~*Project: Moment*~
A Digimon Fanfiction by Bandit
~*Epilogue- Six Months Later*~
*ding-dong!*
"I'm coming!" Mimi Tachikawa shouted, bustling through the living room of the Ishidas' apartment. "Oh, darn it!" she added under her breath as she stumbled over a pillow left lying on the floor. It was so hard to avoid things like that when you couldn't see your feet...
*ding-dong!*
"I swear, if this baby doesn't come soon... Hold your horses! I'm coming!" A bit out of temper, she reached the door at last and threw it open-and froze.
There was no one there.
"Oh, I like that," she muttered, about to turn back into the apartment and slam the door. Suddenly, a sound caught her ear, and she glanced up to see someone dashing off down the hallway. "Hey, you!" she yelled. "Stop right now! I see you!"
The man's steps slowed, then stopped. Mimi frowned. He was standing with his back to her, nearly to the stairs.
"Oh, for heaven's sake," she snapped, exasperated at this stranger's sheer gall. "For a teenager to go running around pulling pranks like that is one thing, but a full grown man? You ought to be asham...oh, my God..."
The man had turned around. He was three years older, but not changed so much that she wouldn't know that face at a glance.
"Hi, Mimi," Jyou Kido said sheepishly.
"Joe!" Mimi cried, completely thrown. "What are you doing...I mean, why...how?!"
"Look down," Joe said with a sigh. Mimi obliged, and saw a sealed envelope, lying on the doormat.
"What is that?" Mimi asked, still stunned. She hadn't seen Joe in three years! And now he just decided to show up unannounced on her doorstep?
"A letter," Joe said evasively. "I think you'd better read it. Lord knows I've had enough trouble getting it to you."
Mimi was still trying to figure out what he was *doing* there.
"I...I don't understand... I thought you weren't allowed out of that place..."
"Well, technically, I'm not," Joe admitted, "but the circumstances called for an exception."
Mimi glanced down at the letter.
"Who's it from?"
"The last person you'd expect," Joe said quietly.
"You're not being very exact," Mimi observed shrewdly. Joe shrugged.
"And you're not being very friendly."
"Friendly?" Mimi said, a bit miffed. "Joe, you up and left for three years! Some friendship."
"I won't say I don't have my regrets," Joe said, looking at his shoes. "But... Have things changed so much?"
"Yes," Mimi stated flatly. "At least, I have."
Joe smiled, a rather sad expression. "I could see that," he said wryly, eyeing her enormous belly. "When are you due?"
"Any day now," Mimi said, giving her stomach a fond pat. "I can't wait to get it over with! I'm sick and tired of walking around like a drunk duck, bumping into everything and looking ugly as sin." Her warmly smiling face showed that she felt just the opposite of her words; she looked as pleased as punch with the whole thing.
Joe shook his head. "Liar," he teased. Then he hesitated. "You don't look ugly."
"Now who's lying?" Mimi said lightly. Joe swallowed, a wistful look on his face.
"I'm not lying... You're as beautiful as ever, you know."
Mimi sighed. "Joe, I'm married now," she said gently. "I'm in love, and I'm going to be a mother...I'm happier than I've ever been. We wouldn't have worked."
His shoulders slumped, just a bit, as he answered.
"Yeah, I know...but it's just hard to accept."
"I'm sorry," Mimi said, trying to be kind. Joe frowned.
"No, you're not. You shouldn't be." He paused. "I'll deal with it," he said finally. "I just wanted to see you again, that's all. We all miss you, Mimi. The others send their love, and say good luck with the baby!"
He'd started to back toward the stairs as he spoke.
"Read the letter," he added, and turned to go.
"Joe, wait!" Mimi cried, stretching out a hand after him. 'The others'...there was so much she wanted to know!
"You're going to make an excellent mother!" Joe called, the words echoing up and down the stairwell.
"Wait!" Mimi called again, but he was gone. She considered running after him, but in her present state she'd probably fall down the stairs. With a frustrated little stamp of her foot, she turned to the letter.
It took several tries for her to pick it up-she was not built for bending over just then-but Mimi succeeded, and carried it back into the living room.
"So, who was that?" Matt said, toweling off his hair from the shower as he came into the room. He was in his shirtsleeves, getting ready for a meeting with a prospective client.
"Just the mail," Mimi said quietly.
"It's early for that," Matt said, a quizzical look on his face. He paused; she looked odd. "Are you okay? You look pale...did you hurt yourself picking up the mail? I'm really sorry I couldn't go get it myself, but I don't think the mailman would have liked me coming out in a towel..."
