Note: Just because Matt and Tai are nice to Sora it doesn't mean there will be any Taiora or Sorato or a weird love triangle in this story. Tai and Matt love each other and no one else in my universe. And... Matt and Mimi don't like each other at all because I think Mimato is the dumbest couple ever! Oh and if you were waiting for TK to start appearing more this is when he does. Enjoy ^_^
Chapter Seventeen- Watching You
"What on earth is that?" Izzy said looking down at the pond before him.
Ken kneeled down by the side and touched the surface.
"It looks like ice, but it's not cold. I think this is glass," he said, and looked back up at Izzy.
"Ok, a pond covered in glass, I think we can add this to the most screwed up things in the digital world list," Izzy grumbled. He seemed to be a bit agitated after walking all day and the battery on his computer running out. They hadn't passed a single outlet or TV since they left the beach, and TK, Izzy and Ken had now reached the foot of the mountain to find the glass covered pond.
"That mountain is so strange, it's like I can see right through it," Ken said, standing up.
"It seems like we can see through a lot of things these days. I wish I knew what was going on," Izzy said. The three of them started making their way around the pond. Izzy was getting frustrated not being able to figure anything out. It was just in his nature to want to know everything but now he couldn't make heads or tails of the situation. The way TK was acting wasn't exactly boosting the morale of the group either. He was still staying quiet and keeping mostly to himself.
TK stepped out onto the glass surface of the pond and looked down into it.
"I don't like the way this place feels..." he said quietly.
Ken stopped for a moment and moved out next to TK. He looked down and tried to see beyond the glass, but it was too dark.
"What does it feel like, TK?"
"There's something down there...but it's more like an echo or an impression. Like whatever is down there is only half there."
"Kind of like everything else around here," Izzy groaned, looking around at the broken, iceless mountain and the chunks missing out of rocks and trees.
"Come on," Ken said. He gently grabbed TK's wrist and led him off the pond. "It feels weird to me too...there's something wrong about this place."
"What are you talking about?" Izzy said, raising an eyebrow. "Everything seems normal to me, well relatively normal anyway."
TK just hung his head and walked by Izzy.
"You wouldn't understand..." he muttered.
Ken sighed and flashed Izzy a sympathetic look. He walked after TK and Izzy just grumbled and followed. They proceeded around the pond and past the foot of the mountain in silence. The presence under the glass watched them as they walked away, a spider web of deceit forming in his twisted mind. Matt and TK had both passed over, and this dark form now knew everything they knew. He plotted how he could use this secret to his advantage. A soft chuckle could be heard from deep inside the darkness. How silly these humans were, and what fragile emotions. A single moment might be able to tip the scales to his advantage, but he had to pick just the right time. He'd wait until they were all together, and knew about each other's location, then lure one away from the group to fool them. What a perfect plan! How easy it would be to turn them against each other, and all he had to do was divulge one little bit of information. Just one little puzzle piece would send the two that were already slipping teetering over the edge, and then the digital world would lose control for good.
Meanwhile, the other group of three had finally reached the edge of the desert and entered the forest. Joe, Yolei and Cody had crossed over a brook on their way through and finally gotten some water. They were now hiking along the edge of the forest closest to the desert, not knowing they were following the same path Davis, Kari, Tai, Matt, Sora, and Mimi had walked the other day.
"Hey look!" Yolei shouted, straying away from the path. "It looks like there was a campfire here!" She stepped over into the clearing and was in the campsite the other group had slept at two nights before.
"They must have been here not too long ago," Cody said, noticing that the footprints in the dust hadn't blown completely away yet.
"I wonder which way they went," Joe said.
"I think they went this way," Yolei said, pointing and looking down at the ground. "All the footprints coming from over there, and then they're heading away in this direction."
"But that way leads right back towards the desert!" Joe cried.
"You know...I'm not sure if I'm remembering correctly but isn't there a village where a bunch of Mushroomon and Floramon live in that direction?" Cody said.
