AN: So I'm back. I should have updated sooner but I've been busy. The chapter was a bit long, so I had to splice it in two. Please enjoy Part 1. Whether you review or not is up to you. Feedback is greatly appreciated though.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Digimon logo or any of the characters pertaining to the series. I only own the "original" story line, the original characters and anything else out of the ordinary. The Writer.
Chronicles of a Forsaken one
"Session 2" –Reality-
Part 1
August 28, 2004
The following day began just like any other, except it wasn't just any other day. Today was different. She knew that. She could somehow sense that as she ate her breakfast. She usually watched the news as she ate. Not today. Today was different. She knew that. She wondered what he was doing in there. She didn't really venture into his room that much. She wondered whether the upcoming medical trials would work. She wasn't too optimistic about the whole thing. Not after 03. The more she thought about what Tai said, the more it made sense to her.
'We brought this curse into the world'
She remembered his face as he said that. He was serene. He was calm and collected. He no longer experienced ups and downs like the others. She was beginning to worry about that. That could only mean that his time was running out. A loss of emotions…that scared her…a lot.
'It's ridiculous, we couldn't have done this. T.K's right. That was just Tai and his delusions'
Too bad she didn't really believe that.
She knew Tai was right.
Suddenly, she heard the intricate unlocking mechanism of a door. Not just any door. Tai's door. She sprinted out of her chair and into action. She dimmed the lights and closed the drapes. She quickly returned to her breakfast again .His door opened and out he appeared. He was fully covered from head to toe. His face wrapped in bandages, his hands covered in gloves. Not a single piece of skin was showing. His eyes were hidden behind his large Aviator sunglasses. He walked towards Kari. She said nothing, just stared at him, in total disbelief. He opened the refrigerator, removed a bottle of juice and began to drink it.
"Tai…" she whispered, her voice wavering.
He said nothing. He didn't really speak unless it was absolutely necessary.
"You can't be awake, Tai" she said "This is not good for you. You need your rest, please go back to sleep, please"
"I have to eat" he said, with a whisper.
"Here, take my plate" she said "Just please, don't do this to yourself"
He stared at her as she began to sob.
"Please" she whispered, between sobs "Please"
"It's ok" he said, again whispering. He went to her and embraced her. She felt cold. It wasn't her though. He knew that. It was him, he could no longer enjoy her warm embrace. He could no longer feel her touch. He was cold. He knew that.
"Kari" he whispered in her ear.
"What?" she said softly.
"It's ok…I'm going to be alright. You'll see" he said.
'You don't really believe that'
"I need you to do something for me" he said, still whispering
"What?"
"I need you to go out and forget about me, just for a few hours, clear your head"
"I can't"
"Please" he said.
She sighed.
"T.K will be here soon" he said "I feel tired. I will go back to my room and rest"
He grabbed her bowl and its spoon.
"I'm taking your food too, is that ok?" he asked
She nodded.
He went back to his room, cereal in hand. She stood there, wiping her tears. She re-opened the drapes and turned the lights up again. She sat at the table where she had been eating her breakfast. All she could do was wait. She didn't want to wait. She thought about the others. She never really discussed anything like this with them, she had to be strong, that was Tai's wish. She had to be strong…for them…for T.K…for her parents…for Tai.
He was strolling down the street, heading for her apartment. He had been thinking about what he had said yesterday. He had mixed emotions about the whole incident. He wasn't supposed to speak to her like that. He knew that. He reached her building and pressed the buzzer.
She heard the buzzer ring with its incredibly annoying tone. She hesitated at first, but eventually, she got up to the intercom and pressed the button, allowing him to come up. She walked back to the refrigerator and served herself a glass of orange juice. She sat down on the couch and took a sip. She heard a knock on the door, a distinctive pattern that identified T.K. She got up and opened the door, slowly…
"Hey" he said dimly
"Hi" she replied back in the same tone.
She had been crying. He knew that.
"Are you ok?" he asked.
"He was awake, T.K" she answered
"What's wrong with that?"
"It was a shock to see him like that, in bandages"
"He needs those, you know that"
She nodded.
"Come on, let's go do something" she said
"Like what?" he said as he opened the can.
"Anything, I want to go clear my head, have some fun"
"What about Tai?"
"Tai's fine, he told me so himself, he said he was gonna get some practice in"
"He's really taken a shine to my guitar. Is he ever gonna give it back?" said T.K
"Maybe you should ask him later" she replied as she put on her shoes. T.K was sprawled on the couch.
"What do you mean?"
"He wants to talks to us later"
"You and me?" asked T.K
"Relax T.K, Tai is totally O.K. with us, you know that, he wants to talk with Matt too."
T.K went to the refrigerator, and poured himself some juice.
"I wonder why?"
