Love or Hate? (Part 1)
By Firenze
A/N: A lame title for another poorly written drama-ish fic from me...but what do you really expect of my fics but that anyway? I got this idea from reading "Home For Christmas: Gennai's Angels" by White Tiger Lady. It's one of my more dramatic romances, which ultimately means... Run and hide! Dramas are one of my weakest points, though I have tons, such as titles (just look at how un/non/in/whatever is the prefix for not original this one is; I had a brain fart, but I think it's un), endings, scary stories, humor, and many, many, many, MANY more. Hey, guess what? I finally have a New Year's Resolution for the first time in my life. I will *NOT* insult my fics, no matter how bad they are. That means much less rambling from me in the new 'real' 2nd millenium! And it also means I won't be successful with my first resolution ever. Anywho, this is more soap-opera-ish than my normal fluffy fics. Except in the beginning, where it's SO typical-teenager-girly-girl-slumber-party-ishness that it made me sick while writing it. Oh, and it's a Taiora...or is it? *The "Twilight Zone" theme song plays* Heh, I'm a loser. Ever since that one play at our school -- you know what? I swear I'll shut up now, and add 'stop rambling in author's notes' to my resolution list. Now, please, read the fic!
Disclaimer: Tai, Sora, all the rest of them...they belong to me! Yup, I got them for Christmas...in my dreams. Actually, in my dreams, I got a Razor scooter and a robotic dog (not the cool Sony kind)...am I seriously the only child in the world who doesn't want either of those? However, in my good dreams, I got a PlayStation2 and a really good computer... But what I really got was all clothes, a book, and some money. But my brother got a singing fish, so I actually think mine were pretty okay. Owning Digimon would be the greatest gift though. Hear that, Toei, Saban? If you ever get sick of 'em, just pass it onto me...just kidding. Ha, now I'll be rambling in the disclaimer instead of the author's notes...
+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^
Four teenager girls were in a huge, all pink room, giggling and gossiping, painting their nails, braiding hair, and having a typical girl slumber party. It was "Princess" Mimi Tachikawa's first birthday since she had moved back to Japan from New York, and she wanted it to be the biggest and best girl party ever...without boys! However, the subject of boys was bound to come up many, many, many times during the night. It hadn't once yet, though, but it definitely would. Yes indeed, soon it would.
Sora Takenouchi sat on Mimi's comfortable canopy bed, sifting through her magazine rack. Seventeen, Teen People, Cosmopolitan, Vogue, and tons more fashion and teen magazines were all she owned. She came across a Reader's Digest, and wondered how it possibly was in there. "Mimi, do you have anything that isn't about clothes, makeup, hair, style, and fashion?" she asked.
"Of course not!" Mimi said with a laugh. "What did you expect? Plus, that's the theme of this party! What are you doing there, Sora? Don't tell me you haven't had a facial yet!" Mimi's face was coated in green goop.
"What do we need facials for?" she asked. "To reduce wrinkles and keep us looking young? We're only teenagers!"
"Sora, you're sixteen, the oldest of all of us and the only one with a license to drive," Miyako Inoue said, "and yet you're the one who doesn't care a bit about anything girly."
"I can be girly," she argued. "Just because I'm not caked in makeup, drenched in perfume, with wild nail polish colors, and wearing high heels and pink, glitzy, glittery, glamorous outfits doesn't mean I'm not a girl. I'm just not into this kind of stuff."
"You wear skirts and some makeup now, which is a lot better than your tomboy look, but it's still not enough," Mimi replied, putting the nail polish brush down, holding her hand up, and blowing on her nails. "Come here and we'll give you a makeover."
"But I don't want a makeover," she protested, hugging one of Mimi's soft, goose feather down pillows. "I don't care about looking chic and fashionable. I just like comfortable, casual clothes...and I'm not saying I want to go around wearing baggy jean overalls and flannel shirts"--Mimi shuddered--"but I don't want to kill myself wearing spike heels, a skimpy dress, and a thong. I don't believe beauty should make you hurt."
"She's so misguided," Hikari Yagami said with a sigh. "Sora, what are we going to do with you?"
"Just let me stay with my occasional skirts, the body splash every so once in a while, lip gloss, and the tiniest bit of eye shadow," she told them.
"You shouldn't be looking quite so cute and bubblegum-ish and innocent," Mimi said. "Would it kill you to look more sexy and stunning?"
"Sexy and stunning don't belong in the same sentence with my name," Sora told them, "unless you mean that I'm not."
"We just HAVE to give you a makeover," Miyako begged. "Don't you want to impress whoever you have a crush on?"
