Artistic Differences
By theladyknight
A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviews the story. You guys are so great! Enjoy chapter 6 and don't forget to review and tell me your thoughts!
My Name is R.C: The story would be really boring without Tai, wouldn't it! Thanks for reviewing!
Raine189: My family has a croquet set too. But we lost a good deal of the balls in the sewer—long story. Thanks for the reviews and all the nice words.
Curtis Zidane Ziraa: How could I forget you? I'm still laughing from your chapter 4 response! Newayz, I'm glad you brought up the Egypt thing. I've got no problem with the ancient Egyptians; history and ancient civilizations are probably one of my best classes in school, but I figure Tai wouldn't be too interested in it. Unfortunately for Tai, though, we will be hearing a little more about Egypt in this chappie. And as to your other question, I'm not gonna disclose that yet! Keep reading to find out and thanks for all the reviews!
Crazyamzy: I'm glad you like the story!
Chapter 6: Shopping Adventures and Denial
Thirty minutes later, Tai and the three girls all met in the entranceway, greeted by the sight of T.K and Matt hard at work. "Hey guys!" Kari exclaimed upon seeing them.
T.K. and Matt both looked at the four figures standing before them. "Hello everyone! What are you all doing here?" T.K. questioned.
Matt caught Sora's eye and muttered a soft, "Hey,"
"Hey," she answered a little shyly, grinning at him.
It was Kari this time that noticed the interaction between the two. "We are so going to talk to her about this when we get out into town." She whispered quietly to Mimi.
"You said it. She is so into him."
Kari looked at her brother who was asking T.K. if his family would be able to find some time to make a statue of his head. "Now we just have to find a way to ditch my brother…"
Mimi got an evil glint in her eye. "I'll take care of Tai…" Kari gave her a huge smile as Sora fixed her eyes on at them.
"What are you two plotting?"
"Nothing." They answered guiltily.
Though she knew perfectly well their answer was bogus, Sora found her gaze once again drifting to the oldest blonde's. What gorgeous eyes. Just one look at them and I find myself drowning in those deep blue pools. He's so handsome, and kind, and caring, and mysterious, and so amazing. Sora sighed. I really think I'm falling for him…
Her daydream was interrupted by an outburst from Tai. "Is it the hair? Really, I know I do have a lot of it, but it shouldn't be too hard to put in the statue. My hair has got to be my best feature. You know every person has their own distinguishing feature and I think my hair is mine…"
"Oh brother." Sora shook her head. She walked over to the two other girls, and Matt soon joined them.
"I have a feeling he's going to be at this for a while." Matt explained. "I couldn't stand on that stool for that long without doing anything. I can't concentrate under these conditions. This definitely wasn't in the job description."
"I doubt the job description included bushy annoying, teenage male as a friend either." Mimi replied.
"Unfortunately, I was not forewarned." Matt answered sarcastically. The three girls all laughed. He can be so funny and friendly now that he knows the others. He is so perfect.
Matt noticed the redhead looking at him and winked at her. Sora felt her face heat up as she turned away quickly.
Footsteps entered the hall though they were hard to hear over Tai's continuously moving mouth. "Hello, again." The king greeted as he entered.
All the teens looked at Sora's father and bowed or curtsied. Tai even managed to shut up. "Your Highness," They echoed in unison. Kari felt her hand brush up against T.K.'s, who in attempt to get away from Tai's sculpture request had slowly been making his way in the direction of the others. The two youngest teenagers looked at each other and blushed, turning their attention back to the king.
"Sora, here is the list that has been prepared for you." He handed her a list and also a bag that jingled when he she took it. No one had to be told what was in there. "You should be off; I imagine you'll be quite busy." He turned to face the two blondes. "They are running some errands for us in the nearby town today. You boys are doing excellent work, keep it up!" He smiled, finally answering T.K.'s earlier question and took his departure.
"Well, we best be heading off." Kari said cheerfully. "See you guys later!"
"Yeah." Matt responded. "Have fun today. Don't let bushy do anything too stupid."
"Don't worry your little blond head over it." Tai responded as they walked out the doors. He then stopped and ran back into the castle, as though he had forgotten something. "T.K., remember what the label on my statue is going to read," he paused dramatically and expanded his hands to symbolize the supremacy of it, "Taichi is he! See ya!"
