Chapter 3 – Concerning Jobs and Food
"Takatomon I'm hungry!"
"BlackJyarimon, I don't think that anyone is going to serve anyone, much less a Digimon, at 6:30 in the morning."
"But Takatomon, I smell bread!"
"BlackJyarimon…"
But BlackJyarimon wasn't listening. He hopped off my shoulder like he had done the other night.
Flash
Digivolution_
BlackJyarimon Flash Digivolve To… BlackGuilmon!
And then he took off.
"BlackGuilmon! Come back here!"
But, he was listening to his stomach more than he was me.
"Hurry Takatomon!"
We ran through the streets, me following BlackGuilmon closely, still tying to catch him.
When it comes to food, he's rarely obedient…
Then, there, in front of us, stood a small bakery with its lights on. BlackGuilmon rushed up the small steps, and carefully opened the door. And went inside. I burst in after him.
"BlackGuilmon!"
He turned and looked at me, a pleading look in his eyes. I took this opportunity to glance around a bit. The shop was relatively small, with a few tables. Apparently the place was a small deli as well. My hungry friend was looking through the glass with undisguised longing. Then the owner came up to the front.
"Sorry to keep you wai…"
He stopped, eyes on BlackGuilmon. Then he spotted me.
"This your digimon boy?"
"Yes, sir. I'm sorry, he's just a little hungry right now. I'm kinda surprised you're taking it so well though. Considering recent events and all."
"Yes, well that nice boy, Matt, comes in here with his Gabumon all the time to get some food before practice. I guess you could say I'm a little used to it."
The man was and older gentleman, his thinning hair just beginning to turn gray from it's natural black. He wore a kind, open expression, and it seemed to give off an aura of trust.
"Ah. Well… are you open? I'd like to get BlackGuilmon here something if I could."
"Well, I've got a few things, day-old stuff mind you. Right now I'm trying to get today's bread ready. The other lad quit, so I'm a little shot handed right now."
"Really? I don't suppose I could try for the position?"
"You want to get up early and work in a deli?"
"Might as well. I need to find a job pretty soon anyways."
"I suppose I could give you a trial run… when can you start?"
"I could start now if you need me to."
"Great. Let's see what you know."
As I stepped around the counter, he offered me his hand.
"I'm James Telerno."
"Takato Matsuki."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You're good at this. You do this before Takato?"
I nodded.
"My parents owned a bakery. Before, well…"
A small look of understanding passed over his face.
"Oh, I see. Not a runaway from social services are you?"
"No. I'm staying with a friend."
He smiled.
"Good. You're hired. You need to be here by 5:00 AM tomorrow."
I nodded.
Good bread takes time to bake.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Come on BlackGuilmon! One more lap! We've got to keep pushing! We've got to be stronger!"
"Can we be stronger tomorrow Takatomon?"
I laughed.
"I suppose we can stop for now boy."
I flopped down on the grass, exhausted. BlackGuilmon lay down beside me, breathing heavily. School had been largely uneventful; the only thing remotely interesting was Davis's reminder that the reunion was this weekend.
I glanced around. This section of the park was extremely secluded, perfect for a digimon and his partner to train without being noticed. We lay there for a bit, just relaxing, when Kari and Tai came into view.
Those two are really close…
"Hey Takato!"
I sat up and faced them, BlackGuilmon copying.
"Hi Kari…"
"Why were you doing that?"
I blinked.
"Doing what?"
"Training like that. I mean, it's not often you see that kind of determination."
"Oh. Habit I guess."
"Habit?"
"It's southern quadrant stuff."
Tai spoke up then.
"Just what about the southern quadrant makes training yourself to death a habit? …Sorry. I shouldn't have asked."
"No, it's all right. Really. I know exactly the things I can and can't mention to you guys. This should be okay to explain. You guys have seen huge battles that spanned the digital, and occasionally, human world. The rest of the time, it's more or less at peace. The southern quadrant isn't like that. There's only been one huge crisis there, but there is constant fighting between individuals."
Tai looked a little confused.
"Why sould they want to do that?"
"Survival of the fittest. The only goal in the southern quadrant is digivolving. So, the digimon constantly fight and delete each other in order to do so. Only a handful make it to the human world, but the ones that do usually only want two things. Destruction, or a partner. Many seek partners as a step for power."
I shivered a bit, remembering IceDevimon.
"Sounds harsh."
"It is. But sometimes good things happen too."
"Like what?"
"Unfortunately, all of the good things back home are either things I'm forbidden to talk about, or things that the worlds share in common."
"So almost anything that you can tell us will be gloomy?"
