Disclaimer: Digimon Adventure 02 and all its characters don't belong to me and never will, unless I suddenly find myself switching places with the creator. Okay, enough with the daydreaming; this story is another alternate universe. (What? You were expecting something different? AUs are practically the only things I can do!) I'm sure the change will be noticeable right off, so I won't even try to explain… This story was written for Cynthia's "Jun Motomiya romance" challenge … many years ago. Be warned, Jun-haters!
I'm using the Japanese names in this story, as well as Japanese endearments. And, if I end up involving Digimon at all, everything in here will be leaning towards the Japanese version. (BTW, I'm still using my made-up names for Ken and Osamu's parents. Don't mistake them for the real names.)
Started: January 8, 2001
Finished: January 29, 2001
Revised: January 9, 2005
"You Know It's Love"
Part 1: Teasers
Little brothers were the parasites of every family. It had to be true, especially since said little brother was being the parasite he was, mooching off her "hidden" stash of chocolates that had been snagged from the kitchen. Normally, she would have paid little heed to the whole incident for lack of a good reason to be angry, but those particular chocolates were from a certain someone…
"Daisuke!!" Fury burned in Jun Motomiya's eyes as she ran into the room, yanking the gold-trimmed box out of the boy's hands. "These were from Yamato-kun!"
A pair of brown eyes rolled in response, a hand wiping at a small chocolate smudge on the corner of the owner's lips. "Jun, you know that's not true; that all just happened in some weird dream you had last week!"
Jun's eyes narrowed angrily as she hugged the chocolate box to her chest. "Who told you that?"
"You did."
"Oh … I did, didn't I?" Jun sighed sadly and sank onto her bed, staring at the apartment ceiling blankly. "Daisuke … why do you think Yamato-kun doesn't like me?"
Daisuke frowned at Jun's socks, looking away from the frilly yellow things as he spoke. "I thought you already knew; Yamato's not interested, Jun."
"But why!?" Jun whined and thrust herself into a sitting position, looking down at her brother, who was curled up at the side of her bed. "Why doesn't he like me? Am I too ugly or something?"
Being the insensitive and clueless eleven-year-old he was, Daisuke simply shrugged and said, "Probably."
That statement earned the boy a slap to the back of his head and a soft kick in the thigh, to which Daisuke retorted with a tackle around Jun's ankles that sent her sprawling to her side.
The sibling brawl had begun.
x x x x x
Younger brothers were, without a doubt, the most annoying things to plague the known world. Especially when they were younger brothers that just didn't know when to shut up.Osamu Ichijouji tapped his pencil against the top of his desktop in a futile attempt to block out his brother's inane chatter, trying to concentrate his attention on the algebra homework laid out before him. The only other person in the room spoke loud enough for the both of them, juggling a soccer ball that should have been thrown out the window half an hour ago. Osamu tolerated the incessant thumping and clinking of the ball hitting some part of his brother's body, if only because he would have to face the wrath of his parents should they discover he took away his little brother's toy without good reason.
… That is, until the ball came flying through the air, crashing through his workspace and nearly hitting him and his computer.
"Ken!!" Osamu's amethyst eyes flashed as he jutted out of his chair, giving the sheepish-looking boy a heated glare as his papers floated to the ground.
"Sorry, sorry," Ken Ichijouji apologized quickly, trying to walk across the room to get to his ball.
"Not this time, otouto…" Osamu got to the soccer ball first, kicking it out onto the terrace through the open sliding door.
"Osamu-chan!" Ken's eyes widened as he watched his precious ball bounce haplessly about the balcony, just barely wrenching his gaze away to meet his brother's furious one. "What was that for?"
"For disturbing my work!" The older Ichijouji flailed his arms wildly, gesturing to the mess that was compiling on the floor. "Besides, you know very well that Papa and Mama will be pissed off if you break something!"
Ken sighed, muttering another apology as he started helping his brother pick up the fallen papers. He glanced at the math problems as soon as he had gotten together a thin stack, then stated, "The answer's seven plus or minus the square root of negative twenty-three all over twelve."
