For the next year-and-a-half we were constantly moving around to different sections of Tokyo, and even to a couple different cities; we never stayed anywhere more that a few months. Finally, we came to stay in the Odaiba sector of Tokyo. My mom opened her own flower shop, one of her long-time dreams; my dad, however, kept his job at the University in Kyoto, which he had found when we lived there for a couple months. It was a strain having him be away so much; he had his own apartment at the University, and the trip was too long for him to come home every day. But he loved his job, and it paid well, so my mom didn't argue with him about it.

I had found a park that was only a short walk away from our apartment building, so after telling my mom where I'd be, I went for a walk through the park, bringing my soccer ball with me.

I practiced dribbling for a little while, then sat down on a park bench, holding my soccer ball on my lap. The soccer ball that Tai had given me for my birthday just a couple weeks before I had moved away . . .

It had been almost two whole years, but I still missed Tai. At all the other places I'd moved to, we had never stayed long enough for me to make any close friends, and I had only been in Odaiba for two weeks or so.

I felt utterly alone.

Choking back a sob, I hugged my soccer ball tightly to my chest, putting my head down on the comforting firmness of the black-and-white checked sphere, and I just let myself cry.

"Hey, are you okay?"

I raised my head at the friendly voice, wondering who would care if one lonely girl, a complete stranger, was crying on a park bench. I looked up through tear-filled eyes to see a brown-haired boy bending over me. I sniffed, and he offered me a clean, white handkerchief to wipe my eyes. After I had cleared my blurry vision, I looked up again at the boy—and I nearly fell off the bench in surprise. The brown-haired boy was about my age, and his soft brown eyes looked down at me with concern, concern that was reflected in his cute face . . .

"Tai!" I exclaimed in surprise and sudden, overwhelming joy. I threw my arms around his neck, hugging him ecstatically. He seemed startled by my response, and that I knew his name.

"Who . . .?"

"It's me, Tai! Don't you remember me?"

He took a good look at my face, and instantly recognition flooded his face.

"Sora?! Is that really you?" I nodded, speechless with joy. Now he eagerly gave me a hug, and I returned his embrace.

"I thought I'd never see you again--you left so suddenly," he said once our initial joy had faded. He sat down beside me on the bench. "What happened?"

"My parents decided to move after the terrorist bombing at Highton View Terrace, and they didn't tell me until I got home from your house. They never let me say goodbye to you, but when I cried, they didn't know why." It was years until I told him that I'd often cried myself to sleep after that, that I'd cried myself to sleep just a few nights ago, my lonely heart aching for my old best friend.

"Wow," Tai said suddenly.

"What?"

"I was just thinking, what are the odds of two kids who went to school together both moving, and then finding each other again two years later in a city the size of Tokyo?"

"I don't know, but it sounds almost impossible!"

"Yeah . . . but it happened. And I'm glad it did."

"Me, too." I paused, and we just looked at each other for a minute, gazing at the familiar, yet different, face in front of us.

"I missed you, Sora," he said at last, looking away, and I thought a hint of a blush crossed his cheeks. "I mean, it's almost like destiny or something. Well, I mean—I, uh . . ." He ended lamely, obviously embarrassed.

"I missed you, too, Tai," I cut in, and he looked up, relieved at the warmth in my tone. Then I gave him a bright smile. "Hey Tai?"

"Yeah?"

I offered him my ball. "You wanna play soccer?"

I enrolled in the same school as Tai, and I joined his soccer team, too. Once again I was the only girl on the team, but I played as well as or better than anyone else, and Tai defended me (sometimes literally), so no one bothered me about being a girl more than once. Tai was still my best friend, and he was the same old Tai around me; but when he was around other people, he sometimes seemed to hide his true self, and it only rarely showed through the mask of "Tai the cool soccer star."

I had tried to make friends with the girls in my class, but for the most part they thought I was too much of a tomboy. The only girl who would really talk to me was a fashion-conscious, pink-loving girl named Mimi Tachikawa. She wasn't even in my class; she was in the class below me, and she seemed to be friends with everyone. I knew by hearing it firsthand that a lot of the guys had a crush on Mimi, and even Tai seemed in awe of her.

One day after soccer practice—and after I had heard another two hours' worth of 'Mimi this' and 'Mimi that,'—I was feeling a little bit down. Tai was my friend, and that was the way I liked it, but could he ever think of me as more than just a friend? Why did his eyes and tone of voice seem to change when he talked about Mimi, but not when he talked about me? I sighed and headed home.

"Hello, Sora! It is Sora, isn't it?" I looked up from inspecting my cleats to see Mimi, respondent in a pink skirt and blouse with a matching pink ribbon in her long, beautiful, perfect hair, smiling at me.

Great, I thought. I hadn't even bothered to change out of my sweaty soccer jersey, and I just happened to run into Little Miss Fashion Model. I did not feel like dealing with that right then. "Uh, hi. Yeah, I'm Sora. What's up?"

