Hello everyone! It's been a few days since I updated. Sorry, if I told you I was going to update soon. I've just been ultra busy lately! I think in my last Author's Note I said this chapter would be the game and probably the last chapter. Well, I lied. This is going to for a few more chapters. My limit is 10 though. From what it looks like right now, it's only going to be 8. But with me, I guess you just never know. Anyways, before I start the chapter I have a request to make.

Since I'm going to be wrapping this up soon, I'll be moving on to a new story. I'm going to let my readers pick what pairing though. Please check out the poll on the top of my profile. This is very important! You can choose up to two options. If you're reading this, please take 10 seconds to go do the poll before you read the story. Even if you don't normally review or anything please do this for me. If you're still reading this and haven't gone and done the poll I'm very sad and disappointed in you right now.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. (As if there was any doubt)

Chapter 5: The Nerves

Tai's POV

As soon as I opened the door to my house, I was tackled to the ground by a big pink ball.

"Tai! You're finally home! How was school? Are you excited for the big game? Can I come and watch? Also, did you bring any food?" Koromon asks me excitedly. He was actually bouncing up and down on my chest as if I were a bed or something.

"Uh Koromon can you get off me please?" I ask as nicely as I could.

"Oh yeah sorry Tai."

"Nah, it's fine. School was awful as usual, yeah I'm super excited! I'm going to dominate tomorrow. And of course you can come bud."

I loved my partner dearly. So stuff like this never bothered me. Although, Koromon could probably take the intensity down a few notches. Staying pent up in the apartment all day probably didn't help.

"So, did you bring any food Tai?" Koromon asks pleadingly.

"No, sorry bud. Isn't there any food at home?" I ask curiously.

"There is. But uh it's your mom's." Koromon whispers to me.

"Oh no." I reply with serious trepidation.

My mom's cooking was legendary in all of Odaiba. And not in a good way. There was a time when all my friends avoided our house just so that they didn't have to test my mom's cooking.

Holding Koromon in my hands I walked over to the kitchen.

"Hey mom. I'm home." I greet her.

"Hello Tai. How was school?" She asks me.

"Oh you know. The same old stuff."

"I'm making a new recipe for you. It's for the game tomorrow. It's called vegetable lasagna. It's nice and healthy. And it'll give you tons of energy for tomorrow!" She says excitedly.

As soon as she said this, Koromon made a gagging noise that he quickly turned into a cough so not to offend my mother.

"Oh dear, is Koromon all right? He's not getting sick is he? He hardly eats anything. Tai you really have to look after him." My mom scolds.

"Oh he'll be fine. He just needs to cut down on the smoking." I joke giving him a smack.

"How many times do I have to tell you? She's sensitive about her cooking." I whisper to him.

"Sorry." He mumbles back.

"Oh and mom, you don't have to cook. Tomorrow's a big day! So you should take the night off!"

"But Tai, Kari normally cooks now. This will be the first time in weeks that she's gone. So, it's quite all right. I can do it. Besides, I want to make sure my big boy is all good to go for tomorrow!" She replies cheerfully.

I couldn't quite find a way to put this nicely to my mom. So, I gave up. Not that I was going to eat her food. I didn't want to miss the game because of food poisoning. It was simple; I just had to get Kari home.

I pulled out my phone and quickly punched out a message to Kari.

Please come home. Mom's trying to cook. I don't want to miss the game tomorrow! -Tai

To my relief, she responded almost immediately.

But I'm hanging with Mimi and Yolei. I'm not coming home to cook for you. –Kari

Please! Bring them too. We can get carryout then! –Tai

Yolei can't. But Mimi and I are coming. Tell mom and your welcome. –Kari

I owe you! –Tai

Thank god. I was saved. Wait; did she say Mimi was coming? Oh boy. How was this going to go? Pushing that from my mind I had to go stop my mom from poisoning us all.

"Hey mom, Kari just texted me. She's coming home and she's bringing a friend for dinner."

"Oh no! I'll have to make more!" My mom says in a panic.

"Oh no, they'll be here soon. We should probably just get carryout. There's no need to stress you mom." I say with a grin. The plan was working perfectly.

"Yeah, Mrs. Tai's mom carryout will be fine!" Koromon tries backing me up.

My mom bit her lip. She was having a huge debate with herself.

"Oh all right. But sometime this weekend, I'll make this for you." She says as if I was disappointed.

"Oh yeah, I'm looking forward to it mom!" I say happily.

After all, who wouldn't be happy knowing that Armageddon was delayed by a few days?

"Did Kari she say who she's bringing? If it's Yolei we should order Chinese. If it's Sora we should get Mexican."