"Essentially. There were a lot of good things, but I can't talk about them because it would make you question yourselves."
After all, if a Biomerge Digivolution is the result of the strongest of bonds, then they might start to doubt themselves too much…
"That's depressing."
"Why are you two out here, anyways?"
"Oh, we were reserving an area for the reunion tomorrow. We start a noon, or when Mimi's plane comes in, if it's late."
"Ah. Well, BlackGuilmon and I should be getting home anyways. Come on boy."
"Okay Takatomon. Bye Kari, bye Tai!"
"Bye, BlackGuilmon, see you tomorrow."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I sat up suddenly, an alarm blaring in my ear. I reached over and shut off the alarm.
4:30? Why would I get up at 4:30? Oh right. Job.
I grumbled a bit at the alarm. The earphones it connected to were important, though. I didn't want to wake the other occupants of the room. Oh, they knew I would be leaving for my job, but it was still courteous to not wake everyone else in the process. I yawned and stretched, working some kinks out of my neck. Then I gathered some clothes and headed for the shower. Completing the rest of my hygienic rituals as quietly as possible, I dressed and exited, BlackJyarimon in tow.
I reached the Deli about twenty minutes after I woke, and, with a few words to Mr. Telerno, set to work on the day's bread, while BlackGuilmon helped himself to the day-old day-old bread, occasionally fetching things or carrying trays.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tai owes me for this. Why did I have to agree to get the food for today? But then, he is right. The grub that me and the band get here is really good. I just hope he can handle the load. He's been understaffed lately.
Gabumon and I had just turned the corner onto the street where the Telerno Deli stood, when he stiffened.
"Matt! Over there in the alley behind the Deli!"
I looked, and there was a digimon. It was unusual looking, what with the bat-like ears on what was obviously a dinosaur's body. It was fumbling with the doorknob that led into the Deli, when it stiffened, and its eyes seemed to glow. Then it turned and faced us. It looked at Gabumon and crouched, obviously readying itself for battle.
"Gabumon, get ready…"
Then it looked at me, and I didn't like the look in its eyes at all. Feral, instinctive, beserk. Then the thing blinked, cocked its head as if listening to something, and went back to trying to open the door. The door opened from the inside, and a boy wearing an apron stepped out. He let the digimon in and turned to face me.
"Sorry, BlackGuilmon's instincts get the better of him sometimes."
"Oh."
Oh yeah. That sounded intelligent.
The kid smiled.
"Usually BlackGuilmon's really nice. He only does that with every digimon he doesn't know. At least this time he asked me what to do before he started attacking."
"He attacked someone?"
The kid sighed.
"Yeah. Tai's Agumon. I'm just glad I got there before they actually hit each other with an attack."
I smiled. Then I frowned.
"I thought we knew all the digidestined around here. Who are you?"
The kid blinked. I mean he looked really confused. Then he started mumbling something I couldn't hear.
"What was that?"
"Sorry. I was sure that they would have told you though."
"Told me what?"
"I'm Takato Matsuki. I'm from the southern quadrant."
"Oh. Um… Matt. Matt Ishida."
Oh yeah, that's real smart. Second time I've done that in single conversation! Now the kid's gonna think I'm stupid or something.
Takato grinned.
"A lot to take in, I know. But hey, I'll explain more later. I have to get back to work now."
"Later when?"
He blinked, then shook his head.
"They haven't told you anything, have they? I'll be there at the reunion later. Although, between you and me, I think I'm just being used as a conversation piece or something. I don't really belong there. Gotta go!"
The kid ducked back inside the shop and left me and Gabumon standing speechless out there.
"Come on Gabumon, we're going in."
"All right Matt."
He walked towards the vacant alley.
"No, not that way, the front."
"Huh?"
"We'll talk to the kid later. Right now we still need to order some food for it."
"Oh."
So, we walked around to the front of the building. I walked in the door and was greeted by the tinkle of a small bell. Then I was thrown out the door by my girlfriend, Jun Motomia.
No, Jun wasn't angry with me, she was just… over enthusiastic. Very over enthusiastic. She also appeared to be very pleased with me, if the way she smiled down at me as she straddled my chest was any indicator. She had apparently launched herself at me in greeting, neglecting the door. While my bruised body would appreciate it if she toned it down a little bit, the fact that Jun was so honest about her feelings and her thoughts was the thing that had attracted me to her in the first place. She honestly liked me, and not just because I was in a moderately successful band.
How did I know? She said so herself. And I always knew that Jun was telling the absolute truth. Or what she believed to be the truth. If she was wrong, she said 'oops' and went on with her life, no regrets.
