Hello everyone. So, have you ever seen someone come back to write a sequel to their fanfic almost a decade later? If not, then I guess I'm that guy.
I will have to explain why. Well, a lot of things happened. A busy life was the biggest one, and also, well, Digimon Adventure Tri happened. And Last Evolution Kizuna. And the reboot. Boy, we sure saw a lot more of Tai and the gang since I wrote my Digimon fanfic, huh? Now, I'm not going to go into what I think about all of them, that would add up to a very long chapter, or several. But I will say that all that new stuff threw me off when it came to writing another Digimon fanfic. I have always wanted to write the story that I originally planned as a sequel to Courage Is Orange. These last years I have been thinking about adapting this story to the new canon. I also considered starting this story from scratch. None of it worked. But now, after watching all of the Digimon content again, and being highly inspired, it is time to write and share this story, which has been in the back of my mind for almost 10 years now.
How am I making it work? Well, as originally planned, it is simply a sequel to Courage Is Orange. You don't necessarily have to read that fanfic, as I am going to revisit the key moments here. Do feel free to check it out if you haven't though. Fair warning, it's a story I wrote as pretty much a kid and it has a plethora of grammar mistakes and a different (more immature) style of writing. I did think about re-writing it, but I am leaving it as it is, the memories and reviews are valuable to me and I guess that both stories coexisting here will show my improvement as a writer.
As for the "continuity" and "canon" for this, Courage Is Orange is what happened between the end of 02 (except for the epilogue), and this. Digimon Adventure Tri never happened. Neither did Kizuna. But, you will see echoes and themes of both here, expect "winks" to them, as well as the 2020 reboot. But they will be very different. I am taking things I liked from those and making them my own, which I believe will make a good story here.
I think that is enough explaining, though. 9 years of waiting is enough, time to let the story speak for itself.
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. Please support the official release.
December 30th, 2006. Somewhere in the Digital World.
Unknown
Azulongmon, Baihumon, Ebonwumon and Zhuqiamon. The Harmonious Ones. Four Holy Beasts regarded as the strongest creatures in the Digital World. Its guardians, and some would even say gods. They sure did not look like that to me in this moment. Aside from their massive size, they looked no different than lab rats trapped in their enclosures. Beause that's what they were to me, lab rats. They couldn't do anything as I studied them and experimented on them. All their power, and they were completely helpless... it was embarrassing, really. They were at the complete mercy of a mere human like me. And capturing them was relatively easy. All it took was throwing Piedmon and the other three Dark Masters at them, which were easily able to defeat and imprison them, again. Bringing Piedmon back was far more difficult. Scouting endless dimensions to find him was no easy task, and it took several years. But I was succesful, and the trouble was more than worth it, after all, it was how I ended up in this privileged position, standing before these all powerful digimon as their superior.
The clown had its uses. I couldn't help but sigh as the digimon was headed my way, I did not enjoy having to exchange words with another megalomaniac with delusions of ruling the Digital World. Because that was exactly what Piedmon was, just like the others before him. Devimon, Etemon and Myotismon were his predecessors. Mere pawns, who in spite of thinking they were acting for their own benefit, none of them realized they were being used for a higher purpose. I suppose it was better for them to not know it, but it did aggravate me that they did not know their place. Especially when all of them were such pathetic fools, who had to be brought back to actually fulfill their missions after they failed so miserably. Piedmon was not doing the perfect job in his second chance, either.
There were more uses I had for him and so far he had only fulfilled one. He had succeeded in bringing out the darkness of the digidestined of Friendship, yet I could not understand how he failed to do that for the digidestined of Courage. And it was so easy as well. Young Taichi Yagami arrived to this world full of hatred and despair, yet this fool could not play on those emotions and bring out the darkness within him. And it sure as hell wasn't going to happen now, the leader of the digidestined had managed to develop a romantic relationship with the bearer of the crest of Love, which turned him back to the light to the point of no return. It would have made me extremely upset, but I realized there were other ways I already had to get what I needed, and I didn't necessarily need the power of Fear anymore. That was the sole reason why I didn't destroy the clown, who was now behind me.
"You failed" I stated as I turned around to face Piedmon, back to his mega form.
"A Royal Knight interfered" Piedmon excused himself.
"I saw" I countered. UlforceVeedramon's appearance was troublesome, but anticipated.
"I know how to corrupt him. It will be done tomorrow" he claimed. I decided not to tell him that I no longer needed him to do that.
"Did you bring what I asked for?" I asked.
"Yes. Here is BlackMetalGarurumon's data" he spoke as he opened his hand and the data was transferred to my computer. "And here is MachineDramon's" he said as he did the same with his other hand "Why do you want them?" he dared to ask.
"How exactly do you plan on corrupting Yagami?" I asked, electing to ignore his insolence.
"By killing one of the digidestined he loves" he answered. I guessed that could work, but I no longer cared.
"Fine" I said as I pointed my digivice to him "Do not fail this time" I commanded, as if it mattered.
"When I do this, you will be gone" he started as he was involved in a dark cloud "I will be free to kill the digidestined and rule this world" he stated as the dark cloud dissipated and revealed his evolved form, ChaosPiedmon.
"Yes. That is all I need, and then you'll be free to do what you please with this world" I lied.
ChaosPiedmon walked away. I chose to not remind him of his place. After all, I did not need him anymore. I almost felt sorry for the fool, not knowing that he was headed to his own demise. He thought he stood a chance, but I knew very well the digidestined would destroy him for good. I watched the fight and he did way better than I expected, to be honest, but the end result was the one that was inevitable. I was surprised by VictoryGreymon's and ZeedGarurumon's appearance, which I was not warned about. But it did not matter very much. With the destruction of the Dark Master, the first stage of the plan was finally completed. After wiping their memories, I released the Harmonious Ones and left the Digital World. It was back to plotting and researching from the shadows. Maybe I shouldn't pity Piedmon, after all, I was yet another tool for a higher purpose, not like I had a choice. The digidestined should enjoy their victory and the years that followed, because I knew what was coming. It would take long, but it would bring the worst darkness ever seen to not only the Digital World, but to the real world as well.
May 31st, 2014. Desert in the Server Continent. Digital World.
