Shi-chan: Hi, and welcome to my 100th fic! More appropriately, welcome to the blurb for my 100th fic. ^^;; At the time of the writing of this sentence, I haven't decided what the fic will be about. In fact, I'm not even entirely sure what genre it will be. (Most likely Digimon, though.) I'm just chillin' and listening to Akiyama Ryo's Tamer song, "Digital Survivor." I've noticed that this song reminds me a lot of Ken's "Only One," even though they're not similar in lyrics, tune, or seiyuu. I think it may be a combination of the beat and the first line of the song, which is my favorite. ^^;; In fact, when Ryo says the first line "Ore wa koko ni iru," he sounds a lot like Taichi. o.O;; So I'm just listening to the first 30 seconds and then restarting the song, looking for inspiration. None's coming yet.
All my muses have been given the day off, because I don't want any help (or interference) with this fic. Unfortunately this may be a problem, since I have no plot yet! Oops.
This is a long author's note, isn't it? (Obviously, it's because I haven't decided what the story is yet.)
Hey! Inspiration!
Funny how it comes on, isn't it?
Okay, I've got it: Since it's my special story, we can all indulge the overworked Shi-chan, and read it regardless of the summary that I'm not going to give. It's going to be called "Digital Survivor," and the story itself will be a surprise. It may be a sequel or spinoff to 'In Your Shoes,' 'Sadness-Colored Sandglass,' 'I,' 'Opening the Door,' 'I Forgive You,' or another completed story, or it may be something new altogether. You won't know until you're halfway through, and suddenly you'll realize--"Whoa! This is from the (insert completed Shi-chan fic name here) universe!" The beauty of it is that you won't KNOW till I want you to! Wahahahahahaha!
...you can tell by this point that I STILL haven't decided what to write about yet, right?
Either way, here comes the title screen!
Disclaimer: Digimon's not mine!
(Established: This is a Digimon story. NOW we're getting somewhere.)
(You know what would have been funny? If I'd written a Gundam Wing story called "Digital Survivor." Hee hee. Oh my...SURVIVOR? Okay, let's get this straight, this fic has nothing to do with the show 'Survivor'! It just happens to be the name of the song. *sweatdrop*)
Digital Survivor
~by Shimegami-chan
Music: "Digital Survivor," Akiyama Ryo's theme
Couplings: Oh my God, I haven't decided the couplings yet! Um. Well...it will be either Kensuke, Kenyako, Kenworm, Kenkaizer, Kaisuke, Kaiyako, (sensing a pattern here?) or Masasuko, and MAY also include Taito, Takari, Jyoumi, Kouyako, Daikari, Koumi, Mimiyako, Hiyako, Takori, yaoi couplings, yuri couplings, straight couplings, human/digimon couplings, crossover couplings...or, hell, it could contain no couplings at all...okay, so at this point it could contain ANYTHING. Hey, this is really fun! I should write like this more often!
Warnings: None. Yet. May contain yaoi or yuri, or may contain heterosexual pairings. May have slight cursing or something. Death maybe, who knows. We'll work on that later.
Author's Notes: Can be found throughout the fic. ^^;;
It was a bright and sunny day.
(Better than 'dark and stormy night,' don't you think?)
Ahem. It was a bright and sunny day in Odaiba, peppered only occasionally by sunshowers and the resulting rainbows.
(Ha ha, we have a setting!)
I ('I' being Ken-chan, because all my stories have Ken in them somewhere) shifted my sachel to my other arm as I stepped out of the train (do they use trains or subways in Japan? I can't remember which) station and into the sunlight.
(You know, it feels as though I'm MSTing my own fic here. That's really weird.)
It was a warm spring day, and the flowers were just beginning to bloom in the May weather.
(Oh my God, I have come up with a plot! Excellent! Stay tuned for the development of the actual story now! Read the fic carefully from here on in: there's something hidden in it, like a secret message, and if you've read any of my fics before you might pick up on what it is. Read on!)
I ignored the stares I was getting from curious passers-by as I strolled down a busy street, Minomon in one arm and my schoolbag in the other, balancing a sky-blue umbrella. I paused in front of Kikiwai Ice Cream Shoppe. "This is the place."
(These author's notes will stop now that I've figured out where this fic is going. Muahahahaha! Enjoy!)
I checked my watch, jostling Minomon from the sleep he had fallen into on the train. "Awake, are we?"
"...Ken..."
"Good morning, sleepyhead," I greeted my digimon. The little guy had a unique way of smiling with just his eyes that I found terribly interesting, and he was doing it now. "It looks like I'm the first one here, so why don't I treat you to an ice cream?"
Minomon looked elated. "Yes, please!"
My partner and I entered the shop and seated ourselves in a large booth to wait for some of the other Chosen to arrive. A moment later a waitress appeared and I placed an order, remembering that Minomon preferred chocolate ice cream. I picked up a copy of the Glory Voice, the local newspaper. A few headlines caught my eye; "High-School Detective Behind Jewel Robbery," and "Ex-Wife Arrested for Arson," but none interested me enough to read.
