Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
A/N: Hey everyone! The kids will be back in the Digiworld the chapter after the next one.
Following the Footsteps of Destiny
Chapter 28: Close Call
Masato 'Matty' Takaishi
Odaiba, Japan, Earth
"Make sure you guys keep Goldmon and Palelymon hidden," Ryoko whispered, glancing anxiously at the front door of his house.
Matty rolled his eyes and gave his cousin an exasperated look. "Relax. Uncle Matt and Aunt Mimi won't suspect a thing."
"We'll be really quiet, we promise," Palelymon whispered from Mickey's backpack.
"You'd better be," Ryoko muttered before opening the door. "Mom, Dad, I'm home!"
"Hello, sweetheart," Mimi said, walking into the room and giving Ryoko a smile. "Did you have a good day?"
"Yeah, it was definitely less chaotic than yesterday!" Ryoko laughed.
"Maybe for you," Mickey muttered, and Matty had to fight down an urge to smile.
"Well, I'm glad you let me know that you were going to be late this time," Mimi said softly, placing a hand on her son's shoulder.
Ryoko blushed bright red and avoided her eyes.
Matty made a face. Could he be any more obvious? He's more likely to give us away than Goldmon and Palelymon put together!
"Hi, Aunt Mimi," Mickey said, giving her a hug.
Mimi hugged Mickey back and kissed his cheek. "Hello, Mickey, and how are you, Matty?"
Matty shrugged. "I just came for the food," he said with a grin.
His aunt rolled her eyes and pulled him into a warm hug.
"Where's Dad?" Ryoko asked, glancing around the front foyer.
"He went out to get a few groceries. We were running low," Mimi explained. "He should be back any minute now."
At that moment, the front door opened, and Matt came into the house with several bags in one hand and his car keys in his other hand.
"Hi, Uncle Matt!" Matty said with a grin.
His uncle looked up in surprise and smiled at him. "Hi, Matty. Hello, Mickey. I didn't know that you two were coming over today."
"Ryoko phoned me to let me know. It's a good thing you bought some more food, otherwise I don't think that we would have had enough to feed three hungry boys!" Mimi said with a laugh.
"Matty would have ended up eating most of it!" Mickey said with a smile.
"Hey! You eat just as much as I do!" he shot back.
Their uncle let out a laugh and leaned over to kiss their aunt's cheek.
"I think Dai eats more than the two of you combined!" Ryoko snorted, taking the bags from his dad and heading towards the kitchen.
Matty exchanged a look with his twin and grinned. I wonder if Dai knows that Ryoko always calls him by his nickname when he's not around. I bet he doesn't. There's no use telling him, though. He'd never believe a word of it.
"How are your parents doing?" their uncle asked, pulling them both into a warm hug.
"They're doing okay," Matty replied, giving his uncle a smile and turning to grin at his twin.
Mickey smiled back at him, and they both hugged their uncle tightly.
"What about you, Matty? Have you finally stopped getting into trouble?" their uncle asked, looking amused.
"Hey! It's been ages since I've gotten into trouble!" he replied, pretending to be offended.
"Actually, it was last week when Mrs. Hanari accused you of helping Dai throw water balloons all over the classroom!" Mickey laughed.
"Let her accuse me. She can't prove anything!" he shot back. The fact that he had helped Dai out with that little stunt was beside the point!
"I don't even want to know what your parents had to say about that!" their uncle sighed.
"They never found out!" he replied with a small smile.
Ryoko came back into the room and motioned them towards the stairs. "Are you guys coming? It'll be a while before supper's ready."
Ryoko had been rather quiet on the way home, and he seemed upset about something.
Matty looked at his twin, but Mickey just shrugged. Their uncle must have noticed Ryoko's behaviour, too, because he gave his son a look of concern.
"I'm fine," Ryoko said quietly, before his dad could even say anything. "Come on, guys."
Matty glanced once more at his aunt's and uncle's surprised faces before following Ryoko and his brother up the stairs.
"What was that all about?" Mickey asked, sitting down on the edge of of Ryoko's bed.
Ryoko sighed and sat down on the floor. "My mom and dad are really worried about me. I can tell."
"You think that they might suspect something?" Mickey asked.
