Odaiba Memorial Day- 20 Years Later

Chapter Twelve- Sora

Sora Takoto had some problems. Things lurking in her past that she never wanted to remember. The guilt, shame, and everything associated with these problems had the potential to tear a person apart.

But right now her biggest problem was the oven, the inside of which was in flames when Sora opened the door.

"Waauugghhh!!" That pretty much said it all. Fortunately, she held firm after the initial shock, and rushed out to retrieve a fire extinguisher. She did, she got back, and she doused the fire before it could turn into anything significantly threatening. Still, it was more than enough excitement than she usually got while preparing dinner. Sora set aside the extinguisher and tried to catch her breath. Really, the only thing ruined was dinner. But it was still a shock.

"What’s going on in here?" Chi was in the dark, and therefore more confused than exasperated. It was probably for the better, as an eight-year-old probably wouldn’t have handled the situation as well as Sora did.

"I have no idea… Chi!" Sora went from catching her breath to making sure her son didn’t kill himself when he opened the oven door. The worry was unfounded, however, as the extinguishing job was sufficient; all that was left of the fire (or dinner for that matter) was a smoking heap of charcoal.

"So… is that dinner?" Chi’s innocent question made Sora relax, at least for a second.

"It used to be." Chi flashed a smile and turned towards his mother, wagging a finger at her and impersonating her as best as he could.

"Just wait until my father gets home!" Sora shook her head as he headed back to his room. However, he stopped and turned back, "By the way, if we eat out, I could go for ramen." Chi was obviously not affected by the incident. That at least calmed Sora down a little bit. But it was still a shock. And in the middle of the whole incident, she must not have heard Tareshi arrive. He walked into the kitchen, sniffing the air.

"Something smells… good." He tried to keep a smile, but the stench of smoke was too powerful.

"I don’t know what happened! The oven just… burst into flames!" After Sora's report, Tareshi opened the oven door, hopefully to do a more thorough investigation than Chi did. Sora just watched, still a bit dumbfounded by it all.

"Hmm… looks like we’re ordering takeout!"

"Yeah, yeah, Chi wants ramen. But what do you think happened?"

"I don’t know- I’m not sure how old this oven is. I think it might be due to the wiring, but I’m not going to pretend that I know how these things work." Tareshi emerged from the oven and looked at Sora, "I’ll call someone tonight and get somebody to look at it." Sora nodded. She was still shaken. It didn’t help that Tareshi started laughing.

"It’s not funny! The oven was on fire!!" Sora was slightly angered at Tareshi’s lack of concern. He continued laughing.

"I’m sorry, it’s just like it was cooking fine and then- boom!"

"Yeah, it scared me out of my mind!"

"It’s okay! You’re fine, Chi’s fine- there’s no problem! Just relax, you’ll give yourself a heart attack." Tareshi’s comforting technique worked, as Sora calmed down a bit.

"Okay." Tareshi walked out of the kitchen, and Sora followed. Tareshi turned towards Chi’s room, "Chi! I’m going to get some take-out, you wanna come?" Chi exited immediately.

"Sure!" Tareshi turned to Sora.

"You coming with?"

"No… just get me the usual. I’m going to stay and clean up." Sora replied. Tareshi nodded.

"Okay, c’mon kiddo, let’s go." They started out, but before exiting, Tareshi had an afterthought and turned back, "Oh, and there’s a letter for you from Cody Hida. I have no idea what he wants, but it’s on the desk."

"Oh… sure." Sora was confused. She wasn’t sure what Cody wanted, and why it couldn’t be done over e-mail, but dismissed it and went to work cleaning up after the fire.

All in all, it was a pretty stable life for Sora. It wasn’t anything glamorous, spectacular, or, for lack of a better word, sexy, but it suited Sora fine. It wasn’t boring by any means, and with a loving husband and a son to take care of, she was happy. She had managed to put aside previous incidents and move on, forgetting about her problems and concentrating on her loved ones. So really, there wasn’t a problem… right?