I turned my attention to the window as Minomon dug into the chocolate ice cream sundae, noting the happenings outside. The rain had picked up momentarily and the window was blurred with the water's tracks down its glass, but I could still watch people pass from inside the warm building. A young boy wearing thick glasses in the phone booth on the corner rose up on his tiptoes to put a coin in the slot, and another child in a brown poncho ran down the sidewalk, his red sneakers splashing in the puddles. An ambulance sped by with its sirens blaring and a dark-haired teenager ran down the street, protecting his head from the rain with his arms, calling out to someone that I couldn't see. A monstrous Cadillac attempted to parallel-park and clipped the tail end of a horrifying pink limo before speeding off.
Unable to catch a glimpse of my friends, I looked back at my digimon. "Enjoying?"
"Oh yes." Minomon looked pleased. "I dreamed I would get chocolate ice cream, and I did!"
"Did you now?" I laughed. "On the train?"
"Yeah." The green digimon hurriedly finished off the last spoonful of whipped cream. "In my dream, we all had a party with lots of streamers and music and cake. It was the biggest cake I'd ever seen! You and Daisuke-san had a cake fight and Miyako-san videotaped it. Yamato-san and Taichi-san had a cake-eating contest instead. Taichi-san was winning until Jyou-san tripped on an extension cord and fell into the cake. Mimi-san helped him clean up and she and Koushirou-san ate the rest of the cake. Then, I had chocolate ice cream, with whipped cream and cherries on top."
"Sounds fun." I loved to listen to my digimon talk; Minomon's cheery voice and enthralled expression always did wonders for my spirits. I was glad Minomon had been feeling so energetic lately.
"Konnichiwaaaa!" Miyako had entered and latched herself onto my arm. "Hi, Ken-kun!"
"Hello, Miyako-san," I returned pleasantly. "Have a seat."
The violet-haired girl slid into the seat across from me. A pair of new gold glasses rested on the bridge of her nose, smaller than her old ones and yet looking like they might slip off at any moment. "Am I the first one here?"
"Yes, but I think I hear Daisuke coming." The Chosen in question ambled through the door in his soccer uniform, for once without Taichi's old goggles perched on his head.
"What'd you get, Takaishi? I got an 80." the voice of Motomiya Daisuke boasted.
"Ano...90." Takeru said quietly. Daisuke turned red and looked away. "Ah! Hikari-chan! How did you do?"
Hikari grinned. "95."
Daisuke hung his head.
The three younger Chosen joined Miyako and myself in the booth, Daisuke and Hikari beside their Jogress partners, and Takeru on Hikari's other side. "Konnichiwa, minna-san," I greeted.
"Hi Ken, Miyako." Takeru set Patamon on the table beside Minomon and Daisuke did the same with Chibimon. "Awfully wet out there, isn't it?"
"Definitely," Miyako replied, waving over the waitress to get a drink.
Hikari and Takeru had moved off the topic of their English assignments and were now discussing their older brothers' love lives. "And then he tells me, 'I'm in love with my best friend.' What am I supposed to say to that?"
Takeru grimaced. "Ouch."
Hikari continued. "So the only advice I can give him is to tell Yamato-niichan, and as soon as he works up the courage to do it--Yamato tells him first!"
"I think it worked out rather well," commented Takeru. "Especially since he broke up with Sora for Taichi-niisan. He showed me a script of what he was going to say after the breakup--all this stuff to make her feel better, like 'I think I might have fallen in love with you all over again, if I had met your eyes,' and stuff. Sora was still so mad that she decked him."
"He wrote a script? That's too corny," was Miyako's contribution.
"Well, it got him together with Taichi, didn't it? Anyway. So Ken, how was your double date with Yutaka Ayumi?" Takeru asked mischievously.
"Don't ask," Daisuke groaned. "Ken has some...aversions...to blonde cheerleaders, it seems."
"That bad?"
I didn't get to reply, being shoved furthur into the booth by Daisuke to make room for the couple that had been under scrutiny just a moment ago. "Hey, Taichi. Hi, Yamato." Both boys nodded in greeting.
"That's certainly a shiner you've got there, Oniichan." Takeru smiled.
Daisuke stared at the Chosen of Hope. "Since when are you the town gossip, Takaishi?"
Both brothers ignored the glib comment. "A gift from Sora," was Yamato's reply.
"I guess you could say you walked into a door," Miyako said helpfully.
Miyako's drink arrived and she sipped it quietly while Yamato, Taichi, Hikari and Takeru ordered.
I looked at Daisuke. "Are you getting anything, Dai?"
"I'll have to get something for Chibimon." Daisuke was having a hard enough time trying to keep his digimon inside the booth, much less occupied and quiet. "Did you want to share something?"
"Sure, that's fine." Daisuke ordered ice cream--vanilla with strawberries--while I turned my attention to my digimon partner. "You look as though you're dreaming or something."
"Iie, Ken-chan. Just thinking."
"What about?"
The little green digimon looked solemn. "It's just been so quiet lately. No enemies, no Digital World adventures--"
"--no killing, no putting our lives in danger..." Iori had appeared beside Miyako, and took a sip of her drink. "Yuck! Is there alcohol in this?"
