Tai Kamiya flicked between channels absentmindedly. Sundays were so boring.
He tossed the TV remote to Izzy who was sitting in a chair opposite him.
"Your pick Izzy"
"Well there was actually an rather interesting looking documentary on, we could watch that" Izzy suggested.
"Is that the one on Medical science? I wanted to catch that too" Joe smiled, he was sitting next to Tai on the sofa. Kari and T.K were playing cards on the floor, Mimi was reading another magazine and Sora was watching Tai's face as Izzy and Joe flicked the documentary on.
"Hey T.K where's that brother of yours"? Tai asked.
"He said he'd come by later, dad needs to talk to him about something".
"How can we have a digidestined meeting without Matt"? Tai asked.
"Well Davis, Yolei, Cody and Ken aren't here either" Sora reminded him.
"They're due round any minute now, they had to destroy the remaining control spires".
"So why weren't you two there"? Mimi asked T.K and Kari.
"I had a basketball match" T.K replied
"And I was helping mom around the house, something that YOU never do Tai"
"Yeah well, I have soccer" Tai said defiantly.
A knock at the door prevented Kari from replying she sighed and went to answer the door. Four smiling faces greeted her. Davis, Yolei Cody and Ken.
"Hi Kari" Yolei, Ken and Cody greeted.
"Hey Kari, how ya doing"?
"Fine Davis, come in, we're just waiting for Matt to arrive".
Davis, Yolei, Cody and Ken were ushered into the living room.
"Hey Tai, do you mind if I call Matt? he should have been here by now" T.K said worriedly.
"Go ahead, I think the phone's in the kitchen".
T.K nodded and wandered into the kitchen. He picked up the phone off the table and dialed Matt's mobile phone number.
"Hey Matt, where are you? everybody else is here" T.K said frantically before Matt even got a chance to say hello.
"It's Akira" The member of Matt's band answered.
"How come you have Matt's phone, where is he"?
"Calm down T.k, we don't know where he is, he didn't show at practice and he left his phone in homeroom, he just rushed off after getting a call".
"And you don't know where he is now"?
"No sorry"
Ok thanks Akira"
"No probs"
T.K hung up. He dialed Matt's home phone. The phone however just rang and rang. T.K dropped the phone when there was a knock at the door. He rushed into the living room and to the front door, leaving the rest of the digidestined staring after him in shock. He threw open the door and there was Matt staring back at him.
"Matt"! T.K flung his arms around his brother. Matt winced. "What's wrong Matt, are you hurt"?
"No, it's nothing, sorry I'm late".
"It's alright".
T.K stepped aside to let Matt in. Matt pulled off his jacket to reveal a large black jumper.
"Aren't you hot in that"? T.K asked. Matt just shook his head. He left T.K staring in the hallway as he walked though to the living room.
"Hey Matt, better late than never"! Tai joked.
"What took you so long"? Sora asked.
"Did your practice go well"? Kari continued.
"What's with all the questions? I just had something to do alright"? He replied coldly. He sat down on the sofa between Tai and Joe.
"Oh well you're here now" Izzy said quietly.
"So, what have you called this meeting for anyway"? Yolei asked, desperate to change the subject on account of Matt's dirty looks.
"Me and Kari thought that the older and new digidestined should communicate more. Like, when you need help in the Digital world, we're always at the end of a phone. Even when you need help here in the real world, one of us will always be there for you. So what's going down in the Digital world"? Tai replied.
"We're destroying the control spires" Davis spoke up. Predictably he was sitting on the floor next to Kari.
"Between fighting Arukenimon and Blackwargreymon" Ken continued.
"Blackwargreymon"? Tai asked
"Yeah, he was creating by Arukenimon using my old control spires. He's a pretty tough enemy. We're not sure what his next moves are gonna be, he's certainly a weird character". Ken replied quietly, showing embarrassment over the control spires.
"Luckily though, Ken and I found out a new way of digivolving, its called DNA digivolving, two digimon digivolve together to create a stronger new digimon" Izzy finished off.
"You mean like with Onimon when he fought diaboromon on the net" T.K asked. He looked for any response to what had been said from his brother, but there was, as usual none.
"Exactly, it'll be an effective weapon against Blackwargreymon" Izzy smiled.
"What do you think Matt"? T.K asked, eager to include his brother in the conversation.
All eyes turned on Matt. He looked up from the floor and looked back at the others. He didn't have the great answer they wanted. He had other things to think about. Other things to worry about. Other things to be scared off.
"Matt"? Tai tapped his friend on the shoulder. Matt winced.
"Sorry, look I'm gonna have to go. I'll see ya some time bye". Before anyone could say anything Matt was out of the door. T.K got up to follow but was pushed down by Tai.
"No, I'll sort this one out" He said firmly, he went chasing after Matt.
"Matt!, Matt!" Tai panted as he ran to catch up with his friend. He eventually did so and grabbed hold of his arm. This brought another painful wince from Matt.
"What's going on with you Matt, and why do you wince everytime someone touches you"?
"Nothing's going on Tai. Just leave me alone".
"Matt, I'm not gonna do that. I know something's wrong and I'm not gonna drop it"!
"Well you're gonna hafta drop it, cos I won't tell you"
"Matt………." Tai looked into the blonds cold azure eyes.
"Tai, please , leave me alone, I hafta get back home".
"Why"?
"Go back to the others Tai, I'm sorry" Matt released himself from Tai's grip and continued to sprint down the street, leaving Tai staring after him.
Matt slammed the door to the apartment. He was late. Sure as he thought, there was Mr Ishida stood in the hallway looking at his watch.
"Sorry I'm late sir" Matt bowed.
"You will be" Mr Ishida said softly, but threatening.
"It was Taichi, he wanted to talk to me".
"You didn't tell him did you"?
"No sir" Matt bowed again, keeping his eyes on the hall carpet, he knew better than to look up.
It didn't matter anyway, after a few seconds of silence, Matt received a short sharp slap across his face. He shut out the pain and stood there, unreactive.
Another slap, then another, and another until his face felt numb. He tasted and felt the warm sensation of blood on his lips. He didn't know where it was coming from this time, he didn't care.
"Now get into that room and stay out of my sight"! Mr Ishida yelled into his son's face. Matt could smell the brandy mixed with the nose-twitching stench of cigars.
"Yes sir" Matt bowed, before fleeing from the room.
He locked his bedroom door and headed straight to his mirror. He was almost afraid to look. He raised his head and saw the full extent of the beating. His left eye was nearly half closed as the bruise started to swell painfully. His nose leaked blood onto his lips and his cheeks looked red and raw.
Matt cleaned himself up the best he could. There was no way he could go to Davis' party tomorrow, not looking like this.
He lay down on the bed. He thought about his father when he was not incensed with alcohol. He was such a nicer person. Caring for and loving his son.
Then, when Nancy had announced that she didn't want Mr Ishida to see T.K anymore that was the final straw. The drink had become a replacement for T.K. Matt was sure that his father loved his booze more than him or T.K.
Luckily T.K was safe, with his mum. He had his meals on the table and he was loved twenty four seven. Unlike Matt who was only loved when his father was sober.
Matt turned over and looked at his wrist, he'd cut himself to try and stop the pain of being unloved. He thought that if he hurt himself physically, it would stop hurting so much mentally.
"Hey Davis where do you want the decks"? Tai asked. Davis had asked him to be DJ for his party.
"In that corner I think" Davis replied from up a ladder. He was hanging a large hand-made banner across the room.
"What's this party about anyway"? Kari asked tying a knot in the balloon she'd just pumped up.
"Read the banner" T.K replied indicating the wonky banner.
"A-blackwargreymon-totally-sucks-and-thanks-to-Izzy-we're-gonna-beat-him- party" Kari read aloud. "As good a reason as any I guess"
"I knew you'd love it"! Davis said wobbling dangerously on the ladder.
"When's everyone due to come"? Ken asked. He was laying the food out neatly on the large table.
"In about an hour" Yolei answered on Davis' behalf. Davis was still trying to keep his balance.
"It's looks like we still have a lot of preparation to do then" Cody remarked. He was laying out the cups and the various drinks on a separate table.
"We'll be ready, there's nothing else to do really". Tai assured him. "Hey Davis did I tell you I'd arranged some mystery guests"?
"No, who are they"? Davis finally gave in and allowed the ladder to fall, he landed on the floor with a soft bump.
"If I told you that it wouldn't be a mystery now would it. Don't worry I'm sure everyone will like them". Tai smiled. He walked out of the main room. Davis ad only rented one room of the hall, however Tai and Matt had secretly rented the room next door. Tai opened the door to the next room and Izzy and Joe were happily setting up.
"Guys this looks great"! He exclaimed. There were disco lights and a large glitter ball hanging from the ceiling and balloons and streamers decorated the walls. A stage had been set up at the end of the room.
"If you like this , wait until you see what Izzy's done" Joe smiled. He nodded to the other end of the room where Izzy was sitting. He had connected his laptop to a projector. Joe leapt up onto the stage and pulled down and screen at the back.
"Ready Izzy" He called out. Izzy nodded and tapped a few keys on the laptop. In a flash of light , the screen lit up with little films. Films of fireworks going off in the night sky, there was one of a laser show and finally of a sea of lit candles.
"I thought it might be a nice effect for that to be going on behind the band when they're playing". Izzy stopped running the film.
"Wow, that's was great, it'll look really good with the band. Tonight is gonna rock"! Tai punched the air.
"Are you still doing your number with the band"? Joe asked.
"Yep, dead nervous about it though, no-one apart from you two and the band know that I've been playing the guitar and singing. I hope they all like it". Tai said with a nervous smile.
"They'll love it" Izzy assured.
Matt was woken up by the phone ringing.
"Hello"?
"Hi Matt, its Akira"
"Oh Hi Akira"
"You ready for tonight"?
"Tonight"?
"Yeah the gig at Davis party, it was a surprise remember?, Tai asked us to do it".
"Oh yeah that, listen, I don't think I'll be able to make it anymore".
"Why not"?
"I don't feel very well".
"Well, we can't do it on our own"!
"You can. You've got a good singing voice, and Tai's gonna do a couple of numbers. You'll be fine. I gotta go now, good luck for tonight".
"Matt………."
Matt hung up. He didn't want to hear anymore about the party. He'd been looking forward to it for ages. How could he go now, with his face looking like it did?. He'd have to make up loads of stories and he wasn't up to doing that.