Sora didn’t even think about being concerned about the envelope from Cody. She didn’t consider the possibilities that may have resided inside. The possibilities that she could be forced to revisit old issues, old problems… old affairs. But as soon as she opened the envelope, those concerns entered her head real fast.

A reunion. She dismissed the possibility of any formal digi-destined reunion nine years ago. She never received an invitation from Tai, and neither had anyone else. Given the lack of digi-destineds appearing at the weddings of TK and Kari as well as Izzy and Yolei (Sora herself had pretended to be ill to get out of the former), she had always assumed that it was all over. And while she wouldn’t mind associating with a few of her other friends like Mimi and Matt, a full-blown reunion was out of the question. So many things had gone on between the group that a reunion between all twelve would be difficult to arrange, and even more difficult to successfully host. Between Izzy and Ken’s falling out and Mimi leaving Matt for Joe, she had assumed that a reunion was out of the question. Of course, she didn’t dread the idea because of the tense atmosphere or the difficulties in organizing it. She knew damn well why she didn’t like the idea… it would mean having to see Tai Kamiya again.

Without hesitating, Sora threw the invitation and the envelope into the trash bin. But it was too late- the memories had already been triggered.

--

"Don’t stop…" Was it a dream? No… it had to be real. It just did not feel wrong.

"I don’t wanna stop." Despite everything, she was completely lost in the moment.

"Please don’t stop…" It was unavoidable. Even if they wanted to turn back, the damage was already done. It was simply a matter of sealing the deal.

"I can’t stop." There was no turning back now.

"Tai…" She knew who she was with, and she knew what she was doing.

"I love you Sora Takenouchi." But as for the consequences… she didn’t care.

 

The wake-up call was a bit much, but it’s hard to expect anything less from Kintaro, as he pounded on the door, jolting the two lovers awake.

"Hey, you two decent?" Sora was just getting her bearings back. She tried to recollect the events of the previous night. But hers was a fate worse than not being able to remember- she recalled it all. And it was still a shock.

"Not really!" Tai seemed to be a bit in awe of the situation, but handled it okay… until Kintaro burst in. "Hey!" Tai wasn’t too happy with his roommate.

"What- that’s what sheets are for."

"What do you want?" Tai seemed annoyed.

"Just uh… what do you two want for breakfast?" Tai rolled his eyes, "Hey! Don’t complain! I didn’t get anything last night. And you did, when was the last time that happened…" Tai was getting increasingly annoyed here, as if Kintaro didn’t understand the situation, "Oh, wait- it was only a month ago, wasn’t it?" Sora was still taking in everything.

What have I done? Wait… a month ago?

Sora looked over at Tai. He seemed unsure about what happened. But he didn’t seem all that regretful about it. Could this all just have been another wild night for Tai? And that she was no different from whomever he was with a month ago?

"Look, Kintaro, can you get out of here?"

"Yeah, yeah, I’m going." Kintaro headed out, mumbling, "Man, I don’t even have a hangover- that party sucked!" At least he was gone. Tai continued to sit in the bed, pondering the situation. Finally he turned to Sora.

"Good morning." He looked upward, "Wow."

"Wow indeed…" Sora was a bit depressed. Was that all he could say about it? Two childhood friends doing something like this, despite one of them being married, and all he can say is "wow." But it was more than Sora could say. She knew it was wrong. He knew it was wrong. But they couldn’t stop. And now she was left with dealing with everything, while all Tai can say is "wow." She couldn’t control the tear that emerged from her eye.

"You okay?" Tai must have noticed this. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, which she promptly shrugged off. She had already dug herself a hole, she didn’t want to make things worse.

"Am I okay? Tai… do you have any idea what we did?"

"Oh yes I do… that was certainly… wow." Sora stood up and started dressing. The mixture of sadness and anger she felt equated into silence, "Sora, what’s wrong? Don’t tell me you changed your mind about this all of a sudden, because it’s too late." Sora finished and started to head out the door. She turned once towards Tai.

