Krazy 4 U
A Digimon fanfiction
Written by Bexi
Chapter Six
Today was a day where people most enjoyed spending it inside before the crashing rains came down. Most were doing that, but others continued to walk around and pretend that the rain would not bother them at all. It just showed how calm they were when they dashed for the nearest tree and cursed until there was nothing left but to grin and bear it. Today was one of those days where anything was possible. The weather was just toying with everyone for its own weird pleasure. Bring out the sun and waiting until it was least expected to have a flash storm before continuing the whole cycle. How fun that sounded to anyone who wasn't caught up in damning the weather to Hell. It also didn't help that weather people had before certain that today would be hot all round. Damn them to Hell also.
Currently it was just watching the grey clouds and predicting how long it would take to rain.
"Let's sing a song while we're waiting, shall we, Matt? Okay, after three. One … two … three…
One hundred bottles of beer on the wall … one hundred bottles of beer. If one of those bottles happens to fall … ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall…
Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall … ninety-nine bottles of beer. If one of those bottles happens to fall … ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall…
Ninety-eight bottles of--"
"Will you quit already?" Matt groaned as he leaned his head on the cold wall, his eyes closed.
Tai snorted and rolled his eyes, using his hands to push himself from the floor. He placed his hands in his pockets and began to walk around. This wasn't exactly how he planned on spending his free time … stuck out his best friend's house while waiting for it to rain already. Tai looked over to Matt and shook his head. The blond was just leaning back with his arms crossed, seeming also content with being stuck outside here. Tai began to pace again.
Matt's eyes shot open. "And will you quit that? You're up and down like a yo-yo … it's pissing me off."
The brown-haired boy glared at Matt but refused to be phased for more than a moment. A smile slowly began to creep upon his face.
"Well, we wouldn't be stuck out here if you hadn't lost your keys."
"I didn't lose my keys -- I misplaced them. It's as simple as that, Tai. They're properly still hanging up. Dad'll tell you, because I left before him today and I always hang my keys up with his," he said, smugly.
Tai didn't need to hear how organised his friend was with the small chore of cleaning. 'Maybe Matt should quit music and invest in a cleaning position? He could make millions within the first few … years? I doubt it also, but at least whoever hires him will have a clean house,' the brunet smiled.He even remembered a time when he and Matt were doing homework a few years ago; Matt had basically told him that his room was a state. His exact words were: "How can you live in this hovel? It's unsanitary!" Tai replied, calmly, to Matt, saying that it was his hovel and unless he saw rats scurry across the floor, then would he classify his room as sanitary. Plus, he WAS decorating … in his own way at least. Matt had just caught him on a bad day.
"Couldn't we wait else were? Like, I dunno, maybe my house where it's warm and I can eat," Tai complained.
"I didn't ask you to wait, you know," Matt pointed out. "I don't even know why you're here, weren't you supposed to be taking Kari to that new pizza joint across town? God, what was it called?"
Matt sighed heavily as he drummed his fingers on the ground. 'How come when you really want to remember something, you can't?' Matt mused, trying desperately to remember to name.It was true with most things, especially people. Whenever you want to find someone they're never around but when you don't want them, they stick to you like glue. Why is that exactly?
Tai decided to stop walking; his feet were beginning to ache. He sat next to his blond friend and preferred speaking to being in thought.
"The Pizza Joint Across Town?" Tai offered, directing a sidelong glance to Matt.
"That's the one I'm talking about, yeah. But what is it called?"
Tai turned his head and shook it, laughing. "Matt, that is what's it's called. The Pizza Joint Across Town … or PJ's, as most people prefer to call it."
Matt blinked. "Rather a shit name, if you ask me."
"Well, Pizza Hut and Domino's Pizza was taken … so, that leaves what they have now."
Matt sniggered as he shook his head gently. His sapphire eyes glanced lazily over the open window, which was his father's bedroom. Tai caught what Matt was looking at and lightly hit the blond's shoulder, voicing his immediate thoughts. "I told you before, Matt," he said. "I'm not going to be the one to get caught breaking and entering into my best friend's house."
