Well, I'm finally back! I'd tell you who my favorite characters are only, I happen to be fond of all of them!

To miricles-3: I'm glad my story made you feel better and I hope you like the next chapter!

To Helena: I noticed that too about my stories. Oh well, most romance stories are based on miscommunication. It'll probably pop up in future stories even without me intending it to. Sorry! The advice about commas would be great. I might as well get a whole lesson, it's the only way I'll improve! Thanks!

To Dark Qiviut: We're going to find out what happens to poor Dai!

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Okay! Onto the story!

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

Chapter 6: Like Father, Like Son

Daichi 'Dai' Motomiya

Daichi slipped inside the house and quietly closed the door behind him. The front hall was silent, and he let out a sigh of relief. Maybe they aren't even home yet. If that's the case, then I might not get into trouble after all! He made to tiptoe across the hall, but his mother's voice stopped him.

"Daichi, you get in here right now!"

Dai flinched. I should have known. I never get that lucky! He shuffled into the kitchen, feeling defeated, and found himself face to face with his mother. Thirty-six year old, Noriko Motomiya, was glaring angrily at him, her dark brown eyes flashing; she was furious.

"Where have you been all this time? You know very well that you're grounded! Explain yourself!"

"Er...well...you see..."

"What have you done this time?"

Daichi jumped at the new voice and turned to find his father, thirty-seven year old, Davis Motomiya, standing in the doorway; he didn't look at all pleased.

"It was Ryoko's fault," Dai said in self-defence. "I swear it!"

The frown on his father's face deepened. "Where have you been?"

"In detention," he said meekly. He twiddled his thumbs together and sighed. There was no use trying to hide it from them. They would find out eventually anyway thanks to Mrs. Hanari.

"That's the fifth time in two weeks!" His mother looked ready to explode with anger. "When are you going to learn that there are rules to follow at school and in this house! You're are grounded for another week and no televison or computer! You can use the time to think about how you're going to clean up your attitude!"

"That's so unfair!" Daichi shouted. "Ryoko's the one who should be getting into trouble, not me! He started this whole thing!"

"I don't care who started it," his mother snapped. "I want this fighting between you and Ryoko to stop immediately! Do you understand me? It's been going on for far to long! You had better learn to get along with him if you don't want to land up in even more trouble!"

I can't believe this! I didn't even do anything and I'm the one who's getting into trouble!" Dai turned to his father to protest, but his dad just shook his head.

"Your mother's right, Dai. These antics of yours have got to stop." His father leaned against the wall, his eyes filling with disappointment, and sighed loudly. "When you were born, I promised your mother that I wouldn't let you turn out like I had. Have I failed so miserably as a parent? Tai's going to love this."

"Who cares what he thinks," Dai grumbled, feeling guilty.

His father studied his face, but he didn't reply.

"Go to your room! I don't want to see you down here again until suppertime," his mother said angrily.

"Fine!" Dai snapped. He turned and stomped out of the room towards the stairs. His sister, Ami, happened to be coming down, just as he was headed up, and she smirked at him. "Ooooh, someone's in trouble!"

"Shut up, Ami!" He stalked into his room, fuming, and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.

Davis Motomiya

Davis frowned at the sound of Dai's door slamming shut and took a seat at the kitchen table.

Noriko sighed and slipped into the chair across from him, shaking her head. "What are we going to do with him?" Her voice sounded weary, and her eyes looked tired.

He gave his wife a small smile and reached across the table to take her hand. "Well, we know one thing. Yelling at that top of our lungs doesn't make the slightest bit of difference!"

Noriko blinked at him and started to laugh. "Oh Davis, I don't like having to yell at him all the time, but I don't know what else to do. Nothing seems to work."

Davis shrugged. "I don't think it's anything to get upset about. He'll probably grow out of it just like I did."

Noriko raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes I wonder about that!"

He pretended to look offended and Noriko leaned across the table to kiss his cheek. She pulled back, with a fond smile on her face, and rested her chin in her hand. "The two of you are going to turn me grey early," she said softly.

