I wanted to write a fic with a young Yamato and Sora. Once I had the setting, this story wrote itself.
Enjoy!
It was a sunny Sunday afternoon. A perfect day to go on an excursion. Such was the opinion of the young boy crouching by the bushes on the outskirts of the park. His mother and younger brother were happily playing on the swings a distance away from him, and his father…well, his father was in that place grown-ups called 'work', wherever that was.
But the boy called Yamato was on a mission. Sticking his head into the foliage, his wide blue eyes scanned sharply around the twigs and leaves in search of his prey: a little red ladybug. Actually, any red ladybug, really. He was not being picky.
It was all due to a school assignment his teacher had given his class weeks ago. The objective was to go into nature and gather living things containing all the basic colors. If it happened to be an animal, he had to draw it in his sketch book and have it signed by a parent.
So far, he had found all the colors but red. For blue, he had drawn a blue fish he had seen when he went with his mother and brother to the dentist. Green had been the easiest; he had merely collected a bunch of fallen leaves and placed them inside a zippy bag. Yellow had been tricky, but he drew some yellow ducklings he and his brother had seen when they went to the lake with their mother.
But he had yet to find something with the color red.
His mother had suggested buying a red flower, like a rose, but most of his classmates were already doing that. He did not want to take the easy way out. He was, after all, Yamato Ishida, possessor of half the name of the legendary Yamato Takeru, the famous figure of Japanese folklore. He could not give up so easily.
It was as he was browsing on the animal encyclopedia at school that he came across the ladybug. A very common red insect that tended to habituate in trees and bushes.
His mission had thus started.
He was just about to scan the bushes to his right when a little disturbance in the foliage broke his concentration. Sitting up, he stuck his head out of the bushes and looked at the source of the disturbance: a white soccer ball.
He frowned at it, hoping that it had not scared off any of the ladybugs he was desperately trying to find. Ignoring the ball a few feet away from him, he once again delved his head into the foliage, wishing to catch any ladybugs that were potentially fleeing the site of the disturbance. Distantly, he heard the sound of running footsteps approaching, but wanting to ignore the perpetrator that had so perfectly disturbed his search, he simply remained focused on his task of pushing aside the leaves that blocked his view.
He had been sure that the owner of the guilty soccer ball would just come for his ball and leave him to his peace, which was why Yamato was shocked when a face suddenly appeared on the bushes to his right.
"Ah!" He could not contain the startled shout that left him at the sudden intrusion.
Falling back into his back, he looked at the bush just in time to meet the confused eyes of the mischievous boy that was so intent on ruining his mission.
Boy….? Or was it a girl?
It had shortish and reddish hair, which was unusual in girls. But his face was too girly, in Yamato's opinion.
Anyways, it did not matter. Boy or girl, It had made Yamato angry.
"What are you doing?!" Yamato asked indignantly, frowning at the mischievous boy/girl.
The boy/girl simply kept looking at him with confused red eyes.
"What are you doing?" The boy/girl asked him back, tilting his/her head to the side.
Yamato swallowed his frustration. Who was this person to come and disrupt him?
"No," he responded, sitting up on the floor. "I asked you first! What are you doing?"
The person in front of him looked at him for a moment longer before pointing towards the direction of the forgotten soccer ball.
"I was playing with my soccer ball."
Yamato sweat dropped. Was this person a dummy? Of course he/she had been playing with the soccer ball. That was obvious enough!
He was just about to clarify his question when she beat him to it.
"So what are you doing?"
Yamato clamped his mouth shut. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he internally wished that this troublemaker would leave him to his peace.
Maybe if he/she knew what he was doing, he/she would grow bored and finally leave him alone.
"I was looking for a lady bug." He answered, releasing his breath.
But he had been wrong. Instead of looking disappointed, the boy simple gave off a small and very girly laugh.
The boy looked at him with twinkling eyes
"Are you a dummy?"
Yamato's indignation could only grow. He? A dummy? He?
Who did this boy think he was?
"Why would I be a dummy?!" Yamato asked loudly, scowling at the girly boy who insulted his pride.
Releasing another small laugh, the boy pointed towards the darker area of the foliage.
"Everyone knows that lady bugs like shaded areas better than sunny ones." He responded, looking at Yamato as if he was the silliest thing he had ever seen.
