Chemistry exam? Bah… trivial. Back in 'Nam, we would have loved to have
had a chemistry exam to take our mind off the bullets and whatnot.
o-kay, that just sort of fell on the computer, and I like it just enough not to delete it. Anyway I'm glad I could make your day a bit better, Clear Skies. I write for you. And you are lucky-- at least your muse lets you sleep at semi-normal times. My muse, whose name is Seamus, usually gets me inspired at 2:30 or so in the morning. Well, it's not that bad since I am a big ol' night owl. I usually get something posted at about 6 am, Eastern time and sometimes it gets reviewed before I turn in. I enjoy that. One more thing about Lucy, tell her to quit sending all those porn emails. They get old quick. (ha) now I'll talk a while longer before I start writing.
Well, this has been a banner day for good ol' energy. #1) I got my new apartment today!!! I can move out of the ghetto now!!! Yeah! The only bad thing is that I'll be updating only sporadically between now and when I get everything settled.
"Sure you will," Seamus says… "You know as well as I do that you'll type away the nights instead of unpacking your stuff." He's right, but I WILL have to take at least a few nights off. "Right…." shut up!!
#2) in the banner day department-- I finally got a friend to take over running our Saturday night role-playing thing, so I can have a bit more free time to do other things. "So you can type more fanfics, you mean…" Seamus, shut up. He's right again. I've been running either dungeons and dragons or star wars now for the past two plus years and it's wearing on me….once again, HOORAY!!! You rock, buddy of mine!
#3)the last banner day thing-- I just have to say how wonderful waiting tables is. Where else can you work five hours and leave with almost 180$ in your pocket, plus an hourly wage??? Nothing better than serving a bunch of drunk country boys in a western bar and grill….needless to say, that will buy a bit of new housewarming supplies.
Now I promise this is the last little thing before I start-- thank you again for all your reviews. This is only chapter ten and I already have half as many reviews for this as I do for my 34 chapter Harry Potter monster. You guys rock!!!! All of you. Now before I lose my train of thought completely, I'll start the movie…..
The crowd finally settled back down and the gathering around TK and the rest quit their manic jumping. TK looked up at the scoreboard and could barely believe it.
"You won, TK!! You won!" Cody was speaking to TK, still held by the waist in his one arm, so he was now almost as tall as every one else. Truthfully, he was a little bit taller than Koushirou, but at this moment he didn't care.
"I know. I can't believe it."
"I don't know what got into you in the second half, TK, but bring it to our final games before the playoffs," the coach said as he slapped TK on the back. Not hard of course, but the usual sports slap.
"I don't know what it was either, but I'll do my best to bring it, you can believe that." The coach walked off, still shaking his head in disbelief, much like the other team. They were sitting on their bench with their heads hung low.
"Unbelievable." Tai said. "Do you know your stats for the game?"
"Honestly I don't," TK told him.
"Well, can you say almost a triple-double?"
"Seriously?"
"Seriously," Tai told him. "31 points, almost all in the second half, 14 assists, and 8 rebounds. There are players in the pros who would kill for those numbers, TK."
"I'm not that great, Tai. Besides, we didn't really win anything today, just a better seeding."
"Well," Koushirou spoke up, "You might not have won anything, but you played one heck of a game."
"I concur," Cody told him.
"Thanks you guys. Now if you don't mind waiting, I'd like to grab a quick shower before we leave because I have been sweating just a little bit." Another grand understatement. The only dry part on him was the shoulders straps of his jersey.
"Sure. We'll wait for you TK." TK left them standing around mid court and he gathered his things and went to de-stink himself
"Do you know how many more games he has left until the playoffs, Cody?" Koushirou asked him.
"Three games before the playoffs begin in early December. I so hope that he can keep that up. He was spectacular."
"I think we should come and watch the games, what do you think, Tai?" Koushirou asked.
"I think that would be a wonderful idea, Kou-chan."
"Great. I know that TK would love seeing you two here. Maybe you brought him luck."
"Hope so." They stood around and discussed some of the finer points of the game while they waited for TK to return. During the wait Cody picked up a stray ball and started shooting around, not hitting but three shots out of a million.
"Maybe you should have TK give you a lesson or two, Cody," Tai said.
"Maybe I should, Taichi. He could show me a lot, I'm sure."
OKAY! Do not read too much into that, you sick minded gutter dwellers. Anyway….
TK returned and the group dispersed after a bus ride home. Koushirou walked into his house and he looked like he was glowing. Any more and he might set off the smoke detector.
