The Orphan Flower
Code translator
Often the quiet one
Digimon Decoder
Younger than most
I never felt nothing in the world like this before
Now I'm missing you
I'm wishing that you would come back through my door
Izumi felt a pat on her shoulder but didn't bother facing him. "You're not going to go after him?" he asked quietly and didn't sound like he was going to drop the subject either. "Izumi, we both know very well that we're just friends, and obviously Takuya doesn't seem to know that."
Why did you have to go? You could have let me know
She sighed heavily.
So now I'm all alone
He had a frown appear on his face seeing that she wasn't agreeing. "Izumi, I know there are lots of guys out there in the world, but deep in your heart," he explained in a serious tone. "He will always-"
"Stop it." she announced firmly taking his hand off her shoulder. "I already know. This situation is too cliché. It's like those soap operas when the girl and the guy find each other and apologize." and paused with a slight smile. "Maybe, I want to change the ending for this."
Girl you could have stayed
But you wouldn't give me a chance
With you not around it's a bit more than I can stand
And all my tears they, keep running down my face
His face only showed confusion because he couldn't tell whether she meant that the relationship was over, or whether she needed more time. Whatever it was, she already made up her mind. "Alright…" he could say still uncertain with her reply. He heard her footsteps walk away from him as she headed towards the house. The decision was up to her.
Why did you turn away?
3 years later…
So why does your pride make you run and hide?
"It's hard to believe that I never went back to Japan after such a long time." Izumi wrote down in her journal at home. She sat there for a while processing through her mind of how to write this out. "Really, I never bothered to keep in contact with anyone. I wanted to do this to avoid drama across the countries." she continued. "I'm not saying that I'm the old Izumi who wanted to avoid "emotion", but basically, if the others were to keep in touch with me, I just might cause more problems. Sometimes it's the best for that you know?"
Are you that afraid of me?
But I know it's a lie that you keep inside,
This is not how you wanted to be
The pen rested on top of the white lined paper. Just when she was about to go deeper into her story, her door slammed open to reveal Takeru.
"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" she muttered glaring at him. How dare he just barge into her room like that? Just because they were related didn't mean he was special like that.
He waved a small purple device. "Uh, haven't you heard your cell phone ringing?"
She walked over and swiped it out of his hands, checking who had just phoned her. "Ken." she thought as she began dialing his number, at the same time pushing "him" out of her room for privacy.
"Hey, the least you can do is say thanks!" he reminded irritably as the door was shut behind him. "Sisters." he sighed walking away.
"Alright, I'll meet you there in a few minutes. Okay, bye." the blond nodded and pressed the end button. Before she planned on leaving, she wrote one last note into the journal. "The day I'll come back to Japan is when I'm ready to see them again. Once I know that everything is alright." and with a drop of a pen, she was gone.
So baby I will wait for you,
Cause I don't know what else I can do,
Don't tell me I ran out of time,
If it takes the rest of my life.
…………….
Baby I will wait for you,
Walking around the pathways of the park, it was like a trip down memory lane in a way. Along the way, she noticed two different paths, almost reminding her of a path of fate, and another of destiny. "Sure it was fate that got her and Takuya to meet, and it was probably destiny that caused them to fall in love, but it seemed that fate had caught up to destroy that destiny." a smile appeared on her face. "Sometimes, there's a path of both." she whispered taking a different route.
She could just imagine what was going on back at home in Japan. "Takeru had gone back and forth to Japan occasionally to visit the others, mainly to see his girlfriend Hikari. Juri and Takato were probably an official couple by now. Henry would be seen as president of the Hypnos corps., Sora and Tai were probably together too, and -"
"Hey, were you waiting for a while?" a voice interrupted making her jump in surprise.
If you think I'm fine it just ain't true
I really need you in my life,
No matter what I have to do, I'll wait for you.
Turning to face him, she shook her head. "No, but I would've thought that you were waiting for me." Her eyes averted to the envelope under his arm with her name on it. "What's that?" as a finger pointed to the object he was holding.
He took it into his hands and gave it to her. "You didn't want anyone to know where you lived, so it was mailed to me instead. It's for you." he smiled.
