He continued to eat alone and when he was finished, cleared the island and walked into his room. There was nothing to do, so he might as well play some music. He reached for the harmonica that was stored in his desk drawer, then decided to call T.K. instead. T.K. would be home from school today, since he had just gotten out of the hospital from a concussion yesterday. Matt dialed his brother's number from memory and waited for someone to pick up the receiver.

"Hey T.K. It's me."

"How are you feeling today?"

"Better, but I still have a major headache, I think I'll be going back to school by Thursday."

"Really? Me too."

"Wait, why are you home?"

"Oh, I forgot you didn't hear yet. Tai and I got in a fight at school…"

"Another?"

"Yeah, another. Well, this time the Principal suspended us for three days. It happened yesterday, so today is my first official day of suspension."

"Wow. You two really did it this time."

"Yeah, we know."

"What was the fight about?"

"Ah, Tai was acting stupid as usual, and was ignoring Sora. She looked pretty offended, so I jumped to defend her. The conversation between Tai and I had gotten pretty heated, so it led to a fight in the cafeteria."

"Matt, you and Tai are so silly sometimes. You guys can never agree on anything."

"We agree on one thing," Matt blurted out. He instantly regretted saying that, because he didn't feel like going into the details that lead up the brawl. You have to be in the mood for that sort of thing, and Matt most definitely was not.

"Well, what is it?"

"Oh, T.K., it's, uh, nothing. Nothing really. Just forget it."

"What's the matter? Is it bothering you?"

"A little, but I'm over it now. It's nothing really. Nothing."

"You sound really disturbed by it. Tell me Matt."

"It's not important T.K., really, trust me on this."

"Yeah, but you sound shaky on the phone."

T.K. was right. Matt just then noticed that his voice was very shaky and nearly cracking a few octaves on every word he said. "Oh, well, if you really wanna know, I'll tell you."

"Thanks Matt. Go ahead."

"Um, there is a new girl in the sophomore class, named Shiori Atsukai. She's really pretty, actually she's gorgeous. I can still picture her standing in front of the class, a nervous wreck. She was tall, I guess about your height, so still about 2 inches shorter than me. Long thin legs and long arms. Shiori had rich red hair, that shone brilliantly, and even the dim classroom lights could catch every highlight in her hair. She had bangs that fell to the top of her sparkling aquamarine eyes, which were very large and shy. Shiori's well-defined lips were shimmering from the pink lip-gloss she had applied as she stood in front of the class. Shiori is absolutely the most beautiful girl I have ever seen, and she has such a look of timidity about her. I just wanted to reach out and…uh, never mind that last remark."

"Whatever you say Matt," T.K. teased.

"Uh, getting back to the, uh fight. Tai was staring at Shiori throughout the entire class…"

"Like you weren't Matt. You practically memorized every feature about the new girl," T.K. snickered.

"T.K.! Ugh, well I was disgusted that Tai would think of anyone else but Sora. So, I told him how I felt at lunchtime. I said he was acting like a big jerk, since he was ignoring Sora's feelings. Then, like always, Tai was quick to act. He just wanted to fight, trying to make me shut up, even though I was speaking the truth. We started fighting, and Mr. Woo had to break us apart and drag us to the Principal's office. Then we were suspended for three days. So, that's why Tai and I had a fight."

"Man Matt, you really did a lot of explaining, especially on Shiori," mused T.K.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Matt said as he rolled his eyes. "Well, now that I've told you about my day, tell me about yours. I only heard a second hand story from Tai about your fight, which was from Kari's point of view."

"Oh, my fight. What happened, was some dumbass named Damon came over. He's a pretty suspicious looking guy, so I wasn't so sure I wanted him hanging out with Kari and me. Also, I had seen him checking out Kari before, so I wanted to make sure he wasn't going to pull any funny business. Well, he asked to join our game of marbles, and I politely replied that it would be difficult to join in the middle of it. I suggested he come back tomorrow when we were starting. This agitated him, although I truly meant nothing by it. I didn't want to fight the guy, since he was a little bigger than me, so I backed up into the swing set, trying to negotiate with him the entire time. You know it's not my thing to start a fight. But he ended up taking a swing at me, so I ducked and stepped up onto the slide. From up there I edged him on, taunting him really. He took my by surprise when he leapt on to the slide with me, and chased me up it. At the top, I grabbed on to one of the bars supporting the structure, to gain my balance. Damon took a cheap shot at me, and punched me in the stomach. I was able to punch him in the face, but letting go of the slide was a deadly move, because Damon wasted no time on his next attack. He grabbed my collar and flung me off the slide backwards. I must have landed on my head, because I just remember waking up to see my homeroom teacher looking at me. Later, at the hospital, Kari told me she had gotten the teacher, and that they had called the ambulance. She also told me that I had blacked out for only about a minute."

