Digimon Adventure: Continuing Evolution

by The Crest of Loyalty

Post-LEK. Spoilers. In the wake of the battle with Eosmon, the Digidestined are shaken to their core. As Tai and Matt wrestle with the loss of their digimon, the Digidestined must face a reality without their partners. How will this affect the already challenging task of entering adulthood? The Adventure is about to evolve once again, this time in unexpected and surprising ways...

11. Love and Courage

A/N: Happy New Year, everyone! And thanks to all of you who reviewed the last chapter, I really appreciate it.

Chapter 10 – Love and Courage

Asagaya, Tokyo; August 26, 2010 – 8:25am

It was three days after Tai and the others had announced the truth about the breaking of bonds to the world. Three days since Digidestined everywhere were forced to acknowledge that the partnerships they had with their digimon were not permanent after all. And it was three days since Tai had begun to start the daunting process of returning to a semblance of normal life. He'd gone to his classes the morning after the livestream and apologized for being absent. His professors, who had heard about what was happening by then, were mostly kind to him and understanding, appreciating at least the emotional impact that Agumon's sudden disappearance had had on him if nothing else. One very sweet and grandmotherly professor who had briefly met Agumon once was particularly sympathetic, saying that she would miss his unbridled enthusiasm and his bright eyes. That wasn't to say that his missed classes were without consequence; he still lost points for attendance and would drop a letter grade from a minor exam that he'd missed, but at least he would be allowed to take it. His boss at the pachinko parlor had been less gracious, however, and threatened to fire him if he failed to show up for another shift. Tai had bowed and apologized profusely, promising to be more reliable from then on.

Aside from a few blips such as these, everything seemed to be back to normal. Except, for Tai, nothing was normal anymore. Food had lost its flavor, colors seemed less bright, and the Summer breeze a little less warm. Without Agumon in it, his world had become a colder, more dreary place. And yet, the sun still rose, birds still sang, and people carried on about their day. Time, and life, went on. And recognizing that he too must go on, Tai rose each morning with a determination to not be broken by it, but to face what lies ahead with unwavering courage. For Agumon.

At this present moment, Tai found himself strolling down the street a few blocks from his apartment building on a sunny Thursday morning. He was on his way to see Matt, who had texted him half an hour ago asking if they could meet up. They both had a couple of hours to kill before their respective classes started, so it was decided they'd grab some coffee at a small diner roughly equidistant from their homes. I wonder what he wants, Tai thought absently as he turned a corner down a narrow alley, and a pang of pity welled up inside him. Oh, Matt. He's gotta be having as rough of a time as me. Maybe he needs somebody to rant to. Then something else occurred to him. I hope he doesn't have any trouble getting there. Ah, who am I kidding? He'll be on his motorcycle, and his helmet will keep his face hidden. He'll probably be fine; I'm the one that needs to be careful.

Because of all the digimon battles he had participated in, Tai and the others had been—to a certain extent—something like minor celebrities in the area for the last several years. Saving so many people from errant fireballs or chunks of collapsing buildings tended to make one stand out, after all. Most of the time it wasn't that intrusive. Occasionally someone would recognize him from some former disaster and want to get a picture or ask a few questions, and in those situations he'd usually politely decline the photo, but he'd be glad to talk with them if he had the spare time. These encounters weren't very frequent, but Tai found himself taking a little more care to be inconspicuous than he used to. After the broadcast, his face had been plastered on social mediae and news networks around the world, and reporters were desperately trying to track him down for an interview. Yesterday, Kari told him that a news crew had appeared on their parents' doorstep hoping to ask Tai a few questions. She apologetically informed them that he no longer lived there, and when she refused to give them his new address, they tried to pester her into answering their questions instead. She'd ultimately had to slam the door in the reporter's face before they would leave.

That was why he was taking sparsely populated side-streets whenever possible as he made his way to the diner. Tai pulled the blue and white baseball cap he had somehow managed to shove his unruly mass of hair into farther down over his eyes, and he kept his head tilted down as he walked.

