A/n: Okay, so hopefully I can fit in writing chapters along with some school work I'm supposed to finish before the year starts. So here is chapter 14 or rather 15, in 's case. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: How about we try a little poetry, no?

Me no own no characters

Me no copy other's works

Me just want to write, write, write

Me no like those copy jerks!

There you have it. My grand masterpiece that might sweep the world off it's feet. Yeah.

Rating: Since I heard was getting a little stricter, I'm going to boost this rating up to R, just for safety's sake.

Voguish Fib

chapter fourteen - Expecting Company?

"...And that's how we ended up here...exhausted and really, really hungry..." Taichi concluded with his story. He looked up and noticed the three, amazingly beautiful sisters staring at him with awe. He smiled at them. True, they were gorgeous and maybe even better mannered than Sora, yet he could never picture himself with any of them. How strange...three young, beautiful girls around him and he couldn't find himself attracted to them in any other way except with looks?

"So are you still hungry?" Kimi, one of the sisters, asked, gazing at him wonderingly.

"No," Taichi said with a thankful smile and bow. "I'm actually very full. Thank you for the food."

"And you, Yamato-san?" Hana, the emerald eyed sister, asked.

"I'm all right too. Thank you."

"I can't believe how complicated your love life is," Yuri, the third sister, commented. "But in a fairytale sort of way..." she added, placing her dainty little elbows on the table, resting her chin on her hands.

Taichi sighed. "Put it together with my entire life's living, and that is quite a lot of complication," Taichi said, then laughed. "But I doubt it's anything like a fairytale."

"Well, if you are tired of all that complication, maybe I could be of service to you," Kimi offered.

"Oh Kimi! You always think you can have them!" Yuri shouted, folding her arms with a pout.

"Oh, and you think you can?" Kimi retaliated.

"Actually ladies, I appreciate your offer, but at this time in my life, I think a woman is the last thing I need..." Taichi said softly. The sisters were silent.

Then, "Yamato-san does not seem to have any complications in his life," Hana announced, half smiling at Yamato. Yamato had been silent the entire time, oblivious to their conversation as he scarfed down the food as if it was water. Of course, he did it with politeness and grace.

Yamato looked up at the rest of the group, food in mouth, glancing around blankly.

"Huh?" he asked, suddenly aware that all eyes were on him.

Hana repeated. "I said, you don't seem to have anything complicating in your love life. Do you?"

Yamato thought back and suddenly his eyes darkened, though no one saw it. He shook it off quickly, not wanting to be reminded of that unrequited love. His azure eyes turned back to the girls. He swallowed his food and smiled mischieviously at the girls. "Actually girls I--"

"Do you need anything else Taichi-san? Yamato-san?" Takato intruded, as he brought the plates down into the sink.

Everyone's attention snapped towards Takato. "That's it, thank you. I think we should head to bed now anyways," Yamato, who had forgotten what he was saying before the disruption, said as he stood from the table. The others stood with him. They all gave each other a respectable bow before heading off to bed.

Kimi stopped short. "Oh Taichi-san, couldn't you tell us more about your life before we head off to bed?"

Taichi opened his mouth to respond, yet not knowing what to say, but Takato saved him. "I think he's tired Onee-san," Takato told her.

"Oh you always spoil things, 'Kato," Kimi pouted before heading off to bed, her soft golden hair following after.

"Um...Yamato-san, would you like to play a game of cards in our room before you go to sleep? If you're not yet sleepy of course..." Taichi heard one of the sisters ask as they disappeared into the hallway. He was actually really surprised to hear an invitation like that. He glanced at Takato, He didn't even turn back to protest. In the Yagami territories, a woman can only invite a man into her room if she were his sister, mother, or wife. If it were a stranger, it would destroy her reputation forever.

Yet again, he didn't want to question the strangeness of this town. It was mythical wasn't it?

He sighed and gave a thoughtful smile. Yamato deserved to finally have some fun (even if there could be consequences after.) He's been dragging Yamato into all his conflicts lately, yet he still accompanies him anywhere and everywhere, insisting that it was what friends do. Taichi sighed again. Plus there was another thing; maybe this was another way to cope with a recent heartbreak.

Taichi knew about Yamato's clandestine love for Mimi Tachikawa, yet her heart was already taken by the Wise One, aka Koushiro Izumi.

"Taichi-san? Aren't you going to bed?" Takato asked, his ruby eyes only glancing at the older boy for a second before he continued cleaning up.

