Here's what Tyson has to say to you all.
LK: LK! You were the first one to review chapter two! Yea, poor Tai! cries Meaniehead? Oo Well then, that was kind of grade school, lol. hands Yama some Midol There. Yes, the beloved Party Song! I had that song stuck forever and HAD to use it. Matt, be nice to LK. I updated! WAHOO!
Kayanna: Yes, mean Yamato. Lol, but you're correct, it does make a good plot. The niceness will come in time, rest assure. DUDE! You added me on your MSN a LOOOOONG time ago and you're never on! Anyways, here's an update! (obviously.)
backward: DVD! YAY! Ok, anyways. I'm soooooo happy you like this fic so much. Tai's secrets will be revealed sooner or later, along with Ryan's sub-plot. Matt will be less of a bitch, yes, just not toooooo soon. And of course, we can't forget the protective Dai! EXAMS ARE BAD! hisses Here's an update! And yea, I did get those shirts from those guys, lol.
tenshi208: Glad you love it, here's an update!
Sen-Tay: Glad you love it, ST. Lol, yea, I can imagine that part too….D Wait no more, here's chapter 3!
HIKED: I'm going to assume that class is a good thing. This isn't soon, but it's updated! And don't worry about the ass kisser part…….I love praise. D You reviewed twice!
LGF: Glad you think so, LGF. Everybody's got secrets, and you can't kno-ow! Just kidding, you'll find out soon. I wanted those relationships so I could form plot off of them. I know Matt's being mean, but he'll get better………eventually…..anyways. Yea, I kind of had something planned like that. AU's are great! TAI AND YAMA COOKIES ARE GOOD! This isn't soon, but at least I updated right? Right?
Yakari Taito aka Luna Wolf: Glad you liked it, here's the continuation!
Kelset: Glad you think so, John. And yay! You said something besides good job! WOOHOO!
Redrum: Tai has many secrets and I don't even know what will happen to him yet. Well I mean, I have an idea, but they always change…..but I guarantee that it'll be chock-full of angst! I'm glad you like the age difference. I've rarely seen it done, and I don't think I've ever seen it where he's more then a few months younger. I agree with ya, he is a bit more mature. But our little Taichi just enjoys being juvenile, don't you Tai? Tai nods and goes back to making out with Yama oo……well then. He'll catch up, I promise! Glad you like Dai and Tai's closeness.
Shadow-seraph: Yay! I'm so glad you liked it enough to review. Yes, poor Taichi indeed, if only he was able to see the future. Here's the next part!
nEo: I kind of guessed that you loved it, Neo. This isn't soon but I updated. AND YES! GO WORK ON CS! NOW! Lol, j/k.
Maira: Heh, I didn't know that I'd make Matt into such a brat either…..it just sort of happened. Ya, it does make the plot better though. All of the GT games are the best! I haven't played GT4 though . I was actually thinking of a mix of both. YOU READ MY HALF-MIND! …..Don't ask what that's all about. You pretty much just predicted the chapter, but I added some more things. Hope you enjoy it!
Melissa-O: Mel, you always leave me long reviews that make me laugh. Glad I made you happy by posting, lol. Glad to know that you and Haito think I'm good at writing, lol. YES HAITO I ROCK! Anyways, yea…….that was entertaining.
crimson-pineapple: Glad you thought it was good.
Sillie: Yea, poor Tai…….this isn't soon but I continued!
Welsh Girlio: Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it. This isn't soon, but…….oh you know the drill! I love Tai! And I usually stick to writing Taito, but Yamachi is really cute too! This is my first I think. Lots of awesome's in there, huh? Lol. I want to be in a band! No fair! Sounds fun .
Inuyasha-Luv-Kagome: Wow, don't beg so much, here's more. Lol. And please continue with your story too! I want to keep reading it and I'm sure others do too!
gigimardi: Yea, I could tell that you were lazy. But whatever, I really don't care. I'm just saying you should try to create more characters. I love creating them and they all turn out great. I would flame but I would rather not waste my time. Maybe if you wrote something in a forum I'm interested in. Glad you think my work is good, at least. Also, might I add that it's kind of pointless to say you'll stab flamers? I mean, how are you going to locate them?
DarkMetalAngel of Destruction: I updated, sorry to keep you waiting.
Siyengo: Wow, did you decide to go through and read all of my stories or what? Lol. I wouldn't take it that personal. She's only one person after all. I've seen the reviews you get. I'll have to R&R one of your stories sometime. I'm glad you think my stories are good. I wouldn't go as far as brilliant, but thanks! Comic genius, ne? I could live with that. Don't mutter, eat sugar! Hope you continue reading this. I want people's honest opinions and you seem to give those out quite well.
Sasuki: Glad you think so. Here's an update! Hope you review!
