Black Rose

by Tyson FoxFlame

[AU][Taito] Rough around the edges: a pure description of Yamato. After his 3rd expulsion, he's shipped off to a special school in Japan in hopes that he'll change. Things seem hopeless and unfair then he met Taichi, the roommate who taught him everything

9. Cheer

Give me envy, give me malice, give me attention. Give me envy give me malice, baby, give me a break.

-Time to Dance, Panic! At the Disco

---

The first thing he felt was the warmth of the sunlight streaming in through the window above his bed, spreading out across the bedspread and warming his toes. The second thing he felt wasn't quite as pleasant however.

"Will you stop poking me?" Matt asked in an irritable tone as he lifted his head to glare at his younger brother, who was currently standing above him, prodding his left arm with his index finger.

"Well I could have been meaner and dumped a bunch of cold water on you. Would you have preferred that?" TK replied smoothly and drew his hand away, folding his arms and watching the boy in the bed. Matt blinked a few times, trying to rid himself of the excess sleep and let out a yawn as he sat up.

"I think I'll stick with the poking." He nodded and rubbed at his nose. He rubbed at it again, starting to feel a little frustrated at how badly it itched. Not to mention how…raw it was…after last night. All of the memories from the previous evening suddenly hit him like a bullet train and his jaw fell ajar in addition to his eyes widening involuntarily as one solid thought stuck in his mind.

'Oh shit.'

"Did you even hear anything I just said?" TK rudely interrupted his panicky bubble as he stared at him in an expectant manner.

"No, probably not. Can you repeat it?" Matt asked lightly in attempt to forget about last night.

"I said that it's 8am and you need to get dressed and packed," TK repeated himself once more. Matt nodded in reply and swung himself out of the warmth of his bed, striding over to his bag of clothing. It was only when he got that far did TK's words sink in.

"Pack? Pack for what?" He raised an eyebrow and stopped rummaging through his things, giving the younger blond his full attention.

"Kari has a cheerleading competition that starts tomorrow and we're all going so we have to leave today because her team is meeting down there and the competition runs until the 30th so…yeah," TK trailed off. The older blue eyes blinked rapidly and gave the younger boy a confused and dazed look.

"Where?"

"Kyoto. About three hours from here. So get dressed and all that fun shit," TK ended the conversation abruptly and bounced out of the room.

"Most likely to go find Kari," Matt muttered to himself and resumed to shifting through his articles of clothing in attempt of finding something decent to wear. At the rate he was going however, it wasn't going to be an easy task. In the silence of the bedroom, his thoughts easily drifted back to his brunet companion and what exactly had happened between them.

What had happened was not something that happened between most best friends.

He dropped the pair of dark red pants he held in his hand onto the floor and quickly darted out of his room, charging into the room across the hall. He frantically began poking around the bedding on the right side of the room.

"Shit, shit, shit!" he exclaimed when he came up clueless with no idea where Tai would be.

"Can I help you?" a puzzled voice asked quietly from behind him, causing the older boy to jump in alarm. He whirled around and spotted a pair of cinnamon eyes blinking at him curiously.

"Oh wow! Dais, I'm so sorry! Did I wake you up?" Matt rambled on all in one breath. The other boy merely blinked in return and raised his eyebrow, rewarding Matt with a look of pure puzzlement.

"No…but you're starting to freak me out. What's your deal?" he asked the patched one, propping himself up with his elbows.

"Look, forget what I'm flipping out about, I just need to talk to your brother, like, a-sap." Matt ran both hands through his golden locks, praying silently that Daisuke didn't have Tai's talent of reading thoughts.

"A-sap?"

Well, apparently he didn't have to worry about the youngest Yagami-Motomiya sibling's brains getting in the way of his quest.

"My way of saying asap, which is short for as soon as possible, which is how soon I need to talk to Tai!" Matt flailed his arms around suddenly, loosing grip on his patience.

"Well I knew what it meant. I mean, I'm not that stupid. But why didn't you just say asap instead of wasting time saying a-sap? Actually, if you think about it, saying a-sap saves more time." Daisuke stopped talking to ponder this concept. Matt groaned and shook his head, turning on his heel and stiffly walking towards the door.

"Never mind, Daisuke, I'll go find him myself!" He shook his head and darted out of the room, leaving behind a contemplative, and now very much awake, Daisuke. Not thinking twice about it, he raced down the hall and barged into Kari's room.

"Hey!" the surprised female shouted and covered her bare chest with the shirt in her hands. Matt's eyes widened for the second time in the past 15 minutes and he squeaked.

"Sorry!" He turned instantly and shut the door, leaning against the wall next to it.

'Okay, normally, any guy would want to get a view of that rack. But, that was just like…who cares? Somehow, I don't think that's a normal reaction.' He sighed to himself and scuffed his foot along the carpet. The bedroom door opened a short time later and a slightly peeved Hikari poked her head out.

"Now you may come in," she said to the blond boy and disappeared back into the room, leaving Matt to follow after her.

"Kari, I am really sorry. My brain wasn't fully awake and I just spaced right through knocking," Matt profusely apologized as he stepped into the room. Kari snickered slightly in return and began to shove different articles of clothing into a blue and white duffel bag.

"Oh don't worry about it. It could have been worse."

"How so?"

"Well. I could have been braless, and you could have been TK," she rationalized and zipped up the bag.

"…my brother isn't a pervert, is he?" the blond asked warily as he watched Kari dive into her closet while avoiding the many random items that fell out.

"No! Thankfully, I mean if he was, well, he wouldn't be my boyfriend anyway," she laughed from inside the hole in the wall, coming out with a pair of white tennis shoes.

"Right…"

"Well he wouldn't and he knows it. Besides, it'd be one step further, and I know your brother isn't ready for that kind of thing." She slipped the shoes into her bag and sat on the bed to tie up her regular shoes.

"You're the dominant one, aren't you?" Matt leaned against the wall behind him and watched the younger girl.

"Damn straight!" she replied with a wink and a wide grin, causing him to chuckle at her antics.

"Tai was right, you are pretty cool."

"What exactly did you expect?"

"Well, when he said cheerleader…I kind of thought…y'know…"

"Air-head?" Kari filled in the blanks and bounced off her bed, donning the blue jacket with white stripes on the sleeves onto her petite frame.

"Yeah, to be blunt about it."

"Some of us are rather air-headed, but if you can look past that, they're actually pretty nice. Always good for a laugh too. Like this one time, my friend Noriko had a packed lunch for one of our away games and she pulled out this can of Chicken of the Sea right? So she looks at it for a little while, and then she says, 'Is it chicken, or is it fish?' It was grand," Kari rambled on and on as she stood in front of her vanity, carefully applying silver eye shadow, black eyeliner, and a hint of body glitter.

"Well then…I'd ask questions, but I really need to find your brother. Do you know where he went?"

"Which one?"

"Tai. He wasn't in his room when I went to talk to him this morning."

"Oh, he's out front. Mom wanted him to shovel the front walk and the driveway before we went anywhere. That way Michael doesn't have to do it." The last sentence was spoken in a tone that was laced with disgust.

"Why doesn't he just do it himself? It wouldn't take that long." Matt raised an eyebrow and folded his arms over his bare chest.

"Because Michael's an ass. No other reason."

"Hmm." Matt didn't really know what else he could have said. Kari nodded and reached into one of the drawers next to her. She rattled around for a few moments before pulling her hand back out and coming up with a tube of lip gloss.

"What do you need to find him for anyway?" she asked the blond and began to dab on the strawberry-flavored gloss. Matt shook his head and pushed himself away from the wall, turning around and heading out of the room.

"Just need to talk to him. Thanks for telling me!" He waved over his shoulder and darted down the stairs, grabbing his black jacket off of the rack in the front hall. He jammed on his Converse sneakers and wrenched open the front door without bothering to tie them up. He ran outside and spotted Tai down the sidewalk, shoveling scoops of snow into the yard behind him. He jogged up next to him and grinned.

"Hiya!" he chirped, causing the brunet boy to jump and swing back with his shovel. "Whoa, watch it!" Matt protested and jumped over the metal scoop, stepping a few steps away from Tai.

"Oh, it's just you. Sorry, I thought…never mind, hi." The Japanese boy grinned uneasily and drove the shovel into the snow, leaning against the pole with his arm and placing his other hand on his hip.

"Didn't mean to scare you," Matt informed him and shoved his own hands into the pockets of his jacket. Tai shrugged and waved a hand.

"I was just so focused on what I was doing; I didn't even hear you walk up behind me, that's all."

"Oh. Well, can we talk?" the blue-eyed boy asked in a hopeful tone as he began to tug Tai towards the front porch.

"Sure. Inside?"

"Do you mind?"

"Is this talk about something personal?"

"Yes."

"Then yes, I mind. But we can just sit on the porch," Tai suggested and walked over to one of the chairs decorating the wooden platform.

"Thankfully the porch is covered so snow doesn't get on the furniture," Matt replied and sat in the next chair. Once they were both comfortable, Tai leaned on his knees and looked into Matt's eyes.

"Now, what is so important that we need to talk about?" He grinned widely to show that he was just joking. However, Matt was anything but joking about this whole manner. He took in a deep breath and nodded.

"Right. Okay, so last night."

"Last night…" Tai repeated him, urging him to continue.

"Last night, you…I mean we…no you…um…" Matt stumbled over his words momentarily as his thoughts raced around in circles.

"Just spit it out already!" Tai rubbed his eyes in irritation and poked the American in the shoulder.

"Last night, you kissed me, and I wasn't really comfortable that you did that," Matt finally managed to blurt out, looking up at Tai for some sort of reaction. What he saw was the grin melt away from his best friend's face and reform into a confused thin line.

"…what are you talking about?"

"You! Last night, you gave me my Christmas present and you were wearing a skirt and this mid-drift shirt and you threw in a box of condoms and then you kissed me!" Matt exclaimed and subconsciously tugged on a lock of black hair. At first, he had expected Tai to stutter in denial. His second thoughts were that the mud-eyed boy would just say that yes he was homosexual and he liked the kiss.

But never did he expect Tai to begin to laugh. Loudly for that matter.

"Where did you get that idea? Did you eat something that gives you weird dreams or what?" he choked out between peals of laughter, causing the blond to go deeper into his cycle of insistence.

