Author's Note: I do not own Digimon because if I did then it would be a
Taiora all of the way!!! Hope you enjoy part 3 of Protecting Alone!!!
Protecting Alone
Chapter 3: Telling
Tai couldn't help but sigh as he reached school. He knew that people would stare at him because of his black eye. His mother had been fired from her job the day before and she had been home when he had gotten home from school. She had started to abuse him again, but it was ten times worse than normal, and so she had punched him in the face, bruising his eye. He could feel people's eyes on him, and he knew that people would be gossiping about how he got that black eye. He saw Sora and Matt talking and quickly averted his path. He had no intention of seeing his friends, but he caught Sora's eye for a second, before he quickly broke off the brief eye contact. He especially didn't want to see Sora out of all of his friends. She had been the one to hurt him the most, the one to break his heart. And she didn't even seem to regret it. Yes, that was the worst thing that had ever happened to him. He would put up with his mother's abuse for the rest of his teenage days if only Sora had picked him instead of Matt. But the past was the past and there was nothing he could do about it. He just changed his direction and went to his locker, ready to start another day of torture.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Sora and Kari sat in silence until the bell rang, and then they quietly went to their classes. Sora knew that she had to do something to help Tai, and quickly. She didn't want *anyone* especially her best friend, to be put to that torture everyday. Her first class that day was physics, a class that she shared with Tai. Izzy was also in their class, and Sora admitted that she had mainly talked to Izzy during the classes, so she could scam answers of him when she couldn't really be bothered working. She had thought that Tai wouldn't really know the answers as he fooled around in class, but since he had changed, he actually worked in class and his grades had shot up dramatically. It was as if he had been purposely fooling around in class, when he could easily do the work. It was kind of irritating.
'Today I'm going to try talking to Tai in class. I'll tell him what I know and try to make him talk. I *have* to help him!' she muttered to herself, grabbing her physics books from her locker, 'After all, he would help me if I was in trouble.' She went straight to the classroom after roll call, knowing that Tai would be there. He was sitting outside the science lab, waiting for the teacher to come. His books were on the ground next to him and he was looking at the ground, probably trying to make his black eye invisible to everyone who was passing by.
"Hey Tai," she said to him, smiling, even though she knew that she wasn't going to get a response out of him, "How are you? Wait, I know that you're not going to answer that." Tai didn't even look up at her words, and he seemed to be studying the floor. Sora threw her books to the ground and sat next to him, staring straight ahead. Nobody else was there yet, as their teacher was usually late and so nobody turned up until 10 minutes after the bell rung. Sora sighed to herself, trying to gather up the courage to say what she was going to say. It was funny how she had to gather up her courage, when she was sitting next to the digidestined of courage.
"Tai, I know what is going on at your house, with your mother. I heard through the door yesterday. W-Why do you let that happen? And why didn't you tell anybody?" Tai continued to stare at the ground for a minute before he hopped up and grabbed his books.
"You don't know anything. Just leave me alone," he said quietly, surprising her, "Stay out of my business." He walked away, going quite fast, and Sora knew that she had surprised him more than he had her. She just didn't understand why he had to run away from the help.
'Maybe he's just afraid. He probably thinks that you're lying. After all, you haven't exactly been a great friend lately, and who knows what he has been through during the last few years, with no best friend to go to? You could have helped him you know, and then this mess would never have happened,' Sora sighed again, agreeing with the voice in her head. If only she had been a better friend. She stood up as people began arriving for the class, and smiled to Izzy, who was talking with Mel, his girlfriend. At the very least she would still be friends with the people who she *could* help.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Tai had been shocked at Sora's words, and he couldn't help but be angry at both her and at himself. He was angry at her because she had decided to pity him. She had never really shown him any attention until he had tried to kill himself, and he knew that she felt guilty. That was probably the only reason that she had talked to him again, the only reason that she pretended to care. How could she know what was going on? She had questioned him, making it seem as though he could do something about it and that he was stupid fr doing nothing. He could bet that nothing like that had ever happened to her. But then again, Sora never brought anybody bad luck. Not like him. What his mother said was true; he had caused his mother to have bad luck. If Kari had been with his mother, then it all wouldn't have happened and his mother would be happy. He might even have been happy, but no, the world was against him and so they made sure that Tai was always unhappy. He was doomed to unhappiness, and he knew it.
He ran to his bag and stuffed his books in it, before he took off and left the school. There was no point in him being there, Sora would only ask questions and look down on him as if he were the stupidest person on the planet, whilst she talked and laughed about him with Matt. She had probably told Matt what a coward he was as he couldn't even stand up to his own mother. They probably laughed over it. Tai stopped running once he was out of the school and walked, knowing that he would attract attention by running in this crowd. He didn't have anywhere to go; he couldn't go home because his mother would be there and he couldn't go back to school because of Sora and Matt. Sora's tone hadn't really been mocking him, but he didn't want her to know, didn't want her to have to know that he couldn't even stand up to his own mother. He would stand up to her if it wasn't for Kari, but he had to protect her from their mother. If he had told anybody, then they would have taken her away, which would leave Kari devastated. After all, a girl looks up to their mother and respects them, and they *need* their mothers. Kari was no exception. So as Tai had nowhere to go, he just wandered around the city, hoping that he wouldn't bump into anyone who recognized him.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Although Sora tried to forget her conversation with Tai, it just wouldn't get out of her head. Tai's words were haunting her, and she knew that he was right; she didn't know anything. She had never been mistreated like he was being, she had never even been scolded all *that* much by her mother, so she had no idea what he was going through. But she couldn't help but to wonder why he allowed it, why he wouldn't stop his mother. It couldn't have been because he was afraid, because Tai was the most courageous person she knew, and she knew a lot of people. So why was he letting it continue? That was a mystery to Sora, and she wanted to know the answer desperately.
