Chapter Eight of "Tai's Downfall" by Melinda-chan
I'll give my responses to a couple of comments I feel need a reply at the end of this chapter. I am very happy about the number of reviews I have received so far. Please keep it coming!
Now that is over with, let this chapter begin!
"Did anyone saw what happened?"
"Where's the nearest koban? Tell the police officers there have been an accident!" (Note: A koban is the police station box that is found in every neighbourhood, designed to give police easier access to the public).
"Someone call the ambulance!"
"I hear a police car!"
The voices stopped as two policemen came out of the car.
"An accident apparently occurred. Does anybody know what happened?" a young policeman asked the crowd.
"I saw that truck hit the car!" one of the men told him.
"I swear I had the right of way!" the driver, a man in a deliveryman uniform, said out loud.
"That's enough," the young policeman said. "We'll sort this out at the station."
"There is someone inside the damaged car!" a woman said.
"An ambulance is coming," the older policeman said. "We made the call when we saw the accident."
All of a sudden an ambulance and a fire truck arrived.
"There's someone in the car!" the same woman yelled at the firemen. The firemen responded by smashing the right car window.
"A young man is in there," one of the firemen said. They all managed to get Matt out of the car and put him on a stretcher.
"He appears to be only unconscious, but his head's bleeding!" one of the paramedics said.
"Attach an oxygen mask and heart monitor just in case," another paramedic suggested. A nurse helped them.
"Get his wallet! We need to know who he is," the first paramedic said. "And then give it to the police! They can contact his family!"
"He might be in critical condition! We have to take him to the hospital now!" another paramedic said.
"Is everything set up?" the first paramedic asked.
"Take him into the ambulance!" the second paramedic said. So they did. The police were still questioning people when the ambulance left. A tow truck appeared and started to work on Matt's car.
The phone rang. Sora picked it up.
"Moshi-moshi Ishida and Takenouchi residence," Sora said.
"I am Police Sergeant Kobayashi. Is this the residence of Matt Ishida?" the man asked. Sora felt a lump in his throat.
"Did something happen to Matt? Is he okay?" Sora inquired in a frantic tone.
"Calm down now. He's not dead at least yet. I mean he's in the hospital but I'm not sure of his condition right now," the police sergeant told her.
"What happened to him?" Sora asked.
"It appeared he ran through a red light," Kobayashi said. Sora gasped. "We're not sure how it happened. It appears that alcohol was not a factor."
"Do you think it had to do with the car?" Sora asked him.
"Mechanical failure might be a possibility," the police sergeant said. "Uh, may I ask who is this? Are you a relative or spouse?"
"I'm Sora Takenouchi," she said. "I'm a live-in roommate." She felt a bit red in the face as she said that. Was that really true?
"Uh huh" Sergeant Kobayashi said. "Well, Matt Ishida's in Odaiba Hospital but as far as I know, he's still unconscious."
"Thank you so much! I'll come over as soon as I can!" Sora told him.
"You might want to call on his family as well," the police sergeant said. "I do not know whether his condition will worsen or not."
"I will" Sora said, trying not to sob into the phone. "I appreciate you telling me this."
"I hope it ends well," Sergeant Kobayashi said. "I do not know all of the details of the accident, but it would be a shameful way to die."
"I know. I'll go now," Sora said.
"For your sake and his family, I hope for the best" the police sergeant said. He then hung up. So did Sora.
"What's wrong, Sora?" Biyomon asked.
"It's Matt! There have been an accident!" Sora cried.
"Oh no!" Gabumon said. He went closer to Sora. "Don't tell me something happened to Matt!"
"I'm afraid so!" Sora said. "I need to call Ken! Maybe he heard what happened to him." She then dialed Ken's number.
"Moshi- moshi, Ichijouji residence-" Ken started to say.
"Ken! I need to talk to you!" Sora blurted out.
"Sora? Is something wrong? Where's Matt?" Ken asked.
"I just got a call from the police," Sora said. "Matt have been in an accident!"
"I was hoping that wasn't his car I saw on TV" Ken said. "He was apparently hit by a truck on a red light."
"You mean that he really ran through a red light?" Sora said in disbelief. "I can't believe he did that!"
"I have to admit that's not like him to do that," Ken said. "I hope he didn't think he had to go to my place in a hurry-"
"I think he has better sense than that," Sora said. "He's at Odaiba Hospital. I want to go to see him but I know I have to call his parents."
"You know his parents' phone numbers?" Ken asked.
"It's not like they live together," Sora said, trying to find Matt's address book. "You don't suppose he would put them in his phone book?"