"No, silly...it's orange Crush mixed with chocolate ice cream mixed with cranberries mixed with blueberries and--"
"--never mind..."
I focused on the conversation between Yamato and Taichi. "Well, I didn't plan on eating all of them," Tai said defensively.
"'Course not," Yamato said brashly, "you'd get fat."
"Well, excuse me! You're the one always watching your weight!"
I laughed quietly to myself, drawing Daisuke's attention. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing, Dai. I'm just...listening, for once."
"Oh?"
I couldn't think of what to say, but Daisuke's attention moved away from me quickly enough. Koushirou and Tentomon had taken up residence in the next booth over, as the one occupied by the younger Chosen was just about full. The mahogany-haired boy leaned over the back of the booth. "The laptop goes everywhere, eh, Koushirou-sempai?"
Izumi Koushirou hit the 'save' button on his program and swiveled in his chair to face Tentomon. "Not if my partner can help it."
"You spend too much time on that thing," Tentomon argued.
Koushirou started to reply but ended up sneezing violently. "See!? That proves that you've been writing too many fanfics!" Tentomon accused.
"It proves I shouldn't have walked here in the rain. This is so not how I planned on spending my vacation." Koushirou said with a sniffle.
"Hey! It's us!" Yamato drew the group's attention once again. "Listen, on the radio!" The Teen-Age Wolves' new single, Tobira, was playing from the speakers in the ceiling.
//"Look on for no one else's sake
Because it's better than giving up,"//
All was quiet for a few moments as we listened to the band's latest, with Yamato's guitar in the lead.
//"Fairy child, awed by wonder
Running away from the lives we lead
I want you by my side."//
After the song ended we all applauded, including Jyou and Sora, who had joined Koushirou in the other booth. All three had turned to Jyou's crush on Mimi, who was visiting Japan. Sora seemed to be ignoring Yamato and Taichi altogether and was instead coaching Jyou. "Oh come on, live in the moment!" the red-haired girl protested.
Jyou looked miserable. "She's like fire, and ice, at the same time. I can never guess her moods."
"I thought you weren't coming," Yamato mumbled under his breath to Taichi, but it was obvious that the comment was directed at Sora.
"Love is more than your good intentions," Koushirou warned.
"I bring her candy and flowers every afternoon, but she never seems to catch on how much I like her." The young medical student looked like he was about to cry. The scene almost made me feel guilty at the happiness I had been finding in my own friendships and relationships lately.
"Come on, Jyou, smile for me!" Sora coaxed.
Jyou pouted in a very un-Jyou-like way. "Nooo....she hates me..."
"No way, you were meant for each other!" Miyako had joined the fight.
Instead of being grateful for the support, Jyou looked a little embarrassed, so I returned to my seat. The waitress had just set a huge dish of vanilla ice cream--with strawberries--down in front of Dai, as well as a smaller chocolate one for Chibimon and Minomon. Patamon and Tailmon shared with their partners, Iori ordered some ice cream, and Poromon left Miyako's concoction in favor of Hikari's. Taichi stirred his spoon in a bowl of orange sherbert, while the waitress went back to refill Yamato's mug. Yamato took his coffee black, I noted.
Daisuke was arguing with Chibimon on the merits of eating flowers. "They smelled so nice, isn't it obvious that they would taste just as good?"
"No, Chibi! Mom just doesn't want you raiding the fridge. She'd rather the fridge than her flower bed."
"But the flowers are better than the food you mom cooks!" Chibimon protested.
"Chibi!"
I sighed and tapped my fingers on the wooden table, trying to gather my thoughts. The three in the next booth continued to argue. "I'm not going," Jyou said with finality. "I hate dances."
Koushirou sneezed. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
"I'm telling you, she likes you! Just tell her!" Sora sounded angry now.
"Of course, that would involve you actually speaking."
"Shut up, Koushirou!"
I smiled to myself, watching out the window yet again. The rain had cleared and there was a rainbow outside, stretching over Ksuriguden Park across the street. A mailman hurried by. Two people sat cuddling under a tree and two young women were out on the sidewalk with a guitar and a drum set, playing for money. The music was muted by the glass window, but I could still hear snatches of lyrics.
//"If I were you
and I wish that I were you,
in the arms of an angel
fly away from here."//
Hikari regarded me carefully. "Ken, are you all right?"
"Yeah." The music had had a rather depressing effect on me, along with Minomon's comments from before. Now that the war in the Digital World was over, what would I do? I wasn't Ichijouji Ken, child prodigy anymore. I was normal. And even though I was still only eleven years old, it felt as though my life had passed me by.
Mimi bounced in a moment later, giggling excitedly. It was the first time I had spoken with her since my visit to Mexico, and I hadn't really gotten to know her then. Daisuke's face immediately lit up. "Mimi-chan! Was your trip okay? Did you bring me a present?"
Mimi laughed. "Hello, Daisuke, nice to see you again!"
"Hi Daisuke-san!" Palmon added.
Dai smiled at the plant digimon. "Hey Palmon!"
Mimi took a seat next to Jyou, who immediately turned red, and all eyes turned to face them. "Hi Jyou! Sora! Koushi-kun!"
