Author's Note: Only two days since I first posted this story and I'm already adding a new chapter. Well the reason this chapter is being added so soon is because I felt that it was kind of a daunting chapter to write, so I wanted to get it done sooner rather than later. Anyway, the song used for the title of this chapter is from what I believe is Phil Collin's first solo album: Hello, I Must Be Going. It's actually one of the three best songs on that album in my opinion.

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon.


Chapter 3: "Don't Let Him Steal Your Heart Away"

Tai Kamiya entered his apartment with a weary expression on his face. It had been a long day at his job as an intern, buried by a mountain of meaningless paperwork that for some unfathomable reason had to be completed before the end of the business day. After setting his briefcase next to the door, Tai walked into the living room of his small apartment as he loosened his necktie. The site that greeted Tai when he entered the room was the usual one. Sitting on the couch was the small orange t-rex-like creature that was Tai's Digimon Agumon. Agumon was watching T.V. and eating a sandwich that he had managed to make for himself despite having only rudimentary claws for thumbs.

"Hey buddy." Tai greeted as he plopped onto the couch beside the reptile Digimon.

"Hey Tai." Agumon greeted back in his usual friendly tone. "How was work?"

"Oh it was so fun I didn't want to leave." Tai answered sarcastically. "…Did I get any calls?"

"Well, you did get a call from your mother a few hours ago," the Digimon began, "but if you're really asking if you got a call from Sora, I'm afraid the answer is no."

Tai looked down at the floor with a sad expression. He and his girlfriend and fellow Digidestined, Sora Takenouchi, had been fighting ever since Kari had disappeared. Their last fight was the worst though. It had only been a week ago, but Tai didn't even remember what their fight was about. At the end of it though, after Tai had cooled down a bit, he regretted many of the things he had said and tried repeatedly to apologize to Sora. Unfortunately, Sora was not speaking to Tai. He repeatedly tried calling both her home phone and cell but she wouldn't answer. Tai also tried talking to Sora on her lunch breaks at the place she worked one time. Sora ended up dumping her glass of soda over Tai's head. Of course Sora had done that before when she was mad at Tai, but there was an added hint of malice in that last dumping. It was very clear to Tai that his relationship with Sora was in deep trouble.

"Hey, I've got an idea!" Agumon chimed in, snapping Tai out of his thoughts. "Why don't you and I go out tonight and hang out somewhere?"

Tai thought about Agumon's suggestion. It had been awhile since he had cut loose and relaxed. It had been a hard month due to Kari's disappearance and his problems with Sora. As for taking Agumon out in public, a Digimon that appeared in public without causing a major panic was becoming a more common site. And Tai did welcome the idea of something to take his mind off of his problems.

"Sure, why not?" Tai finally answered with a smile. "We'll go out a bit later."


Meanwhile, Sora was in her car driving to meet up with T.K.'s older brother Matt, who was just finishing up a recording session with his old band, the Teen-Aged Wolves. Sora wanted to talk to someone about the problems she had been having with Tai, and with her friend and fellow Digidestined Mimi in North America and Yolei having her own problems to deal with, Matt seemed to be the only one left to talk to. In truth though, Sora had always felt that she could talk to Matt about anything. Sitting in the front seat of Sora's car was a large pink and blue tropical bird. This was Sora's Digimon, Biyomon.

"You sure you don't mind me tagging along Sora?" Biyomon asked.

"Of course not." Sora said with a smile. "Actually I'm really glad that you're coming with. I'm kinda nervous about seeing Matt."

"Nervous?" the bird Digimon asked, cocking her head to the side. "But you've talked with Matt several times. Why are you nervous?"

"I'm not really sure myself actually." Sora replied. "This time just feels different for some reason."

Biyomon looked closely at the face of her redheaded human partner, tilting her head from one side to the other as she examined the serious expression on Sora's face.

"Well, you know I'm always will to help if you need me." Biyomon said as she turned her head back to look out the window.

"Thanks Biyomon." Sora replied, giving the bird another smile.

