Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
A/N: Please excuse Ryoko's crazy behaviour. He tends to take after his mother when it comes to overreacting! I won't be updating MBFG this week cause I'm still writing the next chapter out on paper. Bad for MBFG fans, good for FTFOD fans! I'll have three chapters up for this story this week instead of two!
Following the Footsteps of Destiny
"The game to determine your future has begun!" -Ophanimon (Season Four, Episode 47: When Knights Fall...)
Chapter 50: Tension
Daichi 'Dai' Motomiya
Odaiba, Japan, Earth
"Come on, Ryoko. Where are you?" Dai muttered. "Hurry up and answer the door!"
He was about to bang on its wooden surface again when it suddenly opened, and he found himself gazing into his blond friend's angry blue eyes.
"Where have you been?" Ryoko demanded. "The others are already here, and we've been waiting for half an hour!"
He opened his mouth to say something, but Ryoko quickly cut him off.
"You probably slept in again, didn't you?"
"My alarm clock didn't go off," he muttered, glaring at the blond. "Now, will you get out of my way? We can't save the Digital World if we're standing around out here all day!"
"I didn't even get a chance to have breakfast this morning!" DemiEmbermon grumbled.
Dai gave his partner a comforting hug and studied Ryoko's handsome face. He could not deny the fact that he had been disappointed when Alopemon had digivolved for Takara instead of him. After all, Ryoko had promised to save his life again.
Doesn't he want to work things out between us? When is he finally going to wake up and realize that I'm the obvious choice when it comes to him clearly needing a best friend? I might have Matty, but he doesn't have anyone, and I'm pretty sure Matty won't mind sharing. He needs me. Why can't he see that? Wait a minute! I didn't just say all of that, did I?
"Is something wrong?"
Dai jumped at the sound of Ryoko's voice and looked up.
The blond's eyebrows narrowed into a frown, and his sapphire eyes grew cloudy with sudden concern. "Daichi-"
"No," Dai mumbled. He felt his face heat up, and he quickly glanced over Ryoko's shoulder to avoid having to look at the blond. "Where are Matt and Mimi anyway?"
Ryoko reached out to stroke DemiEmbermon's head and smiled. "They're over in Kyoto. Mom's doing a fashion shoot there, and Dad went with her. They won't be back until tomorrow."
"Awesome! That gives us plenty of time to find Sam's partner!"
"If you keep standing around out here like an idiot, we won't be finding anyone!" Ryoko snorted. "Now, hurry up and get inside. Your incessant chattering is starting to annoy me."
Dai rolled his eyes and pushed Ryoko into the house ahead of him. "What kind of an insult is that? You're losing your touch, Ishida."
"Hey!" Ryoko shouted. "Who do you think you are assaulting me in my own house! Let go of me you-"
"Quit being a baby!" Dai shot back. He shoved Ryoko up the stairs and glared at the blond's back. My partner digivolved for you, and you act like it never even happened! How could you forget so easily? What am I going to have to do to make you see what has been right in front of your eyes this whole time?
He did not blame Takara for what had happened. In fact, he was glad Ryoko had saved her. More than glad. He did not know what he would have done if she had ended up dying, but none of that changed the fact that Ryoko still owed him. The blond had a lot to prove before he would even consider revealing how he really felt...
They entered Ryoko's bedroom, and he smiled at the rest of his friends. Takara was sitting on the bed with Fluttermon and Iramon, and Sam was sitting on the floor. The twins were huddled in a corner of the room with Goldmon and Palelymon, and Matty was whispering frantically in Mickey's ear.
"Hey, Dai," Sam said, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
Dai placed a hand on the raven-haired Digidestined's shoulder and smiled at him. "Hey, Sam, how are you feeling?"
"I feel great," Sam said softly.
"Have you talked to your dad yet?" Takara asked.
Sam smiled up at her and nodded. "I talked to him last night."
"That's good." She gave Sam a hesitant look and placed a hand on his arm. "Um...how did it go?"
