Thinking about it now, I really was clueless about love when I was younger. I never associated any of my actions as a result of "being in love." The only thing I knew at the time was that I would do anything for her.

The What.

"Hmm. How about this one?!"

"No. Absolutely not."

"This one's soooo cool, though!"

"Tai…. Do you really think she's going to like a stuffed Godzilla? How about, you know, a normal gift? For example, chocolate. White chocolate. It's tradition!"

I groaned in frustration as I pushed opened the door to exit the store. This was seriously the last time I'd go shopping with Kari last minute. Okay, I guess I brought this on myself. Tomorrow's White Day, which was kind of a big deal to girls. Guys, who obviously got the worse end of the stick, were supposed to give girls a gift – usually sweets – a month after Valentine's Day. I guess you could call it "answer day," because it was kind of like a return gift you were supposed to give to the girl who gave you gifts on Valentine's Day. In my case, this girl, of course, would be Sora, a.k.a. the most difficult girl to buy gifts for. I mean, I was still traumatized from the time she ignored me for two days straight for giving her a hair pin for her birthday. Plus, guys had it worse because we were supposed to give girls gifts three times the price of what they gave us! As if I couldn't be any more broke. My job as a Digidestined wasn't exactly bringing me any income!

"Well, Sora's different. I can't just give her a 'normal gift,'" I retorted, causing Kari to shake her head and roll her eyes. She continued on, making me quickly trail after her. "Okay, okay, okay, I'm sorry! I'm just a little pressured to get her something nice is all," I confessed.

We passed by dozens of stores. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I stopped, peering into the window of the store we ran into next. A big, red sign sat at the store front, stating my impending doom boldly in white font: "WHITE DAY TOMORROW, SUPER SALE."

I sighed, putting my palms against the glass and lightly banged my head against it. I felt a light pat on my back, and turned my head towards Kari. Her eyebrows were furrowed, lips slanted at an angle. She pulled back her hand to cross her arms. "Tai, "she said sternly. "I'm sure she'll like whatever you get her. You're thinking way too hard about this."

"Look, I appreciate your help, Kari," I said. "But you don't know Sora like I do. You weren't there when she got mad at me the last time I gave her something! It has to be perfect."

We entered another store – one filled with sweets and other goodies galore. The aroma of chocolate filled my nostrils, making me practically foam at the mouth. Kari had to nudge me hard in the waist to get me to stop being "such a slob." Hey, I was a sucker for chocolate! As I rubbed my side from the ache, I browsed through the selections. Alright, I guess chocolate would do. For now. I lifted a small, heart-shaped box adorned with a little white bow, reading the inscription. Assorted filled, all covered in white chocolate. Mmm. I closed my eyes just thinking of devouring the whole thing on the spot.

"Don't forget who you're shopping for, Tai," Kari remarked. I snapped back into reality and let out a nervous laugh.

"I think these are nice. I mean, I'm getting her other stuff, too, so this can be, like, part one," I stated, firmly gripping the box of chocolates tightly. I nodded my head in self-approval.

"Wait, you're getting her more things, too?" she asked. I continued nodding my head, promptly heading over to the cashier. Kari remained silent until we walked out of the store. I was quite proud of my purchase: part number one of Sora's White Day.

"Can I ask you something?" Kari said quietly to me.

I turned to her and joked, "You just did."

She rolled her eyes, softly chuckling, and shook her head. "Silly brother. What did Sora get you for Valentine's Day?"

I paused. This was about to make for an awkward conversation. I was sure if I told her, she'd get the wrong idea because she didn't get Sora and me. Our friendship was just weird… but unique. I didn't know how to explain it – we were just us. Anyone that wasn't Sora Takenouchi or Taichi Kamiya just wouldn't understand. I raised my eyebrows, suspiciously responding slowly, "Mmmmm, whyyyyy do you asssskkkkk?"

"Because I want to know if my assumptions are correct, " she said matter-of-factly. I groaned. I trusted my own sister, but she would not let me live down this moment for another second of my life. I guess she already had a collection of embarrassing stories about me so what was one more to add to that?

"Fiiine. I mean, it's not even a big deal, anyway! She got me chocolate in the shape of a soccer ball. Assumed wrong, I presume?"

Kari had a sly smiled plastered permanently across her lips, and poked me in the stomach. "What kind of chocolate?"

I felt my face grow hot, probably burning bright red at this point. "HonmeiChocosNoBigDeal," I muttered quickly. I began to speed walk past Kari, who was now laughing uncontrollably. I strolled on faster, and felt a tug at my arm. I was pulled back forcibly, and groaned as I awaited more taunts from Kari.

