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

11. Duel

Yes, this took a while to get out, but I did my best and I really hope you guys like this chapter. Warning though, you might not like a few things but they'll fix themselves over time…plot purposes my friends, purely plot. Review replies at the bottom.Enjoy!

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Ring, Ring.

Sora rolled over in her bed with a groan, darting her head under a pillow in attempt to drown out the sound.

Ring, Ring.

She curled up into a ball, adding another pillow on top of the first.

'Isn't anybody else going to answer the damn phone?'

Ring, Ring.

'Guess not.' With a heavy sigh, Sora sat up and picked up her phone, rubbing her eyes tiredly. After all, a night of partying with your friends can make a person exhausted.

"What?" she spoke without even thinking, yawning as an aftereffect. She was rewarded with what appeared to be panting. Staring into the phone curiously, she tried speaking again.

"Hello?" More heavy breathing came through the line and the person on the other end began to speak.

"Sora, I majorly fucked up."

"Tai?" A single sniffle confirmed her theory. "Tai, what's going on?"

"I just shot down every chance I ever had of being with him!" Tai cried out angrily from his end, wiping his nose with the sleeve of his t-shirt.

"What happened?" Sora questioned as she laid down in her bed again, although she wasn't quite as sleepy as before.

"He found out I was bi and we started to fight about it, he was upset that I hadn't told him earlier, and he decided to drown himself in champagne to make him feel better. So he decided he wanted to go swimming and we were there and he was all, 'Kiss me,' and we know I wasn't going to do so when he was totally intoxicated but he said he wanted me to so I did. Oh god, Sora, we started making out in the pool! How could I have been so stupid! So we went back up to the hotel room and I showed him my drawings of the voices and he reacted okay and we went back over to the other room where the party was and we decided to play Spin the Bottle. Well Kari decided it would be a good idea to kick the bottle so Matt had to kiss me and then he tried to make out with me and I had to stop it because I knew that if I let him go on, neither of us would hold back, me because I want him so bad and him because he was drunk. And then the clock struck midnight and it's tradition to kiss somebody so I kissed Matt thinking he wouldn't remember any of this and we fell asleep in the same bed and oh god he remembers! Sora, he remembers everything and he locked himself in the bathroom crying! I'm such an idiot!" Tai choked out and started hyperventilating while Sora absorbed all of the information.

"Wow," she breathed out, not knowing what else to say.

"Sora, what am I going to do? He wants nothing to do with me! And after I kissed him…oh gosh…I can't…what am I going to do!"

"Tai, calm down!" Sora shouted over his hysterics. "Take a deep breath." She heard him inhale deeply and slowly exhale, his panic attack dying down. "Is he still locked in the bathroom?"

"Yes. Well, I think so anyway, I don't know. I'm not in the room anymore."

"Where are you?"

"Out in the hall," Tai replied with a sniff.

"What the hell are you doing out in the hall?" Sora questioned her companion, resisting the urge to arch an eyebrow.

"Didn't want Yama to hear me." Somehow, she was expecting that.

"Well, what are you going to do about it?"

"Do about what?" Tai gasped in air as he began his wind-down.

"Matt. You're not really just gonna give up are you?"

"Well, yeah…I mean, he doesn't want anything to do with me anymore."

"Did he verbally tell you this?"

"…well no, not in words, but still!" Tai protested. Sora sighed and rubbed her temples. In her mind, it was way too early in the morning to deal with Taichi's traumas.

"Tai, pull your head out of your ass for five minutes and listen okay? Ever think that Matt doesn't hate you, that maybe he hates himself for doing what he did? Think about it. You may not be the only one guilty here," she explained to the other teen.

"I don't know, Sora. Somehow, I don't think so…"

"Whatever, just, don't give up all right? Trust me on this one. You can not give up already! Besides, it's not like he's verbally shot you down."

"Not yet anyway," Tai retorted sullenly. Sora growled in aggravation and took a deep breath.

"Shut up Tai!" she shouted with all of her might. Thankfully, her parents were heavy sleepers.

"Ow, what was that for?" Tai yelped as he winced at the sudden volume.

"You are being so negative right now and you and I both know that negativity is not Yagami's way. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and go do something about it! Have I made myself clear?" Sora grounded out harshly. Tai sat still momentarily, letting Sora's words sink into his clouded mind.

"I suppose so," he finally said for lack of any other answer.

"Good," Sora promptly replied and hung up the phone, rolling over to go back to sleep.

Tai stared at the phone in surprise, which quickly turned into annoyance.

"Gee, thanks a bunch, Sora," he grumbled and hung up too. With a sigh, he stood up on his feet and took another deep breath, Sora's words replaying in his head like some sort of satanic mantra. Despite how she had said it, the redhead was right. Negativity was not the Yagami way.

So why did he feel so down about the whole thing?

"Oh yeah, because my best friend officially knows I'd like to fuck him up the ass. That could be why! Argh!" he growled loudly and began pacing around the hallway, tugging on random strands of hair that fell in his face.

"It's not that I deny wanting to have him to myself and it's not like I think it's wrong because he's my best friend. So what if he's my best friend? Big whoop. A relationship might just make things better. Of course, it could make things worse but oh well. I'll deal with that if such a problem shows up. The main problem right now is figuring out what Matt wants to do about everything. Although I think him bawling his eyes out is a sign that he totally regrets it, meaning he wants nothing to do with a romantic me. Oh well, that's cool I guess…ugh, I don't know!" the brunet shouted, grabbing fists-full of hair and tugging hard.

"What don't you know?" a familiar voice questioned from behind him. Tai whirled around in his spot, coming eye-to-eye with his younger brother who was leaning against the wall behind him, watching his oldest sibling curiously.

"Daisuke! What are you doing here?" Tai countered back with another question, sweeping the boy into a bone-crushing hug. Daisuke squeaked and tapped Tai on the shoulder.

"Uh, Tai? Daisuke can't breathe," he wheezed out. Tai quickly released the younger boy and held him at arms-length, staring at him closely.

"What are you doing here?" he repeated his earlier question.

"They released me from the hospital this morning…what are you doing in the hall?" Daisuke also regarded his question from earlier.

"Yama's still sleeping and I wanted to call Sora," Tai lied quickly. There was no reason for Daisuke to know about what had happened yesterday. After all, his mind was still young and impressionable.

"That's funny…because Yama's standing right behind you," Daisuke replied and pointed a few feet down the hall. Standing in the open doorway of their room was Matt, looking rather pale and rumpled, almost like he hadn't had a good night's rest. Regarding Daisuke with a silent nod and completely ignoring Tai, the blonde padded down the hallway towards the room Kari, TK, and Ami were staying in. A small groan escape Tai's lips and he sighed louder. Daisuke looked between his brother and his brother's best friend, confusion and concern etched into his boyish features.

"Did I miss something?" he asked cautiously, unsure of his position in the matter. Tai shook his head and turned towards his room.

"No. Nothing at all," he said and began to walk away, motioning for Daisuke to follow. "Wanna go hit up the continental breakfast?" he offered for the sake of changing the subject. Daisuke's eyes lit up and he nodded eagerly. Tai smirked to himself and walked into the room to change his pants. If anything outweighed Daisuke's curiosity, it was definitely his appetite. Re-emerging from the area dressed in a pair of jeans, Tai led his brother to the elevator and the two rode down to dine.

Meanwhile, Matt continued his trek to the room that contained his younger brother and his brother's girlfriend. He didn't care if they were awake or not, he just needed an excuse to get away from Tai. Now. He knew Ami wouldn't be in the room since Daisuke was back and while the idea of leaving the young couple alone scared him before, at the present moment, he didn't give a damn.

He stood in front of their door, hand poised to knock for permission to enter, when he noticed that it was partially open. He heard voices from inside the room and took a step forward, only to stop when Kari shouted his brother's name. Making sure to remain hidden and quiet, Matt opened the door a tiny bit more then it was, peering into the room and spotting the younger teens standing in the middle of the room.

"So you hate my brother," Kari accused the teen in front of her, staring heatedly into his bright blue eyes.

"No, I'm not saying I hate him. I'm just saying I don't agree with his choice of lifestyle," the blonde argued, readjusting his white bucket hat that had slipped over his eyes.

"Why not?"

"Think about it, Kari. People can't reproduce with members of the same sex and right now your brother only has an interest in screwing my brother up the ass! Last time I looked, that was neither normal nor acceptable!" Matt winced at the tone in his brother's voice. He knew that this conversation would come up sometime, but he was hoping it would be very far into the future.

"Screw being acceptable, that's just how he is! It's not like he's doing anything wrong!" Kari shouted, not wanting to believe that her boyfriend could be so closed-minded about the whole situation.

"It is wrong though, Kari. Do you not see that?" TK insisted. Kari shook her head at the blonde boy.

"No I do not see that, Takeru," Kari said, making a large emphasis on using TK's real name. "Tai's my brother and despite him being in the minority, he still has my utmost respect and support! I don't care if you hate how he is, but just remember this. He has a higher ranking in my life then you do. No matter how much I love and care about you, I care about Taichi more. End of discussion!" Kari declared with an air of finality, turning on her heel and flouncing to the door.

"Fine! I don't care, Kari, I really don't! I'm still going to think what he's doing is not right!" TK hollered at her back. The girl didn't turn her head, instead flipping her partner off and storming out the door, not noticing that Matt was right there. He took that as his cue to enter the room.

"Are you pouting?" Matt blinked in surprise. TK looked up from his spot on the couch and shook his head.

"No. What gave you that idea?"

"Because that definitely looked like a pout," the older blonde pointed out and sat down next to his brother.

"Yeah well, she's trying to make me feel guilty," TK explained with a shrug. "But I'm not changing my mind."

"About what?" Matt asked, just to make it look like he hadn't been standing at the door eavesdropping.

