Running. If Taichi could sum up his first few weeks of college it would be with that word. He'd even taken up Yamato's habit of chugging coffee in the mornings on his way to practice… and then again in between every class. The bitter liquid tasted like a mix between dirt and his mother's experimental cola and beet smoothie, but it did the job to wake him up. Gosh sleep sounded so good right now.

Though sleep will have to wait. Tonight was the first Friday night Taichi got to enjoy without the stress of waking up bright and early for a football game. It was also the first performance of Yamato's band since the semester started. Though what a weird place to have it. The small bell jingled every time the door opened and the space soon filled with people. The smell of coffee wafted into the air and between conversations the sound of steaming milk filled the silences. Awkwardly standing in the corner, Taichi waited for the other digidestined to arrive.

The coffee shop had an interesting setup. In front stood a rectangular counter followed by rows and rows of tables and chairs. The far side had couches lined up in circular formations. The space seemed way too crowded for an open mic night. However the real mystery was in the back room. A small hallway to the right of the counter led to an enormous ballroom. There was a high-top bar lining the back wall and sets of chairs and tables facing the stage. Currently, all the artists for the open mic night were back there getting ready.

As Taichi examined the people sitting around drinking coffee, he felt a small tap on his shoulder. Turning, his eyes met with Sora's. The redhead wore the same welcoming smile on her face as always. Looking past her he saw the blonde-haired-beanie-wearing-in-the-summer fashion disaster known as Takeru and who can only be assumed to be Hikari on his arm in line at the counter.

"Hey Sora, long-time no-see. I gotta tell ya, your boyfriend's immense hair gel collection has only grown since the semester started" he said with a grin.

She giggled and pulled him into a hug. "Hello Tai, I see college hasn't matured you at all" she replied with a smile.

He scoffed. "I take offense to that. I'll have you know I started drinking coffee. And not the girly flavored thing I'm sure Hikari just ordered. Real coffee. Man coffee!" With that, he poked his thumb to his chest in a triumphant pose.

"I don't know onii-chan, this girly drink is much more delicious and comes in the same cup." Hikari teased as she walked up holding out her drink. Takeru was close behind with what can only be described as the sweetest drink on the menu, frozen and topped with whipped cream. It looked delicious, but Taichi's pride stopped him from heading over and ordering it for himself. Before he could comment back a ringing could be heard over a small speaker system followed by the announcement "If you are here for Open Mic Night, you may proceed to the back room."

"Well. Showtime. Let's head in. Hey Sora, when is Knife of Ramen going on?" Taichi asked as he ushered the other three toward the hallway.

"I think they're last. Aniki mentioned something about being the biggest divas, or having the most equipment, something like that" Takeru answered, holding a playful expression.

Rolling his eyes Taichi replied "Thanks Sora."

Making their way through the little crowd they managed to get seats along the high top bar on the back wall. Taichi couldn't complain; at least from this distance his ears won't bleed from the sheer loudness of the music. As the announcer walked onto the stage to introduce the first act, Taichi found himself zoning out. He needed a break, and sitting in a dimly lit room thinking about nothing at all was the best break he could get at the moment. A few acts went by. He clapped when he saw the others clapping but it wasn't until he heard the announcer say a specific name that he perked up and focused his eyes toward the stage.

"Let's give a warm welcome to our next performer. Playing her own acoustic rendition on the piano, Yuzuki!" As the announcer walked off, Taichi noticed a girl in the front stand up and head to the stage. Her hair was neatly curled and pulled back and she wore a beautiful green dress that flowed all the way to the ground. She looked a lot different than she did that night at the field.

He was staring, he couldn't help it. Feeling an elbow nudge him, he turned to see three pairs of eyes peering at him, questioning him. Shaking his head, he focused back on the stage.

She politely sat at the keyboard and set her sheet music up. Then, with a quick smile out to the audience, she began to play. She played with such confidence that she demanded the attention of everyone in the room. Her fingers floated over the keys and she went to her own world as she began singing the melody. Taichi recognized the song as some love song his mom loved listening to, except this time he actually listened to it. For some reason, when she played, he was more interested in the lyrics. Her voice was memorizing, he was scared if he looked away she would disappear, voice and all.