Mimi smiled. He was always worrying about her. *One of the reasons I love him,* she thought in mild amusement. *The little girl in me can't resist the princess treatment.*
"I'm fine," she assured him, tearing open the letter. She did feel better. Seeing him had that effect on her. Pulling out a single sheet of paper, she scanned it quickly...then went white, reading it again as her other hand closed white-knuckled on the back of a chair next to her...
"MATT!" she shrieked; he was there in a second, concern bright in his eyes.
"What is it?"
Mimi thrust the letter into his grasp with shaking hands. Matt frowned, reading it aloud.
" 'Ishida residence, northern Odaiba, Tokyo - To whom it may concern. We regret the delay in contacting you regarding this matter and hope this lapse has not caused you any undue grief...'" Matt paused. "What matter? Who's this from?"
Mimi was silent, still white as a sheet. Matt saw the shock on her face and wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders before continuing, and she leaned gratefully against him.
" 'Information has reached us concerning the unhappy end of a friend of yours, who also refused our invita...tion...'" His voice trailed off, as his throat closed with shock and renewed grief. "It's them..." he whispered hoarsely. "What do they want with her?"
"Keep reading," Mimi said, her voice oddly strained.
Matt didn't want to read any more. He didn't want the whole slough of terrible memories churned up again in his mind...the phone call in the middle of the night; the house surrounded by police-line markers; the blood on the garage floor; Mimi crying long hours into the night while he was helpless to comfort her, nearly as stricken as she... But he had to know why Mimi was so pale, and what these horrible men knew about their friend who had died six months before.
He cleared his throat.
"This information is...incorrect."
There was a shocked silence.
"What the hell?!" Matt stared at the paper clenched in his hand. "Incorrect?! It can't be incorrect! It's impossible! I saw the mess in that garage; there was enough blood to drown a goddamn horse in!"
"Matt!" Mimi cried. He fell silent instantly, ashamed of himself, yet still hugely confused and angry.
"I'm sorry," he said after a moment. "Mimi, I'm really sorry, but this has to be a trick! There's no way..." He stared at the end of the letter, finishing it out of a sheer need to know. " 'The matter is a delicate one of international importance, but we can inform you that love is not dead, and know that you will understand what we mean. And we can also say that where courage is, you will find love. We wish you luck and hope you will join us soon. Sincerely, Command..."
"Oh, Matt," Mimi whispered, and he looked at her and saw that the shock had worn off, and bright hope was shining in her eyes. It tore at his heart...this had to be a trick, and she had fallen right into it! They'd finally started to heal, and these idiots started playing their games again with them! What would it do to Mimi to realize that this wasn't for real?
"Mimi," he began, but her face was so full of light...
"Is that all?" she asked, interrupting him.
"I think so..." Matt said, and turned the paper over.
"Hang on!" Mimi exclaimed, snatching it. On the back, a short postscript was scribbled in blue ink, in a familiar hand. "It's her writing," Mimi whispered. Matt gaped, taken aback. Mimi was right; those were the familiar loops and lines of Sora's handwriting. The message was short.
'Dear Mimi and Matt-
'How are you? Is the baby there yet? I am so sorry for what this must have done to you-they didn't tell me until yesterday that the verdict on my disappearance was murder. I've been so busy I hardly thought about home and all. It's not so bad here...but that's a long story. I'll tell it to you when you come. Best of luck-I love you all. I'm still lobbying for 'Ayame', by the way...and don't you dare name the poor child after me! I told you no twice already. Best wishes, from Sora.
'PS - Hurry up and come! They weren't kidding about all that melodramatic 'courage and love' junk-I'm waiting my wedding gown on you, girl! You promised to be my best maid, remember? Don't make us wait too long!'
Mimi let out a startled, delighted laugh.
"It *is* her!" she jubilated. "Matt, she's alive! And engaged..." she let out a little squeal. "Oh, I knew it! I knew they were perfect for each other!"
Matt blinked, a smile spreading slowly across his face. "What do you know..." he murmured, suddenly as relieved and happy as his wife. He paused, lost for words. "Well...what do you know," he repeated, and grinned.
Mimi threw her arms around him, laughing and crying.
"I can't believe it!" she cried, as he hugged her back, both of them grinning happily. "Matt, I-oh!"
"What?" Matt said, still disoriented with surprise, which quickly turned into concern as Mimi let go of him and stepped back to lean on the table, a hand on her stomach.
"Ohhh," Mimi groaned softly. "Matt...we're going to have to decide on that name really quickly..."
