I'm back! I had a nice vacation, but NOW, it ended badly because my floppy
disk is whacking out on me! AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Matt slowly awoke to the shrill screaming of his alarm clock. His eyes blinked owlishly as his hand hit the digital clock's button. As the beeping stopped, he wondered why he was so irritated. Then it came to him.
"No school!" he groaned. "Waking up this early…" he muttered and stood up and stretched. He remembered now. Thanks to his and Mimi's fame, they had managed to shirk several days of classes and annoying yet pleasing fans.
Not that I'm complaining. He made his way to the bathroom and took a shower. He had spent the last night dining with his mother, TK and TK's friends, Kari Kamiya, who he had already met, Davis Motomiya and Yolei Inoue. Davis seemed to have some animosity towards TK but it wasn't real. What was funny, though, was that Kari seemed to be enamored of TK, who, in return, had no idea of those affections while Davis was attempting to wrest those feelings which TK had unknowingly taken from Kari without any effort away.
Must be the Ishida charm. (A/N: I know it's been used. But it's helpful here, so you ain't got anything to do about it.)
The girl Yolei was star struck but smart enough to hold a conversation with. He thought that his little brother's friends were amusing and genuinely hoped to know more of what went on in TK's life. Like how he felt about Tai's sister, for instance. (A/N: Hehe, LOOOVE!! Measure in love…Seasons of…LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE!!! *Repeat several times before lady starts wailing.)
After Matt finished up his shower and dressed up, he found notes explaining that his mother was busy covering some story and would be back soon and that TK was over at his friend's house, probably for the day. Lounging around on the couch after breakfast, he wondered what he would do next. There was absolutely nothing on his schedule that day except for band practice at five. Since it was quite a long wait, he decided to do something to keep him busy.
Normally, Matt let the trash around the place heap up until he could hardly move a finger without ramming it into a pile of trash before starting a major cleaning spree, but in this case, he decided, to kill time, he'd make an exception. After all, he never got Tai's number or any of his new friends the day before and he cringed at the thought of calling his cousin. Admittedly, her voice sounded very much like his alarm clock.
Things to do: buy a new alarm clock.
Busily, he started to wash the dishes that had piled up in the past few months. It appeared that his mother had no love for that activity either.
At around eleven o'clock, he had finished dusting the furniture (which was spotless, by the way. It seems that his mother just hated dishes), sweeping the floor, straightened up the beds, did the laundry and cooked lunch. (A/N: Thanks to…SUPERMAN!)
As he started to dig into the pasta he had made (A/N: Bolognese! One of me faves!), the doorbell rang piercingly and a feminine voice called out. Sighing, he regretfully stood up and went to answer the door, hoping that it wasn't any of his fans. After all, they would be a large nuisance. He peered into the peephole as the voice from outside asked for his mom.
"Ms. Takaishi? Are you in? I've finished developing your pictures." Her voice sounded familiar but Matt couldn't put his finger on it. Her features were distorted by the peephole but he managed to make out bright ginger hair. (A/N: I'm sure that all of you know who she is, so no ten points are being given out for you. But if you don't know, guess right, I'll give you ten points. Honesty is the best policy.)
Matt gaped for a second and then opened the door quickly, causing the girl to come tumbling in. She must have been leaning on the door. He stared down at her and her up at him.
It was Sora Takenouchi.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A minute of confusion passed before Sora stood up angrily. "What are you doing here?" She was surprised. What on earth would that stupid Ishida be doing in Ms. Takaishi's home?
"I live here, carrot brains." The blonde rolled his eyes.
"No, Ms. Takaishi and TK live here. You're Ishida." She glared at him.
"She's my mother, wouldn't you know? TK's my brother. That's what happens when we come from the same parents." His admonishing voice increased her irritation.
"You're ISHIDA. Wouldn't she be Mrs. Takaishi instead of Ms. Takaishi and TK be Takeru Ishida instead of Takeru Takaishi?"
