Session 10 -A Boxing Champion?-

"What can I get for you this evening?" the waiter asked.

They stared at him, then back at the menu, then back at him.

"We're not quite ready yet" said Sora

"Can I get you something to drink then?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'll have some tea" said Izzy

"I'll have a Coke" said Matt

"Ooh, me too" said Davis

Ken nodded, added,

"I'll take chocolate, if you've got it"

"Of course, sir"

At that moment, the doors opened. A figured came through the door, a man dressed in a white shirt, black pants, jet black hair and hetero-chromatic eyes.

Tai.

Wherever he had gone, he was now back.

After the scene in the parking lot, he had given them explicit instructions to meet him here, in part to celebrate Davis and Ken's victory, and to discuss what they had just witnessed. He didn't mean for them to see him like that.

They still didn't know what he did for a living, but now they had a few ideas.

Kari looked around the restaurant, moments before Tai arrived. It was a nice, quaint little place. Traditional, and yet, a modern touch permeated the decorum.

Tai called this place the End of the Line.

That wasn't the name of the restaurant, he simply said it was a state of mind. None of them understood what he meant, he didn't give them a chance to ask.

She only had a glimpse of who her brother was, and she was so afraid to ask. She had to trust him, she had to believe he would tell her everything...eventually...

Kari gave a Sora a quick glance.

She was also worried, scared, concerned, and anything else Kari could think of. Next to Kari, Sora had been Tai's closest friend.

Kari dispelled all bad thoughts as she saw her brother come in, she was relieved he was alright, she was also genuinely happy to see him.

As he saw them once again, he smiled, and headed straight for them.

T.K smiled at him, and then got up, and put his right hand in his pocket.

Walked towards Tai.

A smile on his face, as Kari saw him take out a strange metallic object.

"Hello T.K, how are-" asked Tai, but T.K got to him before he could finish.

T.K swung high, hard and fast. He used both the weight and the momentum of his body to generate an impressive amount of force.

The end result was Tai on the floor, with blood all over his white shirt.

The waiter that had just left a while back, returned, startled, as was everyone at the tables nearby, with some people standing up to leave. No one wanted any trouble.

"Do you need any help, Tai?" he asked.

"Nah, Toshi, I"m all good" he replied as he stood up, slowly, then said, "hey, did they order?"

"They're a bit...reluctant"

"Well, get us the works then, put that on my tab, and may I have the key so I can go get changed?"

"Sure" he said, unfazed by what had just happened.

Taichi took the keys from him and left the room.

Toshi worked crowd control and soon got most of his patrons to return. The mood had relaxed, except for T.K, who remained standing.

Taichi hadn't cared. Didn't even addressed him. He just got up, and left. How could someone react like that? Toshi confirmed the order that Tai had placed and left for the kitchen. He returned with the drinks, and a bowl of ice cream that no one had ordered.

Tai returned, a fresh dress shirt, completely identical to the last one he had been wearing.

"Sora, do you have my jacket?" he asked, nonchalantly.

"Umm, yeah" she said, as she took the garment piece and returned it to its rightful owner.

He sat down with T.K next to him, and Kari to his right, unintentionally separating them.

"Cool, Toshi brought me the usual"

"You order ice cream first?" asked T.K who broke the silence that had struck the group as they watched Tai eat his mountain of ice cream, chocolate and strawberry with circus animal cookies mixed in.

"Not usually, just after someone sucker punches me for no freaking reason"

"You nearly slit my throat!"

"Aw come on, man, we both knew I wasn't gonna do it, it was a threat, sure, but an empty one"

"You what?!" the rest of the group yelled in unison.

Tai smiled

'They still do that'

Taichi smiled uneasily, took a big spoonful of ice cream, and said, mouth full

"I may have, kinda, nearly, accidentally, almost killed T.K, but he's ok now" he said, as he took another spoonful of ice cream.

Matt stood up, fist clenched.

