Hey everyone. Sorry it's been almost a month since my last update. Been working on this and the next chapter of Digimon 2.5, as well as some new artwork on deviantART so things have been a little hetic lately. Anyway, hope you enjoy chapter 3!

Elite Beauty:Thanks ^^ No it's not about hurt or anything like that. See if you can spot it now hehe
profetino: Yeah even though Tai's having a rotten time at the moment things will turn out for the better. And Yep you got the chapter thing right, well done. :)
Keyblade King 12: Thank you very much. :)
Sweet Cari: Yeah, things don't look too good for him but they'll get better.
JadeBrycin2116: Awww thank you ^^ for only seeing two soccer games your scenes were really good. I'm a major soccer fan so I watch alot of it lol
M.A.G.E: Thank you!
Dark Anbu Knight: really? which one was it?
Vigatus: Yeah, I would be in a bad mood as well if my future career plans had just been destroyed. XD
PrincessOfDestiny14: Aww thank you ^^
NovelistOfTheSky: Thank you :)
alicelouise'x: Aww I know, there will be more hints of Sora liking him in this chapter but she still doesn't realise it.
Matani: Thanks. Hopefully you can see what I'm doing with the chapter titles now ;)
STEFI07: Thank you :)
Supershooter: Thanks ^^ I try my best to keep everyone in character, although it is hard sometimes to stray away from that.
Greymon leader: Thank you! :)


Twist of Fate

Chapter 3: Inner Emotions

It had been three weeks since Tai's soccer injury and during those three weeks he had not seen or heard from Sora since she ran out of his hospital room. Apart from his sister he had hardly seen any of the others either. They had stopped by the odd time at first but the last time he had seen one of the other DigiDestined was just over a week ago. The way he had been feeling these past three weeks he wasn't up to seeing anyone really.

Yuuko opened the front door to their apartment and held it open as Tai limped inside on his crutches. They had just returned from the hospital after he'd had a check-up with his doctor.

The doctor had said his leg was healing quicker than first thought so he would be off the crutches sooner than expected. But that didn't matter to Tai. It didn't make him feel any better, even if the doctor had taken him off the crutches there and then. It still wouldn't bring his future of professional soccer back or mend the argument with Sora.

"Do you want a hand sweetie?" Yuuko asked as she removed her shoes.

"No thanks Mom." Tai muttered as he rested his crutches against the wall and put all of his weight on his good leg. He felt like he was three years old again. He knew his mother was only trying to help but he didn't like being helped with something as simple as removing his shoes.

Yuuko sighed. "I'll go make some lunch." She said before heading to the kitchen. She'd seen a big change in Tai since he came home from the hospital. She had rarely seen him smile in the past three weeks.

"I'm not hungry Mom." But she must not have heard him as she had already disappeared into the kitchen.

As he leant against the wall and slipped off his shoes, he noticed something sticking out of the letterbox. It was a small white envelope. His father must have missed it this morning when collecting the post. Tai leaned forward and pulled it out. "Hey Mo-" he was about to call his mother when he realised the letter was addressed to him. Ripping it open he unfolded the letter. It read;

Dear Mister Kamiya

Firstly we would like to say we were very impressed with your skills and striking ability during Saturday's game. You were amazing to watch throughout both halves up until that very unfortunate and horrific injury. We were very saddened to have witnessed such a reckless challenge and were even more disappointed to hear you will not be able to pursue a career in professional soccer.

We were looking forward to offering you a scholarship with us at F.C Tokyo in hopes you would one day play for our team. A talent like yours would have been a joy to watch and you have our condolences that you will not get the chance to fulfil that-

There was more but Tai didn't want to continue. He couldn't believe it. Why were they sending him this? Was this some kind of joke? Were they trying to rub salt into his wounds? It was bad enough being told he could never play the same again and now had to be told what could have been if he hadn't got injured?

Feeling irritated, he scrunched up the letter and threw it on the floor, and it disappeared just behind the umbrella stand. He grabbed his crutches and stormed off as best as he could towards his bedroom.

Just as he passed the kitchen, his mother stepped out tying her yellow apron.

"Hey Tai, you want so-" Yuuko was cut off when her son's bedroom door slammed loudly behind him.