Matt blanched. "Oh, my god," he said. "This is it, isn't it?"
"Get the car," Mimi said after a moment, straightening up. "I'll call the hospital and tell them we're coming. Thank God for pre-registering..."
"Right," Matt said, flustered. He started to run for the door, and stumbled over the same cushion as Mimi had, doing a nosedive to the floor. "Ack!"
*crash!*
Mimi gasped. "Are you okay?!"
"Yeah," Matt said, sitting up with a rueful look on his face. "Just a little nervous..."
"I could tell," Mimi said with a smile, holding up his car keys, which he'd left on the table. She tossed them to him, and he caught them neatly, looking sheepish.
"Thanks..."
Suddenly, Mimi let out another little cry.
"Hurry!"
Matt bolted out the door, white again. Mimi waited out the contraction, then reached for the phone. As she did, the letter came to mind again; she'd nearly forgotten it in her 'distraction'.
*'Ayame'...it's a pretty name. We could call her Iris... Thanks, Sora.*
Smiling, Mimi dialed the hospital.
(Ayame Ishida, a girl, was born in the hospital just three and a half hours later, weighing eight pounds, three ounces, and screaming healthily. She had her father's eyes, to his delight. It was clear that her mother was going to be just fine when her father commented that she had her mother's lungs and was immediately beaned with a pillow. The new family went home two days later, and began a happy, if hectic, life...even though Matt never did make that meeting.)
(And they all lived happily ever after...at least for the time being...)
*OWARI*
__________________________________
(AN) All good things must come to an end...and Project: Moment is hereby owatta. Over and out, folks; the curtain has come down for the last time on this lengthy fic of mine. Props to everyone who wrote in with reviews, especially my diehards(you know who you are ^_^); to ff.net, of course; to the Beta Readers Anonymous; and to the wonderful folks at Toei who made this fantastic toy in the first place, and who are kind enough to let us amateurs squirrel around with it. Minna domo arigatou gozaimaaaasu!!
So, what next? Well, you could go read my other fics; they're under my author name, Bandit. (I just finished a 92-page fic; I'm allowed to do a self-plug or three! M_~*) You could read other peoples' fics. You could go watch third season, though of course it's just not the same... OR, you could click on that link at the bottom of this page and notice that there's a little extra "chapter" waiting to be read... See you the next time around! -Bandit O_o
A Digimon Fanfiction by Bandit
~*Epilogue- Six Months Later*~
*ding-dong!*
"I'm coming!" Mimi Tachikawa shouted, bustling through the living room of the Ishidas' apartment. "Oh, darn it!" she added under her breath as she stumbled over a pillow left lying on the floor. It was so hard to avoid things like that when you couldn't see your feet...
*ding-dong!*
"I swear, if this baby doesn't come soon... Hold your horses! I'm coming!" A bit out of temper, she reached the door at last and threw it open-and froze.
There was no one there.
"Oh, I like that," she muttered, about to turn back into the apartment and slam the door. Suddenly, a sound caught her ear, and she glanced up to see someone dashing off down the hallway. "Hey, you!" she yelled. "Stop right now! I see you!"
The man's steps slowed, then stopped. Mimi frowned. He was standing with his back to her, nearly to the stairs.
"Oh, for heaven's sake," she snapped, exasperated at this stranger's sheer gall. "For a teenager to go running around pulling pranks like that is one thing, but a full grown man? You ought to be asham...oh, my God..."
The man had turned around. He was three years older, but not changed so much that she wouldn't know that face at a glance.
"Hi, Mimi," Jyou Kido said sheepishly.
"Joe!" Mimi cried, completely thrown. "What are you doing...I mean, why...how?!"
"Look down," Joe said with a sigh. Mimi obliged, and saw a sealed envelope, lying on the doormat.
"What is that?" Mimi asked, still stunned. She hadn't seen Joe in three years! And now he just decided to show up unannounced on her doorstep?
"A letter," Joe said evasively. "I think you'd better read it. Lord knows I've had enough trouble getting it to you."
Mimi was still trying to figure out what he was *doing* there.
"I...I don't understand... I thought you weren't allowed out of that place..."
"Well, technically, I'm not," Joe admitted, "but the circumstances called for an exception."
Mimi glanced down at the letter.
"Who's it from?"
"The last person you'd expect," Joe said quietly.
"You're not being very exact," Mimi observed shrewdly. Joe shrugged.
"And you're not being very friendly."
"Friendly?" Mimi said, a bit miffed. "Joe, you up and left for three years! Some friendship."
"I won't say I don't have my regrets," Joe said, looking at his shoes. "But... Have things changed so much?"
