Without a Trace
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. Duh. Now on with the story.
"I couldn't believe that she was really gone. When I was first heard I thought that people were playing an evil trick on me. I went looking for her at all our different hangouts. The school the food court at the mall, the soccer field, the park, the Digital World. The last place I looked was at her home. I'm not sure why I didn't go to her home first I guess deep down I knew that she was really gone. When I arrived at Sora's home I found her mother crying in the kitchen. Mrs. Kido was there trying to comfort her while Mrs. Izumi was making tea. When I walked into the room Mrs. Tachenochi got up and grabbed a hold of me and started crying even harder while trying to tell me that everything was going to be okay. The poor woman had just lost her daughter and she was trying to comfort me as if I was her son. That really broke my heart I just started crying. It was the only thing that I could do and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I guess someone called my parents because they eventually showed up and took me home. Mom later told me that she was proud of me for trying to help Mrs. Tachenochi, although at the time I doubt I helped much. I spent the rest of the day holding Kari as we cried together.
"It wasn't until the next day that I found out that Sora had died from a drug overdose. Joe had overheard his parents talking about it. According to Joe the blood tests indicated that Sora took a massive dose of heroine which caused her to die. I attacked Joe upon hearing him say that. There was no way that I was going to believe that Sora was some sort of junky. I threw Joe to the ground and I was ready to beat the life out of the poor bastard when Kari stopped me. Interesting how Kari can control me with a simple touch or gesture, her beauty to my beast. Anyway where was I, oh yes the drugs.
"Later, after I had calmed down I started thinking about what Joe had told me. Don't worry about Joe and me he forgave me even before I apologized. He excused my behavior with the emotional trauma of losing Sora in such a shocking fashion. And it was the fashion in which Sora died that I thought about. No not the clothes she was in but how she died. I mean Sora was the last person that I figured would use drugs. She always had more respect for herself than to do that. I grew very suspicious of the idea that Sora overdosed on her own and a plan started to formulate to prove that Sora didn't kill herself with drugs but that she was murdered and the weapon of choice was heroine. That was a mistake.
"I went to Sora's wake with the rest of my family. I sat up front with Mrs. Tachenochi. Mr. Tachenochi was sitting away from his wife. He blamed her for Sora's death and decided to divorce his wife before his daughter's body was even in the ground. God I hate that asshole. How could anyone be so self-centered and hateful? The stupid piece of shit couldn't even figure out that his daughter was murdered and not a junky like I did. I mean, holy fuck man, he's a university professor and I'm a high school student and I could figure out shit better than him.
"During the wake Mrs. Tachenochi sat with her arm wrapped around me and started asking how see couldn't see this happening to her beautiful little girl. She kept telling me how she had always tried to be a good mother and she couldn't understand how this happened to her little girl. This guilt was tearing Mrs. Tachenochi apart from the inside out. That's when I told her that I needed to see Sora up close. She told me that it would be okay. I went up to Sora and I looked at her lying there so peacefully. I started to look at her body. Joe had told me, once Kari calmed me down, that the doctors had fold burses and a syringe hole on her arm. Looking carefully I found the make-up that was covering the burses and the syringe hole. I felt around and discovered that the area was soft while on a junky this area would be hard from scaring. I could also see the burses from under the make-up there was a line of four little burses and a fifth one facing them. It looked like someone had grabbed Sora's arm really hard and hurt her. The other burse was on the upper inside part of Sora's arm as if someone used their knee to hold Sora down. I was now certain that Sora had been murdered.
"When I reached that conclusion Sora's father came up and started screaming at me for groping his daughter's body. I didn't care what this asshole thought Sora was in a better place and she would know that I wasn't molesting her corpse, but searching for her murder. I was going to avenge Sora but first I had to deal with this prick of a father of hers. I hadn't decided whether to hit, kick, insult, or spit on the stupid fucker when Mrs. Tachenochi came up and told her soon to be ex-husband to leave me alone. She led me away to where we had been sitting. Once there she quietly asked me what I was doing. I told her my suspicions and of the evidence I found on Sora's body. She started crying with the thought that some monster would do this to her beautiful little girl. I tried to reassure her by telling her that it was not her fault and that I was going to find the person who did this and punish them. She held me close and asked if I had figured out who had done it. I told her that I wasn't really sure yet but I had a hunch. She asked me if the person was at the wake and I said no. That was the second mistake.
"The funeral was a sad affair. Many of Sora's friend showed up to say nice meaningless things to Mrs. Tachenochi. I remember Mimi because she told Mrs. Tachenochi that is seemed so wrong that Sora was gone and that her death seemed so unnatural. This statement struck a chord with what I had said earlier to Mrs. Tachenochi. She hugged Mimi and thanked her. Mimi then turned to me and said how sorry she was for me. She said that she expected to be the maid of honor at Sora's and my wedding. I lost control of my grief and started crying all over poor Mimi. She took it and told me to let it all out, that she was there for me and if I needed anything that I should just ask. After a couple of minutes of crying I calmed down and Mimi asked about someone's absence, someone who should have been there. Big mistake number three.
"After the funeral Mrs. Tachenochi became really depressed and stopped working in her flower shop and green house. She said she couldn't bear to do the things she and Sora use to do together. I told her that I understood and I took over running the shop until she could get back on her feet. While in the green house I was surrounded by plants that Sora had loved so much and I got an idea. Mrs. Tachenochi always got the contracts to plant the flower beds in the local parks so I decided to make the next bed myself. It would have all the favorite flowers that Sora liked and the center piece would be a rose bush of the type of roses Sora really loved. Mrs. Tachenochi agreed to allow me to do this when I explained the flower bed to her. She thought that it would be a good idea but warned to that it would be a lot of work.
