Hello everybody! You've officially made it to Chapter Nine of TMTFTF! Well done! You have some serious determination! There will only be one more chapter after this, and that will be followed by an epilogue at some point in the future. So we're pretty much pulling up to the end, now.

Anyway, I'm giving you another he-OWGE chapter here. I suggest that you put some time aside to read this.

If you are unaware of the general warnings surrounding this story, then please go ahead and take a look at Chapter One.

Enjoy!


"I've been thinking, Kari." T.K. yawned, through an attempted spoonful of cereal. Kari turned to face him with a smile. "Maybe we could go to the mall, or something, this weekend?"

"The mall?" Mrs Yagami interrupted with a worried tone, as she entered the kitchen and began to pour herself a cup of coffee. "Are you sure you're ok to be going to such a big place on your own, you two?"

"It's not that big, Mrs Yagami." T.K. assured. "And it's really safe. I've been there loads of times with my friend, Dai."

"I don't know…" She answered, awkwardly. "…it just doesn't seem responsible of me to let you two go somewhere like that all on your own."

"Maybe Tai could take us, Mom?" Kari pitched in, thoughtfully.

"You know, that sounds like a great idea!" Mrs Yagami said. She turned to look at the stony faced brunette, who currently resided on top of one of the kitchen counters at her side, and smiled. "What do you think of that, Tai?"

Tai, whose ears had perked up nervously at each and every mention of the dreaded building, thought it was an absolutely horrible idea.

"Well, Tai?"

"…it's ok." T.K. answered, when he saw that the edgy eyed brunette wasn't going to respond. "Don't worry Tai. I'll just get Yamato to take us."

"…wait!" Tai exclaimed, immediately sliding down from the counter. "If Yama's going, then I'm going!"

"Tai loves Yamato!" Kari sang, playfully laughing at her brother.

"Oh, quit your teasing and finish your breakfast Kari." Mrs Yagami said.

"Ok…"

"And shouldn't you be going to school soon, Tai?" She continued.

"Yeah, but I'm just gonna go say bye to Yama first." Tai replied, running out of the kitchen. They heard him falling up the stairs a few moments later.

"We'll be leaving in about ten minutes, guys…" Mrs Yagami sighed, ignoring the lengthy whine that her son had let off. She couldn't help but wonder: weren't athletes like Tai supposed to be graceful on their feet? "…and don't forget to brush your teeth."


Sora slowly fed pieces of her breakfast to the puppy eyed dog, who was whining for food from underneath the table, as her dad sat down opposite her and started to read the morning newspaper.

"I saw that."

"Saw what?" Sora replied, innocently.

"Stop feeding the dog."

"But I'm full!" She retorted, huffing.

"Then serve yourself smaller portions." He folded the paper down, and smiled. "We didn't buy you breakfast so you could feed it to him under there."

"Yeah, ok…" She bowed her head.

"Which reminds me, Sora…"

"Yeah?"

"…we need to go food shopping today, so make sure you get yourself home as soon as you've finished school. Don't be dilly dallying around with your friends, or anything."

"Sure, no problem." She smiled, before feeding the dog another bite of her breakfast.

"Sora." Mr Takenouchi warned.

"Sorry, Dad. He was giving me that look again…"


"…don't even think about it, Tai." Yamato mumbled from underneath a pillow. "I mean it, Tai. Don't even think about it."

"Think about what?" Tai asked, innocently, as he bent his knees to pounce.

"You know what." Yamato replied, dully. "I mean it, I'll kick your scrawny butt all over this room if you try anything."

"Huh…" Tai replied, straightening his legs back out. "…you're really not up for it, today?"

"No, I'm not." Yamato replied, sitting up with a frown.

"Ok …" The brunette smiled, awkwardly sitting on the bed beside the blonde. He placed a hand softly upon the boys head, and stroked his hair. "…can I ask you something?"

"What?" Yamato replied, taken aback by the request.

"Will you please, please hop in the shower today?" Tai grinned. "You're really stinking the place up."

"Hmph…"

"…I'll take that as a yes, then?"

"Whatever."

"And I'm gonna be going to school in a minute, dude, so I just, you know…" Tai continued, ignoring Yamato's indifferent comments. "…before I go, I wanted to see if you're gonna be ok. Ok?"

"I'll be fine."

"Good." Tai sighed, scratching his head. He gave Yamato a quick rub on the shoulder, a kiss on the forehead, and steadily got to his feet. "I'm gonna, you know…go."

"Bye." Yamato responded, a little quicker than seemed natural. Tai picked up on it, but didn't mention anything. He walked over to the door. "And Tai?"

"Yeah?" Tai smiled, patiently.

"Thanks for, you know…checking up on me? I…thanks, Tai." He attempted a weak smile. Tai's heart fluttered a little at the sight. "See you later."


Michael quietly shut his bedroom door behind him, and tip toed across the living room – past the body lying in a heap on the couch – with his shoes held in his hands. He didn't want to wake up Susamu. It would be best to let the man sleep for as long as possible.

Susamu was certainly sober by this point, Michael knew, and the after effects of his long term drinking had probably passed by now, too. Michael wasn't sure, though, how such a thing would affect Susamu's personality. The man had been using alcohol for most of his life to self-medicate, as Michael knew all too well. Susamu might be angry, and unpredictable, without it; more so than when he was drunk, even.

Thinking about it, Michael wasn't entirely sure how Susamu had managed to make it through his prison sentence – cut short or not –without going completely mad. He hadn't been given a single drop to drink. Without that, he must have had to live through those forgotten feelings he had tried so hard to drown; he must have had to feel those emotions that he didn't remember how to control. Withdrawal symptoms must have hit hard on all fronts.

Michael couldn't help but find it interesting, though, that whilst Susamu had somehow survived so long in prison without alcohol, and likely kicked the habit to the point that he could survive without drinking again if he chose, the first thing that he had done upon his release was drink himself into a stupor and chase his family. There were some questions, it seemed, that were harder to answer than others.

"Have a nice day today, Susy." Michael whispered, as he took one last look at the man. Susamu had his head resting on that old, orange blanket. As always. Michael smiled and slipped out of the door. "Don't do anything you might regret. I'd hate for something to happen to you, you know."

He locked the door and slipped into his shoes, trying his best to shake off the bad feeling that was currently running up and down his body. Hopefully, his worries were unneeded, and Susamu wouldn't wake up in anger. Michael sighed, and set off towards the school with stiff, cold legs, thinking deeply to himself all the way.


