Hello again all. Now, this is the second half of the chapter that I mentioned in the previous one. This chapter will highlight and show what everyone was up to when Mimi tried calling them, so yeah. That's about it for this chapter. If you want to skip it, it'll be okay since it doesn't really further the plot….much, but it does inform you on a few things. Agumon mentions vaguely what's going on with Taichi, for instance, and as already mentioned, Iori is having an issue with Ken, which is indirectly linked to the "problem".
Now, as always, I do not own anything dealing with the Digimon series or franchise. Bandai and Toei have that honor.
Chapter 05b: Agendas...
It was a little past 8:00, Monday morning, and Mimi was up and about on the phone. She really hated the fact that other than Koushirou – who she had just finished speaking with – she hadn't really spoken with any of her friends. She blamed herself, partially, for waiting until the last minute to try and get in touch with everyone. She was even more surprised that neither of her friends had bothered to respond to her e-mails and just figured that everyone else was too busy to check their e-mail regularly.
"Hm, who should I call first. I should be able to get someone. According to Koushirou, everyone's addresses and phone numbers are still the same, but their mobile phone numbers are different. I wish I'd known that before I tried them. I should have gotten those from him too."
She decided to try giving Jou a call first. She figured that if anyone would've been around, that either he or Malissa would've been. She just wanted to let them know officially that she was back in town, even though she understood that she probably wouldn't be able to speak to either of them for long. When she dialed up the Kido family, she was surprised that she didn't get an answer at all. After getting the voice mail, she just left a phone message.
At the time she had called, outside of the beautiful Kido home...
"Well Toin, have fun here," Jou told his only son.
"I will, I will," the glasses-wearing boy – who was holding a small, quiet infant – assured the doctor that stood before him.
"Make sure you take good care of your sister, and don't let her out of your sight."
"I won't mom, I won't."
"And don't do anything dangerous or reckless."
"Why would I do that?" Toin rhetorically asked. "I can take care Umi without anything going wrong. I've done it before."
'With me around he has.' Malissa was now wondering if it was a good idea to leave her two children after all. "Jou, maybe I shouldn't go. What if something happens?"
"I'm 12 years old; I can handle watching my younger sister. I'm responsible."
"Just please be careful."
"Malissa, stop worrying. He'll be okay. Both Pukamon and Gomamon will be around."
"Yeah!" Pukamon spoke up, who was flying behind Toin. "We'll be around to help!"
"I guess so," she muttered, even though she wasn't fully convinced, and saying that two small digital creatures were going to be around didn't help to ease that worry of hers. Either way, she knew she was going to lose this particular battle and gave in. She hopped into the car, while Jou sat down behind the wheel. Jou had taken the time off from work and wanted to spend the day alone with Malissa since he hadn't in so long. They were planning on doing some shopping and then grab a bite to eat.
Jou started the car up, started to back up out of the driveway. Before fully getting out of the driveway, the two waved to their son. Malissa let down the window. "Don't you dare go near the water for any reason! I know that you have both Gomamon and Pukamon with you, but I don't want to take any chances!"
"I know! Never go swimming without a buddy."
"Don't go at all!"
"Yes, ma'am!" the boy answered in English, as he'd heard his mother use it with his grandmother before.
"And call the number by the phone if anything goes wrong with Umi, and if you need any help with anything else, just call Jun-san!"
"And-"
"Malissa!"
"I'm sorry, I can't help it! He doesn't have much experience with watching kids!"
"To be honest, I'm a little nervous about this too, but it should be fine. He's a responsible kid, even if he could study more, but he should be okay. I already talked with Gomamon this morning, so he'll help keep things in order."
"I hope so," Malissa uttered as Jou put his foot down on the accelerator, taking off.
Toin sighed as he watched his parents drive off, feeling a bit relieved. He really disliked the fact that both his parents treated him like a child so much. They never let him do too much of anything, like watch his younger sister without his mother around. No matter how adult or responsible he acted, they would still baby him. He hated that and actually felt smothered by them at times. He noticed that his parents became more protective of him after he nearly drowned about a year or two earlier for his carelessness.
