Taichi and Agumon's Hospital Adventure!
Mondays were always special for Jou, who always felt a hair's breadth away from sexual harassment at the hands of the all-female staff on those days. He edged his way between the clusters of nurses and doctors who stood just a little too close and looked at him just a little too long on his way to the front gate. He stood outside in the fresh breeze, clapping his hand over his eyes to block the sun as he searched for the former goggle boy and his partner.
Taichi pulled into the parking lot of the hospital while trying to avoid the morning traffic. Allowing a sigh to be heard, he unbuckled his seat belt while grinning at his partner. "Looks like we're on time for once, ne Agumon?"
The excitement building up inside the small dinosaur shined through his smiling face. He had to keep himself from fiddling around too much in his seat out of anxiousness and irritation out of wearing the car seat belt. That and keep asking his partner, "Are we there yet?" When the hospital came into close enough view, Agumon quickly released himself from the safety belt and looked to Taichi.
"Uhn! Good thing too." Pointing a claw out of the window, the Digimon spotted out a certain young man.
Jou took off his glasses to rub his eyes and clean them. Was that Taichi and Agumon getting out of...a gorgeous black sports car?
Turning to see exactly who Agumon was pointing at, Taichi's grin grew wider seconds later while unceremoniously pulling his partner out of the seat and the car entirely. "Hey, Jou-it's us!" Taichi exclaimed while closing the door and waving frantically in his direction.
"Jou!" Agumon waved in the same fashion as Taichi did and kept a steady pace beside him as they left their styling ride.
Jou saw movement and replaced his glasses. Sure enough, it was was Taichi and Agumon getting out of a gorgeous black sports car. He waved back, too conscientious to shout back at him.
"Ooh, who's the guy with the ride you're waving at?" asked a voice behind him. Jou looked back and saw a young nurse staring at Taichi.
"Nobody!" He snapped. "Uh, could you check the drip bag on the patient in bed four, please?" he asked as he quickly ushered her away.
He blew a sigh through his lips, hoping Taichi would be okay today.
Taichi marched toward the hospital doors with Agumon by him, blinking in slight confusion at noticing a nurse being shooed inside the hospital by Jou. Had his friend actually gotten a life, as Mimi once stated in various LJ posts? "Only one way to find out..." Taichi thought to himself while approaching the hospital doors.
"How's everything going, Jou? Your brother still treating you like you have the plague? I'd never treat Hikari like that." Taichi was in big brother mode the second he'd reached his friend's side.
Jou put on a friendly smile and bowed to Taichi. "Frankly I'd rather it be him. At least I'm used to it. Glad you could make it, Taichi-kun! And good to see you again, Agumon."
"Good to see you too Jou!" Agumon cheerily smiled back. "Thanks for letting me come with Taichi!" He remembered to extended his appreciation to Jou thankfully. It wasn't an everyday treat to come see one of the Chosen at work and what work Jou had cut out for him. Agumon just hoped he wouldn't be too out of place in this visit.
"I'm glad I could find time to make it here and avoid my Kaa-san's breakfast at the same time!" Taichi laughed while heading through the doors. "So Jou, you gave Sora and Piyomon the tour last Monday; now it's our turn! Time for us to find out who-or what-is behind doors #1 and 2!" Taichi announced seconds later, the grin still on his face even if he was unaware of what might befall him in the hospital.
Jou sweatdropped as he led them inside. "The doors all have glass windows, Taichi-kun. There is no guessing."
Agumon held his stomach with both hands and made a face of disgust at the reminder of Taichi's mother's cooking. Another simple reason to be thankful for coming. Hands down!
Taichi sweatdropped himself while allowing Jou to lead the way; he did know the hospital better than them, after all. "No guessing?! I suppose you would have to be focused 24/7 in a hospital, ne Jou?" Or however long you work here. There were times when Taichi knew he had to be serious, especially at a place he didn't fully like coming to. "So, Jou...who was that girl you were shooing away from us as we got here? Someone you know outside of work?"
Agumon raised a claw to his face to hide the large grin on his face. "She was pretty." The Digimon added, jokingly teasing.
Jou stumbled and coughed on his own breath. "N-no!" He said between bouts of coughing and wheezing. "Just a coworker!" he wheezed.