After a few moments of silence, the two finally reached the recording studio where Matt and his band were having their session. As she pulled into the parking lot, Sora saw Matt out by the front door talking to a couple of the members of his old band. Next to Matt was a short yellow reptilian creature that wore a white wolf pelt with black stripes as a sort of mask. A single horn protruded from the creature's forehead through the pelt. This of course was Matt's Digimon partner Gabumon. Finding the closest available space to pull into, Sora got out of her car and began walking toward Matt, with Biyomon flying close behind.

"Hey Matt." Sora called out, getting the blonde's attention.

"Oh, hey." Matt greeted back. At that point, the two members of Matt's band excused themselves and left.

"I hope I didn't interrupt anything." Sora said with a nervous smile.

"Nah, the guys and I were just catching up on old times." Matt replied.

Sora took a moment to take a good look at Matt. He was wearing a pair of faded jeans and a black tank top that had his band's logo on it. That outfit combined Matt's wild blond hair made him look quite handsome. Of course Sora had been attracted to Matt since high school, but back then it did quite work out. Plus she also had feelings for Tai, and since then she and Matt remained good friends. However, seeing Matt in that rock-star left Sora speechless.

"So you wanted to talk about something?" Matt asked, snapping Sora out of her thoughts.

"Oh, uh, yeah." Sora replied, trying to regain her composure.

"We can go to that park across the street if you want." Matt suggested.

"That'd be great." Sora replied, smiling in agreement.

A few moments later, Matt and Sora were walking through the small park across from the studio. Gabumon and Biyomon meanwhile had gone off somewhere to chat on their own. Sora had wished that the two Digimon had stuck around though. She somehow felt that without Biyomon there as a chaperone she would lose control of herself. A month ago this would not have been a concern, but with her relationship with Tai being what it was, Sora felt that things were now different. Finally both Matt and Sora stopped on a bridge over a small stream in the park.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Matt asked, finally breaking the somewhat awkward silence between them.

"…Tai and I had another fight." Sora finally said with a sad expression on her face.

"I see…" Matt responded, his expression becoming serious. "What was it about?"

"I don't even remember." Sora answered. "But it was the worst fight we've ever had."

"Have you talked to Tai since the fight?" Matt asked.

"I can't bring myself to." Sora replied sadly. "I've tried, but I just can't deal with Tai's anger anymore. I mean I know he's still dealing with Kari's disappearance, but I just take anymore."

"We've all taken Kari's disappearance pretty hard." Matt responded as he turned around to lean against the railing of the bridge. "I know T.K. has."

"That's true. Both he and Kari were really good friends." Sora added.

"It's a little more complicated than that." Matt said getting Sora's undivided attention. "Truth is, T.K. has had a thing for Kari since high school."

"Are you serious?" Sora said with a tone of utter surprise. Matt replied with a nod. "Wow, why didn't T.K. ever tell Kari how he felt?"

"You know how shy T.K. can be sometimes." Matt answered. "Plus he was afraid that Kari didn't feel the same way that he did, or that if she did and their relationship didn't work out, their friendship would be ruined. I kept telling him to take the risk, but he kept chickening out. The Davis swooped in and… well, you know the rest."

"…Poor T.K." was the only thing that Sora could think of to say. The revelation about Kari and T.K. was something that she did not expect.

"I'm pretty worried about him." Matt continued. "Ever since we stopped looking for Kari he's been keeping to himself, throwing himself too hard into his schoolwork and job, and last time I visited him Patamon mentioned that he hadn't been sleeping well."

"Is there something we can do?" Sora asked.

"I talked to my parents about it, and they said if this goes on we should get T.K. in to see some professional help." Matt replied with a hint of grimness in his voice. "But we were talking about you and Tai."

"Oh yeah." Sora responded, reminded of the unpleasant reason that she has wanted to talk to Matt in the first place.

"Don't you think that you should give Tai another chance?" Matt asked as he turned to stand face to face with Sora. "I mean, he kinda needs you right now."

"I know that!" Sora yelled, startling Matt. "I've tried being supportive, I've tried being there for him, but I just can't do it anymore."

