Matt sat in the back of the classroom, nervously tapping his pencil on the wooden desk. He looked to his right and up two seats to find Tai vigorously gnawing on his pencil. Matt noticed that there were multiple teeth markings from Tai's previous attacks on his pencil. In front of Tai sat Sora. She looked prepared and calm as usual and carefully watched the teacher as he gave instructions to the class. Sora never looks nervous.
The teacher began to distribute the packets down each row when there was a knock at the door. The entire class let out a sigh of relief when the teacher called back the tests and placed them on his desk.
"Don't think this gets you off the hook," he teased.
The teacher continued over to the door and opened it. He smiled and told the visitor to come in. Everyone leaned over in anxiety, trying to see who was standing outside, but no one was able to catch a glimpse.
"Please, don't be nervous," the teacher coaxed.
Finally, and girl walked cautiously through the door. She was wearing a light green and yellow tank top with khaki shorts. She had on brown flip-flops. Her vibrant red hair was pulled back in a half pony-tail, high on her head. The girl carried an empty backpack with her and a small khaki pocketbook was slung over her shoulder. She was tall and thin, but not lanky. As if that wasn't enough, the most noticeable thing about her were her large, aquamarine eyes. They were a brilliant, rich color that complimented her red hair wonderfully.
"Everyone, I would like you to meet Shiori Atsukai. I am your teacher, Mr. Usuami. We are pleased to have you join our class Shiori. I would like everyone to welcome Shiori." Mr. Usuami said.
The whole class greeted her, and watched her walk delicately to her seat. Although, there was one boy who not only watched her, but studied her. This was Matt Ishida. He slouched down in his desk, hoping that his blushing cheeks would not be noticed. Matt steadily watched Shiori walk down his isle from the safe position of behind his Geometry book. His gleaming royal blue eyes barely peaking over the top of the book. They followed her until she reached the seat in front and diagonally to the left of his. Matt couldn't help but let out a slight sigh of relief, knowing that she would not be sitting next to him. Although, there was a hint of disappointment in the tone Matt expressed as well. After Mr. Usuami had shown Shiori to her seat, he went to the front of the room to get her books for her. Matt looked towards Tai to see him nearly gaping at Shiori. Sora sat in front of Tai with a scowl on her face, directed at Tai. Matt's face grew hot at the sight of this, because he knew perfectly well, along with everyone else, that Sora and Tai had crushes on each other since as long as anyone could remember. There was no reason Tai should want the new girl for himself. After all, he nearly had the most popular, talented and kind-hearted girl in the school as it was.
"Tai," Matt angrily mumbled under his breath. He knew that his face was flushed, not with embarrassment this time, but with envy.
Suddenly, Tai eased his way out of his seat, and crept up behind Matt, sliding into the empty desk.
"So, Matt," he whispered, "What do you think of the new girl?"
"Uh…I don't know, Tai. I haven't even met her yet," Matt answered.
"Aww, c'mon Matt! Don't try and hide it. I saw you staring at her too," Tai joked.
"YOU DID?!" Matt frantically replied.
"Chill dude. So what if you checked her out?" Tai calmly questioned, "It's not like you were the only one." Tai flashed Matt a sly grin.
"Tai! You have Sora to worry about," Matt reminded him.
"Matt, you just worry about yourself, and I'll worry about myself," Tai said coldly.
"I don't believe you Tai," Matt murmured.
"Geez, there's no reason to get so upset over it!" Tai laughed. Tai continued to laugh out loud at Matt's overprotective nature. Matt just glared at Tai.
"Mr. Kamiya, Mr. Ishida. Is there something you would like to share with the class?" Mr. Usuami inquired.
"Uh, no Mr. Usuami, it's not important," Tai shakily answered.
"Well then, I hope you wouldn't mind returning to your seat Mr. Kamiya," Mr. Usuami ordered.
"OK Mr. Usuami, I'm going," Tai replied as he stood up and walked over to his desk. Sora was beet red and avoided all eye-contact with Tai. Tai just sat down as if nothing had happened and looked back at Matt, a smirk was still on his face.
'I'll slap that stupid smirk off his face,' Matt thought to himself.
"I'll be keeping my eye on you too, Matt Ishida," the teacher warned.
"Huh…Oh, all right Mr. Usuami," Matt shyly replied.
