Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. This story is just for fun.

A/N: My fic One World Away From Darkness only has six chapters left so I will be spending most of my time on that one till it's done. So it might be a while till I update this one.

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

Chapter 14: Parental Instincts

Tai Kamiya

Odaiba, Japan, Earth

Tai stepped into the front hall at the sound of the door opening and was nearly trampled by Ema, Kenzo, Taniko, and his son.

"Tay, where have you been? If we don't hurry up, you're going to be late for your soccer game!"

"Sorry, Dad," Taysuke replied, leaning against the wall to catch his breath. "Are Takara and Ryoko here?"

Tai frowned. "No, aren't they with you?"

Taysuke blinked at him, and there was a flash of uneasiness in his son's eyes.

"Is something wrong?" He studied Taysuke's face and felt a sudden small stab of irrational fear. Takara said that she and Ryoko would drop their stuff off here first before coming with us to the game. Where could they be?

"Sora?" he called out, leaning around the door so he had a clear view of the upstairs hallway. "Honey? Did Takara and Ryoko come back here after school?"

A moment later Sora came rushing down the stairs holding Taysuke's soccer bag in her right hand. "Huh? No. Didn't they show up with Taysuke?" She glanced around the entryway as if she expected to see her daughter suddenly pop out of thin air.

"No," he said slowly, turning his gaze back to his son.

Taysuke flushed and looked at the floor.

"Well that's strange." Sora frowned and gave him a slightly worried look. "Takara's usually really good about letting us know where she is. This just isn't like her."

"You're right," he replied, that stab of fear growing ever so slightly. "Most of the time she'll phone us if she knows that she's going to be late."

"Takara and Ryoko probably just got held up at Dai's soccer practice," Ema suddenly piped up, tugging on one of her spiky pigtails. "I'm sure they'll be at the soccer field to watch Tay's game."

"I'm guessing they decided to skip coming back to the house to make up time," Taniko added, flipping her shiny brown hair out of her eyes and smiling.

Taysuke did not appear to have heard a word of what Taniko had said. His son was currently gaping at Ema in utter astonishment.

Tai glanced between the two of them and raised an eyebrow. I wonder what Taysuke's hiding from me.

"Ema's probably right," Sora said, handing Taysuke his soccer bag. "We're already late. We had better get going or Tay's going to miss the start of his game."

Tai nodded and sent his son's three friends a stern look. "Do your parents know where you are?"

"Of course," Kenzo replied, his dark eyes serious. In that sense, he was very much like Cody, always responsible.

"Yes," Ema said, rolling her eyes.

"They'd better. I don't want Jun throwing a fit like she did the last time."

"Honestly, Tai. Jun's not that bad," Sora replied, looking exasperated.

"Are you kidding?" he whispered, low enough so that the kids would not be able to overhear. "I'd rather face Apocalymon again than have her on my case!"

That comment earned him a swift elbow in the ribs from his wife.

"Come on," Sora said hastily, hustling the kids out the door.

"My mom throws a fit about everything," Ema announced, bouncing along beside him.

"Why does that not surprise me," he said dryly. "Mind you, I'm very astonished that your father's sanity is still in one piece considering that you, of all people, are his offspring!"

Ema raised her eyebrows and smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment."

Tai did not even bother to try and figure that one out. If experience had taught him anything, it was that women were all the same no matter how old they were. They always sought to confuse the male half of the species with clever sayings. As a result, men remained forever clueless of the inner workings of the female mind. Never try to argue with a ten year old, especially a female ten year old!

Instead he focused his attention on his son who walked a little ways ahead of him. Taysuke was conversing quietly with Taniko, in a heated conversation. Their whispers were completely unintelligible to him and that made him worry even more. Does he know something about Takara's whereabouts?

Taysuke spotted him watching and blushing guiltily, his son quickly looked away.

I think that would qualify as yes.

Taysuke Kamiya

Odaiba, Japan, Earth

"I told you, Tay," Taniko said impatiently. "I haven't seen either Kara or Ryoko since this morning."

He glanced back at his parents again and felt a surge of panic. "Dad knows something's wrong and he doesn't believe me. I can tell just by the look on his face. What am I going to do if Takara and Ryoko don't show up? Do you think they will be at the soccer field?" He tugged on the sleeve of Taniko's purple shirt, to get her attention, and she let out a loud sigh.

"I don't know, but if they aren't, Tai and Sora are going to be really worried."

"Be quiet!" Taysuke whispered, glancing anxiously at his mother. She was now looking at him just as closely as his father was.

Taniko sniffed and straightened her white skirt with dignity. "Kara and Ryoko are going to be in so much trouble," she muttered.