"I know they suspect something," Ryoko muttered.
"Well it's no wonder they're suspicious. What is up with you, Ryoko? I thought you were going to give us all away the second you walked in the door!" Matty said, sitting down next to his twin and giving his cousin a dirty look.
"Can I come out now?" Goldmon whispered from inside of his backpack.
Matty sighed. "Alright, but you and Palelymon had better keep your voices down."
He let Goldmon out of his backpack, and the little digimon was quickly joined by Palelymon. His partner and Palelymon settled themselves on Ryoko's pillow and glanced curiously around the room.
Ryoko made a face at him and frowned. "I wasn't that bad."
"You're still thinking about what happened with Dai earlier," Mickey said softly.
Ryoko shrugged and avoided their eyes.
"Why do you hate him so much?" Matty asked, watching his cousin closely.
"Hate is a strong word," Ryoko said quietly, pulling on the end of one of his socks and staring at the carpet.
Matty rolled his eyes and sent his cousin an impatient look. "Okay, fine. Why do you dislike him so much? Dai's a great guy. I always have tons of fun playing soccer with him, and he always knows how to cheer me up when I'm in a bad mood. What more could you ask for?"
"I love spending time with Dai, too," Mickey said softly. "I might not be a big fan of soccer, but I still have tons of fun hanging out with him. He even comes with me to Noriko's book store sometimes."
Ryoko gave Mickey a look, and Mickey laughed. "No. His mom has never once forced him to come with me!"
"Funny. I can't imagine Dai being in a bookstore!" Ryoko laughed. "Even if his mother is the owner!"
"That's one of the best things about Dai," Mickey said, smiling softly. "He enjoys spending time with his friends even if it doesn't involve something that he really loves to do. I might not like playing soccer, but I do enjoy watching Dai play. That's why we have such a great friendship. We take part in each other's interests."
"Mickey, why don't you like playing soccer?" Matty asked, giving his twin an exasperated look. "You're hopeless sometimes, you know that?" He had tried tons of times to get Mickey on the soccer field. So far he had not yet succeeded.
"Matty, you know I'm terrible at sports!" Mickey replied, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, you are!" Matty grinned, giving his twin a shove. "Still. That's no reason not to join in. I bet you would have tons of fun if you only gave it a try."
"Thanks, but I think I'll pass," his twin muttered, sitting back down on the bed and giving him a disapproving look.
"Well, I tried!" he said with a laugh and patted his brother's shoulder. He had accidentally shoved Mickey off of the bed, and his twin was not to happy about that.
"Matty, how come you didn't join the soccer team?" Ryoko asked, his blue eyes filling with curiosity. "You're a really a good player."
"I have mom to thank for that," he replied. "I love soccer, but I'm not really that competitive about it. I like playing more for fun."
"I tried to get him to join," Mickey said with a smile. "He wouldn't listen to me."
Matty turned to his cousin and shrugged. "Dai tried to get me to join, too. He didn't have any more luck than Mickey. Maybe one day I'll join, but I definitely prefer playing without the pressure of having to win."
"Didn't your dad use to play basketball?" Ryoko asked.
"That's right," he replied. "Our dad was the captain of his high school team when he was younger. He loves the sport, but I've never really been a fan of it. Mickey definitely isn't."
"I guess we don't always inherit everything from our parents!" Ryoko laughed. "I'm a perfect example of that. My parents are amazing singers, but I'm only average. I can carry a tune, but I'll never be the lead singer of a band like my dad was."
"Ryoko, you attract enough female fans without being in a band!" Matty laughed. "In fact, a few days ago, I heard Dai's sister talking about you to Miya. She said that you were really handsome."
Ryoko blushed bright red and stared at the floor. "I don't know why everybody keeps saying things like that," their cousin mumbled. "I'm not that good-looking."
Matty stared at his twin in disbelief, and they both burst out laughing.
"That's another reason why so many girls like you!" Mickey said, nudging Ryoko's knee with his foot. "You're so modest!"
Ryoko's golden hair was cut pretty short, but it was still long enough to cover his ears, and he was constantly brushing it out of his eyes. That was not the only reason girls liked him. His cream coloured skin and deep blue eyes also had something to do with it.