When Malissa and Jou told Toin that they were going to get Ken and Miyako's daughter to watch over Umi, he decided to use that opportunity to prove himself, and to show them that he was adult enough to take care of himself and his sister. He also was anxious to do so because he really didn't care much for Inoue Milei or her gigantic-sized ego. Being forced to hang around her was a chore, and he wasn't the only one who went out the way to try and avoid her whenever possible.
"So, what do we do now?" asked Pukamon.
"I guess we put her back into her crib. Mom already fed her, and she's sleeping again."
With that the two re-entered the big house, and headed to his sister's nursery. Jou had added the room onto the western-style home after it was announced that Malissa was pregnant. He put the girl back into her crib, and she slept soundly.
When Jou left, Gomamon had been out swimming in the bay. He entered the home, and called loudly, "Hey, Jou!"
Toin, who had heard Gomamon's bellows, rushed to the front door. "Quiet, Gomamon," he hissed. "Babies need a lot of sleep."
Gomamon smirked. "Since when did you become the baby expert?"
"I haven't, but I don't want to mess anything up."
"So, where's Jou?"
"He and mom left a while ago," Toin explained, while heading back up the stairs to his sister's room.
Gomamon trotted behind. "I shouldn't have taken that swim, eh? They sure did leave fast."
'The sooner they leave, the sooner they come back. That's probably what they were planning all along.'
When the two reached the girl's room, they saw Pukamon playing with some of his sister's toys while his sister was still sleeping.
"She sure is nice when she's sleeping," Gomamon laughed. "She doesn't cry much, but I can't take it whenever she does."
'No, I'm not going to let that discourage me!'
"Either way, as long as I'm around, you and Pukamon ought to be fine."
"Speaking of that," the boy started slowly, "I was hoping that you could do me a small favor, Gomamon."
"Sure, what is it?"
"Well, I sorta want you to leave."
"Leave? What do you mean you want me to leave? Who's going to watch you and Umi and Pukamon and make sure nothing goes wrong?!"
"I can make sure nothing goes wrong," the boy told him seriously. "I want to prove to my parents that I can be responsible and that I can take care of myself and that I can care for others."
"But what if something goes wrong?"
"Nothing is going happen or go wrong; besides, I'll have Pukamon with me."
Right at that moment, Pukamon had knocked over a bottle of baby powder all over himself. He was trying to get to one of the books on the higher shelves of the big bookcase, and the powder fell right over. "Sorry," Pukamon sneezed.
"Anyway, l-like I said, I have Pukamon with me," Toin repeated with a nervous laugh.
"That's what I'm worried about..."
Gomamon knew that he couldn't argue with the stubborn boy, and decided to give into his request. He promised Toin that he wouldn't bother him while he tried to prove himself. Since there wasn't much he could do around the Kido home, he decided to head to the Digital World and to hang out with Tentomon and the other Digimon that may have been sticking around for the day...
x x x x
"Oh no, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" Ambassador Taichi shouted as he ran throughout his spacious bedroom. "Come on, Agumon, we have to get out of here! We have a lot of work that needs to get done today."
"Coming, Taichi!" the squeaky-voiced Agumon called as he tried his best to put on his custom-made suit.
"Agumon!"
"Hold on, I have to get my tie right."
Taichi made his way back over to Agumon, slightly annoyed that he was late, as that looked very unprofessional. "I don't know why you feel it's necessary to wear a suit," Taichi groaned as he helped the small, orange reptilian with his tie.
"Well, you get to wear a suit and a tie!"
"That's different. I have to because it's required of me."
"Taichi," Agumon coughed out, "I can't breathe!"
"S-sorry." He loosened the tie.
"Thanks, Taichi."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, now let's go!"
"But I'm hungry, Taichi."
"Then go ask Suzu-chan for something to eat. I have to finish getting dressed myself."
He nodded and headed towards the kitchen area where Suzuko, Taichi's wife of ten years, was preparing breakfast for the family. One of Suzuko's favorite things to do was cook, which was good for her, because Taichi, Agumon, their son, Sugita, and his Koromon, loved to eat.
Before marrying Taichi, she was an up and coming chef at one of the most exquisite restaurants Odaiba had to offer. When she married Taichi, she decided to settle down and become a housewife. She didn't mind that though. She had always wanted to marry and start a family, and with Taichi's hectic schedule, it was definitely best for the sake of their son.