Mr. Usuami placed the books down on Shiori's desk and walked back to the front of the classroom. Matt just stared down at the pencil on his desk. He slowly lifted his gaze to Tai, and saw as Tai mouthed 'Smooth', to Matt with a sarcastic expression. Matt just rolled his eyes and turned his head. Upon turning his head, he was met with another pair of eyes. These were questioning blue-green eyes, shrouded by strawberry red bangs. Suddenly, they closed and the person turned away, embarrassed. Shiori had been watching the entire scene, but when it was over, she hadn't taken her eyes off of Matt.
Matt, Tai, Sora, Mimi, Joe and Izzy were all sitting together at lunch. Mimi chewed on her food aggressively, not looking up from her meal once.
"Hmm…for someone so thin and picky about what she looks like, Mimi sure doesn't eat like a girl," Tai observed.
"Tai, that's not very considerate of you. You know Mimi was always very hungry," Izzy defended Mimi. Izzy placed a caring arm around Mimi and smiled. Joe just watched the two sit together, so content with one another. It was obvious that Joe had had a crush on Mimi since the Digiworld, yet for some reason he was too shy to ever speak up about it.
"Guess what you guys? A new girl came to our sophomore class today," Tai said. His eyes lit up as he told the entire group. Sora, still sore from before, just crossed her arms.
Joe looked across the table at Sora's expression and was about to ask what was bothering her, but Matt coughed, getting Joe's attention. When Joe looked at Matt, he shook his head, as if to warn Joe to not bring it up.
"I'll tell you later," Matt whispered as he leaned towards Joe. Joe nodded his head slightly, to show that he understood.
"Her name is Shiori Atsukai. I wonder if she has this lunch?" Tai commented out loud. "Do you see her Matt?"
"Why you asking me, man?" Matt replied a little to quickly.
"God, sorry I asked," Tai shot back. "I only asked you because you are in my class, and know what she looks like."
"Sora's in our class too, unless you forgot," Matt replied coldly.
"Oh, boy. Here we go again," Joe sighed.
"What was that about Matt? I don't need you and your witty remarks. I know Sora is in our class," Tai said, offended.
Matt was raring to go, "Well, it's just that you're attention has been shifted from Sora, to someone else the whole morning!" Matt said, obviously just trying to rile up Tai.
"Look man, I don't need this crap from you!" Tai exclaimed.
"Yeah, well what are you gonna do about it?" Matt challenged.
"You'll see in a sec Matt!" Tai shouted as he jumped up from his chair.
"Stop it you guys! This is not the time to fight!" Izzy desperately tried to reason with the two hot-headed boys.
"SHUT UP!" They replied in unison.
"You better shut your mouth Ishida!" Tai warned.
"I'd like to see you make me," Matt coolly edged on.
"What makes you so tough anyway? With you, it's always all talk and no action. You wimpy bastard!" Tai yelled.
"Wimpy!" Matt had lost it. "Let's see how wimpy I am?! Take this jerk!"
The two evenly-matched boys began a fight in the middle of the cafeteria. Their friends tried to quiet them and pull them apart, but it was hopeless. A scene like this wasn't rare either, and while the close-knit group of friends had gotten used to it, the school administration had not. As Izzy, Sora, Mimi and Joe returned to their table, the Vice Principle hurried over to the brawl.
"Break it up you two!" He belted. The two boys froze, Matt had Tai in a headlock with his fist raised precariously over Tai's head. Meanwhile, Tai's foot was cleverly placed behind Matt's legs, ready to trip him any moment. The boys looked at the Vice Principal, and reluctantly released their hold on one another.
"Let's go," he commanded. Tai and Matt were led out of the cafeteria, and to the office. Once in there, the Vice Principal left them sitting in the empty office, while he went to go look for the Principal.
"Jackass," was the first word out of Matt's mouth.
"Shut up, Mr. Hotshot," Tai mumbled.
"Ooo, that was really intimidating," Matt remarked.
"Just shut up. I'm not in the mood for your cunning remarks Ishida," Tai warned.
"What's the matter? Can't understand them? Are they too advanced for your tiny, primitive, perverted brain?" Matt snapped.
"Don't make me beat you again!" Tai yelled.
"Beat me?! That's funny! I remember having you in a strong headlock just before Mr. Woo stopped the fight," Matt replied.
"Whatever," Tai answered. "It's pointless to even try to talk with you."
Just then, Mr. Musaka, the Principle, entered the office. He walked around the desk, and sat in the large leather chair, opposite Matt and Tai.
