Disclaimer: I do not own this show or the characters
Authors Note: Thanks a lot for all the reviews : ) They make me really happy thank you. Mimi and the others still aren't in this chapter quite yet. They're appearance is getting close though and they'll make it soon : ) I hope you guys like this chapter and please tell me what you think afterwards : )
Getting To Know You
I walked in along with Tai and the others and we were soon offered a table to sit in. Then I saw a tall man approaching our way and approached our table. He smiled and then he looked at Tai.
"So Taichi, what will it be today?" he asked as he looked at Tai
"Well you know I'll eat anything. I'm just hungry." Replied Tai with another one of his goofy grins.
"As usual, that's what I'd expect from you Tai." He said with a laugh "I'll see what I can get you today alright?"
"Thanks a lot Jeff." Said Tai then the waiter known as Jeff left
"Since you're well known here I'd say you eat here a lot is that right?" I asked looking at Tai
"Yeah sure. We come here a lot. And Jeff's usually the one who serves us our meals here." He replied
"This place serves really good food. They also have a good service here so it's really nice to be here." Said Akira
"So true, and fans rarely come to this place so we usually end up hiding here." Said Takashi
"Oh by the way guys, Yamat and I made a little wager." Started Tai and I knew where this was going
"Again? What was it about this time?" asked Yutaka with a sigh, which means they make bets a whole lot
"You see, Tai here fell asleep during Physics class earlier." Started Yamato
"Oh that isn't the first time I've heard of that." Said Takashi and the others laughed
"Anyway, it's a small little game. The main thing is that Tai can't fall asleep an any of his classes for a week straight. If he does he does whatever I ask him to. And the consequence is the same for me if ever I loose our bet." Explained Yamato looking at Tai
"And since I have each of you guys as witnesses there won't be any cheating going on in any class." Said Tai
"Come on Tai, this is going to be hard for you and you know it." Said Takashi
"You and my big brother have made dozens of bets...can't you just let this one go? What are you going to gain from this weather or not Tai wins or looses?" asked Takeru
"Simple, I get to see blondie here regret making the bet in the first place." Said Tai confidently
"And I just get the simple pleasure of watching how this whole thing turns out for the both of us Tai." Replied Yamato calmly
I sighed as they were about to start another argument. "How will I ever get used to all this?" I thought with a laugh, for some reason I didn't mind seeing them argue. It reminded me a lot from back home.
"Okay let's get back to the reason why we came here in the first place. What gives anyway? You shocked everyone with the whole introduction in the school you know?" said Yutaka looking at me and Tai for some answers and ending his argument with Yamato.
"Yeah it kind of surprised us too. The way you two acted towards each other was well…shocking," agreed Takashi
"So Tai, how do you and Sora know each other anyway? Care to enlighten us?" asked Yamato
"Sure, so where do we start Sor?" he asks me and the others ask "Sor? Where did that come from?"
"It's a nickname thing." Replied Tai then he looked at me and asked "So where do we start explaining things?"
"Well, to start things off Tai and I have been best friends and have known each other for a really long time."
"How long exactly?" asked Takeru
"Well…since we were what…three or four years old I think." Replied Tai thinking back
"That long?" asked Yutaka a bit shocked
"Yup, we were best friends. We used to do a whole bunch of things together. Play soccer, go to school together and hang out during week ends and breaks." I told them and they just stayed silent
"So you two were close and everything right?" asked Takashi
"Yeah a whole lot. Sor, Me, Meems, and the rest of our friends. All of us always stuck together. We were like one big happy family." Said Tai
Then in the middle of it our food quickly arrived. Jeff gave us the big serving of pizza and asked if we wanted anything else. Tai and the others shook their heads and thanked Jeff he left to give us some privacy.
"Then four years ago Tai left us and went to study here and he hasn't kept in contact with us so we didn't keep in touch and none of us has seen him since now." I explained "He was partly the reason why I wanted to move here. It was because I wanted to try and find him here and I was lucky that I did."
Tai was looking at his friends and then a smirk appeared across his face and he soon looked at me and spoke "Oh come on Sor, just admit that you came here because you missed me and that you love me enough to leave Odaiba behind."
