Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, or anything of worth, so your suing efforts would be useless, ha! Useless I say! No seriously, I'm not out to make any money, just have fun. (and surely that's not against the law is it?)
Warning: Shounen-ai/Shoujo-ai. That is Male/Male and Female/Female romances. For the sanity of everyone involved, please don't bother to read something which will just disgust you if you don't like that sort of thing. Roll call: Taito/YamaTai (I don't care who's the seme or uke, and none of these couples seem like they'd have really strict roles, anyway. so writing one name is easier), Mira, Takori, Hiyako, Jyoushirou (Kensuke is mostly reserved for its own piece of fluff) By the way, there are straight couples in this, but I'll let you be surprised because the list above is entirely accurate.
***
Chap. 1: Jumping
***
"Sora, I have a question for you."
"What is it Taichi?"
Yamato did not normally hug trees. He had always rather liked them, but had never been inclined towards public displays of affection. He was also, apparently, not usually prone to eavesdropping, especially not on his friends, judging from his evident distress. Not that he was doing it on purpose, obviously. It just seemed that Taichi would inevitably show up wherever Yamato wanted to be. However, life can be strange at times, so, this particular moment found Yamato suspended upside down from a fairly sturdy tree branch, holding it ever so tightly, in, coincidentally, the perfect position for a certain conversation to reach his ears.
"Well, it's like, I got this friend see..."
"Hmm, riiiight. So, what's with this um, friend?"
"Uh, he sort of, well, has this crush, on like, uh, someone, and I thought, you know, since, you've got the crest of love and stuff, you could give me some good advice."
"For your friend right?"
"Uh yeah, that's what I meant!"
"Uh-huh. So what's his problem?"
Today's amateur tree hugging spy perked up his ears. This was, after all, how he had, coincidentally of course, ended up in this situation, having by sheer chance overheard Taichi, who he'd definitely not been following around like a love sick puppy, ask Sora to meet him under the very tree, that he then um, remembered that he had planned to, er, climb that afternoon. Thus, he was, truly, being polite to his two friends by making himself, unobtrusive. Yeah, that's right. No ulterior motive whatsoever.
"Well, the person he's got a crush on, it's like, well, they know each other..."
"Yes."
"Not just that, we, I mean they're like best friends and stuff, and it's so confusing 'cause it just seems weird, somehow, like, how or why or somethin'. So I'm thinking like stop it you idiot, they're your best friend, you shouldn't think like that and um..."
"Taichi, are you trying to say that you're in love with your best friend?"
"What? Me, uh, I wasn't talking about me, really! Didn't you hear me say, 'I've got this friend'?" Then he started laughing nervously.
"Taichi." Sora's tone brooked no argument. The pathetic excuse for laughter ceased.
"Uh, yeah, I guess so. But, it's so embarrassing. And if, y'know, they don't feel the same way, I'd still /really/ like to be friends and all..."
Yamato didn't notice that he had begun to hold his breath. A dim notion bounced through his currently non-functioning logic centers. 'If she rejects him, I might still have a chance! It would be on the rebound, but...'
"Oh, Taichi, that's very sweet, but don't worry, I understand exactly how you feel."
'Nooooooooooooo!' Yamato hoped the whoosh of his sudden exhalation wasn't too conspicuous, but suddenly had other problems as it seemed his grip on the branch had slackened inexplicably.
"Really! You do! That's great!" Taichi exclaimed.
Yamato began to panic as he fought desperately to regain his hold, noticing unhappily that the surrounding foliage was shaking rather violently in response to his efforts. He was not shocked. Not shocked. Not. Shocked. Argh, damn branch, hold still!
"Yeah, I think I know just how to help you. Let me tell you a story."
She paused for a moment because above them, the leaves seemed to be inordinately active. She frowned as small objects began falling down.
'Ack, no! Not nuts! This sucks!' thought the cause of the not so still life.
"Actually, uh, why don't you come with me and I'll show you something. This tree is making me nervous."
"Okay, anything, if you can, you know, help. Damn, those must be some pretty pissed off birds. Let's get out of here, I don't want bird poop on my hair."
"You're so sensitive Taichi, a real gentleman."
"You think so?"
Yamato had long since been tuning them out, since he'd heard their sickeningly sweet /love confession/. argh, damn. Stupid Taichi and Sora messing up his plans, he had much better things to think about of course, so them barging in on his quiet time was not his problem. Closing his eyes and crossing his arms, he could almost feel himself floating into a zen like calm. He didn't need to think about them, Taichi and... Sora, Sora and Taichi, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-wait-a-second tree? He had time to lament that he'd not gotten to that part of the song faster before he hit the ground with a solid thunk.
Thunk. That sounded appropriate somehow. He reveled in the dull noise his head made against the springy ground as he feebly raised his head then dropped it. Repeatedly. 'Stupid' thunk 'Taichi' thunk 'in love' thunk 'with' thunk 'Sora' thunk 'No that's not it' thunk 'in love' thunk 'with' thunk 'someone else' thunk.
Sated with head banging, Yamato rolled onto his side, throwing an arm protectively around the head he'd just abused. The mild ringing he'd just acquired was not enough to block out his next thought. 'Why not me?'
'Because you're a guy you idiot.' replied a little voice in his head. Angry at himself, he threw off the arm, lay flat on his back again and resolved to lose himself in the sky. Which he couldn't see because he was under a tree. 'Honestly, when you decided to go spy on them, what did you expect they came out here to do anyway?' He willed the little voice to shut up. A nut fell, bouncing off his forehead.
He was then motivated to crawl out of there lest a bird really poop in his hair. No matter how pathetic he was, he did have a hairstyle to maintain you know. Trudging home, he began contemplating borrowing his Dad's tapes, so he too could be a happy little buffalo.
'Cheer up!' he thought to himself. 'There are plenty of fish in the sea. Plenty of spiky haired goggle wearing irritatingly genki impulsive brave warm handsome strong understanding fish. Right. And gay too.' He had to add that to the list or this would all just happen again. He frowned. 'I just have to find myself a gay Taichi, that's all. That condition at least rules out Daisuke as a viable choice.' He sighed at the impossibility of it all, and at the fact that even Daisuke had someone. He was alone.
'Why! Why can't I just be a straight guy, I mean, I'm sure I could find a nice girl to date me! Or find some other guy. I'm just abnormal is what it is. This, is my own fault. I don't want any other guy. I want Taichi.'
'If it were a girl, maybe I wouldn't feel so stupid, I mean, people expect guys to fight over girls at least. Like, Tai and the rest certainly expressed their objections when I asked out Sora.' He smiled wryly. 'Little did they know that was the last straw in convincing me that trying to act straight was a bad idea.'
'What am I supposed to do now? Bitch slap Sora?' The thought was somehow not very appealing. 'Especially since she can probably kick my ass anyway... Plus no grope factor. Now Tai and Sora in a catfight, that might be interesting, or maybe Tai and Jyou would be better, he's kinda cute but not really my type, or maybe even Koushirou... ARGH~! What am I doing?'
'Just face it Yama, you have no chance.' he thought, finding himself at his front door. Resignedly, he keyed his way into the empty apartment, surprised, since Takeru was supposed to be here this week. His father was probably still at work this time of day of course. He stopped at the dining room table when he found a note.
Oniisan,
Hikari and I are going to study together, so I probably won't be back until later.
I left my stuff in your room for now, I'll clean it up later, but if it's in the way
just put it in the closet or something. Expect me around maybe 10:00, because we
have a project due that needs a lot of work.
Thanks,
Takeru
PS. If you need me, e-mail, or call the Yagami's, They'll tell
you 'Kari-chan's
cell number.
The note, which only reinforced the point to him that he would never have as much fun with his choice in Yagami as Takeru, did not improve his mood. Wandering into his room, he noted that when Takeru said clean, he really meant it. The stuff was all over the place!
Sighing, he began foisting things into his closet at random. A bag here, a pile of clothes there, what a mess! Not that Yamato was too objectionable to being domestic, he was normally that way, but this was ridiculous. 'Sheesh, it's like the world is trying to tell me the answer is in the closet. What a load of crap.'
Still, strangely curious, he looked over his handiwork, approving of the once again spotless room, and then checked the closet level. As he rearranged some clothing to a less precarious perch, a rubber antenna nub type thing caught his eye. Thinking it might be a phone that he didn't want to get laundered, he pulled the device out of the clothing. It was in fact, Takeru's digivice, a D-3.