"Hey there, Agumon," the woman with the long, dark hair greeted. "Are you and Taichi late again as usual?"
Agumon replied with a laugh of his own, and said, "Yeah."
"I wake him up early and he still manages to be late." She poured out a cup of coffee for Taichi. "He's sometimes no better than a child. If he doesn't hurry up, his breakfast is going to get cold."
"Speaking of breakfast, Taichi said that you could give me something to eat."
"I'm way ahead of you. It's all ready for you. I figured that you two were going to be rushing again, so I started earlier than usual. Go ahead to the table and I'll bring it out for you."
"Thanks!" Agumon rushed to the table and sat down. Suzuko set down a plate in front of him. "Ooo, omelet and toast!"
"Hey, Agumon..."
"Yeah?" he asked, his mouth full.
"I was wondering if you and Taichi are going to be late again today. I know you guys have some kind of an assignment, but what exactly is it?"
"I'm not allowed to tell anyone since it's private information, but I can tell you this much, it has something to do with some strange stuff that's going on in the Digital World and Taichi was given the responsibility to fix it so that nothing bad will happen. The both of us have to go to an extra-long meeting again, I think, to talk about it."
"That doesn't really tell me too much."
'I know Taichi is feeling terrible…I just hope he can help prevent the crisis and keep everyone in the human world safe…' Agumon frowned. "I'm sorry. If I could, I would tell you more. With what's going on, I don't think Taichi will be back home at a normal time."
"No, that's okay. I understand." She headed back to the kitchen. "Now where is that Taichi!"
"Right behind you, cutie."
"Oh, Taichi! You scared me."
"Is it my fault that you're so easy to scare?" he grinned.
"Never mind that. Go eat your breakfast."
"But I don't have time to eat."
"You have to eat something!"
Taichi drank the coffee Suzuko had poured for him earlier. "I'll pick up something along the way."
"If you must, then go ahead, but at least take the lunches I made for you and Agumon."
"Naturally. Your lunches are always good." He took the two wrapped boxes, and headed to the dining area, where Agumon was finishing up his breakfast. "Yo, Agumon, hurry up. We have to get out of here if we want to make it to that meeting on time!"
"Okay, Taichi."
Agumon scarfed down the remainder of his breakfast and hurried himself along after Taichi. Right at that particular moment, the phone rang.
'I can't answer that now,' Suzuko muttered in thought, while washing a few dishes. 'Taichi will probably get it since he's closer to it than I am. He's also not all that late.'
"Taichi, the phone."
"Suzu can get it," Taichi assured his reptilian friend, as he stepped into his shoes.
"I guess," Agumon muttered.
Taichi picked up his briefcase and opened the door. "Let' go!"
With that, the duo took off, but the phone stopped ringing abruptly.
'H, I guess Taichi must've answered it.'
A short while later, Sugita rushed down the stairs holding a Koromon.
"Papa!" the boy called while setting Koromon down on the floor.
"You just missed him."
He sat down at the table and gave off a dejected sigh.
"I'm surprised that you missed him today since he was running a little bit late. If you want to catch him in the mornings during your summer vacation, then you have to get up earlier than usual. He as to get to work early, you know that. The commute to Shinjuku is a headache."
"Yeah, I know," he groaned.
"Well, cheer up, Sugita!" his mother smiled. "I decided to try that recipe that Malissa-san gave me. Chocolate Chip Pancakes! I know how much you liked them when she prepared them for you."
"I like them too!" Koromon exclaimed as he energetically bounced onto the table.
"Don't worry, I made some for you too."
She set a plate down in front of the pair.
"Thanks a lot! Itadakimasu!" Koromon took a big chomp out of the stack he had.
Sugita started to eat his breakfast as well, but not as enthusiastically as Koromon. He was, once again, down because he had missed his father, but soon put the thought aside, as he recalled what he actually had planned for the day, which cheered him up a bit, and he started to eat faster.
"Sugita, don't eat so fast. You might choke yourself."
"But if I don't hurry, I won't be able to go to the movies with Kiyoko and meet up with Korin today."
"You can't go to the movies."
