After the Game and Mall Talk
Disclaimer: Don't own, so don't sue. As a matter of fact, don't bother. Just sit, read, and review.
blah blah ...thoughts
"blah blah" ... dialogue
"blah blah" ... sound/action in dialogue
blah blah ... sound/action outside of dialogue
blah blah ... emphasis
#FLASH#
blah blah ... a flashback
#BACK#
(Word beside Japanese word) ... translation
((Psst...)) ... I'm talking to you
The digidestined were waiting out in the parking lot. Most people were gone because three hours had passed since the end of the game. They had seen the players go by, but Daisuke had not come out. Taichi looked up at the sound of loud footsteps. He saw Jun along with Mr. and Mrs. Motomiya. Jun stopped and her parents continued to their car. Mr. Motomiya turned around. "You coming home with us?"
Jun shook her head. "Nope. Payback is today and Daisuke is taking me and his 'girlfriend' to lunch and the mall." They laughed and waved as the car was started up. Mrs. Motomiya waved once more. "Tell Daisuke we'll see him later…if he even makes it home. You two…three…have to watch Chibimon though. Vee-Eldramon can't exactly go walking about."
"That's okay. Daisuke's 'girlfriend' is bringing her partner with her." Mrs. Motomiya nodded and Jun waved as they drove off.
The other Chosen stood in shocked silence. Or more specifically Hikari stood in shocked silence. He has a girlfriend… Again a voice spoke to her with a single statement. If you're engaged to Takeru, why does Daisuke having a girlfriend bother you so much? She walked over to Jun. "Jun? What are you still doing here?"
Jun eyed her. "You were eavesdropping a minute or so before, shouldn't you know? If you must know, I'm waiting for my brother, his trainer, and their partners. Why do you to know…Mrs. Takaishi?"
Hikari stepped back a little. "How…?"
Jun shrugged and ignored her as she saw her brother. "Hey Daisuke! Over here bro'!"
Daisuke came running over with a young woman and two cloaked figures. The woman turned to the cloaked figures. "You two can take those off now. I know you're hot in them and no one else is here." The figures removed their cloaks. There stood Vee-Eldramon and another digimon nobody recognized. The digimon was obviously female.
"Vee-Eldramon de-alternate digivolve to…Veemon!"
"Veemon de-digivolve to…Chibimon!"
The other digimon looked at her partner. "I have to de-digivolve too?"
Yamato interrupted. "Sorry to intrude, but who are you two?"
Daisuke rolled his eyes and made some gesture to the woman. "I'm Ayako. This is my friend…and um…digimon partner, Kelsamon."
Seeing that they weren't quite satisfied with that, Daisuke held up his D3 and used its Analyzer feature. "Kelsamon. This mystic cat-fox digimon is gracefully dangerous. Kelsamon is very protective of territory and even more so over those important to her. While this digimon is usually gentle and doesn't fight much, be wary of her when provoked. With her Razor Clash and Call of Kaze attacks, she is an adversary to be reckoned with."
Gatomon approached the digimon with her claws out, but Kelsamon paid her no attention. The digimon had a lithe and stealthy form like Renamon's. She had a cat-shaped face and white fur. Pale blue marked the tips of her ears, tail, under her paws and feet, over her stomach and a short streak of powder blue was under both of her eyes. The digimon's eyes were so black they gleamed violet. Currently, the dark orbs were examining amazingly sharp claws.
"Hey you…Kelsamon. What are you doing here?"
The digimon ignored her and playfully swiped her tail at Chibimon. The small in-training jumped away as best he could and made his way over to his partner. Daisuke picked him up and watched Gatomon closely. What is she doing? He paid it no more attention as he walked over to his motorcycle, which was behind Jun. The motorcycle was jet black and had his name on the side, emblazed in silver. His license plate read: 'SHADOW'. The motorcycle's sleek form reflected gentle care and a new paint job.
There was another 'cyke next to it. This one was a deep and dark ocean blue color. A side of it read: 'ECLIPSE' in dark blood red. The license plate said 'ICE'. It, too, had a sleek form and a new paint job. But this one's paint job only covered the word 'ECLIPSE' on its side. It seemed that 'ECLIPSE' had a shimmering look to it.
Kelsamon remained disinterested as Gatomon began to hiss at her and outstretch her claws further. The cat digimon was glaring at her. How is she just ignoring me? "Kelsamon! Answer me! I remember you and I know you recognize me."