Matt was at a loss for words. He had no idea that things between Tai and Sora had gotten so bad. Meanwhile, tears were starting to well up in Sora's eyes.

"The truth is…" Sora began, "Tai and I have been having problems even since before Kari disappeared. It started out as mostly little stuff, but over time it got worse. Then when Kari vanished, it kept getting worse and worse and… I think it's now over between me and Tai."

"Well… if that's the case, then you should leave him." Matt said with a gentle smile. "It isn't right for you to stay with Tai if it hurts you so much."

"Thanks Matt, I just needed to hear that from you." Sora said as a smile returned to her face. With that, Matt brought his hand to Sora's cheek to wipe away a few tears, causing Sora to blush. "Uh, say Matt, have you ever been attracted to me?"

"W-What?" Matt said in a startled tone, quickly pulling his hand away from Sora's cheek, his normally cool and calm demeanor somewhat broken.

"I mean uh…" Sora said with a blush as she realized what she had just said and tried to think of something to change the subject. "Are, are you doing anything tonight?"

"Um, tonight?" Matt asked nervously as he tried to regain his composure. "I don't think so. Why?"

"Well, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go out tonight." Sora said nervously. "You know, just as friends."

"Oh, as friends." Matt replied, rubbing the back of his head. "Um, I guess we could do that tonight. What place did you have in mind?"

"Well, I was thinking we could try that French place called The Golden Swan." Sora answered. "My parents know the owner, so I could have them call and get us reservations no problem."

"Isn't that restaurant a little pricy?" Matt asked.

"Yeah, but don't worry. I can cover it." Sora answered.

"Um, okay, sure." Matt replied. "Mind if I pick you up at 8:00?"

"8:00 is fine with me." Sora answered with a grin.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you then." Matt smiled back.


Later that evening at his apartment, Matt was getting ready for his evening with Sora. Considering how fancy that the restaurant they were going to was known for being quite formal, Matt decided to ware the only suite that he had so far ever owned, consisting of a light grey suite with a white shirt and a powder-blue tie. As Matt finished his preparations, he kept thinking about the question that Sora had earlier about him ever being attracted to her. Even though Sora had quickly changed the subject, Matt couldn't stop thinking about the question. The honest answer was that Matt had indeed had some feelings for her, but he never really thought about them much, especially when Sora had started going out with his best friend.

"Are you sure this date with Sora is a good idea?" Gabumon asked from where he was sitting on Matt's bed as he watched his human partner's preparations.

"I keep telling you Gabumon, it's not a date!" Matt said with a hint of frustration in his voice as he straightened his tie. "Sora and I are just going out as friends."

"If that's true, why did you put on the cologne that you only use when you're going out with a hot girl?" the wolf pelt wearing Digimon asked.

"I'm gonna be late. I'll see you later Gabumon." Matt said as he calmly stormed out of the room in an attempt to ignore Gabumon's question.

About twenty minutes later, Matt had arrived at Sora's apartment and knocked on the door. The site that greeted Matt when Sora opened the door took his breath away. It was Sora wearing a sleeveless sparkling sapphire dress complete with light blue gloves that reached passed the elbows and a blue silk scarf. The whole outfit seemed to extenuate Sora's shoulder length red hair, which was tied back in a bun. Matt could also smell Sora's perfume, which gave her the sent of cherry blossoms.

"Wow, you look… wow." Those were the only words that Matt could think of to say. His mind was completely blown by Sora's appearance.

"You ready to go?" Sora asked.

"Uh, yeah." Matt replied, finally being snapped out of his trance. He stepped out of the way to let Sora pass.

"You smell nice." Sora mentioned as she passed by Matt through the door, causing the blond Digidestined to blush.

The car ride to the restaurant was filled with an awkward silence. Matt couldn't understand why he was so nervous. It had become clear to Matt though that he was indeed out on a date, there was no more denying it. Even so, it had hardly been Matt's first date. Though he could also not deny that Sora was different from any other girl he had dated. Sora was someone that Matt had been a friend with for years.