Tai reacted, stood up just as fast, ready to respond,

"Sure you want to try your luck right now, Matt?"

"I wouldn't talk" said Toshi, as he brought the rest of the food "the bare knuckle boxing champion of his league gets knocked down by a freaking high schooler"

"You saw that?" asked Tai

"Yeah" he said, slowly smiling, "it was freaking glorious, kid, freaking glorious"

"Dude, he totally caught me off guard"

"Too bad the guys will never believe me"

He finished serving the food, explained the delicacies before them, and he departed.

Tai sat down, finished the ice cream as Matt still stood, waiting.

"Can you sit down, Matt, you're making everyone uncomfortable, besides, I remember how our last fight went" said Tai.

"We didn't' know you were a boxing champion" said Izzy

"Or that you knew how to box" said Kari, smiling.

"No one is fighting anyone, haven't we had enough violence for one night?" said Sora, turned to look to Matt, "Matt?"

"Yeah, you're right" he said, as he sat next to her, squeezing her hand gently in the process.

They ate in peace, as Tai sent a few messages on his strange device, a phone unlike anything they had ever seen.

"So it's gonna be like that, then?" he asked out loud, to no one in particular.

The rest of the group stared at each other, unsure of what to do. Izzy spoke up,

"Tai, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure, ask away"

"What do you do, exactly, and where did you learn to fight like that?"

The big question, the one everyone wanted to ask, but had been hesitant till now.

"Is this what everyone wants to know?" he asked with a smile.

They nodded, as Tai attempted to open a bottle of wine, ice cream and wine, a classic staple of his new diet.

"I'm a private contractor, a security consultant, I've got a contract with Faraday Industries right now, it's not a permanent gig, but it's pretty stable, I like the hours, and...they let me use explosives"

They remained silent.

"That last part is a joke, guys, lighten up" he said as he finally got the bottle opened.

"So, what is that, exactly?" asked Ken

"What's what?" replied Tai

"A security consultant?" asked Yolei, "what do they do?"

"A little bit of everything" replied Tai, "right now I'm working with them, we're trying to track someone down"

"That's it?" asked Matt, skeptically.

"I do paperwork from time to time, I deliver sensitive information, and I assist in their logistics department, not to mention, work my own leads" replied Tai.

"And you understand all that?" asked Izzy in disbelief

Tai smiled, nodded,

"Yeah, I"m not THAT dumb anymore" he said, smiling as he now drank some wine.

"But, you understand your job, you like what you do?" asked Sora.

"Of course" he replied, while he motioned for Toshi.

He came, moments later, asked,

"Yeah?"

"More ice cream"

Toshi looked at him, nodded, and left.

"So...where did you learn to fight?" asked Davis

"Here and there, I guess, I don't remember taking a class, or training for it, but I must have..."

"So, you're a boxing champion?" asked Matt, who became more interested in the conversation.

"Nah, that's just Toshi and everyone else, I haven't lost a fight, but I'm no champion"

"You fight regularly?" asked Davis

"Every month, they have a competition, I've won twice, no one's done it twice" said Tai, "doesn't mean I'm a champion"

"Who do you fight?" asked Sora

"I work with a couple of fellas that partake in the sport, big American guys, who hate to lose" he said, smiling to Kari, who was not at all pleased to hear that her brother was boxing in an underground league.

"So, what do you guys think?" he says as he continues to eat.

Silence. They said nothing, but Tai could read their faces. Some of them were okay with it, some of them disapproved. Tai couldn't care less, he wasn't there to get their approval, he was there to support Davis.

"Has it ever gotten dangerous?" asked Yolei, breaking the silence.

He smirks at her, making eye contact, the disparity of his eyes was too much for her, and she looked away.

"Well" he said, "yeah"...

"How" asked Ken.

"The other day, other night, we were talking to this chinese gangster who was trying to stiff us, he's up to no good" he said laughing wildly, "but he's cool, he's small potatoes, but, yeah, he's dangerous"

"Nice story, Tai" said Matt, smiling, "almost had me there"

"If you say so, buddy" he replied.