The door opened and Mr Ishida walked in.
"Oi , who were you on the phone to"? He bellowed, sending Matt flying into a wall with a powerful smack.
"It was Akira, he called me"
"You didn't tell him about me and you did you"? Mr Ishida yelled straight into Matts face, vodka drenched his breath.
Matt delayed replying, he was kicked hard in the stomach for doing so.
"N…no..I…d…didn't" He stuttered breathing through the pain.
"Thought you were going out tonight anyway"! Mr Ishida took another swig from the bottle he was carrying.
"I was but………." Matt trailed off. Mr Ishida backhanded him sharply across the face.
"Go on then, piss off outta my sight, I've got some friends coming round tonight, I don't want to see you walk in that door 'til four either"
Mr Ishida was the only parent who allowed his child to stay out until the early hours willingly.
"Four"?
"Yeah four, and if you come back before then, you'll wish you hadn't. Now you have ten minutes to get ready and then fuck off"!
Mr Ishida slammed the door as he left the room. Matt sighed deeply, examining his new bruises, he had to go to the party now. As he put some clean clothes on , he ran through any possible excuses he could use.
He had just finished gelling his hair when his father came into the room, picked him up and literally threw him out of the house.
Matt knocked on the door.
"Are you still here"? Mr Ishida yelled, Matt resisted the urge to reply with "looks like it" and instead asked his father for his guitar.
Mr Ishida came back and threw it into his son's chest.
The rest of the digidestined were all in the hall gathered for Davis' party. Tai was DJ-ing and Davis was trying to impress Kari on the dancefloor. Normally, T.k would have been jealous, but he was worried about Matt, he was acting weird and hadn't turned up yet.
Meanwhile in the other hall, the band was panicking.
"This is me freaking out"! Toshiki ran around the room shouting.
"Calm down for God's sake" Itsu muttered crushing his empty soda can.
"I can't believe he'd just leave us like this" Akira added.
"We should try to talk to him" It su suggested.
"Talk to who" Matt asked from the doorway.
"MATT" The band shouted in unison.
"The one and only" Matt managed to be his old self again.
"Hey what happened to your face"? Toshiki asked.
"Got beat up by a gang on the way over, that's why I'm late" Matt had rehearsed this well. "I've been in the toilets trying to sort it out, hope it don't look too bad".
"Nah, so what's songs are we singing tonight"? Itsu asked.
"Don't know, Turn around I suppose, and there's the one with Tai".
"Yeah that'll be good, well Matt ya better go and join the others, remember though, that it's a secret". Akira pushed Matt out of the door.
Matt sighed and walked into the other room, silence ensued, the others all turned round to look at him. He heard a few gasps, even Tai stopped playing his songs.
"Hey Matt"! He waved breaking the silence. Matt nodded in his direction.
T.K held back his tears at the sight of his brother and walked over to him, the others watched as T.K gently touched Matt's black eye.
"How'd this happen"? He asked
"Got beat up on the way here" Matt replied. He suddenly felt a bit angry at how everyone was reacting. "I might s well tell you all now" he raised his voice. "I was beaten up on the way here by a gang. Anyone got any questions or can we carry on"?
The others stayed silent, Tai, sensing that Matt was uncomfortable, and put on another song and the party went back to normal.
Matt nodded his thanks to Tai who beckoned him over.
"Remember in an hour" Tai whispered.
"Yeah, yeah".
"Matt"? Tai looked into his best friends eyes. "You didn't get beaten up by a gang did you"
"What, yes I did, on the way here"!
"Matt, I know you well enough to say that isn't true. Whatever it is you can tell me, remember we can trust each other". Tai put a reassuring hand on Matt's shoulder. Matt collapsed onto his knees, Tai sunk down too.
"I wish I could Tai, I really do, but I can't".
"Why not"?
"Just trust me, I can't"
"Ok, but my door is always open, you know, if you want to get away, whatever time, I don't mind" Tai said as he helped Matt to his feet.
"Thanks Tai" Matt managed a full smile.
The party went successfully for a whole hour, without the others noticing , Tai and Matt had sneaked off to the other room, when the band was set up and Joe and Izzy sorted the lights, Joe rushed to the main party room to begin his act.
"Everybody you gotta come and see this, it's awful"! He yelled, the others all turned round and stared at him.
"Come on!, you gotta see it! Hurry"!
With that, Sora , Mimi, Yolei, Kari, T.K , Davis and Ken followed Joe to the other room.
"What's going on"? Mimi asked as they stepped into the dark room.
"THIS"! Izzy shouted, he flicked on the lights and the others gasped in amazement as they saw Matt and his band on the stage.
"Hi guys, we'd like to dedicate all our songs tonight to Davis party , which I might say totally rocks"! Akira said into his mic.
"Yeah, but we missed the food"! Itsu said into his mic.
"Come on guys!, let's play, Turn around, one two, three"!
The band launched into their sing, to cheers and shouts of encouragement.
Afterwards, Matt welcomed Tai up to the stage as planned.
"Tai's gonna do a number with us now so wish him all good luck". Matt smiled at his friend. Tai smiled back as Matt handed him his guitar.
The band with Tai launched into another song as Matt watched from the sidelines.
The rest of the gig went well and the party was still in full swing two hours later. Matt had finally managed to relax. He and Tai were talking about how well the gig had gone.
"That was a great show guys"! Davis walked up to Tai and slapped him on the back.
"Hey what about me"? Toshiki followed Davis.
"Yeah you all did great"
"Hopefully I impressed the lovely Mimi" Toshiki smiled.
"You like Mimi"? Matt asked.
"Duh!, who wouldn't"?
"You got no chance man" Tai laughed.
"Why not"? Toshiki replied defensively.
"Cos it looks like Itsu is doing a good job" Tai pointed over to Itsu who was talking to Mimi in a corner. Mimi was laughing along at whatever he was saying.
Matt couldn't help but laugh at Toshiki's face.
"Maybe I should cut in" Toshiki ran over to where Mimi and Itsu were.
"So when's your next gig"? Davis asked Matt.
Matt was about to reply before the door suddenly burst open. Matt cursed when he saw the drunken form of Mr Ishida stood in the doorway.
"Get here you piece of crap"! He yelled. Everyone turned and looked.
"Who's that"? Davis asked.
"My father" Matt replied calmly.
"I SAID GET HERE"! Mr Ishida shouted again. The others watched as Matt slowly made his way over to his father.
"That's for taking a long time to get here"! Mr Ishida savagely hit his son with the beer can he was carrying.
"Why are you here"? Matt tried to keep the anger out of his voice. He ignored the rush of pain in his head.
"You should have been home already"! Mr Ishida grabbed Matt and backhanded him across the face.
"You told me not to come back before four".
"I didn't"!
"You did, you're just too pissed to remember". Matt shot back, he had had enough.
Mr Ishida stood back shocked , but soon regained his senses and kicked out at Matt. Matt expertly dodged.
"I've had enough of you!, I'm sick of you always hitting me for doing nothing wrong now you're doing it in front of my friends"! Matt motioned to the group behind him who was stood, still in shock.
"I've had enough of you too!, you're a bastard child and you've never been good for anything"! Mr Ishida tried to slap his son again but Matt retaliated first with a punch.
"HOW DARE YOU HIT ME"! Mr Ishida roared. "I'LL TEACH YOU MANNERS"!
The girls screamed as Mr Ishida produced a knife. T.K gasped and felt tears run down his cheeks. Matt tried to remain as cool as possible.
"I've never brought myself to do it before, but you just made it easier"!. Mr Ishida wielded the knife.
"STOP IT"! T.K yelled from across the room.
"Stay out of this please" Matt warned, the last thing he needed was to have T.K in danger. Mr Ishida was drunk so there was no telling what he would do.
"You can stab me if you want but before you do, let the others out of the room". Matt pleaded.
"How do I know they won't call the police"?
"You don't but you have to trust them"
"I don't know them, therefore I don't trust them. Seeing you stabbed will be a treat for them, I'm sure they're all as sick of you as I am"!
"Maybe they are. I don't know what anyone really thinks of me. Just don't hurt them, don't bring them into this".
Mr Ishida raised the knife above his head. Matt still stood calmly, he could hear various people crying.
"Please don't dad"! T.K ran across the room and leapt in front of his brother.
"What do you think you're doing"! Matt hissed angrily.
"All that time in the Digital world you protected me, well it's about time I repay the favour and protect you" T.K turned to Mr Ishida and bravely said "If you want to stab him, you'll have to go through me first"!
Mr Ishida brought the knife down, T.K felt the pain shortly afterwards, he'd been stabbed just above his stomach.
Mr Ishida stood back in shock. Matt knelt down beside the fallen T.K.
"No!, I hate you!, you're a bastard!, you always have been!, I hope you rot in hell for this"! Matt yelled at his father. He cradled T.K in his arms.
"Someone call an ambulance now"! He screamed at his friends.
Mr Ishida ran away, Sora ran out of the room too to find a phone.
"God, please , don't let him die" Matt hugged his little brother. Joe ran over.
Ok. Put some pressure on the wound. Is there a first aid kit around here"? He asked, He pulled up T.K's blood-soaked T-shirt and looked at the wound, blood pumped out continuously. Akira came running up with a first aid kit.
"Here I found it in the cupboard over there" He said handing the kit to Joe.
"Is he still breathing"? Matt asked.
"Yes, but we have to hurry, pass me some of that bandage and gauze please"
Matt handed the things to Joe as he asked for them, Joe had just finished dressed the wound when the paramedics arrived.
"Well who's got things under control here"? One of them asked.
"I put pressure on it and dressed it, it's still open obviously, he seems to be breathing but his breaths are becoming shallow". Joe replied.
"Well your career is sorted out" The paramedic laughed as he put T.K onto a stretcher and carried him out.
Matt was still on his knees, he broke into loud sobs. Tai walked up to him and tried to help him to his feet. Matt just flopped back down listlessly.
"Matt the ambulance has left already, Sora's gone with T.K". Tai said gently
"I can't believe I let him get stabbed. It wasn't even his fight, and now, he's injured and he might die".
"Don't worry Matt, he won't , he's a tough little kid. Your father was drunk, you couldn't have stopped him. Has he being beating you all the time"?
"Yes"
"How long"?
"Years"
"You should have told us".
"He said if I told any of you, he'd hunt you down and kill you".