"I imagine that the police would be able to find them out for you" Ken said.
"You're right," Sora said. "Anyway, I want to be there when he wakes up."
"I'll go with you" Ken said. "I mean, you don't have another car, do you?"
"Oh no!" Sora said, realizing this. "Do you want to go right now?"
"I may have no choice," Ken said. "They didn't mention it on TV but I know the police would have saw the white powder-"
"Oh I hope they don't think it's a drug!" Sora said.
"It could be a drug," Ken said. "That's why I want to go to the hospital as soon as possible. As well as finding out his status."
"Well, I got to get ready but I'll be waiting when you come," Sora said.
"Uh, speaking of that, do you know where you live now?" Ken asked. "I never had the chance to go to his new place yet."
"Um, I think I have to go outside," Sora said, a little sheepishly. "I'm not sure where I'm right now myself. I know where I am from my mother's flower shop. I'll look outside for directions."
"Just tell me the directions from your mother's flower shop," Ken said, getting a little frustrated. "I'm sure I'll know where to go from there."
"All right," Sora said. She then told him the directions as Ken wrote everything down in a notepad.
Sora tried not to run in the hospital hallway as she and Ken went to Matt's room. When they did, they discovered they were not alone.
At Matt's bedside, T.K. and their parents were there. Nancy was crying into a tissue as her ex-husband had his right arm on her shoulder. He too had tears coming down his face. T.K. kept his head very low, his hat and blond bangs covering his face. Still the tears on his chin were evident.
"What exactly happened to Matt?" Ken said. "Can someone tell us?"
"Matt, he-he was in an accident. A truck hit him," Hiroaki, Matt's father, said in a hoarse voice. "As far as we know, he hasn't woke up yet."
"How is his condition? Is he in a coma?" Sora asked. Tears now came down her face. "He'll be fine, right?"
"We don't know yet" Hiroaki replied. "But he seem to be in a coma. Even our voices can't revive him." Nancy wept even more. Sora mustered enough courage to look at Matt.
Matt did not look alright. There was a bandage around his head and she could see a dark red spot at the top of his forehead. His right arm was connected through IV to a bag containing a clear liquid, likely a saline solution. The machine beeped every few minutes. On his left side were a heart monitor and a pulse reader. Matt remained almost lifeless in the bed.
"Did the doctors say anything about his condition?" Ken asked Hiroaki.
"They told us that it is possible that he sustained a concussion, but they didn't tell us how severe it would be" Hiroaki replied. Ken sighed. He felt he should say something else, but what?
"Oh my! It is Matt!" Kari's voice alarmed him to four new people in the room. He saw Kari, Gatomon, Agumon, and Tai, who was holding a bouquet of flowers. Ken tried to put a neutral expression on his face, but his eyes glanced sharply at Tai.
"T.K., do you know what exactly happened to him?" Kari asked him. The boy did not reply. Kari sighed.
"Um, Tai, Matt had not died yet" Ken said.
"I know" Tai said. "These are for Sora." Ken became shocked.
"You bought those flowers for Sora?" Ken asked him with a little surprise in his voice.
"Well, I want to cheer her up" Tai said. He then walked to Sora. "I got more flowers for you." He then saw that Sora did not even look his way. "Are you okay?"
"What happened to Matt?" Sora yelled. Now Tai looked absolutely terrified.
"What do you mean what happened to him? Kari told me she saw from the news that Matt was in an accident so she wanted us to go to the hospital. I thought it would be nice to bring some flowers to you because I didn't know what else to do!" Tai yelled back. He then cried. "I tried to do my best! You hate me!"
"No! No Tai! I just feel upset over this! I know this wasn't your fault! You didn't hit him!" Sora tried to console him. Ken almost raised an eyebrow at Tai's outburst. This wasn't normal Tai behaviour even when he was upset.
"Actually, could someone tell me how did Matt's car end up like it was?" Ken asked.
"Let's hope his brakes just failed" Hiroaki said. "I think Matt knows better than to intentionally run a red light, especially in Tokyo. But you have to ask the police about that."
"Is something wrong with you Tai?" Kari asked. Even she was concerned about Tai.
"I need to go now," Tai said in a low voice. He then turned to Sora. "Do you want these flowers or not?"
"I wasn't going to reject them," Sora said. "I mean you did buy them, right?" Tai nodded. He then gave them to her. Kari sighed at Ken's direction. He could see the helplessness on her face.
"We should go now. My brother is obviously not feeling well. See you later!" Kari said. She then left with Tai and their Digimon in a hurry.
