A/N: This Public Service Announcement is brought to you by Life- it's a bitch and then you die.

People please- for the love of all that is holy, spay or neuter your cat people!

I went to a con a few weekends ago and the place was crawling with Neko-jin. Everywhere I looked, the tails, or just the ears would pop up. And then the people who actually think they are cats, and need to be petted or scratched like a cat- OMGWTF!!!1 ; Seriously I was frightened.

I'm just as much of a fangirl as the next bishie loving otaku, but the neko-jins are over populating the cons.

Ok- rant over, I know you didn't come to hear me ramble on and on about murdering annoying cat people, but for one thing- TAIORA! Well, you're in luck. I have a decently long chapter for you. Enjoy!

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Tai spent the next hour walking the streets of the town. For the most part it was your average mining settlement. Everyday businesses lined the dirt streets. There was a general store located near the center of town, along on of the main streets. Not having much to do at the moment Taichi decided to stop there and picked up a few necessary items. Since he had found a place to stay he could now afford to attempt a normal life. However it probably would not ever be normal again...

Picking up a bar of soap and washcloths, a new shirt and some food, Taichi left the general store and continued to walk towards his place of lodging. He was relieved to find the room Sora had given him came with a bathtub. On the trail he had longed for a nice bath in a real tub. Lakes and rivers were all right, that's what he had been forced to bathe in, if he even bathed while crossing the terrain.

Not knowing how long it would take him to solve the puzzle of the scared man, he also needed to gather other supplies. His information trail had led him to this place, so it was only a matter of time before he caught up with the man he was looking for.

As he walked, the people of the town seemed normal- going about their daily business, however Tai knew first hand looks could be deceiving. Most seemed as if they startled easy. The concerned and cautious looks he received from various passersby gave him the impression that there was something below the surface. This town was hiding a secret- a bloody secret that he had to figure out if he was to avenge his wife and unborn child.

After leaving the ammunitions store, where he had bought numerous cartridges of bullets, he was about to return to his temporary home when a particular couple caught his eye. There on the other side of the street walking arm in arm was the red haired beauty and the blonde man from the tavern.

Looking closer he noticed the large smile on Matt's face as he chattered to his companion, who looked less than thrilled at the moment with the topic of conversation. Instead of paying attention to her date, the mysterious woman's eyes moved up and down the buildings as if she was looking for something.

There was something about the woman at Matt's arm that didn't add up in Tai's mind. On the outside, she was a normal looking young woman, wearing modest clothes at the moment, walking innocently enough down the street. However, the incident earlier still caused Tai to wonder why had someone tired to harm her, or was it her friend they were after... He could understand the logic behind carrying a gun, yet her skill at shooting seemed like she had a great deal of practice. And still, there was the question of why she had come out to California alone. The old woman at the house had told him she was orphaned; yet that never answered the question of the long way from her roots in the Midwest.

His attention was so engrossed in thought that he didn't even realize the blonde man was waving to him.

"Taichi!" Matt yelled across the street. Taking Sora's hand in his own again, they couple crossed the street to meet up with him.

"Hey, how are you doing?" The blonde began as the three moved to the side of the wooden walkway, as to not block the path for others.

"Miss Sora, Matt." Tai said tipping his hat in a polite greeting. "I'm doing well. Just shopping for a few necessitates." He said motioning to the bags he held in one arm.

"Sora tells me you are going to be living practically across the hall from her." He continued. "I was a little worried about you, it was good timing on your part... We've been on a walk all afternoon..." Tai only half listened to the conversation Matt was talking about. He couldn't help but watch the sharp crimson eyes of the woman standing quietly to the blonde's side, dart from building to building.

He was so wrapped up in watching her eyes that when she suddenly reached for her purse, Tai nearly jumped out of his boots. Her sudden movement startled him. Thinking she was going to pull out a weapon from the tiny purse she held, Tai's eyes went wide expecting a fight coming.

Sora couldn't help but want to laugh at the man standing next to Matt, who was still talking by the way. She had only reached inside her purse for a fan, and yet the brown haired fellow had acted like she was going to pull a gun. He certainly was an amusing guy- hell; anything was amusing at the moment. Matt was a nice person and all, yet Sora couldn't stand him when he would fluctuate from a talking spree to complete silence. At the moment the man was going on and on about the homestead he had been building a bit out of town.

Giving the newcomer a weird glance, Sora rolled her eyes and began to fan herself with the lacy fold out fan. Pretending to be interested in Matt's babbling, Sora kept up a diligent watch of the surrounding area. She knew for a fact a bunch of new guns for hire were arriving today. With the demand for hired goons on the rise, and actual skilled marksmen being hard to find, many young fighters wanted a piece of the gold mining sharp shooter reputation.