"'Just a coworker,' huh? From your past LJ posts, you seem to know a lot of female coworkers. They like fangirls similar to Yamato’s?" Taichi couldn't help but rub it in just a bit.
His friend deserved a small bit of fun while he was at work...at least, as long as Taichi was around.
"Hey that's not funny! They are my subordinates and colleagues! It's not my fault they all happen to be female on Mondays!"
A nurse approached him with a chart in hand. He paused to sign it, and as he handed it back to her she smiled a little too cheerfully at him, then cast a second, curious look at Taichi before hurrying off.
"And I guess I should warn you you're the first non-doctor or patient they've seen on this shift in months."
And weird...! Taichi thought as he looked at a nurse who looked back and rushed away. "Gomen, Sempai...wait a second-months?! Is that a good thing? What about Sora? Was she a patient last week?!"
Taichi felt a big sweatdrop on the back of his head, silently wishing Sora had mentioned this to him at anytime between today and the past 6 days!
Tilting his head to Jou, Agumon pointed to himself and asked, "And Digimon too?"
Jou looked down to Agumon. "Actually, she showed up as Birdramon last week and was pretty well-received once she returned to Piyomon, so don't worry."
Agumon let out a quiet sigh of relief and took a moment to turn his head and smile to any passing by nurses or patients.
Jou tilted his head and thought. "She was a girl, so she was safe." He approached the entrance to the interior of the hospital and put his hand on the swinging doors.
"Okay, I'm used to this. Stick close to me and do as I say and you won't have anything incriminating to hide from Sora-chan." He took Taichi by the arm and pushed them both through the doors and was greeted by a sea of admiring faces with hospital dresses attached.
"Gotcha, Jou...!" Taichi's eyes widened in disbelief as he just stared around at the multitude of nurses inside the one room.
"The next time we come here-if we ever come here again-we're flying in on Metal Greymon!" Taichi thought while covering his eyes with one hand-and peeking through his fingers at the same time.
Jou tried to hurry the group past the nurse station, hoping that if he went fast enough none of them would-"Dr. Kiddo!" chirped a female voice.
He stopped and faced her. "It's Kido!" Oh darn it.
"Shibitama-sensei said he needed to swap shifts with you next week so he can give a special lecture at Tokyo University."
Jou nodded. "Yeah, sure that's fine... Anything else?" Ack! Again!
The nurse leaned around him and smiled at Taichi and Agumon. "Who're your friends?"
Jou sighed and stepped aside. "This is Yagami Taichi-san and this is Agumon, his Digimon partner."
The nurse bowed. "Mitani Mayumi. Pleased to meet you!"
Agumon gave another toothy grin and raised his claw to greet the nice lady. "Nice to meet you too!" The Digimon turned to Jou and opened his mouth to ask why he was trying to rush them past these nice ladies, but caught his tongue.
Taichi placed his hand behind his head and smiled sheepishly at Jou's coworker-after bowing back, of course. "Same here, Mayumi. Heard of the Teenage Wolves? Jou and I know their lead singer/guitarist quite well."
He quickly flashed Jou a grin that said "How is knowing Yamato incriminating information?" before looking around just a bit longer.
The young nurse suddenly eyed Taichi with a bit more interest. "The rock star?" She looked Taichi over. "Well, if you ever get the chance, both you boys can come over and keep your Sempai company on Monday nights."
Her eyes lingered on Taichi for a moment longer, turned to Jou, then she strutted down the hallway just a little too energetically.
"Thank you Mayumi-chan!" Jou said through his teeth before turning to Taichi. "Let's go!" he growled.
Agumon pouted slightly and gave a cheerful wave goodbye to Jou's coworkers before falling back into his place next to the two boys.
Taichi slapped himself in the forehead before making his way out of the nurse's station as fast as possible. Apparently knowing Yamato was incriminating information in this place after all! Or was it something else?
"...Think I should've informed her that Sora's my girlfriend?" he asked quietly, deciding against putting on a smile of any kind as he kept stride with Jou through the hallways.
"In these halls, nothing matters," Jou said sagely. He led them to the examination room and put his hand on the handle. "Okay, she's getting a lot closer now, so try not to do anything that upsets her." He directed that statement more at Agumon than at Taichi.
"Closer?" Agumon looked between Jou and Taichi for an answer.
