Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

A/N: Just a quick note. This chapter has been rewritten to suit chapters that come later on. Chapter rewritten July 12th, 2015.

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

Chapter 203: Best Friends

Daichi 'Dai' Motomiya

Odaiba, Japan, Earth

"Uh...Dai? Where exactly are we going?"

"Relax, would you? We're just going for a little walk."

"Right, and where exactly is this little walk going to take us?" Matty snorted, rolling his eyes.

They two of them had been strolling along the sidewalk for several minutes now, following a path that took them past the school, and pointing up ahead and a little towards the right at the breathtaking view of Tokyo Bay, which separated the district of Odaiba from the mainland, Dai smiled and said, "Where do you think? Hope you don't mind a trip to the beach."

"Of course, the beach," Matty sighed, shaking his head in defeat. "Whatever. Let's just get this over with."

Dai raised his eyebrows at the younger twin's tone, and smiling in amusement, he said, "Thanks, I love you, too. If I had known hanging around with me was such a chore, I wouldn't have asked you to come along. Sorry for the inconvenience."

As he had expected, Matty looked properly stunned by his words, and blushing in embarrassment, the younger twin managed to stammer, "Wait, I didn't mean it like that!"

"You sure could have fooled me."

"Dai! It wasn't like that! I..."

"I know, I know! I'm just kidding, Matty. Don't take things so seriously all the time, would you? You're starting to get as bad as Ryoko."

"I...oh..."

Dai caught a glimpse of the flustered look on Matty's face, which greatly amused him due to the fact that until recently Matty usually never took anything very seriously, and elbowing the younger twin in the side, he said gently, "Come on. Let's go before it starts getting dark. After what happened with my Spirit Chip today, I don't think my parents will want me staying out late tonight. Not that I blame them. After the whole fiasco on Infinity Mountain, I could definitely use a good night of sleep."

"I guess..."

They walked in silence, and sitting on the sand side by side at the very edge of the water, they both turned to gaze unseeingly at the ocean, each of them lost deep within their own tangled thoughts. High above them, the sun was just beginning to sink lower in the sky towards the horizon, and watching the clear blue water ripple gently towards the shore, Dai felt strangely at peace with himself and the world, as if everything was now finally coming together. Despite the rift between himself and Matty, there was, in fact, a way to make things better.

If he could only find the courage to take the first step.

After everything I've been through today, how could I have ever thought this would be hard? Matty's one of the most important people in the world to me. We can get through anything together no matter how much we fight.

Dai wasn't exactly sure how long the two of them sat there staring at the ocean, but when he did finally become aware of his surroundings again, he was surprised to discover the sky had turned a brilliant shade of orange, and not only that, but the sun was beginning to slip away beneath the horizon, signaling the onset of twilight.

Well, I guess it's now or never. At least, if I want to make it back before dark.

Dai opened his mouth to speak, but a soft noise to his left suddenly captured his attention, and turning to glance at the younger twin sitting close to him, he let out a soft sound of surprise. Beside him, Matty had his digital camera out, and from what Dai could tell, it looked as if the younger twin was taking a picture of the sunset.

"Can't let a good opportunity like this go to waste," Matty said softly, when he became aware of the fact that he was being watched.

"I guess not. The sky does look pretty cool, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it looks just as pretty as the sky in the Digital World!" Goldmon cried enthusiastically, interrupting his partner before the younger twin could speak.

Somehow Goldmon and DemiEmbermon had managed to sneak out of their respective backpacks without being noticed, and snuggling themselves into the soft sand next to Shadow, they beamed at the ocean, clearly impressed by the surprisingly magnificent beauty of the human world.

"Hey, you two, you should be more careful! Someone might see you," Matty scolded, frowning disapprovingly at the two little digimon.

"No, they won't," DemiEmbermon protested. "The beach is empty. Besides us, I mean, and Shadow needs some company, too!"

Apparently, Shadow agreed with the little digmon because not only did he bark in approval, he also gave DemiEmbermon a hearty lick for good measure.

"Fine, whatever. Just make sure you take cover if someone happens to come along, okay?"

"Don't worry, we'll be careful," Goldmon replied, smiling at his partner.

Sometimes you have to be careful, but there are also times when you need to take risks. It looks like this is one of those times. At least, for me it is. Wish me luck, DemiEmbermon.

It was almost as if Matty could sense what he was thinking because the younger twin suddenly lowered his camera and said wearily, "What do you want from me, Dai? You obviously called me out here for a reason, so just...spit it out already."

