Authors Note *PLEASE READ*:
Ok, so after the heartbreak at the end of, Is this the life we really want?, let's all take a moment to take stock. When I started to write part three that was not the ending I had envisioned for it. Unlike the previous two parts, I had more of a plan sketched out for part three and followed it quite closely, with only a few alterations that were typically the addition of extra chapters or splitting of others. And I will openly admit that the decision to take it down the heartbreak route literally happened when I was about one or two paragraphs away from finishing Learning to fly (where Kari has her Crisis moment).
It was at that moment I started to think about how difficult it must be for both of them to have such great moments together and then be forced to return to 'sibling mode' for an unknown amount of time. It actually reminded me of a point in my own life when I was only able to spend a single night with my girlfriend and then would not see her for weeks at a time. It was torturous and amongst other things, drove us both into depressive spirals. Obviously, for Tai and Kari, the situation is far worse as their relationship will not be tolerated by their parents. This made both myself and in turn, Kari, begin to question whether those few moments were worth all the pain, once we had both come to that realisation. In the end, she and then Tai, realise that they have not considered the implications of what a serious long-term relationship between them will mean; that they will not be able to keep it a secret. And ultimately, as you all will know, they decided to spare each other a worse pain later on and so broke their own hearts.
So the question at this point in time is, what happens now?
First and foremost, I would like to stress that, as I said in my authors note in the epilogue to part 2, that this has only been the third part in what I think will be a six or seven-part story. So despite the somewhat definitive last line of, Is this the life we really want?, the story is not over yet. However, and this is a fairly big however, I will be taking a break from it for a while. I had planned on doing so after finishing the epilogue to part 2, only could not shift it from my brain in any way other than by writing it. However, it has now reached a point that I feel I can leave it at for a while.
Secondly, in regards to this epilogue, if you are looking for some glimmer of hope for Tai and Kari, I will warn you here and now, that you will not find any. For the moment, at least, the love they shared has come to an end. What you will find is an interesting encounter between two people that will foreshadow events that will occur later on in the story.
So for the last time in what may be quite some time, a big, big thank you to everyone who has read this story. I really do hope that you have all enjoyed reading The love we share just as much as I did writing it. If so, then please do drop me a review. As always, feel free to ask any questions or express your viewpoint. And if you have not already, please add this story to your favourites/follow lists. While it will be some time before I start writing part four, I promise that I will let you guys know if, for whatever reason, I feel that I will not be able to continue with it.
Anyway, without further ado, I give you the epilogue to part three.
##
Part Three: Their Secret
Epilogue: All lovers are deranged
A small club, with a capacity of just over two-hundred, could be found at the bottom of a set of concrete steps. Steps that started beneath a small pink and blue neon sign that said 'Underground'. Next to the larger and flashier signs of the various bars and other night time hot spots on the street, it tended only to be frequented by those that already knew it was there. As was customary, Friday nights saw it play host to a live band. Something that guaranteed it would be standing room only and cleared the owners weekly overhead regardless of how quiet the place was the rest of the time.
It was approaching midnight and tonight's band had finished their set almost an hour and a half ago. Naturally, this had resulted in the slow dwindling of the clientele, to the point that only a few of the booths that had been carved out of the wall were occupied. However, several patrons still stood around the tall metal tables dotted around the floor. At the bar, a solitary figure with thick blonde hair and wearing a black shirt atop a pair of beige chinos, sat with a shot of bourbon in his hand. Absentmindedly he swirled it around and watched as the sole ice cube chinked against the glass; the sound audible by virtue of the relatively low background noise. As far as weeks went, it would take something pretty spectacular to top this for worst week ever he mused. He took a sip from the glass, feeling the light burn with its notes of cinnamon and burnt orange wash over his tongue and down his throat. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of someone approach the bar.
"Matt Ishida, right," he heard a female voice say.
"Who wants to know?" Matt replied in an icy tone. He did not turn his head to look at the individual, but his eyes shifted just enough that he could see that they'd arched their back against the edge of the bar.
"You could say I'm a fan," they replied in what sounded like amusement.
He rolled his eyes. Great, just what he needed right now, a groupie. "No autographs," he said dismissively and turned his gaze back to the dark amber liquid in his glass.
