Litanya: Next chapter here. I don't own Digimon. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. This chapter is totally Taiora. Finally the wait if over!

Worlds Apart

Chapter 7

Sora had thought about her predicament all day Sunday, and all day Monday. These were the two days that she did not have to go to university, so she did not have to see Tai at all. She found that to be a good thing. But now it was Tuesday, and time for them to meet before their lecture. She was sitting on the grass in front of their lecture hall, staring up at the blue sky. It was a nice spring day, and the clouds were all white and fluffy. She watched as they floated slowly along the sky, every cloud going at the same speed, staying uniformly together in a pack. It looked as though the sky was only a painted picture that God was spinning around, so that every day the sky would look different. But then one cloud broke the pattern. It was going in the same direction as the others; it was the same colour and roughly the same shape. But it seemed to race through the sky. She shook her head slightly, confused at what she was seeing. Although the cloud appeared to be zooming along, it was still in its place in the sky. She must have imagined it breaking the pattern.

"Hey Sora, sorry I'm late," Tai arrived at their little spot and collapsed on the ground. He was breathing a little heavily, as if he had run the whole way there.

"You overslept again, didn't you?" it was more of a statement than a question, but his answer surprised her.

"No, I had to go and see Kari's teacher. Apparently she isn't doing any work and she's been 'influencing' other members of the class. She and Avi have to stay behind for a detention after school, along with T.K," he grinned, "It appears that T.K is one of Kari's 'victims.' He has stopped handing in work as well." That worried him, if the truth were to be known. If T.K couldn't go with them then he would have to catch up on a lot of work, just because he hadn't been doing it now. Then again, if he couldn't go, he needed to spend as much time as he could with Kari before they had to leave.

"I never imagined Kari would be the rebellious type… or T.K either. But… they're going to miss your game!" Tai was playing his second game for the university's team that afternoon, after their classes. He shrugged.

"Kari's seen me play soccer millions of times. She used to come with my parents all of the time," he told her truthfully. His parents always went to his games. In fact, they were going to his game this afternoon. His parents had been told of his whereabouts when he had 'disappeared' because the Elders understood that it would be hard for them. Heck, his parents had agreed that he should go back when he was three years old; when he made the promise that sealed his fate… he stopped that train of thought, knowing that he should concentrate only on his task.

"Yeah, I suppose that she would have. Anyway, we had better go to class," whilst he had been drifting off into thought, she had not been able to take her eyes off him. He hadn't noticed because he had been looking at the sky and thinking, but she was angry at herself for losing her self control.

"You're right, we should!" Tai jumped to his feet, finally figuring out a plan. Sora was going to the soccer match. Matt had band practice, Izzy had to work, Joe was almost always working at the hospital, when he wasn't with Mimi, and Mimi was trying out for a modeling position. Davis was at his own high school soccer match and Cody was at kendo. That meant that only Ken, Yolie and Sora were going to the game, and out of those three, the only one who knew his trademark move was Sora. If he played that shot, she would know… and she could decide. They hurried to class, both preoccupied with thoughts about what they were going to do about the other.

"Nice work Kari, getting us all a detention," T.K teased as they all sat at their desks. They were supposed to be silent, but as the teacher had had to leave due to an emergency, they could get away with it. They were supposed to stay until five and then call in on the secretary on their way out, "Now we can't see Tai's game and I know something good is going to happen there!" Kari sighed.

"I know… but I didn't know that she was going to be so harsh on us! This really sucks… we won't get to see what happens between Tai and Sora, if anything happens of course," T.K had told her about his brother breaking up with Sora, and she could not be happier. This way both Matt and Sora were happy, and her brother could be happy too.

"Hey… reckon they'll do anything to us if we sneak out of here?" he asked, his voice low. Avi grinned, liking his idea.

"I don't really care if they punish me. They'll probably only give us another detention anyway, considering you are the 'straight-A student' of the year level T.K. Besides, it's Tai's big game. And if Pohe gets to watch all the fun, then I want in on it too. Let's go!" without asking them for their opinions, Avi dragged the couple along behind her. The secretary let them pass without even looking up from her work.