"It's true! I remember because I-" said blond stopped himself in mid-sentence when he ran over what he was going to say in his mind. He couldn't let Tai know that he had actually been turned on by that! Not only would it spell sheer and utter embarrassment, he didn't want to give Tai the wrong idea.

"Because you what?" Tai raised an eyebrow, trying his hardest to keep his neutral façade in check. If Matt was really that uncomfortable with the kiss, then there's no telling what else he would have to say if Tai told him he had a crush on him.

Yes, he had come to this conclusion that morning. He wasn't in love: it was just a crush. There was a difference. Either way, if the blond was that uncomfortable about it, the best thing to do was exercise his natural gift: the ability to confuse people.

"Because I remember your lips tasted like strawberry!" Matt accused, showing almost no signs of giving in to the argument. He was not going to let Tai just get away with this. If he had to, he would find evidence and back him into a corner. Then he'd have to confess to everything.

"Matt, get over it. I did not kiss you. My lips were not fruity, I wasn't a cross-dresser, and this was all some wacky dream you had."

"No. I can prove it to you!" Matt jumped out of his chair and began trekking back towards the front door.

"Really. How can you prove something that never happened?" Tai pushed himself out of his own chair and followed his friend.

"That skirt is still probably in your closet!"

"Yeah, go ahead and search, pal! You won't find anything."

"Watch me!"

"Wish I could, but I have to finish the front walk. I'll meet you in there though. Take all the time you need to search my room," Tai offered and shoved Matt through his front door, shutting it in his face and jumping off of the porch. He waited for a brief moment and looked inside through the window to the left of the door, watching Matt jog up the stairs and out of sight. Turning on his heel, he flew off the steps and down the street about four houses down, pouncing onto the round porch and jamming the doorbell into its socket. The door soon swung open and there stood Sora, still clad in her blue pajama bottoms with stars on them and yellow tank top that matched.

"What are you doing here this early?"

"Good morning to you too, Love." Tai grinned at her and stepped around her, sashaying his way into the Takenouchi living room. "Are your parents home?" he called over his shoulder as an after-thought.

"Still sleeping actually," Sora replied as she followed Tai around her house. They both ended up in the kitchen after going in a small circle, Sora making her breakfast and Tai watching her closely.

"So what's up?" she asked calmly, already having a clue what exactly was up.

"Ugh! Last night went perfect as planned!" Tai began his story and laid his head on his folded arms.

Yup, just as she suspected.

"So what's the problem?"

"He was 'uncomfortable' about it. He confronted me about it this morning."

"And what did you say?" Sora listened with one ear while she popped her bagel out of the toaster and smothered it with cream cheese.

"I had to lie and say that he was dreaming. Sora, what am I going to do! If he's freaking out about a kiss, how would he react if I said I was infatuated with him?" Tai said with a slight whine in his tone, looking up at Sora's figure with his large puppy-dog eyes.

"Well, did you give him any warning last night when you kissed him?"

"…not really."

"That's probably why he freaked," she sighed and shook her head.

'The drama of a bi-guy.' She let him ramble on for a few moments about how his life would soon be over and he'd be unhappy and how he still had to room with him for the rest of the school year. She waited as long as she could before she slammed her hand over his mouth, silencing him so she could speak.

"Look, Tai, just take some time to get things back to normal. Then warn him beforehand and then tell him you're bi. What did you tell him as an excuse to come and tell me all of this?"

"I didn't. He's searching my room for evidence about last night, none of which he'll find at any rate."

"Why?"

"The lip gloss is in Kari's room, I cleaned up all of the glitter and put away the candles last night after he fell asleep, he sleeps like a rock by the way, and of course this." Tai stopped talking and stood up, removing his jacket and setting it aside. He was wearing the mid-drift top and the mini-skirt over his jeans, both items slightly wrinkled. Thankfully, his jacket was long enough to cover up the skirt. Unzipping the shirt, he stepped out of the skirt and handed the entire outfit back to Sora and slid his jacket back onto his now naked upper body.

"What did you wear under these?" Sora questioned him and left both articles of clothing on the counter, hopping up next to them and biting into her bagel.

"Truthfully?"

"Yep."

"…nothing."

"Gross! You just went totally commando?" Tai rolled his eyes at his friend's childish freak-out.

"Well it's not like I really had much of a choice! Wearing boxers under a mini-skirt is not only tacky but it kills the entire affect!"

"Still, ew! I wanted to wear that eventually."

"You still can."

"Tai…now tell me the truth. Did you happen to get…a little excited when you were kissing Matt?"

"…well…kind of."

"Gross! Keep it then!" Sora shouted and threw everything back at him.

"Oh come on!"

"Tai, I'm not keeping something that your dick touched!" she continued to protest.

"So much for you being the mature one," Tai sighed and shook his head.

"That's icky."

"Look, I can't take it back to my house! Matt will figure it out and…ugh! I don't know anymore! I just can't take it back." Sora pushed the last bit of her bagel into her mouth and wiped her hands on her pajama bottoms, reaching under the sink and pulling out a plastic bag. Stuffing the clothing into the bag, she tied it up and slung it over her shoulder.

"All right. I'll keep it in my closet until you guys head back to the academy. Then I'll find somewhere to hide it in your room. Sound fair?" Tai nodded and smiled gratefully.

"Sounds great. Thank you. But you never answered what I should do about Matt."

"Yes I did. I said to wait. See what he does. In the meantime, don't rush into things and scare him off."

"Right, sure. Just wait for him to blow up in my face. Sounds so freakin' wonderful!"

Sora rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders. "Well you asked for my input and I gave it to you. What more do you want from me?"

"I don't know! Something reassuring?" Tai got out of his chair and stood up, heading for the front door once again.

"Well, if it helps, I think he's fruity."

"Don't say that! That's just really mean!" Tai accused his friend and glared in her direction.

"Tai! You are possibly the most contradicting person I have ever met. If he's fruity, you have problems, but if he's not fruity, you still have problems. Make up your damn mind!" she said in exasperation. Tai narrowed his eyes and huffed out a sigh, yanking the door open in front of him.

"Never mind. Just forget I even asked anything, I'll figure it out myself. After all, we're spending four days locked up in a hotel!" He grinned with false enthusiasm and sighed again, running a hand through his thatch of brown locks.

"Stop being so negative about this whole thing. You're supposed to be the anti-negative, remember?" Sora reminded him and leaned against the wall next to the door, continuing to watch her friend stress out.

"Right. I remember," the dull and flat reply came.

"Well if you remember, then start acting like it!" Sora grinned playfully and lightly pushed Tai out of the door.

"You know what. You're right. I need to look at the bright side of this whole situation." Tai nodded his head in agreement.

"Exactly."

"So when I do find a bright side, I'll let you know! Thanks for all of your help, I guess," he bid with a shrug and waved goodbye, clumping down the stairs and trudging back to his house.

"Stop being like this! It's freaking me out!" Sora shouted from behind him. Tai continued to ignore her and headed back to his house.

"Boys. Can't live with 'em, can't castrate 'em," she sighed and closed the front door, wandering back upstairs to her room.

---

Meanwhile, Tai scuffed his feet on the wet sidewalk and stepped on his front porch rather heavily. He knew it would only be a matter of time before he screwed up again and his fragile relationship with Matt would be over. But he didn't want to think about that, not now anyway. He pushed open the front door and stepped into the house, tossing his coat on the rack carelessly.

"I'm back," he mumbled mostly to himself and trudged into the living room where his two younger siblings and his friends sat.

"About time, Mom was trying to figure out why it took you so long," Kari informed her brother as she pulled a comb through her hair.

"Meh," he shrugged in response and turned around, heading for the kitchen this time.

"Well same to you too then!" the female shouted at his retreating form. Matt grinned slightly at the display of tame sibling rivalry and jogged after Tai, cornering him by the sink in the kitchen.

"Okay, so I didn't find anything," the blond admitted reluctantly. Tai nodded and reached into the cabinet to the right of the sink.

"I told you that you wouldn't," he reminded his friend and pulled out a bottle of pills, uncapping the lid and downing two of them. He reached into the cabinet again and pulled out a different bottle, also downing two of those pills followed by a small glass of water.

"Whoa, easy. What are all those?" Matt asked suspiciously, not wanting to be blamed if his best friend decided to OD on pills.

"Schizo meds, Tylenol," Tai answered and dropped the glass into the basin before him, turning on his heel and heading back into the front hall, running up the stairs to fetch his bag. Matt followed the figure with his eyes briefly before looking down at his feet, gnawing on his lower lip and wandering back out to where the rest of his friends were. He stepped into the room slowly, watching his brother attempt to pull Kari's hair up into a ponytail. Swatting his hands away and scowling at him, Kari swept up her own hair and pulled it back.

"You need to learn what you're doing before you attempt to do it," she scolded him lightly and secured the ponytail with a blue hair-tie.

"Well, excuse me for never being a girl," TK snorted in response and sulked deeper into the couch. Kari giggled at the display and rubbed the top of his head affectionately.

"Aw, you'll learn eventually," she cooed and tickled him under the chin briefly. TK rewarded her with a dreamy smile and a small purring sound, causing the teen girl to run her fingers around other areas of him.

"Ahem, still in the room!" Daisuke brought them back to earth. The happy couple frowned at the younger boy but shrugged it off.

"He's right you know, go get your own room," Matt said teasingly as he strolled up behind the couch, folding his arms on the top of it.

"Can we?" TK asked his older brother innocently but Matt knew just what he was implying.

"No!"

"It'd be fun though. Not to mention the fact you guys wouldn't have to watch us," Kari concluded with a wink.

"No way! Your brother would kill me if I said yes to anything like that!" Matt exclaimed to emphasize his point.

"If you agreed to anything like what?" Tai questioned the blond as he stepped into the room, now wearing a dark green t-shirt with a black and red star on it.

"Never mind. Don't even ask." Matt rolled his eyes skyward.

"No, now I really want to know," Tai informed the blue-eyed boy as he stepped over to him.

"Hmm…no you don't," Daisuke retorted, keeping his eyes glued on the TV screen.

"Fine, maybe I don't," Tai sighed and stifled a yawn, leaning further on the back of the couch.

"Kids! Let's go!" Ami's voice rang from the main level of the house. Kari glanced over at the clock and shot off of the arm of the couch.

"Let's go, guys!" she shouted at the boys and bounced up the stairs, TK not too far behind her. Daisuke shut off the TV and stretched out his arms, bending over backwards as well.