Tai nodded and hugged his best friend. The party had well and truly broken up now. The others helped to tidy away while Tai phone T.K and Matt's mother to come and pick Matt up and take him to the hospital.
"Tai, will you come with me"?
"Sure buddy".
"Should I tell mum it was him".
"I think you should, he's done it once now and there's nothing to say that he won't do it again. Whether you want to hear this or not, your father is dangerous and needs to be locked away where he can't hurt you or T.K or anyone else, for that matter again".
"I understand Tai, and thanks"
"For what"
"Being here".
Nancy Takahashi ran into the hall.
"Oh my baby"! She said hugging Matt tightly. "What has he done to you"?
"It's not me we should be worrying about mom, it's T.K"
"I know darling , let's go to the hospital right now".
"Is it alright if Tai's comes"?
"Of course come on then you two" Nancy, Matt and Tai turned to leave.
"Wait"! Joe called.
"What"? Matt turned around.
"Here take this"! Joe took off his T-shirt and handed it to Matt. "You don't want that blood-stained one, I'll take it for ya".
Matt thanked Joe and slipped Joe's T-shirt over his head. He followed his mother and Tai out of the hall.
Half an hour later Matt sat next to Tai in the hallway outside T.K's room.
"Why aren't I allowed in yet"? Matt asked.
"I'm not sure"
"I wonder if dad went home, not that I care".
"Try calling home".
"Nah, I never want to speak to or see the bastard again".
"You don't mean that".
"I do, I hate him!, I hate him to hell"!
"You're just mad"
"You don't understand, your dad's normal".
"Yeah right".
"Compared to mine he is".
"Hey did ya get your mobile back off Akira". Tai changed the subject.
"Yeah".
As if on cue, the cell phone rang.
"Hello"? Matt answered.
"Hi Matt, it's Joe".
"Hey Joe".
"Look, I called round to your house……..with Itsu, we wanted to drop off your guitar and T-shirt……but….there's no answer…….but the lights are on and we can hear the T.V……"
"What are you getting at"?
"I think…….your dad…….he's…………." Joe stuttered.
"Ok, I get it. Well you'd better go home then".
"You don't want me to call an……."
"NO!, just go home now"! Matt hung up. He turned to Tai. "Listen Tai, I gotta go home for a bit. Tell mum I won't be long and that I'll be back".
"Can I come with you, I'd hate to think what your father might do to you if he's there".
"No that's why I didn't ask you to come".
"Matt………"
"Stop trying to be a hero Tai, you know you wouldn't stand a chance".
"Neither would you".
"I'm responsible for my own life, but I wouldn't be for yours, if anything happened to you…..I don't know what I'd do". Matt turned to leave.
"Do one thing for me". Tai said quietly.
"What"?
"Keep your mobile on at all times" Tai held up his own phone. Matt nodded and headed home.
As he walked down the street t his apartment. He began to think why he even wanted to go there. If my father really had done something would I be bothered?, even though I hate him right now, Tai was right, the things I said in the hospital were out of anger. I didn't really mean them.
He never beat me all the time, only when he's drunk. The times when he's sober are the best. We do things together like cooking, even though he always burns everything.
I really hope he hasn't done anything stupid.
Matt arrived at the apartment. Joe and Akira were still at the door.
"I told you to leave" Matt said icily.
"We thought you'd come so we decided we'd be there if you needed us".
Matt just nodded. He fished his keys out of his pocket and opened the door.
"Dad"? He shouted.
No reply.
"Aw crap, don't do this to me". Matt mumbled.
He finally found his father in his room.
"Wonder what he's doing in my room" Matt thought to himself.
"Dad"? He said unsure.
"Matt"
"You're alive" Matt said his thoughts aloud.
"Yeah".
"Why are you in here"?
"Just looking at the photo album". Mr Ishida nodded to the photo album beside him.
"You know what your problem is don't you?, it's the drink"
"I know, I try not to but ever since your mother left me….it was the only thing I could turn to. Look where it's lead me now, my own son, stabbed".
"It wasn't him you wanted though was it"? Matt sat down next to his father.
"What"?
"It wasn't his blood you wanted to shed, it was mine".
"You really think that"?
"No, I know that".
"It was the alcohol talking".
"You always say you hate me, you never do when you're sober, but you're hardly ever that anymore. What am I supposed to think?, look at me".
Mr Ishida turned to look at his son. It was as if he saw for the first time the damage.
"I did that"?
"Yes".
"I'm so sorry!, God, you must hate me"
"Ten out of ten for that one".
"Are you going to tell the police……..about T.K"?
"That's his decision, mum doesn't know it was you".
"I'm gonna have to get some help about all this. Alcohol abuse and stuff. I'm gonna beat this, I have to, for you, and for T.K".
"Whatever dad, I'm going now, I wanna be with T.K and Mom".
"I don't suppose I'm welcome"?
"I wouldn't advise it, I'll tell mom you were called away suddenly for work".
"Thanks" Mr Ishida said quietly as he watched his son slip out of the room.
"Mom"? T.K whispered as he opened his eyes.
"its Tai".
"Where's mom?, and Matt"?
"Your mom's gone to get some things for you and Matt has gone to see your father".
"Him………."
"Yeah, Matt feels the same way too. What are you gonna do about it"?
"You mean police"?
"Yeah"
"I don't know……I can't even believe he did it".
"Don't think about it all now, you need to rest, you have quite a serious injury".
T.K nodded and sunk back onto the pillows. Tai moved his chair a little closer.
The rain cam down in buckets as Matt walked the streets. He didn't want to go to the hospital, he couldn't stand to see his brother in pain. He didn't want to go back home again. He was still mad at his father. Tai was still at the hospital, so he couldn't go to Tai's house. The next person that came to mind was Ken. He thought that strange at first but then he remembered the talks he and Ken had had about their pasts. They had a lot in common and they understood each other.
The rain dripped off his hair and he sneezed violently. That's all he needed, a cold. He carried on walking , staring at the pavement as he did so.
He collided with a person.
"Woah sorry" Matt apologized not looking up.
"Not a problem" A voice replied. Matt immediately recognized it, it was Ken.
"Hey Ken"
"I was just coming to see you" Ken replied.
"That's good because I was coming to see you too".
"Great minds, anyway the hall's all cleared up, the others are all round at Davis', I was there too but since they were all crying and doing the worrying thing for T.K, I figured that you might need some company".
"You're right. I mean I don't wanna sound selfish here but with what's going on, I see to have been forgotten about".
"I know how that feels".
"Oh I'm sorry, you must think I'm being so petty, you've been through worse".
"Everyone has different problems, and no matter how big or small they are you still need people to help you through them. Your current problem is by no means small. Have you thought about what you're going to do about your father"?
"No, not really". Matt lied.
"You don't have to lie to me Matt, remember" Ken saw straight through him.
Matt smiled. He was about to reply but just as he opened his mouth his mobile phone rang.
"What not" He muttered as he grabbed his phone. "Hello"?
"Matt it's Joe, you'd better get back here quick"
"Why".
"Believe me you just better get back here and fast" Joe hung up. Matt stood in shock.
"It was Joe, I've gotta get back home , he sounded like it was urgent". He finally spoke up.
"I'll come with you you don't know what state your father will be in".
"Ok, we'd better hurry though".
Matt and Ken arrived at the apartment, a rather frantic looking Joe was standing by the door.
"Matt so glad you're here!, your father went mad!, he came out and yelled after you but you were already gone. He saw Akira and me and he asked us why we were nosing around his flat. Next thing I know he grabs Akira. So I follow him and he was carrying a box and Akira up the stairs, He's on the roof now". Joe gasped for breath.
Matt and Ken gulped and looked up. Thirty floors worth of drop. Matt reacted fast and darted through the door and up the numerous stairs. Ken and Joe followed behind.
Matt reached the top in record time and saw his father. The roof was flat and had a small wall going all the way around it. Mr Ishida had balanced ten bottles on a part of the wall. He had in his hands a small handgun. Akira sat on another part of the wall looking nervous. It was immediately obvious to Matt that Mr Ishida had been drinking again.
"What are you doing"? Matt yelled through the rain.
"What does it look like I'm doing"?
"I don't know that's why I asked".
MR Ishida grabbed Akira off the wall and held the gun to the shivering boy's temple.
"Get funny with me boy and I'll put a hole through your friend's head"! Mr Ishida shouted fiercely. To prove the gun was loaded he shot five of the ten bottles off the wall.
"Ok, Ok, I won't get funny, just please, let Akira go, he hasn't done anything wrong". Matt pleaded.
"What like your brother"? Mr Ishida sneered. Matt couldn't believe he had actually taken in all that stuff his father was saying about being sorry earlier on.
"Just don't hurt him please, let him go". Matt's tears were unrecognizable in the rain. "If you really want to shoot somebody, then shoot me".
"No Matt don't do it". Ken shouted, he and Joe were now stood behind him.
"I have to, if it'll save Akira".
Mr Ishida released his grip on Akira, Akira ran, he had tears streaming down his face, Joe hugged him and gave him his jumper.
"Right then boy, I saved your friend, but I won't be so nice with you". Mr Ishida snarled.
"I don't care anymore, I know now that all that stuff you said to me before in my room was a lie. You were just saying it so I'd feel sorry for you and wouldn't shop you to the cops. You messed with my head for you own benefit, heck I even felt sorry for you, you knew to play with my compassion. Well it worked, I haven't shopped you, even though I wish I had. If you kill me though right now, I know for a fact that you'll get turned in by Ken, Joe and Akira".
"Then I'll kill them too".
"RUN GUYS"! Matt yelled, the others didn't need telling twice. Mr Ishida fired the gun , and they couldn't look back.
As soon as Joe got to a phone he called the police, Ken called the other digidestined to let them know what was happening, he also called Tai as he would be worried for Matt.
Within half an hour, all the digidestined, minus T.K were standing outside the block of apartments. The police were inside the building making their way up to the roof.
I hate to think what's happening up there" Sora shuddered.
"Don't worry I'm sure Matt will be fine" Tai said trying to keep his voice even.
"I can't believe that his father is prepared to hurt another one of his sons". Mimi whispered.
"And we complain about our parents!, at least my dad never tries to kill me"! Davis tried to make a joke out of the situation.
"Go around making anymore comments like that and I'll try to kill you"! Tai warned.
"Tai's right Davis, its no laughing matter" Kari said angrily.
"For all we know Matt could be in real trouble up there" Yolei continued.
