Disclaimer: I fully own Digimon and all that junk. (Uh, not.)
THE STORY THUS FAR...wait a minute, there's only been a prologue, then the first chapter...
Hmmmmm...
Actually, let's wait another chapters or so, and THEN I'll release a "The Story Thus Far..." segment, ok? Sound good? Allrighty then, let's gets this chapter on the road!
From Courage To Love - Chapter 2
Matt was cheerful while strolling into school Monday morning...while practically dragging Tai and Izzy along with him, spirals for eyes.
Sora and Jane were calmly walking down the hall towards the boys' direction, hugging their books and privately chatting.
"No way! You're kidding me..."
"Oh no, I'll tell you everything..."
Suddenly they saw Matt dragging his two friends behind.
Sora's heart suddenly jumped for joy when she saw him. "Hey, Matt!" she called to him.
"Morning, Sora, Jane," he nodded.
"Uh, what happened to those two?" Jane asked.
"Huh? Oh, we decided to hang out last night..." he began.
"And?" Sora asked.
"Well, overall the three of us had a great time, but, uh...let's just say these two tried to have a little too much fun...something like that. I'd rather not get into it."
"Hmm..." Sora examined the both of them. "You sure they're all right?"
"Oh, yeah. Positive. Just hang 'im out to dry and they'll be fine."
Whatever THAT means, Jane thought.
Sora patted their cheeks to try and snap them out of it. "Um, Tai? Izzy?" All that responded was indecipherable muttering.
"Just a few good whacks...just a few...more...whacks..." Izzy murmured.
"Prooooooooooooodigious...proooooooooooodigious..." Tai moaned.
"C'mon guys, snap out of it!!!!" Sora almost yelled.
The two boys' eyes almost immediately snapped open.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"
"Nooooooooo, get away vicious amazon queen!!!!" Tai shouted.
"Yeah, we've just impossibly returned from the eight dimensional axis and we're not going back!" Izzy yelled.
"I love you Sergeant Otaku Izumi, so let's get outta here!"
"I'm with you Wilson, I HAVE to get off this island!"
And with that said...Izzy and Tai bolted.
"Uh HUH...okay, I think that hardly registered as a little too much fun." Jane noted.
"What did you DO to them?" Sora exclaimed, wide eyed.
"What did I do???" Matt replied, with the emphasis on "I".
"Uh, excuse me," said Jane. "I hate to break up this debate, but your two asylum inmates are escaping down the hall."
"Huh?" Matt had totally forgotten about their whereabouts, so he glanced down the school hallway. And sure enough, there was Izzy and Tai running down the hall. He wasn't exactly sure why, but Matt nearly exploded.
"Wh...what?!? Get back here, you cowards!" he roared, chasing after them. There wasn't anything left for Sora and Jane for to do, but giggle.
*********************
"I already told you, you didn't drink apple juice from that cow's..." Matt argued.
"Are you sure?" Tai asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, I'm absolutely positive!"
After school had ended, Matt and Tai had spent almost half an hour arguing over what exactly happened the night the three of them "hung out." Izzy started to feel queasy around fourth period, and had to go home early. Tai felt better after second period, thanks to some major treatment from the school nurse and the guidance counselor. Tai acted pretty normal afterwards, except for the bags that remained under his eyes.
"Well, you gotta admit last night was exciting!" Matt exclaimed.
"I admit NOTHING!" Tai nearly shouted. "Besides, I think I mentally croaked about halfway through."
"Oh, Matt..." said a voice belonging to Sora. "You didn't forget a certain afternoon picnic today, didja?"
"Oh...right." replied Matt. "I'll be right back. Just need to get some stuff from my locker, hold on."
As Matt ran off, Tai and Sora were left with...yes, ANOTHER moment of uncomfortable silence. (Geez.)
"So, uh..." Tai nervously began. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," she replied, somewhat rather hastily.
"That's...good," he got out almost timidly.
Immediately, Sora had lost her patience. Neither were the kind to beat around the bush, so she decided to crack the ice, not just break it. "Alright Tai, out with it. What's with all the gloom and doom, huh? Could you tell me what's been going on with you these past few weeks?"
Tai could hardly believe what he was hearing. Did Sora REALLY not know why he was acting this way? Impossible. She HAD to have known why.
"You really don't know?" he said, sounding a little hurt.
