Disclaimer: I own nothing.

When they say you're
not that strong
Well you're not that weak
It's not your fault
When you climb up to your hill
Up to your place
I hope you're well
There's nothing left to prove
Nothing I won't do
Nothing like the pain
I feel for you
Nothing left to hide
Nothing left to fear
I am always here
-"Not Enough," Our Lady Peace

Not Enough
Chapter Eleven

The day Taichi departed from Kyoto was unusually uneventful. Mimi had barely said three sentences to him with the longest being her wishing him a safe trip. Sora had been amused by Mimi's quiet and unlike the more distant goodbyes of the writer or even his best friend, she hugged him. What made the embrace more worth it was the look of blatant jealously on Yamato's face.

But the blonde had his revenge.

Before Taichi was out the door, Yamato beat him to retrieving his bag and held it out to him with a triumphant smile. "You know that Mimi's bought an apartment in Tokyo. She'll be living there in a few days."

The messy haired man had paled at the thought of the tactless and somewhat insulting woman living in the same city as himself and Yamato chortled. At least he did until Taichi had pointed out the record company had cut his tour by a week and the he had almost punched the editor for that fact.

Sora rolled her eyes and placed a hand on his arm, restraining him with surprising ease. As Taichi watched Yamato's lips quirked upwards in a small smile before he blanked his face and turned away from his manager. She frowned and he shook his head on his way out.

Well the two had more weeks. For their sakes he hoped something would happen.

Izumi Koushirou was waiting to pick him up by the baggage claim. Koushirou was not as handsome as he or his friends but appearance in the eyes' of others had never been involved in any friendship of Taichi's, especially since the other man was extremely intelligent and nice. He was short for a man at about five foot three inches and had a chubby, though not fat, build. His face was round with beetle black eyes, red hair that would have curled if it had been longer, and his skin was a pale shade of french vanilla.

He wore an orange hoodie, light blue jeans, and a pair of white and blue Nikes. His smile as he saw Taichi approaching him was wide and he waved. "Hey. How was the flight?"

"I was blasted through the sky in a pressurized metal tube. What do you think?"

Koushirou shook his head and the two strolled out of the airport towards the parking lot, chatting about their respective job. That conversation took up fifteen minutes and after it ended the two friends had really nothing new to report to one another. But neither was at the least uncomfortable.

But, he reflected, people always have to fill up every single, solitary moment with conversation if they're able. The mark of really good friends is that they can keep their mouths shut for more than five minutes and still be absolutely comfortable.

His reception back at the loft was more energetic than the one given him by Koushirou. Daisuke and Takeru had nearly tackled him to the floor, shouting at him and each other, and he was only able to push them both away after ten minutes. He winced and favored his right foot more than his left as he went into the kitchen where Jyou was.

The eldest member of the group smiled in relief. "I missed you and Matt, Tai. Since the two of you've been gone there hasn't been any sanity here at all."

That wasn't sarcasm. There really hadn't been any sanity with the two most mentally stable residents away.

He rolled his chocolate orbs at his friend before retreating back into his room. On bedside table next to his bed there were three written messages taken down by Takeru for him. The first was from his boss asking him to help a new co-worker from outside the country get settled in. Second was Hikari who wanted him to call her back as soon as possible. And last was his mother telling him there was no way he could skip out on the family dinner that week.

There was something very suspicious in his mother's words that nagged at him. But after awhile he shrugged it off as nothing and resigned himself to a nap as his jetlag caught up to him.

Later he would realize he should have figured out the meaning behind his sister's frequent calls and mother's urgency. And after that revelation he would sorely wish that he could just let the Earth swallow him whole.

Author's Notes: I'm sorry this chapter was so short but it was mostly a set-up for things to come. The next one will be longer, I promise. Please read and review.