Dark Qiviut Oh my gosh! I almost cried when I read your review. Thank you so much! I can only hope that this chapter lives up to your expectations. As for if he accepts the invitation to the reunion, here's where we find out!

dai01 Thanks for the review. Unfortunately I couldn't continue meeting them one by one. That would have taken way too long!

SamMan I didn't really understand. Did you mean that you were gonna kill me in a couple of days, or keep reading? I hope it's the second one!

SoratoFan Sorry, but there probably won't be any Koumi. At least not anything major. But maybe I can work it in somehow. ;-)

Wolfkun Thanks for the complement. I never liked how the show portrayed Daisuke as this sort of one-track minded idiot. That's probably why I write about him so much. 

Aroque Thank you! And as requested…continued!

LegendarySilverX I'm glad you like it. Truthfully, a lot of this comes from my own experiences, though I twist them around to fit the plot.

Isumo1489 I'm glad you like it. I hope this was soon enough!

And thanks for everyone who kept my friend's grandfather in your thoughts. It seems he's doing better now, and will probably leave the hospital soon.

Disclaimer: I. Am. Poor. Nuff said.

Pairings: Eventual Daikari. Possibly some others on the side, but won't be a major part of the story.


"I'm home" said Daisuke as he walked in. He sighed when nobody answered. He wasn't really expecting one anyway. So much for wistful thinking.

He walked further into the apartment and could smell the alcohol and smoke in the air. 'Great,' he thought. 'Just what I was looking forward to. An afternoon of cleaning after Dad.'

The day Ken had gone with Daisuke to the hospital was the last day Daisuke saw his grandfather. It had been a week and a half since the funeral. After his grandfather's funeral, Daisuke's father had gotten worse. Daisuke was certain he was now spending most of his paycheck on alcohol and cigarettes. He didn't know how he still managed to drag himself to work every morning. Life had become a routine for the family. Daisuke or Jun would cook breakfast in the morning before getting ready for work. Jun and Daisuke would eat in their rooms and leave a plate for their father. They would then try to leave before or after their dad to avoid seeing him. Only once had Daisuke actually seen his father in the morning. Jun and Daisuke would get back from work around the same time and would eat dinner together. After a couple of days they realized their dad wouldn't eat any dinner they left for him. They would have a few hours before their dad came home, when they would then retreat to their rooms or find some way to get out of the house. Weekends were spent away from home since their father only worked weekdays.

This Saturday, Daisuke was unfortunate enough to be left with nothing to do for the rest of the afternoon. He glanced at the dining room to see a slumped figure on the table. Daisuke rolled his eyes and walked over to make sure his dad was still breathing. The arm he was resting on was on top of a pile of mail. The other held a half-empty bottle of beer. Curious, Daisuke picked up an envelope. It was a bill. With a sudden feeling of unease, he took the letter out of the opened envelope. Glancing at the top sheet he noticed two very important words. Electricity and overdue. Daisuke heard a soft buzz before every electrical appliance shut off.

"Fuck," he swore. He pulled out his cell phone and stomped out the door, leaving his dad to drool on the table.


Ken shook his head, still laughing at Taichi's story. The group had decided to meet at the park and were having a picnic while everyone talked about the past year. It was nice that even though they had all gone separate ways, they could still come back in the summer and ask as if they had never left. At least half the group had stayed nearby, but were always extremely busy during the school year. The farthest one to go had been Mimi. Though her parents had moved back to Japan, Mimi had decided to stay in New York for school. At least now she was back for the summers. Everyone else had stayed in Japan, Daisuke being the one to go the farthest. Ken sighed as he thought about his best friend. He had hoped he would come. He felt someone tap his shoulder.

"Hey Ken" Hikari smiled. "Is Daisuke going to be able to make it"

Ken shook his head sadly. "I don't know. I doubt it. He's been pretty busy."

Hikari smiled sympathetically. "Yeah, I heard about his grandfather. How is he"

"Better than I expected actually." They were interrupted by Beethoven's Fifth. Ken smiled apologetically at Hikari and answered his phone. "Hello"

"Hey Ken."