"Oh come on mom. When was the last time Sora ate with us?" I joke.

"Oh Tai, she's such a nice girl. Did you two break up or something?" My mom asks seriously.

"Huh? Uh mom we never went out." I point out.

"Oh please. You two were inseparable. Your father and I thought you were just too embarrassed to tell us."

"No really mom. Besides she's going out with Matt."

"What? Wow, that's really unexpected. I always thought that-"

"Let's go with Italian." I cut my mom off knowing what she was going to say.

"Oh right. Should I call? Or do you want to?" She asks me.

"Uh you can do it." I reply.

"All right then. Go wake up your dad. He's taking a nap. Tell him he'll have to go pick up the food."

"Sure thing." I reply before walking towards my parents' room.

"Tai, that was genius!" Koromon exclaims. "How'd you come up with that?"

"Hahaha. Koromon, I wasn't lying." I answer.

"Wait, seriously? Who's Kari bringing?" He asks curiously.

"Mimi." I reply.

"Mimi! She's back?" Koromon asks.

"Yeah, she came to watch the game."

"Wow, that's so cool."

I didn't reply because I reached the door. I knocked. There was no reply. Sighing, I opened the door and walked to the bed.

"Dad wake up." I say shaking him.

"Jes fie mo mints." He mumbles incoherently.

Then, an idea struck me.

"Hey Koromon."

"Yeah Tai?"

"Go to work." I say with a grin.

"All right!" He replies with a smile.

He jumped straight out of my hands onto my dad and started jumping on his head. As if that wasn't enough he started shouting.

"Wake up Mr. Tai's dad! Wake up! Mrs. Tai's mom needs you for something!"

"All right, all right. I'm up!" My dad replies.

He wasn't too upset though. He and Koromon actually got along really well.

"Hey dad. Mom needs you to go pick some food up from a restaurant." I explain.

"Huh? I thought she was cooking tonight?" He replies.

"No. Kari is having a guest so we decided to order out." I answer.

"Oh thank God! I tried convincing her earlier but she was really set on cooking." My dad says to me in a hushed voice.

"It's cool dad. I figured you tried to save us." I reply with a grin.

"Of course I did. Before you and Kari were born, who do you think had to try all her food?" He asks reminiscing the dark days.

I simply laughed before walking out.

"Hey mom, I'm going to take a quick shower before dinner." I let her know.

"Why? You seem just fine?" She says looking at me.

"Oh, I just wanted to freshen up a bit." I reply.

"Ok. By the way, you never did tell me who Kari is bringing."

"I can't hear you." I said quickly walking away and closing the door to my room.

I was sure if I told her that Mimi was coming she would make it awkward by suggesting certain things. I really didn't want to give her extra time to think of things to say.

Now, I had to pick something to wear. Wow, I sounded like a girl. I needed something casual but something that still looked nice. I dug around in my closet until I found something.

It was a shirt Mimi sent me for my birthday this year. It was a long sleeve collarless navy blue shirt. I looked at the tag. It read H&M. With a pair of shorts, it would look great. And Mimi would be happy that I was wearing the shirt that she sent me.

Grabbing the clothes, I ran to the bathroom and took a quick shower. After dressing, I ran back to my room and found my bottle of my favorite cologne, Aqua di Gio by Armani.

I honestly wasn't sure why I was so excited. I mean it was just Mimi. And yet, I felt this urge to impress her. At the same time though, I didn't want to make it look like I was trying too hard. Otherwise, my mom might catch on.

I left my room, hoping that Mimi wasn't here yet. If she was it might look like I got ready for her. That was true, but I didn't want anyone to know that.

Luckily for me, she hadn't arrived yet. So, I joined Koromon on the sofa and began to watch T.V.

Koromon was watching the Food Network. That was so typical of him. All he ever thought about was food. He still hadn't noticed me sit down next to him. He was engrossed in the show.

Now, I was curious. What could be so interesting? Ah, they were grilling mini steak strips to make a fajita. I turned to look at his reaction and I began to laugh.

Koromon was staring at the screen with his mouth open. He was literally drooling over it. He must have been extra hungry today. When he heard my mom was cooking, he must've had a heart attack.

"You know, I can make those for you sometime Koromon." I hear a voice behind me.

Koromon and I jumped before turning to see Mimi standing behind us smiling.

"Mimi! Can you really? Those look so good!" Koromon says excitedly.

"Mmmhm." Mimi replies nodding her head.

"Hey Meems." I say.

"Hello Tai, long time no see." She replies with a wink.