Kelsamon continued to examine her claws. Gatomon was getting angrier. "How? How were you able to leave Myotismon without looking back? He took his anger out on me you know. I explained what happened after you left and I asked you to come back. You said 'no'. I asked why. And I'll ask you again, why!" Sure, it wasn't like Gatomon to talk about her not-so-pleasant past serving Myotismon, much less in front of everyone in such a public - albeit deserted - place. However, her anger was just too great to think about that right now. She would be very upset with her explosion of emotion later, but not now.
The cat-fox digimon looked her and said one thing. "It doesn't concern you."
Gatomon's fur rose. "I was being abused more than was called for because you were gone! If you had come back then it wouldn't have been so bad. But no, you left me to suffer his full wrath; all because you didn't want to stay anymore. So don't you dare say it doesn't concern me! I have the scars to prove it does!"
Kelsamon looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry, but I could not return."
Gatomon shook her head. "I'll never forgive you for that! If you were there…you could have saved him. Wizardmon. You could have prevented so many things…"
Kelsamon sighed. "I can do nothing about you not forgiving me. However, I could not prevent those things as you think I could. Fate would not have allowed it."
Gatomon screamed her frustration. "Fate! Fate! You and your Fate!" She calmed herself. "Here's what I think about your Fate. Lightning Paw!" Gatomon launched herself at Kelsamon.
The other digimon jumped high into the air. She had no expression on her face. As she came down she countered. "You want to play? Fine. Razor Clash!" Slashes of light came out of her claws. The counter knocked off Gatomon's Lightning Paw and made a small crater where Gatomon had been. The off-course Lightning Paw hit and destroyed the arch over the entrance to the stadium. Kelsamon landed gracefully and shook her head as Gatomon prepared to attack again. She held up a paw. "Don't bother. We both know what will happen. It may sound arrogant of me, but you will lose. You know this."
Gatomon huffed and jumped into Hikari's arms. She stayed curled in her arms and spoke to no one. Hikari glared at Ayako. "Why didn't you stop your digimon! She's your partner!"
Ayako shrugged and got onto her motorcycle. "Your digimon was hostile, not mine. You should have stopped your partner from attacking. If you had, Kelsamon wouldn't have had to counter. Come on, who are you riding with Jun?"
Jun shrugged and hopped on behind Ayako. "You. Daisuke can keep Chibimon and Charmon with him."
"Kelsamon de-alternate digivolve to…Noamon!" A small fox-looking digimon appeared. ((Imagine a Mini-Me of Renamon / a small Renamon without the sharper features.))
"Noamon de-digivolve to…Charmon!" A small cat was there. She had white fur with fox red markings on the tips of her ears, under her paws, over her stomach, and the red was jagged at the tip of her tail. She stood upright like Gatomon and had cute, but sharp blue eyes. She jumped into Daisuke's arms and he placed them, being Charmon and Chibimon, in his bag on his shoulder. The area of the bag he placed them in was mesh so they could breath. Half of the bag was mesh, so they had room. The bag went over his head and the strap rested across his chest and went over his shoulder.
Daisuke started his 'cyke up. "Let's go ladies." Ayako started hers up and took off. Daisuke shook his head. Note to Self: Remind Ayako that 'Let's go' doesn't mean 'Take off.' He sighed to himself and kicked the stand up. He stopped the engine when Mimi grabbed his arm and almost knocked him off with her enthusiasm. "Yes Mimi?"
Mimi looked him over. He was wearing black denim shorts and another button-down designer shirt. This one was dark blue and had red and silver flames blazing across the bottom. The shirt was open since he still felt the heat from the game and was sweating a little. Point blank, he looked hot. Very, very hot. Mimi said as much. "Wow Daisuke you look great! You've been working out aside from football haven't you?"
Daisuke had the grace to blush a bit. One of the few things that hadn't died in his younger teen years was his shyness over his looks. Being complimented about it flustered him and he usually wouldn't know how to respond. So he took to blushing slightly and saying nothing.
Mimi giggled. "Awww, no need to blush Daisuke. You do look good. Where are you going?"
Daisuke coughed a bit to regain his composure and set the stand back."Ummm, I'm being dragged to the mall and lunch. I have to pay for lunch too. As well as a pair of shoes and two outfits…I think. Something about payback…I've forgotten what they're talking about."
Mimi was thinking of something to say. "I'll go with you if you want. Someone has to protect you from other women. You just can't handle them yet." She laughed at as he scratched the back of his head, seemingly embarrassed at something.