Ken almost dropped the phone. "Hey." He looked at Hikari. "I have to take this. Tell everyone I'll be back in a minute." He walked a little ways away from the group. "Hey Daisuke. Is everything okay"

"Does something have to be wrong for me to call my best friend"

Ken laughed. "I don't know. That seems to be my purpose these days."

Silence.

"Daisuke"

"I've been thinking...Are you already with everyone"

"Yeah."

"Do they know you're talking to me"

Ken rolled his eyes. "No, they don't. I stepped away when my phone rang."

"Oh. Who's there"

"Everybody, except you."

"Where are you guys"

Ken grinned. "At the park, right next to the soccer field." He heard Daisuke sigh.

"All right. Just...Do me a favor will you"

Ken frowned. "What's that"

"Don't tell anyone I'm coming."

"Why"

"I...well...just don't. And I'm not absolutely sure I'm coming yet."

Ken shook his head. "Fine. I won't tell. I hope you do come though."

"Yeah, yeah. Well, I'll see you soon I guess."

"Bye." Ken hung up the phone and resisted the urge to shout out loud. He didn't know what caused Daisuke to change his mind, but he was glad he did. He walked back over to the group.

"Who was on the phone"

"Tai" exclaimed Hikari. "That's none of your business"

Tai rolled his eyes and turned to Ken. "So"

Ken laughed. "Nobody."

"Oh come on! Please"

"No."

Tai grinned. "Who is she"

"What" Ken asked in confusion. "Who"

"Tai, leave him alone." Hikari hit her brother in the back of the head.

Tai rubbed his head and glared at his sister. "The girl you were talking to."

Ken looked at Tai, trying to figure out where he was going with this. "Who said I was talking to a girl"

"Well, isn't that interesting" smirked Yamato.

Ken blushed as he finally caught on to what they were saying. "It's not like that" he said quickly. "Really, it was nobody." Tai gave him a look that said he clearly wasn't buying it. Ken wracked his brain to come up with something quickly. "It was just my mom."

Yamato and Taichi shared a look. "Your mom" asked Yamato. Ken nodded. "Right" said Tai. He and Yamato shared another look.

"Knock it off you guys" said Hikari as Ken got redder than he was before.

Mimi walked over and put an arm around Ken's shoulders. "Yeah you two, back off." She turned around and pulled Ken with her. "So who was it"

"Good lord" exclaimed Ken. "I already told you"

Mimi shook her head. "When will you learn that you can't put anything past Mimi Tachikawa" She gave Ken a look. "It was important enough to have to step away from the group."

Ken rolled his eyes and walked out of Mimi's grip. "You guys are ridiculous."

"Oh, come on Ken" cried Miyako. "Just tell us who it was and we'll leave you alone."

Ken shook his head.

Sora laughed. "This is getting ridiculous."

"I agree" said Tai. "Give it up Ken. Who were you on the phone with"

"Me" said a voice a few feet from the group.


Daisuke watched as his old friends laughed with each other. It brought back memories, and not all of them were good. Sure he remembered some good times and laughing with them as they were now. He also remembered being the cause of all that laughter. He was always the brunt of every joke. Most of the time if they were laughing it was at him. He always joined in because that's what they expected. It really hadn't bothered him in the beginning, but somewhere along the way it had stopped being funny and started to hurt. Daisuke shook his head at moved a little closer to the group, thankful they hadn't spotted him yet. It looked like they were giving Ken a hard time. Something about a phone call.

Daisuke crept closer until he could hear them more clearly. Yes it was definitely about a phone call. Daisuke smiled as he realized Ken had taken his request to heart. Not only had he not told them he was coming, he also hadn't told them he had called. Daisuke chuckled. He heard Miyako's voice.

"Just tell us who it was and we'll leave you alone."

Daisuke decided to relieve his friend of the questioning and stepped out of the shadows of the tree.

"Give it up Ken. Who were you on the phone with"

"Me" said Daisuke as he reached the group. Everyone went silent. 'This isn't awkward' he thought sarcastically. He grinned at everyone. "Hey guys."

Ken smiled at Daisuke. "Glad you could make it."