"Sorry guys I was just trying to cheer you up a little bit. I know you're all worried about Matt, especially you Tai. But don't worry, I mean I don't really know Matt that well but from what I've seen he knows how to handle things by himself. He's a strong guy, not just physically but mentally too. Nothing bad will happen, I know it, I believe in him". Davis piped up.
"Davis, that was probably, the most sincere, intelligent and sensible thing you've ever said" Tai replied.
"I think that was a compliment, I'll take it as one anyway" Davis smiled.
The others smiled too, Davis had grown a new hope in them all.
"You're not gonna kill me , you'd have done it already if were". Matt challenged. The rain had completely soaked through his clothes by now and his hair was a mop of water.
"I should have killed you the day you were born!, we never wanted you! , you were an accident. You ruined mine and Nancy's relationship".
"I don't care what you say to me anymore, you can't hurt me anymore, I've closed myself off, from people, from myself, what more do you want to do apart from kill me"?
"I've always hated you, but your slut mother couldn't wait!, she's always been a bitch"!
"Leave mom out of this"! Matt yelled.
Mr Ishida just sneered. He picked a bottle from the wall and threw it at his son.
A few shards of glass cut into Matt's face, luckily the bottle hadn't hit him full on, his dad was too drunk to aim properly. Matt ignored the pain. He just sighed.
"So are you going to do it then?, cos frankly I don't care anymore". He said sounding resigned. Blood from the cuts trickled down his face.
"So you want me to now"?
"You might as well".
Mr Ishida cocked the gun and took aim, just as he was about to fire , four police officers burst onto the roof carrying large guns.
"Ok sir, just drop the weapon". One of them ordered.
Mr Ishida reached out and grabbed Matt, he put his arm tightly around his neck and held the gun to his temple.
"Come any closer and he'll get it" he yelled.
"It's ok son, don't panic, we won't let him hurt you" One of the police officers tried to comfort Matt.
"I'm not bothered, come as close as you want, I don't care if he shoots me". Matt whispered.
Footsteps were heard running up the metal steps. In a few seconds Tai burst through the door.
"Don't shoot him sir please"! Tai pleaded. "Matt it's alright!, T.K's fine!, he's not dead, he'll be alright"! Tai shouted to his best friend.
"You shouldn't be up here" The policeman warned.
"Sorry but this guy is my best friend, and I couldn't wait for you guys to bring down his body!, can't you see Mr Ishida , this is the drink!, you wouldn't really shoot Matt, he's your son!. You can't hate him otherwise you'd have let him leave with his mom and T.K!. Please, drop the gun and don't kill him. He might act like he doesn't care, but he does, I know he does. Please don't shoot". Tai continued.
"You don't even know me kid, now shut up all of you or I'll do it"! Mr Ishida yelled.
"He'll do it Tai, it's not the drink, there's something wrong with him". Matt said coolly.
"What are you talking about"? Mr Ishida asked, shaking slightly.
"You thought I didn't know didn't you!, you thought I couldn't see it, I know dad, you're a skitso".
Mr Ishida dropped the gun, however he held his son tighter, Matt choked slightly on the sudden tight grip.
"He's right, he's right". Mr Ishida said quietly. Matt was beginning to turn red in the face.
"Just drop the boy sir". The police officer ordered.
Mr Ishida let his son fall onto the hard, wet ground. Matt had fainted a couple of seconds before. Tai rushed over to his friend and hugged his limp body, the tears running down his face as he rocked him.
The police officers slowly advanced on Mr Ishida, who was now on his knees sobbing.
"Tai was stupid to go up there!, but did he listen?, no"! Joe said erratically pacing.
"Joe stop it, you're making us dizzy". Yolei put her hands on Joe's shoulders to stop him.
"All we can do is hope for the best" Izzy said gravely.
"I can't believe it's his own father" Sora muttered.
"And we all complain about our parents, who knows what Matt has had to go through these past months, or even years" Mimi said sadly.
Davis was busy holding a sobbing Kari, he was making the best out of the situation by hugging her back and comforting her.
"The police will want our statements" Ken said crushing his Styrofoam cup in his hands.
"Hey where's Akira"? Cody asked.
"His parents took him to the hospital for a check over". Yolei replied.
The group fell silent when they heard a sobbing noise. This time it wasn't Kari, she had stopped to hear who it was.
Then, Tai walked out of the apartment, in his arms, lay the cold, limp body of Matt.
"Mum what's going on"? T.K asked his mother, Nancy.
"Nothing baby, everything's fine". She didn't feel the need to worry him.
"Where's Matt"?
"He's just…gone….to get something to eat, he'll be here soon, don't worry". Nancy prayed that something had happened since she had gotten that call from Tai. All he had said was that Matt and his father was having some sort of argument on a rooftop and the police were involved.
"What do I do about dad". T.K asked, breaking the silence that had fallen.
"I can't make that decision for you, that's something that you have to decide".
"I want him to go to jail for what he's done to me and Matt but another part of me doesn't want him to go to jail because Matt would be alone then".
"He'd come and live with us T.K, I would never see him on the streets".
"But he loves dad, and that's all he's known for years. I'd hate to take that away from him, but then I think about how dad must have treated Matt all these years. I don't know what to do".
"You're tired T.K, you should think about this when you've had some sleep". Nancy stroked her son's forehead gently, willing her mobile phone to ring.
Tai handed Matt to Joe, he sat down and Joe put Matt back into Tai's arms. The rain on the pavement came through Tai's jeans but he didn't care, he sat cradling his best friend.
"What happened"? Sora asked.
"He just…….collapsed". Tai sobbed. "C'mon Matt wake up, get up, you have to. God look at his face, all those cuts. Matt c'mon, please".
"It was probably the shock of the ordeal" Joe suggested.
The others nodded sadly.
"The poor guy" Ken muttered.
Tai had stopped crying, he was sure he heard a sound from Matt, he bent over his closer, listening.
He had, it was a cough, Matt coughed again, louder, and this time he opened his eyes.
"T….Tai"? He said quietly.
"Matt, you're gonna be alright now". Tai said happily. The others cheered.
Matt pulled himself into a sitting position and with the help of Tai, stood up.
"Must have gone out there for a second" He said more to himself than anyone.
"Yeah and worried us silly"! Tai added.
Matt took a playful swing at Tai. It missed.
"Oh, Ishida you're losing it"! Tai joked.
Matt was about to laugh, before he saw the policemen come out of the apartment. Two of them held Mr Ishida. Matt stared coldly at his father. He father caught this and yelled at his son.
"YOU'D BETTER HOPE I'M GOING DOWN FOR A LONG TIME BOY, COS WHEN I GET OUT YOU BETTER WATCH YOUR BACK" The policemen pushed him into the back of the van and closed the doors.
"He's not gonna scare me anymore" Matt said as he shook violently. Tai put his arms around him.
"You're safe now" He whispered into his ear.
"Thanks Tai, I'd have probably been dead now if you hadn't have come up onto the roof, you saved my life and I'll be grateful for that forever". Matt turned to face his friend. He looked into Tai's deep brown eyes. Tai looked back into Matt's azure eyes, before either of them knew what was happening, they were kissing.
The others gasped, shocked at the sight in front of them. Tai broke away and looked at the others, his cheeks bright red.
"Do you guys mind? , we were having a moment here" Matt replied coolly, he put his arms around Tai.
"Matt I didn't even know you were………." Tai began
"Shut up Kamiya" Matt smiled as he drew Tai in for another kiss.
Two weeks later, all of the digidestined were at Tai's house. Matt was late again.
"Anyone get the feeling of déjà vu"? Sora asked.
"Gee Tai, you'd think that you'd have some control over that boyfriend of yours" Kari laughed. Tai threw a cushion at her.
"T.K did he leave the same time as you"? Joe asked.
"No, he was holed up in his room, he told me to leave and that he'd catch up with me, obviously he never did". T.K replied.
"I hope he's alright , you know after all that's happened" Mimi said worriedly.
"He's fine, he a tough guy. He wouldn't let something like this stop him". Ken remarked.
"I still can't believe what my dad did" T.K stared out of the window.
"I know, what's the latest on that anyway" Cody asked.
"He's got to have some tests, you know for his head. He's still under arrest though, but they're taking into account that he has a mental problem. At least Matt's safe with us now, he never has to think about dad again" T.K said firmly. He moved away from the window and sat back down, next to Kari, they were unofficially an item.
The group jumped in shock when something hit the apartment window. Tai angrily opened it and looked down. A smile came to his lips though when he saw what was at the bottom.
Matt stood with Toshiki, they both had their guitars with them, they had set up and amp and a mic in the street.
"A beautiful serenade" Matt spoke into the microphone. His face was still stitched where the deeper cuts were.
Tai stepped out onto the balcony, the others followed too and stood crushed together as Matt and Toshiki started to play.
Out of all those boys, you're not like the others
From the very first day, I knew we'd be lovers
In my wildest dreams , my darkest desires
Would I declare to you , your love takes me higher
Just when we both thought our lives we set in stone
They shone a light, and brought us together
We are two in a million
We got all the luck
We could be given
If the world should stop
We'll still have each other
And no matter what
We'll be forever as one
It's a crazy world where everything's changin'
One minute you're up and the next thing you're brakin'
When I lose my way and the skies they heavy
It be ok the moment you're with me
No one would have guessed we'd be standing strong today
Solid as a rock and perfect in every way
We are two in a million
We got all the luck
We could be given
If the world should stop
We'd still have each other
And no matter what
We'll be forever as one
We are two in a million
We got all the luck
We could be given
If the world should stop
We'd still have each other
And no matter what
We'll be forever as one
"That was for you Tai" Matt whispered into the mic.
"And you too Mimi" Toshiki grinned.
"I knew you had an ulterior motive"! Matt laughed.
The balcony had fallen silent. A few of the digidestined had tears in their eyes. No-one more than Tai though. He pushed past the others , ran through the apartment and down all the stairs , not wanting to wait for the lift.
He got to the bottom, ran out onto the pavement and straight into Matt's arms.
The digidestined cheered happily.
Someone had followed Tai though. Mimi.
"Toshiki that was beautiful. I never knew you felt that way". She said gently.
"Now you do" Toshiki smiled his best smile. He and Mimi fell into each others arms and kissed.
Tai and Matt broke apart.
"You wanna know something Tai Kamiya"?
"What Matt Ishida"?
"I love you".