Osamu stared at his sibling incredulously as he took back his homework, then said flatly, "I knew that."
"Sure, you did…," Ken chuckled, rolling purple eyes as he ambled over to retrieve his soccer ball.
If Ken hadn't had his back turned, he would have noticed Osamu's eyes twitch right before he ran and tackled the smaller boy from behind, his intent being to tickle the smartass into submission.
x x x x x
She never understood soccer; the whole purpose of the game seemed meaningless and boring to her. The ball would shoot back and forth between opposing teams, ultimately ending up in one of the two goals on opposites sides of the field. Then the ball would be brought back into the middle and the whole process would start over again.
Yeesh, why does Daisuke like this stuff anyway? she wondered to herself, head in her hands as she sat in the bleachers. I shouldn't have even promised to go to his dumb game … although he'd probably have broken my finger if I'd refused. She winced, quickly changing the subject so she wouldn't have to dwell on the painful thought. How totally uncool is this? I've gotta be the only teenager here! Her eyes wandered up and down the bleachers, spotting only kids younger than Daisuke and adults that were more than likely other players' parents. Gaaaah! I'm in teenager hell here!
The thoughts, however, stopped as soon as her eyes fell on a boy roughly her age, tapping at a black laptop. He was a few bleachers below her, his back the only thing visible even with the sparsely-filled seats.
… Okay, I take that back.
Standing up from her seat, Jun made her way down to the same level that the boy was sitting on. She settled down next to the boy, smiling brightly and gripping the wood under her. "Hi there! What're you doing?"
She didn't receive an immediate response, the boy tapping at the computer keys for a few more seconds before pressing the Enter key and looking up at the speaker. Jun was greeted by calm, purple eyes that glinted behind oval frames and a straight face that made no space for a smile. For a moment, Jun lost herself in those eyes and thought of nothing else but them.
However, that feeling didn't last long.
"I'm typing a science paper on the water cycle," he said nonchalantly. "Do I know you?"
"Nope," Jun replied, her smiling not faltering, "but I was getting soooo bored watching this soccer game. What's so important to this game?"
The boy looked away, his eyes following the players on the field. "Just watch for a moment." Reluctantly, Jun allowed her eyes to drift back to the game. "The Tamachi and Odaiba teams are the best teams in the prefecture."
"Really? Even when Daisuke's on the team?" Jun watched her brother receive a pass from one of his midfielders and head for the Tamachi goal. "Whoa! He's gonna score!"
"I highly doubt that," murmured her companion, a tinge of delight to his voice. Both watched as the brown-haired boy charged at the goal, a green-and-black blur coming out of nowhere and sweeping the ball away from him. An indigo-haired boy dribbled the soccer ball out of the goal area, a rocket as he covered ground. "My brother covers the whole field."
"Brother…?" Jun blinked at the boy down on the field, recognizing him from TV and the newspapers. "But isn't that Ken Ichijouji…?" Sudden realization hit her, causing her eyes to widen in shock. She nearly leapt to her feet as she stared at the boy sitting next to her. "You're Osamu Ichijouji, the prodigy!"
A faint, amused smile appeared on the boy's face at the title. "Guilty, I'm afraid," he said in that quiet voice of his. "I have yet to hear your name."
Jun flushed, realizing that she had completely forgotten to introduce herself. Of course, he didn't introduce himself, either, she thought. Oh, my God… I can't believe I'm talking to the Osamu Ichijouji! "I'm Jun Motomiya," she said, trying her best not to stutter. "… Daisuke's sister." She gestured lamely at the boy that Ken had just stolen the ball from, then laughed at herself. "Geez, I never thought I'd meet the Child Scientist of Tamachi!"
Osamu looked skyward, a sigh passing his lips. "That stupid title was given to me by the reporters; I'd rather not be called by that. Even the whole 'prodigy' thing is a bit farfetched. Titles aren't my thing."
"You're so modest," giggled Jun. Her eyes wandered back to the game, her eyes lighting up as Daisuke stole the ball from Ken. "Goooo, Daisuke!!" The dark-haired boy blinked as Jun jumped up and down, clapping wildly as Daisuke fired at the goal. "C'mon, Dai, you can do it! Show those busters who they're messing with!!"