Tai
I had been walking through the desert for a while now. I wasn't sure how much time I had been there, but the sun was up when I got there and it was night when I finally arrived to the cave I was looking for. Seeing that no sand would get in my eyes now, I pulled down my goggles (which I wore on my neck now, and only in the Digital World) after giving them a real use for a change. I sat down and chugged from a water bottle I brought with me. I let out an "Ahhh". That hit the spot. So, what brings me to the middle of nowhere in the Digital World you ask? Well, it's not nowhere, but we'll get to that in a little bit. It sure had been a long time since I went on adventures in this world. Not like this was an adventure either, it was more like the trips I liked to take around every now and then since peace reigned over it. It was straight up boring these days, but believe me, it was a good thing that it was boring. Allowing me to just be in it without worrying about some big scary digimon terrorizing it is something I am truly thankful for.
For the first time in forever, I felt like just some normal guy. Being a digidestined was no longer rare and a big responsibility, it was starting to become normal, more and more people all over the world had their digimon partners and came to and from here all the time now. I guess that I was still "special" since I still had my crest and my partner could digivolve more than others, but it had been a very long time since I had to use it. The last time I saw WarGreymon was 7 years ago, when we destroyed the Dark Masters for the second and last time. Ever since then, the Digital World has been just fine, better than ever. Nothing like it was almost 15 years ago on our first adventure. There was more going on in the real world, where us humans like to be in conflicts over politics, land, resources and all that "good stuff". Here everything is great, a paradise where you can retreat to from all the bad stuff from the real world, or what can be simply referred to as "life". I was no different. I was 26 years old and I was struggling to make ends meet like any other guy. I was bouncing from one boring 9 to 5 job to another, trying to make a living. Being an adult kind of sucked. I wish I could say I missed being a kid where everything I cared about was soccer, but I was never a normal kid was I? This very world showed me responsibility at an earlier age than most, so it was kind of ironic that it was now purely recreational for me as an adult.
Anyway, not everything was bad. I had a lot of good things going for me. And that brings us back to what I was doing in this desert of the Server Continent. I put my hand on my pocket checking that I didn't lose it, to my relief, I didn't. I pulled the black box out of my jacket and opened it, revealing a beautiful diamond ring that had been in my family for generations. That's right, I was asking my then girlfriend, Sora Takenouchi, to marry me. Sora was absolutely the best thing that ever happened to me, being my best friend since we were kids, and our bond being strengthened and immortalized by this world, it was just the right place to propose. As I studied the ring for like the hundredth time, I was coming to terms with the fact that I was going to actually propose mere moments away. I thought about our relationship. Sure, we had our rough patches every now and then. Sora and I were both hotheaded and had quite a bunch of silly fights, but we were made for each other. The only regret I had was allowing ourselves to spend 4 years apart from each other, when she was dating my friend Matt.
Those 4 years were tough, when I became a straight up asshole, a delinquent and pretty much an alcoholic. I really was lost without her and did the stupidest things. It wasn't until I confessed my feelings to her here 7 years ago, that I got her back in my life, and as my girlfriend, no less. That helped me get my shit together and I went back to the person I'm supposed to be. Yet another reason why I should propose here. Our relationship has been rock solid since then, with the occasional disagreements of course, but we will always be happy with each other. It had become clear to me that she was my other half. I never thought I'd be proposing, let alone marrying, at only 26 but it was painfully clear to me that this woman was my everything and I was going to spend the rest of my life with her. It just felt right. That did not make it any easier though, as I was still a bit nervous. But I reminded myself that it was normal, and that the worst case scenario would not mean the end our relationship in any case.
I heard a noise I recognized all too well, Birdramon flying. I quickly closed the box and put it back in my pocket, looking up and seeing the giant orange bird landing with my girlfriend hanging onto her foot.
"Hey, honey" she smiled as she got off Birdramon and gave me a quick kiss.
"Took you long enough" I said as soon as she pulled away.
"Greymon was a bit off with his directions" Sora laughed.
"Figures" I chuckled as well.
"Where is he by the way?" Birdramon asked.
"Ah, he said he saw something over there" I said as I pointed with my finger "maybe you could check on him?" I asked Birdramon.
"Sure" she said as she took off. I managed to get rid of Greymon and Birdramon so that we could be alone. The first stage of my plan was now complete... now, it was time for the hard part.
"Tai..." Sora started, staring deeply into my eyes with her beautiful crimson ones "why are we here?"
"So you noticed were we are huh..." I said.
"Yeah... you know I don't really like being here..." she said as she looked inside the cave, which used to be closed off because of TK's crest of Hope.
"Well, it's not all good memories for me either..." I said as I sat down and lit a fire on the very same spot we original digidestined did so on our first adventure "but it's not all bad for me..." I started before taking a deep breath, once I started this, there was no going back, but I wasn't about to chicken out "right here..." I said.
"Right here what?" she interrupted as she sat down next to me. I guess I took a bit too long to continue.
"Right here is where it started for me. Yeah, the circumstances were horrible since Datamon took you away..." I said, I noticed Sora did not like being reminded of that, but I had to say it "but right here is where I sat down that night. Crying, believe it or not. Worried as hell for you. I know now. That was the moment I knew deep down that I loved you. That realization gave me the courage I needed to save you. The courage I would need to defeat Etemon the very next day. This spot... it might be filled with bad memories. But I choose to remember that one. You gave me courage, Sora. Courage is my crest, it's my best trait. You bring out the best in me" I finished.
"Oh, honey..." Sora said before trapping me in an embrace "that was beautiful" she said before she let me go. I looked at her to realize she had a sad smile on her "I love it when you do these romantic things for me..." she gave me a kiss before she stood up "I'm happy you shared this with me. But this place... that night was one of the worst of my life... I don't know if I can see things in the best way possible like you, though... You did save me and that memory will always melt my heart..." she said as she looked past a dune. I followed her gaze and I realized she was looking at where Etemon's pyramid used to be "but the awakening of your crest... it also has painful memories for me. MetalGreymon saved us all and destroyed that... but right after that,you disappeared. I lost you for a long time, Tai. And I feared that you were... gone. It is very painful for me to think about that day... this place just has too many bad memories" she finished. I took a deep breath before doing what my heart told me to do.
"Let's replace them with a great one, then" I said as I got up from my sitting position to one knee, took the box from my pocket and held it up. She was facing away from me at that moment.
"What?" she said as she turned around. She gasped as she saw me. "Oh my god!" she gasped as covered her mouth with her hands.
