Longest thing I've ever written (thus far)
NOTE: ~#~#~#~ is another scene. italics is thought and dream.
MY POETRY SUCKS. I ALREADY KNOW THAT. but, hey I tried.
ENJOY!!!
With the sky above
With the sea below
Where am I exactly?
Does anybody know?
She woke up with a gasp, snapping out of her dream.
Again. Again she dreamt of the same sweet voice coming from a mysterious pianist.
She had no idea who he was.
All she knew was that he had the most beautiful voice like that of an angel and the talent to play the piano like a dream.
She glanced over at her clock.
3:33 a.m.
It was strange.
Every night for the past month, she's had that same dream.
And every night, she would awaken at exactly 3:33 a.m.
Why was she having these dreams?
Why would she get up at the exact same time every night?
Why would she always dream of that pianist?
She wanted answers, but she had no way of getting them.
Sora Takenouchi was her name. 14 years old. An eighth grade honors student at Tachibana Middle School.
Not one to talk much, she held the highest GPA of her grade and only had a few close friends.
Wide awake, Sora climbed out of bed and went out onto her balcony. She stared up into the clear sky at the bright full moon.
"Please." she wished to the moon. "Please tell me... who he is."
~#~#~#~
"You had another dream again?!" Sora's best friend Mimi exclaimed.
"Keep your voice down." Sora said. "I don't want the whole school knowing."
"Heh, heh, sorry." Mimi said.
Sora didn't really remember how she became friends with the chipper, bubbly Mimi Tachikawa, but she knew that they had been friends for as long as either of them could remember.
"Do you remember what he sang this time?" Mimi asked, taking out her special pink and black notebook.
"Yeah." Sora said. "'With the sky above, with the sea below, where am I exactly?, does anybody know?'"
"Hmm..." Mimi muttered, scribbling down the last bit of the verse. "And where were you this time?"
"A lake again." Sora answered.
"Hmm..." Mimi continued, staring at her notebook. "I know that he's asking you where he is, but other than that, I still got nothing."
"It's okay." Sora said.
"Are you guys talking about that dumb magic mumbo jumbo stuff again?" a voice asked, walking up to them.
"It's not mumbo jumbo, Taichi Yagami!" Mimi scolded.
The boy was Taichi Yagami, the eighth grade's number one athlete but not only that, he was also the eighth grade's number one annoying knucklehead. (AN: No offense to Taichi.)
"Whatever, Meems." Taichi said. "And if I've told you once, I've told you a billion times, call me Tai! Taichi is too formal."
"I don't care if it's too formal for you," Mimi replied, "I'll call you whatever I want."
"Ugh, whatever." Tai scoffed, sitting down on a desk.
"Uh... Tai?" Sora asked.
"What?" Tai asked back.
"Could you get off my desk?" Sora asked.
"Oh!" Tai gasped. "I didn't know that was your desk! Sorry!"
"It's fine." Sora muttered. "Just try to remember next time."
"I will." Tai muttered, and went back to his own desk.
"Boy, Sora, you sure know how to handle him." Mimi sighed.
"That's because," Sora said, "other than you, I've known Tai since we were in diapers, so of course I know how to handle him."
"Yeah, no wonder he likes you." Mimi muttered.
"What was that?" Sora asked.
"Nothing, nothing." Mimi said. 'God, how can she be so dense?'
"Attention, students!" their teacher, Mrs. Miyazaki said, getting everyone to take their seats. "Today is a wonderful day. We're receiving a brand-new student."
"A new student?" Sora muttered. "In the middle of the year? How odd."
Sora looked in the direction of Mimi's desk in the front of the room, and Mimi turned to give her a thumbs-up.
Sora sighed. Mimi was constantly trying to get her to "hook up" with a boy, but every try before that day had failed. Miserably.
"Now, children, allow me to introduce our new student." Mrs. Miyazaki said, motioning to the door. "Please welcome, Yamato Ishida."