Suddenly, Sora did got the picture and mentally smacked herself. But she still remained in a frustrated state over Tai.
"Can it, Tai. Stop acting the hurt little puppy, 'cuz I can't stand it anymore!"
"Huh?"
"You're jealous because of Matt and me, right? I can understand that, but sooner or later you're just going to have to accept it! Nothing's going to change between you and me!"
Tai slowly closed his eyes tightly, and slightly turned his head. He tried to brace himself for impact, but it was useless. Every word that exited itself from Sora's mouth was like some sort of sharp spear or painful shock wave. Though they were just brushing by him, he swore he could literally feel the harshness of the words. Tai started to get a tight pain in his chest. What Sora was saying HURT.
Physically.
Tai finally opened his eyes and locked them with hers. He had to interrupt her.
"Please stop." he almost whispered. "If you would just listen..."
"NO, YOU LISTEN, TAI! IF YOU WEREN'T SO STUPID...!"
*GASP*
Sora gasped. She went wide-eyed immediately and slapped her hand over her mouth. She could, in no way, believe at all what she just spat at Tai. But the worst thing of all was the look on Tai's face.
She was face to face with a look that wasn't hard to identify. He had the look of a first-grader who had just been beat up or insulted in the worst way possible. Like a helpless, little, lost kid whose spirit and confidence had been crushed. These descriptions weren't exaggerated.
Sora immediately turned away in utter shame. Horrified and completely stunned in what just happened, she couldn't believe what just she just did.
A long time ago, when both of them were about seven or eight years old, the two spied some much older kids playing a game of soccer. Sora and Tai wanted to join in, and the boys reluctantly let them in the game. Not two minutes had passed when little Tai kicked accidentally the ball into the wrong goal. Needless to say, the older boys were the competitive type and got angry with him.
"Whaddya think you're doin', ya 'lil punk?"
"Some player YOU are! Can't even kick the ball right!"
"What are ya, STUPID? What a loser!"
With that, the boys picked up their stuff and walked off. Little Tai was awfully confused. He just stood there, stunned. Not just at the harsh words of the boys, but how he made an honest, stupid mistake. There were tears in eyes, dribbling down his face, but he wasn't audibly crying. "He's not stoopid!" little Sora yelled back at the boys, even though they were more than out of range to hear her.
"Tai? Tai?" asked Sora to her "bestest" friend in the whole world. But by now, Tai had curled up in a little ball, sniffling. Sora rushed over to Tai, kneeled down close and quickly wrapped her short arms around him.
"S'okay, Tai. Don' lissen t' them," she said. "Yer not stoopid, yer my heero."
"Yes, I am...I am stoopid..." Tai whimpered.
"No yer not! Yer th' bravestest boy I know! You'll never be stoopid t' me. I promizz," Sora declared.
But now, in Sora's case, aren't promises meant to be broken?
Tai cried for a long time in that field, and thankfully Sora was there, hugging him the whole time. It took Tai a long time to get over that incident, and from that day on, Tai got very angry whenever ANYONE called him "stupid."
Anyone, that is, except for his best friend.
In a just a matter of seconds, all those memories entered Sora's mind in a rush. As soon the forbidden word left her mouth, she remembered her promise and then shamefully turned away from Tai.
"Tai...I...I...I'm so...I-I mean, you're not st-" she stuttered. But all she received was silence.
"Tai?"
Sora fearfully turned around, but there was nothing to see. Tai was long gone by now.
With tears beginning to form in her eyes, her senses were numb, as she didn't hear someone running towards her. It was Matt.
"What's going on? I heard shouting, so I rushed up here!" he said in a worried voice.
Slowly, Sora stammered and stuttered out what had happened after Matt left.
"Aww, Sora! Tell me you didn't call Tai..." Matt couldn't finish.
"Please, I feel bad enough already!" Sora said, wiping away some tears.
"Well, we've gotta find him! He couldn't have gotten far!"
Suddenly, Matt noticed a glow coming from the nearby computer room. Matt sighed.
"What is it, Matt?"
"I have pretty good idea where he might be..."
*********************
"Three-of-a-kind!" declared Gabumon, putting down his cards.
"Nope, go fish!" replied Augumon, Tai's good digimon buddy.
"Wait a minute!" said Gabumon. "What card game are we playing anyway?!?"
