sudden he wanted nothing more then to be in Japan with his real parents, the Izumi's.
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"Happy birthday!" Kacey and Izzy grinned identical grins as they walked into the nightclub where Kacey worked. All their friends were gathered there for a surprise party for the pair. Connor jumped down from Victor's arms and ran over to the two.
"'Appy Biwftay!" He yelled as he held out a folded piece of blue construction paper with green and purple scribbling on it. "It's a cawd."
She picked him up. "Thank you!" Victor and Mac approached her with cocky grins on their faces. "Did you plan this?"
"Daddy did!" Conner cheered. "And Mac! And Tai! And Matt! And Sowa!"
Izzy hugged Sora. "Thank you!"
"I had to get you back for my party," she smiled.
"I was wondering why it said closed out front," Kacey commented.
"Yeah, I'm losing a ton of business, but its for you," Mac joked, kissing her cheek. "Happy birthday, babe."
"IZZY!"
Izzy fell to the floor as a huge weight fell on top of him. He looked up to see Kari, Yolie, and Mimi on top of him. "Wha-what are you guys doing here?"
Kari and Mimi got up, leaving Yolie clutching tightly to Izzy. "Hey!" Sora yelled in unison with Davis as he, TK, Ken, Cody, and Joe came up behind her.
Matt helped him up. "Well, we figured we couldn't let you spend your birthday with out all of us. So Gennai flew them out," he answered as he wrapped his arm around Izzy's shoulders and gave him a noogie.
"Izzy, where's your sister?" Mimi cried.
Izzy glanced over his shoulder to see Kacey being overwhelmed by all her friends. "Kac." She looked up. "Come here." She walked over, with Conner in her arms and Victor following her. They stopped beside Izzy. "Kacey, these are my friends and DigiDestined Mimi, Joe, Yolie, Davis, Cody, Ken, Tai's sister Kari, and Matt's brother TK. Guys, this is my sister Kacey, her son Connor, and her boyfriend Victor."
A series of 'nice to meet you's and other greetings circulated between them.
"Oh your son is so cute!" Yolie squealed.
"Thank you," Kacey replied.
"I'm not cute!" Connor crossed his arms indignantly. "I'm a tewow." Ohhs and awws rang out from the group.
**~~~**An hour or so into the party**~~~**
Izzy followed Victor up onto the stage where Kacey's band (minus Kacey) was playing the music for the party. The band instantly quieted as the guys grabbed two mics. "Everyone look up here," Izzy announced. Everyone turned and looked at them.
"Alright, thank you," Victor spoke up. "First I want to thank all of you for coming out and to all of those who we had to pay to come, which I think is all of you, you will be receiving that payment in small unmarked bills." The crowd laughed. "But seriously my good friend, Izzy the birthday boy and I have an announcement and a question to make."
"So, here goes nothing." Izzy and Victor glanced at each other before looking at the crowd. "Sora."
"Kacey."
"Will you marry me?"
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Gennai stood at the back of the club watching the party, a sad smile on his face. Kacey and Izzy were going to be alright.
And I'm done! This story is over! Okay, I dunno about the end, but I thought it was good!
Okay, now for some explanations because people have asked me stuff.
Gennai, Youshiro and Cassandra (Izzy and Kacey's mom) were best friends when they were younger. They had a Tai/Matt/Sora friendship. Gennai and Cassandra were original DigiDestined.
Connor is NOT Victor's son. If you really want to know who Connor's dad is....lets say, he's a (as of age now) 21 year old rock star from Tennesse.
I realize in a perivous chapter Victor called Kacey his fiance, that was not a mistake. I was going to make it so he proposed to her that chapter, but I changed it. Victor is an ex-gang banger who is now interning in a lawfirm.
I think that's it as far as explanations. If I missed something lemme know. Thank you for reading this! Please review!
BoarderKC
Brittany