"Comfortable?" Matt questioned the youngest child, looking into the round face that was currently upside down.

"Mmh, it feels so good to stretch like this, you know that?" Daisuke countered with his own question.

"Glad you enjoy it. Just hurry up because we need to get going. Are you going to be okay traveling?" Tai helped his brother stand up straight and looked him in the eye.

"Why wouldn't I be okay traveling?" Daisuke shot up his eyebrow and readjusted his shirt that had risen up during his stretching.

"You're still sick whether you want to admit it or not. I'm just saying, if you're sick standing still, what's to say you won't be driving in a car?"

"That didn't even make sense, Tai."

"He means that there's more of a chance of you getting carsick at the current moment," Matt cut in, translating Tai's scrambled message.

"Oh…right. I won't get carsick," Daisuke protested and headed for the stairs to the main floor.

"You don't know that!" Tai hollered at his back and thundered up the four stairs behind his younger brother. Matt sighed, something he found himself doing quite a lot when around the Yagami-Motomiya siblings, and followed his friends up to the main level of the house. Ami was digging through the contents of her purse while Kari stood next to her, tapping her foot impatiently.

"C'mon, Mom! We'll miss the train at this rate!" the brunette persisted, throwing another glance at her watch.

"I'm going as fast as I can, Kari! Just wait a minute!" Ami snapped back at her daughter as she continued rifling through the small brown bag. With a relieved gasp, she pulled out six train tickets and threw all of her other items back into the purse.

"Kari, do you have your pass to get into the competition?" Ami began the drill of checking her kids to make sure they were fully prepared.

"In my wallet," Kari replied, anxiety showing on her face as more time passed.

"Tai, medication?" Ami moved on to her eldest.

"It's buried at the bottom of my bag," Tai reassured the older woman, patting the orange canvas bag to prove his point.

"Daisuke, flashlight?" Ami had reached the last of her children. Matt blinked and turned his head towards Daisuke, giving the boy an odd look.

"Dais is pretty much terrified of the dark," Tai explained in a low whisper. Matt nodded in understanding and brushed away any other ideas he had.

"Yep and I have extra batteries too," Daisuke responded to Ami's questionings, bending down to tie his shoelace.

"And all three of you have enough clothes to last you for four days and enough entertainment so you don't drive me nuts on the train?" TK snickered at this and couldn't resist the small grin that was tugging at his lips.

"Possibly," Tai answered with a cheesy grin.

"He means yes, now can we get going?" Kari changed the subject and pointed at the door. Ami continued to ignore her middle child and moved onto the two blond brothers.

"You two have everything you need for the few days we're there?"

"Yeah, I think so," TK replied for both of them, Matt nodding his own agreement.

"Good. Let's get going then!" Ami clapped her hands together and picked up her standard-sized suitcase.

"Finally!" Kari huffed and rushed towards the door, dragging her rolling duffel bag and TK behind her. Daisuke quickly followed with his backpack banging against him.

"How can he fit everything for four days in that small bag?" Matt questioned, gesturing to his own suitcase and duffel bag at his side.

"Well," Tai began, hoisting his own bag further up on his shoulder as the pair walked outside, "you have to remember, Daisuke's small. His clothes don't take up that much room and he just shoves them in there. Most of his pants have lots of pockets. Therefore, he can store his smaller items, such as his toothbrush, into those pockets, saving more room and he'll more then likely wear those pants more then once."

"How can he wear the same pair of pants twice without washing them in between?" Matt inquired as the two boys shoved their luggage into the trunk of Ami's car.

"He just can, just like I can wear the same pair three days in a row if I have to." Tai shrugged and slammed the trunk shut, dusting his hands off on his thighs.

"Taichi!" Ami yelled from behind him as she came out with her suitcase, a frown slowly spreading on her face.

"…oops?" Tai flashed another grin and had Kari pop open the trunk once more from inside the car, dropping the heavy container next to his own things. Ami rewarded him with a nod and ushered the two older boys into the vehicle. Climbing into the driver's seat, Ami started the engine and the dark blue Honda pulled out of their driveway, heading down to the pier to take the ferry to Tokyo Station.

---

The group of six soon found themselves on the train straight to Kyoto, a three-hour journey. They had only been going for about 15 minutes as Kari kept fidgeting in her seat.

"Are you comfortable right there?" TK asked his girlfriend, who was currently sitting between himself and her mother in a set of three seats.

"Oh yeah, I'm used to it by now anyway. Don't worry about it," Kari said with a wink and settled into the seat further. TK merely shrugged it off and looked out the window. In the row behind them, Daisuke sat next to the left window playing his new Gameboy Advance he had gotten for Christmas. Tai was sitting in the seat closest to the aisle, staring out the other window at the scenery before him. He was quiet, another thing Matt had been noticing for the past few days. When Tai wasn't overly-touchy and excited, Matt caught him brooding and sulky.

'Not that I'm actually going to try and find out why. His business, not mine.' Matt analyzed this theory a few times before. Why should he pry into Tai's mind? It's probably a scary place to visit anyway. Matt toyed with his headphones, only half-listening to his Green Day CD. Tai must have felt his heated stare because he suddenly turned his head, allowing his dark eyes to clash with Matt's light ones.

"What's up?" Tai asked quietly, blinking at him carefully.

"Nothing. I was just kind of looking out the window as well," the blond replied, turning his gaze towards the front once more.

"Hmm. How dull do you think this competition will be?" Tai switched into a different direction, stretching out as much as he could in his limited space.

"Well, not too sure. Hopefully not too dull. Besides, cheerleaders are interesting to watch," Matt pointed out.

"I suppose. But I've been to one of these before and I was bored."

"That's because you weren't paying attention to what was going on," Daisuke cut in without looking up from his screen.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Tai glanced over at his brother.

"Who knows?" Tai lowered his eyelids and pouted.

"Oh knock it off," Matt warned him lightly, poking him in the cheek to erase his pout. Tai's mouth slipped into a grin and he giggled slightly.

"Leave my face alone," he whined, swatting at Matt's hand that was still lingering by his face.

"You're such a little whiner," Matt snickered but dropped his hand back into his lap.

"What's your point?"

"Never mind, Tai."

"This could be a long trip," Tai said suddenly and slumped down into his seat. "It'll only be a matter of time before Daisuke's running all over the place like some freaky rabid squirrel."

"I resent that! I don't wanna be compared to a rodent!" Daisuke cried out, snapping his head up from the game in his hands.

"I didn't ask if you wanted to be compared. You already were so get over it," Tai retorted and flicked him in the ear.

"Stop it!"

"Tai!" Ami turned around in her seat and looked at the boys behind her. A semi-guilty look flashed across Tai's face and he lowered his eyes.

"Sorry…"

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to your brother," Ami replied and nodded towards Daisuke. A small sigh of disgust escaped Tai's lips and he looked back up at the younger boy.

"Sorry Dais. I shouldn't be picking on you," Tai drawled out half-heartedly.

"No you shouldn't," Daisuke agreed and returned his attention back to the game. Tai's eyebrows furrowed and he gritted his teeth.

"But it's just so damn easy!" he exclaimed as an afterthought.

"Hey!" Daisuke reached over Matt and punched Tai in the chest.

"Stop touching me!" Tai shouted back and kicked Daisuke in the shin.

"You touched me first!" Daisuke lunged over Matt's lap and tackled Tai into the aisle of the train, punching him in the gut. Tai kicked Daisuke's shin again and pulled at bits of his hair. Daisuke let out a small shriek before biting down on Tai's upper arm.

"Boys, that's enough!" Ami got out of her seat and pulled up each of her sons by their collar.

"He started it!" Daisuke blurted out before Ami could say anything else.

"You're such a little nark!" Tai accused, rubbing his injured abdomen tenderly.

"I don't care whose fault it is, you both should know better then to be fighting, especially on a subway!" Ami shouted, shoving Tai back into his seat and Daisuke into one further away.

"I will not tolerate this, guys. Either you get your act together or I'll call Michael to come and take you home," she threatened the dark boys, towering over them now that they were sitting down.

"Fine with me. Not like I wanted to go anyway," Daisuke snorted and rolled his eyes. Ami blinked at him silently, taking time to absorb his reaction.

"Daisuke Akashi! What has gotten into you? You shouldn't be acting like this for at least another year!" Daisuke shrugged and remained silent. Ami closed her eyes and blew her bangs away from her face.

"Is something wrong?" she asked as calmly as she could.

"No," Daisuke replied automatically as soon as the words left Ami's mouth. Another skeptical look crossed the older woman's features as she stared down at her son.

"All right, if you say so. But I want you to sit there and think about how you're behaving right now," Ami finally said and returned to her seat, leaving behind a sulking Daisuke and a rather frustrated Tai. Instantly, he turned his head back towards Matt and began to rant.

"What kind of crap is that? He just attacks me for no reason and developed this freaky attitude!" Matt rolled his eyes at his best friend's reaction and shook his head.

"Maybe it's just his way of defending himself?" The blue-eyed suggested.

"Defending himself from what?" Tai quirked his lip up in question.

"Your mother finding out he's sick," Matt whispered into his ear so Ami did not hear him.

"Well if he had just told her earlier and not be so stubborn about it!" Tai exploded again.

"So, if he wasn't so much like you, you mean?" Matt said casually, waiting to see how long it would take for Tai to realize what he said.

"Right, if he wasn't so," Tai stopped talking and blinked at him. "Say what?" Matt snickered behind his hand but didn't bother to hide his grin.

"Seriously, Tai. You can't honestly tell me that you'd openly admit that you were weak," he said to the brunet.

"I suppose you have a point," Tai trailed off and shook his head suddenly. "Still, that's no reason for him to be acting like an asshole."

"Maybe he doesn't realize he's being like an asshole."

"Who knows?" Tai shrugged and threw another glance at his brother who was now currently leaning against the window with his eyes shut tightly. He sighed again and bit his lip.

"He'll get over it," Matt reassured his friend, seeing his worried facial expression.

"Yeah…hopefully soon," Tai replied and looked away, sinking further into his seat. They still had another two hours before they reached Kyoto. Matt had already reabsorbed himself into his Discman and he wasn't about to start talking to Daisuke again. One thing people needed to know about Taichi Yagami: he could hold a grudge for as long as necessary.