He held up a finger. "Just one thing, little Sora. How do you know my mother and my brother? Are they the people who you personally stalk to give you personal reports of my life? You should get a life, too come to think of it. Skulking around in gutters won't get you anywhere."
"Excuse me," Sora said acerbically, "But I just happen to know them because I used to baby-sit TK and I work as a photographer and picture developer for Ms. Takaishi. I don't do a Jun Motomiya and stalk people for reports about rock stars who have rocks for brains and stars in their eyes that are blocking their perception of the reality that they are nothing in the real world!" She paused and took a deep breath after saying such a long exclamation.
Yamato Ishida arched his eyebrow. "How do you know about the 'real world', Miss Takenouchi? I do believe that you've never gone anywhere out of Odaiba, so how can you say those things when you yourself have no perception at all about this 'real world' of yours?"
She gave him a fixed stare. "Having no perception is better than having a foolish one like yours, Ishida. At least I don't have to be biased about what I know and I can build up my own perception of the real world. You, on the other hand, can be sure that I will be around to point and laugh at you when you find out that your silly perception of yourself in the real world is wrong. By the way, I have gone to America twice and three times to Africa."
He seemed to just about have it at that point. "You know what? I don't think that I can take any more of this. You're insulting me on my own doorstep!"
"Can't handle it, Ishida?" Her taunting tone appeared set his teeth on edge.
Sora couldn't help it. This guy seemed to bring out the worst in her. She never taunted anyone in her life with real malice.
"What do you want, Takenouchi? What are you here for?"
Sora sighed. "Just give this to Ms. Takaishi and leave me alone."
"Leave you alone?" His expression was incredulous. "Excuse me, redhead, but I think that it is you who, at the moment, is knocking in on me."
Her eyes narrowed at him. "Well, if you think that way, then I should be going then—"
All of a sudden, a lovely brown-haired woman came down the corridor and peeked into the open door. "Matt, why is the door—Sora! Do you have the pictures I asked you to develop?"
Sora looked at the woman. "Ms. Takaishi?"
"Sora, have you met my son? He's just your age. By the way, don't revert to that Ms. Takaishi again. Didn't I ask you to call me Nancy?" Nancy Takaishi put her arm around Ishida, who looked at her smugly, brow slightly arched in a sardonic manner.
She clenched her teeth. "Yes, I have."
"Well, then, since you two know each other, why don't you join us for lunch? I'd like discuss more about the photographs with you. Takeru isn't here, so you can take his place at the table while he's gone."
Sora swallowed. "Well…" She thought about it. Her mom was going to a flower conference and eating dinner along is usually depressing, unless it's the first time you get peace ad quiet. It would be nice to eat with some other people. But the problem was that Yamato Ishida was eating here, too
"Good then," Nancy announced, taking her silence for an agreement. "I believe that I smell Bolognese pasta from the kitchen. Coming, Matt?"
Nancy grabbed Sora's hand and dragged her to the dining area in their apartment. Matt followed, enjoying the expression of dread on Takenouchi's face but also not looking forward to lunch.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Things didn't start out too well because as soon as the three of them sat down at the table, the phone rang for Ms. Nancy Takaishi. So she left the two adolescents at the table, warily looking at each other while one ate his pasta and the other nudged it around her plate.
"Well, why aren't you eating, rat?"
Sora looked up at Matt, her face contorted in anger. "Excuse me, but I believe that I am a guest in your brother's home, Ishida. Do you have the manners to treat me like one or were you too rebellious for this kind of propriety?"
Matt rolled his eyes. "Sorry, Takenouchi, but you owe me an apology, first."
Sora couldn't believe this guy. "Pardon me, but don't you think that YOU ought to apologize to ME? What wrong did I do to you?"
Matt shrugged carelessly. "Well, you embarrassed me in front of Aki and Aidan, and you actually don't know who I am, so…" he shrugged again. "You should say that you're sorry." (A/N: Someone's feeling a little high up above others today, isn't he?)