I looked at Tai wide eyed at his sudden comment and I shot him a what-are-you-thinking look. He simply continued to grin and I got the message that he wanted me to play along with his little charade. So I did.
I smiled at Tai and spoke "Of course Tai. You know that I love you and I was worried about you not keeping in touch."
That was no lie I did love Tai, I mean we've been together since our diaper days and I did love him but not in a whole couple way. I loved Tai in a brotherly way. So I didn't really know where this charade was going, that was until I saw the looks on the other's faces.
Yutaka almost spit out the water he was drinking, Takashi just dropped the pizza he was holding on to, Akira and Takeru were staring at me frozen and wide eyed and Yamato was choking. I soon watched them clam down and when Takeru was able to move again, he handed his brother a glass of water to stop the choking.
Then Tai suddenly burst out laughing. The others looked at him in shock and I did too. Then he spoke "I cannot believe that you guys just bought that!" he said between laughs "I mean, who would even think that?"
Akira looked at him and was the first to speak "You mean that was just some kind of prank? A mere…joke?" he asked
"Yes, did you honestly think it was real?" asked Tai as he was still laughing from all their sudden reactions. Honestly, I didn't quite expect them to react like that either.
"That was so not funny! You made me drop my pizza!" said Takashi
"Come on you guys, honestly I didn't think that you would buy it." Replied Tai looking at the others
"So the whole I love you gig was a fake? Meaning…you and her aren't you know…" as Yutaka was speaking Yamato found his voice and continued
"You and Sora aren't together then? You know, like you two aren't dating or anything are you?" he asked
"No of course not!" This time I was the one that replied "What would give you that idea? Tai and I are just friends, we were never together and we are definitely not dating."
"Dude that would just be way too…" as Tai spoke he stopped to think of the right word to describe it all "Weird"
"And awkward…" I continued
"Guys, she's been my best friend ever since. We're like family and we're not in a relationship." Said Tai
"Well it's not really our fault is it? I mean from the way the two of you treated each other it seemed highly possible that the two of you were in a relationship." Said Takeru
"We aren't alright? Sorry for the prank, it was just so…I don't know, I just couldn't help it." Said Tai by now he had stopped the laughing and was sane again
"*sigh* Jokes like that aren't funny Tai. You almost made me choke." Said Yamato with a deep sigh
"Oh come on now Yamato. "Why? Are you relieved that Sora isn't taken?" Tai retorted with a teasing and sly tone
Suddenly I saw Yamato blush all of a sudden and for some odd reason, I did too…Then finally I heard Yamato speak "N-no that's not it. Look we were just shocked and everything okay?"
"Whatever you say Yamato, whatever you say…" replied Tai taking another bite of pizza.
As an eerie silence came over us again, Yutaka suddenly decided to break it "Soooo…..if no one minds, do continue with the story. Whatever happened after Tai moved here?"
"Simple, he didn't keep in contact and then he left us all hanging waiting for him to call at least." I replied shooting Tai a look to start explaining himself "Why didn't you keep in contact anyway?"
"Well for starters the first few years here was like torture for me. I ad to keep up a good grade so that my grandparents wouldn't do anything harsh as some kind of punishment. Sadly, I failed one of my Algebra exams a few years back and they banned me from all things fun." Explained Tai
"Hey I remember that. That year was the worst ever for Tai. No soccer, no computers, no cell phone…it was a nightmare!" said Takashi
"Yeah it was, plus to make things worse I haven't been able to contact you guys for a long time and even if I wanted I couldn't. After the whole grounding session I had to keep my grades up so I had to take things seriously or I'll get it. As much as I wanted to talk to you guys I had too much hassle an pressure on me. Trust me though, I never forgot you guys one teensy bit really." He told me and pulled out a face
"Alright, but you have to talk to the others soon…especially Kari." I replied looking at him seriously. From the looks of it, he got the message because his expression saddened all of a sudden.