And in walked the new boy. Blonde hair, blue eyes, about five foot four. He was wearing a dark red shirt, blue jeans and a black leather jacket.
'He looks like some street thug.' Sora thought. 'There's no way Mimi would--'
Sora looked over at Mimi. Mimi's eyes were sparkling; it was obvious Mimi was going to try to set her up with the new boy.
"Now, let's see..." Mrs. Miyazaki muttered. "Yamato, you'll be sitting next to Ms. Takenouchi, behind Mr. Yagami in the back of the center row."
Yamato didn't answer; he just walked to the back of the center row and sat himself down next to Sora.
Sora glanced over at Yamato and met with his sharp blue eyes. She blushed as she turned away.
'Why am I suddenly so flustered?' she asked herself. 'What is it about the new boy that's making my heart race?'
Thankfully, Sora was able to hold out for the rest of the period. When the bell rang, Yamato headed right for the door.
"Hey, where're you goin' newbie?" a couple guys asked to get his attention.
"To find my new locker." Yamato muttered and waltzed right out.
"Huh, not much of a talker, ain't he?" one of the guys muttered.
"I've heard a little bit about the new guy." Hiroshi Takahada said, joining the growing group of boys. "Rumor's goin' 'round that he got kicked out of his old school for almost killing one of his teachers."
"Scary!" one of the girls squealed.
"I seriously doubt that." Sora muttered under her breath.
"So, Sora," Mimi said, sitting where Yamato was, "whaddaya think of the new guy?"
"He looks like a street thug." Sora replied. "Really, Mimi, what makes you think--"
"Then why were you blushing when you looked at him? Hm?" Mimi asked, catching Sora off guard.
"I... I wasn't blushing!" Sora replied. "You must've seen wrong. Maybe there's something wrong with your eyes!"
And with that, Sora stomped out of the room, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks.
"I didn't see wrong Sora." Mimi muttered. "You have."
As Sora stomped down the hall towards her locker, she spotted Yamato with another boy from her music class.
His name was Kyle Shizuka. Long, black hair, dark eyes and a quiet and cold disposition. From what Sora had heard, he didn't have any friends and preferred to be alone; some of the girls even said he was emo, but they weren't sure, so why was Yamato with him?
Sora watched the two as they talked for a bit. She couldn't hear what they were saying though. But then Kyle started smiling and laughing at whatever Yamato had said to him. Sora wondered what they were talking about and thought about trying to get close enough to hear, but decided otherwise; too risky.
She opened up her locker and got out her books for her next class. Just as she was about to close it up, she saw the two boys coming her direction. She pretended to check in her locker for something in order to hear a little bit of their conversation.
"So, wanna check out the music room?" Kyle asked.
"I'd much rather check out the insides of my eyelids." Yamato yawned.
"Did you stay up last night again?" Kyle asked.
"Of course." Yamato said.
"Ha, ha, you haven't changed a bit, Mattie." Kyle said.
"You know it." Yamato replied. And then the two were out of sight.
'Mattie?' Sora thought. 'Yamato's only been here not even a day and he's already allowed Kyle to call him Mattie?! I guess he may be quiet but he's quick to make friends.'
Sora couldn't help but stare in the direction the two left in and wonder what all that was about.
~#~#~#~
Why are you here?
Are you here to help me?
Is your purpose here
To set my soul free?
Sora once again snapped out of her dream.
The same sweet voice, the same mysterious pianist.
Once again, Sora jumped out of bed and walked out onto her balcony.
"Please, oh, please." she wished to the moon. "Just a hint, please."
~#~#~#~
"Another dream, really?" Mimi asked.
Sora nodded.
"Ok, Sora, you know the drill." Mimi said, bringing out her notebook.
"'Why are you here?, are you here to help me?, is your purpose here, to set my soul free?'" Sora said, remembering every word.
"And place?" Mimi asked.
"A barren desert." Sora replied.