T.K. looked at his older brother as the brunette ran to catch up with the others. "He is one strange guy."
"I'd say that describes him pretty well. But I've got an idea for this statue of his." Matt responded, laughing as the two began working just like they had before they were disturbed, planning on making this "statue" a little later on...
-On the road to the village-
Meanwhile the three girls all stopped and waited for Tai to catch up to them. "What was he going back for?" Mimi asked.
"Don't know." Sora answered. "Something aboutthe statue he believes T.K. is going to make for him, I think."
"I can't believe you actually claim him as your brother, Kari." Mimi added.
Kari gave the two an exasperated look. "Each day I wonder more and more if he was adopted…"
"That would definitely explain the hair." Sora mused and joined in the laughter. A yell was heard behind them. "Here he comes."
"Hey guys! What are you standing around for, lets go!" The three girls exchanged shrugs and, they all made their way into town. The local village was about a ten-minute walk from the castle, and Tai entertained the girls with funny jokes and his own stories. Before they knew it, they were in the village of Roselle.
"Look at all the stores!" Mimi's eyes got gigantic and pearly. "Let's get all the party shopping out of the way right now, then we can look for CLOTHES!"
"Oh boy, this is going to be a very long day." Tai sighed.
Kari and Sora giggled as they first made their way to the fruit vendor. "The list says we need a variety of fruits: apples, oranges, bananas, and whatever else looks good. We also need fresh vegetables, whatever kind we would like, whenever we see a vegetable stand." Sora read.
"This looks good!" Kari exclaimed, holding up a few oranges and put them in a bag the vendor offered her. "Yum, strawberries. Here are some apples, bananas, and melons; do you think this is enough?"
"Sounds good to me." Mimi answered. "How much is it?" she asked the young vendor quite coyly.
"Oh, I think I could give the fruit to you for five pieces of gold." The man responded, smiling at Mimi.
"You could! That's great! Thanks!" Mimi grinned cutely and handed him the gold before they walked off.
She handed the heavy bag to Tai who after murmuring"Oof!" glared at her.
"What's your problem, bushy?" Sora asked, adapting Matt's nickname for Tai.
"I didn't like the way she was flirting with the vendor." He glanced at Mimi. "You were leading him on." Mimi rolled her eyes, and Tai continued. "Did you see how he hung on your every word, Meems?"
Mimi looked at Tai. "I did get us the fruit for a pretty good price, you've got to admit it, Tai." She rationalized.
"But…" Tai began again not wanting to lose, "he's just a fruit vendor, and you're the daughter of the royal treasurer. I mean, seriously, it would never work even if you did like him like that."
Sora suddenly stopped in the middle of the road. Tai, who was following behind her, ran right into her back. "Taichi Kamiya," Tai gulped, it wasn't often Sora used his full name, and it usually wasn't a good thing when she did, "You don't exactly choose who you fall in love with, it just happens. Why don't you just let this all go? We all know you did us a favor back there, Mimi, and we also all know you like Tai, and he likes you. So why don't we just get the rest of the shopping done in a little peace and quiet!" she spat at Tai.
The redhead marched off after consulting the list for the next destination. That's all the proof I need. She is falling in love with Matt. I knew it! Kari thought to herself. "Hey wait up!" she yelled, realizing the others had all taken off after the enraged princess.
"She normally doesn't lose her temper like that." Mimi mused to Tai.
Tai shook his head. "I've seen her blow up before; that was light, and I got lucky. I wonder what's up? She seemed really mad about what I'd said."
Mimi put the pieces together and came to the same realization Kari had. We really need to talk to her. The four, considerably quieter due to Sora's outburst, went to the produce stand, dairy vendor, meat vendor, and a few small miscellaneous stores.
"Are we done, yet?" Tai pleaded through clenched teeth. He was currently holding seven bags; three in each hand and the one full of the fruit in his mouth. "Seriously, I think I'm gonna drop something soon if we don't start heading back."
"But there was this really, really, really cute dress back that Maude just got in at her store. I have to get it. Please, Tai, can we stay around longer…" Mimi asked giving him puppy dog eyes.
Tai's face melted into a goofy grin. "I guess we could stay…a little longer."
