Sorry it took a while. Been busy with message boards and websites and of course, the tragedy in the States. Anyways, here's the next chapter, enjoy!!! ^_^ R&R!
*Trouble in Paradise*
*A Glimpse of What Would Be*
"Jou-san?" Sora called out timidly.
Jou Kido, who was standing with a bunch of groceries, started to panic when the plastic holders started twisting around his fingers, turning them red and then blue. "Ow, ow, ow, OUCH!" he yelped as he released the bags. The groceries dropped with a surprising thud. Jou started to rub his aching fingers, which were bright blue.
"Jou-san?" Sora repeated.
Jou turned around to see Sora standing behind him, in a classic pair of jeans and a tight red t-shirt. Her hair had slightly grown since he had last seen her...whenever that was. He brushed his long blue hair back with his non-painful hand. "Ah, ha ha, Sora-chan...what a surprise!" he said non-chalantly, picking up his groceries. "And what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I...I just wanted to talk," Sora said, "as friends."
Jou felt like dropping dead. Sora? Friendly talk? Yeah, sure, but she rarely came around for a friendly chat. Wasn't that what Yamato or Taichi or whoever she was dating there for? Why come to the good ol' reliable Jou who happens to have blue salamis for fingers? Something was definitely up if she was going to come to him.
"Um, yeah, sure," he said dryly. "Just lemme pick my stuff up."
"Sure, Jou-san."
Jou clamoured to get his things up, making his jacket sway over and his legs cramp. Dressed in jeans and a t-shirt was a lot better than in a suit, that was for sure. Swinging his knapsack back on his back, he accompanied Sora as they walked down the street.
"How's my father, Jou-san?" she asked eerily.
Jou blinked. "He's fine, Sora-chan," he replied. "Shuu talks about him like he's kami or something when he's around the place. You should see Shin when he tries to change the topic other than Mr. Takenouchi and his work...it's virtually impossible." He smiled at her. "You should be proud of your father, Sora-chan," he added. "He's a great man."
"Yeah," she echoed distantly.
He stopped. This was killing him. His friend was visually at pain, and he felt powerless at the moment. "Sora-chan, why are you here?" he asked. "Other than 'let's see how good ol' reliable Jou is' reason and judging by the spur of moment here, you rarely step foot here unless it's something you want." He felt angry at that very moment but then calmed himself down. "Look, Sora, you're visibly confused. What is it about?"
She said nothing. She didn't look at him in the eye.
"It's Yamato, isn't it?" he blurted.
"No," she replied softly.
He frowned. "Taichi?"
She said nothing.
He blew a gust of wind. "You've got to be kidding me, Sora!" he cried, looking around. "You haven't been pissed at the guy since he bought you a pair of hairpins for your birthday a few years back."
"I'm not angry at him, Jou-san," she said. "I..." She sighed heavily. "I'm sorry about all this, Jou, I truly am. I...my life's sorta plundging down for a moment and I don't know what to do. Seeing you not being with anyone since...well, since I've know you...and the fact that you talk to Taichi from time to time..."
"So this is what it's about isn't it?" he asked suddenly, brushing his hair back. "You wanna know if Taichi has been mentioning anything about you, huh?"
He sighed. "I shouldn't be like, making my conversations public, but to be honest with you Sora, he hasn't mentioned you once. Not once. That's particularly strange, because you're usually the first thing he talks about other than soccer."
"I see," she said, the blood gone from her face.
Jou shrugged. "I don't have a major in therapy or psychology, but it appears to me, he may be depressed," he pointed out, "or maybe on the verge of depression. I'm sorry, Sora-chan, to tell you what's on my mind, but it's what I see. I won't lie to you because you are my friend and because I have a friend who may need our help."
Sora smiled for the first time and kissed him on the cheek gently. "Thank you, Jou-san," she said, "for being honest with me."
"Anytime, Sora-chan," Jou replied hotly, blushing.
"I can't believe this," Hikari told Takeru as they sat outside their school, in full uniform. She brushed her hair back as she was chewing on her sandwich. "I mean, how is it that Daisuke spotted us and just followed us? Isn't there a point in our constitution somewhere about privacy of the citizens?"
Takeru laughed as he drank some Gatorade heartily. "Honestly, I think there is somewhere in fine print," he replied. "As for Daisuke following us...frankly, I'm quite annoyed. Daisuke Motomiya hasn't spoken to us in ages...why take the sudden interest?"