"Have a good time, Koushirou?" His mother asked him while he was hanging his jacket up.
"Oh it was great. We had the sleepover at TK's last night and then Tai, Cody and I went to TK's basketball game today."
"Did he win?" Koushirou's father asked.
"Oh, did they ever. It was a spectacular game." Koushirou started to describe the highlights of the game but ended up telling almost every single detail he remembered. His mother zoned out a quarter of the way through [[typical non-sports loving mom, ne?]] while his father was hanging on every word Koushirou spoke.
"….And then the ball came out to him and he put it up and won the game." Koushirou was jittering as he recalled the emotions of the end of the game.
"What a game. Makes me think back to the old days," his father said as he put a hand on his chin and looked thoughtfully at the ceiling, obviously remembering his own glory days.
"You played ball in school? I never knew that!" Koushirou was excited by that news. His mother, however, was smiling broadly.
"You father was the trainer in his 'old days', Koushirou. He never played."
"I could have, but my bum knee kept me sidelined."
"Right, dear. Now why don't you take your bum knee and take the trash out. Dinner will be ready shortly. You should wash up, Koushirou, you look a little dirty."
"I'll be fine, Mom, I promise. I'll wash my hands though, just for you."
"Thank you dear. Now, my other dear, get the garbage out."
"I'm going," Koushirou's father exclaimed, faking exasperation as he picked the trash up and headed out the door. Koushirou and his mother shared a laugh at his expense and then Koushirou headed to clean up and then to his room.
"Hello, Koushirou, how did everything go last night?" Tentomon asked him as he shut the door behind him.
"Better than I could have ever imagined, Tentomon. I don't know if I can describe it to you."
"If it has any discreet details you can not tell me and I'll be perfectly happy."
"No, nothing like that happened, Tentomon," Koushirou had a dreamy look in his eyes.
"Nothing happened yet, right Koushirou?"
"Correct as usual, Tentomon. Yet. I hope."
"As long as you're happy, Koushirou, that is all that matters to me."
"Thanks, I appreciate that, Tentomon. Should I bring you back some dinner when I come?"
"No thank you, I have already eaten."
"Alright then, I'll see you later."
Koushirou returned from dinner and sat around and talked to Tentomon about the day, again going into great lengths about the game before going to bed. Tentomon got the same glazed-eye look that his mother had but Koushirou failed to notice. When he turned in, he did miss Tai's warmth with him but the thoughts did a decent job of keeping him warm.
The next day he walked with TK to school.
"So I am going to make a huge assumption and guess that everything worked out great between you two at my house, right?"
"Oh TK, yes. Thank you so much. I don't think I've ever been this happy."
"Wonderful. I'm so glad it worked out."
"TK, I owe you a big one, anytime, just let me know what I can do for you and I'll do it."
"That, Kou-chan, sounds like a homework pass to me."
"No, I'm being serious here. Don't forget."
"I doubt you'll let me," TK smiled at him as they neared the school building.
[[[real quick, I don't know how Japanese schools work, and to be quite honest I don't care, but before I forget, Koushirou and Tai and the rest of the original DigiDestined (minus TK) are sophomores in high school in my world. The season two kids (and TK) are in junior high (eighth grade) and Cody (Iori, just for you, Clear Skies) is in sixth. There.]]]
Once in school, everyone noticed the difference in Koushirou from today to the previous day of school. At first Koushirou was a little flattered that everyone cared about him, but it grew old after the first three hours. School and all the 'hey you look better' finally ended and Tai Koushirou headed home. Tai stayed over at Koushirou's for a while, but I won't go into everything that happened there, since it was all rather mundane.
Since Koushirou's mother was home she fed the boys silly with delicious cooking. The two sat on the couch together, a little closer than normal but not too close in case Mrs. Izumi peeked her head in with a new plate of snacks. Three hours of tv watching and being together ended when Tai announced that he had to head home.
"Oh, I was just about to invite you to stay for dinner, Taichi," Mrs. Izumi said from the kitchen as Tai was getting his coat on.
"Thank you anyway, Mrs. Izumi. Maybe tomorrow?"
"Of course, Taichi. What would you like as the main course?"
"Anything without the words tofu or wheat germ in it," he said with a smile.
"I think I can think of a recipe or two that fit that requirement."
"Thanks Mrs. Izumi. I can hardly wait!" Tai said as he was making for the door.
"I'll walk you out, Tai," Koushirou said, getting his coat as well."
"Don't be long dear," his mother told him. Koushirou called back he wouldn't be and they were out the door.