Which was precisely what caused him to bump into the young woman he hadn't seen coming out of the shop to the left. They both let out surprised grunts as they collided and almost tripped each other.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" he cried in embarrassment, grabbing her shoulders briefly to keep her from falling over backward.

"No, no, it's okay. I'm fine, thank you," she replied, brushing herself off. Then she took a closer look, trying to peer under his hat. "Wait a second, are you…?"

Crap! I've been made! Tai turned on his heel and began to move, calling back, "Excuse me, I've got to be going, I'm sorry again for bumping into…"

"...Tai Kamiya?" the woman finished.

Tai paused and grimaced, his shoulders hunched tightly. Against his better judgment, he turned back. Well, she doesn't look like a reporter. The woman staring at him by the curb appeared close to his own age, maybe around nineteen or twenty. She wore a white cardigan over a green sundress, and had long straight brown hair. And...she looked strangely familiar.

Tai had opened his mouth to ask what she wanted, but what he ended up saying was, "Do...do I know you?"

She shook her head. "No, but we've met before. Well, sort of." Another shake, followed by an annoyed sigh. "Let me start over. My name's Ayaka. Ayaka Nishimoto." She held out a slender hand for him to shake, and as he took it a flash of recognition passed over him.

"You're the lady that collapsed in the restaurant the other day."

"Yes. I've been looking for you so I could thank you for calling the ambulance for me."

Tai rubbed the back of his head self-consciously. "Actually, it was my friend Matt who did that."

"Be that as it may," Ayaka said, smiling in amusement, "you checked on me to make sure I was all right and stayed there until the ambulance came. My friend Hanae said you were very kind. But beyond all that, it seems I have even more to thank you for. After I was released from the hospital, I was recovering at home when I saw your video. Hanae was with me, and she recognized you and told me that you were the one at the restaurant. What you did for us—for all of us who were trapped in the Neverworld—I can't imagine how difficult that was for you."

Ayaka stepped hesitantly forward then, and loosely wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you so much for fighting for us."

Tai was stunned; he didn't quite know how to respond. "Um...you're welcome," he finally replied, returning the hug.

She squeezed a little tighter. "And I'm so sorry for your loss."

Tai trembled with sudden emotion. "Thanks," he managed to whisper.

"And I want you to know," she continued as she pulled away, "that I intend to fight. I have a Kudamon partner, and I don't know how much time I have left with him, but I plan on using it well. I want to help keep both worlds safe."

Tai smiled gratefully. "Thank you, that means a lot. Be on the lookout for Izzy to post a sign-up sheet to INDICON for our first training seminar. We're hoping to get one going sometime next month."

She nodded, grinning. "I will. Anyway, I won't take up any more of your time, Mr. Kami—"

"You can call me Tai, Ayaka," Tai said with a laugh. "By the way, how did you know where to find me?"

Ayaka's face flushed. "I didn't really," she admitted. "I just knew that you're from Odaiba, but that the restaurant we were at is over here on the mainland somewhere over that way." She pointed over her shoulder vaguely. "So I've just been kind of wandering around this part of town hoping I'd run into you." Ayaka winced. "Well, maybe not as literally as we did, but...you know."

Tai chuckled wryly. "Yeah." He turned his feet toward the sidewalk and waved back in Ayaka's direction. "Nice meeting you, Ayaka! Er—officially, this time!"

She waved back. "Nice meeting you too, Tai!" she said, before crossing the street and disappearing from view.

Tai broke into a light jog in order to get to the diner on time. He went down a couple more blocks and took a right at the bottom of a hill. He skirted around the edge of a local park, and before long he was in sight of a small unassuming building on the corner. It had a chocolate brown exterior with a red canvas awning over the entrance. Nothing especially remarkable from the outside, but Tai knew that inside it contained a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere where they served excellent coffee and breakfast food. It was one of the first places Tai had tried after moving out, and it had quickly become one of his favorite places to eat and hang out.

