I'm surprised that I didn't finish this first, being as how I love Taioras more than any other couple cause they're so sweet, so beautiful, so cute and etc... etc... etc... You get what I'm saying...

Anyways... this one's pretty sad, and, please don't get on my case about any medical terminology or stuff like that, I'm no genius... I don't know this from that, I just needed it to write the fic....

So, here it is.... I don't know exactly how sad it is, I didn't intend it to be too sad, but....

Well, I don't own Digimon... so let's begin the story. Oh yeah, I'm not good at titling stories and such like that, so... bear with me here.

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Heartbreak

by Jade

part 1

A leaf floated down from the tall tree and landed on the bench below right next to a young 18-year old girl. The strand of her auburn hair blew into her face from the light breeze, yet she remained emotionless; staring out at nothing, though thoughts were traveling through her head more than usual.

Beside her, was a large manila business envelope. Inside this envelope laid the reason to her expressionless face and the devastation she was feeling inside of her heart and mind. Along with that, came the emptiness she was beginning to feel from the actions she had chosen to take; the people she had pushed away...

She buried her head in her hands and closed her eyes. She didn't cry. Didn't even shed a tear. What was done had been done. There was no way she could fix it now and there was no way for it to be fixed at all. She had already spent the past couple days crying her eyes and her heart out.

Why me? she thought miserably, Why me?

She heard foot steps approach her, but chose not to look up. She figured it was probably another person wandering aimlessly through the park and had just happened to notice her sitting there in an air of loneliness and so out of generosity, decided to see what was wrong.

A hand was placed gently on her shoulder giving her a familiar warmth that she quickly dismissed. She could feel the person sit down next to her.

"Go away," she said trying unsuccessfully to sound tart. Her voice only came out in her usual sweet tone with the obvious hint of pain and hurt.

"Sora." Her eyes opened and she felt shock and surprise. That voice... she knew that voice anywhere. It was the sweetest voice she could remember. The voice that made her smile. The voice that was so soothing and calming... and loving.

Slowly, she lifted her head and looked into those big chocolate brown eyes as she felt tears begin to form in her own ruby crimson ones. She suddenly felt most of the emptiness inside of her fade away. Those eyes always had that affect on her. They gave her a sense of warmth and a sense of reassurance. And most of all, they gave her answers. She could always look into those eyes and feel an understanding of anything she ever doubted in her life.

She quickly looked away feeling that this time, there wouldn't be answers or understanding in those eyes. She wouldn't be able to find the answers she wanted. She'd never be able to understand again. She didn't want to see those eyes. She didn't want to see the owner of those beautiful spheres of love and understanding. Most of all, she didn't want those eyes to see her.

He placed his hand on the side of her face and gently pulled her back to face him. He smiled sadly at her wiping away a tear that had managed to escape from her eyes. This only caused more tears to well up.

She pulled herself up off of the bench and tried to get away, but her friend wouldn't let her go. He stood and grabbed her arm forcing her back around to face him once again. He wanted her to look at him. He needed her to know that he cared. He needed her to understand.

Unable to control her emotions anymore, she broke down in his arms and cried on his shoulder. He held her tightly not wanting to ever let her go for fear she'd run away from him again; and this time leave him... forever.

~*~*~*~*~*~

(Earlier)

Cheery thoughts flowed through her head. This so far has been a wonderful day, Sora thought as she stared dreamily up at the ceiling. Her best friend had called her earlier that morning and asked her to meet him in the park.

She sighed contentedly. By the sound of his voice, she knew that he had something important to tell her. And she knew that it was good. Maybe he's finally going to ask me out, she thought happily. All her friends had been dropping hints and she knew that this day would come soon. She just wished it didn't have to be so long...

"Sora Takenouchi," the nurse called out to the room of waiting patients. The teenage girl shook her thoughts away and stood to walk over. "You're here for a routine check up?" the nurse asked. Sora smiled and nodded.

"Your file says that you were just here a week ago," the nurse said flipping through a beige folder.