Out in the hallway, Koushirou closed the door behind him and started walking Tai out to the main entrance to the building. Once in the elevator, they held hands as the door slid shut.
"Tai, I really enjoyed today, even though we just sat on my couch together."
"So did I, Koushirou, so did I." Thankfully the two boys were undisturbed as the car descended to the bottom level.
"Hey Tai," Koushirou called softly as the car was settling to a stop, causing Tai to look at him.
"Hmm?" Koushirou stood on tiptoe and kissed the boy softly on the lips, quickly, but lovingly. As the door slid open, Koushirou pulled back.
"Something to remember me by tonight while you eat your tofughetti, Tai."
"How thoughtful of you, Kou-chan. I'll see you later." Tai was blushing and unmercifully ruffled Koushirou's hair as he stepped out of the elevator. Koushirou blushed himself as he watched Tai disappear through the shutting door. He had a pang in his heart as he pushed the up button.
When Koushirou had returned to his apartment his other was almost finished with dinner. [[[she cooks almost as fast as I do!]]] "I like that friend Tai of yours, Koushirou. He's such a nice boy," she told him.
"I know. He's great." Koushirou's eyes about bugged out of his head as he realized what he said and the context that it could be taken in.
"It's nice for you to have friends like that, Koushirou. I was worried about you since you've not really had anyone over in forever."
"You don't have to fuss over me, Mom. I've been okay."
"I know I don't have to, but you're my son, so I just do it. I always will. I can't help it."
"Thanks mom," Koushirou said as he hugged her.
"I don't know where that came from, but it can come again anytime, Koushirou." He smiled at her and helped her set the table.
A week passed with either Tai over at Koushirou's house or vice versa every single day after school and all day on the weekends.
"Now Koushirou, you are going to be alright while we're gone, right?"
"Yes mother, for the nth time, I will be fine. The number to Aunt Rika's is on the caller ID, I know the fire department number, the police number, you've cooked enough food for an army--"
"Well, for you and Tai anyway, an army maybe--" his mother interjected
"Okay, for Tai and I, um, there is money in the drawer for an emergency pizza, have I forgotten anything?"
"No huge parties," his mother said jokingly.
"I don't think that will happen, mother," Koushirou said dryly.
"Just in case," she smiled at him. He rolled his eyes. She hollered to her husband, "Are you going to be ready anytime soon? I'd like to be gone before the storm hits, 'dear'"
"I'm almost done. I'm just finishing the packing, which you could of course had helped with last night instead of cooking five thousand meals." Koushirou's father came out of the bedroom carrying two suitcases. "Honey, we're only going to be gone for five days, so why did you see the need to pack your entire wardrobe?"
"I'm not answering that question, woman's privilege." Mr. Izumi shook his head and lugged the lead weight to the door, rolling his eyes at Koushirou.
"I saw that."
"Saw what? It was dust from some of the clothes you've not worn since the late 70's." Koushirou was rolling on the couch laughing. Sometimes his parents could put a stand-up comic to shame.
His parents made their way out the door and he stood in the living room enjoying the silence. He did love them, dearly, but Koushirou dearly loved solitude as well. He walked over to the large window and looked out at the morning sky. The sun was just beginning to come up, but he doubted that he'd see it much longer. One of the first winter storms of the season was scheduled to hit in mid morning and it was to be a big one.
Tentomon buzzed his way on over and landed on the chair beside the window.
"You're sad, Koushirou. Don't worry. Tai will be fine. It's probably just one of those twenty-four hour viruses. He'll be over it by this afternoon."
"I know, Tentomon, I just was looking forward to spending the day with him. He's going to miss TK's game and everything."
"He'll be there in spirit, I'm sure, Koushirou. I just had a wonderful idea!"
"What is it, Tentomon?" Koushirou asked, uncertain. Tentomon's great ideas were unpredictable.
"Why don't you take your video camera and tape the game for him. I'm sure he'd like that," Tentomon said as if it should have been the most obvious thing on the planet.
"Prodigious! That is a great idea. Thanks, Tentomon!" Koushirou raced off to find his camera.
A few hours later he was just finishing up an early lunch before he left for TK's game. "I'll call Tai and see how he's feeling." Koushirou picked up his cell phone and punched #1 and hit send.
"Hello?" a groggy voice answered.
"Hey Tai, it's me," Koushirou told him.
"Hey Kou-chan. How are you today?"
"Well, I just finished lunch and I'm getting ready to head out to TK's game, but I thought I'd call you first. So how are you feeling now? Any better?"
"After the four hours I spent in the toilet early this morning vomiting my shoes off, I actually do feel a lot better."