"Tai… I’m married." As she walked out, into the living room of the apartment, Tai followed her.

"Well it’s a good time to remember that now!" Tai was starting to get frustrated as well. Sora was continuing out when Tai grabbed her by the hand, "Don’t tell me you didn’t want this to happen." Sora slowly turned around to face Tai. She pulled her hand away. And Kintaro drank coffee on the couch.

"Tai… I don’t know what I was thinking…" Tai quickly looked concerned.

"Were… were you drunk?" Sora sadly shook her head. Tai breathed a sigh of relief. And Kintaro drank coffee on the couch.

"I don’t know what happened. I wasn’t thinking straight… but why didn’t you stop?" Tai suddenly turned angry.

"Me? Why am I supposed to stop? You didn’t want to! This is just as much your fault as it is mine!"

"Well, I’m not the one… you know." Sora didn’t want to go into detail regarding sexual roles, but hoped that Tai would get the drift. And meanwhile… Kintaro got up to get a refill of coffee.

"’Scuse me." He said quickly and headed to the kitchen.

"Look Sora, there is no way you’re going to say that I’m responsible. You wanted this. You seemed very happy last night."

"Tai, I wasn’t thinking. I was being stupid. I made a mistake. But I’d expect that as a friend, you’d realize that and stop me!" Both Tai and Sora had their voices raised. It was a hell of an argument. And Kintaro, having gotten more coffee, was back on the couch.

"Why does this become my responsibility? You were the one that forgot that you were married, not me!"

"You must have conveniently forgot too, unless you’re willing to sleep with a married woman!"

"She’s got a point there." Tai stared at Kintaro, who finally looked up from his coffee to address the issue.

"Kintaro!" Tai was directing to his roommate now, "You’re supposed to be on my side!"

"Hey, I’m just calling it as I see it. I’m the referee here. And frankly I think you both should get yellow cards, but I ain’t handing them out because I’ve done some pretty wild things too." Kintaro pointed quickly at Tai, "Although technically she was legal. Either way, I’m not going to judge you… but still Tai- she is married."

"Maybe, but if she’s willing to sleep with me it can’t be that big."

"Point for Tai." Kintaro turned to Sora, "Response?"

"To what?" Sora was really angry now. Kintaro was treating this like a game, "I already said I wasn’t thinking straight- are you saying I don’t love my husband?!"

"I’m not!" Kintaro was very defensive, "Tai is!"

"Kintaro!!" Tai was about as annoyed by Kintaro as Sora.

"Well whoever said it, it’s not true. I love Tareshi. Got that?" Sora’s calm way of saying it actually served to stress the point, "So now what am I supposed to tell him?"

"That’s not my problem. If you didn’t want to deal with this, you shouldn’t have done it. Simple as that."

"Tai, are you that self-centered? This is just as much your fault as it is mine, the least you can do is help me through it!"

"What am I supposed to do, go up to your husband and say ‘Hey Tareshi, here’s your wife safe and sound and might I add that she’s great in bed.’ I don’t think that would go over real well." Tai was trying to defend himself best as possible. Kintaro was occupied, looking along a bookcase. He pulled out a small black book.

"This is just a joke to you. I’m just another girl to you… just another… score. Aren’t I?"

"What? No!"

"Just like that one girl you were with last month. What was her name?"

"Who?"

"You don’t even remember her name, do you? Will you remember mine next month?"

"I don’t know who you’re talking about. Last month…"

"Ami." Kintaro was looking through the book and brought the name forward, "Her name was Ami."

"Her? What does she have to do with this? And what’s in that book, anyway?"

"Just a record of… contacts. If you catch the drift." Kintaro smiled slyly, then pulled out a pen and turned to Sora, "You know- just in case. By the way, do you want me to put you down as Takoto or Takenouchi?" Sora turned back towards Tai.