"I started be figuring out the arrangement would have a flowering tree in the center, I eventually settled on a Hawthorne, enclosed with roses and smaller flowers. I would need to dig a fairly deep hole for all the compost and bone meal needed for the plants. I started by gathering the all the plants, fertilizer, and tools I would need to plant the arrangement. I then went to the place in the park where the city wanted the flower bed to be placed. I prepared the hole for the plants and then I went to get the organic waste to feed the plants. While working on the hole I thought about Sora's killer and how this would be a great place to dispose of his body. I knew that it was up to me to bring Sora's murderer to justice because the cops and everyone else just wanted to ignore Sora's death.
"After coming to this conclusion I went to see my old buddy Matt and get his help in capturing Sora's killer. I knew the murderer's routine like my own. I waited outside this dump of a building where he and his buddies listened to loud music and got high on drugs. I knew the murderer would have to leave earlier than his buddies to keep his cover. My plan was so simple it was stupid. I would wait outside and when the asshole came out I would hit him over the head with a shovel, throw him into Matt's van, and take off. Best part is that the plan work flawlessly. There's a new anti-drug slogan for you; 'Don't do drugs, they make you easy to kidnap.'
"So, to answer your question, that's how you ended up here, tied up and half buried in a hole, Matt."
While Tai was telling his story Matt had been struggling against the duct tape bound him but the struggle proved fruitless. Matt looked up at his onetime friend and said, "Tai look you need help, I know you and Sora were great friends, and that your grief is making you want to lash out at the world, but buddy I'm your friend you don't want to kill me. Just think you will end up in jail…"
"No I won't Matt. I have covered my tracks too well. I have a reason of being out late, I have a reason for digging a big hole, and I have a reason for carrying large sacks of shit through the park."
"Yeah, but dude, people will miss me."
"No they won't. T.K. tells me that you are never around; the other digi-destined never see you, your parents don't know what to make of your behavior, oh and your stoner friends I doubt they will go to the police and ask the cops where there drug pushing buddy went off to, do you?"
"My van in your driveway will make people specious."
"Actually Matt someone stole your van on me yesterday and smashed it up really good. Total write off. I guess these kids had booze with them and when they crashed the bottles broke and cut the kids. There was blood everywhere. If anyone is going to be blamed for killing you it will be them. Kind of funny huh?
"No it's not funny asshole. Let me out of here."
"No."
"Come on this isn't funny anymore Tai. Let me go and I'll make sure the cops go easy on you."
"No."
"Look Tai, if you let me out I'll get you a cut from my business and I'll hook you up with some really friendly girls. I'm sure they can do things that will take your mind off of Sora."
"I don't want that Matt."
"What the fuck do you want asshole."
"I want to know why. Why did you do it Matt? Why did you kill Sora? She loved you, and you killed her. Why?"
"You want to know why, you crying little faggot? Why I killed the woman I 'loved'?"
"Yes," Whispers a tearful Tai.
"Well asshole hears the big news flash. I killed the girl you loved, that's right Tai I knew your little secret. Your pathetic attempts to hide your emotions didn't work on me. I knew you loved her I could see it and I knew that you had beaten me at everything in life, you had a better family, my brother liked you better, you got to be the leader, you were always right, you never lost, and you always knew what to do. It made me sick but I saw the one way I could get even with you, I could ruin your chances with the girl you loved.
Sora knew that I was on drugs and she was trying to save me. She asked what she could do to get me to stop and I fed her some shit about how I didn't feel loved and that if she went out with me that I would stop taking the drugs. At first she didn't want to because the stupid bitch wanted to go out with you. It great isn't it? The day you grew balls big enough to ask out Sora was the day she decided to accept my offer.
"You should have seen the look on your face. You wandered around with that stupid 'Tai's sad' look on your face. Fuck man do you know how many girls wanted to ride you when you look at them with those sad eyes. You could have had any girl in school except the one you wanted. Aw poor Tai.
"But all good things must come to an end. Sora told me that I wasn't living up to my side of the bargain and that she was going to leave me. I told her that I still didn't feel love and that she loved you and not me. Sora asked how to make me feel loved and I told her to sleep with me. The fucking bitch said no and that I was just using her for sex. She said that she was leaving me. I asked her where she thought she was going and the fucking bitch said, "To Tai's I only hope that he can forgive me." I lost it right then man. I grabbed the whore and told her that she was mine. I threw her down and held her with my knee while I gave her a good shot of joy. While she was getting high I took of her clothes and started fucking her good. I guess Joe never told you about that, did he? While I was giving her the fuck of her life she started twitching and her body started convulsing. I figured that the Sora was finally starting to enjoy my Ishida sausage like a good little slut. I didn't realize until I stopped fucking her that the stupid bitch ODed and had died while I was ramming her. I couldn't let the bitch's death ruin my life so I packed up her body, put it in the shower to clean it of evidence and then dumped it outside the crack-house across town. There's your fucking truth for ya, I killed Sora so you could have her. What are you going to do about it? Kill me, you ain't got the balls."
After a couple of minutes of silence Tai looks down to Matt and says, "Matt although I really want to I'm not going to kill you."
"You're not?"
"No I'm going to make you disappear without a trace," and with that Tai threw a shovel full of dirt into Matt's face.