Something else I admire a about her…
Jun smiled down at me and got up off of me, extending her hand. I let her help me off of the ground, something I had sworn I would never let anyone but TK, Gabumon, or Tai do. But with Jun, I needed all the help I could get. Slinging my arm around her waist, I entered the shop, where Gabumon waited, a pained expression on his face.
I think he finds it a bit embarrassing…
I escorted Jun up to the counter and started speaking to Mr. Telerno. Then I noticed BlackGuilmon looking out from the kitchen area. He was looking at Gabumon. Then he glanced up at me, and smiled.
"HIII!"
"BlackGuilmon, come get the trash again, would you?"
The dino turned back into the kitchen.
"Okie Dokie, Takatomon!"
I chuckled. Mr. Tolerno smiled as well.
"I must admit I was a little apprehensive when young Takato there brought his digimon to help him, but its working great."
"What's he do?"
"He seems to mostly fetch things for Takato, take out the trash, and other simple things, like get trays out of the oven. Takato does all the hard work. The little guy gets paid with the bread that's too old to sell."
I laughed.
"Really listens to his stomach huh?"
"Yes. Its good to see some fun in the kitchen for a change. Always so dull before."
"Do you think my order will be ready on time?"
"Certainly. I imagine Takato back there will even help you carry it down to the park there."
"That would be nice. It was one of the things I was worried about. Well, I'll see you later then."
"Any time, Matt, any time."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Attention passengers. We will be landing shortly. Please make sure your seat-backs and trays are in their upright and locked positions, and your seatbelts are fastened. Thank you.*
All right! I'm finally going to see my friends again!
"I just wish we could do this more than just once a year…"
"What was that Mimi?"
I sighed.
"Nothing Palmon."
"Are you sure, Mimi. Is this about Michael?"
"No Palmon, it's not about Michael. He can go jump off a bridge for all I care. I was just wishing that we could come see all our friends more often."
"Oh. We could always see them in the digital world you know. I know, but it's better that we don't hold any gatherings in there. I know it's a little superstitious, but something bad always happens when we do that."
Now it was Palmon's turn to sigh.
"Yeah. Its always a mess when we meet there."
I smiled.
"Cheer up Palmon. Its time we stopped focusing on the negative. We're going to see all our friends today."
"Yeah, you're right Mimi. Besides, the email we got did say something about a surprise, didn't it?"
"Yeah, I wonder what it is?"
"Takatomon I'm hungry!"
"BlackJyarimon, I don't think that anyone is going to serve anyone, much less a Digimon, at 6:30 in the morning."
"But Takatomon, I smell bread!"
"BlackJyarimon…"
But BlackJyarimon wasn't listening. He hopped off my shoulder like he had done the other night.
Flash
Digivolution_
BlackJyarimon Flash Digivolve To… BlackGuilmon!
And then he took off.
"BlackGuilmon! Come back here!"
But, he was listening to his stomach more than he was me.
"Hurry Takatomon!"
We ran through the streets, me following BlackGuilmon closely, still tying to catch him.
When it comes to food, he's rarely obedient…
Then, there, in front of us, stood a small bakery with its lights on. BlackGuilmon rushed up the small steps, and carefully opened the door. And went inside. I burst in after him.
"BlackGuilmon!"
He turned and looked at me, a pleading look in his eyes. I took this opportunity to glance around a bit. The shop was relatively small, with a few tables. Apparently the place was a small deli as well. My hungry friend was looking through the glass with undisguised longing. Then the owner came up to the front.
"Sorry to keep you wai…"
He stopped, eyes on BlackGuilmon. Then he spotted me.
"This your digimon boy?"
"Yes, sir. I'm sorry, he's just a little hungry right now. I'm kinda surprised you're taking it so well though. Considering recent events and all."
"Yes, well that nice boy, Matt, comes in here with his Gabumon all the time to get some food before practice. I guess you could say I'm a little used to it."
The man was and older gentleman, his thinning hair just beginning to turn gray from it's natural black. He wore a kind, open expression, and it seemed to give off an aura of trust.
"Ah. Well… are you open? I'd like to get BlackGuilmon here something if I could."
"Well, I've got a few things, day-old stuff mind you. Right now I'm trying to get today's bread ready. The other lad quit, so I'm a little shot handed right now."
"Really? I don't suppose I could try for the position?"
"You want to get up early and work in a deli?"
"Might as well. I need to find a job pretty soon anyways."
"I suppose I could give you a trial run… when can you start?"
"I could start now if you need me to."
"Great. Let's see what you know."
As I stepped around the counter, he offered me his hand.
"I'm James Telerno."
"Takato Matsuki."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You're good at this. You do this before Takato?"
