A/N- A huge thanks to the few who reviewed and added this to their favorites/alerts. I hope this chapter won't disappoint you too much. To the rest of you, pleeeeeease review! I don't care if you just type in a smiley face or a one word review. I just want to know what the rest of you think. (BTW, flames are not constructive critisisms, and are a huge waste of your own time, as I ignore them.)
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"Those who have courage to love should have courage to suffer." –Anthony Trollope
Chapter 2 – The Voice of Evil
"Tai Kamiya." A deep, malevolent voice echoed around Tai as his eyes shot open at the voice. Where was he? This wasn't his house. Tai blinked, trying to adjust his eyes to the heavy darkness that surrounded and pressed upon him, but he could not see anything but his own body.
"Tai Kamiya," the deep voice echoed around him once more.
"Who are you?" Tai demanded. "Show yourself!"
This time, the same voice let out a echoing, wicked laugh that sent chills down Tai's spine. "You are in emotional pain, Tai Kamiya," the voice said.
Tai was slightly taken aback by this statement. Who, or what, was this voice and how did it know his name, let alone his emotions? Nevertheless, Tai retorted, "Who says I'm in 'emotional pain'? I'm just fine, thank you!"
The voice did not believe Tai. "Your wrist says otherwise," it said. Tai looked down at his left wrist and saw the fresh cuts that criss-crossed across it. He had almost forgotten that he had cut himself to try to numb his depression. "I can help you forget the cause of your pain," the voice said, almost gently, but still with an air of maliciousness.
Tai looked up from his wrist. "The…cause…?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.
"I am referring to your, ah, love interest; a certain Sora Takenouchi," the voice sneered.
Tai glared at the darkness in front of him, as if the voice were standing there. "Don't try to drag Sora into this," he growled.
The voice merely gave another spine-tingling cackle. "Think about it, Tai Kamiya. I will be back soon," the voice boomed as Tai felt himself being lifted out of the darkness.
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1:59pm. That was the indicated time on the wall clock ticking softly in the Kamiya household's livingroom, as a brown-haired boy slept on a white leather sofa. 2:00pm: the clock emitted two loud chimes, disturbing the boy from his slumber.
Tai groaned and sat up, eyes still half-closed from drowsiness. He reached up to rub his tired eyes, only to wince in pain from several unhealed cuts on his wrist -souvenirs from the previous night's depression. He was then reminded of the strange voice. Had that been a dream?
Yes, it was probably just a dream.
Tai looked down at his wrist and ran a finger along the still-tender cuts. He couldn't remember how or with what he had cut himself with, but gazing at the red criss-crossing lines running across his wrist gave him a sort of dark satisfaction. Cutting himself gave Tai a feeling of control over himself; Sora was not the one in control; she was not the one who was causing him pain. It was he, Tai, inflicting his own pain upon his own body.
Just then, the phone rang, snapping Tai out of his dark reverie. He picked up the phone that was ringing on the coffeetable in front of him. "Hello?"
"Hey, Tai!" a cheery voice on the other end chirped.
Tai couldn't help but smile at the sound of the voice. "Hey, Kari. How's everything at Grandma's?"
"Really, really boring," Kari sighed. "I can't wait to get home, but mom and dad want to stay just a little longer than planned."
Tai frowned. An entire month alone in the house was long enough. "How much longer?"
"I dunno. Probably just a week or two at the most. Mom keeps insisting that Grandma's too old to take care of herself," Kari replied with a tone of slight annoyance.
Tai chuckled at this. Their grandmother was indeed old in age, but she was young in soul, and couldn't sit still for a minute. Their mom, however, refused to accept the fact that an eighty-five-year-old senior had more energy than her fourty-year-old daughter.
"Anyway, I wish you were here Tai," Kari sighed.
"I wish you were home," Tai replied. He had been unable to go to their grandmother's because he had fallen ill, but had insisted that his parents and Kari go enjoy themselves. "So, how's mom and d-"
Tai was interrupted by the doorbell. "Sorry, Kari, I gotta go. There's someone at the door."