Mimi hadn't been around much, so she was clean on the mistreating-Daisuke-and-such slate. He didn't know her very well and she seemed harmless enough. She's nice enough. "You can go…but you'll have to ride home with us first. We need a car, if they're going shopping."
Mimi squealed. "No problem!" I can't believe it! Oh, and I have money too! "Let's go!"
"Wait!" Taichi jogged over to his former protégé. "Daisuke."
The redhead looked at his former mentor. He didn't know what to say to him. I knew this would happen… He settled for his name. "Taichi."
Taichi sighed. "Daisuke look, can't we work this out? I know we were wrong to you in the past and haven't been the greatest to you lately—"
"More like…haven't been the greatest to you…at all." Daisuke started his engine. "You comin' Mims?"
Mimi got on the back on the 'cyke. "What a cool motorcycle! I've never been on one of these. What do I do?" Mims! He's given me a nickname already…sigh Before you know it, we'll be married and he'll be calling to me as he comes home from work: 'Mims, I home!' I can't believe this is happening! It's just like the movies…I'll be holding onto him as we ride off… She sighed dreamily.
Daisuke eyed the girl warily. Why does she have that look on her face? It's just like the look Jun gets on her face when she gets ready for a date she'd suckered Yamato into. He shrugged the thought off. Just imagining things. "It's not bad. Just hold onto me really tight, so you don't fall off okay?"
Mimi wrapped her arms around him. Now about that 'girlfriend' thing Jun said… She gave a playful squeeze. "Sure your girlfriend won't mind?"
Daisuke tilted his head in confusion. "Girlfriend? What girlfriend?"
Mimi giggled. "You don't have to pretend Daisuke."
Daisuke shook his head. "Seriously. I don't have a girlfriend. … Oh! You mean Ayako?" Mimi nodded and Daisuke laughed. "No, no. She's my personal trainer for football and a close friend. I'm not interested in her like that and she doesn't like me like that. What gave you the idea that we were dating?"
Mimi looked at him strangely. "Really? Well your sister said…"
Daisuke waved it off. "She was playing. My parents and Jun poke fun at Ayako and me all the time over that. Tabloids and the press have a field day with the mere idea and some have even went as far as to name us one of the hottest couples of this decade. My parents always ask me: 'Hey son, when are you and that pretty woman you always hang out with going to get together?' Mom would be like: 'You would look so cute together and imagine what the children would look like! They would be beautiful, so cute! I've always wanted grandchildren… Even your digimon get along. Vee-Eldramon and Kelsamon would look great together too.' They just go on and on. They'd kill for me to get a girlfriend. I just can't seem to find one. Maybe it's just me." He shrugged and kicked the stand up.
Taichi stopped him. "What about the team? Gennai told us that new evil has risen and is getting bigger in force. We need to talk about you saying that you're no longer on the team." He would have continued but a cell phone went off.
Daisuke coughed a bit, relieved that his phone went off in this tension. He turned his engine off again so he could hear better. "Yeah?"
"Where the heck are you? Can't find your way home?"
"Ha ha. Yes, I can. There's been a hold up and Mimi is coming to the mall too." Daisuke pulled his the phone from his ear as the two girls yelled, 'Hey Mimi!' Mimi laughed and said 'hey' back. "Anyway, I'm coming, so just hold on." He pulled his ear away again.
"WHAT! WE'VE BEEN WAITING AN HOUR ALREADY! COME HOME WITH MIMI NOW!"
Ayako has been speeding again... He blinked. Have I really been stuck out here that long? A glance at his watchtold him that he had been stuck out here that long. "Sheesh. Alright already. I'm goin', I'm goin'." He hung up. He faced Taichi and looked him square in the eyes, starting up his engine again. "We'll talk later, I'm sure. But as you can see, I have to go or face the wrath of three girls on the warpath to a serious shopping spree." He looked at them once more and locked eyes with Hikari.
"Goodbye." And with that he sped off with Mimi screaming in her excitement.
Two hours and a number of speeding tickets later…
"We're here." Daisuke parked his 'cyke next to a familiar ocean blue one. He stopped to put his bag up and let out the two digimon. Charmon stretched a little. "About time." Chibimon hadn't moved from the bag. Soft snoring could be heard. Charmon sighed and walked over to the bag. She poked the sleeping digimon. "Wake up." He didn't stir. Another poke and no response. A shove and he rolled over. Charmon sighed again. "Look. Why don't you three go ahead. I'll watch the munchkin."