Before asking any questions, a beep was heard from his pocket as he quickly took it out to examine it. "Ah, sorry, Miyako is calling me, call me later alright?" he asked and didn't wait for her reply since he was already gone.
"I almost forgot, Miyako is engaged to Ken, so sooner or later he is going to be back in Japan. Sheesh, there's no use for him comi.ng to Italy if that was the reason." But she knew there was a different reason, and walked on.
It's been a long time since you called me
(How could you forget about me)
"Hm…" she wondered about the others again. "I bet Izzy, Joe, and Cody are working for Henry." There was Junpei and Tomoki, but they moved to America and haven't been heard from in a while. The twins? Well for sure they had fan girls, that wasn't a surprise. Kazu and Kenta were basically wanna-be comedians, it wouldn't be unexpected if they were working in a place like a joke shop. "They would need improvement…" as a laugh came out just thinking about it.
You got me feeling crazy (crazy)
Daisuke seemed to be the type to become a soccer player like the other guys, only except he seemed to have accomplished that dream. Suzie could maybe be selling Digimon plush toys, and…all that girly stuff she liked. Mimi and Takuya? Her mind stopped thinking about it and tried to imagine what they were like today. "I'm sure they are both happy."
How can you walk away, Everything stays the same
To tell the truth, she "had" been visiting Japan. Just not "them". In fact, that was how she practically knew what everyone was doing. They just didn't know she was watching them from the distance. But she had a reason for visiting. It wasn't just to see how they were all doing, but to pray that the person she cared the most would find happiness. Even…if it wasn't her. It would be difficult to deal with, but as long as he's smiling…it's not that bad.
I just can't do it baby
"You're being too naïve Zmi." a deeper voice commented appearing beside her. She glanced up to see Matt standing taller than her. He had grown over the last three years no surprise there.
No word uttered out of her mouth, but they both understood each other pretty well. It was pretty cool to have a sibling who knew exactly what you were thinking without saying anything, but sometimes, they knew things a little too well. "What am I being naïve about?" she asked innocently.
He chuckled. Yep, he had changed a little more. Thanks to Catherine, he was starting to open up a little more with others, and his smiles were appearing more and more as the days went by. But no matter how close their relationship was, it was this tugging feeling that he didn't like her how others thought he did. "You don't keep in contact with your friends but you still insist on going to Japan only to "stalk" them."
"I don't stalk mind you! I was praying!" she shot back giving him a glare.
What will it take to make you come back
Girl I told you what it is and it just ain't like that
Why can't you look at me, you're still in love with me
"Alright let me rephrase that. "You pray, and then stalk them." he corrected seeing her face turn pink to the point when he easily dodged a punch from her.
"Hmph! Like you should talk!" she muttered and added. "Well it's not like I'm the only one who still has a broken heart."
He sat on one of the swings nearby the area. "Ah, you have a broken heart? How sad."
Don't leave me crying
"You're not taking this seriously are you?" an annoyed tone of hers questioned. Following suit, she too, sat down on a swing beside him. Back and forth slowly on the swing. "You still like her I know it."
He shrugged. "It's been three years, I'm sure she's over it."
Baby why can't we just start over again
The swing stopped as her feet skidded against the sand. "But you're not."
Get it back to the way it was
Calm and relaxed, he gave her a cocky look. "Oh, and I suppose you know what's wrong with my heart?"
"Maybe."
If you give me a chance, I can love you right
Matt looked away and glanced at the clouds like how he usually did when he was in the thinking mood. "You don't have the keys to my heart." as he could see from the corner of his eye that Izumi had stopped to listen for more. "I changed the locks." he finished.
Literally, she fell out of her swing hearing the last part. Just as he expected.
But you're telling me, it won't be enough
……………….
So baby I will wait for you
"Can you believe we're graduating?" one of the girls gushed and sighed. "Time went by us so fast!"
Cause I don't know what else I can do
"Haha, seriously?" a boy laughed at the idea. "You used to always complain about how boring everyday was and that time was being slow on purpose."
Her face flushed pink. "Maybe I had a change of mind."