"You did that, didn't you Avi? You made her keep her head down!" Kari accused her 'protector,' who was trying to look as innocent as she could.

"Pohe taught me how to use the 'fun' side of my magic, you know, to manipulate people a little. It's not like I broke the law or something. We needed to get out of there and she was in the way. It's simple."

"But you-

"She got us out of there, didn't she?" T.K reminded her, "Now we can see Tai's game. We were the ones that brought up getting out of there." Kari had to admit that he was right.

"I know, but just because Pohe starts manipulating people doesn't mean that you should either. The people of Malorin play games with each other that way. That planet is the immortal planet of childishness," Kari scolded. Avi just poked her tongue out.

"I can do whatever I want, thank you very much. But anyway, we're going to be late if we continue to dawdle like this," and with that she grabbed both of them by the hand and dragged them towards the game. She did not want to miss a second of what might happen between Tai and Sora.

"What are you three doing here? I thought that you had a detention?" Sora was surprised when Avi, Kari and T.K arrived, a little out of breath, at Tai's game. Avi just gave her a grin.

"We couldn't miss Tai's game! Besides, who really cares what that old bat of a teacher thinks anyway? She only kept us in because she wanted to make our lives Hell anyway. So how long till the game starts?" Sora had grown to like Avi's personality and she wished that she knew the girl better. She wished that she knew the whole family better. She had a feeling that the family was hiding something from her and she hated it. But at the same time it was as though the family had accepted her; she felt as though she belonged there. It was all too confusing for her.

"So, I heard that the two of you have gotten pretty close," Sora hinted at T.K and Kari, changing the conversation, "From what Tai told me it took you guys half an hour to realise that there were other people in the world." The couple turned red and Sora and Avi laughed.

"It didn't take us half an hour… Tai exaggerates. It was more like ten minutes before we realised he was there. That's all," Kari told her, still pink from embarrassment.

"Yeah, ten minutes after he went downstairs for the second time," Pohe joked, coming up behind them, "The game is about to start, so we should find seats. Come on, we don't want to miss it!" they followed him without arguing, weaving through people until they could find enough seas for the all. Sora saw Yolie talking to a couple of girls from her class, so she chose to talk to her after the game. After all, she saw the girl often and Yolie looked happy talking to her other friends.

"Sora, are you okay?" Kari asked her quietly, and Sora could see that Pohe, T.K and Avi were trying to look as though they were talking, but she knew they were listening too.

"I'm fine, why do you ask?"

"You just looked deep in thought, that's all. My brother told me that he told you about the situation he was in back home. He felt guilty afterwards for telling you that he felt bad, but he thought that you needed to get over your guilt. He's moved on from what happened back then, so you should move on too. Be happy, it's what you deserve," Kari then turned back to T.K, knowing that Sora would want time to think. And she was right.

'Oh… why does everyone think that I am still feeling guilty about what happened to Tai? I guess… I guess I felt guilty about it for a long time, but this Tai has made me see that it wasn't my fault. But still… maybe I deserve to be single for a while, to make up for what I did to Tai. Do I deserve happiness God? Please send me a sign of what to do. What would make me happy Lord? Please show me… I don't know anymore,' the game started, but Sora had missed the start because of her thoughts. She banished those thoughts to the back of her mind and concentrated on the game. The game wouldn't be complicated and it would let her mind rest from the romance section of her life… right?

Tai had seen her and his 'sibling' (well, technically T.K couldn't be called his sibling, but he probably would be soon) sit in the crowd, so he knew that she was watching. All he had to do was find the perfect timing. Unfortunately for him though, the opposing team and his teammates were keeping him from what he was trying to do. Whenever he had the ball he was either too far from the goal or he had to pass it before he could shoot.