Matt looked at Tai, raising a brow. "Considering you have my fullest permission to climb through the window, I wouldn't classify it as breaking and entering, Tai."
"Listen, Matt, I understand where this conversation is leading, but could I just point out some minor details?" he asked.
The blond DigiDestined sighed but nodded his head nonetheless. "Fire away."
"Right," Tai began, "first off, there is no way in hell's chance that I'll be able to fit through that tiny window. If it failed to escape your attention, you happen to be the scrawny one out of us two." Tai saw his friend deliver a piecing glare that made the brunet smile gingerly. "And I mean that in the nicest way possible, really I do," he added, but if anything it made being under the scrutiny of Matt's glare worse. "C'mon, you know what I mean. I'm not exactly the stick insect that you are, Matt. You're the skinner of us two, does that sound better?" he asked, and quickly added, "though, only by a little."
Matt broke his harsh stare and sniggered. "Maybe if you didn't eat everything that's shown to you."
"Hey, there's no need to say things like that, Matt. I'm insulted that you would say such things. I complimented you … COM-PLI-MEN-TED," he smiled, emphasising each syllable in the word.
"Have you finished rambling on?" Matt asked. The breeze began to pick up and winnowed through his hair, constantly flicking numerous strands into his sapphire eyes. He used his hands to hold his hair in its traditional state of perfection. When a thick cloud floated effortlessly in the sky, Matt wondered just how long luck intended to stay on their side. It had been threatening to pour for the past hour, which was just how long the two DigiDestined had been sited outside Matt's home.
Matt stole another look towards his friend. "C'mon, Tai," he whined, which brought a smile to the brunet's face.
"If you're so desperate, why don't you do it, Matt?" he retorted. Matt pulled a face and Tai chortled in satisfaction, saying, "It'll work out -- even better, may I add? I mean, think about it."
"You want me stand on your shoulders?" the blond asked, eyebrows raised and eyes wide.
Tai couldn't stop himself from laughing, even if he tried. "You have a natural gift to make small things sound so unheard of, did you know that?"
"Har har. Very funny, Tai."
"Well, the decision is entirely yours."
---
Tai bit his lower lip; it was the only way for him to stop himself from yelling out in pain. He hoisted Matt higher, silently praying that his blond friend would be able to get a firmer grip on the windowsill this time. His cheek still hurt from Matt's last attempt.
The DigiDestined of friendship had steadily agreed to reverse their arrangement. Now Tai was the one grumbling as Matt muttered repeatedly about needing more height. The brunet was already balancing on five bricks, which he was smiling inwardly for being able to do so. But the task was difficult. Matt was reaching out and every time he had missed, accidentally putting pressure on Tai's shoulders, sometimes catching his face.
'I should have listened to Matt. At least that way it would be he who is being subjecting to this humiliating torture,' he mused, wondering just who was being embarrassed more. But when push comes to shove, both were equally humiliating in their own little way.
"Keep still, Tai!" the blond musician bellowed, his words irate.
"Maybe if you stopped shoving your foot in my face…"
Matt sighed and quickly used the wall for support. "This is getting us nowhere."
"How about if I jumped to give you height? That way you can get through the window before Mr Rainman decides to splash down on us."
Matt thought. The idea was utterly ridiculous but it just may work. "All right," he announced. "On the count of three. One … two … three…"
Tai heard his friend and swiftly obeyed. He jumped…
…And fell flat on his rear. He groaned and looked around for Matt, who hadn't used him to cushion his fall. Slowly, his dark eyes travelled upwards to see Matt dangling from the window.
"You okay?" he shouted.
"What do you think!? Of course I'm not! I can't keep a good enough grip to pull myself through."
Tai was now torn between watching the amusing sight and aiding his dangling friend. "Don't sweat it, Matt. I'll grab your legs before you--"
Abruptly, Matt's grip loosened and he yellowed loudly, holding his arms out to grab something. Anything.