"And a change of heart?" he guessed.
She stared at him. "Takuya, you know very well that I still like him, I never liked those fan boys or other weird show offs."
Don't tell me I ran out of time, if it takes the rest of my life
Takuya smiled and gazed outside the window to the school grounds where the ceremony was going to be held in a few days. Three years had been slow and fast. He knew very well that even though he and Mimi were paired by an arranged marriage, they both didn't form any feeling for each other except for friendship. He had just hoped that Izumi was happy with her life. Even if it wasn't him in the end.
So baby I will wait for you
If you think I'm fine it just ain't true
A petal flew it's way down, flying with the breeze as he observed it. It was a happy kind of sadness. He was happy that she found someone that she could be happy with, but was sad that it wasn't the answer he wanted.
The pink haired student was watching him. "It's almost time for the decision."
I really need you in my life
His hand intertwined with hers. "Yeah."
No matter what I have to do, I'll wait for you.
…………………….
"I really thought I wasn't going to come back to Japan to see them." the blond female admitted stepping out of the plane. After receiving the envelope from Ken earlier, the message inside was the only reason why she immediately left.
Izumi,
It's been three years, quite awhile to most of us. We all miss you. Everyone is doing fine at the moment, but Rika is…
The hospital was planning to "pull the plug." We thought you should know about this before the worst happens. Hope you come.
- Juri
Shoving the piece of paper into her bag, she sighed. "I don't know if they would actually be happy to see me…" that line that kept repeating inside her over and over again as she took a cab to the destination. It would seem selfish of her to just come for Rika's health and suddenly leave if she was alright. But looking for her friends to reconsider was even more selfish to deal with.
"Excuse me, could you please stop here?" she asked motioning her hand to the driver in front of her. Stepping out of the car, she motioned the driver to wait as she walked into the shrine. Bowing her head slightly, she prayed again for Rika and for everyone else. "I'll be happy if they are happy." she chanted to herself and after a few minutes, she was finding herself changing the prayer to "I'll be happy if he is happy."
The blond paused in confusion with what she just heard herself say. Shaking her head that it was no big deal, it was time to head back to the cab before the driver would decide to leave without her.
She shut the door quietly but firmly to secure. Sitting back to relax for the ride, turned out to be a ride full of questions.
"Where are you headed miss?" the cab driver asked politely glancing at the mirror to view her.
"Shinjuku, please."
The driver went silent before acting casual to her answer. "Shinjuku? Are you visiting someone?"
"You could say that." she replied. The way he seemed to ask, was…as if he knew her or something. But she also didn't want to seem suspicious so she pretended to look away but at the same time looked at the mirror to see his face. He seemed like a boy around her age, maybe a little older. Brownish hair…the eyes… "Ryo?"
He didn't seemed to be moved by her answer, but he just grinned. "You guessed right."
"W-What are you doing here?" as she is now dropping whatever she was holding and was now interested in who was before her. "Is it really you?"
An amused expression was on his face now. "Shouldn't I be asking "you" that?"
The blond went silent.
He looked at the mirror to see her face. "H-Hey, I wasn't trying to make you feel bad or anyth-"
"No no, I was just wondering why I really am here." she whispered softly. "I mean, yes, I'm here for Rika and all, but…." as the sentence trailed off, unfinished.
By the look on his face, he understood. They were both silent for the rest of the ride to the hospital until he muttered a "We're here."
Parking the car nearby, she followed after Ryo inside the building, through the halls, passing through people and doors one by one. Just before reaching Rika's room number, she tugged on his shirt like a little kid. "T-There's no one else in that room besides her right?"
He gave her a smile and shook his head. "Don't worry, it's just the three of us. Everyone else is practicing for the graduation ceremony," before he added. " you should go." he recommended, but of course knew what her answer to that would be.
Opening the door, she saw the patient laying on the bed who had fallen asleep. It was indeed Rika, but older, Rika, but different. No one had said anything about her waking up during her absence, and was unsure of whether that question was appropriate to ask at the time.
"Rika hasn't woken from her sleep for at least three years since you left." Ryo muttered as if he could read her thoughts. Taking Rika's hand into his, he gazed at her face. "It's like she's waiting for something."
