Zero 2
ST: Hello everbody! How've you all been? This chapter took a lot to type up cause, for one, it's long, and two, I've been restless lately. But, I assure you, the wait will be well worth it. Well, obviously, since you don't have to wait anymore. But, also cause I have two Ocs! Shocker, huh?
One is just a small OC and the other will play a major part in the story. I feel stupid for putting the second one in, cause I like all the characters to be real characters that you can picture and what not, but I had to put her in. She's kinda a carbon copy of, me!
Okaziez, thankies time!
nEo-cHaN, miricles-3,
i don't have a name: did it ever occur to you that I might've done it on purpose? Cause i did. But thank you anyways!
LoveSovereign, PerpleXed, Hidden, digigirl-izumi, Duckie-Rose,
take the blame: I've heard of them! Maybe I just might squeeze them in, just for you.
sharp23, Mimi-102, Lil Gold Fishie, and Tyson FoxFlame
you all rock!
Draco: Now, on with the story.
ST: Hey, where's TK and Harry?
Draco: Uh, I don't know?
[02]
[chapter 9ine]
The next week was filled with hiking, cliff climbing, eating hand caught fish, camping under the stars, and lots of Grandma Yagami craziness. Tai's grandma's "illness" was the need to adventure the great outdoors. So, naturally, Tai being the good, obedient boy he is, was tangled into the loosely woven web.
Not that Tai was completely miserable. He liked his grandma; she had spunk for a seventy-three-year-old lady. It was good for him to get away and get some R and R. Well, if you call fighting off bears from the food backpack, nearly tripping into a thorny ravine while crossing over on a not so secure log, and practically drowning to death when your grandma grabs your foot and pulls you underwater because she doesn't have her glasses on and thinks you're a fish rest and relaxation.
But the long hikes, breezy cliff tops, and starry nights gave him plenty of time to think, which was exactly what he needed to do. Ken and Takuya. Takuya and Ken. It was all so-so complicated.
Ken seemed so sweet and kind. Tai loved it when he called him Tai-chan and made him his own chocolate rice balls. And Ken had asked Tai to kiss him. That meant something, didn't it? Did Ken like him-like him?
Then there was Takuya. He was so, so, what? Tai didn't like the boy's personality, and was appalled that he could cheat on his boyfriend so easily. But Tai did have to admit that Takuya was very attractive. Okay, he was hot. And the feel of his tongue on Tai's haunted him till he was sure he was crazy.
Tai had liked it. A lot. But he also liked Ken. A lot. It was a dispute between love and lust, pure and passion. Where were Teeks and Dai when you really needed love advice?
"Trooper?"
Tai's thoughts were disrupted by his grandma. He turned his head to face the sleeping bag next to his own. "You 'kay there Trooper?"
Sighing, Tai nodded and shifted his gaze towards the star lit sky.
"Love?"
Tai turned back to his grandma's toothy grin and blinked.
"H-how'd you know?"
Chuckling, Grandma Yagami replied, "Trooper, I was once a teen girl, many years ago. I 'member that look of unfessed and confused love. Who'd be the lucky one?"
Tai, only slightly fazed by his oddball grandmother talk, shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know." His grandma nodded knowingly and sighed. "Aye, the tortured soul of a vagabond young'in."
Tai merely turned his attention back to the sky, who's dark blue had begun to fade, bringing forth a pinky-purple that could only be found at dawn or in Mimi's hair.
"Only tell ya this, Trooper, only this: Take life by the gut and hold on like a crab. Only don't act like a crab, act like a butterfly, gentle and patient. For love is but a flower and you want it's pollen. Got that?"
The only thing that Tai had gotten out of his grandmother's words were: hold onto your love's flower, or else the butterfly would become crabby. What it was supposed to mean was beyond Tai.
"And Trooper, if you be only out fer that flower's honey, be prepared for the swarm of bees that be a chasing ya once you do."
Tai blinked, clueless to the crazy (yet, of course, very wise) advice on his not-so there love life. "Thad'a be all, Trooper, thad'a be all. Now, up and at 'em! Damn be approachin'!"
