As you can see, another chapter has come and gone. I hope you all enjoyed it. Anyway, for this chapter, Chris spends the day with the Izumis, and by the title, I'm sure you figured that they will be going to the movies. I broke this chapter up into two separate parts, though. This chapter about Chris' going over to the Izumis, etc., which I already mentioned. The second part showing what each Chosen was up to (minus Hikari and Daisuke), so yeah, you'll be seeing most of the original Chosens/Digidestined. Oh yes, and for this part and the next, expect to see a few of the Digimon partners and you will also be meeting some of the other Chosens' children soon.
The ones that you will probably see the most, not counting Chris, of course, are:
Sugita (Taichi's son)
Kiyoko (Yamato & Sora's daughter)
Korin (Ken & Miyako's middle child/oldest son)
Misayoshi (Koushirou's daughter)
You'll see the others, eventually, but you'll probably end up seeing those four above the most since their characters are so close in age, and kind of indirectly connected to what's going on. The only characters that I'm having a semi-tough time of getting into this story with an interesting personal problem in general are:
Milei (Ken & Miyako's daughter)
Okibi (Daisuke's son)
Tomoaki (Takeru's son)
Kouki (Hikari's son)
I might just let them not have any interesting problems at all. Anyway, the characters that will be seen every once in a while, but won't be as scarce as the four above, are:
Toin (Jou's son)
Emiko (Iori's daughter)
Shoyo (Yamato & Sora's son)
Osamu (Ken & Miyako's youngest son)
The adults/partners that you will probably end up seeing the most after they eventually debut since they'll have the most bearing on the Digital World crisis plot are:
Taichi & Agumon
Miyako & Hawkmon
Ken & Wormmon
Daisuke & V-mon
Now, the adults/partners you may end up seeing every once in a while, but probably won't have a heavy bearing on the story or the plot or maybe just a mild bearing will be:
Yamato & Gabumon (Well…he may be indirectly connected)
Sora & Piyomon (Same as Yamato…indirectly connected)
Koushirou & Tentomon (I've come to the point where I'm not entirely sure what I want to do with his character. Miyako, in a way, is filling his role, but we'll definitely see Tentomon, though)
Takeru & Patamon (He's pretty much in the same boat as Koushirou and in a way, so is Patamon)
Hikari & Tailmon (You may just end up seeing Tailmon more than Hikari)
The ones above, you'll probably end up seeing their Digimon partners more than them. Now as for the remaining characters:
Jou & Gomamon (Will probably see Gomamon more than Jou)
Mimi & Palmon (Will probably see Palmon more than Mimi)
Michael & Betamon (Will probably see Betamon more than Michael)
Iori & Armadimon (He actually doesn't have much of a role in the story and neither does Armadimon, unfortunately...he just has a connection to Ken's current problem and indirectly to Taichi's)
For the adults, none of this is concrete, not counting the first four (Taichi, Miyako, Ken, Daisuke) and Ryou. I just may change my mind as I continue on with this story and change up the roles, the main one being probably Koushirou. I had something planned for him, but I decided to drop it, partially, as it seemed too out of character for him and in my opinion, he was coming across as being too "emo". This is a bit of a spoiler, but Taichi has a reason as to why he's not really talking much with Koushirou at the moment over anything pertaining to the Digital World and turning to Miyako instead.
As for the actual Tamers, it's going to be a good while before they show up and are mentioned. Ryou will, definitely, appear before the Tamers do as for this story, he's part of the Adventure side. Another slight spoiler…the Tamers will have to be brought over by a friend of Gennai, Ken, and Ryou, which will involve dimension hopping. As soon as I feel comfortable enough with establishing the Adventure side, I'll get into the Tamers side of things, who will also be having the same kind of trouble, but not as badly as the Adventure side. Sorry for being so vague with this.
Now, as always, I do not own anything dealing with the Digimon series or franchise. Bandai and Toei have that honor.
Chapter 05a: Movie Preparations...
It was now a beautiful, not so late Monday morning in Odaiba. Mimi, just like she had insisted and promised, had taken Chris shopping for school clothes on Sunday. Clothes shopping was one thing Chris truly hated. He always was allowed to pick out what he wanted to wear – as long as it was appropriate by his parents' standards, and wasn't too expensive – but he still preferred to be out someplace playing.
Mimi had tried her best to get in contact with all of her fellow Chosen friends, and was surprised that the majority of them were so busy, which she assumed since she didn't receive an answer from either of them. She had actually already expected not to get in touch with Taichi or Jou, given their time-consuming jobs, but was terribly surprising not to talk to anyone else. She could barely get a "hello" from most of her friends, except for Koushirou, since he was on vacation anyway. Neither Yamato nor Sora answered right away, but when she did manage to get through, Sora spoke but only for a brief moment and apologized after she heard a grumbling, annoyed voice call for Sora, going on about "no company".
Everyone else, she had just missed. When she called Ken & Miyako's place, her son was there, but by the time he got away from his younger brother to get to the ringing phone, Mimi had already hung up.
With Jou,he, along with the rest of his family, was outside, so they didn't hear the phone ring.
With Taichi, just as the others, no answer. At the time she'd called the Yagami household, Taichi was in a rush due to his being late for work. He heard the phone ring, but figured that his wife was going to answer it. His wife figured that he was going to answer it, so neither got it. Sugita, at the time, was asleep.
For Daisuke, neither he nor his wife was home. Daisuke, along with V-mon, had some meetings to attend over where to find a new place to franchise his business, and his wife had to get to the Fuji TV Station early to help work on the sound for an early morning show taping. Their son, Okibi, along with his Chibimon, had spent the night over at a friend's house for a gathering and hadn't returned home yet.
For Hikari and her family, no one was home. Hikari had to go to Odaiba Elementary early, her husband was out of town working on a breaking story, and her son and Plotmon, was away at the same gathering as Okibi, but only because he was apart of the Art Club, one of the sponsors of the gathering.
For Takeru, it went straight to his voice mail. She figured that whoever was on the line had a call that couldn't be switched over. She did leave him a brief message, and how she'd get back in touch with him later.
When she tried Iori, he was in the middle of researching and didn't bother answering the phone when it did ring. He was working on one of the most difficult cases he'd ever had...one he'd considered hopeless, which was actually starting to stress him out. The last thing he wanted to do was talk to someone he didn't know. He checked the number, but didn't recognize it. Armadimon kept him company, but all he did was sleep while Iori prepared for his case. As for the rest of the Hida family, his wife headed out early for a meeting being held at the private school she worked for. His daughter had gone along with her to do some shopping, and then part ways afterwards.
