Author's Note – I am so sorry for the massive wait! Everything in my life has suddenly gone hectic. Thanx to DigiDestined of Courage (hehe, sorry about that! ^_^;;), erin, jenny, Digitalgirl562 and Becci 'D' (Yay! I luv ur Tai fics!)
Warnings – Silliness, angst, slight Taiora hints (happy?)
Yamato Ishida walked into the Takenouchi flower shop and smiled to himself when he saw Sora asleep on the counter, her head resting on her arms. Crossing the empty store silently her looked down at the slumbering girl; a spark of mischief, that usually belonged to Tai and Davis, was now lighting his cerulean blue eyes. Licking his lips, Matt took a deep breath.
"SORA! QUICK! THERE'S BEEN A BREAK IN!!" Sora's amber eyes shot open, wide with panic. Matt fought laughter and failed miserably as
few seconds Sora ran around in a daze, screaming something illegible about her
mom and jail. The redhead screeched to
a halt as Matt's deep laughter filled the room.
"You
are pure evil Yamato!" Sora yelled. Faced with her accusing glare the Keeper of
Friendship quickly swallowed his mirth.
"Nice nap?" he asked seriously. Sora's glare tripled in strength and she
managed to stave of blushing long enough to grab ample ammunition to silence
the blond musician. "Ow!" Matt yelled as four long-stemmed roses
collided with his perfect face. "These
things have thorns ya know!" To prove
his point he quickly lobbed them back at her.
"You're gonna pay for that Ishida!" Sora yelled, trying not to giggle. She reached out and grabbed hold of more
missiles, looking down she frowned at the white lilies clutched in her hand.
/These aren't supposed to be in the counter display!/ She shrugged and drew
back her arm to throw them anyway but the ring of the phone held her attack,
thus they avoided the Ninth Great Flower War and the bankruptcy of Takenouchi
Flowers. "Hello Takenouchi Flowers how
can I help you?" Matt picked up the now
battered and broken roses and threw them into the bin, before hopping up onto
the counter next to Sora.
"Hi Sora, it's Davis," Sora frowned as she heard the
despondency in his voice; she had never heard Davis' voice not be ear
shatteringly loud or sickeningly cheerful. Matt raised a blonde eyebrow in question. Sora mouthed the speakers name in response.
"Hi Davis, you alright? You sound bummed!" Sora asked in concern. Matt's intense blue eyes were immediately
focused on her. /Great . . .I bet he and Tai got into a shouting match!/ He
though humorously. /At least I don't have to be the one to cheer him up!/
"I don't know how to tell you this Sora," Davis'
voice sounded horse and suddenly Sora felt her stomach knot, she suddenly
wasn't sure if she wanted to know what was wrong.
"Well do you want to tell Matt? He's here too," She asked.
"He is? I
tried to call him earlier," Davis replied. "Have you got speaker phone?"
"Yeah, hang on a sec," Sora fiddled with the buttons
on the base of the phone until she found the right one. Putting the phone back into the cradle she
switched it on. "Ok Davis, we can both
hear you now!" A deep sigh echoed from
the other end of line causing Sora and Matt to look at each other worriedly.
"I really don't want to be the one to tell you guys
this," Matt frowned deeply, whatever was bothering the young Digidestined
sounded serious.
"Spit it out Davis," Matt ordered, his good mood
vanishing in an instant.
"Right, okay here goes," There was a suspenseful
pause as Davis gathered his nerve. "Tai's in the hospital."
"What?!" The
two of them yelled simultaneously.
"What's wrong with him?" Matt demanded, his only reply was silence. "Davis!"
"Sorry! Tai
he . . .that is he, um . . . he tried to kill himself . . ." The Keeper of
Courage and Friendship whispered. Matt
took a step backwards in shock, his blue eyes wide. Sora clapped a hand over her open mouth, tears gathering her
eyes. Neither of them could believe
that Tai would try to kill himself. He
had always been the most hyperactive of the group, the warmest, the one who
just brimmed with life and energy. Could it really be that the same boy, who had laughed at death a million
times and declared that he would never go down without a fight, had just given
up? Both Matt and Sora had nearly lost
themselves to the darkness but Tai had never come anywhere close. He believed in himself, in his friends, no
matter how bad the outlook. What had
changed?