'I could just take a nap…yeah…that sounds really good.' he yawned quietly and curled up as much as he could in his seat, closing his eyes and relaxing his muscles. It didn't take long after that before the schizophrenic fell asleep.

---

"Hey, Tai, wake up. We're here," Matt whispered into the tanned ear, subconsciously inhaling the light scent of cologne the Japanese boy wore.

'Mmh, smells sweet…' The blond hid a grin as mud-colored eyes fluttered open.

"What's up?" Tai blinked away excess sleep as he sat upright.

"We're here. Everybody else already got off of the train, let's go!" Matt grabbed his bags from above and below him before walking off of the subway, leaving Tai to scramble behind him. The pair walked into the busy station and spotted their companions not too far ahead of them.

"About time. We figured you'd end up going onto the next stop," TK said jokingly as he leaned on the handle of his rolling suitcase.

"You can blame Tai for that," Matt replied.

"Hey!" Tai shouted indignantly, causing the others to laugh suddenly.

"All right, that's enough. The hotel's in walking distance from here," Ami explained to the teens as they exited the station, coming out into the sunlight.

"Wow," Kari breathed out at the beautiful sight before them.

"Kyoto's beautiful, isn't it?" TK asked her rhetorically as he linked his arm with her own, leading her down the street towards the hotel. Matt glanced over to Tai to see his reaction and noted with surprise that he didn't seem to care.

"You mean you're actually allowing them to touch each other in public?" he smirked in Tai's general direction. Tai shrugged and nodded, turning his gaze to meet Matt's own.

"I don't see why not. Your brother's a nice enough guy and I trust him and it's a short walk anyway," he said in return. "See, the building's right there." Tai pointed at the large hotel in front of them. Matt turned his head and felt his jaw drop slightly at the sight of the building. A large fountain was centered in front of it, constructed of two giant Koi fish facing each other, spitting into the pool below them. The fish glimmered with multiple colors, most likely made of metal and the water in the pool remained a clear blue. Inside the pool swam little fishes and water lilies.

Matt's gaze traveled beyond the fountain to the actual building itself. Plenty of stories high, the outside was decorated with ivy growing up the sides and small bonsai trees growing around the path leading up to the doors. The entrance was covered and lined with solid white pillars, much bigger up and around then the boy himself.

"Matt, come on!" Matt snapped back into focus and spotted everybody already at the door.

"Wait for me!" Matt yelled back as he raced up the entry path and burst in through the doors behind his friends.

"Holy…" The boy blinked at the appearance of the building on the inside. From the ceiling hung several glass chandeliers and on the walls were tiny brass lanterns. The ceiling also was painted with an array of soft, rusty colors designed in no particular way. Many people were milling in the lobby, some old, some young, and some bellhops chasing down run-away luggage carts. Ami led the children up to the main desk and got one of the desk attendants' attention.

"Welcome to Kyoto Classic, how can I help you today?" The young man smiled and leaned on the counter in front of him.

"Yes, I called in to reserve two rooms three days ago and I was wondering if they were ready yet?" Ami asked rather than stated.

"Well, I can certainly check for you. Name?" The attendant turned to the computer on his right and typed in a few phrases.

"They'd be under Yagami," Ami replied. Kari sighed impatiently and allowed her eyes to roam the room.

"This is taking so long," she muttered under her breath and leaned against the counter herself, folding her arms across her chest.

"Kari!" two voices chorused together as two blurs of blue and white barreled towards the young girl. Kari's face split into a wide grin and she squealed back, launching herself at her two friends in excitement.

"Settle down, girls," Ami warned them as she continued inquiring about the rooms.

"Sorry, Mom," Kari apologized and turned back to her teammates. Mimi flipped her hair over her shoulder and beamed.

"We were beginning to wonder if you were going to show up at all!" she exclaimed. The other girl nodded in agreement and grinned also.

"Yeah, Meems was about to have a heart attack," she joked and sent a wink Mimi's way.

"Jun! What did you do to your hair?" Kari ignored everything else that was just said and reached out to touch the other girl's hair. It was in the same style as Tai's (slightly shorter though) and it was the same color as Daisuke's, except now, it had streaks of blue and silver in it to match their warm-ups.

"Doesn't it look killer? I just had to try it," Jun explained, obviously proud of herself.

"I like it, very you," Kari agreed and turned back to the boys, two who were glancing at Jun oddly and the other two who were nodding politely.

"You guys remember Jun, don't you?" Kari asked her brothers as she pointed at the other girl.

"Oh yeah, who can forget?" Tai smirked.

"Funny, Taichi, very amusing," Jun retorted but let it slide anyway.

"I remember her." Daisuke nodded quietly and switched his gaze to Mimi.

"Dais! I didn't think you were going to come!" Mimi shrieked and threw her arms around Daisuke tightly, hugging him close to her. Daisuke remained rather stiff in her arms and patiently waited until she pulled away. A frown was etched into her features and she stared at the younger boy.

"You seem so excited to see me," she said dryly. Daisuke shrugged.

"What did you expect me to do, jump on you and attack you with kisses?" he shot back. She blinked at him in surprise and backed away slightly.

"Wow, what's your deal?" she asked him curiously. Daisuke shrugged again, giving Mimi the hint that she should drop the subject all together, which she did. Kari gave her friend an apologetic grin and turned to the two blond brothers.

"Guys, this is Jun. She doesn't have a last name," Kari introduced the other girl. Matt and TK exchanged a confused glance and stared at Jun.

"Why don't you have a last name?" Matt asked the question that was on both of their minds.

"My mom doesn't really believe in last names," Jun replied casually as if it was normal to say such a thing. The blond brothers shrugged and nodded.

"Whatever floats it then," TK said and rested his chin on Kari's shoulder.

"Do you think this place has a pool?" Tai joined the conversation as he looked around the lobby for any signs of an entrance to a pool.

"I'm sure there is. I mean, just look at the size of this place!" Matt gestured with his hand.

"You've got a good point."

"All right kids, let's get going," Ami interrupted them and held up two hotel keys.

"What floor are we on, Mom?" Kari questioned as they all picked up their bags and followed Ami towards the elevators.

"We are on the 15th floor in the East tower," Ami answered and pressed the up arrow.

"That's what floor we're on too!" Mimi and Jun jumped in.

"Is the whole team on the same floor?" Kari turned to her friends again as they all boarded the roomy elevator.

"I'm pretty sure we are. Noriko, Izumi, Autumn, Itami, Shiuchon, and Ai are all on the same floor too so you can only guess," Jun replied as the doors closed behind them.

"They're the only ones we've found so far. Alice said she wasn't showing up until later tonight. Same with Juri and Mika, and we can only guess when the guys will show up," Mimi continued where Jun left off.

"They actually have guy cheerleaders?" Matt whispered to himself.

"Oh yes. They're all pretty decent guys but I have no clue why they're cheerleaders," Tai answered him anyway.

"Some of the guys are already here. I saw Junpei and Hirokazu wandering around earlier today," Jun filled in.

"Ugh, Kazu is such a little perv!" Mimi groaned at the mere thought.

"Oh c'mon, he's not that bad, Meems. He really is a nice guy…in his own little way," Kari said but had to laugh anyway because what Mimi had said was partially true. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, they all knew that the only reason Hirokazu was on that team was because he got to touch the girls. But at least he knew his limits.

"Hey Kari, did you talk to Miya?" Jun changed the subject abruptly as the elevator dinged, allowing everybody to get off and out.

"I did. She said that she'd try and make it here to watch us tomorrow," Kari relayed the message she had been told earlier by the girl the other was referring to.

"Miyako's coming?" Mimi's eyes widened happily.

"She said she was going to try," Kari repeated herself.

"That's great! I miss having her on the squad," Mimi said as the large group headed down the hall to the two Yagami rooms.

"Well, when we get into high school next year, we can just try out for that squad. She's on there right now," Jun informed the other two girls.

"Do you guys ever shut up?" Daisuke cut in, glaring at his sister and her friends rather darkly.

"Oh knock it off, Dais. Just because Mom yelled at you doesn't mean you have to have a crappy attitude," Kari scolded him and glared back.

"Oh yeah, I'm so like this because Mom yelled at me," Daisuke mumbled to himself but stopped looking at them.

"Are you sure that's your brother, Kars? 'Cause that is definitely not the Daisuke I remember," Jun confirmed her theory with a shake of the head. Kari sighed and shrugged.

"It's him. I just don't know what's wrong with him. Nor do I care because this is our weekend. I'm too excited!" she squealed again, causing the other two to cheer as well and start talking at a rapid pace again.

"Kari, pay attention to me first, then you can go off with your friends," Ami spoke over her daughter and her friends' chatter. The three cheerleaders stopped talking at once and Kari watched her mother closely.

"Now here's what I've figure out. Tai, Matt, and Daisuke can all share this room," Ami said and knocked on the door numbered 1509. "It has a king-sized bed and a fold-out couch so you can figure out who's sleeping where. As for this room, it has a separate bedroom that can be mine if I want to shut the door and then the rest of the room is like a large living room. That can be Kari's and TK's."

"Looks like we get to try it after all, Teeks." Kari winked at her boyfriend, reminding him of the conversation earlier that morning.

"Mom, are you sure you trust them to be together in a room without you watching?" Tai asked apprehensively, eyes suddenly darting between his sister and his best friend's brother.

"Tai, I'm still in the same room. I will be able to hear them still," Ami said loudly to make sure the couple had heard it.

"Good." Tai nodded and held out his hand, snatching up one of the keys from Ami's hand. Turning around, he slid it into the lock and waited for the green light to flash, swinging the door to his room open.

"Come on in you guys." Tai ushered his brother and his friend into the room before he himself stepped inside. Closing the door behind him, he walked up behind the other two boys and his eyes widened.

"Cool…" all three of them breathed out together. The room was larger than they had anticipated, two whole walls being made up of windows. A large TV and entertainment system were set up on the right wall, along with a table that held the phone and mini-fridge. In the corner of the two walls of windows sat a plush black leather couch and another bigger study table. On the left wall before the windows started was another door to what they could only assume was the bathroom. On the right side of the door sat the bed, decorated in deep blue covers and golden pillows, along with a bedside table with a crystal lamp sitting upon it.

It was heaven; and it was all theirs. Tai was the first one to come back to his senses.