Heaven's Angel Chick: Wow, don't die! I updated! I'm glad you love it so much. Wow, thanks very much Ken. Lol, here's an update you were begging for.
digininga: Heero, you're starting to freak me out….lol. Yes, Matt being a bitch was for a good reason. SO THERE: P Don't doubt me, I know what I'm doing most of the time. Yes, FINISH YOUR DAMN FIC! I want to see what you've got planned for a new one. KTF says hi back and Ryamon butted in and said that she still hates Gygomon……well then. OF COURSE I OWN A PS2! Lol, tweaker.
Savoan Locc: Okay then.
Cherrii: Well, thanks so much This isn't all too soon, but I continued!
Copycat4: Yesh, hail SP! I'm glad you love it! I updated!
Mrs. Passionate: Dude! I love your praise, lol. I continued today! Be happy for me.
I'm going to state it now. Not all of my chapters in this fic will focus on Tai and/or Matt. After all, have to keep things well rounded! So…NO COMPLAINING ABOUT THE LACK OF TAI AND YAMA!
Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! Actually I own Ryan, Arial, the idea of what their apartment looks like, the plot, a PS2, 5 PS games, 5 Harry Potter books, a new Sparky(don't ask), and about $170 in cash I think. So in other words, I don't own any of the Digimon characters. Which is a bummer because I am absolutely in love with Tai and Yama and of course DAISUKE! I don't get why some people hate him so much, I love him to death! Although it could be because his dubbed name is my last name and I'm like him……
Arial and Ryan were sitting in the living room when Tai and Daisuke walked out of Tai's room. The two cousins looked at the other boys curiously.
"What's going on?" Daisuke asked, stopping near the side of the couch. Arial shook his head and sighed, allowing Ryan to be the spokesman.
"Matt decided that if we were going to fall apart and go soft over a bratty kid, then he didn't want to put up with our shit today," The black-haired bassist explained.
"And those were the exact words he used, mind you," Arial added in. Daisuke groaned and rolled his eyes, quickly glancing over to Tai. Tears were still present in his eyes, but he didn't let them fall.
"Bratty kid, am I? Well it's better then being a pms-y dickwad!" Tai yelled, directing his voice to Matt's room. The three older boys exchanged glances and shook their heads. Arial and Ryan got off of the couch and grabbed their shoes, along with Ryan's house keys.
"We gonna go?" Daisuke asked. The two best friends nodded to him and opened the front door, stepping out into the hallway. Daisuke grabbed his wallet from the table in the entrance hall and Tai's hand, yanking on the young brunet's arm.
"Ah! What the hell?" Tai squawked, since he was unprepared for the whiplash. Daisuke didn't say a word as they walked out into the hallway, shutting their front door behind them. The three older boys remained silent as they marched to the lift, riding it down to the lobby and stepping out into the bright spring sunshine.
"Which one should we take?" Arial asked as the group walked onto the asphalt parking lot.
"I've got my keys," Ryan replied, fingering the key ring in his pocket.
"I do too. So what do you think?" Daisuke questioned, pulling out a set of keys as well.
"I like Ryan's better. I mean, it's not as classy as Matt's, but we don't have Matt's keys. Besides, yours has a bunch of crap in it that needs to be cleaned out," he replied to Daisuke. Daisuke shook his head and muttered something very similar to "Neat-Freak" under his breath.
"So we decided on mine?" Ryan broke up their conversation before it could get out of hand.
"Sure," Tai said immediately, jumping into the conversation blindly. "Wait, your what?" he asked, adopting a confused look.
"My car," Ryan laughed slightly, leading the younger boy to the left side of the parking lot.
"You have your own car?" Tai's eyes widened in awe as the two rounded a corner.
"Yep, graduation present from my parents," Ryan replied proudly, giving off a small smile.
"In other words, his mommy and daddy spoil him to no end," Arial said teasingly, sauntering up next to the duo.
"Hey, my mom and dad gave you your laptop with your CD burner and write crap," Ryan cut in.
"DVD re-write, say it with me. D-V-D Re-Wri-ite. And I'm fully aware that your parents bought it for me. I'm just saying, it's not that expensive compared to a car." Arial shrugged.
"Hey, would you like me to tell them that?"
"No! Dude, your parents already spend too much on me. I'm not even their kid!"
"Well, you kind of are. You've been living with us officially for the past seven years, and you've been around for the past 11. It's not a big deal."
"Well, they still shouldn't have even gotten me the laptop."
"Ari, we've gone in circles about this many many times. They don't mind!" Daisuke walked up behind Tai and poked him in the shoulder.
"What are they fighting about now?" he whispered to the younger boy. Tai looked back at the bickering 'brothers' and shook his head.
"No clue," he responded. Daisuke nodded and stepped up behind Arial and Ryan. He placed his arm between them and snapped his fingers loudly. Both older boys jumped and turned to face the mahogany-haired boy.
"You two fight like an old married couple," he merely stated and walked ahead of them. The 19-year-olds blinked and turned back to Tai.
"Do we really fight like an old married couple?" Arial asked him. Tai suppressed a smile and shook his head slowly.
"No, of course not," he said quickly and broke into a run, catching up with Daisuke. The two boys remained planted into their places. They both stood in silence looking at one another. The silence continued on as the stares grew more nerve-wracking.