Honmei-choco. Girls gave guys honmei-choco on Valentine's day – a fancier, higher quality of chocolate, sometimes shaped like something – if they're … special in their lives. Usually, given to a – ugh, I couldn't even say it with a straight face – romantic interest, but it was NOT even like that with Sora and me.

"I'm sorry," Kari stifled out, trying to keep from laughing. "It's cute – it's sweet. Tai, I'm so happy for you."

"It's not like that! She even said herself she only got it because she liked that it was molded to look like a soccer ball. Don't assume anything!" I snapped. I could tell she didn't believe me, as she was squinting her eyes at me and smiling like she had just figured out a difficult puzzle.

"Oh, Tai. You don't even know. You've got it," Kari said. If you're confused now, you couldn't even imagine how confused I was at this point.

"I've got what?" I asked, clearly not understanding. How was I related to this girl? "You're being awfully cryptic and I'm not following."

"You've got the butterflies," she said, poking my stomach again. I gave her a blank stare, waiting for an explanation but twenty seconds of silence followed shortly after her little statement. My curiosity couldn't stand it.

"…The what?" I asked finally, stupefied.

"The butterflies, Tai!" she teased. Yeah, like I'm supposed to know what that means.

"… Again, the what?"

Kari sighed in frustration, shaking her head. She placed her hands on my shoulders, firmly gripping them. She intensely exclaimed, "You obviously have feelings for Sora!" My jaw nearly dropped to the floor. How dare she even say that? That's just… that's just… No! That is just wrong.

"That's – obviously not – how can you even say – I can't even – just – no!" I spluttered out, raising my voice louder and, oddly, higher-pitched. My mind was so blown out of proportion from the ridiculousness of such an idea that I couldn't even form words properly, which probably wasn't helping with the whole I-totally-don't-like-Sora-that-way point I was trying to make. I took a deep breath, deciding I needed to maintain a calm composure in order to get my point across. "Okay. I can get where you're coming from – but, Kari, believe me, what Sora and I have is completely platonic. Valentine's Day and White Day doesn't always equal romance! I mean, look at you and T.K.! You got him something for Valentine's Day! He's probably getting you something in return! Doesn't mean anything!"

Clearly amused, Kari beamed. "Oh, Tai. Someday you'll see it. That 'what' you're so confused about – the butterflies? You'll feel 'em sooner or later. Say, I've gotta meet with Yolei and the others now. Think you could finish up shopping yourself?"

I nodded, defeated. No matter how much I denied anything, Kari was a stubborn one and she wouldn't listen to a word I'd say. I gave her a quick hug, joking, "Sis, you're a brat, but thanks for coming with me today. I'll be fine for the rest of the evening."

She left, and although I wasn't arguing with her anymore, the thought of these "butterflies" kept lingering on my mind.

Ah. Finally done. I couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment as I stuffed all of the goodies together into a single big bag. Who would have thought shopping would take so much work? I wasn't entirely sure if Sora would like anything I got her, but, hey, it was the thought that counted and if she got mad at me again, I'd figure something out with the lovable Tai charm I had. I gulped. Well, I was hoping I was not going to have to pull out the Tai charm out altogether. I had my share of screw ups with Sora, but this time I think I've got it right.

I strolled down the street, whistling to myself. It was actually quite nice out – a gentle breeze calming the busy atmosphere of people bustling through the streets, despite the warm rays of the sun beating down on us. It would have been a nice day out to play soccer with Sora, but I had told her I procrastinated on one of my homework assignments (which wasn't exactly a lie). Hey, don't judge – I did it for the good of White Day. I couldn't wait to see the look on her face tomorrow when she opened her presents. I stopped in my tracks. On second thought, maybe I shouldn't be there tomorrow. What if she did mad at me again? How embarrassing would that be – after all of this difficult time shopping? I supposed I'd figure something out, but I concluded that I shouldn't be there with her when she opens them tomorrow. I'd just hope for the best, and face the wrath later.

"HAH!"

A jolt of sharp pain spread in my shoulder as I felt something shove me to the side, forcing me to drop my bag as I tried to avoid falling. I stumbled on my feet as I was trying to make sense of what was happening. Having recovered my balance, I looked up to see the figure that forced its way into my path grabbing my bag, and taking off running. Was this seriously happening? "HEY! STOP!" I yelled. A passerby had come to my side, asking if I was okay, but I couldn't focus. Oh. My. God. Sora's gifts! I gave the stranger a quick nod, stuttering, "I-I'm fine!" and took off sprinting.