"Man, this is awesome!" he exclaimed and began to run around the room, picking up everything and touching anything he could find. Daisuke waltzed up to the TV and turned it on; beginning to channel-surf mindlessly and tinker with the game system that sat on the lower shelve. Matt strolled across the room and stared out the window, peering down to enjoy the height and looking straight forward to examine the skyline.

"Hey! Why don't we figure out sleeping arrangements later and go for a swim? I saw a sign for the pool on the way up here," Tai suggested and tossed his bag onto the bed, digging through it for his trunks.

"I'm game," Daisuke replied and dumped all of his things onto the floor, easily spotting his dark red swimming trunks.

"Hey wait a sec! Did not bring a suit!" Matt protested. "Actually, I don't even think I brought one into the country."

"Well…I do have an extra pair if you want," Tai offered the bright blue shorts to the blond.

"Um…don't you think that's a little…weird?"

"What?"

"Me wearing your trunks. That doesn't seem right somehow," Matt rationalized as he poked the trunks in his hands.

"What's wrong with it? I've only worn them once anyway and it's not like I'm giving you a pair of my boxers to wear," Tai countered.

"I suppose you're right…"

"And besides, you want to go swimming with us, right?"

"Yes…"

"Therefore, you really have no other choice unless you go in that," Tai said and waved a hand at Matt's current outfit of dark red pants and a plain black shirt.

"I suppose you're right," Matt repeated himself and sighed. "I'm going to go change then." The blue-eyed boy turned around and walked into the spacious bathroom, not noticing the Cheshire-cat grin that spread across Tai's face. As the bathroom door clicked shut, the darker boy pumped a fist into the air.

'Step number two, get him closer. What other way to be close then to share clothes?' He sniggered to himself slightly and ignored the strange looks his brother was giving him. After all, his plan was slowly beginning to work.

Nothing could bring him down now.

---

"So how far away is this pool?" Matt asked the brunet who was leading them around the building.

"It should be just up ahead. Thankfully, it's indoors," Tai added afterwards.

"If it wasn't, you'd be swimming on your own, pal," Matt said and licked his dry lips, turning his head to make sure Daisuke was still following them. Sure enough, the other boy was dragging his feet behind, turning his head in all directions to glimpse at the many fascinating things in the hotel halls.

"We're here!" Tai announced and opened the door to the pool, pulling his two comrades inside with him.

"Hey guys!" Kari shouted, popping her head up above the water and waving at them. She paddled up to the side of the pool and laid her arms on top of the edge. The three dry boys walked closer and returned her greeting. TK swam up behind her and grinned.

"You guys had the same idea too, huh?" he asked rhetorically.

"Oh yeah. No way I'm passing up a pool," Tai replied, leaving Daisuke and Matt to nod in agreement.

"Well hurry up and get in the water. We're playing a game," Kari said and ducked back under the water, swimming over towards her teammates once again.

"Somehow, hanging out with a bunch of girls isn't as bad as I thought it would be," TK told the other three and grinned, chasing after Kari at lightning-speed. Matt blinked and shrugged, taking off his shirt and tossing it on top of TK's hat in a nearby chair.

"What are we waiting for? Let's get in," Matt said and jumped into the water, splashing Tai and Daisuke slightly.

"Warm water!" Daisuke squeaked and also chucked his shirt aside, diving in after Matt.

"Hey, you can't just leave me by myself!" Tai shouted and unbuttoned his top, watching his friends swim off towards the large group of girls…and TK.

"Some friends you are!" Tai hollered after them and finally rid himself of the fabric, hopping into the pool and chasing down the others. What he came upon was his sister, TK, his brother, his best friend, and about eight other girls.

"Hey ladies," he greeted most of the cheerleading squad with a suave smile as he stopped moving closer.

"Hi Tai, long time no see," a fair-skinned blonde with light blue eyes smiled at the brunet.

"Izumi, likewise. How ya been?" Tai asked the girl.

"Great, even better now that you're here," she replied slyly.

"Aw, I'm touched."

"Tai, you can't just ignore the rest of us," a thin girl with auburn-red hair and sparkling green eyes reminded Tai with a pout.

"Auttie, darling, I could never forget you, or the rest of the girls," Tai reassured them all. Meanwhile, all Matt could do was stare on in disbelief. Was this his Tai? The Tai that had spent most of his time lately clinging to him like he was going to die tomorrow? The Tai who normally showed no interest in anybody else when Matt was around?

"Oh yeah, and Bob says hello as well."

Oh yes, it was most definitely his Tai. But why was he acting this way? What was causing him to be so flirty and outgoing with these girls? And how was Matt supposed to stop it? He had an idea. An evil idea, but an idea nonetheless.

"Tai, sweetie, it's not Bob we wanted to see, it's you," the one with purple hair, Itami, purred and draped her arms on his shoulder.

"Hmm, good to know," Tai replied with a laugh. Suddenly, something tugged at his ankles and he was dragged under the surface, flipped upside down and pushed down further. Sputtering and coughing, he shot back up and he could hear all of the girls laughing. He turned around and saw Matt standing behind him, smirking at him with a challenge.

"Ishida," Tai hissed lowly and fully turned his body.

"Yagami," Matt returned, still grinning at his feat.

"You are so gone!" Tai shouted and darted forward, starting off the chase. Matt inwardly giggled to himself, semi-glad that he had gotten Tai's attention back. The other half of him however was trying to figure out why he wanted Tai's attention so badly to begin with.

'Well, he is my best friend. That could be part of it. Yeah. He's my best friend. Nobody else's.' It occurred to him that he did sound rather selfish, but he didn't mind at all. Why couldn't he be selfish? He never really had a best friend before. There was no way he was about to let his first one go to a bunch of girls. He tilted his head slightly to scan for the mop of brown hair and was greatly alarmed when he noticed it was getting much closer. He kicked his legs faster and paddled with his arms harder.

Tai on the other hand wasn't so intent on catching Matt. He was just in it because he knew that's what Matt wanted. It was so blatantly obvious to him that all the American boy wanted was attention. So attention was what Tai was going to give him. He knew quite a few things Matt didn't know about all of those girls. The entire squad knew he was bi (thanks to Kari's big mouth during a game of truth or dare) and that he would never really pursue a relationship with any of them, even though he did think they were all gorgeous. After all, it's like Itami had once said.

'I prefer dicks more then chicks.' Tai recited in his mind as he continued following Matt around the pool. Another thing he knew that Matt didn't: this was step number three in his master plan. Just what was step three? Give him a kick in the butt. Tai figured that if he wanted Matt to start making moves on him, he'd have to threaten his security somehow. What better way then to flirt it up with a bunch of pretty girls?

'There is no better way, that's the point.' He smirked to himself and gave himself one final surge of energy, latching his hands around Matt's ankles and dragging him closer. In some sick and twisted way, he enjoyed watching Matt wriggle and squirm in his grasp. It made him feel powerful.

Then he realized how perverse that sounded and stopped thinking along those lines.

"Now, what do you say?" he asked Matt sternly, keeping a smile on his face to show he was just being playful.

"You deserved it!" Matt promptly responded with a smile of his own.

"Not funny."

"I thought it was."

"You would." Tai released the pale boy's legs and let him stand back up in the water. It was then he realized where exactly they had gone.

"And just when you think it couldn't get fancier," Matt voiced Tai's thoughts as he too looked around their new surroundings. The area was dark and quiet, lit only enough so they could see where they were going and each other. It seemed to be that Matt had led them through some sort of tunnel the pool had. Tai looked over his shoulder. He could still see the normal, active pool where the girls, his brother, and TK were splashing around. He refocused on the area at hand.

Various palm trees and water plants were growing on the banks of the area and a soft melody was playing somewhere. In a way, it reminded the boys of a lagoon.

"Wow. Who do you suppose built this?" Tai asked as he swam further into the enclosed area.

"More like why they built it," Matt spoke quietly, almost as if he was afraid of breaking the serene silence.

"I wouldn't have any idea," Tai whispered, coming back closer to Matt. The two stood face to face, staring into each others' eyes quietly.

'It's too risky to try and kiss him again, so soon after last night. And besides, I already convinced him that that didn't even happen.' So began the inner battle of Taichi. His eyes roamed over Matt's body slowly, taking in every inch of smooth, creamy skin, every scar, every freckle, every mark and crevice of the boy in front of him. He knew Matt didn't believe he looked beautiful. He had told him that once. But if only Tai could prove to him how wrong he was. His blond hair was damp and plastered to his head, hanging down over his ears and into his eyes. The eyes that glimmered such a striking blue no matter how dark it was.

'Screw self-control. I have no self-control. I am a spoiled brat who always gets what he wants.' Tai nodded to himself and leaned in further, almost reaching his goal of the pale pink lips.

Of course, it would have worked well had Matt not turned his head just that moment to look at something outside of the water cave. Not able to keep up his balance, Tai wobbled forward and hit the water with a splash. Matt jerked his head back and grabbed his friend by the arm.

"Are you okay, Tai?" he asked, brushing hair out of his face to get a better look at the tanned boy. He couldn't help it when his mouth fell open just a tad bit. He couldn't help it when his eyes stared intently at the well-chiseled chest and abs of his best friend. And he most certainly couldn't help it when he reached out and readjusted the pooka shell necklace that Tai always wore that was now knocked adjacent from the fall. He was well aware of the fact his cheeks were now one shade of pink darker. He was also well aware of the fact that he didn't give a damn.

"Yeah…perfectly fine," Tai whispered and began to move out of the cove. "C'mon, the others are probably wondering where we got off to." The darker boy swam out into the bigger pool, leaving behind a confused and contemplating Matt.

"What just happened?" he asked himself in a low voice, staring around the water cave once more. He couldn't be quite sure, but he did know one thing.

It most certainly wasn't normal between two boys who should be just friends.

---

It was around ten o'clock that night and Matt still couldn't figure out what had happened between him and Tai, or rather, what was still happening between them. He was currently sitting on the floor drinking a can of Mountain Dew he bought from the vending machine around the corner and staring up at the TV. Daisuke was curled up on the couch, absolutely glued to his Game Boy once more. As for Tai, he was laying on the bed also watching the TV.

"All right, so how are we sleeping tonight?" Tai questioned out of the blue.

"Soundly?" Matt shrugged and continued watching the movie.

"I meant who's sleeping where. Are you taking the couch and Daisuke's in the bed with me?" Daisuke snorted at this statement.

