SO-RA-TO!!!
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Memories of Childhood: Sora and Yamato
Sora and Mimi walked almost silently to Sora's house, backpacks on thier backs and books in their gloved hands. They were each wearing the green school uniform, which was required to be worn at school. They each had thick coats over the top of thier uniforms, because it was freezing outside. It was the last day of school before Christmas, and the two were having a Christmas party at Sora's apartment. Sora quickened her pace. "We'd better get there soon, or we might not have time to get ready. People are expected to start coming at five. We only have an hour and a half to get ready," she told Mimi. The now-back-to-brown haired girl nodded at her friend, and walked faster too.
When they finally made it to Sora's house, they put all thier books and things in Sora's room. They went in the living room and sat by the heating vent for awhile while they got warm. Mimi finally got up and started putting up decorations, and Sora started getting the foods ready. There was a knock at the door. "Jyou," they both said in unison. They'd been expecting him, he'd said he would come a little early to help. Mimi opened the door for him and let him inside. "Brrr... It's cold out there. I'm glad I didn't have to walk home in a skirt!" he said. Mimi giggled. "Jyou, if you were wearing a skirt I'd be scared. I would have to pretend I did not know you," she said. "Nah. You wouldn't do that to me, would you?" he asked. Mimi went over and gave him a hug. "Probably not." He smiled. "That's what I thought."
*~*~*
"Would you two mind if I took a quick shower before everybody gets here?" Sora asked when they were finally done. "I don't mind," Jyou said. "Yeah, neither do I," Mimi replied. "Thanks," Sora said.
Sora quickly jumped in the shower, not wanting to leave her two already-present guests waiting too long. She knew they could handle it. It's not like they were like Yamato and Taichi, who even thought they were good friends, would get into an argument easily. Although she didn't know for certain, she was pretty sure they liked each other. They at least looked cute together. "Dang," Sora said as she relized she'd forgotten to grab some clean clothes. She threw on a towel and started to make her way to her room. She didn't have a problem with Mimi and Jyou seeing her in a towel, she felt comfortable around them both. And they wouldn't mind, either. As she walked through the living room, Jyou gave her a weird look. "Sorry, Jyou. Forgot my stuff," she said. He just laughed, and she could tell he really didn't mind. She went in her room and searched her dresser for some good clothes to wear. Then she heard the door open and shut. My mom must have gotten home today instead of coming home tomorrow, Sora thought as she grabbed what she wanted and made her way back to the bathroom.
When she got to the living room, she saw Yamato standing there. He looked up at her, and when their eyes met they both blushed a deep crimson red. Mimi started giggling, and Jyou was trying his best not to laugh. Sora knew Yamato used to have a crush on her when they were younger, but as far as she knew he didn't anymore. He'd had his eye on a girl named Kiana, anyway, she knew that for a fact. They quickly broke their gaze and Sora quickly darted out of the room.
Sora looked at herself in the bathroom mirror after she was fully dressed. She was still blushing madly. Sora, what's wrong with you? She asked herself. Yamato is your friend like Jyou is your friend. Jyou doesn't make you blush, why should Yamato? She only hoped Taichi never found out, or neither of them would hear the end of it. When she was sure she wasn't going to stop blushing any time soon, she walked back out and sat on the couch next to Jyou. Yamato was sitting in a chair, and he was trying his best to avoid any more eye contact after what just happened. Sora's your friend, you idiot, Yamato thought to himself. Why are you getting all uptight about seeing her in a towel? Mimi or Kari in a towel would never do this to you! In fact, you've seen both Mimi and Sora in only towels before! Then you didn't care, and you even had a crush on her then! Get yourself together!
*~*~*
Jyou nudged Sora in the side. "You okay?" he asked quietly. She nodded absently. "Sora, I mean it," he pleaded. Nothing came from her mouth, nor did her head move. "Sora, don't even try and tell me everything's just fine. You're face is still red. Are you going to be okay?" he asked again. His voice was still low enough that Yamato couldn't hear. Mimi might have been able to, since she was on his other side, but that didn't matter much. Sora swallowed. "I think I'll be alright when other people get here," she said. Jyou nodded and gave her arm a little squeeze. "It's alright. Don't worry about it."
After everybody else had arrived, Sora and Yamato were both fine. They were even able to look at each other without blushing again. But Sora couldn't help but think about it all. She'd never been in love before. Was this what it was like? She had no idea.
