dos2

    "Ichijouji Net. This is Ken. How may I help you?" The black haired man spoke in to his speakerphone, not missing a beat from the rhythm that he was typing.
      "Ken, it's Yamato. I was wondering if we could go out for some drinks tonight. I need to talk to you."
      Ken shook his head in disgust as he stopped typing.
      "I can't. Miyako is taking the girls to dance lessons, so I'm stuck babysitting the boys. Now, if you could come over, then we could talk." Ken looked down at his watch. 16:38. "I'll be with the kids from 18:00 to 20:00 tonight."
      "Arigato. I'll see you then Ken-kun."
      "Bye Ishida."
      Yamato sighed as he hung up the phone. Sora had both kids tonight, since they would be going to Sora's mother's house for the weekend. It reminded him of when he and Takeru would go visit their grandmother Ishida in the country when they were kids.
      //Do you know about his strength and convictions
         Or how she puts all her faith in religion?
          Did we take the time to really discover how little we know about each other?//
Yamato smiled as he picked his guitar off of its rack by his bed and began to play.
      //Keep us from saying anything
        Just separate from everything
           Yet all this really means is you're one in a crowd and you're paranoid of every
            sound
               Another friend you won't miss anyhow.//
      It wasn't an original piece, but it was important. Yamato sighed as he strummed through the long forgotten chords of one of his songs. 'That was the song that made me realize how much of a jerk I was.'
      He shook his head as he set the guitar on his bed next to him, then fell back to stare at the ceiling.
      "I should have stayed with music."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      "Konnichi wa Yamato!" Miyako squealed as she opened the door of the Ichijouji townhouse. "Ken didn't tell me that you were coming! Are you going to help babysit?" Miyako looked down at her watch. "Geez, look at the time! Come on girls! Hurry it up!" Miyako grabbed Kim's and Miya's hands, then drug them out of the door, while the little black and purple haired girls whined about how they hated dance more than anything else in the world.
      Yamato let himself in the townhouse, and shut the door behind him. Kensuke, the eldest Ichijouji son, ran up to the blond and smiled as he took Yamato's hand.
      "Uncle Yama, 'ichi and 'ji are with Tousan watching a movie." Yamato smiled at the boy. So much like Miyako.
      "Thanks 'suke"
      "Uncle Yama, is Mattie coming too?"
      "No. Yamamoto is with his mother."
      "'suke," Ken called to the boy. "I need to talk to Uncle Yamato, so I need you to watch 'ichi and 'ji for me."
      The little pink haired boy obliged, allowing Ken to walk over to Yamato. The black haired genius led the blond inside his bedroom and locked the door.
      "It's the only way we can talk." Ken whispered as he hugged Yamato. "So how was Paris?"
      "Tries magifique. My mother was so happy to see me after all these years."
      "That's so great. You know," Ken sighed as he sat down on the bed, "the only time I've ever been outside of Japan was with Imperialdramon when we went to Mexico. I'd love to see America. Without having to destroy a control spire to get there."
      Yamato sat down on the bed next to Ken, wrapping his arms around the genius. "Well, we can both go so we can visit Daisuke and Taichi. I know a little bit of Daisuke would make you feel so much better."
      "Yes, it would." Ken laid back on his bed, stretching his back out from sitting in the hard computer chair all day. Yamato laid down as well, resting his head on Ken's chest. "So what brings you here koi?"
      Yamato closed his eyes. "Partially my divorce. Partially that Taichi is bringing his son to Tokyo. Mostly I just don't want Sakura and Yamamoto to end up like Takeru and myself."
      Ken absent-mindedly ran his fingers through Yamato's hair. He could feel the elder relaxing more and more with each caress.
      "What would be wrong with Sakura and Yamamoto being like you and Takeru?"
      "Ken," Yamato whispered as he pulled himself closer to his friend. "I wish it could be that simple. Takeru has never been able to make a decision for himself, and well, look at me." Both men chuckled at the comment. Both men had admitted to each other that they loved other men, but they never acted out their feelings, more than they were this time, with each other. They were more like kindred spirits-the brother and father that each wanted when they were younger.
      "I didn't think that you had a horrible childhood."
      "Oh koi," Yamato choked back a sob as tears silently fell from his sapphire eyes. "I absolutely hated living with my papa. He left me alone constantly, and when he was home, he was drunk. Music was my only escape.
      "Gomen nasai." Ken hugged his friend. "For your divorce, all I can say is that you will be better without Ms. Takenouchi."
      "I knew you would understand." Yamato smiled as he kissed Ken's cheek. "Arigato Ichijouji Ken. Domo arigato."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      "'Niichan, why did you have to invite Ken?" Takeru whispered to Yamato as Hikari stopped the van at the Ichijouji's townhouse. "He's probably going to have to bring some of those awful kids along."