Sora growled, "I really would have no reason to act like that if you hadn't had pushed me down the stairs last Friday. What's more, you didn't bother to express regret for pushing me down. Does all that headbanging cause all comportments of etiquette to leak out? I don't hold grudges, but for you, Ishida, feel lucky because I believe that for you I'll make an exception for the very first time."
Matt put down his fork abruptly. "For the last time, the Teenage Wolves don't headbang!"
"Does it matter to me?"
Nancy put down the phone and took her seat again, just as Matt bit back the nasty comment he was about to deliver to that smirking rodent's face.
"So, Sora," Nancy said easily. "About those photographs…"
Thus Nancy Takaishi spent the entire lunch chatting about the photographs and a new favor she was to give to Sora for photography as Sora and Matt had a nasty kicking contest under the table. But she didn't tell Sora anything more about it than that she would give it to her next month.
Soon enough, the torturous lunch ended and it was time for Sora to get going to the flower shop.
Her knees and shins and Matt's were all covered in bruises. Unfortunately, Ms. Takaishi came up with an idea that seemed perfectly fine to her yet not to the others.
"Matt, would you mind walking Sora home?" This question raised all sorts of objections.
Sora protested, "Nancy, I'm pretty fine off walking home on my own. It's not night yet."
"Yeah, and I have some, uh, homework to do." Matt seriously hoped that his mother wasn't listening to him when he said the opposite last night.
Alas. "Nonsense. Matt, don't you know how to act around women?" This caused Sora to hide a smile behind her hand. "And you told me yourself that you have no homework for school. Besides, Sora, I need you to tell Matt about what's going on in Odaiba. I'm too out of touch sometimes, so I need someone young to inform my son."
"Nancy, I—"
But in the end, Nancy Takaishi won out over the two teenagers.
Well, that was a refreshing argument, Nancy thought as she watched them go. There was a stony silence as he and she walked down the steps. Sora snapped, "I'm not going to my home, Ishida. I have to go to my mother's store, so leave me alone." She maneuvered around him so that she was walking ahead of him. Matt jogged to catch up with her. He was going to enjoy this.
"Sorry, nerd, but you heard my mother. What's important event is going on here in Odaiba that I might have interest enough in it to have my mother pester an overgrown carrot to tell me about?" Matt was genuinely curious, but he decided not to show it.
The girl glared at him through largely narrowed eyes. "Excuse me, but this is where I get off."
"Huh?"
She ran into the parking lot and soon produced a bicycle. "Well, Ishida, as much as I hate to say this, I'll have to say that you do good pasta."
Matt was surprised. A compliment? From Sora Takenouchi? Warily, he arched his (A/N: perfect) eyebrow at her.
She smiled at him cheekily. "You'd do great in Home Economics. For a guy."
Why was she being so reasonable all of a sudden? Matt looked around. Was there any traps? His searching eyes had found the most terrifying kind of trap of all: There was an enormous mob of gibbering fan girls running at him from down the street. Well. That's why she's smiling at me. It's good to be nice to people who you think are going to die. At least it wasn't a mad raving mass of slobbering rabid twelve-foot tall monkeys out to eat his liver…actually, when you think about it figuratively, they are…drat.
Matt sighed and looked at Sora. "Forgive me."
He grabbed her bike and pedaled off down the sidewalk quickly. "HEY!" Sora yelled. "That's my bike!" Then, "Whoa!" as she was pushed aside by the screaming fan girls. She fell to the lawn and glared Matt's disappearing figure. "I hope they get you," she muttered. "You deserve it."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Tai grinned as he sat down on his bed. He had the whole day to himself. Kari had gone to her friend Yolei's house and his parents were off at work. How would he spend the day?
As he pondered this, he scratched Kari's cat Miko behind the ears. Digging into the fridge wouldn't work; after all, there was never any good things to eat there, other than potato onion and chili salad or celery-lychee soda.
Just the thought of it curled his toes.
Suddenly, the alarm clock across the room rang, a little late. Tai started and his surprised hand caused Miko to fall over the bed. Miko glared at Tai and walked out of the room, tail raised indignantly. Tai wondered briefly how cats could be so willful and ran to get his soccer ball. He needed to get out of the house.
