Takato's Hatchling
By milesprower06
Chapter 6 – What's In A Name?
MATSUKI BAKERY / RESIDENCE
MONDAY – 5:00 PM
"Ta…kah…to………"
The boy's heart skipped a beat, and he remained kneeling in front of his partner's box, stunned, once again at a loss of words. Now it was his turn for his heart to melt. Takato let out a whispered gasp as his partner reached up for him with open arms.
"Ta-kah-to…" Guilmon said again, reaching up for his Tamer, as if asking for him to pick him up. Takato picked his partner up, and his excitement grew as he turned toward the hall, and rushed downstairs to show his parents Guilmon's achievement.
"Mom! Dad!" Takato cried excitedly, halfway down the stairs. He leaped from the third step, sliding into the kitchen.
"What is it?" his mom asked.
"Go ahead, boy. Say it again." Takato encouraged his partner.
"Ta-ka-to…"
Takahiro and Mei found this as adorable as Takato had moments earlier.
"Well, what'dya know. His first word." Mei said.
"Takato, have you ever thought about taking him outside? Getting him some fresh air out of the house? Let him see the outside world?"
"Yeah, but where would I take him, and how would I get him there without anyone seeing?"
"What about the park? Not a whole lot of people go there."
"And he's pretty small, Takato. You could probably fit him comfortably inside a backpack or something." Mei added.
Takato contemplated this.
"Well, I suppose that could work, as long as he doesn't make too much noise. I don't have anything planned for tomorrow after school. I'll take him then."
As Takahiro and Mei finished preparing dinner, Takato went to the end of the counter and began making Guilmon's dinner. He simply took some of the leftover bread rolls from today, cut them into bite size pieces, and then spread a small amount of peanut butter on each one. The Matsuki household ate dinner without incident. Takato ate more slowly than his mom and dad, what with having to feed Guilmon as well.
Afterwards, Takato helped clear the table, then headed back up to his room with Guilmon. He set him down in the middle of the room on the floor, and then proceeded to join him.
"Alright - let's see if I can't teach you some more words, boy." he said, thinking for several moments.
"Can you say 'Guilmon'?"
"Takato!"
"No, 'Guilmon'."
"Takato!"
Takato thought for a moment. Then he pointed at himself.
"Takato…" he began, then slowly pointed at his partner."
"Guilmon."
The infant Digimon seemed attentive, so Takato once again pointed at himself, and waited.
"Takato." Guilmon replied.
Now, he pointed at the red dino sitting in front of him. He looked thoughtful for several moments, then worked it out with his tongue and jaw.
"Gee…uhl…mon…"
"Yeah! You've got it!" Takato congratulated him. He picked him up and brought him to the glass door of his small patio.
"Are ya ready to go out there tomorrow, boy?" Takato asked, as his partner stared out the window, at the world beyond. Takato watched the sun dip below the cityscape; the tallest buildings becoming ominous black towers against a glowing orange backdrop, as Shinjuku welcomed the night.
"Ready to see what else you can say, boy?"
WONG RESIDENCE
Henry sat at his computer desk, checking his e-mail, while Terriermon bounced around on the bed.
"Hey Henry. If Takato showed Guilmon to his parents, why didn't you ever think of that? It has to be easier than sneaking me around all the time, pretending I'm a doll."
"Maybe because my dad worked on a Digimon project when he was in college, and that he'd freak if he found out they were real." Henry said, with a hint of sarcasm.
"Come on, Henry - it might not be as bad as you think."
"True, but it might be, and then what? The next thing we know, the government's researching every inch of you, and I never see you again. It's just not worth the risk, Terriermon. Takato told his parents because he probably didn't have any other choice. We, however, have the luxury of passing you off as fake."
Terriermon crossed his arms in a little pout.
"Yeah, and Guilmon's probably over there having the time of his life right now…"
As if to punish Terriermon for his rude comment, fate had Suzie come into the bedroom.
"Terrwiermon!"
'Ah, crap…'
--
A/N:
I'd like to thank all my readers for being patient - I became overwhelmed when I saw just how many alert notices I was getting for this story. So now, I have to let you fine people in on something. I'm not entirely sure if this fic is going to have any longevity to it. I believe I may have begun posting it a bit too soon. Also, with that being said, I'm making preparations to continue my Loss and Gain / Life and Death story arc, with a new entry titled Love and Hate. Since I'm not too sure where I'm going with this, I have to warn you all not to be surprised if the 'Complete' tab comes up out of nowhere for it. I'll do as much as I can with it. Thanks for reading, and check back soon!
-milesprower06