"Wait a second," Hikari cut in. She temporarily stopped braiding Miyako's long, violet hair. "Who DOES she have a crush on?"
"Yeah, Sora," Mimi said thoughtfully. "You never told us who you liked, even though we know that Hikari obviously loves Takeru, Miyako has a crush on Ken, and I like -- and I like -- well, who do you like, Sora?"
"Just hold it there, 'Princess,'" she said sarcastically. "You never bothered to mention who YOU had your eye on."
"She's right!" Miyako cried. "Oh, Mimi, who do you like? Is it Michael? Is it Yamato?"
Mimi blushed deeply, but the heavy cream covered it. "No, it's not Michael or Yamato...even though Yamato is really hot and I typically go for blondes...but..."
"But?" all three girls prompted.
She felt her face getting hotter...if she had cucumbers on her eyes, they'd probably start to sizzle. "But I'm in love with--"
"Oooh, LOVE!" Hikari squealed. "Come on, tell us, Mimi! We won't tell, you can trust us! We're your best friends! Please?"
"Okay, you wouldn't ever expect this from me...since I normally go for the hottest, best looking guys, right? But I'm not as shallow as everyone thinks"--(Do you know how hard it was for me to write that?)--"and well, I always thought he was kind of cute in his own nerdy way... Actually now, he's very hot, but it wasn't that way in the beginning..."
"In the beginning of when?" Miyako asked.
"Mimi, are you talking about one of our former Digidestined members?" Sora asked, a sparkle in her ruby eyes. "Nerdy, huh? Oh, Mimi, you're in love with Jyou Kido!"
All the girls shrieked in excitement. "Mimi loves Jyou!"
The bright scarlet on her face was almost showing. "Okay, okay, I'm in love with Jyou," she admitted. "But who do YOU like, Sora?" she asked once again, trying to tear the attention away from herself, for once.
Sora wasn't blushing; in fact, she remained rather neutral. The grin did leave her face though, and she pretended to be interested in the magazines again.
"Please, Sora, *I* confessed who I liked!" Mimi whined. "You HAVE to tell us! It's only fair."
"But I don't like anyone," she said quietly.
"What a load of crap," Miyako remarked rudely. "Oh, Sora, that is such bull. Just admit who you like already and we'll stop pestering you about it."
"But it IS true," she said softly, hugging the pillow tighter. Her eyes began to get distant. "In fact, I haven't loved anyone in a while."
"LOVE?" Hikari asked again. "You're in love too?"
"She's probably in love with someone like Yamato," Miyako guessed. "The blonde-haired, blue-eyed heart throb seems like her type."
"You're confusing me with Hikari," Sora mumbled.
"Could it be Koushiro?" Hikari asked. "She doesn't seem to go for looks only. The intelligent kind seems more of her type."
"No, that's Miyako! I don't have a type!" she insisted. "I don't even know my type myself! Because I don't like anyone!"
"She's lying when she says it's no one. That is SO the typical approach," Mimi said matter-of-factly. "She would never tell me who she liked, especially in the Digiworld. She says 'no one' every time."
"But I mean it this time!" she said desperately. "Just give it up, okay?"
"Ha, she really doesn't know us, does she?" Hikari laughed. "Sora, if you tell us, it'll be so much easier. Or else we'll have to spend all night getting it out of you. And we won't stop, will we, girls?"
"NOPE!" Mimi and Miyako chorused.
Hikari studied Sora's quite blank face very intensely. "Now who are you in love with? Hmmm..." She gazed into the older girl's eyes, trying to read her mind. Then she closed her makeup covered eyes and concentrated deeply. "Oh my god, I've got it!" she exclaimed after a while.
"You do?" Mimi and Miyako, still speaking as one, asked in incredulity. "Really?"
"Really!" she said. "Oh my gosh, why didn't I think of this sooner? It was SO obvious!"
"Who is it?" Mimi asked eagerly.
"Yes, 'Kari, spill it!" Miyako added.
"The one Sora loves, the one she has ALWAYS loved, is none other than--" She gave a dramatic pause for suspense, and Mimi and Miyako held their breaths in. "My older brother, Taichi!"
"OF COURSE!" Mimi and Miyako screamed.
"Why couldn't we figure it out earlier?" Mimi said. "That's the most obvious one besides Takeru and Hikari!"
"Taichi, DUH!" Miyako said. "I didn't even have to be with you the first time you went to the Digiworld to figure that one out!"
All three girls looked towards Sora anticipatingly (ha, I made that word up, but you get the point). They expected to see a huge red blush spread across her face. A shy, but wide, and embarrassed smile. And what did they see?
