(Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, items, shows etc. within my stories unless stated otherwise in my profile.)

Just another one-shot: The murderer's escape.

A Digimon Adventure AU.

Parklea Maximum Security Prison, New South Wales, Australia.

"They call this place maximum security…" A man huffed. He ran down a dark corridor until he saw a doorway leading outside and slowed his pace a little. Coming to the door he peered out slowly and saw two men with guns walking in his direction. He ducked back into the corridor and hoped to god they hadn't spotted him and let out a silent sigh of relief when they walked straight past.

Glancing out one more time before he ran, he spotted no one except a searchlight, which was easily avoidable for him; he ducked out and walked along the wall till he came to the edge. He carefully looked around the corner before making a mad dash for the corner of the wall that was supposed to keep people like him enclosed in.

He jumped up and gripped the top of the concrete wall, thankful that he was taller than most men his age. (Excluding his hair.) As he tried to pull himself up, said hair brushed the top of what he thought to be a spiral, and sure enough when he had hauled himself up onto the top he saw razor wire.

Looking down the lengths of the wall he couldn't spot any part where it stopped. 'No pain, no gain.' He sighed mentally. He pulled himself all the way up and had already felt the wire cut into his flesh. Through gritted teeth he launched himself off of the wall and landed on the hard ground.

Through all the pain his arms and legs had suffered from the razor wire he still managed to pump his fist in the air, having his own mini celebration in his head. He was broken out of his thoughts when dogs started to bark and a siren sounded throughout the prison. He jumped to his feet and ripped off parts of his orange jumpsuit. He ripped at the sleeves and legs, having successfully tared it; he tied it around as many cuts as he could before running off under the covers off the moonlight and trees.

'Now off to the most crowded place I can think of…'

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The next day.

"Here's the rent Mr Walters." A twenty year old Japanese woman by the name of Sora Takenouchi pulled a few notes out of her orange button-up shirt pocket and handed it to an ageing man. He was around his late sixties with a receding hairline that didn't leave much of his white fluffy hair atop his head.

"Thank you Sora. Always on time with it you are." The old man replied. Sora nodded and turned around to face a door with the number two on it. She pulled a set of keys out of the back pocket of her jeans and opened the door.

Walking inside, she carefully shut the door behind her and placed her keys in a bowl that sat on a small brown stand beside the door. She sighed peacefully and made her way into the kitchen, placing her black handbag on the counter as she did so. Opening the fridge, she grabbed out a carton of orange juice and drank a mouthful, not bothering to grab a cup from the cupboards.

After placing it back in the door of the fridge, she made her way to the lounge room and slumped down into the leather couch. She silently thanked whatever god there was that it wasn't hot so her exposed arms wouldn't stick to it. After lazily reaching for the remote and flicking through the channels, she stopped on one that clearly labelled it as channel nine. A new report was on and a man in a black suit and white shirt was addressing a matter of 'rent crises'. He rambled on about how Australian residents were paying too much and she was about to change the channel before his next topic caught her attention.

"Late last night a man escaped from Parklea Maximum Security Prison. When the guards went around for cell inspections, he was not found in his room and so the guards sounded the alarm and went on a search, yielding nothing. The warden had this to say:"

The screen then changed to one of a man wearing a white button-up shirt that had the first few buttons undone. He was sitting in an office chair across from the camera man and his desk had papers and coffee cups scattered about it, obvious signs of a long night trying to track the man down.

"The dogs were brought out and it seems he had jumped the concrete wall. The razor wire had bloodstains on it so he must have been injured somewhat. We weren't able to track him past Stanhope Gardens, the neighbouring suburb, and if anyone has seen this man, can you please inform us straight away. He is very volatile and was incarcerated for first degree murder."

The screen changed once again. This time it was a photo of a man about Sora's age. He had massive brown hair that stuck up in all directions and piercing brown eyes to match. In his hands was a black board that held his name, Tai Kamiya, race, Japanese, and age, twenty. Sora shook her head in disbelief that someone could escape from a supposed maximum security prison. She brushed her orange shoulder length hair from her face and turned the television off.