"So what are your hobbies, Tai?" Mimi asked immediately as the bushy haired brunette sat down with the group. Tai looked a little taken aback, at first, but his face quickly broke out into a smile.

"Well, I like video games, eating, running, climbing, gymnastics; soccer, of course…"

"Soccer?"

"Yeah, soccer. It's the best thing ever!"

"That's great…" Mimi mumbled off, drifting into a thoughtful silence. Tai watched her for a few moments, hoping that she'd ask him more about his favourite hot topic, but Mimi then turned to Joe and asked him the same question. "What are your hobbies, Joe?"

"Er, well…" Joe began, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

"Yagami!" Someone shouted out from behind them all of a sudden. Tai turned to face the noise, and saw a tall, red haired woman with a whistle drifting about her neck, running towards him.

"Coach?" Tai asked, getting back to his feet.

"Did you get my message?" She asked.

"What message?"

"We have a soccer match today in the afternoon!" She said. "It's the first of the season, and I'm taking you out of your lessons for it."

"Wait, why me?" Tai asked, bewildered. "I only joined the team yesterday!"

"You're better than half of the team who's been here for years." She smiled. "And I'm thinking that beginners luck can shine through, here. I wanna test you out."

"But…I don't even know the other team members! What if our chemistry is all wrong? I could mess up the entire match!"

"You won't."

"But, but…"

"You have cold feet?" She sighed, mockingly. "I thought you wanted to prove yourself."

"C'mon, Tai. This would be such a great opportunity!" Sora said, patting him on the shoulder.

"I agree." Izzy commented. "You need to experience the true competitive nature of such a sport before you can truly expect to excel in it."

"And there's no time like the present." Joe pitched in.

"Your friends are right, Yagami." The coach grinned. "You've gotta experience it sometime, so you might as well do it when I tell you to."

"But I don't have any equipment…"

"Then you can have one of the spare kits. I reserved one for you yesterday."

"Oh…"

"So that's a yes?"

"Yeah…yeah, I guess that's a yes."

"Then meet in the gym at lunch." She hopped up and down. "You can practice a couple of drills with the team before we have to get started. It'll give you a quick chance to get to know them."

"Sure…" Tai said, ambivalence bubbling in his chest. "…can't wait."


Yamato stepped out of the shower, squirming slightly at the droplets of water that were running down his sensitive body, and began drying his hair with a towel. It had taken a lot of effort, and a lot of energy, to pull himself into that shower as Tai had asked him.

He had heard, once, that people found it hard to keep their hygiene standards up when they were depressed.

Was that why he didn't care about how he looked anymore?

Was he depressed?

Was that why he didn't like to get out of bed, and see the world? Why he found it hard to talk? Why, sometimes, it felt like his chest was being crushed from the inside out? Why he wanted to see that final light at the end of the tunnel, some days, and run to it with open, bloody arms? Did it all come to down to that one, simple word?

Depression?

"Hmph..." He shook the thought from his head and dried the rest of his body off with the towel. It was cold, today. Bitterly cold. Although, admittedly, he was sure that he wasn't helping matters by standing in the bathroom fully naked, so he walked back to Tai's room to get dressed.

Once again, however, he was forced to notice that he didn't actually have any of his own clothes to wear. Due to recent events, he had never had a chance to go back home and collect his belongings. He supposed, though, that Tai wouldn't mind him picking a few things from his wardrobe.

He pulled out some star patterned boxers, some soft sweatpants, with a soccer team's name scribed along the side, and a tight, blue hoody with a few holes in the side, and put them on. He couldn't help but think that he looked like a total mess.

He was considering changing into something else, instead, when something caught his eye from underneath the bed. He got on his knees, and picked it up.

It was a straw.

At the feel of it a sudden, vivid memory came to mind, and continued to loop in front of his eyes. Again, and again. And it made him feel warm inside.

"…Tai…" He smiled, with tears forming in his eyes.

Tai removed the straw from his mouth and took a running start.

"YAAAAA-"

Yamato groggily raised his head at the noise, but he didn't have enough time to react defensively towards the currently airborne Tai.

"-MAAAA!"

Tai landed, full force, on top of the bewildered blonde, who could only scream out muffled abuse in return. Tai closed in on Yamato's ear. His voice dropped to a whisper. "I brought you a milkshake."

"…idiot." Yamato laughed, rubbing his nose dry. He pounded at his head lightly as a realisation began to come to light. "Geez…what the hell am I doing to us, Tai?"

He got back to his feet, straw in hand. "You're always in my head. And damn it, it takes me this long to realise that I actually like it?"

The blonde ran a hand through his damp hair, and sighed. "People make out that you're stupid sometimes, Tai; but that word is better suited to me, not you."

"I said we jumped at each other too fast, and maybe I was right. Maybe. But damn it, if we like it so much, then why does that have to be a problem?" He shouted out to no-one, almost angrily. "I said I…no, I sang that I'd stay with you, dammit! So why am I so far away?"

He crawled onto Tai's bed and buried his head underneath a pillow in an attempt to muffle the sound of his frustrated howling. He hoped for a lot of things. His father's survival. His parent's acceptance. His brother's happiness. The ability to be the friend that his friends deserved him to be. But most of all, right now, he hoped for someone who could make him feel better when those other things couldn't happen. Tai was that someone.

But he couldn't just go and tell Tai that, of course. Even inside his head, he thought it sounded kind of stupid. Besides, after receiving a whole day of what was practically the cold shoulder, Tai might not want to start a real relationship with him anymore.

Yamato needed to do something. To come up with some great idea that could show Tai just how much he really did care; some great idea that could tell Tai that things had been hard, and things may still be hard for a while, but that hardship couldn't get in the way of them anymore.

It was at times like this when Yamato was glad that he was so damn creative.


"Ok, I'm freaking out. I don't like it. Not one bit."

"Oh, Tai…" Sora sighed, embracing the panicked boy in a gentle hug. "…you're gonna be fine. Really, you are."

"But I've not played in a team in so long! What if I mess up?" He whined.

"You won't, Tai."

"But I might! I can't do this, Sora. I…I need help!"

"Tai…" Sora frowned. "It's not like you to be so unconfident. Get your head on straight. You can do this." At that, the sound of a bell went off in the distance.