"I refuse to answer to that ridiculous nickname." Koushirou tried to look miffed, but the effect was undermined by his constant sniffles.
"You should have a face mask," Mimi warned. Koushirou grumbled and opened his laptop despite Tentomon's protests.
I cast my eyes downward, feeling suddenly overwhelmed by all the people around. "I need a moment," I said to whomever was listening. "Minomon, go home with Chibimon if I don't come back."
"Are you okay, Ken-chan?" My partner asked worriedly.
I nodded in response and squeezed out of the booth, nodding my good-bye to Hikari, who seemed to be the only one to notice my departure. I darted out of the shop and onto the sidewalk, where another sunshower had begun. The streets had mostly emptied, as had the park and the phone booth, leaving me alone in the spring rain.
I paused beside a shop window, looking at my reflection in the glass. Short, dark hair; dark eyes...the person in the glass was more glaring than staring back at me. My head swam. It was warm, so warm...All of a sudden the silence was pressing in. Had I destroyed my future at the age of eleven? I wasn't even fifteen years old. I felt like I was fifty.
I walked as slowly as I could, staying for a moment to play with a tiny puppy held by a young girl, to scrawl 'Shinigami was here,' in condensation on the windows of parked cars, to admire the happy couples walking arm-in-arm, under umbrellas in their own little world.
"What's wrong, Ichijouji?" Daisuke. I should have known.
There was a different feeling in the air, and he knew it. I wondered what this would mean.
"I'm fine, Daisuke. Just feeling a little down."
"Come on, let's get back in before I freeze."
I didn't answer, leaning against a brick building.
"You were fine a few minutes ago. I don't understand."
"We may not ever understand each other."
He fell silent. After a moment I felt his hand slide into mine, the silver claddaugh ring on his ring finger cold against my skin. "It's not too late to go back."
I halted. "What do you mean?"
"I know what you're thinking...'is this good-bye?' You don't have to be alone anymore, Ken. You can tell me what's wrong." I wondered at his eyes, their chocolate-brown depths endless. What did he see in me? He gave me a weak smile, but I could tell it was faked.
He had his hope. I had my dreams. Who was I to tell him things that weren't true, to send him away when his understanding was what I wanted most right now?
"You're right, Dai...I was just thinking about what Minomon said. No more battles, no more digimon...we're in peacetime. I should feel happy...but I feel empty. When I wasn't the Digital Kaizer I was a Chosen Child. Now I'm neither. I feel...useless." "Is that all?" Daisuke looked surprised. "Ken, that's something all of us are going through. You're feeling the same things we are, and the same things the others felt when they left the Digital World three years ago. At least we still have our digimon...and we have each other."
It sounded so poetic that the speech nearly brought tears to my eyes. "Daisuke..."
He smiled, and I knew he was feeling it too, tears barely being held in. He gestured to my eyes, "See, they match mine!" before gently wiping the unshed moisture away with a handkerchief. His gift of understanding was worth more than anything else to me right then, and he didn't expect anything in return.
"I'm sorry for being like this...it's just that...I wanted to remember every single moment of all those adventures, and now that they're over...I don't know what to do with myself. Who I am."
I noticed when I turned that the goggles were once again nestled in his mahogany hair. "I guess we'll have to forgive each other, because I feel the same way. I never want to forget it, not even the ugly stuff, not the Kaizer stuff, not anything." He paused, looking solemn. "But Ken, I know exactly who I am...Motomiya Daisuke, Chosen Child, bearer of Friendship and Courage. A Digital World survivor. I won't forget that, or my friends, or our battles. The first time I met the others. The way my heart beat in time with yours, when we first Jogressed."
"Will we slip away, do you think?"
"Me and you?" Daisuke's looked surprised.
"All of us. Takeru, Hikari, Iori, Miyako..."
He pulled me into a quick hug. "No way, Ken. No matter what happens now, I think those friendships are set for life."
It felt just right. How could I ever have been sad just a short time ago? I smiled and let him hug me there, in the middle of the street, the spring rain pouring over us both. It felt wonderful, it felt like peace.
I am Ichijouji Ken, the Chosen Child of Kindness, of the Digimon Adventures.
Digital Survivor.
~owari!
(Ha! Got you, the only coupling was Taito!)
(Actually, it was Kensuke, but I took out the sap parts in the final editing process. ^^;; It just wasn't coming out right. But it can still be Kensuke if you want it to be!)
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There was something special about the way this fic was written (that took me about 13 hours to complete). I wonder whether anyone noticed? If you've read Death Becomes Him, I, Sadness-Colored Sandglass, Beside You Always, Christmas in Kaizerland, Falling for the First Time, Chocolate or From the Heart you might have noticed what it was...or you might not have. :-P If anybody figures out what the trick was, let me know in a review (or you could e-mail me [duoxheero@dragonball-gt.zzn.com] and ask) and I'll put up the first version and show you how it was done.
Well! That was interesting, and I'll admit, rather entertaining! Wahahaha. Since this is a special anniversary, I'd ask you to hit that little box there and leave me a review, even if it's just to say hello. Thanks for reading, and for your support, everyone! *hugs for all*
Thanks to Shinigami Neko for beta-reading, and Zippo as well. Couldn't have done it without you.
