I own nothing. That applies to the first chapter also.

Symphony of Sound: Two

There was an average of fifty petals per carnation.

Sora sat at the cash register of the flower shop, a Hello Kitty mechanical pencil twirling idly between two long, slim fingers, and surrounded by green stems and piles of carnation petals.

Fifty petals per carnation. She wondered if that was true for roses.

Sato Ayumi walked out, her razor-sharp stiletto heels clicking on the tile floor, a nail file in her hand, and her pitch-black hair looking perfect, as usual. Tight, dark jeans and a skimpy white tank top, under a cropped denim jacket that matched her pants, fairly clung to her slim form.

She, Sora thought wryly, is the only reason everyone at school thinks that Japanese girls are all geisha.

"Are we ready close up yet?" she asked, stopping her filing to scrutinize her cuticles.

"I'm going," Sora said, standing up and sweeping the petals into the garbage can under the table. "You're closing up today."

Ayumi pouted and flipped her hair over her shoulder, looking at Sora with pleading eyes.

"I can't close today, Takenouchi-chan…"

"Yes, yes you can, Sato-san," Sora replied, putting her pencil and notebook back into her messenger bag and lifting the school bag onto the counter. "I have homework to do, and I've already worked an extra hour, and I've been working extra to make up for the time that you've taken off because you're sick."

The word sick was joined by finger quotation marks in the air. Sora quickly undid the ties at her neck and back of the flower shop apron and slung her bag over her shoulder. Walking around the counter, she tossed Ayumi a simpering smile and sauntered off to the back.

"Mama, I'm leaving," she said, raising her voice slightly.

Her mother looked up, slightly surprised, and checked the Fossil watch dangling from her slender wrist. "It's five already?"

"Yeah," Sora said, shifting her weight.

Toshiko rubbed her eyes exhaustedly and sighed. "So you'll be leaving?"

"Yeah."

"Will you be home for dinner?"

"Yeah."

There was silence, and then Toshiko nodded. "I'll see you at home, Sora."

X

It was raining.

Sora could have pulled the hood of her sweatshirt over her head, but she liked the rain, watching the fat, glutinous drops fall and splatter on the grass, the benches, the sidewalk, spotting and spotting and spotting until the pavement was the same darkened color and the hems of her jeans dragged in the puddles.

She could have pulled her iPod out and stuck her earbuds in and turned the world off and Miyavi or L'Arc-en-Ciel on, but she liked hearing the rain pitter and patter. It was oddly comforting.

She liked the rolling clouds and the deep rumbling of thunder and the crackling of lightning and the grey darkness outside that came with the rainfall, but she didn't like the uncomfortable stickiness of humidity. (Miraculously, her hair remained straight and smooth as usual, while other people's hair had an alarming and unnatural tendency to frizz everywhere.)

But the cool dampness of raindrops on the back of her neck and her arms and eyelids and cheeks was wonderful. She liked to be outside when it was raining, regardless of the time. She'd snuck out of the apartment back in Odaiba once at three in the morning and wandered about, letting the rain shower on her, drench her and leave her shivering and cold, and until the downpour became so heavy that she had to seek refuge under the awning of a manga shop. She'd fallen asleep and woken up at seven that same morning, and run back home to find her mother hysterical and ready to call the police. She'd been grounded for a month, and she'd sneezed for two, but she thought that it was worth it all.

Sora tipped her head back carefully, reveling in the feel of water on her face. Her bangs soon plastered to her forehead, and she swept them out of the way impatiently, closing her eyes and spreading her arms. The streets weren't as crowded as they normally were, only businesspeople rushing past with black umbrellas and the regular taxicabs. Sora was just another crazy teenager roaming the streets because she had nothing better to do.

"Hey, stranger."

Sora jumped and prepared her lungs for the loudest scream possible when a hand clamped down on her shoulder, but when she lifted her eyelids, chocolate brown eyes flecked with gold peered back at her curiously.

"Taichi!" Sora nearly fell over, and to compensate, she grabbed the boy's collar and punched him lightly in the chest.

He smiled broadly and rubbed the spot where her fist had made contact. "What're you doing out here, Takenouchi?"

"I could say the same to you, Yagami," Sora snorted, pushing her bangs back down on her forehead and scrutinizing him. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you," Taichi said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly and blushing a bit.