"And I love you too".
That was how they stayed, in each other's arms, for eternity.
THE END
"Your pick Izzy"
"Well there was actually an rather interesting looking documentary on, we could watch that" Izzy suggested.
"Is that the one on Medical science? I wanted to catch that too" Joe smiled, he was sitting next to Tai on the sofa. Kari and T.K were playing cards on the floor, Mimi was reading another magazine and Sora was watching Tai's face as Izzy and Joe flicked the documentary on.
"Hey T.K where's that brother of yours"? Tai asked.
"He said he'd come by later, dad needs to talk to him about something".
"How can we have a digidestined meeting without Matt"? Tai asked.
"Well Davis, Yolei, Cody and Ken aren't here either" Sora reminded him.
"They're due round any minute now, they had to destroy the remaining control spires".
"So why weren't you two there"? Mimi asked T.K and Kari.
"I had a basketball match" T.K replied
"And I was helping mom around the house, something that YOU never do Tai"
"Yeah well, I have soccer" Tai said defiantly.
A knock at the door prevented Kari from replying she sighed and went to answer the door. Four smiling faces greeted her. Davis, Yolei Cody and Ken.
"Hi Kari" Yolei, Ken and Cody greeted.
"Hey Kari, how ya doing"?
"Fine Davis, come in, we're just waiting for Matt to arrive".
Davis, Yolei, Cody and Ken were ushered into the living room.
"Hey Tai, do you mind if I call Matt? he should have been here by now" T.K said worriedly.
"Go ahead, I think the phone's in the kitchen".
T.K nodded and wandered into the kitchen. He picked up the phone off the table and dialed Matt's mobile phone number.
"Hey Matt, where are you? everybody else is here" T.K said frantically before Matt even got a chance to say hello.
"It's Akira" The member of Matt's band answered.
"How come you have Matt's phone, where is he"?
"Calm down T.k, we don't know where he is, he didn't show at practice and he left his phone in homeroom, he just rushed off after getting a call".
"And you don't know where he is now"?
"No sorry"
Ok thanks Akira"
"No probs"
T.K hung up. He dialed Matt's home phone. The phone however just rang and rang. T.K dropped the phone when there was a knock at the door. He rushed into the living room and to the front door, leaving the rest of the digidestined staring after him in shock. He threw open the door and there was Matt staring back at him.
"Matt"! T.K flung his arms around his brother. Matt winced. "What's wrong Matt, are you hurt"?
"No, it's nothing, sorry I'm late".
"It's alright".
T.K stepped aside to let Matt in. Matt pulled off his jacket to reveal a large black jumper.
"Aren't you hot in that"? T.K asked. Matt just shook his head. He left T.K staring in the hallway as he walked though to the living room.
"Hey Matt, better late than never"! Tai joked.
"What took you so long"? Sora asked.
"Did your practice go well"? Kari continued.
"What's with all the questions? I just had something to do alright"? He replied coldly. He sat down on the sofa between Tai and Joe.
"Oh well you're here now" Izzy said quietly.
"So, what have you called this meeting for anyway"? Yolei asked, desperate to change the subject on account of Matt's dirty looks.
"Me and Kari thought that the older and new digidestined should communicate more. Like, when you need help in the Digital world, we're always at the end of a phone. Even when you need help here in the real world, one of us will always be there for you. So what's going down in the Digital world"? Tai replied.
"We're destroying the control spires" Davis spoke up. Predictably he was sitting on the floor next to Kari.
"Between fighting Arukenimon and Blackwargreymon" Ken continued.
"Blackwargreymon"? Tai asked
"Yeah, he was creating by Arukenimon using my old control spires. He's a pretty tough enemy. We're not sure what his next moves are gonna be, he's certainly a weird character". Ken replied quietly, showing embarrassment over the control spires.
"Luckily though, Ken and I found out a new way of digivolving, its called DNA digivolving, two digimon digivolve together to create a stronger new digimon" Izzy finished off.
"You mean like with Onimon when he fought diaboromon on the net" T.K asked. He looked for any response to what had been said from his brother, but there was, as usual none.
"Exactly, it'll be an effective weapon against Blackwargreymon" Izzy smiled.
"What do you think Matt"? T.K asked, eager to include his brother in the conversation.
All eyes turned on Matt. He looked up from the floor and looked back at the others. He didn't have the great answer they wanted. He had other things to think about. Other things to worry about. Other things to be scared off.
"Matt"? Tai tapped his friend on the shoulder. Matt winced.
"Sorry, look I'm gonna have to go. I'll see ya some time bye". Before anyone could say anything Matt was out of the door. T.K got up to follow but was pushed down by Tai.
"No, I'll sort this one out" He said firmly, he went chasing after Matt.
"Matt!, Matt!" Tai panted as he ran to catch up with his friend. He eventually did so and grabbed hold of his arm. This brought another painful wince from Matt.
"What's going on with you Matt, and why do you wince everytime someone touches you"?
"Nothing's going on Tai. Just leave me alone".
"Matt, I'm not gonna do that. I know something's wrong and I'm not gonna drop it"!
"Well you're gonna hafta drop it, cos I won't tell you"
"Matt………." Tai looked into the blonds cold azure eyes.
"Tai, please , leave me alone, I hafta get back home".
"Why"?
"Go back to the others Tai, I'm sorry" Matt released himself from Tai's grip and continued to sprint down the street, leaving Tai staring after him.
Matt slammed the door to the apartment. He was late. Sure as he thought, there was Mr Ishida stood in the hallway looking at his watch.
"Sorry I'm late sir" Matt bowed.
"You will be" Mr Ishida said softly, but threatening.
"It was Taichi, he wanted to talk to me".
"You didn't tell him did you"?
"No sir" Matt bowed again, keeping his eyes on the hall carpet, he knew better than to look up.
It didn't matter anyway, after a few seconds of silence, Matt received a short sharp slap across his face. He shut out the pain and stood there, unreactive.
Another slap, then another, and another until his face felt numb. He tasted and felt the warm sensation of blood on his lips. He didn't know where it was coming from this time, he didn't care.
"Now get into that room and stay out of my sight"! Mr Ishida yelled into his son's face. Matt could smell the brandy mixed with the nose-twitching stench of cigars.
"Yes sir" Matt bowed, before fleeing from the room.
He locked his bedroom door and headed straight to his mirror. He was almost afraid to look. He raised his head and saw the full extent of the beating. His left eye was nearly half closed as the bruise started to swell painfully. His nose leaked blood onto his lips and his cheeks looked red and raw.
Matt cleaned himself up the best he could. There was no way he could go to Davis' party tomorrow, not looking like this.
He lay down on the bed. He thought about his father when he was not incensed with alcohol. He was such a nicer person. Caring for and loving his son.
Then, when Nancy had announced that she didn't want Mr Ishida to see T.K anymore that was the final straw. The drink had become a replacement for T.K. Matt was sure that his father loved his booze more than him or T.K.
Luckily T.K was safe, with his mum. He had his meals on the table and he was loved twenty four seven. Unlike Matt who was only loved when his father was sober.
Matt turned over and looked at his wrist, he'd cut himself to try and stop the pain of being unloved. He thought that if he hurt himself physically, it would stop hurting so much mentally.
"Hey Davis where do you want the decks"? Tai asked. Davis had asked him to be DJ for his party.
"In that corner I think" Davis replied from up a ladder. He was hanging a large hand-made banner across the room.
"What's this party about anyway"? Kari asked tying a knot in the balloon she'd just pumped up.
"Read the banner" T.K replied indicating the wonky banner.
"A-blackwargreymon-totally-sucks-and-thanks-to-Izzy-we're-gonna-beat-him- party" Kari read aloud. "As good a reason as any I guess"
"I knew you'd love it"! Davis said wobbling dangerously on the ladder.
"When's everyone due to come"? Ken asked. He was laying the food out neatly on the large table.
"In about an hour" Yolei answered on Davis' behalf. Davis was still trying to keep his balance.
"It's looks like we still have a lot of preparation to do then" Cody remarked. He was laying out the cups and the various drinks on a separate table.
"We'll be ready, there's nothing else to do really". Tai assured him. "Hey Davis did I tell you I'd arranged some mystery guests"?
"No, who are they"? Davis finally gave in and allowed the ladder to fall, he landed on the floor with a soft bump.
"If I told you that it wouldn't be a mystery now would it. Don't worry I'm sure everyone will like them". Tai smiled. He walked out of the main room. Davis ad only rented one room of the hall, however Tai and Matt had secretly rented the room next door. Tai opened the door to the next room and Izzy and Joe were happily setting up.
"Guys this looks great"! He exclaimed. There were disco lights and a large glitter ball hanging from the ceiling and balloons and streamers decorated the walls. A stage had been set up at the end of the room.
"If you like this , wait until you see what Izzy's done" Joe smiled. He nodded to the other end of the room where Izzy was sitting. He had connected his laptop to a projector. Joe leapt up onto the stage and pulled down and screen at the back.
"Ready Izzy" He called out. Izzy nodded and tapped a few keys on the laptop. In a flash of light , the screen lit up with little films. Films of fireworks going off in the night sky, there was one of a laser show and finally of a sea of lit candles.
"I thought it might be a nice effect for that to be going on behind the band when they're playing". Izzy stopped running the film.
"Wow, that's was great, it'll look really good with the band. Tonight is gonna rock"! Tai punched the air.
"Are you still doing your number with the band"? Joe asked.
"Yep, dead nervous about it though, no-one apart from you two and the band know that I've been playing the guitar and singing. I hope they all like it". Tai said with a nervous smile.
"They'll love it" Izzy assured.
Matt was woken up by the phone ringing.
"Hello"?
"Hi Matt, its Akira"
"Oh Hi Akira"
"You ready for tonight"?
"Tonight"?
"Yeah the gig at Davis party, it was a surprise remember?, Tai asked us to do it".
"Oh yeah that, listen, I don't think I'll be able to make it anymore".
"Why not"?
"I don't feel very well".
"Well, we can't do it on our own"!
"You can. You've got a good singing voice, and Tai's gonna do a couple of numbers. You'll be fine. I gotta go now, good luck for tonight".
"Matt………."
Matt hung up. He didn't want to hear anymore about the party. He'd been looking forward to it for ages. How could he go now, with his face looking like it did?. He'd have to make up loads of stories and he wasn't up to doing that.
The door opened and Mr Ishida walked in.