A deadpan. Her face was more void of emotion than a robot's ever could be. It was totally impossible to perceive any sort of expression on her face. Except for that fact that her eyes, which always held the true source of feelings, looked quite...misty? The faintest glimmer of tears lined her ruby eyes. Was she...sad?
However, the girls could not understand it. Maybe she was feeling crestfallen because they had discovered her secret, maybe one that she wanted to keep that way. Possibly her feelings for Taichi were so deep and emotional that she didn't wish it to be treated like mindless, girlish bathroom gossip. What was it that had made her so suddenly sad? The mention of 'crush' had already brought some depression to her when they first brought it up. What was the matter?
Instead of trying to find out, they kept on bugging her.
Mimi broke out into a childish song of, "Sora and Taichi sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage!"
"Mrs. Sora Takenouchi Yagami," Hikari noticed. "That sounds really nice. Wouldn't that be terrific, Sora? We'd be sisters-in-law!"
Miyako giggled wildly. "Sora Takenouchi, do you take Taichi Yagami to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
To their surprise, Sora gave a reply. But it was too faint to hear or make heads or tails of.
"Repeat that again," Mimi gushed.
Sora cleared her throat and brushed the back of her hand against her eyes. They now noticed that they were filled with tears. "I -- I don't," she croaked.
"Wha--?" Hikari asked, choking on the piece of candy she had popped into her mouth.
"I would never marry Taichi Yagami," she said more forcefully. "I would never be with him, even if he were the last boy on the planet! Never, ever in a million years would I even agree to be within fifteen feet of him!" She began to sob, hard. "I -- I --" She gulped down her tears, hugged the pillow even tighter, and shouted out, "I HATE HIM!"
All three girls' eyes were wide. They could not believe their ears. And their jaws had dropped. There was pure silence for the first time of that chatter-infested night. Surely Sora hadn't just said that whole last thing? She was joking, obviously, right? But the tears in her eyes, the emotion deep in her face, could never be fake. She was telling the absolute truth. She seriously hated Taichi Yagami more than anything. But why? What had ruined their wonderful friendship, their practically storybook romance? Where had anything gone wrong, making her totally despise him? Something was very, very wrong indeed.
Hikari hopped on the bed next to Sora and put her arm around her. "Oh, Sora, what's the matter?"
"Your older brother," she spat out. "He's the matter. I'd die happy if I never saw him ever again in my entire life."
"Surely you don't mean that!" Miyako cried in amazement.
She shook her head strongly. "I meant every single word I said," she replied, whilst choking down another sob. "I hate everything associated with Taichi Yagami."
"Is that why you quit soccer?" Mimi asked quietly. "That was a really ucky sport and I'm glad you did, but was that the reason?"
"No," she whispered. "There WAS a time when I was very in love with Taichi. It started somewhere between soccer camp and into the Digiworld, and the crush lasted the longest time. And I realized it was much, much more than that. I just somehow knew it was love." She sighed. "And when I quit soccer, it had nothing to do with him. Because at that time, I was still very much in love with him. It devastated me...but now I'm glad I did. My mama actually was right. She always was." Sora began to cry even harder. "She really did know what was best for me, but I had to retaliate against her... I argued, fought with her, told her that she was more wrong than anything...but of course, she was right."
"Right about what?" Mimi asked carefully, knowing that Sora's mother was a very touchy subject.
"She was right about Taichi Yagami," she said faintly.
Miyako looked into her eyes. "There's a story you want to tell," she read. "And it explains everything."
She looked down, but nodded slightly. "It might take some time to tell," she began.
"It's okay, we'd like to hear all of it," Hikari said, "every single detail. I would really like to know why you think so badly of my brother."
"It has nothing to do with you or the rest of your family," she assured her. "Just him. That's basically all my story is about. Taichi, my mom, and me."
"Then start already," Mimi urged. "A trip of a thousand miles all starts off with one small step."
Sora nodded again. She wiped off her tear-stained face with a handkerchief, cleared her throat, and with a small sniffle, she began her tale. "It all started on the first days of preschool... Taichi and I met, and we instantly became friends. Then one day a few years later, I finally got permission from my mother to let him come over and play at our house. But right from the start when she met him, he was instantly disliked..."
+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^
Taichi sensed Mrs. Takenouchi's angry eyes on him, and he looked down at his shoes, a little frightened. It was the first time he had ever been to Sora's home in so many years of knowing her, and he expected it to be a lot more welcoming and homey than it really was. The atmosphere was very hostile. Why was Mrs. Takenouchi so angry with him? He had never even met her before!
