Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, and I don't own the comic that's sort of inspired this whole thing by itself^^ Honestly, Martin Kellerman's gotta be the best guy doing comics ever^_____^

(When you see something written like this: blah, blah , it is Taichi's thoughts you're reading=) )

Lovesick by ThatGirl

"I thought you were my friend, man!" Taichi shouted, his eyes blazing with anger and betrayal. His so-called friend bit his lip slightly. "And you", Taichi continued, turning to Sora. "I thought you were my *girl*friend!"

"Taichi…" Sora began, but got cut off again.

"How could you!? And you too, Roku!"

"Please calm down, Taichi", Sora tried.

"No, I won't! Roku, do remember that girlfriends-that-mess-around-with-your-friends-and-who-besides-that-also-has-clamydia comes and goes, but that friends are supposed to be there for each other!"

And with that last remark, the bushy haired young man slammed the front door of the apartment shut, and left the building.

How the hell could Roku do that to me? And how the hell could Sora? The only reason why he decided to get together with her is so that he won't have to wonder how it is to have sex with his best friend's girl! Taichi thought as he stomped through Odaiba. But… maybe it had been for the best anyway? Because… he hadn't felt as much for Sora the latest time, and maybe she had noticed, or…

No! Push those stupid thoughts out of your head, Yagami! You've just gotten dumped and kicked out of your apartment on the same day; you have the right to feel sorry for yourself!

What more bad things could happen to him this evening?

Maybe he would get hit by a car or something, he mused as he crossed the street.

"Oh well, not today then." he said dryly when he came over to the other side of the road safely, without a car anywhere around as far as the eye could see.

And where to go now?

He could always crash at his sister's and her boyfriend's place just for this night, but that would not be a thing he would be able to do for several days.

Fishing up his cell phone from out of his pocket,  dialled the number and waited for the signals to get through.

"Hikari", his sister's voice said rather sleepily, once she picked up.

"Hey, it's me, Tai."

"Oh, hi Tai!" Hikari said. "Why are you calling? Not that I don't appreciate hearing from you, but it's kind of late"

"I got kicked out of my apartment and Sora just dumped me." he said with a sigh. There was quiet for a few moments while the words' meanings sunk into the drowsy mind of his sister.

"Sora dumped you?" she finally asked intelligently.

"Yes, and I sort of need a place to stay, only for tonight, so I was wondering…"

"Of course you can sleep here! No problem at all. But why did you two break up?"

"It's a…long story… Is it okay if we talk when I get to your place?"
"Sure. You can come anytime." Hikari said sincerely.

"Thanks, 'Kari. I don't know what I'd do without you"

The siblings said goodbye and hung up.

By the time Taichi got to the apartment, his sister and her boyfriend were up, fixing him some coffee, which he accepted thankfully. Hikari excused herself after only a few minutes, telling them that she needed a shower.

"So… What's your name again?" Taichi asked after a quite while of sitting by the kitchen table silently.

"Takaishi Takeru."

"Ok."

More silence. Taichi took a sip of the coffee, his eyes drooping.

"I… Hikari just woke me up fifteen minutes ago, telling me your were coming… Though she didn't say why"

"I got dumped"

"Oh…" Takru fidgeted a little with the sleeve of his shirt, but then his eyes lit up. "But I've got a brother who I think is available and –"

Taichi felt himself blush, and managed not to choke on the coffee.

"I'm not gay!"

"Oh, er, sorry! I didn't mean, like –"

*Not* gay, *not* gay, *not* gay… Taichi repeated in his mind, hating the doubts he'd often had about his own sexuality. Straight, straight, straight…

"Nah, it's okay…" he said out loud.

"Did… Did she tell you why she wanted to break up with you? If you don't mind me asking." Takeru said.

"Only the three clichés."

"'Need to be alone for a while'?"

"Yep"

"'Don't know what I'm feeling'?"

"Yep"

"'It's not your fault, it's mine'?"

" And you've won a free walkman! Plus that she's now dating my best friend. No, former best friend that is, former." Taichi added and groaned.

"Ouch…" Takeru said. "What are you going to do now?"
Taichi thought for a few seconds.

"I think, that maybe I'll call some of my friends tomorrow, like Fumio or Koushiro or Aki, and then I might work something out with them. I've got a job and so, so I can pay my share of the rent if I get to live there."
"That's good. So that you won't have to live on the streets, I mean. Though I'm sure you'll always be welcome here anyway."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. You're Hikari-chan's brother, after all." Takeru smiled, and Taichi felt his spirits lift.

He would be so much better off without Sora, so screw her.

No, an irritating voice in his head said. Roku screws Sora now.

Moaning, Taichi let his head fall onto the table with a "smack".