"I thought there were a lot of dangerous criminals in Japan. By the looks of it, that place was packed full…" She sighed. Sora lied there in the blissful silence, enjoying the peace and serenity of her apartment. She kicked off her white and blue trainers and placed her feet on the low coffee table. She stretched her arms and closed her eyes, content on not doing anything unnecessary for the rest of her Saturday afternoon.

Sydney, Darling Harbour, New South Wales. The Next Day.

Sora had decided late last night that she would travel down to Darling Harbour and would sit on the docks while she had lunch. And right now, she was doing just that. She sighed at the now expected sight that sat before her. There was a group of seagulls in front of her, watching her expectantly, hoping the woman would throw her chips to them. Some even found the bravery to approach her.

"The good thing is the fish and chips. The bad thing is you guys…" Sora said softly to the annoyances that had gathered about her. Sighing once more, she threw some chips into the fray; all of the seagulls flocked to them and fought over them until the victors had gobbled them down greedily without remorse or sympathy for their starving comrades.

Sora took her chance to escape and stood up, straightening out her light blue skirt and dusting off the back of her white tee, even though there wasn't anything there. She found herself walking around the city streets for a few hours looking at the stores and people as she passed them by.

A tall man in a blue shirt with yellow lined sleeves and jeans bumped into her on his way out of a music store labelled 'Utopia'. He apologized to her in a low voice and offered out his hand to help her up. Realizing she was sitting on the ground she fixed her skirt quickly before standing up to face the man who had knocked her over. He was wearing a blue headband around his forehead with a pair of goggles sitting on top of it, a small tuft of hair sat between his eyes under the headband but it didn't seem to distract his vision at all.

He was still standing there with his hand out awkwardly until she had stood up to face him. "You should really watch where you're going in the future." She said a little too harshly.

"I'm sorry, I was in a hurry." He apologized. Sora looked into his green eyes and saw truth behind them so she apologized herself for being so rude.

"I shouldn't have snapped like that. Hey… Haven't I seen you somewhere before?" She wondered, the man looked nervous after she had said that, as if he were hoping she didn't. That's when Sora noticed it for the first time; the large pile of brown hair that sat atop his head.

"Oh my god…" She gasped. Recognizing the man as Tai Kamiya, the criminal wanted for murder and escaping prison. He grabbed her hand and ran down the street. Sora wanted desperately to scream but just couldn't find the voice so she just ran along with him. Why she was running with him instead of trying to get away from him was beyond her, maybe it was the fear of him hurting her, or maybe it was just the spur of the moment.

He ducked into an alleyway that was a lot closer to the harbour than their previous location and placed his hand over her mouth tightly. "I'm going to move my hand if you promise not to scream…" He whispered calmly in her ear. Sora nodded in agreement, not wanting Tai to hurt her in any way.

He slowly moved his hand away from her mouth and she let go of the breath she was holding in, making Tai flinch as he thought she were going to scream at the top of her lungs.

"W-What are you going to do to me?" She stammered, scared out of her wits.

"Nothing, as long as you come with me." He replied.

"And w-what if I d-don't?" She asked shakily, resisting the urge to scream for help.

"Nothing, I never meant to hurt anyone that badly in the first place..." He said quietly. Tai lowered his head as a few tears fell from beneath his hair that had fallen down. Sora noticed this and was confused at what she was to do. Did she run while she had the chance? Did she comfort him? Eventually her nurturing side took over and she moved to place the man in an embrace. He made no move to return it however and Sora felt more than awkward at hugging a murderer in an alleyway in the late afternoon.

"He was after my sister…" He said softly.

"I'm sorry?" Sora asked, gesturing for him to repeat himself.

"Her ex… He was mad at her for breaking up with him and went to hit her so I grabbed a slab of wood and hit him on the head. He wasn't meant to die!" Tai semi-shouted through his slowing tears.