"Oh, you're right!" Yolei said, "That's the place where we got that dark spiral off of ShogunGekomon! Maybe the others went there."
"Wait," Joe said, "which others?"
Yolei and Cody realized they didn't know which of their friends had been here.
"Well, I know Mimi was here," Yolei said.
"Huh? How do you know that?" Joe asked.
"Look, I can see her heel prints in the dirt. Mimi is the only one who wears platform shoes," Yolei explained.
"Unless Izzy's found a new style of dress," Cody added.
Since Mimi's heels had dug into the ground the deepest, they were easiest to follow. They proceeded through the forest, following the tracks in the soft forest floor.
A few miles away at the Gekomon's temple, the Digidestined were all still asleep. The sun was so dim and almost everyone had lost track of time, but it was now early morning. When the light started peeking through the window, Sora opened one eye sleepily and rolled over. Since the Gekomon had given them a separate room from the boys, Mimi, Sora and Kari had all slept in their underwear under the white, fluffy comforters on their cots.
Sora sat up and yawned. She glanced over at Mimi who was sprawled out on her cot with one foot hanging over the edge, and she appeared to be drooling. It definitely was not a position one would expect from a "princess". Sora giggled quietly and when she saw Kari was still sleeping, she decided to go check and see if the boys were alright.
She wrapped her blanket around herself and tiptoed down the hallway to the room Matt, Tai and Davis were sleeping in. She peeked inside and saw Davis lying on his back in just his shorts (which he wore all year) and socks, snoring loudly.
"I wonder how Matt and Tai slept through that," she whispered to herself.
She looked over at the other beds and expected to see Matt and Tai curled up together in one of them, but they weren't there. It did appear that one of the beds had been slept in though.
"I wonder were they are?"
She walked back down the hallway until she came to the main room where they had eaten then night before. There were Matt and Tai, sitting on cushions around the low table, eating breakfast. Matt was in his black tanktop and pants and Tai obviously had decided it wasn't necessary to put his pants on yet, he was wearing only his shirt and underwear. Sora wrapped her blanket tighter around herself. She had expected everyone to be asleep and hadn't bothered to get dressed.
"Hey Sora!" Tai said happily when he saw her step into the doorway. "Want some breakfast? Matt made tea and this...uh, whatever it is bacon stuff."
Matt had raided the Gekomon's food supply and put together a big enough breakfast for the six of them. There was green tea, a sort of round biscuit, jam, and some meat that tasted a lot like bacon but was smothered in herbs and spices.
"It looks great," Sora said. She was starting to blush and really wishing she could go back to the bedroom and get dressed, but didn't want to be rude. She sat down on one of the cushions on the side of the table closest to the door. Matt and Tai were sitting on opposite sides.
"Where are all the Gekomon and Otamamon?" she asked.
"They're still upstairs, sleeping," Matt said. Sora glanced over at the wooden staircase in the corner of the room, she hadn't noticed it before.
Tai poured some tea for her into a little china cup and handed her a biscuit.
"Aren't you kind of hot with that blanket around you?" Tai asked, and took another bite of his bacon.
"Er...do you two mind if I go back to my room for a minute, I kind of didn't put any clothes on."
"You're naked?" Tai said, raising an eyebrow.
"Tai!" Tai looked up to see Matt glaring at him.
"No, I have my underwear on...but,"
"Sora, don't worry about it," Matt said, taking a sip of his tea. "We're not into girls, remember? It doesn't bother us, well at least it doesn't bother me," he glared at Tai again, "And we've all known each other for so long, why does it matter? You don't need to be embarrassed."
Sora smiled a little, she supposed it really didn't matter, and she let her blanket fall off her shoulders. She had on a white sleeveless undershirt on over her bra and white panties. Matt and Tai just smiled and went back to eating and talking like it was something they saw every day.
"Sora!" Then they all looked up to see Mimi standing in the door, pouting. She had wrapped her own blanket around her like a toga. "My clothes are all dirty and they smell like sweat! I just can't put them back on until they're washed!"