"Yes," Mimi stated flatly. "At least, I have."
Joe smiled, a rather sad expression. "I could see that," he said wryly, eyeing her enormous belly. "When are you due?"
"Any day now," Mimi said, giving her stomach a fond pat. "I can't wait to get it over with! I'm sick and tired of walking around like a drunk duck, bumping into everything and looking ugly as sin." Her warmly smiling face showed that she felt just the opposite of her words; she looked as pleased as punch with the whole thing.
Joe shook his head. "Liar," he teased. Then he hesitated. "You don't look ugly."
"Now who's lying?" Mimi said lightly. Joe swallowed, a wistful look on his face.
"I'm not lying... You're as beautiful as ever, you know."
Mimi sighed. "Joe, I'm married now," she said gently. "I'm in love, and I'm going to be a mother...I'm happier than I've ever been. We wouldn't have worked."
His shoulders slumped, just a bit, as he answered.
"Yeah, I know...but it's just hard to accept."
"I'm sorry," Mimi said, trying to be kind. Joe frowned.
"No, you're not. You shouldn't be." He paused. "I'll deal with it," he said finally. "I just wanted to see you again, that's all. We all miss you, Mimi. The others send their love, and say good luck with the baby!"
He'd started to back toward the stairs as he spoke.
"Read the letter," he added, and turned to go.
"Joe, wait!" Mimi cried, stretching out a hand after him. 'The others'...there was so much she wanted to know!
"You're going to make an excellent mother!" Joe called, the words echoing up and down the stairwell.
"Wait!" Mimi called again, but he was gone. She considered running after him, but in her present state she'd probably fall down the stairs. With a frustrated little stamp of her foot, she turned to the letter.
It took several tries for her to pick it up-she was not built for bending over just then-but Mimi succeeded, and carried it back into the living room.
"So, who was that?" Matt said, toweling off his hair from the shower as he came into the room. He was in his shirtsleeves, getting ready for a meeting with a prospective client.
"Just the mail," Mimi said quietly.
"It's early for that," Matt said, a quizzical look on his face. He paused; she looked odd. "Are you okay? You look pale...did you hurt yourself picking up the mail? I'm really sorry I couldn't go get it myself, but I don't think the mailman would have liked me coming out in a towel..."
Mimi smiled. He was always worrying about her. *One of the reasons I love him,* she thought in mild amusement. *The little girl in me can't resist the princess treatment.*
"I'm fine," she assured him, tearing open the letter. She did feel better. Seeing him had that effect on her. Pulling out a single sheet of paper, she scanned it quickly...then went white, reading it again as her other hand closed white-knuckled on the back of a chair next to her...
"MATT!" she shrieked; he was there in a second, concern bright in his eyes.
"What is it?"
Mimi thrust the letter into his grasp with shaking hands. Matt frowned, reading it aloud.
" 'Ishida residence, northern Odaiba, Tokyo - To whom it may concern. We regret the delay in contacting you regarding this matter and hope this lapse has not caused you any undue grief...'" Matt paused. "What matter? Who's this from?"
Mimi was silent, still white as a sheet. Matt saw the shock on her face and wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders before continuing, and she leaned gratefully against him.
" 'Information has reached us concerning the unhappy end of a friend of yours, who also refused our invita...tion...'" His voice trailed off, as his throat closed with shock and renewed grief. "It's them..." he whispered hoarsely. "What do they want with her?"
"Keep reading," Mimi said, her voice oddly strained.
Matt didn't want to read any more. He didn't want the whole slough of terrible memories churned up again in his mind...the phone call in the middle of the night; the house surrounded by police-line markers; the blood on the garage floor; Mimi crying long hours into the night while he was helpless to comfort her, nearly as stricken as she... But he had to know why Mimi was so pale, and what these horrible men knew about their friend who had died six months before.
He cleared his throat.
"This information is...incorrect."
There was a shocked silence.
"What the hell?!" Matt stared at the paper clenched in his hand. "Incorrect?! It can't be incorrect! It's impossible! I saw the mess in that garage; there was enough blood to drown a goddamn horse in!"
"Matt!" Mimi cried. He fell silent instantly, ashamed of himself, yet still hugely confused and angry.
"I'm sorry," he said after a moment. "Mimi, I'm really sorry, but this has to be a trick! There's no way..." He stared at the end of the letter, finishing it out of a sheer need to know. " 'The matter is a delicate one of international importance, but we can inform you that love is not dead, and know that you will understand what we mean. And we can also say that where courage is, you will find love. We wish you luck and hope you will join us soon. Sincerely, Command..."