Mimi herself had plans for the day as well. She and Michael were planning on investigating spots on where to shoot their show that following week when the children started back to school. They were planning on visiting a different place each day. For this day, the two were planning on going to Gunma to find the perfect spot to use, and to finalize the deal to have the permission to film in certain parts of the area and also highlighting certain local restaurants.
Koushirou, on the other hand, had to deal with his daughter's somewhat down mood. For his Sunday, he, along with his mother, tried his best to get Misayoshi to cheer up and to also try to figure out what was bothering her, but neither had any luck in doing so. She kept insisting that she was "fine" and how there was "nothing wrong". Koushirou and Tentomon even asked Motimon if there was anything going on, but he, reluctantly, insisted that the girl hadn't told him anything.
"Chris!"
"Yeah mom!" he called back to her.
"I already told you about it, but I have errands to run today." Chris, along with Tanemon, entered his mother's room, who was looking herself over in the mirror while combing her hair.
"Yeah, you mentioned that yesterday."
"Well, I was thinking about it, and was wondering if you'd like to spend the day with Koushirou and his family."
"Do we have to?" he groaned. "It'll probably be boring."
She turned her attention to Chris. "Why do you say that?"
He stood there a moment, trying to come up with any kind of a reason as to why the Izumis would be boring. "Well, um, girls are boring and only think about their looks."
Mimi laughed. "Koushirou isn't a girl; I would know that better than anyone."
Chris was a bit curious as to why his mother had made such an odd statement, but ignored it. "I'm not talking about him; I'm talking about his kid."
"Misayoshi-chan didn't strike me as the vanity type that would be overly concerned with her looks. She seems like a nice, well-mannered girl."
"Booooring," he yawned.
"Christopher, stop acting like a spoiled brat!" Mimi scolded, growing annoyed with her only son's current attitude. "I know your father and I raised you better than that! Here I am trying to get you associated with more children your age and here you are refusing it! You ought to be glad that I know people here who have children your age to play and associate with so that way, starting up school will be easier for you.
"You're lucky! I didn't have that luxury! I was on my own when my parents moved me to America! I didn't know anyone when I first moved there and neither did my parents. I had no help at all when it came to friends. I didn't have anyone to show me around like you do."
"*But you moved back here leaving Grandfather Keisuke and Grandmother Satoe behind!"
"But I lived there for almost two years before I decided to move back, and I did it for different reasons. All of your reasons have been petty and selfish so far!"
"What reason was it other than wanting to see your friends?"
"I won't lie to you; that was part of my reason for wanting to move back, but there was more to it. I moved back so that I could gain a sense of independence, something that neither your grandmother nor grandfather was doing a good job of teaching me." She crossed her arms and looked at him crossly. "Do you know what it means to be independent?" He shook his head. "I didn't think so. That means being able to do things on your own and not having to always rely or depend on other people for things all the time. It helps to prepare you to become an adult and staying with my parents wasn't going to help me since they babied me constantly. I gained a bit of independence during my adventure in the Digital World, and I knew that moving back here would help me in the long the run since your aunt and uncle treated me as an adult, not as their 'baby girl'."
Not knowing how to respond to his mother's story, he muttered out, "Oh." Her harsh expression softened, and she smiled at him.
"I'm sorry for my outburst just now. I just wish you would try giving this temporary move a chance instead of criticizing it and trying to find every little thing wrong with it. I bet Misayoshi-chan and the other children are a lot of fun. Just give them a chance before you dismiss them, even though the only child you'll probably see today is Misayoshi-chan. It's nice to start a new school and already have a friend or two."
"I guess you're right, but I bet they're still boring."
"You haven't even spent an hour with them, how do you know that they'll be boring?"
"I bet none of them even blades!"
"Then show them. You said it yourself that 'the roads around here are perfect for blading on'."
"Yeah! I could show them some moves!"
"And it'll be easier to get to school around here since Odaiba Elementary School is in 'blading', walking, and biking distance. You could never do that back home because you were too far away from that private school of yours and always had to hop on the subway and then take the city bus."
"Cool! I could get in a lot of skating time that way and I won't even have to do my homework first!"
She nodded. "You don't have to take the bus around here. All you have to do is turn a negative situation into a positive one. We just thought of one already, but I'd stick to walking to school, not blading. I'm not sure if it's against the rules to do that."
"I hope the school allows it. Anyway, does Mr. Izumi have level ground to skate on?"
"I'm not sure. He lives in an apartment."
"In the city?"
"Well, not really." Mimi applied a little bit of perfume.
"Aww, apartments are always small and lots of cars are around and you can't play a good game of kickball since the ball always ends up in the street and gets run over by a street cleaner."
"Then invite the children over to play around here where you won't have to worry too much about cars. We have a lot of room around here."
The boy pounced down on Mimi's bed while Tanemon laid comfortably on the pillow. "How come I can't go with you and Michael to Gunma anyway?"
"Because you'll get bored. We're going to be in meetings and making negotiations to shoot in different parts of the area. If you went along, you wouldn't have anything to do."
Chris sat up. "I won't get bored."
"Chris, you get bored whenever you're sitting around during a taping of my show. I know you'll grow bored sitting through a meeting."
"I bet you I won't!"
"Chris, the last time I had to take you someplace dealing with business, you were restless and bored the entire time. You even complained and would constantly ask the receptionist, 'Are they done yet?'"
"Oh mom, that's when I was a kid."
"Oh, so you weren't 'a kid' earlier this year?"
"No way!"
"Anyway, you're not going because I know you, Chris. When you get bored, you either complain about it or you get curious and start messing with things. If I were actually sightseeing, I'd take you along without thinking twice about it, but I'm going to be in meetings. I was planning on taking you with me until Koushirou insisted on your coming over."
The ten year old sighed, as he knew his mother was right. He did have the tendency to grow bored easily, which was one reason why he, in a way, had an almost permanent seat in detention at his old school. He was never a troublemaker, but he would become disruptive every once in a while, especially if he finished up his assignments early, which was a normal thing for him.
"So, will you give my great friends and their families a chance? They're all very nice people and some of the best friends I've ever had."
"Yeah, they probably are."
"Yeah, they sure are."
"Nice. Anyway, I'll stay with them, but only on one condition..."
"Not another one of your 'conditions'," Mimi groaned.
"Yes, a condition."
