Ooh, another fic by yours truly. This one I hope will be a bit different from Addicted to You, the third chapter which I've already more than half finished! Hmmm, hopefully you'll like this one…eh?

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or the characters, unfortunately…

Lacrimosa

Cold and lifeless, the corpse lay sprawled amidst the glistening marble. The dull, yellowed eyes stared vacantly out into the void above them and the black lips seemed to still gasp for air. His skin had a dark blue green tint to it, and the gases left in the body had swelled the cadaver up to epic proportions.

Jyou Kido was not a large man. In fact, he was always this emaciated figure, a man too thin to fill his clothes properly. His thin statute never did help his nervous character, either; his long, slender fingers always intensified the anxiety in which he twiddled them, and he always seemed to be trembling on his legs, 'stilts', they used to be called.

Even now as he lay there, stiff and hard with rigor-mortis, he couldn't rid himself of that nervous façade.

Turning away, Tai returned to the large and spacious living room where Jyou's widow sat crying into his partner, Sora's shoulder.

"Have you…?" Sora started hesitantly upon his emergence, her large crimson eyes poring into his own. Tai gritted his teeth and gave a terse, little nod.

"Yeah, they'll be right over." He seated himself at an armchair across from the two women and sat pondering over the death of the respected surgeon. It was apparent that Kido was murdered, most likely from some form of poisoning. The black lips and the blue face, the bulging eyes…

Tai wondered if Jyou knew, during his last moments, what he was dying of.

Sora could see, in the dim light, that Tai was deep in thought. Comfortably reclined in the armchair, his chin resting slightly in the groove made between the thumb and forefinger, his large, animated, chocolate colored eyes gazed unblinkingly at the large wedding protrait hanging at the far end of the room. His necktie was pulled loose, and the top button of his shirt was undone, exposing his sculptured neck and collar line.

All the playful, cheerful demeanor that usually occupied his face was gone, and Sora found this serious Tai, silent Tai, very attractive.

She blushed a deep scarlet when she realized what she was thinking about. 'Not now, not here,' muttered Sora inwardly to herself. How can she, after all, when her best friend's husband, and not to mention, her own close friend, lay dead in cold blood?

Sora looked down at her best friend, Mimi, leaning against her shoulder for support, and felt a rush of commiseration for the poor woman. They had married almost six months ago, in a flurry of whimsical romance. He was good to her, showered her with love; any bystander would have known without really knowing that this man, Jyou Kido, was enamored and infatuated with her. Who wouldn't be? Tachikawa Mimi was a gorgeous creature, ethereal and strikingly pretty, with all the mannerisms and decorum of an angel.

And she too was soon won over by his constant doting on her. Gifts that sent heads spinning, getaways to exotic places, romantic events…Love. By the time of their marriage, she too was infatuated, and for the past six months lived the fairytale life of the picturesque marriage.

Jyou's sudden death had shattered that picture and Sora sat amazed at the unexpected death. In fact, just four days ago, the Kidos, Sora, Tai and a couple of their other friends spent languid, happy days together vacationing at an exclusive island resort. Jyou had to cut his vacation short on accont of a hospital emergency but had encouraged his wife to stay and enjoy herself for the remaining four days left. Even when he returned to the Kido residence back in the mainland States, his presence was felt, especially more so when they were met every morning with a fresh, newly cut array of seasonal flowers. An additional thousand pink roses were sent to his beloved.

And now he ceased to live. Sora still couldn't fathom it and numbly gave Mimi a tight squeeze.

The loud and splitting wails of police cars woke Sora up from her reverie and she shook her head slightly. Across the room, an extensively carved marble antique coffe table and a lovely oriental carpet away, Sora saw Tai wake up from his own reverie and glide over to the main foyer.

The blue and red police lights flickered in through the large glass windows and illuminated various framed photos around the room. Jyou and Mimi on their honeymoon, Mimi on the Brooklyn Bridge, Mimi and Sora vacationing in Costa Rica, Jyou trying to be brave as he dared to bungee jump in New Zealand…

Mimi watched the uniformed men and women rush around her house in a dazed stupor. Everyone seemed to be moving in slow motion, as if underwater. She vaguely acknowledged the people around her, and when asked questions, she had answered them.

"When did you find him like this?"

"At what time?"

"Do you know any one who might have wanted to kill him?"

"Anyone you can think of that he was on bad terms with?"

"Did you two have any strains in the marriage?"

"Where were you eight hours earlier?"

The last question came as a blow to her. She broke down; she couldn't handle the accusing eyes of the investigator. If there was one think she knew, it was that she never would have killed her husband. Sora had come to her rescue, telling the investigator that Mimi was with her, on the plane on their way back home after a long vacation in the Cook islands. They took her word, of course.

That was an hour ago. That was before it got hectic.

One of the officers that came brought with him a K9 German Shephard that immediately started to bark excitedly. Inside her house, in rooms she didn't even know existed, nine hundred pounds of cocaine and some classified blue prints were reportedly found.

She felt like laughing. It was so absurd. Respectable citizen Jyou, renowned surgeon Jyou, drug lord and underworld boss Jyou.

Adulterous, scandalous Jyou.

He did love her, he really did. But he also loved countless other women too. In his study, behind the large portrait of Mimi on her wedding day, was a safe containing hundreds of love stricken letters and scandalous photographs of girls from all over the world: France, Germany, England, China, Japan, Taiwan, Brazil….

Also included in the safe was a letter to the authorities, telling them that Mimi had nothing to do with his illegal trade. That Mimi was innocent. That Mimi didn't even know of his doings. Please don't hurt Mimi…

A tear threatened to fall. She didn't wipe it away.

Angel. That was the first thing that came to mind when Yamato laid his eyes on the newly widowed Mimi. The dim, golden light emanating from an ivory antique lamp illuminated her lovely features and gave her long, wavy chestnut hair a luminous glow. Unshed tears made her honey colored eyes seem translucent, and he realized for the first time how clean and smooth her skin was, like porcelain or ivory.

It was rather silly of him, he knew, but he felt an overwhelming desire to reach out and hold her. It was silly of him to harbor any romantic feelings towards this beautiful creature, but he did anyway.

Besides, love was filled to the brim with silly things. And people didn't shun love.

So he went over to her and held her. A few moments later, to his surprise, she held him back, resting her head against his chest. He breathed in deeply the smell of her perfume and closed his eyes.

It was a bittersweet moment.

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