It had been a disappointing month for Tai and Scott (Michaels). When they came to Celtic, they thought they would be getting a decent amount of playing time. Instead, they were mostly playing as substitutes, coming on during the later stages of the matches. The most playing time they had gotten was with their respective national teams—Scott for the United States and Tai for Japan—where they started two games (and those were the only two games they played in) for each team in the two teams respective World Cup qualifying, the United Sates in CONCACAF (Confederation Of North, Central American And Caribbean Association Football) and Japan in the AFC (Asian Football Confederation). But in Scottish domestic competition, they didn't get a whole lot of playing time.
In the mean time, both of them were able to get apartments in the Glasgow City Centre (Downtown in American terms), strangely in the same building. Why, neither of them knew, but they shrugged it off, thinking it was simply a coincidence that they were living in the same building. But Tai also had to share his apartment with Sora, but since he lived with Kari so many years, he was used to having another female in the apartment. Of course, it did have room for Agumon and Biyomon to hide in case they had to.
"I love it! I love it!" An enthusiastic Koromon chirped as he bounded around the apartment. Because the In-Training levels were easier to hide, they had de-digivolved to do so. Of course, finding out how to do that is no easy task in itself.
"I'm glad that someone likes it," said Sora.
"Are you kidding me? You give him a soccer ball, and he'll be entertained for hours," replied Tai. Sora had her own bedroom, while Tai had his own; again, it wasn't like Japanese apartments, which tend to be small. It was much bigger, which is why Koromon and Yokomon were so excited, because they had never been in an apartment this big before. But Tai and Sora were even happier that they were getting a two-bedroom apartment for a relatively cheap price, considering this was a nice apartment. It wasn't luxury, but it was still pretty swanky anyways.
Tai took a breath that sounded of disappointment and sat on the couch in the living room. Koromon and Yokomon continued to play, blissfully unaware of Tai's presence on the couch. Tai once again let out a sigh, and Sora said,
"What's wrong, Tai?"
"Nothing," he said.
"I guess you're not happy with the lack of playing time, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
"So you expected more playing time?" She asked. "Aren't you happy with the playing time you've been getting with the National Team?"
"I am glad about that, but I'd rather be playing here! I came here to play and I've been—what's that term Scott uses, oh yeah—riding the bench too much."
"Jeez Tai, you're acting like a little kid!" She said, which did not seem to please him too well. "You should be thankful you're actually getting to play instead of complaining that you're not playing enough! Maybe Strachan just doesn't know if you're ready yet!"
"I've played in the Olympics, for cryin' out loud!" He shot back. "And why are you lecturing me about this, you're not my mom or Kari!"
"What do your mom and Kari has to do with this? Anyway, you joined the team when the season was getting underway, so I would expect that the players who were here first would get some more time then you."
"Well, we've already started our Champions League Season, and I was hoping to play against Aalborg."
"Right, but you didn't, so deal with it. Maybe he'll let you play against Villareal when you go there on the 30th," she said.
"I hope so," he said. "But we gotta worry about Aberdeen first."
--
Scott, meanwhile, had his own apartment to worry about. He, like Sora and Tai, had a two-bedroom apartment, but unlike them, he couldn't get a roommate, not even Maurice Edu an American playing for Rangers. So he had to pay the damn bill himself.
"Bunch of bullshite," he muttered to himself as he departed to get his groceries. He chuckled to himself. A month into his time here in Scotland and he was already talking like the locals! He was about to leave when he saw a young woman around his age with dark brown hair struggling to get something out of her car. So, he decided to help her. "Ma'am! Ma'am!" He called to her. "Let me help you with that," he said.
"Oh, thanks," she said in her Scottish accent. She must have been a local, since he could now tell the difference between a Glasgow dialect and a Highland dialect. "You're not from around here, are ye?" She asked. She was a good-looking girl with soft features on her face. And her voice was pretty melodic, too.
"Nope," he replied. The item involved was a chair that she could not get out of her van without assistance, so she needed some help, which she appreciated. Of course, that meant Scott had to delay his grocery trip.
"You know, I was about to go get my groceries," he said as he tried to help her up the stairs.
"Are you complaining or something?" She asked.
"No, I was just mentioning," he said.
"Ye know, I think I've seen ye somewhere before, do ye live in the building?"
"Yeah, I just moved in about a week—grunt—ago." He said as he got the chair up another step.
"I moved in yesterday and I'm not done yet," she replied. "But I know I've heard of ye somewhere."