"Sora Takenouchi..." I started as I opened the box. People say it's really hard to say the next part and time freezes. Well, they're completely right. "Will you marry me?" I finally asked. I cannot overstate the time freezing thing. I swear that those seconds she took to finally answer were the longest in my entire life.
"Yes..." she finally answered. I then noticed she took long to answer because she was choking up and she was crying "a million times yes...". Filled with happiness, I smiled as I stood up and put the ring on her finger. The immature part of me that never really died wanted to say only a million? but I managed to shut it down and not ruin the moment. Instead, I gave her a kiss that must have lasted at least half a minute. She returned it with the same passion.
"You just made me the happiest man in the world..." I whispered into her ear after the kiss.
"No, you just made me the happiest woman in the world..." she said as she looked at me with the happiest smile I've ever seen on her face "with your... commitment issues... I thought I would have to wait until we were at least 30 for this" she teased.
"I didn't need that long" I chuckled "so... this memory will beat all the others right?"
"You bet" she said as she hugged me again "I love you, Taichi Yagami"
"I love you too, Sora Yagami" I replied. We both laughed. We were officially engaged and would soon become husband and wife.
Houston, Texas
Matt
"Give me a shiner" I told a waiter as I practically collapsed in a booth after entering the bar. My beer was brought to me almost instantly, as I was the first there, and I downed practically half of it in a single gulp. A very deserved taste after an exhausting day. Beer was also helping me a lot with my mental wellbeing these days, since I was not only physically exhausted all the time, I was also pretty much an emotional wreck. I was doing way too much thinking, I was a bit homesick and I was reconsidering a lot of things in my life.
Alright, I guess I need to explain a couple of things here, like why I was so tired, depressed and why I was so far away from home, in Houston, of all places. Well, I have to go all the way back to when I was 18, when I first started college. Life was so different for me back then. All I cared about was my band, The Teenage Wolves, and I truly intended to become a professional musician. Still, I needed a back-up plan in case that failed, because most of times it does. So, "option B" for me was becoming an astronaut. I know I know, it's pretty funny that my "back-up" plan also happened to be a kid's dream that was pretty unattainable, but what can I say, I guess I'm a pretty ambitious guy. And it would work out eventually. But let's get back to me when I was a young adult. Science has always been something that fascinated me, and I was actually pretty good at physics or chemistry, so in spite of not really studying too much in high school, I somehow managed to get accepted in a university to study astrophysics. But even so, my first years in university were not a smooth ride by any means. The very first year was pretty wild.
When I started college, I was in a messy relationship with Sora that did not make me happy. She was pretty much all I had since I was neglecting a lot of things and people for the sake of my band's success, and even Sora herself was someone I neglected as well. I always knew, deep down, that she loved Tai and not me, but my 14 year old self sacrificed my friendship with Tai to get her, so I just had to convince myself that I did it for love, which was far easier than coming to terms with the terrible thing I did. By the end of our relationship, we barely saw each other and I was always busy trying to take my band to the next level, even if I got nowhere, which made me feel pretty frustrated. That said, Sora was not there for me either, but I can't really blame her, since her heart belonged to someone else. Still, it did not excuse my wrongdoings. One of them was disappearing on her when she got accidentally pregnant. I was beyond terrified and did not know what to do... I was a kid, I was not ready to be a father. I honestly want to believe that I would have eventually done the right thing had she not miscarried just about 2 months into the pregnancy, but either way this was a very traumatic event that wounded our relationship even more, which was already doomed in the first place. I was not done being a fucking asshole though, as I would cheat on her with Mimi the summer before I started college. I guess I was looking for the affection that I did not receive from Sora, so all it took was her throwing herself at me (she was always smoking hot in my book) and being a bit drunk to be unfaithful. Also, Mimi was dating Tai at the time, and of course Tai and I were enemies back then because of my fault alone, I did not see that yet though, so I did not feel guilty about sleeping with his girl. Our affair continued for about a month before she was the one that felt guilty, not me of course, and ended it.
I was in a very dark place back then, I was absolutely not ready to take the role of being a digidestined on winter break, when the Dark Masters came back from the dead to re-conquer the digital world. My actions here where what you would expect from the stupid bastard I was at the time. I did more bad than good. When getting what I deserved, Sora breaking up with me to be with Tai, what I did was get pissed off and got into a both symbolic and very physical fight with Tai again, instead of stopping the Dark Masters, because apparently I had not learned the lesson in my first adventure. However, some sense was quite literally beaten into me by our leader, and I finally opened my eyes, at least a little bit. I saw my wrongdoings and tried to redeem myself, by sacrificing myself for Tai when he was almost killed by Piedmon. I would survive though, as I somehow knew that my atonement was not going to be that fast and easy. Ever since then, I tried to become the best friend I could be and be worthy to bear my crest. Things were naturally awkward with Tai and Sora for a while, but eventually they would forgive me, and I couldn't be happier for them. They insisted time and time again that they had forgiven me, but I did not forgive the other party, myself. So I threw myself into helping not only them, but all the other digidestined.
Around these days I developed a huge bond with someone I did not expect: Mimi. And no, it's not what you're thinking. Mimi and I are friends. Very good friends, but still friends. Not like something could have happened between us anyway, she went steady with Joe around this point in time. And there weren't any other intentions from me to either, I honestly could not picture starting a relationship with her, after all, if a romantic relationship between us would ever blossom, it would be forever tainted with the fact that it started by us cheating on our best friends simultaneously. And I figure she feels the same way. So we decided to be friends. And it was an amazing friendship. She was also in a journey to redemption of sorts, since she also went pretty dark and crazy by becoming a borderline alcoholic before our "rematch" with the Dark Masters, and also joined me in throwing a massive tantrum that created a big conflict within the digidestined after Tai and Sora got together, which was way overdue. But we could not quite see that at the time, possessed by anger. Like me, she would have some sense slapped into her, also quite literally, by Sora and she came to deeply regret what she did, and tried to always do the right thing since then, both of us supporting each other in any way we could. She also had Joe as a serious and wonderful boyfriend to help her. Since she's also a good singer and loves music, she also played a big part in my second band, by being our manager.