"You're dreams are getting stranger and stranger." Mimi said.
"Yeah..." Sora muttered. "I wonder... what it all means."
"Dreams can have obvious meanings or hidden meanings." Mimi said. "Yours just happen to be one of those hidden meaning ones."
Sora sighed. She wished that she knew the meaning behind her dream.
~#~#~#~
During fifth period lunch, Sora found a note in her lunch bag.
Barren means that you have a clear mind, but the desert, filled with miles of sand, means that there's something you're thinking about that you want to avoid, but can't.
Sora read the note three times and looked it over completely. No name, no nothing.
Who sent her that note? And how did that person know about the barren desert in her dream?
Sora didn't want to think about it, so she put the note in her pocket and finished her lunch.
~#~#~#~
Later that day, Sora and Mimi went to the park to watch Tai's soccer game.
Sora didn't really care for sports, but Tai practically begged her to come, so how could she say no?
"Hey, Sora," Mimi whispered, "look who's here."
Mimi pointed to the other side of the soccer field.
Sora was surprised to see Yamato sitting on the grass next to Kyle.
"I had heard that those two became fast friends." Mimi said. "I wonder what they're doing here."
"Yeah…" Sora muttered. She had heard the two talking, and she was still curious.
"Hey, wanna get some ice cream?" Mimi asked. "There's a new shop close by."
"Uh… okay." Sora agreed, and the two ran off to the new ice cream shop.
After getting their ice cream, the two girls went back to the field to find out that Tai's team was no longer in the lead. The other team had caught up, now Tai's team was losing by one.
It was the team's break, so the two went over to Tai to ask what was going on.
"What's with the score?" Mimi asked. "You guys were winning earlier."
"Sora! Mimi! You're here!" Tai exclaimed. "Where did you guys go?"
"To the nearby ice cream shop." Mimi said. "Why?"
"Don't go off again!" Tai said. "You guys are the team's good luck charms!"
"And you said you didn't believe in magic." Mimi scoffed.
"It's not magic." Tai said. "You guys are just plain lucky. Now stay near the field where I can see you and our team'll win easy."
"Alright, if you insist." Mimi said. "But I seriously doubt I'm any luck."
"Don't say that." Sora said, leading Mimi back to the bleachers. "You can be as lucky as me… Wait, then how am I the lucky one?"
"Never mind." Mimi said. "Just forget I said anything."
"Oh… okay." Sora said, sitting down and taking another lick of her ice cream.
Tai was actually right. His team won by two goals, and Tai said that it was all thanks to his good luck charms.
"We're going over to my house to celebrate." Tai said to the girls. "Wanna come?"
"Uh, no thank you." Sora said. "I'm just going to stay here for awhile."
"Oh… okay." Tai said, slightly disappointed.
"Me, on the other hand, I'm coming for your mom's salsa!" Mimi chimed.
"Yeah, yeah, you and my mom's salsa." Tai muttered.
"What? It's good salsa!" Mimi said.
"I know." Tai said, and the two left.
Sora sighed and looked around. No sign of Yamato or Kyle. She set out to look for them.
'I wonder where they are.' She thought.
Suddenly, for being so deep in thought, Sora forgot that there was a flight of stairs leading to a lower area of the park, and she fell.
Just as she thought she was going to hit the ground, someone caught her.
She looked up to see Yamato Ishida, who had caught her like a prince did his princess in a fairy tale.
"Um, I, uh." Sora stuttered.
"You alright?" Yamato asked.
"Oh! Yes! I'm fine! Thank you!" Sora exclaimed, scrambling to stand on her own.
"Hey Yamato! Nice catch!" Kyle said, running over. "You were right when you said to stay here."
'Yamato... knew I was going to fall?' Sora thought.
"Hey, you're Sora Takenouchi from my music class, right?" Kyle asked.
Sora nodded, speechless.
"I don't believe we were properly introduced in class." He said. "I'm Kyle Shizuka, pleased to meet you."