The night went on, as Tai told them the truth, a truth he knew they wouldn't believe. To them, he was simply an accountant. Someone who worked in private affairs.

One by one, they began to depart. Until it was just five of them, two couples and Tai.

The odd man out. Not that he minded one bit. It was a fascinating night for him, to observe them in their new social arrangement.

"So you...really did that?" asks T.K to Matt

"Yeah, I mean, it's wild, but that's show business, you know?"

Tai smiled, as he saw his friends talking like old times, despite all the alcohol he had consumed, he was in no way, shape or form, inebriated.

He smiled, lowered his head, and began to tap on the table, an imaginary song that no one else could hear, suddenly, he felt it, eyes on him.

Kari and T.K were listening to Matt's story about his days as a rock star, but Sora's attention was on him.

Watching him, taking him in.

She was an enigma. Once she had been his best friend, his confidant, and the source of his greatest joy. Greatest pain. All rolled up in one. She was something. Still was..

He lifted his head up, eyes closed, song still playing, getting to the climax.

"Tai?"

He didn't hear her. Still lost in thought.

"Tai?"

"Yeah?"

She smiled,

"You alright?" she said, almost laughing.

"Yeah" he said, in a serious manner, he opened his eyes. Stared at her. She returned his gaze. Her smile disappeared.

Now there was nothing. She was simply someone else. Someone who had been important in another life.

"Matt?" he said, breaking their game.

Now the table was silent.

"Yeah, Tai?"

"Let's talk outside"

Matt turned to look at the others, his stare lingered when he turned to look at Sora. Was he looking for a sign of approval, a signal devised by the two of them, what was it?
Tai wondered. He watched them, in the few seconds that it took Matt to answer.

"Yeah" he said with a smile, as he followed Tai who had already gotten up and was heading for the door. He looked back at Sora.

'Be careful'

That's what Sora was trying to say to Matt, but of course, Tai had already figured that out.

The doors to the restaurant closed behind both of them, off in the distance, the lights of Odaiba, dispersed by the odd weather around this time of year.

Matt was jumpy, a bit paranoid.

He had every reason to be, if his friend had been unpredictable before, there was no way to read him now.

"What's up, Tai?"

"That's what I want to know, Matt" he said as he turned around to face him.

Tai was bigger, he had more presence, and Matt suspected it helped in his day to day operations. Whatever those were.

"What are you talking about, Tai?" he asked, smiling

"Sora tells me you're not doing too well, your job's stressful and it's not enough"

Matt didn't say anything, stopped smiling.

He shook his head,

"You got it all wrong, pal, I'm doing alright"

Tai shooked his head,

"I'm not buying it, and I appreciate it if you didn't treat me like a fool, Matt, or are you calling Sora a liar"

"I'm not doing anything, Tai"

"So that's how it is" said Tai, smiling

Matt stood beside him, so as to not face him.

"Sora didn't tell you anything, I don't know what you heard, but it didn't come from her, she wouldn't betray our trust" he said sternly.

"Hope you're right about that"

"Are you trying to say you don't trust Sora?" asked Matt, almost whispering.

"I really don't..." replied Tai, "but that's besides the point"

Tai's answer had taken him aback.

Tai not trusting Sora. To Matt, that was a shocker and he stared at him, at the man he had become. A former shadow of his best friend. He looked away, as the conversation had taken a turn. Tai not trusting Sora, he never thought he'd hear those words.

Now here they stood. Two former best friends. A bright star in the field of rock and roll who had burnt out when the pressure had gotten to him. In Tai's case, he was never given the chance to shine, he was gone before they even realized what they had lost. Tai's phone began to vibrate as he picked up, gestured to Matt that he needed to take the call.

Matt nodded, as Tai walked a few feet for privacy.