"… I thought you weren't into soccer." Osamu propelled his voice so that Jun could hear him over her own shouting.
The red-haired girl grinned, taking her seat again and rocking back and forth happily. "Yeah, well, I never saw the fun in it. Now I have a reason to like it."
"And what's that?"
Her grin broadened. "I can watch my little bro kick your little bro's butt."
Osamu stiffened, blinking hard at the girl. His eyes then narrowed, and he shut his laptop. "Is that so…?"
Jun nodded firmly. "Yeah!"
"Yeah?" Osamu's brow shot up.
"Yeah!!"
Holding his Gates laptop under one arm, Osamu leapt up to his feet and began shouting down to the soccer field. "Ken!! You better crush those kids into atoms!"
"Daisuke, wipe 'em all out! Especially Ichijouji-san!"
Osamu glared at Jun's challenging look, then screamed, "Ken, annihilate the Motomiya kid!!"
The screaming contest continued until the end of the game.
x x x x x
Ken gave his older brother a look of strained confusion as they walked home, toting his soccer bag over one shoulder and flailing with one hand. "I'm glad you were being so enthusiastic, Osamu-chan," he began, stressing heavily on the 'enthusiastic,' "but what was up with you!? You were practically telling us to kill each other!"
Osamu smiled at the younger boy, feigning innocence in such a way that it was easily recognized by Ken. "Ken-chan, Ken-chan … can't I have some fun every now and then?" He let out a light laugh, adjusting his glasses with his free hand; the other was burdened with his laptop bag. "I think almost losing my voice was worth the look on your face…"
An exasperated sigh escaped the other boy's lips. The soccer game had ended with two very distraught teams; the game had ended in a tie and the referee had called off a shootout. "What got into you? There was that girl you were having your shouting contest with…"
"Her name's Jun Motomiya, and apparently she's the sister of one of the Odaiba players," Osamu replied, calming a bit. "Do you know anyone named Motomiya?"
"Daisuke Motomiya, yeah," affirmed Ken. "Why were you talking to her?"
The older Ichijouji shrugged, picking up his pace and grinning back at his brother. "C'mon, Ken-chan! I owe you a burger, don't I? Hurry up!"
Ken stared after the taller boy warily, his attention slowly being averted to a little green face that appeared in the crack in his bag. "Ken-chan, I think your brother's going loony," Minomon declared. "I've never seen someone so excited to pay off a debt…"
"Neither have I," Ken admitted, patting the little Digimon on the head. "I didn't even threaten him that much, either; I just threw him over my shoulder and pinned him to the ground with some easy Judo moves."
Minomon sweatdropped.
x x x x x
Three weeks passed before another soccer game was held between Tamachi and Odaiba Elementary. As he pulled a sports jacket over his soccer jersey and shoved a towel in his bag for Chibimon, Daisuke took notice of his sister putting on her own jacket in the hallway. "Going somewhere, Jun?" he queried.
Jun grinned at him. "Yep."
"'Gonna go hound Yamato into letting you date him?"
"Not today!" giggled the older Motomiya, the grin never once faltering. "I'm going to your soccer game!"
Daisuke twitched, staring at the taller girl in shock. "W-- what?"
"You heard me -- I'm going to your soccer game!" Jun patted her little brother on the head, gripping at his brown spikes happily. "I've gotta make sure you pound those Tamachi guys into the ground."
The shorter of the two continued to twitch, raising a hand to remove Jun's hand from his head. "Uh, can I ask why? You were never interested before…"
"Hey, can't a girl get interested in her brother's hobbies without getting interrogated?" demanded Jun, taking her hand back before Daisuke could touch her. "I'm offended here, Daisuke!"
Daisuke rolled his eyes and slung his soccer bag over one shoulder, heading for the front door. "You're really weird, Jun," he declared loudly, grinning as a quiet snicker could be heard from his bag. Patting at the area he was sure Chibimon was in, the Chosen Child left the house, Jun hot on his heels.
x x x x x
"Hey, it's the Child Scientist!"