Daisuke the small cat-like digimon a look. "Sure…think you'll be okay?" He tried not to laugh as Charmon dragged Chibimon to the couch, but couldn't get up there. He shook his head and picked them both up. He walked down the hall and placed them both on his bed. "There. Food's in the 'fridge, and try not to clean it out this time."
Charmon curled next to Chibimon, her tail resting over them both. "Yeah, yeah. You humans and your food issues. 'Don't eat this.' 'Okay you can have that, but not all of it.' Blah, blah. Just go already."
Daisuke walked out with a wave. "I'm goin', I'm goin'." His words went unheard, as Charmon was already asleep. And, yep, you guessed it; Chibimon remained asleep as well. He chuckled to himself as he closed and locked the door.
He rode the elevator to the first floor. He exited the lobby door, but turned sharply at the sight of small, colored blurs passing him. He looked to where he exited the elevator, but saw nothing. Maybe Gramps is right…all this training is making me way too paranoid.
Unbeknownst to Daisuke, he wasn't paranoid. If he had looked a little further to his left, he would have seen eleven sets of eyes watching him from the stairway.
"Did he see us?"
Daisuke jogged a bit as he headed to his parking spot. Jun, Ayako, and Mimi were waiting for him. He unlocked the door and got in. The three women followed suit. Ayako noticed a lack of two digimon. "Where are Chibimon and Charmon?"
Daisuke started the car and answered as he got on the main road. "Sleeping at home. They decided to stay." Ayako nodded, satisfied.
Jun sighed in her boredom. "What took so long at the stadium?"
Daisuke kept his eyes on the road. "…"
Jun threw a look at Mimi and she shrugged. She mouthed to her, 'I think there was some tension between him and the others.' Jun nodded with an 'oh' and turned on the CD player. "What CD you got in here, Daisuke?" He didn't answer and she ignored his silence. "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" blasted through the speakers as she turned it up. ((For the sake of easy reading, I'll write it up in English...but they're listening to it in Japanese, ok?))
"Lifestyles of the rich and famous
They're always complainin'
Always complainin'
If money
Is such a problem
Well they got mansions
Think we should rob them"
Mimi and Jun sang with the song. Mimi laughed. "How did you get this in Japanese?"
Daisuke smirked. "I played a few games in America. I got some attention and a couple connections."
Mimi and the other two women nodded. "Ohhh. But I guess that English course and a couple of years in America weren't a total waste. Everyone here knows English?" A 'yes' was everyone's response, including Daisuke's.
"Okay, we're here."
"Finally!" Jun and Ayako laughed at Mimi's exaggerated outburst. Daisuke shook his head as he exited the car and ran to catch up with the excited girls. As he entered the mall entrance, he sighed. Why me?
"Shoe store!" Jun and Mimi dragged Ayako into the store as Daisuke made his way to a bench in the store with them. I swear if I can handle this, this new evil should be a piece of cake. He sighed as Jun fawned over a pair of boots that weren't even for her.
Ayako sweatdropped at the woman's behavior. Humans are very weird creatures in this particular environment. I'll ask about that later. Maybe the Prince knows… Daisuke snickered and the blue-haired woman glared. "Very funny Motomiya. I'll get you back."
Daisuke laughed at this. "How do you plan to do that?"
Ayako smirked and Daisuke was suddenly very afraid. Oh no…she wouldn't. Would she? Ayako's violet-blue eyes glinted with mischief. "Heh heh. You'll see… All I can say is be afraid…be very very afraid…" she said, quoting some movie Daisuke had made her watch.
Daisuke paused and thought about it, but decided not to worry about it. She hasn't been in the Real World long enough to anything too horrible.
"These boots will go great with that! It's perfect, isn't it Mimi?"
The strawberry blonde looked up from the pair of sandals she'd just bought. "Oh! Yes, they're adorable. Put them on Ayako, they'll look great with the outfit you just bought. You can change in the bathroom."
Ayako tilted her head, a habit she'd picked up from Daisuke. "Why?"
Mimi and Jun placed their hands and her shoulders. "Because silly…if you're not going to date my brother—" The two snorted. "—…yeah. You won't date each other, so we'll hook you up with someone else."
Ayako sighed. "I'm afraid to ask, but who is this person you seem so set to 'hook me up' with?"
Jun beamed. "Yamato!"
Ayako paled and looked like she would faint. Even Mimi paused to look at her and several heads shot up at the mention of the rock star. "Y-Yamato? Why him? I thought you liked him."
