Odaiba Memorial Day- 20 Years Later

Chapter Thirteen- Reunion (Part One)

He just planned to keep this one simple. In the past, Tai had built previous reunion gatherings around certain events, like a picnic at the park. This time around though, Cody knew that he just wanted a nice simple gathering. Because it had been ten years, there was a lot of catching up to do. He also wanted this to be something somewhat semi-formal. Tai’s reunions had been very informal, but Cody wanted things to be more like a class reunion than an annual party. For future years- he’d consider loosening the tie a bit.

Actually, after realizing that he was nearly choking, Cody loosened his tie anyway. But still- he liked it quiet. He rented out a small banquet hall in a convention center, complete with plenty of talking room, a couple smaller conference rooms nearby, and even a terrace that offered a great view of the city. Expensive? Certainly, but Cody wanted to make things as right as possible. The digi-destined deserved no less.

He had some troubles with the displays. He wanted something showing how united they were. He settled for a few group pictures taken after the whole ideal was over. Cody was a little hesitant after finding that the best picture available included Matt with an arm around Sora… but he didn’t think that would cause too many problems. The breakup was clean and Tareshi understood the relationship that was. Of course Cody was a little uneasy, especially since there had to be a reason that Tai stopped the tradition. He wasn’t looking forward to finding out why. But everything else that happened in the ten years since the last reunion- that’s what he wanted to find out.

"Um. Cody? Is this the party?" Yolei seemed a bit unsure of herself, and wore a cautious smile. Cody looked up at her and smiled. Yolei walked up to Cody, and greeted him with a hug.

"Glad you could make it. I can’t believe this is actually happening. It was almost like a dream when I started working on this."

"And you got everybody?"

"All twelve said they would be present. Took some gentle persuasion with one of them, but he signed up eventually." Yolei nodded, as Cody continued, "You don’t think we need music here, do you?"

"Well, it’s a party, you should have music." Cody shook his head.

"I want this to be more serious. It’s been awhile. Next year- we’ll have more fun. I promise."

"N… next year?" Yolei was a bit perplexed. She hadn’t even thought about the future.

"Yeah. I was even thinking of trying to contact some of the digi-destined in other countries. Wouldn’t it be great if we could get them from all over the world?"

"Sure, but- I don’t even know half of those guys- I mean the only American digi-destined I know is Michael." A pair of hands covered Yolei’s eyes.

"Are you sure you don’t know any other American digi-destined?" Yolei smiled at the voice.

"This is certainly forward of you, Matt." Matt released and gave Yolei a quick hug.

"Sorry, it was too perfect. Hey Cody, nice digs." Matt seemed friendly. Maybe Cody’s bad premonitions were unnecessary. Cody shook Matt’s hand.

"Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule, Matt. I’m sure it was hard."

"Not for me! My manager blew a gasket though."

"Matt, can I ask you a question?" Yolei wanted to get down to business before anyone arrived that Yolei was worried about, "How are you and Mimi getting along now?" Matt frowned.

"Mimi? Actually, I haven’t talked to her since the, uh… breakup. I’m not sure what’s going to happen tonight." Yolei nodded.

"So how are you dealing with that… I kinda want to compare notes."

"Oh. I don’t know. I guess I’ll just take things as they come. I’m not too scared of her. At the very least I know I can take her in a fight." Matt smiled, trying to make it clear that it was a joke. But Yolei wasn’t having it.

"Well, I probably couldn’t take either Ken or… Koushiro." Neither name was pleasant to say. At least to Yolei. On the other side of the room, Cody didn’t have any trouble with it.

"Ken- thanks for coming. Yolei and Matt are over there, the rest should be here soon." Ken nodded politely.