"Oh no, not at all," Taichi answered. "And I'm still not finished with this awesome juice you made. We don't have this back home. What's it made of?"

"Oh nothing special...just digested sugars, goat cream, and carrots," Takato answered.

Taichi's eyes widened. He spat the drink back into the cup. "Oh really?" Taichi said with an extremely fake laugh. He scraped his tongue while Takato's back was still turned as he pushed the cup away from him.

"How long are you staying up then?" Takato asked, finishing up. He turned to see Taichi smiling up at him innocently.

"Hmm? Oh, maybe later. I'm far from sleepy...If I go now, I'll just toss and turn in bed. I might as well be out here. I hope I don't keep you awake," Taichi said apologetically.

"Not at all. It's actually quite relieving that I can finally talk to you in private without my loud sisters around. It's just so admiring that someone isn't so hormonally attracted to my sisters," Takato said.

"To put it lightly," Taichi added. Takato chuckled lightly.

"To put it lightly," Takato repeated.

"Your sisters are very beautiful...it's just...you heard what I was telling them...with everything going on...it's complicated---I-- well, it seems as if I'm unable to be attracted to them--I don't know...I can't really explain it..."

"You don't have to. I understand," Takato answered quickly.

Taichi stared at Takato for a second. There was a certain look in his eyes that gave Taichi the vibe that he wasn't like other kids...well other kids in the Yagami territories. "You know, you seem pretty smart for a kid your age," he said.

"Haha, I'm already 13. I'm almost a man!" Takato said, proudly. Taichi smiled. There was a silence for a second before anyone spoke. Taichi watched Takato. it seemed as if he had something he wanted to say, but just couldn't put it into words, or maybe, he was struggling with whether he wanted to say it or not.

"Takato?"

"Can I come with you?" he suddenly burst out.

Taichi was surprised. "Wha--come with us?"

"Yes...I've been wanting to say this earlier, but I was too embarrassed with everyone around...I don't know...I've been kind of expecting you."

Taichi stared at him strangely. Expecting him? What the...

"Yes, you're probably creeped out by now...but I was. It came to me in some sort of dream...I was meant to help you somehow, I know it! There's something in your family that you must fix...something that you have to make right in your family...and Sora-san..she's some sort of key to all this--"

All this knowledge wasn't supposed to be known to anyone else, especially a little kid from Kuro-aki. Taichi's conscience was filled with anger all of a sudden for whoever told him. He grabbed Takato by the collar. "How do you know this!? Tell me!!" he growled, his eyes staring down into Takat's ruby eyes menacingly. He couldn't understand how in the three hells had he gotten that information. It was nearly, actually quite impossible to get it out of one of his people. "Tell me dammit!" he shouted again, shaking the boy slightly.

"I told you!! It was in a dream!" Takato shouted at him, frightenedly, grasping ontly Taichi's wrists.

Taichi let him go, and leant back against the wall with a hand on his forehead. He breathed roughly, his mind still unable to process what he was hearing. In a dream? He saw it in a dream? What kind of dreams was this boy having? "Takato, please be careful with that information..I don't want anyone getting to it...especially those folks in Furugawa..."

"So those people who have Sora-san aren't your 'friends,' are they?"

Taichi was silent again. He knew all this? This boy was definitely not of his own age. Maybe he would be the next "Wise One."

"Takato-I'm...I'm sorry about..." Taichi apologized.

"It's okay...Kimi nee-san didn't believe me either...I think she even forgot right after I told her..." Takato said, shrugging it off. "So...can I go?"

Taichi stared at him. "Fine...you can go with us, But are you sure you want to put yourself in danger like this? Whatever we're supposed to be dealing with is pretty dangerous...it's not your average-day, 'slip-on-a-banana-peel,' fall-in-a-river,' 'get-kidnapped,' sort of dangerous, it's supernatural stuff we're dealing with here."

"And living in Kuro-aki isn't weird at all? I think there are more supernatural things going on here than anywhere else on this planet."

"But this is the strongest force we've ever dealt with! Takato...you should understand that this is very different."

"I know...It was in--"

"A dream, yeah," Taichi finished.

Once again there was a silence. Taichi and Takato stared into one another's eyes for what seemed like forever, as if they were unsure about going on, and then, "Okay, pack your bags. Nothing heavy, and tell your parents, and sisters that you're leaving--leave a note or something--we're going tonight."

"Tonight? But--"

"No buts, we have to get Sora away from those guys...I know they have her chained up somewhere in that house! I can't let them have her chained up, she's been chained up enough during these past few weeks," Taichi told him, his voice seething with anger.

