Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon, its characters, or the original plot.

For Love and Dreams

By: Tyson Granger

Takuya closed the door behind him as he and Zoë entered their half of the small duplex they shared with the twins, Kouji and Kouichi. Taking off his signature red vest and shoes then throwing them into the small closet by their door, the young Kanbara looked around to see that Zoë had cleaned their place up quite a bit since he had left earlier in the day. Before there had been pizza boxes and napkins on their round, glass coffee table, the small, green loveseat, and even one beside the small wooden shelf in the corner that housed their television set. Now, the place actually looked clean for a change. He smiled…one more thing he would have to thank Zoë for before the night was out.

"Oh hey, Takuya," the green-eyed Orimoto smiled from the doorway to their tiny kitchen, having already kicked off her shoes and gotten comfortable, "would you like something to eat before you go to bed? We have some left-over rice and Teriyaki Chicken in the fridge if you're hungry, and I can warm it up for you in the microwave. Is that ok?" Takuya turned his head and nodded, smiling back at the blonde-haired girl.

"Yeah, that'd be great, Z. Thanks!" Takuya answered excitedly, the idea of food already causing his mouth to water. Grabbing the remote, the hungry young soccer player switched on the television to the channel he knew the Japanese National Soccer Team would be playing on tonight, and then proceeded to lose the hand-held device in case Zoë came in later and got bored with the game. 'I love the girl, and she does everything in the world she can for me…but there is NO way I'm letting her turn off Team Japan!' he joked mentally, chuckling a bit at his own sense of humor.

The sound of the microwave starting in the kitchen alerted him to the incoming presence of the young woman in question. Sure enough, a set of arms almost immediately wrapped themselves around his neck from above and behind him and Zoë planted a chaste kiss on his cheek. "So, what'cha watching, Takuya?" she asked innocently as she stepped around the arm of the seat and planted herself on the loveseat beside him. Smirking a bit at the question he had known was coming, Takuya wrapped his arm around Zoë to prevent her from searching for the remote before answering.

"Team Japan's taking on the United States tonight on the sports channel. I hear that 15 year old "phenom" Freddy Adu is playing on their national team this year; I hope I get to watch him play. They say he's something else," the gogglehead commented off-hand as he felt Zoë squirm a bit in his grip. 'Heh heh, too predictable, Z." Realizing Takuya was not letting go any time soon, Zoë huffed and relaxed into his body a bit, letting him hold her. Deciding to change tactics, the young girl put on her best pout and went to work.

"So I'm stuck watching another soccer game tonight, huh?" she whined, "and I already saw one today…"

Takuya chuckled. "Nope, not working…" the brown-haired soccer player told her, unwilling to budge on the issue. 'There's the pout…not working…even if it is a cute pout,' he noticed before mentally smacking himself for nearly succumbing to her charms. 'Gah! Don't give in Takuya! You've seen this routine before…will she suck up next? Hmm…I wonder?' he asked himself silently, having become very well acquainted with Zoë's many forms of persuasion during their time together in this "home."

Sure enough, seeing her first tactic had failed, the blonde holder of the Spirit of Wind snuggled up a bit closer to Takuya and put on her most sincere face. "Takuya, you don't really need to watch this game, do you? You're probably better at soccer than any of these guys anyway…I know you could play with them any day," she charmed beautifully, cuddling up as close to the chocolate-eyed leader's chest as possible. She smirked as she felt his heart beat pick up just a bit, and went in for the kill. "Besides, I know how sweet you are, and you would not make me watch two soccer games in a night, especially if you aren't even playing in this one. Would you?" she finished perfectly, her eyes widening theatrically as she pulled up almost directly into his face so that he could not avert his eyes from her pathetic gaze.

He almost laughed out loud, and he would have, if her face had not been so dangerously close to his own. Instead, he leaned forward just far enough that their noses were barely touching and smirked. "No," he answered softly before kissing her forehead and falling back into the cushion of the loveseat with a thud. Zoë fell back as well, huffing and crossing her arms childishly, earning a full bout of laughter from Takuya. She muttered something under her breath, but he failed to notice as he pulled her up from her spot again to rest in his arms. "Don't worry about it, Z. You can't always get what you want."

Zoë sighed in content and allowed herself to be held once more. She didn't mind watching soccer if it meant that much to Takuya anyway. 'Must be getting predictable…I need a new strategy,' she thought lightly. Sensing Zoë's defeat, Takuya retrieved the remote from beneath the loveseat and turned the sound up as the pre-game show came on. Wincing a bit as the sound hit her ears, Zoë barely noticed the buzzer from the microwave in the kitchen. "Oh, rice is done Takuya," she smiled as she unwrapped herself from Takuya's arms and stood. "I'll go and get it, you just pay attention to the game. Maybe you'll learn something." She added the last part jokingly, earning a mock glare from the Legendary Warrior of Flame.