"Do we really fight like an old married couple?" Arial pondered once more, placing his hand to his chin in thought.
"Shut up, Arial," Ryan groaned, grabbing his comrade by the elbow and dragging him to his parking spot. Tai and Daisuke were already waiting for them when they arrived.
"I call shotgun!" Arial yelled, suddenly bursting forward, retching open the door and hopping into the seat.
"Don't you lock your doors?" Daisuke asked, pushing the driver's seat forward so that he and Tai could climb into the back. Tai hustled into the backseat and Daisuke followed, pushing the seat back forward with his feet.
"A day with you guys is never dull." Ryan shook his head and flopped down into the driver's seat, sticking the key into the ignition. The car purred to life and he shifted into reverse, backing the car out of its space and then switching to drive, peeling out of the parking lot and merging with traffic. The four boys didn't say anything as the radio softly played the new Hoobastank song.
"But I just want you to know. I've found a reason for me, to change who I used to be!" Daisuke sang, rather loudly and off-key. Tai groaned and covered his ears while Arial tried to bury his head into Ryan's shoulder.
"Arial, get off!" Ryan yelped, swerving around another car that he hadn't seen coming and braking quickly to avoid rear-ending it. Arial lifted his head off of Ryan's shoulder slowly, giving his charcoaled-haired a sheepish grin. Ryan frowned and sighed, looking back to the road. He reached out and shut the radio off, stopping Daisuke from finishing the song. Tai unplugged his ears, Daisuke whined, and Ryan pressed the gas pedal, continuing to drive down the road.
"See Dais, this is why Matt and Ari do the singing," Ryan explained over his shoulder, now paying more attention to the road then to his friends.
"What, are you saying that my singing is bad?" The other three looked at each other with similar looks.
"Oh yeah," they chorused at the same time. Daisuke pouted and crossed his arms, looking out the window.
"Aw, cheer up Daisuke. It could be worse," Tai cheerfully reminded him.
"Yeah, you could have Ryan's singing voice after he's had a few drinks," Arial interjected. Ryan reached over and slapped the bluenette behind the head. The other two laughed and Arial winced.
"Thanks," he said dryly, rubbing the back of his head.
"Oh, come off it. I didn't hit you that hard," Ryan chided. He pulled into a different lane and turned onto an adjacent street.
"So, anybody decided where we're going?" he asked the other boys.
"I vote we hit the mall," Arial suggested, leaning back into his seat.
"That's always your suggestion," Daisuke replied.
"I don't see you complaining."
"Well no, but I mean, couldn't we try something different for once?"
"Why bother if you're not complaining about the mall?"
"Because the same routine over and over again is rather boring, don't you think?"
"Maybe, but we can go somewhere else next time."
"That's what you said last time."
"God damn you guys, shut up!" Ryan yelled, pulling the entire car into complete silence. "You two have this same argument every time we go to the mall. Let's just go to the mall and not complain about it, all right?" he said rather calmly. Both boys nodded and kept their mouths shut.
"Good." Ryan nodded with a satisfied smirk. He drove up the street a little farther, turning into the entrance to the mall. He drove around the parking lot, looking for a decent parking spot.
"Damn, looks like everybody else decided going to the mall today was a good idea," Ryan whistled, still searching for a decent place to stop.
"Having trouble looking for a Sparking Pot?" Daisuke inquired, looking out the windshield.
"Yeah and you two clowns aren't helping either," Ryan grumbled back.
"Hey Ryan, there's one coming up on your right," Tai said quietly. Ryan turned and looked to his right. Sure enough, there was a vacant spot.
"Thanks, Tai," Ryan answered the other boy, pulling into the parking spot. He shifted the car into park and turned off the engine, removing his keys from the ignition. In a manner too calm for human use, he unbuckled his seatbelt and turned sideways so that he could look at Arial and Daisuke simultaneously.
"Now. That is how a civilized person behaves," he started out, pointing at Tai. "You two are not civilized. You are both acting rather immature today and it's bugging the crap out of me!" he shouted, causing all three boys to jump. Ryan closed his eyes and breathed out a sigh. "Now, are you two going to behave yourselves?" he asked. The two older boys nodded quickly. Ryan smirked once again and opened the door.
"Glad we've come to an agreement," he stated, climbing out of the seat and pulling it forward to let Tai out of the backseat. Arial and Daisuke scrambled out of the car as quick as they could and Ryan locked the doors. The four turned and started to stroll over to the main doors. Thanks to Tai's parking spot, the distance wasn't very long for them as they walked through the automatic doors.
"So, where should we go first?" Arial asked, running a hand through his royal blue hair.
"Let's grab lunch, I'm starved!" Daisuke announced, taking the lead. The group followed Daisuke as he led the way to the food court. Tai stayed behind the other three, taking in all of the different sights around him.