"S-Same here." Sora said.
"So, Yamato's in your homeroom?" Kyle asked.
Sora nodded.
"He's also in my first and fifth through eighth period classes." Sora said.
"What?" Kyle asked. "Then he's in our music class?! Yamato! You didn't tell me that! I haven't seen you in class! Have you been ditching?! How could you?! Music's one of your favorite subjects!"
"Kyle." Yamato said, silencing Kyle.
"Oh, right, sorry." Kyle said. "Me and my big mouth."
"…I've got to go." Yamato stated, and started walking away.
"Okay, then! See ya tomorrow!" Kyle called after him. Matt raised his hand as a response and vanished into the trees.
"You and Yamato… are friends?" Sora asked.
"Hm? Oh, yeah, we've been friends for years." Kyle said
"But he just came to our school a couple days ago." Sora said.
"Oh, yeah, that's true, but Yamato and I went to the same middle school." Kyle said.
"Oh." Sora muttered. "What… kind of person is he?"
"Well… he very mysterious, I can tell you that." Kyle said. "He lives with his father downtown and has a very sharp eye for detail and weak points. His favorite color is a dark shade of red and he's very picky about who he trusts."
"I see…" Sora muttered.
"It took me three years in middle school to gain his full trust." Kyle said. "What caused him to fully trust me… was that incident three years ago."
"Incident?" Sora asked.
"You heard of the school hijacking a few years back?" Kyle asked. "A gang captured a whole school and threatened to shoot all the kids if the authorities didn't cooperate."
"Yes, I've heard of it." Sora said. "Didn't they shoot someone?"
"Yeah. They shot someone." Kyle said. "But who said another didn't shoot back?"
"What?" Sora asked.
"Okay, I'll tell you straight." Kyle said. "I was the kid who was shot. I jumped in front of a classmate, which was Yamato. After I got shot, Yamato seemed to go into some sort of maximum rage. He pulled out the gun that he kept with him and kicked butt. He only shot those guys in the leg, therefore preventing them from moving. Yamato was shot too; he even had worse wounds than I did, but he refused to go to the hospital. Instead, he stayed with me, and when I woke up, he said that I had finally proved myself to him, which I had tried to do ever since we met. And that's how we became friends. After that, I learned a lot about him, even some things no one would ever believe if I told them."
"I… see…" Sora muttered.
"You never know." Kyle said. "Maybe someday he'll trust you too."
"Ok." Sora said, and then remembered the note. "Uhm, Kyle?"
"Yeah?" Kyle asked.
"Does… Does Yamato know about my little… 'problem'?" she asked.
"About the dreams, right?" Kyle asked.
Sora nodded.
"Yeah, he knows." Kyle said. "And truthfully, he knows what everything means too."
Sora looked at Kyle hopefully.
"Sorry." Kyle said. "But he won't tell you. He said he'll only tell you if you can solve this riddle: One day you find yourself near a lake with your friends. You look into the water and don't see your reflection, but your friends see theirs. When they leave, a girl with your face comes up to you and starts speaking to you in a different language. You look back into the water and still don't see your reflection. Instead, you see a young man playing the piano. You look up and see the same pianist playing the piano on the water. The girl with your face goes up to him, and then vanishes. As soon as she does, you find yourself before the pianist. He is masked, so you can't see his face. He says something to you, but you don't understand. You look back down into the water, and you see your reflection. Now, you must answer the riddle in a story format. Try to tell me what I told you in your own words. Once you think you have the answer, write it down, give it to me and I'll give it to Yamato. Then we'll see if he will tell you what you want to know."
And with that, Kyle left with a smile.
~#~#~#~
Sora was confused.
She had no idea what the riddle was trying to say.
She tossed and turned in bed, the riddle stuck in her head.
Taking it no more, she climbed out of bed and went to her desk. She pulled out her notebook and wrote down the riddle.