Obeying his grandma, Tai sprang up and hurriedly rolled up his sleeping bag, all the while pondering: Could Ken possibly be the pollen and that Kanbara the honey?
[][][][][]
On his way back to Odiaba, Japan on an AF (Asian Flightways) Airplane- First Class, Tai remembered the one person who was sure to have the answers to all his questions. Yama.
But right when he thought it, he mentally kicked himself. Him and Matt weren't on the best of terms at the moment. Unnoticed by Tai, he also winced at his remembrance of the friend feud. But the girl sitting next to Tai, who had been studying him out of the corner of her eye, caught it.
"What's up with you? Air sick?"
Tai, startled by her sudden speakage, blinked blankly at her. She snorted and repeated, "I said, what is up with you? You look like you swallowed a sock."
She was a girl about his age with shoulder length brown hair and plain, but sparkling brown eyes that looked intensely interested in everything. Her face was dotted with freckles and her eyebrows were raised high as her tongue clicked inside her mouth. Her cheeks moved slowly along with her jaw, due to the gum she was chewing. Her shirt was black with a skull on it centered along side the words 'Goonies never say die'.
"Really dude, instead of checking me out, I'd prefer if you just answered my question."
Tai quickly averted his gaze back to her eyes. "Oh, sorry. Umm, what did you say?" She rolled her eyes slowly. "Do you get air sick? Cause I really don't wanna watch you puke."
Laughing, Tai said, "Oh, that. No, I'm fine. I just remembered something I didn't want to."
"Hmn, forget to feed your dog?"
Tai blinked. "Wha- oh, no. I don't have a dog."
The girl chuckled and sighed. "Do you dye your hair?"
"What?"
"Nevermind." She turned her head to look out the window as she off-handedly said, "So, you visiting Odiaba?"
Tai shook his head. "Naw, I live there."
The girl turned back to Tai, her face lit up. "Really?! Then you must know those two local bands-"
"Teenage Wolves and Zero 2?"
She nodded. "Yea! My friend said that I just HAD to come and hear them. He was going on about how great they both are and how hot the lead singers are. So tell me stranger, is this oh-so juicy gossip true?"
Tai sweatdropped and grinned nervously as his face flushed. "Well, my opinion is quite biased, so I don't think I should answer that."
The girl's eyes widened. "You know them, don't you?! That's wickedly awsome!" She stuck her hand out and formally said, "The name's Nissa. I'm a Libra and am currently single."
She winked and Tai laughed. As he shook her hand friendlily, he responded, "Taichi. Tai for short."
"Cool."
"So, who's your friend?"
Nissa waved her hand, "Oh, he's just some online friend. Just in case him or me are some kind of psycho child molesters, we're remaining to be known as our screen names, and our personal preference of a nick name, so you probably wouldn't recognize the name."
Tai nodded knowingly. "What's his screen name? My sister chats."
"normal under dash digi dash freak zero zero two."
Tai blinked. "Hmn, the names you online chatters think of."
Nissa laughed. "Oh, how do you know if my name is weird too?"
Raising his eyebrows, Tai asked, "What is your screen name?"
"damage inc fan one oh one."
Tai rolled his eyes. "Whatever. If you weren't a chick I'd praise you for you Metallica intelligence." Nissa playfully slapped his arm. "Shut up. Are you always this sexist? A girl can enjoy Metallica too you know."
Nissa huffed and watched as Tai began to laugh before smiling herself. "So, why were you looking so, uh, constipated?"
Tai choked on air. "What?! You went from forgetting my dog to being constipated? Dude!"
"Well dude," Nissa simply explained. "I don't know what's up and your expression wasn't very readable. Noticeable, yes. Readable, no. So, tell me Taichi, what is it: forgot to feed your dog or forgot to use the restroom?"
"Like I said, I remembered something that I didn't want to." Tai made it apparent that he was already humorously annoyed from her taunting by rolling his eyes as he told her this.
Nissa poked him in the arm. "Oh go on. I'm an open book."