Jun waved it off. "Nah…I have a boyfriend now. I just like messing with him. And who better to set you up with? I found that I'm in no way compatible with him. He's too…too…isolated. Ummm, he's a loner type and I think he needs someone who won't fall to his every whim just because he's him. He needs an aggressive type of woman that will in no way put up with his crap. He needs someone who will get in his face and not care what he thinks…and that's not really me. I'm more energetic and not matching him…too much for him to deal with. We wouldn't be able to handle each other."
Daisuke arched an eyebrow. "And just when did you reach this earth-shattering revelation?" It's about time too.
Jun shrugged. "Guess I've been fooling everyone for a while."
Daisuke shrugged as well. "Whatever. Can we drop this off in the car and eat lunch now? I'm hungry."
Ayako giggled. "Awww, have we been to hard on you Dai-chan?"
Daisuke glared playfully. "Yeah. Slave drivers. sniff So abusive...and I can't even defend myself…" He sniffed again.
Ayako pushed him forward. "That's right. Move it!" The two laughed as they headed out towards the exit and then the car.
Jun had a grin on her face. "You know Mimi…I saw some familiar faces as we were walking. A little too familiar."
Mimi mock-gasped. "You don't mean…"
Jun nodded. "Yep. The other digidestined are trying to corner my brother for something. I have an idea that will work two ways. 1-Jealousy. 2-They might back off."
Mimi leaned in. "Really? What's the plan?"
Jun slung an arm over her shoulder as they waited for the two to come back. "Heh…we just set it up so that they see a certain incident or two and get certain ideas…"
Mimi giggled. "Oh I get it. For them, it'll be wrong place, wrong time."
Jun smirked as the two came back laughing and she glanced out of the corner of her eye to see a particular group watching. It looks like they have something to say. What the heck do they want? I'll give them something to talk about. "Alright lovebirds, break it up, break it up." She received a glare from them both and simply laughed. Ayako was looking very smug and Jun inquired about it.
"What are you so happy about?"
The blue-haired woman smiled. "Heh, nothing. Hey! I just thought of something." She had gotten Jun and Mimi's attention, but Daisuke ignored it and kept walking silently. "Daisuke."
Daisuke froze. Why do I have the feeling that I should be scared right now?
Ayako smirked. "Daisuke, you need clothes and shoes don't you? I mean, you've outgrown some things. And you'll need shoes to go with it. The ones you take to football practice and games won't work for everyday casualness. And then you've changed your whole style so you'll need…a whole new wardrobe!" She grabbed his arm and proceeded to drag him along. "Come along love. We've got some serious shopping to do." Jun and Mimi watched with interest and followed.
Ayako had changed as Jun and Mimi had dragged her, an outfit, and a pair of shoes into the bathroom and wouldn't let go until she changed. Ayako had complained and said she looked like she was at the mall for some date, not to shop. She had on a baby blue tank with the words 'FLIRT' and a khaki jacket. Jun had grabbed a pair of cute khaki capris. Mimi had carried the brown boots Ayako had just got and made her put them on. To top it off, Mimi had insisted that the ensemble wouldn't be complete without make-up. At this point, Ayako had made it to opening the door, and was pulled back in by Jun. Daisuke stood outside, completely lost. "Let go! I'm not wearing that!"
Jun held the woman still. "Calm down. It's just make-up. Now hold still or Mimi will mess you up." Ayako pouted, but kept still.
Mimi applied blue eye shadow, mascara, and lastly, lipstick. "There, perfect! Quick and simple. See, that wasn't so bad." Ayako grumbled and walked out.
Daisuke looked surprised, but dismissed it. "Cornered you, didn't they?" All he got was a nod.
He snickered at her misfortune and yelped as he was pulled backwards. Ayako turned and smirked as a bundle was placed in his arms. "Very funny Ayako. Now what are you doing Jun?" She was dragging him to the Men's restroom.
Jun turned and folded her arms. "Now I can't go in there, but I can make sure you don't come out until you've changed clothes. So get on with it."
Deciding not to bother arguing, he went in and came out 10 minutes later. He came out in a pair of jean shorts, a black muscle shirt, and some black shoes. His now-trademark blue bandana kept that spike out of his eye and a pair of black shades covered his eyes. Jun walked up to him, followed by Mimi. They circled him and he tilted his head, self-consciouswith the inspecting looks being shot at him. Jun moved his bandana and placed it around his neck. Mimi motioned for him to lean down a little and placed his shades amongst his spikes. The notoriously uncooperative spike made its presence known and fell into his face.