"Thank you Cody." Of course, Ken’s mind was going a mile a minute. It was one thing to have tense relations with two people among eleven others. It was another to have tense relations with one among merely three. She seemed to be thinking the same thing, as she abruptly ended her conversation with Matt, and looked Ken directly in the face- a sad look of not knowing how to handle the situation. Unsure of anything else to do, she headed outside onto the terrace. Ken, equally unsure, looked at Matt. Matt smiled.

"Yo Ken. What’s up?" Ken knew that he couldn’t delay the inevitable. He followed Yolei into the balcony. And Matt quickly stood behind them, and observed.

"Matt! They probably have something to work out! Leave them alone!" Cody reprimanded.

"Hey, until the others get here, this thing’s kinda boring. This is the best entertainment we got!" Cody shook his head… but then again he couldn’t argue. So he got himself a nice spot next to Matt to watch the fireworks.

It was silent. Yolei looking over the railing at the city. Ken looking over the railing at the city. It was the first time they had spoken to each other since falling out; the last thing Yolei said to him compared him to his Digimon Emperor days of old. And Ken, who didn’t listen to reason and refused to admit guilt. Neither were looking forward to this. But one of them had to take the initiative.

"I’m sorry." Ken and Yolei looked up at each other. They had both taken the initiative simultaneously.

Matt smiled slightly. It was good to see them talking again. And unlike Tai, he didn’t even have to lock the two up in a classroom to make sure it happened.

"Snooping on Ken and Yolei, Mr. Ishida?" Matt was simply shocked. He wasn’t expecting it to happen this early. And he definitely wasn’t expecting it to happen like this. But he slowly turned around, stood up, and took a good look at Mimi.

"Um. Hi. It’s um… been awhile." Matt was at a loss for words. He never stopped to think about what he actually did want to say to her. Before he could decide on anything, she hugged him.

"I never got a chance to thank you." Matt was perplexed.

"For what?"

"For three wonderful years. I know it wasn’t right of me to just walk out like that, but the times we had were wonderful. Even if it was a phony relationship, it was still a lot of fun. I just… wanted to get that out of the way."

"So what did happen anyway? Did you really run off with Joe? We never had an official breakup." Matt didn’t want thanks, he wanted answers. Mimi smiled.

"We never had an official relationship, so why are you expecting an official breakup?" Matt couldn’t help but smile. They had been through a lot, and he knew it wouldn’t take long to rekindle their old friendship.

"I guess I was a bit harsh. I mean I now see that you were just trying to make up for your mistakes. And I wasn’t listening. I was so angry that I wasn’t listening to reason." Ken was letting it all go. And Yolei was understanding.

"Yeah. But if I hadn’t made those mistakes in the first place, none of that would have happened. I suppose I also should have at least tried to talk to you afterwards, after you had a chance to cool off, you know?" Ken nodded at that.

"Why didn’t you? I probably would have listened."

"I don’t know. Izzy said it was too late."

"Izzy? Whatever happened to you two?" Yolei sighed.

"It started off great. We were moving on and the company was skyrocketing. But then he just went off the deep end. Cared more about the business than me. And before you know it… I was taken for a sucker by some lowlife, had an affair with him… and the marriage was over." Yolei shook her head. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to recall the memories. She recalled them all the time. But never to Ken. But it was also a test. If Ken was really as "bad" as Izzy and herself had been convinced he was, he would take satisfaction in all that. Instead, she found his hand patting her back gently.

"Sorry to hear that. Did he drive you away or something?"

"Yeah… just turned into some heartless businessman. With no time for his…" Yolei was pouring her heart out, but didn’t want to cry. She never could get through this story out-loud without tears forming. "He just didn’t care anymore."

"So that’s it. Yolei, I know it’s over between us, and I’m not going to pretend that we didn’t make mistakes in all this. We did, but as long as we’re willing to put it behind us, I don’t see why we can’t try to rebuild, and at least try to become friends again." Given Yolei’s story, Ken felt like he got off easy, "But there’s still a piece of the puzzle missing. I don’t think we’re ever going to get over this completely… until we both make up with Izzy." Yolei sighed very deeply at the thought of that. She knew what that meant, "I apologized to you. You apologized to me. Now it’s just a matter of us apologizing to Izzy, and him apologizing to us. We’re all in this together. Okay? The three ‘I’s aren’t going down like this." Ken extended a hand. Yolei nodded and shook it.