The Teenage Wolves would break up not long after I came back from the Digital World in 2007. Apparently they just couldn't go on with it anymore, they had grown to resent the tyrannical leader I became. To their surprise, I had already seen that in myself, so I understood their position, let them go and decided to start from scratch. With the help of Mimi, as I mentioned before, I would put together a new band, Knife Of Day, which was a new band with zero drama and a lot more chill. There was still something seriously wrong with me at the time, though. I had become a much better friend and leader of my band, but my time with Knife Of Day will always be synonymous with my playboy persona. Tai also had a hook-up phase, but I made him look like a saint, I believe I easily triple his body count. Knife Of Day became even more popular than The Teenage Wolves, thanks to Mimi in more ways than you could imagine, and that also meant more groupies, a lot more groupies. And I had casual relationships with plenty of them. Tai blames himself for accidentally encouraging this behavior the day we made up, but it wasn't his fault, I wanted it, and I took every chance I got. I honestly don't really know what was wrong with me in terms of romance, but I became pretty fucked up. Maybe I carried deep unhealed scars from my bad relationship with Sora, or maybe it was because I came from a divorced household. I don't really understand it, but I fully embraced the constant casual relationships as the frontman of Knife Of Day.
Anyway, Knife Of Day would also cease to exist a couple of years ago. Between my band, being a womanizer and being the best friend I could for the digidestined (it was weird how I could both of those at the same time, but I did), I completely put my studies aside. I would fail a lot of times, and I don't know why but I was given chance after chance and the university didn't kick me out. And I decided I would not let them down. After shaving a serious talk with Mimi, it was clear that my band had peaked. It was not going any further than being a bit known in Japan. I was also pretty done with meaningless casual relationships, so I decided to change and fully turn my attention towards my studies. I became a bookworm, developing a newfound respect and admiration towards Joe. Joe was such an important figure at this point in my life, we became extremely close, much more than ever before, and he helped me with my studying. Before you knew it, I was getting the best grades possible and graduated with honors. It took me 7 years instead of 4, but I should be proud of myself, at least I was told so. Then NASA came knocking at my door. And that's how I got here, to Houston. I got in their astronaut program, pretty crazy. I was getting physically prepared to finally go to space. It was going to be a year or two from this moment, and god knows it was physically and mentally exhausting. I also liked to beat myself up because I thought I was not worthy of this opportunity. I still had to forgive myself for a lot of things.
And that's how we get to this point in time. It took me a long time to get to fill you guys in, I apologize for the ranting, but it was a lot to explain and get off my chest. I am the brother of a professional writer after all. And yes, I did not tell you anything about TK yet. That's on purpose, this is already too long, and believe me you will hear a lot more from my beloved baby brother, who is easily the most important. But I'll save all that for later. So, I hope I was able to help you understand this miserable bastard that's exhausted and drinking in a bar first hour in the morning in Houston. At this point on particular, for some reason, I was overthinking about my love life. My terrible relationship with Sora, hating myself for being a womanizer not too long ago, and wondering what was wrong with me for the tousandth time. Why couldn't I have someone like Sora or Kari were for Tai and my little brother? Of course, I had it right in front of me. But I just couldn't see it at the moment. Again, I hope my huge rant helps you understand why.
"Hey there, space cowboy!" a female voice said in front of me. I opened my eyes to see Mimi Tachikawa. Yes, Mimi was also living in Houston at the time. She had been living in New York for some time before I camehere, and since we were relatively "close" she came to to visit often. Eventually, she was given a professional opportunity in town, and since I was there, moving was a no brainer for her. As to what Mimi does for a living, well, believe it or not, she's a chef. I know, it came a little bit out of nowhere, but believe me when I say Mimi is a damn good cook. I get the privilege to eat her food for free. And it is a privilege, since the opportunity I was speaking of was opening a japanese food restaurant here in Houston. With her experience as my manager, Mimi is also more than capable when handling business, it was what she majored in after all. And it was really paying off for her now.
"Hey" was pretty much all I could say at the moment.
"Are you drunk, Matt? It's 8 a.m" she practically scolded as she looked at me with an irritated expression.
"No. I just got here. I'm just tired" I explained with a sigh.
"Long days, huh..." she sorted of apologised. She knew that I had a pretty crazy schedule. Today for example, was my first day off after three of practically 24 hour training.
"Yeah" I replied.
"Well, I'll get the next round. Well, my first. The next one for you... well, you get it" she laughed as she headed to the bar. I couldn't help but chuckle a little bit. Her radical mood swings never ceased to amuse me.
As she was ordering, my phone beeped. I checked to see it was a text from Tai. I raised an eyebrow as all I could see from the locked screen was She said yes. I would have to actually open it to see what it was about to understand. My sleepy eyes widened when I opened the chat. It was a picture of both Tai and Sora with grins on their faces that I did not see on them since we were kids. Of course, what really shocked me, was the ring on Sora's finger. I felt my lips curve into a big smile. I was genuinely happy for them.
"Aaaahhhhh!" I heard the squeal from the bar. That of course, could only be Mimi "Matt!" she yelled as she ran to the booth with both beers on one hand and her phone on the other "I just got a text from Sora!" she yelled as she put the beers down on the table "Sora and Tai! They're-"
"Engaged" I finished with a smirk "I got a text from Tai, too" I said as I showed her my screen.
"Oh my god this is so big!" she squealed again as she sat down in front of me "I am so happy for them!" she had her eyes closed and the biggest smile on her face.
"Me too" I nodded as her contagious smile made me have one of my own.
"Weird that we are happy huh.. considering we..." she said before she stopped herself "sorry"
"It's fine" I was more than familiar with her being a loudmouth and was very used to her saying things without really thinking beforehand, so this didn't need to be awkward.
"They are truly made for each other" she sort of changed the subject "I feel like getting married at 26 is young. But this is them... it also feels like they took too long you know" she giggled.
"I know. It's surprising, but at the same time, it isn't" I nodded.
"Exactly" she smiled as she checked her phone and typed something. I could somehow tell she was scheming something "anyway, I have another surprise for you" she announced.
"What?" I asked as my gut proved to be right.
"You'll see" she winked as she turned around and waved to someone that had just entered the bar. I almost spat my drink as it was none other than Joe Kido.
"Hey guys!" He smiled as he hugged Mimi.
"Joe, what the hell are you doing here man?" I asked as I stood up and hugged him as well.