"How does she do that?" Sora whispered to Kari. Now that she had time to cool down, Sora was back to her friendly self.
"The Lord only knows…" Kari trailed off. They backtracked their route and headed off towards Maude's Clothing, a store run by a man named Jonathan and his wife Maude. She and Mimi were pretty good friends considering Mimi bought a bulk of her clothing there.
Sora looked around at each of the stores signs, sighing as she realized she still hadn't found what she wanted to find. I've got to find a gift for Matt; something that tells him I care about him but doesn't tell him I think I may be falling for him. Men are so hard to shop for. What can I get him? It needs to be perfect…
The group finally reached Maude's, but something else caught Sora's eyes and it wasn't Tai nearly dropping all seven bags in an attempt to open the door for Mimi. This snapped Sora's thoughts back to the situation at hand. "I've got an idea. How about we pay a little visit to our friend Joe?" she asked the others, whom had each lunged for the apples and oranges, the only things that had fallen from the bags.
"Yeah!" was the enthusiastic reply.
Joe Kido was the village doctor and a very good friend of the Takenouchi family. He ran his office a block from Maude's clothing. Every time Sora and her friendswentto town, they stopped to visit the older boy. Joe was a remarkable doctor and very friendly guy.
The bell dinged as this time to be safe, Kari held the door open for them all. "Hullo, again, Dr. Kido. I seem to have a problem" Tai began in a pseudo feminine voice.
"Mrs. Norton, how many times do I have to tell you I can't give your cat anything to make it stop eating your socks." Joe responded in an exasperated sigh as he continued working on his current project. The four teenagers burst into laughter at Joe's response. He turned around and flushed a very unusual shade of red.
"Who was it this time?" he asked as though this had happened before.
"That would be me, darling." Tai claimed, speaking yet again in his fake, high-pitched feminine voice.
"I should have known." The doctor answered. "What brings you to town today?" He asked, gesturing for them to sit down at the table in the next room.
"We're having a party for one of the artists who is working on the castle. He turns twenty in two days." Kari replied. "Sora's father sent us to get the supplies."
"I see. Sounds like quite the festivity." Joe said. "But what brings you here to my office? Is someone in need of some help?"
"Yeah, Tai could use some mental help." Kari muttered under her breath.
"Did you say something, Kari?" Joe questioned.
Kari shook her head quickly. "No, Joe. We just wanted to check up on you and see how you're doing. And," she motioned to the bags, "look for a place to store these while Mimi shops for some clothes. Tai almost dropped them once, and we can't risk him doing it again." The brunette boy stuck his tongue out at his little sister, and she responded the same.
Mimi rolled her eyes. "Would that be okay, Joe?"
"Of course, I have plenty of room here. Feel free to leave the stuff here, just keep it out of the way. I've got a couple of patients coming in soon."
"Thanks!" they all answered, getting up out of their chairs and moving the sacks. "Talk to you later, Joe!"
"Bye." The blue haired doctor replied, holding the door open for them.
Now's our chance to question Sora about her feelings for Matt! "Tai, hon, could you do me a favor?" Mimi asked sweetly.
"What is it, oh slave driver?" he responded, mock bowing.
"Well I had an errand for you to run; I mean you wouldn't have to hold any of my bags if you did this. But if you're going to act that way about it…"
"I'll do anything," Tai exclaimed desperately, "as long as I don't have to carry any more bags! What do you want me to do?"
"There's a special flower we're going to need. It's a…" Mimi sweat dropped, "Um, a, um…"
"Tea flavorer." Kari supplied.
Mimi flashed her a smile. "Silly me. Of course it's a tea flavorer. It is a very important part of…"
"…this foreign tea the cooks just got…" Kari added. I'd better help her out.
"…and we need you to find it…"
"…it's a green flower…"
"Green?" Tai asked. There are green flowers?
"With blue spots it. And it's really vital that you get it Tai. I'm counting on you. Will you do this for me?" Mimi asked.
Tai looked the girls over. "Of course I will, Meems. Green flower with blue spots. I'm on my way. I won't be back without one. Green flower, blue spots. Green flower, blue spots. Green flower, blue spots." He repeated over and over again to himself.
"You're the best, Tai!" Mimi exclaimed giving him a peck on the cheek.