"Who's Kari?" asked Takeru
"She's…she's my little sister." Replied Tai in a sad tone
"Sister?!?!?" they all asked in unison
"Yeah, I haven't seen here since she was just a little girl you know. I miss her real bad, but since I'm all the way here I can't even go there and see her." Said Tai
Silence once again found it's way to us. After a while the ringing of my cell phone was the one that cut it off. I looked at my cell and looked at the name of the caller 'Meems' was the registered name. My eyes widened. I set my phone on the center of the table and put it n speaker. Tai and the others were looking at me.
"Who is it?" he asked with a confused look
"You'll see." I replied
I pushed the answer button and as expected Mimi answered it with her usual jolly and happy voice "Hello Sora! How was school?" she asked
Tai's eyes went wide and I put a hand in front of him to prevent him from talking "It was nice. I got to meet a bunch of new friends. Although I'm surprised that you're calling me at this time. Isn't it early in the morning down there?"
"Well yes, but you know it's summer here and I wouldn't want to waste it just lying around in my bed so I got up early." She replied
"That's nice, I never expected you to wake up so early." I told her with a slight laugh
"Anyway I just wanted to check on you. What are you doing now?" she asked
"Nothing much just eating out I guess…say Meems, by any chance are you alone?" I asked
"Nope the others are here with me…why do you ask?" she asked me in confusion
"Nothing, I was just wondering…could you call the others I'd like to speak with them too." I requested
"Sure…wait just a sec okay?" she told me, then I heard her yell out "Guys! Sor's on the phone!"
"Cool! Sup Sora?" the voice belonged to Davis
"Hello Sora, how are you doing?" now this voice was the one I've been waiting for
"Kari!, Just the girl that I wanted to talk to." I said happily
"Huh? What do you mean?" Kari asked me
I looked at Tai and in his shocked expression and whispered "You wanted to talk to her didn't you? Now's your chance. This was pretty much of a shock for me too, I didn't expect Mimi to call me at this hour so please Tai after such a long time talk to your little sister."
Tai remained silent for a while then he looked at me then at the phone. He slowly picked it up and spoke "Kari? That you?" when he heard no reply he just continued to talk over the phone "Listen I know I've been a sappy big brother lately and I'm sorry…but I miss you Kari and if you just talk to me just this once it would really help…please?"
Still there was no answer, Tai sighed and was about to hand me the phone when silent sobbing was heard on the other end of the phone line.
"Tai? Taichi…is that you?" Kari's voice was suddenly heard through the phone and it sounded like she was still crying
"Hey little sis how's is been? You doing okay?" asked Tai
"Yeah…I'm okay…I really miss you Tai….when will you come back?" asked Kari
"That I do not know. I'm really sorry, I want to see you again I feel really bad about not keeping in contact with you guys and I'm sorry." Said Tai
After Tai spoke I picked up my cell phone and I switched it back to handset mode, then I handed the phone to Tai and spoke "Here go somewhere you and Kari can talk in private, I don't mind go and use the phone. Take your time, it's fine with me okay?"
Tai nodded and smiled "Thanks, I'll be back in a sec." he told us then he saw his friends nod and he went somewhere to have a private conversation with his sister.
I was left alone with Yamato and the others and soon after Tai left us to talk with Kari I faced the others and they couldn't help but ask.
"So…the girl that was talking to Tai just before he left was his little sister?" asked Yutaka and I gave him a nod
"She seemed really sad and lonely over the phone…" said Takeru
"She is. She hasn't seen Tai since. It's been so long, she was just a little girl when he left us and it's been really hard for her these past four years." I explained
"Tai's leave seemed like a really big deal to you guys huh." Said Takashi as he looked at me
"Yes it was, Tai didn't keep in contact with us and we didn't know where to look for him so we were really lonely without him around." I sighed and I noticed them look at me with sad expressions on their faces as if they knew what I was going through.
"Odd though, Tai never once mentioned to us that he had a sister. In fact, whenever we tried to ask him about his life before he moved here he would jus shrug it off and tell us that he didn't want to talk about it." Said Yamato
"That's not much of a surprise. Knowing Tai he just didn't want to remember, not that he wanted to leave us behind but the more that he was reminded of it the more it would remind him how much he's left behind." Taichi was always the one who would make jokes all the time but he also knows when to get serious, knowing him he's pinned himself responsible for leaving and just didn't want to bring in more pain in reminding himself that he made a big mistake.