Looking it over, she still didn't understand.
She decided to try to get some sleep and work on it tomorrow.
Finally falling asleep, she didn't notice the two pairs of eyes watching her as she fell into dreamland.
~#~#~#~
"What'd I tell you?" Kyle asked Yamato. "She's completely confused about that riddle you told me to tell her. Do you really think she'll get the answer?"
Yamato nodded.
"It'll come to her." He said.
"How long do you think it'll take?" Kyle asked.
"Shouldn't be too long." Yamato said. "I can already tell she's busy thinking about it."
~#~#~#~
Staring at the starry sky
I wait for a someone
To bring me from my bindings
Please have them undone
Sora awoke from her dream and rushed to write down the verse.
After writing it down, she took her notebook and went out to her balcony.
"Dear Moon." She said. "Please help me. Help me interpret this riddle. And this strange dream as well."
~#~#~#~
At school the next day, Sora sat at her desk and stared at her notebook.
'I wonder if I could ask Yamato for a hint.' She thought.
"You don't need one." Yamato said, taking his seat beside her.
"What?" Sora asked. Had Yamato just read her mind?
Yamato smirked.
"You don't need a hint." He said. "It should come to you eventually."
Sora decided to take his word on it. Although she hoped she would be able to solve it before she starts college.
~#~#~#~
Mimi wasn't in school that day, so it felt quieter than usual.
Sora walked from her fifth period lunch to sixth period science.
Not watching where she was going, she bumped into Tai in the hallway.
"What's the matter, Sora?" Tai asked.
"Nothing just tired." Sora lied. She couldn't tell Tai about the riddle.
"That's not it." Tai said, stopping her from trying to head to her next class. "There's something bothering you isn't there? It's that Yamato kid isn't it?"
"No! Of course not!" Sora replied.
"Are you sure?" Tai asked.
Sora nodded.
"Alright." Tai said. "But if he's giving you any trouble, you know where to find me."
"I know, I know." Sora said, and left for her next class.
'That's the last straw newbie.' Tai thought. 'You're mine now.'
~#~#~#~
After school, Kyle ran up to Sora, frantic and somewhat upset.
"What's wrong, Kyle?" Sora asked.
"At the park!" Kyle exclaimed. "Taichi challenged Yamato to a fight!"
"What?!" Sora replied, shocked Tai would do something like that.
"C'mon, we have to hurry before they start!" Kyle said, and the two ran off towards the park.
~#~#~#~
"So you want to fight me?" Yamato asked.
"Yeah, you've been getting under my skin since you first stepped into the classroom." Tai said. "I want a fair fight. If I win, you do what I tell you. If you win, I'll back off for the rest of the year."
"Listen, Taichi-" Yamato started, but was cut off when Tai lunged at him, trying to land a blow. Yamato dodged just in time.
"I don't want to fight you!" Yamato exclaimed, continuing to dodge.
"Why not?!" Tai asked, throwing another punch.
Yamato didn't bother to answer. Tai's punch landed square in his jaw.
~#~#~#~
Sora and Kyle arrived at the park after just a few minutes. They saw Tai constantly trying to punch Yamato as said boy dodged.
"If Taichi lands a punch, things are definitely gonna get ugly." Kyle said.
Almost on cue, it happened. Tai punched Yamato square in the jaw.
"Uh-oh." Kyle said. "I hope Yamato remembers not to fight back."
"What happens if he does?" Sora asked.
"Well… There's a good chance Taichi won't walk out alive." Kyle said.
That got Sora worried. She had to put an end to this, and fast. Building up her courage, she went straight in between the two boys.
SLAP.
Straight on Tai's cheek.
Silence.
"S... Sora?" Tai stuttered.
"TAICHI YOU IDIOT!!!" Sora exclaimed, coupled with another voice.
The second voice came from a little girl who ran up to her and Tai.
It was Tai's little sister, Hikari Yagami, or Kari for short.