"Oh, Matt," Mimi whispered, and he looked at her and saw that the shock had worn off, and bright hope was shining in her eyes. It tore at his heart...this had to be a trick, and she had fallen right into it! They'd finally started to heal, and these idiots started playing their games again with them! What would it do to Mimi to realize that this wasn't for real?
"Mimi," he began, but her face was so full of light...
"Is that all?" she asked, interrupting him.
"I think so..." Matt said, and turned the paper over.
"Hang on!" Mimi exclaimed, snatching it. On the back, a short postscript was scribbled in blue ink, in a familiar hand. "It's her writing," Mimi whispered. Matt gaped, taken aback. Mimi was right; those were the familiar loops and lines of Sora's handwriting. The message was short.
'Dear Mimi and Matt-
'How are you? Is the baby there yet? I am so sorry for what this must have done to you-they didn't tell me until yesterday that the verdict on my disappearance was murder. I've been so busy I hardly thought about home and all. It's not so bad here...but that's a long story. I'll tell it to you when you come. Best of luck-I love you all. I'm still lobbying for 'Ayame', by the way...and don't you dare name the poor child after me! I told you no twice already. Best wishes, from Sora.
'PS - Hurry up and come! They weren't kidding about all that melodramatic 'courage and love' junk-I'm waiting my wedding gown on you, girl! You promised to be my best maid, remember? Don't make us wait too long!'
Mimi let out a startled, delighted laugh.
"It *is* her!" she jubilated. "Matt, she's alive! And engaged..." she let out a little squeal. "Oh, I knew it! I knew they were perfect for each other!"
Matt blinked, a smile spreading slowly across his face. "What do you know..." he murmured, suddenly as relieved and happy as his wife. He paused, lost for words. "Well...what do you know," he repeated, and grinned.
Mimi threw her arms around him, laughing and crying.
"I can't believe it!" she cried, as he hugged her back, both of them grinning happily. "Matt, I-oh!"
"What?" Matt said, still disoriented with surprise, which quickly turned into concern as Mimi let go of him and stepped back to lean on the table, a hand on her stomach.
"Ohhh," Mimi groaned softly. "Matt...we're going to have to decide on that name really quickly..."
Matt blanched. "Oh, my god," he said. "This is it, isn't it?"
"Get the car," Mimi said after a moment, straightening up. "I'll call the hospital and tell them we're coming. Thank God for pre-registering..."
"Right," Matt said, flustered. He started to run for the door, and stumbled over the same cushion as Mimi had, doing a nosedive to the floor. "Ack!"
*crash!*
Mimi gasped. "Are you okay?!"
"Yeah," Matt said, sitting up with a rueful look on his face. "Just a little nervous..."
"I could tell," Mimi said with a smile, holding up his car keys, which he'd left on the table. She tossed them to him, and he caught them neatly, looking sheepish.
"Thanks..."
Suddenly, Mimi let out another little cry.
"Hurry!"
Matt bolted out the door, white again. Mimi waited out the contraction, then reached for the phone. As she did, the letter came to mind again; she'd nearly forgotten it in her 'distraction'.
*'Ayame'...it's a pretty name. We could call her Iris... Thanks, Sora.*
Smiling, Mimi dialed the hospital.
(Ayame Ishida, a girl, was born in the hospital just three and a half hours later, weighing eight pounds, three ounces, and screaming healthily. She had her father's eyes, to his delight. It was clear that her mother was going to be just fine when her father commented that she had her mother's lungs and was immediately beaned with a pillow. The new family went home two days later, and began a happy, if hectic, life...even though Matt never did make that meeting.)
(And they all lived happily ever after...at least for the time being...)
*OWARI*
__________________________________
(AN) All good things must come to an end...and Project: Moment is hereby owatta. Over and out, folks; the curtain has come down for the last time on this lengthy fic of mine. Props to everyone who wrote in with reviews, especially my diehards(you know who you are ^_^); to ff.net, of course; to the Beta Readers Anonymous; and to the wonderful folks at Toei who made this fantastic toy in the first place, and who are kind enough to let us amateurs squirrel around with it. Minna domo arigatou gozaimaaaasu!!
So, what next? Well, you could go read my other fics; they're under my author name, Bandit. (I just finished a 92-page fic; I'm allowed to do a self-plug or three! M_~*) You could read other peoples' fics. You could go watch third season, though of course it's just not the same... OR, you could click on that link at the bottom of this page and notice that there's a little extra "chapter" waiting to be read... See you the next time around! -Bandit O_o