o7.11.o6 A/N: I went through and re-edited the content for more efficient and grammatically correct reading. Most of what I have published is pretty old so I'm frightened at what I've found laying around. :P I don't know if I will find the time of desire to continue but if some people enjoy it then I leave it up for their sakes.
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A
spring shower rapped softly on the window of the bedroom Taichi and
Hikari Yagami shared before sliding down a crooked rivulet of water
and melting into a collection of tiny droplets on the pane. The
former sat with his legs crossed in a chair, head resting on his
knuckles, absentmindedly mesmerized by the rhythmic drizzling. What
an awful day to be stuck
indoors. Taichi thought to himself.
The first day of Spring Break, and I can't believe it has to be
spent like this. He sighed and bounced his pencil between his
thumb and forefinger, making a tapping noise on his desk.
Homework
is what he was trying to finish. Sensei Yokoto was always getting on
to him about how he needed to be "more ambitious" and "make
better use of his time" in class, then loaded up him and the rest
of the students with enough papers to kill an elephant.
"To
keep young minds fresh while on vacation" he had said. I'll
be as fresh as a daisy if my brain isn't fried first, the boy
thought bitterly. Why else would he have lugged out his books on this
dreary gray day, besides the fact that there was nothing else to
do?
Thoughts floated around in Taichi's head. School. Friends. Life. Nothing much in particular. School was ok sometimes, he supposed. It wasn't as tiresome as in the past, when he had too much energy pent up inside his young body to be sitting in a stuffy classroom all day. After that one life-changing summer however, he learned to control himself better and channel his energy into schoolwork occasionally. His grades began to improve, and he discovered that Sora was right; learning can be fun.
Sora.
That one girl carried a mixture of emotions in Tai as big as the sky
she was named after. She was his first best friend, and best friends
they still remained. Still in nursery school when they met, the two
of them hit it off really well together. To the five year old Tai,
Sora was the only girl that wasn't a sissy. She could run just as
fast, kick a soccer ball just as hard, and
match wits with the
best of the boys in their grade. Most of the other girls at his
school were too prissy to go out digging in the dirt for worms, or
didn't want to tear their new dress climbing a tree. That's not to
say all the girls were like that, of course, but a majority of them
were, and those were the kind of girls Taichi and his buddies tried
to avoid at all times.
He remembered how one new boy made fun of her round blue hat, and he received the same charitable treatment Tai had when he first insulted it; a nice pop in the jaw. That bruise had lasted a week. He snorted and put his hand to the same place on his face where Sora had punched him years ago. He was embarrassed to find that his cheek was hot, and glancing at his reflection in the window, saw that they were glowing pink. To make matters worse, he also had a silly grin on his face. Disgustedly he slammed his desk with his fist, causing papers and books to jump in the air. Taichi ran his fingers through his thick shock of hair, and slumped over.
"Why does life have to be so complicated?" he groaned exasperatedly. Tai didn't want to admit it, but he might have a little tiny crush on Sora. Maybe. Oh shut up and stop trying to lie to yourself. You know you like her, his heart told him. Yeah, so what if I do? I've always liked her! he yelled back. But not in this way... He didn't feel like answering to that, and decided to tune himself out by taking a stretch. Unfortunately his mind continued to wander to the past…
The game was tied
4 to 4 so far. All the other team needed was one more point to be in
the lead. Suddenly a ball came flying towards the goal and in order
to intercept it, the young Taichi jumped up and attempted a headder.
He saved the other team from scoring, but unfortunately he and the
ball collided, whacking his face and sending him crashing to the
ground. The referee blew his whistle and called a time-out, while
Mrs. Yagami, Sora, and one of Tai's other friends Taro, hastened to
his side. After assuring them he was okay (he had a splitting
head-ache but didn't want to cry in front of the team, and especially
NOT Sora), Sora quickly ran to her duffel and pulled out "I was saving it
for later, but I guess you need it more than me," "Thanks
Sora..." Tai sniffed.
a candy
bar. As the team began to reassemble on the field, Sora pressed it in
his hand before she ran back out saying,
It was the little things
that made Sora such a likeable person. He supposed
that's why she
got the Crest of Love. He remembered how later, when he was asked to
write a paragraph about a friend in first grade, he had written about
Sora and that soccer incident. His neck burned with mortification at
the recollection of the humble composition, and was glad Sora had
never
seen it.