"About believing that any form of homosexuality is wrong. That includes bisexuality."

"And she got mad because Tai's bi," Matt filled in the blanks.

"Exactly," TK sighed. "I don't get why she's so upset. Those are my beliefs."

"It's because you offended her, bonehead. Wouldn't you be offended if somebody said that something I was doing was wrong?" Matt attempted to put things into perspective for his younger sibling.

"They already are saying you're doing something wrong," TK muttered darkly. Matt blinked momentarily and cocked an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"Kari and Mimi and even Jun are convinced that you like Tai," he informed the older male.

'No…this can't be a good thing.' Matt shook his head in attempt to think of a way out of his predicament.

"Well yeah I like Tai, he's my best friend," he said, knowing that his statement wasn't going to convince TK of anything.

"That's not what I meant. They think you like him like he likes you," TK replied, confirming what Matt already knew and feared. He racked his brain for a reply quickly and could only come up with one.

"No I don't." Well, it was a start.

"I didn't think you did! I mean c'mon, you're both guys. That's just…no. It doesn't fly. I know girls like the whole yaoi thing but seriously, this isn't some shounen-ai anime. This is reality. Reality was not made for fags," TK spat out.

"Whoa, don't you think you're being a little harsh?" Matt's eyes widened in surprise at how disgusted TK truly was.

"No, I don't. You almost sound like you accept the fact that Tai wants to date you." TK narrowed his eyes and stared at his brother closely, almost as if he were trying to read his soul.

"I'm not happy about it, but he's still my friend. I'm not exactly going to turn my back on him just because his door swings both ways," Matt tried to explain.

"Whatever man, it's your funeral," TK shot back and stood to his feet, heading towards the door. "But if I were you, I'd be worried about my reputation," he said his final words and walked out of the room, leaving Matt with that last thought.

'Holy shit he's right…' Matt's jaw dropped a bit at this realization. 'I'm just now starting to have a life. If word about me and Tai gets out…I'm damned. I am officially damned.' The American shook his head wildly and bit his lip. Despite how wrong it was, he knew he had to put a stop to it somehow.

'I just hope Tai won't hate me too much.' Was the last reigning thought as he too rose to his feet and left the room, going back to his own area to pack his belongings.

It was only the first day into the new year and it was already beginning to look shitty.

---

Tension was in the air on the train back to Odaiba. Anyone could tell. Ever since the group of six had left the hotel that morning, silence was golden. Kari was refusing to speak to TK, choosing to sit by her mother for the journey home. This left the younger blonde to be stuck by his older brother, who was doing all that he could to avoid Tai for reasons known only to him. Tai respected the fact that Matt didn't want to talk to him. That didn't mean he had to like it. Oh no, Tai was definitely pissed off.

'Just because a few things happened last night doesn't mean he has to totally avoid me like the plague! For crying out loud, I have a crush on him, not a death sentence!' he shifted in his seat grudgingly, looking over to where his younger brother was napping next to him. Even though he had been released from the hospital, he still needed his rest. Tai smiled down at the smaller figure and reached over, slipping the pair of headphones off of his brother's ears and onto his own. His eyes widened and he yelped, ripping the headphones away from his ears.

"Daisuke, what the hell is this!" he exclaimed, fully succeeding in awakening the other boy.

"What's what?" Daisuke yawned and blinked sleepily, giving his brother a look that clearly said he wasn't pleased with the rude awakening.

"This! What are you listening to?" Tai questioned and held up the portable CD player.

"Oh…Avril Lavigne." Tai could feel his eye twitching at the name.

"Why are you listening to Avril Lavigne?" he asked as calmly as he could without bursting into a sporadic fit.

"Because Mimi likes her, so I thought I'd borrow the CD and see what she sounded like. She's not as bad as you make her out to be, Tai," Daisuke informed the older brunet and took back his CD player. "Just listen to one song and then you can trash-talk her," he compromised.

"Promise?" Tai muttered and leaned back in his seat. Daisuke nodded and let the rest of track three fade away.

"Promise…besides, I think you can relate to this next song," he replied and also leaned back, letting the song do all the explaining for him. Tai rolled his eyes at the cheap guitar riffs and cringed as Avril's voice blared through the headphones.

'I can't believe Daisuke would think I would relate to this! I mean, I don't sit on my bed and stare at the phone. That's possibly the dumbest thing I've ever heard.' Tai scoffed and shifted in his seat. Suddenly the chorus rang through and he listened. As he listened, the words sank in and he blinked.

'Okay…so maybe this does fit. But only a little bit. Yeah…but it's all in the past now, so it doesn't matter. But it fits! Jeeze, leave it to Daisuke…let's just bring up old memories.' He shook his head and sighed, listening to the next verse.

'All right…who cleans their room when they're bored? I don't usually clean my room when I'm told to anyway! And part of you is getting stale…who writes these lyrics? Stupid blonde singer…' Tai snickered. It was obvious that Avril just was making things up as she went, but because she was already famous, it sold. The song continued on with a few random parts thrown in about having choices and voices…or something.

'I admit, for being annoying, this song's kinda catchy…and Daisuke's right, the chorus does fit.' Tai decided and began mouthing the words to said chorus, unaware that Daisuke was watching with a smile on his face.

"He wasn't what I wanted, what I thought, no he wouldn't even open up the door. He never made me feel like I was special, he isn't really what I'm lookin' for…like I was special, cause I was special, uh huh," the brunet sang quietly and let the rest of the song finish with a loud final guitar note. He pulled the headphones off of his ears and handed them back to his brother.

"See, she isn't so bad, is she?"

"Oh no, I still hate her," Tai retorted. After all, he wasn't going to let on that he liked that song, nor was he going to admit that it did relate.

'Stupid Haru…he really wasn't what I was looking for.' He reached into his bag and pulled out his own CD player, sticking in his ear pieces and giving his brother one final look.

"And now that you have poisoned my mind, I must listen to Papa Roach at maximum volume before I lose all of my sanity," he confirmed and nodded, turning on his player and turning up the volume, allowing the loud music to comfort him from the brush with cheery poppy-ness.

"Uh-huh, sure Tai, whatever you say." Daisuke smirked at the other boy and slipped his own headphones back on. He wasn't going to bruise his brother's pride…not right now anyway.

Tai rolled his shoulders and let his music play, not really hearing it in his head. Instead, random thoughts entered and he closed his eyes, not even giving Daisuke and his cruddy music choices a second thought before he fell asleep.

---

"Haru, why are you ignoring me? What did I do?" Tai questioned the black and silver-haired teen in front of him. Haru didn't respond and continued to correct the homework sheets in front of him.

"Haru! C'mon, seriously, quit joking around," Tai said around a nervous laugh. He still received no response from the other boy. Swallowing his pride, he bent down so he was eye-level with Haru and let his puppy-dog expression take over.

"Haru, please talk to me?" he begged quietly. Haru snapped his head up suddenly, glaring at Tai with agitated aqua eyes. Tai blinked in surprise at the look.

"Are you mad at me?" he asked.

"No shit, Sherlock. I thought you could have figured that out on your own," Haru grounded out smoothly before returning to grading the paperwork. Tai remained silent for a few moments before choosing to speak again.

"Why?"

"What do you think?"

"…because I kissed you a few days ago?"

"Exactly. You know I'm trying to get with Stormie from back home," Haru spat out. Tai bit his lip and looked at his feet.

"Well…I thought you wouldn't mind. It's just, you and I haven't done anything for a while," he said softly, not wanting to draw any attention to themselves from their classmates.

"Uh, hello? What part of friends with benefits didn't you understand? We are not dating, Tai! I know that's what you thought but we're not! Get over it!" Haru looked up once more, shooting Tai a look that finalized his words.

"But you said you loved me…" Tai trailed off, feeling smaller and smaller by the minute.

"You actually thought that meant something? Get a grip. I just needed somebody to fool around with and you were the closest person," Haru explained. Tai felt tears spring into his eyes and closed them, swallowing hard.

"I can't believe you, what kind of shit are you trying to pull?" he attempted to keep his voice level.

"Well, I don't have to pull it now, do I? I have Stormie…I don't need you anymore," the boy with two-toned hair confirmed Tai's greatest fear.

"But-"

"No, Tai. No. Get the hell away from me."

"…so it's really over."

"There never was anything. But sure, why not, just to humor you, yeah it's over. That's it, game over, you lose," Haru rephrased himself in many ways but it all added up to one thing. He looked back down at his papers and went back to marking them, leaving Tai to stand above him with tears flowing down his face. Turning on his heel, he ran out of the classroom and up the stairs, unlocking the door to his bedroom and flinging himself inside, sobbing heartbrokenly into his pillow.

"Tai…Tai, c'mon…"

"Tai, wake up," Kari's voice said softly as her hands shook his shoulders. Tai's eyes flew open and he blinked several times before his sister's face came into vision. He lifted a hand to his face on impulse and felt that his cheeks were wet.

"Are you okay?" the younger girl asked quietly, knowing that her brother hated to be vulnerable. Tai reached up with both hands this time and rubbed his face, succeeding in waking himself up and wiping away his tears.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied automatically. Kari rewarded him with a skeptical look and shook her head.

"No, wrong answer. What's really wrong, Tai?" she inquired, sitting back in what used to be Daisuke's seat.

"Where'd Dai go?" Tai countered back with another question.

"He's up with Mom because he came to get me because you were crying in your sleep," Kari replied. "And don't change the subject."

"I was not crying! My…eyes were…dry?" he stopped short upon seeing the look on Kari's face that clearly stated, 'Don't give me that bullshit.'

"You know, it would just be easier if you told me what was wrong instead of arguing with me to the point that I have to beat it out of you," she pointed out. Tai sighed and shifted in his seat so that he was facing Kari instead of the seat in front of him.