"Why?!"
"Well, I need you to help me do a few things around here first. I mentioned it to you a while ago."
"But mom, I can't! I really want to go to the movies today!"
"You just went Saturday to see that Digimon movie and you went yesterday to see it again."
"I know, but-"
"You can go later. I wanted to get some cleaning done in your room today, and I'm not doing it by myself. Something I learned from Malissa-san."
"Why me," the boy muttered.
"The sooner you finish, the sooner you can go," she told him brightly.
"Yes, mom," the boy managed to get out as he started to eat his breakfast a little slower…
x x x x
"Oh no," groaned a boy of ten, dropping his fork.
"Stop being so dramatic," an older woman told her son, as she put a few things into her purse.
"No, anything but that," the boy begged. "I'll do anything! Please!"
"Korin, you know Osamu is too young to stay home alone and you're on summer vacation. Some has to be here with him."
"Why not let Milei do it?"
"Because I'm working today," the girl replied, before going back to her drink. "She asked me earlier while you were still asleep."
"This can't be happening," Korin sighed. He stared down at his breakfast, suddenly losing his appetite.
The boy's mother shook her head in disbelief, curious as to what the big deal was. "You know it's mandatory for me to go to this meeting," explained the now Ichijouji Miyako gently. "It was very unexpected. If I wasn't ordered to attend it, I wouldn't even be going."
"Mom, please," the boy continued to beg. Korin was usually quite timid and just did as he was told, so begging and pleading was an unusual sight to see. "Please don't make me stay here with him. Couldn't you take him with you…or..or…maybe take him to dad's?"
"Your father?" she asked with a laugh. "Are you crazy! I'm not letting my baby get hurt on one of his investigations! He can't take care of Osamu if he's working, and I can't take Osamu to a faculty meeting."
"Oh, stop complaining," Milei told the younger boy with an arrogant grin. "He's not that bad."
'That's easy for her to say, she doesn't have to stay here with him….'
"Mother, if you'd like, I could take Osamu-chan with me to the mart," the girl offered in a sweet voice. Korin rolled his eyes in exasperation over how his sister was such a suck-up. He always wondered why both his parents never saw through her act.
"Oh, that's nice of you," Miyako stated proudly. "Nice and sweet, just like me at that age.
Korin inwardly sighed. He knew where the conversation would end up leading…his mother telling a story about herself when young and then comparing him with his older sister about some achievement she may have accomplished. Something he absolutely loathed. His mother, thought unintentional, seemed to always find some way of comparing the two, even if the conversation wasn't about his sister to begin with.
Defeated, the boy muttered out, "I'll do it."
"Thank you Korin, I really appreciate it."
"You're welcome."
"I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with your brother."
"Y-yeah," he answered with a forced smile.
Aside from being compared to his sister, and her ego, he hated being around his younger, two-year-old brother. He felt that he was a nuisance. He looked over at Osamu, who was sitting in a high-chair beside his brother, crying and tossing his food everywhere.
'So much for having any fun today with Sugita and Kiyoko.'
The four finished their breakfasts in peace, not counting Osamu's whining and crying, Miyako's praising of Milei, and Milei's exaggerating and gloating over who knows what, as far as Korin was concerned.
After everything was cleaned up and set, Miyako headed off. She told them, "Bye", Hawkmon joining here, as he'd just returned from the Digital World.
'Please come back soon…'
After their mother had left, Milei laughed mockingly at her brother. "You have to watch Osamu!"
"Thanks for the reminder," the light-haired boy responded sarcastically.
"I doubt you'll do as good a job as me," the girl gloated while pushing her glasses back onto her nose, "but then again, I don't expect you to."
"Good or bad, I don't have a choice," he sighed again, trying to tune his sister out.
"I have to get going." The girl grabbed her beret. "Poromon, let's go. We're going to the mart today."
"I love going there!"
"So do I. I actually get paid for it!"
"Isn't that nice," the boy muttered.
"I would help you little brother, but you know how it is for us important people." The girl laughed as she stepped into her shoes and picking up Poromon. "See you later. If you run into any problems, just do as I do-"
'She almost sounds sincere.'