When her performance finally ended, he felt a little empty. Is this what Yamato feels like when he finishes a concert? The whole room clapped and as he looked to see where the girl had sat he met eyes with his annoyingly perceptive sister. Her look screamed we're going to talk about this later.

Taichi immediately put his head down only to hear Sora whisper "you should go talk to her."

Snapping his head to the side he noticed Sora sipping on some tea. When did she leave to get a drink? Was it during that performance? Oh no, did she see him staring?

He quickly turned to watch Yamato and "Teenage Wolves 2.0" set up for their performance. Maybe if he didn't acknowledge Sora then he could stall long enough that Yamato's band would start performing. Thankfully, for the first time in a long time, the universe was on his side. Yamato introduced his bandmates and they began playing a mix of their popular songs.

Unlike his other concerts, the crowd wasn't screaming the lyrics back. It was a nice change to be able to sit and enjoy the performance without hearing "I love you!" every 30 seconds. It gave Taichi the perfect time to plan his escape route. Embarrassing himself in front of a girl, his sister and some very close friends was not part of his Friday night plan. After careful thought, he decided to go with the oldest trick in the book: feigning exhaustion and getting the heck out of there before anyone questions anything.

Soon their number ended and the crowd clapped as the announcer thanked everyone. Hikari got up first and asked "So, do we want to head to the front and wait for Yamato?"

Takeru stood up immediately after and as Sora was gathering her purse they all turned to Taichi for confirmation. He quickly faked a yawn, really stretching his arms to play the part before nodding and heading toward the hallway. Hikari looked unimpressed.

Not really looking where he was going Taichi slammed into another body. Before completely tumbling to the ground, he managed to grab hold of the arm of his victim and pull them up. Before an apology could make it out of his mouth he was met with green eyes. The same green eyes from that night. Universe: 1. Taichi: 0.

Her face curved into a big smile as the words flowed out of her mouth. "We have got to stop meeting like this."

Taichi didn't notice the other pairs of eyes looking at him. "Yea, one of these days someone might actually get hurt."

They stood there for what seemed like forever until a cough from Takeru brought Taichi back to reality. With wide eyes and a slight blush he quickly let go of her arm and rubbed the back of his head. "Oh yea, we were here watching our buddy's band perform. These are my other buddies Sora, Takeru and my sister Hikari. Guys this is Yuzuki."

Yuzuki bowed politely and with a big smile replied "Hello, I'm Yuzuki Kinimoto. Very nice to meet everyone. I hope you enjoyed all the performances tonight!"

Hikari was the first to speak up "Oh it was lovely! You are a very talented pianist." Shifting her eyes toward the others in the group she continued "Hey Sora, would you like some more tea? I think Takeru and I would like some refills." Grabbing Takeru and Sora by the arms, she quickly led them toward the counter.

"See you in a few buddy" Hikari whispered with a wink as she passed.

The redness in Taichi's cheeks had to be the equivalent of a tomato at this point. Damn Hikari, high school has made her mean.

"So…." he started.

"So…." she replied.

"Uh.. how are classes going? And football! How's that going?" He sputtered.

Despite how completely unsmooth he was being, she giggled. "They're going well. Very busy. The girl's team has been killing their season, so that's exciting. How about you?"

Gosh she was beautiful. So beautiful that Taichi had to work extra hard not to stare and to actually listen to what she was saying. Oh no what did she say? She's looking at him like she's waiting for a response. Before he could embarrass himself more he saw Yamato, guitar case securely wrapped around his shoulder.

Grabbing him and dragging him over to his side he quickly changed the subject. "Yamato! Great show! I really enjoyed your Knife of Ramen performance. This is Yuzuki, a friend. Yuzuki this was the buddy performing, Yamato."

Completely taken aback by Taichi's actions Yamato quickly regained his cool and bowed toward the girl. Yuzuki smiled and bowed slightly, completely ignoring Taichi's look of discomfort. "Pleasure to meet you Yamato. I'm Yuzuki Kinimoto. I really enjoyed your band's performance."

