Hehehehehehe!! I'm back!! Everybody's been so nice about reviewing!
Davis: Can I do the disclaimer-thing again? It's kinda boring being dead.
Me: Okay, whatever, just don't forget the extra part this time.
Davis: Huh? What extra part? You mean the part about you not owning the song "Survivor", by Destiny's Child?
Me: *smacks self in forehead* Yes, that would be it, Davis.
Davis: Oh, okay. Here's the disclaimer, then. She doesn't own Digimon, or the song "Survivor", by Destiny's Child.
Me: *rolls eyes*
The Difference
Chapter 3
"What do you mean, I'm 'not allowed in'?" Mimi Tachikawa cried indignantly. "I demand an explanation!"
"I meant exactly what I said, miss," the security guard growled. "This store has adopted a 'No Digidestined' policy."
"What?! I'm their best customer! They can't afford not to let me in!" cried Mimi.
"Miss, I'll have to ask you to leave if you're going to make a scene," the guard informed her. "Would you like me to escort you to the parking-lot?"
"Don't bother!" she snapped.
This is really going too far, Mimi thought as she got into her car. She was now not permitted to enter a total of ten different clothing stores, not to mention malls, and chain stores. Why, the only clothing shops left were (shudder) discount stores!
"Maybe some people deserve what Tai wants to do to them…" she quickly dismissed the idea, and drove on to the apartment. She may as well get there early.
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"I'm a survivor!
I'm gonna make it…"
Sora snapped off the radio. That song was too depressing. It reminded her of how much her life sucked when Tai wasn't a part of it. And how she was having one hell of a time surviving without him.
She looked around the flower shop. It was empty, but that was normal; it was almost time to close up. Actually, it had been a pretty good day, and business had just begun to slow down about then, in fact. Sora's being a digidestined didn't seem to stop people from coming. The fact remained that the Takenouchi family's flowers were some of the best in the city.
Sora might have even gone home about as close to happy as she got these days, except that old Mrs. Motimiya had come in around three, wanting to order flowers for Davis' funeral.
Trying to hide the fact that she was just about dying inside, she had said, "I guess I'd better cancel the order for the wedding, then."
Mrs. Motimiya had only nodded mutely, tears streaming down her face.
She didn't need to ask what had happened. All the digidestined knew that Davis had planned to go up against Tai at the TV station. Obviously, he hadn't succeeded.
It was almost two hours ago that she had found out, and it was still hard for her to believe it. This couldn't possibly be true. Things like this didn't happen in real life. But it had.
"So Kari's lost someone too," she sighed. "How could you do that to them? They were so happy. Just like we were…"
Why had she turned her back on Tai again? Oh. Right. He was going to open up a giant digiport and let loose all the evil digimon.
So why did she just want to cry whenever she thought about how she had left him?
She glanced at the clock; it was 5:00 PM, time to close. Sora flipped the sighned on the door to CLOSED, and then went in to the back of the shop to remove her apron. Then she heard the bell jingling.
"Can't people read anymore?" she grumbled. Coming back to the front of the shop, however, she smiled and started to say, "Can I help you…?".
Then she saw who it was. Her eyes widened in shock, and her knees almost gave way. She had to gab on to the counter to support herself.
It was Tai.
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"This is your uncle's place, Yolei?" Joe stared at the rat-hole that was called an apartment building.
"Yep. He only keeps it for tax purposes. I already told you he never comes here," she answered.
"I can't imagine why," Ken put in sarcastically.
"Well, come on. The others are probably already here," Yolei said, climbing the steps. Once they were all inside, she turned back to them, saying, "I don't think we had better risk the elevator," and turned instead towards the old, rotting stairs.
With each step, the stairs threatened to collapse underneath their feet, until they finally reached the right apartment. Ken slowly pushed open the door in order to minimize the creaking sound it emitted, and Joe peered in, unsure of what he would find. He saw that the room was packed with old crates, dust, broken bits of plaster, and… other digidestined.
Izzy was typing furiously away at his laptop, which he had propped on one of the crates, as though he could save the world if he could only type one more line of code. Mimi was perched on another crate, chattering endlessly to Kari, but she didn't seem to hear a word that Mimi was saying. She just looked straight ahead and said nothing, but the look in her eyes made it seem as though the word had fallen to pieces at her feet, and she wasn't sure what to do with them.
(a/n: If you've seen most of the episodes of Vision of Escaflowne, you will know this look. Van wears it when Folken decides that the bond between the dragon and the girl from the Mystic Moon must be broken. If you've seen this episode, you know what I'm talking about.)
Yolei walked over to her and asked, "Are you okay, Kari?"
All at once she began to sob. TK came over to her from across the room and put his arm around her.
"It's okay, Kari," her soothed. "It's going to be okay."
This only made her sob all the harder. Between sobs she cried, "TK, we were s-supposed to g-get m-m-married in your church."
"I know, Kari, I know," he answered.
When Kari's crying quieted down some, Matt spoke up from by the broken window, "Well, if everybody's here, we can get started."
"Wait a minute," Cody interrupted. "Sora's not here yet."
"You're right," Izzy replied, looking up from the computer screen. "Where the hell is she…?"
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"Hello, Sora," he said.
"Tai? Wha-what are you doing here?" she questioned.
"Well, I was in the neighbourhood, and I thought I'd stop in," he joked, sounding so much like the old Tai that she was tempted to run up and hug him.
Fortunately, Sora regained her composure, and let go of the counter, in time to say, "It's closing time, Tai. So buy something and get out."
"There is something in here I want," he answered, moving closer. "It just doesn't happen to be one of the flowers. But, if you insist." He took a partially bloomed rose from the vase on the counter where they were displayed, and handed the money for it to her. "Keep the change. In fact," she said, handing her the rose, "you can keep the flower, too."
The memory of the last time he had done this was enough to bring tears to her eyes.
*~*(FLASHBACK)*~*
"Hey, Sora! Is this a bad time?" Tai asked as he walked into the shop.
She smiled at him, "Not at all, Tai. Actually, I was just about to close up." She leaned on the counter, and then continued, "Today's been dead. I haven't had a single customer."
"Then I guess I'll be the first," he grinned that lop-sided grin of his as he walked up to the counter. Tai pulled a single, partially bloomed rosebud from the display vase, and then handed the money for it to Sora. "Keep the change." He handed her the rose. "Keep the flower, too. In fact," he continued, coming behind the counter, "you can keep this, as well," Tai showed her a small, velvet box with a ring inside, "but only if you say you'll marry me."
*~*(END FLASHBACK)*~*
"What's wrong, Sora? I didn't mean to make you cry."
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Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!! I am soo mean to end the chapter there, but I'm in an evil mood!! I hope all the Taiora fans who are reading this story enjoyed that, cuz I know I just loved writing it!! That aside, sorry that this took so long to get up, but with FFN going down and all, yeah. Actually, ch. 4'll probably be up today, too. Toodles!! ^_^