Jun and Mimi stood back and regarded the two. Ayako and Daisuke looked at each other, wondering what was going on and shrugged . Mimi and Jun faced each other and shook hands. Jun smiled. "I think we have our winners."
Mimi sniffed and pretended to wipe tears from her face. "Look at them. They grow up so fast."
Jun giggled and pretended to be comforting her. "Yep. So fast."
Ayako shook her head and decided to play along. She grabbed Daisuke's arm. "It'll be okay." She walked to Jun, overly dramatic. She clasped her hands around Jun's. "I promise. I'll make you proud and be the best girlfriend he's ever had." She laughed and ran to Daisuke, throwing her arms around him. "Oh Daisuke, I love you soooo much."
Hikari watched in confusion. But he said he didn't have a girlfriend. He said he wasn't dating her. He lied…
Again the voice haunted her. You act as though you've never lied to him, seeing as to how you did it all the time and still do. That statement kept her from approaching. Yamato and Takeru appeared indifferent. Sora and Miyako had to go home. Their mothers needed help with their respective shops. Koushiro and Jyou were still at work. Ken watched his former best friend. Has he fallen for her?
Taichi left the group behind, despite their protests. "Hey!"
Daisuke rolled his eyes at Ayako's antics. Every once in a while, she does manage to act..normal-ish, human. Now if I could only make that behavior stick. "Right. What would I ever do without you?" He laughed with the other three and they walked along. Daisuke tensed as he heard a familiar voice. Taichi…kuso! On the outside, he simply turned and regarded him. "Taichi."
Taichi acted as though he was just greeting an old friend. This was the last thing it was and all present knew it. "Hey Daisuke. Who's your friend?" He didn't get a good look at Ayako the first time around. She was wearing a football trainer's uniform the first time and looked different with her current casual wear and make-up.
Daisuke looked at Ayako. He jumped slightly as Jun pinched him and spoke up for him. "She's his girlfriend."
Daisuke choked and Ayako looked like she would faint. Mimi gave Jun a wide-eyed expression and tugged her sleeve, whispering, "Jun what are you doing?"
Jun smiled, whispering back,"Nothing. Unless there's a problem? Wait a minute…" She lost the smile, looking at Mimi with wide eyes. "You like him, don't you? You have a crush on Daisuke. That's why you had that look on your face when I told you my plan. Well don't worry. It's not for real and you can steal him away. It's just pretend."
Mimi relaxed and nodded. I'll play this game for now. But no one's getting Daisuke but me. "Yeah. You heard her. This is Daisuke's girlfriend, you remember Ayako right?"
Ken voiced Hikari's thoughts. "But Daisuke, you said that the two of you weren't dating."
Daisuke opened his mouth to deny, but was pulled away by his ear. "Jun stop, that hurts!"
Mimi pulled Ayako away as well. She turned to a confused Taichi. "One moment please."
Daisuke and Ayako faced Jun and Mimi. Deep brown and blue-violet glared at red-brown and pink. Ayako tilted her head at Mimi's pink eyes. Mimi and Jun have contacts? She shook the thought off and questioned them. "What were you two talking about? Daisuke and I don't date each other and you know it. Why did you tell Taichi that we do?"
Daisuke folded his arms. "Yeah, what are you two up to now?"
Jun laughed nervously. "Heh heh. Well you see…it was just this idea I had…"
Ayako pressed her. "Do tell."
Jun scratched the back of her head and Mimi spoke for her. "Ummm, it's a set up. We didn't mean any harm by it. We're just seeing what would happen if they thought this was real. Would there be jealousy? Would they back off? Will they treat you different? That kind of thing."
Ayako blinked. "So you used us as a pair of specimens for an experiment?" Jun and Mimi sweatdropped at the odd phrasing, but nodded. Ayako sighed and grabbed hold of Daisuke's arm. "I guess we'll just have to play along. You up for a bit of acting? You said it would be funny if you actually became an actor. Well here's your shot."
Daisuke shrugged. It won't be that bad. "Alright then. Let's do this."
Jun and Mimi followed them, thoroughly surprised. Jun stopped. "I thought they'd be way madder than that."
Mimi nodded. "Yeah. They took it so well. Cool! Let's watch!" Jun giggled and followed her friend.
The four walked back to Taichi, not revealing anything. Daisuke looked to Taichi andawarded him with an indifferent look. Ayako seemed content to hang on to Daisuke's arm, examining her nails. Mimi and Jun made themselves scarce and watched from another shoe store. Taichi blinked. Ooookay. "So…this is your girlfriend?"