"What would that be?" she asked with interest on her face, standing beside Ryo and seeing Rika's sleeping face. Her friend almost looked pale, and dead, it frightened her a little.
"The beginning of the end." he said simply.
She gave him an odd look, but he didn't look in her direction to know that. More riddles it seems. Typical Ryo.
"U-Um…Ryo?" she began. Her face blushed as he stared at her, since that reminded her of Takuya. "Uh….never mind…" now fascinating herself by looking at the blank white tile floor. Why does saying it have to be so hard?
A hand reached out to her, pulling her closer to him. "You got tricked by Juri you know?" he whispered in her ear, as a slight gasp escaped from her lips.
"W-What are you talking about?" pulling away from his grasp and backing away from him.
He casually leaned against the wall. "We haven't heard from you in years, and you wouldn't even try to contact either of us. Don't you think this was the only way to bring you back to Japan?"
Izumi's face was growing red, shaking nervously as she spoke. "H-How could you…." she said softly. "T-That was a dirty trick to bring me here like that. If Rika was okay the whole time, then there was no use in me being here!" she glared as her hand went to the doorknob to leave but was pulled back by Ryo to listen to more "lectures".
Why does your pride make you run and hide?
"Rika? okay?" he repeated seeing him wince hearing those words. She was starting to regret saying that to him. "Rika's not dead, but it doesn't mean she's okay." he murmured and added more to it. "And you being tricked? You tricked us before, even Takuya."
"Don't you dare say that name in front of me."
Are you that afraid of me?
He shook his head. "When are you going to stop Izumi? When are you going to stop denying what's in front of you? Can't you-"
"Stop it, you're the last person I'd expect to be telling me this!" pulling her arm out of his grasp, but still stood to her spot. "I'm only doing this to benefit everyone! I'd only cause trouble if I came back, Juri would have to listen to my troubles, everyone would blame me for Rika's coma situation, I…" as unrequited tears began to fall spilling out everything she had held for years. "God, I can't believe I'm telling you this."
"It's because you're one of my friends."
Her heart hardened with one of those words. "What a lame excuse.." she said between tears. "I don't need your sympathy."
"See? Look what you're doing to yourself now." he pointed out. "You're always making excuses you don't need anyone, always locking yourself out when we want to help you. You can't even admit that you like Takuya."
"Takuya has Mimi." she said bitterly.
"You don't need to go through your whole life alone. Man, can't…. can't you just let someone into your life to take care of you?!" he almost exclaimed but kept his tone down, but it was understandable that he was annoyed with her being stubborn.
But I know it's a lie what you're keeping inside
"Take care of me? I'm not a kid anymore." but she knew very well that it wasn't what Ryo was talking about. He was talking about something else.
His eyes averted to her. "You know that it's not what I meant." and looked away to think of how else to put this all together. "You and your brother Matt need help, you both think you're doing the best for everyone, but with you guys acting like this, you're only hurting them more."
"How do you know?"
He opened the door for her. "That's something you need to figure out yourself."
Izumi gave him one last look before storming out of the room with the door shutting behind her. She sighed. Never in her life did she expect to be like this, especially when she thought she was over everything. She needed to be alone.
That's not how you wanted to be.
……………..
Baby I will wait for you
"Graduation is coming up soon." Mimi sighed to herself. Yep, she was alone sitting on the swings waiting for Takuya to meet up with her. Not that she didn't want to graduate, in fact she'd been waiting for this moment, but it just didn't turn out the way she had dreamed to be. When the term "graduation" came up, didn't it mean one of the most memorable moments to be with your friends for the last time until years later? Didn't it mean that everyone you knew would be there? A beginning of the end?
Baby I will wait for you
Matt, was doing a similar thing, waiting for Izumi to meet up with him at the park. Apparently, she was the type to be late on schedule, so he walked on to find a familiar girl on the swings. He didn't go up to her immediately, not seeing her for years, and after that misunderstanding, it's just…not that easy to forget even 'til now.
If it's the last thing I do.