Of all things, Yamato did not like to be seen as a silly thing. His hero, Yamato Takeru had never been seen as a silly thing.
"Everyone knows?" He returned, finding it hard to believe the boy's words. "Everyone?"
Despite Yamato's indignation, the boy kept looking at him with those twinkling and annoying girly eyes.
"Well…." The boy conceded, looking unsure for the first time. "At least everyone who is anyone knows."
Rolling his eyes heavenwards, Yamato's patience finally let up. He had lady bugs he needed to find.
"Well…" He started, scrambling for the perfect insult. "At least I don't look like a girl!"
He was expecting indignation on the boy's part. After all, what boy liked to be called a girl? But surprisingly, the smile on the boy's face only managed to grow in size, making Yamato confused. What happened? He had been super confident of his insult, sure that it would finally cause the boy to leave him alone…..
….so why was he smiling instead?
He could not contain his curiosity
"Why are you smiling? I just called you a girl." He reminded her.
The boy in front of him laughed.
"Silly!" He declared, "I am a girl!"
Yamato's eyes widened. The boy….no…the girl in front of him leaned closer to him, allowing him to see her long eyelashes and girly features from a closer distance.
Sputtering, Yamato fought to retrieve the upper hand.
"Well…." He started. "You …you dress like a boy!" He informed her.
And it was true. She wore a masculine version of a soccer uniform. Most girls wore more feminine versions of the uniform, whether in cut or in color. He was also used to girls wearing their hair longer. In fact, all the girls in his class had longer hair with dumb bows and frilly ribbons hanging off it.
"My dad bought it for me" She told him, as if he needed to know. "It is called 'unisect', or something like that. It means both boys and girls can wear it!"
Slowly, she once again created distance between them. "Besides, I want to be on the boys team, not the girls!"
Intrigued by her unique personality, Yamato kept looking at her as she got back on her feet.
Just as he thought she was going to head for her soccer ball and leave, she came close to him and offered him her hand.
Confused, he looked at it before looking up at her. "What is it?" He asked.
"Let's go find a lady bug!" She proposed, smiling excitedly at him.
Remembering his mission, Yamato hesitated only for an instant before grasping the hand in front of him. He would never admit it, but he was happy to have an accomplice in his search for the elusive lady bug.
Together, they headed towards the shaded section of the foliage where they proceeded to diligently search for the little red bug. While doing so, they became immersed in the adventurous world of children, making the time go by in the speedy manner which occurs when one has fun.
Too soon, it seemed, Yamato heard his mother's voice call out to him.
Turning towards the girl to his right, he saw the disappointment he felt mirrored on her face. It appeared that their mission had not been successful.
"We could not find your lady bug" She said, biting her lip in regret.
Not wanting to make her feel so bad, Yamato tried to be more positive. After all, this boyish girl did try to help him, and he did have a lot of fun while they searched.
"Don't worry, I'll keep looking." he told her confidently. "All I need is to find something red that is alive."
"Something red….that is alive…?" She repeated slowly, looking pensive.
Suddenly, her face brightened and she clapped her hands.
"Oh!I know!" She declared in sudden gladness. Consequently, she grabbed his arm firmly and told him sternly. "Don't move a muscle! I'll be back."
Incredulous, Yamato looked as she swiftly turned around and headed out of the shaded foliage towards the populated area of the park.
Where was she going?
He had only waited for about a minute before he saw her running back towards him, appearing to hold something in her hand and when at last she was in front of him, he could see that she was holding a pair of scissors in her hand. Why was she holding a pair of scissors?
More confused than ever, Yamato frowned as she handed him the scissors.
His expression must have appeared puzzled, for she finally took an effort to explain her inexplicable actions.
"You need…." She was still out of breath from her run. "You need something red…..and alive…..right?" She answered for herself.
He nodded slowly. His mind still blank.
She took a deep breaths smiled brightly at him, and pointed theatrically towards her head.
"My hair!"
Yamato's jaw nearly hit the floor.
This boyish girl in front of him was truly volunteering her hair for his homework?
Forget dumb. Was she crazy?
"But…" He could honestly not find the correct words. "But…it's your hair!"