"Well, well, well. Isn't this a surprise?" He said sarcastically. "I was wondering when I would be graced with your presence once again. I see that I did not need to wait long. So, what happened this time?"
"It's was Matt's arrogance, Mr. Musaka," Tai stated.
"There's no need to point fingers Mr. Kamiya," the principle reminded Tai. "I just want to know what caused the fight this time."
"Let me explain sir," Matt said.
"Go on Mr. Ishida," Mr. Musaka urged.
"Tai was foolishly ignoring Sora Takenouchi, his best friend since elementary school. I defended her, by asking Tai why he was ignoring his best friend. He replied that he wasn't, he was just preoccupied with someon- er, something. Then, he jumped out of his chair, and approached me. It just escalated from there," Matt explained.
"Well, thank you Yamato," the Principle replied. Then he turned his attention to Tai, who was slouched in his chair, with his arms crossed, and staring at the ceiling. "Taichi, is that basically the story?"
"Pretty much, except I wasn't ignoring Sora. I would never ignore her," Tai defended himself.
"But, was it you that made the first move?" Mr. Musaka asked.
"Uh, well, I guess so," Tai muttered.
"Fine then, since this is already your boys' third offense, I have no choice but to suspend both of you for 3 days," the Principle said.
"Suspension?! Isn't there anything else you could do?" Matt whined.
"I'm sorry, but rules are rules Yamato, and my only option left is to suspend you. I want the two of you to know that this will be going on your permanent record. Please wait outside while I phone your parents to come pick you up. Oh, and a little bit of advice. Next time the two of you feel like fighting, do it off school grounds," Mr. Musaka suggested.
Matt and Tai left the office with their heads hanging. They couldn't believe that a stupid quarrel caused them to be suspended. After all, they had been friends since summer camp, 5 years ago. That was when their Digimon adventure had begun. That is one year they will never forget.
Both of them plopped into chairs in the waiting area of the main office. Matt was looking at the floor, sitting patiently, while in the meantime Tai was fidgeting nonstop.
"Uh, do you think you can relax for two minutes?" Matt asked.
"Sorry, it's just that I've never gotten suspended before, so it's kinda bugging me," Tai snapped.
"Let's not start that again. Anyway, I'm sorry about before man. I shouldn't have accused you like that," Matt apologized.
"Huh? Since when do you apologize?" Tai playfully questioned.
"Just take it or leave it Tai. You may never get another one from me," Matt advised.
"Sure! I'm sorry about before too. I was being a jerk towards Sora, never thinking about her feelings," Tai admitted.
"Friends?" Matt hopefully asked.
"Friends," Tai confirmed.
The two guys shook hands and smiled at each other. Even though Matt and Tai have their vast difference, the two of them can't stay separated long. A trait they had acquired during their digital adventure.
Matt slammed the door to his room behind him and quickly locked it. His father came banging on the door, and Matt could hear him yelling from the other side. It didn't matter to him, so, Matt just turned on discman, and blasted it in his ears. He would rather go deaf then listen to another lecture from his father about controlling his temper. Like his father should have the nerve to talk about controlling your temper.
"MATT! Open this door NOW!" Mr. Ishida demanded. "I said open the damn door Matt!"
Matt could still hear banging, but the powerful voice of his father was soon shut out by the pounding music. He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling and slightly nodding his head up and down in time to the music. Matt swung himself over the edge of the bed and pretended to play the air guitar as his feet thumped on the floor. Soon, he was up and jumping ecstatically around his room, tossing his head in beat with the music. This was what Matt loved to do the most. He loved being carefree in his room, and able to dance around enthusiastically with no one around. This was the true personality of Matt, the let-loose, no-worries, hakuna matata side of Matt Ishida.
He must have thrown himself around his room for what was close to half an hour before he was too exhausted to move anymore. Matt flopped onto his bed, completely worn out from the work out. He turned his CD player off, and decided to take a quick nap. After all, school had been tiring from the fight with Tai, and he had just worn himself out from dancing around his room. Matt curled up and closed his eyes.
It couldn't have been more than 40 minutes when the phone rang. It startled Matt, so he quickly rolled out of bed, and picked up the receiver.
"Hello?"
"Hi, is Matt home?"
"It's me."
"Oh, hi. It's Tai."
"Did your dad flip when you told him what happened?"
"Yeah. Did you expect him to welcome the news or something?"
"That's the thing, my parents didn't even raise an eyebrow. I swear, it didn't even phase them."