Sam beamed at her and patted Fluttermon's head. "Don't worry, Kara. My dad and I worked everything out. Can we go to the Digital World now?"
Dai glanced at the computer on Ryoko's desk and nodded. "Definitely. You're really anxious to meet your partner, aren't you?"
"Yes," Sam whispered. "I want to find him before Vampiramon and her friends discover a way to steal him right out from under our noses. The chances of that happening are slim, since I'm the one who has to release him from the pedestal, but you never know. In the Digital World, it seems like anything is possible."
"You're right," Ryoko said, his voice unusually quiet. He pulled Iramon into his arms and stepped in front of the computer. His D-Coder was in his hand, and there was a determined expression on his face. "Well? Are you guys coming, or what?"
"Wait!" Matty suddenly cried.
Dai frowned at the younger twin and crossed his arms. "What is up with you, Matty? You and Mickey have been acting really weird lately."
Matty's face turned red, and he glanced at his brother.
Mickey let out a sigh and placed his hand on the younger twin's arm. "I think we'd better get this over with now, Matty, before we go to the Digital World," he said quietly. "I don't want our news to cause any distractions when we're searching for Sam's partner."
Ryoko crossed his arms and gave his cousins a cool look. "I think the two of you have some explaining to do." he said, his voice as hard as the ice in his eyes.
Dai winced and sent the twins a sympathetic look. A part of him was glad that, for once, he was not the cause of Ryoko's sudden anger, but the most important part of him, his heart, was reaching out to Mickey and Matty.
Are they finally going to tell us what's wrong? They're obviously hiding something, and it can't be good, whatever it is. I just hope Ryoko doesn't end up freaking out on them if they decide to spill the beans. He has a tendency to do that a lot, especially if it's really bad news...
"We have something to tell you," Goldmon said seriously.
"What is it?" Takara asked, frowning at her cousins.
Goldmon hid his face against Matty's chest, and Mickey gently stroked the little digimon's fluffy ears. "Goldmon, I think you'd better let me do the talking," the older twin murmured.
"Rina knows about our digimon," Matty blurted out before Mickey had a chance to say anything.
Dai stared at the twins in confusion and Matty's words suddenly registered inside his head. "She what?" he shouted. Matty's announcement stunned him so much he almost dropped DemiEmbermon on the floor.
"Matty." Mickey gave his younger twin a stern look and shook his head.
Matty flushed and hid his face between Mickey's shoulder blades. "Sorry," he mumbled into the older twin's green shirt.
"How?" Ryoko said crossly, his face a mask of rage.
Takara put her face in her hands and groaned. "I knew it!" she moaned. "I knew it had to be something like this! It's no wonder you guys have been acting like the world's going to end and jumping at every sound!"
"So much for keeping the Digital World a secret from our parents!" Sam muttered.
"How?" Ryoko shouted, setting Iramon on the ground. He glared so fiercely at Mickey that Palelymon let out a squeak of fear and hid his face against the older twin's neck.
"Calm down, Ryoko," Mickey said softly. "Rina walked into our room before we had a chance to hide Palelymon and Goldmon."
"It was an accident!" Matty wailed.
"I wasn't talking to you, was I?" Ryoko snapped.
Matty's mouth fell open, and he stared at Ryoko in shock. The younger twin looked like he had been slapped.
"We had no choice, Ryoko!" Mickey said, his eyes sparkling with sudden hurt. "We had to tell her about the Digital World! Our parents don't know, if that's what you're worried about."
"Not yet, they don't, but what if Rina tells them?" Ryoko said furiously.
"She promised she wouldn't tell," Matty muttered.
"Matty, I know you're not stupid, so quit trying to pretend you are!" Ryoko shouted. "She might accidentally let something slip without even realizing it! If Aunt Kari and Uncle T.K. find out what's going on, we're going to be in big trouble, understand?"
"Hey! I might be your least favorite cousin, but that doesn't mean you can treat me like dirt!" Matty screamed back at him.