Never having had one for himself, Yamato indulged his curiousity and started playing with it a little. 'Gee, wouldn't it be great if I could open a portal to the digital world with one of these like the younger kids? I'd sure like to talk to Gabumon about now, he can usually calm me down.' Eyeing his computer speculatively, he shrugged, and walked over. Figuring it was harmless, he held up the device and intoned, "Digiport, Open!"
Nothing happened. Yamato was forced to laugh a little at his own silliness at this point, glad that at least no one had been around to witness his small flight of fancy. He did wish he could be happy like everyone else, but going insane was probably not the solution.
Unbeknownst to him, his small adjustments on the instrument had not been entirely beneficial, especially since he had foolishly invoked its trigger mechanism. The machine had taken a little interval to adjust to its new settings, but was about to launch into operation.
Meanwhile, Yamato was turning away from the computer, digivice still in hand, re-thinking wistfully, 'Yeah, I wish I could be happy like all my friends.' The digivice's signal was sent, and the computer began reacting accordingly. He turned, too late to do anything, as the screen projected its beam, sucking him into its other realm. The digivice, immune in its new configuration was not taken, thus bereft of support, dropped, unharmed, but well camouflaged into the carpeting.
***
"So, how's this supposed to help me?"
"I'm trying to show you that you and Yamato-kun are perfect for each other you dope!"
"I know that!" Taichi snapped, "But the problem is, I don't think he does. Or maybe he really is straight, he almost asked you out you know! Ugh, I just, feel like an idiot, Sora! I mean, I totally fell for my best friend, like the thought of him dating you, that just drove me nuts! Since, then, I've been so embarrassed, I've been trying to avoid him, but he like shows up wherever I go, it's like he's following me around or something! Maybe I'm being paranoid, or wishful or whatever, but at this rate, I don't know how I can face him. But I couldn't stand not seeing him..."
"I told you I understand perfectly Taichi, so calm down while I try to help you!"
"So what are you doing?"
"GRRRR." Sora resisted the urge to stab him with the pencil she was holding. Plunking down a somewhat, wrinkled, piece of paper, she continued, "I'm trying to put this in terms you understand, moron. Now stand here, and I'll draw you a play."
"Oh Sora, that's soooo stupid. I thought you had the crest of looooove for a reason."
"Got a better idea?" she shot back, glaring daggers at the boy sitting at her desk, while she stood nearby over his shoulder.
"Yeah, why don't I just play with your stuff, not that that would be much fun, gee Sora, I never knew you were so /girly/." he replied, manipulating various strange objects on the girl's desk. 'Maybe letting him in my room was a mistake.' reflected Sora. "Look, do you want help or not, aah, no! Don't touch that!"
"What's this, maybe, 'Sora-chan's diary', with all your innermost thoughts and feelings, I can see it now, page one, 'Oh my beloved Taichi-sama, I would bow down and serve you as a slave if you'd but look at me once...' ha ha ha. Damn, the thing's so pink! Didn't even know you liked the color." he pranced around the room narrowly avoiding her attempts to recover the item. Opening it up, he stopped dead in his tracks upon reviewing its actual contents.
"I like pink very much thank you." she bit out, blushing hotly as she grabbed what was now very clearly an exchange diary out of his hands.
"Yeah, but I didn't know you liked it /that/ much."
"Well, I did tell you I understood /exactly/ how you felt didn't I?"
He bent down to pick a thin strip of glossed picture paper that had fallen out during the chase. It was a strip of the kind of photographs that come out of those booth machines. "I also didn't know that Mimi-chan was so, forward..." he joked, adopting a very convincing drooling hentai fanboy look.
Snatching the pictures as well, she continued, "Ugh, this is precisely why you will never snag the boy of your dreams without my help. Now shut it, and let me help you. I can't believe most of the school thinks the two of us are dating." She began making faces of disgust at the idea.
Looking mildly offended, Taichi replied, "Well for your information, you're the most attractive woman I've ever met."
"But you're gay!"
"EXACTLY."
She picked up a pillow from her bed, slung it at his head, and yelled, "Die Bitch!" He dodged it easily, but it wasn't long before they both collapsed in fits of laughter. After regaining his breath, Taichi said, "Seriously though, dating you would be like dating Hikari-chan or something. But Yamato..." he trailed off, turning away sadly. "It must be nice though, knowing the person you love loves you back."
At that moment, all the intricate plans in her head suddenly went 'poof', and Sora found herself going purely on instinct, words flowing from her mouth before she realized it. "Honestly, Taichi, if you just told him how much you love him, you'd either find that he feels the same way, or loves you just as much, only as a friend. There's nothing to be afraid of you know, Yamato-kun would never hurt you, and no matter what, he'll always be your friend."
"Easy for you to say." he muttered.
"No, trust me, I know how hard it is, but if you don't try, you could possibly miss the best thing that could ever happen to you, or at least, lose the person who could help you through the pain the best."
Though still seeming a little doubtful, he looked back at her hopefully, replying, "You really think so?"
"Of course, sheesh, aren't you supposed to have the crest of courage? Now let's go find Yamato-kun, and help you get this off your chest, Taichi. I know you'll feel so much better at least having him know how you feel." She offered him her hand, and taking it, he stood and grinned brightly. "Plus it's a better idea than you and your 'grope fests' uh, excuse me I meant, fights." she finished, smiling as well.
"Well you got me there. Not that they weren't, ahem, enjoyable, but, I guess I should listen to you. After all, you did manage to bag the head cheerleader." Sora silently wished that Yamato would find a way to make her friend a little less flip.
***
The boy was lost. Distraught. He was stalked by fear and darkness in an ever-changing void, but for his will, effortlessly banishing the specters only to reveal new ones.
He'd never known reality to be so subjective. Making the obvious conclusion that this was not real. It could not be.
This was not his reality. None of these were.
In the manner of one entrapped in an endless hall of mirrors, the flight began, desperate, then confused, finally numb. One uncertainty would merely be replaced by another when rejected, in an infinite progression, until he was not sure that he even existed.
Dropping to his knees (did he have knees?) he clutched desperately at his head (who was he?) in one last attempt to retain his identity. He grasped at the ghost traces filtering through his rapidly fragmenting thoughts. 'happy...' There was one! 'Happy like my friends.' Friends! He remembered them! Important people! One really important person...
The scenery around seemed to firm in response. Yes, mildly, he had a sense of who, where, what he was. Familiarity flooded, and the strength of relief filled him. He struggled weakly to his feet, meandering crookedly towards home. He remembered a home.
'Ugh, school. Playground, remember that playground.' The overwhelming desire for comfort drove him on to his destination. 'Apartment building! Must get there! Home...' Dragging himself up the stairs was perhaps one of the most taxing ordeals he could recall, not that he recalled all that much. The name on the doorplate brightened him. 'Ishi...da.' Too tired to contemplate the implications of the night's journey, he forced himself to stay upright long enough to get in the door, in which, luckily, it appeared his key worked. His feet seemed to know the path by heart as he made his way to a darkened room. His room he was sure.
Collapsing into the bed, he lay for a moment, reveling in the softness, wrapped in a sense of self-awareness. But after not long, he abandoned consciousness and slept for a time.
***
"You said what!?!"
"Oh come on Iori-kun, it's no big deal you know, I didn't actually lie! We did have a project, and we did go to the library!" Takeru had always had a hard time following Miyako when she spoke. She just had this strange way of moving around, especially when she was excited. It was, distracting, in the way that makes you want to put your own eyes out. He noticed, though, that Iori-kun seemed pretty immune to it by now.
"I can not believe you used me like that! Scratch that, I can believe it quite easily, but what I can't believe, is how in all possibility you thought you were going to get me to play along!"
"Aw, I just thought you'd enjoy a night out once in a while man." Seeing that Iori was in no way convinced, she broke down and offered up a piece of the real story. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't stand being cooped up in the apartment anymore! Mom grounded me for any non-academic outings after that time I decided to um, borrow the car? And she trusts you! Can't you do an old friend a favor?"
At this point, Takeru and Hikari were walking behind the two arguing teens, safely out of range. Truthfully, he wasn't sure how he'd let Hikari talk him in to this either, since she was using him as her excuse, having been barred as well. He normally enjoyed spending time with his father and brother, not that either of them were home much anyway. He doubted either of them would see the note he'd left before he came back, but 10:00 was the latest he could bring himself to write down without feeling guilty. Meanwhile, the battle of wills ahead of them continued.
"What are you insane? You don't have a license! You should not be driving!"
"Well I know that! Now..." Iori did appear to soften slightly as the chagrined expression passed across Miyako's face. She could be quite sympathetic, when she wasn't trying. His argument weakened a little.