"Hey Sora," she looked up and watched as Kari plopped down on the bench beside her. It was lunchtime and the two girls were sitting on a bench that was far from where they usually met the others. They both wanted to make sure that the others didn't know what was going on until they found a way to help their leader.
"Hey Kari. Have you thought of anything yet?" Kari shook her head and the digidestined of Love lowered her head, "I haven't either. I tried talking to him today, and the only thing that it did was make him leave. He did say something to me though, so I guess it was better than nothing." Kari lightened up a bit once she heard that her brother had actually said something.
"What'd he say? It could help, knowing what he was thinking about," Sora smiled a bit at the hope that had crept into Kari's voice. It was strange how just one sentence could give somebody hope, no matter how hopeless the situation. And the youngest was always the first to regain their hope.
"He said 'You don't know anything. Just leave me alone. Stay out of my business.' Those were his exact words. He said it so quietly that I hardly heard him, but at least he said *something.* I just wish that it could help us to help him," Sora could still hear his voice in her head, saying the words that refused to move out of her head, "Kari, short of going and telling your father what is going on, I can't think of anything else that we can do! I tried talking to Tai, and that didn't work, and I can't think of anything else that could work. Telling your father what we know is the only thing that I can think of that will work."
"We have to try talking to Tai one last time. Maybe. maybe if we talk to him after school, before my mother gets home." Kari was cut of by Sora.
"No, we can't go after school. I remember hearing yesterday that your mother lost her job, so she'll probably be home. When Tai left, he wouldn't have gone home because of his mother. We're going tohavetoleaveschoolnowtofindhimbeforeheheadshome. Let'sgo!" Kari was confused for a second as Sora accelerated her speech, but she understood when Sora grabbed her arm and pulled her. They quickly got their stuff and left through the school gates, determined to find Tai.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Tai himself was wondering around the streets of the city, thinking about his life. He was startled when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder.
"Tai, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at school?" it was his father, probably on his lunch break. Tai just kept his face emotionless and didn't answer. His father drew him aside and they sat down on a nearby bench. He gasped when he saw Tai's black eye.
"Where did that black eye come from? Have you been in a fight?" Again he was met by that emotionless expression, and he sighed in defeat. If Tai didn't want to talk, then he wouldn't push him, "I'm going to have to phone your mother and tell her that you're not at school." This actually gave him a reaction. A look of fear crossed Tai's face, but it was an extremely quick flash, and Mr. Kamiya thought that he had imagined it at first.
"Please don't tell her. She's not having a very good week at the moment, so it would just worry her more than necessary," Mr. Kamiya could hardly believe it when he heard his son's voice, which was serious and quiet. His face was still expressionless, as was his voice, but his father realized that he hadn't imagined the look of fear on Tai's face before. It had been there, but he could not figure out a reason.
"I'm going to have to tell her Tai! She has to know what's going on, and it's important that you go to school. I'll have to tell her, unless you can tell me a good reason why I shouldn't," Tai thought about what his father was saying. Should he tell him the truth, or ignore the beating that he would get once he got home? "I'm waiting for your reply Tai. I'll give you 5 minutes." They were then distracted by the sight of Kari and Sora running towards them.
"Dad, Tai!" Kari called, worry written on her young face. Sora was also worried, but she refused to let it show. She and Kari hurried to the bench on which the two males were seated.
"Kari? Sora? What are you two doing here? Shouldn't you be at school?" Mr. Kamiya was amazed that he now had three children away from school, two of them his own kids.
"Well, we were worried about Tai. He just left school suddenly after I said something. and he didn't come back. So we came looking for him. We should be at school, but we judged this to be more important," Sora spoke quickly, hoping to persuade Mr. Kamiya to let them talk to Tai. The older man sighed in defeat.
"Well, since I'm on a lunch break, I'll take you all out to lunch, but you had better explain what is going on," he gave in, knowing that the youngsters had a better argument than he did. The two girls smiled, and Tai just kept on staring ahead with his usual expressionless face. Inside he was relieved though, as his father wasn't going to call his mother straight away. But he also knew that the two girls were going to prosecute him almost, to try and get him to admit that he was being abused, and try to get him to talk. He was not looking forward to this lunch thing.
They went into a nearby café, with Tai trailing behind the others. They sat at a table in the corner and Mr. Kamiya face the two girls.
"Now, what's all this about? I don't really understand," Sora took a deep breath before answering.
"Well, yesterday I went to see Tai, to try and get him to rejoin the soccer team. I mean, it is obvious that he still loves soccer, so I wanted to try and get him back for the tournament. I ran the whole way there, so I leant my head against the door and I found that I could hear everything that was going on in the apartment." Sora trailed off as she remembered what she had heard. Tai was still just staring ahead, but there was some emotion in his eyes, an expression of someone painfully recalling the past.
"Yes, and? What was important about that?" Mr. Kamiya spoke softly, wondering where the conversation was heading. He had a bad feeling about it, and he didn't like the feeling.