"Tai, if I'm not speaking to you, what makes you think I'm going to sleep in the same bed as you," Daisuke phrased the words into a statement rather then a question.

"You just talked to me," Tai pointed out. Daisuke proceeded to ignore him. Tai sighed and gave Matt a sheepish look.

"Sorry my brother is being a jackass. You don't mind sharing a bed do you? Or you can sleep on the floor or something," Tai listed off Matt's limited options. Matt shrugged and held up a hand.

"Toss me a pillow then. I'm sure you'd be more comfortable with a bed to yourself," Matt said. Tai bit back his protest and wordlessly handed over the pillow.

"I vote we go to bed then. We have to be down at the competition room at eight tomorrow," he said after a short amount of silence.

"They're holding the actual competition in the hotel?" Matt asked skeptically.

"Oh yeah. They're holding it in one of the huge ballrooms downstairs."

"Impressive."

"Oh yeah," Tai reached over and pulled the covers down a bit, crawling into the squishy bed and settling down. "Are you sure you're comfortable down there?" he leaned over the edge of the bed and looked down at the blond.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I used to sleep on the floor all the time," Matt replied and curled up with the pillow, shutting off the TV with the remote control that was in his hand. Daisuke had shut off his Game Boy and curled up on the couch, not bothering to fold it out. A wry smile crossed Matt's face and he looked back up at Tai who was currently fiddling with his necklace.

"Do you ever take that off?" Tai looked up and raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"I said, do you ever take your necklace off?" Matt propped himself up on his elbows and faced his companion.

"Well…not really. I've never noticed it, but no I don't take it off," Tai replied slowly, fingering the necklace gently.

"Where'd you get it from?" Tai fell silent and a blank look crossed his face. Matt waited expectantly on the floor, still examining his friend's expression. It flickered between confusion, anger, and sadness.

'What the hell could he possibly be thinking about?' Matt's eyebrows furrowed together. Tai still remained silent. It was beginning to drive the blue-eyed boy nuts.

"Tai?" The simple call of his name snapped the boy out of his little trance, blinking suddenly to clear his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh," Tai said as he came back to reality. Matt shot him another curious look. "Um, I just got it from somewhere. But I'm kind of tired so I'm just gonna shut off the light okay? Night, Matt," Tai said all at once, reaching over to snap off the light. The room was soon plunged into darkness and Matt was left alone with his thoughts and one single pillow.

'There's something about that necklace he doesn't want me to know. Although I can't imagine why. Tai's always so open about everything with me. Hell, half of the time he shares things I never wanted to know to begin with! But there must be some secret meaning behind that necklace. Or maybe I'm just over-analyzing it. Yeah, that sounds about right. I think I'll just shut my brain down now before I confuse myself further.' He shook his head and closed his eyes, sighing deeply as he snuggled against the pillow. After exercising his brain with puzzles about Tai, it didn't take too long before he fell asleep for the night.

---

The first thing Tai noticed upon wakening was the fact that something was deeply embedded in his stomach. The second thing he noticed was that the something had blond hair. Groaning slightly, he pushed Matt's head away from him.

"Stop touching me," Matt whined and snuggled up against Tai's side instead.

"You're the one touching me," Tai replied. Matt's eyes shot open and he pushed himself away from the brunet.

'Damn, second time that's happened in the course of five days.' Matt noticed and shot his friend another glare.

"Still, you didn't have to push me so hard," he retorted to cover up for the slight pause.

"Well, I wouldn't have had to if you weren't pressing on my bladder," Tai said pointedly. "What are you doing here anyway? I thought you said you were going to sleep on the floor."

"I was. Then it got really cold down there," Matt replied, receiving an eye roll from Tai. "Besides, I didn't think you'd mind if I crawled in since I happened to be freezing."

"Well no, not really. I was just curious. Hey what time is it?" Tai changed the subject (what else is new?) and sat all the way up.

"Just a little past seven," Matt answered through a yawn. Tai nodded and picked up his pillow.

"What are you doing?" Matt asked, eyeing the pillow suspiciously. Tai put a finger to Matt's lips to silence him, using a finger from his other hand to point at Daisuke, who was still soundly sleeping in the sunlight. Matt nodded in understanding and watched Tai's plan fall into action. With skill Matt could only dream of ever having, Tai pitched the pillow across the room, smacking Daisuke right in the face.

"Hey!" Daisuke sputtered and sat up, picking up the offending pillow.

"Morning, sunshine! Get dressed; we need to be down there soon. I so claim the shower first though!" Tai blurted out and darted into the bathroom, grabbing a clean set of clothes as an after-thought. Matt and Daisuke simultaneously blinked at the human blur and sighed.

"How strange," Matt commented and laid on his stomach, turning the TV on to watch the news.

"He's always strange," Daisuke added in. Matt nodded and the two sat in silence, Matt watching the news and Daisuke watching the city below them. It wasn't more then ten minutes later that Tai came out, hair still dripping wet and only standing in his jeans.

"Who's next?" he questioned as he shook out his hair, sending little droplets of water everywhere.

"Me. I haven't showered for two days," Matt said and hopped off of the bed, sauntering into the bathroom with his own clothes and toothbrush in his hand. The door clicked shut and Tai turned away, focusing his attention on Daisuke.

"Are you still mad at me?" he asked the younger boy. Daisuke shrugged in response and continued watching the outside world.

"Oh come on, Dais! I'm sorry all right? If it makes you feel better, I'm sorry I was being a dipshit," Tai ranted on and on as he combed his hair with his fingers.

"It's fine, I don't care anymore. You're forgiven," Daisuke responded quietly. Tai eyed his brother carefully, walking up behind him.

"What's out there?"

"A lot. This is the time when the city starts to come to life," Daisuke explained as he pointed at all of the buses, cars, and people that were bustling down the streets.

"Nice."

"Yeah. It's fun to watch people, y'know?"

"Yeah, I know." Tai looked back towards the bathroom door.

'Believe me, I know how fun it is.' Tai inwardly sighed and slipped on a navy blue t-shirt with the words, "People Like You Are The Reason People Like Me Need Medication," printed in bold, jagged white letters. Twenty minutes later, Matt came out of the bathroom fully cleaned, dressed, and awake.

"Dais, your turn," he said to the cinnamon-eyed boy. Daisuke tore his gaze away from the window and got off of the couch, wandering into the bathroom at a much slower pace.

"I don't think he feels very well," Tai commented once the door had closed. Matt glanced over at the other teen, who still had a concerned look plastered on his face.

"I don't think so either," Matt agreed and sank onto the bed. "But what can we do about it?"

"Not much."

"Exactly." They sat in silence once more, Matt reabsorbed into the TV and Tai staring off into space. Tai suddenly turned around and headed for the door.

"I'm gonna go get a soda before we head out," he told his American comrade and turned the door handle. "Let me back in when I knock."

"Mmkay," Matt replied and waved him off, changing the channel on the TV. Tai shook his head at the sight and disappeared into the hall, allowing the door to shut with a bang behind him. It wasn't more than 30 seconds later that he heard another loud bang. Turning down the volume of the TV, Matt looked around the room for the source of the sound. He soon came to the realization that it came from the bathroom.

'Daisuke.' Matt concluded and got up, pressing his ear to the bathroom door. He heard no other signs of activity and no sounds of movement. He waited for another 30 seconds before red flags went up telling him that something had gone wrong. After all, that was a pretty big bang just for dropping a bar of soap or something. He reached out and grasped the doorknob, turning it to the left. The door swung open easily and Matt stepped into the bright white bathroom.

"Hopefully this doesn't count as something like pedophilia," he grumbled to himself as he stepped closer to the shower. He saw that there indeed was no movement coming from the other boy at all. Without much hesitation, Matt ripped away the shower curtain and looked around. Looking down towards the bottom, he found Daisuke crumpled up into a small heap, water beating down on his unconscious form.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Matt hissed and shut off the water instantly. But what was he suppose to do next?

"Matt, open the damn door!" Tai shouted from out in the hall, proceeding to bang on the door some more. Quick as a flash, Matt ran out into the main room and wrenched open the door, dragging Tai inside.

"Dude, what's up with you?" Tai asked and grinned jokingly. "That anxious to see me?"

"Your brother passed out in the shower," Matt said bluntly, watching Tai's face change from easy-going to horrified.

"What?"

"After you left, I heard this really loud thud and I was just like, 'Oh okay, he just dropped something,' but then I heard nothing so I went to check and I found him lying at the bottom of the shower unconscious," Matt explained as he pulled Tai towards the bathroom. The two boys headed over to the shower and Tai knelt down next to it.

"Daisuke? Hey Dais, c'mon, wake up," Tai coaxed his younger brother while shaking his shoulders lightly. Daisuke stirred under the touch and his eyes fluttered open, staring up into Tai's large brown ones.

"Hey, Tai. What's going on?"

"Oh gosh, are you okay? Matt said he found you passed out and oh my gosh are you okay?" Tai started babbling nonsense and checking the boy for any injuries.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Daisuke insisted and pushed Tai's hands away.

"What happened, dude?" Matt joined the conversation, handing the younger boy a towel. Accepting it gratefully, Daisuke stood up on shaky feet and wrapped the towel around his waist.

"I don't really know. I mean, one minute I was okay and then it got really hot and I felt dizzy…and I guess I passed out," Daisuke said slowly, not sure of how to handle the whole idea. Tai frowned again and placed the back of his hand on Daisuke's forehead.

"You've got a fever, that's why," he told him and reached into one of the drawers, pulling out a thermometer.

"Do you carry that thing with you everywhere?" Daisuke implored before Tai stuffed the digital stick into his mouth.

"No, not everywhere, but I did bring it because you were sick before we left," Tai answered and waited for the full three minutes. The thermometer beeped loudly, signaling that it had determined Daisuke's temperature. Pulling it out, Tai read the numbers on the little screen.

"Well?" Daisuke prodded him, leaning against the sink for support.

"You're at 102 Fahrenheit, kid. Technically, that's not good. But I'll let it slide and we won't tell Mom, deal?" Tai offered, throwing the thermometer back into the drawer.

"Deal. Now can you guys get out so I can get dressed?"

"Eh, we can do that. C'mon, Tai," Matt beckoned the brunet but grabbed his upper arm anyway, pulling him out of the room and shutting the door.