Tai's expression once again got goofy as he headed off down the road. Green flower, blue spots. Green, flower…she kissed me…blue flower, green spots. Blue flower, green spots…
Mimi and Kari burst into a fit of hysterical laughter as they saw the bushy haired young man walk off into the distance. "Care to explain?" Sora questioned. "I can't say Cook has mentioned anything about new tea."
"We needed a distraction to get us away from him so we could have a little girl talk with you." Kari explained.
"What about?" Sora asked carelessly, making her way into the town music shop, a place she had never set foot in.
"Matt." Came the response.
"What about him?" Sora tried to keep her cool. They can't know…I'm not that obvious, am I?
"You know perfectly well what we are talking about, princess." Sora cringed. She hated it when people, especially her close friends, referred to her bythe title.
"Matt and I are friends, if that's what you're wondering."
"Yeah right." Kari snorted. "Don't give us that."
Sora immediately replied, "I don't know what you're talking about." She began looking around the store, hoping to find something fit for the blond artist. A glimmer of silver caught her attention, and she headed towards the back of the shop.
"Every time you talk to him, you forget about the rest of us. We saw you staring, no gazing, at him earlier. And before when you said that thing about not choosing who you fall for…it's obvious Sor, you're head over heals for him. Don't deny it."
"What's there to deny? Matt and I are friends. Friends look at each other when they talk." I hate lying to them, but I can't tell them what's really going on inside my heart. This is it; it's the perfect gift for Matt! Sora picked the object up and took it to the owner. "How much?"
"Ten gold pieces." Sora immediately handed the money over, and the storeowner wrapped it in paper and put it into a sack, thanking her for buying it.
The three girls left the store with Mimi and Kari keeping up their questioning. "For the last time," Sora yelled, "would you stop pestering me about my personal business! Matt and I are friends, and if there was something going on between us it wouldn't be your business either!"
Mimi was about to object when they heard Tai's voice coming, yelling at them to stop. "I found them." He responded, panting and holding up a green flower with blue spots and a blue flower with green spots. Mimi and Kari's mouths dropped open while Sora resisted the urge to laugh at them. "I couldn't remember what you had said, so I got one of both!"
"Where did you manage to find these, big brother?"
"I ran in to our friend Izzy. He told me he's been doing some science experiments with plants and flowers and he had a few spare specimens I could have for you. Isn't that great!"
"Fantastic." Kari managed. Sora had started walking to Joe's after looking at the town clock and realizing they needed to get back. "She is in denial."
"Denial doesn't even begin to describe it." Mimi responded.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Tai interrupted. "Why are we talking about ancient Egypt again? Weren't we put through enough torture today in class?"
Kari and Mimi looked at each other quizzically. "Where are you getting ancient Egypt out of our conversation?"
"You keep talking about the Nile! And according to you, Mimi, that's the river next to where the Egyptians were at!"
"We're not talking about the Nile, stupid, we're talking about denial."
"You said it again. The Nile. Why would Sora be in the Nile when we're nowhere near Egypt?" he exclaimed hysterically.
"Get it through your mountain of hair, Tai. We are talking about denial, you know the thing where someonerefuses to admitsomething though other people know it is true! Sora is in d.e.n.i.a.l.: denial!"
"Oh," Tai responded, finally understanding. "About what?"
"You wouldn't understand." Kari retorted. "Come on, Sora's going to leave without us if we don't get moving." They hurried off to Joe's and helped Sora pick up the rest of the bags before bidding farewell to Joe and going back to the castle.
A short ten minutes later, filled with Mimi's constant complaining about not getting to stop at Maude's to buy some new clothes, they arrived back at the castle.
"What's that?" Sora questioned, speaking for the first time since saying bye to Joe, pointing at something that occupied the castle steps.
The group made their way to it and after studying it and reading the accompanying sign, the three girls burst into laughter. Tai on the other hand looked like a lobster that had been out in the sun too long. Sitting in front of the castle steps was a large round pumpkin with probably thirty sticks pointing out of its top. Eyes, a nose, and mouth along with ears were painted on it. A sign lay in front of , letters painted on it as well. The sign read, Taichi is he!
A/N: Thoughts? Please review and tell me what you think. Next chapter is the surprise party for Matt!