"Ha Ha, very funny. What happened to, 'you don't really need to watch this game, do you? You're probably better than these guys anyway?'" he mocked in his best Zoë voice as said girl made her way into the kitchen. He smiled again as he watched her leave the room. 'Makes the food and gets it for me too…what a woman,' he sighed, 'Zoë…you really have grown up since we were in the Digital World, huh? I love you, Z…I just wish I still had the courage I had back then so I could tell you…' A knock at the door shook him from his thoughts.

"Wonder who that could be?" the young Kanbara thought as he stood from his couch and walked to find out just who would be visiting him at this late hour. 'Maybe Kouji's coming to watch the game tonight…' he reasoned, offering no more thought to it as he reached for the door handle. "You're early Kouji, the game doesn't start for another 10..." the wooden door swung open to reveal not Kouji, but the scout from the parking lot earlier. "…minutes…"

Takuya blinked twice, but sure enough he looked up and saw the tall, blonde man, black suit , black sunglasses, and all. "Yamaki actually, not Kouji, and if you don't mind, I'd like to skip the pleasantries, Mr. Kanbara," the blonde man spoke quickly and authoritatively, stepping just inside the door and not an inch further. Takuya had the sudden urge to sarcastically invite him in, but thought better of it for the time being. Instead, he decided to do as the scout requested and get to the point.

"So, uh…Mr. Yamaki, w-what brings you by?" Takuya stuttered, clearly taken a bit off-guard by the intimidating nature of the man in front of him. The man smirked a bit as he noticed the hesitation in the brown-haired boy's voice, but made no comment on it. Instead, he reached inside his coat pocket to grab something. For a moment, Takuya almost entertained the idea of Yamaki reaching for a gun and flinched, but relaxed when the taller man pulled out a lighter and began to flick it open and closed out of habit. Takuya released a breath he didn't even realize he'd been holding, 'C'mon Kanbara, what happened to your courage? Lucemon would be laughing his butt off if he saw you now.'

True to form, Yamaki got straight to the point. "Takuya, I'm not going to beat around the bush with you. My superiors were watching your game tonight on television, and they want you for their team. I told them they might want to give you a little more time to develop, seeing as you are only a Freshman, but they never listened to me before…and I doubt they'd start now," the scout snorted sarcastically before continuing. "Anyway, the fact is, you are a big hit throughout the soccer community in Tokyo, and you're a damned good ballplayer. So they have sent me here to make you an offer."

Takuya was unconvinced. Too much was being left out, "Uh, Mr. Yamaki, I don't mean to disrespect you or anything, but how can I agree to your offer if I don't even know anything about the team you want me to play for? And just what kind of offer are you talking about here?" the young Legendary Warrior asked skeptically. Yamaki began to reach into his pocket once more, but stopped and stole a glance over Takuya's shoulder when a faint voice came from the entrance to the kitchen. "I didn't realize you had company, is this a bad time Mr. Kanbara?"

Takuya turned around, a bit dazed at how easily his question was not answered, and spotted Zoë holding a small Tupperware container. "Um…rice is done…if you're still hungry, that is," she said softly, a bit unnerved by the presence of the strange man from before in her home. "Oh, um…hello, Mr. …"

The blonde haired man gave a quick salute, "Mr. Yamaki, and I was just preparing to leave," he cut in before turning back to the soccer star, "But before I go, Takuya, I want you to take a look at the offer sheet my superiors are placing on the table. I think you will find it quite generous." The blonde man returned his lighter to his coat pocket once more, and pulled his hand back out along with his large clipboard. Handing the clipboard to Takuya, the scout smirked as the young man's eyes shot wide open in surprise.

"You're telling me they're going to pay for all of college?! Full room and board, tuition, the whole shebang! This is amazing!" the brown-eyed Kanbara exclaimed, clearly impressed with the scout's proposal. Just one question, "What the hell kind of team can make a deal like this?" Takuya screamed in question. The older man frowned in distaste, and the younger finally calmed down a bit but was still unable to tear his eyes away from the offer sheet on the clipboard. "So," he started a bit more quietly, "just what team do you scout for anyways? I still don't know anything about the team." 'Surely there has to be some catch to all of this…' he reasoned…'nobody just comes out and makes a deal like this without a catch.'

Again, however, the blonde man merely smirked. "Actually, I think you are already quite familiar with them. In fact, you can take a look at the active roster by turning around and glancing at your television screen." Takuya's jaw dropped.