A feeling of dread overcame Matt as he watched Tai talk on the phone from a distance. Things were worse than he could have imagined. Matt was still lost in his thoughts when Tai returned from his call

"Everything ok, Matt?" he asked with a smile on his face.

Matt nodded,

"Yeah I'm good, I'm good, what do you want, Tai?"

"I want the truth"

"You don't trust Sora...do you trust anyone?" he said out of the blue...

Tai's smile disappeared. He sighed, got closer as he put his arm around his neck, pulled him in close.

"You know I don't, Matt, why are you asking questions to which you already know the answers?"

Matt ignored his cryptic remarks. It was Tai's way of avoiding the hard questions.

"The truth is..." Matt began, "Things are not as great as I'd like them to be, but I can't complain, I've got my family, my friends, Sora, and my health"

"You're a rich man, Mr. Ishida" he said, as they both laughed, with Tai letting him go.

There was silence, it was brief, but it was a clear indicator of the situation between them.

"How'd you like to come work for me, well, for us?"

"For you? Doing what, working with chinese gangsters, doing paperwork, dealing with shady cops, I've got to say Tai, you may have the others convinced with your story, but I'm not buying it"

"All the more reason you should see it for yourself, you wouldn't be working for me, or even with me, it's a private enterprise, you see, we need drivers, people to chauffeur important personnel around, that's all"

"Like a limo thing?"

"Slightly better salary, no stupid uniform, and you'd receive other perks"

"I don't know Tai"

"Come on, man, we both know you need it, Sora may not have said anything, but I know you need it Matt, for once in your life, be reasonable, think about all the things you could do with the extra cash, you could take her out on a real date, with fancy french waiters and all that other crap"

"Fancy french waiters?"

"Really, that's all you got from that?" Tai said, laughing, "you really don't believe that's what I do for a living?"

"You were doing so well until you threw in the part with the chinese gangster"

"That really happened" Tai retorted

Matt smiled, as things seemed to lighten up.

"That is my job, I'm a consultant" said Tai, as he grabbed the lapels of his jacket and pulled them forward in silly effort to appear important.

"I don't know, Tai"

"Matt, you need this, so just shut up, take the job, take the money, and help yourself out"

Matt said nothing to this. There was something Tai wasn't telling him, he was holding out, and Matt knew it.

"All I've got to do is drive?"

"Yeah, that's all you got to do, it's a great gig, those guys owe me, and I owe you, everybody wins"

Matt stayed silent. Tai saw that he was thinking about it.

Matt sighed,

"I'll think about it" he said

"Alright" said Tai, "look, talk to your girl, get her take on it and give me a ring, but do it quickly, cause this is a limited time offer" he said smiling.

"My girl, she ain't my girl, Tai, I didn't win her or steal her or anything, she made her choice"

Tai cleared his throat, reached into his pocket, pulled out a stuffed manila envelope.

"Here"

"What's this?"

"Just take it, call it a belated apology"

"What is it?" asked Matt, as he opened the envelope. and saw the money.

"Its money, it's the best gift to get someone on a short notice" he said, smiling, big old goofy smile.

Matt nodded,

"I can't take this, how much is it?" a look of worry. A gulp.

"It's about 100, 150 thousand yen" replied Tai, "I don't usually deal with Yen, but it's no big deal"

"Whoa, no, Tai, NO, there is no way I'm taking this money" said Matt angry

"Not even if I put a gun to your head?" asked Tai, his smile gone, his arms crossed.

Matt was silent. No longer angry, but a little hesitant.

Could Tai actually do something like that? Would he?

Tai nodded. A silent agreement.

"Where did you-"

"It's my money, it's not stolen, and I've got a lot more where that came from" Tai said, interrupting.

"You're really gonna put a gun to my head if I say no?"

"Well, I don't want to" said Tai smiling, "but I will, if I have to"

"Wonder what else you've done cause you have to"

"You've got no idea, pal" he said, still smiling.

Again, more silence. It seems that they still understood each other, even without speaking.