"That's great, Tai. If you feel up to it, I'll come by your place later on after the game."
"Call first, Kou-chan, in case I'm having a command performance for the porcelain gods again. [[[I hate those shows…]]]
"I will."
"Oh, Kou? Wish TK luck for me. Tell him that I'm sorry I've missed his last game."
"It's not the last game, Tai, just the last regular game."
"Right. Tell him I'm sorry I missed that then."
"Will do. I'm going to let you go now, Tai. I hope you feel better."
"Me too, Kou-chan. Call me."
"I will. Bye." Koushirou clicked his phone off and grabbed his coat and headed out, picking the video camera up as he left.
He arrived at the gym with only fifteen minutes to spare, since the buses were crowded and unusually slow today due to the winter storm which had dumped a bunch of freezing rain and snow already with more to come. He walked in and spotted Cody, right in the middle saving two seats. He then saw TK on the bench with his headphones on again.
"Hey Cody!" Koushirou called out as he neared the boy.
"Hello, Koushirou. Where's Taichi?"
"He is, oh, how'd he put it? Oh yeah, he's been busy vomiting his shoes off last night and today."
"Oh. That's terrible."
"I think he's better already though."
"I hope so." The boys exchanged chatter during the shoot-around.
Koushirou had pulled his camera out of his coat and was busy getting it ready when he noticed Cody watching him. "Tentomon thought that it might be a good idea to videotape the game for Tai since he can't see it himself."
"That is a great idea," Cody said as Koushirou finished adjusting the camera.
Okay, I'm not going to do another play by play for two reasons. One, I've already done it once, and two, my hands are starting to cramp after two hours of typing.
The final buzzer couldn't have come soon enough for TK's opponents. TK and his team absolutely buried the other team. When the buzzer finally went off, eight of TK's team was in double figures, lead by TK with his triple- double. It was by far the most lop-sided victory that year in the league.
"Wow! That was a great game!" Cody was yelling.
"No kidding!! Tai is going to be soooo sorry he got sick for this one." The digi-destined shared comments as the teams shook hands and made their way to their benches. TK came over and shared high fives with the two along with a few congratulations. Cody was jumping up and down, so TK picked him up like before and raised a fist in victory, as did Cody. He put Cody down and told them he'd be right back, and he headed over to meet with the rest of the team. Koushirou took this opportunity to call Tai and see if he was up to a visitor. Koushirou smiled as he hung up the phone, Tai was feeling better.
"Well, now it gets serious," TK said to the two of them as he walked back. They both nodded but were grinning from ear to ear. "Like always, I'm going to get a shower before I leave. Are you waiting around?"
"Not this time, TK. I've got to go see Tai."
"Cody?"
"Sorry. I have to practice myself today. We'll see you later on I guess, TK."
"Alright guys. Have a good afternoon." TK walked over to his gym bag and headed to the locker rooms.
"Tai's place is on the way to yours, Cody, so do you mind if I walk with you?"
"Oh, not at all, Koushirou. I'd enjoy the company."
"Great. Well then, let's go." The two boys pulled on their coats and headed out into the snow and sleet mixture, bypassing the bus stop because they wanted to get somewhere today and headed on down the road. It was only about fifteen blocks or so, so it wasn't all that far anyway.
They talked about the game, Cody going on and on about how great TK was. Carefully they made their way down the sidewalk, trying to not slip on some of the many patches of ice that hadn't been salted yet.
"Well Cody, here's your place, so I guess I'll see you later on, right?"
"Of course, Koushirou. Tell Taichi that I hope he fully recovers quickly."
"I will, Cody. See you."
"Alright, bye Koushirou." Cody started his way up the walk to his building and Koushirou began the final few blocks of his journey. Cody just happened to look back at Koushirou and what he saw made time slow down.
A car was sliding on the ice, careening sideways down the street, the driver madly trying to regain control. Cody saw the look on the driver's face as he saw the one thing that lay between him and the apartment building….Koushirou. He laid on the horn but by the time Koushirou looked up it was too late.
"KOUSHIROU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
What a horrible place to stop huh? I thought I'd never get there. I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. Anyone who wants it really really quick, come help me move. After the next few chapters it will be centering on the Takody, and don't worry, Kou-chan isn't dead.