"Okay… but it’s not going to be as easy as that… unless he’s changed dramatically since the last time I saw him."

While Matt and Mimi were undergoing their "official breakup" and Ken and Yolei reconciled, Cody smiled. He was hesitant about how everybody would get along. But even with only four others here, he was starting to get the feeling that everything would be alright. That all the problems were just in everybody’s head.

"What do you mean 29,000? You said 19,000 last week!" Joe was far too busy talking to his lawyers to be concerned about anything else. He calmly nodded to Cody, and continued, "That’s not in yen by any chance? Look, why are we getting a change of estimate now? I just flew to Japan thinking $19,000- if we have to pay more we’ll have to make some serious sacrifices."

"Look Dr. Kido, we told you not to leave the country. We were afraid of something like this." The lawyer on the other end was saying the same things he always was.

"Can I please worry about this when I get back? I’m sure you don’t want to blow your phone bill on these calls."

"Well, the phone bill is included in the legal fee."

"Swell, then I’ll make it as cheap as possible." Joe hung up angrily. He had just arrived at the reunion and was already greeted by bad news. And he was in no position to deal with it. He was just in a bad mood when he turned to Cody, "Great time for a party, Cody. Got anything to drink?" Cody pointed out the beverage table and Joe followed suit. But still- there was one bad fruit in every basket, right? Even with Joe in a sour mood, deservedly so or not, everybody else would make up for it, wouldn’t they?

Joe knew that he should try to enjoy himself here. This was supposed to be something special. But with his financial assets out of his control, he just couldn’t muster up the courage to smile.

"So what’s wrong with you?" Joe didn’t know where the voice came from. It wasn’t Cody, and it definitely didn’t sound like any of the other digi-destined.

"Um… why? Who said that?"

"Is this going to be one of those grown-up parties where I don’t get noticed, or one of those grown-up parties where everybody tells me how cute I am?" The brown-haired eight-year-old standing next to the beverage table went completely unnoticed by Joe. Or for that matter- anybody else. Chi Takoto had slipped in quietly, ahead of his parents, in order to scout out the situation.

"I’m not sure- which one do you want?" Joe was still in a bad mood, but just played along with the conversation, if only to get his mind off of more pressing matters.

"I don’t know. Having everybody pinching my cheeks can get annoying… but it’s fun being the center of attention!" Joe couldn’t help but smile. Whoever this kid was, he was a lot nicer than most of the ones he dealt with in New York. Before Joe could continue the conversation with Chi, Matt stepped in.

"Hey… are you Sora’s kid? What was it… Chi?"

"Yep. So how many people are going to…" Chi stopped when Matt started investigating closer. To see if there were any true signs indicating fatherhood. Joe just kept his distance, not wanting to start anything with Matt. Chi, however, was slightly more fearless, "What are you doing?"
"Uh… nothing. It’s just amazing to see one of my friends with a little kid."

"You left out adorable- I’m an adorable little kid." Chi certainly had Tai’s edge, but Tareshi was never one to hesitate at cracking a joke either. Matt continued to delve further.

"Yes Matt- he’s real." Again, Tareshi was never one to hesitate at cracking a joke. Matt looked up at Tareshi, a tad concerned. But Tareshi’s smile calmed him a bit.

"Oh, hey Taresh’!" Matt smiled and greeted Sora’s husband. Given their associations with Sora, the two got along fairly well. "Another benefit of a clean breakup." Matt thought. Before long, Mimi and Cody were out to greet Tareshi as well.

"I haven’t seen you in awhile. How have you been?" Mimi was still in a good mood.