"This is just a game to you, isn’t it?" Sora was getting more angry with Tai every minute, "Just a contest between you two to see how many women you can screw. Of all people- I had never expected that you…"

"Sora! I’ve never even seen that book before! I don’t know what Kintaro keeps track of!"

"Yeah…" Kintaro added, "This is just for my records… and occasional nostalgia. And besides, Tai’s list is a lot lower than mine, see?" Kintaro held up the book so Sora could glimpse at the names on it. Sure enough, there were only about four or five, although one that she read immediately forced her to turn to Tai.

"Jun?" She was shocked beyond belief. Was he stooping this low?

"Jun Otohime." Tai answered plainly, "I’m not that bad."

"Heh…" Kintaro laughed, "You forgot Ami, but you remember that one though, don’t you!" Must have been some sort of inside joke, but Tai wasn’t laughing. Neither was Sora, who was still furious.

"Tai… I can’t believe what you’ve turned into," Sora calmed down before continuing, sadly, "And I just… I just never want to see you again." Sora turned around and walked out the door. She wasn’t sure whether or not Tai called for her, but it didn’t matter- Tai Kamiya was officially out of her life.

I can only hope Tareshi will understand.

As it turns out, Sora couldn’t even bear to tell him. Although Tareshi was quite forgiving… this would be a test. And it was one Sora didn’t want to risk failing. She did indeed love Tareshi, and didn’t want to lose him. When he asked how the week went, she just said it was fine. Nothing more, nothing less. She didn’t respond directly to any questions involving Tai. Indirectly, she also wanted to reaffirm herself that she was devoted to one man, and overcompensated quite a bit. Tareshi, trying to make up for his frequent absences, suggested a brief vacation, sort of a second honeymoon. Sora was all for it. She just wanted to get Tai out of her head. Forever if possible.

--

It worked as well as it could. The name Tai Kamiya barely entered her head at all for nine years thereafter. And in that time Sora continued her life as normal. As a result of their little honeymoon, Sora and Tareshi were blessed with a little son, Chi. And he grew, as did the happy couple. And the painful events of that one night with Tai were all but forgotten.

And although Sora didn’t enjoy putting her past aside, forgetting about her role as a digi-destined, she had to do it. It was the only way she could cope with the situation. She didn’t have anything left as a digi-destined. Her service was no longer needed and her companions had moved on as well. Sora was happier, and that was all that really mattered. So after the unfortunate recollection, Sora continued going about her daily life- the invitation to remain undisturbed and unanswered in the trash can.

It wasn’t long before Tareshi and Chi were back with dinner. Sora had already returned to her normal self- the memories contained, the oven cleaned. Luck, however, was not on Sora’s side.

"So what was from Cody?" Sora was only slightly surprised. She knew her husband well, and forecasted him bringing it up.

"Oh, nothing." Sora and Tareshi both went into the kitchen to get some bowls for the food.

"Nothing? It was from Cody. There had to be some reason for it."

"Just, uh… writing a letter. He’s polite like that. He likes to stay in touch."

"With who? You weren’t that good of friends with him."

"Um… well. He tries to stay close with his fellow digi-destined." Sora answered very carefully. It came out to her liking. Tareshi apparently had accepted the answer, as he headed out of the room. Sora smiled, and distributed the all-precious takeout into three bowls. She almost dropped them when she heard Tareshi from the other room.

"Digi-destined reunion? You never were a good liar, Sora." Tareshi was very positive, "Why’d you throw this out?"

"I just don’t feel like going. I’ve got too much to do with the shop." It was an old excuse, but it was always a good standby. But Tareshi wasn’t buying into it this time.

"Come on, you can get somebody to cover for you. And besides, it’s only for a couple days. We can bring Chi along, it’ll be great! Heck, half of these guys don’t even know that you had a kid, they’ll be dying to meet him!" The reasons Tareshi gave were a bit tempting. She did want to let some of her friends know that Sora had procreated. But she knew the risks, and immediately dispelled any wavering thoughts.