"I think you may have heard of me in the sports page," he replied. "I'm playing for Celtic."
"Oh, so yer're a footballer," she said. "That's nice. But yer're not from Scotland, are ye?"
"Of course not, I'm an American!" He replied. They stopped at one landing and Scott said, "By the way, my name's Scott, Scott Michaels."
"I'm Margaret Gordon, but you can just call me Maggie."
"Well Maggie, it was nice to meet you," he said, shaking her hand.
--
Celtic's match against Aberdeen on Saturday the 27th of September was the first time Tai and Scott got significant playing time. They came in this time coming in the 50th minute for Scott and Tai coming in during the 55th minute. The Celtic kit was completed by the club's traditional white shorts with the club crest on the right pant leg and the player's number on the left. The socks were white, but were topped by a green band and some yellow piping on the top. The front of the shin included the Nike logo while the Celtic script was on the calf (again, I suggest you look up the Celtic kits for 2008-09. I suggest the Switch Image Project; they have a great reference for the kits. Search "Celtic FC 2008-09 kits, Switch Image Project". But don't use quotes it might mess things up). Aberdeen's kit, meanwhile, was almost solid red with a strip of white on the left shoulder and white piping on the edge of the sleeves and the pant legs.
But enough about the uniforms, we need to get to the game. Again, Scott and Tai entered the game in the second half with Celtic leading 2-nil thanks to two goals by Dutch co-captain Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (R). But that lead wasn't to last as former Celt Charlie Mulgrew (R) scored in the 57th minute to cut Celtic's lead in half and then scored 8 minutes later to tie the match. But luckily for Celtic, that didn't last long, because in the 92nd minute (second minute of additional time), they managed to break through on the following play:
(A/N: A "C" will note play-by-play commentary.)
C: "Michaels, on the near post, kicks it to McDonald, he shoots, GOOAAAAL!!!! Scott McDonald, on an assist from the American Bhoy Scott Michaels, has put Celtic ahead 3-2!!!"
With that goal, Celtic were able to hang on for a win of the same score. We now join the characters post-match in the Celtic dressing room:
Scott (Michaels) was putting on his street clothes after removing his kit. He was going to wait until he got back to his apartment until he showered, despite the fact that he probably smelled like shite.
"Hey, great assist earlier," said McDonald.
"Oh thanks," he replied. At first things were going fine until Tai walked back in to the dressing room and English midfielder Luke Chapman (F) had the bad idea to ask,
"So Tai, I hear you and Scott have some history." Had he known what would have happened next, he would not have asked.
"Yes, we do," he replied as he got to his locker. Tai had some hostility in his voice as if the comment had reopened some old wounds.
"Well, what happened?" He asked.
"We played against each Bronze Medal game at the Olympics in futbol," said Scott.
"Oh, so that's it," said Luke. "I thought it was because Michaels stole a girl from Kamiya."
Scott laughed and said, "No, that's not it. He's still mad at me for scoring the winning goal in that game to give the United States the win over Japan."
"And I still wish you hadn't made that goal," said Tai.
"You're still mad about that?" Scott asked with indignation. "What a sore loser you are, get over it already. We won, and you lost. Deal with it!" But that just made Tai even angrier. Although he had grown since the time he was a DigiDestined, he still had his temper and like now, tended to rush into things without thinking.
"Well I wanted to win a medal, alright?"
"Kamiya, we were in the fucking Olympics, you're supposed to be a good sport about this!"
Scottish-born Irish national Aiden McGeady (R) tried to step in between the two, as things were getting pretty heated now. "Alright you two, that's enough, alright?"
"Maybe I should have kicked your ass!" Tai shouted.
"Do you know when to fucking quit? It's over, get over it, asshole!" Now no amount of holding back could stop Tai as he lunged forward and slugged Scott right in the left side of the face, drawing groans from the rest of the squad. The hit was hard enough that it made Scott fall back and eventually fell on his ass. Trying to feel the damage, Scott held his hand to his mouth in reaction. Then he took his hand off his mouth and saw blood in his hand. That got him even angrier. "You son of a bitch!" He yelled as he got up and lunged at Tai, this time striking Tai in the mouth. Within seconds, the rest of the squad had to intervene with the two tousling players, trying to separate the two from each other. Tai had to be pulled off Scott by Greek attacker Georgios Samaras while Scottish goalkeeper Terry Hampden had to push Scott away from him. They were eventually successful, but Gordon Strachan had to intervene in order to finally stop the fighting. Soon, the room was silent as Strachan addressed the two squabblers.