"I-I could hear Tai's mother abusing him. Saying really awful things that weren't true and I could hear things that sounded like somebody was punching somebody else. But the worst part of it was that it sounded as though it was a regular occurrence," Sora looked at Tai, who was now staring at his hands. Mr. Kamiya was looking shocked, as though he couldn't believe what she was saying. Kari just sat next to Sora, keeping calm but with a sad look in her eyes.
"Tai, is what Sora said true?" Mr. Kamiya could hardly force the words out. His son was being abused by the person that he himself had once loved. He could remember her looking after the children lovingly, but then again, she had been extremely hard on Tai sometimes, whilst she had never yelled at Kari. He watched Tai carefully as Tai battled with himself as to how to answer his father.
'What should I do? Should I just lie and say no, or tell the truth and actually have a chance at happiness? But what about Kari? Will she be crushed once she realized that her mother was not someone that she should look up to? Oh, I don't know. Why did they have to come and say this in front of dad? Why couldn't they wait until I was alone? Or better yet, why couldn't they just leave me alone?' Tai's thoughts were spinning around and around in circles, until his mind was a jumble.
"Tai, just tell the truth! I promise that I'll believe you this time! I-I don't want you to have to keep on lying to everyone, and be so miserable. Please tell us the truth!" Tai looked up at his little sister's words, and their eyes met. Kari saw a flash of pain and confusion in her brother's eyes, but then he was too good at controlling his emotions and they went emotionless again. Kari hoped that by telling him that he would tell the truth quickly, so they could figure out what they could do. But Tai still battled with himself for another few minutes, before finally making up his mind.
"I-it's true," Tai looked back down and examined his hands, not really wanting to say anymore. Mr. Kamiya sat back in his chair, worry written all over his face.
"How long has it been happening?" he asked quietly after a moment. Sora and Kari both looked at Tai, who was looking very uncomfortable.
"3 years," was the whispered reply. Tai didn't want to answer the questions that were being thrown at him, but he knew that he had to. He knew that the only way he could stop the nightmare that he was living.
"Your mother made you quit soccer, didn't she?" Sora asked softly, knowing that he would reply with a 'yes.' Tai nodded, wishing that he was far away from where he was.
"Do you know why she did it? She must have a reason," Tai was extremely uncomfortable at this question, especially as Kari was sitting across from him at the table.
"S-she was upset when she heard that Kari wasn't going to be living with her. She blamed me for bringing her bad luck whenever anything went wrong, and said that Kari would bring her good luck, not bad luck," that was the longest sentence that Tai had said the whole day and he knew that it made both Kari and his father uncomfortable. He wanted to leave and he tightened his grip on the strap of his bag. He looked up and saw the sad and worried expressions on the faces of three of the most important people in his life. He had to leave. He quickly stood up and left, dragging his bag after him.
"I'll go after him and I'll bring him back here," Sora grabbed her bag too and rushed after Tai, her thoughts coming into place. She had wondered why she had always felt special whenever she was around Tai, and now she had finally puzzled it out. She had fallen for him. It had taken her a while to realize it, but Sora Takenouchi had fallen in love with her best friend. And now she had to tell him.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Tai ran once he was a distance away from the café. He was so confused and he hated making the people he loved sad or worried. And he had gone and done both. It didn't matter that he was living a life full of misery, as long as everyone else was happy. That was what he had tried to believe for the last 3 years anyway. It was his motto: 'Better me than anybody else.' It was pretty much different to many other people's mottos, but that was what he believed. Or tried to at least. Now he had gone and made everybody worry over him, and he didn't like doing that. He knew that at least one of them would be following him, and he guessed that it would be Sora. After all, she *was* the fastest runner out of them all. He knew that he didn't have much of a chance at getting away, but he ran anyway. There was a slight possibility that he would get away, but he knew that that wouldn't happen. Sora would know instinctively where to run, even though she didn't know him very well. After all, he would know where she would run to, even though they were not as close as when they were younger. So he stopped when he reached the secluded beach beside the ocean and sat down, putting his head on his knees. He didn't cry, but he didn't move either. He closed his eyes and counted down slowly from 10, knowing that by the time he had finished Sora would have found him. When he reached 0, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and felt somebody sit don next to him.
"Hey Tai," was all that Sora said, before she stared out into the ocean. She knew that Tai didn't want to make anybody upset, but she also knew that he just wanted to pour out everything that had happened to him to make sure that it stopped.
"Hey Sora," Tai whispered, knowing that it was pointless to stop speaking again. He only whispered it, but Sora heard him. She sighed to herself without making a sound. This was going to be harder than she had first thought, but she knew that she had to go though with it.
"Tai, we all care about you and we want to make sure that you are okay. We are all worried about you, and the fastest way to make us stop worrying is to tell us what is going on so that we can make sure that there is nothing to worry about. I know that you hate making others upset, and that was probably why you didn't tell anyone before, but now that we know, we have to stop it. We won't stop worrying until you are safe and away from your mother, so it would be better for everyone if you tell us everything," she said this softly, and it came out almost as a whisper. But Tai heard it, and he knew that she was right. Sora was always right. He still didn't lift his head up, but he nodded slowly. He didn't want to go back straight away though.