"I am the best at pretty much everything I do, since I always win awards and taking care of my baby brother is up there with them!"
'Never mind…'
"You and Osamu will have fun, I'm sure, but I know he enjoys my company more," she continued while running her hand through her long, dark hair like some kind of a super model. "I explained to him while you were asleep that he'll have to be stuck with you, but like I said," she gave him a smile, one Korin even found strange, "you'll definitely have fun."
"Yeah, yeah, I'll keep that in mind; to do what you would do in this situation."
"Good!"
"Bye-bye, Korin," Poromon called.
"Yeah, bye."
With that, the girl tossed her hair over her shoulder and rushed out the door.
"Good, they're gone." Korin went to slump down on the couch in the living room. He felt stressed out already and his day hadn't even truly started. He loved his family, he truly did, but he just never felt connected with any of them, and that included his Digimon partner, Minomon. He always felt that he was a stranger in his own home. He ignored his thought and tried his best to relax. Osamu soon joined his brother along with his Minomon and Korin's Leafmon. The three were nice and occupied, playing, but it still bothered Korin. They were too noisy for his liking, and he hated it. Osamu was usually overly energetic, and grew bored very easily. Neither Minomon nor Leafmon minded playing with the young boy and always found him fun to be around.
"I want to play a game!" Osamu wailed to his older brother, while pulling on his arm.
"Then play a game."
"I want to play 'Tie them up'!"
Korin gave the boy a confused look. "What kind of a game is that?"
"It's fun! Can you play with me, oniichan?"
He sighed and rolled his eyes. He wanted to leave. "No, play by yourself."
"I don't want to!" He started to whine. "I want you to play with me too!"
"What about Minomon and Leafmon?"
"They'll play too! I want you to play with us, oniichan!"
"You have them…."
The boy dropped to the floor and started to pound it.
"Oh no, don't cry…"
Osamu started to howl as tears flooded his eyes.
"Okay, okay!" Korin yelled, his ears covered. "I'll play this stupid game of yours! How do you play?"
"It's fun!" Minomon exclaimed.
"Yeah," Leafmon chimed in. "We're the good Digimon and we catch the bad Digimon and the bad Digimon has to get away!"
Korin wasn't sure if he should go by what the Digimon said or not, since both actually enjoyed playing with Osamu, which he always viewed as weird. "Oh-kay," he finally said, a hint of skepticism in his voice.
"Yay!" the three cheered.
"What do I do?"
"Since you're new, you have to be the bad Digimon," Osamu explained with a playful smile.
The two Digimon and Osamu led Korin back up to his – to Korin – messy room. He had his toys scattered everywhere.
"Sit there, oniichan," the boy pointed to his small chair.
While Korin did as instructed by Osamu, the two Digimon were rummaging through the toys for something, but didn't rummage for long. Korin could tell if they'd found what they were looking for or not.
"You can't act like that," Minomon complained. "You have to act like a bad Digimon, not just sit there."
"Oh no, I'm a bad Digimon," Korin said in a tone that'd rank lower than dull. "Snarl snarl. I am going to hurt you all and take over the human world."
"Oh no you're not!" Leafmon declared.
"WE'RE GONNA TO STOP YOU!"
"Osamu, do you always have to talk so loud?" Korin asked while digging a finger into his ear.
"Attack the evil Digimon!" Minomon ordered.
Before Korin could do anything, he finally saw what the two Digimon had been rummaging for earlier. Both were coming towards him with a rope, each end tied to their leaf-like tails. Korin had no idea how they even managed that or how he missed it. The two then proceeded in tying the boy up, who protested the entire time.
"Hey, stop it! Let me out of here! I don't want to be tied up!"
The way they managed to tie him, was through wrapping, both going around the boy in opposite directions until they ran out of rope. The rope wasn't tied very well, due to their lack of hands, but the two, surprisingly, did a good job. The two cheered over the great job they did.
"Let me go!"
"Quiet evwil Digimon!" Osamu ordered dangerously in his baby voice, while pointing his toy sword at the older boy.
"We caught the evil Digimon!" Minomon cheered.
"Now we can finish him off like Stingmon!"
"What do you mean 'finish' me 'off'?!"
"Time to get the ammo," Leafmon said.