"Tai is surely acting weird. Did I upset him or was it Matt's accident that made him act like that?" Sora said. It was then that Ken thought about something.
"Excuse me, but did the police mention anything about a white powder that Matt had in his car?" Ken's question caused alarm in Hiroaki and Nancy.
"What!" Hiroaki said, almost speechless. Even T.K. looked up at him, wide-eyed.
"You mean the powder that Matt found in the first bouquet Tai gave to me?" Sora asked Ken.
"What!" Hiroaki said again.
"Yes that's right Sora," Ken replied. "Matt did bring the powder, didn't he?"
"I think he did" Sora told him. "He did have a little tube with him. I suspect the police would have found it by now."
"If we didn't get a word from the police, then I think it probably was not that bad" Hiroaki said. However, it sounded like he was trying to reassure himself.
"We should go now," Sora said. "I got two bouquets today from Tai!" Ken looked at Sora, then he looked at T.K., who went back to hiding his face behind his bangs.
"T.K." Ken said. The blond-haired boy didn't move. "I believe that Matt will be alright. If he were going to die, he would have done it by now. I can't assure you that he'll ever be the same again but I can tell you that if he's in a coma, he'll wake up eventually." T.K. nodded. This made Ken smile. He had a feeling that as long as Matt is in a stable condition, T.K. will be alright.
Still, if anything happens to Matt, Ken wondered how T.K. might react.
"Are you going back to your home?" Sora asked. She and Ken were outside walking.
"Do you want me to stay with you until tomorrow?" Ken asked her.
"Oh no! I'm okay by myself!" Sora said. "I mean I got Gabumon and Biyomon with me. What do I need you for?"
"I guess you're right" Ken said. "Still, I want you to be careful, especially around Tai."
"Why is that?" Sora asked. "I mean, I know that he was very upset, but I don't think that would be a cause of alarm."
"He's not acting normally," Ken told her. "Kari noticed something too. I'm not sure what's going on, but be careful around him. And don't make him angry or upset or very emotional. Don't ever forget that."
"He was acting weird when he came to our home today," Sora said.
"How?" Ken said.
"Well, he told me that he heard about me having to stay in Matt's place because of a danger. He then gave me a bouquet and started weeping. It was really weird," Sora told him.
"Speaking of that, give me that bouquet," Ken said. This caught Sora by surprise.
"Why Ken? You don't think the bouquet may have something too?" Sora asked him. Ken waited for the traffic signal to allow them to walk again before responding.
"I don't know. But I don't want to take a chance," Ken said.
"I'm sure if the powder was bad, the police would have-" Sora started to say.
"First of all, we don't know if the results of the tests are ready yet" Ken said. "And second, I doubt they'll let anyone to see the results. I'm sure if anything shows up, his family will be notified."
"I see" Sora said. "I guesss I can give them to you." So she did.
'I don't see any powder in it' Ken thought. 'Of course Kari was with him so maybe-'
"Thank you Ken" Sora said. He saw that they were in front of a small wooden house.
"How did Matt get this place?" Ken asked her as he looked at the house.
"I'm not sure," Sora said. She then bowed to him. "Thank you so much for coming. I'm not sure if I would have gone if you didn't come with me."
"Well, Matt is my friend too," Ken said. He then looked at his watch. "I got to go now. I bet Yolei is going crazy because she can't reach me by phone."
"Why don't you get a mobile phone then?" Sora suggested.
"That is why I DON'T have one," Ken said. "My ears would have gone numb from listening to her all the time. It's bad enough when she's physically with me." Sora chuckled.
"Yolei is that bad, huh?" Sora said. She then looked at the bouquet. "If you're done with them, can I have them back? They would need water soon."
"Oh," Ken said. He handed her the bouquet. "I didn't see anything suspicious but if you do, call me okay?" Sora nodded.
"I will" Sora said, bowing. "Thank you for coming with me."
"If you need to talk to me on anything, I believe that Matt has my phone number. I shall see you later in any case," Ken said. He then saw her open the door, went inside and then closed it. Ken sighed.
'I guess I'll go now' Ken thought. He walked to the bus stop. 'Still Tai was acting weirdly today. I better call Kari and tell her to keep an eye on him. I should probably tell Yolei too. She could help as well.' At that he waited for the bus that would take him back to Tamachi.
"I screwed up, didn't I Kari?" Tai said. He and his sister were now inside their home. Kari sighed.
"Tai, I don't know what's going on with you, but you're starting to really scare me," Kari said.