"I know you're right Sora, it's just. it's just so. I don't know. Ever since this began I was acting cheerful because I didn't want to make anyone upset. It was easier at first, because I made myself believe that everything was okay and that my mother was just stressed and it would all go away. But it didn't. I managed to get through each day because of all of the digidestined. you guys kept me thinking straight. And to make sure I didn't upset you guys, I just acted cheerful and happy. It worked, because nobody really saw what was going on, but I guess that I kept on wishing that you guys *would* notice. I don't really know why. I guess I'm just confused. I mean, I trusted my mother and I guess that I still believe that she'll snap out of it, any day now," he still kept his head on his knees, which muffled his words a little, but Sora understood what he was saying. Or at least she tried to. She couldn't fully understand what he had been through because she had never really been treated badly in her whole life. She knew that she wouldn't be able to say that she knew what he was going through, because he would know that she was lying, and that would push him even further away. So she just stayed silent and waited for him to continue. He paused, but he started again after a moment.
"And then. then all of you guys drifted away even further. You all fell in love and started dating, and nobody really noticed that I was left behind, that I wasn't really with anybody. Joe went everywhere with Mimi, Izzy went with his girlfriend, you went with Matt, and even my little sister seemed to forget that I was there and she started going with T.K. You guys always paired up like that and it left me alone, to be by myself. I guess I just got used to it. I pretended to be happy whilst the rest of you ignored me and I just got more and more miserable each day. When my mother made me quit soccer, it was the last straw. I.I don't really know what came over me, but. I mean, I have the crest of courage, and I started acting like a coward. I talked to Kari in the hospital, after she told me that to her I was more important than my parents, but she just got angry after I told her. She didn't want to believe. That was when I decided that I was going to get into even more trouble if I didn't keep my mouth shut, so I didn't speak to anyone. Well, whilst you were leaving the room I said something, but you didn't hear me. I can't remember what I said. Then. life went on as it had for the past few years I suppose, except that I didn't bother to try and act cheerful all the time. I would arrive at our usual meeting place before everyone else and I climbed the tallest tree there. I would usually listen to what all of you were doing. That was how my paper dropped, and you found it. Then. well, you know what happened after that. And that is the story of my depressing life," Tai still kept his head down, even after he had finished speaking. Sora was feeling guilty, after all, if she had just acted on her suspicion that everything was not right with him, and then Tai would have been fine.
"I'm sorry Tai. I-I didn't do my job as a best friend properly. I got so hung up over Matt, that I forgot about my friends and I became a bit of a bitch. But that's going to change. Matt and I have broken up, we realised that we didn't really love each other, we were just ignoring things. Well, I was at least. I-I know that this is probably not the best time to say this, but... Tai, I-I've realised that I-I lo-love you," Sora turned bright red as a blush rose in her cheeks. She was looking at the ground, as a lot of people do when they are uncertain about what reaction they are going to get. Tai was extremely surprised. He lifted his head from his knees and looked at Sora with an expression that Sora could not read.
"Sora, I-I have loved you since summer camp, just before we went to the digital world. I uh, I just didn't really get the chance to tell you," Tai had turned red too, and Sora almost laughed until she realised that she was blushing too. She realised that they were getting closer and closer, and before she knew it they were locked in a passionate kiss, a kiss that told each other of their feelings.
"Finally things are staring to go right," Tai thought to himself as they broke off the kiss.
"We should go back to Kari and your father now," Sora suggested, and he nodded. They walked back to the café slowly, enjoying their time together...
EPILOGUE
Mrs. Kamiya was arrested by the police for abusing Tai and she was sent to prison for 5 years. Kari and T.K married when they were 19 and they had three children; Alex, Sarah and Laura. T.K became an author, writing about their experiences in the digital world. Kari became a kindergarten teacher and loved working with the kids she taught. Kari and Tai made up and Kari made sure that she kept in touch with her brother after he moved out. Matt married Jun, a girl who had moved into his Maths class just before he and Sora had broken up. They had a son, Simon, who was 3 years older than Kari's first child Alex. Matt became a famous singer and his band was world famous. Joe became the most famous surgeon in the world, after graduating from the top medical school. He married Mimi, who became a model, and they had the twins Penny and Daniel, the eldest out of all of the digi- destined's children. Izzy married Meredith, the girl he had been dating since he was 14, after becoming a new Bill Gates. Meredith helped him run his company, and they had a daughter, Steph.
Tai had rejoined the soccer team and they had won their tournament, and scouts had seen his talent. He and Kari repaired the gap that had been between them, and they were exceptionally close. He had moved back with his father and Kari, and they lived peacefully together. Tai and Sora continued to date all throughout high school and whilst Sora went to university. Sora became a physio-therapist whilst Tai became a world-champion soccer player, known for his determination to win. They traveled together whilst Tai was playing all around the world, before getting married when they were 23. They settled down back in Odaiba after they married. Tai quit soccer and got a job as a diplomat to the digital world. Together Tai and Sora had two sons and a daughter, Eriol, Syaoran and Tamika. Altogether all of the digidestined lived happy lives after Tai's tragedy ended, and the world was at peace. Even though the world seems to be a bad place and that everything is against you, remember that everything can change in a second, as long as you trust someone.
THE END
Well, my one-shot fic turned into a three part fic. The ending is *very* lame, but I'm not very good with romance or with endings. Most of the time my characters die when I finish a fic, but I'm trying to stop that. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my first Digimon fic and I'm surprised that I finished it!! Anyway, please review, it took me forever to write this! It was in my head, but I tend to write things way quicker in my mind than I can type it. If anyone knows how to make italics work, could you please tell me by either e-mail or in your review please? Because I really need to know how to do it!! Thank you! Anyway, I'll stop my babbling now and let you get on with whatever you are doing. Please review!