"Tai, didn't we already talk about this?!" Kari exclaimed. "Mom told you to stop picking fights!"
"B-But Kari…" Tai started, but was cut off.
"No buts, Mister!" Kari said. "Fighting is wrong and Mom told you so, so this isn't going unpunished! Come back home with me right now or I'll bring Mom here!"
"Ok, ok!" Tai said, finding it hard to argue with his sister.
"So I win by default?" Yamato asked, smirking.
"Why you!" Tai exclaimed and ran over for another punch. Yamato looked like he was actually going to fight back when…
"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT MATT!!!" a different voice exclaimed.
A little boy ran over and put himself between the two boys.
"Matt, didn't you promise not to fight anymore?" the little boy asked.
Yamato sighed, putting down his fists.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." He said.
"Good." the little boy said.
"Tai, you promised too! But you still keep on fighting!" Kari exclaimed.
"I'm sorry, but he just gets under my skin!" Tai replied.
"You can explain to momma in detail when we get home, okay?" Kari asked.
"Fine." Tai huffed. "But mark my words Yamato, I will wipe that stupid smirk off your face, one way or another!"
Yamato rolled his eyes and turned to leave.
"ARGH STOP IGNORING ME!!!" Tai exclaimed.
"Shut up." Yamato said.
"Uh, what?" Tai asked, not really hearing him.
"I said shut up." Yamato repeated, turning back to face him. "Stop shouting like you're king of the freaking world. You're making my ears bleed you bastard."
Jaws dropped.
But Tai clenched his.
"That's it I've had it with you!!" Tai shouted and headed for another blow, disregarding his sister's shouts.
At what felt like lightning speed, Yamato gently moved the little boy, his younger brother, Takeru Takaishi, or T.K., out of the way and punched Tai in the stomach, lifted him up and threw him over his shoulder, Tai landing on his back behind Yamato.
"W-Whoa." Tai breathed, gaining back the wind that was knocked out of him.
"I win." Yamato said and left without another word. Kyle immediately followed.
~#~#~#~
Once far into the park's forest, Yamato fell to his knees. Kyle helped him up.
"You okay?" Kyle asked.
"No." Yamato said. "The… The idea of just… tearing him apart. It was too tempting. I'm glad it finished where it did. I wouldn't want T.K. to see."
Yamato breathed heavily and pushed himself along, Kyle keeping his balance.
When the two came to Yamato's apartment, they were greeted by three shadows.
"So, how'd it go?" one asked.
"Just fine." Kyle answered. "No one got hurt."
"You look tired, sir." The second said.
"Wanted some blood and guts everywhere?" the third asked.
Yamato glared at the third shadow.
"Kyle, you get the process started." the first said. "I'll take Yamato."
"'Kay." Kyle said, handing over Yamato to the first shadow. He headed to the computer at the other side of the room to do his job while the first and third shadows took Yamato to his room.
~#~#~#~
Sora couldn't believe that Tai would actually start a fight like that. But then again, it wasn't like it hadn't happened before.
Looking back to their childhood, when they were about six years old, Tai would always pick fights, whether it was to protect his friends or just because he was having a bad day.
Once, when Tai was just having a bad day, he challenged a blond boy to a fight to blow off some steam.
Seemingly unknowing, the blond boy accepted, and the two started fighting.
Then something scary happened.
A group of adult men came running at the two, holding guns and knives.
"There he is!" one of them shouted and all the men went after the blonde boy.
The blonde boy didn't seem scared at all. Instead, he took out his own gun and started to fight the men off. It was scary. Bullets flew and some made impact, but in the end, the blonde boy was able to walk out alive. Tai then promised never to fight again, since it all happened right in front of him, scaring him half to death.
But sometimes he would break that promise, just needing to blow off steam most of the time.
'I wonder what made Tai pick that fight with Yamato.' Sora thought as she walked home. 'Maybe I can ask Kari. She always knows since she has Tai tell his mother in detail.'