"Actually, I think this is more about what you want from me."

"W-what?"

Dai pointed to the camera in his friend's hands, and changing the subject, he said mildly, "I haven't seen you use that thing at all since we started going to the Digital World. How come?"

"Haven't had a chance to. We've been pretty busy lately, in case you haven't noticed."

"I know...but it's just...I guess I kind of miss it, now that I think about it. You know, the way you randomly take pictures of people and other stuff. We're so used to it, it was kind of just like background noise, but now that you haven't been using your camera lately, it's kind of hard not to notice something's missing."

"If that's how you feel then why didn't you say something before now?"

"Because in case you haven't noticed, we've been kind of busy lately."

He expected Matty to lash out in anger or to be embarrassed, but instead of getting riled up, the younger twin smiled faintly and said, "I guess I deserved that. It's just...that day you got Gennai's message, that day before we actually went to the Digital World, we should have known there was something weird going on."

"What so you mean?"

'Well, think about it," Matty said, frowning thoughtfully to himself. "Especially in your case, since you were the one who first saw that email. A cryptic message like that doesn't show up very often on your average person's computer, and that's not the only thing. The whole day was just kind of...strange, and it would have been even if you hadn't seen that message. We should have guessed there was something big going on. I didn't realize it at the time, but now that I look back on that day, I understand just how much I missed. I mean, sure all the usual stuff happened, you were fighting with Ryoko, Mrs. Hanari gave you a detention...but I didn't use my camera once that day. Something about that day...it just felt different. It made the usual routine feel different. It made me forget myself, and I...Dai, I'm really sorry."

"For what?"

"For not believing you about the email at first."

"Er...Matty, you already apologized for that, remember?"

"I know, but...I feel like I have to apologize again. It's just...I don't know what to say..."

"About what? About yourself? About me? About our friendship?"

"About...everything I guess."

And it's my fault...

Dai turned away from his golden-haired friend, and gazing out at the sunset, he said quietly, "Matty, I can't fix things if you don't tell me what's wrong."

"I know."

"Then why don't you tell me?"

"Because, I..." Matty faltered, and humbly bowing his head, he mumbled, "I don't want you to think I'm a bad person."

Huh?

Turning to gaze at the younger twin in surprise, Dai said slowly, "Why would I think that?"

"Dai, we're best friends, right?" Matty asked quietly, avoiding his eyes.

"Yeah, last time I checked. Unless, you know...you don't feel that way anymore after what happened on Infinity Mountain."

There was silence.

Any moment now...

"I don't care what happened on Infinity Mountain," Matty finally choked out, his fingers clenching tightly around the digital camera in his hands. "As long as you still consider me your best friend."

"Of course I do. Don't be dumb, Matty."

That's weird. Why would be say something like that to me? We've always been best friends. It's not like that's ever going to change or anything. Come on, Matty, give me some credit here. You know me better than that...

"Are you laughing at me?" Matty asked, looking suspicious.

Dai leaned back on his hands, and giving the younger twin a look, he said in a teasing voice, "Why would I be laughing at you? If I didn't know any better, I'd think you sounded a bit on the jealous side. What's with that tone of yours?"

And who could he possibly be jealous of. Me? No, that doesn't make sense. It's almost like...I dunno. Like he thinks something's going to take me away from him.

Matty mumbled something in reply, his face turning pink, and straining his ears to hear it, Dai said, "Sorry, what was that?"

"Nothing," Matty muttered, refusing to look at him.

"You know I'm always going to be here for you, right? I'm never leaving your side, no matter how much we fight."

"I know."

The words were quiet and surprisingly shy coming from Matty, and due to the fact that he hadn't expected the younger twin to reply, it caught him off guard. Normally he and Matty were fairly open about their friendship. The didn't keep secrets from each other, and they weren't afraid to show their feelings no matter who was watching.

This hesitant side of Matty was something Dai had never witnessed before, and it concerned him.

I wonder what he's thinking about. There has to be more on his mind than just our fight, but what what else could it be? There must be something even more important that's bugging him. Something to do with me?

"Dai?"

Dai could feel Matty's hand on his shoulder, the warmth of the younger twin's fingers catching his attention, and turning to look at his friend, he said seriously, "Matty, I really am sorry about what happened earlier. I know I'm not perfect, but I've always done my best not to let you down. I hope...that at least means something to you."