Still reading? How about a shameless plug? 'Sadness-Colored Sandglass' is now complete and ready for reading, so if you've got a minute, please check it out.
http://www.fanfiction.ws/read.php?storyid=229476
Arigatou, minna-san! Till next time!
All my muses have been given the day off, because I don't want any help (or interference) with this fic. Unfortunately this may be a problem, since I have no plot yet! Oops.
This is a long author's note, isn't it? (Obviously, it's because I haven't decided what the story is yet.)
Hey! Inspiration!
Funny how it comes on, isn't it?
Okay, I've got it: Since it's my special story, we can all indulge the overworked Shi-chan, and read it regardless of the summary that I'm not going to give. It's going to be called "Digital Survivor," and the story itself will be a surprise. It may be a sequel or spinoff to 'In Your Shoes,' 'Sadness-Colored Sandglass,' 'I,' 'Opening the Door,' 'I Forgive You,' or another completed story, or it may be something new altogether. You won't know until you're halfway through, and suddenly you'll realize--"Whoa! This is from the (insert completed Shi-chan fic name here) universe!" The beauty of it is that you won't KNOW till I want you to! Wahahahahahaha!
...you can tell by this point that I STILL haven't decided what to write about yet, right?
Either way, here comes the title screen!
Disclaimer: Digimon's not mine!
(Established: This is a Digimon story. NOW we're getting somewhere.)
(You know what would have been funny? If I'd written a Gundam Wing story called "Digital Survivor." Hee hee. Oh my...SURVIVOR? Okay, let's get this straight, this fic has nothing to do with the show 'Survivor'! It just happens to be the name of the song. *sweatdrop*)
Digital Survivor
~by Shimegami-chan
Music: "Digital Survivor," Akiyama Ryo's theme
Couplings: Oh my God, I haven't decided the couplings yet! Um. Well...it will be either Kensuke, Kenyako, Kenworm, Kenkaizer, Kaisuke, Kaiyako, (sensing a pattern here?) or Masasuko, and MAY also include Taito, Takari, Jyoumi, Kouyako, Daikari, Koumi, Mimiyako, Hiyako, Takori, yaoi couplings, yuri couplings, straight couplings, human/digimon couplings, crossover couplings...or, hell, it could contain no couplings at all...okay, so at this point it could contain ANYTHING. Hey, this is really fun! I should write like this more often!
Warnings: None. Yet. May contain yaoi or yuri, or may contain heterosexual pairings. May have slight cursing or something. Death maybe, who knows. We'll work on that later.
Author's Notes: Can be found throughout the fic. ^^;;
It was a bright and sunny day.
(Better than 'dark and stormy night,' don't you think?)
Ahem. It was a bright and sunny day in Odaiba, peppered only occasionally by sunshowers and the resulting rainbows.
(Ha ha, we have a setting!)
I ('I' being Ken-chan, because all my stories have Ken in them somewhere) shifted my sachel to my other arm as I stepped out of the train (do they use trains or subways in Japan? I can't remember which) station and into the sunlight.
(You know, it feels as though I'm MSTing my own fic here. That's really weird.)
It was a warm spring day, and the flowers were just beginning to bloom in the May weather.
(Oh my God, I have come up with a plot! Excellent! Stay tuned for the development of the actual story now! Read the fic carefully from here on in: there's something hidden in it, like a secret message, and if you've read any of my fics before you might pick up on what it is. Read on!)
I ignored the stares I was getting from curious passers-by as I strolled down a busy street, Minomon in one arm and my schoolbag in the other, balancing a sky-blue umbrella. I paused in front of Kikiwai Ice Cream Shoppe. "This is the place."
(These author's notes will stop now that I've figured out where this fic is going. Muahahahaha! Enjoy!)
I checked my watch, jostling Minomon from the sleep he had fallen into on the train. "Awake, are we?"
"...Ken..."
"Good morning, sleepyhead," I greeted my digimon. The little guy had a unique way of smiling with just his eyes that I found terribly interesting, and he was doing it now. "It looks like I'm the first one here, so why don't I treat you to an ice cream?"
Minomon looked elated. "Yes, please!"
My partner and I entered the shop and seated ourselves in a large booth to wait for some of the other Chosen to arrive. A moment later a waitress appeared and I placed an order, remembering that Minomon preferred chocolate ice cream. I picked up a copy of the Glory Voice, the local newspaper. A few headlines caught my eye; "High-School Detective Behind Jewel Robbery," and "Ex-Wife Arrested for Arson," but none interested me enough to read.
I turned my attention to the window as Minomon dug into the chocolate ice cream sundae, noting the happenings outside. The rain had picked up momentarily and the window was blurred with the water's tracks down its glass, but I could still watch people pass from inside the warm building. A young boy wearing thick glasses in the phone booth on the corner rose up on his tiptoes to put a coin in the slot, and another child in a brown poncho ran down the sidewalk, his red sneakers splashing in the puddles. An ambulance sped by with its sirens blaring and a dark-haired teenager ran down the street, protecting his head from the rain with his arms, calling out to someone that I couldn't see. A monstrous Cadillac attempted to parallel-park and clipped the tail end of a horrifying pink limo before speeding off.