Might as well go to the park. (A/N: Have you noticed that in other Digimon stories, parks play a big role?)
Soon enough, he arrived at the park. Sitting down on a bench to rest from the jog to the park, he watched the people passing by. And wouldn't he be so surprised when he saw the famous rock star himself, Yamato Ishida, pedal by, looking as ragged as a poor beggar in the hot Sahara Desert.
"Matt!" Tai yelped. "What happened to you? You look like you've been run over by a steamroller and caught up in a cyclone!" he paused. "Is that possible? You're alive, after all." He shrugged.
Matt looked at him and grinned weakly. "Hey, Tai." He walked the bike over and sat down on the bench. Collapsed, actually. Tai glanced at him inquiringly.
The blonde-haired boy sighed. "It's one of the cons of being famous, you see. Over-obsessed fan girls have no sense humility or honor, whatsoever. They would've poured all over me if I hadn't…oh no."
"Oh no, what?" Tai prodded, curious.
Matt put his head in his hands. "I stole this bike from Takenouchi! She's going to kill me."
Tai arched his eyebrow. "Really? Now what were you doing with Sora that gave you the chance to steal her bike? Tell me everything."
Matt gave him a dark look. "She and my mom are on first-name basis." He then proceeded to tell him his account of what happened. "By the way, Tai, my mom said that there was something happening here in Odaiba. She said that it might interest me somehow. Do you have any idea what she meant? What is going on that is so interesting that my mother would talk to me about it?"
Tai thought hard. "Well, there's that bake sale going on next week, but I doubt that you'll find interest in that, right? There's the soccer tryouts, the dog show tomorrow, the Digimon marathon starting next Friday, the astronomy thing, the—"
Matt's eyes lightened. "What astronomy thing?"
He answered, "I don't really know much about it because I'm not really into astronomy, but I gathered that there's the star-gazing thing, some seminar about the universe…you can read more about it in the newspaper tomorrow. It's going to happen the week after the next one."
"Ah…" A smiled crept up Matt's fatigued face. "That's just what my mom meant!"
"You mean you like stars?"
Well, I always had this dream of becoming an astronaut, but I decided that it could wait until I'm, what, thirty-five or something? Forty? Anyway, thanks, Tai."
"Don't mention it."
"All right, I won't."
Tai rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I just wish you luck with Sora. I wouldn't want to be you when you return her bike. She has a mean kick."
Matt winced, glancing at his battered knees. "Don't remind me."
"Don't frown, Matt. It'll give you wrinkles."
Matt gaped at Tai. "You sound just like Mimi…" he whispered, amazed.
"Eh?" Tai gave him a puzzled look.
"She tells me that all the time."
"Right. Anyway, you have anything important to do today? I have nothing at all on my usually bustling itinerary."
Matt sighed. "Other than band practice sometime later, I'm pretty clear. I was actually planning to spend the day examining every inch of my life before it is taken away from me when I go to return Sora's bike, but I'm sure that I can do that on the long ride to Sora's." (A/N: Y'know, I just realized that this sounds familiar. Then I thought: Hey, isn't that Misty's plot to stick with Ash? I swear the idea for Matt to take Sora's bike just evolved from the need for the fan girls to come swarming in.)
A thought occurred to him. "But wait, how do I return it to Sora? I have no idea at all of where she lives and waiting 'til Thursday will probably encourage her to find a way to keep me alive to see her eat my heart." (A/N: Thank you, David and Leigh Eddings!)
"Well…" Tai thought for a moment. "I know that her mother owns this flower shop a few blocks down. If you're lucky, she wouldn't be there and all you have to do is leave her bike there."
"What if she is there?"
"Get ready to run like hell."
****
There's the next chapter, folks! How do you like it: rare, medium, or raw? Burnt's pretty silly, though. I'm not making sense. Anyway, I'll get the next chapter up once I figure out what's wrong with my disk. There are a bunch of weird characters in replacement of the words I wrote. Dratted, I had to delete the prologue to a new story because I couldn't understand anything at all!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!