Mimi quickly informed him of Tai's and Sora's engagement and he had pretty much the same reaction as we did. After that, we did a little bit of catching up. Joe was moving to Houston as well for a couple of months to research some new medicine that promised to be a major breakthrough for a rare disease, and it showed potential to treat other illnesses. It was pretty amusing to see Joe talk about medicine, the passion he showed while talking about it didn't make you get bored even if you did not really understand what he was saying. Anyway, after staying there for a while, I excused myself and left them both alone, I was pretty tired and figured they could use some time to themselves, considering their history. They appeared pretty disappointed to see me leave, but oh well, we would have plenty of time to be with each other, since we were all living here now. It was kind of funny that half of the original digidestined were now living in Texas. Yes, I said half. There was one more that I was heading to see at the very moment. The other one was none other than my younger brother TK. I told you I'd save him for later for a reason. But you're gonna have to wait a little bit more for me to tell you all about him.
Tokyo, Japan
Sora
Tai and I were walking to the Yagami's home. He was no longer included in "the Yagami's", he didn't live there. He had been living with yours truly for a couple of years now. And much more to come... and our house would soon become "the Yagami's" as well... fiancée. I was his fiancée. I couldn't quite believe it yet. Not many words were spoken in the time we spent from getting out of the Digital Wolrd and heading to his family's home. I guess we were both trying to accept the fact that we were going to get married, letting it sink in. And don't get me wrong, we were both incredibly happy. Silence was quite rare between us in such moments since we're both pretty talkative, but comfortable silence, as in simply enjoying each other's company without saying a word, was even more unusual. And I was enjoying every second of it. I had my arms wrapped around his right arm, clinging onto my future husband. I think I was smiling all along the way.
Of course I said yes. I knew Tai was my future husband since... forever. At least deep down. As for when I was absolutely sure I would spend the rest of my life with this man, well, that would have been a couple of years ago not long after we started living together. In spite of knowing this man pretty much all my life, I kept finding more and more things about him. Some of them were... not good. I already knew Tai was pretty messy, if not an outright pig (I still love you, honey), but I was not ready for having to remind him of cleaning after himself or washing the dishes all the time when we started living together. But my love for him will always win... especially when I see him put in the work and fix his nasty behaviours for me. He was still a work in progress, but he had come a long way, and all of that was for me, which I of course noticed, and my love for him just kept deepening. And then of course, there are all the good things that take me aback, like the one just now, he had a way of surprising me with the most romantic gestures every now and then. They are very rare moments, which makes them all the more special. I was not expecting him to propose. Not at all. I thought we were just going to hang out in the Digital World like we did when both of us had free time. I suspected something was different when he had Greymon tell me where to look for him instead of meeting up in the real world beforehand as usual. Next thing you know Birdramon is flying me to one of my least favorite places in there. He was acting a bit strange, as if he was nervous about something, I could tell that much, but I still didn't know the reason why. Then he proceeded to make my heart melt with one of his rare romantic speeches, even if I was distracted by what that place meant to me, and I told him as much. But then he said he would replace those memories with a great one... and he did just that. Seeing Tai on his knee, and that beautiful ring, caught me completely off guard. I had dreamed about that moment for ages, and I was not expecting it in the near future. I got so emotional, my tears wouldn't allow me to just accept his proposal immediately, and I was forced to see him anxiously wait for my answer. I finally managed to say that stupid word, and his worried face was instantly replaced with the smile I fell in love with. Then both of us were the happiest we'd been in our lives.
A lifetime with him, 7 years being romantically involved... and he still managed to make me love him more over time. I was absolutely honest when I told him that I expected him to not pop the question until we were at least 30. If it was up to me, we would have eloped years ago, but I didn't think he was ready yet. I had dropped some hints and suggested marriage to him a lot of times over the previous years, you know, testing the waters, only for him to become uncomfortable and dismiss such topics. I would have gotten a bit angry about his issues with commitment but honestly, it ended up being adorable to see him fluster about it, outright funny sometimes. I swear it hadn't been much more than a month since I last made him freak out with a subtle marriage suggestion. Then again it could have been for different reasons, as in he already know he was going to ask me then. Who knows. But well, back to us in that moment, I was too busy being happy about us being officially engaged. Just enjoying and taking everything in, as I said before. We were nearing our destination when Tai's phone started ringing. He smiled at me when he saw who was calling.
"It's Izzy" he told me with a smirk. I knew exactly what he was doing. Asking for my permission to tell him the news. I nodded. So far we agreed to only tell Matt and Mimi, who we knew were having breakfast somewhere in Houston. Mimi did ask me if she coud tell Joe, who I also know was arriving there that day. I gave her my blessing for that, but she absolutely could not tell TK. TK would probably tell Kari, and we wanted to let Kari know in person, which was what we were about to do next. "Hey man" Tai said as he answered the call "Yeah, will do that. No problem" he replied to something Izzy said that I couldn't hear "so hey I'm with Sora right now" he started as a smirk came back to his face "can you switch to video? We want to show you someting" he said. Next thing he did was hold his phone in front of us with his arm. I could see Izzy on the screen.
"So what do you want to show me, guys?" he asked, I saw he was drinking his beloved tea.
"This" I said as I flashed my engagement ring.
"Pfffffft" Tai and I started laughing hysterically as we saw tea come out of Izzy's nose. It was hilarious. Laughter turned to concern for me as Izzy began coughing too hard and too much. Not for Tai though, who was gasping for air after laughing so much.
"Izzy! Are you okay?" I asked with concern as I smacked Tai. He did not stop laughing. I could read his mind. He was hoping that Izzy recorded his video calls, and knowing him, he would somehow get that file.
"Yeah... give me a sec" Izzy said before coughing a bit more. He sipped more tea and sighed. I sighed as well, in relief. He was okay. "Guys... this isn't a sick joke right? I know you..." he asked as his face went from red back to its natural color.
"We wouldn't joke about something like this!" I said, a bit shocked Izzy would even think that.
"Actually, he has point, you know..." Tai started. I punched his arm.
"We wouldn't! It's real Izzy. We're engaged" I told him. I saw Izzy's skeptical expression turn into a big smile.
"Congratulations!" he beamed "I'm so happy for you guys, really!"
"Thank you Izzy!" I replied "you can't tell anyone! Our families don't know it yet, we are going to tell them in a little bit" I explained.
"This privileged information will remain classified until further notice" he grinned.
"Thanks Izzy. Anyway, we gotta go. Be sure to let us see you in the flesh soon, okay?" Tai told him.