Unable to catch a glimpse of my friends, I looked back at my digimon. "Enjoying?"
"Oh yes." Minomon looked pleased. "I dreamed I would get chocolate ice cream, and I did!"
"Did you now?" I laughed. "On the train?"
"Yeah." The green digimon hurriedly finished off the last spoonful of whipped cream. "In my dream, we all had a party with lots of streamers and music and cake. It was the biggest cake I'd ever seen! You and Daisuke-san had a cake fight and Miyako-san videotaped it. Yamato-san and Taichi-san had a cake-eating contest instead. Taichi-san was winning until Jyou-san tripped on an extension cord and fell into the cake. Mimi-san helped him clean up and she and Koushirou-san ate the rest of the cake. Then, I had chocolate ice cream, with whipped cream and cherries on top."
"Sounds fun." I loved to listen to my digimon talk; Minomon's cheery voice and enthralled expression always did wonders for my spirits. I was glad Minomon had been feeling so energetic lately.
"Konnichiwaaaa!" Miyako had entered and latched herself onto my arm. "Hi, Ken-kun!"
"Hello, Miyako-san," I returned pleasantly. "Have a seat."
The violet-haired girl slid into the seat across from me. A pair of new gold glasses rested on the bridge of her nose, smaller than her old ones and yet looking like they might slip off at any moment. "Am I the first one here?"
"Yes, but I think I hear Daisuke coming." The Chosen in question ambled through the door in his soccer uniform, for once without Taichi's old goggles perched on his head.
"What'd you get, Takaishi? I got an 80." the voice of Motomiya Daisuke boasted.
"Ano...90." Takeru said quietly. Daisuke turned red and looked away. "Ah! Hikari-chan! How did you do?"
Hikari grinned. "95."
Daisuke hung his head.
The three younger Chosen joined Miyako and myself in the booth, Daisuke and Hikari beside their Jogress partners, and Takeru on Hikari's other side. "Konnichiwa, minna-san," I greeted.
"Hi Ken, Miyako." Takeru set Patamon on the table beside Minomon and Daisuke did the same with Chibimon. "Awfully wet out there, isn't it?"
"Definitely," Miyako replied, waving over the waitress to get a drink.
Hikari and Takeru had moved off the topic of their English assignments and were now discussing their older brothers' love lives. "And then he tells me, 'I'm in love with my best friend.' What am I supposed to say to that?"
Takeru grimaced. "Ouch."
Hikari continued. "So the only advice I can give him is to tell Yamato-niichan, and as soon as he works up the courage to do it--Yamato tells him first!"
"I think it worked out rather well," commented Takeru. "Especially since he broke up with Sora for Taichi-niisan. He showed me a script of what he was going to say after the breakup--all this stuff to make her feel better, like 'I think I might have fallen in love with you all over again, if I had met your eyes,' and stuff. Sora was still so mad that she decked him."
"He wrote a script? That's too corny," was Miyako's contribution.
"Well, it got him together with Taichi, didn't it? Anyway. So Ken, how was your double date with Yutaka Ayumi?" Takeru asked mischievously.
"Don't ask," Daisuke groaned. "Ken has some...aversions...to blonde cheerleaders, it seems."
"That bad?"
I didn't get to reply, being shoved furthur into the booth by Daisuke to make room for the couple that had been under scrutiny just a moment ago. "Hey, Taichi. Hi, Yamato." Both boys nodded in greeting.
"That's certainly a shiner you've got there, Oniichan." Takeru smiled.
Daisuke stared at the Chosen of Hope. "Since when are you the town gossip, Takaishi?"
Both brothers ignored the glib comment. "A gift from Sora," was Yamato's reply.
"I guess you could say you walked into a door," Miyako said helpfully.
Miyako's drink arrived and she sipped it quietly while Yamato, Taichi, Hikari and Takeru ordered.
I looked at Daisuke. "Are you getting anything, Dai?"
"I'll have to get something for Chibimon." Daisuke was having a hard enough time trying to keep his digimon inside the booth, much less occupied and quiet. "Did you want to share something?"
"Sure, that's fine." Daisuke ordered ice cream--vanilla with strawberries--while I turned my attention to my digimon partner. "You look as though you're dreaming or something."
"Iie, Ken-chan. Just thinking."
"What about?"
The little green digimon looked solemn. "It's just been so quiet lately. No enemies, no Digital World adventures--"
"--no killing, no putting our lives in danger..." Iori had appeared beside Miyako, and took a sip of her drink. "Yuck! Is there alcohol in this?"
"No, silly...it's orange Crush mixed with chocolate ice cream mixed with cranberries mixed with blueberries and--"
"--never mind..."
I focused on the conversation between Yamato and Taichi. "Well, I didn't plan on eating all of them," Tai said defensively.
"'Course not," Yamato said brashly, "you'd get fat."
"Well, excuse me! You're the one always watching your weight!"