Protecting Alone
Chapter 3: Telling
Tai couldn't help but sigh as he reached school. He knew that people would stare at him because of his black eye. His mother had been fired from her job the day before and she had been home when he had gotten home from school. She had started to abuse him again, but it was ten times worse than normal, and so she had punched him in the face, bruising his eye. He could feel people's eyes on him, and he knew that people would be gossiping about how he got that black eye. He saw Sora and Matt talking and quickly averted his path. He had no intention of seeing his friends, but he caught Sora's eye for a second, before he quickly broke off the brief eye contact. He especially didn't want to see Sora out of all of his friends. She had been the one to hurt him the most, the one to break his heart. And she didn't even seem to regret it. Yes, that was the worst thing that had ever happened to him. He would put up with his mother's abuse for the rest of his teenage days if only Sora had picked him instead of Matt. But the past was the past and there was nothing he could do about it. He just changed his direction and went to his locker, ready to start another day of torture.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Sora and Kari sat in silence until the bell rang, and then they quietly went to their classes. Sora knew that she had to do something to help Tai, and quickly. She didn't want *anyone* especially her best friend, to be put to that torture everyday. Her first class that day was physics, a class that she shared with Tai. Izzy was also in their class, and Sora admitted that she had mainly talked to Izzy during the classes, so she could scam answers of him when she couldn't really be bothered working. She had thought that Tai wouldn't really know the answers as he fooled around in class, but since he had changed, he actually worked in class and his grades had shot up dramatically. It was as if he had been purposely fooling around in class, when he could easily do the work. It was kind of irritating.
'Today I'm going to try talking to Tai in class. I'll tell him what I know and try to make him talk. I *have* to help him!' she muttered to herself, grabbing her physics books from her locker, 'After all, he would help me if I was in trouble.' She went straight to the classroom after roll call, knowing that Tai would be there. He was sitting outside the science lab, waiting for the teacher to come. His books were on the ground next to him and he was looking at the ground, probably trying to make his black eye invisible to everyone who was passing by.
"Hey Tai," she said to him, smiling, even though she knew that she wasn't going to get a response out of him, "How are you? Wait, I know that you're not going to answer that." Tai didn't even look up at her words, and he seemed to be studying the floor. Sora threw her books to the ground and sat next to him, staring straight ahead. Nobody else was there yet, as their teacher was usually late and so nobody turned up until 10 minutes after the bell rung. Sora sighed to herself, trying to gather up the courage to say what she was going to say. It was funny how she had to gather up her courage, when she was sitting next to the digidestined of courage.
"Tai, I know what is going on at your house, with your mother. I heard through the door yesterday. W-Why do you let that happen? And why didn't you tell anybody?" Tai continued to stare at the ground for a minute before he hopped up and grabbed his books.
"You don't know anything. Just leave me alone," he said quietly, surprising her, "Stay out of my business." He walked away, going quite fast, and Sora knew that she had surprised him more than he had her. She just didn't understand why he had to run away from the help.
'Maybe he's just afraid. He probably thinks that you're lying. After all, you haven't exactly been a great friend lately, and who knows what he has been through during the last few years, with no best friend to go to? You could have helped him you know, and then this mess would never have happened,' Sora sighed again, agreeing with the voice in her head. If only she had been a better friend. She stood up as people began arriving for the class, and smiled to Izzy, who was talking with Mel, his girlfriend. At the very least she would still be friends with the people who she *could* help.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Tai had been shocked at Sora's words, and he couldn't help but be angry at both her and at himself. He was angry at her because she had decided to pity him. She had never really shown him any attention until he had tried to kill himself, and he knew that she felt guilty. That was probably the only reason that she had talked to him again, the only reason that she pretended to care. How could she know what was going on? She had questioned him, making it seem as though he could do something about it and that he was stupid fr doing nothing. He could bet that nothing like that had ever happened to her. But then again, Sora never brought anybody bad luck. Not like him. What his mother said was true; he had caused his mother to have bad luck. If Kari had been with his mother, then it all wouldn't have happened and his mother would be happy. He might even have been happy, but no, the world was against him and so they made sure that Tai was always unhappy. He was doomed to unhappiness, and he knew it.
He ran to his bag and stuffed his books in it, before he took off and left the school. There was no point in him being there, Sora would only ask questions and look down on him as if he were the stupidest person on the planet, whilst she talked and laughed about him with Matt. She had probably told Matt what a coward he was as he couldn't even stand up to his own mother. They probably laughed over it. Tai stopped running once he was out of the school and walked, knowing that he would attract attention by running in this crowd. He didn't have anywhere to go; he couldn't go home because his mother would be there and he couldn't go back to school because of Sora and Matt. Sora's tone hadn't really been mocking him, but he didn't want her to know, didn't want her to have to know that he couldn't even stand up to his own mother. He would stand up to her if it wasn't for Kari, but he had to protect her from their mother. If he had told anybody, then they would have taken her away, which would leave Kari devastated. After all, a girl looks up to their mother and respects them, and they *need* their mothers. Kari was no exception. So as Tai had nowhere to go, he just wandered around the city, hoping that he wouldn't bump into anyone who recognized him.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Although Sora tried to forget her conversation with Tai, it just wouldn't get out of her head. Tai's words were haunting her, and she knew that he was right; she didn't know anything. She had never been mistreated like he was being, she had never even been scolded all *that* much by her mother, so she had no idea what he was going through. But she couldn't help but to wonder why he allowed it, why he wouldn't stop his mother. It couldn't have been because he was afraid, because Tai was the most courageous person she knew, and she knew a lot of people. So why was he letting it continue? That was a mystery to Sora, and she wanted to know the answer desperately.