*****

The next morning, Taichi awoke by falling face first out of the sofa, hitting his already sore forehead. He gently touched the slight bump there before rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Hearing strange noises and his sister's giggles in her and Takeru's shared bedroom, he decided not to disturb them with breakfast yet and went out into the kitchen by himself, fixing two sandwiches and pouring up a glass of milk. He ate in silence (what could he have talked to anyway?), only listening to the occasional "squeaks" from the bedroom from time to time.

Life was a blast.

Finishing his sandwiches, he washed the plate and the glass and put them in the dish rack by the sink.

"Good morning!" Hikari greeted happily as she finally entered the kitchen, Takeru following not far behind her.

"'Morning" Taichi said. "I've, uh, already eaten"

"Okay" Hikari shot him a somewhat concerned look.

"Mind if I use the phone?" Taichi hurried to say.

"Go ahead."

Taichi nodded gratefully and went out of the kitchen.

"I hope he doesn't feel too bad about Sora, I never thought she was any good for him, anyway…" Hikari said, and Takeru nodded.

In the living room, Taichi reached for the telephone. The people he could possibly live with were Fumio, Koushiro and Aki. Fumio, the party animal and sex maniac, Koushiro, the gay computer wiz in Tokyo, and Aki, the totally boring guy with the worst bitch imaginable as a girlfriend…

Living with Fumio, he'd have to say bye-bye to having nights of sleep, and hello to nights of listening to Fumio's old bed and loud bass beats and gross moans. Living with Izzy, well, firstly he would have to move to Tokyo! And living with Aki, he would have to put up with that girlfriend of his, and he was sure he would never be able to live in an apartment of clinical cleanness.

He figured that Koushiro probably would be the least painful one, despite the fact that he, he reminded himself, was not gay! And not bi either… Straight, he thought stubbornly once again.

"Izumi residence, Jyou speaking", an unfamiliar voice answered the phone. But he had at least said 'Izumi residence'…

"Uh, hello? Is Koushiro there?" Taichi said uncertainly, wondering if this really was the right number.

"Koush'? Yes, he's here. Just wait a second."

"Ok."

"Hello?" another voice said after a moment. But Taichi recognised this one.
"Hey, Koushiro!"

"Taichi? Hey! How are you?" Koushiro's voice brightened.

"I'm fine… I just got dumped. And kicked out of my apartment. You?"

"Sora dumped you?"
Did everyone have to ask that?

"Yeah, Sora did. For that Roku, whom I thought to be my friend."

"My opinion has always been that she wasn't really 'the one' for you anyway, Taichi."

"Thanks, buddy… I think. But, listen, I've got no place to go now. So I was kind of wondering… If I perhaps could… live at your place?" Taichi asked slowly.

"Certainly, you can!"

Drawing a quick sigh of grateful relief, Taichi thanked him.

"As long as you don't mind the distance or having Jyou or some of my friends around", Koushiro added.

"No problem. The most important thing is that I'll have someplace to live, ne? And I kind of always wanted to live in Tokyo someday. Who's Jyou by the way?"
"My boyfriend." Koushiro announced proudly.

"Ah. Er, cool!"
"I'm glad you're fine with it. When are you coming?"
"As soon as possible, I guess. I have to go to my old pad to pack my stuff, and then I'll take the train."

"Prodigious! See you in a couple of hours then!"

"Yeah, see you, thanks. And sorry for just calling you up and fixing this so all of a sudden and so"

"Taichi, it's okay. It'll be fun to have you staying here."

"Thanks again, 'Koush''." Taichi sniggered slightly.

"Oh, I'm going to kill Jyou… Bye, Tai!"

Taichi hung up, and got dressed.

"So where are you going now?" Hikari asked, sticking her head out of the kitchen.

"To my old apartment, where I'll pack my things, and then to Tokyo. To Koushiro, you know" Taichi said.

"Oh, my brother lives in Tokyo, and –"

"Still not gay, Takeru", Taichi said quickly.

"I didn't mean, like –"

Taichi laughed, in spite of himself.

"I know you didn't." he said. "Well, bye for now! I'll call you when I get there if you want to."

"Sure. Bye!" Hikari said.

Taichi put on his shoes and jacket, and then went out of the apartment.

When he had fetched his things, he got on the train to Tokyo and quickly looked up a payphone. He slipped a few coins into the chink, trying his best to cover his head and shoulders with his jacket. Raindrops were falling like if that Great Someone Up There was emptying his bathtub or something.

"Hey Koushiro." he said when the redheaded boy had said his standard "Hello?"

"Are you in Tokyo now?"

"Yep, I'm here."