"I'll try. You know I'm very busy lately... But I want to see you guys soon and give you a big hug, I can tell you that much! Take care!"
"Bye!" both of us waved before Tai hung up and put his phone back in his pocket "I sure hope Izzy records his calls..." Tai laughed, like I said, I could read his mind.
"You're so mean Tai... that looked painful..." I scolded.
"You're thinking the same thing and you know it" he stated.
"Shut up" I said as in my mind, I agreed that it would be pretty funny to have that video. I wouldn't let him know that, though.
"Anyway" Tai said after laughing a bit "we're here" he announced as we arrived to the Yagami's building "how are we going to tell them?"
"I was thinking..." I smirked "We don't. Let them see the ring and surprise them"
"That's kinda mean" Tai started, before matching my smirk with his "I love it" he laughed "see? You're just as bad as me, I don't know why you insist on pretending you're not" he shrugged as we entered the elevator.
"Honey..." I changed the subject.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"You had it all planned, didn't you? You set up this family dinner after you decided to propose"
"Guilty" he confessed before leaning on the elevator's mirror.
"You can't be that confident..." I started "what if I said no?"
"We would have had a pretty awkward family dinner, then" he chuckled. I crossed my arms. The arrogance of this man. Then again, I'm no better, finding it so attractive "In all seriousness..." he said as his attitude completely changed "I was pretty nervous. If you had said no... I would have been kinda hurt" he confessed.
"Hey..." I said as my expression softened after he showed his real insecure self "you know that even if I had said no, we would still be together, right?" I said as I carressed his cheek.
"Yeah" he smiled. A genuine smile. Not an overconfident grin, but an honest smile that showed I put his mind at ease. The elevator's door opened before I gave him a quick kiss. We made our way to the door of the Yagami's apartment. "Ready?" he asked. I nodded. He opened the door before he announced "We're here!"
"Come on in!" I heard Yuuko, my future mother-in-law, greet us.
"Hey, guys!" Kari greeted us from the dining table, which she was just finishing setting up.
"There's my favorite couple" Yuuko grinned as she emerged from the kitchen and hugged both of us.
"Hey, mom" I said as I hugged my mother next.
"You're looking well, Sora" my mom whispered in my ear. No one had noticed my engagement ring yet.
And well... there was no one left to notice. I guess I have to address the two absences in this dinner. First, my dad, unsurprisingly, was not only busy with work, but in Kyoto, and could not attend. And the second one... well, it's hard to say but Mr. Yagami had tragically passed away about half a year before. It's a very sad thing to share, as his passing was a long, agonizing and devastating experience for all of us. He had been diagnosed with cancer a couple of months before he started getting really sick and eventually lost the battle with this awful disease. It was a traumtaic experience for all of us, and a very heavy blow to Tai, Kari and their mother. They were still grieving, although it was not something you could see if you didn't really know them. All three of them shared this trait of being, or better said appearing, strong for others. Always sacrificing their own well being for others... but they had me and my mom to help and do that for them. We were easily the only people they let their guard down with. Let me tell you something... seeing Tai go through all of that was beyond heartbreaking. After months of feeling down and a lot of crying, he was starting to feel a bit better. So did his mom and Kari. But the pain was still there, of course it was. Grief is a long and painful process. I was more than glad to be there when they needed me. They didn't like talking about it much these days, and I hoped the news of our engagement would bring some much needed happiness to the family.
"So how's it going, you two? It's been over a week since any of you dropped by. Which you know is too long for me" Yuuko smiled. Well that made me feel awful with myself. I made a mental note to stop by and talk to her more often, like I said, she appeared just fine, but I knew she was going through a lot.
"Not much mom. Same old. Working hard, making money" Tai joked. He hated his current job, but only I knew just how frustrating it was for him. His mom and sister didn't. Not that he would tell them, as he had this need to appear like he was doing great to them, especially these days.
"Good to hear that, how is your job coming along, Sora? I hear you're designing a lot kimonos recently!" Yuuko asked me.
"Yeah! And I have so much fun with it too" I said, really meaning that, I liked my job. Problem was, it didn't pay much, since I only made occasional designs for small japanese businesses. Still, we all have to start somewhere. I still felt bad though, because that left Tai to work a job he hated to make most of the money and pay our rent "anyway that's pretty much it for us, how about you guys?" I said as I brushed my hair with my left hand. I was doing a lot of that hoping one of them noticed the ring. And apparently no one did. It was kind of ridiculous. Tai and I looked at each other, surprised no one had caught on yet.
"Ah, nothing really changed over here, really. Except for Toshiko showing up!" she smiled at my mom "It would be great if you dropped by more often too, you know..." she grinned. I was surprised that my mom was smirking at me now.
"Well... I suspect that's going to be happening a lot more now..." she started. I realized that my mom had already noticed, but of course, she wouldn't make a big deal out of it just yet, and let others do the big reactions for her. It was just like her. Argh. I should have known. I was thankful that she was giving Kari and Yuuko the push they needed to notice, though.
"Sora!" I heard Kari gasp from my right. Finally. "Is that...?"
"Oh, this?" I said as I flashed my engagement ring. I saw Yuuko gasp and cover her mouth "Tai and I just got engaged. You know, no biggie..." I grinned. I looked at Tai to see he was doing the same.
"Congratulations, Sora" my mom said before hugging me again. I noticed she was a bit teary eyed. I was so happy that she was as happy as I was, if that makes sense.
"I told you we'd be sisters some day!" Kari said as she hugged me after my mom let me go. Unlike my mom who was far more composed, Kari was bawling.
"Tai! You did as I said, and so fast too! I'm so proud of you!" Yuuko cried as well as she hugged Tai. Tai laughed, I guess that did provide some answers to my earlier question "Why!" she yelled as she hit him "Didn't you! Tell me! You were proposing! Today!" She kept yelling between slaps to his chest.
"It was a surprise!" He defended himself as I saw her slaps were actually hurting him a bit.
"Sora! Come here!" she said as she ran to hug me "So happy to finally be able to call you my daughter!" I was about to cry when I hugged her back, her tears were contagious.
"Tai..." my mom said as she made her way to him "you have no idea of the happiness you are bringing to my daughter, and to me, too..." she said before hugging him. I couldn't help but blush.
"The pleasure is all mine, Toshiko" Tai smiled.