"Ammo! What do you mean ammo?!"
"Yeah!" Osamu cheered louder than the two hyper Digimon put together. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his neck, like a cape. He couldn't tie it. He then flexed his muscles, even though he was doing it wrong. He then started to swing his sword again. "I AM SAMURAI OSAMU! WE WILL FIGHT THE BAD DIGIMON, JUST LIKE PAPA AND STINGMON!"
The boy rushed to his bed and pulled out a small box from underneath it. The box consisted of water-filled balloons. He tossed down his sword and pulled out one of the balloons. He then smiled at Korin.
"This'll teach you evwil Digimon!"
"Osamu, no! Don't throw those! I'll get wet! Mom wouldn't like this!"
Leafmon and Minomon joined in with a smaller water balloon of their own.
"Where did you even get those?!"
"Mi-neechan filled them up! She said she was going to play with us, but to use them for you instead, oniichan! She said you would love this game she made! She said it's a secret game for us."
'So that's why she sounded so happy before she left! Even when she's not here, she makes my life miserable…' He noticed the three looking right at him, as if he were a target. "No, don't throw them!"
"On the count of three!" Leafmon announced. "One…two…three!"
"FIRE!" Osamu shouted.
All three hurled their balloons at Korin, who yelped out in exasperation. He then heard the phone ring.
"Say you give up, evwil Digimon!"
"Let me out of here," Korin demanded.
"No, you're a bad Digimon and Samurai Osamu is going to defeat you!"
"Osamu!"
The boy had finally reached his limit and started to wiggle his now soaked body to get out of the ropes. The three kept tossing balloons at him, whom of which were so busy having "fun" they didn't even notice the ringing phone. After a few more seconds of trying, he finally managed to free of the ropes and ran to the phone with the trio trailing behind him, still tossing balloons. By the time he managed to pick up the phone, he heard the person on the other end hang up.
'Darn, missed it.'
"There goes the evil Digimon!" Minomon announced triumphantly.
"GET HIM!"
"Why me," was all Korin could say over and over while he rushed off, trying his best to dodge the balloons currently being pummeled at him…
"Hey, Iori," an aqua-haired woman greeted cheerfully as she entered the man's study. Iori muttered something incoherently in response, while shuffling through his many papers. "Oh-kay," she responded slowly, realizing he was in a bad mood, which was no surprise these days, "I see you're still working on that case."
"Yeah. I just don't know what defense I can use for this person. There's just no way I can prove his innocence! All of the evidence points to him! I've been up all night trying to come up with something, but I can't seem to find any case or law or even a simple bylaw that can help my case at all. I can't believe I was appointed such a case to work on. A murder case!"
"Well, you shouldn't stress yourself out."
Iori slammed the book he'd been recently looking through, down onto his desk. "Why does this have to be so difficult!" he nearly shouted after inaudibly cursing.
"Not so loud," Eiji hissed. Everyone's still asleep."
"Sorry," he muttered.
"What's this case about anyway?"
"Well, like I said, it's a murder case. They are trying to prosecute him on the grounds of being an accomplice and aid in the murder of Yamazaki Takahiro."
"Oh, of the Yamazaki financial group?"
He nodded. "My client keeps insisting that he wasn't there, but he has no alibi! How can I prove this man's innocence if he doesn't have an alibi to account for his where-a-bouts on the night of the murder? It also doesn't help that he's an employee of the company, a low one, but he still is which gives him opportunity. He claims that he doesn't remember that night, which gives him no alibi. Of course the actual man who is being tried for the murder has an alibi.
"I've never felt this way towards an actual client before."
"What do you mean?"
"That I truly feel that he's entirely guilty."
"You can't help how you feel, though. You became an attorney and have to accept the fact that there will be some instances where the person you are defending could, possibly, be guilty."
"I know," Iori stood up and exited the room, along with Eiji, "but I just never really had to go through this before, and I've been doing this for years. I've had my doubts, but I've never truly felt that a client of mine has been entirely guilty. I feel that I'm becoming incapable of continuing with this case since I'm letting my own person views and bias get in the way. I'm being unprofessional."
"No, you're just human." Iori sat down at the table while Eiji headed into the kitchen. "You know, as long as I've known you, you've been like this. You always get really into your work."
