D3.1 Odaiba Afternoon

Odaiba Elementary

"Yes! No more homework, books and teachers’ dirty looks!" Davis yelled, throwing his satchel into the air in celebration. Unsurprisingly, the bag twisted, opened in mid-air, and emptied itself of its contents. Papers floated down in drifts, caught and chased by the light breeze. Books and pens clattered down around him, his friends had to jump to one side to avoid being hit by them.

"Davis, you dope!" Yolei scolded, bending to scoop up his scattered possessions, "You’ll need your stuff when we come back after the vacation."

Davis went crimson, as the other Digidestined burst out laughing. Even Ken, who had transferred to their school in the middle of term, was chuckling quietly to himself. That was unusual. Ken never laughed. Cody said it was because he felt he didn’t deserve to enjoy himself after his evil deeds as the Digimon Emperor. Being miserable was a way of making up for the misery he had caused others. Davis didn’t know why anyone would choose to be unhappy, but he knew that it was almost worth making a fool of himself in front of Kari to see a smile on his friend’s face. Almost.

::Why does Yolei have to be such an obnoxious loudmouth?::

Davis would never have admitted it to his friends, but he thought that Hikari Kamiya was the most wonderful girl in the universe. (1) He liked everything about her - from the pink clips with which she caught back her brown hair to the camera that she always wore around her neck. Sadly, whenever she was around him, he seemed to make a crashing idiot of himself. He said stupid things - the words seemed to come out of his mouth of their own accord, and even they were intelligent in comparison to his actions. The lowest point had come when he had tried to make Veemon digivolve to impress her. Even he knew that that had been dumb.

::No wonder she prefers T.S. to me:: (2)

Shoving his papers roughly back into his satchel, he scowled at the blond boy, who was standing next to Kari as usual. They had more history together than Davis cared to learn. Like her, T.K. had been part of the earlier team of Digidestined. They had only been little children at the time, but, together with their Digimon, they had helped to save both worlds from destruction. Together, they had faced and defeated everything from the Dark Masters to Venomyotismon to Apocalymon himself. When he had asked Kari about that time, about her past with T.K., she had smiled at him and replied that he had protected her from the darkness when her brother, Tai, had been unable to do so. So there were honours about even there!

"So, are you free tonight? I was thinking we could all meet at my house and . . . uh, watch TV or something," he asked, trying to skim over his humiliation as quickly and as smoothly as possible.

"Sorry," Kari shrugged prettily, "Matt and Tai are taking T.K. and me skating tonight. Our moms told them they needed to spend more time with us."

Davis felt a vein in his forehead begin to throb. (3)

::Think, Davis. Think. Tai and Matt won’t watch them the whole time. You can’t let them be alone with each other. There has to be a way of going along with them. Come on, think! They’re going with their brothers, so . . . Jun! ::

Usually, he preferred to forget that his sister existed. It was less embarrassing that way. Jun was always falling passionately in love with some boy or another, and she wasn’t shy about showing her feelings in the most humiliating ways possible. At the moment, after a brief interest in Jim Kido, the object of her affections was once again Matt Ishida, T.K’s older brother. ::What is it with that family?:: Her room was practically a shrine to him - the walls were covered with photos, the cupboard was bursting with mementoes to the glory that was Matt. She kept every cup from which he drank at the school cafeteria, stole sweaty towels from his gym-bag, chased after every bubblegum wrapper that he threw away. She went to every one of his concerts and threw her . . . underwear onto the stage. Why, she had spent the whole of last week camped outside of his apartment door in the hopes of meeting him. (He had not bothered to tell her that he was staying with his mother and T.K. at the time.) She would have cheerfully killed her entire class if it would allow her to spend an evening with him. She certainly would not question why Davis had taken a sudden interest in her love-life. In other words, she would be the perfect excuse . . . .

"Er, would you mind if Jun and I . . . uh . . . come too . . . Kari? I . . . need to . . . uh . . . spend more time with her, and . . . uh, she’s so obsessed with Matt that . . . I almost never see her now. . . . "

T.K. laughed, "Sorry, Davis, but Matt would mind. Your sister drives him crazy, and I don’t mean in the same way that she is about him."

"Shut up, T.O! I wasn’t talking to you," he yelled, balling his fists.

"Besides," Yolei had a nasty, knowing grin on her face, "What about the rest of us? Cody and I are free tonight. I’m sure Ken can make it too. Or was your invitation only for Kaaaaari?"

::I wish she’d shut her big, fat mouth.::

In a strangled voice, "Is six okay to meet at my house?"