Takato said nothing and simply followed his orders. Taichi was the commander now. he knew that if he was to go, he should listen to whatever he said.

"Okay, in about an hour, I'm going to sneak into Sakana-san's house and get Sora, okay? And before you say it, I know it's breaking in, but you said yourself that hospitality here is overwhelming; they won't be leaving for a while...but you see, we have to leave now and get home as quickly as possible. We might not have as much time with this mission as we might think..."

Takato simply nodded. "Mm," he answered as Taichi spoke.

"When I leave, Yamato should be awake and ready to leave. We have to leave before your village wakes up. Do you understand Takato-kun?"

"Mm, I understand."

"Okay, now go to bed."

It seemed like forever, but Taichi knew it was best to be patient. In an hour, everyone should be asleep. He heard stories about the Kami people and he knew, from what he was told, that the Kami people were very punctual in everything, even sleeping.

His mind drifted off to Takato...yes...he could be trusted, it just seemed so surprising that a kid like him would rather get out of the town he knew so well and enter the strange world. He smiled...he was like himself in a way...rebelling against society...always wanting to go on adventures...trying to get away...

"And look what that got me into..." he said to himself.

1a.m.

It was time.

Taichi rose from his bed and realized that Yamato had not come in yet. He rolled his eyes. He shouldn't be fooling around with those girls unless he wanted to deal with Takato's mother and father. He took his things and exited the room, scanning the halls for Takato.

Just as he expected, Takato was out in the kitchen, waiting for Taichi,

"Have you called Yamato?" he asked.

"Yes. He's...um...um...dressing..." Takato answered, avoidingly. "So you're leaving now?" he asked, changing the subject before Taichi could respond.

"Yeah. Wait, Yamato's dressing? Why would he need to....oh," Taichi said, dumbfounded. He rolled his eyes. "Well that's his problem. If your parents suddenly wake up...or find out sometime in the future and come after him with a knife or a really large, sharp object, that's his own fault. I gotta go. Make sure he's ready to go...and that he doesn't wake up your sisters."

"Right."

Taichi was out the door before Takato could say another word. He searched his surroundings. The entire place was pitch black.

These people don't believe in outdoor lighting... he thought dejectedly. He lit a match. Luckily, he had a lamp with him, knowing the difference from this town to his. He slowly entered through an opened window. With the dim lighting, he scanned the room and noticed that three children were in the room. Taichi crept in.

"Nine children huh? So three in each room, plus the man and wife...and guests...and the dog..." Taichi counted softly to himself as he got into the room. "Maybe a cat too..."

He crept through and quietly opened the door out of their room. It was a good thing there wasn't much in the room except beds, rugs, and kids, or else he would have woken them up with his clumsiness. He continued into the hall. It seemed impossible to fit all these rooms into these small houses, as it appeared outside. But then again, the strangeness of this town was unquestionable.

He found one other door to his left, where he entered from, and two on his right.

Which to pick...which to pick... Taichi thought. He shut his eyes. Maybe his conscience would pick it for him. He opened a random door. Unfortunately, it gave a slight squeak. Taichi's eyes were wide and his hand stopped from opening the door. His heart felt like it stopped beating for a second. He couldn't afford to be caught, not now, not ever. He'd be kicked out instantly for sure. He listened, his muscles tense and still, his eyes still wide, wondering if they had caught him, sneaking into their house to steal a guest.

Nothing.

He was thankful, but had to continue. This escape must be swift. He continued to open the door with smooth patience.

And then, a deep, stoic voice, "Where do you think you're going?"

Taichi froze as the knife pressed up against his neck, and a lean, muscular arm gripped his neck in a death hold. He shut his eyes tightly. What's happening to me? My ears were supposed to hear his footsteps! Especially if he was that close! Taichi told himself. He had superb hearing. So why did this man's steps escape his ears?

"Are you Prince Yagami by any chance?" the deep voice asked. Taichi couldn't say a word. "Answer me!" he hissed, tightening the edge of the knife against his skin.

"Y--hhe--yes," Taichi choked.

"Well I'm Jyou Kido, it's a pleasure to finally meet the dog that Princess Sora was forced to join forces with," Jyou snarled.

"And you must be her kidnapper," Taichi spat.

"And so must you," Jyou returned.

Anger seethed in silence between the two for what seemed like an eternity before Taichi spoke again. "Where is she?" he demanded, both worried about what they had done to her and angry that one of Sora's own people would hold her captive.