I laughed quietly to myself, drawing Daisuke's attention. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing, Dai. I'm just...listening, for once."
"Oh?"
I couldn't think of what to say, but Daisuke's attention moved away from me quickly enough. Koushirou and Tentomon had taken up residence in the next booth over, as the one occupied by the younger Chosen was just about full. The mahogany-haired boy leaned over the back of the booth. "The laptop goes everywhere, eh, Koushirou-sempai?"
Izumi Koushirou hit the 'save' button on his program and swiveled in his chair to face Tentomon. "Not if my partner can help it."
"You spend too much time on that thing," Tentomon argued.
Koushirou started to reply but ended up sneezing violently. "See!? That proves that you've been writing too many fanfics!" Tentomon accused.
"It proves I shouldn't have walked here in the rain. This is so not how I planned on spending my vacation." Koushirou said with a sniffle.
"Hey! It's us!" Yamato drew the group's attention once again. "Listen, on the radio!" The Teen-Age Wolves' new single, Tobira, was playing from the speakers in the ceiling.
//"Look on for no one else's sake
Because it's better than giving up,"//
All was quiet for a few moments as we listened to the band's latest, with Yamato's guitar in the lead.
//"Fairy child, awed by wonder
Running away from the lives we lead
I want you by my side."//
After the song ended we all applauded, including Jyou and Sora, who had joined Koushirou in the other booth. All three had turned to Jyou's crush on Mimi, who was visiting Japan. Sora seemed to be ignoring Yamato and Taichi altogether and was instead coaching Jyou. "Oh come on, live in the moment!" the red-haired girl protested.
Jyou looked miserable. "She's like fire, and ice, at the same time. I can never guess her moods."
"I thought you weren't coming," Yamato mumbled under his breath to Taichi, but it was obvious that the comment was directed at Sora.
"Love is more than your good intentions," Koushirou warned.
"I bring her candy and flowers every afternoon, but she never seems to catch on how much I like her." The young medical student looked like he was about to cry. The scene almost made me feel guilty at the happiness I had been finding in my own friendships and relationships lately.
"Come on, Jyou, smile for me!" Sora coaxed.
Jyou pouted in a very un-Jyou-like way. "Nooo....she hates me..."
"No way, you were meant for each other!" Miyako had joined the fight.
Instead of being grateful for the support, Jyou looked a little embarrassed, so I returned to my seat. The waitress had just set a huge dish of vanilla ice cream--with strawberries--down in front of Dai, as well as a smaller chocolate one for Chibimon and Minomon. Patamon and Tailmon shared with their partners, Iori ordered some ice cream, and Poromon left Miyako's concoction in favor of Hikari's. Taichi stirred his spoon in a bowl of orange sherbert, while the waitress went back to refill Yamato's mug. Yamato took his coffee black, I noted.
Daisuke was arguing with Chibimon on the merits of eating flowers. "They smelled so nice, isn't it obvious that they would taste just as good?"
"No, Chibi! Mom just doesn't want you raiding the fridge. She'd rather the fridge than her flower bed."
"But the flowers are better than the food you mom cooks!" Chibimon protested.
"Chibi!"
I sighed and tapped my fingers on the wooden table, trying to gather my thoughts. The three in the next booth continued to argue. "I'm not going," Jyou said with finality. "I hate dances."
Koushirou sneezed. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
"I'm telling you, she likes you! Just tell her!" Sora sounded angry now.
"Of course, that would involve you actually speaking."
"Shut up, Koushirou!"
I smiled to myself, watching out the window yet again. The rain had cleared and there was a rainbow outside, stretching over Ksuriguden Park across the street. A mailman hurried by. Two people sat cuddling under a tree and two young women were out on the sidewalk with a guitar and a drum set, playing for money. The music was muted by the glass window, but I could still hear snatches of lyrics.
//"If I were you
and I wish that I were you,
in the arms of an angel
fly away from here."//
Hikari regarded me carefully. "Ken, are you all right?"
"Yeah." The music had had a rather depressing effect on me, along with Minomon's comments from before. Now that the war in the Digital World was over, what would I do? I wasn't Ichijouji Ken, child prodigy anymore. I was normal. And even though I was still only eleven years old, it felt as though my life had passed me by.
Mimi bounced in a moment later, giggling excitedly. It was the first time I had spoken with her since my visit to Mexico, and I hadn't really gotten to know her then. Daisuke's face immediately lit up. "Mimi-chan! Was your trip okay? Did you bring me a present?"
Mimi laughed. "Hello, Daisuke, nice to see you again!"
"Hi Daisuke-san!" Palmon added.
Dai smiled at the plant digimon. "Hey Palmon!"
Mimi took a seat next to Jyou, who immediately turned red, and all eyes turned to face them. "Hi Jyou! Sora! Koushi-kun!"
"I refuse to answer to that ridiculous nickname." Koushirou tried to look miffed, but the effect was undermined by his constant sniffles.
"You should have a face mask," Mimi warned. Koushirou grumbled and opened his laptop despite Tentomon's protests.
I cast my eyes downward, feeling suddenly overwhelmed by all the people around. "I need a moment," I said to whomever was listening. "Minomon, go home with Chibimon if I don't come back."