Tai was the first to recover. He looked at Ken. "Why didn't you just tell us it was Daisuke"

Daisuke shrugged. "I told him not to. I wanted it to be a surprise."

"And what a surprise it is" said Hikari, smiling. She walked over to Daisuke and gave him a hug. "I missed you" she said softly.

Daisuke hesitantly put his arms around the brunette. "I wasn't gone that long was I" he asked playfully.

Hikari pulled away in shock before realizing he was only joking. She playfully hit him in the arm. "Oh my arm" exclaimed Daisuke dramatically. He clutched his arm. "I shall never write again" Hikari laughed.

This seemed to break everyone out of their surprise and soon Daisuke was bombarded with hugs, pats on the back, and a million questions. Daisuke laughed. "Come on you guys! Give me time to breathe"

Daisuke looked over to see Ken smiling at him. 'I told you so,' he mouthed. Daisuke rolled his eyes. Soon everyone was settled down again and they began passing around the food.

"Miyako" Daisuke asked, referring to the large assortment of foods.

"Of course" said Miyako arrogantly.

"Some things never change."

Ken sat down next to him. "And some things do" he whispered. Daisuke decided to ignore him.

"Speaking of change" said Miyako"where the hell have you been"

Daisuke looked at her innocently. "Whatever do you mean"

Takeru rolled his eyes. "Maybe the fact that no one's heard from you for a year. It was like you had dropped off the face of the earth"

"Don't be ridiculous! Plenty of people heard from me." He felt Ken's elbow in his side. He repressed a groan. This was exactly what he had been afraid of. He didn't want to answer the questions he knew they were gonna ask. There were some things he didn't want them to know, and some things he didn't know himself.

"Well, they certainly hadn't informed us" said Sora.

Daisuke grinned. "Of course not. They don't know you."

Everyone groaned. "It would be nice to know why you suddenly started avoiding us" said Iori.

Oh, that's right. He hadn't talked to them all summer so he wouldn't have to explain why he avoided them senior year. Then he didn't talk to them all school year so he wouldn't have to explain the summer. He had been hoping to avoid them this summer for the same reason. Life, however, had different plans. Daisuke silently cursed his father and his growing love for the bottle.

"I haven't been avoiding you" Daisuke lied.

"Then where were you all last summer" asked Miyako.

"I was busy. I was working full time."

"Where did you work" asked Takeru, obviously trying to figure out why he hadn't seen him.

"You probably haven't heard of it. It's a little shop on Fifth Street."

"What's it called"

Daisuke sighed. Who would have thought that his friends could ask so many questions? Oh that's right, he did. "The Cauldron."

Yamato raised an eyebrow. "The Cauldron" Daisuke nodded. "Interesting."

Daisuke looked at him expectantly, prompting him to explain.

Yamato shook his head. "I just wouldn't picture you working there."

"Really" asked Ken in amusement. He and Daisuke shared a look.

Takeru sighed. "Well you're right. I haven't heard of it."

"Of course you haven't. Do not doubt those with perpetual wisdom." He lowered his head in mock humility.

They laughed. Sora stood up. "Who's interested in a game of volleyball"

After several of the friends stood up to grab a net, Taichi looked pointedly at him. "Aren't you going to play"

Daisuke shook his head. "I think I'll pass." Tai gave him a look of surprise. "I'm just not in the mood today." Taichi shrugged and walked off.

Daisuke felt someone grab his arm. He turned to find a concerned looking Ken. After looking around to make sure none of the others would overhear them he asked"What made you decide to come"

Daisuke sighed. "I generally try to stay away from the house as often as I can. I have a rule to keep myself as busy as possible. Unfortunately I didn't have anything to do today. So, I really didn't have a choice."

"Is it really that bad"

Daisuke was about to respond when Hikari came running up. "All the nets are taken, so we're gonna play some soccer. Do you two want to join"

Daisuke contemplated telling the brunette where she could shove her ball, but decided he'd had enough questioning for the day. He nodded and followed her to the field.


Wow, that moved kind of quickly. Well, this month is going to be super busy for me. I barely have time to breathe! So hopefully I can get the next chapter up in a decent time, but it may not be until the end of February.