Jou sighed. Some things couldn't be avoided. "She's having the baby in a few weeks, so she's getting really nervous right now."
Agumon's expression lit up happily then softened. A small one! He briefly remembered the conversation he had with the other Digimon and opted not to ask any further questions. If she was nervous enough, he certainly didn't want to make her feel even more uncomfortable. Nodding and giving a prompt salute, he agreed.
Taichi patted his partner on the head before adding. "So, no mentioning of you-know-what, or while the rest of us eat store-bought food tonight, you get Kaa-san's leftovers."
Taichi wouldn't really do that to Agumon-but he just wanted him to keep his word, especially in a place like this.
Agumon glimpsed up to Taichi with a momentary shadow of horror in his eyes. He definitely was going to be on his best behavior now!
Jou nodded in approval. "Thanks you guys." He opened the door and let them in. "Hello, Rie! I brought some friends to see you!" Jou paused when he saw the girl sitting up in the bed with the blanket pulled over her head. "Um, Rie? Something the matter?"
The top of the blanket turned toward the boys. "I'm horny, bored, and not wearing any underwear! How would you feel, Sensei?"
Jou stood with his feet planted to the floor and his hand still on the doorknob. "Oh. Great!" he said through a plastic smile.
Taichi's eyes widened in near shock seconds after hearing that response before eyeing Jou with a slight twitch in one eye. "...Are all of your patients like this, Jou?"
"No, most of them swear a lot more and look a lot worse." He closed the door behind them.
Taichi sighed deeply and sweatdropped once more before a thought came to mind. "Hold on-was that the girl Sora told me about last week? The one who adores Digimon and does research about them, I mean?"
Agumon clasped a claw over his mouth, looking over to the talking blanket figure. He kept silent for a moment before moving further into the room with the others. "We can keep you company and take care of the boredom!" Agumon cheerily announced before slapping his claws over his mouth. He hoped that was alright to say... and not cost him lunch!
At seeing Agumon go further inside the room, Taichi hit his head against the door in slight frustration. "Just great...!"
"Digimon?" Said the talking blanket. The blanket slowly lowered itself to reveal the brown hair and bright eyes of a sixteen year-old girl. She held the blanket under her chin as she looked over Taichi, and then she saw Agumon plodding toward her.
"A dinosaur?" she wondered aloud.
"Yeah, this is the one," Jou answered.
"Mmm!" Agumon relaxed and lowered his arms as soon as she recognized him as a Digimon. "I'm Agumon." he stopped at the bed side with a wide smile and bright emerald eyes.
"That's right." Taichi replied at seeing she was more relaxed. "The name's Yagami Taichi. Congratulations, by the way." He blinked a few times while turning long enough to stare at Jou. "'The One?' Not even Sora would think I could pass as Keanu Reeves."
"Yeah, thanks. Nice to meet you," Rie said darkly before turning her attentions to Agumon. "So are you friends with Piyomon?"
Jou stepped on Taichi's foot. "She's sixteen! She didn't want to get pregnant!" he hissed.
"Yep! Piyomon and I are good friends! Are you friends with Piyomon too?"
"Ouch!" Taichi tried to ignore the pain while narrowing his eyes at the same time. "Would you rather I have kept it to myself, then? I was trying to be nice!"
"Well next time think before you leap!" he hissed again.
Rie nodded. "Yeah! I met her and Sora-san last week. They were so nice!"
Like I haven't heard that phrase before...! Taichi thought bitterly to himself, trying to ignore the pain in his foot while offering Rie a sheepish smile.
"Sora’s that way with most people that she meets; the same could be said for Piyomon."
Rie raised an eyebrow. "So are we dealing with a case of opposites attracting?"
So this was the girl Piyomon visited! Agumon's eyes lit up once more as he held his claw out to the girl. "Yep! That's Sora and Piyomon!" Agumon agreed with Taichi and then laughed at Rie's comment. "Taichi's nice too! But mean when it comes to sharing food." he joked.
Taichi's eyes narrowed a bit more before he crossed his arms and replied back in a nonchalant voice. "We have quite a bit in common with each other, actually-save for the fact that I play soccer and she plays tennis. She used to play soccer when she was younger." Talk about a case of getting off on the wrong foot...!