"Perfect," Yolei was the picture of self-satisfaction, "I’ll bring Monopoly."

Cavern of Sighs, The Digital World

A shadow amidst darkness, Myotismon picked his way down the long tunnel that led into the Cavern of Sighs. (4) The only light was provided by the walls, which glowed a soft white as if moonshine were trapped within them. It washed everything of colour, making everything seem grey and lifeless. Now and again, the shining smoothness was broken by carvings of what looked like one of the ancient crests to him, if one that he did not recognise. Even more eerily, an underground wind, that blew up the tunnel from time to time, filled the cave with the ghostly whisperings and moans from which it took its name. Those were even audible over the low thrumming of drills and scraping of shovels where the Nanodroidmon were excavating. Even he could understand why this was one of the Digiworld’s most holy places. Their desecration of it made the plan all the more delicious.

"Demidevimon," he called as he stepped into the cave, his voice bouncing off the high ceiling, "Where are you, you fool? She wants to know if you’ve found them yet."

His henchmon came fluttering towards him from his perch on a rock. He was holding something in one of his talons and he had a smug smile on his ugly, little face.

"I have good news, master," he said cheerfully, "The Nanodroidmon have turned up one of the crests."

"Give it here, you idiot, before you break it. She’d never forgive you if that happened," he commanded. Demidevimon dropped the crest into his hand, grumbling slightly to himself. Myotismon’s red lips curled back in a smile as he examined it. Like the other crests the Digidestined had owned, it was a thin, transparent wafer into which a symbol had been inscribed. In the bleached light, it glistened with a darkly damp sheen that reminded him of light catching off an oil-slick. Colours played on its surface, but they were strangely dull and tainted. It was the most beautiful, corrupt thing that he had ever seen.

"Which one is it, master?" Demidevimon squawked impatiently.

Closing his fist around it, "The Crest of Fear."

The Icerink

"Is it just me or are our brothers really bad at this?" T.K. asked Kari with a little laugh, his words coming out in puffs of frosted air. He was sitting beside her on a bench beside the rink, waiting for her to finish lacing up her skates. Out on the ice, people moved in time to the tinny rock’n’roll that was being piped out over the speakers. Or were trying to do so, in the case of Tai and Matt. Her brother was clinging onto his friend as if he were all that stood between him and a lifetime of detention. The blond did not look much more steady on his feet, however, wobbling and teetering like a new-born Digimon. Inevitably, the two tumbled into a heap on the ice, shrieking with laughter. (8)

She risked a sideways glance at her companion and she felt her stomach hop queasily within her. Resting his chin on his hands, he had a slight smile on his face. He had not changed a great deal in the four years that she had known him. His spiky, blond hair might have been covered by a new, if equally ridiculous hat, but his clear, blue eyes still had something of the innocent child about him. T.K. was the bearer of the Crest of Hope for good reason. His naiveté allowed him to see light where a wiser person would have known there to be nothing but darkness. She was here because of that quality in him....

Since he had rescued her from the Dark Ocean, she had become aware that there was no-one that she liked more than Takeru Takaishi. She was not so sure how he felt about her. Although he seemed to return her feelings at times, there were others where he seemed completely indifferent to her. She sighed. Perhaps she had misunderstood him when he had told her he cared about her. Perhaps he only liked her as an old, dear friend or, even worse, as Tai’s sister whom he had made a promise to protect.

::He must never know how I feel about him.::

"Come on, T.K," Matt yelled, scrambling to his feet only to have them slide from under him again, "Stop sitting there and come help me, because Tai’s useless."

"Hey!" the dark-haired boy punched him playfully, sending him sliding across the ice on the seat of his pants, "Who are you calling useless, Ishida? I don’t see you winning any gold medals for skating soon." (9)

Grinning, her friend shouted: "On my way, Matt."

He climbed off the bench and stepped carefully onto the rink, before turning back to her and offering her a gloved hand: "You coming, Kari?"

::He must never know.::

Faking a chuckle, she took it and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet, "And miss the chance to show our brothers how bad skating is really done? Let’s go."

Takenouchi Residence

Legs curled beneath her, Sora sat at her window and watched the city go to sleep. Ever since she had been a little girl, she had loved to watch the apartment windows go dark around her, like eyes closing in slumber. She had loved to imagine what the inhabitants might have been doing; what stories were unfolding around her. Here, a young mother was putting her baby to sleep. She had been working in a factory all day packing, she was all alone in the world and afraid of what the future would bring, but she still found the strength to sing a lullaby. There, an old couple were sitting in front of a fire, talking over beautiful, old memories that had meaning only to them, enjoying the fruits of a life well-spent together. Here, a father had peered in through the doorway just to see his children sleeping, a proud smile on his face. There, a wife was lying awake beside her husband and hating him. Her suitcase was packed beneath her bed, but she had nowhere to go. And, over there, Matt Ishida had probably just returned to an empty house.