In other news, I'm about to do an interactive Tamer fic, so if any of you are interested, get an idea together for a character and a Digimon. Look for something called Digimon-Reloaded by yours truly maybe today, or maybe tomorrow. I'll give first shot to characters from reviewers to this story. Oh, and this interactive will be written (small poke at chibisilverstar….come on, girl, get going, huh????)
o-kay, that just sort of fell on the computer, and I like it just enough not to delete it. Anyway I'm glad I could make your day a bit better, Clear Skies. I write for you. And you are lucky-- at least your muse lets you sleep at semi-normal times. My muse, whose name is Seamus, usually gets me inspired at 2:30 or so in the morning. Well, it's not that bad since I am a big ol' night owl. I usually get something posted at about 6 am, Eastern time and sometimes it gets reviewed before I turn in. I enjoy that. One more thing about Lucy, tell her to quit sending all those porn emails. They get old quick. (ha) now I'll talk a while longer before I start writing.
Well, this has been a banner day for good ol' energy. #1) I got my new apartment today!!! I can move out of the ghetto now!!! Yeah! The only bad thing is that I'll be updating only sporadically between now and when I get everything settled.
"Sure you will," Seamus says… "You know as well as I do that you'll type away the nights instead of unpacking your stuff." He's right, but I WILL have to take at least a few nights off. "Right…." shut up!!
#2) in the banner day department-- I finally got a friend to take over running our Saturday night role-playing thing, so I can have a bit more free time to do other things. "So you can type more fanfics, you mean…" Seamus, shut up. He's right again. I've been running either dungeons and dragons or star wars now for the past two plus years and it's wearing on me….once again, HOORAY!!! You rock, buddy of mine!
#3)the last banner day thing-- I just have to say how wonderful waiting tables is. Where else can you work five hours and leave with almost 180$ in your pocket, plus an hourly wage??? Nothing better than serving a bunch of drunk country boys in a western bar and grill….needless to say, that will buy a bit of new housewarming supplies.
Now I promise this is the last little thing before I start-- thank you again for all your reviews. This is only chapter ten and I already have half as many reviews for this as I do for my 34 chapter Harry Potter monster. You guys rock!!!! All of you. Now before I lose my train of thought completely, I'll start the movie…..
The crowd finally settled back down and the gathering around TK and the rest quit their manic jumping. TK looked up at the scoreboard and could barely believe it.
"You won, TK!! You won!" Cody was speaking to TK, still held by the waist in his one arm, so he was now almost as tall as every one else. Truthfully, he was a little bit taller than Koushirou, but at this moment he didn't care.
"I know. I can't believe it."
"I don't know what got into you in the second half, TK, but bring it to our final games before the playoffs," the coach said as he slapped TK on the back. Not hard of course, but the usual sports slap.
"I don't know what it was either, but I'll do my best to bring it, you can believe that." The coach walked off, still shaking his head in disbelief, much like the other team. They were sitting on their bench with their heads hung low.
"Unbelievable." Tai said. "Do you know your stats for the game?"
"Honestly I don't," TK told him.
"Well, can you say almost a triple-double?"
"Seriously?"
"Seriously," Tai told him. "31 points, almost all in the second half, 14 assists, and 8 rebounds. There are players in the pros who would kill for those numbers, TK."
"I'm not that great, Tai. Besides, we didn't really win anything today, just a better seeding."
"Well," Koushirou spoke up, "You might not have won anything, but you played one heck of a game."
"I concur," Cody told him.
"Thanks you guys. Now if you don't mind waiting, I'd like to grab a quick shower before we leave because I have been sweating just a little bit." Another grand understatement. The only dry part on him was the shoulders straps of his jersey.
"Sure. We'll wait for you TK." TK left them standing around mid court and he gathered his things and went to de-stink himself
"Do you know how many more games he has left until the playoffs, Cody?" Koushirou asked him.
"Three games before the playoffs begin in early December. I so hope that he can keep that up. He was spectacular."
"I think we should come and watch the games, what do you think, Tai?" Koushirou asked.
"I think that would be a wonderful idea, Kou-chan."
"Great. I know that TK would love seeing you two here. Maybe you brought him luck."
"Hope so." They stood around and discussed some of the finer points of the game while they waited for TK to return. During the wait Cody picked up a stray ball and started shooting around, not hitting but three shots out of a million.
"Maybe you should have TK give you a lesson or two, Cody," Tai said.
"Maybe I should, Taichi. He could show me a lot, I'm sure."
OKAY! Do not read too much into that, you sick minded gutter dwellers. Anyway….
TK returned and the group dispersed after a bus ride home. Koushirou walked into his house and he looked like he was glowing. Any more and he might set off the smoke detector.
"Have a good time, Koushirou?" His mother asked him while he was hanging his jacket up.