"Even if we did, you would still be beautiful." In his opinion, Noriko had only become even more pretty with each passing year. Her dark brown hair fell to her shoulders and her deep chocolate coloured eyes sparkled with the kind of life that defied her age. He could still remember the moment when he had realized that he had fallen in love with her, despite the fact that it had been many years ago. It had been during his final year of highschool and a year after Kari had already declared her love for T.K. Kari's decision had caused a lot of heartache between himself and the Child of Hope. In fact, it had almost completely destroyed their friendship. For years Kari had blamed herself for the near disaster, until he, along with T.K., had managed to convince her that it wasn't her fault. During that time, Noriko had become a very good friend of theirs. She had ended up going to the same highschool as them and often joined them on their trips to the Digital World. Davis could not believe how much being a Digidestined had changed Noriko's life. She had become completely different from the sad lonely girl Arukenimon had tried to manipulate. After Kari's decision, Noriko had been there to confort him with good advice. She had shown him that it was not the end of the world. During that time, they had spent hours just talking to each other, and they had ended up becoming very close. A year later, during one of their trips to the Digital World, he had ended up kissing her behind one of the houses at Primary Village. He still wasn't sure exactly how it had happened, but in that moment, he had realized that somehow in the time that Kari was slowly fading from his mind, he had ended up falling in love with Noriko. He didn't regret it one bit. Maybe that kiss hadn't been an accident after all, like I had originally thought. Maybe it was fate's way of telling me to wake up and open my eyes. After a few awkward weeks, Noriko had finally confessed to falling in love with him ages ago, but she had been too afraid to say anything because she had thought that he was still in love with Kari. He had assured her that he wasn't and he had been telling the truth. By that time, Kari had become nothing but a distant fond memory. Once he and Noriko had gotten their feelings worked out, she had convinced him to fix his shattered relationship with T.K. After many tears and apologies, he had wished the blond nothing but happiness, and now their friendship was stronger then anyone would have ever thought possible. Everytime he looked at Noriko, it made him remember all of the reasons why he had married her in the first place.

"What are you thinking about?"

Davis glanced up at his wife and smiled at her. "I was just thinking about how much I love you," he said softly.

She squeezed his hand and leaned forward so that their foreheads were resting together. "If you're trying to get me to stop worrying about Dai, it's not going to work," she murmured, but her eyes lit up with happiness at his words.

That was another good reason why he could not imagine being with anyone else but Noriko, his kids. Dai and Ami meant more to him then life itself. He couldn't imagine them not being here and the thought alone was enough to horrify him. He loved them both so much, he didn't know what he would do if anything happened to them.

"I don't think there's any need to worry about Dai," he said reasonably. "We just need to be firm with him. A little discipline never hurt anyone. Yelling at him is only going to make him want to rebel even more." Dai's problem is that he's to much like me. A gentle smile crossed his lips at the thought and he sighed. I don't have the heart to yell at him. I know what it's like to feel misunderstood as a kid and I hated it.

"I hope you're right," Noriko muttered.

"What's Dai done this time?" Ami said cheerfully, coming into the room.

Davis frowned at the mischievous twinkle in her chestnut coloured eyes and gave his daughter a look. "Don't encourage him."

She blinked innocently at him in return. "Would I do something like that?"

Davis just chuckled and shook his head while Ami helped herself to some juice.

"I'm not even going to bother answering that," Noriko muttered.

Laughing, Davis leaned across the table to give her a kiss, and Ami made a face at them. "Do you two have to get all mushy in front of me? I just ate you know!"

"Ami," Noriko scolded.

"Well, how would you like it if I kissed some boy in front of you?" She shot back.

Davis sat up straighter in his chair and grinned. "What boy? Do I have to get out the stick to keep all the young men away?"

"Dad!" Ami huffed and stalked out of the room. He was pretty sure he distinctly heard her muttering something about wanting to use that stick over his head. Maybe Yolei's right after all. I think my kids are pulling the strings on me, not the other way around!

Daichi 'Dai' Motomiya

Daichi stretched out on his back, on top of the bed, and stared glumly at the ceiling. Talk about a miscarriage of justice! Why do I always end up getting into trouble when a fight breaks out?

There was a soft knock on the door which startled him out of his miserable thoughts. He rolled onto his stomache and glared at the door. "Go away!" He shouted.

Naturally, whoever it was, didn't listen to a single word he had said. Instead, the door flew open and his father came into the room followed by Shadow trotting on his heels.

"Supper's almost ready," his dad said softly and sat down next to him on the edge of the bed.

"I'm not hungry," he mumbled into his pillow.

His father sighed. "Listen, Dai, Your mother and I are not out to get you. We just want what's best for you and getting into trouble doesn't quite make the cut."

Dai sat up and gave him a sullen look. "I don't mean to get into trouble you know. It just sort of happens. It's not like I'm trying to be bad..." He stared at the blanket, his lip trembling. "You don't think I'm bad, do you?"