The girl let out a snort of laughter. "I remember you used to say the exact same thing. Although you never sounded this bitter. What happened? Is there a pole running through that seat and up into your ass?"
He turned to look at the individual, with the intention of telling them to piss off, however, his lexicon failed him as his eyes took over. The girl looked to be about the same age he was and had a wicked spiky pixie-cut, which had been dyed turquoise, above a pair of bright amber eyes. Her clothing was no less outlandish. Tight, black pvc trousers covered her legs and had been paired with knee-high biker boots that had metal plating around the heals. While her upper body was clad in an electric blue halter top, that showed off her well-toned stomach, complete with belly-button piercing. A black leather bolero jacket that barely came down to below her breasts and certainly would not close over them, finished off the outfit.
"My eyes are up here, Ishida," she laughed.
Matt gave her one of his charming smiles, his bitterness temporarily forgotten. "I guess they're nice to look at too," he said smoothly as he gazed into them. There was a fire behind them that warned him that he could easily get burned. He smiled internally too, bring it on! "Can I get you a drink?"
"After leering at me, it's the least you can do," she replied with another laugh. "You can get me a bourbon."
Matt picked up his glass, drained it and signalled the bartender for two more. "You don't strike me as the bourbon sort," he said as he waited for the drinks.
"There's probably a lot of things I won't strike you as," she said with a hint of seduction about her tone. Subtle, yes, but there nonetheless.
The bartender set the drinks down on the bar and Matt handed him the money for them. He picked one of them up and held it out to her. "You're still not getting that autograph."
She took the glass and downed the shot in one go; giving no indication she had felt the burn. "I don't recall asking for one."
He smirked at her again and said, "so, got a name?"
"You really don't remember me, how cute," the girl replied with an 'aww' expression. "Tell you what, why don't you drink that…" she indicated for him to pick up the glass and down the shot, then waited for him to do so.
Matt tilted his head slightly. While her face seemed vaguely familiar, he could not place her. His curiosity soon got the better of him and he picked up the glass. He downed the shot while he watched the girl signal the barman.
"…now if you can guess where we met each other, I'll buy this round. If not, you do. Sound fair?"
"Fine by me," Matt replied as he began to think. After a moment, he smiled, "we met at one of my gigs." While he did not know for certain, it made sense, given that she had introduced herself as a fan and it had been The Teenage Wolves playing tonight.
The girl laughed. "Even if you were right, which you're aren't, I wouldn't give you the point for 'one of my gigs'. Now pay the good man," she indicated the waiting bartender.
"How do I know you're not lying," he asked, stopping his hand when it felt the leather of his wallet inside his pocket.
"You don't," she smiled, "but I'll give you this for free, I have been to several of your gigs."
Matt sighed as he pulled out his wallet and paid the bartender.
The mysterious girl picked up the fresh glass and swirled the contents. "On a related matter, I totally digged how edgy you guys sounded tonight. You were playing like you wanted to kill each other up there."
"Well I hope you have a good memory," Matt said as he felt the bitterness that her appearance had driven off, crash back down atop him. "Because it's the last time you'll ever hear it."
"How come?" she asked, sounding genuinely interested.
"Your analogy was apt." He picked up his drink and downed it. "We really did want to kill each other up there. The second we got backstage, two of the guys started beating each other up. The Teenage Wolves are officially over, period."
"That's a shame," she said before drinking her own bourbon. "However, if you ask me, you should totally go for that edgier sound you guys had tonight with your next band."
"You really think so?" he asked, finding it quite refreshing to find someone that agreed with him for once; about anything.
"Absolutely," she answered with a welcome dollop of enthusiasm. "You could even call it something like Knife's Edge or Edge of the blade. Really build the band and music around this edgier sort of sound."
Matt pondered this for a moment. She might actually be on to something. However, he would need to find some new, better musicians to buy into the concept first. "You've got some good insight," he said as a thought occurred to him, "you play?"
The girl let out a loud snort of laughter. "I sing in the shower, badly. However, I do know how the creative mind works. Only my canvas is hair."
"So you're a hair stylist," he asked, hoping that some more information might help him figure out who she was.