"What is it this time?"
"I want to meet Mr. Takaishi. I won't go over to the Izumis unless I get to meet him."
"You're going to visit whether you're able to see him or not!" the woman told him angrily.
"But mom..."
"No buts, you're going and that's final!"
"But I really want to meet Mr. Takaishi!"
"Just go get yourself ready."
"I'll go, I'll go," he muttered. Chris decided to take his roller blades along with him, since he figured that playing games like baseball and kickball were out since "Mr. Izumi lives in an apartment".
Mimi drove over to where Koushirou was now living. It was quite a distance away from where he lived as a child. It was near the same complex he'd moved to during his first year of high school. He liked the convenience of the area and decided to stay there since it was in between everything: school, grocery stores, convenient stores, and work. After marrying, though, he moved into a bigger place at one of the larger places of the area.
During the ride, Chris, stubbornly, refused to speak to his mother for shouting at him, even though he knew he was crossing the line of obnoxiousness when he was arguing with her earlier. He was just curious as to how far he could go. Mimi gave in since she understood how the move was hard on the boy. She explained to him how she couldn't get in touch with Takeru for him to go meet him. Chris apologized for his bad attitude and even admitted that he was surprised that she hadn't scolded him earlier than what she had. One thing with Chris was that he could never stay mad at his mother, no matter how much she may have yelled at him whenever he did something she deemed wrong. Even though Chris was close to his father, he was even closer to his mother, even though he never cared to admit it. He knew that if his mother had come to Japan alone, he would've been worried about her and would've missed her a lot. He missed his father, but not to the extent that he felt he would have if the roles had been reversed.
After Chris had calmed down and was back on speaking terms with his mother, he asked why he couldn't stay with his "Great Uncle Kichibei and Great Aunt Sué". Mimi lied and told him that the two were going to be busy for the entire day since both had to work. Mimi really wanted him to make some new friends, and spending time around her aunt and uncle, who always spoiled their grandnephews and grandnieces by giving them presents, wasn't going to help any. Spoiling their grandnephews and nieces made up for them not having any grandchildren of their own. Both of Mimi's younger cousins, Isako and Ton, were still pretty young and weren't ready to start up families of their own yet, even though Isako was in her late 20s now.
"Here we are; the Izumi home!"
Mimi parked while Chris and Tanemon looked out the window of their car to see a big apartment complex that had at least ten floors.
"Wow, they sure have a big house! It's even bigger than your new house, Chris!"
"It's an apartment building, not a house, Tanemon," laughed Chris. "A lot of people live there. It's just like Jonathan's place. He lived in an apartment too."
"Oh yeah, that's right."
The three stepped out of the car, Tanemon sitting atop Chris's head, and Chris's roller blades tucked away in its case.
"Well, since we're all set, let's go."
"Okay, mom."
The two walked to the front of the apartment building, and ran up the steps...well, Chris did anyway. Mimi took her time. The Izumis lived on the 5th floor.
"C'mon, mom," Chris called playfully from the top of the flight of stairs they were currently climbing, "stop being such a slow poke!"
"I'm coming!" she called back breathlessly. 'Why did I agree to take the steps...'
Mimi finally reached the top, trying her best to catch her breath. She was more out of shape than she realized. Chris grabbed her hand and laughed playfully, pulling her along. "You need to get in shape, mom, just like Tanemon and me!"
Mimi smiled, glad that he had enjoyed himself. "Next time...we...take the...elevator..."
"Where do we go now?" asked Tanemon.
"Follow me. They should be right down here in apartment 504."
"I don't know why people would want to live in apartments. They're too small."
"They are not!"
"Jono's is! Ty's is! Kevin's is! Alex's is! Brian's is!"
"And yet, you would spend almost all of your free time over at their places."
"Of course! Those guys are my best friends!"
Mimi could only shake her head over her son's logic, and rang the bell.
"Izumi-san! Ohayou gozaimasu!" Mimi greeted, surprised over who had answered the door.
"Mimi-chan!" the older woman greeted back. She hugged Mimi tightly, while Chris stood there quietly along with a curious Tanemon, still sitting atop his partner's head.
"What are you doing here?"
"When Koushirou told me that you were visiting, I decided to come right over to visit myself. It isn't that often we get to see you since you moved abroad so many years ago." She looked over at Chris. "Is this your son?"
Mimi smiled proudly. "Yes, this is my son," she then added, in English, "my pride and joy."
'How corny,' Chris thought with a shudder.
"Wow, he looks exactly like you!"
"A few years ago, he seemed to look more like his father, but he does seem to resemble me more now."
"What is your name?" Mrs. Izumi asked in attempted English.
"My name is Christopher Keisuke Johnson, Jr.," he pointed to the top of his head, "and this is Tanemon."
"Hello."
"Oh, how cute! Koushirou mentioned that your son had a Tanemon."
"Speaking of your son, where is he?"
"Arguing with his sister again."
"Arguing with Miki-chan?" Mrs. Izumi nodded in slight embarrassment. "Shouldn't someone break up the argument?"
"It's nothing too serious, so don't worry about it. Those two are always arguing over something petty. Koushirou is just acting like a protective older brother. Miki-chan is going out on one of those group dates tonight, and Koushirou doesn't approve of it and insists that she shouldn't hang around with those who go on group dates. One of the people there will be a boy he remembers Miki-chan hanging around with when in high school and doesn't like him."
"I'm still surprised he does that. I figured he would have calmed down with that after she became an adult."
"So did I, but he's still acting that way, and even more so since all that's happened with his father..." the woman trailed off. She frowned a bit over what she'd just said, but soon shook off those depressing thoughts and turned her attention back to Mimi. "I am so sorry for being rude. Please come in."
The woman led them in. By the door were two pairs of slippers. Mimi stepped out of her dressy shoes and stepped into the slippers. Chris, without realizing it, kept going, looking around the place. "Wow, this place is bigger than it looks!" Chris whispered in English to Tanemon.
"Yeah it is. This isn't small at all."
Chris headed to the living room, and took a seat on the couch, his mother walking right past the room, engrossed in conversation with Mrs. Izumi. He noticed that she wasn't wearing her shoes. "I wonder why mom took her shoes off and put on those slippers. It's not like she's staying; besides, it's rude to take your shoes off in other people's houses!"
"Maybe she forgot."
"Pfft, grown ups," the boy grumbled. "They're always telling us what not to do because it's rude and there they go doing the complete opposite. They're just...what's that word? It started with an 'h'..."
