A couple of weeks later
Matt's P.O.V
The past couple of weeks have been spent showing Naomi around. She's different. She's a lot less serious and a lot more fearless. I remember when we were in the Digiworld, she was so serious at first that she had almost strangled Tai whenever he messed up. She was so carefree. "Since when you were like this?" I asked her as we made our way through the park. She shrugged her shoulders and shoved her hands into the pockets of her dark wash jeans.
"Well, before I left, I remember Sora telling me to loosen up… and that's exactly what I did" she smiled. I couldn't help but return the smile.
"I've never seen you so.. calm and happy. It's almost frightening". She shoved my shoulder lightly as a chuckle escaped my lips.
"Rude" she exclaimed, jokingly as we both laughed. "Hey, you've changed too! You hair is longer and..you're taller?". We both chuckled. "But you still love music. So I guess you haven't changed that much".
"Yeah. So how are you liking Odaiba High so far?".
"It's alright. I have you guys there. So it's all good".
"Cool".
"Matt?".
"Yeah".
"I have to admit… you got pretty hot". I almost choked on my spit. Did she just say I was hot? She stopped and slapped her forehead. "Was I too forward?" she asked.
"It's alright. I'm used to it".
"No… that was just… totally inappropriate. You're my friend and just…". She let out an audible sigh. "Sorry. I kinda said it without thinking".
"Really! It's okay". I scratched the back of my neck nervously, praying she'd change the subject.
"So… how'd you get started with this whole band thing?".
"Well, I found out my dad's old bass hidden in the back of his closet. Naturally, I was curious and practically interrogated him about it. Turns out, my dad was in a band when he was in high school and he was the bassist. So I started learning how to play bass and from there I learned guitar".
"Guitarist, bassist and vocalist. Impressive".
"Thanks". I blushed a little. In a matter of minutes, we were in front of my apartment. We went up the elevator and to my front door. I opened the door and saw T.K. in front of the TV.
Naomi's P.O.V
I saw T.K. in the living room. Wait, what's T.K. doing here? I thought he lived with his mom. We walked in and I saw a familiar woman in the kitchen.
"Mom, I'm home" Matt called out. I raised an eyebrow. What is going on?
"Oh, Hey Matt..." she started but then looked at me. She stared at me for a while. Wait a second. That's their mom but… that would mean… "Naomi?" she asked.
"Yes?" I said with a small awkward smile on my face.
"Oh, look at you! You've grown so much" she smiled as she hugged me. We pulled away and she looked at me. "What a beautiful girl you've grown into" she sighed.
"Thank you, Ms Takaishi" I smiled.
"You're welcome, sweetie. Well, I've gotta head back to the kitchen and start dinner". She went back to the kitchen and Matt led me to his room. It was a normal guy room. Clothes on the floor, guitar on the bed and messy desk.
"You really need to clean this place" I laughed.
"I know" he sighed. He sat on his bed as I sat on his desk chair.
"So… why are your mom and T.K. here?" I asked.
"Oh. Well, my parents got back together".
"Really? That's great… but why? I thought things didn't really work out for them. Hence, getting a divorce when you and T.K. were still young".
"After the whole Digimon thing, they realized that it really brought T.K. and I together, made us closer than ever. Then they started seeing each other more often and then they got married again. It all happened pretty fast but I've never seen either of them happier".
"So you and your mom patched things up?".
"Definitely. It took some time but we got there and now she's like my best friend". I couldn't help but smile. When we were younger, it was no secret that Matt and his mother were not close. In fact, he and T.K. weren't that close either, Matt just played the role of protective older brother. He saw T.K. as the small child he lived with all those years ago and thought he needed to protect him from everything. But soon, that love and care for T.K. became genuine and grew stronger the longer we were in the Digiworld.
"Wow. I bet T.K. was ecstatic to know that you guys were gonna be a family again".
"Oh my God. That was probably the most annoyed I ever was with him". I let out a soft chuckle.
"Why?".
"T.K. would not stop about how mom and dad would get back together. I mean literally. When they went on dates and T.K. stayed here, he would go on and on about it. After my parents remarried, I pretty much ignored T.K. for a week because I just needed some time to breath and think".
"Well, it's all good now right?".
"Yeah, I mean we're a happy family now".
"That's good to hear". There was a knock on the door. It slowly opened and T.K. popped his head in.
"Hey Naomi, my mom wants to know if you're staying for dinner" T.K. said.
"Oh… uhm… not tonight but thanks for the offer" I smiled.
"Alright" he smiled and left.
"I'll walk you home" Matt said as he got up.
On the way back to Naomi's apartment
"Matt, you know that you really didn't have to walk me home" I said for the 5th time.
"Seriously Naomi, I want to!" he exclaimed.
"Am I getting annoying?".
"Not really".