The walls inside were a cheery yellow, complemented by orange booths and large windows that let in ample amounts of sunlight, which all came together to give an overall impression of warmth. Tai came to the front counter and ordered a cappuccino. When it was ready, he took it and sat down at a table in the far corner.

He let his mind wander as he nursed his coffee and waited for Matt to arrive, staring at the art pieces decorating the walls. The diner had few patrons at the moment, just a handful of businessmen in suits studying articles on their phones, and a young couple sharing breakfast on the far side of the room. Minutes passed, then Tai gradually became aware of a familiar voice. Turning his head, he traced the sound to a red-haired woman he hadn't noticed walk in as she was thanking the barista, who was handing her a cup over the counter. She took the drink, turned, and headed in his direction.

"Sora!", said Tai in mild astonishment. Watching her approach, her blue jeans and yellow turtleneck immediately reminded Tai of how she had looked during their first adventure, and the clothes she'd worn for so much of their time in the Digital World. The only thing missing is that hat, Tai thought, a bit nostalgically.

"Hi Tai," she greeted, smiling and giving him a small wave. "Is it okay if I sit here?" She seemed somewhat unsure of herself, almost shy.

Tai gestured that it was all right, and she slipped into a chair across the table from him. "I didn't know you were coming too," he said.

She shifted in her seat uneasily. "Yeah, well…" Sora began, then abruptly stifled a giggle. "I'm sorry, I can't ignore it anymore. What is that on top of your head?" she laughed, pointing to his cap.

Tai frowned. "It's my disguise, so I won't get swarmed by the media."

"Well, take it off. We'll be fine in here, and you look absolutely ridiculous."

Tai pulled off the baseball cap with a sigh, and his previously confined hair exploded out from under it in all directions, looking even more disheveled than usual. This produced a new fit of laughter from Sora, while Tai remained decidedly nonplussed.

Sora held a hand to her chest as she tried to control her breathing. "Ohhh, I needed that."

"I'm glad that you find me so amusing," he muttered crossly.

Sora looked down, chastened. "Don't be like that, Tai. I didn't mean to make fun of you. It's just these past few days have been so difficult, and I guess I needed a release of some kind. I think this is the first time I've been able to laugh since…"

"It's okay." Tai ran a hand through his hair, attempting fix a little of the messiness; it was largely unsuccessful. "I guess it is kind of funny."

Sora's eyes met his then, and they were full of compassionate concern. "How are you?"

He knew exactly what she meant with the question. He creased his eyebrows together, staring into the depths of his coffee. "It's like I've...lost a limb or something. The feeling of something missing...I never knew how tangible the lack of a thing could be. I see him everywhere I turn—in the mirror, reflections in the window—like he's standing right beside me. But then I look back, and he's gone every time."

Sora nodded knowingly. "Like he's always at the corner of your vision, right? Yeah...me too. They've been with us for so long, we can't remember what life was like without them anymore."

"Do you hear Biyomon's voice in your head?" Tai whispered, leaning forward intently.

Sora scoffed. "I'll have whole conversations with her, imagining her responses like she never left. It's always such an awful shock when I remember."

Tai bobbed his head morosely. "Are...are we going crazy, Sora?"

Her eyes softened. She reached out to touch his forearm. "No, we're just grieving, Tai. It's...going to be hard for a while. But we can't let this defeat us; they would want us to go on."

"I know."

Then Tai straightened abruptly and pulled away from her, looking around. "Where is Matt anyway? He should've been here by now…"

Sora shrank back in her seat a little. "Actually, Tai, I've got a confession to make. I'm the one who called you here, not Matt."

Tai paled and became very still. "He's not coming, is he?"

"I'm sorry for tricking you, but I didn't think you would come if you knew it was just me."

Tai blinked, mouth agape. "And you were right," he replied. Shaking his head, he continued, "This was a mistake. I'm—I'm sorry, I've got to go…" Tai stood and turned to leave, but he only made it two strides before Sora's call stopped him short.

"Don't you walk away from me, Tai Kamiya! I'll never forgive you!" There was anger, and fear, and a hidden current of desperation underneath the words that anchored him where he stood. Tai hung his head, exhaled, and looked back. "Please…" she pleaded, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. "Don't go. I've already lost Biyomon. I don't want to lose you, too."