'Heh, this must be how Harry Potter felt the first time he went to Diagon Alley.' Tai ironically thought to himself. The last time he had been inside of a mall was when he was about five-years-old. Everything was so different with this lifestyle. He was suddenly thrown into a different world with different sights, sounds, smells, people and emotions. His thoughts instantly were thrown back to Matt. There was no way he was going to get away with treating Tai like dirt, he just wouldn't allow it.
'I spent most of my life as a nobody. He's not going to make me feel like nobody any more.' he decided firmly, looking straight ahead for any signs of his friends.
"Yo Tai, are you coming or what?" Daisuke hollered at him. Tai grinned and quickened his pace, falling in stride with his cousin.
"What's up with you today?" the older cousin asked, turning his head to look at Tai's expression.
"Nothing," Tai stated shortly. Daisuke raised an eyebrow and gave him a lopsided grin.
"You're not letting Matt's comments get to you, are you?"
"…no, that's not really it."
"Then what?" Tai sighed and looked forward, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
"Can we talk about this later?"
"Yeah, sure," Daisuke replied, stopping in front of the food court. Ryan and Arial walked right past him and jumped in a line for cheeseburgers. He glanced over at Tai. The young brunet was staring off into the distance, not focused on what was going on right next to him. Daisuke mentally sighed and touched Tai's arm, bringing him back down to Earth.
"Let's say we go join them, huh?" he offered. Tai nodded and the cousins joined their friends in line.
"Hey, I'm going to go grab a table, all right?" Arial told them, walking away without an answer.
"Yeah, sure, whatever…" Ryan trailed off.
"I think he's mad at you," Daisuke informed the other.
"Why? Just because I yelled at him for almost making me cause a wreck?"
"You know how he is. He's sensitive to the most stupid things."
"True. But you also know that he'll be over it soon." Ryan shrugged, stepping up to the counter to order. He got his food and waited on the side for the other two to get their meals. Once they had everything, they headed over to the table Arial was sitting at. Tai and Daisuke immediately dove into their food, causing a few fries to fly off of the table. Ryan's face fell into a look of disbelief and he shook his head at the boys' pure idiocy. He turned back to Arial who was looking across the walkway.
"You're not really mad at me, are you?" Ryan asked him cautiously.
"No. Who said I was?" he countered monotonously, not looking back at Ryan.
"Your actions."
"Wow, didn't know they could talk." Ryan reached out and grabbed Arial's chin, forcing him to look at him.
"Now you listen to me, jackass. I reacted just like any sensible person would. Don't take things so personally," Ryan hissed. Arial twisted out of Ryan's grasp and scowled at him.
"Screw off."
"Stop offering," Ryan said smoothly. Arial shut his mouth and looked away, crossing his arms. Ryan also looked away and back at his food.
"Hey Ryan?"
"What."
"Um…what are we fighting about?"
"…I'm not quite sure."
"You guys are pathetic," Daisuke interrupted them, swallowing the last bite of his cheeseburger.
"Thanks." Arial grinned.
"Hey, are you going to eat?" Ryan suddenly asked, noticing that Arial didn't have any food before him.
"Uh, nah. Not all that hungry," Arial replied. Ryan shook his head and set a half-empty container of fries in front of him.
"We are not going to go over this again. When you are around me, you are going to eat. Understand?" he stated firmly. Arial slowly nodded and picked out one of the fries in the box, popping it into his mouth.
"Happy?" he asked, swallowing it down.
"No, but getting there," Ryan replied gently, looking away once more. Things returned to normal, all of the boys finishing their lunches before they decided on what to do next.
"So now where?" Ryan asked, slurping his Coke through a straw.
"Just For Kicks," Arial said instantly.
"Why?" Daisuke asked, balling up his napkin and tossing it towards the trash can, sinking it inside.
"Because I need new runners," Arial answered as if it was the simplest thing in the world.
"Ok Mr. Femme, we'll head over there next," Ryan teased him. Arial rolled his eyes and threw the empty fry box in Ryan's face.
"Guys, what's Just For Kicks?" Tai's soft voice entered the conversation. Arial and Ryan both jumped at the sound.
"Jeeze kid, you need to talk more often so we don't freak out when you do!" Ryan breathed out.
"Heh, sorry." Tai shrugged. "Anyway, what's Just For Kicks?" he repeated his question.
"It's a shoe store, a big shoe store," Arial replied with stars in his eyes, getting out of his chair and pushing it in.
"We're leaving now?" Daisuke asked, standing up as well.
"Might as well." Ryan shrugged, following in suit. Tai got up also and the four boys walked away from the food court, heading south to the shoe store.
Arial was right, Just For Kicks was a large store, nothing like Tai had ever seen before. The older boys waltzed inside, making their way to the back wall where the men sizes were. Tai timidly followed them, looking at the different kinds of shoes that were lined up on the wall. Arial led them to a certain section and started looking along the walls for different shoes. Daisuke and Ryan dropped themselves onto an opposite bench and groaned.
"Take a seat, Tai. It will be a while," Ryan informed him, scooting over so Tai could join them.
"No shit it will be. Arial usually takes about two hours searching for just the right shoe," Daisuke added in, stretching out his limbs.