"Oh brother..." Matt groaned.
"Well ask the Gekomon if there's someplace where we can wash our clothes before we leave, " Sora said.
"Yeah, or you could just get them to do it for you," Tai said. "You are the princess after all."
"Well I don't know where they are! And why are you in your underwear with boys in the room, Sora?" Mimi said, putting her hands on her hips.
"They said they don't mind," Sora said simply.
"Hmph, well I guess since it's just those two it's not important." Mimi said haughtily.
"So, we don't have names anymore, huh?" Matt said. Tai just rolled his eyes, and Mimi ignored both of them.
"So, what did you make for breakfast?" Mimi asked, walking over to the table and dropping her blanket to the floor. She sat down opposite Sora and started helping herself to food.
Unlike Sora, she did not dress conservatively when it came to underwear. She had on a baby blue bra and a lace trimmed thong to match. Without her sweater on, the three of them noticed for the first time that Mimi's bust size had grown exponentially since the last time they had seen her. When Sora looked down at her own almost flat chest she began to blush even more than before and covered herself up with her arms.
"Hey," Tai said softly, touching her shoulder. "Don't worry about it."
Even though Tai didn't really know much about girls (and didn't need to), he could tell right away what was bothering her. While Mimi was stuffing her face with food, Matt glanced over and mouthed to Tai,
"What's wrong?"
Tai crept around the table past Sora and sat down next to him.
"Sora's upset because her...uh...you know, aren't as big as Mimi's," Tai whispered.
"Oh," Matt slid over next to Sora for a minute.
"You're still only fifteen, right?" he said softly to her.
She nodded.
"Then try not to worry, I know Mimi's younger than you but you're probably just a late bloomer. You'll catch up soon, ok?"
Sora began to smile a little again, "Thanks, Matt."
"And you're still beautiful anyway," Matt gave her a tiny peck on the cheek and leaned back over next to Tai.
"You're so sweet, Yama..." Tai said quietly, and leaned against his shoulder.
"Mmhmm..."
"Hey Matt, did you pack a hairbrush?" Tai asked him.
"Yeah, of course I did, it's in my bag in the bedroom."
Tai smiled and got up. He walked out of the room and down the hallways towards the boy's bedroom.
"Tai doesn't usually care about brushing his hair," Sora said, taking a few bites out of her biscuit.
Matt just shrugged and continued drinking his tea.
"Personally, I think Tai should get a new hairstyle," Mimi said through mouthfuls of food. "That fluffy mess looks so horrible."
Matt glared at her. "Don't ever make fun of my Taichi's hair."
Mimi narrowed her eyes at Matt and continued shoveling food into her mouth. A few moments later Tai came back into the room and sat himself down behind Matt.
"What was that all about?" Matt asked.
"I want to brush your hair, is that ok?" Tai waved the brush in front of Matt's face.
"Er..." Matt quickly ran his fingers through his hair, he could feel that the gel had worn out and wondered how it must look after all the hiking they had done yesterday. He usually didn't like anyone touching his hair except him, but since it was Tai...
"Sure, go ahead."
Tai grinned and started running the brush through Matt's hair, making sure he didn't disturb the natural part on the right side of his head.
"Hmph, I wish I had someone's hair to play with," Mimi grumbled.
"Well you're not touching mine," Matt said. "Tai only gets to touch it because I love him."
Tai giggled and slipped his free hand underneath Matt's shirt and started tickling his stomach. Matt tried to squirm away but just bumped into Tai who was behind him.
"Gotcha..." Tai said. He pulled Matt closer against him and kissed his cheek.
"Oh please..." Mimi groaned.
"Do you have a problem, Mimi?" Matt said. "You've been acting like a bitch since we got here."
"I just wish you two would have a little respect for the rest of us and stop flirting in front of everyone," she said.
"If you had a boyfriend, you'd be flirting in front of everyone too!" Matt said.
"Yeah, especially one as pretty as Matt," Tai added with a grin.
