General Challenge - Intervention

Intervention

“…Happy birthday to Yolei…happy birthday to you!”

Cheers erupted as the assembled friends and family of Yolei Inoue finished singing “Happy Birthday”. Matt visibly relaxed, being unfortunate enough to find himself sandwiched between Tai and Davis, both of who were singing shamelessly, loudly, and badly. His sense of hearing, honed by years of music making, picked up on every off-pitched note. Only Sora and TK, who stood behind him with vice-grips on his wrists kept the two goggle-heads from meeting premature deaths. As the two friends released Matt’s wrists, Davis began the next verse:

“What’s your boyfriend’s first name? What’s your…” BAM! Davis went flying as not one, but two fists sent him flying into a nearby couch. Red-faced and hyperventilating, Yolei turned to her comrade, giving him a high-five. Matt smiled in return, satisfied that the Real World was safe from bad music once again. The rest of the party went relatively smoothly, the only exception being Davis, who regained consciousness just in time to see Izzy slide the last piece of birthday cake into his mouth, smacking his lips loudly and patting his stomach. Davis’ ensuing tantrum tore through the apartment, and was eventually dealt with by the combined efforts of Tai, Agumon, Sora, Armadillomon, Joe, and Kari, who settled for picking him up and throwing him into Mantarou’s room, then piling furniture in front of the door. Yolei’s brother did not look pleased, but wisely refrained from any rash actions that would bring him a similar fate. Veemon merely shrugged and pointedly ignored Davis’ pleas for deliverance, also frightened into submission.

As Davis seemed to be unable to calm himself, the assembled humans and digimon agreed to keep the boy trapped inside Mantarou’s room. Yolei’s parents forced themselves to not look in their son’s room’s general direction, but finally settled for going to tend to the store. Mantarou followed them, telling Yolei that if anything was destroyed, someone would get hurt. Yolei flashed him her brightest smile, then stuck her tongue out at him as he left. The played some games, Matt easily winning Rock Band before getting trounced by Izzy in Trigonometry Trivia, who in turn lost to Sora and Starcraft. After Izzy lost three more consecutive games to Sora, they decided to move on to another activity.

Eventually it came time for Yolei to open her presents. Tai and Agumon gave her a massive box of chocolates, Gabumon bringing a similar gift. Matt presented her with a harmonica not unlike the one he carried around on his first adventure. Joe settled for a fully stocked first aid kit, while Gomamon handed her a similar kit, only it contained everything Joe would not have approved of. Kari whipped out her trusty camera and snapped a picture. Izzy and Tentomon gave her an assortment of gadgets. TK brought another box of chocolates (Don’t you guys have any imaginations?!” Yolei had asked) Gatomon gave her a fish. (Everyone sweat-dropped at this point). Veemon presented Davis’ gift in his absence, which turned out to be yet another box of chocolates. Cody attempted to diffuse the situation by shoving his present into her hands. It was a financial planner. The rest of the guests all presented Yolei with their presents, until Mimi stepped forward with a gleam in her eyes. She pressed into Yolei’s hands a tiny package, rectangular, no bigger than her palm, and completely flat. Yolei carefully opened it, and was met with a shiny credit card. A moment of calm pervaded before the apartment erupted in a scream that covered even Davis’ banging. Yolei rushed at Mimi and gave her a bear hug, nearly suffocating the older girl.

“So, what do you say,” choked Mimi. “Let’s go shopping tomorrow!”

“I am SO there!” exclaimed Yolei, finally releasing Mimi. “Anyone else?”

“Sorry, Yolei,” said Sora, “Tennis practice tomorrow.”

“And I promised I’d help Mom and Dad with chores tomorrow, since Tai’s gone,” said Kari, glaring at her older brother.

“Like sis said, I’m gone,” said Tai, cowering slightly under Kari’s glare. The rest of the boys, minus Cody, merely looked away. They wouldn’t be caught dead shopping.

Cody, sitting in a corner, had a bad feeling about this…

“I’ll come.”

The rest of the boys swivelled around to stare at Cody. Izzy got up. What the heck, I’ll keep him company… “I’ll go too”

“Great!” exclaimed Yolei. “Tomorrow morning at 11:30 it is then!”

When did they agree on that time…? thought Ken, thoroughly confused.

“Um…should we let Davis out yet?” asked Veemon timidly. Twenty-five heads whirled to look at the door, where a couch, two chairs, a table, an entertainment centre, and six teddy bears lay. A soft groan could be heard from beyond the portal.