"Oh it was great. We had the sleepover at TK's last night and then Tai, Cody and I went to TK's basketball game today."
"Did he win?" Koushirou's father asked.
"Oh, did they ever. It was a spectacular game." Koushirou started to describe the highlights of the game but ended up telling almost every single detail he remembered. His mother zoned out a quarter of the way through [[typical non-sports loving mom, ne?]] while his father was hanging on every word Koushirou spoke.
"….And then the ball came out to him and he put it up and won the game." Koushirou was jittering as he recalled the emotions of the end of the game.
"What a game. Makes me think back to the old days," his father said as he put a hand on his chin and looked thoughtfully at the ceiling, obviously remembering his own glory days.
"You played ball in school? I never knew that!" Koushirou was excited by that news. His mother, however, was smiling broadly.
"You father was the trainer in his 'old days', Koushirou. He never played."
"I could have, but my bum knee kept me sidelined."
"Right, dear. Now why don't you take your bum knee and take the trash out. Dinner will be ready shortly. You should wash up, Koushirou, you look a little dirty."
"I'll be fine, Mom, I promise. I'll wash my hands though, just for you."
"Thank you dear. Now, my other dear, get the garbage out."
"I'm going," Koushirou's father exclaimed, faking exasperation as he picked the trash up and headed out the door. Koushirou and his mother shared a laugh at his expense and then Koushirou headed to clean up and then to his room.
"Hello, Koushirou, how did everything go last night?" Tentomon asked him as he shut the door behind him.
"Better than I could have ever imagined, Tentomon. I don't know if I can describe it to you."
"If it has any discreet details you can not tell me and I'll be perfectly happy."
"No, nothing like that happened, Tentomon," Koushirou had a dreamy look in his eyes.
"Nothing happened yet, right Koushirou?"
"Correct as usual, Tentomon. Yet. I hope."
"As long as you're happy, Koushirou, that is all that matters to me."
"Thanks, I appreciate that, Tentomon. Should I bring you back some dinner when I come?"
"No thank you, I have already eaten."
"Alright then, I'll see you later."
Koushirou returned from dinner and sat around and talked to Tentomon about the day, again going into great lengths about the game before going to bed. Tentomon got the same glazed-eye look that his mother had but Koushirou failed to notice. When he turned in, he did miss Tai's warmth with him but the thoughts did a decent job of keeping him warm.
The next day he walked with TK to school.
"So I am going to make a huge assumption and guess that everything worked out great between you two at my house, right?"
"Oh TK, yes. Thank you so much. I don't think I've ever been this happy."
"Wonderful. I'm so glad it worked out."
"TK, I owe you a big one, anytime, just let me know what I can do for you and I'll do it."
"That, Kou-chan, sounds like a homework pass to me."
"No, I'm being serious here. Don't forget."
"I doubt you'll let me," TK smiled at him as they neared the school building.
[[[real quick, I don't know how Japanese schools work, and to be quite honest I don't care, but before I forget, Koushirou and Tai and the rest of the original DigiDestined (minus TK) are sophomores in high school in my world. The season two kids (and TK) are in junior high (eighth grade) and Cody (Iori, just for you, Clear Skies) is in sixth. There.]]]
Once in school, everyone noticed the difference in Koushirou from today to the previous day of school. At first Koushirou was a little flattered that everyone cared about him, but it grew old after the first three hours. School and all the 'hey you look better' finally ended and Tai Koushirou headed home. Tai stayed over at Koushirou's for a while, but I won't go into everything that happened there, since it was all rather mundane.
Since Koushirou's mother was home she fed the boys silly with delicious cooking. The two sat on the couch together, a little closer than normal but not too close in case Mrs. Izumi peeked her head in with a new plate of snacks. Three hours of tv watching and being together ended when Tai announced that he had to head home.
"Oh, I was just about to invite you to stay for dinner, Taichi," Mrs. Izumi said from the kitchen as Tai was getting his coat on.
"Thank you anyway, Mrs. Izumi. Maybe tomorrow?"
"Of course, Taichi. What would you like as the main course?"
"Anything without the words tofu or wheat germ in it," he said with a smile.
"I think I can think of a recipe or two that fit that requirement."
"Thanks Mrs. Izumi. I can hardly wait!" Tai said as he was making for the door.
"I'll walk you out, Tai," Koushirou said, getting his coat as well."
"Don't be long dear," his mother told him. Koushirou called back he wouldn't be and they were out the door.
Out in the hallway, Koushirou closed the door behind him and started walking Tai out to the main entrance to the building. Once in the elevator, they held hands as the door slid shut.
