A/N: Well, Japan is the same as always. Sasebo is very hot and humid, but pretty. I moved into my apt, and I have time to type since my Internet isn't connected just yet... I when out exploring, but there's this hill that I live on that is a pain to climb, so I when I come back in, I'm in for the night.

It's kind of sad that I don't have too many anime friends here to show me the places to go yet, but I'm sure I will find some soon. I can smell the funk of the otaku on most people. I think I will use my three day weekend coming up to go to the big city of Fukuoka and find me an Animate or a Mandarake! NEED DOUJINSHI!

Anyway- on to the next chapter!

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Tai spent the majority of the next few days sitting in the same spot. He barely left her side. Only to sleep or when Kari and Tk coaxed him away; otherwise the chair was always occupied.

Joe and the other doctors had been in and out- checking and monitoring Sora. Every time they left Tai would ask the same questions and received the same response. They kept telling him she was fine, and that she was healing as well as expected.

The deathly pale hue of her skin had gone and the bleeding stopped long ago. External wounds aside, Tai was given little information. She was healing just fine according to Joe, but after three days Sora still had not regained consciousness.

"Still here?" Kari's voice awoke him from a light nap he often fell into as he sat. Looking up from Sora's sleeping form, Tai noticed Kari standing in the doorway.

"I don't really know what else to do..." Tai replied looking back down to where he held Sora's hand.

"Well, Matt said your information about the bugs was helpful. He's working with the others on a way to make weapons that will pierce their shell." Kari said as she entered the room and pulled up a second chair.

"You don't seem to happy about that. You just helped us a lot." She tried to cheer him up, but her usual happy demeanor wasn't working.

"Sorry. I'm just not in a good mood right now..." He muttered as he squeezed Sora's hand. 'If you were awake, it would be so much better...' He thought to himself.

"Well, sitting here isn't helping you... it's not helping Sora either. Do you really think she would want you to be moping around like this?"

"I..." Kari's words were like a slap to the face. Sora wouldn't want him to be there like this. She wouldn't do this... she wouldn't allow herself to be helpless. Even Matt wasn't acting like this. His anger with himself caused Tai to frown.

"Exactly." Kari smiled. "So, shall we go and help Matt and the others? Or are you going to continue to sit on your butt and not do what you can do?"

"Let's do something."

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The trip over to the command center was a short one, but Tai already felt better as they entered. His self depression had ended. Sitting by her side at all times was not going to make her wake up faster, so he was going to work hard to do something while she slept and healed.

The two made their way through the busy halls. There was a great deal of energy in the corridors and Tai felt that his own strength and determination grew because of it. There had been good news from the team that went to meet the outside clan. Everything had been a success this time, no bug attacks and they had began their trek back to the city.

Matt and Tk were in the command center as Tai and Kari arrived.

"Tai! It's good to see you." Tk smiled as he saw the two enter.

"I've come to help." Tai said as he saw Matt look up at him with a mixed expression.

"Well that's surprising." Matt huffed before Tk hit him on the arm.

"Matt, give Tai a break. He's been through a lot in only the week he's been here. Now you said so yourself the info he had was useful. So let's put this sudden hostility aside and work together." Tk said as he cleared a seat for Tai near the computer screen they were working at.

"That's the spirit." Kari smiled.

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It was a long day of discussions and Tai was tired afterwards. Matt had been a little better with Tk and Kari around, but the cold atmosphere that began before the journey continued. Gennai was right about the source of Matt's hostility. It all was concentrated in Tai's relationship or what Matt perceived as a threat to his and Sora's...

Tai couldn't help but feel exhausted as he returned to the medical bay. He had been away most of the day. Their meeting ended earlier than expected because Tk was needed to help bring in the outside clan in another transport.

'It was a good thing,' Tai decided. He didn't know how much longer he could take having to tell the story of what Sora did over and over. It brought up too many horrible memories... nor could he hold back the fact that Sora had shared with him her true feelings...

'Matt would have killed me on spot if I told him about that...' Tai shuttered imagining Matt's arms around his neck. 'Well, let's forget that nightmare...' He told himself as he turned the corner and entered Sora's room.

