Digimon 1. The Long and Winding Road

Digimon: Digital Monsters

Reunion: Part One (The Long and Winding Road)

By 7 of 11

(Author's Note: Well, I noticed that recently a bunch of people are doing fanfics based around songs—or something like that. I just thought I'd try my hand at it. This story isn't really formed around a song, though. I just was listening to the Beatles's 'The Long and Winding Road', and I started thinking, and well, this was the result. Oh, and I KNOW they might be out of character, but they are supposed to be older, as in MUCH older, so I figure their personalities might have changed a bit.)

"What do you mean the shipment didn't come through?" shouted Taichi. He put his feet back down from where they had been resting up on his large mahogany desk next to the little placard that said 'Taichi Kamiya, CEO of Digital Media, Inc.' and glared at the phone as if he could see the person on the other end of the line. "I've been contacted by at least SIX other companies who want in, and you tell me the shipment of CDs didn't come through yet? Someone's gonna pay for this." 

Someone squawked unintelligibly through the phone. "I don't care what time it is in," he checked through the large pile of papers stacked on his desk until he found the information he was looking for. "Berlin! Get those CDs, and get them NOW!" He slammed the phone down—well, as well as one can slam a cell-phone down—and turned to the state-of-the-art laptop on his desk. "It's SO hard to find good help these days." He muttered.

Taichi logged on to the company network. He clicked to display his stocks, and his face metamorphosed from a scowl to a grin. "Down thirty dollars a share? This is just great! No, this is better than great! This is perfect!" A few clicks later, he leaned back in his chair. He had just bought enough shares of the MasterMedia—the greatest threat so far to the Digital Media, Inc. monopoly—to purchase the entire upstart corporation. Finally, something was going right today. 

His intercom bleeped. Taichi tapped it in response. "Yes, Susan?" he queried.

"Mr. Kamiya, there is mail here for you." His secretary responded.

Taichi's brow furrowed. "Mail?" Why would anyone send mail directly to his office, and not his personal address? "Bring it in."

"Yes, Mr. Kamiya." The double beep signifying the end to the conversation sounded, and moments later, the door to his office opened. Susan, his secretary, stepped in, holding a large envelope. "Here it is, sir." She placed the folder on his desk.

Taichi looked up at Susan. "This made it past the security scanners, right?" As the CEO of a large corporate empire, he had plenty of people who held a grudge against him, and it didn't hurt to be too careful. She nodded. "Well, then, that'll be all. Oh, and Susan?" he said as she turned to leave. "Can you get me something from the cafeteria? Here's some money, see if you can't get me a sandwich or something." Taichi handed her a few bills.

Once Susan was gone, Taichi opened the envelope. Inside was a fancy invitation. He read it. "Well, I'll be darned."

The bridge of the _USS Jacksonville_, SSN-794, shone with a deep scarlet as the submarine slunk under the ocean at a speed of 30 knots. "Down to 350." Captain Jyou Kido ordered. 

"350, aye." 

As he felt the deck tilt slightly downwards, Jyou, for no reason at all, felt himself thinking about the past. Much to his dismay, his family had moved from Japan to Washington, D.C. when Joe was 16. Though he protested that he hated water, Jyou eventually went to study at the U.S. Naval Academy, and soon found himself eating his words. He became a Captain in the United States Navy, and was given command of this brand-new submarine. A smirk slowly crept onto his face. If only the other Digidestined could see him now. Jyou, the so-called 'coward' of the group was now serving in the U.S. National Armed Forces.

Of course, thinking about the Digidestined also brought thoughts of Gomamon to his mind, and his smile faded. The human members of the group had suddenly, without warning, one day been plucked from the Digital World and tossed back into their own reality. Their Digimon partners had stayed behind. Jyou often wondered what would have happened if they had stayed in the Digital World, or if the Digimon had come with them.

"Reaching depth 350 now, sir." His helm officer reported.

"Hold at this depth. Set course for Norfolk." He could almost feel the crew releasing sighs of relief that they would finally have some shore leave again, after being at sea for four weeks—and that was one of the shorter patrols Joe had captained in his time in the Navy!

"Sir, we have an incoming transmission for you." Lt. Jarol at Communications addressed him. 

He walked over to the screen, and read the text appearing. Slowly, he started to smile.