"Are you really going to let him deal with it on his own?" he asked once they were out of the bathroom. Tai shrugged in return and bit his lip.

"What else am I suppose to do? I don't want Mom freaking out over nothing. But if his temp does get any higher, I'm telling her no matter what he says."

"Tai, 102 can be considered dangerous too for somebody his age."

"I know. But like I said, what else am I suppose to do?"

"I don't know. I really don't." The conversation ended suddenly as the bathroom door swung open, revealing a fully dressed Daisuke.

"Are we ready?"

Tai nodded and grabbed the room key off of the table. "Let's roll, guys," he said and led them out of the room and back into the elevator, pressing the button for the lobby.

---

"Where have you three been? They're about ready to go on!" Ami yelled over the noise of the other teams and their supporters.

"Sorry, I couldn't find my shoes, Ami. I didn't mean to make us late," Matt stepped in, knowing very well that Ami wouldn't be harsh with him as she would be with her two boys. Just as he thought, Ami merely smiled at him and nodded.

"That's quite all right, Matt. As long as you're here now, nothing to worry about," she said with a wave, turning her attention back to the front. The three boys sat down on the other side of her and TK turned to face them.

"About time you guys showed. I was beginning to worry about my sanity with all of these girls…" he gestured to all of the girls wearing their miniskirts and carrying their pom-poms.

"Eh, we wouldn't put you through that type of torture alone," Matt assured him and leaned back in his chair, watching the team that was currently on the stage.

"Are they really on next?" Tai leaned over to direct the question to TK.

"Yep, they really are."

"How's Kari handling it?" Daisuke questioned just for the sake of talking.

"She's so excited I was afraid she was going to break her neck this morning running around like a loon. Don't tell her I called her a loon by the way," TK said briefly as the routine ended.

"They're up!" Ami beamed and got her camera ready for pictures.

"Matt, you have to watch," Tai insisted and pulled him to his feet so that he could see.

"Will I be impressed?" The other three males looked at each other and nodded together.

"Oh yeah," They said together as well. The applause for the previous team ended and the announcer began to speak.

"And now, team number 16 from Odaiba; please welcome the T-Wolves!" More applause rose into the air as the twelve girls and the six guys ran onto the performing flat, kicking and cheering and pumping up the crowd.

"There she is," TK said vaguely and pointed to his girlfriend, who was standing dead center and looking ready to rock. The team got into their poses and waited for their music to play. A bumping song came on over the speakers and the whole team began to step from left to right, swinging their arms from left to right up by their face and snapping their fingers. The music blared out while the girls began to do various hip-hop moves complete with a body roll at the end of the phrase.

The guys continued to step from side to side clapping their hands to the beat while the girls picked a partner, doing a ballroom dip before they let go of each others' hands and bent backwards into an arch and planting their hands on the floor, pressing their feet together to complete the flip.

"They're copying stuff from the video huh?" Matt questioned Tai.

"Just the beginning of the chorus but that shit is hard. Trust me, I've tried," Tai replied and kept his eyes glued on the team. Matt nodded and watched what else they would do.

The boys began to break dance while the girls created three groups of four in the back. Three girls were sent up into the air. Three girls that he recognized as Jun, Mimi, and Kari, which really was no surprise to him. The routine went on for a bit longer, finally stopping with the music as each girl lined up with a boy.

"Is that it?" Matt raised an eyebrow.

"Just watch," TK replied and waited with large eyes. There was a small glitch before the next song in their mix played through.

The girls that were without partners were doing flips in the back of the couples while the couples began their own thing. It began with a two-hands high-five down low with the girls' hands on the bottom and the boys' on top. After that, they did the Running Man backwards for four-counts. They went around in a half-circle doing the Grapevine so that the girl was now on the right and the boy was on the left. As the words, "We got the gift of melody we gonna bring it till the end," blared through the speakers, the boy grabbed the girls hands and slid her underneath through her legs so that she went on to the next guy. The last girl and the first guy headed to the back with the rest of the girls.

More jazz moves were thrown in for the first part of the verse while the back people did more flips and cartwheels and back handsprings behind them. The guys had turned around so they had their back on the girl's back. The girls linked their arms with the guys and flipped them over their backs, landing the men in front and sending the audience in an uproar of excitement. It really was amazing that they could do that, considering the size difference.

Another group of six, three boys and three girls, headed for the back while the rest of the group did a sequence of jump out with their arms straight out, swinging the right arm in front of them across their body so the palm was facing them for four counts and grabbing another partner and jumping over them into a high jump with their legs straight out, landing on their feet. Meanwhile, during that same part, the group of six in the back where setting up to send Kari back into the air.

"I really wish she wouldn't keep volunteering to be the flyer," TK moaned as he watched nervously, fearing the worst would happen.

"Relax, TK, she's done it so many times before," Tai reminded the young blond, but he too was nervous.

"What are you two freaking about? She just did it a bit ago," Matt cut in, knowing he was missing something.

"This is totally different," Daisuke supplied him with an answer.

"How?"

"Watch." They had her up in the air and she was standing straight and tall. She began to move her upper body to the beat, adding in a disco point and following along with the other girls on the floor.

"And here so goes," Tai said and bit down on his lip. Matt watched where Kari was going with this.

"This must be, pop," As soon as that part started, Kari jumped out of the builders' arms and did a somersault in the air, straitening herself out before she hit the ground, landing on her feet perfectly.

"Yes!" Tai and TK pumped their fists into the air and Matt blinked in awe.

"I'm surprised she didn't break her ankle!"

"She almost did when they were first learning it," TK informed him.

"Hence why we were freaked out," Tai filled in.

Everyone the floor did the same sequence of jump forward, and hand push and a lean to the left, same on the right, and a step to the right with the left foot behind, swirling their arms around in a circle so that they were pointing to the ground.

More hip-hop was thrown in for half of the team while the other half showed off their flexibility with several front and back hand-springs in a row. More moves from the music video were thrown into the routine until the next chorus.

Six girls did a sequence of cartwheel, round-off, somersault, step left, right, back, and up at the back of the stage. Another six did that same sequence in the reverse order in the front of the stage. Three guys did another dance sequence from the video on the right side of the stage and on the left side, that same sequence was also backwards, being done by the other three guys. All the while, the girls were moving into window formations and guys had formed into triangles on the side of them.

All twelve girls did another high jump, pushing their legs out in front of them slightly so not to hit one another and landing on the word "pop" in the splits with their right leg in front and left leg behind.

The girls acted like they were tired and the guys just smirked at them, giving the song some character.

Two girls marched over to each guy and began their game of "Copy-Cat" where the male did one thing and the girls had to repeat it. Somewhere in the middle of it all, one of the girls was hoisted onto the guy's and other girl's shoulders, having her feet planted there firmly. Then there was a part in the music that had some sort of a soaring sound, like an engine almost, only it was a heavy guitar riff (Matt knew right away what key and fret it was as well).

"This is the only part I'll never understand how they did it," Tai commented and pointed to Kari and Mimi who were the two girls in the middle.

"Huh?" As the guitar riff was played, Kari and Mimi were thrown threw the air like javelins, soaring over one girl's head and landing in the other girl's arms at the end of the line. Just like with Kari's somersault and the girls flipping the guys, this stunt was rewarded with wild cheers of praise and approval.

The girls were set down from their higher positions with the beat of the song and all eighteen cheerleaders jumped forward. Ten of them (three boys and seven girls) ran to the very back of the stage while dancing to make it not look like running. Five of them (two boys and three girls) set themselves in the middle, just far enough ahead of the first large group and the last group of three stopped in the front, right before the judges' table. There was a pop dance sequence and then they began forming their last stunt. They had eight counts to pull it off. The first group in the front had it easy. They just had to half two outside people get down on one knee and have Jun stand on their knees that were up.

The middle group had a slightly harder formation. It was the same as the first group's, only in addition, there were two girls on the boys' knees facing forward and they were holding up Mimi on their thighs.

But the last group had it the hardest. It was the first and second group's formation combined with even further advances. There were three boys on the ground, two on their knee and holding up one girl each and a third in the back of the whole formation so it didn't fall over. Two more girls were sitting on the boys' outer shoulder so that the audience and judges could see them. On the thighs of the two girls on the boys' knees was another girl standing straight up with right arm extended out with a fist and her left arm up close to her body in another fist, much like a fighting stance. Sitting on her shoulders was another girl with her hands wrapped around Kari's ankle who was the top of the pyramid-type stance. She was balancing herself on one leg with her other leg crossing the first and her arms folded up across her chest.

"This must be, pop," On the "pop" the middle girl's arms went into the fighting stance and Kari folded her leg and arm with a quick nod. The crowd erupted with cheering and the group waited until the count of four before letting everybody drop down.

"That was…wow," Matt breathed out, eyes practically bulging from their sockets.

"Told you you'd be impressed," Tai teased his friend who was still watching in fascination.

"Doesn't your sister ever get scared doing that kind of stuff?"

"Tch, no. It's Kari. Kari has no fear. She gets her courage from me," Tai stated proudly.

"Easy, Ego," Matt said jokingly, holding up his hands defensively. Tai narrowed his eyes and slapped him behind the head playfully.

"Knock it off you two, you're suppose to be supporting the team, not making fun of each other," TK intervened and pushed their faces away from each other.

"Stop touching me with your sweaty palms," Matt whined and swatted at TK's hand.

"Ha! See, it's not that fun, is it? Is it?" Tai shouted suddenly, referring to the previous day when Matt had done the same thing to him.

"Oh shut up," the pale boy grumbled and glanced over to Daisuke. Eyebrows going up in alarm, he poked Tai in the arm frantically.

"Did he pass out again?" he whispered to his partner-in-crime and pointed at the younger boy. Daisuke was curled up in the chair he had sat in when they first arrived, sweating bullets and panting heavily. Tai placed his hand on his brother's forehead again and pulled back at the impact.

"Shit!"

"What?" TK and Matt questioned together.

"It spiked up," Tai replied in terms of the fever. Daisuke reopened his eyes and stared at the three older boys.

"Are you okay?" TK asked warily, not quite sure of what was going on. Daisuke shook his head slowly, a dazed and confused look glazing his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Tai continued the interrogation, standing up to dig through his pockets for the thermometer. Daisuke needn't reply as his stomach soon heaved and he leaned forward, hand flying up to his mouth on impulse.