Sora cocked a slender eyebrow and crossed her arms over her stomach. "Why?"

"I didn't see you all of last week. Geez, Sora, if you wanted to, you'd have everyone on a wild goose chase while you were standing in the room!"

It was Sora's turn to blush, and she ducked her head defensively. "Well, when you put it that way, Yagami…"

"Hey." He lifted her chin with a forefinger and grinned at her. "I just wanted to say hi."

Sora smiled. "And you still haven't."

Pink tinged the tan skin of his cheeks and he scuffed the tip of his shoe against the wet pavement as he jammed his hands into the deep pockets of his jeans.

Yagami Taichi was tall, broad-shouldered, and had a strong, muscular frame, from playing soccer for all of his living, breathing years, or for as long as Sora had known him. Taichi's mother and Sora's mother would get together and chat for hours on end while Taichi and Sora napped, threw building blocks at each other, and pulled at each other's hair.

His chestnut hair, a shade lighter than Hikari's because of all the time he spent outside kicking around his soccer ball, had always been a bushy, disheveled mess, and his eyes had always been gorgeous, melted chocolate brown flecked with gold that fairly glittered in the sunlight. His skin was bronze and tan, and he was long and lean.

Today, however, it was neither sunny nor appropriate weather for any outdoor sport. He was dressed in a dark orange hooded sweatshirt and baggy, ultra-faded jeans, his ratty soccer shoes, and held a soccer ball under his right arm.

"Hi," he said, finally, looking down at her.

"Hi," Sora replied, her smile widening at his obvious discomfort. "Is something wrong?"

He shook his head. "Iie," he replied quickly, hands still in pockets, soccer ball now being kicked between his feet in short, practice strokes.

Sora had given up soccer after summer camp in Odaiba, but she never ceased to marvel at Taichi's obvious skills. When in his soccer world he was graceful and controlled, always thinking before taking action, almost calculating. Girls tended to fall for the soccer player in him.

The stark contrast between him and Yamato, the two best friends, was striking. Whereas Taichi was a full-fledged jock, Yamato was a musician of enormous proportions. Taichi had a tendency to be rather insensitive, loud, and a bit brash, while Yamato was quiet, brooding, and always had a hint of irritation or boredom in his eyes. Both were lean and tall, but while Yamato was on the slimmer side, Taichi was bulkier from his years of soccer and other off-season sports. Taichi was tanner, Yamato was a bit paler, and they frequently had arguments about who was better looking that caught Sora and Mimi in the middle, but in the end, their personalities clicked perfectly, they both had gorgeous eyes, and when they got into fights, they ended up on the floor, struggling against each other's chokeholds.

She watched as he kicked the ball up to the crook where his leg and ankle met and began bouncing it up and down casually, standing on the spot.

She had been better at the sport than him, once upon a time, when they were still back in Odaiba and they were still closest and the very best of friends. She could beat him six ways from Sunday and he still wouldn't give up, and they would spend their after-school hours on the soccer field, kicking the ball around, getting into mud fights, and tackling each other violently.

She doubted that she was better than him now. He was the captain of the varsity team at school, which was the best in the district, possibly best in the county. She'd never gone back out on the field, and she'd packed her ball, uniform, and beloved shin guards away in a box in the back of her closet, covered with her tennis bag and three racquets.

"Hey," he said suddenly. The soccer ball smacked against the pavement and he tapped it gently with his foot to stop it.

"What?" Sora pulled the sleeves of her loose sweatshirt down over her fists.

"Let's go play."

Sora paused, staring at the white-and-black ball under his foot, contemplating.

"It's raining."

"That never stopped us back in Odaiba."

"I might get sick."

"What about the one time when you woke up in a phone booth?"

"Under the awning of that manga store, baka-chan. And I didn't get sick."

"You were sneezing for two months."

"It's muddy."

Taichi threw his arms up. "If you don't want to go, just say so," he said, exasperated. He turned to walk away.

Sora caught his forearm and grinned at him. "Let's go."

Water was dripping from his crazy hair, onto his cheeks and his nose and trailing down his face to get lost in the fabric of his sweatshirt. He looked at her and his handsome face cracked into a grin.

"All right."

They took off running down the sidewalk to the closest park, dodging between and around irritable businesspeople and arguing about Sora's rusty soccer skills.