"Oh, okay. I'll call again soon!"
Tai hung up the phone and walked to the front door. Looking through the peephole, he saw a certain auburn-haired beauty standing in front of the door. Instantly forgetting all that had happened the previous evening, he eagerly unlocked the door and opened it for Sora.
"Hey!" Tai greeted her almost breathlessly, grinning from ear to ear.
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Sora stood in front of the Kamiya household's front door, hand held in midair just inches from the doorbell. She had woken up this morning, determined to talk to Tai about the previous evening and had walked confidently all the way to Tai's apartment, but now, she was unsure of herself. What in the world was she supposed to say to Tai? She had thought of what she would say, but she couldn't remember any of it now. What if he was angry at her?
Sora frowned. If Tai was angry at her, then so be it. She pressed the doorbell and waited a few seconds before the door swung open to reveal Tai grinning from ear to ear.
So much for being angry at her.
"Hey!" Tai greeted her, as he stepped aside to let her in.
"Hey," Sora replied, still a bit surprised at Tai's relatively good mood. As she stepped into the house, she was immediately hit with a rush of cold air. "Did you get hit with a blizzard in here?" Sora asked, as she shivered and hugged herself.
"Oh, sorry about that," Tai said as he closed the door behind him and rushed over to the air conditioner. "I guess I forgot to turn it down a bit yesterday," he said, grinning sheepishly.
Sora lowered herself onto the livingroom sofa and Tai plopped himself down beside her. "So," he said once they had settled down. "What brings you to my humble abode?"
Sora couldn't help but giggle at the goofy smile Tai had plastered on his face. Her best friend was back to his old goofy self today. Maybe he had just been in a bad mood yesterday.
Happy to see Tai back to his old self, Sora threw her arms around a bewildered Tai. If Tai still had feelings for her, maybe he would wrap his arms around her too.
"S-S-Sora?" Tai managed to stammer. "W-what are you doing?"
"Hugging you," Sora answered matter-of-factly. Tai sounded taken aback, but Sora still did not feel his arms wrap around her. 'See, no feelings,' Sora thought, not realizing her own disappointment. She pulled back and smiled at Tai, who still had a bemused expression on his face. "Sorry, I just wanted to know what that would feel like," she said breezily.
After a moment, Tai's face broke into a sly grin. "Ah, you wanted to know what it felt like to hug Odaiba High School's premiere heartthrob!" he said, chocolate eyes twinkling.
Sora laughed out loud and slapped him playfully on the arm. "You're so full of yourself, Tai,"she joked.
"Some things never change," Tai winked. "Hey, you want a popsicle?"
"Sure," Sora said as she leaned back on the sofa. 'Tai and his food,' she thought to herself, smiling.
Tai hopped off the sofa and went into the kitchen whistling a random tune. He came back to the livingroom with an orange double popsicle in hand. "Here," he said as he held it out to Sora. "Break off your half."
Sora reached out to grab the popsicle stick from Tai's outstretched hand, when she saw thin red lines running across his wrist. They looked grotesquely like…
Sora broke off her half of the popsicle and before Tai could pull back his hand, Sora grabbed it with her free hand and pulled him closer.
"Wha-" Tai protested before Sora cut him off.
"Tai," Sora looked up from Tai's wrist. "what are these cuts?"
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As Tai closed the door behind him, he saw Sora wrap her arms around herself.
"Did you get hit with a blizzard in here?" she asked, shivering slightly.
Tai mentally kicked himself for forgetting to lower the air conditioner. 'First, I forget to turn the damn thing on, and now, I forget to lower it from full power,' Tai grumbled in his head. "Oh, sorry about that. I guess I forgot to turn it down yesterday."
After lowering the air conditioner to its minimum, Tai plopped down next to Sora on the sofa. "So, what brings you to my humble abode?" he said in his usual playful tone.