Just as she rounded the corner of her street, a group of older boys walked up to her.
"Hey, Cutie, what's your name?" one of them asked.
Sora didn't answer and tried to head the other way, but another boy blocked her exit.
"Aw, c'mon, Cutie." the first said. "We just wanna know your name."
"F***. Off." Sora heard a voice say. The group of guys turned and, much to Sora's surprise, came face-to-face with Yamato.
"What did you say to me?" the first said, taking a step towards Yamato.
"I said. F***. Off." Yamato repeated.
"Why you--." the first tried to grab hold of Yamato, but instead, Yamato dodged, pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the boy.
"Against the wall." Yamato said, and the three boys pressed themselves up against the nearest wall.
"Go on home, Sora, I can handle this." Yamato said.
As Sora walked towards her house, it occurred to her that Yamato had just said her name, which she hadn't heard him say before. She couldn't help but blush as she kept walking. Then she heard a gunshot.
Sora spun around and met the sound of Yamato's voice.
"I SAID DO YOU HEAR ME!!!" Yamato shouted.
The three boys were on the ground begging for mercy.
Sora didn't hear what Yamato said next, but she saw him put his gun away and start to walk towards her.
"Sorry about that." he said to her. "Those idiots didn't know how to answer a simple yes or no question."
"I heard... a gunshot." Sora muttered.
"Just a warning shot to keep their attention." Yamato answered. "I never shoot without a reason."
"I... I see." Sora muttered, coming to the steps leading to her house. "Thank you for helping me, Yamato."
"It was nothing." Yamato said. "And there's no need to mention it to anyone, I wouldn't want the fact I carry a firearm on me getting around."
"Ok." Sora said and started walking up the steps to her house.
"Sora." Yamato said.
"Yes?" she replied.
"If anything happens to you, like something that happened back there," Yamato said, "just shout for me, and I'll come running, alright?"
Sora blushed and nodded.
With a nod of his own, Yamato kept walking and was soon out of sight.
~#~#~#~
Yamato entered his apartment and went straight to his room. He stepped through a flaming vortex in one of the walls and entered a strange, futuristic room.
"How was outside?" a voice asked him.
Yamato turned around to see someone else with his face.
"Was it nice out there?" the other Yamato asked.
"I guess." Yamato muttered, taking off his coat and walking over to a large window. He looked down and saw several others, all in pods, still with his face.
"Are they doing any better?" he asked.
"Yes." the other Yamato said. "Their fevers are going down. And the host is stabilizing."
Yamato's eyes settled on the center pod.
"Our host." he muttered. "That tussle in the park really made him snap pretty badly."
He turned to the other Yamato.
"We can't keep filling in for him." he said. "Someone is bound to find out, whether it's his younger brother or that girl..."
"Sora Takenouchi." the other Yamato said, pulling out a manila folder. "I did a little research on her."
Yamato took the folder, opened it, and read a little on the girl he had encountered earlier.
"So..." Yamato muttered. "How long do you think it'll be before he's back up on his feet?"
"Let's give him tonight." the other Yamato said."If he doesn't wake up, you'll have to fill in for him again... Red Eye."
"Alright, alright." Red Eye said. "No need to get on a first name basis... Y-739."
"I thought you said no names." Y-739 said.
"I know." Red Eye said. "But you started it. I'll head to bed if it's alright with you. If I'm going to fill in for him, I'll need my strength."
"Right." Y-739 said as Red Eye was leaving. "Good night."
"'Night." Red Eye replied, and left for bed.
~#~#~#~
My soul's been chained down
For what feels like forever
Will you set me free?
Or will I be free never?**
Sora woke once again, this time, with a better understanding of something.
She had seen something in her dream.
She now understood what the riddle was trying to say.
Sora immediately jumped out of bed and ran to her desk, quickly scribbling down the next verse before she lost the answer to the riddle. She spent about half an hour writing down her answer, making sure it sounded logical.