"I don't know why, T.K, but we're going to find out, he wants us there too"
Kari, all ready to go, stood up.
T.K went towards the kitchen sink, finished his juice and rinsed out the glass. He left it there and grabbed his hat from the couch. The two went out hand in hand, and as Kari was closing up the place, she heard the distinctive sound of a blues guitar ring out through the apartment…
Later on in the day…
He strolled through the park, swimming in a sea of thoughts, he stared at the crowds of children and young adults alike. They were all here to see the concert. A concert with the profits going towards JCS research,
'This is going to work. It has to work'
"Ladies and gentleman,…" announced the stage hand "Thank you for your patience…I present you with…Wasabi!!"
As if obeying his commands, the band began to play their mellowy, fuzzy style of rock. He began to lose himself in the music, completely unaware of those around him, those around him completely unaware that local rock star Matt Ishida was amongst them. He became aware of the time; soon he'd have to head for the tennis arena. He wasn't about to miss this match, no; he promised he'd be there. He entertained the notion of climbing onto that stage and playing with the band. He couldn't though. If he did such a thing, he'd never get off that stage. Not in time for the match. Ever since he found out about Tai, he hadn't been able to play nor write any new songs. He was forced to retire from his ongoing tour. He explained his situation to his band members; that had been the end of it. The Teenage Wolves were unofficially separated. He didn't even bother announcing it, he didn't care anymore. His former band members began to look for a new singer, a new bass player. He didn't stop them. He didn't want to. To him, that part of his life was over.
"Hello…Mr. Ishida"
He quickly turned around to see a young man, about his age, dressed in causal clothing, standing beside him. He wore a white Panama hat, a white short sleeved shirt, open, with a light brown T-shirt underneath; he had on khaki cargo pants, and brown Converse All-Stars. He looked as if he just stepped off a beach. Matt took all this in, before he snapped back to reality.
"Do I know you?" he asked cautiously.
"We have a mutual friend" the man reassured him; his voice, calm and serene.
"We do?"
"Taichi always spoke of you in such high regard; I thought I'd try to meet you before I went back" he stated once again.
"You know Tai?"
"I knew Tai…a long time ago…"
"Why are you here?"
"Kari gave me a call, she said Tai had requested to see me, told me the whole story"
"So you know…" Matt said, not really questioning him, it was more of a blank statement.
"Yes" he said; his tone of voice, a now stern one.
"As soon as she finished, I hopped on the first plane available" the man continued "I knew I had to be here. I should be here. This will be hard…on all of us…"
Matt nodded, not really thinking about anything.
"I'm sorry…I barely realized that…I haven't introduce myself. My name is John Marshall"
"Mr. Marshall, I remember vaguely, Taichi speaking about you. Of course that was a long time ago, I haven't spoken to Tai for a while now, it's been 2 months since I last saw him"
"I spoke to Tai today"
"You spoke to him, he was awake?" Matt asked, with a desire to know.
"Yes"
"What did he say?"
"We spoke of the past, when life was grand"
"I see" said Matt, nodding.
"He spoke of you…he told me I should try to find you…to talk to you. He's worried about you"
"He's worried about me?"
"He heard about what happened to your band. He wants to talk with you"
"I'm supposed to see him tonight. I don't know why, but I'm feeling very anxious about the whole thing" stated Matt "By the way, how did you find me?"
"I have a knack for finding people. My father is a private investigator. He taught me the ropes very well" replied Marshall.
"But how did you know I'd be here? I didn't tell anyone" said Matt.
"Does it really matter, Matt?"
"I guess not…"
"I know why you're here, Mr. Ishida" stated Marshall, out of the blue.
"Really?" asked a skeptical Matt.
"From what Tai has told me, I can easily deduce that you are a sane, responsible man. That your view of the world is very realistic, and while your friends expend their energy thinking idealistic thoughts, you have accepted reality"
"What is reality?" asked Matt
Marshall lowered his voice, nearly whispering, despite the fact that a concert was blasting at full power. Matt listened intently as he spoke,
"That no matter what you tell yourself, to convince yourself of an alternate future, you know what's going to happen. You know. But you won't show it. You won't. You can't. Because of them. Because of Kari, because of T.K. You'll have to be strong. When they break, they'll have to lean on you"
"We lose everything we have, Mr. Ishida" Marshall added.
"What do you know about loss?" spat Matt at him.
"Plenty, I'm afraid. I lost my sister to the same beast that will consume our friend" replied Marshall serenely.
Matt's expression changed, drastically. He'd realized he knew nothing about Marshall. He couldn't question him like that. It was foolish and immature, but at the same time, it felt justified. Marshall had no right to lecture him. Deep inside him though, he felt Marshall was trying to help him, this in turn made him feel bad.