"Ah, I wasn't aware using tons of hairgel was popular with girls…"
"I wasn't aware using tons of hairgel was popular period!"
"Shouldn't that be an exclamation mark?"
The two spat back enthusiastic taunts, earning them strange looks from their brothers as they headed down the bleachers. "What's up with your sister, Daisuke?" Ken asked from his fellow Chosen as they walked.
"'Should be asking you the same 'bout your bro, Ken," Daisuke muttered back, glancing behind him to the two. "They're really letting each other have it…"
Ken frowned, following the shorter boy's gaze back to their older siblings. "I wonder what happened? Did they get off on the wrong foot?"
"'Not sure," was his reply. As they reached the bottom of the bleachers, Daisuke held his hand out to the indigo-haired boy. "Well, we're at it again, Ken."
"Heh … so we are," agreed Ken with a nod. He shook his friend's hand. "No restraints as usual, Daisuke?"
"Sure thing! The tougher, the better!"
Releasing each other's hands, the two headed off to their respective teams in preparation for battle. As the game started up, both Daisuke and Ken could hear shouting from the stands. They looked up simultaneously, seeing their siblings already cheering away at the top of their lungs from their seats. Groaning, the two boys lowered their eyes and tried to concentrate on the game.
"Don't let them win, Daisuke!"
"C'mon, Ken! Go, go, go!!"
It was going to be a long game.
x x x x x
Daisuke felt like pulling out his hair as he packed up his cleats. Another tie game. Somehow, despite all of the shouts and cheers from the stands, Tamachi and Odaiba had ended at another dead tie. Chibimon noticed the angry look on his face. "Daisuke, it can't be that bad…"
"I think Jun and Ken's brother are plotting against us or something," grumbled the Chosen of Courage and Friendship as he put on the goggles Taichi had given him. "This is the second time we've tied!"
"Coincidence?" queried the blue Digimon.
"I have this thing about coincidences … there aren't any," mumbled Daisuke. He sighed and gently pushed Chibimon back into the bag, zipping the bag up halfway. "You okay in there, Chibimon?"
A pair of red eyes blinked up at him from the semi-darkness, and Daisuke smiled. He made his way over to where Jun was standing, noting that she was still talking to Ken's brother. Not wanting to walk up on some conversation between the two, the boy made his presence known before he was in their faces. "Jun!! C'mon, I'm ready!! Let's go!"
Jun blinked in surprise, shifting her attention from the conversation to her brother. She quickly wrapped up what she was talking about, slapping the boy on the shoulder and getting herself a slap in the shoulder from the boy in return. Grinning, she skipped over to Daisuke. "All right, I'm ready."
"Are you friends with Ken's brother, Jun?" Daisuke queried as they walked away, glancing back to see Ken and Osamu walking in the opposite direction.
The red-haired girl looked surprised by the question, rolling her eyes in amusement. "Friends with him? Well, I dunno, Daisuke… He's so weird! You think he's all modest and polite, but under it all, he's competitive and really arrogant. I'm not sure what to think of him."
Daisuke tried his very best to not look exasperated, shifting his bag to distract his hands for a short while. "You're avoiding the question."
"I'd have to ask him!" laughed Jun, her eyes smiling radiantly down at her younger brother.
Man, why did my sister have to be a nutcase? wondered Daisuke as he silently walked home with his giddy, older sibling.
x x x x x
"Tadaima!" The two boys echoed each other as they entered the apartment.
"Okaeri nasai!" chirped Rika Ichijouji, appearing in the hallway from the kitchen and hugging her two sons. "How was the game?"
Her younger son didn't look very thrilled to report back on the soccer game. "We tied again, Mama," he grumbled.
Rika gave the boy a sympathetic look, hugging him again. "Oh, I'm sure you'll beat them next time, Ken," she said.
"Yeah, and you better," Osamu said lightly, edging past their mother to get into the kitchen.
Ken and their mother followed, watching as Osamu pulled a box of crackers from the cupboard and opened it up. "What's that supposed to mean, Osamu-chan?" Ken frowned slightly at the statement.