"Hey Sora," she looked up and watched as Kari plopped down on the bench beside her. It was lunchtime and the two girls were sitting on a bench that was far from where they usually met the others. They both wanted to make sure that the others didn't know what was going on until they found a way to help their leader.
"Hey Kari. Have you thought of anything yet?" Kari shook her head and the digidestined of Love lowered her head, "I haven't either. I tried talking to him today, and the only thing that it did was make him leave. He did say something to me though, so I guess it was better than nothing." Kari lightened up a bit once she heard that her brother had actually said something.
"What'd he say? It could help, knowing what he was thinking about," Sora smiled a bit at the hope that had crept into Kari's voice. It was strange how just one sentence could give somebody hope, no matter how hopeless the situation. And the youngest was always the first to regain their hope.
"He said 'You don't know anything. Just leave me alone. Stay out of my business.' Those were his exact words. He said it so quietly that I hardly heard him, but at least he said *something.* I just wish that it could help us to help him," Sora could still hear his voice in her head, saying the words that refused to move out of her head, "Kari, short of going and telling your father what is going on, I can't think of anything else that we can do! I tried talking to Tai, and that didn't work, and I can't think of anything else that could work. Telling your father what we know is the only thing that I can think of that will work."
"We have to try talking to Tai one last time. Maybe. maybe if we talk to him after school, before my mother gets home." Kari was cut of by Sora.
"No, we can't go after school. I remember hearing yesterday that your mother lost her job, so she'll probably be home. When Tai left, he wouldn't have gone home because of his mother. We're going tohavetoleaveschoolnowtofindhimbeforeheheadshome. Let'sgo!" Kari was confused for a second as Sora accelerated her speech, but she understood when Sora grabbed her arm and pulled her. They quickly got their stuff and left through the school gates, determined to find Tai.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Tai himself was wondering around the streets of the city, thinking about his life. He was startled when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder.
"Tai, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at school?" it was his father, probably on his lunch break. Tai just kept his face emotionless and didn't answer. His father drew him aside and they sat down on a nearby bench. He gasped when he saw Tai's black eye.
"Where did that black eye come from? Have you been in a fight?" Again he was met by that emotionless expression, and he sighed in defeat. If Tai didn't want to talk, then he wouldn't push him, "I'm going to have to phone your mother and tell her that you're not at school." This actually gave him a reaction. A look of fear crossed Tai's face, but it was an extremely quick flash, and Mr. Kamiya thought that he had imagined it at first.
"Please don't tell her. She's not having a very good week at the moment, so it would just worry her more than necessary," Mr. Kamiya could hardly believe it when he heard his son's voice, which was serious and quiet. His face was still expressionless, as was his voice, but his father realized that he hadn't imagined the look of fear on Tai's face before. It had been there, but he could not figure out a reason.
"I'm going to have to tell her Tai! She has to know what's going on, and it's important that you go to school. I'll have to tell her, unless you can tell me a good reason why I shouldn't," Tai thought about what his father was saying. Should he tell him the truth, or ignore the beating that he would get once he got home? "I'm waiting for your reply Tai. I'll give you 5 minutes." They were then distracted by the sight of Kari and Sora running towards them.
"Dad, Tai!" Kari called, worry written on her young face. Sora was also worried, but she refused to let it show. She and Kari hurried to the bench on which the two males were seated.
"Kari? Sora? What are you two doing here? Shouldn't you be at school?" Mr. Kamiya was amazed that he now had three children away from school, two of them his own kids.
"Well, we were worried about Tai. He just left school suddenly after I said something. and he didn't come back. So we came looking for him. We should be at school, but we judged this to be more important," Sora spoke quickly, hoping to persuade Mr. Kamiya to let them talk to Tai. The older man sighed in defeat.
"Well, since I'm on a lunch break, I'll take you all out to lunch, but you had better explain what is going on," he gave in, knowing that the youngsters had a better argument than he did. The two girls smiled, and Tai just kept on staring ahead with his usual expressionless face. Inside he was relieved though, as his father wasn't going to call his mother straight away. But he also knew that the two girls were going to prosecute him almost, to try and get him to admit that he was being abused, and try to get him to talk. He was not looking forward to this lunch thing.
They went into a nearby café, with Tai trailing behind the others. They sat at a table in the corner and Mr. Kamiya face the two girls.
"Now, what's all this about? I don't really understand," Sora took a deep breath before answering.
"Well, yesterday I went to see Tai, to try and get him to rejoin the soccer team. I mean, it is obvious that he still loves soccer, so I wanted to try and get him back for the tournament. I ran the whole way there, so I leant my head against the door and I found that I could hear everything that was going on in the apartment." Sora trailed off as she remembered what she had heard. Tai was still just staring ahead, but there was some emotion in his eyes, an expression of someone painfully recalling the past.
"Yes, and? What was important about that?" Mr. Kamiya spoke softly, wondering where the conversation was heading. He had a bad feeling about it, and he didn't like the feeling.