"Very good. Hope you don’t mind me crashing your party Cody, I know I’m not a digi-destined."

"Think nothing of it, Mr. Takoto. For today, consider yourself an honorary digi-destined." It definitely wasn’t an issue for Cody; Sora’s family was more than welcome.

"Cool- there isn’t an initiation ritual or anything, is there?"

"Well, usually you have to beat some evil Digimon… that or Ken- but he’s not really into that kinda thing anymore." Matt smiled again and waved at Ken, still reconciling with Yolei on the terrace.

"Okay. I suppose I’m a digi-destined-in-law. Is that good enough?"

"Sure."

"So what does that make me?" Chi asked. Tareshi thought hard.

"A digi-destined half." Mimi laughed. Cody smiled. Chi didn’t quite get it.

"So what, if I get splashed with cold water, I become a digi-destined?"

"No- your Mom’s a digi-destined, but I’m just a regular guy- so you’re a digi-destined half." Chi nodded. It seemed like he got it. Matt remained silent throughout it all. He definitely could see why Sora kept the affair a secret- the bond between Tareshi and Chi was quite visible.

"So where is your wife anyway?" Mimi asked Tareshi.

"I don’t know… Chi where is my wife, anyway?" Tareshi passed the buck to Chi.

"You’re supposed to be watching her!" Chi returned it instantly.

"Well let’s go find her!" Chi nodded, and they turned around to find Sora. But Chi couldn’t help but get one last jab in.

"Dad, I told you we should have gotten a sitter for her." Matt shook his head. The bond was indeed strong. But if Chi’s father was Tai, there was no telling how Tareshi would react.

"So how have you been doing?" Mimi was picking up the conversation again with Matt. This time Joe was able to join in. Matt just stayed friendly. Like nothing had ever happened. Mimi seemed a bit oblivious to it all. They just dodged the issue.

"We found her!" Tareshi was proud of himself, as he and Chi reentered with Sora. Sora wore a brave face, but looked around nervously. Just in case he was already there. But he wasn’t. Matt was. Matt’s presence made Sora relax a little bit. He was on her side, no matter what happened. It calmed her a little bit. While Tareshi set Chi loose on the group, Sora walked up to Matt. It calmed Matt as well, since he really had to put an effort into keeping the conversation with Mimi and Joe light.

"Hi Matt."

"Hi Sora, you okay?" Matt replied.

"Yeah. For now at least."

"What’s going on with you, Sora?" Joe seemed concerned about the depression laden in the exchange between Sora and Matt.

"Um… nothing." Sora replied. Fortunately, Tareshi entered the group and lightened things up.

"So, how’s life in the States? While Joe looked for a way to tiptoe around the conversation, Matt stepped up. Again, trying to avoid the whole Mimi issue.

"Can’t complain." Okay, it was a flat-out lie. But Mimi nodded in agreement.

"Ah, life as the big music star still paying good, Matt?"

"You bet." Matt was lying again, but didn’t want to add to everybody’s problems.

"And you haven’t let fame and fortune go to your head, either?"

"Nope! No scandals, no drug convictions, no illegitimate children- I’m clean!" Matt smiled. At least that was true. Of course, he wouldn’t have smiled if he had seen the look on Sora’s face when he mentioned the "illegitimate children" part. But for now, he gladly received a pat on the back from Tareshi.

"We’re all proud of you!" Matt smiled again, then was immediately caught in Sora’s death glare. He realized his mistake and swore under his breath, but not before Sora marched off into one of the side conference rooms.

"Sora? What’s wrong?" Tareshi was caught by surprise, and started after her. Matt stopped him.

"Mind if I go after her?" Tareshi was confused, but allowed it.

"Kari… I’m not that bad. This is really unnecessary." The hospital had supplied Davis with a wheelchair, but Davis obviously didn’t need it, and was a bit annoyed with Kari, who was pushing it around.