"I just had a dream about Haru, Kar…nothing else," he spoke in a low voice so that no one else could hear him. Kari's expression softened and she pulled him closer for a hug.

"Oh…poor thing…I can't believe you're still thinking about him after all this time!" she exclaimed as she held his head to her shoulder. Tai struggled to push himself away enough to talk to her.

"It hasn't been that long Kari, it's only been like, six or seven months. But I'm surprised too because I haven't dreamed about him for months," he said and sighed. "It's hard to let go I guess."

"How can you still hold on when he was such a jerk to you?"

"Well…he wasn't always a jerk you know." Kari gave him a flat look.

"Okay well, let's go with exhibit A!" she announced and lifted up his left arm, pulling down the black wristband to reveal a pale thin scar.

"Will you quit that?" Tai hissed and rolled the band back down.

"Just proving my theory." Kari frowned at her brother.

"Well I was trying to forget about that! Besides, I only did it once and that was like, right after he told me to piss off. So basically, you have proved nothing," Tai retorted and stuck out his tongue.

"Okay well, let's move on to exhibit B!" Kari reached into her duffel bag and pulled out a battered red spiral notebook. Tai stopped moving and stared at her.

"Where did you get that?" Kari smirked and twirled the book around in her hands.

"Be glad I found it instead of Mom. Just a little hint, under your bed is not the best hiding spot," she remarked and opened the book, selecting a passage. "Ah, here we go. This is from April. 'Haru keeps avoiding me and I can't figure out why. I haven't done anything to him. We were making out three days ago but he hasn't spoken to me since then. He's always on the phone with Nanako whenever I try to visit him and when I approach him in class, he walks away pretending like he doesn't see me. It kills me tha-"

"All right, all right, shut up!" Tai whispered frantically and snatched the journal away from his sister. "I am going to burn this fucker."

"That'd be wise," Kari agreed. "I wish you would just agree that he was a real jerkweed."

"Well, okay so maybe he was in the end. But when I first met him he wasn't," Tai argued back.

"Yeah but people change, you should know that."

"I know…I guess I'm clinging to the person he used to be, not who he is now. Or rather, was, since I haven't heard from him since."

"That's probably a good thing, don't you think?" Kari asked rhetorically, twirling a lock of hair around her index finger.

"I guess. It hurts either way...like, a slap in the face for doing something wrong," Tai said thoughtfully, slipping off his headphones once he realized his music had stopped some time ago.

"Tai, you didn't do anything wrong," Kari said sharply.

"No, I know that now, but at the time y'know? I thought there was something wrong with me…like I wasn't good enough and that's why he chose those girls over me," Tai clarified hastily before he got another "up-lifting" self-esteem lecture from Kari. "But I suppose it doesn't matter now. I'm back to square one."

"What about…?" Kari motioned towards the older blonde that was a few seats in front of them and sleeping on TK's shoulder.

"I don't know…I have a feeling I'm just in for more problems." Tai shrugged.

"Why do you say that?"

"Think about it, Kari. Why would Matt be sitting over there instead of sitting next to me if we didn't have issues, hmm?" he rationalized for the brunette girl.

"Okay, I get it," Kari said and rolled her eyes. Seeing the rather dejected look on her older brother's face, she rubbed his shoulders lightly and gave him an encouraging smile. "It'll all work out, Tai, you'll see."

"Yeah, I know…thanks, Hikari," Tai replied with his own smile.

'No need to tell me, I already know it'll work out. Now it's just the case of if it'll work out the way I want it to.' Tai pouted slightly but quickly erased it when Kari looked his way.

"C'mon kids, this is our stop," Ami hollered as she and Daisuke exited the train, followed by the blonde brothers. Kari grabbed her bag from the floor and stood up, waiting for Tai to stand as well.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" she asked him, searching his eyes for some reassurance. A smile plastered itself onto Tai's face and he nodded.

"Of course, Hika. Talking about it helped actually," he replied and stood up with his bag.

"Glad to hear it." Kari nodded and smiled back. The two siblings pushed all negative thoughts out of their minds for the moment and rushed out of the train, meeting the rest of their party on the other side.

---

Matt was going insane; he was sure of it. Not like he wasn't already, being friends with Tai, but that was beside the point. Everywhere he walked inside the Yagami-Motomiya household, he felt like he was being watched. In the kitchen, down the hallway, by the den, through the living room, even in the shower, he felt as though he were being watched. This is why he had grabbed a pack of ramen from the cupboard in the kitchen, a can of Coke from the refrigerator and holed himself up in the guestroom, determined not to come out until the next morning when the three boys would travel back to Odaiba Academy. It was somewhere around six in the evening when someone came to disturb his Realm of Paranoia.

"Matt, are you in there?" Kari's voice rang through the door suddenly, causing the blonde to choke on the dry noodles.

"Uh, yeah, hang on," he replied and rose from his position on the floor, swiftly walking across the room and opening the door a tiny bit. "What can I help you with?" he asked as he peered through the crack.

"Can I come in?" Kari didn't bother to wait for a reply before she made her way into the room, leaving Matt to look highly offended.

"Jeeze! What if I had been naked or something?" he exclaimed and frowned, closing the door behind her.

"Then we would be even," she responded calmly and sat on the bed, reminding Matt about the same situation that had occurred the day after Christmas.

"Right…I apologized for that, didn't I?"

"Yes you did."

"Okay good." Matt nodded to himself and watched as Kari played with her hairclip in silence. He was about to open his mouth to ask what the heck she wanted when she spoke for herself.

"I don't know what's going on between you and my brother, but I want you to fix it. Now." The female Yagami bore her eyes into Matt's, not liking how he wasn't really listening to her.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Kari. Nothing's going on between me and Tai," Matt denied instantly, knowing that Kari wasn't going down without a fight.

"That's crap, Matt, and we both know it. I'm not asking you to tell me what happened, but I want you to fix it because it's ridiculous." Kari played with her fingers in her lap, looking around the room as though Tai were hiding somewhere.

"Fine, I'll fix it. Is that all?"

"Mom said to make sure you have all of your stuff. A taxi's coming bright and early tomorrow to pick you guys up to take you back to the academy." Kari pushed herself off of the bed and walked across the room gracefully.

"All right, I'll start packing right now," Matt said and grabbed his suitcase from off of the floor.

"Good." Kari nodded and opened the door.

"Hey, where's TK at?" the blonde boy asked before she stepped out of the room.

"He went home," Kari answered shortly and walked away, closing the door sharply behind her. Obviously, she was still ticked off at the other blonde and wasn't open for discussion.

"Well then," Matt said to himself and sighed, tossing his suitcase onto the bed and unzipping it. He moved over to the dresser, sliding out the top drawer and removing his underwear and socks. He shoved them at the bottom of the suitcase and moved onto the next drawer that contained his pants. "Just because I said I was going to fix things with Tai doesn't mean I have to do it right away. She never said it had to be done right away. Oh wait…yeah she did. Damn," he continued talking to himself as he emptied all of the drawers, making his way over to the closet. A knock on the door echoed through the room.

"It's open," Matt hollered without a second thought, too focused on fighting with the hangers in the closet.

"Hey." Oh, how he wished he had given it a second thought. Matt felt every muscle in his body tense up at the sound of Tai's voice.

'Well, I was bound to run into him sooner or later. After all, it's his house.' He straightened up and turned, giving Tai the sight of half of his face.

"Hey, Tai," Matt returned the greeting and continued packing. Tai leaned against the wall by the door and followed his friend with his eyes.

"I see you haven't finished packing," the brunet commented lightly.

"And I suppose you have?"

"…what would I need to pack? I live here, remember? I only brought a small bag home," Tai reminded his friend with a lopsided grin.

"That's true," Matt agreed before closing the closet and walking over to the bed. Tai shifted onto his other foot uncomfortably and swallowed.

"Are we okay?" he blurted out before he backed down. Matt looked up again with an odd, unreadable look on his features.

"What do you mean are we okay?" the Japanese boy rubbed the back of his neck and licked his dry lips.

"I mean, are we okay. Because like, we haven't really talked all day and you've been kinda avoiding me it seems," he explained to the American boy.

"I have not been avoiding you," Matt immediately denied, suddenly feeling nervous under Tai's intense stare.

"Really? Because it sure seems like it," Tai huffed and blew pieces of hair out of his face, never letting his eyes leave Matt's.

"Tai, if I was avoiding you, I wouldn't be talking to you at all. I'm just tired and wanted to catch up on my sleep. I can't easily do that with you yakking my ear off, now can I?" Matt fed the brunet a quick lie to tide him over. Tai seemed to consider this for a moment, tilting his head to the side as though having a new view of Matt would tell him the truth.

"Matt look…I don't know what you're issue is, but I don't like it when you lie about it. I'll stop bugging you about it right now, but I wish you would just tell me what's wrong," Tai said in a sad tone, flashing Matt a pair of puppy-dog eyes before he turned around and disappeared through the door just as quickly as he came in. Matt let out a relieved sigh, sitting down on the bed heavily. No offense to Tai of course, but he really didn't want to deal with the brunet right now.

Maybe not ever.

He had yet to figure out what to do about his current dilemma and he only had a few more hours to figure it out before they returned to the academy. It wasn't going back to the academy that bothered it; more like going back to rooming with Tai full-time bothered him. And it wasn't the fact that Tai was bi that bothered him; it was the fact that he was attracted to him that bothered him.

"After all, I never signed up to be somebody's crush," he muttered to himself and closed his eyes, allowing his body to relax against the bouncy mattress. It wasn't his fault Tai decided to kiss him and make everything all awkward. He had just sat there and let it happen.

'Except for last night when you commanded he kiss you,' A little voice spoke to him.