He smiled as Sora giggled. He loved how her crimson eyes twinkled when she laughed. Then, before he knew anything had happened, Sora had thrown her arms around him. It took a few seconds before Tai found his voice and stammered, "S-S-Sora? W-What are you doing?" while at the same time thinking, 'Wow, her hair smells nice.'
"Hugging you," she replied, arms still wrapped around his body.
'This is it Tai,' he thought, mind racing. 'It's now or never.' Tai slowly began to lift his arms, but Sora pulled away before he could close them around her body.
He cursed in his head before Sora smiled and said, "Sorry, I just wanted to know what that would feel like."
'Ah, well, better luck next time?' "Ah, you wanted to know what it felt like to hug Odaiba High School's premiere heartthrob!" he said, trying with all his might not to sound disappointed about his lost chance. He laughed with Sora as she playfully slapped his arm.
"You're so full of youself, Tai," she giggled.
Tai grinned. "Some things never change," he said with a wink. "Hey, you want a popsicle?"
"Sure," she replied, and Tai hopped off the sofa and into the kitchen. He grabbed a double popsicle from the freezer, ripped off the wrapper, and walked back into the livingroom. "Here," he said, holding out the popisicle so Sora could take the second stick. "Break off your half."
Sora broke off her half, but then grabbed Tai's hand before he could lift his half of the popsicle to his mouth. He grabbed the popsicle out of his left hand and stuck it in his mouth before he realized why Sora had grabbed his hand; he still had the cuts from the previous night on his wrist . "Wha-" he tried protesting as he attempted to pull his hand away, but Sora cut him off.
"Tai, what are these cuts?" Sora asked as she looked up at him with worried eyes.
Tai pulled his popsicle out of his mouth with his free hand. "It's nothing!" he said, looking away from her gaze.
"Tai," Sora persisted, "have you been…cutting yourself?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Sora. Why would I cut myself?" Tai retorted. "I just…" his eyes fell upon Miko, Kari's cat, snoozing on the windowsill. "I just got scratched by Miko."
Tai felt Sora's grip on his hand loosen as if in relief, but she still said softly, "I don't believe you."
"Then don't," Tai snapped, as he pulled his hand free.
The two sat in silence, the only noise being the occasional slurping from eating their popsicles and the low whirring of the air conditioner. Tai hid his wrist from view when he caught Sora sneaking another glance at the telltale cuts. "I told you it's nothing, Sora," Tai huffed as he stood up to throw away his bare popsicle stick.
"Whatever you say, Tai," Sora said, though with a tone of disbelief. "Anyway, I'd better get going," she added after throwing her own stick in the trash. "Matt and I are going to the movies."
"Oh, okay," Tai said. 'Damn, Matt' he thought, frowning at Sora's back as she moved towards the front door. "I'll walk you down to the lobby," he offered, following behind Sora.
"Sure, thanks Tai," Sora smiled as she slipped on her flip-flops.
As they waited for the elevator, Tai kept his hands in his pockets so that Sora couldn't steal anymore glances at his wrist. The elevator doors finally creaked open, and the two silently stepped inside as the doors slowly slid closed.
Tai leaned against the back of the elevator and stared at the ceiling. "So, uh, what movie are you and Matt watching?" he asked casually, chocolate brown eyes still fixed to the ceiling.
"I don't know," Sora replied coolly, as her crimson eyes watched a small dial slowly move from "8th Floor" to "7th Floor." "Matt wants to watch a sc-" but she stopped midsentence as the elevator lurched to a sudden stop and the light began to flicker on and off.
Tai felt Sora cling onto his forearm as the elevator emitted an ominous groan and the lights flickered off. "T-Tai," she whispered. "This is normal, right?" Even as she asked, Tai knew that this most certainly was not normal.
Nevertheless, Tai put on a confident voice, "Yeah, don't worry. It'll be up and running any second now," he said, even as his heart began to pump.