His heart stopped in a moment as the last nightmare seemed like nothing compared to this... the bed was empty. Sora was gone.

Tai felt like his heart that had stopped a mere second ago, was now rushing a marathon in his chest.

His feet and body moved on its own as he went back out into the hallway. Grabbing the first person who came by, he shook as he asked what happened to Sora. The poor nurse must have been scared and screamed, but Tai's mind didn't register anything other than Sora missing from her bed.

Suddenly a familiar blue haired man came into view.

"Get a hold of yourself." He said sternly as he shook Tai out of his stupor. "You just scared that poor nurse."

"Sora...where's Sora!"

"Calm down."

"How can I..."

"She woke up two hours ago. We checked her over and then moved her to a recovery wing. If you will pull yourself together, I will take you over there now."

"She's fine? You mean, she's awake?"

"Follow me and see for yourself." Joe said as he pushed his glasses back into place.

Tai could do nothing more than dumbly follow in silence as Joe led and talked.

"She woke up and was checked for things we might have missed, but she seemed to be doing surprisingly well for another one of her near death encounters." Joe continued to talk.

"She may still be a little drugged up- it's a side effect of the pain killers. She also has a great deal of stitches and other massive trauma." Joe stopped knowing that Tai wasn't listening. "Listen. She needs to rest. Don't over do and keep her in bed, understood?"

"Can I see her?" Tai asked anxiously looking at the door that closed him off from Sora.

"Go ahead, but remember!" Tai stopped quick as Joe's arm came out in front of him. "Take it easy and when she gets tired let her sleep. Ok?"

"I understand." Tai said as Joe finally let go and he was able to enter the room.

His eyes went straight for her face as he entered the room. Tai felt a little disappointed as he found her asleep in the bed. Here there were less beeping machines and no life supporting systems to keep her alive. He was thankful of that much.

Quietly he moved over to her bedside and pulled a chair up close. Taking her hand in his own, he noticed a light squeeze back. His eyes were met with her piercing crimson orbs once again and everything seemed right.

"Sora?"

"Tai... what..."

"How are you feeling?" He asked as he kissed her hand gently.

"My head hurts... I think I'm drugged."

"It's ok, they are only pain killers. Joe said you were going to fine."

"That's good... sorry to have worried you."

"Sora... back there in the woods, you said something... I wanted to know if you meant it... do you really..."

"What a stupid question... do you think I said those things just because I thought I was going to die? Idiot." She sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

"Well, I've seen movies where people say things in the heat of the moment and not really mean them." Tai replied still feeling a little uneasy.

"I meant everything... you don't have to feel worried that I would feel any different now." Tai saw the small smile spread on her lips as she continued to stare at nothing in particular.

"I'm glad." He smiled as well. "So... what do we do now?" He asked as a silence hovered between the two for a little while.

"Well, I get the hell out of here, that's for sure." She said with a hint of annoyance for being locked up and in bed.

"No you don't!" Tai said stopping Sora from pulling back the covers. "There is no way you have recovered and you are not leaving this bed until Joe officially clears you."

The face she made as well as her body language told Tai that she didn't like the idea of sitting in bed until she recovered. 'But it's for your own good... once you're healed... I promise our future can begin.'

"I'll make it up to you. But for now, please... do this for me, ok?" He asked taking her hands in his own.

"Three days." Sora stated defiantly.

"Till Joe clears you."

"I said three days."

"At least a week, please? In a week the outside clans will be here and then you can leave the hospital..."

"A week? What am I going to do for a whole week here? Can't you see I'm fine?"

"Really? Ok, well then, shall we do a little experiment?"

"What?"

"Walk to the other side of the room. If you can do that, then I'll talk with Joe and Kari."

"That's easy." She said with much confidence. Throwing back the covers getting up was more painful than she would have liked to admit. Tai knew she was in a great deal of pain, but this was the only way to get through to her.

'Stubborn to the end.' He shook his head. 'She's really willing to go through all this just to get out of here... wow, I'd love to have vacation time and just sit in bed...'