"I-I could hear Tai's mother abusing him. Saying really awful things that weren't true and I could hear things that sounded like somebody was punching somebody else. But the worst part of it was that it sounded as though it was a regular occurrence," Sora looked at Tai, who was now staring at his hands. Mr. Kamiya was looking shocked, as though he couldn't believe what she was saying. Kari just sat next to Sora, keeping calm but with a sad look in her eyes.
"Tai, is what Sora said true?" Mr. Kamiya could hardly force the words out. His son was being abused by the person that he himself had once loved. He could remember her looking after the children lovingly, but then again, she had been extremely hard on Tai sometimes, whilst she had never yelled at Kari. He watched Tai carefully as Tai battled with himself as to how to answer his father.
'What should I do? Should I just lie and say no, or tell the truth and actually have a chance at happiness? But what about Kari? Will she be crushed once she realized that her mother was not someone that she should look up to? Oh, I don't know. Why did they have to come and say this in front of dad? Why couldn't they wait until I was alone? Or better yet, why couldn't they just leave me alone?' Tai's thoughts were spinning around and around in circles, until his mind was a jumble.
"Tai, just tell the truth! I promise that I'll believe you this time! I-I don't want you to have to keep on lying to everyone, and be so miserable. Please tell us the truth!" Tai looked up at his little sister's words, and their eyes met. Kari saw a flash of pain and confusion in her brother's eyes, but then he was too good at controlling his emotions and they went emotionless again. Kari hoped that by telling him that he would tell the truth quickly, so they could figure out what they could do. But Tai still battled with himself for another few minutes, before finally making up his mind.
"I-it's true," Tai looked back down and examined his hands, not really wanting to say anymore. Mr. Kamiya sat back in his chair, worry written all over his face.
"How long has it been happening?" he asked quietly after a moment. Sora and Kari both looked at Tai, who was looking very uncomfortable.
"3 years," was the whispered reply. Tai didn't want to answer the questions that were being thrown at him, but he knew that he had to. He knew that the only way he could stop the nightmare that he was living.
"Your mother made you quit soccer, didn't she?" Sora asked softly, knowing that he would reply with a 'yes.' Tai nodded, wishing that he was far away from where he was.
"Do you know why she did it? She must have a reason," Tai was extremely uncomfortable at this question, especially as Kari was sitting across from him at the table.
"S-she was upset when she heard that Kari wasn't going to be living with her. She blamed me for bringing her bad luck whenever anything went wrong, and said that Kari would bring her good luck, not bad luck," that was the longest sentence that Tai had said the whole day and he knew that it made both Kari and his father uncomfortable. He wanted to leave and he tightened his grip on the strap of his bag. He looked up and saw the sad and worried expressions on the faces of three of the most important people in his life. He had to leave. He quickly stood up and left, dragging his bag after him.
"I'll go after him and I'll bring him back here," Sora grabbed her bag too and rushed after Tai, her thoughts coming into place. She had wondered why she had always felt special whenever she was around Tai, and now she had finally puzzled it out. She had fallen for him. It had taken her a while to realize it, but Sora Takenouchi had fallen in love with her best friend. And now she had to tell him.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Tai ran once he was a distance away from the café. He was so confused and he hated making the people he loved sad or worried. And he had gone and done both. It didn't matter that he was living a life full of misery, as long as everyone else was happy. That was what he had tried to believe for the last 3 years anyway. It was his motto: 'Better me than anybody else.' It was pretty much different to many other people's mottos, but that was what he believed. Or tried to at least. Now he had gone and made everybody worry over him, and he didn't like doing that. He knew that at least one of them would be following him, and he guessed that it would be Sora. After all, she *was* the fastest runner out of them all. He knew that he didn't have much of a chance at getting away, but he ran anyway. There was a slight possibility that he would get away, but he knew that that wouldn't happen. Sora would know instinctively where to run, even though she didn't know him very well. After all, he would know where she would run to, even though they were not as close as when they were younger. So he stopped when he reached the secluded beach beside the ocean and sat down, putting his head on his knees. He didn't cry, but he didn't move either. He closed his eyes and counted down slowly from 10, knowing that by the time he had finished Sora would have found him. When he reached 0, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and felt somebody sit don next to him.
"Hey Tai," was all that Sora said, before she stared out into the ocean. She knew that Tai didn't want to make anybody upset, but she also knew that he just wanted to pour out everything that had happened to him to make sure that it stopped.
"Hey Sora," Tai whispered, knowing that it was pointless to stop speaking again. He only whispered it, but Sora heard him. She sighed to herself without making a sound. This was going to be harder than she had first thought, but she knew that she had to go though with it.
"Tai, we all care about you and we want to make sure that you are okay. We are all worried about you, and the fastest way to make us stop worrying is to tell us what is going on so that we can make sure that there is nothing to worry about. I know that you hate making others upset, and that was probably why you didn't tell anyone before, but now that we know, we have to stop it. We won't stop worrying until you are safe and away from your mother, so it would be better for everyone if you tell us everything," she said this softly, and it came out almost as a whisper. But Tai heard it, and he knew that she was right. Sora was always right. He still didn't lift his head up, but he nodded slowly. He didn't want to go back straight away though.