'But the team playing on TV is…No no no no no no no no no! There is NO way this guy is from Team Japan…no WAY!' the young warrior of fire argued with himself. 'This guy is weird…and he certainly isn't from around here…but he ain't from Team Japan…' Finally gathering his thoughts well enough to put them into words, Takuya looked indignantly at Yamaki…who was holding a card in front of his face. "Err…huh?" he choked.

"My card, if you don't believe me…although I have given you no reason to doubt me," the blonde commented offhandedly. Takuya read it carefully, and sure enough, it was all there…

Yamaki, Yuri

Scouting Director: Team Japan Soccer

Phone: (586)555-3254

Office: 543 Olympic Headquarters, Tokyo, Japan

Home: -----------

Takuya scratched his head when he noticed that there was no home address on the card, but Yamaki quickly noted that he did not like to get that personal with his players. At that, Takuya merely shrugged. This was the deal of a lifetime…a no-brainer! There was only one question in his mind…"When do I start?"

"Team Japan's private jet will be returning from their game with America tomorrow morning. It will take two days for checks and repairs to be made to the jet and for fuel to be obtained. At 5:30 p.m., the jet will be departing Tokyo and arriving at the Shibuya Airport, 5 miles south of the Shibuya Train Station, at 6 p.m. sharp. I assume you are familiar with the Shibuya Station, are you not?" the elder man inquired, to which Takuya nodded mutely, silently thinking how insane this man would believe he is if he told him just how familiar he was with the station.

"Good. Now, you don't have to make your decision right away. You have two days from tomorrow morning to decide. If you wish to come, be at the airport at 6 p.m. and not a second later." He turned and opened the door to leave, but just as he was about to step out turned his head back and smirked in the direction of the blonde-haired beauty watching the exchange from the kitchen doorway. "And one more thing, you might want to say your goodbyes in advance to your friends and family because once you hit the road, you won't be coming back to Shibuya for quite some time…months at least…maybe years. You'll be training day in and day out with the team. When you are not training you will be playing, and when you are not doing either of those, you will be in class with the team's tutor.

'Keep that in mind, Takuya Kanbara. It is a tough life…you will eat, sleep, and breathe Team Japan Soccer, but you will be rewarded with the greatest opportunity of your life," he finished, and then before Takuya could even register all that had been said, he was gone. The young brunette stood in stunned silence for a few seconds longer before a small tap on his shoulder broke him from his trance. He shook his head and turned around to see a very solemn Izumi Orimoto standing in front of him.

"Um…did he mean it Takuya? Are you really going to have to leave all of us here to play for Team Japan?" she asked quietly, her eyes glued to her socks. 'Tell him you want him to stay Zoë…tell him! Tell him you love him, and you can't let him go!' Her heart screamed at her, but her mind refused to let the words passed her lips. "It's a great opportunity," she heard herself mutter.

Takuya himself had suddenly found great interest in his own socks as the gravity of the situation at hand began to hit him. "I guess it is…Team Japan…" he thought idly as he stole a glance at the television. The game was preparing to get underway…suddenly, it didn't matter that much. "Zoë, I don't know what I'm going to do…" the brunette started slowly, "I've wanted to play for Team Japan my whole life. Ever since I was a boy, I dreamed of wearing their uniform and playing the greatest teams in the world…heck, I used to pretend I was Japan and Shinya was Brazil and we'd play one-on-one in the park every day in the summer."

'But I don't know if I can just pick up and leave Shibuya behind like this…especially on such short notice. I've lived here my whole life…err…save the Digital World, that is. My whole life is here…school, my family, my friends," 'you,' he added silently. It seemed he would be giving up his whole life if he accepted Yamaki's proposal, and in all actuality, he was. 'How can I do this? I can't just leave everyone behind…Kouji, Kouichi, Tommy, JP, and Zoë most of all. I love her too much, but then again…this is my dream…' Suddenly remembering he was no alone, Takuya heard a soft sniffle from the other occupant of the room, and turned to see a teary-eyed Zoë sitting on the arm of the loveseat.

Unable to see her cry, Takuya slid onto the arm next to her and pulled her into a strong embrace. Zoë made no more effort to hold back her tears as she began to cry into his chest. "I…I know this is hard Zoë…but nothing is certain, yet. I might not even be going…please, Z, don't cry. It hurts me to see you cry, you know that," he cooed softly into her ear as his yellow shirt began to soak with tears. 'She's taking this harder than I thought…and I haven't even made a decision yet,' he noted sadly as he stroked her back lovingly.