"Swallow it!" Tai ordered. TK reached over onto his other size and came up with an empty McDonald's bag. Handing it to Daisuke wordlessly, he leaned back and plugged his ears. It didn't help much for he could still hear Daisuke gag and vomit. Tai cringed at the noise and shook his head.

"That's it," he snapped and marched over to his mother, tugging on her sleeve firmly.

"Tai?" Matt called after him. Tai paid no heed and waited for his mother's attention.

"What is it, Tai?" Ami questioned without facing her son.

"Daisuke's sick," he replied shortly before turning on his heel and leading her towards the preteen. By this point, the young boy had stopped tossing his cookies and was lying on his side, moaning in his own agony.

"Daisuke? Honey, what's wrong?" Ami knelt down in front of him and felt his forehead as well.

"He's been sick for the past two days and vomiting since then. He had a fever this morning," Tai filled in while the two blond brothers stood back to watch.

"What was it at?" Ami asked as she felt for his pulse.

"Um, 102 and it's definitely gone up since then," Matt answered, wanting to feel at least semi-helpful. A mixture of fear, concern, and anger crossed over Ami's face as she stood up, pulling Daisuke into her arms as she went.

"Who's staying here and who's coming with me?" she spoke as she grabbed her purse as well.

"Where?" Tai countered.

"We're taking him to the hospital," Ami replied and briskly started to walk out of the competition room.

"I'll stay here with Kari. She can't leave before the results are announced," TK volunteered and sat back in his chair, scanning the area for his girlfriend.

"Then I'm going," Tai said after this, following behind his mother closely. He turned back and stared at Matt who was still sitting down.

"Matt?" The blond-haired male looked up at the sound of his name. Worried brown eyes were staring at him pleadingly.

"Are you going to come with us?" Tai's eyes continued to silently beg. Matt felt his resolve beginning to crumble, already standing up before he could stop himself.

"I'm going," he decided and followed the family out, hailing a taxi out front and heading for the hospital.

---

"Tai, will you please sit down? You're going to wear a trench into the floor," Matt warned his brunet friend who was currently pacing around in front of him. He showed no signs of slowing down either. Ami was in the ER with Daisuke and the doctor, leaving the two boys to sit in the waiting room. More like, Matt to sit and Tai to be restless.

"When are they going to find out what's going to happen?" Tai growled through his teeth, pulling at a few loose strands of hair.

"Beating yourself up isn't going to help anything, so I want you to sit down before you hurt yourself," Matt commanded, grabbing Tai by the wrist and pulling him down next to him. Reluctantly, the dark boy settled down and continued to fiddle with his hands.

"Tai, you have to calm down. You're automatically assuming the worst, and don't you dare say you're not because I know you," Matt said hastily as he saw Tai's mouth set to protest. Tai closed it and stared straight ahead, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. He propped his elbows up on his knees and buried the palms of his hands into his eyes.

"You just don't understand," he muttered, keeping his eyes covered and his head low.

"What don't I understand then? Fill me in," Matt shot back, leaning over towards Tai cautiously.

"I can't…maybe later, but not right now," Tai sniffed slightly, showing no signs of letting up. Matt shut his mouth and looked to his left where he noticed Ami walking towards them gravely.

"So what's wrong?" Matt questioned, causing Tai to look up at the return of his mother. Ami sat down on the other side of Tai and bit down on her lip, a habit exhibited by both mother and son alike.

"Apparently, his appendix had ruptured sometime between the time you came down to the competition and the time we arrived here."

"It ruptured?" both boys said in disbelief, gawking at Ami for clearance.

"It ruptured. He's in surgery right now. They say he'll have to stay for at least five days for examination and observation. Apparently, more complications can occur when it ruptures versus it just becoming infected," she repeated what the doctors had told her. Matt blinked in surprise and Tai visibly paled, both still staring at her in confusion.

"He'll have to stay overnight?" Tai asked, glancing back in the direction Ami had just come from.

"He'll have to stay here for many nights," Ami clarified for him.

"Right."

"Tai, he'll be fine."

Tai looked up and swallowed deeply, shaking his head sadly. "Sure. Whatever you want to believe," he spoke in a low tone, pushing himself away from his chair and walking down the hall.

"Tai?" Matt called after him, getting up onto his own feet. Tai quickened his pace once he sensed Matt was going to follow him.

"Tai, come back!" Matt shouted again and sped up. Tai broke into a run and burst out of the hospital, running down the sidewalk in a blur of brown. Matt started his own sprint, preparing himself for the chase of his life.

"Nobody ever told me that being friends with Tai involved lots and lots of exercise," he said to himself and turned the corner, weaving his way around to stop his best friend from getting too far.

---

Matt dragged himself into the hotel four hours later, walking past the dining room where his brother, Ami, and Kari sat, silently eating a light dinner. Pulling a U-Turn in the middle of the hall, he wandered into the room and stood behind TK's chair.

"Did Tai come in through here?" he questioned hopefully, directing the question mostly at the females. Kari shook her head no and continued to pick at her chicken. Matt rubbed his temples heavily and sighed.

"Where the hell could he have gone? It's nearly seven o'clock!"

"I just hope he didn't get lost," Ami brought up an interesting point that Matt never considered. He always just assumed that Tai had a keen sense of direction. But maybe he didn't. He shrugged in response to Ami and stood up to his full height.

"I'm just going to crash in the room. Maybe he came back," he said, mostly to reassure himself. Ami nodded and sent him off.

"Let us know if you do find him, won't you, Matt?"

"I will," Matt promised and exited the eating area, trudging into the elevator and riding to his floor. Pulling out the key, he slid it into the lock and opened the door, closing it behind him soundlessly. To his surprise, and much to his relief, he found Tai lying on the bed staring at the TV screen which remained black.

"Where have you been? I've been looking all over town for you!" Matt yelled, storming over to the bed. Tai didn't move a muscle, still staring intently at the screen.

"Tai?"

"…I did this to him," Tai whispered out of nowhere. Matt gave him a puzzled look and sat down next to him.

"What?"

"Daisuke. I got him hospitalized," Tai simplified his words.

"No you didn't. How could you have possibly done that?" The two mud-colored irises looked up at the blond, shining with unshed tears.

"I should have told Mom right away that he was sick. Then he could have gotten checked out sooner and maybe they could have removed his stupid appendix before it exploded," the Japanese boy explained his theory that he had been toying with all afternoon.

"Tai, stop beating yourself up, all right? This is not your fault," Matt said firmly. Tai shook his head furiously.

"You don't get it."

"You told me this earlier. Maybe if you explained it to me, I would get it." Matt scowled at him. Tai took in a deep breath and nodded.

"I did the same thing to Kari. She had a cold one day and I was supposed to be watching her, but I was stupid back then. All I wanted to do was play soccer and she seemed fine and everything. So I took her outside and she collapsed. Something about pneumonia due to outside exposure, I can't really remember. I was young. Point being, she almost died. Died, Matt. Just like Daisuke almost died."

"Daisuke did not almost die," Matt reminded him.

"You can die if you don't remove the ruptured appendix. It was almost too late. That qualifies as almost dying!" By this time, Tai was almost in high hysterics.

"Tai, you need to chill. Daisuke will be absolutely fine."

"I know…I'm just…"

"You're just what?" Matt nudged him to continue, tracing small patterns on Tai's back.

"Worried. Scared. Ultimately freaked out," Tai replied with a shaky breath. "He really did scare me today. I just feel bad about yesterday."

"Yesterday?"

"When I was fighting with him. I shouldn't have provoked him when he wasn't feeling well. Maybe that's what caused it to explode…"

"Oh please! Tai, you can't make somebody's appendix rupture by fighting with them! It was just a coincidence," Matt stressed this point to his friend. Tai's lower lip quivered still and one lone tear slipped down his face.

"I know…" his voice cracked and he allowed more tears to fall at a rapid pace. Alarmed by the sudden display of emotion, Matt draped his arms around Tai's frame and pulled him closer.

"You are too emotional, you know that?" he said rhetorically in attempt to lighten the mood. He failed, he noticed, when Tai continued to cry silently. Matt hugged him tighter, waiting for the storm to pass, and he knew that it would be quite some time before the brunet would calm down. He couldn't think straight when he was shaken up this badly, but Matt didn't hold it against him. He continued holding Tai gently, whispering soft, comforting words into his ears and brushing the tears away. And it was then it suddenly clicked.

'For everything he's ever done for me, I've been grateful and unsure of how to return the favor. This is it. This is my gift to him…I hope he appreciates it.' Matt thought to himself and looked down at the brunet who had fallen silent. With a smile, he saw that the brown eyes had closed and the tears had almost become non-existent. He knew he wouldn't have to worry about Tai being ungrateful and even though he was just as emotionally-drained as the boy in his arms, he knew it was all worth while. Careful not to awaken Tai and also being careful not to fall off of the bed in the process, Matt leaned over and snapped off the bedside lamp. In the darkness, he continued to admire the other boy. His thoughts drifted back to the water cave and to Christmas.

'A kiss is just a simple reminder to show someone you care.' An old phrase ran through his mind as he continued looking down at Tai, brushing hair away from his tanned face.

"It's not like he'll know anyway," Matt told himself over and over again, leaning closer to Tai's full lips and eliminating any space that was between them. Bringing his own lips down onto Tai's, he brushed them lightly over the dry, smooth patches of red. Pulling away, he gave off his own half-smile, leaning against the headboard of the bed. He closed his own eyes and pulled Tai just a bit closer, much like a child would with a favorite stuffed animal.

Somewhere in the darkness, Tai smiled to himself and gladly snuggled closer, enjoying the warm comfort he was receiving.

---

Again, it's edited (you should be expecting this by now, haha). Humm, yeah, I don't know what else to write here.

Thanks to: Burning Angemon, DawnAurilain, nEo, DarkMetalAngel of Destruction, CartoonHeroes, Cay, Lil Gold Fishie, SnakeMistress, The Kaizeress, Sillie, Squrlie Jack, Dreamcrafter, LeoChris, Keep-onxRocking, Crushed Lily, Ephraime, Shadow-Seraph, Prince Izzy1, anonymus, Octavo, missa1, LuV2Writ3, Faye Arashi, LadyK Na-No-Da, Sovereign of Silence3, Melissa-T, Black Mirror, Sen-Tay, and Kaiya5.