"He's the one," she said very bitterly, giving him another dirty look. "You hear that, Sora? He's the one. You stay away from him."
"But Mama," she protested. "Taichi is my best friend--"
"I don't want to hear it!" she yelled. "Stay away from that boy! I'm going back to arranging flowers, but when I get back here, I want him to be gone, you hear that? I don't want to see him in our house ever again! And I don't want you to be friends with him anymore!" And with that, she stormed off.
Taichi shivered. "I think I should go now, Sora."
She cowered a bit, and looked back at her mother, who was fading away. She dashed up to him and surprised him with a hug. But it was warm and cozy; it felt right, and it erased all his fears of Mrs. Takenouchi. "It's all right," she told him, beginning to cry. "Mama doesn't hate you. I think she's just angry about something else. Maybe my dad. He left us a few years ago, and she's always been mad about that. Don't worry."
"I want her to like me," he said quietly. "I like you a lot, Sora."
"You're my best friend too, Taichi. But maybe you shouldn't come here anymore."
He nodded. "But I will see you again," he said defiantly. "I don't care what she says."
"Me neither," she agreed, letting him go. "You're my best friend in the whole entire world, and she's not going to take that away from me. She CAN'T."
"'Bye, Sora," he said, opening the front door. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"You will," she said strongly. "I don't care what Mama says...I'll see you again..."
* * *
Sora packed up her duffle bag. She had plenty of pairs of clothes, her soccer cleats and other pads and gear, and pretty much everything she needed. She went over the contents one more time, and then checked her backpack, which had even more clothes and toiletries. "Perfect," she said. "Mama, I'm going to go now!"
"That soccer camp, right?" she asked angrily. Lately, 'angry' was the only emotion she had.
"Yeah, Mom. I told you about it ages ago. You even signed the permission slip."
"I may have signed it then, but I don't want you going there, Sora. You are going to get hurt!"
"I won't get hurt, Mom," she said, frustrated. "I've played soccer TONS of times. And I only hurt my leg that one time. Then you made me miss the game the week after. But I'll be FINE, Mom, I promise. Stop worrying! Soccer is fun!"
"I don't want you playing soccer. You have to learn to like flowers, not some black and white ball that you kick into a net," she replied sternly.
"You can't control my life!" she yelled. "You can't take away the things I love just because YOU don't like it! And I have to leave now, or else I won't make the bus."
"You're not going to that soccer camp. I'm not going to drive you!" her mother shouted back.
"I don't need you to drive! I'm getting a ride with Tai--" She instantly shut herself up when she realized what she was about to say. But she heard it already. The barrier broke and all hell broke loose.
Her eyes narrowed. "TaiCHI?" Mrs. Takenouchi asked dangerously. "Sora, have you been seeing that boy behind my back?"
"He's my friend!" she cried. "You can't try to take my friend away from me!"
"I don't want you to hang out with him! Didn't I make that clear the first time he came here? He can never come to our house, and he can never be friends with you. Stay away from him! He's the one!"
"No, Mama! You can't control me! You can't do this, you can't take away soccer, take away Taichi, try to make me lose everything I love!"
That made her snap, but instead of shouting louder, her voice was a low hiss. "You LOVE Taichi?"
"NO!" she cried, horrified. "I didn't mean that! He's just my best friend!"
She began to calm down and stop yelling, but the fury still remained. Breathing heavily, she ordered, "I don't want you to play soccer, and I don't want you to be around Taichi. Is that understood, young lady?"
"I don't care what you think!" she screamed furiously, tears coming down her cheeks. "Stop trying to control my life and take away everything that ever meant anything to me! If you were a good mother you would let me do what I love!"
That hit her hard, obviously, but she didn't so much as flinch. "You will never love anything!"
"It's too late, I do!" Sora was now in a rage. "I love soccer! And I DO love Taichi! And I'm going to soccer camp, and I'm going to do whatever I want, and I won't listen to you! Because I DON'T love your dumb flowers, and I don't love YOU!" She picked up her bags, ran off, and slammed the front door as hard as she could.
+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^
You knew I would ramble on and on so much that I would have to split this fic up. You knew it, right? How many knew it, seriously? Any time I have some fic about Tai and Sora with flashbacks, it's bound to be way over 20 pages before I even finish halfway. Oh, and if anyone wonders what 'the one' really means in this, you'll find out in the next part. So maybe if I get enough encouragement or a good idea for a title from you guys reading this I might actually be in a good enough mood to finish this really soon. I'm sick of begging for reviews, so please just do it without me having to ask.