"Well, I'm just saying that you better win the next game against Odaiba," the boy said as he adjusted his glasses and dug for a cracker. "I'm not gonna keep going if the game's gonna be so predictable."
"Osamu, show some encouragement for your brother," Rika chided. She hated negativity around the household.
"Sorry, Mama," Osamu sighed, popping a cracker into his mouth and eating it before continuing. "I did encourage Ken-chan at the game, though."
"Actually, I think he was just having a shouting match with Jun Motomiya," Ken interjected, smiling wryly at his brother. "He just made it sound like cheering because it was appropriate for the time."
"Jun Motomiya?" repeated Rika, blinking. "Osamu, who is that?"
The older of the two boys shot the younger a glare, at which Ken grinned. "Uh, she's a girl I met at Ken-chan's game a few weeks ago. She lives on the other side of the city."
Rika was openly showing her interest in the subject; it wasn't every day she heard anything about a girl from either of her sons. It was always some sort of sporting event -- soccer and Judo for Ken and swimming and tennis for Osamu -- or an academic tournament -- math and science Olympiads, impromptu essay contests, and the like -- that the two focused their attention on. Girls were a welcome change to the very earthy woman. "I'd like to meet her someday," she said wistfully.
"Mama, I just met her," Osamu said, trying his best not to sound annoyed and failing. "You make it sound like I'm planning on marrying the girl."
The woman laughed, smiling maternally at her older son. "You know us mothers," she quipped warmly. "We always dream for our children."
Osamu and Ken stared at their mother and then at each other, groaning to themselves. Melodramatic mothers.
x x x x x
"Konnichiwa, Izumi-san," Osamu greeted, bowing politely to his best friend's mother. "Is Koushiro here?"
The pink-haired woman smiled at the fourteen-year-old at her front door. It was always a pleasure to hear the polite flow of words from a mature someone, even if it was only her son's best friend. "Hai," she confirmed. "He's in his room, Osamu."
Thanking the woman, Osamu entered the Izumi residence and slipped off his shoes, padding through the carpeted apartment until he reached the now-familiar door of his friend's room. He knocked, waiting patiently for a reply. "Enter."
Osamu rolled his eyes, opening the door and stepping into his friend's room. It was far cleaner than his own, although Osamu had the excuse of sharing his room with a younger sibling. Koushiro Izumi turned in his swivel chair from the opposite side of the room, grinning at his guest. "Good to see you, Osamu," he said happily. "'Brought your laptop?"
"Don't I always?" Osamu laughed at the familiar greeting; the shorter boy would always ask the same question upon meeting him at his house. He patted the black bag slung around his chest and hanging at his left hip as he shut the door. "Any new programs, Kou?"
"Not since the one I sent yesterday," Koushiro replied, pulling another chair over so that he could share the desk with Osamu. The last program he had sent through e-mail had been nothing fancy; it showed a little old man (designed to look a lot like Gennai) bouncing off the sides of the computer, much like a rubber ball trapped in a box. It was supposed to be a screensaver. "… We are nerds, you know that?"
"Ah, I wouldn't say that." The other boy genius waved off the remark and took a seat, setting up his own laptop. "… Have you ever heard of Jun Motomiya, Koushiro?"
Koushiro shifted in his chair to look at his best friend, a brow shooting up. "Jun Motomiya? As in Daisuke's sister? … How did you meet her?"
"A soccer game of Ken's," shrugged the other boy. "She's so cheerful it's gotta be painful. Does she go to your school?"
"Fortunately for Yamato-san, no," Koushiro responded, booting up his computer. "She has a humongous crush on him, and it'd be illogical to say that she wouldn't be all over him if she were in our junior high."
Osamu frowned in confusion, saving the information of this 'Yamato' for later use. "Well, she doesn't go to Tamachi…"
"Yamato-san told me she goes to Midori Ame, on the southern end of Odaiba."
"The private school for girls? Why?"
Koushiro smiled wryly. "I believe he mentioned that it was because her parents believed boys were too much of a distraction to her studies."