"Yep. And I can tell you straight away that you'll need to change yours if you decide to run with an edgier sound. The same goes for your wardrobe."
"What's wrong with it?" he asked defensively; he rather liked his wardrobe.
"It's too plain," she said, then flashed him a wicked grin. "At present you're more the bad-boy from a teenage boy band than an edgy, angst driven rock star."
"I am not!" Matt fired back hotly, however, this only caused her to laugh.
"You most definitely are, trust me. But, if you like, I can help you get to grips with your darker, edgy side."
"I don't even know your name," he scoffed. While the idea of some stranger giving him fashion tips did not appeal to him, he wouldn't mind hearing her ideas for a new band. Not to mention that she was smoking hot and he single.
"Then buy me one more drink and I'll tell you," she said and he could hear more clearly now the hint of seduction in her tone.
Matt signalled the bartender, who promptly filled them out two more shots and just as eagerly, took his money. He handed one over to her.
The girl took the glass and raised it up. "To your next band," she said.
Matt followed suit, "to my next band."
Simultaneously they downed the shots and slammed the glassed back down on the bar with slightly more force than was necessary; drawing a disapproving look from the barman. She then looked him in the eyes and smiled, "Teiko."
Matt stared into those piercing amber orbs as realisation set in. He knew exactly who the girl was now. They had been in middle school together. Although that perhaps was not an adequate description. He had been in middle school and she had shown up when it suited her. While he had not known her that well, he knew someone that did; Tai. "You're Kamiya's friend," he said coldly, feeling a flash of anger at the thought of his former friend.
Teiko's smile vanished and she rolled her eyes. "Geeze, do you treat everyone that knows Kamiya with such hostility?"
"No," he replied quickly, his tone short. He thought about the other DigiDestined and quickly realised that Izzy was the only one he spoke with that also still spoke to Tai. "Our friends lists don't exactly have much crossover anymore."
"No wonder if you have that attitude, "Teiko said and fixed his eyes with a firm stare. "I'm friends with Kamiya, big deal. He's not here and he's certainly not back at my apartment, so what's the problem?"
"Nothing," Matt conceded, though his tone was still slightly rough. He then did a double take. "Did you just underhandedly invite me back to your place?"
"I might have done," she said with a grin. "This place is about to close and I'm pretty sure I've got half a bottle of bourbon back home that I could use some help finishing."
Matt considered her offer. While he'd had a few here already, he could manage another drink or two and still manage to make it home. Although if she had her way, he suspected that might not be necessary. His eyes roved her up and down once more and he could feel a primal hunger stir within him. Teiko, with her edgy style, was polls apart from prim and proper Sora and he loved it.
"Sure, why not," he replied nonchalantly, trying to play down his eagerness. For he got the distinct impression that one needed to be careful around this girl. "Just let me get my gear and we can leave."
A thin smile played on Teiko's lips. "You'd best hurry up. It's not polite to keep a lady waiting."
"I'll see what I can do," Matt replied and set off for the small room that served as 'backstage'. On second thoughts, he might want to be mindful of how much he drank, for he certainly would want to remember tonight come morning.
##
Matt followed the turquoise haired girl across the threshold of her apartment and slipped off his shoes before entering the main living area; noticing that she had not bothered to remove her biker boots. At the first opportunity he got, he sat his bass guitar and amp down. Since The Teenage Wolves had violently split up after their gig, he had been unable to load his equipment into the group van, as its owner had taken off the moment he'd loaded his own stuff. Granted he probably wouldn't have seen it again if he had. Unfortunately, he'd been forced to lug it the whole way to Teiko's apartment, via a much needed pit stop for something the girl had called a chicken tikka kebab. It may have been the alcohol talking, but it had tasted phenomenal. Matt grimaced as he rotated his shoulders, his gear weighed a damn tonne. He looked up and glanced around the rather messy living space. Strangely, it reminded him of home. Only minus the array of ladies underwear.
"My roommate is a bit of a slob."
He turned towards the kitchen but saw no sign of his companion. "So none of those thongs or bras belong to you?" he asked, catching sight of a black, wet-look, crotch-less pair that were draped on the back of a two seat sofa.