"Don't be ridiculous Tai. They are probably planning some cruel and unusual punishment for you that means."
"No Matt. I'm serious. They were silent the entire ride home, and now they haven't even come in to talk to me. I don't understand it."
"Well, that is pretty weird. Why don't you go see what's wrong?"
"And risk being savagely killed? I don't think so. It's safer to wait it out I think."
"OK, then. Well, if you had planned out what you were going to do, what did you call me for?"
"Just to see if your dad was acting the same way, that's all."
"Oh, well, I'll see ya around then."
"Yeah, bye Matt."
"Bye Tai."
Matt hung up the phone, and stared at it for a while. It didn't seem to right that Tai's parents would act that way. Any normal parent would have done what his father had, screamed like a maniac. No parent ever wants to hear that their kid has been suspended. Matt shrugged and walked over to his door. He cautiously opened it, and peeked through the crack into the living room of the apartment. His father wasn't in there. Matt stepped out and walked to his father's bedroom. Mr. Ishida wasn't in there either. Matt started to wonder what made his father leave so suddenly. The door to the bedroom was open, so Matt proceeded to walk inside. There was a message on the answering machine. Matt pressed the play button.
-beep- "Soushi, Soushi are you there? Where are you already? Please, hurry. T.K. needs you. I need you. I can't do this alone. Soushi? Ugh! (click)" -beep-
"T.K.!" Matt exclaimed. Matt wasted no time grabbing his coat, but realized that was foolish. He had no idea where to go, so instead he threw his coat on the couch and walked over to the kitchen phone. He dialed Tai's number. It rang once, twice, thrice… four agonizingly long rings. Finally, Tai answered.
"Hello?"
"TAI?!"
"Yeah, it's Tai. Who is-"
"It's Matt! Where's Kari?"
"At school, I think. Why?"
"Where are you parents?"
"Home. Matt, what is this about?"
"They haven't left?"
"NO! Matt, what's the matter?"
"I think T.K.'s hurt."
"Huh? Why do you think-"
"Because there is a message on my answering machine from my mom. She never calls here. She was asking for my father to help her with T.K. Something's wrong, very wrong," Matt's voice was shaky, and he was on the verge of tears.
"I…hold on. Let me ask my parents about it." Tai walked away from the phone. Matt paced around the tiny kitchen, constantly clenching his left hand into a tighter fist. It was a nervous habit of his.
"Matt?"
"Yeah I'm here. What did they say?!"
"They said that they are waiting to hear from your parents about T.K. and… and Kari," Tai gulped.
"Kari too?!"
"Yeah."
"Why haven't they left?"
"Because they are waiting to hear from your parents, they are at the hospital," Tai's voice dropped.
"WHAT!? Why the hell are they there? And why the hell haven't you parents gone to see Kari there too?!"
"Kari's only at the hospital to see T.K." Tai revealed. There was silence at the other end. Matt couldn't believe what he had just heard. T.K. was hurt and lying in a hospital bed, and his parents had frantically rushed over there. They hadn't even thought to bring him. Matt's face was ghostly pale, as his mind raced with all sorts of horrible things that could have hurt his little brother, T.K. Meanwhile, Tai was desperately trying to bring his friend back to reality.
"Matt? Matt? Matt?! Matt are you still there? Matt?"
"Uh, I gotta go. Bye," Matt abruptly hung up the phone. Tai was still on the other end, beginning to persuade him to stay home, but it was useless.
Matt raced out the door, throwing his coat on himself as his flew down the steps of his apartment building. By the time he reached street he was panting. Matt didn't take any time to catch his breath, but continued to charge down the sidewalk, towards to the community hospital. He didn't stop once, as he ran the entire 13 blocks to the hospital. Upon reaching his destination, Matt bent over, leaning his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. He wiped the perspiration off his face, and entered the hospital. Matt walked over to the receptionist's desk, and asked to know where patient Takeru Takushai was kept. Before the receptionist could answer he heard his mother's voice behind him.
"Yamato! How did you get here?" She demanded to know.
"I ran. As soon as I heard the news from Tai, I raced to get here as soon as I could," Matt told her.
"Matt, sit down. You look like you are about to pass out," Mrs. Takushai ordered. Matt trudged over to a seat next to his mother.
"Why didn't dad wake me up? Why didn't he take me with him? Where's T.K.? I need to go see T.K. Where is he?" Matt shot numerous questions at his mother.