Tai stared at her in wonder. "Sora…" After a moment's hesitation, he found himself sitting back down across from her. She was hugging herself and sniffling quietly.

"Matt knows about this, by the way. In fact, it was his idea. I'm not doing this behind his back or anything if that's what you're worried about. How else could I text you from his phone without him knowing about it?"

Tai hadn't thought of that. He shrugged his shoulders. "All right. What's this all about?"

"You and I have had a strained relationship for years. Don't try to deny it. Matt sees it too, and probably some of the others. What happened to us, Tai? We used to be so close! We would hang out together and stay over at each other's houses all the time when we were kids, even before all the digimon stuff. But now we barely speak to each other except in passing, and even then only when all of us are tackling a digimon problem. We never spend time together just for the sake of it, especially not when it's just the two of us. And I can't remember the last time we had a real conversation. We clearly have some deep-seated issues to work out, and after the meeting at Izzy's I decided to finally do something about it! I'm done letting the people I care about slip away from me, including you!" Sora pounded the table for emphasis. "And I'm not leaving until we're okay again!"

By the end of her rant, Sora was panting from exertion. Tai sat stunned with his heart pounding. I suppose I always knew this was coming, that we'd have to have this talk one day, he thought. He placed sweating palms on the table, trying to calm his racing pulse, and said in steady, measured tones, "Okay. What is it that you want to talk about?"

Sora lowered her gaze and took a deep breath, then let it out slowly before asking in a small voice, "Tai, do you hate me?"

Tai's eyes widened. "Sora, no! Of course not! I could never hate you."

Sora's shoulders sagged with relief, then gathering her courage, she leaned her forearms on the table, straightened, and looked him in the eye. "Do...do you still love me?"

Tai was speechless at the directness of the question for a long moment. "No," he replied. "Not anymore. Not for a long time."

Sora studied him, trying to understand. "Then why…?"

"Why do I avoid you?"

"Yes."

Tai leaned back, deep in thought. "I'm not even sure I know anymore. At first, it was because I...I was hurt, and I didn't want you to see. I know you didn't intend it this way, but I felt rejected. Matt knew how I felt about you, and that day before the concert, I knew you did too. I was jealous, and I hated that. I mean, you were my best friends, I should've been happy for you—I was happy for you. Really. I knew even back then how perfect you were together. But I still had these feelings for you, and I couldn't trust myself to hide them well enough."

"Oh Tai," Sora sighed, "why didn't you ever say anything?"

"How could I? What could I say? 'Hey Sora, I know that you're with Matt now, but I just wanted you to know that I still really like you, but I don't know what to do with those feelings because I don't want to make things weird—' no, I couldn't do that. What would even be the point? I knew it wouldn't change the way you felt, or me. It would only make things harder for all of us. I didn't want to get in the way of your happiness, even by accident. So I distanced myself from you."

Once started, now the words were pouring out of Tai as he brought old feelings to the surface that he'd kept buried for so long. It felt good to finally share them with someone. "And then later, even after I had gotten over you, I didn't know how to go back to the way we used to be. Things might've been the same for you, but they couldn't be for me. I couldn't figure out how to just be friends again after that. And because you both knew, I was really terrified of even the appearance of trying to come between you. I respect you both too much to allow myself to get in the way."

Sora was shaking her head. "Tai, you were never in the way. We knew when we started this relationship that it put you in a difficult position, and I am sorry for that. But don't you think that Matt, of all people, would trust in your friendship enough to know you would never try to come between us? Or to trust me even if you did? I wish you had talked to us sooner. I'm sorry for the loneliness that you went through. But you weren't the only one that suffered. In depriving yourself of me, didn't it ever occur to you that you were depriving me of you, too? I miss you, Tai. You're someone very special to me, someone I don't want to lose, and I feel like this is the longest conversation we've had in years. I remember when the three of us would hang out together before Matt and I started dating. Those were some of the best times of my life. And we still tried to include you afterwards, but then you slowly stopped coming. We'd keep inviting you to hang out, but you always had some excuse why you couldn't come."