I nodded.
"My parents owned a bakery. Before, well…"
A small look of understanding passed over his face.
"Oh, I see. Not a runaway from social services are you?"
"No. I'm staying with a friend."
He smiled.
"Good. You're hired. You need to be here by 5:00 AM tomorrow."
I nodded.
Good bread takes time to bake.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Come on BlackGuilmon! One more lap! We've got to keep pushing! We've got to be stronger!"
"Can we be stronger tomorrow Takatomon?"
I laughed.
"I suppose we can stop for now boy."
I flopped down on the grass, exhausted. BlackGuilmon lay down beside me, breathing heavily. School had been largely uneventful; the only thing remotely interesting was Davis's reminder that the reunion was this weekend.
I glanced around. This section of the park was extremely secluded, perfect for a digimon and his partner to train without being noticed. We lay there for a bit, just relaxing, when Kari and Tai came into view.
Those two are really close…
"Hey Takato!"
I sat up and faced them, BlackGuilmon copying.
"Hi Kari…"
"Why were you doing that?"
I blinked.
"Doing what?"
"Training like that. I mean, it's not often you see that kind of determination."
"Oh. Habit I guess."
"Habit?"
"It's southern quadrant stuff."
Tai spoke up then.
"Just what about the southern quadrant makes training yourself to death a habit? …Sorry. I shouldn't have asked."
"No, it's all right. Really. I know exactly the things I can and can't mention to you guys. This should be okay to explain. You guys have seen huge battles that spanned the digital, and occasionally, human world. The rest of the time, it's more or less at peace. The southern quadrant isn't like that. There's only been one huge crisis there, but there is constant fighting between individuals."
Tai looked a little confused.
"Why sould they want to do that?"
"Survival of the fittest. The only goal in the southern quadrant is digivolving. So, the digimon constantly fight and delete each other in order to do so. Only a handful make it to the human world, but the ones that do usually only want two things. Destruction, or a partner. Many seek partners as a step for power."
I shivered a bit, remembering IceDevimon.
"Sounds harsh."
"It is. But sometimes good things happen too."
"Like what?"
"Unfortunately, all of the good things back home are either things I'm forbidden to talk about, or things that the worlds share in common."
"So almost anything that you can tell us will be gloomy?"
"Essentially. There were a lot of good things, but I can't talk about them because it would make you question yourselves."
After all, if a Biomerge Digivolution is the result of the strongest of bonds, then they might start to doubt themselves too much…
"That's depressing."
"Why are you two out here, anyways?"
"Oh, we were reserving an area for the reunion tomorrow. We start a noon, or when Mimi's plane comes in, if it's late."
"Ah. Well, BlackGuilmon and I should be getting home anyways. Come on boy."
"Okay Takatomon. Bye Kari, bye Tai!"
"Bye, BlackGuilmon, see you tomorrow."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I sat up suddenly, an alarm blaring in my ear. I reached over and shut off the alarm.
4:30? Why would I get up at 4:30? Oh right. Job.
I grumbled a bit at the alarm. The earphones it connected to were important, though. I didn't want to wake the other occupants of the room. Oh, they knew I would be leaving for my job, but it was still courteous to not wake everyone else in the process. I yawned and stretched, working some kinks out of my neck. Then I gathered some clothes and headed for the shower. Completing the rest of my hygienic rituals as quietly as possible, I dressed and exited, BlackJyarimon in tow.
I reached the Deli about twenty minutes after I woke, and, with a few words to Mr. Telerno, set to work on the day's bread, while BlackGuilmon helped himself to the day-old day-old bread, occasionally fetching things or carrying trays.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tai owes me for this. Why did I have to agree to get the food for today? But then, he is right. The grub that me and the band get here is really good. I just hope he can handle the load. He's been understaffed lately.
Gabumon and I had just turned the corner onto the street where the Telerno Deli stood, when he stiffened.
"Matt! Over there in the alley behind the Deli!"
I looked, and there was a digimon. It was unusual looking, what with the bat-like ears on what was obviously a dinosaur's body. It was fumbling with the doorknob that led into the Deli, when it stiffened, and its eyes seemed to glow. Then it turned and faced us. It looked at Gabumon and crouched, obviously readying itself for battle.
"Gabumon, get ready…"
Then it looked at me, and I didn't like the look in its eyes at all. Feral, instinctive, beserk. Then the thing blinked, cocked its head as if listening to something, and went back to trying to open the door. The door opened from the inside, and a boy wearing an apron stepped out. He let the digimon in and turned to face me.
"Sorry, BlackGuilmon's instincts get the better of him sometimes."
"Oh."