"Um, hero?"
"No, that's not it. It's another word for a faker. It was one of my vocabulary words last year... Oh! I remember now. A hypocrite is what she's being."
"Oh..."
x x x x
In Koushirou's room...
"I don't feel that he's a good influence, that's all. All he does is goof off and I'm sure that he hasn't done anything constructive since he graduated from high school years ago. He probably still acts irresponsibly!"
"I can't be boring like you all of the time!" argued Miki fiercely.
"I'm boring because I prefer to act as a mature, responsible adult who contributes to society?"
"Kou-niichan, why do you get like this whenever I decide to go out on group dates?"
"Because I personally feel that you can do better than that, especially if that guy is going to be there!"
"But it's not your place to! Mother doesn't mind if I go out on group dates. She trusts me, why can't you?"
"I do trust you, it's the guys you usually end up dating out of those group dates I don't trust," the redhead sighed.
"I can take care of myself! Yeah, Hiroki-kun is going to be there, and we are paired up for this date, but after the get together, we're going to hang out and reminisce since we haven't seen each other since high school. He's gotten his life on track and has become a responsible adult. He works for his father's company and his father is pretty strict. If you don't work satisfactorily, he'll fire you regardless of who you are, and that includes family."
Realizing that he'd lost this argument, he apologized. "I really shouldn't worry about you or who you hang around with, but I can't help it. I sometimes feel that I'm responsible for you and your well-being, which is why I always try to look out for you, and why I probably do it so much whenever you are home."
She gave him a smile. "I know you can't help it. You're just acting like my big brother and appreciate what you do. I know you mean well. You wouldn't be my brother if you didn't."
Before Koushirou could respond, they heard the sound of someone coughing coming from the bedroom door.
"Kaasan!"
"Okaasan!"
"If the two of you are finished, I think our guest would like to say hi."
The two noticed a person a little taller than the older woman standing next to her.
"Mimi-san!"
"Mimi-oneechan!"
"Wow, Miki-chan, you've grown so much! I haven't seen you since I last visited you all, and that was a little over ten years ago! You were still a little girl back then."
The two hugged. "It has been a long time! How have you been? My brother told me that you were back."
"Yes. We're doing my show here for this season."
"That's really great! Too bad I've never been able to see your show, unless it's on a station that we don't get that airs American programs."
"It only airs in the United States and Canada since it is an American show, so I'm not sure if it shows on the international stations here. Either way, I do try to introduce traditional Japanese ingredients. This is going to be our best season, I feel, since I'm actually here in Japan and can actually show my viewers what it's like instead of just telling them. Maybe one day, you all can come to a taping of my program since it's on the spot, which means no studio audience. That's the only thing that's gotten me down, not having an audience to cheer me on. It's going to be strange without one, unless we're shooting at an actual restaurant."
"Too bad there's no Japanese version of it, like maybe your show having Japanese subtitles for those who aren't fluent in English or maybe Japanese dubbed."
"Funny you should mention that."
"What do you mean?" asked Koushirou.
"Michael was actually considering something like that and wants to introduce the show to a Japanese audience. He's trying to 'make it happen', as he says. If this season goes well enough, we may stay here in Japan for the remainder of the show before my contract is up next spring. We'll know if we go into another season by then. I really hope so, though. It's all I really know how to do, and I like being in front of the camera sharing what I know and love with others."
"Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could stay for the next season of your show too?!" Miki exclaimed.
"That would be pretty exciting, especially since I can get really inspired while here. Michael wanted to get a new weekly show for me and wants to get a contest put together."
"What's the weekly show going to be about?" asked Mrs. Izumi.
"What's the contest?" asked Koushirou.
"Mimi-oneechan, can I enter the contest?"
"Since Michael wants to start up a show here, he wanted it to be one aimed specifically at Japanese speakers. The contest will be for an all-expense paid trip to Japan for four for a week."
"Wow! You broke the international food barrier!" Miki clapped.
"No way! Former Iron Chef Morimoto Masaharu-sama did that years ago."
"Oneechan is modest too!"
"Where's your son, Mimi-san?"
"Oh, I think he's in the living room. I thought he was right behind us...but thinking back, he was in front of us."
The two headed to the living room, to see the boy sitting comfortably on the couch. "Ah, there he..." Her eyes went wide in horror as she saw that the boy had his sneakers on still. "...CHRIS!"
"Huh, what?"
"TAKE OFF YOUR SNEAKERS!" she shouted to him in English.
"Wh-what?"
"Take them off!"
"What are you talking about? It's rude to take your shoes off in someone's house unless they give you permission to!"
"I could kick myself for not explaining that better! Just take them off and hold them." Mimi turned to the Izumis and bowed deeply, going back to Japanese. "I'm so sorry! He didn't know that it's a custom to take off your shoes when entering a person's home. He will never do it again. Please, allow me to have the floors professionally cleaned."
"Mi-Mimi-san, that's okay. He didn't know," Koushirou insisted with a sweat drop. This was his first time ever seeing Mimi apologize in such a fashion or her being so formal.
"No, please. I insist."
While Mimi was debating with Koushirou, Miki took notice of Chris's features. "Ah, Chris-kun looks a lot like oneechan!"
"Yes, he does. Mimi-chan said that he looked like his father when younger, but looks more like her now."
"Ah, he is just so adorable!" Miki squealed.
Chris frowned. He hated it when adults made a fuss over him.
After what seemed like an eternity, Koushirou accepted Mimi's offer to have the hallway and living room cleaned.
"So, where is Misayoshi-chan?"
"She's probably in her room. Who knows what she's doing, though," Koushirou said with a slight frown. He hated the fact that the two of them didn't talk much these days, and really disliked the fact that whenever he made an effort to talk with her, she would always end up shutting him out. He was starting to wonder if she was avoiding him because in some way or form, she blamed him for the divorce, even though both he and Lihua explained that both of them wanted the divorce and how things would be better off if they did.
"She's probably reading or writing or something like that," explained Miki. "She's teaching her Motimon how to read Chinese and still studies it and English herself."
'Reading...writing...studying on your summer vacation?! Dullsville!' the boy inwardly groaned.
"Cute. Maybe some of her good manners and habits will rub off on Chris."
"Hey, I heard that," Chris retorted back in English.
"See what I mean," Mimi laughed.
"So Chris-kun understands Japanese?"
"Yeah. He learned to speak it, read it, and write it from me, but his reading is much better than his writing."
"Wow..."