"Uh oh, and things just got worse," Kenzo muttered, nodding his head towards the soccer field which had just come into view.

Taysuke's heart sank when he caught sight of a golden head of hair and another of flaming pink. The stunning couple easily stood out in the crowd and made everyone else fade away. It was no wonder their son turned heads whenever he walked into a room. It was Ryoko's parents, Matt and Mimi. Tay had almost completely forgotten that they, too, had planned to come to his soccer game. Thankfully his Uncle T.K. and Aunt Kari weren't going to be there because they had gone to visit Kari's parents leaving Ken and Yolei to babysit Rina. That would have complicated things even more.

"Hey," his dad said, kissing Mimi's cheek and giving Matt a warm hug. "We're glad you could make it."

"We're glad we could come," Matt replied with a smile, hugging his father in return.

Ryoko's dad turned to him and reached out to ruffle his hair. "Hi, Tay," Matt said, his blue eyes sparkling.

"Hey, Uncle Matt," he replied, hugging him around the waist. "Are you and Aunt Mimi going to stay for supper?"

"Definitely," Mimi said, leaning down to give him a kiss. "We have to celebrate, don't we?"

"What if my team loses?"

Mimi dismissed his words with a toss of her head and gave him a squeeze. "It doesn't matter, sweetheart. You'll still be amazing."

"Thanks," he said softly.

Matt glanced around the soccer field and frowned. "Where's Ryoko?"

"And Takara, too, for that matter," Mimi added, looking confused.

"That's what we were about to ask you," Sora said quietly. Now his mother looked really worried and so did his father.

Matt and Mimi exchanged a look and the creases in Matt's forehead deepened. "I thought everyone was going to meet at your house. Didn't they show up?"

His father shook his head. "No. We thought they might have come here straight away instead."

Matt stared at his father for a moment and glanced slowly around the soccer field again. "They're not here," Ryoko's dad said quietly.

"Maybe they're still at Dai's soccer practice," Ema piped up.

Taysuke winced. Does she ever keep her big mouth shut?

"They could be," Mimi agreed, but she still looked worried.

"What about the twins?" Matt asked.

"They already said that they were going to Dai's practice days ago," he replied. "I don't mind. They promised they'd be at my next game."

"That still doesn't explain Kara and Ryoko," his mother said quietly.

Taysuke remained silent and jumped at the sudden touch of his father's hand on his shoulder.

"Tay, you'd better hurry up and get changed for your game. We'll meet you at the bleachers when it's over."

"Okay," he replied.

"Good luck, sweetie," his mother said, kissing his cheek.

He nodded, hugged his father, and quickly headed for the change rooms. He could feel his friend's eyes on his back and prayed that Ryoko and Kara would show up soon.

Tai Kamiya

Odaiba, Japan, Earth

Ema, Taniko, and Kenzo quickly grabbed some seats on the bleachers, but Tai held back with his wife and friends.

"Taysuke's hiding something, isn't he?" Matt promptly asked, staring hard at him.

Tai sighed. "You saw it too? I don't know what it could be. If Tay knew Kara and Ryoko were in trouble, he would say something."

"Tai. I don't like this," Mimi said, tugging nervously on a strand of pink hair. "Something doesn't feel right. If Ryoko's in trouble-" She broke off, a flash of fear in her eyes, and Sora pulled her into a tight hug.

"It's okay, Mimi," Sora whispered. "I'm sure they're fine."

Matt gazed at Mimi for a moment and turned to look at him. His best friend's ocean blue eyes were pinched with worry, and his expression was strained.

"Mimi's right. Something about this feels wrong," Matt said quietly. "If Kara and Ryoko don't show up before the game is over, we're going to go look for them."

"But, Matt-"

"I'm not going to let anything happen to my son!" Matt snapped, interrupting him in mid sentence. The look on his best friend's face was enough to make him snap his mouth shut, and he wisely kept silent.

"And I'm not going to let anything happen to Kara either," the blond added in a softer tone before turning and stalking off to the bleachers.

Mimi nodded in agreement and hurried after her husband.

From the expression on Matt's face, Tai had no doubt that his friend would take on all the digimon in the Digital World if it meant keeping Ryoko safe. I don't blame him. I would do the same for Kara, Tay, and any one of my friend's children. It's a good thing Kara and the others don't have to deal with the kind of things we had to deal with at their age.

"Come on, Tai. Lets go sit down," Sora said quietly.

Tai nodded and slowly followed after her with a heavy heart. Matt's right. If our kids don't show up soon, we'd better go looking for them. Who knows what kind of trouble they could have gotten themselves into by now?