"I'm sorry" said Matt
"That's OK" said Marshall "I know you are"
They stay silent, despite the fact that the concert was still going, he couldn't hear it.
"What if I can't?" asked Matt "What if I fail?"
"Then you fail" replied Marshall
"Just like that?" asked Matt
"Just like that" said Marshall
"Does Tai know about your sister?" asked Matt
"Does it matter?"
"No, it doesn't"
"We are all soldiers…trapped in the battle that is life. We have to learn to accept life as it comes, to move on. It will not be easy, but it will be done, in time. Taichi was the last of the friends that I had in my past life, a life that I'll have to learn to forget. But I had to come. To pay tribute to an old soldier, and a dear friend. Good bye for now, Mr. Ishida" said Marshall as he began to walk away.
"Is there any way I can reach you, John?" asked Matt
"No, there isn't" said Marshall as he disappeared into the crowd leaving Matt alone, figuratively speaking.
He looked at his watch. It was getting late. He'd have to leave soon, if he wanted to catch Sora's match. He began to walk towards the street, leaving the masses that occupied the park where the concert was being held. As he walked he thought
'Marshall's right. I have to be strong, for them. I just hope I can. I can't fail; I don't have the luxury of failure, not this time…'
As he arrived at the tennis courts, he saw exactly what he expected to see. The crowds were lining up at the ticket windows, some, apparently expecting to find tickets at this late an hour, no, he'd been smart. He'd purchased his own ticket a few days back, it seems that the finals of this tournament had brought out the best in people. Why not? Everyone these days seemed to be fighting the good fight. The fatalities that JCS was causing world-wide had moved the entire medical community into action. Millions of dollars had been invested in finding a vaccine, or a cure, with no success. Hundreds of musicians around the world played sold-out concerts and donated their profits towards the cause. All with no success. The trials of 2003 and its horrendous results had more than convinced the community that the fight wasn't over yet. The mutations of the disease made it difficult to create a cure. A vaccine was impossible to create since there were absolutely no survivors. He finally got inside after waiting in line for 15 minutes; he hardly felt the time pass. He was already late, he was supposed to meet with the others a half an hour ago, but his encounter with Marshall had left him startled. For the first time in this entire ordeal he was beginning to feel scared. Marshall was right. He turned a corner and saw T.K and Kari standing in the hallway waiting for him. The others were nowhere to be seen. Kari spotted him, and amongst the crowds, she waved at him. He caught it and headed their way.
"You're finally here, Matt" said T.K
"Didn't think you were going to make it" said Kari
"I got held up" he said
"Traffic?" asked Kari
"No, something else, it's not important" he replied
"Where are the others?" he asked, in an effort to change the conversation.
Kari caught this and answered,
"Buying refreshments, Matt"
"Sora's been calling me for the last half hour. She wants to talk" said T.K and continued, "She says your phone's turned off and that she can't reach you"
"What? That's not right" he answered and took out his phone, it was on, and fully charged.
"So…where did you go this morning?" asked T.K
"The concert" said Matt "You guys were supposed to meet me there, why didn't you show up?"
He looked at the two, who in turned, exchanged glances.
"I…Don't…you know what? Guys, don't tell me…I don't…I don't want to know" he said
"Matt!! It wasn't like that" said Kari
"Matt!!" someone said
He turned around to see Davis, Yolei and Ken carrying a ton of snacks and headed in their direction.
"Hey guys, don't you think that you're overdoing a bit?" said Matt
"Of course not, we need all these" said Davis
"Ummm…ok, so all we're really doing now is waiting for Izzy" said Matt
"Actually, I'm right here" said Izzy, standing behind Matt.
"Izzy, where you been?" said Davis
"Bathroom" he responded
"Guys, can we just go to our seats already?" asked Ken
Matt smiled and nodded, they followed Kari as she knew where the seats were. They went towards the inside of the stadium towards their seats. As they reached their seats, Matt noticed there was a man seated right beside them.
"Mr. Ishida, it seems we meet again"
"Are you stalking me, John?" he asked as the others took their respective seats, leaving Matt to seat next to John.
"I was here first, so technically you're stalking me" he said as he smiled
"Right" said Matt
"John, I haven't seen you in ages, how've you been?" said Kari who was sitting beside T.K, who was sitting besides Matt.
"I've been around, Kari"
"I didn't even know you were back in town"
"Yeah, I came back for a while, I spoke with your brother today" he said
"Oh" she said "So you know?"
"Yeah, but…I'm not too worried" he replied
She nodded her head, not really knowing what to say.
"Excuse me guys" said Matt
"Hey, where are you going now?" asked T.K
"Gotta call Sora, remember?"