"Christopher-kun, please follow me. I will take you to my granddaughter's room."
"Y-yes, ma'am," the boy responded politely. He stood while still holding his sneakers.
"Chris," whispered Tanemon, "what did she just say?"
"She's taking us to see her grandkid; the one with the Motimon we met Saturday," he answered back in whisper, switching back to English.
He followed behind Mrs. Izumi, and headed down the hall.
"I really hope he does okay. He's been complaining ever since he got off the plane. He usually only complains when stuck eating a food he doesn't like or not being allowed to play since his homework comes first, but not to this extent."
"Don't worry." Miki flashed her the victory sign and smiled. "After a day with me, he'll be fine."
"I hope you're right."
"Don't worry. I'll keep him away from my boring brother who would probably end up boring him to death."
Mimi and Miki both laughed, especially since it was true that Koushirou was the type to get into explaining things involving technical stuff, such as computers. Koushirou just ignored the two.
"I have faith in the two of you. I just wish I could have had the chance to speak with Sora-san more, but I didn't want to intrude. Sora-san seemed interested in talking, but then I overheard, I think, Yamato-san say something about 'no company', and then Sora-san apologized and hung up. We weren't able to talk long. I don't even know if I want to try calling again."
"Hm, both Sora-san and Yamato-san have been acting oddly lately," Koushirou explained. "I spoke with Sora-san earlier this morning too and she actually came across as stressed, which isn't the normality for her. I'm going to assume that she's just overworked or either Yamato-san is and it's just starting to finally show, but the main one I would avoid at the moment is Iori-kun."
"Iori-kun? Why?"
"I'll tell you about it later. It's sad what happened, though."
"O-okay..." Mimi cleared her throat. "W-well, um, I was hoping that Chris would meet up with some of the other children at some point, since they're close in age, and will probably be seeing them most through school. It's really sad that everyone else is too busy to even consider visiting."
"We're happy to have him, oneechan. Too bad the other children are busy with their own families today so that they could hang around together."
"I actually would like Misayoshi to spend some time with someone new. She's been a bit...quiet lately since all that happened with my father and even more so since her mother left. Maybe a new person will bring out her cheery personality."
"I try to talk to her all the time, but it doesn't seem to work. Lihua-chan left back in late March, and it's now almost the end of August. I'm sorry, oniichan, but I think she's still having trouble with what happened between the two of you."
"I hate to say it, but I think so too, but there really isn't anything I can do about that."
Before Mimi could give her opinion, she heard a familiar ring tone. She pulled out her mobile phone, and saw who it was, and proceeded to answer...
"Hello."
"Yo, Mimi!"
"Hey Michael. Are you all set to go?"
"Yeah, and since we're just going to Gunma, we can leave from Tokyo station. We can take the Shinkansen and then switch over once hitting Takasaki. The next train goes out at about 11:10. We'll arrive in Gunma at about 12:30, give or take."
"Okay, I'll try to get there as fast as possible, even though from here, it shouldn't take too long. Maybe no more than about 20 minutes, if the traffic's okay."
"Where are you? I figured you and Chris would've been here by now. I called the house, but you weren't there, so I decided to try your phone."
"I'm at Koushirou's place."
"Koushirou-san?" He grinned playfully. "So, you're spending time at your old boyfriend's place. Are you planning on getting back together for this trip since he's currently single?"
"You're being stupid, and I can tell that you're smiling. I'm happily married, and I wouldn't dream of doing something like that."
"How do I know that?" he joked.
"Quiet you! Anyway, where were you last night?"
"What makes you think that I was out all night?"
"When I had Chris go check up on you this morning, you weren't there, and you also didn't have dinner with us last night, so I'm going to assume that you were gone all night. So, where were you?"
"Erm...um...out..."
"No kidding! You were probably out at an izakaya or a bar harassing some young girl for a date."
"What's wrong with going on a business trip for pleasure? It can't be all business," he grinned, and laughed, "especially since you're not on the market anymore due to your being 'happily married' with a family."
"Do you know how pathetic you sound?"
"No more than usual."
She sighed, but laughed in spite of herself. "This conversation is over Michael. I'm on my way."
"Alright. See you then."
"Stupid Michael," Mimi muttered with a laugh as she put her phone away. "He still acts like a boy in his teens. Just to think, he was so nice and polite when I first met him...he got all flirty and goofy as we got older."
"I think I caught some of that conversation."
"I think so too," Koushirou nodded. "You were obviously speaking with Michael-kun."
"Ah, so you two have been improving on your English?"
Miki nodded. "I interpret a lot for the students from Australia, England, Canada, and America at my university."
"I only know what I learned back in junior high school and high school, since we were required to take it. I didn't forget too much of it as far as forming sentences and the grammar, but my vocabulary is still a bit limited. I could really use more practice with it. I may still have trouble grasping it, but Misayoshi seems fluent in it to me, as far as speaking it is concerned."
"She's that good? How did she learn it?"
"Lihua-san. Along with Cantonese and Mandarin, she's fluent in English. English is her second language and Japanese is her third."
"I never knew that she knew English! I also didn't know that she knew both Cantonese and Mandarin," Mimi said in surprise.
"Yeah, she started learning English at a very young age because her parents started her with it at a young age. She was learning English prior to starting elementary school. She told me that her parents wanted her to get a job at a company that worked with international clientele when she became an adult. They also wanted her to excel at all of her school subjects. Since they wanted her to learn the language fluently, it was encouraged for her to use it all the time, not only for school. She decided to do the same with Misayoshi and started her at a young age, which is why she knows as much as she does now."
"You should try practicing with Chris. It's fun learning all of the stuff not taught in the books we had to go by." Mimi looked down at her watch. "My, it's getting late. It's after 10:00 now. I know I have time, but I should still leave early just in case. I really ought to slap him for what he was going on about."
"It has something to do with relationships, right? I heard you mention something about marriage."
"Wow, you're good, Miki-chan. He said that I only agreed to this trip so that I could get back with old boyfriends. When I told him that I was here, he automatically assumed it. Crazy that he said that, though, right? Koushirou and I have never dated. Anyway, I'm out of here." Mimi went through her purse and pulled out a slip of paper. "This is my mobile number. Please call me if you have any questions or if you have any trouble with Chris."
"Okay," both said.
"Maybe I should tell Chris bye, and I should also remind him about how he's supposed to take his shoes off whenever inside. I'm really really sorry that he came in here while wearing them. It's a rule in our home for him to take his shoes off, but growing up in America, it's considered rude to take your shoes off in other people's homes unless you get permission from the homeowner to."