This town brought them in like no other. She had followed that exact trail to get here. The boss lived somewhere in the surrounding lands and all his men lived in the town. It was easy to find the information, however it was a challenge getting close to the top men. And Sora didn't just want to kill anyone- no she was shooting straight for the top- the man who had murdered her family and taken her entire life from her. She was determined- she would get her revenge, and it was coming soon.

"Sora, Sora? Is something wrong?" Matt asked squeezing her hand after she had not responded to his question. Forced to look away, Sora was brought back to the conversation with innocent looking eyes. Batting her eyes at the blonde, she increased her fanning.

"I'm sorry Matt, I was getting a little flustered in the heat... what were you talking about?" She asked sweetly.

"You do look a bit flushed. Maybe you should sit down or I can take you home..." Matt suggested taking a more protecting hold on her arms. Worry and concern was etched into his face as he continued to fuss over the woman at his side.

"I'll be fine... I think I should be going home though..." She said as she looked up at the man. "I can get there myself. You're so sweet and I hate to be a bother." The woman added as she smiled weakly.

"Are you sure?" The blonde questioned.

"It's alright, I'm headed that way also." Tai spoke up finally reasserting himself back into the conversation. "I'll make sure she's fine." He assured the worried man.

"All right, but can I see you tomorrow?" Matt asked taking Sora's hand in his own.

"I have to work at the saloon tomorrow." Sora said hoping to get out of another date with the man. Matt was a nice guy, however his constant gifts and flattering tended to get a little annoying. Especially when she had better things on her mind.

"Well then, I'll come visit you at work tomorrow night then." The man smiled before he placed a kiss to her cheek and bid the two Farwell.

When he was finally out of sight Sora let out a long sigh and slumped down on a wooden bench, placing her hands over her eyes. Completely forgetting about the other man, Sora began to mumble a string of curses under her breath about annoying men.

"What are you smiling at?" She asked as she opened her eyes and looked up at the man beside her. He was still caring bags of supplies, looking down at her with a weird smile on his face. He was eyeing her also, almost as if he was trying to understand her motives and actions better.

"It's just that you don't seem too interested in him, and yet you don't just come out and just tell him." Tai responded offering her his free hand to help her up. Promptly she lightly swatted his hand away and got up herself.

"I've told him many times, it's not my fault all men are stupid."

"Stupid are we?" Tai said out loud thinking it over. "You have a point. Most men are stupid. However, can you blame him?"

"See that's what I mean..." Sora said slapping her forehead with frustration. Picking up her long skirts, Sora jumped the stairs that led from the wooden sidewalk down to the road. She turned to look back at the man on the sidewalk and gave him a similar questing look. "Not all women are happy little pets to men. Some of us can survive on our own...Well did you want me to show you where your horse can stay, or are you going to stand there and look dumb the rest of the day?" She questioned him. And with that she turned and began to walk across the street and back towards the inn.

Shrugging his shoulders at the strange girl, he took off after her with a smile on his face. She sure did make things interesting, he thought.

"Hey, weren't you not feeling well or something?" He asked once he caught back up to her.

"What? Oh that." She smiled. "That was to ditch the blonde." She told him with a smug smile.

"So you really must hate the guy then. But why court him then?"

"Court him? No way... he's nice and all. However it's just business right now." She told him, the tone in her voice made Tai wonder. She sounded almost sad. Maybe regretful, he wondered. The more he spent time around this woman, the more and more interesting she became. He wanted to figure her out, why she did what she did, why her eyes looked so sad and angry most of the time. He contemplated it all as they stopped to pick up Yume and then continued to the barn.

"Well, this is it." She said motioning for him to led his horse into the barn a few blocks from their place of residence. Entering ahead of Tai, Sora happily called out to someone inside.

"I'm back Biyo, Thunder." In return a pair of snorts from the stables told Tai that she kept other horses there. When Tai and Yume made it inside, Sora was already affectionately stroking the neck of an older horse brown horse, with a smaller, younger one patiently waiting its turn for attention.

"I'm sorry I didn't come yesterday to talk with you, can you forgive me Thunder?" She asked as she gave the horse a hug, and then went to pat the other.

"You can put her here next to Thunder's pen. It's empty, I've been using it as storage really." Sora said as she left her horses and went to begin cleaning out the pen for the other horse.

"Are they both your horses?" Tai asked looking at the sleek white coat of the younger and then to the older, bigger horse that had a streak of white down his brow.

"Yes, old Thunder here has been with me from the beginning." She said picking up a saddle and moving it so Yume could have room to move in the pen.

"Do you want some help?" Tai asked as he watched her pick up the second and move it over next to the other.