"Your mother trusts me for a reason you know. Why didn't you just tell her you were studying with Hikari-san or something?" He might be understanding, noted Takeru, but that didn't make him any more inclined to lie himself it seemed. What a serious guy.
"Well that's because the whole car thing was her fault, wasn't it, 'Kari-chan?" With that, Miyako turned a sour expression on the other girl. In a gesture that reminded Takeru strangely of Taichi, his best friend's arm flew in place behind her head, as she laughed nervously. 'Hmm, maybe siblings really do rub off on each other' He got an image of himself preening his hair like his brother, gel and all, only, in his vision, the gel made his hat stick to his head and he couldn't get it off. In spite of himself, he couldn't help guffawing loudly, joining Hikari's nervous chuckle in a cacophony of just plain disturbing laughter.
Which of course prompted Miyako to turn the severe look on him instead. Too bad he couldn't stop laughing. "Just what is so funny?" Miyako inquired, explosively. Hikari, in a supremely un-Taichi-like move, took the opportunity to hide behind him. 'That girl needs some more backbone.' he thought, as he tried to find something to say.
"Uh... That is, um..."
"Leave Takeru-san alone." Iori went from stern to embarrassed as he was hit with three different looks of surprise. "I mean, uh..."
Feeling the need to save the boy somehow, Takeru jumped in hurriedly, saying, "I'm sorry, Miyako. Hikari-chan just reminded me so much of Taichi right then, I had to laugh. It sounds like just the sort of thing he would do."
"Hey!" exclaimed the target of the gibe, immediately emerging from her position behind him.
"Yeah, you're right, it was pretty cu-funny. he he he" One thing he couldn't fault her in, Miyako definitely had a sense of humor.
"Not you too Miyako-chan!" Hikari wailed, utilizing her secret weapon: puppy dog face! Takeru winced. He usually thought of himself as a pretty smooth talker, but knowing that face, he had to concede that he was nowhere near Hikari's league in the polite manipulation department.
True to form, it worked like a charm. "Wah, uh I didn't mean it like that, honest Hikari-chan. I'm sorry, really! Look at me, have you ever seen a sorrier person in your life?" babbled Miyako, arms waving about frantically. The pattern of her movements really was dizzying, but it was much more amusing this time.
"I guess it's okay. I forgive you Miyako-chan." To cap it, Hikari smiled beatifically. Miyako let out a sigh. For some reason Takeru thought he could hear the cracking of a whip distantly.
Iori eyed the two girls suspiciously, muttering, "Am I the only one who sees something a little funny about this..." The girls had seemingly forgotten the presence of the others at this point, absorbed in discussing the rest of the evening together.
Takeru sighed to himself this time, and moved to near Iori, understanding the other boy's plight quite clearly. "I don't think there's any way to get out of this Iori-kun." Iori nodded, obviously not to thrilled with this development. Takeru didn't like that.
"Tell you what, those two were planning on dragging me to some sappy romance movie with them, but since you're coming along, do you want to go see something different with me?" The boy seemed to brighten a bit at the suggestion and Takeru thought ruefully that he was probably the only teenage boy in the world who actually sort of liked romance movies. Another thought occurred to him. "Um, do you have to go home earlier or something, I mean, I'm not sure how long you and Miyako-chan are cleared for and all..."
"Oh no, when Grandpa saw it was you who came to pick me up, he told me it was okay to stay out later. He trusts you a lot too."
For some reason, that made Takeru happy, but not knowing why, he just favored Iori with a bemused stare. "Is that so?"
"Well, um, yeah..." and this time it was the boys who shared a round of nervous laughter between them.
"Well, then I guess it's a d-all set!" finished Takeru.
From a few yards ahead, Hikari called back to them, "Are you guys coming along, or are you just going to stand there all night?"
In all immediacy the party of four was reformed, in comforting insulation from the intimacy of pairs.
***
'Ring'
'Ring'
'Ring'
'Come on Yamato, pick up!' Taichi thought impatiently.
'Ring'
"Hello, this is the Ishida residence. We're not in at the mome-"
Taichi hung up. This was nerve racking. Flopping down on the couch, he tried to find comfort in the amusement of watching Sora politely fend off his mother's offers of her home cooked 'food', but his heart apparently refused anything less than Yamato's return profession of love as acceptable.
"Sooooooorraaaaaaaaa."
"Oh no thanks Yagami-san, I just ate, really, oh I'm sure its delicious-"
"Soooraaaa, I can't find him!"
"Sure the recipe looks fine-"
"SORA!" Taichi barked, irritated.
"WHAT?" she turned, finally unable to ignore his pitiful moaning.
"Aren't you supposed to help me with this brilliant plan? I can't find him anywhere!" he complained at her, annoyed at the fact the he was getting nowhere with Yamato, fast.
"Now Taichi, that's not very nice at all." He sat up immediately, back ramrod straight. It seemed, he'd forgotten his mother's presence, at least to the point that she could involve herself in the conversation. "Here Sora-chan is trying to help you get a date, and you're being very rude. You should be grateful that someone is helping you catch a nice boy like Yamato-kun instead of someone like say, your idiot fath-"
"MOM!" Taichi exclaimed, embarrassed enough to melt into a puddle on the floor.
"Oh, of course I'm kidding dear, I love your father very much, even if he can be a bit dense but-"
"You're missing the point entirely!" He patently ignored Sora laughing her ass off nearby.
"Which is? Speak up dear, I can't hear you." Taichi could almost believe she was smiling sadistically, but, naw, parents couldn't be that mean, could they?
"Well, uh, that is..." he hated being wrong. Hate hate hated it.
"If the point is to find him, you might want to call your sister, since she said she'd be studying at the library with Takeru-kun earlier, and he might lead you to his brother."
"Really?" despite his utter humiliation at the hands of his mother, Taichi was a very resilient boy, so he perked up at the news immediately.
"Thanks Mom! I think we'll just go there right now!" With that, Taichi was up in a rush, pausing only to drag along Sora, and was at the door in a matter of moments. Off to find Yama, and away from the eyes of his mom!
However, she had a parting comment for him right before they stepped outside. She called, "Well dear, you might want to check other places too, because when Takeru-kun came to pick her up, he'd brought Miyako-chan and Iori-kun along as well."
The statement percolated through his muddled thoughts all boiling down to making no sense whatsoever. He stopped. "What?"
"Meaning, I don't think she's as much studying as she says, but since I grounded her, she had to find a believable excuse like studying with Takeru-kun to get out of here. Of course I knew that, but the constant moping around the apartment was driving me insane, so I let her go. Just, instead of the library, you might want to think about where your sister would take her girlfriend on a date." With that, his mother turned back to 'cooking' brightly.
Being temporarily frozen in shock, it occurred to him that he had been terribly, horribly wrong. Parents really could be that mean.
Sora turned to him and laughed, saying, "I love your mom Taichi! She's great!"
***
Yamato's consciousness was blearing back into place with aggravatingly increasing speed. Probably precipitated by the fact that someone was beating him with a pillow.
"Ugh... ow, ay..." he said intelligently.
"Yamato, get up! Come on! It's like noon already!"
He tried desperately to ignore the familiar voice, but as said, the intermittent blows were a bit difficult to block out.
"Get up! You're a mess!"
That got his attention. Sitting up groggily, his hands, fumbled around his clothing automatically, looking for a comb.
"How's my hair?"
Takeru laughed, then said, "You never change 'niisan. But you did surprise us, we thought you weren't coming until tomorrow."
As vague memories of the prior night began to surface, Yamato added Takeru's statement to reasons why he was quite confused. Deciding to err on the side of caution, he replied, "Huh?"
"You know, Mom said you'd be here on Saturday, not like, Thursday in the middle of the night. You should have at least called me or Dad when you got here."
"I'm here because it's summer vacation?" Yamato asked, unsure of the reasoning.
"Yeah, and 'cause Mom's got that conference in Hong Kong, so she figured sending you to live with your father and brother for a while would be better than leaving you all by yourself, or didn't you notice she hasn't been around for a day or two."
"I live with Mom?" Seeing a look of incredulity threatening from his brother, Yamato amended, "Er, I mean, I'm used to living with Mom. You know how she is, doesn't like getting interrupted while she's writing, but you're right, I guess I should have let you guys know I decided to come early."