Then, he heard it: the voice. The same, deep malicious voice that he had heard in his dream. Or had it been more than a dream? Somewhere from the darkness, the voice was laughing cruelly. Tai looked around the dark elevator, but couldn't see anyone but himself and Sora. Sora was still clinging to his arm, but was not reacting in any way to the evil laugh that was echoing around the elevator. "Don't you hear that?" Tai asked, starting to feel jittery.
"Hear what?" he heard her whisper nervously. So Sora couldn't hear it?
"Nothing," Tai said, not wanting to scare her any more than she already was.
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Matt Ishida sighed as he leaned back on his chair. The blonde had been plucking at his guitar for past two hours, trying to come up with a new tune. He glanced at the clock and abruptly jumped up from his seat; he was supposed to meet Sora at Tai's apartment in exactly three minutes.
Cursing under his breath, he gingerly replaced his guitar into its case, took a quick glance in the mirror to fix his already perfect hair, and ran out the door.
Matt slid to a stop in front of Tai's apartment complex and looked at his watch. 3:42pm. He was twelve minutes late, but Sora was nowhere in sight. Thinking she was still up at Tai's, Matt walked into the lobby and toward the elevator.
"Whoa, no can do, buddy," a voice said from behind him.
Matt turned around to see a man in a uniform with "Repair" printed across the chest. "You're gonna hafta use the stairs for now 'cause the elevator's down," the man said. "There's two people stuck in there, I heard," he added.
"Oh, okay," Matt shrugged, as he turned toward the stairs. Wait a minute…two people were stuck in the elevator? He stopped and turned his head to the elevator. Could one of them be Sora?
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Sora sat on the floor of the dark elevator, back leaning against the cool steel doors. The small elevator was getting hotter by the minute, and she and Tai had resorted to leaning against the steel in an attempt to stay cool. How long had they been in here, anyway? The watchman had come on the intercom to inform them that a repairman was on his way, but that seemed like an eternity ago.
She heard Tai sigh heavily, and looked sideways to see him with his eyes closed. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark, and she was now able to look down and see the thin cuts running across his wrist. Tai kept insisting that Miko had scratched him, but Sora knew he was lying. Tai was never a good liar, especially to her. His chocolate brown eyes told all. Another thing: What had Tai heard that she couldn't? He had stopped talking about it when she told him that she didn't hear anything, but it was clear that he was troubled. Was it connected to his cutting?
Sora gazed at her best friend. What would drive him to resort to cutting? Surely, this wasn't about her? She could only hope that she wasn't the cause of his pain.
"Tai?" Sora called softly.
Tai opened his eyes and turned his head to her. "Yeah?"
Sora turned her body to face him and sighed. How would she ask him? "Is…is everything alright?" she asked slowly, looking straight into his brown eyes.
Tai blinked. "What do you mean?"
Sora sighed again. "I mean, you just seem so…" What word wouldn't sound too accusing? "so…different nowadays."
Tai looked away at this. "Look, Sora, if this is about the cuts, I already told you what happened," he said, crossing his arms.
"This isn't just about the cuts!" Sora exclaimed. Tai looked rather taken aback at her sudden outrage. "Sorry," she said softly. "It's just, yesterday…you know…when Matt and I saw you at the restaurant…"
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Tai stared at the floor as Sora looked at him and said, "It's just, yesterday…you know…when Matt and I saw you at the restaurant…"
It was coming back to him now. Everything he had pushed to the darkest corner of his mind as he cut his wrist…it was all trickling back to his mind's eye.
The restaurant, Matt, Sora, the hair clip, the love of his life…
Tai clenched his fists at the thought of Matt. "I don't really want to talk about that right now," he said through gritted teeth.
"Tai…are you angry at Matt?"
Tai snorted. "Wherever did you get such an idea?" he said, even as he imagined himself punching Matt's face.
"Listen, Tai-" but her voice was cut off by another.