At the mention of her name Yamato's brows lifted slightly and he studied her face before responding. "Thank you, I enjoyed your song as well. You're talented on the piano." He paused a moment before adding "Kinimoto, was it? Did you by chance live in Highton View Terrace a few years back?"

Taichi watched the interaction as her eyes widened at the question. Quickly replaced with recognition, a huge smile appeared on her face. "Little 'Mato?! Is it really you? Wait, so does that mean that tall lunk over there is 'Keru?! Oh my gosh how are you?! What's it been, like 10 years?!"

"Something like that. Yea that's Takeru over there. He sure shot up over the years. I think he's taller than me now," he replied with a smile.

Taichi was bewildered by the whole thing. Yamato had friends before the digidestined? While they made more small talk Taichi couldn't grasp what was happening. Of course the only girl to ever make him feel "those feelings" was a girl who knew Yamato. His curiosity piqued.

"So.. you guys know each other?" He interrupted.

Yuzuki was the first to respond. "Yea, we were neighbors way back when. Little 'Mato and 'Keru would come over everyday and play superheroes with me."

"And if I recall correctly, you never let us save you. Something about 'A real woman can save herself' or whatever" Yamato finished. He took a second to look over at Taichi. A mischievous grin formed on his face at his next statement. "So.. how do you two know each other?"

Before Taichi could open his mouth Yuzuki answered. "I pelted him with a soccer ball the other night. And now that fate has decided to allow us to run into each other again, I was thinking of asking him out on a date. You know, because a 'real woman doesn't need to wait for a man to ask', and all that" She turned to look directly at Taichi. "Do you think he would say yes?"

Yamato turned back to Taichi waiting for a response. Oh, he was just loving this. It's rare he gets to torment Taichi the way Taichi tries to torment him everyday.

With a nervous gulp he responded "Yea, yea I would like that."

Smiling brightly Yuzuki perked up, "Great here's my number, let's plan for next Saturday night? If I recall, both football teams have morning games?"

Taichi looked at the piece of paper then back at the girl "Yea sounds good. I'll see you then."

"Awesome. Now unlike the guys team I do have a game in the morning, so I'm heading home. Yamato, it was great seeing you and I'd love to catch up. Taichi, can't wait for next week." Waving to Sora, Hikari and Takeru she turned and headed toward the door.

Taichi stared at the paper until he heard the door jingle signaling that she was, indeed, gone. Looking up at Yamato, he was met with a smirk.

"Shut up, little 'Mato." was his only response as they headed to meet with the rest of their group.

Yuzuki couldn't get home fast enough. Once the coffee shop door closed she sprinted as fast as her legs could take her until she saw her small brick building. Running up the stairs two-at-a-time, she reached for her keys and unlocked the door. With a bang, she slammed it shut and fell into it, trying to desperately catch her breath. Why? Why? WHY? The sheer panic she felt from the night's events were creeping back into her head.

She looked into the shadows of what would be her kitchen and yelled "Did you know this!? Did you know Yamato and Takeru were part of the destined?!"

A creature emerged from the shadow. It had red eyes and webbed feet. It was truly something out of a nightmare.

"I assure you the boss did not know of your connection with those digidestined" it croaked.

"How do you expect me to finish my mission if I have to hurt people I care about," she said through gritted teeth.

The creature, unfazed by her rage, simply replied "You know the consequences of not finishing your mission. It would be sad to tell the boss you have doubts. He doesn't give second chances you know."

Before Yuzuki could react she heard her partner cry "Lightning Paw!" And the creature disappeared into the darkness.

She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Thanks Gatomon" left her lips.

The cat-like creature made its way to Yuzuki, simply hugging the girl's legs. "No problem, I hate those stupid Scubamon. We can still finish our mission without really hurting anyone, don't worry" the cat replied.

They stayed that way for awhile before Yuzuki finally moved toward the bedroom. Her problems will still be there in the morning. For now, she'll go to sleep and worry about the digidestined later.