      "Don't worry." Yamato said as he stared out the window to see Ken running toward the van. "He won't bring any kids, and it's just the girls that are horrid. 'suke, 'ichi, and 'ji are wonderful."
      "Sorry about that." Ken said as he sat down. "Miyako didn't want me to come, but I got out of watching the girls." He kissed Yamato's cheek, a sight which Hikari had never grown accustomed to.
      "I'm French, Hikari. That's what we do over there."
      "How did you get out of watching the girls?" Takeru asked from his window seat next to his brother. Ken chuckled.
      "Stingmon is watching them. Miyako doesn't know it, but he babysits for me so often that the kids are used to it."
      "That's horrible that you don't tell Miyako what you are doing with your precious children!" Hikari whined to him. "That's why I received an angel digimon and you received a disgusting bug!"
      "Oh God," Yamato sighed. "not this again."
      "Papa," Yamamoto asked as he leaned over the car seat to hug his father's neck, "what's wrong?"
      "Nothing." Yamato shook his head. "Just sit and be quiet Mattie."
      "I'll tell my nephew since you won't." Hikari's voice changed to the whine that she used to teach her classes. "I have an angel digimon because I have never done anything wrong. Your papa, as you call your tousan, drinks and smokes, which is why he did not receive an angel digimon."
      "Then why does Takeru have an angel? Holyenjemon could easily defeat Enjewoman." Yamato smiled as he spoke.
      "Well, Takeru used to be good. When he met Enjemon, he was a happy uncorrupted boy. Then he became angry and perverted, which is why he lost Enjemon to Devimon."
      Hikari has gone totally insane. Takeru thought as he pondered his ex wife's words while she parked the van at the airport. What did she think would happen when we got married? But of course, only she would think that having sex eight times in a six year marriage is perverted. It's no wonder 'niichan is bi.
      "Takeru!" Hikari screamed at her former koi. "Have you been listening to me?"
      "No." Takeru turned to Yamato. "'niichan will speak for both of us."
      "He's on that plane there." Yamato said as he pointed to the Singapore Air jet that was pulling up to the landing platform.
      "Arigato." Hikari stated as she grabbed her son's hands. Tomoe tried to struggle from her grasp, while Hiroki clung tightly to his mother. Yamamoto and Sakura walked behind them, while Takeru, Yamato, and Ken brought up the rear.
      "Hiroki makes me sick." Takeru whispered to the other men. "He's eight for god's sake! He shouldn't be clinging to his mother like that!"
      Yamato chuckled as they watched the first of the passengers coming from the plane. "You sound like me."
      "At least you guys could get divorced. I'd be paying more in child support than I make."
      Yamato pulled a square silver packet from his pocket.
      "Dude, do you know what this is?"
      Ken just glared at Yamato, while Takeru futily held back laughter.
      "Of course I do!" Ken snapped as he grabbed the packet from his friend. "Miyako somehow gets them off!"
      Yamato raised an eyebrow at the genius. "Kinky. So why does she want to keep getting pregnant?"
      "That's easy." Ken sighed. "So I stay around. I wish that I wouldn't have agreed to marry her when she told me she was pregnant with Kim."
      "Uncle Yama!"
      "Takuhito!" Yamato smiled as he hugged the seven year old son of his secret koi. "Where's your tousan?"
      "Daddy's still on the plane. What's a tousan?"
      Hikari walked over to her nephew, dragging her sons behind her.
      "Do you know any Japanese?"
      "Not much."
      "I'll just have to teach you then."
      "Uncle TK!" The boy apparently didn't want anything to do with his eccentric aunt. "Hi Mattie! Hi Sakura!"
      "Teeks!" How's my American nephew?"
      "Great! Daddy said that we're going to meet some of his old friends!"
      "That's so great! Hey, when your dad gets here, I'll take you to see Patamon, is that ok?"
      "Thanks Uncle TK!" Takeru walked over to where Yamato and Hikari were standing. Ken stayed behind with the children, smiling at the mixture of broken Japanese and English as they tried to talk to each other.
      "T.A!" Takeru's eyes opened wide at the sight of Daisuke and Veemon exiting the plane with Taichi, Agumon, and Daren.
      "Konnichi wa D'suke. I didn't know that you were coming with Taichi."
      "Well, since Daren is on summer break, I decided that we should take a vacation to Japan to visit my family. I didn't know that Taichi and Teeks would be on the same flight, but we ended up sitting across the aisle from each other.
      "So how many kids do you have now Kenny der Kaizer?"
      "Five." Ken said as he glared at the richest noodle salesman in the western world.
      "So D'suke," Yamato said trying to break the silence between Ken and Daisuke, "are you going to stay in a hotel or with your family. If you want, you can stay with me."
      "Thanks Yama!"