Tai sighed. "It has to do with my nonpresent love life and my nonpresent lovers apart of said love life. Uh, and a tricky situation with one of my so called friends."
"Uh huh. Go on."
"Okay, okay. A is one of my nonpresent loves. B is my so called friend. Catching on?" Nissa nodded and Tai continued.
"A and B went out. Then broke up. B and I had an argument over why h-err, why B dumped A. We haven't reconciled yet. A and me have been spending lots of time together. Lots. And we kissed. And I think I love h- uh, A. But then there's C-"
"What see?"
"Who sees?"
"But what sees what?"
"Who sees who?"
"What?"
"See, what's the see?"
"You said see."
"I said see?"
"You said see."
"No, I said C."
"That's what I said. See. See what?"
"See nothing! I meant C, as in k-cat. Letter C. Like A B C!"
"Oh. I see."
Tai sweatdropped. "Anyways. C, as in A equals potential b- uh, love, and B equals exfriend. Got it?" Nissa nodded hastily. "Yes, but who's C?"
Blushing, Tai replied, "Umm, C is a, uh, distraction from A. H-eh, C is this total hottie who, like, damn."
Nissa grinned. "That good, huh?"
Before Tai could gape cluelessly at her wink-worthy comment, the pilot's voice sounded above them, telling the people that they were 15 minutes away from landing, forecasted the local weather, as well as announcing the last soccer game's scores.
Tai nearly cheered in delight when he heard his favorite team had won. Nissa rolled her eyes. "Boys and their sports. Why they love them so is still a mystery. So, get back to the mushy goodness! Have you told this guy, A, that you care? Or have you already made a major mistake and left him for this guy C?"
Blinking, Tai stuttered, "How'd, wha- uh, how'd you know they were, er, guys?"
Nissa waved her hand hastily. "Never you mind that! Just tell me!"
Tai slowly shook his head. "Nothing. Just like that. I haven't told A anything about my feelings, which now I'm sure are more than fond acquaintance, and C and I haven't done anything but kissed."
"And you kissed A, too?"
"Well, yea."
"Who first?"
"A."
Nissa sighed in relief. "Good, you're not completely screwed over. You still have a chance."
"Huh?"
"Well," Nissa patiently explained. "You like this A dude, a lot. Right?" NOD "Well, you only seem to have a physical thing for C, right?" NOD "So, naturally, love over lust or else you get stung."
Tai blinked. Something that that girl had said seemed to make him remember his grandmother's earlier words. He lowly mumbled, "Oh my gawd. I think I get the crazy kook."
"What?" Tai snapped back to Nissa, who gave him a strange look before disregarding his mumblings and said, "So, you get what I'm saying, yes?"
"I think so."
Sighing heavily, Nissa tried to give Tai a menacing look. "What I'm saying is-"
"Yes, yes. I get you," Tai said, his voice dripping in sarcasm. "Completely. I now know what I'm going to do. I'm going to go find A and challenge him to a game of soccer."
Nissa stared at the boy who was faking eagerness. "What in bloody hell are you going to do? Soccer?! You don't play soccer! You tell the dude about your undying love and then make out! What in bejezzes were you thinking? Soccer my ass."
Tai shook his head, laughing slightly, taking his joke to the next level. "No, you don't understand. You see, me and him, we're really good at soccer; we love it. It's the perfect way to win him over. I can't believe I never thought of it before, it's absolute genius..."
Groaning in frustration, Nissa continued to take Tai's ramblings seriously. "Once again, boys and their sports. Contact sports, sheesh. Oh! I get it. Con-tact sports. Mm, hm."
Tai blinked. "Yea, whatever. You do know that I was joking, right? Anyways, back to the situation. What do I do about B?"
Nissa thought for a second as the altitude in the plane made everything rumble and everyone's ears pop. She smiled and turned to Tai just as the wheels hit the ground. "I got it. Tell him you're sorry."
Not liking her suggestion, Tai scowled. "What?! You're crazy. He's the jerk who-who, er, well, he's just a jerk!"
"Do you miss his friendship?"
Tai frowned. "Well, yea."