"Tai, I really enjoyed today, even though we just sat on my couch together."
"So did I, Koushirou, so did I." Thankfully the two boys were undisturbed as the car descended to the bottom level.
"Hey Tai," Koushirou called softly as the car was settling to a stop, causing Tai to look at him.
"Hmm?" Koushirou stood on tiptoe and kissed the boy softly on the lips, quickly, but lovingly. As the door slid open, Koushirou pulled back.
"Something to remember me by tonight while you eat your tofughetti, Tai."
"How thoughtful of you, Kou-chan. I'll see you later." Tai was blushing and unmercifully ruffled Koushirou's hair as he stepped out of the elevator. Koushirou blushed himself as he watched Tai disappear through the shutting door. He had a pang in his heart as he pushed the up button.
When Koushirou had returned to his apartment his other was almost finished with dinner. [[[she cooks almost as fast as I do!]]] "I like that friend Tai of yours, Koushirou. He's such a nice boy," she told him.
"I know. He's great." Koushirou's eyes about bugged out of his head as he realized what he said and the context that it could be taken in.
"It's nice for you to have friends like that, Koushirou. I was worried about you since you've not really had anyone over in forever."
"You don't have to fuss over me, Mom. I've been okay."
"I know I don't have to, but you're my son, so I just do it. I always will. I can't help it."
"Thanks mom," Koushirou said as he hugged her.
"I don't know where that came from, but it can come again anytime, Koushirou." He smiled at her and helped her set the table.
A week passed with either Tai over at Koushirou's house or vice versa every single day after school and all day on the weekends.
"Now Koushirou, you are going to be alright while we're gone, right?"
"Yes mother, for the nth time, I will be fine. The number to Aunt Rika's is on the caller ID, I know the fire department number, the police number, you've cooked enough food for an army--"
"Well, for you and Tai anyway, an army maybe--" his mother interjected
"Okay, for Tai and I, um, there is money in the drawer for an emergency pizza, have I forgotten anything?"
"No huge parties," his mother said jokingly.
"I don't think that will happen, mother," Koushirou said dryly.
"Just in case," she smiled at him. He rolled his eyes. She hollered to her husband, "Are you going to be ready anytime soon? I'd like to be gone before the storm hits, 'dear'"
"I'm almost done. I'm just finishing the packing, which you could of course had helped with last night instead of cooking five thousand meals." Koushirou's father came out of the bedroom carrying two suitcases. "Honey, we're only going to be gone for five days, so why did you see the need to pack your entire wardrobe?"
"I'm not answering that question, woman's privilege." Mr. Izumi shook his head and lugged the lead weight to the door, rolling his eyes at Koushirou.
"I saw that."
"Saw what? It was dust from some of the clothes you've not worn since the late 70's." Koushirou was rolling on the couch laughing. Sometimes his parents could put a stand-up comic to shame.
His parents made their way out the door and he stood in the living room enjoying the silence. He did love them, dearly, but Koushirou dearly loved solitude as well. He walked over to the large window and looked out at the morning sky. The sun was just beginning to come up, but he doubted that he'd see it much longer. One of the first winter storms of the season was scheduled to hit in mid morning and it was to be a big one.
Tentomon buzzed his way on over and landed on the chair beside the window.
"You're sad, Koushirou. Don't worry. Tai will be fine. It's probably just one of those twenty-four hour viruses. He'll be over it by this afternoon."
"I know, Tentomon, I just was looking forward to spending the day with him. He's going to miss TK's game and everything."
"He'll be there in spirit, I'm sure, Koushirou. I just had a wonderful idea!"
"What is it, Tentomon?" Koushirou asked, uncertain. Tentomon's great ideas were unpredictable.
"Why don't you take your video camera and tape the game for him. I'm sure he'd like that," Tentomon said as if it should have been the most obvious thing on the planet.
"Prodigious! That is a great idea. Thanks, Tentomon!" Koushirou raced off to find his camera.
A few hours later he was just finishing up an early lunch before he left for TK's game. "I'll call Tai and see how he's feeling." Koushirou picked up his cell phone and punched #1 and hit send.
"Hello?" a groggy voice answered.
"Hey Tai, it's me," Koushirou told him.
"Hey Kou-chan. How are you today?"
"Well, I just finished lunch and I'm getting ready to head out to TK's game, but I thought I'd call you first. So how are you feeling now? Any better?"
"After the four hours I spent in the toilet early this morning vomiting my shoes off, I actually do feel a lot better."
"That's great, Tai. If you feel up to it, I'll come by your place later on after the game."