"Yes, why?"
Ayako yawned disinterestedly and mumbled something. Daisuke nudged her. "What?"
"I'm hungry."
Daisuke was happy to hear that, as when she'd first arrived in the Real World she wouldn't eat anything. She'd told him, 'I don't require food.' It had made him uncomfortable because he'd wanted her to eat, in case she did need food and didn't know it yet. That and because it just didn't seem right. It was so..weird, and made the fact that she wasn't as normal as he wanted her to feel. This was a step in the right direction for what he wanted for Ayako. "Alright. Let's get you something to eat." He turned to Taichi. "Sorry, but Aya-chan's hungry, so we're going to the Food Court." Daisuke absently wondered where the endearment 'Aya-chan' had just come from. I'm better at this acting stuff than I thought. She clasped his hand and he pulled her to the Food Court's area.
And, of course, Taichi followed, still wanting answers.
Ayako sat down with her large bowl of ice cream. Daisuke sat across from her in the booth. I should have known she would ask for sweets. She adores sweet foods and is just as bad as any digimon when it comes to how much of it she eats. It's a wonder she stays so slim.
"Your friends followed us," she said without looking up from her treat.
Daisuke looked up sharply and, as usual, Ayako's intuition was correct. Taichi had pursued and the rest followed, albeit a little more hesitantly. Daisuke rolled his eyes and moved to Ayako's side of the booth, stealing some of her ice cream. She protested and he ignored her. He pretended to be surprised as Taichi and Hikari slid in across from them. Ken, Takeru, and Yamato were getting something to eat. "Taichi? So you guys were hungry too?" He stole another bite from Ayako's ice cream and she pushed him playfully. He raised an eyebrow at Hikari's uncomfortable expression. He smirked. Oh yeah…where is that fiancé of hers anyway?
Taichi took a breath. "We need to talk."
"Really?" Daisuke put an arm around Ayako and she continued to happily eat her ice cream, almost finished.
Hikari looked away. A voice, that biting voice, came back. What's wrong? You have Takeru. Why does this disturb you? Daisuke is only showing affection towards his girlfriend. What is it to you? The one who toyed with him. Played with his heart and then broke it. Leaving it to wither and blow away in the wind. Hikari forced herself to look back. They look so happy…
Ayako finished her ice cream. "I want some more. Can I get some more, s-…" She caught herself before saying, 'sire'. That would be kind of hard to explain without saying too much. "Can I get some more...sweetie?"
Daisuke almost snickered at her almost-slip-up. "Sure." He gave her some money and let her out for more ice cream. He sat down and threw an appreciative look as she walked away. Though I don't like her like that, she does look pretty…very pretty. The guy that gets her will be a lucky man. And that was assuming that she would even want to stay in this worldor wouldn't be sent back home whenthis was all over. But back to more unpleasant matters. "So can I help you two? You said we needed to discuss something?"
Then Yamato came and pushed him over, obviously intent on getting some answers himself.
Daisuke smirked to himself. Wait 'til Ayako gets back…heh. Yamato took a bit of his salad.
Taichi set a stern look on his face. "Yes, about this evil…we need you to come back to the team. I don't understand why you left, but we need you back okay?"
Daisuke leaned back. "… … … Nope."
Taichi set his jaw and spoke again. "Why not?"
"Why so?"
"Must you make this so hard?"
"You brought it upon yourselves you know. You drove me away, and you know it. You knew it as you were doing it. I don't see why you keep being so persistent about it when I obviously have no intention, much less any desire, to comply."
Ayako came back with an even larger bowl of ice cream as well as a big smile. Daisuke could see her eyes lighting up at the large amount of ice cream. "How did you get all that? I didn't give you that much yen."
She smiled brightly. "The nice man gave it to me. The lady was all rude to me and he came over and made it better. All I did was smile and give him akiss on the cheek and he gets this funny look on his face, turned red, and asked how much ice cream I wanted. I said 'A lot' and he gave me…well…a lot." She held up the bowl. "See?"
Daisuke shook his head. Oh, I know why he gave you all that ice cream. I honestly can't believe how naïve Ayako can be about her looks and actions. Go figure. "C'mere you."
Confused by her Prince's reaction, the blue-haired woman just shrugged it off as him being weird. It is customary for the woman to reward her male rescuer with a kiss or something else, is it not? Knowing that she could only ask him later, Ayako pouted and tugged at Yamato's sleeve. "Hey. You're in my seat. Move please."