"Yes, I was, Ma'am," Sora replied, "But Dr. Rei called yesterday and scheduled me for a second check up." She shrugged indicating that she didn't understand the reasons.

"Alright, then," the nurse smiled, "You may go in now. Follow me." She turned and walked down the hall followed by a still cheery Sora.

----------

"Finally, man!" Matt slapped his friend a high-five, "You've waited long enough."

"What are you talking about?" Tai blushed.

"Come on," the tall blonde said, "It's about time you decided to ask her out. You've been in love with her since the beginning of time. I mean, if it wasn't for your bull-headedness and all that 'we're just friends' bull crap, you two would probably be married by now."

"We're only eighteen," Tai pointed out to Matt.

"Who cares? You two are hopelessly in love," TK plopped down on the couch next to his friend and brother. There was a sly twinkle in his azure blue eyes.

"Technically," Izzy said, "those two already act like a married couple. If you observe the way they fight and the way they talk to each other-"

"You don't have to observe," Matt cut off the red-headed computer genius, "You can just sense it."

"There's love in the air," TK agreed with his brother.

"Speaking of love," Tai said trying to change the subject, "Kari's been a little edgy lately. Did you do something wrong, TK?" He smiled deviously.

"Don't change the subject," the cute young blonde boy said, "We're talking about you here."

"He's right," Matt said, "We're talking about you."

"We've already talked about me," Tai said.

"We'll talk about you more," TK said. He and his brother chuckled, "So, how are you going to go about doing this? Flowers? A love poem? A gift?"

The three teens leaned in toward Tai and held their breaths waiting for a reply.

"Well..." Tai began. He thought for a while, "I haven't really thought about that. All I did was ask her to meet me in the park today."

An exasperated expression crossed his three friends' faces at the exact same time. Matt shook his head and TK slapped his forehead. Izzy rolled his eyes and turned back to the computer.

"What do you expect?" Tai countered, "It's not like I'm experienced. I've never asked a girl out before."

"Typical Tai," TK said letting out a sigh.

"What?" Tai asked confused. He then glanced at the clock in Matt's living room and sprang to his feet knocking his chair over, "Oh man!"

"What's wrong?" the other three asked at the same time.

"I have to go," Tai said, "I told her to meet me in the park at noon. It's eleven forty-five already. I gotta go." Without another word, he dashed out of the house leaving behind his friends who were laughing their heads off.

"So, TK," Matt said after recovering from fits of laughter, "What's this I hear about Kari being a little edgy?"

"Tai's an idiot," TK mumbled after a long pause.

More laughing broke out from the three young males.

----------

Sora stood by the edge of the street. Her expression was illigible. She stared off at nothing in front of her trying to decide whether or not she still wanted to meet Tai in the park. A lump formed in her throat as she unwittingly took a step out onto the street as a car neared.

There was a loud honk from the car and Sora was yanked off of the street and back onto the sidewalk by a familiar pair of strong arms. She looked up to face the one person she had wanted to see after receiving her news, but now, she wasn't so sure she wanted him to see her.

"Sora," the doctor's words began to echo through her mind again, though she tried to block them out, "Please, take a seat..."

"Hey," Tai looked into her ruby crimson eyes, "You need to start watching where you're going. Are you okay?" He gave her his famous lopsided grin. The grin that he only gave to her, that always made her feel giddy and happy all over. But this time, her heart sank and she fought to hold back tears. Her face remained expressionless not wanting to show him what she was feeling at the moment.

"You're probably wondering why I've asked you to come back for another check up..." There had been a solemn expression on the doctor's face that Sora didn't even take notice of. Her mind had been on something, or rather, someone, all morning.

She nodded, "I- I'm fine." She finally forced herself to smile, "What are you doing here?"

"After your check up a week ago... I came across something disturbing..." Sora only gave Dr. Rei a confused look, but didn't speak to her.

"You didn't forget, did you?" Tai teased, "We were supposed to meet in the park at noon."

"Oh," Sora said. She faked a smile, "I remember."

"Well," Tai said. Gotta ask her now, "There's something I need to tell you and I might as well say it now."