By Firenze
A/N: A lame title for another poorly written drama-ish fic from me...but what do you really expect of my fics but that anyway? I got this idea from reading "Home For Christmas: Gennai's Angels" by White Tiger Lady. It's one of my more dramatic romances, which ultimately means... Run and hide! Dramas are one of my weakest points, though I have tons, such as titles (just look at how un/non/in/whatever is the prefix for not original this one is; I had a brain fart, but I think it's un), endings, scary stories, humor, and many, many, many, MANY more. Hey, guess what? I finally have a New Year's Resolution for the first time in my life. I will *NOT* insult my fics, no matter how bad they are. That means much less rambling from me in the new 'real' 2nd millenium! And it also means I won't be successful with my first resolution ever. Anywho, this is more soap-opera-ish than my normal fluffy fics. Except in the beginning, where it's SO typical-teenager-girly-girl-slumber-party-ishness that it made me sick while writing it. Oh, and it's a Taiora...or is it? *The "Twilight Zone" theme song plays* Heh, I'm a loser. Ever since that one play at our school -- you know what? I swear I'll shut up now, and add 'stop rambling in author's notes' to my resolution list. Now, please, read the fic!
Disclaimer: Tai, Sora, all the rest of them...they belong to me! Yup, I got them for Christmas...in my dreams. Actually, in my dreams, I got a Razor scooter and a robotic dog (not the cool Sony kind)...am I seriously the only child in the world who doesn't want either of those? However, in my good dreams, I got a PlayStation2 and a really good computer... But what I really got was all clothes, a book, and some money. But my brother got a singing fish, so I actually think mine were pretty okay. Owning Digimon would be the greatest gift though. Hear that, Toei, Saban? If you ever get sick of 'em, just pass it onto me...just kidding. Ha, now I'll be rambling in the disclaimer instead of the author's notes...
+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^
Four teenager girls were in a huge, all pink room, giggling and gossiping, painting their nails, braiding hair, and having a typical girl slumber party. It was "Princess" Mimi Tachikawa's first birthday since she had moved back to Japan from New York, and she wanted it to be the biggest and best girl party ever...without boys! However, the subject of boys was bound to come up many, many, many times during the night. It hadn't once yet, though, but it definitely would. Yes indeed, soon it would.
Sora Takenouchi sat on Mimi's comfortable canopy bed, sifting through her magazine rack. Seventeen, Teen People, Cosmopolitan, Vogue, and tons more fashion and teen magazines were all she owned. She came across a Reader's Digest, and wondered how it possibly was in there. "Mimi, do you have anything that isn't about clothes, makeup, hair, style, and fashion?" she asked.
"Of course not!" Mimi said with a laugh. "What did you expect? Plus, that's the theme of this party! What are you doing there, Sora? Don't tell me you haven't had a facial yet!" Mimi's face was coated in green goop.
"What do we need facials for?" she asked. "To reduce wrinkles and keep us looking young? We're only teenagers!"
"Sora, you're sixteen, the oldest of all of us and the only one with a license to drive," Miyako Inoue said, "and yet you're the one who doesn't care a bit about anything girly."
"I can be girly," she argued. "Just because I'm not caked in makeup, drenched in perfume, with wild nail polish colors, and wearing high heels and pink, glitzy, glittery, glamorous outfits doesn't mean I'm not a girl. I'm just not into this kind of stuff."
"You wear skirts and some makeup now, which is a lot better than your tomboy look, but it's still not enough," Mimi replied, putting the nail polish brush down, holding her hand up, and blowing on her nails. "Come here and we'll give you a makeover."
"But I don't want a makeover," she protested, hugging one of Mimi's soft, goose feather down pillows. "I don't care about looking chic and fashionable. I just like comfortable, casual clothes...and I'm not saying I want to go around wearing baggy jean overalls and flannel shirts"--Mimi shuddered--"but I don't want to kill myself wearing spike heels, a skimpy dress, and a thong. I don't believe beauty should make you hurt."
"She's so misguided," Hikari Yagami said with a sigh. "Sora, what are we going to do with you?"
"Just let me stay with my occasional skirts, the body splash every so once in a while, lip gloss, and the tiniest bit of eye shadow," she told them.
"You shouldn't be looking quite so cute and bubblegum-ish and innocent," Mimi said. "Would it kill you to look more sexy and stunning?"
"Sexy and stunning don't belong in the same sentence with my name," Sora told them, "unless you mean that I'm not."
"We just HAVE to give you a makeover," Miyako begged. "Don't you want to impress whoever you have a crush on?"