"You really don't get it, do you?" Matty groaned, kicking his cousin in the leg.
"Get what?" Ryoko asked. The blond's cheeks were still pink from Mickey's last comment, and there was a frown on his handsome face.
Matty rolled his eyes and smiled. "Forget it." I could sit here all day trying to explain what I'm talking about, and he still wouldn't get it!
"Guys, we're getting off topic here," Mickey said softly. "We're suppose to be talking about Dai."
"What if I don't want to talk about him?" Ryoko muttered, fiddling with the sleeve of his blue shirt.
"You know what your problem is, Ryoko? You're too much like Mickey, and Dai's too much like me," he said softly, giving his cousin a warm smile. "You're complete opposites. It's no wonder you guys can't agree on anything."
"Matty's right," his twin said quietly. "You and Dai are as different as night and day. I know it's hard, but you can't let something like that stand in the way of your friendship. If Matty and I can get along, then there's no reason why you and Dai can't."
Ryoko sighed. "How do you guys manage to get along with each other so well? Don't you ever fight once in a while?"
"Of course we do! We're brothers, after all," Matty said with a laugh. "I'm the one who usually starts them, but we always manage to work things out. They usually don't last very long because I always end up feeling guilty. Lucky for me that Mickey's so forgiving."
"You know I can't stay mad at you," Mickey said softly.
"Same here," he replied, giving his twin a fond smile.
Ryoko glanced between the two of them and sighed.
"What's wrong?" Mickey asked, giving their cousin a concerned look.
"You guys are so lucky," Ryoko said softly. "I wish I had a brother."
There was a sudden knock on the door, and they all jumped.
"Our digimon!" Mickey gasped.
"Ryoko? Can I come in?" their uncle asked softly from the other side of the door.
"Just a minute!" Ryoko called back, his eyes filling with sudden panic.
"What's going on?" Palelymon asked, gazing curiously at the door.
"Be quiet, Palelymon!" Mickey whispered.
"Ryoko?" Matt said, beginning to sound a little concerned.
"Hide them!" Ryoko hissed, gesturing frantically at Goldmon and Palelymon.
Matty dived across the bed, nearly elbowing his twin in the face, and tackled the two digimon.
"Hey, careful!" Palelymon cried.
"Matty-"
Matty clapped a hand over Goldmon's mouth and shoved both digimon under the bed just as Ryoko opened the door.
"What's going on in here?" his uncle asked, coming into the room.
"Nothing," Ryoko said quietly.
Matt glanced at Ryoko and frowned. "Are you sure? I thought I heard a voice."
"There are three of us in here," Mickey said with a shaky smile.
"You know what I mean," their uncle replied, looking amused. "It didn't belong to any of you. It sounded kind of strange."
"Oh, that was just Matty trying to mimic Mrs. Hanari," Ryoko said quickly.
"Yeah," he added, trying to smile and failing miserably.
His uncle gazed at him for a moment and finally nodded. "I came up here to tell you that supper's ready."
"Okay, we'll be down in a minute," Ryoko replied, glancing anxiously at the bed.
Matt stared hard at Ryoko and frowned again. "Alright, but don't take too long or it's going to get cold."
"We won't," Ryoko said softly.
"Oh, and it isn't very nice to make fun of your teachers either!" Matt said with a laugh. "Even if they do deserve it!"
His uncle finally left the room, and Matty let out a sigh of relief.
"That was way too close!" Ryoko gasped, flopping back down onto the floor.
"No kidding!" Matty groaned.
"I don't think that Uncle Matt believed us," Mickey said quietly.
"Of course he didn't," Ryoko murmured. "I know that for a fact."
"Can we come out now?" Palelymon asked, peeking out from under the bed.
"Alright, but keep quiet!" Matty replied. "Otherwise you can forget about having some supper!"
The two digimon quickly fell silent and curled up on Ryoko's pillow again.
"I'm sure my dad suspects something," Ryoko said quietly. "We're going to have to be really careful from now on. The more digimon we have in the real world, the more chances we have of getting caught."
"You're right, Ryoko," Mickey replied. "Come on. Lets go before your dad gets even more suspicious."
Matty followed his twin and cousin out of the room, but not before making sure that the digimon stayed out of sight.