Oh yeah. That sounded intelligent.
The kid smiled.
"Usually BlackGuilmon's really nice. He only does that with every digimon he doesn't know. At least this time he asked me what to do before he started attacking."
"He attacked someone?"
The kid sighed.
"Yeah. Tai's Agumon. I'm just glad I got there before they actually hit each other with an attack."
I smiled. Then I frowned.
"I thought we knew all the digidestined around here. Who are you?"
The kid blinked. I mean he looked really confused. Then he started mumbling something I couldn't hear.
"What was that?"
"Sorry. I was sure that they would have told you though."
"Told me what?"
"I'm Takato Matsuki. I'm from the southern quadrant."
"Oh. Um… Matt. Matt Ishida."
Oh yeah, that's real smart. Second time I've done that in single conversation! Now the kid's gonna think I'm stupid or something.
Takato grinned.
"A lot to take in, I know. But hey, I'll explain more later. I have to get back to work now."
"Later when?"
He blinked, then shook his head.
"They haven't told you anything, have they? I'll be there at the reunion later. Although, between you and me, I think I'm just being used as a conversation piece or something. I don't really belong there. Gotta go!"
The kid ducked back inside the shop and left me and Gabumon standing speechless out there.
"Come on Gabumon, we're going in."
"All right Matt."
He walked towards the vacant alley.
"No, not that way, the front."
"Huh?"
"We'll talk to the kid later. Right now we still need to order some food for it."
"Oh."
So, we walked around to the front of the building. I walked in the door and was greeted by the tinkle of a small bell. Then I was thrown out the door by my girlfriend, Jun Motomia.
No, Jun wasn't angry with me, she was just… over enthusiastic. Very over enthusiastic. She also appeared to be very pleased with me, if the way she smiled down at me as she straddled my chest was any indicator. She had apparently launched herself at me in greeting, neglecting the door. While my bruised body would appreciate it if she toned it down a little bit, the fact that Jun was so honest about her feelings and her thoughts was the thing that had attracted me to her in the first place. She honestly liked me, and not just because I was in a moderately successful band.
How did I know? She said so herself. And I always knew that Jun was telling the absolute truth. Or what she believed to be the truth. If she was wrong, she said 'oops' and went on with her life, no regrets.
Something else I admire a about her…
Jun smiled down at me and got up off of me, extending her hand. I let her help me off of the ground, something I had sworn I would never let anyone but TK, Gabumon, or Tai do. But with Jun, I needed all the help I could get. Slinging my arm around her waist, I entered the shop, where Gabumon waited, a pained expression on his face.
I think he finds it a bit embarrassing…
I escorted Jun up to the counter and started speaking to Mr. Telerno. Then I noticed BlackGuilmon looking out from the kitchen area. He was looking at Gabumon. Then he glanced up at me, and smiled.
"HIII!"
"BlackGuilmon, come get the trash again, would you?"
The dino turned back into the kitchen.
"Okie Dokie, Takatomon!"
I chuckled. Mr. Tolerno smiled as well.
"I must admit I was a little apprehensive when young Takato there brought his digimon to help him, but its working great."
"What's he do?"
"He seems to mostly fetch things for Takato, take out the trash, and other simple things, like get trays out of the oven. Takato does all the hard work. The little guy gets paid with the bread that's too old to sell."
I laughed.
"Really listens to his stomach huh?"
"Yes. Its good to see some fun in the kitchen for a change. Always so dull before."
"Do you think my order will be ready on time?"
"Certainly. I imagine Takato back there will even help you carry it down to the park there."
"That would be nice. It was one of the things I was worried about. Well, I'll see you later then."
"Any time, Matt, any time."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Attention passengers. We will be landing shortly. Please make sure your seat-backs and trays are in their upright and locked positions, and your seatbelts are fastened. Thank you.*
All right! I'm finally going to see my friends again!
"I just wish we could do this more than just once a year…"
"What was that Mimi?"
I sighed.
"Nothing Palmon."
"Are you sure, Mimi. Is this about Michael?"
"No Palmon, it's not about Michael. He can go jump off a bridge for all I care. I was just wishing that we could come see all our friends more often."
"Oh. We could always see them in the digital world you know. I know, but it's better that we don't hold any gatherings in there. I know it's a little superstitious, but something bad always happens when we do that."
Now it was Palmon's turn to sigh.
"Yeah. Its always a mess when we meet there."
I smiled.
"Cheer up Palmon. Its time we stopped focusing on the negative. We're going to see all our friends today."
"Yeah, you're right Mimi. Besides, the email we got did say something about a surprise, didn't it?"
"Yeah, I wonder what it is?"