Tai's Realization: Part 1

By: Lisa


There was the soft, melodious sound of a harmonica gently being played in the distance. The long notes carried a depressing underlying tone in them as the tune was heard throughout the night. The boy playing the instrument carefully slid his hands along the harmonica as he tenderly exhaled into it. He was about my age, with perfectly spiked blonde hair that shone brilliantly in the moonlight. His eyes were a piercing sapphire color and slightly slanted upwards. I studied his tall, slender physique, noticing that it was visible even through the sleeveless, green turtleneck sweater he wore. The boy also wore dark denim jeans that were cuffed at the bottom, and he had on large brown boots. I was fascinated to see that the cool and calm attitude he always seemed to exhibit was undeniably present as he played the blues on the harmonica. This magnificent creature was Yamato "Matt" Ishida. Yamato was most definitely an interesting person to study.

I sat across the river, quietly listening to the enjoyable sounds the harmonica sung. Only a few months ago I would have found the instrument extremely distracting, to the point of repulsive. Although, now I have adjusted to its music that frequently filled the air, and I have even begun to enjoy listening to the harmonica. I took out my digivice and looked at it to see what time it was. It was 1:35 AM. I only have twenty-five minutes left until my night watch was over, then Matt would replace me. It seemed like a good idea to set my digivice to 2:00 AM, since I was likely to fall asleep soon. My eyelids were starting to feel tremendously heavy; the lulling tune of the harmonica was making me drowsy. I could feel myself lay back in the grass and slowly drift off to sleep. There was no use fighting it now, I was already too sleepy to stay awake. Just before I closed my eyes, I looked at my digimon partner to my left, Agumon who was fast asleep beside me.

I abruptly woke up from being shaken violently. After I was able to focus again, I looked up and saw none other than Matt leaning over me. He had a smirk on his face, and I awaited his witty, degrading remark that was being concocted in his mind.

"So, I see you fell asleep on the job again, huh Tai?" Matt snapped coolly.

"I wasn't out too long. My digivice hasn't even gone off yet, and I set it for 2:00 just before I fell asleep at 1:35," I replied.

"Nice try Tai, but I already turned your digivice off. It was beeping like crazy for 10 minutes as I was making my way across the river. It's already 2:10," he said slyly.

'Damn!' I thought to myself. 'Why do I have to be such a sound sleeper? Once again, Matt is ever so willing to point out the mistakes I make, and I happen to leave myself open for this attack by falling asleep again.' I turned away from Matt and gently shook Agumon to wake him up. He rolled over slowly, opened his droopy eyes halfway and mumbled something about wanting to go back to sleep. I helped Agumon to his feet as we stumbled back to the rest of the group sleeping around the campfire. As I was lying down next to Agumon I turned around for only a second to see what Matt was doing. He had put away his harmonica and he was talking quietly to Gabumon.

From my point of view I could see his skin glow under the moon in the night sky. Lying down next to him was his blue striped digimon, Gabumon. Gabumon was a digimon that resembled a small wolf. On top of his head was a horn with strange engravings upon it. He was very quiet and was always a faithful companion and friend to Matt. I watched Matt and Gabumon silently talk to one another. I saw a smile spread across Gabumon's face, and a smile appeared shortly after on Matt's face as well. Matt patted Gabumon on the head and reached into his pocket to retrieve his harmonica. He played quieter than usual, so as not to wake anyone up. I could see Gabumon slowly roll over on his back and gaze up at the sky. It was not long before I heard slight snores coming from Gabumon as he slept peacefully. Matt then removed the harmonica from his mouth and placed it in his pocket once again. I decided it was time to get some sleep and rolled over on my back as well.

I laid there for what seemed like an hour, although in reality, it was only a short fifteen minutes. I stared up at the beautiful stars as they sparkled and illuminated the night. It truly was an amazing sight to behold, since in the Digiworld there are no street lamps to block the view of the clear sky. A cool breeze swept over my face and I turned to see what Matt was up to. When I looked over, I didn't see him at his post. 'I can't believe this!' I thought to myself. 'If I were to leave my night watch, he would go ballistic on me!' I decided that I might as well go search for Matt, after all, there is the possibility that he was in some sort of danger.

I stood up and stretched out. I was still a little sleepy feeling, but that really didn't bother me anymore. My fists rubbed my tired eyes, straining to keep them open as I left to go find Matt. As I approached the river, I heard splashing from below.

"Huh?" I whispered softly to myself. I tiptoed closer to see Matt bathing in the water. Up on the bank were his clothes sprawled out. His green turtleneck was thrown in a crumpled heap, along with his gloves, next to Gabumon. Closer to the water were his jeans, socks, boots and boxers. I couldn't believe what he was doing. 'Well, I guess this would be the best time to get cleaned up since everyone is supposedly asleep.'

Then something weird happened to me. I know I should have just turned around and gone back to the campsite upon seeing that Matt was simply bathing, but I just couldn't bring myself around to leaving. My eyes were fixed upon the lean figure of Matt in the water. The water droplets glistened on his skin from the reflection of the moon in the water. His skin was a pearly white, but it made sense that it was so pale since he was blonde. I watched as Matt elegantly dipped under the water until only his shoulders and above were out. He ran his fingers through his spiky hair and gently washed his face. This was probably the first time I, or anyone else for that matter, had seen Matt's hair mussed up, since it was matted against his head from the water.