"…Sora?"

"…I've gotta go now, ok?" She sighed. "Listen, you're gonna be just fine."

"Ok…" Tai mumbled.

"Good. You're gonna be fine, Tai. Trust me."

"You gonna wait around for me after school so I can tell you how it went?"

"Sorry, Tai." She said. "I've gotta be home early today. We're going grocery shopping…" Sora gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and ran off to her afternoon registration, leaving him standing outside the gym on his own.

"You coming in, Yagami?" The coach said, opening the door behind him. "You don't have very long to get yourself sorted out, you know."

"Yeah. Yeah…"

Tai walked into the gym, nervously, and found a large group of students running around inside. They were all kited up. He was not. "Er…should I go get changed, coach?"

"Yes, but hurry Yagami. You have two and a half minutes." She smiled. Tai sprinted off in the direction of the changing rooms, and pulled off his shirt immediately when he found a spare soccer kit with his name on it.

"So what's the deal, Tai?" Someone shouted out from behind the brunette all of a sudden, with a high, cheery voice.

"Who's that?" Tai froze, halfway through pulling his bottoms down. "Takashi?"

"Yeah, it's me!" The band member from yesterday smiled, bobbing up and down on the balls of his feet. "I've been sent here with a mission, but I'm getting distracted by your hot bod."

"What?" Tai asked, confused.

"My mission!" Takeshi shouted, excitedly, as Tai hurriedly put on some soccer shorts. "I'm supposed to find out something. What's the word on your friend Yamato? Does he wanna join us?"

"That's why you're here?"

"Why else would I be hanging about a male changing room when I don't do sport?" He laughed.

Tai could only imagine.

"So what's the answer?" Takashi grinned.

"He said he'd love to, but he's not in school today. He'll come find you when he is."

"Really? That's great! It's been so, so long since we've had anyone to sing with us…" He sighed, contentedly. "Thank you Tai!"

"It's no problem." Tai replied, pulling a white t-shirt over his head.

"…so what's up with you? You seemed a lot cheerier last time we met." Takashi smiled. His pupils were much larger than seemed normal. Tai couldn't help but wonder if the boy had been given too much caffeine, or sugar, or something.

"I'm a bit nervous about this soccer match I've gotta take part in…"

"Oh, that old chestnut?" He replied, bobbing on his feet again. "Well, I'm gonna be watching it so I'll be cheering you on. Will that help?"

"Aren't you supposed to be in lessons this afternoon, or anything?" Tai asked, curiously. He stuck his feet comfortably into a pair of large, white socks.

"Well, I'm supposed to have maths, but my teacher saw me at lunch and thought I was too over excited to join her lesson today so she gave me a note that said I could come sit in the stands here and watch you guys but…"

"Ok, ok." Tai interrupted, smiling. He placed a pair of sports shoes on his feet. "I get it."

"I'll cheer you on!" He jumped at Tai, who had finally finished getting changed, and gave him a hug. "Good luck!"

"Right…" Tai said, tentatively hugging the boy back. "…thanks. Cheer extra loud for me."

"No problem. No one can cheer as loud as I can." He assured, squeezing Tai even tighter. Tai could feel Takeshi trembling.

"Really, dude; are you on a caffeine rush right now?"

"Yagami!" The coach's voice boomed out from the gym all of a sudden, breaking his train of thought.

"Agh, I gotta go Takeshi. Sorry." Tai jumped, sprinting back out of the changing rooms. "I'll see ya out there!"

"Bye byes!" He waved. "Don't forget to keep your cool!"

Tai hurriedly made his way back into the gym, and found that the herd of school students, who had previously been running around, were now split off into smaller groups, and they were performing team based exercises. It occurred to Tai, then, that were a lot more students here than seemed appropriate. There was only supposed to be one soccer team here, he thought, but there was double that amount – at the very least.

"What took you so long?" The coach asked, as Tai finally made his way back to her side.

"Sorry, I got, er…" Tai began, thinking that it might be best to keep Takashi's presence in the changing rooms unknown. "…distracted."

"Let's hope that the same thing doesn't happen on the field."

"Um hum." Tai nodded, looking around. "Coach, why are there so many people here?"

"I was wondering if you'd ask that."

"Oh…" Tai said, confused. "…am I supposed to come up with the answer?"

"That's up to you, Yagami."

He thought for a moment. "They're not all on the team, are they?"

"You're more perceptive than you look."

"But the only other reason they would be here…"

"Keep going."

"…is that they want to be on the team. Right?"

"Right." She nodded. "Yagami, I haven't been totally honest with you."

"What do you mean?"

"Today is try-outs." She conceded. "I'm splitting everyone into two teams, and you're all going to have a match. I'm going to keep my eye on everyone and rate performance. The most highly rated will end up on the team."

"But, I thought…"

"Yes?" She asked, looking at him.

"Nothing." Tai mumbled, looking down at his shoes. He thought for sure that, after what she had said to him yesterday, he had already been assured a place on her team. Clearly, though, he had been wrong.

"Look at everyone." The coach continued, apparently oblivious to his tender feelings. "Your team captain for this match has a red band sewn into the left sleeve of his shirt. Do you see him?"

Tai looked around for a moment, before answering with a quiet "no".

"Take your time." She said, patiently.

Tai nodded. He took the time to look around even more closely at everyone in the gym. He eventually found a boy with a blue banner on his arm, in the distance, who he assumed must be the opposing team's captain, but apart from that he was certain that he could only see totally white shirts glaring back at him. There wasn't a glimpse of red to be found in the sea of over excited wannabe athletes.

He sighed, and lifted his left arm to scratch his head. And then he froze in that position. Residing there, sewn around his left sleeve, was a thin, red banner.

"Don't think that I don't trust you, Yagami. Or that I don't believe in your abilities." She stated, evenly. "This is just a formality. You're gonna be on my team no matter what happens today."

"But…I don't..."

"You don't what?" She asked.

"I don't…I mean, I can't…"

"You can't lead a team?" She asked. Tai didn't answer, and instead looked back down at his feet. She continued. "Yagami. I need you to take some time to yourself, here, and find the born leader inside of you, instead of just looking to everybody else for guidance. You need to have confidence in yourself, not just in other people."

"But what if…?"

"Stop asking questions." She interrupted. "I can see it in your eyes. You're born to lead, and you're destined to be great."