"Hey man..." Matt trailed off, as he saw the others come out of the restaurant.

"What?" Tai said, softly, almost whispering.

"Why, dude?"

"No reason, consider it an apology, for not being there, for being an ass, take your pick"

"You've got to work on what you told me" said Matt

"What did he tell you?" asked Sora as they finally reached them.

"Something dirty, I"ll tell you later" he said as he smiled, and gave her a peck on the cheek. Strange of Matt to say something like that to Sora, but she paid no attention to it. Still, something was wrong.

"Toshi said they were closing, something about how we didn't' have to go home, but we couldn't stay there" said Kari.

"And the bill?" inquired Matt

"Oh, Toshi said something about Tai taking care of it" replied T.K

"Wow, Tai that place-"

"It's already taken care of, no worries, mate" said Tai as he winked at Matt.

"Are you sure, Tai, we can help you out, I mean-" said Sora

"I'm sure, it's no big deal, and we didn't even eat that much" said Tai

"Speak for yourself, Davis ate enough to fill up a truck" said Kari, as they all laughed.

They went their separate ways, with Matt, Sora and T.K in one car, and Tai and Kari on the motorcycle. The ride was quick, but Tai could feel as Kari hugged him tighter, she was enjoying the ride. As they parked inside, she got off the bike and took out her phone.

Ran inside. Didn't even realize she had left Tai all alone.

'Off to text T.K, that's young love if I ever saw it' thought Tai, smiling.

He really had no problem with it.

He grabbed the helmet, and went after her.

Matt and Sora drove through the streets of Odaiba in complete silence. She was so eager to ask him what Tai had told him. Why they had spent all that time outside in the cold. Instead, she held her tongue. Matt had been distant with her ever since they all found out Tai had returned. When he got to her place, he pulled in the parking structure instead of dropping her off at the door. He found an empty spot and parked there. Turned off the car. He turned to look at her. Even in the darkness, she was extremely beautiful. Her glowing red orbs stared at him, hoping, waiting for him to come out of his shell. She looked at him in the light, his ice blue eyes, and expertly combed hair. His shirt peeking out his jacket. He was a bundle of uncertainty. Whatever Tai had told him had certainly upset him, a fact she could clearly see on his face. She couldn't wait anymore.

"Matt, look at me" she told him

He looked at her, looked away.

She looked away, not wanting to show him the sadness in her face.

"What's wrong" a near whispered from Sora.

"Nothing is wrong" answered Matt, "Tai wanted to know about us" he said dryly, trying to show no emotion.

"Us?"

"At least I think he did, he told me about a job opportunity, asked me if I was interested"

"What did you say?"

"I said I'd think about it", he then added, "Sora, Tai's dangerous"

"What?" she said smiling, but it was no joke to him.

"He gave me this" he said, as he took out the manila envelope.

"What's this?"

"It's cash, he says it's about 100, 150 thousand yen"

"What, why?" she asked, skeptical

"He wasn't clear, but, Sora, he's dangerous"

"Cause of the parking lot thing, come on, Matt, you know he's not dangerous"

"You weren't there"

"I absolutely was there, I saw the whole thing, just like you did" she said, getting riled up.

"Did you?" he asked, his voice a little louder than he'd like.

She said nothing, looked away. The shadows were playing with their eyes.
A light was flickering in the garage, and every time the light went off, he lost sight of her.

"Cause what I saw, I saw a man who enjoyed himself"

"He enjoyed himself?" she asked, already lost in what Matt was trying to say.

"He took those guys down with no hesitation, no remorse, it was cold, mechanical, and completely calculated"

She said nothing.

"Does that sound like Tai to you?" he asked.

She sighed, with her head, down,

"No, but that's just the thing, Matt" she replied, "that's not the Tai we used to know, this guy is different, he's...older, mature"

Mat was about to say something, but closed his mouth, she wasn't done and he knew it.