Sora Takenouchi opened the door to her hotel room. Dejected, she limped into the room and flopped down on her bed. She winced and sat up again, looking at her bandaged foot. This wasn't fair. 

Here she was, a professional soccer player, who had played for Japan in the World Cup four years ago, selected to play again in a month, and she trips down the stairs in the lobby of her hotel. Oh well, she supposed it could have been worse. Her fit physique had kept her from doing something much worse than spraining her ankle. She could have broken her leg, or some other sort of career-ending injury.

As she started to massage her injured foot, the doorbell rang. Sora got up and walked over. She opened the door to find a small boy in a bellboy's uniform, with an envelope tucked under his arm. "Yes?" she asked.

"Miss..." the boy looked at the envelope he was carrying. "Takenouchi?"

"That's me." Sora nodded.

He handed her the envelope. "I have a letter for you, Miss Takenouchi. The Main Desk sent it up, since you hurt your ankle."

She took the letter and examined it. "Thank you, and tell the Desk thanks for the courtesy." She gave the boy an ample tip, and then closed the door once again. She lay down on her bed and started to read the letter.

Koushiro Izumi picked up a mug of coffee. He put the tepid liquid back down, however, and frowned at his computer screen. Why did this inferior piece of junk have to break down now? He had to prepare a lecture for his class tomorrow! He was a physics professor at Oxford, for crying out loud! And, although he didn't say this out loud—he preferred modesty to most other things—he thought he was the most likely candidate for the Lucasian Chair when Dr. Stephen Hawking left the position.

Grumbling, he set to work fixing the problem. Sometime in the middle of his work, the doorbell to his house rang, and the sound of someone dropping several letters off was heard. A few hours had passed before he realized this. "Mail's here." Reluctantly, he pried himself away from the computer. Koushiro also picked up his coffee mug, which had lost more liquid to evaporation than to his drinking from it, intending to refill it with something warmer than ice cold coffee. 

He bent down and read through his mail. Junk, junk, junk, more junk, but what was this? Curious as always, Koushiro examined the fancy envelope more closely. Finally, he admitted he was stumped—not an easy thing to do. He went to his computer table and retrieved a letter opener. He took out the letter and read it slowly. Koushiro smiled. "Prodigious." He said, for the first time in a long while. 

Mimi Tachikawa looked at the large cosmetics kit in front of her. "No," she decided after a long time. "There are too many frosted blues and not enough regular blues in the eyeshadow section. And what about that facial cream?" To prove her point, she dipped a finger into the liquid and held it up for her assistant to see. "It is FAR too granular!"

"Yes, ma'am. We'll get right on it, ma'am." Her assistant packed the makeup kit away and exited the room in a hurry.

Mimi looked at her watch. "Ugh, only 3: 35? I have three more people coming in! They had better have better products to show me; I can't waste my time rejecting things!"

There was a knock on her door. "Come on in!" she said, preparing herself for another long, tedious reviewing session. However, when the door opened, it was her assistant again. "What is it this time?" she asked, a bit more harshly than she intended.

"Ms. Tachikawa, you have a letter outside."

"A letter? For me? Hmm...who could it be?" she wondered. Her assistant walked over and handed it to her. "Thank you." She read the letter and a dreamy look appeared on her face. She hugged the letter to her chest happily. 

Takeru Takaishi blinked slowly as he awoke from his sleep. As he became fully conscious, he smiled and kissed his beautiful wife—who was still in slumberland—on the cheek. He and Hikari were the only two Digidestined who had stayed together. Oh sure, they all kept in touch, and once in a while they got together, but the ties between all of them were weakening gradually.

The most recent time they had all gotten together was six months ago, when Hikari finally announced she was pregnant. Takeru remembered it like it was yesterday. Everyone had had a great time at the following dinner party, but something was definitely missing. He couldn't put his finger on it, though. It was as if since they had gotten out of the Digital World and away from their Digimon friends, they had just drifted apart. 

Takeru suddenly remembered why he had woken up. He turned to the telephone on their bedside table as it rang again, and picked it up. "Takaishi residence." He said, careful not to wake Hikari. She had enough to worry about already. "Oh, hi Taichi!" he said. "I was just thinking about you guys." He listened as Taichi spoke. "Yeah, she's here. I'm sorry, though, she's asleep. I'll tell her you called." As the voice on the other end jabbered on, Takeru grew incredulous. "What? When is this? Sure, I'd love to come!" he wrote things down on a piece of paper. "I'll talk to her about it when she wakes up. G'Night, Taichi." He hung up the phone, and turned back to his lovely wife, Hikari. 