He nodded, nervously. He wasn't entirely sure how to reply to that.

"I wish I could give you the time to warm up with everyone, but with the amount of time you spent getting changed, and with our little conversation here…well, we've got to get moving."

"Ok." Tai nodded, feeling slightly ambivalent about himself.

"Jog out onto the pitch and do some stretches." She ordered, simply.

Tai did as he was told, and upon opening the door that led to the soccer pitch he heard the sound of about twenty other students following him outside. He smiled, slightly.

When he reached the soccer pitch, with the small crowd following behind him, he spotted Takashi sitting down at one of the bleachers. From where Tai stood, Takashi appeared to be bobbing up and down. Tai laughed at the sight, and began stretching his legs out.

"Akihiro, stand over there please." The coach ordered. As he stretched, Tai tilted his head in curiosity towards the boy who had moved under the order. He was tall, and gangling; and he wore a blue banner around his left arm.

It was the boy who had been bullying Izzy yesterday.

Tai scowled at the realisation. Akihiro, Tai's brand new rival, smirked back.

"When I call your name out I will point you in the direction of your team captain, and you will go and stand with them." She continued to the group. One, by one, she sent different students to their teams.

Those who were trying out, Tai noted, ranged from tall to small; from deeply pale to heavily tanned; from skinny and frail looking, to plump and sturdy. They all looked very different from each other; yet the majority of them shared the same exact facial expression. They were apprehensive.

"Hey, keep your chin up dude." Tai whispered to one particularly small boy who had moved to stand next to him at the coach's order. "You're gonna be fine."

"R-right…" The boy trembled.

"You got a captain's speech for us before the match starts?" Another teammate asked, smiling. "Y'know, to bolster confidence, or something?"

"Sure, I guess…" Tai answered, looking down at his feet. He quickly swallowed his anxiety, and looked back up at everyone with a wide grin. "You're on my team. And my team never loses." He said with a cheerful, obnoxious tone. Some of the team members laughed. "So have fun, and show off your stuff a bit. And most importantly, don't worry! We're gonna stomp em into the ground so hard that the coach won't be able to take her eyes off of us!"

"Pretty confident speech for a shrimp." Akihiro said, stepping up in front of Tai. "Yagami, is it?"

"What's it to you?"

"I just wanted to say hi before I crush you today." He stated, smiling.

"Good luck." Tai replied, stepping up to Akihiro so that they were nose to nose.

"I'm going to get you back for yesterday, Yagami." His voice dropped to a whisper. "I'm gonna show everybody how pathetic you are."

"Back to your side, Akihiro!" The coach said, abruptly. The older boy waited a moment, before turning his back and striding off.

"Geez…what an ass-wipe." Takashi said from beside Tai, making the brunette jump noticeably.

"Takashi, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be on the bleachers!"

"Thought I'd say hi." He shrugged.

"You're gonna get in trouble…"

"HI!" Takashi exclaimed, smiling widely. His pupils were still fairly dilated.

"Hi, Takashi…"

"You're not getting all nervous again, are you?" He asked, patting Tai on the shoulder. "C'mon, don't listen to that guy. And don't let him get you all worked up."

"But it's so hard not to get worked up by that creep! He's just so damn…"

"Geez…Momentai, Tai!" Takashi interrupted, smirking. "Take it easy."

"Right…" Tai exhaled. "Yeah, I'm sorry. Let's get this show on the road, ok?" He shouted out to the team, who all cheered in response. "I'll see you after the match, Takashi."

"Go kick some butt!"

"Thanks!" Tai shouted, as he moved to the centre of the pitch with the rest of his team. "Right, err…what positions do you all play?" At that, the rabble started shouting out different positions in a wave of over-excited uproar. "Woah, woah woah!"

"…what?" Everyone else stated, together.

"So you all know where you're going?"

"Sure we do." One boy said. "We were assigned to our best posts by the coach before we started. Weren't you?"

"No. I guess she left it up to me to decide where I should go…" Tai laughed, scratching his head. "Guess I'll play as a striker, then."

"Red team, are you ready for kick off?" The coach shouted out, abruptly. Tai was going to have to get used to jumping out in fear every soccer session.

"Yeah, er…yes coach!" Tai shouted, waving his team to their positions. "We're ready when you are!"

And so, at that, their ninety minute long soccer match began. The coach spent the majority of that time running up and down the side of the pitch in her quest to follow the ball wherever it went; and, as she ran, she obsessively scrawled things down on her clipboard. At first, this behaviour made Tai the slightest bit anxious, but he soon found that he could handle the pressure fine. He'd performed in front of a panel of judges before, after all; he could certainly handle this without breaking any extra sweat.

Most of his attention, therefore, was spent solely on the match at hand – except, of course, for that single instance where he had spotted Takeshi with his shirt wrapped around his head, drinking from what looked to be a large flask – probably filled with coffee. Not wanting to know where the hell he had got it from, considering that the boy didn't have it with him earlier, and hadn't left his seat to fetch it, Tai vowed not to look back again.

Tai's newly appointed soccer rival, Akihiro, spent the majority of his time singling out Tai to the best of his ability. He pushed him over countless times, criticised his team leading skills whenever they came within earshot of each other, and complained twice about Tai's 'abusive physical contact' which, luckily, the coach knew very well didn't exist.

Akihiro's skills as a striker, however, couldn't be denied. On certain occasions he could rival Tai's own skill, in fact. He scored almost as many times as Tai did, and he possessed the ball more often than the bushy haired brunette; though, unlike Tai, Akihiro didn't ensure that his team, as a whole, possessed the ball as often as Tai's did.

By the time the last three minutes of the match had come around, Tai had scored five goals, and the other striker on his team had scored two, giving the red team seven goals overall. Akihiro, however, had scored three goals, and the other two strikers on his team had scored two goals each. As such, the blue team also had seven goals.

"Tai, we've gotta win this now." A member of the red team, Michi, whined. "Otherwise we're gonna run out of time.

"I know, I know…" Tai thought, looking from side to side in the hopes than some brilliant scheme would leap up before him. It didn't.

"We've been so much better this half, captain." The other striker, Katsu, offered. "We've caught them up, and had them on the ropes since. We did that without any real plan. Maybe we don't need one now, either. We should just go for it and see what happens."