"Call first, Kou-chan, in case I'm having a command performance for the porcelain gods again. [[[I hate those shows…]]]
"I will."
"Oh, Kou? Wish TK luck for me. Tell him that I'm sorry I've missed his last game."
"It's not the last game, Tai, just the last regular game."
"Right. Tell him I'm sorry I missed that then."
"Will do. I'm going to let you go now, Tai. I hope you feel better."
"Me too, Kou-chan. Call me."
"I will. Bye." Koushirou clicked his phone off and grabbed his coat and headed out, picking the video camera up as he left.
He arrived at the gym with only fifteen minutes to spare, since the buses were crowded and unusually slow today due to the winter storm which had dumped a bunch of freezing rain and snow already with more to come. He walked in and spotted Cody, right in the middle saving two seats. He then saw TK on the bench with his headphones on again.
"Hey Cody!" Koushirou called out as he neared the boy.
"Hello, Koushirou. Where's Taichi?"
"He is, oh, how'd he put it? Oh yeah, he's been busy vomiting his shoes off last night and today."
"Oh. That's terrible."
"I think he's better already though."
"I hope so." The boys exchanged chatter during the shoot-around.
Koushirou had pulled his camera out of his coat and was busy getting it ready when he noticed Cody watching him. "Tentomon thought that it might be a good idea to videotape the game for Tai since he can't see it himself."
"That is a great idea," Cody said as Koushirou finished adjusting the camera.
Okay, I'm not going to do another play by play for two reasons. One, I've already done it once, and two, my hands are starting to cramp after two hours of typing.
The final buzzer couldn't have come soon enough for TK's opponents. TK and his team absolutely buried the other team. When the buzzer finally went off, eight of TK's team was in double figures, lead by TK with his triple- double. It was by far the most lop-sided victory that year in the league.
"Wow! That was a great game!" Cody was yelling.
"No kidding!! Tai is going to be soooo sorry he got sick for this one." The digi-destined shared comments as the teams shook hands and made their way to their benches. TK came over and shared high fives with the two along with a few congratulations. Cody was jumping up and down, so TK picked him up like before and raised a fist in victory, as did Cody. He put Cody down and told them he'd be right back, and he headed over to meet with the rest of the team. Koushirou took this opportunity to call Tai and see if he was up to a visitor. Koushirou smiled as he hung up the phone, Tai was feeling better.
"Well, now it gets serious," TK said to the two of them as he walked back. They both nodded but were grinning from ear to ear. "Like always, I'm going to get a shower before I leave. Are you waiting around?"
"Not this time, TK. I've got to go see Tai."
"Cody?"
"Sorry. I have to practice myself today. We'll see you later on I guess, TK."
"Alright guys. Have a good afternoon." TK walked over to his gym bag and headed to the locker rooms.
"Tai's place is on the way to yours, Cody, so do you mind if I walk with you?"
"Oh, not at all, Koushirou. I'd enjoy the company."
"Great. Well then, let's go." The two boys pulled on their coats and headed out into the snow and sleet mixture, bypassing the bus stop because they wanted to get somewhere today and headed on down the road. It was only about fifteen blocks or so, so it wasn't all that far anyway.
They talked about the game, Cody going on and on about how great TK was. Carefully they made their way down the sidewalk, trying to not slip on some of the many patches of ice that hadn't been salted yet.
"Well Cody, here's your place, so I guess I'll see you later on, right?"
"Of course, Koushirou. Tell Taichi that I hope he fully recovers quickly."
"I will, Cody. See you."
"Alright, bye Koushirou." Cody started his way up the walk to his building and Koushirou began the final few blocks of his journey. Cody just happened to look back at Koushirou and what he saw made time slow down.
A car was sliding on the ice, careening sideways down the street, the driver madly trying to regain control. Cody saw the look on the driver's face as he saw the one thing that lay between him and the apartment building….Koushirou. He laid on the horn but by the time Koushirou looked up it was too late.
"KOUSHIROU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
What a horrible place to stop huh? I thought I'd never get there. I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. Anyone who wants it really really quick, come help me move. After the next few chapters it will be centering on the Takody, and don't worry, Kou-chan isn't dead.
In other news, I'm about to do an interactive Tamer fic, so if any of you are interested, get an idea together for a character and a Digimon. Look for something called Digimon-Reloaded by yours truly maybe today, or maybe tomorrow. I'll give first shot to characters from reviewers to this story. Oh, and this interactive will be written (small poke at chibisilverstar….come on, girl, get going, huh????)