Mimi beamed at me. "Oh, I'm going shopping, of course! But I saw you walking along all by yourself and I thought I'd ask if you wanted to get something to eat together?"

I stared at her, wondering what her angle was. "Okay," I finally agreed, curiosity overcoming caution.

We were done with our meals and were walking out the restaurant door when she asked me the question she must have been waiting to ask all along: "So, Sora, who do you like?"

I felt my jaw drop. "What?!"

"I mean, you do like someone, don't you?" Mimi continued, oblivious to my discomfort. "Just because you're a tomboy doesn't mean you can't like someone, right?"

I just stared at her, my eyes big as silver dollars. Then I snorted and turned my head. "Why would I tell you?" And why should I tell anyone?

"But Sora," Mimi said. "Girls always tell each other who they have a crush on. It's, like, tradition almost! Only you probably wouldn't know that, would you? You only hang out with the boys, not the girls. Oh, well," she shrugged. "I just thought you might like some female companionship for a change." She started to walk away. "See ya later, I guess."

I felt a sudden pang of longing. Even though Tai was a great friend, my best friend, I sometimes did want a "girl friend" to talk to . . . "Wait!" I called, running after Mimi.

"Hmm?" From the tone of her voice, she must have known that she had me, that I really did want to have a girl-to-girl talk . . .

"Oh, all right. Come on." I started walking down the street, looking for some place a little bit more private. Finding a small alley, I turned and waited for Mimi to catch up. I looked around to make sure that no one was listening, then leaned in close and said, "I've never told anyone, but I guess . . . I . . . I do have a crush on someone."

Mimi giggled. "I knew it! The other girls said you were too tough to like boys, but I knew better! Who is it?" she asked eagerly.

I hesitated. "Well . . ." Well, what can it hurt? Who would care, anyway? "I . . . I like Tai," I blurted.

"Really?" Mimi's eyes were large. "But I thought you two were best friends . . .?"

"Well, I guess . . . I kinda have a crush on him, too," I said. Now I was sure that I was blushing.

"Wow! I never would have guessed!" Mimi giggled again and started towards the mall. "Bye, Sora! See you Monday!" Then she said, mostly to herself, "Tai and Sora Kamiya: sounds perfect to me! Who knew?"

Soon school let out for the summer, and Tai and I ended up going to the same summer camp. As I got on the bus, I caught a glimpse of a bright pink cowboy hat. Wondering who would wear such a thing, I took a closer look and groaned to myself. I should have known: it was Mimi. She was sitting in the middle of a group of her "followers," girls (and some guys, who were trying to be inconspicuous and failing utterly) who admired her pretty face and her fashion sense. I shook my head in annoyance and looked for an empty seat.

"Sora! Over here!"

Tai was waving at me from the back of the bus where he and a bunch of the guys were sitting: he'd saved me a seat. Mimi looked up as I walked down the aisle and gave me a wink. "Have fun."

I could still feel myself blushing when I reached Tai and sat down.

"Hey, Sora." He glanced back up the aisle towards the pink hat, then back at me. "What was that all about?"

"Oh, uh, nothing, Tai! I—just—never mind." I turned my head, avoiding his eyes.

"Okay." He sounded a little confused, but he knew I'd tell him when--and if--I was ready. "Anyway, did you bring your soccer ball?" he asked. I unzipped my backpack and handed him the ball. "Great! As soon as we get a little free time, let's play!" The other guys around us agreed.

"Sounds excellent."

"Hey, Sora's on my team!"

"No way, dude, she's on mine!"

"That's not fair, man!"

I smiled to myself. The guys might admire Mimi's pretty face, but they valued my soccer skills enough to argue over me, tomboy or not.

Once we reached the summer camp, another really weird thing happened: me, Tai, Mimi, and four other kids were transported to the Digital World, which seems to be a parallel dimension of some sort. There, we met our partners, the Digimon themselves. Tai's partner is Agumon, a (relatively) little orange dinosaur. Mine is Biyomon, a cute, pink, bird-like Digimon. (I still smile when I think about how jealous Mimi must have been; my partner was both pink and ten times cuter than Palmon, Mimi's plant-like partner.)

Anyway, we had some pretty wild adventures, and Tai and I grew even closer through them. Once, he literally caught me when a Digimon tried to throw me to the ground, and another time he trusted me to take care of Kari when she was sick. (Even today Kari is like a little sister to me; Tai and I were that close.)

Strangely enough, Mimi and I grew closer also: actually, I think we just finally began to understand each other. Well, however it happened, I had my first really close female friend. Sometimes, though, we still had our misunderstandings.

Best of all, my mom and I became really close because of the Digimon. I realized that she didn't hate me, and she wasn't trying to ruin my fun when she was overprotective; she was only trying to protect me because she loved me so much.