"Hahaha yeah." I say rubbing the back of my head. I really hoped no one had heard that.

"Mmmm, something smells really good." She says out of nowhere.

"Uh Mimi, the food isn't here yet." I tell her confused.

"No, it isn't food. It's something else. Are you wearing cologne?"

"Uh yeah."

"Oh, are you going somewhere?"

"No."

"Why are you wearing cologne then?" She asks curiously.

"I don't know. I just am." I say a little defensively.

"Oh all right." She says with a weird smile.

"What?"

"That shirt."

"What about my shirt?"

"It's the one I sent you." Mimi says her smile growing bigger by the second.

"I know. I told you I liked it." I reply.

"I'm glad you like it." She says happily before walking away.

"Yeah Tai, why are you wearing that spray thing? You only wear it when you leave the house or if Sora comes over." Koromon asks bluntly.

"Can it." I say before giving him a friendly whack.

"Hey Tai, can you give dad and I a hand please?" I hear Kari call from the door.

"Sure." I reply.

As I walked to the front door I took some of the bags Kari was holding out of her hands.

"Thanks, Kari. You definitely saved me today." I say to her gratefully.

"Yeah whatever." Kari says sticking her tongue out at me. "Just promise me that you'll do me a favor."

"Sure, what is it?" I ask.

"Mimi's spending the night. So, can you please take the couch?" Kari asks me.

"Wait, what? Isn't she staying with Yolei?"

"No, that fell through because Yolei's aunt came unexpectedly."

"All right, whatever. She can take my bed." I reply.

"Awesome."

After helping my dad bring in the rest of the food, we all finally settled down for dinner. We had quite a full table today. My parents, Kari, Mimi, Gatomon, Koromon, and I really had to squeeze together.

For a few minutes, the only sounds were those of us chewing or the small noises of silverware being raised or put down. Finally, my mom broke the silence.

"Tai, who are you playing tomorrow?" She asks.

"Takuya." Kari answers for me.

"Takuya? Well then, this is quite the rivalry game." My dad points out.

"Not much of a rivalry if I always win." I reply cockily.

"Don't be overconfident Tai." My mom warns.

"Tai, overconfident? Come on, Mrs. Kamiya." Mimi says sarcastically.

Everyone at the table laughs. This brought the focus to Mimi.

"So, Mimi. How's America treating you?" My mom asks curiously.

"It's awesome! I do miss Odaiba a lot though." She replies honestly.

"Oh well, that's only natural. It is your home after all." My mom says to her.

"Yeah, I don't think anything can replace Odaiba." Mimi answers.

"So, how is American social life different than here?" My mom continues.

"Oh well, there's so many I don't even know where to begin." Mimi says with a laugh.

"Well, how about boys?" My mom suggests.

And here was where it was all going to hell. Of course, my mom would have to bring this up.

Mimi took a quick glance at me before answering. A glance that didn't go unnoticed by mom I must add.

"Well there are plenty of them. But none of them really caught my eye." Mimi answers.

"Oh really? I heard American boys are really cute." The teenage girl in my mom continues.

"Yeah what about Michael?" Kari asks.

"Oh, I don't know. He's just not my type. And besides, I'm probably a little young to be thinking about dating right now. I have school to focus on you know." Mimi tries ending.

"Oh, nonsense. You're old enough to date. Sora and Matt have been going out for what a couple of years now. Right Tai?" My mom tries adding me into the conversation.

"Uh yeah, I think so." I quickly reply.

"You know, we think Tai might be gay. I mean he's never once shown interest in any girl." My dad jokes.

"Really? That is so funny! Sora said the exact same thing to me a few days ago." Mimi says with a laugh.

"Yeah, we're all just waiting for him to come out of the closet." My mom says with a smile.

"The floor is all yours big brother." Kari says with a wink.

By this time, I was really red.

"I'm not gay!" I reply.

"Well then, how about you give us a name of the girl you like?" My mom suggests putting me on the spot.

Now, I was really in a jam. I couldn't tell them that I liked Mimi especially with her sitting right across the table from me. I had no idea how to get out of this one. Luckily, I didn't have to. Koromon unknowingly bailed me out.

"Excuse me, but what's gay?" He asks innocently.

Everyone started to laugh at his naïveté.

"I'll explain it to you tomorrow after work." My dad promises.

"All right." Koromon replies.

The rest of dinner passed with light chatter. I was surprised at how well Koromon restrained himself in terms of eating. There was plenty leftover. I was really full though.

After dinner we all went over to the living room and started playing Scrabble. The game was actually pushed out of my mind until Koromon brought it up.