"Tai Kamiya." The voice was back. Tai immediately perked up and looked around for the source of the voice, but saw no one. "See how she is concerned about Matt?" the voice sneered. "She does not care for someone like you."
Beyond furious, Tai glared at the opposite wall as if the voice were standing there. "SHUT UP!" Tai bellowed
"T-Tai?"
Tai looked at Sora. Apparently, she thought that Tai had just screamed at her. "Sorry," Tai muttered, hanging his head.
"Tai, I'm worried about you," Sora said softly.
Tai looked up at her and saw her eyes shining with genuine concern. 'You see that?' he thought to the voice. 'She does care about me.'
It was then that the elevator gave a groan and finally began to move. Sora gave a sigh of relief as the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. Tai, who had been leaning against the door, fell backwards onto the hard lobby floor.
"Tai!" he heard Sora rush over to him. "You okay?"
Tai sat up, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, I'm fine," he muttered. It was considerably brighter in the lobby than it had been in the elevator, and he had to blink several times to adjust his eyes to the light.
There was a small crowd of maybe six or seven people standing around him, and one of them stepped up and held out a hand. "C'mon, Tai. Let me help you up."
Tai looked up to see none other than Matt, with his hand outstretched in front of him. Tai was about to push it away, when he saw Sora standing beside Matt and remembered the little conversation they had had in the elevator. Avoiding Matt's eyes, Tai grudgingly took his hand and allowed himself to be lifted to his feet. "Thanks," Tai muttered.
"Anytime," Matt said coolly. The crowd dispersed, disappointed that nothing remotely exciting seemed to have happened to Tai or Sora. Tai stood with his arms crossed, staring at anything but Matt and Sora.
Sora, apparently sensing Tai's discomfort around Matt, hurriedly said, "Matt, we better get going if we're still gonna catch that movie," she said as she tugged on his arm.
Tai looked up at them. "Yeah…you two should get going."
"You're still up for a movie after being trapped in an elevator?" Matt asked incredulously.
"No, I'm fine, Matt," Sora replied smiling.
Matt smiled and turned his sapphire eyes to Tai. "Do you want to come with us? You're probably bored by yourself."
Tai shoved his hands into his pockets and turned to the stairs. "No thanks," he muttered as he walked away. "You two have fun."
Even as he heard Sora and Matt bid him farewell and listened to their footsteps fade away, Tai felt a pang of regret. He wanted to go with them, but naturally, the thought of being a third wheel did not appeal to him.
Tai stopped on the fourth stair. Now that he thought about it, he really didn't want to go back into the empty apartment just yet. Having just been rescued from a tiny elevator, Tai had no intention of spending more time in a closed space. Besides, hearing strange voices when no one else could, had to be a sign that his head needed some fresh air. A short walk around town in open space sounded nice.
Tai turned around and walked outside into the bright summer sunshine. As he stood on a street corner waiting for the walk signal, a deep voice laughed quietly into his ear. Alarmed, Tai spun around at lightning speed, but saw no one. He blinked in confusion and turned back toward the street, convinced that his head was playing tricks on him.
Tai proceeded across the street once it was safe to cross, but froze midway. Across the street, Matt and Sora were locked in a kiss. Tai's eyes were glued to them, his mind screaming to run over and pull Matt away from Sora.
But before Tai could take another step, something slammed into his body.
It all happened too fast for Tai to register what was happening: he felt his body fly through the air until he hit the hard, concrete street with a sickening crunch. He was sprawled on his back in the middle of the street, a fresh puddle of blood growing around his head, unable to move or speak. Out of the corner of his eye, Tai saw a large van racing away from the scene. Slowly, his vision blurred and everything seemed to go quiet.
The last thing Tai heard before blacking out was a dark, malicious laugh echoing in his head.
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A/N- Well, I'm not too pleased at how this chapter came out, but I did all I could. I hope you readers thought it was alright. The next chapter is the beginning of the true plot! Thanks for reading, and please REVIEW:)