Yamato Ishida walked out of the Emergency Room, tired. Slowly, he removed his bloodstained latex gloves. For some reason, tonight had seemed more hectic than other nights he had worked the late shift. There was the stage magician whose luck with juggling knives had run out tonight; the kid who got an inch-long splinter under his thumbnail, the jogger who had fallen and broken a leg; and too many others to keep track of.

He sat down, exhausted. He didn't know how long he had before the next emergency case, but he figured he should make the most of his break. "Jun," he called to his good friend and fellow surgeon. "Can you get me a cup of coffee?"

"Sure thing, Yamato." As Dr. Jun Sonate returned with a steaming hot cup of coffee, he looked at Yamato with concern. "Gee, you really don't look that good, Yamato. Are you feeling all right?"

Yamato yawned. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired, I guess."

"Oh, okay. Oh, by the way, Yamato. You got some mail." He handed the envelope to Yamato, who opened it and took out the letter inside.

He smiled as he read it out loud. "Dear Mr. Ishida, We cordially invite you to join us on May 8th for a reunion with your high school classmates. Please respond by April 25th." 

Yamato Ishida put the letter down. It looked like the group would be together once again.


	2. You Can't Always Get What You Want

Digimon: Digital Monsters

Reunion-Part Two (You Can't Always Get What You Want)

(Author's note: This fic takes place three months after Part One, and is based around the Rolling Stones's song 'You Can't Always Get What You Want'.)

Jyou Kido stood in front of the hotel. Inside the mammoth structure, his high school reunion would take place. The Digidestined would finally be together again. He sighed. They would be together, yes...but was that really what he wanted? Maybe what the group needed was to be apart, to grow on their own.

A voice spoke from behind him. "Jyou? Jyou, is that you?" He turned to see Sora standing there. She was wearing a long dress that wrapped tightly around her body, slit at the side to show a generous portion of her leg. It sparkled silver in the bright lights of the hotel reception room, and an emerald brooch clasped it together right below her right shoulder. "Jyou! It is you!" She ran up to him and hugged him, and for a second, he could have imagined it was the old Sora again. She stepped back. "Well, if you don't look handsome in that outfit!"

He straightened the collar of his Naval dress uniform. "Umm...Hi, Sora! It's good to see you again!" He was about to say something more, but the whirring of rotor blades cut him off. "What the..."

They both turned, as did most other people in the hotel plaza, to see a helicopter flying towards the area. "Who on earth would rent a helicopter?" Asked Sora in disbelief. Jyou shrugged in response.

The helicopter swerved around in the air, and slowly started to settle to the ground. When it touched down, Jyou finally recognized the figure stepping out amidst a growing crowd. "It's Taichi!" Their friend immediately picked them out from the crowd and waved to the duo, who greeted him in return. 

Several minutes later, they were inside. Taichi sipped from the glass of wine he held in his hand. He looked at Sora. "You look nice in that dress." 

Sora gazed down at herself. "You really think so? Thanks, Taichi!" Suddenly, she looked up again, and far beyond the two men. "Is that...Koushiro! Over here!" 

Jyou and Taichi turned to see Koushiro Izumi, looking slightly disheveled even in his suit, approach. "Hey Koushiro!" said Jyou.

Koushiro mumbled something to himself, then looked at Jyou, as if startled. "Huh?" he inquired. "Did you say something?"

"That's the absent-minded professor!" Jyou laughed.

"Oh, that." Koushiro blushed. "I was just going over the details of a theory I am going to explain to my class in several days."

Jyou raised his wineglass again and took a sip. "Come on, lighten up! This isn't a time to be talking about work, Koushiro!"

Taichi leaned over "And you know when Jyou tells you to lighten up and have fun that you're REALLY boring people." This got a laugh from everyone.

There was a silence after the round of laughter. "Guys, do you realize that tonight we have been gone from the Digital World for exactly 15 years?" Koushiro reminded, solemnly. 

"No...I didn't remember..." whispered Sora. "It's been so long. 15 years...and we all know that time passes in the Digiworld much more quickly than here...I wonder what happened to our Digimon?" No one spoke.

A sigh escaped from Taichi's lips as he sat down. "You do remember the last night we spent there, right?"