"Well, this way you can make an entrance." Kari was trying to cheer herself and Davis up any way possible. She didn’t want to bother everybody else with their problems. Of course, the entrance itself caused the exact opposite result as everybody in the vicinity rushed up to Davis, concerned.

"Davis? What happened to you?" Yolei was the first one on the spot, and was immediately concerned. As were Ken and Cody, standing next to her.

"How did you end up in a wheelchair?" Cody asked. Davis flashed a quick smile at Kari, then slowly, and dramatically, stepped out of the wheelchair.

"It’s a miracle!" Davis was about as over-the-top as Davis gets. Unfortunately, he slumped back into the wheelchair after about a second of the act.

"What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you have a headache." Kari was fearing the worst.

"No… I’m just… out of energy." After being released from the hospital, he was told to take it easy. This was why.

"So what happened?" Yolei seemed concerned. TK, walking behind them, wasn’t sure how to answer.

"Uh… Davis, how would you put it?" TK wasn’t sure of the most P.C. way of saying it.

"I OD’ed on happy pills." Davis apparently didn’t care. There was a tone of shame in his voice, but he tried to stay to the point.

"Happy pills?" Yolei was confused. "What’s going on?"

"Where do I began?" With that, Davis started filling in Yolei, as well as Ken and Cody, as to the events of the last year. While Kari stayed to assist with the tale, TK wandered off. He had heard the story often enough.

"I’m sorry! How many times do I need to say it?" Sora was more upset than angry, but Matt was definitely sincere with his apology.

"I thought you said you’d be there for me. This doesn’t help."

"Jeez Sora. I am here. But I’m not perfect you know. I have other things to worry about too. I’m dealing with Mimi and Joe about as delicately as I can. I just don’t know what to say to her. I mean ever since she left, the band’s been going nowhere. I can’t pretend that I’m doing wonderfully." Sora sighed. Matt continued, "I still don’t know what you can do. Even after I saw Chi. I’d hate to say it, but after getting a really good look at him… if I had to make a guess now I’d say Tai’s the father." Sora shook her head.

"So what am I supposed to do about that?"

"Look, even if it is Tai’s kid, it doesn’t change anything. Tareshi still will look at Chi as his own son. And as long as you’re by his side, you two will get through it. Like I said before, you love Tareshi, and you don’t love Tai. That makes things a lot easier."

"That’s just it… I don’t know. I mean sure I feel really bad about that night I slept with Tai… but I still can’t honestly say I didn’t like it." Matt was caught off guard with that.

"W… what are you saying?"

"I don’t know. There had to be a reason for that night. It’s not like I would just have sex with somebody for no reason. Right?"

"Yeah." Matt said it quietly. He didn’t want to admit it, but Sora had a point there.

"And when it happened, it just felt right. I couldn’t stop, I didn’t want to stop." Matt couldn’t take it anymore. He slammed a fist on a nearby table and walked out, leaving Sora behind.

"Uh huh… uh huh… no kidding!" Koushiro Izumi had made his grand entrance. And he didn’t give a damn who was in the room. He merely continued his phone call, oblivious to those around him. With Ken and Yolei safely out on the terrace with Kari and Davis, there was nobody for Koushiro to avoid. Cody immediately tried to get his attention.

"Izzy? Izzy? Hello?"

"Um, excuse me, I’ll have to call you back, somebody’s at the, uh, door." Koushiro hung up, then extended a hand to Cody, "Hi, Koushiro Izumi, how are you doing?"

"Don’t you remember who I am?"

"Not really. I have more important things to deal with, I don’t have time to remember all the little fledglings I come across."

"Izzy, I’m a fellow digi-destined."

"First off, the name’s Koushiro. Secondly, just because you’re a digi-destined, that still doesn’t mean I’ll remember your name. Okay? So what is it?"

"Cody. Cody Hida." Cody looked angry as Koushiro pulled out a nametag and a marker, quickly wrote "Kody" on it, and slapped it on Cody’s chest.