"That's where you're wrong, Daisuke my friend," Arial countered, appearing in front of them.
"How so?"
"I happen to know what shoes I want this time, so this shouldn't take so long," he declared smugly.
"Which ones?" Tai asked, staring up at the millions of shoes.
"Those." Arial reached out and pointed to his left. There sat a single Vans-brand black and blue shoe, just waiting for Arial to place on his feet. He stood on his toes and jumped, knocking the shoe of off its plastic shelf. It tumbled to the ground, landing firmly in Arial's hand.
"I'm going to go check for my size, be back in a few," he told the others as he bounced off to find a clerk. The other three stared at his retreating form in either amazement or pure curiosity.
"Amazing how he gets worked up over shoes, isn't it?" Daisuke chuckled, leaning back against the wall.
"Ari's got a rather…odd personality, doesn't he?" Tai countered with another question, involuntarily quirking up a chocolate eyebrow.
"Odd doesn't even begin to describe it. We like to say that Ari's special," Ryan said in response, looking around in all directions. His gaze fixated on Tai's beat-up sneakers. "Uh, maybe we should get you some new shoes while we're here too," he suggested, still eyeing the shoes in slight disgust.
"No, it's okay. These are perfectly fine," Tai protested. Daisuke leaned forward and examined Tai's shoes.
"Tai, what color are your shoes?" he asked his cousin, poking at the right shoe critically.
"Red. Or, they used to be about three years ago," Tai replied with a small grin, flexing his toes inside of his shoe. The shoes were a sorry sight to see, rather scruffy-looking and beat-up. There were a few miscellaneous holes and rips in both shoes. They were definitely out of date. Of course, one's shoes often reflected one's self. And it appeared that this was true in Tai's case. Daisuke's eyes raised up, getting a good look at his cousin. The boy's clothes weren't in any better condition then his shoes. His jeans had holes in the knees and the bottom of the left leg was ragged and torn up. His shirt was faded as well, no holes though.
'Why didn't I notice this before?' The mahogany-haired boy shook his head in disgust with himself. He lost himself in his thoughts about being unobservant when Ryan decided to take over.
"Tai, those shoes are crap, and you know it," he remarked bluntly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of bills, shoving the bundle into Tai's hand.
"Go find something you like," he instructed, waving his hand vaguely at the walls. Tai's eyes widened in surprise and he shook his head furiously.
"No way, Ryan. I couldn't take this from you. I-I just couldn't," he stuttered as he tried to hand the money back to Ryan. Ryan wouldn't hear of it however.
"No way, kid. You are going to keep that money, find a decent pair of sneakers, and keep the change," Ryan demanded sternly.
"Are you sure?"
"It's fine, Tai. Just go." Ryan waved him off. Tai nodded and stood up, wandering off towards Arial who instantly dragged him to a different wall to show him something. Ryan let out a satisfied sigh and turned back, coming face-to-face with Daisuke. Neither boy spoke, Ryan waiting for Daisuke to speak, and Daisuke waiting for Ryan to explain. In the end, Daisuke started talking.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why'd you do it?"
"Did you really expect me to do otherwise?"
"No. But really Ry, you didn't have to do anything." Ryan shrugged and folded his hands behind his head.
"I know. I wanted to. I'm going to guess he didn't grow up in luxury."
"You're right."
"He's a lot like Arial, don't you think?" Ryan mused, glancing over to look Daisuke in the eye.
"Yeah…that's why you did it, isn't it?"
"Mainly. It just didn't seem right that I had money in my pocket that I was probably going to blow on cheese-fries and Tai didn't have any when he needed it to buy something like shoes. I'll work on getting him to accept money to buy new clothes later." Daisuke looked at his friend with a look of gratitude and admiration.
"You may not always act like it, but you are a great person, Ryan," Daisuke said, smiling at the boy.
"I know," the black-haired boy said self-confidently, returning the smile. They broke into laughter suddenly, relieved that they were thinking on the same level. Suddenly Arial and Tai both came running back towards them, shoe boxes under their arms.
"See, told you it wouldn't take long!" Arial stuck his tongue out.
"That's good to know for future reference," Ryan retorted, getting to his feet. Daisuke stood up as well and turned to Tai.
"What'd you find?" Tai pulled the box out from under his arm and opened it, lifting out one of the shoes.
"Classics. Converse high-tops, baby!" he replied, eyes sparkling with joy. The shoes were a navy blue color with white trimmings and laces. Tai turned around and looked at Ryan.
"Um…thanks for lending me the cash, Ryan," he spoke shyly, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out the remaining change and offered it to the other boy.
"No problem, Tai. And what did I tell you about the change? Keep it, it's yours," Ryan replied smoothly, ducking his own hands into his pockets.
"But I-"
"Am going to keep it like a good boy," the green-eyed teen finished for him. Tai closed his mouth and nodded, slipping the money back into his own pocket.
"Yes," he agreed, shifting the box to his other arm. Ryan pulled his keys out of his pocket and held them in front of the group.