"You think so?" Michi asked, warily. "I'm not so sure…"

"Wait, guys…" Tai said, slowly. "…I think I just got an idea…"

At that, Tai began whispering hurriedly into the ear of the other striker, who was nodding hectically in response. A smile loomed upon both of their lips.

"Y'know, that could work…"

"To your positions, reds! Time out is over!"

The final run began at the coach's word, and the reds started in possession of the ball; but something was different from the go. And Akihiro noticed it.

"Why isn't Yagami in his normal position?" The boy wondered, head tilted to the side. "He's…I think he's switched position with the other striker."

"What?"

"He switched places. Normally he takes the killer shot, doesn't he? And the other one is their insurance. But he's…he's swapped places! He's not heading into the striking zone; and he's not gonna get near the ball from where he is right now..."

"So what do we do about it?"

"…play it out." He said. "Watch to see if he changes direction, or lane. I'll mark him; you two focus on Katsu. Take the ball forward if you can. If not, give it to the centre men and they'll take it up in our place."

"A switch?"

"They'll never anticipate it. Let's go."

Tai lingered about on the side lines, whilst Katsu made his way up the centre of the pitch, straight towards the pair of opposing strikers. A thought crossed Katsu's mind at the sight of them – 'these two aren't supposed to be marking me, they're supposed to be moving forward…' – but he tried to ignore it. A plan was in action, after all; and he couldn't falter.

The oncoming pair drew nearer and nearer; and then so near that a lengthy slide tackle would have been able to cover the distance between them and knock Katsu down. But then the ball was abruptly booted to his right, sending it in a wide arc across the pitch. The ball landed – not next to Tai – but next to Michi, one of the midfielders, who had switched his position and been running along the side lines without being noticed.

"They've got a third striker!" Akihiro shouted. The blue's midfielders attempted to reach the new appearance to block his advance, but they were too far away to get near him before he had crossed into the final third of the pitch.

When they finally managed to reach him, he passed the ball back to Katsu, who continued to take it forward. He got past one of the blue's defenders, and then another.

Tai, knowing full well that he was being followed by Akihiro, casually jogged along around the centre of the pitch. Akihiro stuck beside him by a few inches.

"Did you think that your plan was going to leave us astounded, or something, Yagami?" Akihiro laughed, with a tone that gave away his slight lack of confidence. "You're even stupider than I thought."

At that, Tai sprinted forward – much faster than anyone, least of all Akihiro, could have anticipated. Tai had never run so fast in his life. He scanned around him for an open space in the box as he rocketed. Any space at all that could create a clear path for a pass from Michi, or Katsu. Any space at all that would give him a second to get his angle, and timing, right. And then he saw it. Straight ahead of him. An area of space inside the box surrounding the blue team's goal. He made for it.

Katsu, meanwhile, had been blocked by the final defender, and had passed the ball back to Michi. Michi, in turn, had found himself blocked by another defender who had managed to make his way back in time to block the assault. Michi passed it back to Katsu again in an overhead arc. Katsu jumped up, and headed the ball with all his strength, in the direction that Tai was now standing.

Akihiro, already having caught up to Tai again, made his descent into a sliding tackle. He aimed his foot directly at Tai's ankle.

The ball, now, was only a few inches from Tai's head.

Akihiro, without a slight of hesitation, was only inches away from smashing into Tai's unprotected foot.

Tai, with no better idea in mind, twisted himself so that his back was facing the soccer net, jumped up into the air and performed a backflip.

Akihiro slid directly underneath him, with a slow 'O' shape forming where his mouth should have been.

Tai's feet made contact with the ball, and the ball shot forward at the goal with amazing power.

The goal keeper tried to reach it, but the angle was too sharp, and the speed of was too great, for him to have a chance.

The ball hit the back of the net.

Tai would have landed successfully on his feet, normally, given his extensive practice in gymnastics, and natural agility. However, with Akihiro still lying beneath him, the brunette landed in a heap on top of his arch rival. Neither of them seemed bothered, at first, as they were both trying to take in the sight of a soccer ball sitting inside the blue team's goal. Slowly, though, their eyes met. A second went by in silence, before "you were saying?"

Feeling pleased with his eventual comeback, and facing no retort from his rival, Tai got back to his feet as quickly as he could and ran over to his team mates to cheer in celebration. The coach said that, technically, there was still about half a minute of the match left to go, but that nothing would get done in that time considering that the soccer pitch took about a minute to traverse from one end to the other.

The red team, naturally, didn't complain. The blue team would have liked to, but they were all too tired to care very much. Akihiro, too. Besides, as both teams knew, they were passing into 'after school' time, and they all wanted to get themselves home soon.

The coach gave everyone their own complimentary review before they left, choosing to leave out their negative points from fear of annoying a tired, already rowdy group of kids. She gave special mention to the gymnast/soccer player hybrid, Taichi Yagami, for the careful control of his team, and for his display of a very rare skill – being able to keep his head whilst other players were trying to get under his nails. Tai blushed at that one. So did Akihiro.

"Yagami." The coach said to Tai as she walked into the changing room ten minutes later. He was the only student left in there.

"Yeah, coach?"

"The boy on the bleachers – Takashi – he was cheering you on for most of the match. You know him?"

"Yeah, I know him." Tai said.

"He passed out five minutes from the end." She said. "I guess he missed your big moment."

"He passed out?"

"I don't know the details." She said with a frown. "But, from what little I've heard, it's very possible that he got over excited."

"I wouldn't put it past him." Tai smirked.

"Right." She replied. They stood in silence for a few moments, before she continued. "I wanted to congratulate you, by the way."

"On what?"

"You made the team." She smiled. "And despite the heavy competition out there today, you proved your worth. You're the best soccer player I've seen in a long, long time."

"Thank you, Mam."

"No, Tai. Thank you." She smiled. "Now get yourself home. I've gotta lock this place up."


"Sora?" Yamato asked as he reached the Yagami gate. Sora looked slightly flustered, and was hopping up and down impatiently. Her father was waiting in the car behind her.

"Hey Matt! I've gotta go grocery shopping. I just thought I'd tell you that Tai was surprised with an afternoon soccer match today, and that he's probably just finishing." She smiled. "You should go meet him and walk him home."

"Wait…is there no one else there with him?"

"Well, I told him in advance that I had to get home early. I guess Izzy could be there, but…but Izzy doesn't like to break his routine, does he? So…oh, you're right. Tai could be all on his own..."