"So, Tai. Are you nervous?" He asks me.

"Not until you reminded me." I say seriously.

I had been in plenty of big games before. So, I wasn't so nervous now as I was for some of the big games earlier in my career. Experience was a major plus for me.

"I'd be really nervous, if I were you." Kari says. "You've worked your whole life trying to be the best soccer player ever. Winning tomorrow would be a huge accomplishment." She continues.

Now the pressure mounted a little bit. Why did she have to remind me about that?

"Not to mention this is going to be your last high school game." My mom adds. "There's no second chance after this one. This is the last thing people are going to remember about your high school career."

Ok now the pressure was definitely much higher than before. I really didn't like this at all.

"Also, the back of your jersey has Kamiya on it. Kamiyas don't lose all right?" My dad puts in his two cents.

Now, I was officially nervous. I hadn't thought about any of that stuff. But the dagger was what Mimi said.

"Tai, don't you dare lose. I came all the way from America to see you play. If I find out I wasted tons of money just to see you lose, I'll be very mad." She warns.

Ok, now I was piss my pants nervous. God damn it. Why did they all have to bring that up?

At this point, Koromon let out a yawn that put my mom into mom mode.

"Bed, all of you. Tomorrow's a big day. I want all of you to get your rest."

"Mom, I don't even have to go to school tomorrow." I try arguing.

It was true. The soccer team had the day off tomorrow. That was really nice, how could anyone possibly focus on class when the game was that day?

"Tai, you need more sleep than anyone else. You need to be well rested for the game tomorrow. No buts."

"Fine."

"Grab what you need from your room Tai." Kari says.

"Aite."

I grabbed everything I needed and brushed my teeth before laying down on the couch. My mom had left a blanket and a pillow for me. Koromon was sleeping with Mimi because there wasn't enough room on the couch for both of us.

I was kind of jealous. He got to lay down on a bed and more importantly on a bed with Mimi. Life just wasn't fair sometimes.

I tried going to sleep. But there was no way I could. My mind was just buzzing with thoughts about the game tomorrow. There were butterflies in my stomach already just thinking about the game.

Unfortunately, the last things my family and Mimi said to me were resonating in my head very loudly. What if I screwed up?

I'd embarrass my family for one. Then, all the time I spent playing soccer would've been a waste. My high school legacy would be ruined. And to top things off, Mimi would be mad at me.

In all honesty, the last idea was the one that scared me the most. I didn't want her to be mad at me. All of these thoughts put me on edge though. And that was no way to play. I had to be relaxed and yet, I couldn't even sleep.

Now, I was really trying to force myself to sleep. But I couldn't. I felt really hot and I was sweating a ton. I threw the blanket off but now I felt cold and I could feel the sweat become icy. I was really uncomfortable.

In the end, I decided to get some water. Maybe that could help. I walked over to the kitchen and got a glass out of the cabinet. It was actually pretty hard to do in the dark. I filled it with water and sat down at the table. To my surprise, someone else walked into the kitchen.

"Tai, what are you doing up so late?" Mimi asks me.

"I was getting some water. What are you doing up?" I ask her.

"Same."

After getting water she came and sat down at the table with me.

"It sucks waking up for water doesn't it?" She asks me.

"Yeah, but tonight I just couldn't sleep." I reply.

"Why not?" Mimi asks concerned.

"I don't know I'm just really nervous about tomorrow I guess."

"You'll be fine. You're the best soccer player I know." She says seriously.

"Yeah but, all that stuff everyone said during Scrabble kind of put me on edge." I reply truthfully.

"Oh Tai, we were just messing with you. We didn't mean to make you nervous." She says guiltily.

"I know, it's just that I hadn't even thought about any of that stuff until then."

"Tai, you'll be just fine. But right now, you need to get some sleep. Come on." She says grabbing my hand and dragging me to the couch. She actually went as far as to tuck me in.

But it was still no use. I just couldn't sleep. Luckily though, Mimi stuck with me. Soon, she started talking to me about our first adventure in the Digital World. That was really nice. We spent some time reminiscing about our time there and some of our friends who we didn't always get to see.

Soon, I started to drift away into sleep. I actually had a dream about going back to the Digital World and meeting all the friends we had just talked about.

I don't know if I was dreaming but I did think that someone had kissed my forehead. I hoped it wasn't just a part of the dream. But I couldn't be sure.

Well, what'd you think? Leave a review! More importantly, answer the poll if you haven't already!

And a quick shout out to . I know I promised a Friday update but I was just too tired to write the 2nd half of the chapter. I'm sorry! Please accept my apology!