"Who's ready to go?" Everybody agreed on that suggestion and left Just For Kicks, heading back out into the parking lot and climbing into Ryan's Mitsubishi Mirage to head back to the apartment.
As expected, Matt was nowhere to be found in the apartment when the boys arrived home.
"Figures. He always just leaves when he feels like it," Arial snorted, throwing his new shoes down by the door.
"Your point being?" Tai asked vaguely, choosing to toss his shoes into his bedroom instead.
"I don't have one," Arial replied, gracefully dropping himself down on the couch. He reached for the remote and turned on the TV, randomly flipping through channels. Ryan walked out of the bathroom and sashayed over to the couch.
"Move your feet," he yawned, lifting Arial's legs up so he could sit down. Arial dropped his legs down on Ryan's lap as soon as he sat down.
"Gee, that looks real comfortable," Daisuke commented, walking out of the kitchen with an apple in his hand. He hopped over the back of the couch, landing on the arm of it. Arial lifted his head up, dragged Daisuke down into the spot to sit, and replaced his head into Daisuke's lap.
"Human bed for hire," Daisuke muttered, shifting Arial into a more comfortable position.
"Hey, it could be worse. Arial could weigh like 300 pounds," Ryan said jokingly, poking his blue-haired buddy in the side.
"Rude-much!" Arial protested, squirming away from the hand that was poking him. Tai shut the door to his room and walked towards the three figures on the couch. He sat on the coffee table facing them, waiting for them to acknowledge him. The older boys kept arguing, wiggling around in different positions, trying to gain the upper hand. It wasn't until Arial fell off of the couch and onto Tai that they noticed he was there. Arial looked up into Tai's face and grinned cheekily.
"Hello!" he chirped. Tai rolled his eyes and pushed Arial back onto the couch. He held the three elders' attention as he cleared his throat.
"Now, I'm pretty sure that you're all aware of the Yamato hating my skills situation," he started out.
"He doesn't hate your skills," Ryan said.
"Yeah, that's pretty much all that he likes about you," Arial confirmed, shifting around in Ryan's lap.
"Gee, thanks Ari. Anyway, what I'm thinking I need to do is learn a new, very difficult song that will impress him and make him eat his words," Tai continued on, leaning his elbows on his knees and resting his chin in his hands.
"Sounds like a good idea," Daisuke told him, pushing Arial's feet out his face. "Ari, your feet smell," he informed the other. In return, Arial stuck his tongue out.
"Hello! Focus!" Tai snapped his fingers, bringing the gazes back to him. "That's better. Now, as I was saying, I need to learn a new song. But I will need your guys' help if I'm going to pull it off. What do you think?" he asked. The three boys sat in silence, contemplating Tai's proposal. Slowly, Ryan nodded.
"Yeah sure, kid. We'll help ya out," he assured Tai. Arial and Daisuke were quick to agree.
"Awesome! Thanks you guys." Tai beamed, getting off of the table. "Can we start now?" he asked with a hopeful tone.
"What!" All three of them squawked.
"Well, I kind of wanted to show Matt by tomorrow," Tai simply stated.
"Why tomorrow?" Arial asked, climbing out of Ryan's lap. Tai shrugged and started walking to the practice room.
"I don't know. Just seems like a good day," he said, walking into the room. The three boys looked at each other, shrugged, and ran into the other room, awaiting Tai's commands.
"So, what song were you thinking? One of your own?" Daisuke asked, swiveling from side to side in his drum chair.
"No actually. I was thinking of this one song. It's off of Hoobastanks's newest album. I printed out music sheets for your respected instruments, except for Arial since I don't know what you play," Tai explained, handing out the assorted papers.
"I play nothing useful. So, what do you want me to do?" Arial asked.
"Just sit and supervise I suppose, since I'm going to be doing the singing and guitar work." Tai shrugged.
"Sounds fine to me," Arial agreed, walking over towards the computer.
"Lazy-ass," Daisuke whispered. Tai shook his head and turned to Ryan.
"Since you're on bass, do you think you could help me if I end up getting stuck?" he asked, picking his guitar up from the ground.
"Yeah sure, doesn't look too hard." Ryan grinned, grabbing his bass and putting the strap around his neck in one fluid motion.
"All right, are we ready?" Tai asked the other two.
"Go for it," Daisuke replied. Tai nodded and started playing the song. The other two jumped in at their respected parts and Tai started singing along. The first run was okay, a couple of rocky moments on Tai's part, but otherwise it was all right.
"Not bad, Yagami. Not bad at all," Ryan complimented him.
"Thanks. Go over it a few more times?" Tai asked.
"I think a few more times and you can show him tonight," Daisuke said.
"What!" Both Ryan and Tai snapped their heads around to look at Daisuke.
"Dais, are you insane?" Tai yelped.
"Possibly, but that's not the point. You're doing really good with this song. I think you could show him tonight. After a few more runs, of course," he explained rationally.
"I agree with Dais, you are doing well. But if you don't want to show him today, we'll wait until tomorrow," Ryan told him.