"It was bound to happen at some point, why are we so surprised that it's happening right now?"

"Sora, are you listening to me?" he asked, with the lights flickering in the background.

She nodded, smiled weakly.

"Look, there were elements of Tai's story that were..." he said, trailing off...

"What? It's alright to say you didn't believe him, Matt, I won't disagree with you, I know this whole thing is stressful, believe me, but we'll get by, and he only wants the best for us"

"You really think so?" he asked.

"Yeah" said, smiled, and leaned in closer for a kiss. He kissed her back, and momentarily forgot about his worries.

"So...you really think he's mature now?" he asked.

"Only a little" she said smiling

"Well, what about the gangster thing?"

"It sounds a little ridiculous, even for Tai, besides, you know what they say, truth is stranger than fiction"

"You believe it?"

She shrugged her shoulders. It wasn't important.

She got out of the car and he followed suit. They started walking towards the lobby doors.

"So..."

"So..." he repeated, unsure of what she meant.

"The job?"

"Oh, the job, well...how hard can it be?" he said

"Call him, tell him you're in, bet he'll love that" she said, a big smile on her face as she saw him ease up.

Whatever was bugging him was gone for the moment, yet she still felt uneasy.

He picked up his phone. Looked up Tai and pressed the call button.

It rang twice, before someone answered.

"Tai?"

"Who's this?"

"It's Matt"

"Didn't recognize you there, buddy, what's up, you in some sort of trouble?"

"Nah, nah, about the job..."

"Yeah?"

"I'll take it"

Tai said nothing, sucked on his teeth as loudly as he could over the phone.

"Are you sure?"

"Uh, yeah, pretty sure"

"You don't sound sure, mate, Sora, are you there?"

Sora smiled as she could hear the whole conversation and Matt passed the phone over to his girlfriend.

"Hi, Tai"

"I want you to take a good look at your man, tell me, what's wrong with him?" he asked, talking with his mouth full.

She smiled, said,

"There's nothing wrong with him, Tai, what did you tell him earlier today?"

Tai swallowed his food, said,

"I had an argument with him about you, I said you looked fat, naturally he took offense to that, things like that" he said, a big goofy smile on his face, not that anyone could see.

She smiled, replied,

"Liar"

"Look, tell him I'll call him tomorrow to talk about the details..."

"When do I start?" asked Matt out loud...

"When does he start?" she asked

"Tomorrow" he said, "bright and early, so tell him to get some sleep, he's gonna need it"

"Hey, Tai?"

"Yeah?" he said, matching her soft tone of voice

"Are you eating right now?"

"Yeah, I'm hungry"

"Is there ever a time you're NOT eating?" she said, giggling...

"Nope" he said, "Good night, Sora"

She gave the phone back to Matt.

"Tai?"

"Yeah?"

"Good night" he said, with some hesitation.

"I will work on it, ok, but some wounds take longer to heal, hope you understand, see ya tomorrow"

"Yeah" said Matt.

Hung up.

They were standing in front of the lobby doors, and the night was getting colder. Matt turned around, when Sora stopped him, grabbing him by the hand.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just... come up stairs"

He smiled. Nodded.

She led the way, never letting go of his hand, fearing deep down on the inside, she was slowly losing him.

Tai stared at his phone, a rectangular device, entirely made up of a highly sensitive multitouch screen, no buttons whatsoever. A strange device, but he had already gotten used to it. The lighting in his room was dim, with only his desk lamp on, he had a few books scattered about, folders, and paperwork and a few syringes of an experimental drug he was looking into. The room, just like his desk, was a mess, Tai sat in his chair, staring at a finely crafted, incredibly detailed black rectangular wooden box. He picked the box he had been given earlier that week. Opened it slowly.

A matte black Walther PPK/S with 5 empty magazines just beneath it, neatly placed in foam, customized to keep its elements in place. An odd sidearm for a man his size. The time for preliminaries had come and gone. His real mission was about to start.