"Tai..." Kari managed to say between sobs as my mom broke away from him "I'm so happy for you..." she hugged him "so, so, happy..."
"Stop it, Kari..." his voice was kind of muffled since Kari's hair was covering his mouth "you're gonna make me cry, too..." I was holding back my tears but that sight let it all out.
A very deserved happiness came back to that house. After the crying fest (even some from Tai) we sat down to have dinner and there were nothing but laughs and smiles. I don't think I ever saw my mom smile so wide outside of the house. Yuuko kept asking questions about our future wedding, and made endless suggestions as we didn't know anything for sure yet. Then she proceeded to make Tai extremely uncomfortable with stories from his younger days, about how he was a mess and I was the reason he was becoming a responsible man. My mom also joined in that fun, sharing stories about me as a little girl being hopelessly in love with Tai, making me blush furiously as well. Our moms were not done and started to share more embarrassing stories about both of us as kids, insisiting that they were necessary entries in our beautiful romance story, which they said they couldn't be more proud of. I had never seen Tai acting so uncomfortable before. Although I guess he could have said the same thing about me that night. Our moms were having the time of their lives, Tai and me not so much, and Kari... well, there was something off about her. She was absolutely happy for us and I did hear her laugh and talk a lot as well, but I knew this girl all too well. Something was bothering her and I just knew it. I took my chance when she excused herself to go to the bathroom and I followed her, waiting for her by the door. When she finally finished I had some one on one time with her.
"Kari..." I started.
"What is it, sis?" she smiled. But I could see it was a bit forced.
"Are you okay?" I stayed serious.
"Of course, Sora. Why wouldn't I be?" she said. I put my hands on her shoulders and looked straight into her light brown eyes.
"Are you seriously trying to play dumb with me?" I asked her.
"Sora... not today, okay?" She sighed "I don't want to open up right now" she explained as she took my hands and put them away from her shoulders, while still holding them "I want to be happy today. Because I am happy for you and Tai. That's what's important today" she said as she returned the intense stare into my own eyes.
"Okay..." I sighed "but you will tell me" I stated.
"I will, soon" she nodded. We both hugged before going back to the living room, where poor Tai was the protagonist of yet another embarrassing story that Yuuko was telling my mom.
Houston, Texas
Mimi
Joe was telling a story about a recent case of his. But I wasn't really paying attention. After all, I was worried about Matt. Something was off about him earlier, he said he was just tired, but I had a feeling it was not just exhaustion from his intense training. The way he abruptly left was also pretty concerning to me. I started thinking that maybe me mentioning our affair freaked him out, as we had this silent understanding of not talking about that. Or maybe he was thinking a lot about the fact that our exes were engaged, I know I was, which was how I slipped up to begin with. Sora, my best friend, was getting married to Tai. Don't get me wrong, I was extremely happy for them, whatever feeling I had for Tai was long gone, I knew how much he loved Sora and how much she loved him, better than anyone else. But no matter how happy I was for them, you can't help but think about your own life when your best friends get married. My life was great, I was only 25 and opened a very succesful restaurant in Texas, that was huge and something I was very proud of, but what about my love life? It was pretty messed up. Here I was, talking with my other exboyfriend, a reminder of my failure in love. Don't get me wrong, I was fine with being left alone with Joe, sure, when two exes are left alone with each other things are always a bit awkward. It wasn't the case with Joe and I, though.
Joe and I were friends more than anything else. After all, we go way back, him taking care of me in the Digital World 15 years ago is something that I will be eternally grateful for. Joe saved my life again years later in multiple ways, I was very lost back when I was a young adult. I didn't know what to do with my life and I found myself being a party girl, drinking and doing more stupid stuff, like fooling around with multiple guys. I guess that living between America and Japan made me feel a bit lost and I didn't have a place to call home.
What I did know is that my friends, my family, were the digidestined, and being apart from them didn't do me any good. When I came back to Japan in 2006, I was thrilled to be back with them, but there was huge problem, that family was broken in half, without me knowing or being able to do anything about it. All because of something that affected me a lot, as well. Matt and Sora's relationship was a shock for me, as I imagine it was with everyone else, but especially for me. Sora never told me she felt something for Matt. We never exchanged the actual words, but there were several hints that she felt something for Tai. And alright, I'm going to be completely honest here. Ever since our first adventure, I admired both Tai and Matt, in that way, yes. They grew up to be pretty handsome as well, which was a huge plus. But before that, I had an undying loyalty to Sora, after all, we were the only girls in the group for a long time before Kari arrived and I considered her my sister, her snapping me out of being a brat in the Gekomon castle was one of the best things anyone has ever done for me. Our bond would continue well after the events of that summer of 1999 and we would become bffs. So that was the reason that I allowed myself to develop a crush on Matt, since it was clear to me then that Tai was Sora's and not to be messed with. Matt was more of my type, anyway. He was really handsome, a loner, hiding a senstive side that he would express with art, I have always been a massive sucker for these boys. He was a musician, and I've always liked singing from a very young age. It made sense to me, it was a bit unreasonable since Matt and I were not that close back then, but the key word here is crush, it wasn't love. Anyway, that was what I figured, Sora would end up with Tai, and maybe I would end up with Matt. That was the way it was supposed to be.
But things changed, a lot. I would move to America and missed out on a lot of what went on with the digidestined. Sure, I would stay in touch with them and would see them often in the digital world. But I didn't live there with them anymore. I would lose my close friendship with Sora, going from bffs back to just friends, and we never really talked anymore. That's why her ending up dating Matt was such a shock to me, and I can admit this to myself now, I was a bit jealous. I guess that's why I never really tried to bring things back to the way they were with Sora. So when I moved back to Japan im 2006, I would find new friends elsewhere (worse places, actually) with a few nasty habits I picked up from America, like alcohol and casual fun with the opposite gender. Digidestiny worked its magic though, as I would eventually run into Tai in these questionable social circles. I like to think that Tai and I saved us from each other in a way, as I'm sure both of us would have spiralled out of control even more without the other. Oh yeah, I did mention that Tai was off limits for me before, well, I figured he wasn't anymore. I remember I did e-mail Sora asking for her permission and she said it was fine. So I attacked, and Tai gave in. Tai had also become my type these days, since he was into music now, and was a bad boy, the weakness of the lost young lady I had become. But what he and I had was never real.