Hikari sighed, rubbing her eyes. "I don't know, Takeru-kun," she replied wearily. "I just...I just want him to leave us alone, y'know? I'm finally with you after all these years...and now it's about to be spoiled all over again!" She pouted.
He leaned over and kissed her. "Don't pout," he said gently, "you'll get wrinkles there easily." He then smiled encouragingly. "But you know what? To hell with Daisuke...sure, he'll be a little bit of a hassle on our heads, but it's nothing we can't handle, right? I mean, as long as we're together, right?"
She smiled, wrapping her arms around Takeru and pulling him to a kiss. "Probably one of the bright qualities I love about you," she commented, kissing him on the corner of his mouth.
"Mmm...bologna sandwich?" he asked.
Hikari laughed.
"Hikari, Hikari, Hikari!" They turned to see Miyako running towards her. Her magenta hair was flapping wildly in the wind as her glasses bounced on her nose hysterically. She was flushed from running, but appeared terribly excited. Hikari automatically dropped her arms from around Takeru, taking note of Miyako. "Takeru, scoots! It's girl talk here."
Takeru scratched his head. "Uh, right, Miyako," he said, packing up as Miyako leaped on a seat beside Hikari. Takeru swung his back on his back and couldn't help giving Hikari a quick kiss. "I'll catch you later in Math, alright?"
"Yes, Takeru-kun."
He smiled and then ran off.
"Whoa-ho-ho, Hikari-chan!" whistled Miyako from beside. "Is it me..."
Hikari smiled brightly.
"It is!" she whooped. "Wow, I always knew you two would end up together, y'know? I had this absolute gut feeling about the two of you...like, intuition or...um, maybe I'm just psychic." She laughed. "Good news to match yours, girlfriend."
"Oh?" Hikari asked, raising a brow.
"Guess," she said, grinning.
"I don't know, Miya-chan."
Miyako laughed. "Ohmigosh, Ken Ichijouji."
"What?" Hikari croaked. "Get out!"
"No joke, sister," she replied, dropping her voice. "This is the real deal. You see, I asked Ken-kun to come to the shop after school to get some medicine to help him sleep." Hikari snickered, making them giggle for a brief moment before Miyako continued. "Anyways, yah, he went, right. I was getting all ready to look...er, presentable and when I was almost there, I slipped! He rushed over to me and he was holding me and stuff. Then, I tried to stand again, but I slipped again, so he helped me, but we kept slipping and sliding. Then, he just kissed me."
"Wow," Hikari breathed.
"I know," Miyako replied. "It was unbelievable. He was just so...sweet! Then, he broke the kiss and started apoligizing...can you believe that? Not only sweet, but also a gentleman. Almost too gentleman-like, if you ask me. He was babbling that he had to go."
"So what did you do?" Hikari wanted to know.
"Hell, I kissed him back!" she cried.
Hikari smirked. "I always knew you were always persuasive."
"And what about you, Yagami?" Miyako asked with a small smirk creeping on her face. "You seemed pretty cozy with Takeru just a moment ago...so, how's he like? I mean, you've bitched about it for a long time...it's about time you guys got something going on."
Hikari smiled. "Yeah, I suppose."
"Taichi!" Yamato called.
Yagami Taichi turned around from the water fountain to see Yamato walking towards him. Dammit, he just won't let go, now would he? he wondered as he tightened his grip in his political science textbook. Agumon had gone walking with Gatomon and Patamon, so he was alone for the day.
Until Yamato came.
Yamato walked up to him. "Hey, Taichi, how's it going?"
"Fine," he replied stiffly, walking.
"Say, Taichi," Yamato said, accompanying him. "What's going on, man? Every time we cross paths, you barely exchange two words before you make an excuse to get outta my face." He shrugged. "Sora's worried about you, Taichi, extremely worried about you. You barely even talked to her. What's up?"
"Nothing, Yamato," Taichi replied airily. "I'm alright."
"You sure, man?" he pressed. "'Cause you don't look so good."
Taichi brushed his hair back, glaring at Yamato. He seemed to be extremely fatigue and pale and his eyes were jerking around like something was wrong. "I'm alright, okay?" he said sharply, rubbing his eyes.
Yamato's eyes widened when he saw scars on his wrists. "Man, what's up with your wrists, Taichi?" he asked, pointing at them. "You look like you've been binded or something."
Taichi glanced at his wrists and then hid them in his long sleeve shirt. "It's nothing," he replied quickly before Yamato began to think or talk. "Look, I have to get to my political science class. I'll catch you around, Yamato." He then took off.
Yamato frowned. Something was up with Taichi. And it wasn't good.