We stayed silent for a moment once again, then Yamato looked at me and spoke "So when Tai left…you haven't seen him since right? I mean, up until now that is."
"Yes that's true." I replied while giving him a nod
"Then Tai's pretty lucky to have a friend like you. After such a long time you still have it in you to remember him and look for him." He said to me with smile
"That's true, unlike Tai most of the friends we've had stabbed us in the back because of fame and such. Sometimes it easier and a lot nicer to end up being him." Said Yutaka
"If you don't mind me asking, you mentioned that you and your friends were like family right? How many are you exactly?" asked Akira
I pulled out my wallet and opened it. I took out a picture of all of us (minus Tai) together just a few months ago. "There are ten of us, Tai included." I handed them the photo and spoke "There's Tai, me, Meems, Kari, Jou, Koushiro, Davis, Yolei, Ken and Cody." I pointed at each person on the picture to identify who was who.
"Wow, they're all friends of yours?" asked Takashi
"Yeah. Kari, Tai's sister, along with Davis, Ken and Yolei are just abut your age T.K" I spoke looking at Takeru
"Sure looks like it." Said Yamato
"The others are about my age except for Cody. He's younger than Kari by a year or two." As I looked at the photo again, I couldn't help but want to cry. I missed my friends and I wanted to see them again. It's only been a day or two that I've been here but it feels like a long time since I haven't seen my friends.
I felt a tear run down my face. I know I sound childish but I couldn't help it. I've just seen Tai again but at the same time I miss all the others. I then saw a handkerchief being handed to me. I looked up, saw Yamato smiling at me, and spoke "Here use this. You shouldn't cry, I don't think they'd be happy to see you cry. Plus I don't like seeing you cry either."
He handed we the handkerchief and I wiped my tears away. "Thank you." I told him with a smile
"That's a whole lot better. You look prettier when you smile like that." He said then I couldn't help but blush again.
"Why do I keep blushing like this. Yamato's just a guy isn't he? Then why are his words having such an effect on me?" I tried to shrug the thought off my head and just went back to acting like my normal self again.
Yamato's POV:
We were talking to Sora about a few things, and asked her some stuff about her friends back home. She took out her wallet and showed us a photo of her friends. She also named them and identified who was who. It was actually nice having so much friends. Soon I noticed that she became awfully silent and I was right. I looked at her and saw that there were tears coming from her eyes and she was trying to stop them from falling.
I pulled out a handkerchief and I handed it to her. She looked at me with a confused expression so I smiled and spoke ""Here use this. You shouldn't cry, I don't think they'd be happy to see you cry. Plus I don't like seeing you cry either." That was no lie, somehow I really didn't like to see her cry this way it made me feel bad.
She took the handkerchief and wiped her tears away. She said thank you and smiled back. "That's a whole lot better. You look prettier when you smile like that." I told her and again I couldn't help but notice that she blushed. I smiled to myself and just looked at her. She really did look pretty when she smiled like that.
Now I'm starting to confuse myself. This would be the first time I actually paid so much attention to a girl. It was weird how she was doing this to me, I didn't hate it…but at the same time I was confused.
I looked over at the others who were starting to give me a stare. I looked at them and silently asked "What?"
They didn't answer so I figured that they must have noticed that my actions were a bit different. I shook my head and turned back to face Sora hoping that she was doing all right.
Sora's POV:
I looked at the others and they were looking at me weirdly and they were averting their gaze from me to Yamato as if something just happened that I wasn't fully aware of. I looked back at them and asked "Is something wrong?"
"Huh? Oh nope, it's nothing. Just don't worry about it." Said Akira with a smile
I tried to think about it and shrug it off as well, but I just couldn't help but wonder what could have happened all of a sudden that I wasn't aware off to make them react like that.