The chocolate was eventually consumed although Tai remembered how good it had tasted. Maybe because it was given with love from a friend. He saved some for later although he never got the chance to finish it; Kari had fed the rest of it to the little black thing that interrupted their quiet life one morning. Perhaps it was because of that chocolate that Agumon grew three times larger than the normal size... Tai idley speculated. That night had changed their life in more ways than one. Unable to explain how the damage came to be, the newspapers called it a 'Terrorist Attack'. That was nine years ago but hundreds of families moved away, including his old friend Taro and Sora and her mother. Tai was still pretty young then, and he never did get her new address. He regretted it later, sort of missing her company and the times they used to play together after school and on their 6 and under soccer team.
Then one Saturday afternoon about two and a half years later, his soccer team had a game scheduled against another group of youngsters. Rumor had it that they were getting a brand-new teammate that day, and the kid had just moved into the area but was fantastic. And, the all-boy team whispered, this new kid was a girl.
Out on the field
that day, Tai and his friends kept their eyes opened for the new
player, and as a result, were losing the game from lack of
concentration. Then in the second quarter a black van drove up, and
out ran a girl with a duffel bag and short orange hair. She was also
wearing the team's red and white uniform. Tai narrowed his eyes and
studied her carefully as she "Sorry, the moving van was late," she
explained. The coach knowingly nodded, and put her in the third
quarter, benching Tai and one of his pals. "That girl
better be able to keep up with us if she knows what's good for her,"
Tai grumbled as he and Tokashi sat down. There was something familiar
about this girl, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. The two
of them watched the new player, and had to admit, she was quite
talented. "Wow! Take a look at that shot!" Tokashi
exclaimed as she made another goal. "Huh? Yeah,
great," "She's even better than you," "Whadd'ya
mean she's better than me! I'm the best one around here and it's
gonna stay that way!" "That's very humble Tai!"
the new girl laughed as she ran with the ball down the
sidelines. "Huh? Wha--!" Tai fell forward off the
bench and landed on his hands and knees, gaping after the player that
just whizzed by. "How'd she know your name?" Tokashi
asked. "Sora..." Tai whispered. Tokashi blinked and
squinted up at the cloudless, bright blue above them. "I
don't think it's going to rain..." his friend said. "No!
Not that sora!" annoyed at his friend, Tai wiped off his knees
and stood up, shielding his eyes with his hand and watching the game.
"That Sora!" "Oh..." "Come on!
GO-O-O SORA!" Tai cheered. Sora waved at him from the field and
gave him the thumbs-up sign. Their team was pulling ahead now. Sora
was fantastic, and Tai knew this was the best he had ever seen her.
All too soon the third quarter was up, and the teams ran to the
sidelines to Tai ran quickly ran
up to him, "Coach! Let me play this last quarter!" "No
need to beg, chisai Yagami. I was going to put you in again
anyways—forward this time," "Yes!" Tai jumped
into the air. The young boy ran to his friend. "Tokashi! Did you
hear? I'm in!" "I don't know why you're so excited,
you always get put in," he mumbled. Tai walked over to Sora.
"Hey Sora, I thought you moved," the girl finished
taking a sip from her water-bottle and replied, "Mmm.
Yes, but I hated the new school, and Mama just wasn't selling enough
flowers like she was here in Odiba. She says she never believed there
was a terrorist attack anyways," the two shared a knowing look.
"Oh. Well it's nice to have you back. You did a great
job-out there." Sora smiled. It hardly felt like she had been
away. Soon the ref's whistle blew, signaling the beginning of the
last quarter. The action never let up as long as everyone
worked together. Tai's team knew that if they wanted to make it to
the championships, they were going to have to stay focused. The rest
of the game was a blur in Tai's mind. It was fast paced, and
competitive--that he knew. But it wasn't the most important part.
Only one minute more to go. The score was 5 to 4 with them in
the lead. Tai wanted to make sure it stayed that way. Thirty more
seconds. He was dribbling down center field with Sora nearby and the
opposing team closing in. Fifteen seconds left. The boy on Taichi's
left quickly moved in to swipe the ball, but Tai was faster. Ten
seconds. Here was his chance to slam that ball into the back of the
net! And he would have, had it not been for the stupid sunken ground
which he and the other kid misshapenly tripped into. Five seconds.
Sora took possession just in time and aimed true, scoring the perfect
shot. "I'm sorry about
that...that was supposed to be your winning shot, not mine."
Taichi grinned and pulled himself up. "That's okay Sora.
Remember, there's no 'I' in team,"
apologized to the coach for being
tardy.
have a quick break. Coach was deciding who to take
out and who should go back into the game.
Zero.
Everyone cheered and jumped up and down. Sora ran
over to Tai and held out her hand.