"Dammit…"

"I'm sorry, Matt! It didn't occurred to me that there would be no-one there for him!" She said, apologetically. "Could Mr Horn…?"

"No, he said he'll be in a meeting for a while after school." Yamato said, worriedly.

"Well, you get out here and go get him! Ok?"

"Right." Yamato said, unlocking the gate and stepping out. He closed it behind him.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Matt." She said, reassuringly. "We're just getting jumpy over nothing."

Yamato didn't reply. He set off, walking, towards the school, leaving Sora to stand alone in his wake. His stony expression didn't express it, but Yamato was scared. He was scared because a horrible feeling was currently bubbling up inside of his chest, and contrary to what Sora was suggesting, this feeling was telling him that they weren't just 'getting jumpy over nothing'.

He quickened his pace. The light in the distance was beginning to blot out, only to be replaced by the darkness. A storm was approaching.


Tai exited the school grounds without a care in the world.

Any other day that week, he thought, he probably would have missed Sora's company, and Izzy's company; and, almost certainly, he would have missed Yamato's company. But, for this single moment in time, he was perfectly at ease on his own.

After all, it had been a very good day.

With his hair blowing in the sudden, sturdy gale, Tai continued down the home-bound route that he had already followed so many times during his short life in Odaiba. He was smiling brightly, and he was whistling tunelessly to himself. There was nobody else in sight.

"I wonder if Yama feels any better…" Tai pondered to himself as he went. "…it's only really been a day, or so, and I'm already running out of ideas with what to do with the guy."

He laughed, despite himself. "Maybe if I tell him that one of his future band members is a caffeine junkie who collapsed from excitement today, he'll smile for me..."

At that thought, a droplet of water fell onto the tanned boy's nose, and carefully made its way towards his lips.

"Huh?" He said to himself, looking up slowly.

A second drop landed on his face, and then another; each one trailing downwards to linger somewhere else, caressingly. He grinned. The heavens were opening up above him.

And it was nice.

Overwhelmed by a sudden, inexplicable calm, Tai halted in his tracks and stretched his arms out to his sides. Within seconds, he was enveloped by the spray of heavy, rushing water. It felt, he thought, like it was washing away all of the bad things that he had been trying so hard to forget recently. Like it was cleaning away all of the sad things, and softening all of the hard things. And it made him feel so much lighter.

The moment that Tai spent there went on forever, it seemed. Yet, through that surrounding cascade of water, and through that frozen veil of time that came with it, only a few seconds passed by.

That short amount of time, though, had been enough to produce a strangely familiar, bloodcurdling sound, and when it came it crashed down violently upon Tai's eardrums. He gasped, almost fearfully.

"TAIII!" Yamato yelled, sprinting up the street in Tai's direction; a blonde blur in a torrential downpour. "TAIII!"

"Yama?"

"RUN TAI, RUN!"

"What do you…?"

"Tai." A new voice spoke from behind the brunette, coarsely. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

The hairs on Tai's neck stood on end, and any blood left in his face rushed away. He knew that voice, and he knew it all too well. He turned around.

"Don't make this hard, son." Mr Yagami said, reaching out to grab Tai by the shoulder. Tai jumped back a step.

"Don't…don't touch me."

"Get away from him!" Yamato shouted, grabbing Tai by the arm and pulling him backwards onto the road. Mr Yagami took a few tentative steps forward, arm still outstretched, but abruptly stopped at the curb. His eyes scanned over the blonde boy, carefully. A look of fear passed over the man's face.

"Yamato." Tai said, pulling himself from the blonde's grasp. "You shouldn't be here! I can't let him hurt you again!"

"And I can't let him hurt you again!"

"Why are you wearing that?" Mr Yagami said, fearfully.

"…what?" Yamato replied, completely taken aback.

"What are…who are you, boy?" The man tried, irritably running a hand through his long, greasy hair. "I know that face! Why…what's your damn name?"

"Yama, just get out of here!" Tai pleaded.

"Not without you!" The blonde shouted back at him, annoyed.

Before they could do anything else, Mr Yagami had moved towards them with unreasonable speed. Tai and Yamato were grabbed by the scruffs of their clothes in a split second action, and they were lifted up into the air. Tai punched his father in the face as hard as he could, but left no mark. He tried to hit the man a second time, aiming more carefully this time, but before he could do so Mr Yagami sent the pair soaring through the air with a terrible scream. Tai landed in a heap upon the pavement. Yamato landed a few inches beside him.

At that same second a crash sounded from the road, and then a subsequent smash sounded from one of the buildings further up. Silence ensued.

"D…Dad?" Tai said, confused. He got to his feet. He could feel a sharp, stabbing pain in his ankle, but he ignored it as best as he could. "What…what just happened?"

He limped onto the road and headed towards the figure that lay there. He could hear Yamato getting up behind him.

"Tai…" Yamato whined, following the brunette. "That's my…that's my…"

"Yama! My Dad, he's…Yama, please help me!" Tai pleaded, looking back at the rambling blonde. Yamato had fallen back to his knees, and was staring into the distance at something, shaking his head madly. Tai hesitantly followed his gaze. Sticking out of the ground floor of a tall building was a car. It was on fire.

"Tai…I think, I…" Yamato said, getting back to his feet. "…I've gotta help!"

At that, Yamato sprinted into the distance. Tai would have loved to help the blonde, but he had his own problems to deal with. He turned back to his father. "Dad?"

"You never…" The man tried, looking up at the clouds from where he was laying. "…you never did have any road sense, Tai."

"…Dad." Tai whined, trying to ignore the huge volume of blood that was pooling out from underneath his father.

"We tried teaching you to look both ways before you crossed the street, your mother and I." He continued, with an odd smile. "We tried so hard."

"Don't do this, Dad!"

"You care about that boy over there?" Mr Yagami said, changing the topic.

"…don't do this. Not now." Tai said, taking off his school bag to prop it underneath his father's head. "I don't wanna hear you talk."

"Tell me." He continued, ignoring Tai's protests. "What's his name?"

"He's Yama…" Tai mumbled, conceding. "Yamato Ishida."

"Ishida…" Mr Yagami laughed, quietly. "…somehow, I think I already knew that."

"I hate you, Dad." Tai whined, wiping his eyes.

"I know." Mr Yagami said, looking at Tai in the eyes. "You saw what he was wearing?"