Tai hung his head in shame. "I thought you were just being nice. I didn't want to be a third wheel, and I figured you would be happier by yourselves."

"You weren't a third wheel. We genuinely wanted you to be with us. There were plenty of other times that we were alone together. And if we wanted it that way, we wouldn't have invited you."

Tai sighed. "I'm sorry. I should have talked all this out with you sooner. Maybe we could have found a way for things to be like old times. I never realized that I might be hurting you, too."

"It's not too late to start over," Sora said hopefully, her fingers playing idly with her coffee cup. "Do you think we could do that?"

A faint smile spread across Tai's face, and he nodded. "Yeah."

Sora smiled too. "Good."

They sat in silence for a moment, letting everything sink in. Sora wiped her eyes, then tilted her head to the side in a puzzled expression. "Hey, Tai?", she began.

"Yeah?"

"If you don't have feelings for me anymore, how come I've never seen you date anyone? Not in high school, college...have you ever even had a girlfriend?"

He shrugged helplessly. "I just...haven't found anyone, I guess."

Sora was unconvinced. "Really? It's not like you don't have options. I mean, you're Tai Kamiya! Leader of the Digidestined! You've saved the world a dozen times! I doubt there's a girl in this prefecture that doesn't know your name! And you're such a great guy, any girl should be thrilled to be with you. Even Joe, as consumed by his studies as he is, has found time to be…"

"It's not like that!" Tai barked, a little harsher than he'd intended. "I don't want to be with just anyone, and I don't want to date just for the sake of it. I want something more: someone who really understands...me, someone who accepts me for who I am and what I have to do, and who'll always be at my side…" Tai trailed off, and his eyes were looking somewhere far away. "Not just a girlfriend, but…"

"A partner," Sora finished. She, too, was looking beyond him at some invisible point in the distance.

Tai looked at her. "Yes." She understood, he realized. Of course she did. "Exactly. I want a relationship as deep and meaningful as the one I had with Agumon. And I know I can't get that with any of the women I know around me. Sometimes I think our adventures changed us, made us older in some ways than other people our age. We've had the fate of both worlds on our shoulders for so long, and the dangers we've faced...who could understand what we've been through? Even other Digidestined wouldn't know. No one who hasn't experienced what we have could truly know. Only the people on our team."

Tai chuckled lightly. "And of those, one is my sister, and you're with Matt. So who does that leave? Mimi?"

A surprised barking laugh came from Sora. "No. Not in a million years."

"Yeah," Tai agreed. "I love that girl to death, but no." He stared out the window to his left. "No, what I'm looking for...I'm not sure it exists."

Tai felt Sora's hand over his. "Don't give up, Tai. I believe she's out there somewhere. And when you find her, she's going to be amazing."

"Thanks, Sora."

Sora leaned against the back of her chair with a smirk. "But when you do, just know that she's gotta meet my approval—and I have pretty high standards. I won't let you be with just anyone, you know."

Tai laughed. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

They both drank from their cups, still smiling, and Tai wondered why it had taken them so long to finally talk. It really was almost like the old days before everything got so needlessly complicated. "We should have done this a long time ago," he said to himself. "I'm sorry, Sora. I've been such a fool."

"It's okay. I could have said something too. And I get it, these conversations can be hard." Sora looked down, tracing a finger around the lip of her cup. "You know, for a while, there was a time when I had a crush on you, too."

Tai almost choked in mid-sip. "What? Seriously?"

"Yeah. Why do you think I got so mad about that hair-clip you gave me? I was really insecure about my appearance back then, especially when it came to what you thought. Or rather, what I thought you thought. That, and with starting puberty...well, it wasn't a good mix. Ugh, that's such an embarrassing memory."

"Wow, I had no idea."