The room went dead silent, and Dai flinched. He knew Matty and Ryoko did not always get along, but he had never seen them fight like this before. I've got to do something before they really end up hurting each other.
"Oh, Matty," Takara said tearfully. "That's not true, and you know it."
Ryoko's face turned white, and he stared at Matty in shock. "Is that what you really think?" the blond whispered.
Matty ducked behind his brother and buried his face against Mickey's shoulder. The younger twin's cheeks were red with embarrassment, and his eyes sparkled with fresh tears. "You've always liked Rina and Mickey better than me," he mumbled. "You never fight with them, only me."
Ryoko gently pushed Mickey out of the way and flung his arms around Matty. He hugged the younger twin tightly, nearly crushing Goldmon, and pressed his face against Matty's shoulder. "Matty, you and I don't often agree on things, but I still love you anyway," he whispered. "Don't ever forget that. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I don't know what came over me. I guess I must have just panicked."
"Rina won't tell anyone," Matty said quietly.
"I know," Ryoko whispered. "I meant what I said before, Matty. You and Mickey are like brothers to me. I love you both equally, and the same goes for Rina."
Matty pulled away from his cousin and stared uncertainly at the ground. "You promise?"
"I promise," Ryoko murmured, pulling Matty close again.
Matty glanced at Mickey and shook his head. "Mickey, you're the older twin. You're suppose to be protecting me from people like Ryoko!"
Mickey started to laugh, and Ryoko gave the older twin a faint smile. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, Mickey," he said softly.
"No, Ryoko," Mickey said quietly. "Don't apologize to me. Apologize to Matty."
Matty hugged Ryoko tightly and gave his cousin a fond smile. "He already did," the younger twin murmured.
Ryoko blushed and lowered his eyes to the ground. "Um...Matty? You know what? I always thought you didn't love me as much as Mickey."
Matty's mouth dropped open, and he burst out laughing. "You're so stupid," the younger twin whispered softly in Ryoko's ear. "Of course I do. Are you kidding me? Mickey and I adopted you as our triplet years ago! I'll always care about you, even when you act like an idiot!"
"Thanks," Ryoko whispered.
Ryoko made a promise to me, too, Matty. Let's hope he can keep them.
Dai smiled slightly and shook his head. Despite his thoughts, he was feeling a lot happier than he had been earlier when he had first arrived on Ryoko's doorstep. If Matty and Ryoko could learn to get along, then there was no reason why he and Ryoko could not do the same thing.
"Well, what's done is done," Sam said, pulling out his D-Coder. "I'm pretty sure Rina will keep our secret, but let's all make sure that no one else finds out, alright?"
"As long as Ema doesn't know, we're safe!" Dai laughed.
Matty glanced at him in surprise and smiled. "You know what, Dai? I thought you were going to be the one who freaked out on us!"
Dai grinned at the younger twin and shrugged. "Actually, do you want to know the truth? I thought I was going to be the one who ended up giving us away! This is great! Now Ishida can't blame me if our parents find out about the Digital World!"
"Shut up, Daichi!" Ryoko laughed. "Forget the Digiworld. I'll just find something else to yell at you about!"
"You would, too!" he grumbled.
"Ryoko, you've got to learn not to get so carried away when things don't work out the way they're suppose to," Iramon said seriously, hopping into the blond's arms again.
"I agree!" Goldmon said, beaming at Ryoko.
"Can we please go now?" Sam said anxiously. The raven haired Digidestined tightened his hands around his D-Coder and glanced nervously at the computer.
Dai wrapped his arm around Sam's shoulders and gave his friend an apologetic look. "Sorry. Are you all ready to go?"
Matty pulled out his yellow D-Coder and pointed it at the computer. "We're ready," the younger twin said softly. "Alright, gate. Take us to the continent of Text again! Digiport open!"
They all held out their D-Coders, and Dai closed his eyes as they were swept through the gate. The search for Sam's partner had begun, and they weren't going to leave the Digital World until they found him.