"Mimi-san, don't worry about it. We'll pass along the message."
"Yeah, go on ahead. He'll be fine."
"If you insist," she reluctantly agreed. "I guess he wouldn't mind if I left. The sooner I leave, the sooner I can come back."
"Exactly!" Miki said.
"Thank you again for having Chris over."
"It's no problem at all, Mimi-san."
With everything decided, Koushirou and Miki walked Mimi to the front door, and waved her off.
"Hey, oniichan, I have an idea!"
"What's that?"
"We should have Tentomon and the others join us."
"That's not a bad idea. It'll probably be more fun for them if the Digimon are around. Too bad we don't know where Palmon is. We could bring her along too. I didn't even think to ask Mimi-san where her Palmon was."
"Why not ask Tentomon? Tentomon seems to always know where everyone hangs out at in the Digital World. For all we know, Palmon might be with him and the others right now."
"Yeah, guess it's worth a shot. I'll go look for him."
Koushirou headed over to his study with Miki behind. Once in his study, he took a seat, and booted up his computer. After the computer booted up, be brought up a gate to Tentomon's area. This particular gate was set to open up right in Tentomon's tree house.
After opening the gate, he saw Tentomon sleeping soundly. Koushirou shouted to get his Digimon companion's attention. "Ahh!" he screamed in alarm from being startled awake.
"I'm sorry, Tentomon. I didn't mean to scare you."
Curious where the voice was coming from, he looked in the direction of the television set and saw Koushirou on the screen. "Oh, Koushirou-han, hi."
"Hey, Tentomon!" Miki waved from behind Koushirou.
"Hey there, Miki-han. How are you today?"
"We're fine. Miki and I were just wondering if you'd like to come spend time with us in our world today."
"Sure," the bug yawned. "I didn't have anything planned for the day."
"Is Palmon there?" asked Miki.
"Palmon? The Palmon of Mimi-han?" The two nodded. "She's around someplace. She and Betamon have been in the Digital World for about a day now. Gomamon is around here today too."
The main reason why the Chosens' Digimon stayed in the Digital World more, was because they understood and realized how important it was for their human partners to have their personal time and space. They learned that well as their partners grew older. Taking one's Digimon partner with him or her when on a date or during one's honeymoon definitely wouldn't have gone over too well.
The main Digimon that had a difficulty grasping onto this particular concept were Wormmon, who would always stay by Ken's side no matter what, Patamon, and V-mon. Wormmon was very attached to Ken, just as Patamon was with Takeru. V-mon was just too naïve to truly "get it". When Ken and Miyako were first married, Ken had to literally trick Wormmon into leaving for a while just so he and Miyako could have some alone time and had to do it a few times before then too. Takeru had to do something similar with Patamon, just as Daisuke had to with V-mon, but neither had as much trouble as Ken did with Wormmon. Wormmon had even started growing slightly jealous of the attention Ken was giving Miyako at one point.
"That's great! Bring them all here!"
Tentomon tilted his head at Miki's command. "To where?"
"Here of course! We have a special guest today, and we would like them to meet him."
"Hey, Tentomon, what's going on?" a voice called. "Who are you talking to? I thought you were by yourself up here."
"I'm talking to Koushirou-han and Miki-han."
A white sea mammal trotted over to where Tentomon was sitting. "Oh, a gate. Hi Koushirou, hi Miki."
"We wanted you and the others to come by for a visit today," Miki explained.
"The only ones still here in the Digital World are probably Tentomon, Tailmon, and me."
"Where are the others?" asked Koushirou.
"Agumon is with Taichi-han on official business that he can't discuss with us, which is weird since he usually tells us everything. He's been sworn to secrecy this time. Gabumon is with Yamato-han since he's concerned about him, and the same goes for Piyomon. She's with Sora-han."
"Armadimon is with Iori and his family today, but I'm not sure what he's up to. Patamon usually always finds some kind of an excuse to hang around with Takeru. He also said that Takeru had to go to some kind of a special meeting today. V-mon helps out Daisuke almost all of the time, so he doesn't hang around here all that much anymore, and Wormmon and Hawkmon rarely spend time here anyway since they always have stuff to do in the human world with Ken and Miyako. Hawkmon usually helps Miyako with the kids and Wormmon works by Ken's side." Gomamon laughed. "I sometimes think that Hawkmon likes helping out Miyako with the children. He's become a Digi-nanny!"
"We were hoping to find Palmon too. Mimi-san mentioned that she was in the Digital World taking a well-deserved rest a couple of days ago."
"Oh, I saw her along with Betamon earlier before coming here to Tentomon's. They're resting up in the area Palmon used to watch over when the Digimon Kaiser was still in power. Tailmon is there too."
"That's not too far from here. We'll go get them for you, Koushirou-han."
"Thanks, Tentomon. I'll leave this particular gate open so that you all can come right through and end up right here."
"Alright, let's go, Tentomon."
"Right!"
"I hope they get back soon," Miki stated after the two had taken off.
"Yeah..."
The two left Koushirou's study, and headed back to the living room. Right after they had taken a seat, Chris ran back in with his Tanemon bouncing right behind him, and behind the bouncing Tanemon, was Misayoshi holding Motimon and Mrs. Izumi trailing behind her.
"Hey, where did mom go?" the boy asked in Japanese. "Did she already leave to go meet up with Michael?"
"Yes, Michael-kun called a while ago. Mimi-san did want to tell you bye, but we told her that everything will be okay."
"Oh, well, no big deal. They're going to be in meetings. Tanemon and I would have gotten bored anyway if we had gone along. Mom did promise to take me to different parts of Japan if neither were busy with anything else. Oh, um...yeah...Mr. Izumi..."
"Yes?"
He bowed. "I'm sorry for wearing my shoes in your home." After he left the room with Mrs. Izumi, he thought back to the stuff his mother had been saying to Koushirou when apologizing. He figured that he should probably apologize like his mother had for him. He'd already done so with Mrs. Izumi.
"Oh, that's okay. You didn't know. We usually take our shoes off before entering places. It's not rude to, like you thought."
"G-good."
"So, since you are our guest for the day, what would you like to do?"
He shrugged at Koushirou's inquiry, and muttered, "I don't know."
"Don't scare him, bro. Chris-kun, what do you like to do back home?"
"Stuff," he uttered quietly. He wasn't sure how to respond.