Matty's amber eyes suddenly sparkled with emotion, and putting an arm around him, the younger twin said, "Of course it matters to me, and I promise I'll do the same. You don't need to be sorry. We were both at fault."

Dai smiled at him, and letting out a deep sigh, he said, "I wish it was this easy with Ryoko."

"...Ryoko."

Something in Matty's expression seemed to change, and frowning at him, Dai said, "What?"

"Nothing," the younger twin responded, a shadow passing over his face. "How are things with Ryoko?'

Dai shrugged his shoulders, and avoiding Matty's eyes, he said, "We've talked about it before. Unfortunately nothing has changed since then between us. Not even a little bit."

"Does that bother you?" Matty asked quietly, watching him closely.

For some reason the younger twin's stare was making him feel slightly uncomfortable, and pulling a face, he said almost defensively, ''You know I don't hate Ryoko. I'm not that much of a jerk. I've never hated him. It's just...we're supposed to be friends, right? Well, on paper anyways. History says we're supposed to be close, like all of our parents, but...Look, I'm just getting tired of all this fighting. It's annoying. As the leader of the Digidestined, how am I supposed to be able to count on him when he's trashing me all the time?"

"Dai..."

"Don't worry about it, Matty. I'm used to it by now. I'm always going to be second best with him, I get that. It's just...forget it."

"Second best..." Matty murmured, his amber eyes growing suddenly dark and stormy.

"Anyways, about us...Matty, you know friendship is important to me. I'm not the kind of person who would leave my friends behind just because of some stupid argument, least of all you. I would never do that to you, no matter how mad I was. I would never forget about you like that."

"That's good. I...I wouldn't want you to forget about me," Matty whispered, once again turning his face away.

Dai gently shook the golden-haired Digidestined by the shoulders, and frowning, he said, "Come on, Matty. Look at me. I'm trying to apologize here."

Matty shook his head, and keeping his face turned away, the golden-haired Digidestined said hesitantly, "Would you feel the same if you had another best friend? If there was a different guy who was also close to you, would you say the same thing to him that you just said to me?"

Dai was confused for a moment, and dropping his hands, he said, "Are you talking about our other friends? Matty, you know all of you guys are important to me. You're all close to me in different ways, and I...I need all of you in my life."

"So, it's...kind of like having more than one best friend?"

Dai stared at the younger twin, and keeping his voice firm, he said, "Well, sure. Nobody ever said a guy could never have two best friends. Or more even, if he wanted them. You know I'm pretty big on that sort of thing. The more the merrier, right?"

"Really?" Matty gasped, a smile beginning to form on the younger twin's face. "That's honestly how you really feel."

"Of course it is. You never know when something like that might happen. I mean...not that it's for everyone. Look at Ryoko. It's not like he would ever want to get closer to me, or be my best friend, at least if he has anything to say about it. Not that I care..."

Dai suddenly became aware of that fact that he was sounding like a complete idiot, and this time it was his turn to look away before Matty could see the blush on his cheeks. As silence feel between them, he could feel himself beginning to grow a bit nervous, though he had no idea as to why, and just when he thought Matty wouldn't respond, the younger twin gently touched his shoulder and said quietly, "I'm sorry too, Dai. I shouldn't have been so harsh with you."

"What are you talking about? I deserved it. Why do you think I keep trying to apologize to you? I haven't exactly given you very many reasons lately to be nice to me."

"Maybe not, but I accept your apology anyways," Matty said softly, giving him a warm smile.

The two of them both turned to look towards the ocean again, and gazing at the setting sun, Dai said in a low voice, "You know what, Matty? All of you are my friends, but because you're all so different from one another, I'm going to relate to all of you in different ways."

"I guess that's true for everyone," Matty agreed, looking lost in thought.

"But you know what? That doesn't mean I like any of you less than any of my other friends."

Matty nodded, and resting his chin in his hand, the younger twin murmured, "That's also true. Actually...that's one of the reasons why I like you so much."

"Matty, do I look like someone who would ever forget about any of his friends?"

Matty beamed at him, and ducking his head, the younger twin said softly, "No."

"Good. I'm glad we at least agree on that."

"I should know better," Matty said quietly, his eyes sparkling in the dim light. "Ryoko, he tried to tell me..."

Tell you what? What the heck does that mean?

"Matty?"

Matty glanced at him, and letting out a soft sigh, the younger twin said, "You know, I wish Ryoko would realize just how lucky he is."