"I'm surprised you never noticed. I actually liked you before I liked Matt. But then I started developing feelings for him too, and I was a pretty confused girl for a while. Me, the bearer of the Crest of Love! You'd think I'm supposed to have all this figured out. It's funny looking back on it now. While T.K. and Kari were spending their days fighting the Digimon Emperor, I was just trying to decide which one of you I liked more."

"Sora, can I ask you kind of a personal question?"

"You can always ask me anything, Tai, and I'll do my best to answer it. But if I can't I'll just tell you, and we'll move on."

"What...what was it that made you choose him over me? I mean, it doesn't really matter anymore, but if I'm such a great guy...I dunno. It's just something I used to wonder about a lot."

Sora's eyes softened. "It's not as though I didn't think it would work between us. Maybe if circumstances had been different, we would have been really good together. But ultimately I don't think we would have been right for each other. We've grown in so many ways since then, and we're not the same people we used to be. And it's not a bad thing, just different. I'm not the ideal partner for you, just like you're not for me. And I think I could see that it would be that way, even back then. Plus...Matt needed me more."

"What do you mean?"

Sora looked to the side, trying to compose her thoughts. "During our first adventure, you very naturally stepped into the role of team leader. Each of us found where we fit within the group, and as for me, I was the team mom. And I have to be careful what I say here without going into things I can't share without Matt's permission, but you know how his parents divorced when he was very young. Matt took it even harder than T.K. did in some ways, though he tried his best to hide it and be strong for his sake. Matt grew up without a mother figure in his life, and during our time in the Digital World, I kind of filled that void for him. I provided the nurturing influence that he needed. As my relationship with my own mother in those days was...rocky, to say the least, I could relate to that on some level. We've had to deal with similar things in our lives, and we know how to help and encourage each other. In the months leading up to that Christmas Eve, I started to realize how much I could help him, and I was drawn to that. He needed me, Tai, and you...didn't."

Tai sat motionless as he listened. It was a lot to process. "I never thought of it that way. But it makes sense."

"But you're still very special to me," Sora continued, "and I love you very much, just not in the same way that I love Matt."

But Tai didn't seem to hear; he was hunched over the table, elbows bent, his hands supporting his head from either side. "I'm an idiot," he whispered.

"Huh?"

"I may have the Crest of Courage, but that's a joke. The truth is I've been living in fear my whole life. I was too scared to ask you out when I had the chance, and now we've spent all this time being distant toward each other because I was afraid to talk about this with you. I'm such a coward."

Sora's reply was gentle. "No, you're not. On the contrary, I think you've been displaying the most courageous kind of love all along: sacrificial love."

Tai looked up, and her eyes were full of compassion. "You set aside your own wants and desires so that I could be happy. I can think of nothing braver than that."

Tai wrestled with a storm of different emotions before he could speak again. "I—that's—Sora…?", he finally managed, his voice breaking. "Thank you. You don't know how much I needed that."

"You're welcome, Tai."

The next twenty minutes flew by as they talked about everything—and nothing—as two old friends who were separated for a long time, but who came together picking up right where they left off, laughing and joking as if they'd never been apart. Tai felt lighter, and the burden of harbored guilt and shame over feelings he'd long kept hidden had lifted now that they were finally brought out into the open and dealt with properly. In the end, he found she had not rejected him after all; she knew everything now, and she still accepted him as he was. And at long last, he knew how to be friends with her again.

Tai checked the time on his phone and frowned. He wanted to spend more time catching up with Sora after being estranged for so long, but life had other demands. "Hey, I've gotta run," he said reluctantly. "I've got class in a few minutes." He rose from his chair, and Sora did likewise.

"All right, then. I won't keep you any longer."

"But let's do this again soon. This was nice."

Sora nodded. "Yeah. Hey, would you like to come see my flower exhibit tomorrow? I know it's not really your thing, but it's my first one, and I'm really nervous about it. Matt can't come, he has a big project due soon and needs to concentrate on that, and I could really use a friend to be with me—"

"Of course," Tai answered, "I'd love to."

"Thanks so much. I'll text you the address."

She hugged him, and he returned it wholeheartedly. "It feels so good to have you back. I've missed you," she said.