"I noticed earlier that you had a pair of roller blades with you. Why don't we go skating together at the skate park and then we can go to the Anime Film Festival."
"Anime Film Festival? What's that?"
"Wow, oneechan hasn't filled you in on much has she? The Anime Film Festival occurs every spring and summer. It's when new anime films come out or older ones are re-released."
"I never knew that there were film festivals for that kind of thing. Mom's told me about a lot of festivals and holidays celebrated here in Japan, but she's never mentioned anything about that."
"I don't think Mimi-san was into them much, which is why she probably never thought to mention it."
"The spring one always starts around March and the summer one always starts in July," Miki continued. "They are running these festivals longer now compared to how it was years ago. The Toei Anime Film Festival is still running, and they're showing one of their newest movies that's going to become a series this upcoming fall. It's going to be a series based on the adventures Kou-niichan and his friends had with their Digimon when they were children."
"A movie?! They made a movie of it?! I didn't know about that! We only had previews for the new upcoming series back home. I definitely wouldn't mind seeing something like that!"
"You know, oniichan, isn't it strange how they didn't ask you all to voice yourselves for this movie and the upcoming series?"
"Not really. I'm sure I don't sound the way I did when I was ten years old," he pointed out in slight amusement, "and I'm not a professional actor either."
"I found out who's voicing all of you for this movie! It's based on your encounter with Diablomon."
"Yeah, I know. It's strange how they would show that before the actual series, but I guess since everyone knows the story it doesn't really matter if it's out of order a little."
"That's true. Everyone knows the story of Diablomon."
"I'm surprised that they didn't get our actual Digimon to voice themselves. They sound pretty much the same. Anyway, who's going to voice my character?"
"You're going to be voiced by Tenjin Umi."
"Hm, a woman, eh? Not too surprising, I guess. I wonder if I really sounded that young as a child."
"I guess so. Takeru-niisan was the one who picked out the voice actors and voice actresses."
"It figures. Sounds like he's being very hands on over this project."
"Yeah, he is. He even refused to allow the rights to the movie to be made, unless he chose who would voice everyone personally. It almost didn't go through because of Jou-senpai."
"Jou-san? What do you mean?"
"Takeru-niisan really wanted Jou-senpai to be voiced by Kikuchi Masami. It took a lot of persuasion, but he finally managed to get him to do it."
"Wait, which adventure about Diablomon is the movie about?" Chris asked. "You never said."
"What do you mean, 'which adventure'? We only had one encounter with Diablomon."
"Mr. Takaishi wrote a story about Diablomon returning. He named the story Diablomon Strikes Back. It's about Diablomon returning and getting revenge on everyone for you guys defeating him before."
"Wow, he did? When does he have this story taking place?" Koushirou asked curiously.
"Um, spring of 2003 and in the story, a Digimon called Imperial Dramon Paladin Mode defeated Diablomon."
"Imperial Dramon Paladin Mode? Don't you mean Imperial Dramon Fighter Mode?"
"No, Paladin Mode."
"Imperial Dramon had another mode change?!"
"Sort of. Imperial Dramon fused with Omegamon to create Imperial Dramon Paladin Mode!"
"I guess it's one of his side stories. Everything Takeru-niisan has written didn't happen."
"Yeah, Diablomon coming back is one of them, as well as the fusion of Imperial Dramon and Omegamon. I've never read any of his books to see how accurate Takeru-kun was with his stories."
Chris gave off a dejected sigh. "My mom didn't do much for that story anyway. For that story, she was still living in America and *she was trying to fly to Odaiba to see what she and Palmon could do to help."
"That sounds like a very interesting story. What did my brother do for it?"
"Um, Mr. Izumi stayed in Odaiba Junior High School's computer lab while everyone else sent the Kuramon that were inhabiting Odiaba to him. He would delete them."
"How would I delete them? How could I have the power to delete a Digimon?"
"You were ordering everyone around and-"
"Perfect! My brother is always bossing me around."
"Let him continue."
"See what I mean," she whispered to Chris.
"Ehehe...um...where was I? Oh yeah, Mr. Izumi was giving orders as to what they could do. Everyone had to get all of the Kuramon and send it back to Mr. Izumi through the computer, and then he would delete them by trashing them in the recycling bin, like they were bad computer viruses."
"Wait how did the Kuramon get into our world for me to delete them, or was it the Digital World?"
"It's a combination of the internet and our world. The Kuramon were coming to our world through electronic devices, like cell phones and e-mail attachments. On the internet, you opened up a gate for Taichi and Yamato and their partners to warp evolve and fuse to Omegamon to fight Diablomon. Takeru and Hikari joined them too with Angemon and Angewomon. The problem is that during that fight, Daisuke wanted to join in the battle too to help out Hikari, but you told him to stick to looking for Kuramon. He then got Miyako to open gates, which was a big mistake. Diablomon broke his body up into multiple Kuramon and they escaped through those open gates and headed to Tokyo Bay, I think it was. It then joined together and become Diablomon!"
"Takeru-kun went into overtime imagination wise with that storyline, and Daisuke-kun wanting to join up in a battle just for the sake of Hikari-san sounds right in-character for him," laughed Koushirou. "I wonder how our real adventure is going to be portrayed for the movie."
"I know that my mom didn't do much for that battle according to the books, but I can't wait to see this movie anyway!"
"You can tell us all about it after you see it," Miki told him.
"Yeah, I know, but it's still too bad that my mom wasn't around for it. According to the books, she was on vacation with my grandparents when you all encountered Diablomon the first time."
"Taichi-san tried calling her, but he didn't get an answer, and we found out, from a post card she'd sent, that she and her family had gone to Hawaii for her spring vacation. I then realized at that point that we all weren't as close as we thought."
"I wouldn't be so down, Chris-kun. Maybe the writers of the movie will add more to the story and have both oneechan and Sora-neechan in there more. Neither one of them, according to what I've been told, contributed to that particular battle much."
"Hikari-san either. She was at a birthday party at the time, and she refused to come home to help out because she wanted to stay at the party. Taichi-san called her at least twice to get her to come home, but she refused to. Thinking about it now, though, I don't think he ever mentioned why he wanted her to come home. He just ordered her to. Sora-san was mad at Taichi-san, which is why she wasn't around, and when I called the Takenouchi home, I shouldn't have mentioned I was calling from the Yagami home and just said it was me. I'm sure she would've come over then, but I didn't know the full situation. Taichi-san just threw the phone to me and told me to call Sora-san. Let's see, Jou-san was busy taking his junior high school entrance exam."