"Then forgive him and apologize. Easy as cake."
"Yea right. That's easy for you to say. You don't know Matt."
Nissa grinned. "Hmn, Matt. Sounds hot. Is he?"
Tai huffed, "Shea right. I may like boys, but Matt. Eh, well, he's Matt."
Everyone in the plane began to rise as the stewardesses got up and began to open the door. Tai grabbed his backpack and waited for Nissa to gather her things. "Nissa, you want me to walk you out there? If this online dude's a freak, I can get you home quicker than you think. And I can kick real hard."
Nissa smiled. "Thanks Tai. I'd appreciate that."
The two started a small conversation about their music interests (Tai enjoyed punk more than Nissa's preference- 80's rock) as they strolled out the plane and into Odiaba Airport. What met them wasn't anything that they'd ever expect.
"TAIIII! YOU'RE BACK!!!"
Tai got tackled by a mob of screaming teenage girls. As Nissa confusedly stepped over the poor fallen Tai, she noticed a certain blue-haired boy who stood off to the side.
He was wearing a sign that said, "normaldigi-freak002 comes in complete friendly and nonsexual peace. If you are damageincfan101, please step forward."
Nissa laughed and approached the boy, offhandedly noticing the sweatdropping expression on his face as he watched the massacre to her left. "Hey! Kenny?"
Turning to face her, Ken said, "Niz?"
The two laughed nervously. Ken stuck out his hand and said, "My real name's Ken." Nissa took it and scoffed teasingly. "So much for nicknames, huh? Nissa."
Ken sweatdropped again as Tai called out for help. Nissa's face had a big, bold question mark on it. "Does that guy, like, get around?"
Snickering, Ken said, "No, that's just his adoring fan club. It's hard not to have one when you're the lead singer and guitar player of a local rock band."
Nissa's face cleared all emotion as the gerbil in her head came to a complete standstill. "R-rock st-star? Him?"
"Yea, he-"
"DAMMIT! I'M GONNA KILL YA! MOVE YOU FREAKS!"
If Tai was afraid of 20 screaming Juns, he was terrified of the furious girl he was faced with now. All the fangirls stopped all of their movement and parted like the Red Sea as they watched the new girl storm up to their precious Taichi and grab him tightly by the collar of his shirt. Their eyes locked and Tai gulped. Calmly, Nissa gritted, "You didn't tell me you were one of the bands. You jerk."
"Eh, I'm sorry?"
The girl abruptly dropped him and Tai slumped to the floor. "Apology accepted. Now, all you peoples, get. Go on! Go back to your shanties."
As the grumbling fangirls filtered out, Ken slowly approached, slightly nervous towards both since he'd left Tai to fend off the evil fangirls himself and also from fear of Nissa's strange mood swings. "Tai? You know Nissa?"
Tai glanced at Ken's sign. "You're the online freak?"
Nissa blinked. "Whoa, you two know each other? Hmn, this makes things so much better. Ohmigod! Tai, which lead singer are you?"
Tai, still startled with being adorned by half of the female teen population of Odiaba and finding out that his new friend was already friends with his crush, simply blinked.
Ken cleared his throat. "Uh, Tai, we have a situation. A very very bad situation."
Sitting up and staring at his friend, Tai frowned. "How'd those chicks know I was here?"
Ken rolled his eyes. "Kari auctioned off your location for like 80,000 yen (a/n: about $640). But-"
Tai growled and stood up. "Dammit! I'll get her for this!"
"Tai."
"She's gonna miss Mr. Snuggly tonight."
"Tai!" Ken was frantic at this point. Tai frowned again. "What happened?"
"It's TK and Dai. They had a row and now they're saying that they're through, including the band."
[to be continued in the tenth installment of 02]
[and now to find out what happened to the two missing muses]
ST: Ooo.. conflict! And a cliffhanger!
Draco: What a drag.
ST: Hey! What happened to Harry and TK? Draco: Not telling.
ST: Oh well, they'll turn up sooner or later. Anyways, review please!
[tbc]
ps: i'm still having issues with the damned edit thingy. sorry!