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Cody looked up at Aqua City shopping centre at 11:29 am, not quite knowing what to think. He had never gone shopping with friends before. He, like most of the male population, was not overly fond of shopping, and did it only when necessary. Cody sighed and prayed to whatever deity listening up there that this would not be disastrous.

“Cody!”

Cody looked up to see Izzy walking towards him at a rapid pace. Dressed in a green sweater and comfortable pants, Izzy did not look worried in the least. If anything, Izzy looked as if shopping was a natural thing to do.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” Izzy answered. “Nervous?”

“…Sort of,” said Cody. “I’ve never gone shopping for fun in my life, and, well, I have a bad feeling about this. How do you stay so calm?”

“Me, calm?” Izzy chuckled. “No, I’m just as, if not more, nervous about this than you. And don’t worry; girls plus shopping malls equals bad feelings. It’s nothing new.”

Cody fished out his cell phone. 11:34. He sighed, replacing the phone.

“Don’t worry, Cody,” said Izzy, noticing his friend’s behaviour. “Mimi always had a problem getting up on time. Back in our first adventure, we had to literally drag her out of bed…or whatever served as bed at the time.”

Cody said nothing, rubbing his hands and nodding.

“And plus, here they come.”

Cody’s head shot up. Sure enough, Yolei and Mimi breezed through the crowd. Cody gulped. Now he really had a bad feeling about this…

“Ready?” Yolei asked.

Izzy nodded once, Cody, somewhat in a daze, bobbed his head up and down. Mimi poked him in the chest.

“What’s up?”

Cody shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Ok then,” replied Mimi. “Let’s go!”

The two girls practically ran into the mall, Izzy and Cody struggling to keep up.

An hour and a half after the male half of the expedition exhausted themselves (which was almost immediately), the females were still going at it.

“Oooh!” These are sooo cute!” screamed Yolei.

“I knoowwww!” agreed Mimi.

Izzy and Cody stood inconspicuously to the side, watching their friends shop – or rather, tear through the mall in some parody of the Tasmanian Devil.

“I want one in every colour!” exclaimed Yolei.

“There are six here…” began Mimi.

“I want one in every colour! EVERY colour!” repeated Yolei, sounding a bit on the whiny side.

“You know,” Izzy said, butting in, “If you just go on The Shopping Channel, you can probably find more good deals…”

“Perfecto!” said Yolei.

Cody’s senses tingled even more…. This is definitely not good.

Part 2
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That night, Yolei couldn’t sleep. Colours swirled all around her. Red, blue, gold, green, every colour in the visible spectrum. And she wanted one in EVERY colour! She rushed to her computer. What did Izzy say the site was? … let’s see…computer’s loaded…logged in…Internet……Perfecto! Yolei’s eyes glazed over. There it was, in all its glory, every imaginable colour! The prices were in U.S. dollars, but what did she care? She had the all-powerful credit card! 2…9…8…2…4…7…3…6…0…0…2…1…9…2…1…6…! And done! In two short weeks, it would be hers! Yolei was about to shut down and go to sleep when her eye caught something else. A dress, beautifully designed, with spaghetti straps and going down to just above her knees. Gosh, she thought, I would die to have this dress. Taking a quick peek around her darkened room to make sure Poromon was still sleeping, Yolei punched in the number to her credit card again. And again, seeing an expensive make-up kit. And again, seeing a new external hard drive. The computer whiz inside her just couldn’t resist it. Or the new program. Or a new sound card. Or…

“What are you doing, Yolei?”

Yolei spun around. “Cody, I almost we—“

Cody clamped a hand over her mouth to keep the girl from waking the entire household. “Too much information, Yolei.”

Yolei batted away the younger boy’s hand, glaring at him. “What are you doing here!” she whispered angrily. “And how did you even get inside?”

Cody waved his hand airily. “Doesn’t matter.” Yolei grabbed his shoulders and began to throttle him. “Tell. Now.”

Cody looked her straight in the eye. “I’m magical.”

Yolei’s face started turning red. She so wanted to slug him, beat the information out of him. Then she remembered that he practiced Kendo, and could probably floor her in two seconds, wooden stick or no. Growling under her breath, Yolei settled for glaring at him. “What are you doing here?” she asked again.

“I should be asking you the same thing,” replied Cody, unnerved. “What are you doing?”

“What do you mean what am I doing, what are you doing!”