There was also a part of Matt that kept telling him that what he and Sora were doing was wrong. After all, Sora was still technically Tai's girlfriend. She had made it clear to Matt when they had talked earlier that afternoon that her relationship with Tai was over for her. But as far as Matt knew, Sora had not officially broken it off with Tai, and Matt did not like the idea of going out with his best friend's girlfriend behind his back. In spite of all that, Matt could also not deny that there was also a part of him that had been in love with Sora for some time, a part that he had just discovered. And he was afraid that the part of him that was in love was stronger than the part telling him he shouldn't be doing this.

At last Matt and Sora arrived at the Golden Swan. Once they were ushered to their table, they found that the awkward silence between them was broken. They found themselves talking and laughing about old times, about how they had repeatedly saved the Digital World from evil, and a few other things. After they had finished dinner though, the silence had returned, and the two realized that the time had come to deal with the issue of how they really felt about each other. The problem was that both of them were very reluctant to bring it up.

"So Matt…" Sora began as she looked nervously down at the table, not quite being able to look Matt in the eye. "Do you remember that question that I had asked you in the park this afternoon?"

"You mean that question about if I've ever been attracted to you?" Matt asked, his eyes now fixed on Sora. "Well… the truth is that I have had feelings for you, and I… I think I still do."

With those words, Sora's eyes were now completely fixed on Matt. He had gotten her undivided attention.

"I think it's only just recently that I've realized it." Matt continued. "Actually, I think I may have realized it a few years ago, but you were going out with Tai and well…"

"…I'm… glad to hear that Matt." Sora said with a kind of relieved smile. "Because the truth is… I've kind of had a crush on you for years. But you were always on the road and you had all those groupies. And then Tai came along and… I guess you know the rest."

"So… do you still have these feelings for me?" Matt asked, though he was both afraid and eager to hear what the answer might be.

"Actually…" Sora began hesitantly. "I thought I had gotten over you years ago, but now that things are pretty much over between me and Tai I've thought long and hard about how I feel about you and well… I've realized that I'm still in love with you."

Matt was absolutely stunned by what Sora had just told him. After that the two gazed at each other for what seemed like hours, though in reality it was only a minute or so. Time had slowed down in that dimly lit restaurant. Suddenly Sora slowly leaned over the table towards Matt. And very soon their faces were only inches apart.

"…We shouldn't be doing this." Matt said suddenly turning away. "I mean, what about Tai?"

"Forget Tai." Sora whispered as she gently grabbed Matt's chin and turned his face back to where he was facing her. "Right now it's just you and me."

As Matt looked into Sora's brown eyes, he knew that he could no longer resist. Their lips met, and for the two of them time stopped and the world around them faded into the distance. Unfortunately as the two were off in their own little world, Tai and Agumon had walked into the restaurant. A friend at Tai's workplace had gotten him and the dinosaur Digimon a reservation, and Agumon had always wanted to try the stake at The Golden Swan. As the two were being escorted to their table, Tai looked over and saw Matt and Sora kissing at their corner table.

As Tai looked at the couple, everything else in the room vanished. Everything except for his best friend and his girlfriend locked in a passionate kiss. Tai felt nothing in that moment except for a white-hot flame of pain, rage, and betrayal. The fame grew hotter and hotter until Tai felt like he was going to explode. At last, Tai could take no more and stormed over to Matt and Sora's table.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!" Tai shouted at the top of his lungs, snapping Matt and Sora out of their own little world and at the same time causing the restaurant's other patrons to stop talking and look in their direction.

"Tai!" Matt and Sora blurted out in unison; shocked that Tai would be there at that exact moment.

"What is all of this?" Tai asked angrily, his fists clenched at his sides.

"What does it look like?" Sora asked before Matt had a chance to say anything. "Matt and I are on a date."

"A date? WITH HIM?" Tai said with a voice full of fury as he pointed at Matt.

"Tai, take it easy!" Agumon said from behind Tai in an attempt to calm his human partner down.

"…How long?" Tai asked in a somewhat calmer tone.