"There. Now I’ll remember you. Problem solved." With that, the phone was back out, and the call was restarted. Cody walked over to TK and Tareshi.

"What happened to Izzy?" Tareshi smiled at Cody, more in awe than anything else.

"Izzy? Wow. I was thinking that was the Izumi Enterprises guy, but I didn’t want to say anything. And you’ve got that adorable little nickname for him- that’s just cool." Tareshi headed in Koushiro’s direction, "If you’ll excuse me, I might as well do some ‘networking.’" Meanwhile, Mimi walked over and joined Cody and TK.

"Is that really Izzy?"

"I don’t know…" Cody started, "It’s not how I remember him." They continued to observe Koushiro, exchanging a no-look, uncaring handshake with Tareshi, while continuing his phone call undisturbed.

"Uh huh, exactly, now I figure we can get an fifty market share if you’re capable of… oh we already do have a fifty market share. Prodigious!"

"Yep… it’s Izzy." Mimi observed. TK remained silent. But after watching Koushiro wheel and deal over the phone, he couldn’t take it anymore, and joined his wife on the terrace, where she and Davis were explaining the story to Yolei and Ken.

"TK? What’s wrong?" Kari was immediately concerned to see him walk out in a rage like that.

"Kari, you know how I was jealous of Davis’s success?" TK started with a question.

"Let me guess- Koushiro just got here." Yolei solved the puzzle instantly. TK nodded. For all that Davis had, Koushiro had it ten-fold. TK still couldn’t understand why he drew the short end of the stick. Kari comforted TK, to no avail.

"Why did you marry a guy like that Yolei?"

"Well… he was different then. He was nicer. He cared. He helped me when…" Yolei glanced quickly at Ken, who was still standing there. Ken knew where she was going, and quietly left. He didn’t want to revisit the issue. But Yolei still felt bad about it. She still had trouble getting over the fact that she married a guy like that. But while Kari comforted TK, Yolei found another hand comforting her.

"Hey, don’t sweat it…" Davis began, very solemnly, "I used to think Izzy was cool too." Yolei looked at Davis. He was exhausted, but still appeared noble. Davis turned to TK and Kari for support. He was met with two very odd looks, prompting Davis to return to Yolei and clarify, "Okay, no I didn’t. Izzy’s a geek… but he couldn’t have been all that bad. Otherwise you wouldn’t have married him, right?" Yolei sniffed back a few tears.

"Yeah. I guess you’re right."

"Of course I am. Now you remember how cool you used to think he was, and you and Ken go and try to get that Dark Spore out of him, okay?" Davis cracked a smile. Yolei nodded, and went back to find Ken. Davis immediately sighed, and returned to the wheelchair, completely worn out. "This is why I don’t have a girlfriend- way too exhausting."

Sora couldn’t figure out what was up with Matt. He just stormed out of the room. He immediately planted himself by the drinks table, and was tossing back a few. It was just strange, it was Sora who was supposed to be depressed. Mimi had apparently noticed it as well, and asked Sora what was going on.

"What do you mean?" Sora didn’t know what Mimi was referring to.

"I mean, he walks in to talk to you, and storms out angry. What did you do make him so mad?" Sora didn’t want to tell Mimi. If Mimi knew, then everybody in the room would know before long.

"Nothing. We were just talking, and he just got mad and stormed out."

"Well, he must have said something."

"Not really. He just said something about how you were the reason his band went downhill, and I started saying something… and he just got mad and left." Now it was Mimi’s turn to be angry.

"He… he blames me for what happened to his band? And he’s just pretending like nothing ever happened. The little creep. Well, I’ll be sure to give him a piece of my mind." Mimi felt sorry for the way she left Matt, but for him to blame her for his decline… that was unforgivable.

"…so I don’t know how much I’ll have to pay now. They may not even be able to reach a settlement." Joe was explaining it to anyone who was willing to listen. Tareshi nodded in understanding, even though Chi was occupied with a portable video game.