Cody merely pointed at the computer screen, where Yolei’s mouse hovered over the “Confirm purchase” button. Yolei started sweating slightly.

“Um…it’s nothing. Really.”

“I see,” answered Cody, reaching over and closing the window. “You need to be more responsible about your money.”

“I don’t need you to lecture me,” huffed Yolei. “I’m three years older than you.”

“Apparently not old enough,” answered Cody, unperturbed. “You really need to be more responsible. Just because you have that credit card doesn’t mean money grows on trees.” He walked towards the doorway. “Keep in mind what I said, ok?”

Yolei merely glowered at Cody’s retreating form. The a thought flew by. Wait, how did he get out? Yolei went to check the door. Nobody had touched it. He hadn’t gone out the balcony either. How…?


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Cody never brought up the subject again. Yolei pressed him for answers, but the boy merely shrugged and said “Keep in mind what I said”. She had tried everything from threats to blackmail to bribery and even puppy-dog-eyed pleading, but Cody never wavered. It was not until three weeks later that Yolei got the message.

She was in her room admiring the newly-arrived merchandise when her mom came in with an envelope for her. Her parents were not exactly pleased that she spent so much money, but Yolei persuaded them that she used her own, and that everything was taken care of. Nothing else left to say, her parents both turned a blind eye to her extravagant shopping. Yolei took the envelope.

“Bank of Japan…” she muttered, tearing open the envelope. She quickly scanned through the letter, eyes drawn to a single bold line:

Your current balance is: ¥662,930

Yolei’s jaw dropped. This is not good.

She turned and ran. “Mom, I’m going out for awhile!” she shouted in passing, flying out the door before her parents could approve or object. She ran up the stairs, stopping in front of the Hida apartment. She banged on the door. “Cody let me in! Let me in! Cody…”

The door was pulled open and Yolei fell into the arms of an old man. “Looking for Cody?” Chikara Hida asked. “Come right in.”

Yolei followed Cody’s grandfather, who led her to Cody’s room. Yolei went up and knocked, more politely this time. “Uh…Cody? It’s me, Yolei, and I…uh…need to talk to you.” The door swung open, allowing the girl to enter. She sweat-dropped.

Cody sat in a plush chair, idly stroking Upamon in his arms. “Yes?” he asked, completely without humour.

“Aren’t you supposed to say something like ‘I’ve been expecting you’?” asked Yolei.

“You said you wanted to talk to me,” stated Cody, ignoring her question. He got up and closed the door, giving them some privacy.

“Uh…oh yeah! Um…forgive me! I completely ignored your warnings and now I owe the Bank of Japan over 660,000 yen! Help me, please!” Yolei was on her knees begging the smaller boy.

“How do you expect me to help you?” asked Cody. “I told you before, money doesn’t grow on trees. And I can’t just pull it out of thin air either.”

“Don’t you have any ideas?” Yolei wailed. “I can’t pay 660,000 yen back within a month! I can’t even pay the interest!”

“Ask your parents,” replied Cody.

“Are you serious?” shouted Yolei. “I told them I took care of everything! If I have to ask them for money, they would skin me alive!”

“You should have been more responsible then,” said Cody, calm as ever.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry!” wailed Yolei.

“Lesson learned?” asked Cody.

“Yes, yes!” said Yolei. “I will never shop like that again! I will never use more than 10,000 yen every time I go shopping. I... I'll use the financial planner you gave me! Please, save me!”

Cody looked at Yolei’s pathetic figure sprawled across the carpet of his room with some pity. Though the evil part of his mind wanted to torment her a little longer, the rational part decided that she had suffered enough. He went with the rational part. “Alright then, give me your card.”

Hands shaking, Yolei hand it to him. Cody promptly snapped it in half with little effort. “Follow me,” he said.

“Where are we going?” asked Yolei.

“You’ll see,” replied Cody. He had led her across town, to one of the seedier parts. Yolei suspected that they had taken a few false turns and backtracked more than once. Still, they boy continued to walk. After what seemed like forever, they stopped in front of a non-descript building. Cody handed her a blindfold. “Put this on,” he said.

“Um…ok.” After waiting for a few moments, Yolei found herself being led by the arm. She was taken down a hallway, then down three flights of stairs, then another series of hallways. She had a feeling that they were taking her in circles once again. Finally they stopped.

“You can take off the blindfold now,” said Cody. Yolei obeyed her younger friend’s order and was greeted with a strange sight.

