Disclaimer: not mine.
A/N: hee hee. Fast updates, eh? This one's been coming along really well so I might as well post, right?
It felt great coming out of the closet, so to speak. It felt great knowing that my fans had no problem with me dating another boy. It felt great knowing that Taichi would always be there for me even if my fans deserted me. He was my rock, the foundation on which the rest of my life would be built and, standing up on stage, in front of all those people, was nothing compared to the feeling I always got when Tai was around me, when I could look into his eyes and smell his hair and cover his lips with mine. Everything was right with the world. I was singing, more specifically, I was singing to him and ONLY him.
Then Tai's mobile phone went off and he answered, meeting my eyes, a rather perplexed look wrinkling his brow.
"What?!" he shouted, paling dramatically. I could discern every word he spoke by reading his lips and him being so close and talking so loudly. "They're going to be okay, right? Tell me they're going to be- no," his shouts dropped to horrified whispers, "no, no. I- I understand. Yes." He dropped the phone and sank into his chair, burying his face in his hands. I stopped singing immediately.
"Tai? Tai, what's wrong? What happened?" I rushed toward him, dropping my guitar, not giving a damn if I'd just wrecked it. I had to get to him. I vaulted off the stage and knelt down in front of him, putting my hands on his shoulders.
"Kari and mom." He managed to choke out. "They- they- oh god." And from then on, he couldn't or wouldn't speak.
"Tai, love, I won't know what's the matter or how to help you if you don't tell me what's hurting you. Please?" I massaged his neck.
"Th- they were at the conference and a crazed maniac started firing. Both of them were hurt. They said that they're not sure if either of them are gonna survive through the night." He was shaking so violently and his teeth were chattering so much that he could barely speak, tears leaking from behind his hands. He dropped to his knees in front of me and then it was my turn to hold him as he cried. It was my turn to carry his burden on my back. My turn to help him when he needed it. He buried his face in the hollow between my neck and shoulder and sobbed without abandon. His arms clung to me, holding me so tightly it was like he thought that if he let go of me, he would burst into millions of pieces. I heard a funny sound behind me and looked up. Takeru was watching us with a horrified look on his face, his mouth open and his eyes were wide.
"Takeru?" I said, softly.
"K-Kari. Kari's hurt?" I nodded and he bit his lip, not meeting my eyes. I reached an arm toward him but he shook his head. "No. I think you should concentrate on him first." So I did what he told me and just held Tai, not bothering to say anything; Tai, being Tai, wouldn't listen to me, not yet anyways.
"You know where they were taken? Which hospital?" I gulped audibly. The crowd was craning their necks, looking to see what was wrong, murmuring and muttering to themselves and each other. They were growing restless, upset that the concert they had probably paid so much to attend was interrupted.
"Um, due to a private matter of a personal nature, we are sorry to say that we will have to postpone the rest of the concert to another undisclosed time. You will all be given first priority and should you not be able to make it, we will refund your tickets. Keep your tickets, people. Where you are sitting now is where you will be sitting at our continuation of this concert. Please file out in an orderly manner. Thank you for your cooperation and again, we are very, very sorry for your inconvenience." Ryu came to the rescue. I shot him a grateful look as I pulled Tai up and, Takeru following us, strode out. A limo screeched up to us and our driver pulled open the door.
"To the Odaiba hospital, and step on it!" I ordered. He gave a quick nod and the tires squealed as he gunned the engine.
"Oh God, oh God, oh God," Tai cried into his hands, "they can't die. They just can't. Oh God." I rubbed his back with my hand and he leaned toward me. "They can't leave me." Then he fell silent save for an occasional hiccup.
At the hospital, we raced in. Tai's eyes were wild, tears were leaking down his face in little rivulets and he was still trembling. He looked like he was high on drugs and hallucinating.
"Where're my mother and sister?" He demanded of a poor, hassled nurse as she walked by with a tray of medicine. She shook her head and trotted away, looking over her shoulder to make sure that he didn't follow her. He stumbled toward the information desk. "Where're my mother and sister? They were brought here from that women's conference. Someone shot them. Where are they?" The man at the desk looked at him sympathetically.
"I'm sorry sir but they are currently in the OR. If you'll wait there," he gestured vaguely toward a set of double doors that led into a room with plush chairs and a television, "in the waiting room, we'll be sure to let you know of their condition at the earliest possible time." Tai nodded and stalked towards the waiting room. His movements were jerky but it was difficult to keep up with him. I just hoped, for his sake, that the two most important women in his life were going to be okay.
"Tai?" I murmured softly, not daring to speak any louder. "Tai?" he turned hollow eyes on me, open but unseeing and my heart skipped a beat. There had been only few times where I had seen him break down like this. He was my opposite; while I kept all my negative feelings bottled up inside or took them out on others by being sarcastic and biting, Tai turned his to action, positive action. He was a leader, always ready to take action, always knowing what to do and seeing him looking so lost and helpless was something new (and quite unpleasant) for me.
Not knowing what else to do, I motioned to the chairs and he dropped himself into the row with the best view of the double doors. I sat next to him and Takeru chose the overstuffed couch propped by the wall. We sat in silence for what seemed like forever when, in reality, was only a few hours. Takeru eventually nodded off but Tai and I just watched the double doors, hoping that someone would pass through. Waiting for news of his family's recovery… or news of their deaths.
A/N: gasp what's going to happen to Kari and Tai's mom! O.o until next time…