Tai hobbled over to his desk and tossed his crutches to the side before collapsing in the chair. He stretched his injured leg out and just stared at the empty desk in front of him. He wished he hadn't opened that damn letter now. He felt worse now than the whole past three weeks combined. Sighing loudly he turned to look out of the window.

Then something caught his eye. It was the University book he had tossed in his trash can earlier that week. He stared at it for a few moments before bending down and picking it up. Maybe he should start looking through it. There was only a few more weeks left until the deadline for applications closed for courses…..


Sora was sat out on her window ledge to her balcony with her small notebook computer in her lap. She had a blank email box open and had typed in Tai's e-mail address in the bar. That's how far she had gotten, her fingers hovering over the keys. She had been sat there just like that for ten minutes. The first five minutes she had been thinking what to write and the second five minutes she had spent thinking if she should actually send the email or not.

Sighing loudly she stubbornly shut the lid down and placed it on the window ledge before swinging her legs down so she had her back to the balcony. "Why should I be the one to say sorry." She muttered under her breath.

Tai had been the one who snapped at her. He had sounded so selfish and basically said their friendship wasn't there anymore and that had left her feeling heartbroken. He should be the one e-mailing her.

As if by a strange coincidence, her cell phone sounded indicating she had received a text message. Maybe it's Tai. Maybe he'd had chance to cool off and realised how stupid he had sounded and was going to apologise.

A little hastily she jumped down from the window ledge and grabbed her cell phone off of her desk that was next to the window. Looking at the screen she unconsciously frowned a little when she noticed it was a message from Matt. He was supposed to meet her for lunch at the café outside of Aqua City in one hour.

Sorry babe, practice is running over. Can we make it dinner tonight instead? Xx

Sora sighed irritably as she wandered over to her bed and sat down on the edge of it. She knew this would have happened, that's why she wasn't in a hurry to get ready. She had also told him twice she had to cover for her mother at the flower shop tonight.

After texting her reply and sending the message, she tossed her phone to the side and collapsed back onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She had been feeling particularly lonely lately.

Thing's had started off great with Matt two years ago. That first date they had together they had found out so much they didn't know about each other in only a few hours and Sora had been excited in getting to know Matt in a completely different light. For the first year they had been very close and had at least two or three dates a week and never grew tired of each other's company.

But now it wasn't like that. Ever since his band began to grow in popularity, their relationship seemed to slowly stop. His band seemed to come first and deep down Sora had to admit it wasn't working anymore and they were starting to move backwards instead of forwards. She understood how important this record deal was to him as well as the rest of the band. But when it had first come about she didn't realise it would have dragged out this long.

She'd read numerous times in celebrity magazines about rock stars and their lifestyles and how some spouses were unhappy with it. If Matt became an International Celebrity he'd be constantly followed by journalists and no doubt Sora would be pulled into the public eye as well. Her image would be in papers and magazines critiquing everything from her figure to something as simple as the clothes she would wear and she didn't think she would ever be able to cope with that.

Not to mention Matt would be constantly away promoting albums and touring. If Sora was honest with herself she didn't want that. She wanted someone who would be there for her and not half way around the world every few years. She had pictured herself in about ten to fifteen years' time married with a husband coming home from a nine to five job every evening. Not waiting at home each day for a phone call from half way around the world.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, which startled Sora a little. She jumped up from her lying position just as the door opened and her mother, Toshiko, poked her head in.

"Sora, I have to deliver a bouquet of flowers over to Mrs Sakei across town. Could you cover the counter at one till I get back?" she asked, already wearing her jacket.

Sora smiled a little. "Sure Mom."

"Thanks….. Are you okay?" Toshiko asked, noticing her daughter's expression was less cheerful than usual.

"I'm fine."

Toshiko was about to leave when she paused and turned back to her seventeen year old daughter. "Oh how's Tai? I haven't heard from him in a while. How's his leg healing up?"

Sora sighed and stared down at the floor. "I have no idea Mom… I haven't seen him for a while." She admitted.

"Huh? Why?" Toshiko wondered. "You two haven't had another fight have you?"

Sora didn't reply. She just continued to stare down at her bedroom carpet, biting her lip a little uneasily.