'It was the champagne I tell you!' Another voice argued back. Oh how lovely, Rational and Irrational were back. Matt stayed quiet and let the two sides of his mind battle it out.

'Of course, blame it on the champagne. But just remember, you can't use the champagne as an excuse to why he enjoyed kissing him,' Irrational taunted.

'Sure I can. Alcohol affects the brain a lot,' Rational argued back.

'Yeah, too bad it was his psyche that determined whether you enjoyed it or not,' Irrational pointed out. 'Besides, there's not that much alcohol in champagne anyway.'

'Yeah but…um…'

'Face it, you lose. Matt enjoyed the kiss, end of story.' Irrational declared victoriously.

"However, just because I liked the kiss doesn't mean I like Tai, so you both can just cram it," Matt said aloud. It was the only way he could successfully shut up both sides. "I mean I could kiss Britney Spears and like it, but that doesn't mean I'd like her. It's the same concept," he explained to both sides of his brain. He stopped and blinked, suddenly realizing what he was doing. "No wonder Dad thinks I'm crazy," he mumbled through a yawn and fluffed up his pillow. All of the thinking, arguing, and avoiding Tai had drained him of his energy for the day. Actually, just Tai in general had drained his energy for the day.

"Then again, what else is new?" Matt sighed one last time before his body shut down and went to sleep.

---

"Matt, get up. The taxi's gonna be here in 20 minutes," Tai hollered from across the hall. The blonde groaned and rolled out of bed, landing on the carpet with a soft thud. He remained motionless for a few moments before the sounds of someone shouting reached his ears.

"Daisuke, you don't have time to take a shower!"

"Do too!" The American boy got up from his place on the floor and crept out into the hallway. He spotted Tai standing outside of the bathroom door with his toothbrush in hand while Daisuke stood just inside the doorway wrapped up in a towel and dripping wet.

"No you don't! We have like, now less then 20 minutes to get ready to go," Tai said to his brother and bopped him on the nose with the blue toothbrush.

"You know what, Tai? I haven't showered in five days and I'm pretty sure I smell by now," Daisuke argued back, placing his hands on his hips.

"So put on some cologne and shower when we get to the academy!" the older brunet slammed his hand against the wall by Daisuke's head.

"Hey, y'know, some of us are trying to sleep in!" Kari interrupted her brothers' banter and stood in the doorway of her bedroom wearing a baby-pink tank top, black pajama bottoms, and a rather pissed-off expression. "Just because you guys have to go back to school today doesn't mean you have to make my life miserable too," she pointed out.

"When do you go back?" Matt asked the teenage girl.

"The seventh. And speaking of the number seven, do you guys realize it's 7:17 in the morning?" Kari held up her watch to emphasize her point

"We've been arguing for seven minutes?" Tai questioned rhetorically.

"Apparently," Kari answered anyway. "And you have thirteen to finish getting ready before you guys have to leave. Now if you don't mind, I'm going back to bed."

"What? No goodbye hugs or anything?" Daisuke pouted.

"Not when you're wet. Dry off, brush your teeth, and get dressed. Then I'll say goodbye to you three," she decided and brushed past all of them, heading down the stairs to find her mother. Tai was the first to come to his senses.

"She's right. Daisuke, go dry off. I'll go use the bathroom downstairs, or better yet I'll just use Mom's. Matt, go get dressed," he ordered the other two boys and disappeared into his mother's bedroom. Daisuke rolled his eyes and closed the bathroom door again, presumably to finish getting ready.

'And so begins day two of my personal hell.' Matt inwardly sighed and walked back into the guest bedroom, kicking the door shut behind him. Rifling through his bag he pulled out the first set of clothing on top. His Volcom hoodie and jeans, nothing special. Slipping them on, he stomped his feet into his sneakers and picked up his bag, looking around the room once more to make sure he had everything. With a satisfied nod, Matt exited the room and clambered down the stairs, Tai and Daisuke right behind him.

"Okay boys, have a safe trip," Ami said as she and Kari stood in the front hall. Tai nodded and gave his mother a hug.

"We will, see ya in about five months," he replied and turned to his sister.

"I'm bummed I don't get to be here for your first day of high school!" he pouted and hugged her tightly. Kari hugged him back lightly and rolled her eyes.

"Oh please, the only reason you would want to be here is so that you could humiliate me in front of my friends," she joked.

"…maybe, but it's only because I love you."

"Rude." Ami shook her head at her two children and pulled Daisuke closer to her.

"Are you feeling better this morning, honey?" she asked and felt for a fever.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Mom," Daisuke insisted, feeling rather embarrassed about being fussed over.

"All right, you take care of yourself," Ami said and planted a kiss on his forehead. "And make sure your brother doesn't get into too much trouble," she whispered quietly.

"Hey!" The other four people in the hall laughed at Tai's offensive look. "You people are mean," the oldest Yagami sibling informed his family and best friend.

"It's just because it's true, Tai," Daisuke explained and moved over to Kari, hugging her quickly before releasing her. "See ya when we get home, Hika."

"Yeah, can't wait," she answered with a smile. Ami nodded and finally enveloped Matt into a hug.

"It was wonderful having you here with us, Matt. I hope you'll come back another time." Matt returned the hug and smiled at her.

"It was great meeting you, Ami and thanks for letting me stay here. Hopefully, I'll come back sometime," the blonde replied, although not too sure about the last statement he made.

"Well we would love to have you back." Ami smiled back and released him. He turned to Kari and nodded at her.

"Nice meeting you too, Kari," he said uneasily, remembering that she was currently pissed off at his brother and frustrated with him.

"Likewise. Hope you take care of everything when you get to the school." She gave him a pointed look that informed him of her implications.

'In other words, I had better work things out before coming back onto Yagami-Motomiya property. Right.' Matt gave her a nervous grin and turned for the door. Kari waved and headed back up the stairs, most likely to go back to bed. After all, it was only 7:29 in the morning.

"Right. Well, we'll see you when we come home," Tai said and reached over, swinging the front door open.

And there stood TK, hand positioned over the doorbell and looking quite surprised.

"Um…morning guys," he greeted the three boys and Ami.

"What are you doing here, Teeks?" Matt asked his younger brother. TK rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and grinned.

"Well, I wanted to talk to Kari."

"So you came to our house at 7:30 in the morning," Tai stated rather then asked.

"I wanted to catch her before she went out for the day or something," the younger blonde explained.

"Well, she just went upstairs to go back to bed. You're more then welcome to stay and wait for her though, she has to be up by nine anyway," Ami offered and gestured towards the den. Obviously, she wasn't aware that her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend had a fight yesterday and that Kari didn't really want to see TK.

"Okay, sure. Hey, are you guys leaving right now?" TK switched gears as he noticed the bags in their hands.

"Yup. You better take care of my sister until I get back," Tai warned him. TK let out a nervous laugh and nodded.

"I will, trust me."

"What Tai's trying to say is, nice to meet you TK, and we'll probably see you around when we come home for summer," Daisuke translated for his brother, elbowing him in the ribs.

"Ow, Dai!"

"Idiot." Matt rolled his eyes and snickered. He turned to TK and smiled softly as the two Yagami-Motomiya brothers walked out of the house.

"C'mere bro," he said and set his bag on the ground. TK walked closer and found himself wrapped into a very tight hug. "It's crazy that we met up after all these years huh?" Matt laughed at the idea.

"Yeah, I know. Who woulda thought that we'd really be long-lost brothers?" TK agreed and laughed as well.

"Oh well, I guess it's not so bad being related to you. Maybe one day you'll be as cool as me." Matt smirked down at his little brother.

"Hey! I'm very cool, thank you very much."

"Uh-huh, and I'm very gay," Matt snorted and then froze.

'Where the hell did that come from?' The American boy shook his head and focused in on what TK was saying.

"Ugh, all right, I get it," TK groaned. He let go of Matt's frame and stepped away, heading towards the stairs to the den. "Have fun back at the academy, and say hi to Mom for me!" he shouted and waved over his shoulder.

"Mom?" Matt voiced his confusion aloud. "TK, wait a minute! What do you mean say hi to Mom?"

"Matt, come on! The taxi's here!" Daisuke hollered from outside.

'Damnit!' Matt picked up his bag and gave one last wave to Ami before running out to the taxi, throwing his suitcase into the trunk. He climbed into the back seat and sat directly behind the driver. Daisuke climbed in next and sat himself in the middle, leaving Tai to sit on Daisuke's other side. The taxi slowly pulled away from the house and onto the open road, taking the boys away from the city and back towards the academy. Tai was busy sketching in his new sketchbook and Daisuke was once again playing his Gameboy Advance, leaving Matt to stare out the window blankly listening to an old System of a Down CD.

'Sometimes I wish I could play like Daron Malakin.' He sighed quietly. 'Wait…guitar…'

"Shit!" he said aloud and sat straight up.

"What?" Tai looked over in alarm, leaving Daisuke to completely ignore the outburst.

"I left my guitar and guitar case at your house!" Matt cried and buried his face in his hands. "Aw man, how could I forget that?" Tai shrugged in response.

"Don't worry about it, I'll get it to you somehow," he said quietly and went back to sketching. Matt groaned loudly and shook his head.

"Damnit all," he cursed again, smacking his head against the window like some sort of punishment.

'How the hell could I have possibly forgotten my guitar of all things? God, I can't make it through the rest of this cruddy school year without it! Then again, maybe if I wasn't so focused on escaping Tai…there we go again, thinking about Tai. What's so special about him anyway?' The blonde looked away from the window and peeked at the older brunet from the corner of his eye. Said brunet sat still except for the flying movements of his hands and the occasional look of concentration on his face. A few strands of deep brown hair floated in front of his face, standing out from the olive-tan of his skin.

'Okay so other then the fact that he's good-looking and one of the best people I know in this lifetime, what's so special about him?'