~End of Chapter~
What do you think? What's wrong with Taichi?
*Trouble in Paradise*
*A Glimpse of What Would Be*
"Jou-san?" Sora called out timidly.
Jou Kido, who was standing with a bunch of groceries, started to panic when the plastic holders started twisting around his fingers, turning them red and then blue. "Ow, ow, ow, OUCH!" he yelped as he released the bags. The groceries dropped with a surprising thud. Jou started to rub his aching fingers, which were bright blue.
"Jou-san?" Sora repeated.
Jou turned around to see Sora standing behind him, in a classic pair of jeans and a tight red t-shirt. Her hair had slightly grown since he had last seen her...whenever that was. He brushed his long blue hair back with his non-painful hand. "Ah, ha ha, Sora-chan...what a surprise!" he said non-chalantly, picking up his groceries. "And what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I...I just wanted to talk," Sora said, "as friends."
Jou felt like dropping dead. Sora? Friendly talk? Yeah, sure, but she rarely came around for a friendly chat. Wasn't that what Yamato or Taichi or whoever she was dating there for? Why come to the good ol' reliable Jou who happens to have blue salamis for fingers? Something was definitely up if she was going to come to him.
"Um, yeah, sure," he said dryly. "Just lemme pick my stuff up."
"Sure, Jou-san."
Jou clamoured to get his things up, making his jacket sway over and his legs cramp. Dressed in jeans and a t-shirt was a lot better than in a suit, that was for sure. Swinging his knapsack back on his back, he accompanied Sora as they walked down the street.
"How's my father, Jou-san?" she asked eerily.
Jou blinked. "He's fine, Sora-chan," he replied. "Shuu talks about him like he's kami or something when he's around the place. You should see Shin when he tries to change the topic other than Mr. Takenouchi and his work...it's virtually impossible." He smiled at her. "You should be proud of your father, Sora-chan," he added. "He's a great man."
"Yeah," she echoed distantly.
He stopped. This was killing him. His friend was visually at pain, and he felt powerless at the moment. "Sora-chan, why are you here?" he asked. "Other than 'let's see how good ol' reliable Jou is' reason and judging by the spur of moment here, you rarely step foot here unless it's something you want." He felt angry at that very moment but then calmed himself down. "Look, Sora, you're visibly confused. What is it about?"
She said nothing. She didn't look at him in the eye.
"It's Yamato, isn't it?" he blurted.
"No," she replied softly.
He frowned. "Taichi?"
She said nothing.
He blew a gust of wind. "You've got to be kidding me, Sora!" he cried, looking around. "You haven't been pissed at the guy since he bought you a pair of hairpins for your birthday a few years back."
"I'm not angry at him, Jou-san," she said. "I..." She sighed heavily. "I'm sorry about all this, Jou, I truly am. I...my life's sorta plundging down for a moment and I don't know what to do. Seeing you not being with anyone since...well, since I've know you...and the fact that you talk to Taichi from time to time..."
"So this is what it's about isn't it?" he asked suddenly, brushing his hair back. "You wanna know if Taichi has been mentioning anything about you, huh?"
He sighed. "I shouldn't be like, making my conversations public, but to be honest with you Sora, he hasn't mentioned you once. Not once. That's particularly strange, because you're usually the first thing he talks about other than soccer."
"I see," she said, the blood gone from her face.
Jou shrugged. "I don't have a major in therapy or psychology, but it appears to me, he may be depressed," he pointed out, "or maybe on the verge of depression. I'm sorry, Sora-chan, to tell you what's on my mind, but it's what I see. I won't lie to you because you are my friend and because I have a friend who may need our help."
Sora smiled for the first time and kissed him on the cheek gently. "Thank you, Jou-san," she said, "for being honest with me."
"Anytime, Sora-chan," Jou replied hotly, blushing.
"I can't believe this," Hikari told Takeru as they sat outside their school, in full uniform. She brushed her hair back as she was chewing on her sandwich. "I mean, how is it that Daisuke spotted us and just followed us? Isn't there a point in our constitution somewhere about privacy of the citizens?"
Takeru laughed as he drank some Gatorade heartily. "Honestly, I think there is somewhere in fine print," he replied. "As for Daisuke following us...frankly, I'm quite annoyed. Daisuke Motomiya hasn't spoken to us in ages...why take the sudden interest?"
Hikari sighed, rubbing her eyes. "I don't know, Takeru-kun," she replied wearily. "I just...I just want him to leave us alone, y'know? I'm finally with you after all these years...and now it's about to be spoiled all over again!" She pouted.