Takeru still looked a bit apprehensive at that, but apparently found it believable enough, as he continued, "Yeah, Dad said if he'd known you were coming, he would've taken today off, but as it is, they've got this big project down at the TV station, and he couldn't take a day off at such short notice. I was especially surprised to find you conked out on my bed. Um, I don't know what you're gonna do for today, I was planning to you know, hang out with Hikaru-kun and some other friends. You want to come along?"
By this time Yamato had pieced together the experience of getting sucked into the computer, and then emerging into this strange world that seemed similar but not quite the same as his reality. How in the world was he going to get home? For lack of any better idea, he answered, "Uh, sure, I guess that sounds okay. Who's Hikaru?"
Takeru rolled his eyes, then said, "You're so forgetful sometimes. You've met Hikaru before, you know, my best friend?" Seeing Yamato's blank look, he sighed, "Nevermind, I'll just introduce you when we get there."
***
As he and his brother neared their destination, Yamato realized that the building looked rather familiar. This was Taichi's building, well it was in his world anyway. Near the entrance, he spotted a boy waving at them.
Takeru waved back at the boy and they approached each other, apparently catching up a little. Yamato hung back, but couldn't help thinking that he had met this kid before, but couldn't pin down their identity. The boy was slightly shorter than Takeru, had short, though well styled, light brown hair, Yama noticed, and seemed to like warm colors, dressing in reds and oranges.
They began to walk towards Yamato so that Takeru could introduce them it seemed, when more of Takeru's friends began to show up, this time, three girls. Two of them he recognized, seeing as they were Mimi and Miyako, but the third was a petite red head, a few inches shorter than Mimi, sporting a pixie cut. She looked immensely familiar to Yamato too, but he still couldn't quite put a finger on why.
"Miyako-chan, Mimi, Kyouko!" called the brown haired boy. The girls walked over, and Takeru asked, "Do you know who else is coming? Are we still planning to go to the movies?" The red head who Yamato assumed was called Kyouko answered, "Yes, Jyou-san promised he'd come and we'd see that new romance movie together." She blushed cutely as Miyako and Mimi began to tease her about her boyfriend. Yamato wondered idly if it was the same Jyou that he knew, and if it was, if this was Jyou's girlfriend on his world as well.
The boy with brown hair questioned the girls urgently, "Suka-chan isn't coming is she?" He looked a bit uncomfortable. Miyako beamed and walked over to him, remonstrating, "No, you know that ever since she and Ken-kun began going out, she hasn't been bugging you Hi-chan. Nope, she's left you all to me. You're very safe." The boy smiled, and Miyako latched onto his arm and virtually melted. Takeru made gagging sounds. "Oh, poor guy, too many girls crawling all over you."
Something in the exchange triggered warning bells in Yamato's mind, and he doggedly pursued the elusive thought.
Meanwhile, Miyako took a moment to resolidify slightly and addressed Takeru, who seemed to be going out of his way to look disgusted at the happy young couple. Of course she was too happy to let him be a downer, so she offered him a choice tidbit. "Don't be bitter Takeru, you know Shiori-chan from our building has the biggest crush on you."
Yamato was almost there, he could feel it. He struggled to block out the conversations he didn't really understand anyway.
"You're kidding! She's kinda cute. You mean Hida Shiori righ-"
He had it! The little bit of familiarity. Yamato interrupted them since he hadn't been listening. "Excuse me, were you talking about Ichijouji Ken a second ago?"
Takeru looked sourly at his elder brother, but answered, "Yeah, Ichijouji Ken and his new girlfriend Motomiya Suka, who used to obsess over our friend the lady killer here." He indicated the brown haired boy, who Miyako immediately tightened her hold around.
"Motomiya Suka?" Yamato repeated weakly.
Then Takeru brightened, remembering some great embarrassment material. "That's right! I remember now! Suka-chan's older sister Jun used to chase you around almost as badly as Suka and Hikaru here. Of course you'd know them, hey, you know Ken too?"
"Hikari?" Yamato tried hopefully. The boy with brown hair answered, "No, it's Hikaru actually, but my parents said they were going to name me Hikari if I'd been a girl. They thought, even though Hikari's a perfectly fine male name, that Hikaru sounded more manly or something. The funny thing is, it's not like you can't name girls Hikaru either." Seeing Yamato's shell shocked look, Hikaru changed the subject, "So, you know the horror of being a Motomiya's target too do you?"
Yamato didn't answer, but a voice he would've recognized if he'd been in a proper frame of mind did for him, "I'm sure he does, but that Jun girl has moved on to my brother Shin. He doesn't seem to mind too much though." Yamato turned. Yup, definitely the same Jyou. Who went to stand by his girlfriend, Kyouko, the red head who was friends with Mimi...and Miyako... Things were falling horrifyingly into place. Yamato figured if he had any more shocks in the day, he would faint.
Mimi-chan sighed, looking a little lonely as all the people paired off, well except for Takeru and his brother, but she only really had eyes for one person anyway, so of course she asked, "Are we leaving or waiting for someone else to show up?"
This time everyone around except for Yamato seemed to get the in-joke as they began to smirk and glare suspiciously at Mimi. Miyako chuckled maliciously then replied, "Don't worry, I'm sure your one and only will be here shortly."
Koushir- Kyouko that is, continued, "It's quite obvious that he feels the same way Mimi-chan, but as long as you two aren't willing to do anything about it, it's all the more amusing for the rest of us."
"Hmph, whatever, I have no idea what you guys are talking about." replied Mimi. "In fact, I think I'll go get him now, and we'll both laugh at these silly innuendoes."
"How do you know who we're talking about if you don't like anyone like that?" Takeru asked, grinning as well.
"Oh, you know very well who I li-" realizing her folly, Mimi shut her mouth and marched huffily past Yamato a little way up the stairs.
Hikaru called up to her, "Well as for he who shall remain unnamed, he's probably at our place, bugging my stupid siste-"
At that moment, a light baritone male voice coming from above was heard to be saying very clearly, "Yagami baaaaka!!!" The sound of running feet on the stairs came closer and closer. A strikingly familiar female voice screeched back in outrage, "Takenouchi Sorata, prepare to die!!!"
"Well that's one way to get her to hurry up, I guess." muttered Hikaru.
To Yamato, things seemed to be moving obscenely slow, as two familiar forms materialized on the landing of the stairway that Mimi was standing in frozen, one fourth of the way up. The first, a boy with longish flame colored hair pulled back in a short pony tail, slightly taller than himself, Yamato later noticed, was looking backwards, so failed to notice the presence of a young girl in front of him on the stairs. When he turned back, he was virtually on top of the girl, so his efforts to stop, were quite ineffective actually, resulting in his momentum carrying both him and Mimi off of the stairs in a painful looking spill, which he absorbed most of by grabbing her and athletically turning them both around so he landed on his back, with Mimi on top of him.
The second figure, a small dark girl with an unruly mop of brown hair, didn't have quite as much trouble, but the collision made it difficult to stop quite properly as she reached the bottom right behind the orange haired boy. She stumbled slightly, and Yamato, who'd been closest to the stairs was in just the right place at the right time to catch the girl.
Everyone had rushed to help the other two up, but it seemed Mimi and, er, Sorata weren't hurt after all. Sorata apologized profusely sounding very much like the Sora that Yamato knew, but he didn't really notice, as he hadn't taken his attention off the girl in his arms. His brain knew that if the boy was Sora, there was one obvious conclusion, but, his hands on some other things that were also obvious, weren't letting him believe it, not quite yet.
As the commotion sorted itself out, Yamato helped the girl to her feet, but it seemed he wasn't ready to let go at the moment. In response the girl spoke up, "Uh, I'm okay, you can let go now... mister. Hey, who the hell are you anyway?"
Takeru, noticing his brother's strange behavior, came to the girl's rescue, and gently parted the two, taking a moment to smack himself with the heel of his hand. "I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce all of you. This is my brother, Takaishi Yamato."
The floppy haired girl who he'd helped appeared to have gotten over Yamato's strangeness, so she turned to him brightly, and said, "Hi, I'm Yagami Tachiko. Thanks for helping me dude." Yamato was ready for that faint now.
***
A/N: Okay, I could deny that part of the inspiration for this was a blatant excuse to turn Tai into a girl, but why deny the truth. (the other sex changes were bonus, sigh, i like gender bending) I welcome any constructive criticism on the matter, but i believe i should at least explain my reasoning partly. besides the humor, my point to writing this fic was not to somehow conveniently turn Yamato straight or something like that. i just thought this would be an interesting and fairly angst free way to explore not only the personal attraction between Yama and Tai but also the part played by the homosexual aspect, trying to show that both are actually very important to consider. bah, it's not like anyone is every going to actually read this, so i don't know why i bother. ignore the bitter person, its not very hard.