"How long what?" Sora asked, though she knew very well what Tai meant.

"How long have you do been going out behind my back?" Tai asked as his anger began to mount again.

"Tai, we haven't been going out behind your back. This just happened tonight." Matt said in an attempt to try and calmly explain things.

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" Tai shouted as he took a swing at Matt.

Matt ducked out of the way of the punch just in time. A moment later two of the waiters came and restrained Tai.

"Sir, I'm afraid that we're going to have to ask you to leave." One of the waiters said.

A moment later, Tai came back to his senses. Seeing that he was causing a scene, he calmed down enough for the waiters to let him go. Tai shot one last glare at Matt and Sora before leaving with Agumon. As soon as Tai was out of the building, the restaurant patrons went back to their meals. Matt and Sora meanwhile went ahead and asked for the check.

"I was afraid that this would happen." Matt sighed as he slumped back in his chair.

"…This doesn't change anything though, right?" Sora asked. "I mean it certainly doesn't for me."

"What about Tai?" Matt asked. "He was pretty hurt by this."

"I know. I didn't want him to find out this way." Sora said as she looked down at the table with a worried look on her face. "But it was pretty much over between him and me anyway. I'm sure once he figures that out he'll get over it."

"Yeah, but still…" Matt began.

"Matt, you and I just realized how we really feel about each other." Sora said, cutting Matt off. "We can't just go back to how things were because of Tai's feelings. At least, I don't want to. I hope that you feel the same way."

"…Yeah, you're right." Matt said with a smile as he placed his hand on Sora's. "I don't want to go back to how things were either."


About half an hour later Tai returned home to his apartment and slumped onto his couch. Agumon went out onto the deck to give his human friend some space. Tai kept replaying that incident at The Golden Swan over and over again in his head trying to figure out how things could've led to Matt and Sora getting together like that. Of course Tai had known that Sora had feelings for Matt in high school, but she had given up on Matt because of his inapproachability at the time. Even so, he couldn't quite grasp why Sora would all of the sudden leave him for Matt. Sure the relationship he and Sora wasn't perfect, but every time they had had some kind of problem they were always able to work it out.

Then it suddenly dawned on Tai that it was his fault that Sora had left him for Matt. He had pushed Sora away right into Matt's arms. Ever since Kari had vanished, Tai had been angry about almost everything, and without knowing it he had taken his anger out on Sora. She had become his punching bag, and it looked like Sora had just taken one hit too many. As for the reason for Tai's anger, Tai thought about it and realized that he was angry with himself for not finding Kari. And, as absurd as it sounded, Tai was also angry at Kari for vanishing, even though there was a chance that it wasn't her fault.

Whatever the reason for his anger however, Tai was no longer at all surprised that Sora had left him for Matt. It was actually quite natural that it happened really. Sora needed a friend to talk to about the problems she and Tai were having. Mat was there, old feelings got stirred up as they spent more time together, and soon enough Tai was out and Matt was in. It was all really simple when Tai thought about it. But how it happened wasn't really important. Tai knew that the important thing was to somehow make things up to Sora. As for winning Sora back, Tai had no idea how he would accomplish that but swore then and there that he would. Because the way things were in his life, Tai needed Sora more than ever.


Author's Note: I've never really cared either way about the whole Tai, Matt, and Sora love triangle that seemed to be present in the anime. Actually, if you paid close enough attention to the final episode of Adventure 02, you'd know that it tells us who Sora ended up with at the end. I know as fan fiction writers we do have the option of changing that stuff to our own liking. But since I don't really care either way, I see no reason to mess with the continuity provided by the anime. Anyway, in regards to this story, this whole chapter is rather minor. Its only purpose is to show how Tai was affected by Kari's disappearance. Although I guess it might have ended up being a little more Matt/Sora heavy. BUT, while this chapter is minor to this particular story, it will be significant to something I'm planing later. All I'll say right now is that I'm laying the foundation for something, so keep this chapter in mind. ;)

Well, sorry for the little diversion that this chapter might have been. The next chapter I'll be getting back to the main plot line. In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.