After a few more sobs, Zoë finally dried her eyes but continued to hold him tight. Quietly, she spoke. "Takuya…you should…" she sniffed, and wiped her face clean of tear streaks. "This is your dream, how can you think about not going?" Quickly, she added, "N-not that I want you to go or anything."

Without another word, Takuya lifted her from the arm and sat down on the left cushion, placing Zoë safely in his lap. The blonde Orimoto wrapped her arms around her friend's neck lovingly and smiled in spite of having been crying mere moments ago. Takuya smiled and kissed her forehead before laying her head comfortably on his shoulder. Sure, he had no idea what in the world he was going to do about all this, yet, but if pretending he had everything under control was going to keep that smile on her face, he would do it. 'I would move heaven and earth to keep you happy, Zoë…anything for you.'

Zoë welcomed the warmth of Takuya's loving embrace, shifting so that she sat on his right leg with her legs lying across his lap and kept her arms wrapped around his neck. How she loved being with him like this…and still, she could never tell him just how much she loved it…because who knew if he would ever feel the same. They were close, sure…best friends even…but what if she went for the next step and he just wanted to stay the way they were? Surely that would ruin everything between them. She could never lose him…not like that. Zoë turned and met the solid brown eyes of Takuya with her own sparkling green eyes that were so filled with love and longing…neither could fathom just how beautiful the other had become.

"Takuya…thank you for caring for me like this…you're too sweet," the beautiful Orimoto whispered softly, her fingers running through his brown hair as their eyes remained locked on one another. Takuya smiled, shifting his arms so that his right hand was on her waist while his left was still supporting her upper body.

'She was so cute when she said that… Doesn't she know that I live for moments like this?' The chocolate-haired Kanbara winked, "I'll always care for you Zoë, you know that…" Takuya nearly laughed when Zoë barely stifled a giggle, but was suddenly too focused on the blonde's kissable, pink lips to do so. 'I wonder if they are as soft as they look…' he wondered idly as his eyes drifted closed.

Zoë's eyes fluttered closed once more as she slowly moved in closer to Takuya's face. 'This is it, Zoë…now's your chance to show him. Show him how you feel…why he can't leave you now,' she coached herself mentally. The faintest brushing of lips sent a jolt throughout her system, 'Takuya, I've waited so long for this…' she thought as she moved to kiss him fully…

And then a loud knock at the door shattered the potentially romantic moment once more. Takuya sighed audibly, annoyed at having another chance to be with Zoë ruined by fate. "This is getting old fast…" he muttered as Zoë slid off of his lap and he stood to get the door. Zoë coughed lightly, positioning herself on one of the two cushions of the loveseat as if nothing had just happened. Both of them hoped silently that whoever was at the door would just go away…

Takuya finally got to the door after the 3rd knock, and pulled the wooden portal open, only to be greeted by a large cardboard box in the face. "Hope you like pizza Takuya, it's on Kouichi," the person snickered, entering the door behind the box. Takuya frowned, pulling the dark-haired Minimoto and his Kimura brother in and shutting the door behind them.

"Geesh, we thought you'd be happy to get some pizza, what with having to eat Zoë's cooking all the time. Besides, it's time for the game to start…and we both actually wanted to see that Freddy Adu in action…so we thought we'd watch it with you," Kouichi joked, earning a hard glare from the still disappointed blonde and an exasperated look from the brunette.

Takuya slapped his forehead, 'Of all the games to want to watch, Kouji decides to grab Kouichi and join in tonight…just my luck…' Well, if he was doomed to lose another chance with Zoë tonight, at least there was pizza and soccer involved. 'Come to think of it…this might be the last chance I have to hang out with these guys like this,' he reminded himself solemnly before coming to a firm decision. 'And I'm going to make this night with the guys count. After all, I've got two days to talk to Zoë and decide what to do about Yamaki's offer…but for tonight, it's soccer time!'

A hand on Takuya's shoulder shook him from his thoughts. "Hey, are you there, Takuya? You spaced out on us there for a second," Kouji asked, worried.

Takuya smirked, no way was he going to let this situation get him down if this might be his last time with the guys. "Are you kidding, the game's about to start, we've got pizza; let's stop yakking and start watching!" he cried out, pumping a fist in the air for emphasis before hopping onto the loveseat next to Zoë and wrapping her up in his arms once again, pulling her into his lap. Kouji and Kouichi took a recliner and half of an empty, yellow loveseat respectively. The two roommates said no more of the scout's offer or the consequences of the decision to come that night, and both were merely content in enjoying the company of the others and the entertainment of the game.

And though another perfect opportunity for the two wannabe lovers had come and gone, fate had now set in motion the events that would either bring them together or break them apart entirely. As for which fate was imminent; only time would tell.