"You don't have to be scared of me," Tai told her. "I'm going to my room. Agumon, come with me." At that, the orange Digimon followed him to the bedroom, leaving behind a very confused Kari.
"What were you doing at the hospital, Tai?" Agumon said. "I thought you were going to make yourself attractive to her."
"I really screwed up, huh?" Tai said. "Now she thinks I have gone crazy?" It was a question.
"Well…" Agumon started to say. Tai sighed and went on his bed.
'What am I going to do now?' Tai thought.
'You are a fool, Taichi,' the voice spoke back.
'I tried to do as you said and I end up embarrassing myself,' Tai thought.
'She probably thought you were just upset over what happened to Matt,' the voice told him. 'More likely she may have pitied you.'
'So what should I do now?' Tai thought.
'I'll be more worried about Ken' the voice spoke. 'He does not know the whole truth, but he's becoming more suspicious of you. He'll likely get you in the way if you don't deal with him now.'
'I only want Sora. I don't want to hurt anybody,' Tai thought.
'Ah, why don't you go to her place then?' the voice suggested. 'Of course you'll need to lure her away from her Digimon, but you can be alone with her for a short while.'
'And I can tell her how I feel!' Tai thought.
'Yes! Allow me to help you in that' the voice spoke. 'You obviously do not know how to do that. Once you are alone with her, allow me to take over so you can fulfill your deepest desire with her. Do you wish for me to do that?'
'Yes' Tai thought.
'Then let me take over at that moment,' the voice suggested. 'Just say the word and I shall do it.'
'As long as I can get Sora,' Tai thought. 'I don't want to do anything else that could distance Sora from me.'
'Oh you wouldn't,' the voice assured him. 'Now that's settled with, you should get your plan on very soon. Matt could walk up any moment.'
'I will,' Tai thought. At that, he felt his other presence go away.
"Are you alright, Tai?" Agumon asked. "Your eyes looked dazed all of a sudden." He then saw Tai sit up on the bed.
Are you going out so soon?"
"Ken is probably still with Sora," Tai said. "I'll wait. I need to apologize to her."
"Oh," Agumon said. "Well, I'm sure that she would want an explanation."
"But first I'm going to sleep" Tai said. He then took off his shirt.
"But it's only the afternoon!" Agumon protested.
"I know, but I'm sleepy" Tai said. And with that, he went onto the bed and shut his eyes.
'Poor Tai' Agumon thought. 'I wonder what would happen next.' He then laid himself on the bed. He couldn't do anything except wait until Tai wants to go see Sora.
Still he had an ugly feeling the worst is yet to come.
End of Chapter Six
Thank you so much for waiting patiently for this chapter. I have had surgery on May 11 so there were days when I did nothing. I hope you like this chapter, though I hope Matt fans don't get too upset. Responses to readers are below. Check them out! Digimon is the copyright of Toei Animation. Do not forget to review!
Responses to Readers:
Alex Warlorn: Thank you for your comments. At least you give descriptive comments, which is not usually the case at least with my works. However, I feel that I need to address a few things with you.
I'm glad that you realize that this is a psychological story, not a romantic story. My mother's dealings with schizophrenia and my own dealings with an autistic-like disorder have led me to be interested in psychology and brain disorders. 'Tai's Downfall" is based on Tai's inner turmoil- the story's classified under "Angst."
As for Kari being shocked and angry, why not? Being shocked is not the same as being angry, and I want my readers to see for themselves what's it like to live with someone that may have a mental problem. Even if a proper diagnosis is made, it's hard not to feel that way. So I stand by what I wrote about Kari.
Yamato may have been too blunt but at least he got his point across. Not that it helped him much, but Sora is coming around. I'm keeping her dense for a reason, but things will unravel very soon, trust me on that.
I didn't say that Tai was mentally ill or that he had a dark spore (which of course he doesn't) but the "vulture," as you described it, is going to be revealed very soon. I'm sure that some of my readers who may know about psychopathy would have guessed it by now anyway.
Musashibf: I'm still a big fan of Taiora and I was shocked like all the rest when Season Two came around and it was revealed that Matt and Sora are going out together. I was like O.O but Matt's my favourite character from Season One so I wished him well, especially considering the way his parents' marriage ended up. But as a writer, the story is the most important thing, and I cannot guarantee that the path of my story wouldn't swerve in any other direction. However, I'm not good at writing romances. It's not like I've been in a deep relationship before!
Wishei, Litanya, star's dreams, candi-Sweet As, DF DarkSide and others- Thank you so much for reviewing! Please review again!