"Really? I liked gym, but I was never much for sports," she replied. "But I was okay with table tennis. So do you know Sora from that big adventure she told me about?"
"Truthfully, we knew each other before we experienced that big adventure and met our partners." Taichi admitted, a faint, but real smile appearing on his face at recalling old memories. Patting Agumon on the head, Taichi added. "We owe our lives to our Digimon; Jou does, too. They saved us from more battles than I can remember. Though another friend of ours could tell you precisely how many battles we've fought."
Rie turned to Jou. "Jou-sensei, I haven't met your Digimon yet. Why not?" Jou rubbed the back of his head. "He, uh, has a knack for getting into things. I'm afraid to leave him at the hospital for too long."
"'Cause he'd accidentally launch an attack and wreck half the equipment here!" Taichi muttered to Agumon while bending down long enough to say that under his breath, then quickly stood up again.
Rie stuck her tongue at him. "Killjoy." She turned back to Taichi. "So how many people like you are there? Who have Digimon, I mean?"
Taichi rose his eyebrows while trying to recall precisely how many Chosen there were. "Well...I would say there are about 13 of us in Japan, if not more. There are a few in America, one in France, one in India, three in Russia, one in Mexico...and probably more than I could remember. The same with the Digimon."
Rie leaned back in the bed, letting the blanket rest over her swollen stomach. "Wow. You guys are so lucky!"
"Sometimes." Jou muttered under his breath.
"Just Chosen, that's all." Taichi grinned lightly while patting Agumon on the head a third time before playfully slapping Jou on the back.
"Chosen?" Rie asked. "What do you mean?"
"That's the name we were given when we first went to the Digital World-Chosen Children." Taichi explained. "Since we've grown up, we call ourselves Chosen now, sans Children. Ne, Agumon?"
"But that still doesn't explain what Chosen means," Rie continued. "Why were you Chosen and by who?"
Taichi eyed Jou with a look of caution before responding back. "...To protect the world our Digimon come from. As to who chose us, I'm sure he'd prefer to let it remain a secret-for now, anyway." Taichi quickly covered Agumon's mouth seconds after finishing his response. No need for anyone to know about Gennai anytime soon!
Agumon smiled under Taichi's hand and nearly jumped into the explanation till Taichi's hand kept his words from escaping. He muffled into his partner's palm before shooting a mock glare up at him.
Rie's eyes widened. "To save the world? Sensei, why are your friends so amazing?"
Jou approached her bed. "Why does that surprise you? You met Sora-chan and Piyomon."
Rie shrugged. "I didn't expect a dork like you to have so many cool friends. I thought Sora-chan was a fluke."
Jou smiled grimly. "I'm glad you like my friends so much."
Taichi pulled his hand away from Agumon's mouth, tightened his hands and was quick to defend his friend, even if he didn't want to be defended.
“Jou's not a dork! He may be a bit hyper sensitive, but he's come through for us with his medical knowledge and expertise just as much as our Digimon have. I may not always think things completely through, but I'd trust Jou with my life just as soon as I’d trust Agumon."
Jou raised his hand. "It's okay, Taichi-san. You don't need to-"
Rie cut him off. "Kiddo-sensei is just fine by himself! He works hard here every day and deals with things you can only imagine. And besides, he admitted to me just yesterday that he was a dork."
Jou raised an eyebrow. "You can't prove-"
Rie smiled and produced a tape recorder from under the sheets. She hit the play button and Jou's distinct, nasal voice declared, "Yeah, I'm a dork. So what?"
She hit the stop button and smiled smugly.
Taichi slapped himself in the forehead for the second time in less than an hour. Should I not stick my neck out for my friends?! "You were here on Sunday? Don't you ever get a day off? And, his name's Kido."
Agumon blinked a couple of times before rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Oh, if only Gomamon were here...
Jou smiled sheepishly. "I uh, I work hard. And thank you for that." He confiscated the tape recorder and set it on the table across the room. "Plus as an intern, I'm basically still in class. I'm learning as much as I'm practicing, you know?"
"He's had about seven years of practicing down pat and he won't keep his head out of the books for anything! Other than his partner and friends." Taichi tossed in.
Jou shrugged. "Actually I'm really young for a physician. My dad's got a lot of clout and pulled lots of strings for me."