"Then why were you sentenced for first degree murder if it wasn't intentional? Isn't that supposed to be involuntary manslaughter or something?" Sora asked. She thought it wasn't fair that he was sentenced wrong but she wasn't sure if she believed him either but a look that he gave her told her all she needed to know.

"I pleaded guilty to the judge and was still sentenced as first degree. Just an unfair system they were running." He sobbed.

Sora had undying sympathy for him and decided to act on said sympathy. "Do you have somewhere to stay?" Tai just shook his head sideways.

"Why don't you come back to my apartment then?" Sora offered. Tai was astounded to say the least; he wasn't expecting a stranger to put him up for the night especially if they knew he had killed someone.

"I…I don't…" He stammered, trying to find the right words.

"Just say yes." Sora said, walking out of the alleyway with a newfound confidence.

Sydney, New South Wales, Sora's Apartment.

"Ah, Sora! It's nice to see you brining a boy back for once. Living alone gets quite tedious after a while, eh." Mr Walters called out as he saw the woman walk towards her apartment with a man that seemed to be her age.

"Thank you, Mr Walters." She muttered silently, giving the old man a brief wave, as a blush formed on her cheeks while she opened her apartment's door, Tai giving off a small chuckle.

"I assume you don't have a boyfriend then." Tai noted, the orange haired woman shaking her head.

They walked inside and Sora offered him a seat on the lounge while she went into the kitchen to make some coffee. He waited about rather uncomfortable before settling down a bit. Sora walked out with a tray that had two plain white mugs on them, setting each one down on a black coaster. She clasped hers in her two hands and sipped at it, giving off a relaxed sigh. To anyone else she might have been just a little too relaxed giving she was now harbouring a criminal.

Tai followed suit and picked up the other mug and sipped at it graciously, he too sighing in pleasure. "I'll be out of your hair tomorrow, I swear." Tai's voice echoed slightly seeing as how close his mouth was to the half empty mug. His sip apparently being a massive gulp.

"As much as I detest what I'm doing, I can see in your eyes that you're being sincere." Sora said after glancing out the window beside the TV for a few seconds. Tai just looked down into his beverage, staring at how it slowly stirred in his unsteady grip.

"Speaking of your eyes, on the news I could've sworn they were brown." She stated, he brought his green eyes up to her crimson ones and simply said. "Coloured contacts."

"Where'd you get the money for… Actually, I don't want to know." Sora finished her statement off with an inaudible sigh. "People are still going to notice you by your hairstyle…" She pointed out.

"I know, I was on my way to get it cut when I saw that music store and couldn't resist going in there. It's too bad, I really like my hair. Wearing these won't be the same either…" He mumbled, sliding his goggles down so they hung around his neck.

"That's a strange thing to wear the entire time, even back home in Japan." Sora stated.

"You're from Japan too?" He asked receiving a nod in reply. "Huh… Small world." He chuckled after finishing off his coffee. He took both his and Sora's mugs into the kitchen and assumed that it was right to sit them on the bench next to the sink.

"What a gentleman." Sora smirked, making the man chuckle nervously. Never did she ever expect to tease or make small-talk with someone who had only escaped from a maximum security prison just the other day.

"Now tell me how you escaped from the prison. I thought it was supposed to be locked up tight being maximum security and all." She had wondered this quite a few times on the walk back to her apartment but decided to save it for later, being now.

"Part of the wall in my cell was coming away so I grabbed the debris and bashed my door until the lock smashed and it swung open. Climbing the fence was the hardest part." Tai explained.

"You used part of a wall to smash your door open? I was expecting a long escape plan that was expanded over at least a few weeks…" Sora said to Tai's amusement.

"You watch too many movies." He joked, the girl sighing because it just dawned on her that she did actually watch too many movies.

'One of the perks of moving here on my own…' She thought glumly, not showing the emotion on the outside.

"I'm guessing the fence was high?" She questioned, determined to find out more about his escape.

"I guess so, I was able to grab onto the top by jumping as high as I could. The razor wire hurt like hell though…" He pulled up his sleeves and his pant legs and Sora saw the parts from the orange jumpsuit that was poorly tied around them in a quick attempt at dressing a wound.