"--Fall," Tai finished, rushing over to help his fallen friend. "Where does it hurt?" he sniggered and offered Matt his hand.
"Mainly my pride … other than that, I'm fine," he complained, accepting Tai's hand. He stood for a brief moment before rubbing his head and turning around to come face to face with his bemused, but smiling, brother and father. If possible, the smirk on their faces couldn't be any wider.
"I won't ask what you were doing, son," he said, sneaking a quick glance towards T.K., exchanging a humorous look and glanced back to Matt.
The youngest blond laughed and was joined by Tai. Matt attempted to silence them with a glare but it was a fruitless effort.
------------------------------
Masaharu opened the door and stepped inside, quickly being followed by his two sons and then Tai. He hung up his coat and stood back and watched as Matt feverishly began looking through the random sets of keys that dangled near the coats. Some of the keys were that random that Masaharu himself had trouble to recall what they were for. Padlock keys that had been lost and found several times over? One key, he was certain of, belonged to the minute room upstairs that bore boxes, most still from the time they first moved here. The room was an added bonus and he had plans to turn it into a small office. Maybe he still could. Working at home had its advantages, and it wasn't like Matt was too young to become unsettled when his father worked constantly.
It hit him there whether he should have been wary of Matt's solitary behaviour as a child -- would it have been any different now? He shook his head. Why had he suddenly thought up that? Matt was a quiet child -- every parent's dream.
"Strange…" Matt said, scratching his head and replacing the keys. "They're not here."
"Maybe you left them in another place," T.K. offered. "I do it all the time."
"No," the eldest blond replied in a softer voice, "I remember hanging them up. I don't remember taking them down … at all. It's just…" he trailed off slightly as he walked into the living room. "…Strange, is all…"
Everyone followed Matt's lead into the living room and Masaharu discarded his belongings, taking them upstairs to his own room.
Tai was very much making himself at home: taking full control of the TV.
T.K., however, did not even sit down. He, at first, watched his brother carefully; looking to see if there were any signs of distress that Matt was trying to hide. And hide is just what Matt normally did. T.K. had long since given up on trying to understand Matt, but he had noticed something … something that gave Matt away. It was at a time, just before T.K. and his mother moved closer to Matt.
When he moved back, T.K. couldn't wait to spend extra time with his remaining family, and even now it made him wonder why Matt hardly saw anything of their mother. After a while, it all died down and both brothers saw both parents, but Matt didn't act the way T.K. usually did when he saw Masaharu. Maybe it was Matt's stubborn streak coming through … the problem with expressing emotion too much in public … or private! But T.K. had definitely noticed an improvement -- though the eldest blond shied away from apologising to people. He'd joke, but anything more than that and you were considered privileged. But one evening, T.K. had noticed something out of the ordinary with Matt's behaviour. It was small -- that, he knew -- but it was there. He saw that Matt tended to fiddle with his hands and the ends of his clothes when his arms were crossed. He would also make up excuses so he wouldn't have to stay still for too long. T.K. took no notice at first but when Matt constantly shot into the kitchen to make something, he became suspicious. It was almost as if Matt was uncomfortable being with company.
And T.K. soon discovered that that was the truth. Matt didn't want to surround himself with people when he was distressed. He'd prefer to be alone and sort through his problems. After that, T.K. always kept a watchful eye on his brother's behaviour.
Which was what he was doing now.
Matt was constantly moving, trying to find his keys.
T.K. wanted to talk to Matt, something he hadn't been able to do for such a long time. Unlike Matt, T.K. was taking this letter business seriously. If Matt didn't, it only left T.K. with no other choice. It was just all too strange for him to pass it by -- these things don't usually happen on a regular basis. The only problem was Matt. If this was upsetting him, the blond was doing a fabulous job of hiding the emotion.
It was only then did it occur to T.K. that Matt might have been wary that somebody could finally see through the strong defences he'd build over the years. What if Matt had changed them so his brother would be unable to detect anything? It had taken T.K. too long to figure this small fault in Matt's mechanism. He wasn't going to give up now!