Toshiko sighed loudly laughed slightly as she did. "I swear you two are like an old married couple sometimes."

"What?" Sora immediately felt her face redden as she looked up at her mother who was smiling.

"Well you fight over the silliest little things. I remember the hairclip incident, as well as the time you came home complaining how messy his bedroom was once. Just like an old married couple."

"Mom!" Sora exclaimed, turning even redder. "He's my best friend."

"Exactly. He's your best friend and he's going through a rough time right now. Whatever you two have fallen out over I'm sure it's not making him feel any better, so don't be too harsh on him sweetie." Toshiko said before she closed the door behind her.

Sora groaned and collapsed back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling once more. Maybe her mother was right. After all Tai had just had his boyhood dream crushed and was now confined to crutches for weeks on end…. But that was still no reason to speak to her the way he did. She hadn't done anything to offend him. She just couldn't see why he had suddenly lashed out at her like that.

She suddenly felt herself blush again when her mind drifted to the thought of Tai as a husband. Sure he probably would be untidy and a little lazy, and not to mention a lousy cook… but in a way that was sort of the perfect husband. It also made Tai who he was. It wouldn't be right if he was a neat-freak and a wiz in the kitchen….

After a few moments she snapped out of her daydream. "What am I thinking?" she muttered to herself as she sat back up. Tai was her best friend and now she was picturing what it would be like married to him? Surely that wasn't right…. but she had felt a sort of warm sensation when thinking about it that had made her smile unknowingly to herself.

Sighing, she glanced up to the clock that hung above her door. It read thirty five minutes past twelve. It took her fifteen minutes to walk to her mother's flower shop so she decided to leave now. Grabbing her cell phone from her bed she left her bedroom and headed down to the hallway to grab her jacket.

As she left the apartment and entered the elevator on the eleventh floor, she tried to focus her mind back on her boyfriend Matt. She began to re-play all the good times she'd had with Matt over the past two years, hoping these would override the doubts she had been feeling before about their relationship.

But as she did, she found her mind drifting away from Matt and back to her best friend. After what her mother had said she couldn't shake those thoughts out. But she had missed him these past three weeks. Even before then she had hardly seen much of him… maybe Tai had been right…. Maybe their friendship had suffered over the last two years.

She thought he was just being selfish but he was probably upset, just like she was with Matt now. He was spending more time with his band than her and she felt lonely and left out, exactly how Tai must have been feeling all this time.

Sora bit her lip, feeling ashamed with herself. She had blamed their lack of time together on high school ending but she knew that was just a lame excuse as she had managed to spend time with Matt, so why not Tai? He was her best friend and would always hold a special place in her heart.

"Tai wasn't the one being selfish, I was." She thought to herself.


For the rest of the day Tai had spent the entire time in his bedroom, only coming out to either go to the bathroom or grab something from the kitchen. His mother had tried to talk to him and get him to come out but he wouldn't listen.

It was now half past five and the front door to the apartment opened up and Kari stepped inside. "Hi Mom, I'm home!" she called as she closed the door behind her and removed her shoes.

"Hey sweetie how was the movie?" her mother called from the kitchen.

"Great." Kari replied as she removed her jacket. But as she did her cell phone fell out of her pocket and dropped to the floor by the umbrella stand. Quickly she bent down to pick it up. "I swear TK purposely chose a sappy movie just so he could…" She paused for a moment as she spotted a crumbled up piece of paper underneath the umbrella stand. "Could uhhhh put his arm around me and comfort me." She finished off with a giggle as she grabbed the paper and stood up.

"Your father did exactly the same with me." Was Yuuko's nostalgic answer.

Not fully hearing her mother's response, Kari unfolded the piece of paper and noticed it was addressed to her brother. "Huh? What's this? F.C Tokyo?" she mumbled to herself. Reading the letter she got to about the same place as Tai did before she gasped. "Oh Tai…." She whispered.

She quickly skimmed through the rest before she folded the letter up and walked down the hallway, pausing at the entrance to the kitchen. "Is Tai in his room?"

Yuuko nodded. "Yeah. He's been in there all day since we arrived home from the doctors. I don't know what's up with him. He was alright coming up here but then I left him by the front door for a moment and suddenly he storms off to his room slamming the door."