"I never said that," Teiko replied. While he still could not see her face, Matt knew she was grinning. The girl's head then appeared above the counter. "Found it," she said as she held up a bottle of amber liquid that was a good match for her eyes. She stepped out of the kitchen with both it and a pair of glasses clutched in her hands and nodded with her head towards a pair of two-seat sofas separated by a low glass coffee table.
He followed her lead and they sat down opposite one another. Matt watched as Teiko set the glasses on the table, unscrewed the bottle cap and poured an equal measure into each. She slid one over to him, which he caught before it had the chance to test gravity.
"To friends of old/ex friends," she said and raised her glass.
He followed suit, "to friends of old/ex friends."
They downed the shots and set the glasses back down on the table. While it may have been rude to do so in someone else's home, Matt reached out a hand and took control of the bottle. Granted, given that Teiko still had her boots on, she did not strike him as the sort to stand on ceremony. His host simply smiled at him as he used the fingertips of his free hand to bring both glasses together. He poured two shots, sat the bottle down and tested her reflexes this time as he slid the glass across the table surface; she stopped it with a single finger.
"So, how's Takenouchi?" Teiko then asked.
The question caught him off guard and made him feel like he had just been poked with a cattle prod. In a momentary burst of anger, he slammed his fist down on the sofa arm. "Son of a…" he cursed under his breath upon the discovery that the padding was wafer thin.
"You might want to avoid doing that," the girl said with a light laugh. "You wouldn't be the first person who's wrist bone that bastard has claimed."
Matt shook his hand as the pain started to subside. "No kidding."
"So, how's Takenouchi?"
"Why do you care?" he spat and picked up his drink. Ingesting alcohol was good for pain.
"Well, first I wanted to see if you'd try your luck against the sofa arm again," she replied with a grin, clearly unfazed by his icy tone.
It occurred to Matt that she seemed slightly disappointed that he hadn't.
"And secondly, last I heard, you two were an item."
"Yeah, well, your intel's out of date. That bitch broke up with me on Monday," he answered, his voice still sounding cold.
"Good to know," Teiko said as she picked up her glass. "Good riddance to bad bitches then."
"I'll certainly drink to that."
The glasses were drained and promptly returned to the table, where Taiko reclaimed control of the bottle. While she poured, Matt asked, "you said bitches, plural?"
"You're not the only one who ditched a shitty girlfriend in the past two weeks," she replied and sat the bottle down.
"You do girls?" he asked in slight alarm. If she was a lesbian, why the hell had she invited him back?
His immediate shock must have shown on his face, for Teiko then said with a seductive smile, "I do guys too. I find that both sexes have their own unique qualities that I enjoy."
"How about your roommate," he asked offhandedly, his eyes wandering to where the crotch-less underwear from earlier sat on the back of the other sofa.
"She almost exclusively bat's for the fairer sex. However, these," to his horror, she reached out a hand and picked up the wet-look thong, "are mine."
All Matt could do was watch as she twirled them around her finger, a look of wicked amusement on her face. Then, without warning, she flicked them at him. Totally unprepared, they hit him straight in the face and fell into his lap. Utterly mortified, he hastily grabbed them in the lightest grip he could and threw them aside. Across from him, Teiko had burst into a fit of hysterics.
"That wasn't funny!" he exclaimed hotly when he could eventually form words.
"It'll teach you not to ogle a ladies underwear," she said with an evil grin.
"You shouldn't leave things like that lying around!"
"Look me in the eye and tell me you've never left a pair of boxers lying on the sofa before going out."
Matt opened his mouth to tell her exactly that, but stopped in his tracks upon the realisation that it would be a downright lie.
"Case and point," Teiko said with a gleam of triumph in her amber eyes. "Besides, my roommate really enjoys it when I wear those."
"Do you two…?" Matt asked with interest.
"What? Fuck each other silly when the mood strikes us?" she asked and he knew that she sensed his discomfort.
It had nothing to do with them being the same sex, rather with just how brazen she was being when it came to talking about the subject in general. He'd never met anyone this open in his life. And somewhere in the back of his brain, beneath the light fog that the bourbon had started to cause, he had a suspicion that he might want to be careful around this girl. For he got the impression that handling her would be like trying to hold a wild flame. When he failed to answer, she called him out on his feelings of unease.