"Are you okay, Ken-chan?" My partner asked worriedly.
I nodded in response and squeezed out of the booth, nodding my good-bye to Hikari, who seemed to be the only one to notice my departure. I darted out of the shop and onto the sidewalk, where another sunshower had begun. The streets had mostly emptied, as had the park and the phone booth, leaving me alone in the spring rain.
I paused beside a shop window, looking at my reflection in the glass. Short, dark hair; dark eyes...the person in the glass was more glaring than staring back at me. My head swam. It was warm, so warm...All of a sudden the silence was pressing in. Had I destroyed my future at the age of eleven? I wasn't even fifteen years old. I felt like I was fifty.
I walked as slowly as I could, staying for a moment to play with a tiny puppy held by a young girl, to scrawl 'Shinigami was here,' in condensation on the windows of parked cars, to admire the happy couples walking arm-in-arm, under umbrellas in their own little world.
"What's wrong, Ichijouji?" Daisuke. I should have known.
There was a different feeling in the air, and he knew it. I wondered what this would mean.
"I'm fine, Daisuke. Just feeling a little down."
"Come on, let's get back in before I freeze."
I didn't answer, leaning against a brick building.
"You were fine a few minutes ago. I don't understand."
"We may not ever understand each other."
He fell silent. After a moment I felt his hand slide into mine, the silver claddaugh ring on his ring finger cold against my skin. "It's not too late to go back."
I halted. "What do you mean?"
"I know what you're thinking...'is this good-bye?' You don't have to be alone anymore, Ken. You can tell me what's wrong." I wondered at his eyes, their chocolate-brown depths endless. What did he see in me? He gave me a weak smile, but I could tell it was faked.
He had his hope. I had my dreams. Who was I to tell him things that weren't true, to send him away when his understanding was what I wanted most right now?
"You're right, Dai...I was just thinking about what Minomon said. No more battles, no more digimon...we're in peacetime. I should feel happy...but I feel empty. When I wasn't the Digital Kaizer I was a Chosen Child. Now I'm neither. I feel...useless." "Is that all?" Daisuke looked surprised. "Ken, that's something all of us are going through. You're feeling the same things we are, and the same things the others felt when they left the Digital World three years ago. At least we still have our digimon...and we have each other."
It sounded so poetic that the speech nearly brought tears to my eyes. "Daisuke..."
He smiled, and I knew he was feeling it too, tears barely being held in. He gestured to my eyes, "See, they match mine!" before gently wiping the unshed moisture away with a handkerchief. His gift of understanding was worth more than anything else to me right then, and he didn't expect anything in return.
"I'm sorry for being like this...it's just that...I wanted to remember every single moment of all those adventures, and now that they're over...I don't know what to do with myself. Who I am."
I noticed when I turned that the goggles were once again nestled in his mahogany hair. "I guess we'll have to forgive each other, because I feel the same way. I never want to forget it, not even the ugly stuff, not the Kaizer stuff, not anything." He paused, looking solemn. "But Ken, I know exactly who I am...Motomiya Daisuke, Chosen Child, bearer of Friendship and Courage. A Digital World survivor. I won't forget that, or my friends, or our battles. The first time I met the others. The way my heart beat in time with yours, when we first Jogressed."
"Will we slip away, do you think?"
"Me and you?" Daisuke's looked surprised.
"All of us. Takeru, Hikari, Iori, Miyako..."
He pulled me into a quick hug. "No way, Ken. No matter what happens now, I think those friendships are set for life."
It felt just right. How could I ever have been sad just a short time ago? I smiled and let him hug me there, in the middle of the street, the spring rain pouring over us both. It felt wonderful, it felt like peace.
I am Ichijouji Ken, the Chosen Child of Kindness, of the Digimon Adventures.
Digital Survivor.
~owari!
(Ha! Got you, the only coupling was Taito!)
(Actually, it was Kensuke, but I took out the sap parts in the final editing process. ^^;; It just wasn't coming out right. But it can still be Kensuke if you want it to be!)
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There was something special about the way this fic was written (that took me about 13 hours to complete). I wonder whether anyone noticed? If you've read Death Becomes Him, I, Sadness-Colored Sandglass, Beside You Always, Christmas in Kaizerland, Falling for the First Time, Chocolate or From the Heart you might have noticed what it was...or you might not have. :-P If anybody figures out what the trick was, let me know in a review (or you could e-mail me [duoxheero@dragonball-gt.zzn.com] and ask) and I'll put up the first version and show you how it was done.
Well! That was interesting, and I'll admit, rather entertaining! Wahahaha. Since this is a special anniversary, I'd ask you to hit that little box there and leave me a review, even if it's just to say hello. Thanks for reading, and for your support, everyone! *hugs for all*
Thanks to Shinigami Neko for beta-reading, and Zippo as well. Couldn't have done it without you.
Still reading? How about a shameless plug? 'Sadness-Colored Sandglass' is now complete and ready for reading, so if you've got a minute, please check it out.
http://www.fanfiction.ws/read.php?storyid=229476
Arigatou, minna-san! Till next time!