"I can beat your ass, Yagami."

"I'd like to see that happen, Takenouchi."

Her face split into an evil grin as she sprinted ahead of him and broke through the crowd. He was simply glad that he was the one to bring it to her face.

They were at the park.

"C'mon, Takenouchi, let's see what you still have. If you have anything."

Sora dropped the ball in front of her feet, watching the mud splatter up onto her jeans, and she felt a bit like her old self again.

"Ready, Yagami?"

He stood at the goal, knees bent, hands out in front, his eyes glinting oddly. "If you've got anything for me to be ready for, Takenouchi."

She pulled her leg back, cocked her foot, and let fly.

X

"Takenouchi Sora!"

Sora pushed the apartment door open wearily, carefully taking her shoes off and arranging them on the old newspaper so that the marble in the front hall wouldn't be stained.

"Sora!"

Sora winced and dropped her messenger bag next to her shoes, praying to the differential equation gods above (or below) that her notebook wasn't completely ruined.

"Sora!"

She bent slowly, cringing again as the pain in her thighs and calves set in, and rolled up the bottoms of her jeans to prevent excess dripping.

"Where were you?" Toshiko finally came into the small foyer and glared at her daughter. "Sora! It's January and you're playing soccer when it's freezing and raining? You didn't even call and leave a message! I didn't know where you were, I was sick with worry, I was –!"

"I'm fine, Mama," Sora said patiently, rolling her eyes. "I'm not cold, I was going to get wet walking home anyhow, and Taichi showed up out of nowhere and asked me if I wanted to play."

Her mother's eyes softened a bit at the mention of Taichi; she always liked the brown-haired soccer jock a bit more than Yamato.

"How's his mother?" she asked.

"Fine, but I didn't see her," Sora replied, taking the towel her mother handed her and wrapping it around her hair.

"You haven't eaten dinner?"

"Nope."

Toshiko exhaled, closed her eyes, and counted to ten. Sora waited patiently.

"It's nine-thirty!"

"I wasn't hungry! I didn't have money anyway! And Taichi's always broke!" Sora peeled her sweatshirt off and looked down at the light-blue short-sleeved T-shirt clinging to her stomach.

"I made ramen," Toshiko said, after ten seconds. "I'll go heat that up. Do you want chicken or shrimp?"

"Shrimp," Sora replied automatically. "I'll go change."

She walked down the hall to her room, skidding slightly in her wet socks. She walked into her room and took an immediate left through the door of the attached bathroom. Peeling off all her dirty clothes and throwing them into the hamper, taking a quick shower and speed-washing her hair, and changing into fresh underwear and flannel pajamas, Sora twisted her dripping, albeit clean, hair up into a bun and held it in place with a jaw clip.

She padded out to the kitchen and settled down on a stool at the breakfast bar and offered her mother a small smile.

"Sorry, Mama."

Toshiko set a bowl of steaming noodles in front of Sora and returned her smile. "It's all right, Sora-chan."

X

She was good at physics. She was good at biology. Hell, she was good at chemistry. And now she was busting her ass in pathogenic microbiology and AP chemistry. She was the only junior in the former, and the smartest in the latter. She was the only junior doubling up on two weighted science courses, not to mention the fact that she was in a weighted math class where she was, again, the only junior.

AP English class, AP Macro- and Microeconomics, along with a tennis elective for physical education and a photography elective rounded off her schedule, and that added to being captain of the varsity tennis team, she was a shoo-in for Harvard or Columbia for wherever she wanted to go. She'd aced the SATs, wasn't even worried about the APs, and only need three more hours of community service to make the required one hundred hours to graduate. She planned on going over, of course.

Hence the fact that lately, everyone she ran into had been saying, "I haven't seen you in a while."

Sora wanted to throw down her books and scream in their faces. No words, just a long, drawn out "argh," or some other onomatopoeia.

"Miss Takenouchi?"

Sora gritted her teeth and looked up from her notebook when the teacher mangled her last name.

"What's the answer?" The teacher gestured to the board up front and Sora looked at the decay equation up on the board.

"Beta decay," Sora replied, almost bored, as she doodled in the margins of her notebook. Someone let out a low whistle of amazement from the back of the classroom, and to her right, Yamato snorted derisively and rolled his eyes.