They'd had a "secret santa" sort of thing, and they were all ready to open thier presents. Everybody was there. Even Miyako, Iori, and Daisuke were invited. Daisuke was acting strange, as usual, and he and Taichi were joking around about Taichi's hair. "Who's going first??" Sora asked, the gift she had bought tight in her hands. She'd picked Daisuke' name out of the jar, and had gotten gift hints for him from Taichi and Miyako. "I'll go first," Iori finally spoke up. They sat in a circle, and he got up, walking within the circle, and handed his gift to Miyako. "Merry Christmas," he said, and smiled. Miyako smiled back, and Iori took his seat again. She ripped open the wrapping paper to reveal a small velvet box. She opened it to reveal a necklace. It was blue and purple, and in the shape of a flower. "Oooh! Arigato, Iori-chan! Thank you!" she squealed. Iori just smiled again. His aunt owned a jewlery shop, and that's where he'd gotten it. He knew Miyako well enough to know that would definatly be something she'd like. "Okay, why don't we keep going counterclockwise around the circle? That would make Koushiro next, and me after him," Mimi suggested. They went around like that, until finally they got to Yamato at the end. He sighed. "I had Sora, as you all probably have figured out. I couldn't find anything I thought she would like... So I'll have to wait. I'm sorry, Sora," he said. Sora shrugged. "It's alright. It doesn't bother me," she said.
They'd eaten everything that was set out, and were now talking among themselves. Mimi offered to do dishes, which Sora with hardly anything to do. She went down the hall to her room, and stared out the window. It was dark now. She could see the lights from the city as well as the stars. She began thinking about Yamato again.
*~*~*
Sora returned to her living room. Most of the people were ready to leave. She said her goodbyes, until everybody but Yamato and Jyou were gone. Yamato was about to leave, when she spoke up. "Bye, Yamato," she said quietly, staring at the floor. He looked up. "Heh. Bye Sora. Thanks for inviting me and stuff," he said. "Yeah, no problem." He gave her a quick smile, and was out the door. Sora went and sat next to Jyou, who was on the couch. They sat there in silence until Jyou finally said something. "Want me to stay here tonight? I don't have anybody to go home to, my dad's gone on a business trip and Jim's in college." Sora shrugged. "It's up to you, Jyou. You can if you'd like," she replied. "I think you might need someone, so I'll stay here. You alright now?" Sora nodded, and hugged Jyou. He hugged her back. "Anytime, Sora. Anytime..."
Sora just stayed there in Jyou's arms. If someone who didn't know better had walked in, they would have thought that they were lovers. Both of them knew otherwise, though. They were both good friends, and Jyou knew that Sora needed him. Sora felt safe there, and she knew that, if she was really in love, Jyou knew how she felt. "It's okay to be confused. I was at first too." Sora released herself from Jyou's grip and looked at him. "How did you know?" she asked. "I can tell. You love him, don't you?" he asked. Sora bit her bottom lip. "I know you know about me liking Mimi. But you have it harder. I know that Mimi likes me back... it's just an unspoken thing. I've never kissed her or anything before... God knows how much I've wanted to.
The thing is, though, you don't know if he loves you back... Especially with the thing about him and Kiana. And I wish I could help you. But I know as much as you do, Sora."
Sora started crying. Jyou hugged her to him again, and it was there she cried herself to sleep. He layed her down on the couch, and covered her in a blanket he found in her room. Around her eyes, the skin was red, and her cheeks were wet, stained with tears. Jyou looked at the clock. 10:42 PM. He sighed, and picked up the phone he found in the kitchen. He searched through the phone book until he found what he was looking for, and quickly dialed a number. "Hello?" the other line asked. "Yamato? Is that you?" Jyou asked.
"Yeah, this is Yamato. Who are you?"
"Jyou."
"Oh, Hi Jyou. What are you doing on Sora's phone? Caller I.D. says Takenouchi."
"I stayed here because she needed it. But I have to ask you a question."
"What's wrong with Sora?! Is she alright?!"
"She's fine now. She's sleeping. But may I ask you a question, please!?"
"Ah, good. Yes, I suppose you can."
"What are your feelings towards Sora?"
"What!? She's my friend, that's all! Why are you asking?"