"Just asking". I let out a loud sigh.
"What?".
"Nothing.. I just wonder how Terriermon is doing".
"He's fine. I check on him whenever I go to see Gabumon".
"Really?".
"Yeah. He misses you a lot".
"Aw… I miss him too". Soon we were standing in front of the entrance to my apartment building.
"Have safe trip home" I smiled.
"Yeah… sure thing". I watched his figure fade into the darkness before entering the building. I went up to my apartment only to find it empty. I found a note stuck to the kitchen counter.
Naomi,
Your father and I have gone for a business trip
We're sorry that it was so sudden
There are some leftovers in the fridge
Take care
Love always,
Mom
I sighed as I put the note down. Maybe having dinner at Matt's place wasn't such a bad idea after all.
Friday
After school
I was standing at my locker, getting some books when Sora came up to me. "Someone looks a little blue. What's up?" she asked.
"Nothing" I said.
"Yeah right".
"Sora, seriously, I'm fine".
"Anyway, there's a Digidestined gathering this evening in the park".
"Awesome. I'll be there".
"Cool. Well, I gotta go. Tennis practice".
"See ya". She waved and left.
Later that day
I got out of the shower and walked to my closet. I settled on a pair of pale blue denim shorts that went down to mid thigh, a white tank top and a black cropped pullover hoodie. After getting dressed, I grabbed my Digivice,just in case, and shoved it into the front pocket of my hoodie. I put on my green slip on sneakers and left my apartment. The journey to the park was slow due to the crowdedness of the metro. When I finally got there, I saw Tai leaning against the trunk of a big tree. Joe and Izzy were there too. "Hey!" I called out as I waved to them.
"Naomi! It's been so long! How are you?" Joe asked as he engulfed me in a hug.
"Fantastic. I heard you got into that private school you wanted to go to. Congratulations!".
"Thanks. So how was Kyoto?".
"Pretty cool. Not as lively as Odaiba, though".
"What's with Tai?". He was completely spacing out.
"Tai!" Izzy called.
"Huh? Yeah?" he said. Soon everyone else arrived, including the new Digidestined. We all sat in a circle. I sat in between Sora and Kari.
"Only if Mimi was here" I sighed.
Tai's P.O.V
Everyone was here. Except for Mimi of course. She's in America. Davis and I exchanged glances and nodded to one another. I stood up and said, "Okay, I believe everyone here knows each other". Naomi let out a cough. "Right. Uhm everyone this is Naomi. She's one of the original Digidestined". She stood up and bowed.
"Nice to meet you" she smiled then sat back down.
"Naomi, this is Ken, Davis, Yolie and Cody" I said. She nodded.
"So, Naomi.. you were the bearer of which crest?" Cody asked
"Loyalty" she answered.
"That's cool. But how come we haven't seen your Digiegg anywhere?". She raised her eyebrow and looked at the old Digidestined.
"Digiegg?" she asked.
"The new Digidestined don't get crests like we did. Instead they get Digieggs. But each represent our crest. Each of them have two.. except for Ken, Kari and T.K." Izzy explained.
"That's weird. Shouldn't it be distributed evenly amongst them?" Naomi said.
"That's thing. Kari and T.K. only have one because they still have their crest. So I guess it should go to Ken to be even" Joe said.
"Yeah!" Davis exclaimed. We all laughed at Davis. He was always the loud one.
Kari's P.O.V
"Hey you guys, doesn't Davis remind you of a certain someone here?" Sora laughed. We all tried to hold back our laughter. Tai and Davis didn't seem to get it. They both stood up and made their hands into a fist.
"What's so funny?!" they said in unison. We all burst out laughing. They had the same look on their face. Tai is pretty damn oblivious at times. Good to know that some things never change.
"Are they always like this?" Naomi asked between giggles.
"Yup!" I said. Our laughter died down and everyone was calm. After an hour of reminiscing and stuff. We all said our goodbyes and went home.
"Hey mom" Tai said as we walked through the door of our apartment.
"Oh hey kids. I just baked some cookies. You want some?" she offered. Usually we'd politely say no because it was a known fact that our mother's domestic skills were questionable. Thinking about all the times we refused, I glanced over at Tai. He too looked as guilt as I felt.
"Sure mom" I smiled. We both grabbed one and took a deep breath before taking a bite. Surprisingly, it tasted good.
"Mom, these are great! They're actually edible!" Tai said, and from my guesses, without thinking. He has no filter.
"Did you say something?" she asked. Apparently, she was too focused on preparing dinner. I elbowed Tai in the ribs.
"Uhm… these are great! Just like all the other cookies you make. You should continue making these, specifically these. They're my new favourite" Tai smiled.
"Well, here's the funny thing. I actually followed a recipe this time! Guess I should do that more often?" she smiled. Oh, mom.