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Matt slowly awoke to the shrill screaming of his alarm clock. His eyes blinked owlishly as his hand hit the digital clock's button. As the beeping stopped, he wondered why he was so irritated. Then it came to him.
"No school!" he groaned. "Waking up this early…" he muttered and stood up and stretched. He remembered now. Thanks to his and Mimi's fame, they had managed to shirk several days of classes and annoying yet pleasing fans.
Not that I'm complaining. He made his way to the bathroom and took a shower. He had spent the last night dining with his mother, TK and TK's friends, Kari Kamiya, who he had already met, Davis Motomiya and Yolei Inoue. Davis seemed to have some animosity towards TK but it wasn't real. What was funny, though, was that Kari seemed to be enamored of TK, who, in return, had no idea of those affections while Davis was attempting to wrest those feelings which TK had unknowingly taken from Kari without any effort away.
Must be the Ishida charm. (A/N: I know it's been used. But it's helpful here, so you ain't got anything to do about it.)
The girl Yolei was star struck but smart enough to hold a conversation with. He thought that his little brother's friends were amusing and genuinely hoped to know more of what went on in TK's life. Like how he felt about Tai's sister, for instance. (A/N: Hehe, LOOOVE!! Measure in love…Seasons of…LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE!!! *Repeat several times before lady starts wailing.)
After Matt finished up his shower and dressed up, he found notes explaining that his mother was busy covering some story and would be back soon and that TK was over at his friend's house, probably for the day. Lounging around on the couch after breakfast, he wondered what he would do next. There was absolutely nothing on his schedule that day except for band practice at five. Since it was quite a long wait, he decided to do something to keep him busy.
Normally, Matt let the trash around the place heap up until he could hardly move a finger without ramming it into a pile of trash before starting a major cleaning spree, but in this case, he decided, to kill time, he'd make an exception. After all, he never got Tai's number or any of his new friends the day before and he cringed at the thought of calling his cousin. Admittedly, her voice sounded very much like his alarm clock.
Things to do: buy a new alarm clock.
Busily, he started to wash the dishes that had piled up in the past few months. It appeared that his mother had no love for that activity either.
At around eleven o'clock, he had finished dusting the furniture (which was spotless, by the way. It seems that his mother just hated dishes), sweeping the floor, straightened up the beds, did the laundry and cooked lunch. (A/N: Thanks to…SUPERMAN!)
As he started to dig into the pasta he had made (A/N: Bolognese! One of me faves!), the doorbell rang piercingly and a feminine voice called out. Sighing, he regretfully stood up and went to answer the door, hoping that it wasn't any of his fans. After all, they would be a large nuisance. He peered into the peephole as the voice from outside asked for his mom.
"Ms. Takaishi? Are you in? I've finished developing your pictures." Her voice sounded familiar but Matt couldn't put his finger on it. Her features were distorted by the peephole but he managed to make out bright ginger hair. (A/N: I'm sure that all of you know who she is, so no ten points are being given out for you. But if you don't know, guess right, I'll give you ten points. Honesty is the best policy.)
Matt gaped for a second and then opened the door quickly, causing the girl to come tumbling in. She must have been leaning on the door. He stared down at her and her up at him.
It was Sora Takenouchi.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A minute of confusion passed before Sora stood up angrily. "What are you doing here?" She was surprised. What on earth would that stupid Ishida be doing in Ms. Takaishi's home?
"I live here, carrot brains." The blonde rolled his eyes.
"No, Ms. Takaishi and TK live here. You're Ishida." She glared at him.
"She's my mother, wouldn't you know? TK's my brother. That's what happens when we come from the same parents." His admonishing voice increased her irritation.
"You're ISHIDA. Wouldn't she be Mrs. Takaishi instead of Ms. Takaishi and TK be Takeru Ishida instead of Takeru Takaishi?"
He held up a finger. "Just one thing, little Sora. How do you know my mother and my brother? Are they the people who you personally stalk to give you personal reports of my life? You should get a life, too come to think of it. Skulking around in gutters won't get you anywhere."