"I've gone through your past medical records and even your family medical records... And after inspecting your charts again after this check up..." her voice had trailed off as if trying to find a way to tell Sora her the results. Sora's joyous expression had immediately disappeared and became blank.

"Is there something wrong, Doctor?" she asked hesitantly, receiving only a saddened expression.

"Sora," she said after letting out a huge sigh, "There's something that you need to know..."

Sora didn't answer Tai. Her smile faded and she looked down. Tai, being too worried about how he would open up to Sora, failed to notice the sudden change in attitude Sora displayed before him. She tried as hard as she could to choke back tears.

"And I assure you that this is just an assumption... I know that you've had close family members die of heart diseases," Dr. Rei said. Sora nodded remembering that her grandmother had had a heart attack and her aunt had been killed by congestive heart failure. She could even recall that her mother has some kind of heart disease also. She held her breath as she listened to her doctor speak. She didn't like one bit of where this conversation was going.

"Sora," Tai began taking a deep breath. He tipped Sora's head toward his, "I- I know for a fact that- Well- I don't know how to say this..." Oh, what the hell... Tai thought.

"What is it, Tai?" Sora asked.

"This'll explain everything," Tai said. Sora gave him a confused look as she continued to cover her sadness, but was caught off guard when Tai suddenly leaned in close and planted his lips right onto her.

Sora felt shocked, but she willingly let herself return the kiss as she fell into his embrace. She closed her eyes and felt her own arms move up to touch Tai's face. His hands touched hers and she knew she was dreaming. To her, this was the best feeling ever. Surprising herself, Sora found herself pulling Tai closer to her, not wanting to let go. They pulled each other deeper into the kiss. She had wanted this for the longest time and now...

"Sora," Dr. Rei said, "What I'm about to tell you... Sora, I heard a slight murmur when I was listening to your heartbeat. And I've also viewed your past records. You were admitted into the hospital at the age of two when you had a heart attack. But that was taken care of. I must say, though-" the doctor chuckled trying to lessen the tension unsuccessfully, "-cases of heart attacks at that young of an age aren't common."

"What are you trying to say, Doctor?" Sora asked as a chill ran up her spine. She already knew what Dr. Rei would say.

"Sora," Dr. Rei's expression again saddened, "The doctors had tried to treat the heart problem you had when you were younger. They thought that they had taken care of the problem, but... you never know about things like this... The same thing had happened to your aunt. She was admitted into the hospital at a very young age because of a heart attack and because she never had very many formal check ups, her heart problem crept up on her without anyone even knowing and it became too late to help her... You may have the exact same heart problem your aunt had before she died, Sora." Sora slumped back in shock. She bit her lip. Quickly, Dr. Rei added, "But your condition is different. It was discovered early and so we might be able to treat it before it gets any worse." But these last two sentences just floated right by Sora's mind.

"Are you sure, Doctor?" she said without emotion.

Dr. Rei just nodded sadly. It seemed to hurt her a lot to have to know this. But Dr. Rei had been a good friend of Sora's family for a long time, "I'm sorry, Sora."

"Sora, I love you," Tai whispered, his lips still against hers.

Sora immediately opened her eyes and pushed Tai away. An angry and hurt expression appeared on his face, "Sora?"

"Tai," Sora said holding her hand in front of her, "We can't- You can't love me." She didn't understand what she was doing. But she knew she had to do it.

"What are you talking about?" Tai asked.

"I said, you can't love me," Sora said, knowing that she wasn't making any sense, "Tai, we haven't even started dating yet. How can you love me?"

"It doesn't matter," Tai said, "We've known each other forever. We've been best friends since we were very little. I know there are feelings between us, unlike regular friends or couples. This doesn't have anything to do with whether or not we've even started dating. I love you, Sora!"

"You don't know what you're talking about. You don't love me, Tai. You can't," she looked down sadly and closed her eyes.

"I know exactly what I'm talking about!" Tai fumed.

Sora took a step back, looked up at the love of her life, and bit her lip choking back her tears, "No you don't, Tai! You don't love me. You can't!"