"Uh, I thought you knew!"
The two digimon saw the silliness of the situation and broke down into roars of laughter. But their laughing was cut short, as they heard someone coming. Getting a little scared, the two of them quickly hid behind a bush to see who was coming. It was a human that Augumon recognized as Tai. But he noticed a look of sadness and depression on his face.
"It's Tai! What's he doing here, Augumon? And why does he look so sad?"
"I'm not sure! Let's follow him and find out!"
Tai wandered aimlessly, not caring where he would end up. He still couldn't believe it! Sora had called him stupid! Sora! His best friend! The little girl who promised never to do so! The very same girl who had now just broke her promise! His thoughts were racing a thousands miles a minute while tears rushed down his face.
"If I had a face like that, my wood would probably rot through!" said a voice.
"Huh?" Tai quickly wiped away his tears. "Who's there? Who is it?" Tai looked up to see a gigantic talking tree.
"Calm down, kid. I'm a friend, that's all. The name's Cherrymon, at your service. The famous advice-giving and confidence-restoring tree!" exclaimed the digimon.
"I'm sure you have a degree or diploma to confirm that. Now if you'll excuse me..."
"Hey! Slow down, kid! I'm offering you the advice of a lifetime! You can't turn that down!"
"What do you mean? What kind of advice are you offering, exactly?"
"The kind of advice which could serve as the answer to all your problems. I can help you."
"What do you want from me? No doubt there's some sort of catch or price here, right? What do I have to do?"
"Not much. Just trust me."
Tai didn't know why, but his mouth spoke before his conscience could...
"Okay."
Whoo, baby! Where have we seen this scenario before? Is Tai really gonna listen to Cherrymon? Has his advice gotten any better over the last for years? Can Augumon and Gabumon stop him in time? And what about Matt and Sora? What will they do? Afraid you'll just have to wait until the next chapter to find out! Bye now!
NEXT TIME...
In Tai's moment of weakness, Cherrymon inflicts his advice on Tai and tries to up his self-confidence! But not if Augumon, Gabumon, and Matt have anything to say about it! Will Sora be willing to help out as well? If, at all? Find out next time! (Wait isn't that what I just said up above? Aww, forget it.)
THE STORY THUS FAR...wait a minute, there's only been a prologue, then the first chapter...
Hmmmmm...
Actually, let's wait another chapters or so, and THEN I'll release a "The Story Thus Far..." segment, ok? Sound good? Allrighty then, let's gets this chapter on the road!
From Courage To Love - Chapter 2
Matt was cheerful while strolling into school Monday morning...while practically dragging Tai and Izzy along with him, spirals for eyes.
Sora and Jane were calmly walking down the hall towards the boys' direction, hugging their books and privately chatting.
"No way! You're kidding me..."
"Oh no, I'll tell you everything..."
Suddenly they saw Matt dragging his two friends behind.
Sora's heart suddenly jumped for joy when she saw him. "Hey, Matt!" she called to him.
"Morning, Sora, Jane," he nodded.
"Uh, what happened to those two?" Jane asked.
"Huh? Oh, we decided to hang out last night..." he began.
"And?" Sora asked.
"Well, overall the three of us had a great time, but, uh...let's just say these two tried to have a little too much fun...something like that. I'd rather not get into it."
"Hmm..." Sora examined the both of them. "You sure they're all right?"
"Oh, yeah. Positive. Just hang 'im out to dry and they'll be fine."
Whatever THAT means, Jane thought.
Sora patted their cheeks to try and snap them out of it. "Um, Tai? Izzy?" All that responded was indecipherable muttering.
"Just a few good whacks...just a few...more...whacks..." Izzy murmured.
"Prooooooooooooodigious...proooooooooooodigious..." Tai moaned.
"C'mon guys, snap out of it!!!!" Sora almost yelled.
The two boys' eyes almost immediately snapped open.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"
"Nooooooooo, get away vicious amazon queen!!!!" Tai shouted.
"Yeah, we've just impossibly returned from the eight dimensional axis and we're not going back!" Izzy yelled.
"I love you Sergeant Otaku Izumi, so let's get outta here!"
"I'm with you Wilson, I HAVE to get off this island!"
And with that said...Izzy and Tai bolted.
"Uh HUH...okay, I think that hardly registered as a little too much fun." Jane noted.