"GET! BACK! HERE! THIEF!" I shrieked. The person had to have been a guy, dressed in a baggy, navy blue hooded sweatshirt and khaki shorts. Weird combination of clothes, I had to note, but whatever – this guy was going down. I panted, feeling my pulse racing, trying to imagine myself on the soccer field and running towards my goal.

The thief turned the corner, heading towards the local park. Man, this guy was fast – but he wasn't going to get away with stealing Sora's gifts. All I could hear were gasps of people that we passed by, with constant thudding of our feet pounding against the grass. I nearly slipped as we ran downhill toward the lake. Why was this thief trying to trap himself in a corner by going to the lake? Whatever – this guy did not know who he was messing with.

He began to slow down, probably realizing that he was heading right for the water. Determined, I bent my knees to build up some momentum, intent on tackling this guy down. He approached the edge of the water, and made a sharp turn around to face me, dropping the bag to the ground. By then, it was too late.

I found myself flying into the air, arms out, teeth gritted – screaming for dramatic effect.

Only, I recognized the guy I was about to pummel into the lake, along with me on top of him.

Davis Motomiya.

Suddenly, my wails went from, "AAARGGGHHHHH" to "AAAARRRrrghhhhuuuhhh?"

His eyes widened in fear as he realized I was about to tackle him, and then he closed his eyes shut, putting his arms in front of his face, preparing for the impact. He shouted, "NOOOO!" Those five seconds of me throwing myself into the air seemed to have expanded into five hours, because everything was happening in slow motion now. As I flew towards him, a million questions ran in my mind, and suddenly tackling the "thief" into the water wasn't such a good idea anymore.

SPLASH.

I felt a rush of water fill up my nostrils, and I was sure I accidentally swallowed a nasty amount of it – everything suddenly went from slow motion to world-spinning-way-too-fast mode. At first, I saw only darkness, and it terrified me. My body hurt upon the impact of tackling Davis, but my first instinct was to get out of the nasty, most likely contaminated, dirty lake water. We had both hit the muddy floor of the lake since we were on the shallow edge. I jerked my head up and forced my body towards the lake shore, finally gasping for air. I coughed violently, trying to breathe and spit out any water that was still in my mouth. Davis did the same, struggling to get up. I lent him my hand, and we scampered back towards land.

Still coughing, I managed to blurt out, "What – the – HECK – were you – THINKING!"

Soaked, Davis took off his hoodie, tossing it to the side. He laid down with his back to the ground, breathing heavily.

"I thought it would be funny!" he said. I nearly fell on the ground.

"You thought it would be FUNNY to steal someone's bag in public?! My BAG gets STOLEN in PUBLIC, and I'm supposed to think it's funny?!"

Davis scratched his head, embarrassed. He chuckled nervously. "Well, I was going to turn around and say, 'Hey, surprise! It's just me!' but then you decided to turn into Superman and tackled me like I'm some bad guy!" He paused. "Okay, I can now see how dumb this was, but it kind of makes for a funny story now, right? Kari told me I could catch you by the shopping district and I thought it'd be, I don't know, clever!"

I sighed, bringing myself down to his level. "Don't ever do that again." After a few seconds, I started to laugh, because it would be an amusing story to tell Sora later. Sora! I got up quickly, and ran over to the shopping bag. I shifted through the items inside, making sure nothing was damaged. All crystal clear – phew.

"Well, now I know if I get mugged, I can count on you to catch the thief for me!" Davis said sheepishly, grinning. I shivered, just now realizing how cold and drenched I was, not to mention coated with mud. I sighed in relief, clutching the bag closely to me and looking up at the sky, thinking of how grateful I was that nothing had happened to Sora's presents.

A little bell rang as the door shut behind her. Sora took a deep breath in and out, catching a whiff of fresh flowers as she walked toward the back of the store. She gently touched the petals of each flower arrangement with one hand as she passed by, smiling. She was carrying a rectangular box of chocolate with the other.

"Oh, Sora! Grab a white rose from the pot next to you, will you, honey?" she heard a voice from behind the counter. Sora perked up, surprised her mother had known it was her. Obeying, she plucked out the biggest one, smelling its sweet aroma before she set it onto the table, and then proceeded to open her box of chocolates, debating which one to eat first. Sora's mother popped up from behind the counter.

"Oh, sweetie, who gave you those?"