"We'll see how things go, okay?" Tai replied, playing a rift on his guitar. "Let's start it up again!" he bellowed. Once again, he started playing and the other two followed. He started singing when he suddenly halted.
"Hey Ari, I just thought of something," he told the blue-haired teen.
"That's amazing, thanks for sharing," Arial responded without looking up from his computer game.
"Arial!"
"What?" Arial looked up from the screen.
"You can sing back-up! I totally spaced through it."
"Uh, okay sure," Arial replied, pushing himself out of the computer chair. He walked over next to Tai and stole a copy of the lyrics.
"See, it's high-lighted where the back-up should be sang." Tai pointed to the green lines on the paper. Arial nodded and read over the lyrics.
"Awesome song."
"I thought so. All right, from the top, again," Tai said, playing on his guitar. The same process went on for a few more hours until the song was absolutely perfect.
"That sounds great," Tai declared, lifting his guitar off of his shoulder.
"Yeah it does. Better then what I thought," Daisuke agreed, throwing his drumsticks on the floor.
"Thanks," Tai said sarcastically, glaring at his cousin.
"Just joking."
"So it's decided then."
"What is?" Ryan asked.
"Going to show him tonight, just to prove I can handle this." Tai nodded in triumph.
"Are you sure?" Arial said in alarm, raising a dark eyebrow.
"Hell yeah, might as well bite it right in the ass. But first, dinner," Tai proclaimed, skipping out of the room and towards the kitchen. The other three once again looked at each other for an explanation.
"Okay, what happened to the shy kid who came here yesterday?" Ryan asked bluntly, putting his bass on the floor gently.
"I think he's too focused on getting his revenge on Matt at the moment to remember who we are, who he is, and where he is." Daisuke concluded.
"That's just freaky," Arial remarked.
"No shit it is," Ryan agreed. "But he's right; it is about time for dinner." Agreeing all the way, the other boys walked out of the room and joined Tai in the kitchen. They were greeted however by someone else as well.
"Hey Matt," Arial said cheerfully. Matt gave him a ghost of a smile and placed a large plastic bag on the counter.
"The pastrami is Ryan's, the ham is Daisuke's, the salami and ham is Arial's and Tai, Daisuke told me that you liked turkey, so that's what I got you," he said in an indifferent tone. He grabbed his own sandwich out of the bag and walked away to his own room, closing the door behind him with a soft click.
"Well, at least he was considerate this time," Daisuke commented, reaching in for his dinner.
"Probably his way of apologizing without saying I'm sorry." Ryan shrugged, tossing Arial his sandwich and pulling out his. Tai walked over and pulled his out of the bag, unwrapping it slowly.
"Tai, it won't bite. They're actually pretty good," Arial laughed, taking another bite of his sandwich. Tai sniffed at the bread cautiously, breaking off a little piece of the sandwich. He placed it into his mouth and chewed on it. It wasn't that bad, truth be told. He ate the rest of his dinner without complaint. He waited until the others were done eating as well before he made his move.
"Now," was all he said.
"Right now?" Daisuke groaned.
"C'mon Tai, there's a good basketball game going on right now!" Arial protested, eyes glued to the screen.
"Guys, please?" Tai begged them.
"Five more minutes," Ryan muttered, also glued to the screen. Tai growled in frustration and walked towards them. He reached out and unplugged the TV, bringing all three of them out of their reverie.
"Hey, what the hell?" was the main reaction to Tai's action.
"Look you guys, we need to do this like, now, before he decides to leave again or something," Tai persuaded them.
"You really want to do this?" Daisuke sighed. Tai nodded enthusiastically. "All right, Arial, go get Matt," Daisuke yawned, rising to his feet once more that day. Tai grinned widely and ran to the other room, Daisuke and Ryan following behind him. The three teens grabbed their instruments and got into place just as Arial and Matt walked in.
"All right, what's going on?" Matt asked them. Tai stepped forward so that he was eye-to-eye with the blonde.
"You wanted me to prove myself. Here it is," he said in a low tone. He whipped around and back to his guitar.
"This is just something I learned today. Hope you like it," he directed to the blonde. He started up the guitar rifts, waiting for the other two to start playing. Then he opened his mouth and began to sing.
"This is ours, we made it with our everything, something real, as real as it could ever be," he sang out, allowing his voice to flow smoothly. The song in general made him feel like he was making a point to the blue-eyed man, playing his guitar steadily. Slowly but surely the song came to an end.
"Who cares if you don't like, if you don't like it, if you don't like it!" Tai ended with a final note and an abrupt stop to his voice. Needless to say, Matt appeared speechless. With a satisfied smirk, Tai strolled up to Matt and placed his hands on his hips.
"So, how was that for proving myself?" he said smoothly. Matt remained quiet for a short while before he replied.
"It could have been a bit better, but good enough I suppose," he said with an air of elegance, staying in his seat with a smug grin on his face.
"Could have been better? What the hell!" Tai screamed and dropped his guitar on the floor, getting up in Matt's face.