"Matt? Are you okay?" The blonde looked up at this question, finding himself staring into Tai's inquisitive muddy eyes. "Look, I'm really sorry about your guitar. Maybe Mom can send it up or something. We'll call her when we get to the academy okay?"

'Oh yeah, there's also the fact that no matter how much I push him away or how rude I am to him, he still manages to keep a smile on his face and be sincere about it. God damnit, Tai…why do you have to be so…you?'

"Sure, whatever works…actually I'll just pick up the guitar from your house sometime this summer. It's fine," Matt replied and went back to looking out the window. Tai nodded shortly and resumed his drawing.

'It probably wouldn't be so bad if Tai was a girl. Because it's like TK was saying, that's considered normal. I'd definitely date Tai then…if he was a girl. So really the only thing stopping me from dating him is that…he's a guy? Man, how shallow does that make me?'

"Take that you stupid Heartless! Bwahaha!" Daisuke interrupted his musing by declaring victory on his Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories game. "Hey Tai, when do we get to eat?"

"Whenever we get there I suppose. I think they'll be serving lunch for everybody who's arriving," Tai answered his brother without looking up from his drawing.

"Good because I am starving and then I wanna set up my Playstation," Daisuke declared as he hunched over his Gameboy. Apparently, another onslaught of Heartless was attacking.

'Now see, that's how a normal guy should act. I bet Daisuke's never had a crush on Tai.' Matt stopped to think about the wording of that, scrunching his face up in disgust once it processed.

'Okay scratch that, I bet Daisuke's never had a crush on a guy in general. Why can't his brother be like? Or better yet, why can't I be like that? It'd make things a whole lot easier.' He sighed wistfully and pressed the skip button on his CD player.

'I bet Daisuke never has to worry about his reputation being at stake, lucky little punk. It's not fair; why did I have to be the one Tai decided to like. No, I'm not using the word love. Love isn't real. For crying out loud, we're only 15! Tai doesn't even know what love means. Then again, neither do I, so how would I know if what was happening between us is love? Oh…that's right…it's not, because he's a guy!' Matt growled at himself and attempted to focus more on the music and not on his thoughts. But his brain had other ideas for him.

'Oh well, maybe if I snap my fingers and click my heels three times, it'll all go away. Yeah right. Why couldn't Tai have picked somebody who wouldn't be…well, I don't know. But why couldn't he have just picked somebody else? I don't need this right now…ever, actually. I have a new reputation to uphold. I don't need it to come crashing down because of a little crush. Tai and I will both get over it…they're just hormones anyway.' He nodded his head sharply, as if to signify that he understood this. It was then he knew the solution to his problem, despite how difficult it would be. It had to be done no matter what.

Now, if he could just make it to the academy without developing a hard-on.

---

"Daisuke, can I talk to you for a second?" Daisuke looked up from his comic book, spotting Matt standing in the doorway of his room.

"Um, sure. What's up?" Daisuke asked and closed the book, moving his body into a sitting position on his bed.

"Well, I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you," Matt began, stepping into the room a little more.

"…what kind of favor?" Daisuke felt he had every right to be suspicious about Matt's offer, especially from the way he kept looking over his shoulder and out into the hallway.

"Something came up between me and your brother," the American boy continued as his voice dropped an octave.

"What kind of something? Is it bad?" Daisuke raised his eyebrows in alarm.

"No, no it's not bad like that. We just kind of had a big disagreement and it's going to be a long time before we can fix it." Daisuke nodded in understanding for a moment before it hit him.

"So what's the favor?"

"I want you to switch me rooms." Silence filled the room as Daisuke stared at Matt, blinking every now and again to make sure this was real.

"You want to switch rooms," he repeated and was rewarded with a nod. "What the hell do you wanna switch rooms for?" he exploded, throwing his arms into the air in exasperation.

"Daisuke, just trust me on this one all right? It's better for all of us." Matt ran a hand through his hair, praying with all of his might that Daisuke would accept his proposal. The younger boy still had a suspicious glint in his eye and a twitch on his lips that was bound to say no.

"But what about-"

"Look, it's not like you haven't roomed with him before. Besides, he's your brother," Matt cut him off.

"Yeah, but he's your best friend! What could possibly be so terrible that you can't room with him anymore?" Cinnamon eyes flared with fury at the situation.

"Like I said, just trust me. This is just the best solution. Please Daisuke, that's all I'm asking," Matt begged the mahogany-haired boy. Daisuke bit his lip and looked out into the hall behind Matt.

"Where's Tai?" he asked quietly, unhappy with the fact that his resolve was crumbling.

"He said something about the library, so if we're gonna do this, we gotta do it fast." Daisuke nodded in agreement and got off of the bed, picking up some random things from the floor.

"I'll start packing things up then," he said reluctantly as he moved towards the closet.

"Thank you so much, Daisuke, I owe you!" Matt shouted over his shoulder as he dashed out the door down to his own room. Daisuke nodded and sighed.

"Somebody better explain to me what the heck is going on and soon," he grumbled and grabbed his laundry basket from the bathroom, throwing everything in there. "But I really wonder if this is going to do more hurt then help for those two," he sighed again and set to work packing up his things.

---

"Are you really sure about this, Matt?" the younger boy asked unsurely as he looked around his new living space.

"Sure I'm sure. Here's the key to this room. Can I have the key to your old room?" Matt held out his hand expectantly. Daisuke dug deep into his pockets, shortly producing the small key.

"All right, I guess we'll see you at dinner?" Daisuke said in a questioning manner. Matt nodded eagerly and snatched the key from Daisuke's palm.

"Yeah, see ya!" he said quickly before turning on his heel and darted down the hall, slamming the door of his new room loudly. Daisuke jumped at the noise and sighed, walking into his new room to arrange everything to his liking. Halfway through this process, his brother walked in.

"Daisuke? What are you doing?" he inquired and closed the book that was in his hand.

"Um…unpacking?" Daisuke replied with a shrug and nervous grin.

"What?"

"Unpacking, you need to learn to listen, Tai."

"…shouldn't you be unpacking in your room then? Not mine?" Tai reasoned with the younger boy and headed for his bed, sitting down with his book bag and book. Daisuke gave him a blank look and went back to stuffing the dresser.

"Didn't Matt tell you? We switched rooms. I'm not sure why, but we did," he informed the older brunet who felt his jaw, not to mention his heart, drop suddenly.

"What? Nobody informed me of this! When did this happen?" Tai exclaimed and looked around. All of Matt's stuff was picked up and gone, replaced by Daisuke's familiar junk.

"Just a little while ago actually. What's going on between you two anyway?" Daisuke didn't seem to notice Tai's shellshock, which was slowly fading into anger.

'Not avoiding me, my ass.' The mud-eyed boy shook his head and shrugged.

"If I knew, I'd tell ya," he simply said and got to his feet, picking up his bag and book.

"Where are you going?" Daisuke looked up from his unpacking process.

"Back to the library. More research for our science project, y'know?" Tai waved half-heartedly and walked out the door, leaving Daisuke in his wake. Daisuke shrugged and went back to unpacking his underwear and socks and throwing them into the drawer in front of him. It wasn't until he picked up his pair of black boxers with the white hibiscus flower-print that he realized something very important.

"We don't have a science project," he said to himself aloud. He shook his head and set down his boxers. Obviously whatever was going on between Tai and Matt was something they didn't want to talk about, so he wasn't going to bother getting involved.

"Besides, it's time for dinner," he commented and closed the drawer he was working with.

---

Matt had decided that despite what he told Daisuke, he had to find a new place to eat. That was part two in his plan of getting Tai to get over him, the first obviously being to move out of his room.

Thus began the hunt for a table of friends. Like that was going to be easy. After all, it wasn't like somebody was going to jump up and shout,

"Hey, Ishida! Over here!" Or maybe they would. Matt looked over to a table in the far corner where a boy with sandy brown hair was waving at him. The blonde recognized him as Toushi Niwa, a boy from his art class. Making his way across the cafeteria, he stopped in front of Toushi and his friends.

"Hey, Toushi," he greeted the other boy and nodded.

"Have a seat," Toushi returned and motioned to the space across from him. Matt quickly sat down with his plate. "I see you've finally decided to expand your circle of friends," he continued, examining Matt with his sage green eyes.

"Yeah, well, I thought I might as well." Matt shrugged and began to eat some of his pasta.

"Good move, man, good move," Toushi said and nodded in approval. "Oh, then lemme introduce you to these guys. That's Kyo," a boy with short orange hair and golden eyes, "Sachi," a boy with messy brown hair and blue eyes, "and our little Kiseki," a boy about a year younger then the rest with longer black hair, vibrant green bangs, and magenta-colored eyes.

"Contacts," Kiseki said before Matt could ask. Matt nodded and continued eating.

"So what made you decide to split from being with Yagami?" Kyo questioned him as he drank his milk through a straw. Matt shrugged again.

"I don't know. Just felt like it, I suppose," he responded through a mouthful of noodles. "Do I need a reason to suddenly expand my social circle?" he raised an eyebrow.

"No, not at all. We were just curious, don't get defensive, man." Sachi held up his hands.

"It's not defensive dude, it's curious sarcasm." Toushi smirked at this and nodded again in approval.

"Y'know Ishida, you're not bad. You're not bad at all," he confirmed. Matt gave him a half-smile and allowed his eyes to wander around the dining hall. His gaze eventually landed on his old eating spot. There sat Daisuke with a couple of boys Matt had never seen before, laughing and talking animatedly. However, he didn't see Tai anywhere. He looked around again, searching for the large bunch of brown hair but found nothing.

'Well, I can think of a few people who would beg to differ.' He sighed inwardly and returned his attention to the conversation at hand, pushing Tai to the back of his mind.