Sora took on a worried look and grabbed him by the arm, taking him down a hallway and into the bathroom. She walked out and came back in with a chair and forced him to sit down.

"Take off those poor excuses for bandages." She commanded, the man complying with her order. Sora turned to the mirror and clasped the side, she tugged it open to reveal the cabinet that was placed behind it. There were bottles of medicine, toothbrushes, hairbrushes, razors and other common bathroom items stacked in there.

The woman grabbed out a conveniently placed first aid kit and pulled out a bottle of cream and some white bandages.

"This might sting a little…" She mumbled. She cut some of the bandage off with some scissors that were also in the kit and put some cream on it. She dabbed the cream covered bandage onto some of his cuts that were still showing signs of bleeding and Tai yelped.

"Oh, grow up." She teased. She dabbed it a little softer after the boy had made a 'smart' comment about how she was trying to kill him before reality caught up with him and he frowned deeply.

"I can see that you regret it, Tai. But you can't change anything now." Sora tried her best to comfort the boy to some success when he looked at her and gave her a weak smile.

"There are just some things in life that we wish we hadn't done…" He sighed. He took only slight notice when Sora wrapped his whole arms and part of his calves in bandages, almost running out of them. "I still don't get why you're doing so much for a guy who, if the police find, are going to throw back in jail alongside you for helping."

"It was an accident and what they incarcerated you for was unfair but you did take someone's life, and that's one thing that can't be replaced but still, I rest my case on the whole, unfair imprisonment thing." She noticed that the man had taken on a glum look again. "Besides, you're kinda cute." She added, a blush appearing on her cheeks as well as Tai's.

"Now let's get rid of this mop." She said, running her hands through his soft chocolate hair.

"Hey!" He complained as Sora pulled out the scissors once again with an evil smile to boot.

Half an Hour Later…

Sora now sat in the lounge room of her apartment with an indigo blanket draped over her body. She had one arm rested on the armrest and the other sitting on her legs which where lied out next to her but also curled up to give some room to the man with short, spiked brown hair and brown eyes that sat next to her, bandages covering his arms and the lower parts of his legs.

"I guess you were right…" Tai noted as he ran his hand through his newly trimmed hair, his attention still focused on the TV that was playing the Digimon movie 'Runaway Locomon'. A movie from one of Sora's favourite childhood anime, Digimon Tamers.

"Right about what?" She asked, shifting her leg around to her other side and moving closer to the man, throwing the blanket over him too.

"About my head feeling lighter, but it felt weird when I put my goggles and headband on though, like I said it would." He replied, looking to the two items that he had tried on before but ended up placing them on the table instead.

"Of course I was right, I'm always right." Sora smirked, looking up into the man's brown eyes.

"You think so?" He asked in a teasing tone.

"I know so." She answered smugly.

"Well what's the meaning to life then?"

"Forty two." The orange haired woman replied, still looking into his eyes that showed his inner frailness, despite how strong he tried to be on the outside.

The two found each other leaning in closer to one another and before Tai knew it, he felt a warm feeling against his lips. His eyes widened in surprise as he looked to Sora's eyes that were closed. He too closed his after a few seconds and they both enjoyed the blissful moment, Tai lightly caressing her hair with a hand that he placed behind her head. As they both reluctantly pulled away from each other, Tai went to say something but was hushed by the woman who he had shared the moment with.

"Don't ruin the moment." She said softly. "Stupid Tai." She smirked, placing her head on the man's shoulder and peacefully going back to the movie as Tai did the same with a goofy smile on his face.

The End.

So, how was it? I fell asleep at my desk earlier and dreamt it up. I spent the day writing it up as well as planning for my other stories and working on their chapters. If you can't imagine Tai's hair then picture it how it was at the end of 02.

If I ever write another one-shot or continue on from one (this one for example I may continue, don't hold me to it though) it will be placed here. I will put other one-shots besides Digimon one's here too. e.g. Pokémon et cetera…

Thanks for reading/reviewing!

-DW96