"Enough of this, the both of ye!" He said. "The 'FC' stands for 'Football Club', not 'Fight Club', ye got that?" The both of them nodded. "Now I want the both of ye in my office in half an hour, understand?"
"Yes sir," said Scott.
"Yes sir," said Tai.
"Good." Strachan said firmly. He turned around and left the room. With the fighting over, the rest of the players resumed their business. Poor Luke Chapman simply shook his head and muttered to himself, "I was just curious."
--
Thirty minutes later, Scott and Tai entered Gordon Strachan's office, just as he told them two. Scott had an ice pack on his lips, since he had sustained a fat lip. Tai, meanwhile, had a small, but noticeable black eye resulting from Scott's punch. "Have a seat," he said them. They did as they were told and sat down silently. The room was filled with silence with what felt like an eternity before Strachan finally spoke.
"This antagonism between the both of ye has gone too far! The both of ye are teammates now, and any conflict between each other only serves as a distraction. Now I hate to do this, but I'll have to notify the press about this little incident. It's as if we have enough to be ashamed about, what with the small part of our fan base that we'd rather not have." He stayed silent for a few seconds and said, "Yer're professional footballers, not brawlers, understand? I will not have any fighting between my players going on during the season. You're not playing for any small team, you're playing for one of the most respected clubs not only in Scotland, Britain and Europe, but in the whole world, and to have two players getting into a fight because one was a sore loser is damaging to our reputation!" He stayed silent for a few moments while Scott and Tai digested his very harsh words. Then he spoke again. "Now I hate to do this, but yer actions have forced me to come to decision. It hurts me to say this, but I'm suspending the both of ye for our upcoming Champions League match at Villareal. That means you can't come."
"What?" The both of them said in unison.
"Coach, you can't do that to us!" Scott replied.
"Come on, I gotta go--,"
"ENOUGH!!!" He yelled loud enough to silence them both. "I know yer're mad, but you'd better be glad I'm not kicking either of ye off the team. If the both of ye behave, I'll let the both of ye go to Manchester, got that? You don't have to like each other; just don't get into any more trouble! But I would also like it you would get over the fact that you lost, Kamiya. Yer're supposed to be an Olympian and here yer're getting into a fight with someone who beat ye. And Michaels, I don't want ye bragging about it either, got that?"
"But I coach, I wasn't--,"
"I don't care about that; you get my point, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"Alright; now both of ye get out of my sight."
--
Although the car ride home from Celtic Park wasn't anything tense, since they both took separate cars, but the elevator ride to Scott's floor—which was two floors below Tai's—was the longest minute (or however long it takes for an elevator to take) of their lives. The antagonism between the two was bad enough that if any of them made a wrong move, well, then one of them would end up in the hospital in critical condition because one of them would have beat the shite out of the other. And a fat lip and a black eye were the only bruises they wanted. But luckily for either of them, the elevator ride ended for Scott who departed for his apartment. But we will follow Tai for now and then join Scott.
"Tai, you're back!" An excited Koromon--who had still not Digivolved back to Agumon—said as Tai entered his apartment. "Um, Tai, are you okay?"
"I think he's just tired from his match," said Sora. "Aren't you?"
"Yeah sure," he said as he sat down on the couch. But then Sora noticed the black eye he had and got worried about him.
"Tai, you're hurt!" She said.
"It's nothing," he said trying to drop the subject. But Sora wouldn't have any of it.
"Yes it is!" She said.
"Jeez, you're acting like my mom," he said.
"How'd you get it?" She asked as she got some ice from the freezer.
"Some Aberdeen player kneed me in the eye," he said to cover up what really happened. Then, silence. It wasn't a deadly silence that one notes that it's too quiet and then some cliché thing happens like a sneak attack. No, it was a silence that one hears after a lie is discovered or suspected. A tense silence, if you will.
"An Aberdeen player?" She asked, trying to verify.
"Yeah," he replied. The only problem is, it didn't work one bit. Sora walked over to him with her arms crossed and a look on her face that basically said, 'you're lying.'
"Tai," she said. "I saw the game. You didn't get kneed by an opposing player, what happened?" He stammered, trying quickly to cover up what happened, but he knew that she'd find out what it was; might as well fess up.
"I got into a fight with Scott Michaels," he said.
"How?"