Jyou nodded. "Of course. It would be kind of hard to forget it..."

_The Digidestined were seated around a fire, not saying a word. The two youngest—Takeru and Hikari—were sound asleep, and the desire to not wake them up was one of the contributing factors to the silence, but there was more to it than just that. No one could quite identify it, however, but everyone was obeying the noiseless command that was keeping him or her quiet. "Come on, guys!" Gomamon said. "Why all the long faces?"_

"I was just thinking..." Yamato answered. "What happens after we're done being the Digidestined?"

The seal-like Digimon looked confused. "How do you stop being a Digidestined? That's what you are alive to do!"

Taichi prodded the fire with a stick, trying to rekindle the dying flames. "No, it's something else, I think. Remember when Leomon told us of the legend? We, the Digidestined, are supposed to rid the Digital World of evil, we are supposed to save it. I think what Yamato is trying to say is: what happens when we save the world from evil? Then where do we go?"

There were murmurs of agreement from all around the ring, as if they all had been thinking the exact same thing. "And when we're done," Mimi looked at Palmon, who was by her side. "What happens to you? Where do you go?"

Gabumon spoke. "I don't think that you can ever rid the world of total evil. And for your question," he pointed at Mimi. "All of us are your companions. We are your partners. And, most importantly, we are your friends. No matter where you go, or what you do, or who you are with, we will always be there, to protect you when you need protection, to reason with you when you need reasoning, to comfort you when you need comforting, and to listen when you need to be listened to."

"You mean that?" Yamato asked, his eyes never wavering from the fire. "Will you always be with us?"

"Yes, Yamato." Answered Biyomon. "We will."

"That night, we all went to sleep, thinking nothing was amiss. And when we woke up, we were back home, and the Digimon were gone." Koushiro finished. 

"Hi, everyone!" Mimi bubbled from behind them. They all turned to see her. She was dressed in a scarlet, sparkly, silk dress, which pooled around her feet like blood. When she saw the gloomy expressions on their faces, however, she stopped. "Did I come at a bad time?" she asked.

Jyou fumbled with his hat. "Oh, no! It's just that...we were reminiscing about the past, in the Digiworld, that's all." 

"Ah, I see..." Mimi grew as somber as the rest of them.

Jyou stood up. "If Gomamon were here now, he'd crack some joke, and we'd all forget what was bothering us."

Taichi pushed in his chair as well. "But Gomamon's NOT here. Neither are Agumon, Biyomon, Palmon, Tentomon, or any of the others!" he looked around at the other four. "So we just have to stop wishing for the past to happen, because it won't!"

"Amazing everyone once again with your social skills, eh 'Tai'?" Yamato said icily from behind the group, using the nickname Taichi had insisted on being called when he was a child.

Taichi turned around to face Yamato. "Oh, no more than yours, 'Matt'."

There was a scrape as Yamato pulled out a chair and sat down. "Fine. I won't call you Tai if you don't call me Matt, deal?" Taichi nodded. "So, how is everyone? What were you guys just talking about?" 

"Oh, nothing, Yamato." Jyou went over and got himself another glass of wine. "And we're fine, by the way. You?"

The blond-haired man sat down. "Same old, same old. The Emergency Room hasn't changed much."

"Yamato! Sora! Taichi! Jyou! Koushiro! Mimi!" they all spun around to see the two youngest, Takeru and Hikari.

Taichi stood up and went to his little sister, who was nine months pregnant and looked every day of it. "Why, you're pregnant, Hikari?" He asked. "I can't tell at all! You look like you haven't changed a bit!"

She punched him lightly in the arm. "Liar." 

Takeru, meanwhile, had gone over to the rest of the group, and they were chatting idly about how the married couple was faring. "Yeah, my boss can be a real slave driver at times, but the job pays well to support me and Hikari, so I don't mind that much." 

The eight of them gradually split up into several groups. Jyou and Koushiro stayed with Mimi, talking about their careers and such. Taichi was still conversing with Hikari about her pregnancy, while Sora and Yamato were listening to Takeru cracking jokes. "So, when's the baby due?" Taichi inquired. 

"Oh, any time this week!" Hikari said, excited. "Takeru and I can't wait! We're actually going to be parents, soon!"

Taichi threw a glance at Yamato, Takeru, and Sora. He suddenly dropped his voice to a whisper. "Hikari, I really need to talk to you!"