ST: Hello everbody! How've you all been? This chapter took a lot to type up cause, for one, it's long, and two, I've been restless lately. But, I assure you, the wait will be well worth it. Well, obviously, since you don't have to wait anymore. But, also cause I have two Ocs! Shocker, huh?
One is just a small OC and the other will play a major part in the story. I feel stupid for putting the second one in, cause I like all the characters to be real characters that you can picture and what not, but I had to put her in. She's kinda a carbon copy of, me!
Okaziez, thankies time!
nEo-cHaN, miricles-3,
i don't have a name: did it ever occur to you that I might've done it on purpose? Cause i did. But thank you anyways!
LoveSovereign, PerpleXed, Hidden, digigirl-izumi, Duckie-Rose,
take the blame: I've heard of them! Maybe I just might squeeze them in, just for you.
sharp23, Mimi-102, Lil Gold Fishie, and Tyson FoxFlame
you all rock!
Draco: Now, on with the story.
ST: Hey, where's TK and Harry?
Draco: Uh, I don't know?
[02]
[chapter 9ine]
The next week was filled with hiking, cliff climbing, eating hand caught fish, camping under the stars, and lots of Grandma Yagami craziness. Tai's grandma's "illness" was the need to adventure the great outdoors. So, naturally, Tai being the good, obedient boy he is, was tangled into the loosely woven web.
Not that Tai was completely miserable. He liked his grandma; she had spunk for a seventy-three-year-old lady. It was good for him to get away and get some R and R. Well, if you call fighting off bears from the food backpack, nearly tripping into a thorny ravine while crossing over on a not so secure log, and practically drowning to death when your grandma grabs your foot and pulls you underwater because she doesn't have her glasses on and thinks you're a fish rest and relaxation.
But the long hikes, breezy cliff tops, and starry nights gave him plenty of time to think, which was exactly what he needed to do. Ken and Takuya. Takuya and Ken. It was all so-so complicated.
Ken seemed so sweet and kind. Tai loved it when he called him Tai-chan and made him his own chocolate rice balls. And Ken had asked Tai to kiss him. That meant something, didn't it? Did Ken like him-like him?
Then there was Takuya. He was so, so, what? Tai didn't like the boy's personality, and was appalled that he could cheat on his boyfriend so easily. But Tai did have to admit that Takuya was very attractive. Okay, he was hot. And the feel of his tongue on Tai's haunted him till he was sure he was crazy.
Tai had liked it. A lot. But he also liked Ken. A lot. It was a dispute between love and lust, pure and passion. Where were Teeks and Dai when you really needed love advice?
"Trooper?"
Tai's thoughts were disrupted by his grandma. He turned his head to face the sleeping bag next to his own. "You 'kay there Trooper?"
Sighing, Tai nodded and shifted his gaze towards the star lit sky.
"Love?"
Tai turned back to his grandma's toothy grin and blinked.
"H-how'd you know?"
Chuckling, Grandma Yagami replied, "Trooper, I was once a teen girl, many years ago. I 'member that look of unfessed and confused love. Who'd be the lucky one?"
Tai, only slightly fazed by his oddball grandmother talk, shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know." His grandma nodded knowingly and sighed. "Aye, the tortured soul of a vagabond young'in."
Tai merely turned his attention back to the sky, who's dark blue had begun to fade, bringing forth a pinky-purple that could only be found at dawn or in Mimi's hair.
"Only tell ya this, Trooper, only this: Take life by the gut and hold on like a crab. Only don't act like a crab, act like a butterfly, gentle and patient. For love is but a flower and you want it's pollen. Got that?"
The only thing that Tai had gotten out of his grandmother's words were: hold onto your love's flower, or else the butterfly would become crabby. What it was supposed to mean was beyond Tai.
"And Trooper, if you be only out fer that flower's honey, be prepared for the swarm of bees that be a chasing ya once you do."
Tai blinked, clueless to the crazy (yet, of course, very wise) advice on his not-so there love life. "Thad'a be all, Trooper, thad'a be all. Now, up and at 'em! Damn be approachin'!"