The taller of the two laughed loudly at the statement. "Now, why would they think that?" The sarcasm was very tangible.
x x x x x
Jun made it her business to "miss" the school bus that would take her home from Midori Ame, beaming as stepped onto the bus towards Tamachi. She couldn't quite explain why she was doing what she was doing; she barely knew her intended victim and had little idea of what he thought of her. Shaking her head, she dismissed the thought; those thoughts never stopped her from chasing after Yamato Ishida. But, at the same time, she couldn't help but feel that she wanted to know what Osamu Ichijouji thought of her. The idea of receiving a negative reaction from the boy genius scared Jun, which she found startling.
She blinked, finding herself crossing one of the many bridges that marked the ending of Odaiba and the beginning of Tamachi. Brushing at her brown school uniform jacket as she stepped off the bus, Jun continued on to the private schools of the district, which happened to be right next to each other. Gray-clad students spilled out of the elementary, the black-jacketed junior high kids easy to spot among them. One in particular caught her eye, and she grinned widely.
"Hey, Prodigy!!"
Her victim straightened at the title-turned-taunt, turning to where the voice had come from. Jun smiled as Osamu approached, taking in his school uniform. She silently admitted to herself that the boy looked hot wearing white slacks and a black jacket, the dark blue turtleneck visible since the jacket hung open.
"Jun?" Osamu blinked at the sight of the girl. "What are you doing over here?"
Jun shrugged, feeling giddy in the presence of the boy genius. "I've found a new purpose in life!" she replied happily. "Annoying you!"
To her surprise, Osamu laughed at her declaration. "Is that so?" he chuckled, a smile gracing his face. It was a nice smile, Jun concluded after staring at it a few seconds. Very charming, very honest. "Well, I'm flattered that you think I'm worth annoying. 'Must be fun, since we both know you only belittle me because you're jealous!"
"Jealous?!" Jun gaped at the boy. "Okay, Prodigy, what's that supposed to mean?!"
"Oh, I'm sorry… I thought I was speaking in Japanese!" Osamu's smile had become a leer so quickly that it sent Jun's mind spinning. "You're jealous of my brother and me!"
"Oh, no, no, no…" Jun shook her head and wagged one finger in Osamu's face. "You've got it all backwards! You see, you're jealous of my brother and me!"
Osamu laughed again, clutching his briefcase tightly to make sure he didn't drop it. "Would you like to go grab an ice cream, Jun-chan?"
Jun didn't miss the stressed endearment, managing a giggle. Wait a minute here … did he just ask me out?! "That's very nice of you, Osamu-kun. What's the catch?"
"You have to beat me there!" Before Jun's eyes, Osamu dashed off down the street, briefcase still in hand.
It took the girl only a moment to get over her shock, picking her jaw up off the ground and running after the boy with a furious glow in her eyes. "You cheated, Osamu! Get back here!! You cheated!!!"
Elementary and junior high students alike watched the spectacle of one of the Ichijouji brothers being chased by a raving girl, many of them not thinking much of it; they had seen similar things many times in the past. One elementary student in particular took the time to watch the two disappear into the city, frowning as he made his way to a tree which he leaned against.
Geez…, Ken thought to himself, looking to the green leaves of the tree as he gripped his briefcase in one hand. Daisuke's never going to believe me when I tell him about this…
Notes:
I took that algebra problem (at the beginning of the story) right out of one of my old Algebra II class homework assignments; for anyone that's curious (yeah, I'm sure everyone's thrilled to hear about homework), the beginning problem was 6x-squared minus 7x plus 3 equals 0. You need to know Quadratic Formula and imaginary numbers to work it out.
I'm a firm believer that Daisuke and Jun have a normal brother-sister relationship; there are some bad times and some good times. I also don't like to dwell on the thought of Daisuke hating his life; it's too depressing for such an active character. I tried to write the two Motomiyas in the same way I act with my little brother. And yes, we do get a bit physical every now and then. The only difference is … well, he's a lot taller than me now.
"Midori Ame" is translated as "Green Rain." Either that, or "Lush Rain." I'd prefer it be translated as "Green Rain."