"Wow, sometimes Matt can be worse then Simon Cowell," Arial whispered thoughtfully.
"Ari, you watch too much American television," Ryan whispered back. Matt merely smirked wider.
"Your voice was shaky, your fingers kept tripping, your sound was off," the blonde listed off.
"Shut up!" Tai shouted and reached out without warning, colliding his fist into the side of Matt's face. The room fell silence, the only sounds being the clock ticking and Tai's ragged breathing. Matt reached up and touched his cheek gingerly, frowning slightly before bringing his hand back down.
"Fair enough," he said and turned on his heel, walking out of the room rather stiffly. The other three boys exchanged wiry smiles and laughed nervously.
"Tai it was absolutely perfect; don't bother listening to Matt's technicalities," Daisuke reassured his cousin. Tai blinked and nodded.
"Yeah, right. Whatever, I'm going to bed, night," he said briefly, leaving the room as well.
"Isn't there anything we can do?" Arial asked, a small pout forming on his face.
"Not really. Just keep Tai's mind off of Matt's negativity. There's not much we can do to change Matt." Ryan shrugged.
"True." Daisuke nodded. He glanced at the clock on the back wall, yawning once more. "You know, I'm going to hit the sack too if we're getting up tomorrow for a run. I'll see if Tai wants to come too," he told the others.
"Okay, see you in the morning," Ryan replied, waving him off.
"Night, Dais," Arial chorused after Ryan, suppressing his own yawn. Rubbing his temples slightly and stretched his arms and blinked hard. "I'm going to bed too," he decided as Daisuke left the room.
"You and me both dude," Ryan mumbled. Both boys turned out the lights and proceeded to drag themselves to bed.
The next morning, Daisuke walked into Tai's room bright and early. To his own surprise, Tai was already awake. The brunet was lying in his bed with his arms crossed behind his head, staring up at the ceiling
"Wow, you're up quite early, aren't you?" Daisuke noted, sitting at the foot of Tai's bed.
"Yeah, woke up about 15 minutes ago," the younger boy informed him. Daisuke nodded and smiled.
"Since you're up, you wanna go running with me, Arial, and Ryan?"
"Running where?"
"Just through the park for a little while." Tai's eyes lit up and he sat straight up in bed.
"Yeah, okay. Sounds like fun." he smiled. Daisuke ruffled his hair and got off of the bed.
"That's the spirit. Meet you in the living room in 20 minutes," he told him, walking out of the room.
"Okay," Tai replied. He jumped out of bed and pulled a hooded sweatshirt and a pair of jeans out of his closet. With record-breaking speed, he changed clothes and bolted into the bathroom to brush his teeth and fight with his hair. Deciding that his hair wasn't going to serve him any justice, he left it alone and walked out into the living room where the others were waiting for him.
"Morning, everybody," Tai said cheerfully.
"Good morning, kid. Sleep good, I take it?" Ryan asked, shrugging a forest-green hooded sweatshirt over his white T-shirt.
"Yeah, really good actually," Tai replied.
"So, as soon as Matt gets out here, we'll take off then," Arial said from his place on the couch where he was tying his shoe.
"Wait, Matt?" Tai froze in his place.
"No, Matt said he's not going this morning. Something about trying to book us at a club and that the phone call should be in about an hour," Daisuke cut in.
"All right, let's go then." Tai bounced back to his positive attitude. The group walked to the front hall and ran out the door, slamming it with a resounding thud, thanks to Tai. As soon as that door slammed, a blonde head poked out of a room.
"Good, they took off," he said to himself. He walked out of his room, car keys in hand, as he headed for the front hall as well. He swung the door open and shut it swiftly, not as loudly as Tai had.
"Let's just hope I make it back before they do," he murmured as he rode the lift down to the parking lot.
The four boys returned back to the apartment, mildly wet and out of breath.
"Well, that was fun," Tai panted, leaning against the wall, trying to catch his breath.
"Yeah, who knew the sprinklers were on this early in the morning?" Arial replied, shaking his head to dry out his hair.
"Watch it!" Ryan scolded, pushing Arial away.
"Whatever, I claim the shower first!" Daisuke called out, racing into the bathroom at top-speed, shutting the door behind him.
"Damn him," Ryan and Arial cursed. Both soon forgot about it however once they noticed Scooby Doo was on. Tai shook his head in amusement and headed for his own bedroom. He walked inside and shut the door behind him. He turned around and pulled his sweatshirt off over his head, throwing it towards his closet. Once his vision had cleared, it was then he noticed.
"What the?" He walked closer to his bed. Lying across it was a glimmering red and black electric guitar. He picked the guitar up into his hands, fingering the different designs and strings. Hanging from it was what used to be the price tag, but instead was a piece of paper with a dollar sign on it. Stapled to the dollar sign was a note.
'Welcome to the band, kid.
Yamato.'
Edited, song used was Let It Out by Hoobastank, if you read the lyrics or listen to the song, you see why I felt it fit.
Converse high-tops rock. End of story.