Rie smiled. "Good! He got you in here while you were still cute!" Jou immediately blushed heavily.
Taichi chose this time to slap Jou in the back for a second time. "This'll be something to tell Gomamon when you get home! Ne, Jou? And, speaking of which, we'd better get going before traffic blocks us in."
Rie looked at Taichi. "You have a car?"
Jou coughed again as Taichi's slap caught him off-guard.
Taichi grinned sheepishly. "Borrowing my best friend's car, actually. I'm gonna get a car for Christmas; I decided to get a laptop for my birthday last month."
Jou scratched his head and smiled. "Yamato trusts you a lot to let you drive his baby around while he's on tour."
Taichi smiled back before picking Agumon up and putting him on his shoulders. "Air Ishida is under temporary new ownership! Namely, me. We'll try and visit you again soon, Rie!"
Rie arched her eyebrows. "Ishida? Yamato? Ishida Yamato? The rock star?!"
Taichi slapped himself for the third time in the forehead before replying back! "...That's him. Ishida Yamato-my best friend, fellow Chosen, blonde rock star, etc."
Agumon let his claws lay atop of Taichi's hair and grinned over to Rie. "Maybe Yamato and Gabumon can visit too sometime in the future." he chirped in.
Rie slapped herself in the forehead and sank into the bed. "Digimon, rock stars, people I thought were total dorks saving the world, and now the baby is kicking again. I thought Kiddo-sensei was enough in one day!"
"It's Kido," Jou corrected.
Rie looked at Agumon. "I'd love that! I..." She paused and twiddled her fingers. "I hope I'm not being selfish when I say I want to meet all of Jou-sensei's friends."
Taichi smiled faintly, a huge sweatdrop on the side of his head while blinking a few times. "We'll try and see if we can all stop by soon. You'll need some aspirin the day you meet my successor Daisuke, though."
Agumon then chuckled and pointed out with one claw waving in the air. "Rie can make friends with everyone!"
"And a straight jacket for Daisuke-san," Jou joked.
Rie clapped. "Yay! Thank you!" She blinked forcefully and her eyes rolled slightly. "Ooh, I think you guys should get going. I won't keep you. It was nice meeting you Taichi-san!"
Taichi smiled broadly before offering Rie the V symbol. "Thanks; it was nice meeting you too, Rie! We'll come back soon. Watch your head, Agumon."
Rie shot him a "V" sign back. "I'll visit you guys after the baby is born!"
Jou opened the door for them. "Thanks for coming by, you guys."
"Bye Rie!" Agumon waved and then lit up happily as he ducked his head.
Taichi jolted forward a bit, said sweatdrop returning once more to the back of his head at hearing Rie’s last response before nodding. "No problem, Jou! Oh-one more thing. Sora mentioned something about a guy who...had a bit of an accident with his chest. I was just wondering if he's okay now."
Jou stood aside for them. "Oh he's fine now. Worse things have happened, if you can believe me. That's actually not such a serious accident around here since he had no major trauma."
Taichi grinned before heading out the door with Agumon in tow. "Trust me-after everything we've been through, I can believe you about this."
Jou grabbed Taichi's arm. "Hold it! They're waiting for you if you go that way!" He escorted Taichi and Agumon to a window at the end of the hall. "It's safer to go this way." He opened the window and looked out.
He stood back and motioned to the window. "It's about a ten foot drop, but there's a small pile of bags full of paper trash that you can use to break your fall."
"The way to the car should be clear after that."
Taichi's sweatdrop returned in full force before he reluctantly went out the window. "If anything happens to me Jou, you're paying my bill!"
Agumon blinked several times before looking down at Taichi. "Is this what Yamato and Gabumon have to do to get away from fangirls Taichi?"
"Knowing them, their falls are probably twenty feet, if not more!"
Jou looked down the hall. "Hurry! I think they heard the door shut!" He halfway shoved Agumon out the window and leaned out. "Thanks guys! I owe you one!" he shouted down.
"How about a lifetime payment of medical bills...?" Taichi coughed while forcing himself to his feet after landing in the bags full of trash feet first. At least it wasn't his head he'd landed on. And that's when Agumon landed on his head and forced him back in the trash!
Jou smiled at him. "I'll ask my dad! See you at Yamato-kun's party!"