Taichi recalled
how they had made it to the championship games-and
won. They took
the ball and signed it with their names. Tai still had it somewhere
after all these years...
After all these years...
Both of them
had done a lot of growing up between now and then. Sora was no longer
the rough-and-tumble tomboy she once was. She was still adventurous
and so much fun to be around, but she was growing up into a beautiful
young woman now, and followed in her mother's florist footsteps.
She's gorgeous...Taichi thought. He knew that someday soon
she was going to be someone's girlfriend if not his. He wouldn't let
that happen. I've waited long enough...she's the only girl I want,
he sighed contentedly. Wait a minute, what are you saying! Ask
Sora out? But she's your best-friend! Friends don't ask friends out,
do they? I-I-don't know...but somehow… it just seems right...
Yes.
He was going to do it. Tai sat up and took in a deep breath. His
heart was pounding, he had never realized how much courage this was
going to require. What do you say? Where do you say it? When? How?
His mind was spinning with all the questions he had. He needed
advice, but didn't
know who to turn to. Matt? Matt knew a lot
about girls...but Tai didn't want to involve him or anyone else. Not
this time. He was going to do it on his own.
Glancing at his
calendar, he saw it was only a week and a half away from Sora's
birthday. Was it only three years ago he had given her that stupid
hair pin? He sort of winced at the memory. Sora could be as stubborn
as he when she had the mind to be, but everything had turned out
okay, hadn't it?
What was he going to give her this year?
Something unique...he was going to give her an early gift and ask her
out, he resolved. Immediately an object came to his mind.
Hidden away in his sock drawer under the pile of underwear, there was a special article he had always kept. He took it out and looked at it. It was old and worn, but just the thing, he decided. Taichi closed the drawer and put it under his pillow before sneaking down the hall to look for some wrapping paper.
Hikari and Mr. Yagami were
watching T.V. together as his mother washed dishes. Hoping not to
arouse their attention, he cautiously tip-toed to the hall closet and
opened it, hunting through the pile of stuff for gift-wrap. He saw
two rolls, one plain brown and the other a shimmery floral, and
was
about to reach for the latter when Kari interrupted him.
"What are you doing Tai?" She asked from her place on the couch. Taichi shut his eyes and grabbed a tube, hiding it behind his back.
"N-Nothing, just getting stuff for...a school project!" He inched down the hallway, and ran to his room, slamming the door behind him. Kari raised an eyebrow suspiciously. Once in the safety of his room, he locked the door and took the roll out from behind his back. He was dismayed to find that it was the plain brown paper he had grabbed instead of the prettier one. "Well I can't risk going back a second time...this is just going to have to do."
Carefully he unrolled it on the floor and took out a pair of scissors from the desk. After cutting it so it would fit, he wrapped it neatly, and sat back to admire his work. It's good...but too plain, he thought. A ribbon is just what it needs to make it more interesting. Now where would I find a ribbon?
"Junk, stuff, some more junk, some more
stuff-gee am I a messy kid!" He muttered, rummaging through
drawers. At length, he emptied two of them out completely before
replacing its contents. "I thought I saw one around here
somewhere-aha!" reaching deep back into the third drawer of
Hikari's bureau, he pulled out the sought after object.
It
was beautiful. A thick, shiny, ribbon the color of cream. Taichi ran
his dark,
rough fingers over the delicate satin and was pleased
with the look and feel of it. Sora will love it...and I'm sure
Kari won't mind. Besides, it's been back there so long she's probably
forgotten about it now, he rationalized. The next few hours were
spent productively by trying to tie the ribbon to look
aesthetically
pleasing, a task which was not Taichi's forte.
Mrs. Yagami had finished making dinner and was quite surprised when her husband and daughter made it to the dinner table before her teenage son.
"Hikari dear, where's Tai?"
"I don't know mom. Maybe he's still in his room. Would you like me to go check?"
"Yes please,"
"Didn't Tai say he was doing a school project? He must be working on it very hard! How proud we should be to have a son who knows the value of a good education!" Mr. Yagami beamed. Kari rolled her eyes and scampered off to retrieve her 'studious' brother. She didn't even have to put her hand on the knob to know the door was locked.
"Tai, unlock the door and come out. It's time to eat,"
"Yeah, hold on-"
"Look, whatever you're doing, it can wait until tomorrow or at least until after dinner. Your food is getting cold,"
"Tomorrow?" Tai repeated. The boy glanced at the clock which told him it was almost ten. It's too late to call Sora now, he figured. Tomorrow then. I'll call her tomorrow.