"You got a problem with two girls fucking each other?" Her tone was sharp and he knew that a wrong answer here would probably see him out the door soon after.
"No," Matt said in a manner that indicated he found the suggestion mildly offensive. "People should be able to have relationships with who they like."
What looked like a relived smile formed on Teiko's lips. It seemed that she was glad not to be kicking him out. "So it's just how openly I'll talk about talking a big black strap-on and fucking my roommate senseless that makes you uncomfortable?"
Matt swallowed a large lump in his throat as the image of her doing just that to a girl that resembled, Sora floated into his mind; he could analyse that one once sober. Maybe this was just the bourbon talking, but while this girl seemed to be completely wild, he found her more alluring by the minute. And if he played his cards right, she might even wear her sexy looking crotch-less undies for him.
The sound of her laughter drew him out of his alcohol induced fantasy and back to reality. "I suppose I could train you to get used to it," she said and flashed him another wicked grin. "However, for now I'll put it a way that you can understand, my roommate and I are very good friends with very good benefits."
Matt picked up his glass and decided to take a bit of initiative. "To very good friends," he said and gave her a knowing smile."
"With very good benefits," Teiko finished and they downed the shots.
Their glasses hit the table with a dual thunk and he reached for the bottle only for her to beat him to it. "So, speaking of very good friends," she said as she brought the glasses together, "what happened between you and Kamiya?"
For the second time that evening Matt felt a surge of anger, however, he managed to resist the temptation to hit another section of the sofa. In part because his hand still remembered the last time, but also because he could see Teiko's amber eyes watching him with interest. No doubt she wished to see if he would do it again. He gave her a hard look, "hasn't he already given you that story?"
"He's given me his version of events, now I want yours," she asked, sounding genuinely intrigued.
If it had not been for the fact that, sitting there clad in those tight pvc trousers and electric blue halter top, she looked smoking hot, combined with the fact that his mind had already imagined her naked, he would probably have told her to fuck off. As it were… "I suppose it all starts with his bitch of a sister dating my brother, then ripping his heart out."
"Well, at least you agree on something," Teiko said in amusement. "Although not about the bitch part."
He scowled at her, but continued anyway. "So, a week after that happened, I'd agreed to meet my brother at his school after my day finished. We were planning on going to blow off some steam at the arcade. Something to try and take his mind off of his bad breakup."
"I'd want to let off steam just from being trapped inside Odaiba Middle School for a full day," she laughed.
"Anyway," Matt emphasised, indicating that if she wanted to hear the story, she should stop interrupting. "I arrived in time to see Kamiya kicking TK. I yelled at him to try and get him to explain, but the bastard just wouldn't listen. In the end, I had to jump in and take him down. However, one of the middle school teachers arrived on the scene and stopped me before I could do any serious damage."
"So how does Takenouchi fit into it?" Teiko then asked, pouring another two shots. This action led Matt to wonder if she thought the booze would be necessary come the end of the story.
"That bitch?" he snorted in contempt. "Kamiya and I were both interested in her at the same time that fight occurred. She made her decision and chose me a few days after it happened." A thin smile involuntarily spread across his lips. While he couldn't care less for Sora now, he still enjoyed the fact he'd got one over on Tai. "Let's just say Kamiya was not happy when he found out. However, that was nothing compared with how his bitch of a sister reacted when she found out."
Teiko tilted her head, a look of intrigue having formed on her face. "He didn't tell me that part," she said with interest.
Matt let out a snort of laughter. "That's because he continually deludes himself into thinking his sister's this perfect little angel."
"Then do tell."
He gave her a funny look. Anyone that new Tai had typically had their ear talked off about how great Kari was, that they would vouch for her without ever having met her. "Alright," he replied cautiously, not willing to trust that he'd actually found someone that might listen to an alternative take on the bearer of light. "Kari appeared at our school the Friday after Sora and I hooked up. Since I wasn't talking to her brother, I had no idea why. Regardless of the reason, we passed them on the way out of the building. Kari takes one look at Sora and marches over and starts yelling at her about how much she hurt her brother. They start arguing and then all of a sudden Kari lashes out at her and a fight begins."