'Come on God, if I could just have a few seconds I would be forever grateful. If my path to happiness lies with Sora, then I'm sure that You will allow me these few seconds. Please help me Lord!' he thought to himself as he moved to tackle an extremely quick player. However quick the player was however, he could not match Tai's skill, and he managed to get the ball pretty easily. He wove in and out between the players, looking for a teammate to pass to. He was out of luck. One of the players on his team had twisted his ankle and was running slowly, unable to get past the player defending him. Ken had been targeted from the beginning of the game, as last time these two teams had met he had been a star player. He couldn't pass it to the others because of the two defenders that were playing on him. He suddenly grinned. Maybe he wasn't out of luck after all…

Sora felt herself holding her breath as Tai had nowhere to go with the ball. He kept moving, but he could not rid himself of the two defenders and his teammates were unable to be in a position where they could help him. She frowned as she saw Tai suddenly grin. It looked so much like her Tai that she was spooked. She knew that he had a plan. Within a few seconds her thoughts were confirmed. Tai kicked the ball straight upwards, and instead of using his head to hit the ball like they thought he would, he jumped, swung half-way around, and kicked the ball straight into the goal. Sora could not believe her eyes. The way he performed that move, which had been graciously dubbed the 'Kamiya Technique' by Tai himself, had been perfect. He had executed it perfectly. As she stared at him in disbelief, she saw him turn to her and wink, before celebrating the goal with his team. There was only ten seconds left in the game though, and Tai's team was winning 3-1.

"Are you okay Sora? I know that that is a cool move, but you look like you can't believe your eyes," Kari told her, smiling a little. The look on Sora's face was pretty priceless.

"That move- when did he learn that?" maybe he had been in contact with her Tai in the past few years. It was possible, but highly unlikely.

"That move? He has known it since he was about five. He made it up with and boasted about it to his best friend. It was so funny. I used to watch them argue about it for years afterwards. She would always say that it had a fatal flaw, but she never got around to showing him what that flaw was," then she lowered her voice, "But I bet you would know what it is, wouldn't you?" Before Sora could answer, the game ended and Avi, T.K and Kari jumped up.

"If we make it back to the school in ten minutes, we'll be on time to meet the secretary and then she'll think we were there the whole time, and we'll get out of it!" Avi called to the couple. They nodded and with a quick wave at Pohe and Sora, the three of them disappeared. Pohe looked at the field, then at Sora, then the field again, Sora again before sighing and rushing off. Sora was confused. Why were they all leaving so quickly? At least Avi and the couple had an excuse, but Pohe had just left. Then she saw him talking to a girl around his age and relaxed.

'See Sora, it's nothing. He just saw a friend from school, that's all,' she told herself, 'Nothing more. But I should be going soon anyway. But I should talk to Tai first. I need to know how he knows that move. Kari confused me… I DO supposedly know the 'fatal flaw' of that move. I always told him that I would tell him one day, but I was never serious. Oh Lord, is this a good sign or a bad one? I don't know anymore. This was a sign, yes, but reminding me of my Tai… is that good or bad? Do I deserve happiness or not? Please… I'm so confused!' she jumped a mile when someone tapped her shoulder.

"Whoa… anyone would think that you were on a different planet the way you jumped just then," it was Tai. She took a deep breath and got ready for what was about to happen, unaware that Tai's 'family' was watching from a few meters away.

"Where did you learn that move?" he grinned inwardly at himself. He had known that she would have noticed it. He had hoped she would, because it was all for her after all.

"I made it up when I was a kid. My best friend thought I was crazy. She kept on telling me that-

"-that she knew a way that she could break the move and then you'd never get into the Japanese team because you'd have no moves," she finished. He wasn't surprised, and she didn't expect him to be.

"Ah, how did you know?" but he had a small smile on his face, as though he were a little boy that knew he had been caught out, but didn't care. She had to admit that he was cute.

"Hmm… maybe because, wait, what was your best friend's name again?"

"I can't tell you otherwise you won't believe in parallel universes ever again."

"Yeah, because it is the same universe, am I right?" he grinned, his eyes glinting mischievously. She couldn't help but smile too.

