Disclaimer: I don't own the Digimon characters, though I wouldn't mind owning Yama for a day or two…

A/N: Just a question out of extreme curiosity…Did anyone guess Kari was dating TK?

Chapter Six: Recordkeeping with the Couples

He was fucking brutal.

I arrived at the hospital with Tai, and immediately after walking through the doors we separated. My dad was in the waiting room. He said something I didn't really hear. I was walking far too fast to stop and chat.

Then my mom walked into a room. I followed her, assuming it would be Takeru. My guess was right. I saw him laying in a hospital bed, breathing hard.

My mother looked at me and smiled. "Yam--"

"Move," I demanded, then walked over to Takeru.

I think Mom might have left. I didn't really care. My focus was on how many scars were lying on his face, as if it were a mask. His hand was out of the blanket, looking purple and bloody. I was feeling kind of woozy at the sight. I wondered how Kari looked.

"What the fuck happened to you?"

He smiled at me for some weird reason. "I lost my girl. I really screwed up, Matt."

"Man, why didn't you tell me you were dating Hikari Yagami?"

"Didn't…" He took a deep breath. "Didn't think you'd care about it."

I started stroking his hair. Takeru used to mean the world to me. I had always thought about him, always called him…Then suddenly I got wound up in my own life. I hadn't even talked to him in such a long time. No wonder he thought I wouldn't give a damn about what was going on with him. I felt horrible.

"Hikari means everything to me, and I lost her. How could I be so unlucky? How could I be so…stupid, so…" He started coughing.

"Hey! Take it easy, man!"

He stopped. "I hate myself so much, Matt."

There was silence for a second. He really cared about Kari. I wasn't sure what he meant about losing her. Would Kari be mad or something?

"Mind if I have a minute?"

I turned around, startled, to see Tai standing at the doorway. He didn't look mad at all, just kind of…upset.

"Sure," I replied, nodding. "What room's Kari in?"

"Across the hallway," Tai walked slowly towards Takeru.

When I left the room, I figured it would be a good idea to wait outside and listen for a second. I heard silence, then, "You seem almost as bad as she does."

Almost as bad? I thought. Takeru looked pretty awful. How much worse could Kari be?

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A lot worse. A lot.

Kari had more cuts over her face. There was dry blood everywhere, and even looking at her was making me twice as noxious as I already was. I smiled at her when she looked at me and said in a horse voice, "You came to see me?"

"Yeah, only because Tai would kill me if I didn't." I didn't miss a slight smile showing. "Takeru's my brother, Kari. All he could talk about was losing you."

She sighed deeply. "It can't work. Not after this. I just…Tai…"

I nodded and walked closer to her. It was like looking through someone, knowing what they were thinking. She did really like Takeru and was upset about the situation, too. I could tell by the way her eyes were watering up. They were emotional tears.

"I guess I look pretty bad, huh?"

Almost laughing, I told her, "Not worse than Mimi."

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The next time I saw Takeru, the nurse was telling me he had actually attempted to sneak out of his room to talk to Kari. What a strange thing to do; he must have really liked her.

I spent the rest of my spring break seeing Takeru and sometimes Kari. They always became so excited when they saw me at that doorway--it sure made me happy.

I went on a few other dates with that Starla girl, just because Tai kept saying it was a good idea. I didn't really think so, but I did it anyway. It sucked to see Tai and Mai holding hands all the time, especially after they made it "official". That must have meant they were allowed to make out in public, because that was all they ever did.

Speaking of couples, Yuki and Mimi had started dating, creating a true shocker throughout the school.

Noah and Dai were talking to me about it once.

"I used to think he was only hanging out with her to prove Mai wrong," Noah was saying. "You remember when she was lipping him? I thought he just wanted to piss her off or something, but I guess not."

Dai nodded. "He's always with her now."

"Ishida, I think he's obsessed."

And I think he was. On their "one month", he got roses sent to her mailbox. Well, that's what I heard, anyway.

But he must not have liked her all that much.