"What's so wrong with loving you?" Tai asked stepping toward her.

Sora took another step away from him, "You just can't!"

"Why not?! Give me a good enough reason-" he was at the brink of yelling.

"Because I don't love you!!" she screamed. Her hand went to her mouth as soon as she realized what she had said. She had wanted to find a good reason, but she hadn't meant to say that she didn't love him, because everything Tai had said was right. They had known each other for the longest time and both had had feelings for the other, but were in denial for so long. Her heart knew that this was the man she loved, but right now... it just didn't seem possible for them to be together.

Tai's anger faded and only a look of shock and hurt was left. He backed away and whispered, "I don't understand."

It worked though, Sora thought sadly taking a deep breath and trying to blink away the tears that began to show. She let out a sad sigh and mumbled, "You wouldn't understand." She hung her head, "I'm sorry, Tai."

"Why, Sora?"

Sora remained quiet, but her head perked up at what Tai said next. She felt hurt and angry, but knew that she had equally hurt him.

"Is it because of someone else?" Tai said suddenly, "It's another guy isn't it?"

Sora looked up at him sadly, "Whatever you want to think." She didn't want that to be the reason, but she didn't want to say anymore. She turned around and walked away from him holding a large manila business envelope in her hand that Tai hadn't even noticed. Tears were streaming down her face and her heart had just been ripped out. She knew that nothing could possibly hurt more than this... and it hurt her even more to know that Tai was experiencing the same amount of pain, maybe evern worse.

----------

"Get up!" Kari tugged at her older brother's arm, "You've been moping all day. What's wrong with you?" Her strength gave out and she found herself crashing onto the floor behind her. Angrily, she got to her feet and stood next to Tai's bed.

"Tai," she continued. She saw the tired and solemn expression on his face, "Tai, is something wrong?"

Tai just looked at her and closed his eyes. He had been rejected by the one girl he loved and on top of that, she had told him that she didn't love him. He rolled over to face the wall, "Leave me alone."

"You've been in bed all day," Kari said, "Tai, if there's something wrong, you have to tell me. I'm your sister. I hate seeing you like this." She sighed when he didn't answer. With a grim expression, she went out into the hall and picked up the phone.

After one ring, someone picked up the other line, "Hello."

"TK?" Kari said loving the sound of her boyfriend's voice.

"Didn't we just part?" TK asked teasing the girl, "You couldn't wait to hear my voice again could you?"

"As much as I'd like to admit that," Kari giggled, but immediately became serious, "I didn't call for you. I called for Matt."

"Matt?" a look of confusion had come over TK's face, "Why would you want to talk to Matt? Is there something going on-?" Kari giggled at her silly boyfriend. He sounded half panicked, half playful.

"Looks like Kari's finally seeing the real good-looks of this family," a voice yelled from the background.

"Funny, Matt," TK called back. He spoke back into the phone, "What do you need Matt for?"

"It's about Tai," Kari said sadly.

"Is everything okay?" TK asked.

"What's wrong?" Matt's voice said in the back.

"It's about Tai," TK said to him, to Kari he said, "What's wrong with Tai?"

"I don't know," Kari said, "When he came home, he just went straight to bed and he's been lying there all day. I'm getting really worried. He wouldn't even come out for dinner. Do either of you know what's wrong with him?"

TK and Matt exchanged looks that Kari couldn't see as she waited patiently for an answer.

"Kari," TK's gentle voice said, "We'll be right over."

"Okay," Kari said then hung up after she heard a click on the other end.

----------

Sora lay in her bed staring up at her ceiling. She sighed sadly. The only thing she could think of was her best friend. She mentally beat herself up for saying what she had said to him, but also kept telling herself that it had to be done. Why, though... she didn't even know herself. Was she trying to protect him? Protect him from what? From the hurt and the pain that could possibly be caused to the both of them if they became any closer from the result of declaring their love to each other? Then does that mean she was protecting herself, too?

"Sora!" her mother's voice called from the living room, "Telephone. It's a long distance call from New York!"