"Yeah, I guess, but I still hate the fact that I feel this way."
"You'll find something to help prove his innocence. Maybe he's definitely telling the truth."
"Don't hold your breath," Iori commented dryly.
"I understand that this case is pretty stressful, but it'll be finished soon, right?" He nodded somberly. "Well, how about after that case," she began gently, "we have a get together. Maybe we could go to the Digital World," she paused, "invite Miyako-san and Ken-san-"
"Don't you dare mention Ichijouji's name in this house! I don't want him anywhere near me or my family! He has no right showing his worthless face around here!"
"I-Iori, please, you should really make amends with-"
"After what he did?!"
Iori continued to muttered incoherently, something he'd been doing a lot lately. Eiji sighed in defeat, and slowly dishonestly uttered, "Yeah…you're right. I should get breakfast started."
Calming down, some, the thought of Ken causing him to feel even more irritable, he asked, "What are you doing up so early anyway? It's after 7:00. Aren't you off today? I could've prepared my own breakfast."
She ignored his the irritability heard in his voice. "I wanted to run a few errands today. I'm taking Emiko shopping for some new clothes and then I'm going to take her to her to her music lesson, and then I have to head over to the academy for a faculty meeting to go back over the new curriculum for the year. Instead of only teaching PE this year, they want me to teach Health and Science too."
"Oh yeah, you've been doing extra training for that. You are certified to teach it."
Iori rose from his seat. "Well, I should get back to work. I have to have something to present by this afternoon. Don't worry about breakfast for me."
He headed back to his study, and went back to searching through his many law books. He became even more annoyed and irritable as he continued on, the slight conversation dealing with Ken still in his mind. During this time, the rest of the household had awakened, but did their bests not to disturb Iori in any way. It was sad seeing Iori in this way, especially for his family who was used of his remaining patient and calm.
Due to the man's terrible mood, everyone was anxious to leave, to avoid accidentally bothering him in some way.
After the family finished their meal, Eiji and Emiko, along with her Upamon, left. Armadimon lied around while Iori did another background check on the man he was appointed to defend. Before givingup, Armadimon tried his best to cheer up Iori, showing to be optimistic for his partner, but it didn't help. Iori just grew snappy at his partner. Armadimon just sighed, and went to sleep.
Before leaving, Eiji really did want to talk with Iori again, but decided against it. The last thing she wanted, was for her mood to get brought down by Iori, and knew that her husband was not only stressed, but depressed. Iori was the only Hida left of his family. Both his mother and grandfather had died a while back. His grandfather died many years ago, but his mother had died quite recently. Iori knew that everyone has to go sometime, but that wasn't really it. He was accepting of death. It was a part of life. It was how his mother died that bothered him…
While he was working, the phone rang. The sudden ringing woke up Armadimon.
'Why can't people leave me alone so that I can work!' He checked the number on the phone. "Who would call me at this time of the morning?" he nearly shouted. "Don't people work anymore?"
"Iori, aren't you going to answer the phone?"
"No! I don't recognize the number. If it's an urgent or an important call, the person will call back or leave a message. I have more important things to worry about."
"But what if it's an important call," the armadillo-like creature yawned groggily.
"Like I said, if it's important, the person will call back. Now, I have to get back to work."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he deeply yawned again.
"I'll never get through this," Iori muttered, his head resting in the palms of his hands.
Mimi decided to take a break from calling everyone after she got in touch with Sora, briefly. She decided to get herself dressed and ready to leave, but then decided to try Takeru. The woman was somewhat bothered by Chris' attitude as the two had had a slight argument. He was, once again, complaining about having to live in Japan, and was trying to come up with reasons as to how not to spend the day with the Izumis. He insisted that he would only go if he could meet "Mr. Takaishi". After the argument, she decided to try him anyway, but she, unfortunately, didn't get an answer ended up getting another voice mail message.
Takeru was sitting on his computer, sprucing up another chapter to his latest book, which was entitled Demon no Gyakushuu (デ一モンの逆襲), which was a pending title. His mind was blank on book titles and decided to use the same old, "The Revenge of Demon" type of title or "Demon's Counterattack" until he could come up with something better. The rumor Chris had heard was definitely true. He was working on a story based on Demon and his breaking away from the Dark Ocean to get revenge on the Chosen Children for banishing him there.