"I dunno, geez..."

"Get rid of it." He wept, trying to raise a finger to his eyes.

"What, the hoody?"

"It's a reminder of the past that you don't need, Tai."

"I don't have a phone with me." Tai shook his head, ignoring what his father was telling him. "I can't call an ambulance for you."

"It wouldn't make a difference if you did." He moaned. "That driver was going so…so fast. I'm broken, Tai."

"So what do I do, Dad?" Tai asked, all but shouting at the man on the floor.

"Ishida, where did he go?" Mr Yagami asked, changing topic again.

"To the car. He wanted to help."

"I wish I could see him."

"What?"

"Both of you, together, really. It'd remind me of old times."

"I don't get what you mean, Dad!"

"He's a good boy, right?" Mr Yagami continued. "You'll take care of him?"

"I don't understand!"

"I've got something for you. I wanted to give you it, earlier, but…" Mr Yagami said, trying to move his arm. A siren sounded from somewhere in the distance.

"I'll get it." Tai said, wiping his eyes and sticking a hand inside his father's jacket. "It sounds like someone has called an ambulance for you, Dad."

"I told you, it won't make a difference Tai." He sighed. "Just...just make sure you take everything you get your hands on."

Tai searched around every pocket, even a large one on the inside, and only came across two things. His father's wallet and Tai's old, orange security blanket.

"What is all this?"

"Michael…" Mr Yagami murmured, with half lidded eyes. "Tell him I'm sorry for breaking his door. I had to get out and find you, but it was locked."

"Stop talking! You need to save your strength, damn it!"

"And tell Ishida I'm sorry, too. Things should have gone better between us."

"You'll tell him yourself!" Tai shouted. Tears were streaming down his face.

"And tell Tai that I was scared."

"Dad, I'm right here with you."

"He's a lot like me, you know." The man continued, almost conversationally. "He's only small, but already everything he does reminds me of myself. It's amazing."

"Dad…"

"I love him so much."

"Please, Dad…"

"Tell him for me."

"I…I will." Tai choked, grabbing his father in an embrace.

"Thank you." Mr Yagami muttered. The sound of sirens grew louder, and the sound of Tai's crying grew with it. The rain kept on falling.


Susamu didn't believe that one's life would flash before their eyes when they died. It just seemed silly. Didn't it? Still, here he was, taking a trip down memory lane without ever budging an inch from his comfy spot in the middle of the road where he was currently dying.

Dying, yes.

Now that, he felt, was an especially irritating affair; and it had come at an especially awkward time. He'd planned a big speech for his Tai, and everything. And now his death had got in the way of it.

No matter.

He was, for the most part, certain that he could trust Michael to tell Tai everything that he needed to know. Hell, Michael probably knew the story better than anyone else did, given his unusual position.

"Oh." Susamu thought. "Those memories are coming back again."

It was dark, here. Dark, but oh so light. He was in the air. Kind of. Yes, Susamu thought. He remembered this bit. He was in the air, and he was about to land his first ever perfect aerial half twist front flip. And as he thought it, he did so. He landed it perfectly. A teacher in the corner – a big man – was slowly applauding the feat.

"Do it again."

And so he did. Only, Susamu thought, this memory wasn't quite right anymore. He was sure that he did, in fact, land it the second time as well. Only, now that he looked upon it, he was on the floor. And the place was a lot darker. And he was in pain. Did he fall?

"You're going to learn, boy."

"Learn what?" Susamu wondered. He didn't understand this memory, yet, and so he was happy to find that he was soon flashing away from it, and onto a new one.

This memory was nicer. He was standing with his favourite smarmy British kid, Michael, and with his best friend, Yuuko. Those two were talking to each other a lot about nothing important. "Sparks are flying…" Susamu had thought at the time. He wondered why the pair didn't end up in love with each other. Confused, Susamu moved on.

Now he was with another boy. His favourite boy. This boy was taller than he was, but thinner and paler, too. What was his name again?

Oh. Never mind.

He was already looking upon another memory, now. Here, Susamu was watching Michael draw him. But there was something else about this memory. Wasn't there? He tried to turn his head to his side to see if there was anyone else there.

Too late. He was back to his favourite boy again. What was his name, though? Hiroaki? Was that it? Yes. Yes, it was. Hiro. That's what he called him. He was sure of it.

Then there was a flash of ink on skin, and then a flash of his favourite boy's face again. Man, Hiro talked a lot. Nearly as much as Michael, even.

"Geez…" Susamu thought. "Memories are messy."

Oh, no.

He was cold all of a sudden. Really, really cold. But then someone draped an orange blanket over his shoulders and he was warm again. The blanket was in great condition, and it smelt like love. How strange. How thoughtful.

Then he was back in the gym. And it was dark, and he was in pain. And he wasn't alone.

"You're going to learn, boy."

"Please, no…" A voice said from behind Susamu. Hands gently grasped him by the shoulders. "…please, we don't want this. No, no more. We're better. We're good. Please…"

"No, you're all going to learn." The man said. "I told you, fairy boy."

"But…"

"Shut the fuck up!" And with that, the man disappeared from Susamu's sight and the sound of knuckle on skin could be heard. Again, and again. And again.

"Susy…!" Someone pleaded, crying. Was that Hiro, as well?

"I told you all. You're going to learn. You're going to learn to stop being so damn wrong, and disgusting." The man shouted. "You fags don't know what pain is yet. But you're gonna. You're gonna learn. All of you."

And then Susamu was in the light again, but the light hurt. It hurt bad. And in front of him was Hiroaki, and another girl his age. Blonde hair, pale skin. She had been beaten to a pulp. So had Hiroaki.

"So had you." Susamu thought to himself, remembering a choice selection of his own beatings all of a sudden. "Repressed memories couldn't hide the scars, could they?" The pain still hurt him in this memory. But it seemed to reside, for the most part, deep within in his chest, as opposed to residing around his bruises and scars. How odd.

He looked back at the couple in front of him with curiosity.

Now he was sad. Very sad. Once again he was alone with his favourite boy, Hiro. And Hiro was crying. And so was Susamu. And they had made a pact to forget one and other, and everything that had happened. To get married to the best girls that they could find, and to run away. One last kiss from each other. And one last goodbye.

Susamu had his first taste of alcohol that day.