"I'll get it in here, Mama," Sora said picking up the phone next to her bed, "Hello."

"Sora!" a shrill yet excited voice cried out, "How's everything going?"

Sora smiled at the familiar childish voice, "Hey, Mimi."

"I can't believe I haven't called you in days," Mimi screamed like a pre-teen adolescent, "It seemed like ages. But, Daddy told me that I couldn't call you everyday. You know, long distance bills and all."

"But Mimi," Sora said. She pulled herself up and leaned against the wall next to her bed, "Since you called me, wouldn't I be the one accepting the long distance charges."

"That's right, huh?" Mimi was silent as if thinking, "Well, why don't we hang up and you call me so Daddy can accept the charges?" She smiled on the other line.

"Nah," Sora chuckled, "That's alright Mimi."

"No, I insist," Mimi said, "Call me back." Before waiting for Sora to protest, there was a click on the other line. Sora sighed and did what Mimi had asked.

"Much better now," Mimi's voice sounded as soon as the other line picked up.

"Okay," Sora said, "But you really didn't have to do that."

"Don't worry, Sora," Mimi giggled, "Daddy's credit card will cover everything."

Sora laughed at her silly friend.

For the next ten minutes, the two girls spent chattering about almost everything they could think of: clothes, shopping, more shopping, how life in New York was... Sora had almost forgotten her little incident today: receiving the news about her health condition, rejecting Tai and having a huge argument with him...

"So," Mimi asked suddenly as the two neared the topic of boys, "Have you told him yet? Did he ask you out? When I called Matt, I was told that the man of your dreams was ready to ask you out." She giggled excitedly in the background after proudly stating the information she had obtained.

Sora was taken aback, "Wha- what are you talking about Mimi?"

"I'm talking about the love of your life," Mimi said, "You know? The one man you'll ever love. You said so yourself."

"I don't remember saying anything about that-" Sora began to protest, but she knew that Mimi was right.

"Of course you did!" Mimi squealed, "You said you had a crush on him ever since soccer camp. You know, a certain tall, athletic, muscular, brown haired..."

"Mimi-" Sora tried to cut into her friend's rambling.

"...loves soccer just like you, is quite handsome at times..." Mimi continued.

"Mimi," Sora tried to cut in again.

"...has been your best friend since the beginning of time, the guy you dream of every night... Oh, and he loves you so-"

"Mimi!" Sora suddenly said so sternly and with rage that Mimi gasped. Her jaw gaped and there was a confused and hurt look in her eye. Sora gasped too, "I'm so sorry, Mimi. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just- I-" She didn't know what to say. She had this nagging feeling that told her not to say anything. Not even to her best girl friend.

"Is something wrong, Sora?" Mimi asked softly. She no longer sounded like the childish silly little girl. Now she sounded more mature and grown up. So much more serious than she had before. Mimi had grown up a lot since the last time she was with all her friends. Before, she was only a Daddy's little girl who seemed spoiled rotten. But after meeting up with all her friends and going through a lot of tough times, she had grown up and was no longer the spoiled ditz that everyone thought she was. At times, she could be a little ditzy, but when it came time to being serious, she was a completely different person.

"Mimi, I-" Sora stopped. How am I supposed to tell her? Mimi, I'm dying of a heart disease, the same one that took my aunt and the same one that almost took me when I was only two years old? No, I can't do that. I can't worry her. Sora sighed softly hoping that Mimi couldn't hear the sadness in it, "Mimi, I- I-" She closed her eyes, "Nothing, Mimi. Nothing's wrong. I've just been really stressed lately."

"Sora-" Mimi began. Being one of Sora's best friends for so long, she didn't buy that reason thrown at her. She knew that something was wrong.

"Really, Mimi," Sora cut her off, "I'm really fine. Honest. I have to go now. Mama needs me in the flower shop. Bye."

"Wait, Sor-" Sora hung up before Mimi could put in another word. She could feel that lump in her throat again. The next thing she knew, tears were flowing down her face at a furious rate as she cried softly to herself hugging her pillow tightly to her face.