"Did Kari mention the fact that she didn't even rat out Damon?"

"Uh, no. She didn't tell anyone what he did?"

"Nope. Tai told me she kept her mouth shut because she didn't want to get Damon in trouble on his first day in school."

"What? Why the hell would Kari do that?" T.K. was outraged. He subdued himself, and then finished, "Well, that's Kari's caring personality for you. Always trying to spare others."

"Yeah, I wish I could believe that too."

"What do you mean Matt?"

"You know what I'm talking about, I know the whole story."

"Huh?! Matt, you're not making any sense. I don't understand."

"Sure you do. Don't play dumb. I know everything. I know how Kari thinks I'm cold-hearted and uncompassionate. In know that Tai is fed-up with me and hates me. I know how you resent my protective nature. I know how Tai and Kari have manipulated you. I know you think I'm overprotective, so there's no use in hiding it anymore!"

"Matt stop! You don't know what you're saying. It's not true!" T.K.'s frantic responses didn't affect Matt.

"I don't care what you say T.K. You're lying, you're lying to me again!"

"Stop it!"

"No T.K., I won't!" The same coldness and bitterness entered his voice that had been present back in the Digiworld, when he had faced Puppetmon and Cherrymon. Matt could hear a short, surprised gasp release itself from T.K. "Do you think I spent 12 years of my life looking after you because I had to? No! I wanted to because you're my little brother and I love you. How can you repay be like this?!"

"Matt listen to yourself! Listen to me!"

"I've done enough listening! It was listening to Tai's conversation with Kari over the phone that brought the truth to my attention. I can't believe you Takeru! You good-for-nothing backstabber!"

"Please, Yamato…"

"I hate you! How can you be so selfish! How can you hurt me like this!?"

"Stop it Matt! This is stupid!" The two boys' voices echoed loudly through the phone, pounding in each other's ears.

"I hate you, you jerk! You snake, you slime! Backstabber! Asshole! Bastard! Son of a bitch!"

"Matt! Get a hold of yourself! You're insane!"

"No! You get a hold of yourself! That last name fits you nicely! Son of a bitch. That's what you are. That bitch mother of yours did this to us!"

"YAMATO! She's your mother too, and don't you ever talk about her like that!"

"She's not my mother! I hate that whore! She did this to us! She separated us! It's all her fault! I hate her! I hate Tai! I hate Kari! I hate Dad! I hate you! I hate this whole fucking world!"

"I'm not going to listen to this crap. Good bye Matt." With that, T.K. hung up the phone. Yet, angry words were still rolling off of Matt's tongue uncontrollably.

"Moron! Jackass! Prick! Jerk! Dumbass! Mother-fucker! T.K! Are you there!?" Matt only heard the dull drone of the dial tone. "Stupid bastard hung-up on me!"

Matt clenched the phone in his fist, and then furiously slammed it back into the cradle. It's amazing the phone hasn't broken apart yet, since in two days it has repeatedly been smashed on the desk. Matt just stared at the phone for a few seconds. His blood was curdling inside him. He could feel his anger growing. Matt was about to explode.

Suddenly, he let out a scream of anguish, despair and rage loud enough for the neighbors in the next apartment building to hear. There was no doubt that nearly everyone in his own vicinity had heard the shout. Matt then began to trash his room. He violently kicked the chair to his desk, then moved on to punching his closet door. The door was swung open by Matt, and he proceeded to fling his clothes on the floor of his room. When his closet was nearly empty, Matt moved to his bed. He fiercely punched his pillow, but that didn't seem to get the job done, so he tossed it across the room. The pillow ran along the top of his desk, and knocked over the pictures he had up there. Matt got up and shoved the remaining pictures off the desk. In doing so, his harmonica had also dropped to the floor. In his rage, Matt instinctively picked it up, and chucked at a wall. The cherished harmonica splintered on impact into hundreds of pieces. Then, the realization of what Matt had done hit him full force.