"Oi , who were you on the phone to"? He bellowed, sending Matt flying into a wall with a powerful smack.
"It was Akira, he called me"
"You didn't tell him about me and you did you"? Mr Ishida yelled straight into Matts face, vodka drenched his breath.
Matt delayed replying, he was kicked hard in the stomach for doing so.
"N…no..I…d…didn't" He stuttered breathing through the pain.
"Thought you were going out tonight anyway"! Mr Ishida took another swig from the bottle he was carrying.
"I was but………." Matt trailed off. Mr Ishida backhanded him sharply across the face.
"Go on then, piss off outta my sight, I've got some friends coming round tonight, I don't want to see you walk in that door 'til four either"
Mr Ishida was the only parent who allowed his child to stay out until the early hours willingly.
"Four"?
"Yeah four, and if you come back before then, you'll wish you hadn't. Now you have ten minutes to get ready and then fuck off"!
Mr Ishida slammed the door as he left the room. Matt sighed deeply, examining his new bruises, he had to go to the party now. As he put some clean clothes on , he ran through any possible excuses he could use.
He had just finished gelling his hair when his father came into the room, picked him up and literally threw him out of the house.
Matt knocked on the door.
"Are you still here"? Mr Ishida yelled, Matt resisted the urge to reply with "looks like it" and instead asked his father for his guitar.
Mr Ishida came back and threw it into his son's chest.
The rest of the digidestined were all in the hall gathered for Davis' party. Tai was DJ-ing and Davis was trying to impress Kari on the dancefloor. Normally, T.k would have been jealous, but he was worried about Matt, he was acting weird and hadn't turned up yet.
Meanwhile in the other hall, the band was panicking.
"This is me freaking out"! Toshiki ran around the room shouting.
"Calm down for God's sake" Itsu muttered crushing his empty soda can.
"I can't believe he'd just leave us like this" Akira added.
"We should try to talk to him" It su suggested.
"Talk to who" Matt asked from the doorway.
"MATT" The band shouted in unison.
"The one and only" Matt managed to be his old self again.
"Hey what happened to your face"? Toshiki asked.
"Got beat up by a gang on the way over, that's why I'm late" Matt had rehearsed this well. "I've been in the toilets trying to sort it out, hope it don't look too bad".
"Nah, so what's songs are we singing tonight"? Itsu asked.
"Don't know, Turn around I suppose, and there's the one with Tai".
"Yeah that'll be good, well Matt ya better go and join the others, remember though, that it's a secret". Akira pushed Matt out of the door.
Matt sighed and walked into the other room, silence ensued, the others all turned round to look at him. He heard a few gasps, even Tai stopped playing his songs.
"Hey Matt"! He waved breaking the silence. Matt nodded in his direction.
T.K held back his tears at the sight of his brother and walked over to him, the others watched as T.K gently touched Matt's black eye.
"How'd this happen"? He asked
"Got beat up on the way here" Matt replied. He suddenly felt a bit angry at how everyone was reacting. "I might s well tell you all now" he raised his voice. "I was beaten up on the way here by a gang. Anyone got any questions or can we carry on"?
The others stayed silent, Tai, sensing that Matt was uncomfortable, and put on another song and the party went back to normal.
Matt nodded his thanks to Tai who beckoned him over.
"Remember in an hour" Tai whispered.
"Yeah, yeah".
"Matt"? Tai looked into his best friends eyes. "You didn't get beaten up by a gang did you"
"What, yes I did, on the way here"!
"Matt, I know you well enough to say that isn't true. Whatever it is you can tell me, remember we can trust each other". Tai put a reassuring hand on Matt's shoulder. Matt collapsed onto his knees, Tai sunk down too.
"I wish I could Tai, I really do, but I can't".
"Why not"?
"Just trust me, I can't"
"Ok, but my door is always open, you know, if you want to get away, whatever time, I don't mind" Tai said as he helped Matt to his feet.
"Thanks Tai" Matt managed a full smile.
The party went successfully for a whole hour, without the others noticing , Tai and Matt had sneaked off to the other room, when the band was set up and Joe and Izzy sorted the lights, Joe rushed to the main party room to begin his act.
"Everybody you gotta come and see this, it's awful"! He yelled, the others all turned round and stared at him.
"Come on!, you gotta see it! Hurry"!
With that, Sora , Mimi, Yolei, Kari, T.K , Davis and Ken followed Joe to the other room.
"What's going on"? Mimi asked as they stepped into the dark room.
"THIS"! Izzy shouted, he flicked on the lights and the others gasped in amazement as they saw Matt and his band on the stage.
"Hi guys, we'd like to dedicate all our songs tonight to Davis party , which I might say totally rocks"! Akira said into his mic.
"Yeah, but we missed the food"! Itsu said into his mic.
"Come on guys!, let's play, Turn around, one two, three"!
The band launched into their sing, to cheers and shouts of encouragement.
Afterwards, Matt welcomed Tai up to the stage as planned.
"Tai's gonna do a number with us now so wish him all good luck". Matt smiled at his friend. Tai smiled back as Matt handed him his guitar.
The band with Tai launched into another song as Matt watched from the sidelines.
The rest of the gig went well and the party was still in full swing two hours later. Matt had finally managed to relax. He and Tai were talking about how well the gig had gone.
"That was a great show guys"! Davis walked up to Tai and slapped him on the back.
"Hey what about me"? Toshiki followed Davis.
"Yeah you all did great"
"Hopefully I impressed the lovely Mimi" Toshiki smiled.
"You like Mimi"? Matt asked.
"Duh!, who wouldn't"?
"You got no chance man" Tai laughed.
"Why not"? Toshiki replied defensively.
"Cos it looks like Itsu is doing a good job" Tai pointed over to Itsu who was talking to Mimi in a corner. Mimi was laughing along at whatever he was saying.
Matt couldn't help but laugh at Toshiki's face.
"Maybe I should cut in" Toshiki ran over to where Mimi and Itsu were.
"So when's your next gig"? Davis asked Matt.
Matt was about to reply before the door suddenly burst open. Matt cursed when he saw the drunken form of Mr Ishida stood in the doorway.
"Get here you piece of crap"! He yelled. Everyone turned and looked.
"Who's that"? Davis asked.
"My father" Matt replied calmly.
"I SAID GET HERE"! Mr Ishida shouted again. The others watched as Matt slowly made his way over to his father.
"That's for taking a long time to get here"! Mr Ishida savagely hit his son with the beer can he was carrying.
"Why are you here"? Matt tried to keep the anger out of his voice. He ignored the rush of pain in his head.
"You should have been home already"! Mr Ishida grabbed Matt and backhanded him across the face.
"You told me not to come back before four".
"I didn't"!
"You did, you're just too pissed to remember". Matt shot back, he had had enough.
Mr Ishida stood back shocked , but soon regained his senses and kicked out at Matt. Matt expertly dodged.
"I've had enough of you!, I'm sick of you always hitting me for doing nothing wrong now you're doing it in front of my friends"! Matt motioned to the group behind him who was stood, still in shock.
"I've had enough of you too!, you're a bastard child and you've never been good for anything"! Mr Ishida tried to slap his son again but Matt retaliated first with a punch.
"HOW DARE YOU HIT ME"! Mr Ishida roared. "I'LL TEACH YOU MANNERS"!
The girls screamed as Mr Ishida produced a knife. T.K gasped and felt tears run down his cheeks. Matt tried to remain as cool as possible.
"I've never brought myself to do it before, but you just made it easier"!. Mr Ishida wielded the knife.
"STOP IT"! T.K yelled from across the room.
"Stay out of this please" Matt warned, the last thing he needed was to have T.K in danger. Mr Ishida was drunk so there was no telling what he would do.
"You can stab me if you want but before you do, let the others out of the room". Matt pleaded.
"How do I know they won't call the police"?
"You don't but you have to trust them"
"I don't know them, therefore I don't trust them. Seeing you stabbed will be a treat for them, I'm sure they're all as sick of you as I am"!
"Maybe they are. I don't know what anyone really thinks of me. Just don't hurt them, don't bring them into this".
Mr Ishida raised the knife above his head. Matt still stood calmly, he could hear various people crying.
"Please don't dad"! T.K ran across the room and leapt in front of his brother.
"What do you think you're doing"! Matt hissed angrily.
"All that time in the Digital world you protected me, well it's about time I repay the favour and protect you" T.K turned to Mr Ishida and bravely said "If you want to stab him, you'll have to go through me first"!
Mr Ishida brought the knife down, T.K felt the pain shortly afterwards, he'd been stabbed just above his stomach.
Mr Ishida stood back in shock. Matt knelt down beside the fallen T.K.
"No!, I hate you!, you're a bastard!, you always have been!, I hope you rot in hell for this"! Matt yelled at his father. He cradled T.K in his arms.
"Someone call an ambulance now"! He screamed at his friends.
Mr Ishida ran away, Sora ran out of the room too to find a phone.
"God, please , don't let him die" Matt hugged his little brother. Joe ran over.
Ok. Put some pressure on the wound. Is there a first aid kit around here"? He asked, He pulled up T.K's blood-soaked T-shirt and looked at the wound, blood pumped out continuously. Akira came running up with a first aid kit.
"Here I found it in the cupboard over there" He said handing the kit to Joe.
"Is he still breathing"? Matt asked.
"Yes, but we have to hurry, pass me some of that bandage and gauze please"
Matt handed the things to Joe as he asked for them, Joe had just finished dressed the wound when the paramedics arrived.
"Well who's got things under control here"? One of them asked.
"I put pressure on it and dressed it, it's still open obviously, he seems to be breathing but his breaths are becoming shallow". Joe replied.
"Well your career is sorted out" The paramedic laughed as he put T.K onto a stretcher and carried him out.
Matt was still on his knees, he broke into loud sobs. Tai walked up to him and tried to help him to his feet. Matt just flopped back down listlessly.
"Matt the ambulance has left already, Sora's gone with T.K". Tai said gently
"I can't believe I let him get stabbed. It wasn't even his fight, and now, he's injured and he might die".
"Don't worry Matt, he won't , he's a tough little kid. Your father was drunk, you couldn't have stopped him. Has he being beating you all the time"?
"Yes"
"How long"?
"Years"
"You should have told us".
"He said if I told any of you, he'd hunt you down and kill you".
Tai nodded and hugged his best friend. The party had well and truly broken up now. The others helped to tidy away while Tai phone T.K and Matt's mother to come and pick Matt up and take him to the hospital.