"I've missed you, too," he replied.

As they came apart, Tai smiled at her, the most genuine smile she'd seen on his face in a long time.

"Bye, Sora. See you later." He jammed his hat back over his head, turned and sprinted out the door so that he'd make it to class on time.

Sora stood there and watched him go, following his retreating form until it sank below the hill and was lost from view. Her vision blurred suddenly, and she took a napkin from the table and dabbed at the corners of her eyes, careful not to ruin her makeup. "Ohhhhhh, stupid Tai!" she whispered to herself, sighing with a melancholic smile. Then she bent down to pick up her purse and threw back the last of her coffee before throwing her cup away. As she approached the door to leave, a familiar blonde-haired man in a motorcycle jacket came from around the corner.

"Matt!" she exclaimed, startled. "I was—"

"You don't have to tell me anything, and I wasn't listening in," Matt said reassuringly. "What you said to each other is between you two, I don't need to know. I just wanted to be nearby in case you needed me. So, how'd it go?"

Sora looked as if she might cry. "Oh Matt," she said, wrapping her arms around him and burying her head in his chest, "it's...it's so much!"

Matt held her, smiling gently. "Did it work? Are you two okay again?"

"Yes," she whispered, "I think we finally are."

A/N: [Edited 09/13/2024; I re-worded a couple of lines and added just a bit toward the end] Hey-o, where my Taiora shippers at? *raises hand.* Okay, so full disclosure, I didn't want to write this chapter, and really actively tried to avoid it for a while. Mostly because I'm not comfortable writing straightforward romance. I don't feel competent enough to tackle it well and I'm worried this will turn out ridiculously overdramatic and/or sappy. I wanted to cover the infamous Taiorato triangle and give my answer to what I thought it would realistically become, but I had intended to cover it in one or two side paragraphs during the AHOD when Sora shows up. I quickly realized there was no way to adequately cover and do it justice in such a small space, and even if I tried, would only be a jarring distraction from the plot at hand. And so, I came up with this instead.

I'm a longtime Taiora shipper, but I've also had many years to come to terms with Sorato's canonicity, and I never disliked that ship, I just preferred Taiora. But as I've gotten older, my opinion has slowly started to shift; I could see as they grow up, with Sora toning down the tomboy streak and becoming more feminine, Tai continuing to be the exuberant and impulsive person he always is, and Matt being a more reserved, thoughtful, and introspective person, that Sora might be better paired with Matt after all.

As for Tai...well, I have other plans for him. But I did want to bring a cathartic resolution to this triangle that we never really got in the anime. Now, for Tai to still be pining after Sora after eight years defies believability, so in my headcanon he got over Sora years ago, but things have been awkward between them ever since. Is it plausible that they would have gone this long without some sort of conversation like this prior to now? Admittedly, probably not. But as much past development and events I'll have to fill in later, I want to make everything I can be as currently-important as possible, otherwise probably over half of this fic would be in flashback.

Anyway, I hope everything makes sense, is reasonably believable, and maybe even hits home a little bit. I drew a lot from my personal life in writing Tai's feelings, as I've gone through similar situations (though there are marked differences in them and their outcomes from Tai's). I also felt that even though he's over Sora, Tai would have trouble finding someone else to be with; his experiences as a Digidestined would have matured him greatly over most of his peers, and wouldn't be interested in a shallow relationship just for the sake of not being single. (This is something else I could relate to—I married the only girl I ever dated, and I didn't even meet her until I was 25).

I hope I've made it clear enough that Tai and Sora will not get together, and Tai is at peace with that now, but that there was enough Taiora friendship to satisfy my fellow Taiora-shippers out there.

Digimon episodes referenced: s2, ep 38, "A Very Digi Christmas", "Our War Game" (the middle part of Digimon: the Movie), and arguably—though not explicitly, s1, ep 51 "The Crest of Friendship" as well, particularly when Sora and Matt get stuck in the cave of darkness.

Next time on Digimon Adventure: Continuing Evolution—Chapter 11. Eyes of a Devil.