He leaned over and kissed her. "Don't pout," he said gently, "you'll get wrinkles there easily." He then smiled encouragingly. "But you know what? To hell with Daisuke...sure, he'll be a little bit of a hassle on our heads, but it's nothing we can't handle, right? I mean, as long as we're together, right?"
She smiled, wrapping her arms around Takeru and pulling him to a kiss. "Probably one of the bright qualities I love about you," she commented, kissing him on the corner of his mouth.
"Mmm...bologna sandwich?" he asked.
Hikari laughed.
"Hikari, Hikari, Hikari!" They turned to see Miyako running towards her. Her magenta hair was flapping wildly in the wind as her glasses bounced on her nose hysterically. She was flushed from running, but appeared terribly excited. Hikari automatically dropped her arms from around Takeru, taking note of Miyako. "Takeru, scoots! It's girl talk here."
Takeru scratched his head. "Uh, right, Miyako," he said, packing up as Miyako leaped on a seat beside Hikari. Takeru swung his back on his back and couldn't help giving Hikari a quick kiss. "I'll catch you later in Math, alright?"
"Yes, Takeru-kun."
He smiled and then ran off.
"Whoa-ho-ho, Hikari-chan!" whistled Miyako from beside. "Is it me..."
Hikari smiled brightly.
"It is!" she whooped. "Wow, I always knew you two would end up together, y'know? I had this absolute gut feeling about the two of you...like, intuition or...um, maybe I'm just psychic." She laughed. "Good news to match yours, girlfriend."
"Oh?" Hikari asked, raising a brow.
"Guess," she said, grinning.
"I don't know, Miya-chan."
Miyako laughed. "Ohmigosh, Ken Ichijouji."
"What?" Hikari croaked. "Get out!"
"No joke, sister," she replied, dropping her voice. "This is the real deal. You see, I asked Ken-kun to come to the shop after school to get some medicine to help him sleep." Hikari snickered, making them giggle for a brief moment before Miyako continued. "Anyways, yah, he went, right. I was getting all ready to look...er, presentable and when I was almost there, I slipped! He rushed over to me and he was holding me and stuff. Then, I tried to stand again, but I slipped again, so he helped me, but we kept slipping and sliding. Then, he just kissed me."
"Wow," Hikari breathed.
"I know," Miyako replied. "It was unbelievable. He was just so...sweet! Then, he broke the kiss and started apoligizing...can you believe that? Not only sweet, but also a gentleman. Almost too gentleman-like, if you ask me. He was babbling that he had to go."
"So what did you do?" Hikari wanted to know.
"Hell, I kissed him back!" she cried.
Hikari smirked. "I always knew you were always persuasive."
"And what about you, Yagami?" Miyako asked with a small smirk creeping on her face. "You seemed pretty cozy with Takeru just a moment ago...so, how's he like? I mean, you've bitched about it for a long time...it's about time you guys got something going on."
Hikari smiled. "Yeah, I suppose."
"Taichi!" Yamato called.
Yagami Taichi turned around from the water fountain to see Yamato walking towards him. Dammit, he just won't let go, now would he? he wondered as he tightened his grip in his political science textbook. Agumon had gone walking with Gatomon and Patamon, so he was alone for the day.
Until Yamato came.
Yamato walked up to him. "Hey, Taichi, how's it going?"
"Fine," he replied stiffly, walking.
"Say, Taichi," Yamato said, accompanying him. "What's going on, man? Every time we cross paths, you barely exchange two words before you make an excuse to get outta my face." He shrugged. "Sora's worried about you, Taichi, extremely worried about you. You barely even talked to her. What's up?"
"Nothing, Yamato," Taichi replied airily. "I'm alright."
"You sure, man?" he pressed. "'Cause you don't look so good."
Taichi brushed his hair back, glaring at Yamato. He seemed to be extremely fatigue and pale and his eyes were jerking around like something was wrong. "I'm alright, okay?" he said sharply, rubbing his eyes.
Yamato's eyes widened when he saw scars on his wrists. "Man, what's up with your wrists, Taichi?" he asked, pointing at them. "You look like you've been binded or something."
Taichi glanced at his wrists and then hid them in his long sleeve shirt. "It's nothing," he replied quickly before Yamato began to think or talk. "Look, I have to get to my political science class. I'll catch you around, Yamato." He then took off.
Yamato frowned. Something was up with Taichi. And it wasn't good.
~End of Chapter~
What do you think? What's wrong with Taichi?