"Yamato Ishida, tell me the truth. I need the truth, and I need it now. If I can't simply get a 'Yes I do love her,' or a 'No I don't love her, not that way,' out of you, then she'll probably have to cry herself to sleep more nights than just this one, and I can't always be here for her! If you'd like to know, she cried her eyes out just a few minutes ago over you. My shirt is actually wet from her crying on me. Tell me for her sake, not mine, Yamato."
"Jyou... I... I'll be right over there."
Yamato hung up the phone on Jyou.
Less than ten minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Jyou opened it up to find Yamato there. Yamato walked in, and walked over to the couch where Sora was sleeping. Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at her sleeping form. He pushed her bangs out of her closed eyes, and tried to wipe away the tears still left on her cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Sora-chan... I... I love you..." he cried. His thoughts went back years... Back to when they were all little kids at Hightonview Terrace. Probably only five or so. He'd just gotten a phone call from Sora that she couldn't make it to his house that day.
-------
"Tai! I'm going to get you! You may be able to run fast, but I can run faster!" Sora shouted as Taichi made a mad dash to get away. They were in the "halls" of the apartments, which were really more like decks going to all the different people's houses, chasing each other in a game of tag. "No you're not!" Taichi said, but two seconds later Sora tackled him. "Told you so," she said, and they both started laughing. Through an aparment window, a blonde-haired boy watched the two. There were tears in his blue eyes. "So this is why you couldn't come play with me today, Sora?" he whispered to himself. "You like him better than me, I can tell... But you're my only friend, Sora... Come back and play with me, too..."
-------
Yamato looked at Jyou. "I... I swear I didn't mean to do this to her! I'd never want to hurt her, Jyou, I swear it!" He was now hystarical, and he fell back into the chair he had been sitting in earlier and cried some more. Jyou didn't know what to do, because he'd never seen Yamato like this before. "Hey... I never said you ment to do it, I'm not blaming you! This isn't your fault, Matt... Don't beat yourself up over it!" Yamato shook his head. "No, Jyou! It -is- my fault! I've hurt her before, Jyou... And she forgave me! After all I did to her, she forgave me!!! I just don't think she's going to forgive me this time!"
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"Hi Matt! Sorry I couldn't come over to your house yesterday! But do you want to come to my house today?" Sora asked in her happy-go-lucky, excited voice. "No, Sora! I don't! Leave me alone, Sora, I hate you!" the young Yamato shouted, slamming the door in his friend's face. Shocked, the girl just stared at the door for a moment before running back to her apartment. She jumped onto her bed and cried into her pillow. Her father came and opened the door to her room. "Sora, honey, what's wrong?" he asked. "Yamato he said he hates me, Daddy! He doesn't like me no more!" she cried. "What? Why not?" he asked her. "I... I don't know! But Daddy, I still like him! He's one of my bestest friends! Why doesn't he like me no more? I didn't do nothing, Daddy!" Mr. Takenouchi hugged his daughter. "I'm sure he didn't mean it, Sora. He was probably just confused... You should go talk to him tomorrow, maybe he'll feel better." Sora stopped crying and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I hope so," she said. Suddenly there was crying heard in the other room. Sora's father smiled at her. "Sorry honey, but your little brother must be up and hungry. I better go get him some formula. I'll talk to you later, okay honey?" Sora nodded.
*~*~*~*
The telephone at the Takenouchi household rang. Sora was sitting in her room, looking at her dolls. The phone stopped ringing, and she figured her mother had picked it up. She continued to look at her dolls. Suddenly, her mother rushed in. "Sora, honey, come on... You're going over to Yamato's for a little bit because I have to go somewhere," she said. She grabbed Sora's little hand, and practically dragged her out of the apartment to Yamato's. She knocked on the door, and Mrs. Ishida answered, Yamato's little brother crying in her arms. "Oh, hello Sora! Hi Mrs. Takenouchi," she said while she was trying to calm her son. "Could Sora stay here for a while? I have to go to the H-O-S-P-I-T-A-L, and I can't take her with me... Please?" Mrs. Takenouchi asked, as calmly as she could. Sora gave her mother a puzzled look. "Oh... Of course she can. Yamato will be happy!" Mrs. Ishida said. "Mommy, what does that spell?" Sora asked. "I'll tell you later, honey. Thank you so much, Mrs. Ishida!" exclaimed her mother, who quickly ran off. Sora blinked and looked up at Mrs. Ishida. "Come inside, dear. You can sit on the couch while I go get Matt." Sora nodded. The little one finally stopped crying and looked at who was there. "Ora!!" he said excitedly. "Hi Takeru," Sora said, a bit sadly since she knew Yamato was mad at her. Mrs. Ishida set T.K. down and went down the hall to Yamato's room. Mr. Ishida looked up from doing the dishes. "Hello, there, Sora!" he exclaimed. "Hello Mr. Ishida..." Sora replied sadly. "Aw, what's wrong with Sora?" he asked. "Nothing," she replied. "Ora! Ora, look't me!" T.K. said, his arms high in the air. He soon toppled over and started laughing. Mrs. Ishida came back into the room. "I'm sorry, Sora... Yamato doesn't feel good, he's going to stay in his room. But you can watch TV, if you like." Sora felt like crying, but couldn't in front of Yamato's parents. She just sat there, numb, and watched TV with Takeru clinging onto her, jumping around and trying to pull her hair.