Understanding drew its icy claw down Matt's spine,
making him shiver. /"You're not the
leader anymore Tai! You aren't needed
anymore!"/ Davis' voice harsh with
anger and fear seared through Matt's mind. /Oh no! / A picture of Taichi
flashed in his minds eye. Tai flinching
away as harsh words were flung at him, the light falling from those bright eyes
to reveal hurt and . . .resignation? The mask put back into place almost instantly, as if it had been done a
thousand times. Matt's chest clenched
tightly, berating himself for not noticing sooner.
"Hello? Sora? Matt? Anyone?" Davis voice echoed through the room, obviously judging they had been
silent for too long.
"Which hospital?" Sora chocked out, fighting back her tears.
"Odiaba General. Kari and his parents are already there, I'm going to ring the others
now," he replied sullenly.
"Thank you Davis." Sora said wholeheartedly. She
didn't think that she could bear to tell the other Digidestined that . . .that
Tai had . . .
"Don't worry about it, see you later," Davis said,
preparing to hang up.
"Wait!" Matt yelled suddenly. Sora glanced at him in surprise. "Davis did you get a chance to apologise to
Tai? About what you said?" He asked seriously.
"No, why?" the younger boy asked in confusion before
the horrible implication dawned on him. "Oh God, you don't think that's why he did that do you? No way! I didn't mean . . ."
"No I don't think that Davis, I was just wondering,"
Matt interjected smoothly as the younger boys voice began to rise in
panic. Actually Matt was sure that that
was what clenched Tai's decision for sure, he just didn't want Davis to eat
himself up with guilt.
"O..okay, I'll speak to you later," Davis' voice was shaky, obviously not
totally convinced by Matt's words of reassurance. After Davis had hung up the two Digidestined stared at each other
for a moment in silent shock. Sora leaned
heavily against the counter, her body suddenly feeling to heavy to stand
without support. Matt clenched is jaw
tightly, feeling like his world had suddenly crumbled beneath his feet.
"Matt, will you go and see how he's doing?" Sora asked desperately. "I can't leave the shop till my mom gets back," Matt nodded and left without another word, still deep in thought. As the door slammed shut behind him, Sora allowed herself to slowly sink to the floor, resting her head on her knees. She was still for a moment, then the dam burst and her body was wracked by sobs. She gathered her control quickly, telling herself that she would have to be strong for Tai, for his friends and family too. Something had been bothering him for weeks now, Sora knew that Kari had noticed it as well. The two of them had many lengthy discussions about it and in the end had reached a mutual agreement to leave him be for a while. She sank her teeth into her bottom lip as she realise that it must have been the wrong ting to do. /Well,/ she thought determinedly. /As soon as he recovers I'm gonna sit him down and we're going to have a very long talk./
In an effort to distract herself, Sora began to fanatically arrange and re-arrange every display in sight. Glancing quickly around the store to survey her handiwork the Keeper of Love spied the lilies she had dropped during Davis' phone call. Kneeling to scoop them up she breathed deeply to inhale their faint scent before putting them back into their rightful place. /I'm not going to loose you now Taichi./
* * *
"Tai, wake up!" Hikari Kamiya pleaded with her brothers' unconscious form. /It's so strange to see him still, / Kari mused detachedly. Having live with her brother her whole life she could not recall a single moment when Tai had been completely still. When he was awake he was constantly hyper, although he had matured greatly over the past few years Tai would always be full of energy. Even when he slept he tossed and turned constantly, murmuring to himself quietly. It was so strange to see him still. His wild brown hair lay limp around his head, partly covered by a bandage to protect the wound to his head. The doctors had assured her parents that there had no brain damage caused. She had always known Tai had a hard head. Her eyes were drawn to the other bandages that adorned his body against her will. She didn't want to think about that. She didn't want to think about that at all. She just wanted him to wake up.
"Please come back to me Tai!" Kari pleaded once more, her voice cracking with emotion. She wanted to take his hand but didn't dare to, so she settled for stroking his cheek. Soft caresses that were meant to show him how much she cared about him. Her parents had gone for coffee, Kari had stayed knowing in her heart that he was going to open his eyes any second and show her that lopsided grin of hers and tell her everything was alright. Kari hadn't even realised she had been crying until she felt her mothers arms wrap around her and mummer comforting nothings in hr ear. Kari Kamiya sobbed into her mothers shoulder. Mrs Kamiya stroked her daughters hair. Yamato Ishida hailed a cab to take him to the hospital. Sora Takenouchi waited anxiously for her mothers arrival. Davis Motimiya dialled another phone number. Taichi Kamiya opened his eyes.
To be Continued…
A/N – Sorry about the crappy ending, I don't really like this part very much. Review and tell me what you thought . . . Hated it? Loved it? I want to know!