"Why, in this room of course. But you aren't going to take her from me anymore. You see, we are to be married as soon as we get back to Furugawa," Jyou flouted, teeth grinding, teasing Taichi. taunting him in his helplessness."

"Oh yeah!?"

"Yeah, ya damn right," Jyou told him smugly, as he tightened his grip on the knife just enough to let Taichi swallow with out scratching him much. Suddenly, something leathery strapped against the knife and pulled it away. Taichi instantly took advantage of the situation, despite his surprise, and punched Jyou in the face.

"You idiots! Stop fighting like a bunch of lunatics! Stop it!" came the voice holding the leathery object. The voice was soothingly familiar.

The two young men stopped, in mid-hold of each other's necks, and stared at the girl at the door.

"Sora," Taichi said breathlessly. Even if it had only been two days since he'd last seen her, it wrenched at his heart. Why? Was two days too much?

"You're going to wake them up!" she hissed, slapping both boys upside the head. She pulled them inside the guest bedroom. Jyou was surprised to see his two allies tied to the window with cloth around their mouths to keep them quiet.

How did she do it so fast? Jyou wondered.

Taichi on the other hand, scarcely gave notice to the slap upside the head or the tied up young men. His eyes were frozen on Sora. He walked over to her.

"S...Sora...I came here to..." he began, fumbling.

"Rescue me? You're too late! But that's not the point--" Sora began. She was cut off when Taichi suddenly lunged forward and hugged her tightly.

"God I missed you..." Taichi whispered, his ego completely caged somewhere at the back of his mind. Sora's eyes widened when she heard the words she could never have expected coming from Taichi's mouth. Her heart started to race. But she wasn't able to think much of it when he looked up into her eyes. She stared into his, almost getting lost in those dark brown orbs. Yes, no matter how much she denied it inside her, she...she...

"T-Tai..." she said softly. He smiled gently at her as he tucked some loose auburn strands behind her ear, his fingers lingering there, stroking her hair soothingly. She felt as if she couldn't breathe. Why was this happening to her? This never happened to her before, yet it's been happening quite often now, every time he was around her. She watched as he closed his eyes and leaned forward, lips parted, relaxed. He was thinking she would do the same.

Would she...?

Sora's heart began pounding in her ears, but it wasn't of stark fear, or that she wanted to reject him, but she couldn't. It was the fact that she was afraid she would kiss him the wrong way.

Inevitably, she leaned forward, forgetting her thoughts, her moist lips parted as well, kissing him with such intense passion she didn't know she had. She placed her hands at the back of his head as the kiss grew evermore intense. Taichi's lips parted as he kissed her, knowing that he was nearly losing his mind, instead, filling it with thoughts of love and lust, and he didn't care who was in the room to witness it. Sora's tongue reached forward to his, yearning to touch it, yearning for him to take advantage of her momentary helplessness. Her lips felt numb, and she felt dazed, but she continued, pressing her mouth against his, allowing his tongue to stroke the length of her inner jaw. She held him tighter, and then...

Jyou froze after he finished untying his friends, his heart thoroughly crushed after seeing the scene. He began to overreact.

"Get away from her!!" Jyou growled lowly, shoving the two apart. Taichi was staring at Sora and she at him with surprise and a sudden realization of how fast their hearts were beating. The afterglow of the kiss was too sudden. Jyou continued, "You have NO right to touch my fiancee that way!!" He shoved Taichi again.

"Hey asshole, Sora can do whatever she wants!" Taichi argued back, pushing Jyou back. Jyou was already angry, now he was shaking. He punched Taichi across the jaw. Taichi punched Jyou in the face, his knuckles taut and white. For a second, Jyou saw the white of his knuckles, but then he was hit, hard and fast. He staggered back, until he got another blow from Taichi. His anger boiled even more, so his strength finally flowed through his body. He kicked Taichi's legs, causing them to lift up into the air. Taichi fell flat on his back, his head hitting the floor with a hard 'bump!'

"Stop it! Stop fighting! The both of you are acting like children! You're going to get us caught!" Sora tried, trying to place herself between the two.

"You probably forced her with that too! That--that obcene kiss! Along with you forcing her to go with you!" Jyou snarled, lunging at Taichi on the floor, choking him. Sora was pushed out of the way.

Okay, that made her mad.

"It may have been like that in the beginning, but she wants to be with me now! She wants to help me!" Taichi continued to argue back, backhanding Jyou, causing him to roll away from him. Sora trudged forward again, to both of them and grabbed them by the ears.