Obeying his grandma, Tai sprang up and hurriedly rolled up his sleeping bag, all the while pondering: Could Ken possibly be the pollen and that Kanbara the honey?
[][][][][]
On his way back to Odiaba, Japan on an AF (Asian Flightways) Airplane- First Class, Tai remembered the one person who was sure to have the answers to all his questions. Yama.
But right when he thought it, he mentally kicked himself. Him and Matt weren't on the best of terms at the moment. Unnoticed by Tai, he also winced at his remembrance of the friend feud. But the girl sitting next to Tai, who had been studying him out of the corner of her eye, caught it.
"What's up with you? Air sick?"
Tai, startled by her sudden speakage, blinked blankly at her. She snorted and repeated, "I said, what is up with you? You look like you swallowed a sock."
She was a girl about his age with shoulder length brown hair and plain, but sparkling brown eyes that looked intensely interested in everything. Her face was dotted with freckles and her eyebrows were raised high as her tongue clicked inside her mouth. Her cheeks moved slowly along with her jaw, due to the gum she was chewing. Her shirt was black with a skull on it centered along side the words 'Goonies never say die'.
"Really dude, instead of checking me out, I'd prefer if you just answered my question."
Tai quickly averted his gaze back to her eyes. "Oh, sorry. Umm, what did you say?" She rolled her eyes slowly. "Do you get air sick? Cause I really don't wanna watch you puke."
Laughing, Tai said, "Oh, that. No, I'm fine. I just remembered something I didn't want to."
"Hmn, forget to feed your dog?"
Tai blinked. "Wha- oh, no. I don't have a dog."
The girl chuckled and sighed. "Do you dye your hair?"
"What?"
"Nevermind." She turned her head to look out the window as she off-handedly said, "So, you visiting Odiaba?"
Tai shook his head. "Naw, I live there."
The girl turned back to Tai, her face lit up. "Really?! Then you must know those two local bands-"
"Teenage Wolves and Zero 2?"
She nodded. "Yea! My friend said that I just HAD to come and hear them. He was going on about how great they both are and how hot the lead singers are. So tell me stranger, is this oh-so juicy gossip true?"
Tai sweatdropped and grinned nervously as his face flushed. "Well, my opinion is quite biased, so I don't think I should answer that."
The girl's eyes widened. "You know them, don't you?! That's wickedly awsome!" She stuck her hand out and formally said, "The name's Nissa. I'm a Libra and am currently single."
She winked and Tai laughed. As he shook her hand friendlily, he responded, "Taichi. Tai for short."
"Cool."
"So, who's your friend?"
Nissa waved her hand, "Oh, he's just some online friend. Just in case him or me are some kind of psycho child molesters, we're remaining to be known as our screen names, and our personal preference of a nick name, so you probably wouldn't recognize the name."
Tai nodded knowingly. "What's his screen name? My sister chats."
"normal under dash digi dash freak zero zero two."
Tai blinked. "Hmn, the names you online chatters think of."
Nissa laughed. "Oh, how do you know if my name is weird too?"
Raising his eyebrows, Tai asked, "What is your screen name?"
"damage inc fan one oh one."
Tai rolled his eyes. "Whatever. If you weren't a chick I'd praise you for you Metallica intelligence." Nissa playfully slapped his arm. "Shut up. Are you always this sexist? A girl can enjoy Metallica too you know."
Nissa huffed and watched as Tai began to laugh before smiling herself. "So, why were you looking so, uh, constipated?"
Tai choked on air. "What?! You went from forgetting my dog to being constipated? Dude!"
"Well dude," Nissa simply explained. "I don't know what's up and your expression wasn't very readable. Noticeable, yes. Readable, no. So, tell me Taichi, what is it: forgot to feed your dog or forgot to use the restroom?"
"Like I said, I remembered something that I didn't want to." Tai made it apparent that he was already humorously annoyed from her taunting by rolling his eyes as he told her this.
Nissa poked him in the arm. "Oh go on. I'm an open book."