"NO!" Matt bellowed. He ran to the broken harmonica and desperately tried to piece it back together. His attempts were futile, his beloved harmonic was destroyed. Matt cursed himself for being so careless. Suddenly, Matt felt the need to get out of the apartment. He was so frustrated and he needed time to sort his feelings out.

Matt grabbed his coat, and stuffed a few dollars into the pockets, just in case he got hungry. Matt took his broken harmonica with him and snatched the keys to the apartment before leaving. As Matt was exiting the apartment, the phone was ringing. He ignored it and walked out.

After a brisk walk, Matt arrived at the park and sat down on a familiar bench. This was where all the digidestined had frequently met to discuss their plans to find the 8th child. That was five summers ago and yet, the adventure was still fresh in his mind. Matt could easily recall the event of just about everyday that summer. It was strange because now more than ever, he longed to return to the Digiworld. Matt wanted to return to the days where everything was cut and dry, and he always knew what he had to do. He loved how the grouped had tackled their digital adventure with reckless abandon. Most of all, Matt missed his faithful companion, Gabumon.

Gabumon had shown his friendship and trust to Matt throughout the entire time he had been brainwashed. He remembered how Metalgarurumon had not left Matt's side even when they were attacking their friends. He was loyal and a true friend. No matter what Matt chose to do, Gabumon had never backed away, never been pushed aside. Matt seriously missed his friend now, because at that moment, more than ever, Matt felt terribly alone.

Then out of the bushes, Matt saw the one figure he least wanted to see approach him. Matt sighed and began to stand up to leave, when the person called out to him.

"Matt! Wait!" the familiar voice pleaded.

"What is it Tai?" Matt answered harshly.

"Um, can I talk to you?"

"I don't know, can you?" Matt sarcastically replied.

"Matt, please. It is important," Tai begged.

"Matt looked at Tai's large, brown, pleading eyes, and huffed. He sat back down on the park bench and motioned for Tai to join him. Tai cautiously sat down next to Matt.

"Well, I thought I'd find you here. After all, you didn't answer the phone," Tai stated.

"Oh, that was you calling? Good thing I didn't waste my time answering it," Matt curtly replied.

Tai just ignored that last comment and continued talking. "Look, I know you listened to the conversation I had with Kari, and I just came to apologize. It was wrong of us to talk about you like that. Everyone has feelings and whether or not you would have heard us or not, it's still wrong to talk about someone behind their back. Kari says she's sorry too. And, I'm sorry about yesterday in school, honestly. I was acting like a jerk and I have no right or reason to like Shiori. I have Sora and I need to respect her feelings. Can you forgive me?"

"Uh, sure Tai. But I could have told you all those things myself. We had also discussed this yesterday in the Principal's office and online, remember? Is that it?" Matt was peeved by this seemingly pointless conversation with Tai.

Tai looked hurt, but continued to speak nevertheless. "No, Matt. There's more."

Matt raised an eyebrow at this unexpected remark. He wasn't sure what Tai was hinting towards, but Matt felt he might as well let Tai explain himself. "What is it then?"

"Look, I know you've had a difficult past, and, well, I just wanted to let you know that I will always be here for you."

"Touching. Real touching," Matt mocked.

"Matt, please." Tai uneasily shifted his position so that he was now looking Matt dead on in the eyes. 'I have to know what's going on inside of him. I won't leave until I find out.' "OK, Matt. I know that you have had less-than-perfect relationships with your parents. I know you experienced and ugly divorce, and miss T.K. dearly, but I want to know why you opt to bottle up all of your emotions. You're going to explode one day, you know that?"

Matt looked surprised by Tai's sudden display of affection and kindness. "Well, I think you're a little late for that," Matt sighed. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the destroyed harmonica. Matt simply stared at it with longing eyes, like he had lost his best friend.

"Oh, Matt," Tai said empathetically. "What happened?"

"Ah, I, um got a little frustrated this morning. In the midst of trashing my room I knocked over my harmonica and tossed it against a wall. It just shattered into so many pieces." Matt's midnight blue eyes were watering up. He hated not having his harmonica to release his emotions.

"Maybe we should go someplace, er, a little less out in the open," Tai suggested. Matt just nodded his head and solemnly followed Tai.

The two boys sat silently in Tai's room. Tai was sitting on his bed, and Matt was sitting on the floor, still fiddling with the crushed harmonica.