"Oh yeah"
"Be right back" he said
"Take your time, Mr. Ishida" said John as he continued to talk with Kari and T.K
He left the group, went down the steps and into the hallway from before. He found an empty spot and took out his phone. Dialed the number. Waited for a response. No answer. He dialed again, this time, a feminine voice answered. It was Sora.
"Sora"
"Matt!! I've been calling you all morning, why haven't you answered your phone?"
"I think there's something wrong with my phone, I've had it on all morning, you should have been able to reach me"
"It doesn't matter now" she said
"So…what's up, babe?"
"I need some words of encouragement, Matt"
"What can I say? You've got this beat, um…hands down-"
"-No, Matt, I'm…scared…"
"Scared of her?"
"What Kari told me last night" she replied
"Ohh" said Matt and continued, "I see"
"What if…I don't know…what if it's something bad?"
"Sora, I-"
"-I didn't sleep last night"
"Sora, I think you're over thinking this" replied Matt, "I'm sure it's not bad"
"That's what my dad said"
"I didn't know your dad was back in town"
"Yeah, he is, he told me the same thing, that I was over thinking it and whatever Tai had to tell us was a good thing. I didn't believe it though"
"So, your mom and your dad?" asked Matt, trying to change the subject.
"My mom says it's going to be hard, but things will work out, eventually"
"I'm glad" said Matt
"So am I, my dad's working locally now, so yeah, things are OK"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure" she replied
"Listen, Sora, you can't be thinking about this now, whatever happens later on, you have to focus on your match, you have to beat her, for Tai"
"You're right, I can't worry about this, whatever happens…happens, right?"
"Yeah, I'll let you go now, OK?" said Matt
"OK"
"Bye, love"
"Bye" she said and hung up.
He placed the phone back on its clip and went back to his seat. He found them in the midst of an argument.
"Dude, I don't know where you've been, but there's no way Sora's going to lose" said T.K
"I'm just saying" said John, "it could go either way"
"Sora is the regional champion. She has the advantage" said Ken
"Matt, what do you think?" said Kari
"John's right. It could go either way, but Ken also has a point. My money's on Sora"
"Care to put that in literal terms?" said John slyly.
"You mean a bet?"
"Yeah, why not?" asked John
"I don't know about this, Matt, what if Sora finds out about this?" asked Yolei
"Put me down for 2500 yen" said Davis as he took out his cash, "oh, on Sora"
"Alright" said John "what about you, Ken?"
"What about me?"
"You said it yourself; the odds are in Sora's favor. You know what they say, a fool and his money are soon departed"
"They do say that" said Ken
"Ken!!" said Yolei
"Relax Yolei, this isn't a wager, it's an investment on Sora. We know she's going to win" he replied
"I'm in" added Ken
"Same wager?" asked John
"Same wager" he replied
"I don't understand" said Izzy, out of nowhere "why are you so sure Sora's gonna lose?"
"I didn't say that"
"Then why wager against her?"
"Gambler's feeling is all" he answered
"So what would happen if we all wagered in her favor?" Izzy asked
"Yeah" chimed in Davis, "you got enough cash to cover all of us?"
"I figure it's comes out to about 18,000 yen, yeah" answered John
"Hmph, I'm gonna call your bluff, write me down" said Izzy
"Izzy's right, we gotta support Sora, put me down too" said T.K
"Me too" said Kari
"I guess if you're all doing it, I might as well" said Yolei
"It's just like Ken said" said Davis "it's an, what'd you call it?"
"An investment, Davis" replied Ken
"Yeah, an investment, Sora's gonna win for sure"
"If you guys say so, I'm in" said Yolei
"Alright, well that only leaves you, Matt" said John
"I'll do you one better, I'll give you 2-to-1 odds" said Matt, "provided you give us the same"
"You believe that strongly in your girlfriend?" asked John quickly
"Never let me down before" answered Matt smugly
John nodded, as if he understood what Matt meant.
"There's a first time for everything" he said, still nodding
"I think John's regretting the bet he just made" said Davis as the others laughed
John laughed as well, his smile lasting just a little longer than the norm.
'Like shooting fish in a barrel'
The players walked out to their respective courts. Sora, dressed in her white and red tennis attire, was a stunning beauty and the crowd favorite, as she waved to the crowd, their roaring only increased. Rebecca Chambers, her opponent, was dressed in her white and blue tennis attire as well, she stared at the crowd behind her large aviator sunglasses. Studying the crowd. Looking for someone…
HSAS
establishing connection…
connection established…
subject?
subject acquired…
excellent
are we on schedule?
yes
Crush her…
acknowledged
connection terminated…
AN: There it is, Part 1. Part 2 will be available soon, let me polish it up and post it for you. Thank you for taking the time to read it. Any comments, reviews, or suggestions can be left in the review section, feel free to email me. The Writer.