That wasn't really Tai, he was but a shell of what he used to be, which was caused by his broken heart. Like I said, I knew Tai and Sora had something big going on between them, and I really regret interfering... I'm just really glad it worked out anyway, in spite of me being such an idiot and doing some really stupid stuff before, during and after my relationship with Tai. We never really clicked, he would ignore me more often than not, and I did the most idiotic things in response. One of those was trying to make him jealous by sleeping with Matt. Doesn't really make sense, I know. It did to who I was back then, pissing Tai off was one of the only ways to get him to react and flirting with his enemy would surley do the trick, besides, I always fancied Matt. So I was at one of his shows, and alcohol helped me to act on my attraction to him and forget all about my loyalty to Sora, or whatever remained of it. To my surprise, Matt gave in, as well. I'm ashamed to say it, but damn did we have chemistry the days we would meet up, both sexually and personally, our affair continued for a month. I eventually developed a conscience and broke it off, even if I didn't really want to. My instinct knew it back then, Matt was a better match for me than Tai could ever be... but the way it happened was morally deplorable. It had to end. And so we ended it. To my dismay Sora would find out, and would let everyone know. I still can't understand why she would forgive me, but she did, and not a single day goes by in which I'm not thankful for that.
After messing up, big time, I was given a secnd chance. And I would take it. I made things right with Sora and we went back to being bffs. I gave up my nasty habits, and I entered a serious relationship with Joe. He deeply cared about me, and it went both ways. I honestly had no idea that Joe had deep feelings for me, as he would confess to me when we came back from our latest adventure 7 years ago. It did catch me a bit off guard, but I always felt something for Joe and decided to give him a chance. Our relationship was wonderful, he treated me so well, it was all a girl could ask for from her man. There was one problem, though. I loved Joe, I still do. But I wasn't in love with him. I tried to force myself into it, I really did. But I just couldn't do it... Eventually Joe noticed, and bless his heart, he wasn't mad at me at all. He understood, we called it off and remained good friends.
Now I know why I couldn't feel that for Joe. Because I had developed it for somebody else. Matt and I became extremely close, I even managed his second band. Remember how I said we didn't really get along so it was just a crush back in the day? Well now that we were becoming such good friends, things were escalating... slowly, but surely. I guess my brain refused to listen to my heart, and I couldn't admit the truth to myself for the longest time. Matt and I had spoken about it a bunch of times, and we were better off as friends, since becoming something else would bring back some really bad memories. Still... regardless of it being right or wrong, who was I trying to fool, I was falling for him, hard. But I didn't want to. I was conflicted as hell... but I knew one thing for sure. I really cared about Matt.
"Mimi" Joe spoke up, trying to catch my full attention.
"Yeah?" I blinked.
"You seem... distracted" that was the Joe (nice) way to say I was being kind of rude here.
"I'm sorry" I shook my head "No offense, but I can't really understand your doctorspeak" I joked. Joe blinked at me before letting out a chuckle.
"None taken. You have a point" he answered.
"So let's get to the good stuff..." I started "how are things going with your girlfriend?" I asked with a smile. Something I knew a lot about. But apparently not enough
"Well..." he blushed "I guess you could say Tai and Sora are not the only ones that are engaged..." he rubbed the back his head.
"Get out of here!" I gasped "You and Mei-Mei are getting married!?"
"Yeah my ex having a cute nickname for my fiancée will never not be weird" Joe chuckled.
"Mei-Mei and I go way back, Joe. We've been friends since elementary school, so I will always call her that" I shrugged "besides, thanks to that you're getting a great and beautiful wife" I winked. This was true. I felt so bad for Joe when we ended things that I introduced him to one of my friends because I thought they would hit it off. I would have never imagined they'd get married, though! I was so proud of myself and so happy for both of them. Joe was laughing and blushing at the same time "so when's the wedding?" I asked.
"No date yet. We've put things on hold since I'll be staying here for a couple of months. We're still going strong and I'm really looking forward to marry Meiko once I get back though" he proclaimed. I smiled and nodded.
"Maybe you can rub off some of that spirit on TK..." I said out loud.
"Huh?" he asked. I felt like slapping my face. I was doing too much talking without thinking today.
"Nothing" I waved it off "I'm so happy for you and Mei-Mei, Joe... really!" I told him.
"Thank you Mimi, it means a lot. We don't have to talk too much about it, though... I get it if it's uncomfortable for you" he said, always thinking of my happiness before his, he's kind beyond belief.
"Nonsense, I'm more than okay hearing about your successful romantic life, Joe" I replied.
"I'm happy you see it that way" he nodded "it goes both ways, you know" he smiled. This did catch me by surprise.
"No, Joe. I couldn't possibly bother you with that" I dismissed.
"Don't worry, Mimi. As you can see, I'm doing more than fine" he said as he adjusted his glasses "I promise I won't get jealous" he laughed at his own joke.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"100%. Tell me, who's the lucky man?" he insisted.
"Fine..." I sighed. I did not feel very comfortable, but Joe, bless him, was offering me some much needed venting. Another engagement. Which I was also extremely happy for. But also made me question my love life. And when thinking about love life I only thought about one thing, which no one knew about, and maybe that should change. "I'm not comfortable talking about this to Sora or anyone else... so thank you for hearing me out Joe... I think I really need to talk to someone about this" I took a deep breath.
"Happy to help you, always" he reassured with a nod.
"I think I'm in love with Matt" I finally said it out loud. And it did feel good to finally materialize those words. Those feelings had been building up inside for years. I regretted telling Joe for a moment. Sure, he was over me and engaged to another woman, still, Joe could rightfully be upset about this. We broke up because I could never develop deep feelings for him. And here I was, telling him I was capable of those feelings, but they were directed to our close friend. However, Joe's reaction would shatter me into pieces, and not in a bad way.
"Of course you are" he said with a smile. He knew this better than I did. And he was completely fine with it.
To be continued...
Phew. A pretty long chapter to kick things off. Lots of interesting things here huh?
Yes, Matt's second band being called Knife Of Day is clearly from Digimon Tri. Also, yes, Meiko is the same Meiko. Mimi calling her Mei-Mei makes that pretty clear. Don't ask me why I made her Joe's SO. It just made sense to me.
There are better questions to ask, like the role she'll be playing in this story. As well as who's that mysterious person at the beginning. And what's going on with Kari and TK. Lots of questions that will be answered if you stay tuned.
It's great to be back. Until next update!