"Excuse me," Sora said acerbically, "But I just happen to know them because I used to baby-sit TK and I work as a photographer and picture developer for Ms. Takaishi. I don't do a Jun Motomiya and stalk people for reports about rock stars who have rocks for brains and stars in their eyes that are blocking their perception of the reality that they are nothing in the real world!" She paused and took a deep breath after saying such a long exclamation.
Yamato Ishida arched his eyebrow. "How do you know about the 'real world', Miss Takenouchi? I do believe that you've never gone anywhere out of Odaiba, so how can you say those things when you yourself have no perception at all about this 'real world' of yours?"
She gave him a fixed stare. "Having no perception is better than having a foolish one like yours, Ishida. At least I don't have to be biased about what I know and I can build up my own perception of the real world. You, on the other hand, can be sure that I will be around to point and laugh at you when you find out that your silly perception of yourself in the real world is wrong. By the way, I have gone to America twice and three times to Africa."
He seemed to just about have it at that point. "You know what? I don't think that I can take any more of this. You're insulting me on my own doorstep!"
"Can't handle it, Ishida?" Her taunting tone appeared set his teeth on edge.
Sora couldn't help it. This guy seemed to bring out the worst in her. She never taunted anyone in her life with real malice.
"What do you want, Takenouchi? What are you here for?"
Sora sighed. "Just give this to Ms. Takaishi and leave me alone."
"Leave you alone?" His expression was incredulous. "Excuse me, redhead, but I think that it is you who, at the moment, is knocking in on me."
Her eyes narrowed at him. "Well, if you think that way, then I should be going then—"
All of a sudden, a lovely brown-haired woman came down the corridor and peeked into the open door. "Matt, why is the door—Sora! Do you have the pictures I asked you to develop?"
Sora looked at the woman. "Ms. Takaishi?"
"Sora, have you met my son? He's just your age. By the way, don't revert to that Ms. Takaishi again. Didn't I ask you to call me Nancy?" Nancy Takaishi put her arm around Ishida, who looked at her smugly, brow slightly arched in a sardonic manner.
She clenched her teeth. "Yes, I have."
"Well, then, since you two know each other, why don't you join us for lunch? I'd like discuss more about the photographs with you. Takeru isn't here, so you can take his place at the table while he's gone."
Sora swallowed. "Well…" She thought about it. Her mom was going to a flower conference and eating dinner along is usually depressing, unless it's the first time you get peace ad quiet. It would be nice to eat with some other people. But the problem was that Yamato Ishida was eating here, too
"Good then," Nancy announced, taking her silence for an agreement. "I believe that I smell Bolognese pasta from the kitchen. Coming, Matt?"
Nancy grabbed Sora's hand and dragged her to the dining area in their apartment. Matt followed, enjoying the expression of dread on Takenouchi's face but also not looking forward to lunch.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Things didn't start out too well because as soon as the three of them sat down at the table, the phone rang for Ms. Nancy Takaishi. So she left the two adolescents at the table, warily looking at each other while one ate his pasta and the other nudged it around her plate.
"Well, why aren't you eating, rat?"
Sora looked up at Matt, her face contorted in anger. "Excuse me, but I believe that I am a guest in your brother's home, Ishida. Do you have the manners to treat me like one or were you too rebellious for this kind of propriety?"
Matt rolled his eyes. "Sorry, Takenouchi, but you owe me an apology, first."
Sora couldn't believe this guy. "Pardon me, but don't you think that YOU ought to apologize to ME? What wrong did I do to you?"
Matt shrugged carelessly. "Well, you embarrassed me in front of Aki and Aidan, and you actually don't know who I am, so…" he shrugged again. "You should say that you're sorry." (A/N: Someone's feeling a little high up above others today, isn't he?)
Sora growled, "I really would have no reason to act like that if you hadn't had pushed me down the stairs last Friday. What's more, you didn't bother to express regret for pushing me down. Does all that headbanging cause all comportments of etiquette to leak out? I don't hold grudges, but for you, Ishida, feel lucky because I believe that for you I'll make an exception for the very first time."