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I needed to drink off my thoughts. I was just out with Tai, and I was really about to kill Mai if she kissed Tai one more time. Apparently, I had a headache. Tai was looking at me strange while I left the restaurant; I suck at fake-sicking.

After drinking nearly a quart of some substance of liquor, I found myself at a party my friend Lily was having. Once I was there, I saw tons of people I knew. I noticed Dai kissing a girl, which made me mad. Dai could get a girl…how come I couldn't get a good damn guy?

I spotted Lily making out with a different guy every few minutes. She was like that when she drank too much.

Suddenly, Yuki Yano came into my view. It was probably about a month and a half since I had spoken to him. While watching him, I realized he wasn't really the cocky idiot all the girls were going after…he was the incredibly gorgeous boy with a great body.

I was sitting on the couch, pounding more liquor into my system, when Lily came over and sat beside me. I felt like I was dreaming, checking out Yuki, realizing Dai's hair colour was making me jealous, wondering if Tai was thinking about me. I was too hammered to think it was wrong.

"Hello, Yamato Ishida."

"Hello, Lily…" I stopped, thinking hard about her last name.

And we laughed. It seemed so funny at the time.

"Great party," I commented, then felt too drunk to say anything else. I suddenly grabbed her and started kissing her. It didn't feel right, but it wasn't like the time Mimi was trying to sleep with me and I barely controlled myself--it just felt not right.

When I pulled away, she started smiling.

"You're a really good kisser,"

I shrugged. I started watching Yuki again, wondering where Mimi was. She definitely wouldn't want him dancing with Sora the way he was. Then he started kissing her neck. Within seconds they were making out like crazy.

Yep, I thought. Mimi definitely wouldn't want him doing that.

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The gossip was everywhere. Mimi and Yuki were officially an "ex-couple". Well, I could have seen it coming. Yuki and Sora were all over each other at that party. That didn't confuse me--I know Yuki well enough. What really got me wound up was the fact that Yuki and Sora were holding hands on Monday. They were dating.

First of all, they made a horrible couple. Secondly, what about Mimi?

I was sitting at a cafeteria table, thinking about my date with Lily the week before, when I suddenly hear, "Where have you been?"

I looked up and saw Tai…alone. For once, Mai wasn't dangling on his arm or attached to his torso.

"Around, I guess. What's up?"

Honestly, I didn't hear what he said. All I could think about was his eyes. They were so deep, I could have stared into them for hours, as if I had gotten lost in a forest or something. Or maybe they were like chocolate candies that I could eat and…

I immediately snapped out of those thoughts.

"Where's Mai?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. She's pissed at me right now, and you know how she is when she's mad."

"It ain't pretty. What'd you do?"

"I guess I didn't pay enough attention to her in a while. I thought I did, but you know."

You hang out with her every fucking day, I thought angrily. How could she not have been pleased with that?

My eyes wandered to his own eyes again. Chocolate coloured eyes surrounded by thick, dark eyelashes were always a nice thing to look at while you were stressed out. They were something you'd love to gaze at when you first wake up in the morning…

You're fucking gay.

I stood up awkwardly. "I really gotta go." I said, desperate to just get out of there. "Call me tonight or something."

Without waiting for a reply, I dashed into the hallways and looked back. Tai was already gone. Probably to look for Mai. Great. Why did I have to leave? It wasn't really a big deal to think about those…whatever they were. They were just feelings that were burning my insides, trying to force me to tell someone.

You have to tell him.

Someone's books landed on the floor as I realized I had completely just crashed into her. I must have been thinking too hard.

"Sorry," I muttered, helping her pick up her books. I silently refused to look at her.

"Mmm…yeah, it's--"

"Hey, Kari!" I cried, looking up to see her surprised face.

Her brown eyes were wide and filled with happiness. The same brown eyes that I was just gazing at moments before. I had never noticed Kari and Tai's eyes were completely identical. Kari's cheeks suddenly turned red.