Warning: Shounen-ai/Shoujo-ai. That is Male/Male and Female/Female romances. For the sanity of everyone involved, please don't bother to read something which will just disgust you if you don't like that sort of thing. Roll call: Taito/YamaTai (I don't care who's the seme or uke, and none of these couples seem like they'd have really strict roles, anyway. so writing one name is easier), Mira, Takori, Hiyako, Jyoushirou (Kensuke is mostly reserved for its own piece of fluff) By the way, there are straight couples in this, but I'll let you be surprised because the list above is entirely accurate.
***
Chap. 1: Jumping
***
"Sora, I have a question for you."
"What is it Taichi?"
Yamato did not normally hug trees. He had always rather liked them, but had never been inclined towards public displays of affection. He was also, apparently, not usually prone to eavesdropping, especially not on his friends, judging from his evident distress. Not that he was doing it on purpose, obviously. It just seemed that Taichi would inevitably show up wherever Yamato wanted to be. However, life can be strange at times, so, this particular moment found Yamato suspended upside down from a fairly sturdy tree branch, holding it ever so tightly, in, coincidentally, the perfect position for a certain conversation to reach his ears.
"Well, it's like, I got this friend see..."
"Hmm, riiiight. So, what's with this um, friend?"
"Uh, he sort of, well, has this crush, on like, uh, someone, and I thought, you know, since, you've got the crest of love and stuff, you could give me some good advice."
"For your friend right?"
"Uh yeah, that's what I meant!"
"Uh-huh. So what's his problem?"
Today's amateur tree hugging spy perked up his ears. This was, after all, how he had, coincidentally of course, ended up in this situation, having by sheer chance overheard Taichi, who he'd definitely not been following around like a love sick puppy, ask Sora to meet him under the very tree, that he then um, remembered that he had planned to, er, climb that afternoon. Thus, he was, truly, being polite to his two friends by making himself, unobtrusive. Yeah, that's right. No ulterior motive whatsoever.
"Well, the person he's got a crush on, it's like, well, they know each other..."
"Yes."
"Not just that, we, I mean they're like best friends and stuff, and it's so confusing 'cause it just seems weird, somehow, like, how or why or somethin'. So I'm thinking like stop it you idiot, they're your best friend, you shouldn't think like that and um..."
"Taichi, are you trying to say that you're in love with your best friend?"
"What? Me, uh, I wasn't talking about me, really! Didn't you hear me say, 'I've got this friend'?" Then he started laughing nervously.
"Taichi." Sora's tone brooked no argument. The pathetic excuse for laughter ceased.
"Uh, yeah, I guess so. But, it's so embarrassing. And if, y'know, they don't feel the same way, I'd still /really/ like to be friends and all..."
Yamato didn't notice that he had begun to hold his breath. A dim notion bounced through his currently non-functioning logic centers. 'If she rejects him, I might still have a chance! It would be on the rebound, but...'
"Oh, Taichi, that's very sweet, but don't worry, I understand exactly how you feel."
'Nooooooooooooo!' Yamato hoped the whoosh of his sudden exhalation wasn't too conspicuous, but suddenly had other problems as it seemed his grip on the branch had slackened inexplicably.
"Really! You do! That's great!" Taichi exclaimed.
Yamato began to panic as he fought desperately to regain his hold, noticing unhappily that the surrounding foliage was shaking rather violently in response to his efforts. He was not shocked. Not shocked. Not. Shocked. Argh, damn branch, hold still!
"Yeah, I think I know just how to help you. Let me tell you a story."
She paused for a moment because above them, the leaves seemed to be inordinately active. She frowned as small objects began falling down.
'Ack, no! Not nuts! This sucks!' thought the cause of the not so still life.
"Actually, uh, why don't you come with me and I'll show you something. This tree is making me nervous."
"Okay, anything, if you can, you know, help. Damn, those must be some pretty pissed off birds. Let's get out of here, I don't want bird poop on my hair."
"You're so sensitive Taichi, a real gentleman."
"You think so?"
Yamato had long since been tuning them out, since he'd heard their sickeningly sweet /love confession/. argh, damn. Stupid Taichi and Sora messing up his plans, he had much better things to think about of course, so them barging in on his quiet time was not his problem. Closing his eyes and crossing his arms, he could almost feel himself floating into a zen like calm. He didn't need to think about them, Taichi and... Sora, Sora and Taichi, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-wait-a-second tree? He had time to lament that he'd not gotten to that part of the song faster before he hit the ground with a solid thunk.
Thunk. That sounded appropriate somehow. He reveled in the dull noise his head made against the springy ground as he feebly raised his head then dropped it. Repeatedly. 'Stupid' thunk 'Taichi' thunk 'in love' thunk 'with' thunk 'Sora' thunk 'No that's not it' thunk 'in love' thunk 'with' thunk 'someone else' thunk.
Sated with head banging, Yamato rolled onto his side, throwing an arm protectively around the head he'd just abused. The mild ringing he'd just acquired was not enough to block out his next thought. 'Why not me?'
'Because you're a guy you idiot.' replied a little voice in his head. Angry at himself, he threw off the arm, lay flat on his back again and resolved to lose himself in the sky. Which he couldn't see because he was under a tree. 'Honestly, when you decided to go spy on them, what did you expect they came out here to do anyway?' He willed the little voice to shut up. A nut fell, bouncing off his forehead.
He was then motivated to crawl out of there lest a bird really poop in his hair. No matter how pathetic he was, he did have a hairstyle to maintain you know. Trudging home, he began contemplating borrowing his Dad's tapes, so he too could be a happy little buffalo.
'Cheer up!' he thought to himself. 'There are plenty of fish in the sea. Plenty of spiky haired goggle wearing irritatingly genki impulsive brave warm handsome strong understanding fish. Right. And gay too.' He had to add that to the list or this would all just happen again. He frowned. 'I just have to find myself a gay Taichi, that's all. That condition at least rules out Daisuke as a viable choice.' He sighed at the impossibility of it all, and at the fact that even Daisuke had someone. He was alone.
'Why! Why can't I just be a straight guy, I mean, I'm sure I could find a nice girl to date me! Or find some other guy. I'm just abnormal is what it is. This, is my own fault. I don't want any other guy. I want Taichi.'
'If it were a girl, maybe I wouldn't feel so stupid, I mean, people expect guys to fight over girls at least. Like, Tai and the rest certainly expressed their objections when I asked out Sora.' He smiled wryly. 'Little did they know that was the last straw in convincing me that trying to act straight was a bad idea.'
'What am I supposed to do now? Bitch slap Sora?' The thought was somehow not very appealing. 'Especially since she can probably kick my ass anyway... Plus no grope factor. Now Tai and Sora in a catfight, that might be interesting, or maybe Tai and Jyou would be better, he's kinda cute but not really my type, or maybe even Koushirou... ARGH~! What am I doing?'
'Just face it Yama, you have no chance.' he thought, finding himself at his front door. Resignedly, he keyed his way into the empty apartment, surprised, since Takeru was supposed to be here this week. His father was probably still at work this time of day of course. He stopped at the dining room table when he found a note.
Oniisan,
Hikari and I are going to study together, so I probably won't be back until later.
I left my stuff in your room for now, I'll clean it up later, but if it's in the way
just put it in the closet or something. Expect me around maybe 10:00, because we
have a project due that needs a lot of work.
Thanks,
Takeru
PS. If you need me, e-mail, or call the Yagami's, They'll tell
you 'Kari-chan's
cell number.
The note, which only reinforced the point to him that he would never have as much fun with his choice in Yagami as Takeru, did not improve his mood. Wandering into his room, he noted that when Takeru said clean, he really meant it. The stuff was all over the place!
Sighing, he began foisting things into his closet at random. A bag here, a pile of clothes there, what a mess! Not that Yamato was too objectionable to being domestic, he was normally that way, but this was ridiculous. 'Sheesh, it's like the world is trying to tell me the answer is in the closet. What a load of crap.'
Still, strangely curious, he looked over his handiwork, approving of the once again spotless room, and then checked the closet level. As he rearranged some clothing to a less precarious perch, a rubber antenna nub type thing caught his eye. Thinking it might be a phone that he didn't want to get laundered, he pulled the device out of the clothing. It was in fact, Takeru's digivice, a D-3.