Seriously, he never thought he would look at her like that. In fact the first time when they met, she was like one of his fan girls that he would try to brush off, but this one, was different. She started to become a friend, even through her mistakes. He just didn't want to admit it. He didn't want to give love a chance, but somehow, being away from here, just made things worse.
An idea had appeared in his mind.
"Maybe, if I gave him a chance…" Mimi thought again. She sighed, this was too hard to do by herself. The swing began to move feeling a slight push behind her. Weird, her shoes weren't touching the ground, so there was no way… but didn't bother to face the person behind her. "Must be Takuya…" she noted, letting the person continue pushing her on the swing.
It continued on for minutes. Life was like a pendulum, good and bad, swinging either furiously or softly. Just like now. She smiled until the swing went a little too high as she quickly cried out. "Wait, stop!"
Baby I will wait for you
"What? Too high or too fast?"
Her body froze, as if it was stuck to the swing, too nervous to turn around. "That" voice was not Takuya, as she began to slow down, halting to a stop with her shoes.
Cause I don't know what else I can do
The person finally stood in front of her. "Sorry, I seemed to have lost my map of life, I was hoping on getting another one."
Don't tell me I ran out of time
Instead of feeling mad or upset, something between them finally became calm, as if it were saying "game over." A smile was forming on her face as she took his hand. "I don't happen to have a spare one, but perhaps we could share?"
"Sounds good to me." the blond boy smiled in return as he took her hand. As she stood up beside him, they still held hands. It was a moment that felt like forever. They were both coming to their senses, and it was starting to become a different ending.
If it takes the rest of my life
Tears were falling, but Mimi ignored them as she suddenly embraced the boy she had longed to be with since the beginning. "Words can't express what I needed to say."
He chuckled, hugging her tightly.
………………….
Baby I will wait for you
Standing before the grave in front of her, she had her mind and heart settled. Of course, she was already aware that Matt would be complaining later that she was late meeting up with him, but he would understand right?
You think I'm fine it just ain't true
Clasping her hands together and shutting her eyes, she whispered. "I'll never tell, but you know who had my heart from the very beginning, please take care of him." and left a small cosmo flower on top of the cement before walking away.
For once in all those years, she was starting to feel that the weight upon her was disappearing. All those times when she believed she could do herself, was all a waste of time to not realize how Ryo told her, the thing in front of her. Love had always been there, but she refused every opportunity.
I really need you in my life
Maybe one day…
No matter what I have to do I'll wait for you
"Shoot, Mimi is gonna kill me for being late." a brunette boy muttered to himself as he hurried over to the meeting spot. Turning to the corner of the street quickly, he found himself crashing into someone.
"Oof!" as she found herself on the cement ground.
"Hey, sorry! I didn't mean to run into you like that." an older boy around her age quickly apologized helping her up. "Are you alright?" he asked hoping that there wasn't any damage on her.
"I'm fine, don't worry." she smiled.
"Okay, that's good." he sighed in relief and checked the time. "Oh, sorry, but I have to leave, I'm kinda in a hurry."
"Yeah don't worry about it." as they both waved good-bye and went their own ways. Little did they know that, they had run into each other and it was unbelievable that they didn't recognize who the other was.
Only a couple of feet away, the boy stopped running to turn back at the girl with an odd feeling in his heart. Her back was turned from him, but she suddenly stopped when he called her out. "Izumi?"
I'll Be Waiting.
A/N: Again!
No it's not the ending yet, but yes, there's only one more chapter to go! So once again, I dedicate this chapter to the Chapter 21 reviewers: ATOMIC ORANGE, Kazumi Kairi or Kairi-chan, Automatic Code Red 123, Pokkin Choco, U.W.A.H. Squad, LovexHina, Spell it out!, Pandapple, Gogglelicious, First Day High, Rubberman2025, Ramen and Chopsticks, Anime-Queen-2011, dogluv101.
Oh and by the way, the next chapter is where I'll be doing a reviewers' dedication at the end of the story to say my thanks since I don't really reply to your reviews! Sorry, so I'll make it up with this!
"I'll be Waiting." - so review! XD lol.