"Look, I don’t want to go. I have my reasons…"

"And I have my reasons for calling Cody right now to tell him we’ll be there."

"You wouldn’t!" Sora couldn’t believe this.

"Watch me!" Tareshi smiled and picked up the phone. He looked at the invitation, and dialed a number. Sora was livid.

"Tareshi! I don’t want to do this!"

"Give me a good reason why you don’t want to go and see your friends again."

"I… I have reasons."

"Tell me, then." There was no getting through to him. But she couldn’t tell him. Not now.

"I… can’t."

"Okay then…" Tareshi turned his attention to the phone, "Hello, Cody Hida? This is Tareshi Takoto, Sora’s husband…" Tareshi listened to Cody on the phone, smiling at Sora. She did not smile back, "Yeah, well Sora will be there… you bet, me and Chi as well." Sora shook her head as Tareshi sealed the deal. Her life was going to come apart at that reunion. She just knew it.

 

Only the night before, Sora had all but completely forgotten about Tai. She had put him out of her life. But Tareshi’s action today brought everything back into focus. The inevitability of it was horrifying. There was that Tai would harbor resentment, or that Sora would make a spectacle of herself in either her arguing with or completely ignoring Tai. There was also the possibility that Tareshi would find out on his own. It wasn’t much of a surprise that Sora had trouble sleeping that night.

I can’t think of anything good that could come out of this. Tareshi, how could you do this to me?

She was mad at him, but as he slept peacefully she knew that he wasn’t to blame. She didn’t give him a reason not to. She couldn’t. She didn’t want to risk losing it all. Tareshi was important to her, and she didn’t want to upset him. And she also didn’t want Chi to find out. Even if he wouldn’t fully understand the magnitude what happened, she didn’t want her son to think any less of his mommy. That thought was made worse by the time of conception- Chi was conceived merely days after Sora’s affair with Tai. Like Sora just bounced from one guy to another, regardless of marital status, and one of them happened to get them pregnant.

At least I’m lucky that Tareshi was the father. But wait… how do I know? Sora, stop thinking about that… there’s no way that… it’s impossible.

Sora tried not to think about the possibilities. It was something she had never considered before. She was so fixed on putting Tai out of her mind that she never really gave any thought to the possibility that anyone other than Tareshi could be Chi’s father. It seemed impossible to Sora, but at the same time… why did it seem impossible? The second honeymoon thought to be responsible for Chi was only a few days after the affair. Chi wasn’t born extremely ahead of schedule or extremely behind schedule- Sora remembered it being one day ahead of the projected date, definitely nothing to cause concern. It was becoming clear that the idea wasn’t just possible… that there actually was a fair chance of Tai being the father.

Given everything- Sora had every reason to question who Chi’s father really was. Tareshi, Tai, and Chi each had brown hair and brown eyes, so that couldn’t determine anything. Chi’s blood type was the same as Sora, so that couldn’t determine anything. Chi occasionally acted a bit wild, which was definitely not in Tareshi’s blood. But given Sora’s behavior during her childhood, it could just as easily be him acting like his mother used to as acting like his father. All other facets of Chi’s persona could be either derived from Tareshi, Sora, Tai, or simply the x-factor that makes children so unique. Even if that factor wasn’t there, she wouldn’t be able to put her finger on anything that made him definitely Tareshi’s or definitely Tai’s. While she was obviously glad that there wasn’t anything linking him as Tai’s child, the feeling of not knowing bugged her.

This was a sad, serious issue that Sora had to deal with. The reunion was one thing- no matter how bad, it would be over. Even if something disastrous happened like losing Tareshi, it would be tied up somehow and the event would end. But if Tai was actually the father- it was something that Chi would have to deal with for the rest of his life. Knowing that he was produced by accident. That he symbolizes an extra-marital that never should have happened. That he was a walking, talking scarlet letter. And that was worse than any reunion. Needless to say, Sora wasn’t falling to sleep with this epiphany on her mind.