"So what?" She returned, seemingly not having any problems with the idea. "It will grow back!"
Still seeing the dubious look in his face, she grabbed his shoulders and shook him
"Come on, silly!" She told him, "We don't have much time!"
Hesitantly, Yamato looked at her hair.
It was a rather nice shade of red. Quite pretty, actually.
But….is hair alive?
"Is hair alive?" He asked her, echoing his thoughts.
He looked as she seemed to consider his question, biting a side of her lip as she thought. Finally, she looked at him.
"Why wouldn't it be alive?" She asks him in return. "It grows, doesn't it? Like a plant!"
To a pair of seven year olds, the fact that hair grew like a plant obviously meant that it was alive. They had nothing to fear, then.
"Alright, then." Yamato conceded. "But you do it." With that, he handed her back the scissors, which she took with an exasperated sigh.
"Boys…" She muttered under her breath, which Yamato wisely chose to ignore.
Feeling confident in their endeavor, both children shared a look of comradery before the girl snipped a generous chunk of her hair. With the deed done, she handed the red locks to Yamato, who reverently placed them inside a zippy bag he had carried in the hopes of finding a red lady bug.
In the distance, they once again heard Yamato's mom call out to him and they knew that their little adventure was over. But this time, their mission was successful.
Together they headed towards the spot that the girl had left her soccer ball, where a woman was already holding the white ball in her arms.
"That's my mom" The girl next to him informed him. "I have to go!."
She was about to start running towards the lady when Yamato grabbed her hand.
"Wait," he told her, once again hearing his mother's voice. "What's your name?"
The girl smiled at him.
"My name means sky."
And she ran back to her mother.
On the car on their way home, Yamato's mother asked him about his mission to find a lady bug.
Happily looking at the red locks in the bag, Yamato told her that although he had not been successful in finding one, he had found something much cooler.
In a different car, an Ikebana master despaired of ever getting her rebellious daughter to become more feminine and allow her hair to grow.
Twenty years later
Natsuko takaichi was diligently searching through the old storage in search of memorabilia from her oldest son's childhood. In only a matter of weeks, her little boy, though now a man, will wed his longtime sweetheart in a small, intimate ceremony.
As mother of the groom, she wished to compile old pictures of Yamato's younger days into a book; her gift towards her soon-to-be daughter in law.
Although her years as Yamato's girlfriend had allowed Sora to see pictures from all stages of Yamato's life, she was sure that the storage room likely possessed rarer items that had not seen the light of day for many years. Indeed, after her divorce from Hiroaki, Natsuko had rented out this storage and locked away many memories of their days as a happy family unit.
So far she had found many entertaining things. Old picture books and story books from when Yamato and Takeru where babies. An old chewable toy that Takeru had been obsessed with. And now, she was searching through Yamato's old school assignments and laughing at her son's innocent, childish answers.
She was flipping through an assignment book where Yamato had gathered living things that consisted of all the basic colors. She smiled at his attempt to draw what appeared to be yellow ducks, and grimaced when she opened the page containing what used to be green leaves.
Turning to the last page, she saw a little bag holding what at first seemed to be a red ribbon, but turned out to be hair. Confused, she examined the label on the page. The words Hair from the girl whose name means Sky was written messily, but legibly into the page.
'It could not be' thought Natsuko. 'It simply cannot be.'
Standing up from her crouch, Natsuko brought the assignment book closer to the light on the side of the room.
The light revealed what Natsuko could hardly conceive.
There, safely inside the plastic zippy bag, was a lock of hair with hues identical to those of her soon-to-be daughter's in law.
Sora. The girl whose name means sky.
Yamato's mother smiled tearfully, her heart touched.
She had found the perfect wedding gift.
I could not ever imagine that I would have so much fun writing about my two babies in their kiddie days! I absolutely loved delving into the more innocent and simple psyche of Yamato and Sora as kids. It was such a contrast to the more serious and mature nature of my usual writings.
Note: Yamato Takeru, the person I kept mentioning on the story, was a Japanese legendary prince from the Yamato Dynasty. Hi is a very popular figure in Japanese folklore and the creators of Digimon decided it would be fun is Yamato's parents "named" their children after this legend. Hence we have Yamato, and Takeru.
I hope you all like it!