His little sister looked worried. "Why? What's wrong, Taichi?"

He sat down. "I thought that I was over her, Hikari, I really did! But now, that we all are here..." he looked at Sora again, then back at Hikari. "I now know that I still have feelings for her. I don't know what to do!"

"Well..." Hikari thought for a long time. "I suppose you could just tell her how you feel. What's the worst that could happen?"

Taichi stood up. "You're right. I'm going to go tell her, now!" he resolutely strode over to Sora.

"Good luck, Taichi." Hikari whispered.

"...and then I said, that's no turkey, that's my boss!" Sora and Yamato both chuckled politely at Takeru's joke.

Taichi walked over to Sora. "Sora, I need to tell you something..." he said, semi-nervously.

At this, Yamato stiffened noticeably. "Yeah, I need to tell you something too."

Sora looked at the two men. "Well, who wants to go first?" When both of them said yes, she thought for a second. "Well, why don't you both say it at the same time then?"

Yamato and Taichi looked at each other, as if trying to predict what the other would say. "Fine with me," said Yamato. "On the count of three, okay?" Taichi nodded. "One, two, three!" 

Both of them looked at Sora. "I love you, Sora." The duo said, at exactly the same time.

"What? M...me? Both of you?" Sora's face was now a bright red. 

However, her face was nothing compared to the shade of crimson that radiated from Yamato and Taichi's faces. "How dare you?" Yamato hissed. "I love Sora, and no one else can!"

Takeru looked on, horrified, at his brother and brother-in-law. "Taichi? Yamato? Come on, you can settle this without violence...right?"

As soon as she saw what was transpiring, Hikari had come over. She held onto her husband's arm. "Takeru, what's happening? This is terrible! They're family! If they fight, it could tear us all apart!" 

"I know that, Hikari." 

All of them turned, suddenly, as a shout pierced the background noise of the reception. On the other side of the room, a similar confrontation was breaking out...between Jyou and Koushiro! "I love Mimi, and there's nothing that you can do about it!" The shorter Koushiro challenged Jyou.

"Oh really? Is that a threat?" Jyou responded, calmly.

Takeru and Hikari looked at each other. "Hikari, what can we do?" Takeru asked, half-hysterical. "We can't let them fight!"

Hikari shook her head slowly. "I...I don't know, Takeru," she shivered. "I just don't know..."


	3. Layla

Digimon: Digital Monsters

Reunion: Part Three (Layla)

(Author's Note: This is Part Three of the Reunion, taking place immediately after Part Two. This is set to my most favorite song of all time, Eric Clapton's 'Layla'. *Hums the refrain to himself* Enjoy!) 

"No, please don't, Taichi!" Hikari pleaded with her older brother. "You can't! If you and Yamato fight, it'll tear the family apart!"

Taichi looked down at Hikari. "We know what we're doing, Hikari. Now stay out of this!"

Hikari pulled back, stunned by her brother's harsh words. As he and Yamato went outside to have their fight, a lone tear trickled down her face. "No...Taichi...Yamato..."

Jyou and Koushiro, meanwhile, were squaring off. Jyou took off his U.S. Navy officer's hat and turned to place it on the table next to him. He turned back and Koushiro's fist connected squarely with his nose. He felt the cartilage crumple under the force of the punch. As scarlet fluid trickled down his face, staining his immaculate white dress uniform, Jyou raised his arms in the style of fighting that his self-defense instructor had taught him.

Koushiro prepared another punch, but as he swung forward, he felt Jyou grabbing his arm and using the momentum to throw Koushiro like a slingshot. The next thing Koushiro knew, he was flat on his back on the floor, Jyou pressing two fingers into the side of his neck, at a pressure point. "I didn't want to have to do this, Koushiro. But you made me. I'm sorry." Then Jyou applied force to his fingers, and Koushiro felt his world swim, then it went dark.

Yamato and Taichi glared at each other, fists raised up high. Taichi attacked first, driving his fist in a powerful right hook that hit Yamato, who couldn't react in time. The blond man stumbled backwards. Taichi immediately pressed the advantage, and punched Yamato again, this time in the stomach. Yamato doubled over in pain. "Sora's mine, I tell you, mine!"

"Sure, you go on and believe that, Taichi!" Yamato headbutted Taichi in the chest. Taichi took a step backwards, and then his world exploded in a red haze of pain as Yamato connected in an uppercut to his jaw.