"Wait a second," Hikari cut in. She temporarily stopped braiding Miyako's long, violet hair. "Who DOES she have a crush on?"
"Yeah, Sora," Mimi said thoughtfully. "You never told us who you liked, even though we know that Hikari obviously loves Takeru, Miyako has a crush on Ken, and I like -- and I like -- well, who do you like, Sora?"
"Just hold it there, 'Princess,'" she said sarcastically. "You never bothered to mention who YOU had your eye on."
"She's right!" Miyako cried. "Oh, Mimi, who do you like? Is it Michael? Is it Yamato?"
Mimi blushed deeply, but the heavy cream covered it. "No, it's not Michael or Yamato...even though Yamato is really hot and I typically go for blondes...but..."
"But?" all three girls prompted.
She felt her face getting hotter...if she had cucumbers on her eyes, they'd probably start to sizzle. "But I'm in love with--"
"Oooh, LOVE!" Hikari squealed. "Come on, tell us, Mimi! We won't tell, you can trust us! We're your best friends! Please?"
"Okay, you wouldn't ever expect this from me...since I normally go for the hottest, best looking guys, right? But I'm not as shallow as everyone thinks"--(Do you know how hard it was for me to write that?)--"and well, I always thought he was kind of cute in his own nerdy way... Actually now, he's very hot, but it wasn't that way in the beginning..."
"In the beginning of when?" Miyako asked.
"Mimi, are you talking about one of our former Digidestined members?" Sora asked, a sparkle in her ruby eyes. "Nerdy, huh? Oh, Mimi, you're in love with Jyou Kido!"
All the girls shrieked in excitement. "Mimi loves Jyou!"
The bright scarlet on her face was almost showing. "Okay, okay, I'm in love with Jyou," she admitted. "But who do YOU like, Sora?" she asked once again, trying to tear the attention away from herself, for once.
Sora wasn't blushing; in fact, she remained rather neutral. The grin did leave her face though, and she pretended to be interested in the magazines again.
"Please, Sora, *I* confessed who I liked!" Mimi whined. "You HAVE to tell us! It's only fair."
"But I don't like anyone," she said quietly.
"What a load of crap," Miyako remarked rudely. "Oh, Sora, that is such bull. Just admit who you like already and we'll stop pestering you about it."
"But it IS true," she said softly, hugging the pillow tighter. Her eyes began to get distant. "In fact, I haven't loved anyone in a while."
"LOVE?" Hikari asked again. "You're in love too?"
"She's probably in love with someone like Yamato," Miyako guessed. "The blonde-haired, blue-eyed heart throb seems like her type."
"You're confusing me with Hikari," Sora mumbled.
"Could it be Koushiro?" Hikari asked. "She doesn't seem to go for looks only. The intelligent kind seems more of her type."
"No, that's Miyako! I don't have a type!" she insisted. "I don't even know my type myself! Because I don't like anyone!"
"She's lying when she says it's no one. That is SO the typical approach," Mimi said matter-of-factly. "She would never tell me who she liked, especially in the Digiworld. She says 'no one' every time."
"But I mean it this time!" she said desperately. "Just give it up, okay?"
"Ha, she really doesn't know us, does she?" Hikari laughed. "Sora, if you tell us, it'll be so much easier. Or else we'll have to spend all night getting it out of you. And we won't stop, will we, girls?"
"NOPE!" Mimi and Miyako chorused.
Hikari studied Sora's quite blank face very intensely. "Now who are you in love with? Hmmm..." She gazed into the older girl's eyes, trying to read her mind. Then she closed her makeup covered eyes and concentrated deeply. "Oh my god, I've got it!" she exclaimed after a while.
"You do?" Mimi and Miyako, still speaking as one, asked in incredulity. "Really?"
"Really!" she said. "Oh my gosh, why didn't I think of this sooner? It was SO obvious!"
"Who is it?" Mimi asked eagerly.
"Yes, 'Kari, spill it!" Miyako added.
"The one Sora loves, the one she has ALWAYS loved, is none other than--" She gave a dramatic pause for suspense, and Mimi and Miyako held their breaths in. "My older brother, Taichi!"
"OF COURSE!" Mimi and Miyako screamed.
"Why couldn't we figure it out earlier?" Mimi said. "That's the most obvious one besides Takeru and Hikari!"
"Taichi, DUH!" Miyako said. "I didn't even have to be with you the first time you went to the Digiworld to figure that one out!"
All three girls looked towards Sora anticipatingly (ha, I made that word up, but you get the point). They expected to see a huge red blush spread across her face. A shy, but wide, and embarrassed smile. And what did they see?