"Well… yeah. I suppose it would be. If the Tai you knew was Tai Kamiya and my name is Tai Kamiya… then I would be the same person as he, wouldn't I? And if my best friend was Sora Takenouchi… you got me," but he didn't sound upset, "I am really your old friend who disappeared… four years ago is it now?" She wished that she was surprised, but she wasn't. It was almost as if she had known the whole time.

"Yeah, it was four years ago. You have a lot of explaining to do," before he could say anything, his parents came up to the pair of them

"Tai, that was a great game," his mother told him, smiling at him. He had spoken to his parents since he had gotten back, but he couldn't help but feel that he hadn't seen them for too long.

"You guys knew he was here too? What is going on?" Sora demanded to know, feeling completely out of the loop. Tai's parents looked at each other and then back at Tai.

"We'll see you later son. You sort this out," and before he could protest, they had gone. Sora just raised her eyebrows at him, trying to get the information she wanted.

"I uh… let's go sit down," she followed him to another part of the campus, to the place where they had met before class that morning.

"So, tell me what's going on," she insisted, seeing that he was trying to get out of it. He sighed and started to play with the grass.

"Okay… it started when I was three years old…"

Flashback

A young boy was waiting impatiently in the hospital child care, waiting for his little sister to be born. His mother had been admitted into the hospital that morning, and by three in the afternoon Tai was bored. He had played with the toys, he had talked to some children, he had sat and stared at the lady in charge and he had gotten into trouble for not sharing one of the toys he had been playing with. He was officially tired of being there.

'Come on… I want to go home. Stupid little baby… why won't you come?' he thought to himself. He was sitting in the middle of the room, under the careful eye of the woman in charge. She had been watching him ever since the toy incident. He was suddenly hit by a wave of dizziness, and before he could blink, the world turned black. He heard the child care woman cry out in surprise, before he found himself floating in a black arena. There was darkness all around him, and no light existed anywhere.

"Tai…" a kind voice called out to him, seemingly from nowhere, "Do you want to save your little sister's life?" That was a tough question for the young three year old.

"What do you mean?" the young boy asked, frightened of the whole experience.

"Do you want to see your sister?" that was simpler. He understood that one.

"Yes, that's why we're all here," he was confused. Didn't this lady know that already?

"You'll have to give something up to see her. When you're seventeen years old, you'll have to come and live here and be the Guardian of this place. Will you promise to do that, if you see your sister?" the young boy did not really know what she was asking, but it sounded fun.

"Okay, I promise. I want to see my sister now, so I can play with her," the person behind the voice seemed to smile.

"Okay then, but remember your promise…" the young boy woke to find his father holding him and a doctor looking over him. The promise he made that day stayed in his memory, especially when he finally saw his baby sister…

End of Flashback

He continued on and told her the rest of the story, how Kari had an experience like that when she had turned three, when his parents had been told, and then finally how he had known that they would have to have broken up, and then on to how he had been transported to Malorin.

"…And then Kari and I were sent back here with Pohe and Aviana to try and either get over you and T.K, or make you fall in love with us again so that we could take you back to our relative planets," if the Digital World had never happened, Sora would never have believed him. If all of the details he told her had not fit, she would have thought he was crazy. But she couldn't find anything wrong with his story, and she knew that he was sane.

"So… the whole being called Tai and acting like him was just a ploy to see if I loved you or if I would have just acted out of guilt?" she couldn't blame him really. She would have done the same thing.

"Yeah, it was. I feel really bad about it, but I had no other choice. Kari could be a little more obvious, because she had only 'run away,' but I had disappeared, and after four years people had given up hope. I knew you would feel guilty about it, so I made sure that I dropped subtle hints so that I could find out the truth."

"And I guess you know the truth now?" she asked.

"Yeah, I love you, and you love me," and before she could reply, he leant in and kissed her…

End of Chapter 7

Litanya: I don't care if no one else liked this chapter, I liked it. It turned out just like I planned! Anyway, please review if you want and I'll try and update soon! Thanks for reading!