"Are you saying I can't get a boyfriend?" Mimi growled.
"As annoying as you are, probably not," Matt said.
"Guys, I thought you were going to stop this," Sora said quietly.
"I never said that," Matt said, crossing his arms.
"Neither did I! Hmph," Mimi crossed her arms too and turned away from Matt.
"AH!"
Everyone turned suddenly to see Davis standing in the doorway, covering up his nose which was spurting blood all over his hands.
"Oh great," Matt groaned.
Tai sprung up and ran over to Davis. He quickly tipped his head back.
"Matt! Get him a tissue or something!" Tai yelled. Matt just rolled his eyes and grabbed a napkin off the table. He walked over and handed it to Tai, who pressed it up against Davis's nose.
"Oh, what's wrong with him?" Mimi said, actually expressing some concern, but not realizing what had set off Davis's nosebleed.
"What do you think, genius?" Matt said sarcastically and flashed her a dirty look.
"Mimi it's your-" then Sora was cut off suddenly by Matt.
"It's because you're flaunting your big boobs all over the place, Mimi!"
"What!? Why are you looking at my chest!?" she shrieked. She stood up quickly and stamped her foot, causing her bosom to bounce. Tai saw Davis's pupils shrink and the blood started flowing out even more.
"It's kind of hard to miss!" Matt shouted at her. "Of course he's going to get a nosebleed when he walks in and the first thing he sees is that!"
"Well he's just a little boy!" Mimi shouted back, making her face start to turn red.
"He's only two years younger than you Mimi," Tai said, still tending to Davis's nose. Davis was unable to speak this whole time on account of the napkin covering his mouth and nose.
Sora thought for a moment about mentioning the night when Davis had kissed Mimi a year ago when they had been in the digital world, but decided it might makes things worse.
Then Kari rushed up behind Davis, apparently they were the only two that were fully dressed.
"What's going on, Tai?" She asked, a worried look on her face.
"Davis just got a nose bleed..." Tai sighed. Kari glanced in at Mimi in just her underwear arguing with Matt and understood.
"I'll take care of him, Tai," Kari said. She put her hand on Davis's shoulder and led him away. Davis just clutched the napkin to his nose.
Tai turned around and put his hands on his hips. Matt and Mimi were still bickering.
"You know, I thought you were some kind of girly girl all these years but you're just a slut!"
"Take that back!!" Mimi screamed at him.
"Well you just walk around in your skimpy underwear and don't care who sees you!" Matt's hands were motioning all over the place as he talked, which only happened when he really got going.
"I would care if there were any real guys here! But it's just you two, and Davis is just a kid!" She replied, scowling at him the whole time.
"Just because Tai and I aren't attracted to girls it doesn't mean we're not real guys! Why don't you just put some clothes on, Mimi!?"
"My clothes are all dirty and if you want me to get dressed you can go wash them for me!"
"Wash them yourself, you lazy-"
"QUIET!!!" Tai shouted at the top of his lungs. Mimi and Matt stopped suddenly and looked over at him.
"You two are acting ever more immature than ME and that's just pathetic! Stop arguing right now!" he scolded them. It was rather hard to take someone wearing little blue underwear seriously, but he obviously meant business.
"I'm going to take a bath anyway!" Mimi said. She grabbed her blanket and walked off in a huff.
"Don't forget to drown!" Matt called after her. Sora just looked back and forth between Matt and Tai and then hurried after Mimi.
Matt just sat himself back down on his cushion and looked angrily at the doorway Mimi had just gone through.
"What's wrong with her anyway? Why does get like this, she whines about everything!"
Tai sat down beside Matt again and tucked a few strands of his blonde hair behind his ear.
"She's just stressed out, that's all. She's always gotten like this when things don't go her way," he said to Matt. "You're acting worse than usual too, Matt."
Matt sighed and leaned his head back against Tai's shoulder. "I'm sorry, it's just..."
"I know..." Tai wrapped his arms around Matt and held him close.