A deadpan. Her face was more void of emotion than a robot's ever could be. It was totally impossible to perceive any sort of expression on her face. Except for that fact that her eyes, which always held the true source of feelings, looked quite...misty? The faintest glimmer of tears lined her ruby eyes. Was she...sad?
However, the girls could not understand it. Maybe she was feeling crestfallen because they had discovered her secret, maybe one that she wanted to keep that way. Possibly her feelings for Taichi were so deep and emotional that she didn't wish it to be treated like mindless, girlish bathroom gossip. What was it that had made her so suddenly sad? The mention of 'crush' had already brought some depression to her when they first brought it up. What was the matter?
Instead of trying to find out, they kept on bugging her.
Mimi broke out into a childish song of, "Sora and Taichi sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage!"
"Mrs. Sora Takenouchi Yagami," Hikari noticed. "That sounds really nice. Wouldn't that be terrific, Sora? We'd be sisters-in-law!"
Miyako giggled wildly. "Sora Takenouchi, do you take Taichi Yagami to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
To their surprise, Sora gave a reply. But it was too faint to hear or make heads or tails of.
"Repeat that again," Mimi gushed.
Sora cleared her throat and brushed the back of her hand against her eyes. They now noticed that they were filled with tears. "I -- I don't," she croaked.
"Wha--?" Hikari asked, choking on the piece of candy she had popped into her mouth.
"I would never marry Taichi Yagami," she said more forcefully. "I would never be with him, even if he were the last boy on the planet! Never, ever in a million years would I even agree to be within fifteen feet of him!" She began to sob, hard. "I -- I --" She gulped down her tears, hugged the pillow even tighter, and shouted out, "I HATE HIM!"
All three girls' eyes were wide. They could not believe their ears. And their jaws had dropped. There was pure silence for the first time of that chatter-infested night. Surely Sora hadn't just said that whole last thing? She was joking, obviously, right? But the tears in her eyes, the emotion deep in her face, could never be fake. She was telling the absolute truth. She seriously hated Taichi Yagami more than anything. But why? What had ruined their wonderful friendship, their practically storybook romance? Where had anything gone wrong, making her totally despise him? Something was very, very wrong indeed.
Hikari hopped on the bed next to Sora and put her arm around her. "Oh, Sora, what's the matter?"
"Your older brother," she spat out. "He's the matter. I'd die happy if I never saw him ever again in my entire life."
"Surely you don't mean that!" Miyako cried in amazement.
She shook her head strongly. "I meant every single word I said," she replied, whilst choking down another sob. "I hate everything associated with Taichi Yagami."
"Is that why you quit soccer?" Mimi asked quietly. "That was a really ucky sport and I'm glad you did, but was that the reason?"
"No," she whispered. "There WAS a time when I was very in love with Taichi. It started somewhere between soccer camp and into the Digiworld, and the crush lasted the longest time. And I realized it was much, much more than that. I just somehow knew it was love." She sighed. "And when I quit soccer, it had nothing to do with him. Because at that time, I was still very much in love with him. It devastated me...but now I'm glad I did. My mama actually was right. She always was." Sora began to cry even harder. "She really did know what was best for me, but I had to retaliate against her... I argued, fought with her, told her that she was more wrong than anything...but of course, she was right."
"Right about what?" Mimi asked carefully, knowing that Sora's mother was a very touchy subject.
"She was right about Taichi Yagami," she said faintly.
Miyako looked into her eyes. "There's a story you want to tell," she read. "And it explains everything."
She looked down, but nodded slightly. "It might take some time to tell," she began.
"It's okay, we'd like to hear all of it," Hikari said, "every single detail. I would really like to know why you think so badly of my brother."
"It has nothing to do with you or the rest of your family," she assured her. "Just him. That's basically all my story is about. Taichi, my mom, and me."
"Then start already," Mimi urged. "A trip of a thousand miles all starts off with one small step."
Sora nodded again. She wiped off her tear-stained face with a handkerchief, cleared her throat, and with a small sniffle, she began her tale. "It all started on the first days of preschool... Taichi and I met, and we instantly became friends. Then one day a few years later, I finally got permission from my mother to let him come over and play at our house. But right from the start when she met him, he was instantly disliked..."
+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^
Taichi sensed Mrs. Takenouchi's angry eyes on him, and he looked down at his shoes, a little frightened. It was the first time he had ever been to Sora's home in so many years of knowing her, and he expected it to be a lot more welcoming and homey than it really was. The atmosphere was very hostile. Why was Mrs. Takenouchi so angry with him? He had never even met her before!