----------

"Let's try this," Matt walked into Tai's room with a cup of ice-cold water. He stood over Tai who was staring blankly up at the bunk above him, oblivious to what his friend was planning on doing. Matt looked at Tai and spoke, "Last chance, Tai. You either get up out of that bed, or I take drastic measures."

Tai continued to stare at the bunk not even acknowledging the crowd of people in his room. Matt glanced around the room at TK who stood beside Kari, then at Izzy who sat in a chair in front of the desk and then at the oldest of all his friends, Joe, who was shaking his head and mouthing, "That's not a very good idea, Matt."

Matt just shrugged and looked at Tai, "Alright, Tai. Don't say I didn't warn you..." He tipped the cup over above his best friend's head and drenched the teen with the cold water... The plastic cup that had been in Matt's hand flew into the air landing only a couple feet from Izzy. Everyone in the room widened their eyes at the not-so-surprising reaction from their friend, who was now soaking wet and had just tackled Matt to the ground in anger.

"What the heck did you do that for?!" Tai screamed ready to punch his best friend out.

"I already gave you enough warning!" Matt said shoving Tai off of him and then pulling his arm back to attack him. Tai dodged the punch and tackled Matt in the stomach.

"Could I get some help here?!" Matt cried out not wanting to continue the fight.

Everyone finally snapped out of their space out. Joe and Izzy stepped up to pull their anger ridden friend off of the equally angry Matt before anymore damage could be done. Tai struggled for only a split second before another cup of cold water was splashed onto his face. He looked up and saw his sister standing before him in annoyance holding the plastic cup.

"Kari-?" Tai began.

"Are you awake yet, Tai?!" Kari cried out, "What's wrong with you, huh, Big Brother?"

Tai slumped down to the ground and hung his head sadly. He shook his head.

"Does this have anything to do with Sora?" TK asked. There was an immediate reaction from Tai. His head shot up and it looked as if his eyes began to tear up. There was an obvious look of hurt and pain from his expression.

"What happened?" Matt asked now standing and rubbing the back of his head.

Tai just shook his head.

"Tai," Kari knelt down beside him, "Tai, don't be like this. I don't like seeing you this way. When you hurt, I hurt too." She put a hand on her brother's shoulder.

He looked up into his sister's caring eyes. Unlike many other siblings, Kari and Tai had a special bond that made them able to know what each other was thinking if they looked deep enough. Their brother-sister relationship was unique compared to the relationships between other brothers and sisters. It was probably because of how special Kari was- she was always able to tell when something's wrong with a loved one. Immediately, Kari understood what was hurting her brother so much. Her eyes became teary, but she tried to keep herself calm.

"I'm so sorry, Tai," Kari said as she hugged him in a loving embrace.

Tai shook his head mumbling, "I don't understand. I just don't understand."

Kari looked up at her friends in the room sadly. Glances were exchanged while each of the boys made a pretty accurate guess at what Tai had been moping over- the only girl he had ever loved.

----------

"Sora Takenouchi," the same nurse from two days ago called out, "Dr. Rei will see you now."

Sora stood up sadly and walked into her doctor and long time family friend's office. She managed a weak smile as she lowered herself into the seat in front of Dr. Rei's desk. Dr. Rei smiled warmly at Sora hoping to cheer her up.

"How are you feeling Sora?" Dr. Rei asked. She felt stupid suddenly knowing how redundant that question was. Who would be feeling great after finding out that they could possibly have the same heart disease that killed a close family member?

Sora just gave Dr. Rei a smile.

"Well," Dr. Rei began, "To begin with, I've spoken to a couple doctors. Dr. Suyuan who was in charge of your aunt's and your grandmother's treatments before they died, Dr. Avalon who had been the one who treated you sixteen years ago when you had your first heart attack, and a few other cardiologists I could find."

"Dr. Rei?" Sora said, "You shouldn't have to do all this just for me." She realized that her doctor seemed to be doing more than her own share of work. Dr. Rei was only obligated to help treat her patients for minor health problems and recommend a good doctor for the more serious cases.