We continued to eat pizza while waiting patiently for Tai to return. Soon Tai came back and spoke "Hey guys I'm back, sorry if I took a while I kind of enjoyed talking…" before he could finish he stopped and looked around him then he spoke again "Okay…um…guys, what's with the no talking gig? Something happen while I was gone?" he asked confused
"No it's nothing Tai, com on and eat." Said Takeru with a smile
As Tai sat down beside me I looked at him and spoke "So Tai, how did your talk with Kari go?" I asked
"It went great, we were having a good time talking on the phone. I got to talk with Meems and the others as well. She yelled at me for not being responsible and all that, but other than that it was a nice talk." He told me with a satisfied smile then he handed me my phone back and spoke "Thanks for lending me the phone Sor. I really appreciate it."
"No problem, I'm glad you finally got to catch up with all the others even if it was just for a short period of time." I replied and smiled back
"So what exactly happened while I was gone anyway?" asked Tai confused
"Nothing much, you know we had a little talk with each other, then after that we asked some stuff about your friends…it was nothing special." Replied Takashi
"Okay…." Replied Tai and gave me a look that he wasn't buying that kind of excuse and reasoning.
We continued to eat pizza and talked a bit more before making our leave. Yamato and the rest of the Teen Age Wolves said that they were going to band practice so I was left with Tai. Tai and I said our goodbyes and we went our separate ways.
Tai took me to the park that late afternoon and we were talking about the chat that Tai had had with Kari and the others. He told me some of the things that he and Kari were talking about; and how he was able to catch up with the others with their chat.
"I Jim studies here huh? I heard that he was the one who fetched you from the airport." He told me
"Yeah he was. But I'm a bit surprised though. You haven't met with Jim here after all these years?" I asked him and he shook his head
"Nope, not even once. In fact, I didn't even know that he was here until someone mentioned it to me. It came in as quite a shock." He said truthfully
"I see. He's usually in the hospital that the Kido's own. He must be pretty busy." I thought about it and soon came to a connection of Tai not seeing Jim around "Actually now that I think about it, Jim didn't mention Tai to me either. If he'd known that Tai was here he would have given us a call"
I looked over to Tai again and spoke "So…did they tell you anything else?" I asked
"That's just about it. I heard that Davis and Ken made it in the varsity team in Odaiba." He said with a happy smile.
"You're surprised? They've worked really hard since you left. You were like their role model in that sport. They wanted you to be proud of that." I said with a smile. "I remembered the time when they actually found out they made the team. Davis was jumping all over. He couldn't stop rejoicing and saying that the whole win was for you."
"I am proud of them. I feel bad not seeing how they made it that far, but I'm glad that they did." Said Tai then he added "But you have to admit, they had a really good coach." His smile now turned into a huge grin
"Oh they sure did. You told them to work together at all times and that soccer is a team sport." I reminded him
"Yup, just like what I always say…" before he could finish…
"There's no I in team." We both spoke in unison
"Yes, I remember that very well Tai." I told him with a smile
"So from what I've told you so far…was there any detail that I missed out?" he asked
"Hmm…let's see…." I thought about it for a moment and then I looked at him and spoke "Well, you said that you were able to talk with Meems right?"
"Yeah so?" he asked
"Well did she tell you that she and Koushiro got together about a few months ago?" I asked and I saw his expression turn from a smile into a big wide shocked face.
He looked at me wide eyed and slowly spoke "You mean…Mimi and Koushiro…our Koushiro? The one who's always with his computer when we were in elementary school? That Koushiro?" he asks me
"Yup, Koushiro Izumi, that's the one. Do you know any other Koushiro in the group?" I asked him and he just shook his head
"Then…that means that….Koushiro got a girlfriend before I did? Aw man, I can't believe it." He said and I just laughed at his reaction
"Soon enough Kari's bound to beat you to it." I teased. I know how Tai feels about Kari and boys, in fact we all do. He was always the overprotective brother we all knew and love. Sometimes though he'd go overboard.
"Oh no, that is not going to happen. And you know why? Because one: No one gets near my sister without going through me. Two: I am not allowing her to get into a relationship without proper permission. And three: I do not want her to end up with the wrong guy and get hurt." He said stating his reasons to me one by one
"I know that, but sooner or later it's bound to happen somehow you know." I told him and he knew that one way or another I had a point
"Yeah I know but I'd rather have it happen later than soon." He told me and then he asked "By the way…what happened when I was gone anyway?"