The memories faded for a while, at that point, and Susamu thought that the montage of his life was already over. He was feeling sad again. But then it cut back in, and he was over the moon. His son had been born. His little boy, Tai. Tai was beautiful, and he was wrapped in an orange blanket. It was for good luck, and to keep him safe, and to let him know that he was loved. Susamu declared that he would never drink a drop of alcohol again after seeing such a beautiful sight.

But he already knew, looking back, that old habits would die hard.

Tai was growing up. "He's a lot like me, you know." Susamu said with pride, over the phone to his estranged friend, Michael. "He's only small, but already everything he does reminds me of myself. It's amazing."

"Is that so?" Michael said, surprised. "And you love him?"

"I love him so much."

"That's good, Susy. If I ever meet him…"

"Tell him for me."

"I will. I'll tell him just how much he's loved by his father, in case his father ever forgets to tell the boy himself."

"Thank you."

Suddenly, the sun was shining too brightly. It was midday. The girls were out shopping, and Tai was in the garden in performing handstands. Handstands that could have rivalled Susamu's, back in the day. Everything about the boy reminded Susamu of himself. And it was scary. It brought back his demons. It brought back his thirst for alcohol. It brought back the pain, the anger, the hate. It brought back his gym teacher, and his Hiro, and their pact.

"You're such a big gay boy!" Susamu sneered. "You look like a fairy, Tai."

He punched Tai in the arm, playfully, but Tai fell over. And Susamu didn't like that. Not one bit. It was a sign of weakness, after all. Tai was weak. "Fight back!"

"No…"

"Fight back!" He repeated. "Unless you're gay?"

"So what if I am?"

Oh no. We couldn't be having that, could we? Another gay in the house? Oh, no. Having a gay son would be too hard to hide. And if Susamu couldn't hide it, then Susamu would have to beat it out of the boy. He'd have to teach the boy a lesson that he'd never forget, just like he had been taught all that time ago. Susamu struck Tai down, ripping holes in that thin, blue hoody that he was wearing.

"How odd that he kept that piece of clothing all this time..." Susamu thought. "Didn't it remind of hard times?" Tai must have spent every minute of his time fighting his demons. He was so strong, and brave. And Susamu was so proud.

He really wanted to live, just a little longer, to see how great his son could become; but he wanted to die, right now, for what he had done to him.

His memories flashed forward, again, all the way through that dry, dry time at prison. Susamu had done so much to ignore his addiction. He had taken up every hour he could to do chores. To cook, and to clean. To do anything he could. And they had let him out early for it, because he was showing signs of repenting.

And Susamu had gone home after that. He had been prepared to apologise profusely to his family, and move out, and stay in touch over a long distance - and maybe even seek out Hiroaki and see if he had turned out any better, just for the sake of closure. But his family was already gone when he got home. There was very little left at the house. Very little indeed. No Yuuko, no Tai, no Kari.

He made his way into his son's bedroom and, unsurprisingly, he found it empty. Totally empty - except for one, amazing thing. That old, orange blanket. Inside it he could just make out a shade of Tai, still wrapped up in it, safe and sound. That shade was a shade of the horrible past that Susamu could never make up for.

And old memories flashed by again. He was being covered from the cold once more, by…by Hiroaki. Yes, by Hiroaki.

"I'm giving you this, Susy. It's my old security blanket. It's…it's for good luck." That's what he had said. "It's to let you know that I'll always be with you." And then Susamu had given that blanket to Tai to let him know that he would always be there with his son. But, naturally, his son didn't want to be followed by the plague that was his father. Not anymore. So he had left it at the house when they had gone away.

That revelation hurt.

Susamu had sat on the floor, then; and he had cried. And when he stood again, he got into his vehicle and left to find a convenience store. He bought a lot of alcohol that day.

The therapists at the prison had told him that alcohol was his downfall, and that it had severely distorted his cognitions. Damage would come from every drop that he drank from then on. He didn't care anymore, though. Not anymore.

He didn't guess at the time that, in his drunken state, he would travel all the way to Odaiba to chase down his family.

Oh, well.

Susamu thought that he deserved what he had coming, now. And it didn't matter if he died right here in the middle of the road. It really didn't. He had already died, in his mind; all those years ago in that gym with Hiroaki.

And then he was looking up at the sky again. It was raining. It was raining heavily. And he felt tired. He just wanted to sleep. He wanted to sleep so, so bad. Tai was still above him, crying, and the sirens were getting very close now.

"I love you, Tai."

Susamu took hold of Tai's hand, and looked into his eyes. He saw himself, there. He saw what he could have been, and what he had failed to be. He smiled, and he turned his head to rest, and he went to sleep.

He didn't wake up.


Tai didn't notice when his father took his last, long breath. He just watched as the man lay there, peacefully, those last words drifting about in his mind. Some part of his father still loved him, and that was somehow warming in this ice cold storm.

He didn't flinch when the paramedics came speeding down the road towards him that same minute, and he didn't budge when they got out of their vehicle and tried to move him from the scene. It wasn't until Yamato returned, looking paler than ever, that Tai finally got to his feet.

"Y-Yama…" Tai cried, wiping his eyes every half second in an attempt to see out of them. Yamato took him by the shoulders and kissed him on the cheek. "Yama…"

"We're gonna be ok, Tai. We are." He said, half trying to reassure himself of that fact. "We're gonna be ok…"

The pair stood at the edge of the road as Mr Yagami was lifted onto a stretcher and rolled into the back of an ambulance. Tai wanted to go in the ambulance, too, but he couldn't bring himself to leave Yamato's side. The rain continued to pour down on them, and was soon accompanied by a crack of thunder. "Tai, we can't just stand here."

"What if they need us?"

"Then they'll come find us, come on." He took Tai by the hand. "We're going home."

"What happened with the driver?"

"I pulled her out of the car." He answered, monotonously. "Drunk at the wheel. One of the paramedics will take them away, probably."

"Oh…" Tai answered, and fell into silence.

The pair made their way back to the Yagami residence. Tai limped the whole way, still wiping his eyes dry every few seconds. Behind them, they could hear Mr Horn shouting their names. But they didn't stop. If Mr Horn wanted to talk to either of them then he, like the authorities, could come and find them. They unlocked the gate to the Yagami residence, and headed inside.


Please, tell me what you thought. This was a hard chapter to write. I really hope that I managed to pull it off.

PS I apologise for the long sport commentary in there, which some of you had a problem with.