"Sorry, I guess I was just thinking," she said, sounding embarrassed.

I shook my head, passing her a notebook. "Don't even worry about it." I started to study her face. The scars were becoming faint white lines. She looked so much better since the last time I had seen her at the hospital. "You're looking good there, lady."

The comment made her blush even more. "Thanks. You know…the next time you talk to T.K., can you tell him I'm really sorry? I'd go back out with him, it's just…"

"Yeah," I smiled at her. "Wanna go sit down somewhere?"

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There was a lot of things about Kari I had never really noticed until that lunch hour. She was so emotional and self-conscious. I'd always thought she was just an innocent virgin, Tai's little sister when really, she was a girl whose psycho brother was too much for her to handle. She wasn't really complaining about it--I could see it in her eyes.

"I can't believe Yuki's dating Sora now." Kari had said.

"Yeah…do you know anything about Mimi? Like how she's feeling?"

She shrugged. "She isn't here today. She called me the other day crying her eyes out, expecting me to feel sorry for her. I told her I wasn't in the mood to hear her complain about something she saw coming."

"You bitch," I teased. She smiled.

"I warned her about him, though. I told her he wouldn't be able to last three months without cheating on her. Sure enough, he didn't even go two."

"What'd she say?"

Kari sighed. "She said I was just jealous that Yuki gave a damn about her and not me."

"Oh…" I frowned. "Don't you worry about her. She's just a pink-haired bitch that wants all the fucking attention she can get. The little slut's succeeding, though."

"I'm not worried about it…I'm happy about it. You know I stopped liking Yuki a long time ago, right?"

I half-laughed. "Any new boys?"

She smiled and shook her head. "I don't really care anymore. I don't want my brother to be after even more people. He really has it in T.K. now."

That got me a little mad. "He doesn't like my brother because he was in a car accident?"

"Well…kind of. That's a bad way to put it."

I rolled my eyes. "I guess I'll just talk to him about it. So you were okay with Mimi dating Yuki? How long ago was that?"

"Um…almost two months ago, I think. I was dating T.K. then, so I couldn't have cared less. It would've been nice of her to ask me first. She always knew I liked him before she even thought about him."

"Yeah," I agreed, then there was silence. I really wanted to know something, but I was too nervous to say it. So I just blurt it out: "Do you know Mai? You know, tai's girlfriend?"

"Oh…I thought they broke up."

"Um, what?"

Kari shrugged. "She used to come over, like, everyday, but I don't think Tai's hung out with her in a week or something. Maybe they're just in a fight. I'd really hate to see them break up. Wouldn't you?"

"Mmm…" I felt a deep stab of jealousy. "Do you like her?"

"Well, yeah. How often do you think Tai has a two month girlfriend?" She suddenly smiled. I really liked talking to Kari--that girl sure can give a smile out. "Well, what's been going on with you, Yamato? I feel like we've been talking about me for hours."

What's been going on with me? I thought, sitting up straight. Well, I get drunk way more than usual because I'm jealous that your brother has a girlfriend, I keep track of all the couples in the school because I don't have anything better to do…

"Other than the fact that I'm gay, nothing really,"

I burst it out. I didn't mean to, but it suddenly felt good.

She didn't say anything for a minute, and I started to feel nervous.

"Does anyone know?"

"Nope. Only you. Kari, you're not gonna tell anyone, are you?"

She shook her head and smiled once again at me. "I won't, Yamato. I promise I won't."

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I marked off May the ninetieth. I couldn't believe it was almost June. The year had been going by so fast. Then again, three months before, I hadn't communicated with Tai in such a long time. It was weird to think my and Tai's friendship had a two year break in it. I was glad to be friends again, but the feelings I was starting to have were becoming too strong for my own good. It was like what I felt in grade eight, except…more confusing.

I had called Takeru that night. I wanted to talk to him, make sure we were keeping in touch.

"Hey, Matt!"

"Hey, buddy. How's it going."

"Ah, not too bad, not too bad. How about you?"