"That’s rough. I really don’t know what you can do, I usually try not to get into trouble in the first place!" It was a joke, but Joe wasn’t laughing.

"It was an accident. I just overlooked the possibility, and I got nailed for it."

"Look, the guy turned out okay in the end. If you just say you’re sorry and pay for whatever extra he had to spend, what’s the problem?" Chi looked up from his video game for a second to enter his thought. As naïve as it was, it made Joe smile. He knew it wasn’t that easy, but it was good to know that some people hadn’t been corrupted yet.

Apparently Ken and Yolei weren’t ready to face their foe. Koushiro had somehow escaped their grasp and headed into the terrace, trying to get some privacy for his phone calls. He didn’t want to be there, but felt obligated to appear. He did not, however, feel obligated to associate with anyone else, nor enjoy it. Unfortunately, he wasn’t alone on the terrace, as Kari, TK, and Davis were still there, talking. Koushiro was planning on ignoring them, but after finishing one call, Davis interrupted. Koushiro looked over at the three- Davis looked tired, Kari didn’t look that much better… and TK looked bitter.

"So what’re you talking about?" Davis attempted to start a conversation.

"Personal matters. You know, nothing for you to be too concerned about." Koushiro started, and added with a smile, "So how are you three doing? What were your names again? I haven’t seen you in so long I forgot."

"You don’t remember me? TK?" TK was getting more angry by the minute, "Or Kari? Or Davis?"

"Vaguely. It’s hard to remember people that aren’t important."

"Hey look- just because we aren’t big-shots like you doesn’t mean you can act all high-and-mighty around us." Davis was jumping in now.

"On the contrary- yes it does." Even Kari was starting to get riled up, but she remained silent as Koushiro headed out, "Well I have to make another call. Dave, Kerry, TJ- see ya ‘round!" TK tried to lash out at Koushiro, but was immediately restrained by Kari and Davis.

"Jeez TK, don’t sweat it! I screw your name up all the time!" Davis said, trying to calm him down.

"Yeah, but when you do it, it’s funny." TK couldn’t stand whoever it was that was standing in Izzy’s place.

"Sorry we’re late- has the party started yet?" Kintaro honestly couldn’t tell. It didn’t look like much of a party.

"I guess so." Cody sighed. He didn’t like the recent turn of events.

"Well how about I liven things up for you? We can turn this into a real swinger if we play our cards right. It sure looks like people need cheering up."

"I… I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do anymore. I can’t help but think this was a bad idea after all."

"You’re damn right it was a bad idea." Tai couldn’t help but be bitter. He did not want to be there. He could tell something bad was going to happen. And it did- immediately. Just as he promised Sora… Matt socked Tai in the face. The reunion was officially underway.

Author’s Notes
As stated, this is only the beginning. With everybody present, the reunion can now officially get into gear. It is the second part that is really going to cover the meat of everything. Lots of arguments, a full-on nervous breakdown, and one of them walks out on everybody. But who’s doing what?

If this chapter seemed a bit short, especially compared to the last two, it’s because of the way I wanted to separate these chapters. I had a whole list of events covering the entire reunion, and I’m finding it extremely difficult to find a decent place to end this chapters, while keeping things pretty even. Myself and my beta reader (Hi Star!) decided on this one, which leaves this chapter short and the next one really long. The other option would have made this one really, really long, and the next one really short. Either way- same content, so in the end, it doesn’t matter.

With that in mind, we now have a super-deluxe-ultimate-level Big Gulp of a chapter coming next!
Chapter Fourteen- Reunion (Part Two)
After everything, it becomes so easy to lose hope. Will they never be a group again? It’s often said "the bigger they are, the harder they fall," and that becomes evident as the reunion proceeds. But when one abandons all hope, who will be the one to claim it, and can it be restored to those who have lost it?