"Do you want me to meet you someplace?"
"Nah, if I get the address, I'll take a taxi."

"Okay." Koushiro gave him the name of the street. "On the fourth floor. Got it?"

"Got it."

Finding a taxi was not hard, it was just to raise a hand and snap your fingers a few times, and soon Taichi was sitting comfortably in the backseat of one, his hair dripping.

"Where is you going, buddy?" the driver wondered. He spoke with a weird accent. Taichi repeated the address Koushiro had told him and the driver eyed him. "Is you sure that is the right address?"

Taichi frowned a little.

"Yeah…" he said slowly. "Why? Is there any problem with it?"

"Er, no, no. Nice neighbourhood, very… charming." he made a pause and then continued hastily, "Listen, buddy, I want the money in advance and you has to be ready with the door when I slow the car so that you can jump out. Okay buddy?"

Taichi gulped, nodded with a mix of graveness and confusion on his face, and genuinely wondered what he had gotten himself into.

The surroundings gradually changed outside the taxi, and in next to no time the driver demanded his money.

"Keep the change!" Taichi yelled and hopped out of the open car door, somehow managing not to fall.

"Good luck, buddy!" the driver yelled back before driving off.

Taichi took a good look at the block.

How did I manage to end up in Japanese Harlem? he thought, lifting his bags of the rain soaked asphalt.

He spotted Koushiro's building. At least he found it swiftly.

He made his way up the small set of steps that led to the door, trying his best to pay no attention to the rather big, scary looking guys outside, who were eyeing the newcomer. Taichi pushed one of the buttons about two hundred and fifty times in three seconds on a little box like code thing with a tiny speaker on the wall.

"HeyKoushiro,I'mherenow,pleaseletmeknowthecodesothatIcancomeinquickly!" he said. (A/N: for you who don't have the energy to read all of that slowly again and figure out what he really said, he said "Hey Koushiro, I'm here now, please let me know the code so that I can come in quickly!" Sorry for interrupting^_^)

"Hi Taichi! Was it easy to find it?" Koushiro asked cheerfully.

"Yeah, sure, but I'd really appreciate it if you told me the code so that I can come in right now!"

The big, beefy guys were advancing on him.

"The neighbours can look a little threatening, but they really are nice" Koushiro said.

"Please tell me the code!" Taichi hissed, feeling truly *nervous* now.

"Okay, okay. Wait a second. It's twenty six, forty seven."

Taichi punched the numbers and heard the satisfying 'click' when the lock opened.

"Did it work?"

"Yes", thank God. he added silently, and got into the building.

What a shabby place… If the gang-members outside won't kill me I'll probably die of some disease this place carries. Taichi thought, after climbing the stairs to the fourth floor. Let's see here… Which door could be his?

He went by number 205.

"I'll fucking kill you, bitch!"

"You will? Well, say hello to my 'little friend' here then!"

Not that one, I hope… Taichi hurried past the door, and the sound of glass shattering was heard from the next one. An odd, edgy looking man without a shirt on was dragging a large, black plastic bag out of his apartment.

"I'm just… hehe… throwing away some… trash! Hahaha ha heh!"

And definitely not that one…!

Taichi rounded a corner, and, much to his relief, he saw Koushiro standing there, the door of his apartment wide open.

"You made it! Welcome to Tokyo!"

"Thanks" Taichi smiled.

"Don't just stand there, come in", Koushiro said, and Taichi obeyed. "Put your bags down here. I've got a room free, but I haven't got a bed free, so you'll have to put up with sleeping in the couch the first nights."

"Anything's fine with me. So tell me, was this the place they shot the movie 'Seven' in?"
"It doesn't look as bad when it's not dark", Koushiro assured.

"What? Does the dope merchants sell ice cream during daytime?"

Koushiro laughed.

"It's late." he finally said. "We should get some sleep."

"Yeah, you're right."

The couch in the living room Taichi got to sleep on was pretty old, though still comfortable. Beside it, there was a modern computer, contrasting to how most of the other stuff in the apartment was worn, and speaking of Koushiro's personal priorities. The stereo and TV were also pretty new.

The soft snoring of Koushiro was heard from the redhead's bedroom after only a few minutes, and Taichi shut his eyes. They snapped open at a piercing loud "Bang!" from outside.

Was that a gunshot? Koushiro had not seemed to notice anyway… Maybe he would get used to it?
"Bang, bang! Bang!"

And this shall become my music… Taichi thought drowsily, and with a fair amount of sarcasm, before slowly drifting asleep.

*****

A/N: That's all for now… I hope it wasn't all too bad.. And sorry, there was no taito in this chappie, but the two will meet in chapter two^_^ So... what did you think about this? Please review and tell me!