"I know, Sora," Dr. Rei said, "But you and your family have been good friends to me for so long. Your mother and I are almost like sisters. I just don't want to sit by and not do anything."

"Thank you, Dr. Rei," Sora smiled, "But wouldn't this be frowned upon by others. I mean, you're advocating favoritism..."

"No," Dr. Rei said, "If you don't remember, I do as much for all my patients as I do for those who are good friends. Unlike a lot of other doctors, I have a special relationship with my patients. But I'm sure no one can tell if I do just a little extra for one of my best friends' daughter." She smiled. She pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to Sora.

"I was told that this medication would be able to keep your heart from over-working itself," Dr. Rei said, "Only take it once a day before you go to sleep. And this-" she handed Sora another slip of paper "-is a medication you are to keep with you at all times-" she took a deep breath "-in case of emergencies and only in case of emergencies."

Sora nodded looking down at the second slip thinking, Emergencies. Her face tightened and she licked her dry lips nervously.

"Oh," Dr. Rei said, "And here-" she handed Sora a card "-is the name of a very good cardiologist. He's the best I know. I'd like to recommend that you go see him as soon as you can. He'll be able to tell you more about your, uh..." she gulped "...your condition." She smiled warmly again hoping to lessen the tension.

"I'm not an expert in this field of study," Dr. Rei said, "And I'm sorry, if I put you or your mother through any grief these last two days."

"You're just looking after me," Sora said, "I'll make sure to see this, uh-" she looked at the card and gaped at the name "Dr. Kido?"

"Is there something wrong?" Dr. Rei asked.

"Uh, no," Sora stuttered a little, "No- nothing's wrong."

"I really hope that you consider Dr. Kido," Dr. Rei said, "He's the best in the city."

----------

"Sora," Tai stood next to his best friend who was seated in the corner of the coffee shop staring blankly out into the streets.

Sora's head whipped up to meet those loving chocolate brown eyes, but could also see the hurt encompassed inside of them. She knew that she was the one who had caused all that pain and her heart sank. She continued to look at him with her own ruby eyes which contained the same hurt, trying to hide all her emotions. For only a split second, did she think about sharing with Tai the reasons for the way she acted days ago. She wanted to break down in his embrace and spill her heart out to him; to tell him that she really loved him and that she never meant to hurt him.

"Can we talk?" Tai took the seat across from her.

Sora looked down. She didn't want to speak to him. If she did, she feared that she might really break down. The past few days of not seeing him had caused her a lot of pain, but had at the same time calmed her fear of confrontation. Seeing him now only made her think of why she felt the empty void in her heart and why she had to push him away. She took a deep breath, though, and looked up at Tai, faking a bright smile.

"What do you want to talk about, Tai?" Sora asked with false cheeriness.

"I want to talk about us," Tai said.

Sora closed her eyes and sighed, "There really isn't anything to talk about. I believe we made ourselves very clear the last time we spoke."

"No," Tai said sternly, "I don't believe any of that. I know that most of what was said wasn't meant to be said. Sora-"

"You're right, Tai," Sora said. For a moment, a look of relief and joy came over Tai's face, but it faded when he heard what Sora had to say next, "Tai, there were some things said, that I've already made clear weren't meant to be. I told you that already. Now it's time for you to believe it yourself." She pushed her cup away from her and stood up.

"Sora, that's not what I meant-" Tai began, but realized that Sora wasn't even listening to him. He stood up and grabbed her arm, whirling her around to face him, "Sora, you know what I'm talking about. And I know that deep down, you don't mean what you said."

Sora calmly, but hesitantly brushed Tai's hand off of her arm, "Tai. I've said what I said." She turned around and headed toward the door hearing Tai call her name, but refusing to turn around.

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Sorry to have to cut it off so suddenly right here, but I didn't realize how long this story was getting, but don't worry, if you like it so far, the next part will be up soon enough. I just need to proof read it another million times to make sure it's good enough for the public.... he he he.

Please, don't forget to review. Thanx. ^_^