"Matt, relax. Your father is with T.K. right now. He is upstairs in room 214. T.K. is fine. He is only recovering from a small concussion," Mrs. Takushai explained.
"Only a concussion? Well, that's not too bad. But is he feeling OK? Did he ask for me?" Matt continued to frantically question.
"Please Matt. Don't make a scene. We will go visit T.K. when Kari and your father come back downstairs," she said as she calmed Matt.
Matt subdued, and impatiently waited for his dad and Kari to enter the waiting area. Finally, they appeared. Matt bolted up and ran over to his father.
"Matt!" Kari exclaimed.
"Hey Kari. How is he?" Matt asked.
"Oh Matt! T.K.'s doing much better now. He smiled at me and opened his eyes. T.K. even talked with us a little!" Kari jumped up and down.
"That's great, Kari. Dad, why didn't you take me with you?" Matt glared at his father.
"I'm sorry, I just wasn't thinking, that's all," Mr. Ishida apologized.
"Yeah, whatever. Let's go Mom," Matt coldly replied. Matt and his mother took the elevator to the second floor. They stepped out together, but Matt broke away from his mother, briskly walking down the hallway. His eyes darted from left to right, as he searched for the right room. Finally, he saw the door labeled, 214. He opened it and immediately walked over to his brother.
"T.K." whispered Matt.
T.K. slowly turned his head to his side and weakly said, "Matt."
Matt's eyes became very moist and glazed over. He blinked rigorously to hold back the tears. He could not look at his brother like this, weak and with all of his energy drained from him. T.K. looked pale and there was a ring of blue around his eyes. T.K.'s bright blue eyes looked intensely into the identical royal blue that was in his brother's. T.K. forced a smile, to try and cheer up his depressed older brother.
"T.K., I'm so sorry I couldn't be there to…to stop whatever hurt you," Matt sighed.
"Matt, it…it's not, your fault," T.K. gasped.
"I know, but you depend on me, no matter how old you are. I'm sorry," Matt hung his head when he said this.
"Don't, think about it," T.K. forced out.
Matt sat on the edge of the bed, and T.K. slid over. Matt looked down at the sandy blond hair that was matted down underneath the wrap on his brother's head. He had the same color hair as T.K. In so many ways they were full brothers, but in reality they were only half. Yet, T.K. and Matt shared a strong bond and a strong sense of brotherhood between them. It most likely became strongest after the divorce. Matt picked up T.K.'s little hand, which wasn't so little anymore, and held it in his own. Then their mother entered the picture.
"Yamato, I'm so sorry what we've done to the two of you," she whimpered.
"Mom! I forgot you were here," Matt started.
"The two of you have managed to remain such close brothers. It is amazing to see the strong love you have for one another continue to grow and flourish," Mrs. Takushai stated. She was crying softly to herself.
"Mom, I miss you and T.K. so much!" Matt exclaimed. Mrs. Takushai took her stepson in her arms and embraced him. He was taller than she, but that didn't matter. They just hugged in the shadows of the hospital room. Moments later, the doctor walked in.
"I'm just here to check on T.K. He is doing much better Mrs. Takushai. I believe you will be able to take him home when he wakes up," the doctor stated.
"Oh, that's wonderful news," she answered, drying her eyes. Matt just smiled.
Matt stared at the illuminated computer screen in front of him as he anxiously awaited the reply from his mysterious friend. He was talking to someone that went to his own high school yet, he had no idea who this unknown face, shrouded by the computer screen, was. They had been talking about the school, the homework, the movies that were out, and many other general topics. The two had not gotten personal, and it sort of helped the conversation flow easily. Then, the familiar chime of the Internet instant messenger came. Matt quickly read the question, and was taken aback by surprise. The person had asked his name.
Matt's fingers swiftly typed in a response and slyly added the same question.
"Matt. And your name?"
"Shiori."
There was an awkward break in the conversation as Matt's brain thought back to the school day. He remembered the new girl standing in front of the class, shy and beautiful. He remembered her vibrant red hair and her deep aquamarine eyes. Matt thought about how he had felt when he watched her slink nervously down the isle to her seat. Then his mind wandered to Tai. He thought of Tai's stupidity, and Matt began to feel the anger rise up in him once again. Tai had deserved the beating he gave him in the lunchroom, and if he had the chance, Matt would do it again. Matt managed to bring himself back to reality, and sheepishly typed back to Shiori.
"Hi Shiori. Remember me from school?"
"Yes."