"Entrance exam? That wasn't mentioned in the book. It just said that he was taking a test."
"Well yeah, that's the type of test he was taking. He was taking a test to get into a private school," Miki explained.
"You all should hurry along so that you can get your tickets," Mrs. Izumi told both Chris and Misayoshi, who had been quiet the entire time.
Even though she really did want to see the film, she just wasn't up for going out, but felt that it would've been rude not to since Chris was obviously her guest for the day to entertain. Her father had told her about Chris's coming over for a visit earlier that morning, and had also given her extra money just in case.
"You're right. Are you ready to go, Christopher-kun?"
"Yeah, sure, but you can call me Chris if you want. The only time someone says my full name is when I do something wrong or break something or if it's an adult."
"Okay, Chris-kun. Is that okay?"
"Yeah, that's fine," he told her. 'I keep forgetting about those honorifics. I should probably use them too. I think mom always said to use san.'
"Let's hurry up and get going!" Motimon complained. "It's getting boring around here."
"Alright, Motimon. I'll ride my bike instead of skating."
"Cool! I like dirt-bike riding!"
"Dirt-bike riding? I've never done that before."
"I can see why. I didn't see any places where you could. Back home, I used to go dirt-bike riding all the time since we didn't live in the city."
"Let's go. My bike is outside."
"Right!" Chris was starting to grow excited.
The two went to the front door, followed by the adults. Chris pulled out his blades and helmet and put them on. When done, he put his sneakers into his carrying case.
"Okay, I'm ready!" Chris picked up Tanemon and told him in English, "We're going to see a movie!"
"I heard," the green plant-like Digimon responded back unenthusiastically. "I like movies, but I'm going to have a difficult time understanding it."
"But you already know the story through mom, dad, Michael, Betamon, and Palmon. This isn't going to be any different."
"I guess so..." Tanemon muttered.
Chris smiled at him. "Don't turn it down before you actually see it."
Seeing his partner's warm smile made him smile. "Yeah, okay. You're right!"
"I know." He went back to Japanese. "Now we can leave."
"No, not yet. Tentomon would probably like to go along with you."
"Tentomon?! The Tentomon?! Your Tentomon?! The same one that helped to save this world years ago along with the others?" Koushirou nodded. "Wow! Cool!"
Right at that moment, a light shined from the computer in Koushirou's study. After the light died down, about five Digimon exited the room, and headed towards where everyone was standing.
"Hey there, Tentomon, Gomamon, Tailmon."
"Hi there, Misayoshi-han."
"Why are you all here?"
"We are here to spend the day with you," Tentomon told her.
"Who are the other two Digimon?" Motimon asked from Misayoshi's arms.
Chris and Tanemon recognized them instantly. "Palmon, Betamon! Hey!"
"What are you doing here, Chris?" asked Palmon in English.
"Mom left me here for the day since she and Michael were going to be busy all day."
"Oh yeah, that's right. Michael mentioned that to me. Since he was busy last week moving with you and your mom, they didn't have time to travel around. They have to get all that information in by next week."
"Misayoshi-s-san," the boy began in Japanese, wondering if he was addressing her right, "Motimon, this is Palmon and Betamon. Palmon belongs to my mother and Betamon belongs to her friend, Michael."
"It's nice to meet you, Palmon, Betamon," Misayoshi greeted.
"Nice to meet you too," the two Digimon greeted back in Japanese.
"Are you two coming to the movies with us?" asked Chris.
"The movies?" asked Gomamon.
"We are planning on going to the theater to watch the Digimon Adventure movie," Misayoshi explained. "It is entitled, Bokura no War Game."
Palmon blinked. "They made a movie about us?"
Everyone nodded.
"No one ever told me about it."
"That's because there's no American release of it yet, Betamon."
"Koushirou-han, Miki-han, I didn't know about this movie either!"
"I'm surprised you didn't hear about it, especially with the way Patamon is. It's been out for a couple of days now, and has been promoted in almost every district and city here in the Kanto region for the past couple of months. So far, lots of people have gone to see it." Miki tsked the bug. "You need to get out more or either pay more attention." The girl looked up at her brother. "How come you haven't gone to see it yet?"
Koushirou crossed his arms and shrugged. "I don't know. I actually lived it and already know what's going to happen, so maybe that's why I'm not all that anxious to see it."
"Hm, point well taken."
"I can't wait to see this movie now! Let's get going! I want to see me!" Tentomon said excitedly.
"Why? It's not like you did much fighting during that adventure."
"Thank you for reminding me, Koushirou-han," Tentmon replied in slight annoyance.
With that, the kids and the Digimon left, and Mrs. Izumi, Koushirou, and Miki waved them off.
"It's still amazing. Who would've guessed that my brother's adventures would become a story and become so popular?"
"Yeah, who would have," Koushirou murmured.
"I hope that they all have a nice time at the movies. I'm sure spending time with other children their age will help to cheer both of them up. Misayoshi-chan has become so different since Lihua-san left, and she really hasn't spent much time with her usual group of friends and acquaintances for her entire summer vacation. That's not good for a child."
Koushirou felt the same way as his mother. It wasn't normal for a child to tune the entire world out. One misses out on many things when one does, he felt, which he learned well. Up until his first adventure, when he was ten, he had been that way pretty much, although, in a way, it was due to the fact that he was afraid of letting anyone get close to him...afraid of his secret getting out and being treated differently because of it. Of course this changed somewhat after he became good friends with the others.
The redhead was also a bit surprised that Misayoshi didn't ask him to just drive her and Chris to the theater as planned. To him, he felt as if Misayoshi was an entirely different person since Lihua had left months earlier. She had already changed a bit after his father's death, but after the divorce was finalized, which took the majority of the previous year to accomplish, it was like he was taking care of a perfect stranger.
'Please let this outing get Misayoshi back to her normal self. I miss my cheerful daughter...'
Author's Notes
Note 1: This is a reference to Koushirou's Search. For that fic, I wrote that Mimi moved back to Odaiba for the reasons mentioned.
x x x
Note 2: Palmon wasn't in the movie, and neither was Piyomon or Gomamon. It is true that Mimi was flying to Japan, but she was by herself and complaining about the airline not having any natto for her to eat, iirc. It's been a long time since I've seen the film. After she got back to Odaiba, though, she headed straight to Odaiba Junior High School, and spent all of her time with Koushirou, monitoring what was going on with the others. Takeru and Hikari joined them later on.