"One of the players asked if we had a history, and then Michaels had to mention that the US beat Japan in the Olympics, which made me mad. Things kind of got escalated from there on and I ended up punching him and he ended up punching me, and things turned into a mess. And now I've been suspended for our match against Villarreal!" Sora shook her head in plain disgust and then went back into the kitchen and emptied the ice bag that she had been preparing to put on Tai's eye. "Wait, why aren't you giving me that ice?"
"Because you don't deserve it Tai!" She yelled. "Kari's right, you need to stop acting like you did when we were DigiDestined and you tried to be the hero all the time! You need to think before acting, Tai."
"Jeez Sora, what do you want from me?"
"What do I want from you? I want you to stop being so impulsive and think for once! And second, this hatred of Scott Michaels has got to stop! Sure, he may have helped his team beat yours and he did punch you back, but please get over it and forgive him!"
"Who do you think you are, Jesus?" He asked. Neither he or Sora were Christians, but he felt the analogy was good enough.
"No, but I know when something's gone on long enough. And this hatred towards a teammate has gone on long enough!"
"Jeez, you're worse than my mom and Kari!" He said.
"You know Tai," she said. "I don't care. This isn't 'Fight Club'; you can't take your anger out physically. The world doesn't work that way." She turned around and walked away from Tai. "I don't know what to do with you."
"Then why did you stay with me?" He asked. "Do you still have any regrets about staying here?" She stopped and paused for a moment to think. Then she said the same thing she said the day the rest of the DigiDestined left for Japan.
"Not a damn one".
--
Scott got off the elevator first (A/N: this takes place before Tai's argument with Sora) and walked away as the elevator door closed on him and Tai. The building's halls were lined with fine carpeting, giving the building its sorta-swanky aesthetic. But we're not talking about the appearance of an apartment building in Glasgow; we're talking about a soccer player. So, Scott walked down the halls to his apartment with his fat lip and carrying his soccer gear when he noticed a familiar-looking blur walk past him. Turns out the blur recognized him, too.
"Scott?" He turned around in an instant and recognized whom it was.
"Oh, Maggie," he said. "What's up?"
"Oh, not much," she said. She took one look at Scott's fat lip and said, "What happened tae ye?"
"Oh, some Aberdeen player kicked me in the face," he lied. She figured it out it was a lie instantly, much like Sora (although chronologically, the Tai and Sora bit happened a bit later).
"Yer're lyin' tae me, ya nugget," she said.
"All right, alright," he said. "You caught me. I got into a fight with one of my teammates."
She sighed in exasperation and said, "Och, ye are a nugget," she said.
"What's a nugget?" He asked. Despite the fact that he had figured out a few things about the local dialect, he still couldn't figure out a few things about the Glasgow Patter, as it's called.
"It means yer're and idiot," she said.
"Jeez," he said. "What are you, my mom?"
"I might as well be," she replied. "So what happened, anyway?"
"He's mad at me because my team beat his in the Olympics."
"Oh, ye played for the United States, right?"
"Yeah,"
"I watched that game, that was a great goal, Mr. Michaels. But in all seriousness, ye shouldn't have gotten in that fight anyway."
"I had to defend myself, anyway!"
"Does that give ye the moral high ground?" She replied.
"No, I guess not," he said. "The bad part is, I've been suspended for the game against Villareal."
"Well, now I hope ye learned yer lesson," she said. "So he's mad at ye because the US beat Japan, eh?"
"Yeah, and it seems as though he keeps on getting reminded of it," he said.
"And maybe yer're eggin' him on," she said. "The world isn't 'Fight Club", ye could get in trouble fer fightin' someone, ye know. This isn't the murder capital of the UK fer no reason, ye know."
"Yeah, sure."
"Are ye even listening?" She asked. "Look, just put some ice on that and think about the consequences of yer actions. So I'll see ye later?"
"Yeah, sure." He said as she walked away. He began to think that despite the long lecture, she was a very interesting young woman. A few minutes later, he returned to his apartment and dropped his athletic bag on the floor. He trudged over to the couch and sat down, turned on the TV and began flipping channels, looking for a channel that showed a game that his little brother Jimmy was playing in.
End chapter 2.
So what did you think about the chapter? I know there wasn't much soccer/football/futbol action, but it's only the second chapter, after all. There's a whole lot more to come, so please stay tuned for the next chapter and I'll get it up soon. Probably once F.I.N.A.L.S. are over.
Reviews would be very much appreciated.