Tai sighed. "It has to do with my nonpresent love life and my nonpresent lovers apart of said love life. Uh, and a tricky situation with one of my so called friends."
"Uh huh. Go on."
"Okay, okay. A is one of my nonpresent loves. B is my so called friend. Catching on?" Nissa nodded and Tai continued.
"A and B went out. Then broke up. B and I had an argument over why h-err, why B dumped A. We haven't reconciled yet. A and me have been spending lots of time together. Lots. And we kissed. And I think I love h- uh, A. But then there's C-"
"What see?"
"Who sees?"
"But what sees what?"
"Who sees who?"
"What?"
"See, what's the see?"
"You said see."
"I said see?"
"You said see."
"No, I said C."
"That's what I said. See. See what?"
"See nothing! I meant C, as in k-cat. Letter C. Like A B C!"
"Oh. I see."
Tai sweatdropped. "Anyways. C, as in A equals potential b- uh, love, and B equals exfriend. Got it?" Nissa nodded hastily. "Yes, but who's C?"
Blushing, Tai replied, "Umm, C is a, uh, distraction from A. H-eh, C is this total hottie who, like, damn."
Nissa grinned. "That good, huh?"
Before Tai could gape cluelessly at her wink-worthy comment, the pilot's voice sounded above them, telling the people that they were 15 minutes away from landing, forecasted the local weather, as well as announcing the last soccer game's scores.
Tai nearly cheered in delight when he heard his favorite team had won. Nissa rolled her eyes. "Boys and their sports. Why they love them so is still a mystery. So, get back to the mushy goodness! Have you told this guy, A, that you care? Or have you already made a major mistake and left him for this guy C?"
Blinking, Tai stuttered, "How'd, wha- uh, how'd you know they were, er, guys?"
Nissa waved her hand hastily. "Never you mind that! Just tell me!"
Tai slowly shook his head. "Nothing. Just like that. I haven't told A anything about my feelings, which now I'm sure are more than fond acquaintance, and C and I haven't done anything but kissed."
"And you kissed A, too?"
"Well, yea."
"Who first?"
"A."
Nissa sighed in relief. "Good, you're not completely screwed over. You still have a chance."
"Huh?"
"Well," Nissa patiently explained. "You like this A dude, a lot. Right?" NOD "Well, you only seem to have a physical thing for C, right?" NOD "So, naturally, love over lust or else you get stung."
Tai blinked. Something that that girl had said seemed to make him remember his grandmother's earlier words. He lowly mumbled, "Oh my gawd. I think I get the crazy kook."
"What?" Tai snapped back to Nissa, who gave him a strange look before disregarding his mumblings and said, "So, you get what I'm saying, yes?"
"I think so."
Sighing heavily, Nissa tried to give Tai a menacing look. "What I'm saying is-"
"Yes, yes. I get you," Tai said, his voice dripping in sarcasm. "Completely. I now know what I'm going to do. I'm going to go find A and challenge him to a game of soccer."
Nissa stared at the boy who was faking eagerness. "What in bloody hell are you going to do? Soccer?! You don't play soccer! You tell the dude about your undying love and then make out! What in bejezzes were you thinking? Soccer my ass."
Tai shook his head, laughing slightly, taking his joke to the next level. "No, you don't understand. You see, me and him, we're really good at soccer; we love it. It's the perfect way to win him over. I can't believe I never thought of it before, it's absolute genius..."
Groaning in frustration, Nissa continued to take Tai's ramblings seriously. "Once again, boys and their sports. Contact sports, sheesh. Oh! I get it. Con-tact sports. Mm, hm."
Tai blinked. "Yea, whatever. You do know that I was joking, right? Anyways, back to the situation. What do I do about B?"
Nissa thought for a second as the altitude in the plane made everything rumble and everyone's ears pop. She smiled and turned to Tai just as the wheels hit the ground. "I got it. Tell him you're sorry."
Not liking her suggestion, Tai scowled. "What?! You're crazy. He's the jerk who-who, er, well, he's just a jerk!"
"Do you miss his friendship?"
Tai frowned. "Well, yea."