"Ok, I'm going to stop you there- you can hardly stand... How are you suppose to do your job or even get out of here if you can't even stand for a minute?" Tai asked as he stood next to Sora about to get her back in bed.

"Stay away. I'm going to show you I can do this."

"Sora..."

"I can... I will..."

Finally she got her footing; for a moment, Tai was actually worried that she would be able to walk the distance, but then be began to stumble. She was weak, Tai knew she shouldn't be trying this...

"Sora..."

"I will not give up." She kept telling herself over and over.

After her first few steps, still not too far from her bed side, she crumbled to the ground. Tai was at her side as she cried out in frustration and pain.

"Sora! What are you doing?" Came the voice of Joe as the door to the room opened. He rusted to her side, pushing Tai away. "You shouldn't be up." The blue haired man said in an irritated voice. "When will you just listen to me?"

"I..." Tai began to try and explain.

"I thought I told you as well to NOT let her out of bed? She must have pulled a stitch, or worse..."

"It isn't Tai's fault. I could have stopped if I wanted to..."

"Then why didn't you?" Joe asked as he undid the bandages on her stomach. "Just as I thought- you pulled a few stitches. You really need to just rest until your body is better. I've let you get away with a lot of things before, but not this time. You could kill yourself if something ruptures inside... You damaged a lot of organs you know."

Tai was amazed that Sora laid there quietly. Her face told of a resigned and quieted spirit- but still there was a hint of defiance. 'Is she going to listen?' Tai wondered as he helped Joe rework some of the bandages.

"That should do for a while." Joe said as he stood up and fixed his glasses before they fell off his face. "Please Sora. I know you are strong. You're the strongest person I've known and you've medically shown me that the human spirit can trump medicine. You've also shown everyone here that you can survive anything, so you have nothing to prove. You can just relax and rest while we all do our share of the work around here."

The talk ended and Joe left but not before wanting to speak with Tai outside the room. Tai could only follow silently still mulling over the talk that had just occurred in Sora's room.

"We need to take some more blood from you, if that's all right." Joe said looking at a hand held computer. The man must have been looking at Sora's medical charts or something very important.

"I thought she was going to be fine? She's still in danger?" Tai asked concerned.

"We're not sure yet. But we would like to keep blood going in to her system."

"Were should I go?"

"Follow me please."

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The throbbing of his arm was annoying. There were just so many times a vein could be used before it got sore and achy. Tai was glad that he could at least do this much for Sora. He truly felt helpful.

Tai was about to go in and see Sora when he heard voices from inside her room. Moving close to the door, but making sure he did not open it, Tai listened in to the conversation.

"The outside clan should arrive tomorrow or so." The voice was that of Matt. Tai could just picture the blonde headed man trying to hold Sora's hand. As much as he wanted to gloat that Sora's heart was truly his, Tai did feel bad for Matt.

"They will more than likely want to meet with you a little later. They commented on seeing the head of the Takenouchi clan... but we'll discuss that after you leave the hospital."

Tai waited for a response from Sora, but none ever came.

"Well, just think about what I said. You don't have to give me an answer now... I'll wait till you get better and have some time to think. I guess I had better go now. We'll keep you updated. Take care of yourself."

Tai quickly backed up to make it look like he wasn't eavesdropping.

"Tai? Here you are." Matt said a little surprised as he left Sora's room and found Tai standing by the door.

"Did you need something?"

"Actually yes. Kari is going to be the only one at the house with TK gone with the transport, and I'm going to be working all night. I was wondering if you were going to go back to the house tonight."

"I was going to spend the night here, but I can go back to the house. Was there anything else?"

"When the outside clan arrives, I need you to be there and to attend the welcoming festivities. You are the reason they came after all."

"I'll be there." Tai replied knowing all to well that he was the reason. 'Man, being this savior thing sure is annoying at times. All I want to do is be by Sora's side right now...'

"Well I'll see you tomorrow then. We're having a meeting in the morning. Please be on time." Matt added before turning and leaving.