I shrugged, then remembered I was on the phone. "Not bad. You seem enthusiastic. Any new girlfriend I should know about or something?"

He laughed. "Nah. How's Kari doing? Are her scars healing?"

"Yeah, I talked to her today. She says she's sorry about everything, it's just that Tai's fucking crazy. And believe me…it's true. How's your face?"

It was pretty funny once I said it. We shared a laugh, then he answered, "They're pretty much gone. I still have a bandage on my hand and all, but it's going okay. So Kari's really all right? Are her scars white yet?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Man, I bet she still looks cute."

I smiled. Takeru must have really liked her. "Yeah, she does. Hey, are you okay with the Tai thing?"

"Uh…I guess. I wish I could have it another way. What about you, any new girls I should know about?"

Nope, just a guy, I thought, smirking to myself. "Nah. Still flyin' solo."

We started talking about school or something until he had to go. It felt good to keep track with Takeru. I was really starting to feel like a good brother. And what every good older brother should do is lip people who hate them for getting into car accidents.

My on-going thoughts reminded me of how Tai supposedly hated my brother because he was in a car crash. I picked up my phone and began dialling his number.

He picked up first ring.

"Hey, it's me."

"Oh, I was expecting Mai."

"Yeah, and I was expecting my brother to be decently happy with his romance life. You have it 'in for' my little brother now because of this? That's what I've been hearing."

I heard a groan. "Yama, what're you talking about?"

"I heard from Kari that you don't want her dating Takeru anymore. You know, Tai, he really liked her. All he would talk about was her at that damn hospital. It isn't his fault, you know. He feels so bad that--"

Tai started laughing. "He told me he didn't want to date her anymore because he didn't deserve her or something."

I paused completely. I just made myself look like a huge idiot in front of Tai. "I'm…I'm sorry."

I knew he was almost laughing, so I changed the topic. "I heard you and Mai are having some problems. Kari said you guys haven't hung out in a while or something."

"I guess you could say that. She just thinks I don't listen to what she has to say. Supposedly I'm getting to 'distracted' about things." I heard someone talking in the background and Tai snapping at them. I few seconds later, Kari came onto the phone.

"Hi, Yamato."

"Hey, Kari."

"What are you doing Friday?"

I thought about it for a second. "Nothing really, I guess. Why, what's up."

"Oh," I could feel her smiling. "There's just this little party I was invited to, and…well…I don't really have a date yet, so…"

"I'll pick you up at seven," I told her in a fake-annoyed voice.

Tai immediately came onto the phone and said, "What?"

"Oh come on. I'm just taking Kari to a stupid party. You know nothing really happens at those things. I'm not gonna drink."

"Nothing goes on at those things? Yeah, except for Yuki fucking everything with two legs!"

"Oh my God, Tai," I pestered. "Would you rather have me take your little sister to the party, or some other creep?"

He was silent, and I knew I had him there. "Okay," he gave in. "This better not be anything serious. How come you two are talking all the time now?"

"Huh?"

"You know, like when she told you me and Mai were having problems…?"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm hanging up now."

" 'Kay. Seeya tomorrow."

I heard the dial tone, but I didn't want to hang up the phone.

"I don't like seeing you with Mai," I told the dial tone, pretending it was Tai. "I hate seeing you hold hands with her. I hate it when people ask me if I'm dating a girl. I hate it when people think I'm not gay."

I received no reply. That's what Tai would probably do if I had actually told him.

"I hope you know…I think that Starla girl who's friends with Mai is a huge slut who acts stupid for some damn attention."

Again, no reply.

"Just like Mimi. You know, Kari's friend? Tai, I haven't dated a girl since Sora. That was such a long time ago…more than a year now. But I don't care. Ask Kari, I'm gay, and I hate it, because there's no one else in our school who is."

I felt really stupid. Before I was aware of the thought that I was going crazy, I said,

"I fucking love you, Tai."

And that wasn't even the worst part of my little monologue…

It was the fact that it was all true. Especially that last part.