It was a dark room. The only light came from a single computer. She couldn’t see much, not that there was much to see. I lone desk and a couple chairs were all that furnished this room. No lights, no lamps, no carpets, nothing. A man sat at the computer. He gestured to the pair of chairs in front of the desk. “Have a seat.” Yolei thought that the voice sounded strangely familiar, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Before she could dwell too much on it, however, Cody led Yolei to the chairs, and they both sat down. Cody spoke.

“My client here requires your services,” he said.

“Ah, a little short on money, are we?” the man sounded slightly amused. “Well then, let’s see what we can do for you. How much do you need, young lady?”

“Um…662, 930 yen,” stuttered Yolei.

The man snickered. “Been on a spending spree, eh?” Yolei felt her face grow hot. “Which bank?” he asked.

“Bank of Japan,” answered Cody.

“Account number?”

“2982473600219216”

“Simple enough, then. Give me some time to work…”

The man “worked” for about half an hour. Yolei couldn’t see the screen, but from what the man typed into the computer, she guessed he was hacking into the Bank of Japan’s system. That has one of the highest security systems in the nation, thought Yolei, he must be really good.

“Done,” the man finally said. “662, 930 yen has been deposited into your account to settle any outstanding balances.”

Yolei nodded gratefully. “Thank you…”

“Koush – Kouchi”

“Kouchi-sama. Thank you.”

The man chuckled. “No need to be so formal. Kouchi is fine. Now, to discuss your payment.”

“Payment?” asked Yolei, confused. Didn’t she just settle the payment?

“You don’t expect me to do this for free, do you?”

Yolei glanced worriedly at Cody, who sat stoic as always. Deciding that she would get no help out of him, Yolei turned back to Kouchi. “How much do you want?”

Kouchi chuckled again. “I know you have no money, otherwise you wouldn’t be coming here. Let’s see…are you aware of the item that went on sale at the shopping channel approximately three weeks ago? It was limited edition, with every colour available. I was going to buy it for my girlfriend, but it was sold out before I could. Would you happen to have it?”

“Um…yeah, I do. Which colours do you want?”

“I want one in every colour,” the man said, leaning forward and putting his palms on the table. “Every colour.”

Yolei blanched. “Every…colour?”

“Yes, every colour. And while were at it, there’s a nice spaghetti-strap dress that goes down to just above the knees. My girlfriend’s dance is coming up soon, and I think she would look great in it.” Kouchi grinned wider. “Of course, if you don’t want to pay up, I can always reverse the balance.”

Yolei sighed. She didn’t have a choice. It was either give this Kouchi guy the items he wanted, or walk out and have the balance reversed. She would then have to go to her parents, who would…she didn’t want to think what they would do to her. “Alright, I’ll give you the items.”

“Good,” Kouchi replied. “Just give them to your friend and he’ll make sure it gets to me. Within the next three days, mind you.”

“Fine,” agreed Yolei. Cody nodded as well, then got up, handing the blindfold to Yolei again. As they walked out, an unbidden thought invaded Yolei’s mind. How did this Kouchi character know what I have?


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“Yolei!”

Yolei looked up to see Mimi walking towards her.

“It’s the dance tonight! What do you think of my dress?”

It was, quite honestly, the most beautiful thing she saw…wait.

“Meems, where did you get that dress?”

“Izzy gave it to me!” the girl bubbled, “it was so nice of him! And remember that item you wanted, one in every colour? He gave me those too! It must have cost him a fortune!” Mimi continued ranting, unaware that the other girl was no longer listening.

It can't be...

I haven't read it all yet (gotta get to college) but so far....

I love how you portrayed Matt in the first couple of chapters. It's beautiful.

And when their opening presents... "Gatomon gave her a fish". I had to stop reading at this point, I was laughing so hard.

Aww... that was really great!!

Awesome job! I loved the fish part, and the fact that Mimi ended up getting the dress in the end XD

I like to think that I have this psychological connection with Matt. First, my name's Matt as well, and I play the upright bass, which is a not-so-distant cousin of the electric bass. And since Matt is supposed to be the "talented musician" of the group, I figured that Tai and Davis' singing must grate his ears as much as they might grate mine.

Oh, and an updated version is on FF.net. There are a few minor changes to that version.

Fish = epic win.

You are fast becoming my new favourite writer.
MOAR PLZ.

You'll have to challenge me, I'm afraid. I'm not great at thinking up of ideas.

No problem my friend. We're full of idea's here...

Though mine do tend to be a little bit crazier than others... I don't know if you'd enjoy one of mine.