"Tai, will you come with me"?
"Sure buddy".
"Should I tell mum it was him".
"I think you should, he's done it once now and there's nothing to say that he won't do it again. Whether you want to hear this or not, your father is dangerous and needs to be locked away where he can't hurt you or T.K or anyone else, for that matter again".
"I understand Tai, and thanks"
"For what"
"Being here".
Nancy Takahashi ran into the hall.
"Oh my baby"! She said hugging Matt tightly. "What has he done to you"?
"It's not me we should be worrying about mom, it's T.K"
"I know darling , let's go to the hospital right now".
"Is it alright if Tai's comes"?
"Of course come on then you two" Nancy, Matt and Tai turned to leave.
"Wait"! Joe called.
"What"? Matt turned around.
"Here take this"! Joe took off his T-shirt and handed it to Matt. "You don't want that blood-stained one, I'll take it for ya".
Matt thanked Joe and slipped Joe's T-shirt over his head. He followed his mother and Tai out of the hall.
Half an hour later Matt sat next to Tai in the hallway outside T.K's room.
"Why aren't I allowed in yet"? Matt asked.
"I'm not sure"
"I wonder if dad went home, not that I care".
"Try calling home".
"Nah, I never want to speak to or see the bastard again".
"You don't mean that".
"I do, I hate him!, I hate him to hell"!
"You're just mad"
"You don't understand, your dad's normal".
"Yeah right".
"Compared to mine he is".
"Hey did ya get your mobile back off Akira". Tai changed the subject.
"Yeah".
As if on cue, the cell phone rang.
"Hello"? Matt answered.
"Hi Matt, it's Joe".
"Hey Joe".
"Look, I called round to your house……..with Itsu, we wanted to drop off your guitar and T-shirt……but….there's no answer…….but the lights are on and we can hear the T.V……"
"What are you getting at"?
"I think…….your dad…….he's…………." Joe stuttered.
"Ok, I get it. Well you'd better go home then".
"You don't want me to call an……."
"NO!, just go home now"! Matt hung up. He turned to Tai. "Listen Tai, I gotta go home for a bit. Tell mum I won't be long and that I'll be back".
"Can I come with you, I'd hate to think what your father might do to you if he's there".
"No that's why I didn't ask you to come".
"Matt………"
"Stop trying to be a hero Tai, you know you wouldn't stand a chance".
"Neither would you".
"I'm responsible for my own life, but I wouldn't be for yours, if anything happened to you…..I don't know what I'd do". Matt turned to leave.
"Do one thing for me". Tai said quietly.
"What"?
"Keep your mobile on at all times" Tai held up his own phone. Matt nodded and headed home.
As he walked down the street t his apartment. He began to think why he even wanted to go there. If my father really had done something would I be bothered?, even though I hate him right now, Tai was right, the things I said in the hospital were out of anger. I didn't really mean them.
He never beat me all the time, only when he's drunk. The times when he's sober are the best. We do things together like cooking, even though he always burns everything.
I really hope he hasn't done anything stupid.
Matt arrived at the apartment. Joe and Akira were still at the door.
"I told you to leave" Matt said icily.
"We thought you'd come so we decided we'd be there if you needed us".
Matt just nodded. He fished his keys out of his pocket and opened the door.
"Dad"? He shouted.
No reply.
"Aw crap, don't do this to me". Matt mumbled.
He finally found his father in his room.
"Wonder what he's doing in my room" Matt thought to himself.
"Dad"? He said unsure.
"Matt"
"You're alive" Matt said his thoughts aloud.
"Yeah".
"Why are you in here"?
"Just looking at the photo album". Mr Ishida nodded to the photo album beside him.
"You know what your problem is don't you?, it's the drink"
"I know, I try not to but ever since your mother left me….it was the only thing I could turn to. Look where it's lead me now, my own son, stabbed".
"It wasn't him you wanted though was it"? Matt sat down next to his father.
"What"?
"It wasn't his blood you wanted to shed, it was mine".
"You really think that"?
"No, I know that".
"It was the alcohol talking".
"You always say you hate me, you never do when you're sober, but you're hardly ever that anymore. What am I supposed to think?, look at me".
Mr Ishida turned to look at his son. It was as if he saw for the first time the damage.
"I did that"?
"Yes".
"I'm so sorry!, God, you must hate me"
"Ten out of ten for that one".
"Are you going to tell the police……..about T.K"?
"That's his decision, mum doesn't know it was you".
"I'm gonna have to get some help about all this. Alcohol abuse and stuff. I'm gonna beat this, I have to, for you, and for T.K".
"Whatever dad, I'm going now, I wanna be with T.K and Mom".
"I don't suppose I'm welcome"?
"I wouldn't advise it, I'll tell mom you were called away suddenly for work".
"Thanks" Mr Ishida said quietly as he watched his son slip out of the room.
"Mom"? T.K whispered as he opened his eyes.
"its Tai".
"Where's mom?, and Matt"?
"Your mom's gone to get some things for you and Matt has gone to see your father".
"Him………."
"Yeah, Matt feels the same way too. What are you gonna do about it"?
"You mean police"?
"Yeah"
"I don't know……I can't even believe he did it".
"Don't think about it all now, you need to rest, you have quite a serious injury".
T.K nodded and sunk back onto the pillows. Tai moved his chair a little closer.
The rain cam down in buckets as Matt walked the streets. He didn't want to go to the hospital, he couldn't stand to see his brother in pain. He didn't want to go back home again. He was still mad at his father. Tai was still at the hospital, so he couldn't go to Tai's house. The next person that came to mind was Ken. He thought that strange at first but then he remembered the talks he and Ken had had about their pasts. They had a lot in common and they understood each other.
The rain dripped off his hair and he sneezed violently. That's all he needed, a cold. He carried on walking , staring at the pavement as he did so.
He collided with a person.
"Woah sorry" Matt apologized not looking up.
"Not a problem" A voice replied. Matt immediately recognized it, it was Ken.
"Hey Ken"
"I was just coming to see you" Ken replied.
"That's good because I was coming to see you too".
"Great minds, anyway the hall's all cleared up, the others are all round at Davis', I was there too but since they were all crying and doing the worrying thing for T.K, I figured that you might need some company".
"You're right. I mean I don't wanna sound selfish here but with what's going on, I see to have been forgotten about".
"I know how that feels".
"Oh I'm sorry, you must think I'm being so petty, you've been through worse".
"Everyone has different problems, and no matter how big or small they are you still need people to help you through them. Your current problem is by no means small. Have you thought about what you're going to do about your father"?
"No, not really". Matt lied.
"You don't have to lie to me Matt, remember" Ken saw straight through him.
Matt smiled. He was about to reply but just as he opened his mouth his mobile phone rang.
"What not" He muttered as he grabbed his phone. "Hello"?
"Matt it's Joe, you'd better get back here quick"
"Why".
"Believe me you just better get back here and fast" Joe hung up. Matt stood in shock.
"It was Joe, I've gotta get back home , he sounded like it was urgent". He finally spoke up.
"I'll come with you you don't know what state your father will be in".
"Ok, we'd better hurry though".
Matt and Ken arrived at the apartment, a rather frantic looking Joe was standing by the door.
"Matt so glad you're here!, your father went mad!, he came out and yelled after you but you were already gone. He saw Akira and me and he asked us why we were nosing around his flat. Next thing I know he grabs Akira. So I follow him and he was carrying a box and Akira up the stairs, He's on the roof now". Joe gasped for breath.
Matt and Ken gulped and looked up. Thirty floors worth of drop. Matt reacted fast and darted through the door and up the numerous stairs. Ken and Joe followed behind.
Matt reached the top in record time and saw his father. The roof was flat and had a small wall going all the way around it. Mr Ishida had balanced ten bottles on a part of the wall. He had in his hands a small handgun. Akira sat on another part of the wall looking nervous. It was immediately obvious to Matt that Mr Ishida had been drinking again.
"What are you doing"? Matt yelled through the rain.
"What does it look like I'm doing"?
"I don't know that's why I asked".
MR Ishida grabbed Akira off the wall and held the gun to the shivering boy's temple.
"Get funny with me boy and I'll put a hole through your friend's head"! Mr Ishida shouted fiercely. To prove the gun was loaded he shot five of the ten bottles off the wall.
"Ok, Ok, I won't get funny, just please, let Akira go, he hasn't done anything wrong". Matt pleaded.
"What like your brother"? Mr Ishida sneered. Matt couldn't believe he had actually taken in all that stuff his father was saying about being sorry earlier on.
"Just don't hurt him please, let him go". Matt's tears were unrecognizable in the rain. "If you really want to shoot somebody, then shoot me".
"No Matt don't do it". Ken shouted, he and Joe were now stood behind him.
"I have to, if it'll save Akira".
Mr Ishida released his grip on Akira, Akira ran, he had tears streaming down his face, Joe hugged him and gave him his jumper.
"Right then boy, I saved your friend, but I won't be so nice with you". Mr Ishida snarled.
"I don't care anymore, I know now that all that stuff you said to me before in my room was a lie. You were just saying it so I'd feel sorry for you and wouldn't shop you to the cops. You messed with my head for you own benefit, heck I even felt sorry for you, you knew to play with my compassion. Well it worked, I haven't shopped you, even though I wish I had. If you kill me though right now, I know for a fact that you'll get turned in by Ken, Joe and Akira".
"Then I'll kill them too".
"RUN GUYS"! Matt yelled, the others didn't need telling twice. Mr Ishida fired the gun , and they couldn't look back.
As soon as Joe got to a phone he called the police, Ken called the other digidestined to let them know what was happening, he also called Tai as he would be worried for Matt.
Within half an hour, all the digidestined, minus T.K were standing outside the block of apartments. The police were inside the building making their way up to the roof.
I hate to think what's happening up there" Sora shuddered.
"Don't worry I'm sure Matt will be fine" Tai said trying to keep his voice even.
"I can't believe that his father is prepared to hurt another one of his sons". Mimi whispered.
"And we complain about our parents!, at least my dad never tries to kill me"! Davis tried to make a joke out of the situation.
"Go around making anymore comments like that and I'll try to kill you"! Tai warned.
"Tai's right Davis, its no laughing matter" Kari said angrily.
"For all we know Matt could be in real trouble up there" Yolei continued.