I felt ashamed just standing out in the open staring at Matt as he bathed naked. It didn't feel right, yet for some unknown reason, I just couldn't pull myself away. I finally decided that it would be best to hide behind a tree, so that Matt would not know of my presence. I quietly slid towards a tree that was farther down the bank, but as I did, I came upon a small hole in the ground, stumbled and lost my footing. I gasped as I landed face flat in the dirt. 'Oh well,' I thought, 'Good way to blow my cover.'

I heard Matt move briskly in the water behind me and then yell my name. I didn't want to look up at him. My face must have been bright red, because I could feel how flushed I was. I stayed face-down in the dirt for a little while longer, and then came to the realization that I couldn't lay like that all night. Slowly, I picked myself up, and turned to face the embarrassed and angered Matt. As I looked at him, I saw a look of disgust and discomfort on his face. He had managed to scramble together his clothes and throw them on himself while I had lain on the ground. He was completely dressed all except for his socks and boots. Then, Matt slowly began to approach me.

"Just what the hell did you think you were doing?" Matt asked coldly.

"I…I…I don't know," I replied softly.

"You don't know!" Matt shouted. "How could you not know! Damn it Tai, you were watching me take a frickin' bath! What's wrong with you, you little pervert?!"

"Matt…I," I meekly tried to think of an answer.

"Huh?! What was that? I didn't hear you give me an answer yet?! What exactly did you think you were doing, Tai?!" Matt cried angrily.

"I don't know. I…I was just shocked to see you there I guess," I replied.

"WHAT?! Being shocked usually doesn't call for spying or being a Peeping Tom like you!" He snapped.

"I'm not a Peeping Tom, Matt! You don't even know if I was watching you! All you know is that I fell over here as I was walking past. You have no proof that I watched you bathe, you ass!" I shouted just as loud.

"Whatever!" He shot back. "If I ever catch you again so much as LOOKING at me, I swear, you'll regret the day you met me!"

"Is that some kind of a threat?!" I challenged.

"You bet it is you little pervert!" Matt cried.

Before I even thought about what I was doing I was punching Matt dead on in the face. He stumbled back astonished, but then attacked me with all his might. He pushed me back onto the ground and jumped on top of me, conveniently kneeing me in the gut as he did. I winced at the pain, but was able to quickly put my arms up to cover my face. That didn't seem to matter to Matt at all, since he continued to punch my arms anyway. When that seemed to have no effect, he grabbed my wrists and slammed them to the ground. It seemed that he had me pinned, but I pulled together all my strength to roll over to my right, with Matt still holding on to my wrists. Now I was on top of him, and I had the advantage. I slipped my right arm away from his grasp and quickly punched him in his left cheekbone. He bit his lip then pushed me off of him. I was still stumbling backwards when he lunged at me and turned me around so I landed face first in the grass. Matt sat on top of my back and grabbed my left arm. He twisted it behind my back and yelled, "Now are ya sorry, you pervert?!"

I screamed and pleaded with him to stop, but Matt didn't. Suddenly I felt him jerk it up sharply, and "SNAP!" he had broken my arm, just belong my elbow.

"AHH SHIT!" I shrieked. "What the fuck you do that for man?!" The pang was excruciating as I felt shooting pains go up my left arm.

"Oh man, I wasn't planning on that," he mumbled.

"Get the hell off of me!" I yelled furiously. "Get off me!"

"All right, I'm up. Hey, sorry about that, but I warned you. I told you that you would regret the day you met me," Matt simply replied.

"Yeah, well I wasn't counting on you breaking my fucking arm damn it!" I yelled. "Ow! Shit this hurts like a mother-fucking-bastard!"

"Hey, just calm down. I'll get Joe to put it in a splint, or sling, or something for you, OK?" He said, trying to calm me down.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," I answered.

Matt helped me to my feet and walked me back to the campsite. As we walked, we saw Gabumon headed our way. He looked distressed, but then his face lit up when he saw Matt and me. Unfortunately it quickly turned back to being distressed and worrisome as he noticed the state we were both in. We must have looked awful, because his eyes widened and he almost cringed at the sight of us.

"What happened to you two?" Gabumon questioned cautiously.

"Oh, we just got in a little fight," Matt replied. I just grunted to show my clarification of his statement.

"A little fight, eh?" He asked with a look of disbelief on his face.

Finally, Matt, Gabumon and I made it back to camp. Sora was awake and looking frantically around along with Biyomon. Joe had also awakened because he had heard some "commotion", as he called it.

"Where were you Matt and," she stopped short and gasped at the sight of us. "Tai, what ha…happened to you?" Sora asked nervously.

"Oh, don't worry about it Sora. I'll be fine," I reassured her.

"B…But your arm. It looks broken." She stated. Then she shot Matt a killer cold glance. Man, it really could have killed Matt.