Matt put down his fork abruptly. "For the last time, the Teenage Wolves don't headbang!"
"Does it matter to me?"
Nancy put down the phone and took her seat again, just as Matt bit back the nasty comment he was about to deliver to that smirking rodent's face.
"So, Sora," Nancy said easily. "About those photographs…"
Thus Nancy Takaishi spent the entire lunch chatting about the photographs and a new favor she was to give to Sora for photography as Sora and Matt had a nasty kicking contest under the table. But she didn't tell Sora anything more about it than that she would give it to her next month.
Soon enough, the torturous lunch ended and it was time for Sora to get going to the flower shop.
Her knees and shins and Matt's were all covered in bruises. Unfortunately, Ms. Takaishi came up with an idea that seemed perfectly fine to her yet not to the others.
"Matt, would you mind walking Sora home?" This question raised all sorts of objections.
Sora protested, "Nancy, I'm pretty fine off walking home on my own. It's not night yet."
"Yeah, and I have some, uh, homework to do." Matt seriously hoped that his mother wasn't listening to him when he said the opposite last night.
Alas. "Nonsense. Matt, don't you know how to act around women?" This caused Sora to hide a smile behind her hand. "And you told me yourself that you have no homework for school. Besides, Sora, I need you to tell Matt about what's going on in Odaiba. I'm too out of touch sometimes, so I need someone young to inform my son."
"Nancy, I—"
But in the end, Nancy Takaishi won out over the two teenagers.
Well, that was a refreshing argument, Nancy thought as she watched them go. There was a stony silence as he and she walked down the steps. Sora snapped, "I'm not going to my home, Ishida. I have to go to my mother's store, so leave me alone." She maneuvered around him so that she was walking ahead of him. Matt jogged to catch up with her. He was going to enjoy this.
"Sorry, nerd, but you heard my mother. What's important event is going on here in Odaiba that I might have interest enough in it to have my mother pester an overgrown carrot to tell me about?" Matt was genuinely curious, but he decided not to show it.
The girl glared at him through largely narrowed eyes. "Excuse me, but this is where I get off."
"Huh?"
She ran into the parking lot and soon produced a bicycle. "Well, Ishida, as much as I hate to say this, I'll have to say that you do good pasta."
Matt was surprised. A compliment? From Sora Takenouchi? Warily, he arched his (A/N: perfect) eyebrow at her.
She smiled at him cheekily. "You'd do great in Home Economics. For a guy."
Why was she being so reasonable all of a sudden? Matt looked around. Was there any traps? His searching eyes had found the most terrifying kind of trap of all: There was an enormous mob of gibbering fan girls running at him from down the street. Well. That's why she's smiling at me. It's good to be nice to people who you think are going to die. At least it wasn't a mad raving mass of slobbering rabid twelve-foot tall monkeys out to eat his liver…actually, when you think about it figuratively, they are…drat.
Matt sighed and looked at Sora. "Forgive me."
He grabbed her bike and pedaled off down the sidewalk quickly. "HEY!" Sora yelled. "That's my bike!" Then, "Whoa!" as she was pushed aside by the screaming fan girls. She fell to the lawn and glared Matt's disappearing figure. "I hope they get you," she muttered. "You deserve it."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Tai grinned as he sat down on his bed. He had the whole day to himself. Kari had gone to her friend Yolei's house and his parents were off at work. How would he spend the day?
As he pondered this, he scratched Kari's cat Miko behind the ears. Digging into the fridge wouldn't work; after all, there was never any good things to eat there, other than potato onion and chili salad or celery-lychee soda.
Just the thought of it curled his toes.
Suddenly, the alarm clock across the room rang, a little late. Tai started and his surprised hand caused Miko to fall over the bed. Miko glared at Tai and walked out of the room, tail raised indignantly. Tai wondered briefly how cats could be so willful and ran to get his soccer ball. He needed to get out of the house.