---

The next morning was just a replay of the previous night; Matt eating breakfast with his new friends, Daisuke with his old friends, and Tai nowhere to be seen.

In fact, Matt didn't see his old best friend until the minute bell rang for first class. The brunet skidded through the door and collapsed in his desk, hair a mess and dark circles under his eyes. Eiri followed him shortly.

"Morning guys, open your books and-" Eiri stopped and blinked. "Yamato, what are you doing over there?" He had just noticed that Matt was on the other side of the room from his usual seat.

"Just felt like a change, Eiri." Matt shrugged and took out his book. Eiri blinked again and looked over to Tai who was just staring at his desk top. Feeling that it'd be better not to ask, he opened his teacher's book and began the lesson.

It was like that all day; Matt reaching class earlier, sitting in a new spot, Tai coming in late, and their teachers (not to mention Daisuke) confused. Nobody knew what to say about it, so they let it slide.

They let it slide for three days before they realized they had a serious problem on their hands.

---

Tai dragged his feet into his second class and flopped at his desk heavily. He didn't even bother to look at where Matt was sitting today; he knew it was far away from him. Naku followed into the room after him along with Daisuke.

"Hey!" Daisuke greeted him cheerfully. "You weren't at breakfast today." Tai looked up at his brother and gave him a rather forced smile.

"Yeah, I accidentally overslept," he replied instantly.

"I woke you up though. Did you fall asleep after I left?" Daisuke tilted his head to the side, occasionally looking up at Naku who was writing their lesson on the board.

"Yeah, I did. Sorry Dai, I promise not to do it again," Tai said and focused up front.

'At least I'm not lying to him. This time.' Tai winced as his head continued to throb. Over the past few days, Tai had come up with any excuse to avoid eating in the dining hall. If that meant not eating at all, then so be it. It's what Matt wanted, to avoid him at any rate, and Tai was going to do anything possible to make Matt happy.

'Although nobody ever said making somebody happy involved lack of sleep, hunger pains, and a throbbing headache of doom.' He stared at the board sullenly, squinting to make out the words Naku had written. The older blonde woman moved out of the way and grinned.

"Okay boys, here's your assignment for the day. I want you to think of an experience that has changed you, either for the better, or for the worst," she spoke clearly and turned to the board. Tai strained to hear her over the loud pounding in his ears and shook his head, feeling slightly dizzy. Naku pointed to the first sentence on the board.

"To start, here's an example. 'Before blank happened, I was blank.' Obviously you fill in the first blank with you experience and the second blank with your personality or view. Then you start writing. I want at least a page boys, at least. Much longer is fine. Is that understood?" She was rewarded with various nods and verbal agreements. "Good, get to work then," she ordered with a smile and sat back down at her desk, sending the class into a flurry of movements to grab pens and paper.

Tai sighed and propped his head up with his arm, elbow resting on the table. What to write about was the hard part. He knew there were plenty of things he could write about, like the time he ate eight corndogs before going on one of the fastest roller coasters in the amusement park.

'Definitely not a pretty story.' He felt his stomach twist at the memory.

'All right, maybe I should pick a different story.' He shook his head and went back to thinking. Many thoughts passed through his head; the day they got the cat, the day Daisuke came to live with him, the day he came to the academy…

"The day I met Haru," he muttered quietly to himself. He swallowed hard and took in a deep breath.

'God, the day I met Haru…so many things changed. So many things became complicated.' He tugged on the collar of his white shirt, suddenly feeling hot and cramped.

"All right, since you guys can't seem to think of anything, maybe I should read an example," Naku interrupted their thinking process. She reached into her briefcase and pulled out a sheet of paper. "This is from a student of mine a few years back," she enlightened them and began to read.

'When I met Haru, everything I grew up knowing was thrown out the window. The theory that boys are only suppose to like girls? Yeah, that was gone! That was gone as soon as I kissed him…and liked it.' Tai shifted in his seat and became more conscious of the fact that there was more saliva in his mouth then normal. Naku continued to read, oblivious to Tai's discomfort and lack of attention.

'I had to fight for what I felt was right for me, even though a lot of other people didn't think it was right. So many people thought it was wrong, and now…I don't believe it was wrong…just with the wrong person.' Tai felt himself break out into a cold sweat and sunk in his chair slightly. Daisuke looked over at him once he noticed Tai was fidgeting around.

"Are you okay?" he whispered, concern etched into his 12-year-old features. Naku continued to read and Tai let his mind wander.

'Even Haru thought it was wrong. What we were doing was wrong…that I was wrong.' His hands started shaking and his head started throbbing more violently.

"Tai?" Daisuke called quietly again, failing to get his brother's attention.

'And now Matt thinks it's wrong...that I'm wrong.' His stomach lurched sharply.

"Tai?"

'Oh fuck.' With that last conscious thought, Tai bent his head forward, closed his eyes and opened his mouth, sending vomit all over his desk. Daisuke yelped in disgust and every head in the classroom turned towards the door where Tai was sitting, arms wrapped around his abdomen and hunched forward.

'Okay…when I open my eyes, there is not going to be a huge puddle of…ew, on my desk. Everybody's eyes are not going to be on me, and Naku's going to be reading that guy's paper still.' With a shaky breath, two brown eyes opened, greeted with the sight of a multicolored mess on his desk and the floor around him. Naku was standing a few feet in front of him and every student in the class was staring at him with wide eyes.

"Taichi, are you all right?" Naku questioned gently, for he had yet to unwrap his arms or lift his head.

'Are you all right, she says. I have the most awful fucking headache and I just puked my guts out. Yeah, I'm just fucking awesome.' Tai snorted quietly and mentally slapped himself. 'No need to be sarcastic, moron, she doesn't know that.' Taking another deep breath and gathering all of the courage he could, he lifted his head and looked straight into Naku's eyes.

"Yeah…I'm all right," he assured her with another fake smile. "But can I just be excused for the rest of the day?" He was sure he looked pitiful by this point and had no doubt in his mind about what Naku would say.

"Go ahead. Do you want somebody to go with you?" she offered. Tai shook his head and stood up, careful to step around his puddle of puke.

"No, I think I'll be okay. Thank you." He bowed to her and headed for the door. He stepped out into the hall and turned for the stairs. Daisuke took one look at the mess on the floor next to him and shot his hand into the air.

"Naku, can I go with him and make sure he's okay?" Naku nodded silently and walked towards her phone, assumingly to call for a custodian. Daisuke packed up his bag and grabbed Tai's, which he had forgotten in his haste to get away, and headed for the door as well. But not before looking back at Matt and shooting him a dirty look, almost as if it were his fault.

If only he knew how close to home he was.

Daisuke reached their room and opened the door, noticing that it was unlocked. Dropping both bags on the floor, his eyes scanned around the room.

"Tai?" he called out. He was rewarded with the repulsing sounds of Tai retching in the bathroom nearby. Cautiously, Daisuke walked over towards the door and looked in. The sight that greeted him was his older brother kneeling on the floor, arms crossed on the rim of the toilet and head on his arms, panting heavily trying to catch his breath.

"Okay, what's going on?" Daisuke stepped into the bathroom and moved towards his brother slowly, afraid that he'd lunge and attack him.

"What does it look like?" Tai muttered darkly, fighting off another wave of nausea.

"No, I want answers from you, Tai, not my speculations. Why haven't you been eating? Why haven't you been sleeping well? Why haven't you and Matt talked for the past five days?" Daisuke demanded answers, leaning against the wall next to the toilet. Tai remained in his hunched-over position, gnawing on his lip and trying to find an answer.

"I…don't know, Daisuke."

"What the hell do you mean you don't know?" Tai looked up sharply.

"I mean I don't know damnit! If I knew, don't you think Matt and I would be normal again?" he shouted in a hoarse voice, eyes glimmering with tears and laced with fire. Daisuke blinked and backed away on instinct.

"I guess so. You mean you have no idea at all?"

"Well, I might have some idea." Tai stood up and flushed the toilet, dragging himself back out to the main room and dropping his tired body on the bed.

"What would that idea be?" Daisuke followed him and sat on the other bed. Tai sighed and planted his face into his pillow.

"I kissed him on New Year's Eve and that evidently didn't thrill him as much as it did me," he told the younger Japanese boy.

"What! You kissed him? Were you planning on telling me this?" Daisuke exploded at this new discovery, although he wasn't that surprised.

"If things worked out in my favor, yeah. But since they didn't, well, no I really wasn't planning on saying anything. But now you know," Tai sighed loudly. "My head hurts, can you go away?"

"Your head hurts because you have a migraine because you haven't eaten and you keep losing sleep. We learned all of this in health," Daisuke said in one breath. "I'm gonna go down to the kitchens and see if I can snag you some food, or maybe I'll just bring you up lunch. Yeah, I'll do that. But you stay here and rest and argh!" he changed subjects abruptly.

"What argh?" Tai asked, quite used to the fact that his brother was scatterbrained.

"You're going to miss the first day of Phsy. Ed!" This statement caused Tai to bolt upright.

"What?"

"Yeah, we start today, last lesson of the day," Daisuke confirmed. Tai blinked and his eyes hardened.

"Daisuke, go back to class and then bring me lunch. There's no way in hell I'm missing P.E." he commanded. Daisuke hid a grin and picked up his backpack, swinging it over his shoulder.

"Sure, Tai. I'll bring you food later. You just lay here and try to get rid of your headache okay?"

"Okay." Daisuke nodded and shut the door, walking down the hall towards the stairs leading up a level.

"I knew that would work," he said with a smirk and shook his head, entering Naku's classroom for the rest of the period.