The teacher looked from Sora to the equation uncertainly and nodded hesitantly. "That's right."

Sora rolled her eyes and went back to scribbling idly.

"Bitch," Yamato murmured casually.

"I try," Sora replied, drawing a sun and a couple of clouds on the blank page in front of her.

The whole notebook, save one page, was blank; it was January.

Takenouchi Sora wasn't used to taking notes, and she generally didn't need to, at least not in chemistry.

Almost all of Yamato's worn spiral, on the other hand, was filled with notes and drawings to help him better understand the inside and outside and intricacies of chemistry.

The bell rang, mercifully, and Sora slapped her notebook shut and fairly threw it into her messenger bag, slung the bag over her shoulder, and ran out of class.

"Sora!"

"Sora-chan!"

Sora turned around and briefly thought she was seeing double.

"Please don't stand next to each other," she said wearily, rubbing her eyes and realizing with detached surprise that she'd smeared her charcoal eyeliner. Mimi wouldn't let her live it down.

Takeru put a friendly arm around her shoulders and patted her on the head. "You look tired, Sora-chan."

"I'm going home and sleeping," Sora replied, trudging to her locker and taking Takeru with her. Yamato trailed behind vaguely.

"Good to hear," Takeru said, leaning against the wall and watching her struggle with the blue Masterlock as her slender fingers twisted the knob on the front this way and that in hopes of catching the right number.

She looked surprised, then smiled exhausted when Yamato carefully removed the lock from her hand and began twirling dial with expert fingers.

"I had to ask a favor." Takeru looked hesitant.

Sora snapped out of her funk and fixed Takeru with a piercing crimson stare. "Is it about Hikari?"

"What's about Hikari?" Taichi was passing by.

Sora imagined that she probably looked like a right slut at the moment, standing at her locker wearing a tank top with a very low-cut neckline (albeit under a sweatshirt) and surrounded by three gorgeous boys.

"Nothing," Takeru said nervously, looking up at Taichi and smiling in what he apparently thought was a winning manner.

Taichi snorted. "If you do anything to my sister, Takaishi…"

"Shut up and take your testosterone somewhere else," Sora said, putting her hand on Yamato's chest when the blond bristled defensively.

The three boys visibly relaxed, and Yamato popped Sora's locker open for her. The redhead smiled gratefully and piled her books into her locker, and after a moment of thinking, stuffed her empty bookbag in also. She pulled her coat on and grinned tiredly at the three boys.

"Taichi, Yamato, go away. I'm talking to Takeru alone."

"Hey!" The tension came back.

Sora squared her shoulders and glared at both boys. "Yama, you want to see your brother get laid, and Taichi, you know that 'Keru-chan is the best guy for your sister. Get lost."

She turned back to the younger blond. "Baka-chan, we need to get Mimi for this."

Both Taichi and Takeru were turning funny colors, and Yamato looked mildly amused and very attractive, leaning against the lockers with his arms crossed, but Sora didn't care. She finally understood the rush Mimi got from setting two people up, especially when it was obvious that they were meant to be together.

"Get your coat and forget about homework," Sora said, taking Takeru's wrist between her slender fingers, all the while scanning the crowds for her best friend. "I'm not letting you throw years of pining down the drain, and you're telling Yagami Hikari that you love her."

Taichi let out a strangled cry of protest, Takeru's face was somewhere between blue and purple, and Yamato was digging around in his pocket for something.

Mimi walked up, lavender binder held against her chest, hair perfect as ever. "What's up?"

Sora's eyes gleamed. "We're helping baka-chan."

"With Hikari?"

"Yes."

The glint in Mimi's eyes matched Sora's exactly. "Let's go."

So much for going home and sleeping. Takeru between them, the two girls scampered off, and Yamato watched with mild interest as Taichi's right eyebrow twitched uncontrollably.

A/N: Excellent. Taichi made an appearance, Takeru and Hikari were brought into the story, and hopefully there'll be more about Mimi's love life, and more background on Jyou, Koushiro, Yamato, and Taichi.

Thank you to all the gorgeous people who've reviewed so far, and I have to say, I'm honored that Lunita Cero was one of them. Both her Digimon fanfiction have to be the most well written, eloquent pieces of prose I've read in a while.

Obviously, there's more to come in this story. And as always, reviews make me smile.