~#~#~#~
Sora arrived at school with a pleased smile on her face.
Mimi asked her why she was smiling, but Sora said that it was her little secret, and that she would tell her when she had the chance (that is, if Yamato would let her).
As soon as the bell rang for seventh period, Sora rushed to the music room to give Kyle the answer to the riddle.
Strangely, though, Kyle wasn't in school that day, so Sora would have to give the answer to Yamato himself, in eighth period History.
~#~#~#~
Sora was the first one in the classroom other than Yamato, whom she immediately cornered and handed him the paper.
"Here's the answer to your riddle." Sora said. "Now will you tell me or not?"
"Hmm..." Yamato muttered. "I'll get to you tomorrow. Kyle's out sick and I'm going to check on him later today. Don't worry, I'm a man of my word. I'll tell you what you want tomorrow."
"Oh." Sora said, regaining her lost composure. "Alright then, I'll be waiting."
And Sora went to her assigned seat.
~#~#~#~
Tai was grounded. He couldn't go to any of his friends' houses; he couldn't play his videogames; he couldn't have any sweets unless his mom said he could; he couldn't even walk Sora, the girl of his dreams, to her house. All because of one smug newbie.
Tai sighed as he waited for the final bell to ring. All alone, bored and craving something sweet.
(AN: poor Tai...)
~#~#~#~
As soon as the final bell rang, Red Eye ran as fast as he could back to Yamato's apartment, or as he would call it, "Base".
Upon entering, he was greeted by Y-739 and Kyle, who had skipped out to take care of the real Yamato.
"How is he?" Red Eye asked.
"He's stable," Y-739 said, "and he should be waking up any minute now."
"Good." Red Eye said, pulling out Sora's answer. "'Cause he has to check this."
"Sora's answer!" Kyle exclaimed, snatching it out of Red Eye's hand. "I've been wondering when she'd figure it out!"
"..." Red Eye didn't bother to say anything; he just strode over to the window and looked down at Yamato, the origin, the host. He had to admit that he grew excited when he saw Yamato open his eyes. He immediately informed Y-739 and the two went down to open Yamato's healing pod.
"Welcome back, sir." Y-739 said, helping Yamato out of the pod and onto his feet.
"How long was I out?" Yamato asked with a yawn.
"Two days." Red Eye said. "I filled in for you, though."
"Thanks." Yamato muttered, coughing. "I can't believe that just that feeling could knock me out like that."
The two left Yamato alone to take a shower and change clothes. When he was done, Kyle handed him Sora's answer.
"I have to say, she's right on the money." Kyle said.
Yamato read Sora's answer over.
I spend every day with my friends, thinking that that's where I belong, but in reality, I'm not really sure. Sometimes I change who I really am in order to be someone that everyone can like and get along with, but that's not me. That's not the real me. I finally understand now. In order to know the real meaning behind these strange dreams, I have to erase the fake me and be who I really am. I don't have to be perfect, like everyone thinks I am, I should be myself. Usually, when I would think like that, I would wonder, how do I be myself when I've always been who I'm not? I think that's where the pianist comes in. Maybe there's a special significance to him being in my dreams. But I don't know, that's where this comes in. Am I right or am I wrong? Will you tell me?
Yamato finished reading Sora's answer. He sighed and sat down.
"So is she right?" Kyle asked.
Yamato nodded.
"Are you going to tell her?" Kyle continued.
Yamato didn't answer. He just looked through the window down at the other pods. His eyes focused on a specific place on the far wall where a secret room was placed. He couldn't. He just couldn't tell Sora who the pianist really was.
~#~#~#~
Sora went home excited. She couldn't wait for Yamato to tell her who the pianist was, and what everything else meant.
If only she knew what was in store for her.
I must admit, even I was surprised that it was this freaking long.
Was it bad? Should I continue? Please give me your opinion and/or any questions.
Thank you very much.
Cristallia