"Sora? You still up?" Sora had been silent the whole time, but one sigh must have sneaked out, which was apparently enough to wake Tareshi.

"Yeah…" She said sadly.

"What’s wrong?"

"Um. Just can’t sleep." Either way, she still couldn’t tell him.

"Oh. That’s not like you. Are you worried about that reunion? Because if you didn’t want to go, you should have said so." Tareshi was half asleep, but tried to help Sora as best as he could. Comforting was never one of Tareshi’s strong points- he was generally in a good mood, and had trouble dealing with situations where a good mood wasn’t expected. That was part of the reason Sora couldn’t tell him- it was very rare to see Tareshi lose his temper, but if there was one thing that could get him nice and pissed, it was this.

"It’s not about that," Sora started the half-truth, "I think I’m just going to get some water." By now, Tareshi was already back asleep, so Sora silently got up and followed through on her claim.

The trip to retrieve a drink of water turned into a stroll around the house. All the time wondering- what was she to do about this? She couldn’t get out of the reunion (the calling in sick only barely worked last time), and she couldn’t tell Tareshi. But who could she tell? Not her friends at the flower shop- given their gossiping habits, Tareshi’s mother was liable to know the secret within hours. But, there had to be somebody out there. Somebody who could understand the magnitude of this, somebody who could help her through this. All the meanwhile, she headed into Chi’s room, and watched her son- the source of all the controversy.

Could Tai’s legacy have been with me the whole time?

She sighed and closed the door, letting him sleep peacefully. She headed into the living room, when she noticed that the computer was on. The glowing red light, though small, was like a beacon to her. She was about to simply turn it off… but then remembered that simply pressing the off button wasn’t healthy for computers. So she turned on the screen to shut it down the proper way. She was in no hurry to get back to bed; she still wasn’t tired. And with that in mind, why even shut it down immediately? There’s nothing else to do, so why not spend ten or fifteen minutes as a bored insomniac aimlessly surfing the web?

She began with the e-mail. As luck would have it, she actually did have something in her inbox. Perhaps some direction on what she could do next? Instead of being some junk that she could play along with for fifteen minutes (why not try to get a diploma from some loser community college, it’s dead time anyway), it turned out to be from a person she had never expected to get mail from, especially this early after receiving the invitation (although Tareshi hadn’t picked up the mail in a couple days, so the invitation could have been waiting for some time). Of course, the more Sora thought about it, the more she realized the potential that lied with this e-mailer. That although it was an innocent e-mail, it could be the contact that she needed to get some advice. She immediately knew that she was set on talking it over with this particular person:

"Sora, can’t wait for the reunion. BTW, got a great idea of a little prank we can pull on Tai and the others. I’ll talk to you later about it. Gotta go- Matt."

She didn’t know what Matt had in mind for a prank, nor did she care. Matt would understand the magnitude of all this. Hopefully he would also be able to help her figure out what to do. As her ex-boyfriend, and a friend to Tai as well, he would be ideal to at least listen to her. She replied immediately asking to have some sort of an online chat the next day. Doing some quick math, and a reasonable estimate of the time difference, she decided to see if he could be available at noon her time. Tareshi would be at work, Chi would be at school, and Sora could unleash everything without fear of being judged. After replying, she went to bed. If she could at least get somebody to listen to some of these problems, maybe she could sleep a bit easier.

 

As luck would have it, Matt was available at the said time, 7:00 the previous night on his time, and was more than willing to talk to Sora. So by noon, Sora was all ready to spill everything, in hopes that Matt would at least listen, and show some empathy. Matt had decided that if they wanted to do this, they were going to do it right, and that if Sora really had something she wanted to say, a video conference would be more appropriate. Sora had all the necessary tools hooked up. And noon came, and after all the introductions, and getting the bugs out of the way, they were able to begin. At least Matt appeared to be smiling kindly. That was a good start. It was obviously very choppy images that acted as video, but they were minor compared to the sound of his voice, which was fairly clear.