She rested her suddenly warm cheek against the cool glass of the window. At times, she wished that she could be the family that he needed. Or, if not, that she had a right to take him into her arms and comfort him. Oh, Matt pretended not to care that his father worked late every night. He just would laugh and say he liked the freedom it gave him. It meant he could invite pretty girls back to his place without his parents asking them embarrassing questions, he would add with a wink. Sora might have believed him if she hadn’t seen the way he looked at T.K. at times. It was a look that was both envious and longing; a look that said that that should have been him with the lovely home and the doting parent.

::I wish I could speak to Tai about this, but I don’t want to hurt him. He’s already hurt by what I’m doing. He likes me and I like Matt and . . . Sometimes, I wish I was still twelve. Everything was much simpler when we were kids. Oh, what a horrible mess you’ve made of everything, Sora!::

Motomiya Residence

"Pay up, Davis," Yolei sang as her friend’s dog landed on one of her train-stations yet again. This was turning out to be one of the best evenings of her life. Not only was she spending time with Ken whom she secretly adored, but she was cleaning up on the Monopoly board. She had a satisfying pile of money on the table in front of her, she owned all the deeds to the train-stations and the properties in the better parts of town and, most importantly, she was on the verge of bankrupting Davis.

He was slumped in his chair with his long legs stretched out in front of him and his arms folded across his chest. Beneath Tai’s goggles, he had a scowl on his face and a lower lip on which Aquilamon could have landed with ease. Only part of it was a result of being solidly trounced by her at Monopoly. Most of it was due to Kari’s absence.

Although it went against Yolei’s most cherished principles to humiliate cute guys, she was prepared to make an exception for the self-proclaimed leader of the Digidestined. If only because Davis was the biggest jerk she had ever met and deserved everything she dished out to him.

"This was such a good idea of yours, Davis," she said with a bright smile, wanting to turn the screws a little more, "It’s such a pity T.K. and Kari can’t be here."

"Whatever," he muttered, expression darkening, "Pass the popcorn, Ken."

Yolei’s insides gave a little flutter at the sound of his name. She could not imagine anyone more different from Davis than Ken Ichijouji. ::He is so cute. No, that’s not right word for it. Ken isn’t cute like T.K. is cute or . . . ick . . . Davis is cute. Ken is . . . beautiful.:: Dark hair shadowed a delicate, almost girlish face, and his eyes were the same, dusky blue as an evening sky. Unlike his loud-mouthed Jogress partner, Ken was taciturn at the best of times. (4) At the moment, he was watching the proceedings with the shy, half-smile that suited him best. Yolei gave him an encouraging grin, and was rewarded by seeing his own widen a little farther.

"My turn," Cody called, picking up the dice and throwing them onto the table. The youngest of the Digidestined was also quiet, if in a completely different way from Ken. Kari had hit on the right word for him when she had called him thoughtful. It was as if he saw and felt things on a deeper level than her; as if he could penetrate the surfaces to see the truth. In another time, he might have been a swami or a guru. Yet there was also something about him that made her feel . . . shut out, as if he had politely but firmly closed the door to his innermost soul in her face. And Yolei did not like being excluded.

"This game is stupid," Davis whined, slamming his cards down onto the table, "There had better be something good on TV, because I’m outta here."

"Yeah, Yolei is unbeatable," Cody smiled ruefully and dropped his own hand back into the box, "Besides, I don’t want to miss that documentary on the history of kendo."

"KENDO?" he exclaimed, pushing his chair back and making his way to the door, "Forget it, Hida. (6) I wanna see if there’s a soccer match on the go."

Still squabbling over what they would watch, the two friends made their way down the hallway, leaving her on her own with Ken. If she hadn’t been so irritated about them quitting a game in which she was ahead, she would have been delighted about that. Being part of such a close group of friends meant that she seldom got an opportunity to be alone with him.

"If you want to go watch television with them," he said a little nervously, "I’m happy to clean up here."

Yolei beamed at him.

::Ken’s such a perfect gentleman. Davis would never offer to clean up the . . . WAIT! HEY! He thinks I should go? He wants me to go! Jerk!::

In her lap, her hands tightened into fists, but she forced herself to keep her smile on her face. Kari had told her once that she wore her heart on her sleeve. Anyone can tell how you’re feeling, her friend had said, they just have to look at you to know. Yolei didn’t like the thought of anyone reading her innermost soul like it was an open book. In Kari’s case, it wasn’t so bad. She was her best girlfriend, her Jogress partner, and Yolei told her most of her deepest, darkest secrets anyway. In Ken’s, however, she thought she would die if he realised how she felt about him.