"Is this the only way to get your attention?" she asked angrily, giving a sharp twist to both ears.

"OW--OWW--Sor--Ow--"

"Sora--!! OW--owwy--ow--"

"I told you we're gonna get caught if you keep up all that noise the two fo you are making! Why is it that men always want violence? Civil war this, bar brawl that... Both of you are idiots!" Sora sermoned. She pushed the two away from each other.

Taichi wiped his bloody nose with his shirt, his eyes still on Jyou. "Come on Sora, we're leaving."

Sora put her hands on her hips. "Wait, no one is going to make me decide who to go with. I will go with whoever I choose, do you understand, Taichi?" This upset her. She thought, after all they've been through together, he would remember that it was her own decision.

Jyou chuckled at this, looking superior once he heard her words. "So you'll be coming with me then, right Princess?"

Sora's glaring eyes pointed to him. "What did I just say?" she asked with a menacing smile.

At this, it was Taichi's turn to smile.

"Now this is how it will be, Jyou, get the horses ready," Sora said.

Taichi stared dumbly at her, then at Jyou, then back at her. "Sora--wait...I don't understand--" Taichi began.

"Oh don't worry, 'Your Highness,' I'm not backing out of that promise. A promise is a promise."

"But you're still going with Jackass over there, aren't you?" Taichi said, scathingly, glaring at Jyou. When Sora looked at him, he folded his arms across his chest with his back facing her. Sora scoffed. He was acting like such a big baby...even when her first belief of him was that he was actually more mature than she was. It made her kind of sad.

"I just want Jyou and those two to go home safely," Sora said, staring at each of the three young men of Furugawa with stern eyes.

Jyou, on the other hand, looked frantic. If Myotismon found out, after all they've done, that she hadn't come home with them... "But Princess! Your mother has ordered your return!" he insisted.

"Tell her there is nothing to worry about. I'm fine!! I told you this a million times and still you don't listen. Ay...Jyou, I thought you'd have more sense..." And I expected too much of Tai when I thought he'd be mature about this... She began to brood.

Jyou was still persistent. "But...if your mother saw that I didn't return with you--"

"Then what can she do? Send another dolt to come for 'my rescue?'" Sora spat. "GO! Please just go..."

With that, Jyou and the other two hurried away, Jyou snapping at them every second, as if he scorned them for his failure to bring Sora with them.

Sora turned to Taichi and found that he had been looking at her the whole time. "Sora..."

Sora closed her eyes and held her hand out, as if gesturing him to stop. "Before you say anything...I have a new proposition. I will go back with you, but only because I want to help your sister."

"Sora..."

Sora swallowed at her next words. "And, to make things easier for the both of us, whatever happened between us over the trip to your kingdom should be forgotten."

Taichi's heart seemed to stop. What!? "No, Sor--"

She interrupted him again. "You, of all people, should understand that it's only going to cause complications, don't you think?"

"Actually, I--"

"Besides," she said, giving a mirthless laugh. "That's the only reason why you brought--ha...kidnapped me in the first place, right?" Her voice was loud now, and he knew she wasn't finished yet.

Still, he tried to get in. "Sora, will you--"

"I mean," she continued, on the verge of tears, but not realizing it, "it's only going to be a distraction anyways...since we're supposed to be figuring out a way--or ways to find and get your sister back. So there's no time for petty drama. Look at what's happened to us because of whatever it was going on between us. We're not even closeto getting what you need to get to. Am I right?"

This time, she stopped, but Taichi couldn't say a word. he was speechless--was that how she really felt about what had happened between them? After all that, it was all just petty drama to her?

He was drained, emotionally, and stunned. Right when he was going to tell her how he felt...hadn't she seen it in his eyes?

"I guess you're right," Taichi said finally, his eyes averting hers. Sora dreaded he would say that. She wanted, somewhere in the back of her mind, for him to disagree with her...but Taichi had some pride too. He didn't want to feel as if he was weak. He didn't want to humiliate himself further by admitting his feelings when she could care less about what he felt...

They stood silently for a while, not listlessly, but rather, heavily, before Taichi began walking out the door, back to Takato's home. Sora followed quietly behind him.

Stupid teenagers.

A/N: Sorry I had to end it like that!!! =( Eh...but it was a pretty long chapter, wasn't it? Longer than my usual...but alas! It's finished! Well...I would like to say I'm almost finished with the entire story, but I really don't know how long it's going to last. I know for sure it would be over 20 chapters, at the least.

And about Yamato...don't expect too little of him.