"I know you're right Sora, it's just. it's just so. I don't know. Ever since this began I was acting cheerful because I didn't want to make anyone upset. It was easier at first, because I made myself believe that everything was okay and that my mother was just stressed and it would all go away. But it didn't. I managed to get through each day because of all of the digidestined. you guys kept me thinking straight. And to make sure I didn't upset you guys, I just acted cheerful and happy. It worked, because nobody really saw what was going on, but I guess that I kept on wishing that you guys *would* notice. I don't really know why. I guess I'm just confused. I mean, I trusted my mother and I guess that I still believe that she'll snap out of it, any day now," he still kept his head on his knees, which muffled his words a little, but Sora understood what he was saying. Or at least she tried to. She couldn't fully understand what he had been through because she had never really been treated badly in her whole life. She knew that she wouldn't be able to say that she knew what he was going through, because he would know that she was lying, and that would push him even further away. So she just stayed silent and waited for him to continue. He paused, but he started again after a moment.
"And then. then all of you guys drifted away even further. You all fell in love and started dating, and nobody really noticed that I was left behind, that I wasn't really with anybody. Joe went everywhere with Mimi, Izzy went with his girlfriend, you went with Matt, and even my little sister seemed to forget that I was there and she started going with T.K. You guys always paired up like that and it left me alone, to be by myself. I guess I just got used to it. I pretended to be happy whilst the rest of you ignored me and I just got more and more miserable each day. When my mother made me quit soccer, it was the last straw. I.I don't really know what came over me, but. I mean, I have the crest of courage, and I started acting like a coward. I talked to Kari in the hospital, after she told me that to her I was more important than my parents, but she just got angry after I told her. She didn't want to believe. That was when I decided that I was going to get into even more trouble if I didn't keep my mouth shut, so I didn't speak to anyone. Well, whilst you were leaving the room I said something, but you didn't hear me. I can't remember what I said. Then. life went on as it had for the past few years I suppose, except that I didn't bother to try and act cheerful all the time. I would arrive at our usual meeting place before everyone else and I climbed the tallest tree there. I would usually listen to what all of you were doing. That was how my paper dropped, and you found it. Then. well, you know what happened after that. And that is the story of my depressing life," Tai still kept his head down, even after he had finished speaking. Sora was feeling guilty, after all, if she had just acted on her suspicion that everything was not right with him, and then Tai would have been fine.
"I'm sorry Tai. I-I didn't do my job as a best friend properly. I got so hung up over Matt, that I forgot about my friends and I became a bit of a bitch. But that's going to change. Matt and I have broken up, we realised that we didn't really love each other, we were just ignoring things. Well, I was at least. I-I know that this is probably not the best time to say this, but... Tai, I-I've realised that I-I lo-love you," Sora turned bright red as a blush rose in her cheeks. She was looking at the ground, as a lot of people do when they are uncertain about what reaction they are going to get. Tai was extremely surprised. He lifted his head from his knees and looked at Sora with an expression that Sora could not read.
"Sora, I-I have loved you since summer camp, just before we went to the digital world. I uh, I just didn't really get the chance to tell you," Tai had turned red too, and Sora almost laughed until she realised that she was blushing too. She realised that they were getting closer and closer, and before she knew it they were locked in a passionate kiss, a kiss that told each other of their feelings.
"Finally things are staring to go right," Tai thought to himself as they broke off the kiss.
"We should go back to Kari and your father now," Sora suggested, and he nodded. They walked back to the café slowly, enjoying their time together...
EPILOGUE
Mrs. Kamiya was arrested by the police for abusing Tai and she was sent to prison for 5 years. Kari and T.K married when they were 19 and they had three children; Alex, Sarah and Laura. T.K became an author, writing about their experiences in the digital world. Kari became a kindergarten teacher and loved working with the kids she taught. Kari and Tai made up and Kari made sure that she kept in touch with her brother after he moved out. Matt married Jun, a girl who had moved into his Maths class just before he and Sora had broken up. They had a son, Simon, who was 3 years older than Kari's first child Alex. Matt became a famous singer and his band was world famous. Joe became the most famous surgeon in the world, after graduating from the top medical school. He married Mimi, who became a model, and they had the twins Penny and Daniel, the eldest out of all of the digi- destined's children. Izzy married Meredith, the girl he had been dating since he was 14, after becoming a new Bill Gates. Meredith helped him run his company, and they had a daughter, Steph.
Tai had rejoined the soccer team and they had won their tournament, and scouts had seen his talent. He and Kari repaired the gap that had been between them, and they were exceptionally close. He had moved back with his father and Kari, and they lived peacefully together. Tai and Sora continued to date all throughout high school and whilst Sora went to university. Sora became a physio-therapist whilst Tai became a world-champion soccer player, known for his determination to win. They traveled together whilst Tai was playing all around the world, before getting married when they were 23. They settled down back in Odaiba after they married. Tai quit soccer and got a job as a diplomat to the digital world. Together Tai and Sora had two sons and a daughter, Eriol, Syaoran and Tamika. Altogether all of the digidestined lived happy lives after Tai's tragedy ended, and the world was at peace. Even though the world seems to be a bad place and that everything is against you, remember that everything can change in a second, as long as you trust someone.
THE END
Well, my one-shot fic turned into a three part fic. The ending is *very* lame, but I'm not very good with romance or with endings. Most of the time my characters die when I finish a fic, but I'm trying to stop that. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my first Digimon fic and I'm surprised that I finished it!! Anyway, please review, it took me forever to write this! It was in my head, but I tend to write things way quicker in my mind than I can type it. If anyone knows how to make italics work, could you please tell me by either e-mail or in your review please? Because I really need to know how to do it!! Thank you! Anyway, I'll stop my babbling now and let you get on with whatever you are doing. Please review!