Kari bit her lip, knowing Tai must have read that letter when he got home. "Uhhh thanks Mom… I'll go see how he is." She said walking away towards her brother's room and knocked gently on the door. There was no response but she went in anyway, closing the door behind her. "Tai?"

He was lying on his bed with his back facing the door. He didn't seem to acknowledge she had walked in the room at first and Kari thought he might have been asleep. "What?" he finally muttered.

Kari slowly walked across the room towards her brother. "When did this letter come?" she asked softly.

Even though he had his back to her, he knew what letter she was meaning. "This morning. Just throw it away."

"Did you read all of it?"

"Why should I? No reason to depress myself even more. I don't even know why they bothered sending it." He grumbled.

"Tai, they want to offer you a role in the coaching staff for the youth team once you're back to full fitness." Kari began as she read the letter again. "They say your skills and experience would be perfect for teaching the young players that are just starting out in the club."

"Great. I stand around and watch others achieve what I couldn't." he replied sarcastically.

Kari placed her hands on her hips. "There's no need to be like that. You could at least be a little grateful here. I know it's not exactly what you had planned but it's still a good job. You should be thankful they are offering you this."

"Yeah all those years of soccer practice wanting to be the best and what's it got me? A lousy chance at sitting in the dugout for every game."

"I know you like to play Tai but you can't change what's happened. Maybe you should think about this. If you pass this by you might not get another chance at a career in the soccer industry." Kari stated.

Tai scoffed a laugh as he turned and faced his sister. "A career? I wouldn't call coaching a bunch of dumb kids a career."

Kari was starting to grow impatient. "Firstly, they're not 'dumb kids' Tai. They'll be boys about your age who have just been accepted into the club who want to progress into the first team." She stated. "And if that's not what you want to do, then what do you want huh? There are only a few more weeks until applications close for the universities. If you haven't decided on this coaching job or a university course then you're going to struggle in the future."

Tai just looked at her before he turned back over to face the wall. "I just want to get away from here." He muttered inaudibly.

"What?" Kari asked, not hearing what he had said.

Tai didn't respond. He just lay there completely still staring at the wall in front of him. He could see his sister's shadow hovering over him.

Kari sighed, losing her irritated expression. "What's wrong Tai? You've been acting even more strange since you came back from the hospital three weeks ago." She said. "And don't try and tell me it's just about your soccer because I can tell something else is bothering you."

Tai remained silent for a few moments hoping if he ignored her she would eventually leave him alone. But he knew that wasn't going to happen. "You're not going to leave until I tell you, are you?"

Kari smiled slightly. "No."

Tai hesitated for a moment before he rolled over onto his back and looked up at his little sister. "I had another fight with Sora."

Kari had to refrain herself from rolling her eyes. "I should have known."

"She stopped by just after Mom and Dad had left the hospital…. I wasn't in the greatest of moods after just being told my soccer dream had been ruined, and when she started talking about it I just felt myself getting madder and madder…. But when she mentioned something about meeting up with Matt later that night that was just the final straw and I snapped. I just started shouting at her. Inside I was screaming at myself to shut up but I couldn't. I just had to let it all out."

Kari gently sat down on the edge of the bed. "Why don't you just explain that to her? I'm sure she'll understand why you lashed out like that."

"What? That I get jealous just at the very thought of them two together?" he replied with a little sarcasm as he sat up, resting his weight on his hands.

"No. I meant about the soccer."

"Kari you weren't there. I said some pretty hurtful things. She's never going to want to talk to me again."

"You'll never know unless you try. It's no good sitting in your room all day moping over it." Kari said before she stood up. She walked over to his desk and placed the crumbled letter on it. "I'll leave this here. Just please think about it okay? I wouldn't want you to do something you might regret later on."

Tai simply nodded and watched as Kari headed for the door. Once she had left he sat there for a few minutes before getting up and limping over to his desk. He was supposed to use his crutches at all times but when it was only a few meters across his room he couldn't be bothered. He picked up the letter and read the last two paragraphs he had ignored earlier that day.