"I got it. You might want to take off her bridle and saddle, give the thing a rest." Sora said motioning to his horse.

"Yeah," He nodded in agreement. "Well Yume, it's break time old girl." Tai smiled and patted her neck.

"There are combs in that trunk on the other side of the pen." Sora called out to him as she took up a pitchfork and scooped fresh hay into each pen. "There, that should keep you all fed."

While Sora tended to the horses, Tai went in search of the trunk she had mentioned. Opening the metal clips, he opened the old looking trunk. Inside were various horse items like old shoes, blankets, and medicines. "You must really know what you're doing with horses to have collected all this." He said as he searched for the combs.

"What?" She asked not hearing him over the sounds of hay being moved.

Tai didn't respond to her right away. His attention was suddenly drawn to an old photograph inside the trunk. Underneath the combs was a black and white picture of a smiling little girl on a horse. Tai recognized both the girl and horse to be Sora and Thunder, however there were more people in the photo. Two men and a woman stood to the side; all were smiling and looking at the camera. One man was holding onto a woman, presumably Sora's mother and father, yet it was the other man caught Tai's eye most.

The face was staring back at him. The same eyes... only younger and with out the disfigurement of his nose... however it was him. A burning hatred began to boil in the bottom of his stomach as he quickly reached for his gun. She knew him, he was in her picture... that couldn't be just a coincident, her being here in this town, the info trail leading to this town, and here there was proof that she knew the man who had taken his life.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked as she put down the pitchfork and made her way over to Tai who seemed to have frozen in place. He didn't answer her when she called twice, thinking something was wrong, she stopped behind him. She could feel the tension that was almost radiating from him, his skin looked white as she bent down to give him a poke.

Tai's reflexes took over from that point. Suddenly, as she was about to touch his shoulder, he swung around and tackled her to the ground. The two rolled a while fighting in the hay until Tai seemed to get the upper hand.

Sora fell back flat on her back in the hay, the man above her held her down with his arms and legs. His sheer body weight compared to her slight figure also aided him pinning her down. Pulling his gun, Tai pointed it under her chin. The look in his eyes scared Sora and only increased her thrashing.

"Stop moving or I'll shoot." He warned her. "I said stop! I think you're going to answer a few questions for me right now. I don't want to hurt you, but anyone who gets in the way of my revenge won't be treated lightly."

"So he sent you too?" She hissed back at the man as she let up on struggling. Taking in the surroundings, Sora looked quickly at her options. 'I shouldn't have let my guard down.' She berated herself as she assessed the situation.

"Sent me? Who? No one sent me after anyone." Tai said thankful she was settling down. Taking a steadying breath he looked down at the woman beneath him. Some time in the struggle he had managed to rip a bit of her dress near her legs, where he pinned her thighs to the ground straddling her with his own legs. Her collar had also come undone, and more of her chest was exposed to him. Blushing slightly as be accidentally got a better look at her undergarments, Tai was distracted and Sora saw her chance.

Closing her eyes she hit her forehead against his, causing him to drop his gun and reach for his head. Giving him a swift knee to the lower stomach, Sora pushed him to his feet and rolled off to the side.

The attack came quickly; Tai didn't know what was going on as he felt his headache, and then his stomach throb with pain. Back on his feet he staggered a bit backwards towards the horse pens.

"Thunder!" Was all Sora had to utter and the old horse quickly backed out of his pen and gave the brown haired man a light kick with his hind legs. The pain soared through Tai's body as he went face first into the pile of hay, thankfully cushioning his fall.

Brushing herself off, Sora retrieved his pistol from the ground and turned it on it's owner. Coming closer Sora knelt down and rolled him on his back.

"Now, let's try this again. You're answering the questions this time." She said with venom in her voice. "Did he send you here to kill me too?"

"I...I don't know what you're talking about..." Tai groaned as he tried to curl up into a ball and forget the pain.

"Sure you don't. Maybe a bullet or two in the knee cap will help jog your memory." She said as she pointed the gun at him. "Talk!"

"I'm not after... you. I came to this town...to find a man."

"Why'd you attack me?"

"The picture... the one in your trunk..." He coughed. "The man in the picture..."

Sora stayed looking down at him with disbelief in her eyes. Tai finally opened his eyes and looked up at her. The pain shooting through his body still stung, however at the moment he needed her to believe him.

"It's the truth... he... he has a broken looking nose now... I came here looking for him..."

"How do you know him? Tell me that!"

"He... murdered my... my family."

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A/N: Sorry for the wait, and I guess I should apologize for the cliff hanger

Well you'll have to just suffer it through. Shouldn't be too long for an update, plus the reviews help with the motivation. Thanks for the reviews by the way. I'll see ya later!

Ja Ne Minasan!