"Sora? Is this working now?"

"Yeah… I think so. I kind of wish Izzy were here to help us out."

"To be honest, I think he designed this software. Anyway, nice seeing you again."

"You too. Look, I don’t want to…"

"I can’t wait for this reunion. I was a little unsure at first, but now I’m excited. I’ve been away for so long that I haven’t been able to keep up with everybody. So how are you and Tareshi?" Matt interrupted, apparently trying to keep things light.

"Oh, we’re fine. I don’t think you ever met Chi, though."

"Chi? As in a kid?"

"Yeah. He’s eight years old. You’ll meet him at the reunion." She didn’t want to start with the Chi issue yet, "But anyway, I really need to talk to you. I think you’re the only one that really can understand what’s going on."

"Why, what is it?" Matt seemed to get more serious. Sora took a deep breath and started.

"Well, I’m happy that you’re excited about the reunion. Because I’m certainly not. I really don’t want to go to this."

"Why not? Don’t you want to see everyone else? Mimi and Izzy… and Tai."

"Tai… I definitely don’t want to see him. I haven’t seen him in nine years, and I don’t want to start now." Matt appeared confounded.

"What happened?"

"Well the last time we saw each other, I kinda, well…" Sora was almost in tears, she didn’t want to recall it again, "I kinda slept with him." Even with the choppy picture, it was clear that Matt was shocked.

"Y… you… slept with him?"

"Yeah… it just… happened."

"Excuse me." Matt walked out of the picture for a minute. The microphone didn’t pick up on what he screamed… which was probably for the better. He sat back down, more than slightly affected by the announcement. Sora didn’t find that encouraging. "Wow. I wasn’t expecting that. Does, uh… your husband know?" Sora shook her head.

"No. I don’t know how I could tell him. I don’t want to know how he’d react." Matt nodded.

"And it just happened? Or did Tai do something to…?"

"No, no… we just did it… without thinking. And I haven’t talked to Tai since."

"Hm… just a question- was he better than me?" Sora looked at the screen oddly. It was definitely Matt.

"Matt, this is serious, I…"

"I know, I just want to have all the information before saying anything." Sora didn’t oblige. She didn’t want to turn the conversation into a joke. She also didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of a negative answer. She merely changed the subject.

"I’m wondering if I should tell Tareshi, and how. Here, let me ask you this- back when we were dating, if I had told you that I had an affair with Tai, how would you react?" Matt seemed to take the question seriously.

"Do you want me to be encouraging or should I tell the truth?"

Uh oh… not good.

"Tell the truth." Sora braced herself…

"I’d kill him." Matt said it plainly, but didn’t seem happy about the answer. Regardless, he continued, "I mean, I’m even having trouble with this now. We’ve been apart for awhile now, and I still can’t believe this. If we were dating, sorry to say it but I’d be pissed. I’m kinda pissed anyway."

"You’re not going to kill him at the reunion, are you?"

"No… I’ll just sock him in the face once. That should suffice." Sora shook her head. It felt good to talk to somebody, but maybe Matt wasn’t the right choice, "But look, things could be worse, couldn’t they? I mean, it’s not like you’re unhappy with Tareshi, it’s not like you actually do love Tai, and it’s not like Tai got you pregnant, right?" Sora really had to take a deep breath now. Although two of them weren’t true, the last one was the kicker.

"I’m… not sure about that last one. I had never thought about it before, but Chi could be Tai’s son. I’ve been assuming too much in the last eight years, and never thought that there is a chance. But there is… and I don’t know what to do about that." Matt paused to let that sink in.

"Oh. Wow. That’s um…" Matt couldn’t finish. Sora could only imagine what he was thinking over on the other side of the Pacific.