---

Matt sat at his new table with his lunch and his new friends, watching the doors closely. He had just watched Daisuke walk into the dining hall and get in line for food. The mahogany-haired boy had grabbed enough food to feed a small army, which could only mean one thing; Tai was feeling better. Daisuke grabbed a bottle of water and a bottle juice and left the line, heading over towards the door. It was just as he reached there that he turned back, locked eyes with Matt, and gave him a harsh glare before turning on his heel and walking upstairs.

"What's that Motomiya kid got against you?" Sachi asked Matt, drawing the blonde's attention back to his table.

"Well, that is Tai's little brother," Kyo answered instead, picking apart his salad.

"Half-brother, actually," Matt corrected him. "And I don't know what he has against me. He probably thinks that Tai being sick is my fault or something."

"Oh man, that was so sick!" Toushi interjected as he sat down at the table, Kiseki right behind him. "Couldn't he have taken that somewhere else?"

"What happened?" Kyo and Sachi both questioned. Kiseki sat down and calmly opened his bottle of soda.

"Tai threw up in class. It wasn't a big deal," he stated and fixated his eyes on his food. Toushi stared at him like he was insane.

"Wasn't a big deal? Did you witness the same gross-out that the rest of us did?" Kiseki nodded and shrugged.

"Like I said, wasn't a big deal." Toushi snorted and shook his head.

"Whatever, stupid fag had it coming. I hope he stays sick for a few days," he muttered and chomped on some potato chips.

"That's a little harsh, don't you think, Toush?" Matt blinked at the tone of voice Toushi was using. Toushi looked up and stared at Matt.

"No, not really. I mean, Tai would have been fine if he didn't announce his sexuality to the entire school. Now, he's totally open for insults and free shots." Toushi went back to eating.

"But is it really so bad?" Matt questioned, toying with his own food. Kyo stared at him in horror.

"Uh, yeah man, it is. Think about it. All-male school? He's mainly attracted to males?" Kyo shuddered and looked at his plate.

"But he's bi," Matt continued to argue.

"How do you know that's not just a cover-up? Maybe he's truly gay and he says bi to make it seem not so bad," Sachi pointed out. Matt licked his lips and thought it through. Sachi's words made sense; but Tai would have told him if he was honestly gay.

Wouldn't he?

"Whatever, point being, it doesn't surprise me that he lost a few friends. I wouldn't want to be hanging out with somebody knowing that they could be fantasizing about my ass," Toushi said and threw away his empty chip bag, moving onto his sandwich.

"Yeah, Ishida, how'd you stand it for so long?" Kyo asked.

"I don't know…I just found out he was bi a few days ago," the American boy answered honestly.

"No wonder." Sachi rolled his eyes.

"You made the right choice, dude. I woulda dumped his ass too if I were you." Toushi nodded and stood up. "I'm heading to class, anybody coming with?"

"Me," Kyo said and stood up as well, grabbing his bag from the floor.

"Wait for me guys," Sachi requested and jumped out of his seat.

"Are you two coming?" Toushi looked at Matt and Kiseki.

"Still eating," Kiseki said around a mouthful of pizza.

"Same here, we'll catch up later," Matt assured the "leader" of the group. Toushi nodded and the three boys walked away. Matt glanced over at Kiseki who was quietly nibbling at his food. It then occurred to him that he hadn't heard an argument from the black-haired boy.

"You don't have an opinion?" he prodded the younger boy. Kiseki looked up and locked eyes with Matt.

"Oh, I have an opinion," Kiseki replied and looked away. Matt stared at him silently for a few moments before regaining his senses.

"Well…can I hear it?" Kiseki threw away his trash and toyed with his hair.

"My opinion is if you like being with Tai, then screw what everybody's going to say about it. Screw them if they ask if you two are lovers. Screw them if they ridicule you. Screw them if they're judgmental," he said and looked up at Matt closely. "I know you're trying to stop your friendship with Tai because you're afraid of what everybody's going to think, right?" Matt fidgeted under Kiseki's magenta gaze.

'Well, close enough.' He shook his head to clear the stray thoughts before Rational and Irrational could join in the fight.

"Yeah, kinda," Matt answered.

"Well like I said, screw what everybody thinks. All that matters is what you think. Tai's a great guy and if I were you, I wouldn't throw away a friendship with a great person," Kiseki finished his little speech and got up from the table.

"But I don't want people to think I'm gay," the blonde blurted out before he could stop himself. Kiseki's eyes widened a bit before returning to their cool narrow slits.

"Who's to say people are going to think you are? And even if they do, big freakin' deal. That's just a few people's opinion. Think about the big picture, Matt. What's more important; a few people's opinions, or the opinion of your best friend?" Kiseki peered down at Matt from the end of his nose.

"I guess…when you look at it that way," Matt trailed off, not quite sure what to say. Kiseki shrugged and picked up his bag from under the bench he was sitting on.

"Whatever, Matt, it's your call. Do what you want, not what you think everybody else wants." And with those final words, Kiseki departed and the bell rang, signaling that everybody needed to get to class soon. Matt heaved a heavy sigh and grabbed his own bag, getting up from the table and following everybody else out of the dining hall, Kiseki's words on his mind and lots of guilt on his heart.

---

"This is the last class of the day. All you have to do is make it through this one and then you're free to go and figure out your big mess," Matt said to himself as he filed into the gym with everybody else, dressed down in a new uniform: a plain white t-shirt and green knee-length shorts. The boys all got into a straight line against the wall, waiting for their instructor to show up. Matt looked down the line to see any familiar faces. Daisuke was in this class as well, standing down towards the opposite end of the line from where he was. Kiseki and Toushi were also in his class, quietly arguing with each other somewhere in the middle of the line. He recognized Kayden and Takota from his second class, Kayden waving his arms around widely and Takota looking rather confused at the very end of the line closest to him. And everybody else?

Complete strangers. Oh well, something to look forward to, meeting more people. Suddenly a man of about 5'10" walked into the gym, hiking boots thumping against the floor loudly. He stopped in front of the line and dropped his bag of supplies behind him. His brownish-blonde hair was cut short, about two inches at the most and there wasn't much he could do with it. His eyes were a mixture of greens and golds and his ears stuck out just a bit; not enough to be a problem, but enough to be noticeable. He too was dressed in a white t-shirt but instead of the green shorts, he had on a pair of camouflage pants that complimented his tanned skin nicely.

"All right, people listen up!" he called them all to attention. "The name's John Bjornstad."

"Uh, can you run that by us again?" Kayden twisted his lips trying to pronounce the last name.

"Just call me John, all right?" John shook his head and motioned towards the mats on the floor. He reached into the bag behind him and started digging around. "Since it's too cold to do anything outside and basketball is too repetitive, the school brought me in to teach you the art," he stopped talking for dramatic effect and pulled out a nice-sized katana, "of sword-fighting." He smiled widely and gave the katana a few test swings.

"Are we really going to use real swords?" Toushi's eyes were wide at the prospect. John laughed and shook his head.

"Of course not, you all would hurt yourself. Despite how easy it looks, sword-fighting is a difficult skill to master, which is why I'm here to show you," he finished his explanation just as the gym doors banged open, revealing a much more active Taichi.

"Sorry I'm late, sir. I couldn't find my uniform," Tai rushed his excuse as he tugged on his sneaker and got in line with Daisuke.

"Well who are you and I'll excuse you," John said matter-of-factly and reached for his attendance sheet.

"Yagami Taichi," Tai panted and leaned against the wall. John nodded and marked him off.

"Right, as I was saying, while you are learning how to fight, you will be using the bokken." John reached into his bag and held up a wooden sword, similar in shape and size to the katana he held in the other hand.

"Now, before I begin to show you the proper way to use a bokken, has anybody ever fought with a sword before?" he asked the group, twirling the bokken in his fingers.

"Does fencing count?" Matt voiced from his spot in line.

"Yes. Have you fenced before?" John looked on curiously.

"Yes, a few times," Matt replied. At the other end of the line, Tai raised his hand.

"Yagami, have you fenced as well?" John called on him.

"No sir, I used to practice kendo," Tai said. John nodded to himself and looked at the two boys. An idea came to him then and he grinned, showing off his canine-like teeth. Moving the bag of bokkens out of the way and taking his katana with him, he motioned for them to step onto the mats. He swiftly tossed them a bokken and a face guard each and after a little struggle with his hair, Tai managed to get his on.

"All right class, before I show you, why don't we let these two show us?" Cheers erupted from the crowd as they circled around. John sent each boy to opposite ends of the mat and took out a whistle.

"Okay guys, on my count. One, two, fight!" John blew his whistle loudly. Matt moved first, charging at Tai with every intention of bringing the bokken down over his head, only Tai wasn't there anymore. The brunet had sidestepped the attack and was standing behind Matt, swinging at the blonde's back. Matt blocked the attack and backed away, giving Tai the stare-down and planning his next move. Rage began to build up inside of him; rage from the confusion he was feeling, rage from the people who weren't accepting, rage from Tai acting on his feelings, and rage for himself.

Well, maybe he'll just stick with the rage from Tai. He jumped forward, swiping at Tai's side but Tai blocked the attack.

"I can't believe you would just ditch me like that, Matt!" Tai shouted over the smashing of the wooden swords. Evidently, rage against the other boy was taking its toll on the brown-eyed boy as well. He went for an over-head strike.

"It's not my fault that you made everything all weird now!" Matt successfully blocked the attack and ran the other direction, coming up behind Tai to use the tactic he had tried earlier.

"Why is everything my fault, you asshole!" Tai turned and knocked the sword away from his back, sending Matt stumbling back as well.

"Well it's certainly not my fault! After all, I'm not the one who decided to kiss me!" Matt said the last part lowly, becoming aware that his classmates could hear their conversation. He regained his balance and charged back at Tai again, swinging his sword at the Japanese boy's chest.

"Yeah but you didn't deny it either! You didn't push me away!" Tai shot back, bringing his own sword up to his chest to block the attack.