"He's the one," she said very bitterly, giving him another dirty look. "You hear that, Sora? He's the one. You stay away from him."
"But Mama," she protested. "Taichi is my best friend--"
"I don't want to hear it!" she yelled. "Stay away from that boy! I'm going back to arranging flowers, but when I get back here, I want him to be gone, you hear that? I don't want to see him in our house ever again! And I don't want you to be friends with him anymore!" And with that, she stormed off.
Taichi shivered. "I think I should go now, Sora."
She cowered a bit, and looked back at her mother, who was fading away. She dashed up to him and surprised him with a hug. But it was warm and cozy; it felt right, and it erased all his fears of Mrs. Takenouchi. "It's all right," she told him, beginning to cry. "Mama doesn't hate you. I think she's just angry about something else. Maybe my dad. He left us a few years ago, and she's always been mad about that. Don't worry."
"I want her to like me," he said quietly. "I like you a lot, Sora."
"You're my best friend too, Taichi. But maybe you shouldn't come here anymore."
He nodded. "But I will see you again," he said defiantly. "I don't care what she says."
"Me neither," she agreed, letting him go. "You're my best friend in the whole entire world, and she's not going to take that away from me. She CAN'T."
"'Bye, Sora," he said, opening the front door. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"You will," she said strongly. "I don't care what Mama says...I'll see you again..."
* * *
Sora packed up her duffle bag. She had plenty of pairs of clothes, her soccer cleats and other pads and gear, and pretty much everything she needed. She went over the contents one more time, and then checked her backpack, which had even more clothes and toiletries. "Perfect," she said. "Mama, I'm going to go now!"
"That soccer camp, right?" she asked angrily. Lately, 'angry' was the only emotion she had.
"Yeah, Mom. I told you about it ages ago. You even signed the permission slip."
"I may have signed it then, but I don't want you going there, Sora. You are going to get hurt!"
"I won't get hurt, Mom," she said, frustrated. "I've played soccer TONS of times. And I only hurt my leg that one time. Then you made me miss the game the week after. But I'll be FINE, Mom, I promise. Stop worrying! Soccer is fun!"
"I don't want you playing soccer. You have to learn to like flowers, not some black and white ball that you kick into a net," she replied sternly.
"You can't control my life!" she yelled. "You can't take away the things I love just because YOU don't like it! And I have to leave now, or else I won't make the bus."
"You're not going to that soccer camp. I'm not going to drive you!" her mother shouted back.
"I don't need you to drive! I'm getting a ride with Tai--" She instantly shut herself up when she realized what she was about to say. But she heard it already. The barrier broke and all hell broke loose.
Her eyes narrowed. "TaiCHI?" Mrs. Takenouchi asked dangerously. "Sora, have you been seeing that boy behind my back?"
"He's my friend!" she cried. "You can't try to take my friend away from me!"
"I don't want you to hang out with him! Didn't I make that clear the first time he came here? He can never come to our house, and he can never be friends with you. Stay away from him! He's the one!"
"No, Mama! You can't control me! You can't do this, you can't take away soccer, take away Taichi, try to make me lose everything I love!"
That made her snap, but instead of shouting louder, her voice was a low hiss. "You LOVE Taichi?"
"NO!" she cried, horrified. "I didn't mean that! He's just my best friend!"
She began to calm down and stop yelling, but the fury still remained. Breathing heavily, she ordered, "I don't want you to play soccer, and I don't want you to be around Taichi. Is that understood, young lady?"
"I don't care what you think!" she screamed furiously, tears coming down her cheeks. "Stop trying to control my life and take away everything that ever meant anything to me! If you were a good mother you would let me do what I love!"
That hit her hard, obviously, but she didn't so much as flinch. "You will never love anything!"
"It's too late, I do!" Sora was now in a rage. "I love soccer! And I DO love Taichi! And I'm going to soccer camp, and I'm going to do whatever I want, and I won't listen to you! Because I DON'T love your dumb flowers, and I don't love YOU!" She picked up her bags, ran off, and slammed the front door as hard as she could.
+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^
You knew I would ramble on and on so much that I would have to split this fic up. You knew it, right? How many knew it, seriously? Any time I have some fic about Tai and Sora with flashbacks, it's bound to be way over 20 pages before I even finish halfway. Oh, and if anyone wonders what 'the one' really means in this, you'll find out in the next part. So maybe if I get enough encouragement or a good idea for a title from you guys reading this I might actually be in a good enough mood to finish this really soon. I'm sick of begging for reviews, so please just do it without me having to ask.