His dad laughed and pulled him into a warm hug. "No, Dai, You're a good kid at heart," he murmured into his hair. "I know you mean well, but you have to learn to take responsibility for your actions."

Dai nodded, feeling much happier, and hugged him back. "Hey, Dad? Were you really that big of a troublemaker when you were my age?" He had heard all kinds of stories about how his father had always been getting into trouble as a young boy, but he had not really paid that much attention to them, until now.

"The worst!" His father laughed and shook his head, as if scolding himself for his own foolishness. "Your grandparents, my teachers, your Aunt Jun, and the other Digi-er...I mean, my friends, were always getting me into trouble."

Dai pulled back and gave his father a funny look. That's strange. It sounded as if he'd been going to say something else. No way. I must be imagining things. He smiled at his father and hugged him tight again. "See? You were a troublemaker and you turned out alright. You haven't failed as a parent yet! There's still hope for me!"

His father smiled at him and flicked the goggles which sat on his haed. "I know. I was just joking before."

Dai laughed and nodded. He did not care what anyone else said. He thought his dad was amazing. With reddish brown hair and deep brown eyes, full of mischief, it was easy to mistake his father for someone younger. Currently, his father ran a successful noodle cart business which he really seemed to enjoy. His mother, Noriko, was the owner of a small book store. Often Mickey and his father, T.K., could be found in there browsing through the shop. Matty, on the other hand, would rather be playing on a soccer field with him than be stuck in a bookstore.

"So where was detention today? Same place? They really should move you guys out of that dusty classroom at the back of the school," his father said with disapproval. "I always hated it in that room. Being stuck in detention after school is torture enough without having to spend the afternoon sneezing yourselves to death!"

Dai shook his head. "No. There was some sort of chemistry accident. Man, I feel sorry for the kids who are stuck in there for class everyday. We had detention in the computer room."

Dai and his friends went to the same elementary school that his father had gone to with Yolei, Cody, T.K., and Kari. The school went from grades four to eight. His sister Ami, Sam's sister, Miya, and his sixteen year old cousin, Nobunari Kido, all went to the same highschool that Tai and his group of friends had gone to. His father had gone there later with his friends as well. Rina and Nao went to another one of the local schools, whlie Takara's ten year old brother, Taysuke Kamiya, and his friends, Taniko Izumi, Ema Kido, and Kenzo Hida, also went to the same school as Matty,Mickey, Kara, Sam, Ryoko, and himself.

A sudden far away look filled his father's eyes, as if he was remembering some long forgotten memory. "The computer room? We had some good times in that room," his dad said quietly.

Dai blinked at him in surprise. His father had once told him that he use to hang out in the computer room with his friends all the time. I've never been able to understand that. My dad was a jock when he was my age. He never showed interest in anything techno related. All he cared about was soccer, so why would he hang out in a computer room? That's when Dai remembered the strange message he had seen on the computer earlier that afternoon.

"Hey, Dad? There's this thing I want to ask you about," he said hesitantly.

His father turned to look at him, his eyes filled with curiosity. "What is it?"

"Um...well, you see...this afternoon..." Dai paused and glanced uncertainly at his dad. What will he think when I tell him? Will he even believe a single word of it? It was all so bizarre. Dad will probably think I'm either lying or going crazy. Neither prospect appealed to him.

"Dai? Hey, are you alright?" His dad put a hand on his shoulder, looking concerned. "What did you want to tell me?"

He managed a shaky laugh and shrugged. "It's nothing really. Don't worry about it." Just because Dad hung out in the computer room as a kid doesn't mean he witnessed anything unusual. There's no way he would understand what I'd seen. It was better to stay quiet. His parents already thought he went around causing enough trouble. He didn't want to add to his mother's low opinion of him.

"Are you sure?" His father eyed him skeptically, a slight frown on his face.

He put on a big smile and silently prayed the guilt didn't show on his face. "I'm sure. We should probably get downstairs before Mom starts yelling at me again!"

His father started to laugh and got to his feet. "I agree. Otherwise some of her wrath is going to be directed my way!"

"Come on, Shadow." Dai picked up the little black dog who happily licked his face. Shadow's tail was wagging madly in the air, and he shook his head. The dumb dog was trying to get on his good side again.

They started out of the room, but at the door, his father stopped and turned to face him. "Oh, Dai?" His dad smiled slightly with a twinkle in his brown eyes. "If you're going to be a troublemaker, the trick is not to get caught!"

With a wink, his father left the room leaving Dai to stare after him in surprise. I'll have to keep that in mind!

With a grin, Dai started down the stairs after him.