He had a lot of other ideas as well to use. He had already decided on writing a book based on Ken and his friend, Ryou, and their adventures in the Digital World and he was also planning on writing a story based on a new idea he had and was plan on calling it "Digimon Tamers Adventures".
"Takeru," a certain flying mammal-like creature called, "what are you typing now?"
"Oh, hey Patamon," he radiantly greeted. "I'm just adding ore to my latest work."
"That Demon one?"
He nodded. "I came to a slight block with it when trying to come up with a reason for Demon breaking away from the Dark Digital World."
"Why not just say he's a meanie?"
"If this was a story for Kindergarteners, I probably would," Takeru heartily laughed. "Oh, did Tomoaki and Tokomon get back yet?"
"Nope, Hiroko just left to get them."
Tomoaki stayed overnight at a friend's home being sponsored by a few of the clubs to promote "togetherness". It was a get together, and for those who could, stayed overnight. Daisuke's son, Okibi, and Ken & Miyako's daughter, Milei, had attended too, but she didn't stay overnight since she had a full day ahead of her.
"I'm surprised she didn't tell me she was leaving."
"She said that she didn't want to disturb you since you working so hard in here. She said she might mess up your 'creative flow' or something like that."
"At least she knows not to disturb a creative genius," he joked. "I think a bit of a distraction is what I need since I've run into another writer's block."
"I'm sure you'll think of something."
"Always hopeful, Patamon. Don't ever change, but I do hope I can come up with something. I don't have much time left." Right at that moment, the house phone rang. "Hello?"
"Hey there, Takaishi-kun," a man with a heavy voice spoke.
"Hi there, Tsuyoshi-san. Why did you call my house phone instead of my mobile?"
"You'd never believe it," he laughed, "I forgot your number and couldn't find it anyplace, so I need to get it from you again."
"Ah, you were always a bit bad with remembering phone numbers," he laughed along. "So, how are you this morning?"
"I'm doing great," said Tsuyoshi Yasushi, Takeru's publisher. "I was wondering what you were planning on doing today."
"Nothing much." He clicked the save button on his latest work.
"Good, we have to—for your-"
"Sorry, I couldn't catch that. I have another call."
"Aren't you going to answer it?"
"Nah," he pushed the button on the phone to send it straight to voice mail, "the person can just leave a message if it's important. Now, what were you saying?"
"I'm free today and was wondering if we could meet up for lunch to discuss the plans for your latest book and deadline issues."
"Okay, where do you want to meet."
"Terrace on the Bay."
"The French place at Hotel Nikko?"
"Yeah, that's the place. They have a really good lunch menu, and I'm in the mood for French."
"All right then, I'll be there. What time?"
"How about 1:00?"
"Okay. Oh, I know this is going to sound a bit forward of me, but would you mind if I brought Patamon along?"
"Sure, go right ahead. I love it when I get to see you and your friends' Digimon."
Takeru scribbled the information down. "I got it, see you there."
"Oh, and bring along whatever you are currently working on."
"Got it. See you."
Both hanged up the phone.
"What was all that about, Takeru?"
"It was my publisher. He wants to meet me for lunch to talk about my stories."
"What does that have to do with me? I heard you mention me."
"Since he wants to meet for lunch, I asked if I could bring you along so you won't have to sit around here alone. Besides, the food there is good."
"Yahoo! I get to go on a business lunch with you!" Patamon flew into the air and circled around Takeru happily. "Wait until I tell the others! I don't know where everyone is, but I can at least tell Tentomon before we leave!"
"This is the first time you've ever been to a business lunch with me. I should probably go over a few things with you."
"Okay, Takeru! Tell me what to do."
Takeru nodded as he started to inform Patamon on good business luncheon etiquette, checking his phone message completely slipping his mind…
"Ugh, I give up." Mimi hanged up the phone. 'No one was around to answer my calls. So much for Chris meeting Takeru today…even though it is short-notice. I hope I get to see some of my friends.'
With that, Mimi called to her son and the two headed over to the Izumis…