"Matt?" T.K. asked, almost shyly. "Could I talk to you for a moment?"
The older blond stopped what he did instantly and looked towards T.K. "Sure. You know you can talk to me about anything that's bothering you."
"I know," he said, and quickly added, "Alone?" whilst opening the door.
The DigiDestined of friendship nodded and walked through, closing the door quietly behind him.
"What's wrong, squirt?"
"I just wanted to know how you are … you know -- since those clippings."
Matt heaved a heavy sigh and clamped a hand on T.K.'s shoulder. He gave a reassuring squeeze and smiled. "I hope that's not bothering you, T.K., because if it is, don't. There's no reason for you to worry about me … I'm not. That happened almost a week ago and nothing else has happened (touch wood, he thought) that would cause a need for concern. Maybe it's just a phase … besides; you know how Davis's sister gets? I admit it can be a bit creepy. Just -- don't get worked up, T.K."
T.K. brushed off Matt's hand and glared, which he hadn't intended to do.
"It's not her, Matt! It's not Jun who sent you those clippings or rung. She's been out of town for the past two weeks!"
This stunned Matt but he didn't express his concerns to his brother. No. He could see how badly this was affecting him and didn't think it fair to worry him furthermore … or anyone, at that matter. But that was how he was and he wasn't going to change, nor did he have any intentions of doing so. Half of him knew it wasn't Jun, but the other had WANTED it to be her, at least then he would have no worries.
He had to keep up the pretence for everyone. Stay normal and don't let it show…
"How can you be so certain?" he asked, crossing his arms and absently tugging at his shirtsleeve.
T.K. noticed this and smiled secretly for being able to detect the quick movement. 'He's worried … this IS distressing him more than he's letting on. Why, Matt? Why don't you just admit you're upset? That way I can help. I'm your brother, Matt … let me help you, for a change.'
"I know you told me to leave this alone -- I couldn't! You're my brother, Matt, and I don't want anything to happen to you. So, I was wondering about what you said earlier … about it being Jun. I needed to know, so I went round to Davis's and did a little detective work. I checked her dictionary and the words weren't missing -- I KNOW she could have gotten a new one, but I don't think she did. I also slipped Jun into conversation and Davis was saying how quiet it was without her around. She's been away for two weeks and isn't due back for another three days!"
"T.K.," Matt sighed, "I'm not going to have this conversation with you. I can handle a few fans who decide to send me things … it's part of the job. I've seen freaky stuff, believe me, T.K. This one girl told me she was going to make her boyfriend have plastic surgery so he would look exactly the same as me … that way it would be like she was dating me in real life, instead of her boyfriend, who was coincidentally named Matt, which I'm not sure is real or not. But as long as I can laugh at it all, it's not a problem. There's no need to make this any worse than it already is, and I really don't believe it is."
T.K. narrowed his sapphire eyes and glared hard at Matt. His hands grew moist as he began to tremble with frustration. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could his brother be so naïve? The blond clenched his fists and bit his lower lips to stop himself from saying things he may just regret.
'What the hell!' he shouted inside, hearing his voice ringing throughout his brain. It was loud and he wanted Matt to hear what he thought. He had to make Matt see sense … soon!
"Matt, will you get your head outta the clouds and look into the real world!? This is serious! Why can't you accept that? What will it take for this to get through that thick skull of yours!?
Matt closed his blue eyes, as his younger brother continued to should varied obscenities at him. It wasn't supposed to be like this! This wasn't how he had planned it! Why had he suddenly lost control and why could he not regain it? T.K. shouted louder, believing Matt was taking no notice of the words he spoke. The truth was that Matt was digesting everything T.K. said, and wholeheartedly believed most of it. But he couldn't let T.K. know that…
"Fine! Take no notice then! See if I care! I've tried talking sense to you, but you're too damned stubborn to listen to anyone other than yourself! You're selfish, you know that, Matt!?"
"T.K…"
"I don't want to hear it, Matt!"