Koushiro's vision swirled around as he came to again. He blinked twice to restore clarity to his world, and then looked up above him. There was a very beautiful woman leaning over him. "Professor Izumi? Are you hurt?" She asked, worried. He nodded weakly. "Oh, that's good." She helped him to his feet. 

"Thank you." He brushed dirt off his lapel and turned to her. Suddenly his sight went foggy again, he didn't know why. Everything seemed to be distorted, but he was feeling okay. The woman appeared to be glowing. This was very unusual. 

"Oh you're welcome. Professor Izumi, I happen to be interested in quantum particle theory,"

He gazed at her, and he felt his tongue tie in a knot. "Uhh...really?" he asked, at a loss for words. What was happening to him?

She smiled. "Oh yes. Now if you'll come with me, I'd like to talk with you about your First Theory..." she guided him onto the dance floor, and he followed blindly. She WAS very nice, after all. Nice, and beautiful, and smart...

Mimi took Jyou's hands. "Oh, Jyou!" she kissed him. "I really love you...but did you have to hurt Koushiro? Is he all right?"

A motion on the dance floor caught Jyou's eye, and he looked past Mimi. Koushiro was dancing with some lady, and he seemed to be enjoying it...well, it looked like he had found someone, at least. Now he didn't feel as guilty. "Oh, he's fine." Jyou looked at Mimi. "You realize, that if we were to pursue a relationship, I would be away for weeks at a time, don't you?"

Mimi nodded and smiled. "Yes, I do. But I know that the wait, no matter how long, will be worth it, as long as I get to see you again." Reassured, Jyou leaned over, and they shared a long kiss. 

Taichi threw a punch at Yamato, but the taller man dodged the blow. Yamato swung around in a devastating roundhouse kick, and Taichi reeled backwards. The former leader of the Digidestined collided with the gigantic sculpted marble fountain, and fell in, splashing water all over the place.

Taichi got up sopping wet, expecting to see Yamato ready to continue the fight. But what he saw made him stop in his tracks, his expensive suit dripping water. Yamato was staring at his hands, holding a small object. Taichi couldn't tell what it was, at this distance. He slowly approached his former friend. "What's wrong? Why did you stop?"

Yamato didn't respond, his gaze affixed on the item. After a long while, he spoke. "As a doctor...I took the Hippocratic Oath. I promised to do no harm. These hands," he shook his gloved fists for emphasis. "These hands are supposed to help others, not hurt them. Least of all hurt you, Taichi." 

Slowly, Yamato turned his hand, and Taichi saw what he had been clutching. At first glance, no one would have suspected it was anything more than a simple pendant, with an odd symbol inscribed in it—probably one of those things that 'younger people' were in to. But Taichi knew what it was, he had one of his own. It was a tag, and a Crest. Yamato's Crest of Friendship. "So you kept it, after all these years." Taichi whispered. Yamato nodded.

As Yamato spoke again, tears began to well up in his eyes. "You, although I many not act like I believe this sometimes, are my friend. I can't fight you, Taichi. I WON'T fight you. Because you ARE my friend, and friends shouldn't fight."

"It's obvious that you really love Sora," Yamato choked out. "I hope you are happy with her." He turned and began to walk away, out towards the bay, which was sparkling in the moonlight.

"Yamato...wait..." Taichi whispered, but Yamato didn't hear. 

He turned, and he saw Sora. "Sora..." he began, but she stopped him.

"I heard, Taichi." She walked over to him, and ignoring his being soaked with water, held him. He held her in return. "Taichi..."

They looked deep into each other's eyes. Deep, past the exterior, that everyone saw. Past the interior, which they themselves wanted to believe. All the way to the innermost thoughts. And as they stood there, they felt the relentless march of Time begin to slow, then halt. And then the clocks began to turn back. They were young again, in the Digital World.

Sora saw Taichi, leading the group. She knew his desperation, his worry. If he made a wrong decision, all the Digidestined could be hurt, or worse…She saw his inner desires, his outer conflicts. And she saw how much he loved her. His longing, his pain. Every time he had been about to tell her, his mind stopped him. Tears began to trickle down her face.