"What did you DO to them?" Sora exclaimed, wide eyed.
"What did I do???" Matt replied, with the emphasis on "I".
"Uh, excuse me," said Jane. "I hate to break up this debate, but your two asylum inmates are escaping down the hall."
"Huh?" Matt had totally forgotten about their whereabouts, so he glanced down the school hallway. And sure enough, there was Izzy and Tai running down the hall. He wasn't exactly sure why, but Matt nearly exploded.
"Wh...what?!? Get back here, you cowards!" he roared, chasing after them. There wasn't anything left for Sora and Jane for to do, but giggle.
*********************
"I already told you, you didn't drink apple juice from that cow's..." Matt argued.
"Are you sure?" Tai asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, I'm absolutely positive!"
After school had ended, Matt and Tai had spent almost half an hour arguing over what exactly happened the night the three of them "hung out." Izzy started to feel queasy around fourth period, and had to go home early. Tai felt better after second period, thanks to some major treatment from the school nurse and the guidance counselor. Tai acted pretty normal afterwards, except for the bags that remained under his eyes.
"Well, you gotta admit last night was exciting!" Matt exclaimed.
"I admit NOTHING!" Tai nearly shouted. "Besides, I think I mentally croaked about halfway through."
"Oh, Matt..." said a voice belonging to Sora. "You didn't forget a certain afternoon picnic today, didja?"
"Oh...right." replied Matt. "I'll be right back. Just need to get some stuff from my locker, hold on."
As Matt ran off, Tai and Sora were left with...yes, ANOTHER moment of uncomfortable silence. (Geez.)
"So, uh..." Tai nervously began. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," she replied, somewhat rather hastily.
"That's...good," he got out almost timidly.
Immediately, Sora had lost her patience. Neither were the kind to beat around the bush, so she decided to crack the ice, not just break it. "Alright Tai, out with it. What's with all the gloom and doom, huh? Could you tell me what's been going on with you these past few weeks?"
Tai could hardly believe what he was hearing. Did Sora REALLY not know why he was acting this way? Impossible. She HAD to have known why.
"You really don't know?" he said, sounding a little hurt.
Suddenly, Sora did got the picture and mentally smacked herself. But she still remained in a frustrated state over Tai.
"Can it, Tai. Stop acting the hurt little puppy, 'cuz I can't stand it anymore!"
"Huh?"
"You're jealous because of Matt and me, right? I can understand that, but sooner or later you're just going to have to accept it! Nothing's going to change between you and me!"
Tai slowly closed his eyes tightly, and slightly turned his head. He tried to brace himself for impact, but it was useless. Every word that exited itself from Sora's mouth was like some sort of sharp spear or painful shock wave. Though they were just brushing by him, he swore he could literally feel the harshness of the words. Tai started to get a tight pain in his chest. What Sora was saying HURT.
Physically.
Tai finally opened his eyes and locked them with hers. He had to interrupt her.
"Please stop." he almost whispered. "If you would just listen..."
"NO, YOU LISTEN, TAI! IF YOU WEREN'T SO STUPID...!"
*GASP*
Sora gasped. She went wide-eyed immediately and slapped her hand over her mouth. She could, in no way, believe at all what she just spat at Tai. But the worst thing of all was the look on Tai's face.
She was face to face with a look that wasn't hard to identify. He had the look of a first-grader who had just been beat up or insulted in the worst way possible. Like a helpless, little, lost kid whose spirit and confidence had been crushed. These descriptions weren't exaggerated.
Sora immediately turned away in utter shame. Horrified and completely stunned in what just happened, she couldn't believe what just she just did.
A long time ago, when both of them were about seven or eight years old, the two spied some much older kids playing a game of soccer. Sora and Tai wanted to join in, and the boys reluctantly let them in the game. Not two minutes had passed when little Tai kicked accidentally the ball into the wrong goal. Needless to say, the older boys were the competitive type and got angry with him.
"Whaddya think you're doin', ya 'lil punk?"
"Some player YOU are! Can't even kick the ball right!"
"What are ya, STUPID? What a loser!"
With that, the boys picked up their stuff and walked off. Little Tai was awfully confused. He just stood there, stunned. Not just at the harsh words of the boys, but how he made an honest, stupid mistake. There were tears in eyes, dribbling down his face, but he wasn't audibly crying. "He's not stoopid!" little Sora yelled back at the boys, even though they were more than out of range to hear her.