"I don’t like watching soccer," she said lightly, almost too lightly, "Except when you’re playing, that is. In fact, Ken, I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do than spend time with you."

::Oops. I guess I should be dying around about now.::

Strangely, she felt none of the embarrassment that she knew she should have been feeling. There was only an odd sense of relief that she had finally spoken the words that had been in the front of her mind and on the tip of her tongue for so many months now.

::Does that make me brazen?::

He blushed, a rosy stain spreading across his cheeks, "I . . . I feel the same, Yolei. I . . . I think I like you too." (7)

::YES!::

Kido Residence

"Joe," Mrs Kido yelled, as she set the plates of noodles on the table, "Stop studying for the test and come eat your supper."

"Aw, mom, can’t you bring it through here?" her son’s voice was muffled by his bedroom door, "My teacher is just looking for an excuse to fail me, and I still haven’t learnt the small intestine."

With a grimace, she transferred Joe’s plate to a tray and added a cup of green tea for good measure. She supposed that she should have been pleased that she had a son who was so serious and so studious. All the other mothers complimented her on how hard-working she had raised him to be. Just the other day, Mrs Kamiya had been saying how she wished Tai applied himself to school in the same way that Joe did. And Mrs Takaishi had said to her on more than one occasion that she was glad Joe was following a more sensible career than Matt, who wanted to be a rockstar. Certainly, her younger son would never be like Jim, who had abandoned his studies in medicine to chase wispy, insubstantial legends. Still, she would have slept easier if she could have gotten rid of her lingering suspicion that Tai, Matt and even Jim were happier than Joe.

"I’m coming, honey."

She pushed open the door to his room and paused in horror, her suddenly lifeless hands dropping the tray of food. The contents spilled across the carpet, making a mess which she did not see and about which she did not care. She barely even noticed the hot noodles and tea that splashed on her sandalled feet. She walked to the window as if in a trance, unable to believe what her eyes told her to be true.

"Mom, what is wrong? Mom?"

Through the glass, she could see a hole in the sky.

IRRITATING ANNOUNCER VOICE: What does the hole in the sky mean and does it have anything to do with the Crest of Fear? Find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

NUMBERED NOTES:

(Some of these might be pretty obvious, but someone might read this ‘fic who has never read or watched Digimon in the past.)

1. This is Davis’ POV. He’s such an idiot that he doesn’t realise he’s admitted it about a thousand times in the series. Ah, let the Davis bashing begin . . . :D

2. This isn’t a mistake, so much as an ongoing joke in the English dub. Davis never gets T.K’s name right. "T.A.?" "Davis can’t spell T.K.!"

3. You know, the throbbing vein that always seems to appear on manga\anime characters’ foreheads when they are angry. . .

4. I know Myotismon was conclusively dispatched at the end of the first and second series. Be patient, dear ones, and I shall reveal the manner of his resurrection.

5. I’m using the Japanese term here, because it sounds much neater than DNA-digivolve partner. ‘Needles’ to say, Jogress evolution = DNA-digivolution.

6. It’s Cody Hida or, as the Japanese would have it, Hida Iori.

7. Can people tell I’ve been reading Homer? "When Rosy-Fingered Dawn . . ."

8. No, this story isn’t Taito, and they aren’t clinging onto each other for any romantic purpose. :D

9. Why do they have different surnames? Matt lives with his father, hence Ishida. T.K. lives with his mother, hence Takaishi. I’ve heard other explanations, but they aren’t borne out by the series AFAIK.

RANDOM NOTES:

1. I’ve stolen one or two lines from L.M.Montgomery. Sorry about that, but consider it a homage. :D

2. Reading back over the piece, this is very romance-intensive, isn’t it? It’s almost inappropriate for the rest of the series, which is a great deal more action-orientated. I’m almost tempted to revise it and rewrite it, if I didn’t think it gave a good overview of the relationships between and the characters of the Digidestined II, which was really the intention of the first part.

3. Uh, I’m sure it’s not Japanese enough, but . . . the dub has a very American flavour about it. Seriously, when they said Mimi was moving to NY, I wondered why it was such a big deal. What’s worse is that I’m South African myself. So, apologies for that. :D

4. Future parts won’t be as long. This is seven pages. I’m horrified at how much I have written. :)