"How could I? I wasn't in control of my actions, it's called champagne!" Matt used his body weight to apply pressure to the sword, slowly lowering Tai towards the floor.

"Well who's fault is that?" Tai grunted and pushed back up with just as much force, turning the tables so that it was Matt who was lowering towards the floor.

"Yours!" Matt tried to fight but he could feel Tai adding pressure to the swords.

"Again with the everything is my fault shit. Stop being such a jerk!" Tai spat out. He knew he had just about won this fight. Matt was only two feet from the ground when he got a sudden energy surge.

"You're the jerk, jerk!" he snapped up and came back almost full-force, sending Tai flying towards the other end of the mat. Tai managed to stay on his feet and came charging back.

"Yeah, well at least I'm not a little pussy who's afraid of what everybody else thinks!" He jumped into the air and came down, bringing the sword with him right over Matt's head. Upon instinct, Matt's sword flew up and stayed above his head, allowing Tai's bokken to hit wood instead of skull. Tai seized the chance to press down quickly, sinking Matt to the floor.

'He knows. He knows exactly what's going on.' The blue-eyed boy watched blankly as Tai pushed him all the way to the floor, too frozen from the realization to fight back. So much pressure was applied from Tai's sword that as soon as Matt's knees gave way, both he and Tai landed on the floor, Tai on top and Matt on the bottom admitting defeat. Silence reigned through the gym, save for the two boys panting on the floor. John broke that silence and began to clap loudly.

"Well done, boys, well done. I do believe Yagami is the winner though," he declared and began to distribute bokkens from the bag. "Now, the first thing I'm going to teach you is a defense maneuver." He began instructing, leaving the two boys on the mat to themselves. Lifting up his face guard, Tai stared directly into Matt's eyes, or what he guessed to be his eyes, seeing how the blonde hadn't removed his guard yet.

"Y'know, I don't know if I've told you this, so I'm just going to tell you right now while you're listening," Tai started out as he got rid of the face guard completely. "There's nothing you can do to change it, so tough shit if you don't like it. I think I'm in love with you. End of story." The brunet pushed himself off of the blonde and jogged towards Daisuke, leaving Matt with his head spinning and heart racing.

---

Good grief, I can't believe it took me so long to write this stupid chapter. 36 pages without author's notes guys. I know this was full of a bunch of drama angst crap right after a bunch of Taito fluff but hey, if I put them together now, we wouldn't have a plot, would we? Well, I decided to start putting the review replies on the bottom because I know people want to just get to the story without scrolling through a bunch of random crap that doesn't apply to them. So go ahead and find your name and then leave another review if you liked this chapter. They're highly appreciated! Thanks for being so patient you guys, hopefully I'll have chapter 12 out by the middle of August. See ya then!

Oh by the way, if anybody's interested, nEo-cHaN decided she was going to open up a store to sell pitchforks to use against me. God help me…

Kawaii Kyo And Totchi-Sama: Jeeze girl, how many times are you gonna change your name? Ha, just joking. Evil? Me? Well, you probably think I'm really evil now, but I'm glad you love me and my fics all the same.

Tsuki no Lomelinde: Okay, I won't leave it like that…I'll leave it like this! How's that for cruel and unusual? Don't worry, I'll fix it soon, within the next update.

YugiYamiForever: Thanks, glad you liked the chapter. You love my writing style too? Thanks, wow. Here's another update!

CrimsonAnjel: I hate having a busy life man, even in the summer. But I'm glad you people are understanding and that the longness makes up for it. I love all the compliments you give me, they make me feel special about myself. And before you say it again, I hate ICP too…but I also hate clowns, so I felt that I should put that in there. And no, I don't like Avril Lavigne before you ask, lol. Hope you liked this chapter!

DarkMetalAngel of Destruction: Glad you liked it, here's some more for ya.

senTAY: TAY! I'll post your reply elsewhere my darling, lol.

nEo: Okay you know what…just no! Lol, I love you. Yes, I still have you gigantic review in my inbox. It's treasured now! And you haven't withered yet, so maybe this'll bring you to life long enough to update KUKACHI SINCE I GAVE YOU IDEAS! Anyways…I'll probably be talking to you on MSN when you review.

Bonnie Mizuhara Asakura: Wow, really? Thank you so much! You might hate me now for making TK the way I did, but I will fix him later on in the story, I promise! Kari'll fix him. Haru…I hope I gave enough hints to the Haru thing and Matt was drunk most of that night and Daisuke showed up in the morning. Wow. Ha, anyway, here's a update…or, there WAS an update. Hope it was good enough!

JohnneyAntonelli: Well, maybe not three months, lol. Glad you liked the chapter and I NEVER IS BAD! Just remember that! Hope this update was good for ya!

Kaiya5: Glad you liked it! And yes, Arial was in it, he wouldn't stop asking for a cameo. But yes, Yama wasn't depressed in this chapter…just angry. I don't know which is worse. Dais came back! But I didn't put him in the chapter enough. Not enough Dais love…oh well, chapter 12 will most be dedicated to him, just cause I love him. Lol, anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Angelbaby: I wrote more and I'm glad you enjoy the story.

ryuu-takahashi: No.

regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan: Actually, Koush will show up in the sequel quite a bit to make up for not being in this one a whole lot. It just wouldn't be a Digi-fic without Koushiro right? I updated as soon as I could.

kal-kal 'aka kalizuta': Yes, Taitoness! Too bad it didn't last long huh? It'll come back!

DawnAurilain: Glad you liked it and the Taito-action. Too bad it didn't stay, but it shall come back! Promise! I hope this update was soon enough for you.

Dreamcrafter: Haha, I updated as fast as I could. I know, all of the good stories seem to stop in the middle, it's really sad. I just felt like I had to bring some of the Digimon in somehow, and Piedmon seemed like a good choice, even though I hate clowns with a freakin passion. I shoulda just had Matt with a hangover…things would have been easier. Anyway, in regards to the review you left on my Sorato…don't worry, I'll never like writing Sorato half as much as I love writing Taito. I still don't know why I'm doing it.

CartoonHeroes: Emu! Hey man, I'm talking to you as I type this, woo! Anyway, yeah this wasn't soon, so shoot me, er, give me a bagel…there we go. Glad you liked the last update. As for will Matt stop being a pussy? Guess you got your question answered. Oh, and just remember, it wouldn't be Taito love is Yama was a girl!

minnermon: Yay for the kinda-Taito! I'm glad somebody else saw it as being more real. Everybody seems to love Ari…and I can't figure out why. But yeah, he was begging for a cameo for him and Ryan and Akira, who by the way yes is usually like that (unless he's feeling depressed. He's not mine, you'd have to ask his creator). Anyway, yes, Daisuke came back. This wasn't a soon update, I know, but I tried. Hope this was good enough for you.

SnakeMistress: YAY FOR BOB! I have the perfect spot for him too. I don't like Tai death…it's sad. Daisuke torture, can't have enough. Ah, Haru. Hopefully I gave enough inside details and if not, more shall be revealed later. Shirt! I like that shirt too. AND I HATE THE DAMN ICP SHIRT! I don't like clowns either…evil. Yeah, calling Tai eccentric probably is an understatement, ah well. Anyway, I'm glad you liked so much of the last chapter and hopefully you aren't going to kill me now for the way this chapter turned out. Bye!

The Kaizeress: This isn't soon, but I tried! Evil is a word I'm hearing a lot lately…I'm glad you like the fic though!

Octavo: Hey! I dunno when you're going to be able to read this is you have minimum internet time, but hey, whenever, it's waiting for you. Anyway, I'm glad you thought the LAST chapter was totally awesome. And you're like the third person to mention Arial, lol. I love my little Ari so it's ok. Yeah, I re-read that part and it does seem a little odd, so when I go through and re-edit, I might change it or just nix it. Double-length eh? Cool. And yes! I agree about the Digimon thing. Just didn't feel right…

cute-little-Yugi: It happened, and yes I did. Lol. You look forward to reading them? Wow, that makes me happy, very happy! Hopefully this chapter wasn't too bad.

Angemon: Again with the evil…ooh boy. I updated as soon as I could! Don't kill me…and I love cliffies! So much fun. Anyway, glad you liked the last chapter cause I have a feeling I'm gonna get a LOT of stuff back on this one. And Haru…well, I hope you know who he is now! And I would love to have hundreds of clones of me. Although then the world might face Armageddon. And yes, shopping cart racing is fun.

angel-with-a-scythe: Okay, so we all agree that it was awesomely evil. Okay! Okay, you know, after I read your review, I was REALLY tempted to randomly throw in a Taito sex scene, but I didn't…that's what the sequel's for.

SelenaWheeler: Yes, so close, yet, not! Hee, Matt feels abused now. They'll get together soon, promise, either the next chapter or the chapter after that. Definitely by then.

Taito Lover: I continued but I can't guarantee that I'll finish this really soon. Soon enough though, I SHALL NOT ABANDON IT! Glad you like it.

tya: I updated, hopefully Haru was explained and the necklace will be explained later. Thanks for reading!

BreateMeDeep: Yeah, what's wrong with you man? Not reviewing until that late, jeeze! Just joking. I'm glad you liked everything so much, jeeze. Have I rambled about how wonderful YOU are yet? Eh, anyway, Eyes is on hold to work on…well, this. So hopefully you'll accept this and UPDATE DEFY STEREOTYPES SOON!

Largo-sensei: Yes, quite a few people have declared me evil. I'm glad you liked the story and took the time to review, always appreciated!

Yamato's Tiger Lily: Well…you tell me if he liked it, lol. Hopefully this is still up to your expectations, even though it took a while to update.

K.C. Raven: Wow, I'm glad to see you're so enthusiastic, lol. I updated when I could!