Never having had one for himself, Yamato indulged his curiousity and started playing with it a little. 'Gee, wouldn't it be great if I could open a portal to the digital world with one of these like the younger kids? I'd sure like to talk to Gabumon about now, he can usually calm me down.' Eyeing his computer speculatively, he shrugged, and walked over. Figuring it was harmless, he held up the device and intoned, "Digiport, Open!"
Nothing happened. Yamato was forced to laugh a little at his own silliness at this point, glad that at least no one had been around to witness his small flight of fancy. He did wish he could be happy like everyone else, but going insane was probably not the solution.
Unbeknownst to him, his small adjustments on the instrument had not been entirely beneficial, especially since he had foolishly invoked its trigger mechanism. The machine had taken a little interval to adjust to its new settings, but was about to launch into operation.
Meanwhile, Yamato was turning away from the computer, digivice still in hand, re-thinking wistfully, 'Yeah, I wish I could be happy like all my friends.' The digivice's signal was sent, and the computer began reacting accordingly. He turned, too late to do anything, as the screen projected its beam, sucking him into its other realm. The digivice, immune in its new configuration was not taken, thus bereft of support, dropped, unharmed, but well camouflaged into the carpeting.
***
"So, how's this supposed to help me?"
"I'm trying to show you that you and Yamato-kun are perfect for each other you dope!"
"I know that!" Taichi snapped, "But the problem is, I don't think he does. Or maybe he really is straight, he almost asked you out you know! Ugh, I just, feel like an idiot, Sora! I mean, I totally fell for my best friend, like the thought of him dating you, that just drove me nuts! Since, then, I've been so embarrassed, I've been trying to avoid him, but he like shows up wherever I go, it's like he's following me around or something! Maybe I'm being paranoid, or wishful or whatever, but at this rate, I don't know how I can face him. But I couldn't stand not seeing him..."
"I told you I understand perfectly Taichi, so calm down while I try to help you!"
"So what are you doing?"
"GRRRR." Sora resisted the urge to stab him with the pencil she was holding. Plunking down a somewhat, wrinkled, piece of paper, she continued, "I'm trying to put this in terms you understand, moron. Now stand here, and I'll draw you a play."
"Oh Sora, that's soooo stupid. I thought you had the crest of looooove for a reason."
"Got a better idea?" she shot back, glaring daggers at the boy sitting at her desk, while she stood nearby over his shoulder.
"Yeah, why don't I just play with your stuff, not that that would be much fun, gee Sora, I never knew you were so /girly/." he replied, manipulating various strange objects on the girl's desk. 'Maybe letting him in my room was a mistake.' reflected Sora. "Look, do you want help or not, aah, no! Don't touch that!"
"What's this, maybe, 'Sora-chan's diary', with all your innermost thoughts and feelings, I can see it now, page one, 'Oh my beloved Taichi-sama, I would bow down and serve you as a slave if you'd but look at me once...' ha ha ha. Damn, the thing's so pink! Didn't even know you liked the color." he pranced around the room narrowly avoiding her attempts to recover the item. Opening it up, he stopped dead in his tracks upon reviewing its actual contents.
"I like pink very much thank you." she bit out, blushing hotly as she grabbed what was now very clearly an exchange diary out of his hands.
"Yeah, but I didn't know you liked it /that/ much."
"Well, I did tell you I understood /exactly/ how you felt didn't I?"
He bent down to pick a thin strip of glossed picture paper that had fallen out during the chase. It was a strip of the kind of photographs that come out of those booth machines. "I also didn't know that Mimi-chan was so, forward..." he joked, adopting a very convincing drooling hentai fanboy look.
Snatching the pictures as well, she continued, "Ugh, this is precisely why you will never snag the boy of your dreams without my help. Now shut it, and let me help you. I can't believe most of the school thinks the two of us are dating." She began making faces of disgust at the idea.
Looking mildly offended, Taichi replied, "Well for your information, you're the most attractive woman I've ever met."
"But you're gay!"
"EXACTLY."
She picked up a pillow from her bed, slung it at his head, and yelled, "Die Bitch!" He dodged it easily, but it wasn't long before they both collapsed in fits of laughter. After regaining his breath, Taichi said, "Seriously though, dating you would be like dating Hikari-chan or something. But Yamato..." he trailed off, turning away sadly. "It must be nice though, knowing the person you love loves you back."
At that moment, all the intricate plans in her head suddenly went 'poof', and Sora found herself going purely on instinct, words flowing from her mouth before she realized it. "Honestly, Taichi, if you just told him how much you love him, you'd either find that he feels the same way, or loves you just as much, only as a friend. There's nothing to be afraid of you know, Yamato-kun would never hurt you, and no matter what, he'll always be your friend."
"Easy for you to say." he muttered.
"No, trust me, I know how hard it is, but if you don't try, you could possibly miss the best thing that could ever happen to you, or at least, lose the person who could help you through the pain the best."
Though still seeming a little doubtful, he looked back at her hopefully, replying, "You really think so?"
"Of course, sheesh, aren't you supposed to have the crest of courage? Now let's go find Yamato-kun, and help you get this off your chest, Taichi. I know you'll feel so much better at least having him know how you feel." She offered him her hand, and taking it, he stood and grinned brightly. "Plus it's a better idea than you and your 'grope fests' uh, excuse me I meant, fights." she finished, smiling as well.
"Well you got me there. Not that they weren't, ahem, enjoyable, but, I guess I should listen to you. After all, you did manage to bag the head cheerleader." Sora silently wished that Yamato would find a way to make her friend a little less flip.
***
The boy was lost. Distraught. He was stalked by fear and darkness in an ever-changing void, but for his will, effortlessly banishing the specters only to reveal new ones.
He'd never known reality to be so subjective. Making the obvious conclusion that this was not real. It could not be.
This was not his reality. None of these were.
In the manner of one entrapped in an endless hall of mirrors, the flight began, desperate, then confused, finally numb. One uncertainty would merely be replaced by another when rejected, in an infinite progression, until he was not sure that he even existed.
Dropping to his knees (did he have knees?) he clutched desperately at his head (who was he?) in one last attempt to retain his identity. He grasped at the ghost traces filtering through his rapidly fragmenting thoughts. 'happy...' There was one! 'Happy like my friends.' Friends! He remembered them! Important people! One really important person...
The scenery around seemed to firm in response. Yes, mildly, he had a sense of who, where, what he was. Familiarity flooded, and the strength of relief filled him. He struggled weakly to his feet, meandering crookedly towards home. He remembered a home.
'Ugh, school. Playground, remember that playground.' The overwhelming desire for comfort drove him on to his destination. 'Apartment building! Must get there! Home...' Dragging himself up the stairs was perhaps one of the most taxing ordeals he could recall, not that he recalled all that much. The name on the doorplate brightened him. 'Ishi...da.' Too tired to contemplate the implications of the night's journey, he forced himself to stay upright long enough to get in the door, in which, luckily, it appeared his key worked. His feet seemed to know the path by heart as he made his way to a darkened room. His room he was sure.
Collapsing into the bed, he lay for a moment, reveling in the softness, wrapped in a sense of self-awareness. But after not long, he abandoned consciousness and slept for a time.
***
"You said what!?!"
"Oh come on Iori-kun, it's no big deal you know, I didn't actually lie! We did have a project, and we did go to the library!" Takeru had always had a hard time following Miyako when she spoke. She just had this strange way of moving around, especially when she was excited. It was, distracting, in the way that makes you want to put your own eyes out. He noticed, though, that Iori-kun seemed pretty immune to it by now.
"I can not believe you used me like that! Scratch that, I can believe it quite easily, but what I can't believe, is how in all possibility you thought you were going to get me to play along!"
"Aw, I just thought you'd enjoy a night out once in a while man." Seeing that Iori was in no way convinced, she broke down and offered up a piece of the real story. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't stand being cooped up in the apartment anymore! Mom grounded me for any non-academic outings after that time I decided to um, borrow the car? And she trusts you! Can't you do an old friend a favor?"
At this point, Takeru and Hikari were walking behind the two arguing teens, safely out of range. Truthfully, he wasn't sure how he'd let Hikari talk him in to this either, since she was using him as her excuse, having been barred as well. He normally enjoyed spending time with his father and brother, not that either of them were home much anyway. He doubted either of them would see the note he'd left before he came back, but 10:00 was the latest he could bring himself to write down without feeling guilty. Meanwhile, the battle of wills ahead of them continued.
"What are you insane? You don't have a license! You should not be driving!"
"Well I know that! Now..." Iori did appear to soften slightly as the chagrined expression passed across Miyako's face. She could be quite sympathetic, when she wasn't trying. His argument weakened a little.