"It's nice to talk to you."
"Ditto."
'That was cute,' Matt thought.
"So, how come you left school early?"
"I got in a fight with Tai. I beat him good though." Matt felt he had to add that, to protect his reputation.
"Oh. Why?"
"He was acting like a jerk."
"Does he always annoy you?"
"Basically, yep"
"Oh, I thought you guys looked like friends in class."
"Yeah we're friends, just very competitive. More like brothers."
"Oh, I see. What was the fight about?"
"Like I said, he was acting like a jerk. I have to rough him up every once and while to keep him in line. : )"
"lol. That's funny. You're like the big brother I guess, and he's the little brat?"
"Hey, I have a real little brother, and he's no brat."
"Oh, sorry. Well, I have a little brother too, and he's pretty annoying to me sometimes."
"Well, I guess T.K. can be a little annoying. But all brothers are like that. Anyway, I would never hurt T.K.'s feelings."
"I would never hurt Damon's feelings either."
"It's nice to know that we have a few things in common."
"Yeah, it is."
"Well, I got to go now. Bye"
"Wait, will I see you in school tomorrow?"
"Not until Thurs., I was suspended for 3 days and so was Tai."
"Oh, Ok. Bye."
"Bye."
Matt signed offline too, and shut off the computer. He walked to his room and lay down on his bed. Matt's mind raced with thoughts of Shiori. 'She was so pretty', he thought. 'I can't believe I acted so stupid. Now she'll think that I am some sort of trouble-maker. Nice going Matt. Way to scare her off. She'll never like me now, since I was acting like just a big of a jerk as Tai was.' He continued to stare at the stucco ceiling of his apartment, as he reprimanded himself for being so stupid. Slowly Matt, began to fall asleep. It was already 11:30, and he was tired. Matt succumbed to the sleep that over took him and he rolled onto his side, closing his eyes.
The shrill ring of the telephone awoke Matt. He jolted upright, and then looked at the phone ringing next to his bed. His hand subcontiously reached for it, and he said hello into the receiver.
"Hey Matt, I thought I'd find you up." It was the familiar voice of Tai on the other end.
"Who said I was awake?" Matt groggily replied.
"Oh, so I caught you sleeping huh?"
"Yeah. It's 2:00…2:00 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING! Tai, what the hell are you calling me now for?"
"Sorry dude. Look I just wanted to tell you that I know what happened to T.K. today. I know who gave him the concussion."
"WHO?!"
"Some new kid named Damon. T.K. and Kari were out on the playground at recess shooting marbles and this Damon kid came over and asked to play with them. T.K. said it would be hard to join in the middle of it and Damon got offended. He's a bit bigger than T.K. and they got in a fight. Well, Kari said that they were in a hidden part of the playground, you know where it is. We used to hangout there all the time. In the swingset …Matt are you still there?"
"Yeah. C'mon already and spit it out. You explain things like a girl."
"All right. Anyway, they were fighting and somehow T.K. happened to run up the slide and Damon threw him off. T.K. fell backwards and landed on his head. Even though it was in grass, the impact still got to him. Kari said she ran to one of the teachers right away and told them T.K. was hurt. She didn't tell them about Damon, because she didn't want to get him in trouble on his first day…"
"WHAT? Why? What's wrong with that kooky sister of yours?"
"Hey man! She was just trying to be nice."
"Yeah, well what if that bully picks on T.K. again? I can't be there to protect him. What'll happen then huh?"
Matt, T.K. is 12 years old, nearly 13. I think you can let him take care of himself now. He's not your little kid brother anymore."
"Yeah, but that still doesn't mean I can't protect him. Wait'll this Damon kid meets up with me. He'll be sorry he ever crossed my brother's path."
"Matt, don't start acting stupid now, wait what am I saying? Matt, don't keep acting stupid now."
"Hey…"
"Well, I'm just telling you not to get in the middle of this. Maybe if you let T.K. stand up for himself for once, his confidence will grow and he won't let someone pick on him ever again. Let him grow up."
"Ugh, I guess so. But I'm keeping an eye on this character. I don't like him. What was his name again?"
"Damon, I think."
"Hmm…Damon. That sounds familiar."
"Really? Where have you heard Damon from before?"
"Tai, if I knew, don't you think I wouldn't need to think about that?"
"Uh, yeah, right."
"Hmm…Hey. Shiori said she had a little brother named Damon, but, it couldn't be the same one, right?"
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