"Matt?"

"Hmm?"

"What are you feeling?"

"What?"

"You know. How do you feel inside right now?"

"I, I don't know. I'm mostly confused."

"Me too."

"Lately, everyone has been leaving me."

"What do you mean Matt?"

"I'm pushing everyone away. It's like the Puppetmon and Cherrymon saga all over again. No one needs me or wants me around."

"Don't say that. It's not true."

"Yeah?! Prove it!"

"Calm down Matt. You don't realize it, but people do need you and do like having you around."

"How can you say that? Hypocrite! You of all people, have got to hate me."

"No Matt, I don't."

"Wha? You don't Tai?"

"Nope."

"But, why not? I've been so cruel to you."

"Matt, our friendship should mean more than that. It shouldn't be based on the little fights we have from time to time. I would never let it fall apart over one of our frequent and dumb arguments. That would be silly."

"I know, although, I hate myself when I get angry and violent it reminds me too much of…" Matt manages to stop himself and looks sheepishly at Tai. Tai is staring at Matt in awe.

"What does it remind you of?"

"Nothing."

"Matt, you can't expect me to believe that. Tell…"

"It's nothing Tai. Just leave it alone."

"No Matt. I came here to talk to you and I'm going to find out your secret if it kills me."

"Tai, just forget about it OK?"

"NO! Tell me!"

Matt rises to his feet and without saying anything begins to walk towards the door. Tai throws himself in front of the exit and firmly stands his ground. The two boys glare at each other.

"Tai, move."

"No."

"Get the hell outta my way!"

"NO!"

"Damn it Tai! Move!" Matt starts to pry Tai away from the doorway.

"Let me go. Let go of me!"

"Let me leave and I'll let go!"

"NO! Sit down!" With that, Tai thrusts Matt backwards and Matt falls back onto the floor. Tai quickly closes the door and locks it.

"Son of a bitch! You have no idea what you are doing!" Matt angrily shouts at Tai.

"I know EXACTLY what I'm doing. I'm going to help you, whether you want it or not."

"I think you're going to need help after this, medical help that is." Matt lunges at the unsuspecting Tai. Matt pins Tai on the bed and punches him in the face. Tai puts his arms in front of his face for defense. Matt resorts to punching Tai in the stomach. Blow after blow is delivered to Tai, until a faint whisper is heard from Tai. It is nearly inaudible, but Matt is able to make it out perfectly.

"I thought this was the Yamato you hated," Tai whispered. Matt abruptly stops the onslaught and looks at his frightened friend, cringing on the bed. Tears begin to flood Matt's eyes, and he cannot hold them back. Matt leaps off Tai and falls to the floor. He turns his back on Tai and weeps bitterly into his hands. Matt is shaking uncontrollably, and his sobs are intertwined with heavy gasps for air.

"What have I done? I'm becoming him," Matt cries.

"Him?!" Tai puts in.

Matt turns around and faces Tai. His face is tear-streaked, his eyes are bloodshot, and his nose is running. "Yes, him. My father."

"Oh, Matt. Tell me what's wrong."

"Only T.K. knows, and he doesn't know much. He was too young to remember everything. I have never told another soul and I had vowed that I never would. But, maybe, just maybe you're right. Maybe I shouldn't keep my feelings bottled up inside any longer. Tai, can you keep a secret?"

"Yes."

"OK. Well, then here goes."

Matt is nervously wringing his hands in his shirt and trying to gain composure. He sighs loudly, and then begins to tell his childhood story.

"My entire life has been based on a promise I made to myself and T.K. when I was only 6 or 7. I promised I would never let anyone hurt T.K., which meant I would never turn into my father. Just thinking of what he has done sends chills up my back. For three wonderful years it was just my Dad, step-mom and me. We were a close family, and always had fun. Then one day, my step-mom told my dad that she was pregnant. He took the news pretty hard, and it almost looked as if the new baby was a mistake. Nine months later, wonderful T.K. was born. I was so happy and I loved him from the moment I first laid eyes on him. Although, it was soon evident that it was difficult for my father to support T.K. and the family. He was extremely stressed out, and took up drinking. This is where it gets ugly. My picture-perfect family was suddenly transformed into to one plagued by liquor and abuse."