"Matt," Sora replied promptly, focusing on the chocolate with the dark streaks.

Her mother smiled. "That's awfully nice of him. You've got quite a few eyes on you, don't you, young lady?"

Having already stuffed the chocolate in her face, Sora almost choked. "It's just one guy, Mom. Plus, we're just friends!" she said, embarrassed.

"Oh, really?" her mother quipped slyly. "Well, Sora, watch the counter for me while I go in the back real quick? Oh, the white rose is for you, and the rest of it is also for you behind the cash register."

"Wait, what?" Sora asked, but her mother had already slipped behind the door in the back of the room.

Suspicious, she made her way around the corner, leaving the box of chocolate and white rose on the table counter. She peered behind the cash register, widening her eyes as she spotted a knee-high, white box on the floor. Wrapped tightly with a red bow on top, she lifted the box to set it onto the counter. No tags, she thought. She opened her mouth, about to yell for her mother, but she decided against it. Did she mean this was for me?

Sora pulled the ribbon, slowly as to preserve its perfection. She lifted open the lid, and gave out a small chuckle as she realized what it was. The first thing she saw was a stuffed Godzilla, wearing some goggles that were obviously oversized for the beast so the straps were wrapped around its neck. She shook her head, laughing and rolling her eyes. This could have come from only one person. How nice of him to drop this off when he called out sick of school today. That idiot. He should've been in bed the whole day!

She gave the Godzilla a quick hug, setting him on top of Matt's box of chocolates. Next, she shifted through the tissue paper, finding a heart-shaped box next. Something was scribbled across its cover. Lifting it, she brought it close to her face, squinting to see if she were just seeing things. On the box, the brand, Godiva Chocolate, was crossed off with sharpie, and instead written - rather messily, Sora observed – "Awesome (SorryThey'reNotHomemade) Chocolate." She grinned, then bit her lip to stifle her nearly uncontrollable guffaws.

Crumbling the remaining tissue paper inside the box, Sora was sure there wasn't anything else. She shifted through the little treasure, grabbing what was left of tissue paper and tossing it to the side, until she suddenly touched something with a hard, yet smooth, surface. She did a double take, fixating on what was inside. She pulled out a small, long rectangular sky blue box. Sora lifted its lid open, and a small note quickly fell to the ground, but it didn't immediately occur to her to pick it up. Instead, she was distracted by what remained inside the box. She lifted it up gently, wrapping her fingers around its silver chains. A necklace? She thought. She stared in awe as she lifted it toward her eyes, examining its beauty. It glimmered as she traced her fingers along the piece of jewelry, examining the bejeweled bird that was attached onto the necklace. Its wings spread along its side, with its head fiercely pointing upward. It reminded her of Biyomon, a dear, old friend.

"Wow," she whispered to herself. She took a step back in disbelief, having thought he wouldn't have bothered getting anything for her. She heard a crumpling sound beneath her foot, and gasped. The note! She immediately bent down to pick it up, unfolding it.

To Sora,

Hope you like the presents. Please don't get mad at me if you don't like them. Long story short, I had to go through the depths of the darkest ocean and fought against a nasty Ogremon along the way to get them and that's why I got sick. I'll tell you about it someday. Happy White Day.

Love,
Tai

I sniffed in loudly, shuddering at the awful taste of snot running down my throat. I sighed, covering myself with my blanket and took in its warmth. I knew that damn lake was contaminated with diseases and germs and – achoo!

I wondered if she liked the gifts – or if she even got them by now. I hoped her mom told her it was from me. I smiled, closing my eyes. Either way, it was worth tackling Davis. I loved the kid but I'd always wanted to do that. It would definitely be worth it if I find out that Sora loved the presents. I wondered if she got any other presents from other guys... I mean, not that it mattered.

Suddenly, I bolted upright. My head was throbbing and I felt my heart pounding as a sinking feeling set inside my thoughts. Aw, crap. Crap, crap, crap.

Did I write "Love, Tai" instead of "From, Tai" again?!

Author's note: First, I changed my pen name from DaggerLy2 to remaerd x. Second, thank you for the kind words, Sora Loves Rain & DutchGirl - it lets me know that I should keep going, and that someone out there is taking the time to read about this crazy love story! Much love, I do appreciate it. Thanks to the favorites and follows as well. Please take the time to leave some feedback by reviewing, readers! Oh, and lastly! I did some research on White Day in Japan thanks to my friend, Google, but if anything's inaccurate, I apologize! Next time: The When.