"Then forgive him and apologize. Easy as cake."
"Yea right. That's easy for you to say. You don't know Matt."
Nissa grinned. "Hmn, Matt. Sounds hot. Is he?"
Tai huffed, "Shea right. I may like boys, but Matt. Eh, well, he's Matt."
Everyone in the plane began to rise as the stewardesses got up and began to open the door. Tai grabbed his backpack and waited for Nissa to gather her things. "Nissa, you want me to walk you out there? If this online dude's a freak, I can get you home quicker than you think. And I can kick real hard."
Nissa smiled. "Thanks Tai. I'd appreciate that."
The two started a small conversation about their music interests (Tai enjoyed punk more than Nissa's preference- 80's rock) as they strolled out the plane and into Odiaba Airport. What met them wasn't anything that they'd ever expect.
"TAIIII! YOU'RE BACK!!!"
Tai got tackled by a mob of screaming teenage girls. As Nissa confusedly stepped over the poor fallen Tai, she noticed a certain blue-haired boy who stood off to the side.
He was wearing a sign that said, "normaldigi-freak002 comes in complete friendly and nonsexual peace. If you are damageincfan101, please step forward."
Nissa laughed and approached the boy, offhandedly noticing the sweatdropping expression on his face as he watched the massacre to her left. "Hey! Kenny?"
Turning to face her, Ken said, "Niz?"
The two laughed nervously. Ken stuck out his hand and said, "My real name's Ken." Nissa took it and scoffed teasingly. "So much for nicknames, huh? Nissa."
Ken sweatdropped again as Tai called out for help. Nissa's face had a big, bold question mark on it. "Does that guy, like, get around?"
Snickering, Ken said, "No, that's just his adoring fan club. It's hard not to have one when you're the lead singer and guitar player of a local rock band."
Nissa's face cleared all emotion as the gerbil in her head came to a complete standstill. "R-rock st-star? Him?"
"Yea, he-"
"DAMMIT! I'M GONNA KILL YA! MOVE YOU FREAKS!"
If Tai was afraid of 20 screaming Juns, he was terrified of the furious girl he was faced with now. All the fangirls stopped all of their movement and parted like the Red Sea as they watched the new girl storm up to their precious Taichi and grab him tightly by the collar of his shirt. Their eyes locked and Tai gulped. Calmly, Nissa gritted, "You didn't tell me you were one of the bands. You jerk."
"Eh, I'm sorry?"
The girl abruptly dropped him and Tai slumped to the floor. "Apology accepted. Now, all you peoples, get. Go on! Go back to your shanties."
As the grumbling fangirls filtered out, Ken slowly approached, slightly nervous towards both since he'd left Tai to fend off the evil fangirls himself and also from fear of Nissa's strange mood swings. "Tai? You know Nissa?"
Tai glanced at Ken's sign. "You're the online freak?"
Nissa blinked. "Whoa, you two know each other? Hmn, this makes things so much better. Ohmigod! Tai, which lead singer are you?"
Tai, still startled with being adorned by half of the female teen population of Odiaba and finding out that his new friend was already friends with his crush, simply blinked.
Ken cleared his throat. "Uh, Tai, we have a situation. A very very bad situation."
Sitting up and staring at his friend, Tai frowned. "How'd those chicks know I was here?"
Ken rolled his eyes. "Kari auctioned off your location for like 80,000 yen (a/n: about $640). But-"
Tai growled and stood up. "Dammit! I'll get her for this!"
"Tai."
"She's gonna miss Mr. Snuggly tonight."
"Tai!" Ken was frantic at this point. Tai frowned again. "What happened?"
"It's TK and Dai. They had a row and now they're saying that they're through, including the band."
[to be continued in the tenth installment of 02]
[and now to find out what happened to the two missing muses]
ST: Ooo.. conflict! And a cliffhanger!
Draco: What a drag.
ST: Hey! What happened to Harry and TK? Draco: Not telling.
ST: Oh well, they'll turn up sooner or later. Anyways, review please!
[tbc]
ps: i'm still having issues with the damned edit thingy. sorry!