*~*~*~*
The next morning, Sora found out that her brother and father had died. The only person she would have thought to go to for a shoulder to cry on wasn't there for her. But she called him anyway. "M-m-mr. Ishida? C-can I t-talk to Ma-matt?" she asked shakily. "Of course you can, Sora... He probably needs it," Mr. Ishida said. In a minute, there was Yamato's voice on the other line. "W-what do you w-want, Sora? I-I don't wanna talk to no-nobody!" he said. She could tell he was crying too. "Come over, M-matt! P-please?" she asked. "No!" he screamed, and hung up the phone. Sora started sobbing louder, and yet she got an idea. She dashed out of her own apartment, heading for Yamato's.
Yamato suddenly felt bad about what he did to his friend. She was upset about something, too, though what he did not know. He was about to pick up the phone and call her back, but he got a better idea. He hurried out of his apartment, heading for Sora's.
Sora nearly collided with somebody in her rush to see Yamato, since her eyes were blurred with tears. She looked back to say she was sorry, and relized the person she'd almost run into was, in fact, Yamato. "Matt!" she exclaimed. They hugged each other tightly, crying. "I... I'm sorry!" Yamato said after they'd calmed down a little. "It's o-okay... As long as y-you don't h-h-hate me no more," Sora replied. There was silence. Yamato finally spoke up. "My mommy and daddy are getting divorced," he said. Sora wiped her eyes, and started crying again. "My daddy and brother went to heaven, my mommy said... But... but it's not fair, Matt! I want them to be here!" Soon enough they were both crying again. But they were at peace with each other, even though they weren't with the world. Even though they were only five year olds, they'd learned what it ment to be a friend. "Remember, Sora... I'm always gonna be your friend from now on! I couldn't get mad at you anymore..."
-------
In the midst of Yamato's memories, Sora woke up. She didn't notice him at first, only Jyou who was sitting at her feet anyway. She rubbed her eyes. "What time is it, Jyou?" she asked. "Uh, It's about 11:26 PM," he said. She sighed. "I really want to... No, he's probably sleeping anyway..." "Who's probably sleeping?" Jyou asked. "Ya-Matt!?" she asked surprisingly as she noticed him in the chair for the first time. After hearing his name, he snapped out of the memory and looked up, forgetting his eyes probably were red and wet. "Matt? What's wrong? And what are you doing here?" Sora asked. Yamato started crying again. At first he hesitated, shifting his eyes to Jyou who was at the other end of the couch, but he decided to go ahead. He went over to Sora and hugged her tightly. "I... I'm so.. so sorry! I... I didn't mean to make you hurt again!" Sora's eyes were beginning to get teary too, but she rubbed it away. "What do you mean, again?" she asked. "W-when we were little!! It was the day before your..." he was going to say more, but decided against it, since he wasn't sure if Jyou knew about Sora's father and brother. "Its... Well, I'm so sorry!" he hugged her tighter. Sora hugged him back. "Yamato?" she asked. "Yes, Sora? Anything for you." "I'm always going to be your friend. I couldn't get mad at you... Not anymore." Yamato looked at her face. Her eyes were sincere. It's now or never, Yamato told himself. He leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss on the lips, and pulled back slowly. "I don't know about you, Sora, but I love you. I love you more than words can say. If you want me to, I'll always be your friend and your lover. You know I couldn't ever get mad a you, I just hope you really mean what you say about not ever getting mad at me." "Matt..." she said as she hugged him again. "I love you, too." Jyou looked at the two. He was happy his friends were happy again.
THE END
A/N: Well, what did you think? To cheesy? Not cheesy enough? Please review!