"Did you try to stop them?" Teiko interjected.
He let out a short, sharp, "Ha! You think I'm stupid enough to get between two girls when their fighting? No, I stood back and shouted at them to knock it off, but they didn't listen."
"And Kamiya?"
"He might be an idiot, but even he isn't that thick," he replied, recalling that Tai had done exactly the same thing he had.
"Some brave men you two are!" the turquoise haired girl said far too exuberantly; the alcohol now clearly taking affect. "So who won?"
"It ended when Sora hit the dirt after Kari had clawed the left-hand-side of her face," he answered. He could still recall clearly, the image of the red-head on her knees with the other girl standing over her. "Kamiya dragged his sister away at that point, while I had to take Sora to the hospital to get those damn claw marks sutured. She was lucky not to scar."
"Hmm, I wouldn't have thought Kari had it in her. Granted I've only met her once."
"You and the rest of the world. Everyone always swallows Tai's bullshit about her." The temptation to hit the sofa resurfaced and so Matt picked up his drink in order to occupy his hand. It seemed the girl's intuition had been right, he did need it. "Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore. Takenouchi and I are done. Kamiya can have her for all I care." He downed the shot.
A playful smile danced on Teiko's lips as she reached out and picked up her own drink. "He doesn't want her," she said and emptied her glass.
A look of confusion formed on Matt's face and he could not help but ask, "what do you mean he doesn't want her?"
The look that formed on Teiko's face as she gathered the glasses in and picked up the bottle was one of impish delectation. "Just as I said, he doesn't want her."
He shook his head and laughed. "Come off it. Kamiya was interested in her before I was. He just didn't act quick enough at the right moment."
Teiko gave him a sweet smile as she refilled the glasses, sloshing some of the bourbon on the table in the process. "If you say so." She slid his glass over to him, but her aim was off, forcing him to clumsily shoot his hand out to stop it skidding off the corner. "Whoops," she said with a laugh. "You were almost drinking that one off the floor."
Part of him wondered if she'd done that deliberately as he pinched the bridge of his nose. If he had been sober, he would probably have ignored the bait she dangled in front of him. Alas, he was not. "Why doesn't he want her? Is he still pissed at her for choosing me? It's not as if he asked her out and she rejected him."
"Nope," Teiko replied playfully as she swirled her bourbon around with enough vigour that it licked the rim of the glass.
"Then what's the deal?" he asked, shifting his position on the couch and realising that he no longer had much precision over where his limbs went.
She leaned over the coffee table and beckoned him to do the same. Swaying slightly, Matt did so until their faces were only inches apart. Teiko smiled at him and moved her head to the side. "He's in love with someone else," she whispered in his ear. Although in her inebriated condition it came out with about as much subtlety as a jackhammer.
"No way!" Matt exclaimed in disbelief; also have trouble in the discretion department. "He was totally into Takenouchi."
A devilish smile danced on Teiko's lips. "He might have been into her then, but he certainly isn't now. Like I said, he's in love, but not with her."
He gave her a sceptical look. "Given that you still thought I was dating Takenouchi, I'm not trusting your sources."
"You don't trust Kamiya to know his own mind?"
Matt tilted his head. "Kamiya told you himself?" he asked. When sober, he probably wouldn't have given a rats ass, but in his present state he found the idea that Tai was in love with someone other than Sora to be most intriguing.
"Yep."
"Alright then, I bite, who is it?" he asked.
Teiko moved her head to his ear again. "Now that would be telling," she said in a sultry voice.
"Aww come on," Matt replied in a charming tone. "I'm sure I can make it worth your while."
Had he been sober, the look the turquoise haired girl gave him would have quickly made him retract the offer. "Well, my roommate is out of town for the weekend and I did just ditch my last girlfriend. I suppose I could use a playmate for the next few days."
Teiko then sat back and flexed her joints, giving him a clear view of just how tight her trousers were around her groin. Matt felt a warm sensation in his pants and was vaguely aware that she'd just enticed an erection from him. After the shitty week he'd just had, he could use some serious relaxation time and the thought of spending the weekend alone with this smoking hot girl sounded like heaven.