"Your mother trusts me for a reason you know. Why didn't you just tell her you were studying with Hikari-san or something?" He might be understanding, noted Takeru, but that didn't make him any more inclined to lie himself it seemed. What a serious guy.
"Well that's because the whole car thing was her fault, wasn't it, 'Kari-chan?" With that, Miyako turned a sour expression on the other girl. In a gesture that reminded Takeru strangely of Taichi, his best friend's arm flew in place behind her head, as she laughed nervously. 'Hmm, maybe siblings really do rub off on each other' He got an image of himself preening his hair like his brother, gel and all, only, in his vision, the gel made his hat stick to his head and he couldn't get it off. In spite of himself, he couldn't help guffawing loudly, joining Hikari's nervous chuckle in a cacophony of just plain disturbing laughter.
Which of course prompted Miyako to turn the severe look on him instead. Too bad he couldn't stop laughing. "Just what is so funny?" Miyako inquired, explosively. Hikari, in a supremely un-Taichi-like move, took the opportunity to hide behind him. 'That girl needs some more backbone.' he thought, as he tried to find something to say.
"Uh... That is, um..."
"Leave Takeru-san alone." Iori went from stern to embarrassed as he was hit with three different looks of surprise. "I mean, uh..."
Feeling the need to save the boy somehow, Takeru jumped in hurriedly, saying, "I'm sorry, Miyako. Hikari-chan just reminded me so much of Taichi right then, I had to laugh. It sounds like just the sort of thing he would do."
"Hey!" exclaimed the target of the gibe, immediately emerging from her position behind him.
"Yeah, you're right, it was pretty cu-funny. he he he" One thing he couldn't fault her in, Miyako definitely had a sense of humor.
"Not you too Miyako-chan!" Hikari wailed, utilizing her secret weapon: puppy dog face! Takeru winced. He usually thought of himself as a pretty smooth talker, but knowing that face, he had to concede that he was nowhere near Hikari's league in the polite manipulation department.
True to form, it worked like a charm. "Wah, uh I didn't mean it like that, honest Hikari-chan. I'm sorry, really! Look at me, have you ever seen a sorrier person in your life?" babbled Miyako, arms waving about frantically. The pattern of her movements really was dizzying, but it was much more amusing this time.
"I guess it's okay. I forgive you Miyako-chan." To cap it, Hikari smiled beatifically. Miyako let out a sigh. For some reason Takeru thought he could hear the cracking of a whip distantly.
Iori eyed the two girls suspiciously, muttering, "Am I the only one who sees something a little funny about this..." The girls had seemingly forgotten the presence of the others at this point, absorbed in discussing the rest of the evening together.
Takeru sighed to himself this time, and moved to near Iori, understanding the other boy's plight quite clearly. "I don't think there's any way to get out of this Iori-kun." Iori nodded, obviously not to thrilled with this development. Takeru didn't like that.
"Tell you what, those two were planning on dragging me to some sappy romance movie with them, but since you're coming along, do you want to go see something different with me?" The boy seemed to brighten a bit at the suggestion and Takeru thought ruefully that he was probably the only teenage boy in the world who actually sort of liked romance movies. Another thought occurred to him. "Um, do you have to go home earlier or something, I mean, I'm not sure how long you and Miyako-chan are cleared for and all..."
"Oh no, when Grandpa saw it was you who came to pick me up, he told me it was okay to stay out later. He trusts you a lot too."
For some reason, that made Takeru happy, but not knowing why, he just favored Iori with a bemused stare. "Is that so?"
"Well, um, yeah..." and this time it was the boys who shared a round of nervous laughter between them.
"Well, then I guess it's a d-all set!" finished Takeru.
From a few yards ahead, Hikari called back to them, "Are you guys coming along, or are you just going to stand there all night?"
In all immediacy the party of four was reformed, in comforting insulation from the intimacy of pairs.
***
'Ring'
'Ring'
'Ring'
'Come on Yamato, pick up!' Taichi thought impatiently.
'Ring'
"Hello, this is the Ishida residence. We're not in at the mome-"
Taichi hung up. This was nerve racking. Flopping down on the couch, he tried to find comfort in the amusement of watching Sora politely fend off his mother's offers of her home cooked 'food', but his heart apparently refused anything less than Yamato's return profession of love as acceptable.
"Sooooooorraaaaaaaaa."
"Oh no thanks Yagami-san, I just ate, really, oh I'm sure its delicious-"
"Soooraaaa, I can't find him!"
"Sure the recipe looks fine-"
"SORA!" Taichi barked, irritated.
"WHAT?" she turned, finally unable to ignore his pitiful moaning.
"Aren't you supposed to help me with this brilliant plan? I can't find him anywhere!" he complained at her, annoyed at the fact the he was getting nowhere with Yamato, fast.
"Now Taichi, that's not very nice at all." He sat up immediately, back ramrod straight. It seemed, he'd forgotten his mother's presence, at least to the point that she could involve herself in the conversation. "Here Sora-chan is trying to help you get a date, and you're being very rude. You should be grateful that someone is helping you catch a nice boy like Yamato-kun instead of someone like say, your idiot fath-"
"MOM!" Taichi exclaimed, embarrassed enough to melt into a puddle on the floor.
"Oh, of course I'm kidding dear, I love your father very much, even if he can be a bit dense but-"
"You're missing the point entirely!" He patently ignored Sora laughing her ass off nearby.
"Which is? Speak up dear, I can't hear you." Taichi could almost believe she was smiling sadistically, but, naw, parents couldn't be that mean, could they?
"Well, uh, that is..." he hated being wrong. Hate hate hated it.
"If the point is to find him, you might want to call your sister, since she said she'd be studying at the library with Takeru-kun earlier, and he might lead you to his brother."
"Really?" despite his utter humiliation at the hands of his mother, Taichi was a very resilient boy, so he perked up at the news immediately.
"Thanks Mom! I think we'll just go there right now!" With that, Taichi was up in a rush, pausing only to drag along Sora, and was at the door in a matter of moments. Off to find Yama, and away from the eyes of his mom!
However, she had a parting comment for him right before they stepped outside. She called, "Well dear, you might want to check other places too, because when Takeru-kun came to pick her up, he'd brought Miyako-chan and Iori-kun along as well."
The statement percolated through his muddled thoughts all boiling down to making no sense whatsoever. He stopped. "What?"
"Meaning, I don't think she's as much studying as she says, but since I grounded her, she had to find a believable excuse like studying with Takeru-kun to get out of here. Of course I knew that, but the constant moping around the apartment was driving me insane, so I let her go. Just, instead of the library, you might want to think about where your sister would take her girlfriend on a date." With that, his mother turned back to 'cooking' brightly.
Being temporarily frozen in shock, it occurred to him that he had been terribly, horribly wrong. Parents really could be that mean.
Sora turned to him and laughed, saying, "I love your mom Taichi! She's great!"
***
Yamato's consciousness was blearing back into place with aggravatingly increasing speed. Probably precipitated by the fact that someone was beating him with a pillow.
"Ugh... ow, ay..." he said intelligently.
"Yamato, get up! Come on! It's like noon already!"
He tried desperately to ignore the familiar voice, but as said, the intermittent blows were a bit difficult to block out.
"Get up! You're a mess!"
That got his attention. Sitting up groggily, his hands, fumbled around his clothing automatically, looking for a comb.
"How's my hair?"
Takeru laughed, then said, "You never change 'niisan. But you did surprise us, we thought you weren't coming until tomorrow."
As vague memories of the prior night began to surface, Yamato added Takeru's statement to reasons why he was quite confused. Deciding to err on the side of caution, he replied, "Huh?"
"You know, Mom said you'd be here on Saturday, not like, Thursday in the middle of the night. You should have at least called me or Dad when you got here."
"I'm here because it's summer vacation?" Yamato asked, unsure of the reasoning.
"Yeah, and 'cause Mom's got that conference in Hong Kong, so she figured sending you to live with your father and brother for a while would be better than leaving you all by yourself, or didn't you notice she hasn't been around for a day or two."
"I live with Mom?" Seeing a look of incredulity threatening from his brother, Yamato amended, "Er, I mean, I'm used to living with Mom. You know how she is, doesn't like getting interrupted while she's writing, but you're right, I guess I should have let you guys know I decided to come early."
Takeru still looked a bit apprehensive at that, but apparently found it believable enough, as he continued, "Yeah, Dad said if he'd known you were coming, he would've taken today off, but as it is, they've got this big project down at the TV station, and he couldn't take a day off at such short notice. I was especially surprised to find you conked out on my bed. Um, I don't know what you're gonna do for today, I was planning to you know, hang out with Hikaru-kun and some other friends. You want to come along?"