As Taichi gazed into Sora's tearstreaked face, he saw the young girl, aching for approval, wanting to be accepted by her mother. He realized that she, the holder of the Crest of Love, needed that more than anything in the world. Yet, she also held love. For everyone in the group, and Taichi understood at last why she had tried to keep the group together every time they fought. And he understood her despair when they split. He felt another flame of love burning in her…and then he knew. "You love him more, don't you?"

Sora forced herself to meet Taichi's glance, as if this were hard for her to say. "Oh, Taichi…" she began, but stopped.

Taichi gently caressed her face. "It's okay, Sora."

She looked at him. "Taichi, you're wrong. I love you both with all my heart. But…Taichi, I love you like a brother. You've always been there for me, you've supported me, and you've loved me. I am grateful for that, and I understand how you felt when I didn't return your love. But now you know that I DO love you Taichi…but you're not the one I want to spend my life with. Yamato is."

As his eyes grew misty, Taichi looked at the person who he loved. "I want you to be happy, Sora. No matter what happens, if you're happy, I will be too."

Sora stood up on the tips of her toes, and, ever so gently, brushed her lips across his. She said more with that one kiss than she could ever have put into words. "Thank you for being there for me, Taichi." And she was gone. Taichi felt his barrier of indifference that he had needed to become the CEO of his company break down, and he started to cry.

Yamato looked at the bay, sparkling in the moonlight. It struck him as the total antithesis of how he was feeling. It was so serene, so calm. Nothing troubled the glasslike, placid, waters. The exact opposite of the seething emotional storm within. 

A whisper of fabric sounded, and Sora sat down next to him. Neither looked at the other. "A long time ago," Yamato hushed. "I don't remember when, but I think it was the Digiworld…someone told me that change wasn't always pleasant. He was right; I know that for a fact now. I always thought that you loved me…but all of that's changed."

Sora turned her sweet eyes to him. "No, change isn't always pleasant," she agreed. "But I think that it's always for the better, no matter what happens. We've all changed. You used to be so aloof; you didn't seem as if you cared about anything. And now look at you! A doctor! Takeru and Hikari have matured a lot, they've lost their innocence, true, but they've gained something as well. Each other. And Taichi…" she trailed off.

"I hope you're happy with him, Sora." Yamato choked back tears.

"That's why I came to talk to you, Yamato. Like I told him, I love him like a brother. But that's nothing compared to how I feel towards you, Yamato." She turned his face to her, and kissed him passionately. Yamato stared at her with wide eyes, and then he kissed her back. "Oh Yamato…" Sora sighed, and the two embraced.

From inside, Takeru and Hikari watched Sora and Yamato. "They resolved it…and they've found love…" Takeru said. "Finally."

As Hikari watched the two kiss, she felt a pang of nostalgia tighten her stomach. The group was together again, at long last. "Finally…" she echoed, and her stomach tightened again. When another contraction arrived, she started. It wasn't her stomach that was tightening…she put a hand on Takeru's shoulder. "Takeru!" she breathed. "We have to get to the hospital, quickly!"

"What?" There was an unspoken query in his glance, and she nodded. A mixture of wonder, excitement, and joy started to spread over his face. "I'll be right back! I need to tell Yamato and the others!" he ran off. Hikari sat down to rest. She would need her strength for tonight.

Nine hours later, Takeru sat by his wife's bedside, holding her hand. She was asleep, after her long ordeal. And the fruit of her labor was sleeping in her arms. Their daughter, Kana. Kana Takaishi. Takeru said the name over and over. It felt right, somehow. And as he looked at the little red face scrunched up from crying, he felt a sense of pride. This was THEIR daughter. 

He looked out the window, where a storm was brewing. Even the gloom outside couldn't penetrate to the pure ecstasy indoors. Takeru turned back to his sleeping wife, and kissed her on the forehead, then kissed the newborn baby in the same manner. "Sleep tight, both of you."

If Takeru had been gazing out the window for a scant few seconds longer, he would have seen two figures outside. Two very familiar figures, in fact. The seraphim looking down on the happy, if tired family had shared adventures in the past, and would do so in the future as well. "The bonds between the Digidestined have grown stronger in the past few hours, and especially with these two." remarked Angemon.

Angewomon nodded. "Yes, and not a moment to soon. For the Digidestined can only bring peace to the worlds if they are together. Never divided. And while the barrier between worlds is holding, the forces of Darkness are mustering for a final assault. One, that if not stopped, could mean the doom of both worlds…"


End file.

Digimon