At the bottom was a number to contact if he wanted to take up the offer. He stared at it for a few moments before he reached over and picked up another piece of paper from his desk. On it was a list of possible universities and courses he had jotted down that morning. All of which were at least a three hour drive from Odaiba.

Right now he was swaying more towards the universities. A fresh start might be a good thing. It was nice of F.C Tokyo to offer him this position but if he was honest with himself he didn't want to be a coach. It would just be a constant reminder of what had happened. The only job he wanted in soccer was to be a player, and now that wasn't possible maybe it was time to put it behind him and start a fresh.

At that moment, there was another knock at his door.

Tai sighed and put the two pieces of paper down on his desk as he heard his door slowly open. "Kari, I know I said I'd think about it but-" he suddenly came to an abrupt halt as he turned and noticed who stood in the doorway. "S-Sora…." He stuttered in shock.

"Hello Tai." She spoke softly as she shifted a little uncomfortably as fumbled with her jacket she was holding. "Can I come in?"

Tai slowly nodded.

"We need to talk about what happened." Sora added as she wandered into the middle of the room.

"Yeah….. Look Sora, I'm really sorry about what hap-"

"No Tai." Sora interrupted. "I should be the one apologising. I've been awful to you lately and neglected our friendship. I only just realised it earlier….… I know that sounds really bad; and I'm sorry." She said, lowering her head and staring at the floor shamefully.

"But Sora I shouldn't have said those things to you. You didn't deserve it." Tai objected. "I wasn't in the best of moods when you came to see me in the hospital but I can't use that as an excuse. I guess I really was just being selfish and jealous like you said."

"Huh?" Sora looked up at him. "Jealous? I never said you were jealous. What are you jealous over?"

Tai sighed and turned to hobble over to his bed. "Matt." He muttered as he sat down.

Sora followed him. "Matt?" she asked as she sat down beside him. "Why are you jealous of Matt?"

Tai continued to stare down at the floor. "Well…." He paused for a second trying to think of the right words to say without giving away his true feelings. "We've been best friends for years and we used to hang out and do everything together almost every day…..…. And now it's Matt you're spending all your time with… and I guess I just got jealous that you were paying more attention to him than me."

Sora placed her hand on top of his, causing his heart to beat a little faster. "Tai, I know you didn't mean what you said to me three weeks ago, but in a way you were right. Matt is my boyfriend but I still should make time for my best friend. We've been through so much together and you'll always be special to me."

Tai smiled a little before lifting his head up and glancing at her. "So…. Am I forgiven?"

"Only if you forgive me." Sora smiled. "Kari said she's not letting me leave until we've kissed and made up anyway." She added with a small giggle, although she blushed a little once she realised what she had said. "Well uhhhh you know what I mean… she was only joking." She quickly added.

Tai also felt his cheeks turn red. He quickly turned his head to the left in a failing attempt to hide his flustered face. "Yeah….." he murmured. "Just remind me to punish her later." He added, showing a small hint of his familiar grin before turning back to look at her. "You know... It's been kinda lonely without you around lately."

Sora sighed. "I know how you feel. That's what made me realise how bad I've been towards you." She said. "For the past few months Matt's been spending so much time with his band he's almost cancelling every date we arrange and I hardly see him outside of school. He even cancelled our lunch date today because practice ran over."

Tai bit his lip hesitantly. "Have you uhhh… talked to him about it?" he didn't like being reminded of Sora and Matt's relationship but he saw how saddened she looked right now and he needed to act like her best friend.

Sora nodded staring down at the floor. "Yeah. He keeps promising once this big record deal is sealed we'll have more time together. It's almost been five months now and I can't see it ending any time soon." She replied gloomily.

"Hey, I'm sure it'll work out." Tai said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "You've just got to give it time….." he hesitated again; knowing what he would say next would destroy him inside. "I know Matt really does care about you."

"Thanks." Sora smiled. She reached over and wrapped her arms around his mid-section, hugging him. "I love you Tai."

Tai felt a little disheartened as she said those words. He had longed for Sora to say that to him but he knew she was only saying it as the love she had for him as her best friend. Hesitating, he slowly wrapped his arms around her shoulders and rested his cheek on the top of her head. "… I love you too Sora."

To be continued…