Yamato ignored her and she pulled harder. "Hey Yamato. You. Are. In.MY. Seat. Move." He didn't do a thing.
Ayako was getting aggravated and Daisuke got an idea, sweatdropping as her eyes started to glow. Oh no… "Hey!" He got her attention. "How about this? Yamato let me out." Yamato moved and slid back in. "Now go over." The blond man moved towards the inside. Daisuke sat back down, now across from Hikari. He took the ice cream, after a struggle, and placed it in front of him.
Ayako frowned. "How does that solve anything? All you did was switch places and then steal my ice cre—Oh!" Ayako yelped as Daisuke pulled her down by the wrist and settled her in his lap.
Ayako felt heat rise to her cheeks for a moment, wondering about it. What is this warm sensation? I'll ask about that later as well. Her spoon was returned to her and she shifted until she faced the bowl. And then she proceeded to eat her ice cream again.
Daisuke seems comfortable pretty comfortable. Yamato looked up from his salad and at Hikari. But she's not…
Hikari fidgeted. She didn't want to look for whatever reason, but it was kinda hard to miss when it was right in front of you.Literally. She looked over at the Food Court's main area. Takeru was waiting in line. Of course, he would go to the longest line possible. Ken was waiting for him. She turned back, forcing a small smile. Come on Taichi, just get on with it already.
Taichi nodded, seemingly to himself, as though he'd just confirmed something in his own head. "Daisuke…seriously now. Why won't you come back to the group? Why can't we just start over again?"
Daisukehad beencontentedly messing with Ayako's hair when Taichi hadfinally spoken again. "Why? I told you already, the answer is, and will remain, a firm 'no'. I left for obvious reasons and it apparently didn't mess up anybody's little flow of life. You were just fine before you saw me again. Weren't your exact words: 'Why would Daisuke be here? He's probably not even in Japan anymore. If he was, he would've spoken to one of us right? His family doesn't even know where he went. Besides, we wouldn't be able to miss the gasket he'd have blown when Hikari and TK announced their engagement.'? And to start over?" A mysterious look crossed his face. "There is no beginning to start from."
Ayako looked up at this comment. "Wow. That sounded like some wise proverb from somewhere. … Hmmm…" She shrugged. "Cool." Satisfied at adding her two cents, she went back to her ice cream.
Daisuke produced a blank look before returning to an indifferent look and messing with Ayako's hair again. He just sat there, dragging his fingers through it. Over and over and over…
Taichi sighed and grimaced. We won't get anywhere with us all out in the open like this. He'd seen a couple curious and odd-giving stares/looks sent in this direction. I guess this conversation would come off as just plain weird or even suspicious to anyone walking by… He stood. "We'll finish this later Daisuke." He set a stern look on his face, hoping to get it fully across that this conversation, this topic, was not over yet. Not by a long shot.
Ayako finished her ice cream, as Daisuke had been stealing little bits when she wasn't looking and stood. "Mmmmm, that was good. I'm full now. Let's go find your sister and Mimi now, okay?" Bright violet gave a questioning look, waiting for approval.
Daisuke grinned. "Sure, let's go. I still have to show you off to the rest of the guys in this mall anyway." Ayako's cheeks colored prettily again and she shook her head, wondering why her Prince was saying and doing these strange things to her. Daisuke put an arm around her waist and walked off with her, laughing at the reaction.
"You guys lost him, didn't you?" Ken didn't sound surprised, but only a little disappointed.
"Yes. We couldn't get anything from him."
Yamato ran a hand through his hair. "All we got for sure was the fact that he doesn't plan on coming back to the group any time soon. That, and it seems that he rather enjoys using, flirting, and hitting on his girlfriend as a way to ignore others." Well, that's odd. How do you hit on your own girlfriend?
Hikari said nothing and Takeru could only wrap his arms around her, offering some sort of comfort for whatever she was feeling. But for some reason, unlike other previous times and situations, no comfort came.
"Time to go you shop-a-holics. I think you had enough free reign with my credit card." He eyed the bags they had wearily. "Three each? Not bad I guess." He regretted ever saying that as he saw at least six guys carrying bags behind them. He sighed miserably to himself as he could only imagine how his bill would look. Another glance at the amount of bags told him. Long and high. … Very high.
The digimon have a talk. Daisuke and Veemon get in a fight with some digimon. But what's this? No ring? But Hikari says there is? Well is there! Have no fear, Gatomon's on the trail! What will she find?
It's in the next chapter!
So keep reading…ONEGAI!