By this time Yamato had pieced together the experience of getting sucked into the computer, and then emerging into this strange world that seemed similar but not quite the same as his reality. How in the world was he going to get home? For lack of any better idea, he answered, "Uh, sure, I guess that sounds okay. Who's Hikaru?"
Takeru rolled his eyes, then said, "You're so forgetful sometimes. You've met Hikaru before, you know, my best friend?" Seeing Yamato's blank look, he sighed, "Nevermind, I'll just introduce you when we get there."
***
As he and his brother neared their destination, Yamato realized that the building looked rather familiar. This was Taichi's building, well it was in his world anyway. Near the entrance, he spotted a boy waving at them.
Takeru waved back at the boy and they approached each other, apparently catching up a little. Yamato hung back, but couldn't help thinking that he had met this kid before, but couldn't pin down their identity. The boy was slightly shorter than Takeru, had short, though well styled, light brown hair, Yama noticed, and seemed to like warm colors, dressing in reds and oranges.
They began to walk towards Yamato so that Takeru could introduce them it seemed, when more of Takeru's friends began to show up, this time, three girls. Two of them he recognized, seeing as they were Mimi and Miyako, but the third was a petite red head, a few inches shorter than Mimi, sporting a pixie cut. She looked immensely familiar to Yamato too, but he still couldn't quite put a finger on why.
"Miyako-chan, Mimi, Kyouko!" called the brown haired boy. The girls walked over, and Takeru asked, "Do you know who else is coming? Are we still planning to go to the movies?" The red head who Yamato assumed was called Kyouko answered, "Yes, Jyou-san promised he'd come and we'd see that new romance movie together." She blushed cutely as Miyako and Mimi began to tease her about her boyfriend. Yamato wondered idly if it was the same Jyou that he knew, and if it was, if this was Jyou's girlfriend on his world as well.
The boy with brown hair questioned the girls urgently, "Suka-chan isn't coming is she?" He looked a bit uncomfortable. Miyako beamed and walked over to him, remonstrating, "No, you know that ever since she and Ken-kun began going out, she hasn't been bugging you Hi-chan. Nope, she's left you all to me. You're very safe." The boy smiled, and Miyako latched onto his arm and virtually melted. Takeru made gagging sounds. "Oh, poor guy, too many girls crawling all over you."
Something in the exchange triggered warning bells in Yamato's mind, and he doggedly pursued the elusive thought.
Meanwhile, Miyako took a moment to resolidify slightly and addressed Takeru, who seemed to be going out of his way to look disgusted at the happy young couple. Of course she was too happy to let him be a downer, so she offered him a choice tidbit. "Don't be bitter Takeru, you know Shiori-chan from our building has the biggest crush on you."
Yamato was almost there, he could feel it. He struggled to block out the conversations he didn't really understand anyway.
"You're kidding! She's kinda cute. You mean Hida Shiori righ-"
He had it! The little bit of familiarity. Yamato interrupted them since he hadn't been listening. "Excuse me, were you talking about Ichijouji Ken a second ago?"
Takeru looked sourly at his elder brother, but answered, "Yeah, Ichijouji Ken and his new girlfriend Motomiya Suka, who used to obsess over our friend the lady killer here." He indicated the brown haired boy, who Miyako immediately tightened her hold around.
"Motomiya Suka?" Yamato repeated weakly.
Then Takeru brightened, remembering some great embarrassment material. "That's right! I remember now! Suka-chan's older sister Jun used to chase you around almost as badly as Suka and Hikaru here. Of course you'd know them, hey, you know Ken too?"
"Hikari?" Yamato tried hopefully. The boy with brown hair answered, "No, it's Hikaru actually, but my parents said they were going to name me Hikari if I'd been a girl. They thought, even though Hikari's a perfectly fine male name, that Hikaru sounded more manly or something. The funny thing is, it's not like you can't name girls Hikaru either." Seeing Yamato's shell shocked look, Hikaru changed the subject, "So, you know the horror of being a Motomiya's target too do you?"
Yamato didn't answer, but a voice he would've recognized if he'd been in a proper frame of mind did for him, "I'm sure he does, but that Jun girl has moved on to my brother Shin. He doesn't seem to mind too much though." Yamato turned. Yup, definitely the same Jyou. Who went to stand by his girlfriend, Kyouko, the red head who was friends with Mimi...and Miyako... Things were falling horrifyingly into place. Yamato figured if he had any more shocks in the day, he would faint.
Mimi-chan sighed, looking a little lonely as all the people paired off, well except for Takeru and his brother, but she only really had eyes for one person anyway, so of course she asked, "Are we leaving or waiting for someone else to show up?"
This time everyone around except for Yamato seemed to get the in-joke as they began to smirk and glare suspiciously at Mimi. Miyako chuckled maliciously then replied, "Don't worry, I'm sure your one and only will be here shortly."
Koushir- Kyouko that is, continued, "It's quite obvious that he feels the same way Mimi-chan, but as long as you two aren't willing to do anything about it, it's all the more amusing for the rest of us."
"Hmph, whatever, I have no idea what you guys are talking about." replied Mimi. "In fact, I think I'll go get him now, and we'll both laugh at these silly innuendoes."
"How do you know who we're talking about if you don't like anyone like that?" Takeru asked, grinning as well.
"Oh, you know very well who I li-" realizing her folly, Mimi shut her mouth and marched huffily past Yamato a little way up the stairs.
Hikaru called up to her, "Well as for he who shall remain unnamed, he's probably at our place, bugging my stupid siste-"
At that moment, a light baritone male voice coming from above was heard to be saying very clearly, "Yagami baaaaka!!!" The sound of running feet on the stairs came closer and closer. A strikingly familiar female voice screeched back in outrage, "Takenouchi Sorata, prepare to die!!!"
"Well that's one way to get her to hurry up, I guess." muttered Hikaru.
To Yamato, things seemed to be moving obscenely slow, as two familiar forms materialized on the landing of the stairway that Mimi was standing in frozen, one fourth of the way up. The first, a boy with longish flame colored hair pulled back in a short pony tail, slightly taller than himself, Yamato later noticed, was looking backwards, so failed to notice the presence of a young girl in front of him on the stairs. When he turned back, he was virtually on top of the girl, so his efforts to stop, were quite ineffective actually, resulting in his momentum carrying both him and Mimi off of the stairs in a painful looking spill, which he absorbed most of by grabbing her and athletically turning them both around so he landed on his back, with Mimi on top of him.
The second figure, a small dark girl with an unruly mop of brown hair, didn't have quite as much trouble, but the collision made it difficult to stop quite properly as she reached the bottom right behind the orange haired boy. She stumbled slightly, and Yamato, who'd been closest to the stairs was in just the right place at the right time to catch the girl.
Everyone had rushed to help the other two up, but it seemed Mimi and, er, Sorata weren't hurt after all. Sorata apologized profusely sounding very much like the Sora that Yamato knew, but he didn't really notice, as he hadn't taken his attention off the girl in his arms. His brain knew that if the boy was Sora, there was one obvious conclusion, but, his hands on some other things that were also obvious, weren't letting him believe it, not quite yet.
As the commotion sorted itself out, Yamato helped the girl to her feet, but it seemed he wasn't ready to let go at the moment. In response the girl spoke up, "Uh, I'm okay, you can let go now... mister. Hey, who the hell are you anyway?"
Takeru, noticing his brother's strange behavior, came to the girl's rescue, and gently parted the two, taking a moment to smack himself with the heel of his hand. "I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce all of you. This is my brother, Takaishi Yamato."
The floppy haired girl who he'd helped appeared to have gotten over Yamato's strangeness, so she turned to him brightly, and said, "Hi, I'm Yagami Tachiko. Thanks for helping me dude." Yamato was ready for that faint now.
***
A/N: Okay, I could deny that part of the inspiration for this was a blatant excuse to turn Tai into a girl, but why deny the truth. (the other sex changes were bonus, sigh, i like gender bending) I welcome any constructive criticism on the matter, but i believe i should at least explain my reasoning partly. besides the humor, my point to writing this fic was not to somehow conveniently turn Yamato straight or something like that. i just thought this would be an interesting and fairly angst free way to explore not only the personal attraction between Yama and Tai but also the part played by the homosexual aspect, trying to show that both are actually very important to consider. bah, it's not like anyone is every going to actually read this, so i don't know why i bother. ignore the bitter person, its not very hard.