"Don't look at me like that," Matt protested, "Tai was really asking for it."

I looked at him nervously, 'God, don't tell them what I was doing. Please, for their sake and mine.' Matt had seen my look, and he stopped talking.

Joe jumped up. "Let me see that arm, Tai," he requested. Joe gently took my arm and asked where it hurt. I motioned to the spot, and he quickly, but firmly pressed there.

"Ow!" I yelped as I bit my lip and shut my eyes.

"Yep, it's broken," he said, "I'll be right back."

"I could've told you that," I mumbled the witty remark under my breath. Joe ignored it, and went to his medical bag to get some tape, toilet paper and a stiff piece of cardboard. Joe easily placed the board under my arm and wrapped it in tape until it was secure. Then he wrapped the toilet paper around it and up and over my shoulder. He had successfully put my arm in a sling.

"Now take it easy on that arm, and hopefully it will heal relatively quickly," Joe stated plainly.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sora inching up to me. She had a look of sorrow on her face, and even a hint of anger. Finally, Sora sat down next to me and asked if I was OK. I told her yes, all except the fact that my arm was throbbing. She then went ahead and told me of my other bruises. Apparently my face was scratched and covered in dirt. I was bruised on my right arm as well because Matt had consistently punched me there. Then I began to feel the pain in my stomach as well, and remembered he had kneed me in the gut. I was a mess, but Matt was bruised likewise. During the fight, it seems that I had managed to give Matt a black right -eye, a bloody nose and upper lip and a nice big shiner on his left cheekbone. Although I do have to say, I think he came out of it with the better end of the deal, since all his bones were still in tact.

Suddenly, I was completely exhausted. I just fell back onto the ground from my sitting position, and went directly to sleep. I did feel Sora press her body up against me as her arm found her way over to my chest. We both fell asleep next to each other.

Meanwhile, Matt had once again walked away from the campfire and sat down on the ground where he had left his socks and boots. He was struggling to pull them on, since he was still shook up by the fight he just had. Maybe it was because his adrenaline was high and his hands were shaking, or maybe because he was frightened at himself for just breaking my arm. Well, Gabumon saw his friend's confusion and he walked over to comfort Matt, putting a reassuring arm over Matt's shoulders.

"Matt, don't think about it too much. Tai is tough, and he will pull through just fine," Gabumon told Matt.

"Are you sure? Tai looked really hurt, not just physically, but his pride looked scarred as well. I mean, that was an emotionally difficult situation for both of us," Matt sighed.

"Relax Matt. Let's go back to the group and go to sleep. Anyway, Joe has offered to complete your night watch for you. He knows that you are also hurt and tired, so he thinks it is a good idea that you get some rest as well," Gabumon coaxed.

"I think I'll stay out here for a while Gabu. I'm not tired anymore, so I'll just sit here and relax," Matt answered.

"All right, but I'm staying with you Matt. I won't leave your side," Gabumon said as he smiled at Matt.

"Sure, thanks," Matt replied.

Gabumon stretched out on his side on the cool dirt underneath him. Within a matter of minutes, Gabumon had fallen asleep next to his human partner, Matt. Matt just looked down at the exhausted digimon and grinned. 'It's OK. Gabumon is a loyal friend,' Matt told himself. Matt then reached for the digivice on his belt loop and checked what time it was. It was only 3:36 AM. Only an hour had passed since the fight with Tai.

Matt sat on the ground with his knees pulled up to his chest and his arms wrapped tightly around them. He laid his head on top of both knees, and emptily gazed out into the river ahead of him. A small, almost inaudible sigh escaped Matt's mouth as he ran his fingers through his gorgeous blonde hair. His mind recapped the events of the night. So many questions flooded into his head. 'Why did Tai look so scared?', 'Why was I so eager to pounce on him?', 'Why was Tai even there?', and 'How come Tai looked so afraid and embarrassed when he looked at me?' Matt couldn't understand what could have shaken up Tai so much. Then it hit him. 'What if Tai really was watching me? I thought I was just accusing him in my fit of rage, trying to rally him up. Oh, man, what if there is something Tai was hiding?'

Matt looked back to the campsite and saw TK still fast asleep, curled up with his digimon Patamon. Next to him was the tiny figure of Izzy with Tentamon sleeping above his head. Kari was next, with her back to Izzy and cuddling Gatomon, the cat-like digimon. Then he saw Agumon and Biyomon asleep next to one another, and Palmon and Mimi to their left. But wait, where were Tai and Sora? Matt's eyes searched for them, and found them a good fifteen to twenty feet behind Agumon and Biyomon. Tai was sleeping on his back with his left arm gently placed on his stomach. Sora was pressed firmly against Tai's right side, with her arm extended over Tai's chest in a tender hug. Well, that pushed the thought that Tai could be ashamed of something out of Matt's mind. 'He's just a freak, like I thought,' Matt concluded.

With that, Matt lay down next to Gabumon and placed his arms behind his head. He stared at the sky for only a few minutes longer before he too drifted into a deep sleep. The only ones left awake were Joe and Gomamon as they were on their night shift.



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Lisa