Might as well go to the park. (A/N: Have you noticed that in other Digimon stories, parks play a big role?)
Soon enough, he arrived at the park. Sitting down on a bench to rest from the jog to the park, he watched the people passing by. And wouldn't he be so surprised when he saw the famous rock star himself, Yamato Ishida, pedal by, looking as ragged as a poor beggar in the hot Sahara Desert.
"Matt!" Tai yelped. "What happened to you? You look like you've been run over by a steamroller and caught up in a cyclone!" he paused. "Is that possible? You're alive, after all." He shrugged.
Matt looked at him and grinned weakly. "Hey, Tai." He walked the bike over and sat down on the bench. Collapsed, actually. Tai glanced at him inquiringly.
The blonde-haired boy sighed. "It's one of the cons of being famous, you see. Over-obsessed fan girls have no sense humility or honor, whatsoever. They would've poured all over me if I hadn't…oh no."
"Oh no, what?" Tai prodded, curious.
Matt put his head in his hands. "I stole this bike from Takenouchi! She's going to kill me."
Tai arched his eyebrow. "Really? Now what were you doing with Sora that gave you the chance to steal her bike? Tell me everything."
Matt gave him a dark look. "She and my mom are on first-name basis." He then proceeded to tell him his account of what happened. "By the way, Tai, my mom said that there was something happening here in Odaiba. She said that it might interest me somehow. Do you have any idea what she meant? What is going on that is so interesting that my mother would talk to me about it?"
Tai thought hard. "Well, there's that bake sale going on next week, but I doubt that you'll find interest in that, right? There's the soccer tryouts, the dog show tomorrow, the Digimon marathon starting next Friday, the astronomy thing, the—"
Matt's eyes lightened. "What astronomy thing?"
He answered, "I don't really know much about it because I'm not really into astronomy, but I gathered that there's the star-gazing thing, some seminar about the universe…you can read more about it in the newspaper tomorrow. It's going to happen the week after the next one."
"Ah…" A smiled crept up Matt's fatigued face. "That's just what my mom meant!"
"You mean you like stars?"
Well, I always had this dream of becoming an astronaut, but I decided that it could wait until I'm, what, thirty-five or something? Forty? Anyway, thanks, Tai."
"Don't mention it."
"All right, I won't."
Tai rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I just wish you luck with Sora. I wouldn't want to be you when you return her bike. She has a mean kick."
Matt winced, glancing at his battered knees. "Don't remind me."
"Don't frown, Matt. It'll give you wrinkles."
Matt gaped at Tai. "You sound just like Mimi…" he whispered, amazed.
"Eh?" Tai gave him a puzzled look.
"She tells me that all the time."
"Right. Anyway, you have anything important to do today? I have nothing at all on my usually bustling itinerary."
Matt sighed. "Other than band practice sometime later, I'm pretty clear. I was actually planning to spend the day examining every inch of my life before it is taken away from me when I go to return Sora's bike, but I'm sure that I can do that on the long ride to Sora's." (A/N: Y'know, I just realized that this sounds familiar. Then I thought: Hey, isn't that Misty's plot to stick with Ash? I swear the idea for Matt to take Sora's bike just evolved from the need for the fan girls to come swarming in.)
A thought occurred to him. "But wait, how do I return it to Sora? I have no idea at all of where she lives and waiting 'til Thursday will probably encourage her to find a way to keep me alive to see her eat my heart." (A/N: Thank you, David and Leigh Eddings!)
"Well…" Tai thought for a moment. "I know that her mother owns this flower shop a few blocks down. If you're lucky, she wouldn't be there and all you have to do is leave her bike there."
"What if she is there?"
"Get ready to run like hell."
****
There's the next chapter, folks! How do you like it: rare, medium, or raw? Burnt's pretty silly, though. I'm not making sense. Anyway, I'll get the next chapter up once I figure out what's wrong with my disk. There are a bunch of weird characters in replacement of the words I wrote. Dratted, I had to delete the prologue to a new story because I couldn't understand anything at all!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!