Matt extended his hand towards T.K. but stopped when there was a quiet knock at the door. He sneaked a quick glance to his brother that said Don't-Go-Anywhere, before answering it. Standing in the doorway was a young girl, no older than eight, wearing a lacy pink and white dress. With her tight spiral curls and a large smile that made her big blue eyes sparkle, Matt smiled.
"H'lo, Yamattie," she said in a sugary voice, followed by a soft series of giggles. Her hands were behind her back and she jumped from foot to foot.
"Hello there, Mika," he greeted, bending down so he was at her eye level. She was the next-door neighbour's daughter, Mika Kitaya. "What can I do for you?"
"I gots a present for you," she giggled.
Matt raised his eyebrows and looked back to T.K., who no longer looked infuriated, just confused. Matt turned to Mika and smiled again.
"What have you got?"
"Close y' eyes." Before Matt could ask why, Mika smiled again and tilted her head to one side. "Plea-ssee?"
Matt sniggered and did as the little girl asked. She was a good girl, very sweet. Her father had asked Matt whether he could look after her one night, both parents had double booked and had no time to arrange a babysitter at such short notice. They had said they would pay him for doing so, but Matt had taken a rather long time to give a reply. (Image what it would do to his rep! he had thought, but gave in.) Mika was a sweet child to look after, but he plain blindly refused to play with her. She was upset at first, but asked whether he could watch a movie with her. How hard could that be? he asked himself. He wanted to die after the first ten minutes … never in his whole life had he seen such a girly movie, but he had to grin and bare it. After that he went to bed and Matt was able to watch the TV for the remaining hours. Or rather, he thought he had.
"Yamattie, can you read me a bedtime story?"
She had always called him that that, and if it was her, he didn't mind. But if anyone else called it him -- Tai learned that the hard way. He offered to help Matt one night and Mika kicked him in the skins for teasing Matt. It was amusing.
"Keep 'em closed," Mika told him.
Matt waited for the unknown and was shocked when Mika quickly kissed him and giggled. He opened his eyes and saw that the little blonde girl was holding his keys up.
"Here you are, Yamattie," she said in a singsong voice, holding her hands out. "I found 'em when I was playing next to the gate, under the leaves."
He took them off her and smiled, thankful to have his keys back in his possession. "Thank you, Mika."
"I gotta go home now. Mommy will be so jealous that I gots to kiss Yamattie and she didn't." She giggled again and hopped on the spot before turning around and waving. "Bu-bye," she smiled and skipped away.
Matt blinked and closed the door, giving Mika a quick wave for she left his sight. He looked at T.K.
"Don't say a word," he warned and walked past him into the living room.
To be continued…
Author's notes: After so long I have FINALLY updated this fic. Sorry for taking so long, I've just started Uni and I'm getting use to living in the halls. It's okay and I've finally managed to get my own Internet connection in my room, so I will be able to upload for frequently. The reason I haven't updated was another reason, too. I came up with an idea but I don't know whether I should change my original idea to fit this one in. So, I'm going to fit both in … you'll see.
Anyway, I found this chapter nice, a nice way to start off life in Uni. But don't worry; Matt's life is going to go downhill very soon.
On to replies:
Nikki1: You liked Jun's 'Mattdom' then? I thought it would seem to fit in perfectly with her character. I mean, you've seen her in the series, I'm certain she's not all there. And T.K., the lil private eye, yep, that's T.K. for ya! He'll do anything for Matt, and we all know that, don't we? I just love the brotherly love between them…
Curtis: Is it really Jun? Did this chapter answer your question? It may… Anyway. Thanks for the review, always a pleasure to hear from ya!
Yakari Taito: Continue? You want me to continue? Okay then, I will. If only there were more people as blunt as you. Thanks for the review, I love them all.
Yamatoforever: I always love hearing from you. Like I've said before, I love the relationship between Matt and T.K. and I also love the one between Matt and Tai. FRIENDS … before you get your hopes up. Sorry. Thanks for all the reviews, they're very much appreciated.
Well, that's all folks. Until next time.
Bye
Bexi