"Sorry guys I was just trying to cheer you up a little bit. I know you're all worried about Matt, especially you Tai. But don't worry, I mean I don't really know Matt that well but from what I've seen he knows how to handle things by himself. He's a strong guy, not just physically but mentally too. Nothing bad will happen, I know it, I believe in him". Davis piped up.
"Davis, that was probably, the most sincere, intelligent and sensible thing you've ever said" Tai replied.
"I think that was a compliment, I'll take it as one anyway" Davis smiled.
The others smiled too, Davis had grown a new hope in them all.
"You're not gonna kill me , you'd have done it already if were". Matt challenged. The rain had completely soaked through his clothes by now and his hair was a mop of water.
"I should have killed you the day you were born!, we never wanted you! , you were an accident. You ruined mine and Nancy's relationship".
"I don't care what you say to me anymore, you can't hurt me anymore, I've closed myself off, from people, from myself, what more do you want to do apart from kill me"?
"I've always hated you, but your slut mother couldn't wait!, she's always been a bitch"!
"Leave mom out of this"! Matt yelled.
Mr Ishida just sneered. He picked a bottle from the wall and threw it at his son.
A few shards of glass cut into Matt's face, luckily the bottle hadn't hit him full on, his dad was too drunk to aim properly. Matt ignored the pain. He just sighed.
"So are you going to do it then?, cos frankly I don't care anymore". He said sounding resigned. Blood from the cuts trickled down his face.
"So you want me to now"?
"You might as well".
Mr Ishida cocked the gun and took aim, just as he was about to fire , four police officers burst onto the roof carrying large guns.
"Ok sir, just drop the weapon". One of them ordered.
Mr Ishida reached out and grabbed Matt, he put his arm tightly around his neck and held the gun to his temple.
"Come any closer and he'll get it" he yelled.
"It's ok son, don't panic, we won't let him hurt you" One of the police officers tried to comfort Matt.
"I'm not bothered, come as close as you want, I don't care if he shoots me". Matt whispered.
Footsteps were heard running up the metal steps. In a few seconds Tai burst through the door.
"Don't shoot him sir please"! Tai pleaded. "Matt it's alright!, T.K's fine!, he's not dead, he'll be alright"! Tai shouted to his best friend.
"You shouldn't be up here" The policeman warned.
"Sorry but this guy is my best friend, and I couldn't wait for you guys to bring down his body!, can't you see Mr Ishida , this is the drink!, you wouldn't really shoot Matt, he's your son!. You can't hate him otherwise you'd have let him leave with his mom and T.K!. Please, drop the gun and don't kill him. He might act like he doesn't care, but he does, I know he does. Please don't shoot". Tai continued.
"You don't even know me kid, now shut up all of you or I'll do it"! Mr Ishida yelled.
"He'll do it Tai, it's not the drink, there's something wrong with him". Matt said coolly.
"What are you talking about"? Mr Ishida asked, shaking slightly.
"You thought I didn't know didn't you!, you thought I couldn't see it, I know dad, you're a skitso".
Mr Ishida dropped the gun, however he held his son tighter, Matt choked slightly on the sudden tight grip.
"He's right, he's right". Mr Ishida said quietly. Matt was beginning to turn red in the face.
"Just drop the boy sir". The police officer ordered.
Mr Ishida let his son fall onto the hard, wet ground. Matt had fainted a couple of seconds before. Tai rushed over to his friend and hugged his limp body, the tears running down his face as he rocked him.
The police officers slowly advanced on Mr Ishida, who was now on his knees sobbing.
"Tai was stupid to go up there!, but did he listen?, no"! Joe said erratically pacing.
"Joe stop it, you're making us dizzy". Yolei put her hands on Joe's shoulders to stop him.
"All we can do is hope for the best" Izzy said gravely.
"I can't believe it's his own father" Sora muttered.
"And we all complain about our parents, who knows what Matt has had to go through these past months, or even years" Mimi said sadly.
Davis was busy holding a sobbing Kari, he was making the best out of the situation by hugging her back and comforting her.
"The police will want our statements" Ken said crushing his Styrofoam cup in his hands.
"Hey where's Akira"? Cody asked.
"His parents took him to the hospital for a check over". Yolei replied.
The group fell silent when they heard a sobbing noise. This time it wasn't Kari, she had stopped to hear who it was.
Then, Tai walked out of the apartment, in his arms, lay the cold, limp body of Matt.
"Mum what's going on"? T.K asked his mother, Nancy.
"Nothing baby, everything's fine". She didn't feel the need to worry him.
"Where's Matt"?
"He's just…gone….to get something to eat, he'll be here soon, don't worry". Nancy prayed that something had happened since she had gotten that call from Tai. All he had said was that Matt and his father was having some sort of argument on a rooftop and the police were involved.
"What do I do about dad". T.K asked, breaking the silence that had fallen.
"I can't make that decision for you, that's something that you have to decide".
"I want him to go to jail for what he's done to me and Matt but another part of me doesn't want him to go to jail because Matt would be alone then".
"He'd come and live with us T.K, I would never see him on the streets".
"But he loves dad, and that's all he's known for years. I'd hate to take that away from him, but then I think about how dad must have treated Matt all these years. I don't know what to do".
"You're tired T.K, you should think about this when you've had some sleep". Nancy stroked her son's forehead gently, willing her mobile phone to ring.
Tai handed Matt to Joe, he sat down and Joe put Matt back into Tai's arms. The rain on the pavement came through Tai's jeans but he didn't care, he sat cradling his best friend.
"What happened"? Sora asked.
"He just…….collapsed". Tai sobbed. "C'mon Matt wake up, get up, you have to. God look at his face, all those cuts. Matt c'mon, please".
"It was probably the shock of the ordeal" Joe suggested.
The others nodded sadly.
"The poor guy" Ken muttered.
Tai had stopped crying, he was sure he heard a sound from Matt, he bent over his closer, listening.
He had, it was a cough, Matt coughed again, louder, and this time he opened his eyes.
"T….Tai"? He said quietly.
"Matt, you're gonna be alright now". Tai said happily. The others cheered.
Matt pulled himself into a sitting position and with the help of Tai, stood up.
"Must have gone out there for a second" He said more to himself than anyone.
"Yeah and worried us silly"! Tai added.
Matt took a playful swing at Tai. It missed.
"Oh, Ishida you're losing it"! Tai joked.
Matt was about to laugh, before he saw the policemen come out of the apartment. Two of them held Mr Ishida. Matt stared coldly at his father. He father caught this and yelled at his son.
"YOU'D BETTER HOPE I'M GOING DOWN FOR A LONG TIME BOY, COS WHEN I GET OUT YOU BETTER WATCH YOUR BACK" The policemen pushed him into the back of the van and closed the doors.
"He's not gonna scare me anymore" Matt said as he shook violently. Tai put his arms around him.
"You're safe now" He whispered into his ear.
"Thanks Tai, I'd have probably been dead now if you hadn't have come up onto the roof, you saved my life and I'll be grateful for that forever". Matt turned to face his friend. He looked into Tai's deep brown eyes. Tai looked back into Matt's azure eyes, before either of them knew what was happening, they were kissing.
The others gasped, shocked at the sight in front of them. Tai broke away and looked at the others, his cheeks bright red.
"Do you guys mind? , we were having a moment here" Matt replied coolly, he put his arms around Tai.
"Matt I didn't even know you were………." Tai began
"Shut up Kamiya" Matt smiled as he drew Tai in for another kiss.
Two weeks later, all of the digidestined were at Tai's house. Matt was late again.
"Anyone get the feeling of déjà vu"? Sora asked.
"Gee Tai, you'd think that you'd have some control over that boyfriend of yours" Kari laughed. Tai threw a cushion at her.
"T.K did he leave the same time as you"? Joe asked.
"No, he was holed up in his room, he told me to leave and that he'd catch up with me, obviously he never did". T.K replied.
"I hope he's alright , you know after all that's happened" Mimi said worriedly.
"He's fine, he a tough guy. He wouldn't let something like this stop him". Ken remarked.
"I still can't believe what my dad did" T.K stared out of the window.
"I know, what's the latest on that anyway" Cody asked.
"He's got to have some tests, you know for his head. He's still under arrest though, but they're taking into account that he has a mental problem. At least Matt's safe with us now, he never has to think about dad again" T.K said firmly. He moved away from the window and sat back down, next to Kari, they were unofficially an item.
The group jumped in shock when something hit the apartment window. Tai angrily opened it and looked down. A smile came to his lips though when he saw what was at the bottom.
Matt stood with Toshiki, they both had their guitars with them, they had set up and amp and a mic in the street.
"A beautiful serenade" Matt spoke into the microphone. His face was still stitched where the deeper cuts were.
Tai stepped out onto the balcony, the others followed too and stood crushed together as Matt and Toshiki started to play.
Out of all those boys, you're not like the others
From the very first day, I knew we'd be lovers
In my wildest dreams , my darkest desires
Would I declare to you , your love takes me higher
Just when we both thought our lives we set in stone
They shone a light, and brought us together
We are two in a million
We got all the luck
We could be given
If the world should stop
We'll still have each other
And no matter what
We'll be forever as one
It's a crazy world where everything's changin'
One minute you're up and the next thing you're brakin'
When I lose my way and the skies they heavy
It be ok the moment you're with me
No one would have guessed we'd be standing strong today
Solid as a rock and perfect in every way
We are two in a million
We got all the luck
We could be given
If the world should stop
We'd still have each other
And no matter what
We'll be forever as one
We are two in a million
We got all the luck
We could be given
If the world should stop
We'd still have each other
And no matter what
We'll be forever as one
"That was for you Tai" Matt whispered into the mic.
"And you too Mimi" Toshiki grinned.
"I knew you had an ulterior motive"! Matt laughed.
The balcony had fallen silent. A few of the digidestined had tears in their eyes. No-one more than Tai though. He pushed past the others , ran through the apartment and down all the stairs , not wanting to wait for the lift.
He got to the bottom, ran out onto the pavement and straight into Matt's arms.
The digidestined cheered happily.
Someone had followed Tai though. Mimi.
"Toshiki that was beautiful. I never knew you felt that way". She said gently.
"Now you do" Toshiki smiled his best smile. He and Mimi fell into each others arms and kissed.
Tai and Matt broke apart.
"You wanna know something Tai Kamiya"?
"What Matt Ishida"?
"I love you".
"And I love you too".
That was how they stayed, in each other's arms, for eternity.
THE END