"I just don’t know what to do, Matt. I’m lost. And with this reunion, there’s the chance that Tai and I could really hurt each other again, or that Tareshi would find out, or anything. I’m scared. I’m sorry if this is laying too much on you, but I needed to tell somebody."

"Look, Sora, I… don’t know what I can say to help. I don’t know what you should do either. I can see why you didn’t tell him. I can’t help you with advice or anything, but I will say this: If you ever need somebody to talk to at the reunion, or to let go of any problems, or even need a shoulder to cry on- if you can’t tell your husband… I’ll be there for you no matter what." It didn’t sound like much, but it was very encouraging. Sora smiled a little bit. At least she now knew that she had a friend at the reunion. That was important.

"Thanks Matt. I really appreciate that."

"One more thing that I can do though- I can try to get your mind off of all this. I know it’s serious, but you shouldn’t get too worked up. How’s everything else going?" Matt was right, she had to at least try to not think about it until the reunion. So with that, she continued the conversation. Just talking.

Unfortunately, as the days rolled by, Sora not only thought about it constantly, she began to think about the previous things Matt was talking about. And slowly, she started to realize that there was one thing that she didn’t tell Matt. Something that she couldn’t tell Matt. Something that she tried not to think about herself.

It’s not like I’m unhappy with Tareshi, it’s not like I actually do love Tai, and it’s not like Tai got me pregnant, right?

She knew the first wasn’t true. She knew that the third was a big pain in the butt. But what about the second? She flatly denied it… but deep down, she wasn’t sure. The idea of her loving Tai gave birth to even more questions. Why does she care if Tai’s at the reunion? If she really wanted him out of her life, she could simply ignore him, or simply argue with him and win. Why did she do it in the first place? What was it about Tai that took down all of her defenses, and all of her logistics, all for a night of mindless bliss? Either she was very weak, or there was something there. Either answer wasn’t pleasant. But the final question was the worst of all. The mother of all questions. The one that haunted her above any shame, above any guilt, and above any apprehensions regarding the father of her child. The one question in the whole matter regarding the affair with Tai that was so perplexing that no matter how hard she tried, she could not think of an answer- Why did she enjoy it?


Author’s Notes
Being the last chapter before the reunion, it’s really easy to overlook this one. But I hope that with the "morning after" scene, the revelations concerning Chi, and the chat with Matt, this chapter gets some serious looks too. It again serves as a closer, but since the "Walking the Wild Side" plotline only gets two chapters of material, the issue is simple at the outset, and quite complex when you look at all the different facets of it. Also, although there are only two chapters of it, this particular plotline is the only source of non-digi-destined characters that will appear at the reunion, as Tareshi, Chi, and Kintaro will be there as well. And you better believe they all make an impact on the reunion, and all four plotlines.

I realize that quite a few people had guessed that there’d be something about Tai fathering Sora’s child. Although whether or not Chi is Tai’s kid is still unknown, the issue was something I was planning on doing since the beginning. And hopefully there’s still enough mystery involved that it still creates an enjoyable, albeit predictable, plot twist. I’m not too worried- I still have a couple surprises in store. It’ll be good. Also on that matter, it is too late to try to work me into making sure it ends a certain way. I’ve had the ending results solidified since around chapter six, and have no reason to change them now. Go ahead and say what you want to happen, but know that my decisions have been made.

Finally, if you had any thoughts on how you pictured the reunion, you can pretty much throw them out the window now. Especially if you thought that the four separate plotlines would remain separate during the reunion. Because when this thing hits- it’s going to be one gathering of twelve people. Remember- despite the different stories- this is still one fanfic.

Enough talk- let’s get ready to rumble!!
Chapter Thirteen- Reunion (Part One)
Ten years ago, twelve friends met, all happy, and all on the crossroads of life. But as the years went by, they fell apart, some becoming enemies in the process. Now, the twelve reunite, despite the previous years. But as many soon learn- those at the reunion that cause the most problems aren’t the enemies being avoided, but the ones mistaken for friends.