"What do you mean what happened?" I asked him confused
"Oh come on Sor you know what I'm talking about. It was totally odd. You guys were just quiet all of a sudden and then Takashi tells me nothing happened? You know that I'm not buying that." He told me seriously
"Okay, trust me Tai I don't really know what happened either. It was just…odd. They became silent all of a sudden and even I didn't know what was going on." I replied truthfully. What happened earlier confused me too.
"Is that it…well can you tell me the things you guys were doing while I was gone? Maybe I can shed some light on things if I hear the whole story." He suggested and so I agreed
"Well we were just talking and they asked me some stuff about the others so I took out a photo from my wallet and showed it to them. I talked to them about it and suddenly I find myself teary eyed and wanting to cry." I explained
"You miss the others don't you?" he asks and I simply nod. He smiles and speaks again "Don't worry, you found me now didn't you? Plus, you never know what can happen. So please carry on." He said to me and I nodded again
"Anyway, Yamato somehow saw me and handed me a handkerchief to dry my tears. Then I said thanks and he started saying things and soon I notice the guys staring at me like something just happened." I told him
Tai became silent for a while and soon he asked "He handed you the handkerchief right? I mean, you didn't ask for it or anything did you?"
"No I didn't. he just gave it to me." I replied
"Then he started saying things…what things did he say exactly?" he asked
"Well…" I told Tai the things Yamato told me leaving out the part where I blushed at his comment and all of that.
Tai was silent again and then he spoke "Typical Yamato. No wonder the others were shocked."
"What do you mean by that?" I asked confused
"It's simple really. Let's just say that Yamato isn't the type of guy who does those things. There are some things you still don't know about him…like…he's part French for example." He told me and I was in shock
"He's French?" I asked
"Only a small part of him. His grandparents are anyway, they live in France so yeah I guess he's part French in a way." He told me then he spoke "But there are a whole bunch of things that you still don't know about Yamato. Some of those things I have no authority to mention, so you'll just have to figure them out on your own."
"I see…" I replied and this got me curious
"You know, when I first came here Yamato and I rarely got along. We'd get ourselves involved in fist fights and get in trouble a lot. He was the kind of guy who would shun his feelings away and not let anyone in. It was hard for him…there were some tough things he went through and none of us could blame him." Explained Tai "Up until now there might be some things that are still unknown to us and some things he's hiding that only Takeru knows."
As he said this I remembered what I wanted to figure out between Takeru and Yamato's relationship. I turned to Tai and asked "Tai, about T.K and Yamato…they are brothers by blood aren't they?"
"Yeah…of course, they look alike you know. Is there something wrong with that?" he asked me but it looked to me like he already knew what I was going to say.
It was true the two of them looked so alike. They both had the same hair and eyes but I still couldn't help but wonder. "Well…why is it that…." Before I could finish Tai cut me off
"Let me guess…you want to know why those two don't have the same last name right?" he asked looking at me
"Yes, I found it odd when I first met Takeru and he said that they were brothers. And yet their surnames are completely different." I told him and he sighed
"So you noticed eh? That's not such a surprise. We did too when we first met T.K and he called Yamato big brother. It was way odd. I'm sorry, though I do know the answer to your question, just like what I said there are some things about Yamato's life that I have no authority of. Things that you have to find out on your own. This is just one of them, for now how they're related to each other will have to be up to you to figure out. " He explained.
"Alright I understand Tai, thank you." I told him
"Come on I better take us back to the dorm. It's getting pretty dark out here anyway." He said and I nodded.
As we made our way to the dorm thoughts started to linger in my head. Something told me that there are things about Yamato that are deeper than what I thought they'd be. It made me curious and I wanted to get to know him and somehow get through that lock that he's been hiding himself under.
If what Tai says is true then the Yamato I've met now is far from the real Yamato Ishida. And somehow I'm going to find a way to answer all these unanswered questions. Hopefully he allows me to get to know him further. "Yamato Ishida…I wonder…what kind of person you truly are deep down…"
Authors Note: Thanks for all the reviews and I apologize for the grammar errors and typo's. Please tell me what you think of this chapter. R&R Thank you guys : )