Dai wasn't exactly sure what to say to that, since he had no idea what Matty was talking about, so instead of responding, he followed the younger twin's example and turned to gaze quietly at the sunset. Though neither one of them cared to speak at the moment, the silence between them was no longer filled with tension, and for that Dai was grateful. The air between them now felt like it always did, and although Dai knew he didn't have to ask, he decided to anyways because Matty deserved to hear the words.

"Hey, Matty?"

"What's up?"

"Are we okay now? We're still best friends, right?"

He didn't look at Matty, but he smiled when he felt the younger twin's arm go around his shoulders. "Like you need to ask, only...the next time something like this happens, don't forget that I'm here to help you, okay?"

"I won't."

"Which is why I'm not going to let you or Ryoko screw this up."

"Huh?"

Dai turned his head to look at Matty in surprise, and he frowned when he realized the younger twin was fiddling with the buttons on his camera. "What are you doing?"

To Dai, it looked like the Matty was sifting through all the photos stored on his camera, a sad smile on his face, and stopping on one picture in particular, he held out the camera, a very serious look on his face. "Sometimes it's what you don't see that gives you the most insight into what those around you really feel inside their hearts."

Again with the riddles. Maybe Mickey's rubbing off on him or something. Or DarkAngelicmon...

Dai hesitantly took the camera in his hands, and gazing at the photograph on the small screen staring back at him, he felt a large fist clench around his heart. The photo had been taken about a week before Gennai's email appeared on one of the school computers, and it was a day Dai remembered vividly, for all the wrong reasons. It had been taken just after school the day after he had gotten into another huge fight with Ryoko. He could see himself in the photo smiling at the camera and waving to Matty, who had taken the picture, but it was the figure in the background that captured his attention. Behind him stood Ryoko, staring at the back of his head, and the look of sadness and despair on the golden-haired Digidestined's face hurt him so deeply he had to close his eyes and look away.

Have I been wrong this whole time? Does he maybe really care about me after all?

"You're only seeing what you want to see," Matty said quietly, taking back his camera and holding it up to take one last picture of the dying sun. "And because of that you're missing the whole picture."

Maybe I am, but so is Ryoko...

Dai tried unsuccessfully to speak around the lump in his throat, but it was impossible to do so. It was only after a few minutes that he finally managed to compose himself enough to choke out a response. "Why didn't you show that photo to me before?"

"I only just found it now. I have a lot of photos on my camera, and I haven't had a chance to look back at them until now. If I had just taken the time to look earlier..."

"It doesn't matter. It wouldn't have changed anything. Matty, listen..."

"If you're really serious about Ryoko then you can't give up."

"Sorry, what?"

"I'm going to help you," Matty said firmly, his amber eyes shining with determination. "If Mickey can share, then so can I."

"Uh...what in the Digiworld are you talking about?"

"You'll see soon enough," Matty replied, refusing to elaborate. "One day you'll see the whole picture."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but as long as you're with me, then I guess I'm cool with that."

"I'll always be by your side," Matty murmured. "You'll never be able to get rid of me whether you want to or not."

Dai once again found himself at a loss for words, so instead of trying to find the right thing to say, he merely pulled Matty against him in a one-armed hug. After all, Matty was not only his friend, the younger twin, like his other friends, was also like family to him, like a brother he had never had.

"Come on, Dai, we should get going before our parents start to worry about us," Matty said softly in his ear, returning the hug before pulling away and giving him a big smile.

"Yeah, I'm getting hungry," DemiEmbermon complained.

"Me too!" Goldmon cried, eagerly backing up his small friend.

"You guys are always hungry!" Matty groaned, jumping to his feet and motioning for Goldmon to hop back into his bag.

Dai waited until DemiEmbermon had followed Goldmon's example before picking up his own backpack, and grabbing onto Shadow's leash, he began to make his way back towards the house, Matty by his side.

"Do you think Mickey will have any luck with Sam?" Matty asked curiously, a slight frown on his face.

"I hope so, but I doubt it. At least not today."

"Yeah...well, I guess I better get going. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Sounds good. See you, Matty, and...thanks."

Choosing not to respond, not that he needed to, Matty merely waved to him before racing off down the street, and watching the younger twin disappear from view, Dai couldn't help feeling a little bit sad. Not about Matty, but about another friend he'd managed to let down more times than he could count.

Ryoko...am I the one who made you like this? Is it all because of me?