"Tai? Tai?" asked Sora to her "bestest" friend in the whole world. But by now, Tai had curled up in a little ball, sniffling. Sora rushed over to Tai, kneeled down close and quickly wrapped her short arms around him.
"S'okay, Tai. Don' lissen t' them," she said. "Yer not stoopid, yer my heero."
"Yes, I am...I am stoopid..." Tai whimpered.
"No yer not! Yer th' bravestest boy I know! You'll never be stoopid t' me. I promizz," Sora declared.
But now, in Sora's case, aren't promises meant to be broken?
Tai cried for a long time in that field, and thankfully Sora was there, hugging him the whole time. It took Tai a long time to get over that incident, and from that day on, Tai got very angry whenever ANYONE called him "stupid."
Anyone, that is, except for his best friend.
In a just a matter of seconds, all those memories entered Sora's mind in a rush. As soon the forbidden word left her mouth, she remembered her promise and then shamefully turned away from Tai.
"Tai...I...I...I'm so...I-I mean, you're not st-" she stuttered. But all she received was silence.
"Tai?"
Sora fearfully turned around, but there was nothing to see. Tai was long gone by now.
With tears beginning to form in her eyes, her senses were numb, as she didn't hear someone running towards her. It was Matt.
"What's going on? I heard shouting, so I rushed up here!" he said in a worried voice.
Slowly, Sora stammered and stuttered out what had happened after Matt left.
"Aww, Sora! Tell me you didn't call Tai..." Matt couldn't finish.
"Please, I feel bad enough already!" Sora said, wiping away some tears.
"Well, we've gotta find him! He couldn't have gotten far!"
Suddenly, Matt noticed a glow coming from the nearby computer room. Matt sighed.
"What is it, Matt?"
"I have pretty good idea where he might be..."
*********************
"Three-of-a-kind!" declared Gabumon, putting down his cards.
"Nope, go fish!" replied Augumon, Tai's good digimon buddy.
"Wait a minute!" said Gabumon. "What card game are we playing anyway?!?"
"Uh, I thought you knew!"
The two digimon saw the silliness of the situation and broke down into roars of laughter. But their laughing was cut short, as they heard someone coming. Getting a little scared, the two of them quickly hid behind a bush to see who was coming. It was a human that Augumon recognized as Tai. But he noticed a look of sadness and depression on his face.
"It's Tai! What's he doing here, Augumon? And why does he look so sad?"
"I'm not sure! Let's follow him and find out!"
Tai wandered aimlessly, not caring where he would end up. He still couldn't believe it! Sora had called him stupid! Sora! His best friend! The little girl who promised never to do so! The very same girl who had now just broke her promise! His thoughts were racing a thousands miles a minute while tears rushed down his face.
"If I had a face like that, my wood would probably rot through!" said a voice.
"Huh?" Tai quickly wiped away his tears. "Who's there? Who is it?" Tai looked up to see a gigantic talking tree.
"Calm down, kid. I'm a friend, that's all. The name's Cherrymon, at your service. The famous advice-giving and confidence-restoring tree!" exclaimed the digimon.
"I'm sure you have a degree or diploma to confirm that. Now if you'll excuse me..."
"Hey! Slow down, kid! I'm offering you the advice of a lifetime! You can't turn that down!"
"What do you mean? What kind of advice are you offering, exactly?"
"The kind of advice which could serve as the answer to all your problems. I can help you."
"What do you want from me? No doubt there's some sort of catch or price here, right? What do I have to do?"
"Not much. Just trust me."
Tai didn't know why, but his mouth spoke before his conscience could...
"Okay."
Whoo, baby! Where have we seen this scenario before? Is Tai really gonna listen to Cherrymon? Has his advice gotten any better over the last for years? Can Augumon and Gabumon stop him in time? And what about Matt and Sora? What will they do? Afraid you'll just have to wait until the next chapter to find out! Bye now!
NEXT TIME...
In Tai's moment of weakness, Cherrymon inflicts his advice on Tai and tries to up his self-confidence! But not if Augumon, Gabumon, and Matt have anything to say about it! Will Sora be willing to help out as well? If, at all? Find out next time! (Wait isn't that what I just said up above? Aww, forget it.)