Matt swallowed hard before continuing. "From the first night I noticed my dad was drunk, I swore to never let him lay a hand on T.K. Wherever T.K. was, I was right by his side, protecting him from my father. There were many nights when my dad would come home late, sometimes 1, 2 or even 3 o'clock AM. Those were the nights I feared the most, because I knew that he would come staggering in through the door, drunk as hell. I could always tell when he arrived at home, because the odor of liquor would be so strong on him, that I could smell it when he walked through the door. When my step-mom would desperately try to talk some sense into him, demanding to know where he had gone off to, I could hear his slurred speech. He sounded retarded, but it was just a side affect of the alcohol. My dad would yell and scream at my mom all the time. Often, his outbursts of angry words would be followed by physical abuse. I could hear the slaps delivered to my mother, and I could hear it when she was tossed into a cabinet or flung to the floor. It frightened me, because I never knew what he would do next. Sometimes, he would come after me or T.K. Although, like I said before, I never allowed my dad to get near T.K." Matt looked at Tai's sorrowful expression and resumed talking.

"One night, about 10 years ago, I can still remember it vividly, he came home worse than ever before. He stumbled in through the door, and it looked like he had gotten into a fight at the bar. He was louder than ever, and my mother pleaded with him to calm down, he was going to wake the neighbors. My dad just became more enraged with her cries, and he hit her, real hard. I watched from behind my door as she fell onto the cold tile floor. She landed there, limp, and was barely able to look up at him. She was crying hysterically, and all he continued to do was yell and scream at her. He kicked her, and I watched her double over in pain, shrieking horribly. I couldn't stand it, so I ran out to my step-mom. She looked up at me, and screamed furiously at me to go back to bed. I shook my head and focused on my mother, completely forgetting about my father hovering over me. Suddenly, I felt a large hand come across my face. It stung and hurt like a bitch, but I refused to cry. I didn't want to appear weak to my father. I was determined to stand up to him, even though I was only 6 years old. He screamed at me, I remember the words exactly. 'What the fuck are you doing here!? Damn it! Can't you mind your own fucking business. Get the hell out of here!' I yelled back, 'NO! Don't hurt mommy!' He just looked at me laughed in my face. 'Shit Matt! I'll kill you! I'll kill you and your whore mother. I'll kill that son of a bitch brother of yours too! Fuck T.K.! He's responsible for this! It's his fault I'm going insane. That fucking kid's drained me of all my money!' Then, he proceeded to grab me by the collar and throw me into the table. My back hit it, and cracked real loud. It sounded like it had broken, but by some miracle, it hadn't. I was able to get back up in time to see him making his way to T.K.'s room. I ran full speed and blocked the entrance. 'Move!' He bellowed at me. 'NO!' I shouted. He slapped me across the face again. Then he grabbed me by my collar again and thrust me up against the door. I remember the awful smell of liquor on his breath. He spit in my face, and then violently threw me into a glass corner piece. It shattered, and cut a deep gash in my neck." Matt pulled down the turtleneck of his green shirt and pointed to a long jagged scar. It ran from the hinge of his right jawbone to his collar bone. Then Matt brushed away the pieces of hair that always lain on his forehead. Just along the scalp line was another deep scar. "I got this one from a piece of glass the gouged open my head that night. I was down and I couldn't get up. I couldn't get to T.K., but luckily, my mom had pulled her strength together and attacked my dad from behind. She had a vase in her hand and smashed it over my father's head. He fell to the floor unconscious. My mother ran over to me and comforted me. T.K. then emerged from the shadows of his room, he was crying hysterically, but he had remembered to stay hidden in his room, just like I told him to. I was brought to the hospital and my dad was arrested. Afterwards, when I was home the next day, it was just the three of us. My step-mom filed for a divorce, but it didn't go through until a month later. By then, my dad had already stood trial, and they had acquitted him. The judge was new, and said that there wasn't substantial evidence, or something like that. Although I don't know what could be more substantial than my wounds. So, when the divorce was finalized, T.K. was to remain with my step-mom, and I was to go live with my biological father. He was ordered to go to a rehab center, and his still does to this day. They must constantly check up on him, to make sure that his blood alcohol content isn't over the limit. He's been good lately, and I've started to accept him as my father again. Although, I don't know if I can ever forgive him or love him truly again." Matt finished his story, and then wiped away the tears that were rolling down his cheeks by now. Matt looked up to see Tai was crying as well.