"I suppose my schedule will clear," he replied, managing to restrain himself from jumping at the offer.
"Then let's have some fun," Teiko said and raised her glass.
Matt followed suit. "Let's have some fun. But first, tell me who Kamiya's in love with."
The girl downed her drink and just as he had poured the contents of his own glass into his mouth, she answered, "his sister."
Matt spluttered as he tried to swallow and exclaim, "WHAT!" at the same time. The bourbon burned the back of his throat and he descended into a coughing fit. His eyes watered and it took a few moments before he could see straight again. The sight of a glass of water being held out in front of him was the first thing he could properly make out when his vison cleared.
"Here," Teiko said with a light chuckle.
Matt took the glass and drank deeply. He coughed again and felt another slight burn in the back of his throat as a trace of bourbon escaped his windpipe. He took a few steadying breaths followed by another drink before saying, "you've got to be kidding me!"
"Nope. Kamiya is in love with his sister," Teiko sing-song'ed.
"Seriously?" Matt said in disbelief. The idea that Tai was in love with Kari was so wrong on so many levels that he had trouble believing that his ex-friend could be capable of such depravity. However, one glance into the girls amber eyes told him that she was not bluffing. "That's sick!" he exclaimed loudly, feeling completely repulsed by the idea.
"You can't help who you fall in love with," the girl countered. "Although I'll let your intolerance slide on that one, given that the vast majority of people would agree with you."
"You think it's ok?" he asked, his tone still holding an edge. He'd gathered that she was quite liberal, but sibling incest might be taking things too far.
"Like I said, you can't help who you fall in love with. Besides, despite being taboo, it's actually perfectly legal in this country. Though not that it matters."
Matt gave her a quizzical look, "what do you mean it doesn't matter?"
"It doesn't matter because his sister doesn't feel the same way."
He let out a hollow laugh as he listened to her explanation.
"What's funny?" Teiko asked curiously.
"Of all the people I know, if any of them had a brother complex, it would be Kari Kamiya," he answered. Through the bourbon induced haze, that was seriously starting to thicken, images flashed of times he could recall Kari showing slightly more affection for her brother than was healthy. At the times in question, he'd been forced to conclude that his viewpoint was skewed because his relationship with TK was not nearly as strong (for obvious reasons) as the one between the Kamiya siblings. And since no one else had ever questioned it, neither had he. Could Kari possibly feel the same way for Tai as he apparently did for her?
"Maybe there's hope for Tai after all. They would make such a cute couple," Teiko gave him an unnerving smile, "don't you think."
"No!" he exclaimed, the thought of it sending a chill down his spine. He did not want to be stuck with an image of Tai and Kari snogging, or worse, for the remainder of the night.
Teiko laughed and poured out another two shots. "I guess their love for each other will just have to exist inside the heads of weirdo's like me." She held his glass out to him. "It's the last of the bottle. Why don't we finish it, then you can hold up your side of the bargain?"
Matt took the offered glass. "Sounds good to me.
"To the forbidden love of the Kamiya siblings," she laughed.
He shook his head, "whatever."
Simultaneously, they drank the last of the bourbon, then sat the empty glasses beside the now equally empty bottle. Matt swayed slightly as he watched Teiko have slight difficulty in getting to her feet. She really was seriously hot and he might just have her for the whole weekend. The girl edged around the table and held her hand out to him and he took it gladly.
"Ready for some fun?" she asked with a devilish grin and ran a slender hand down his left cheek.
"I thought you'd never ask."
Shakily he got to his feet and allowed her to lead him across the apartment towards what he assumed must be her bedroom. She opened the door onto a dark room and ushered him inside. Stepping across the threshold, Matt could feel her close behind him and soon heard the sound of the door closing.
"Give me a sec to get the light," Teiko said and he could hear her hand fumbling in the darkness. "It's much easier to do sober!"
A few moments later the lights came on and his eyes widened. "What the..." was all he could whisper in sheer disbelief at the sight before him. What the hell had he gotten himself into?
One thing was for certain, despite the copious amount of bourbon, Matt was not likely going to forget tonight for a very long time.