A Twist of Fate
Another year loomed before her. Try as she might have over the summer to put out of her mind all that had happened the
prior year, going back to campus brought back all the memories of what had once been, and how it had all fallen apart.
In hindsight it was totally ironic that when they finally had the freedom to be as close as they wanted to be, they
couldn't stand being around each other. Finally, he had been the one to suggest that they stop seeing each other. At
the time, she agreed to it if for no other reason than any more close contact and what was left of their friendship might
have been jeopardized as well. Now, however, she couldn't deny that she still felt an attraction to him, even if she
couldn't muster the courage to ask him if he'd changed his mind at all.
She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as she mulled over all of this while lying on her bed at home, staring at the
ceiling. Somehow, to her, it wasn't fair. She had been so certain of what they'd had together that she still didn't
understand why things had happened as they had last year. Why couldn't she love someone without ending up hurting that
person or someone else in the process? It just didn't make any sense. It was a conundrum that no one she knew could
solve, and as the guardian of the Crest of Love, Sora Takenouchi was deeply troubled by it all.
'I've done everything I can think of, and I just can't hang onto anybody.' she thought as she let her mind wander. 'I
tried to be into guy things to get Taichi to notice me, and that sure didn't work. Then again, Tai was never the
sharpest knife in the drawer. Then I went the other way and was all girly for Yamato, and that seemed to work for a
while. But then Tai started getting all jealous, and I hardly saw him during Senior year in high school. And then last
year happened.
'Damn you, Ishida. Nothing I ever did for you was good enough, was it? I just couldn't be your #1 love. It was always
the music and everything that went along with it. I knew it was important to you, but...we got to college, and music
was all you ever did in your free time! I saw you less and less every day, and then...then the fights started. You
were so scary when you were all riled up...I couldn't believe you were the same person I thought I loved.
'And now I'm all alone again. If this were baseball, I'd have two strikes against me, with no one on base, two outs, in
the bottom of the ninth inning. Everyone else I knew is either otherwise involved or I've completely lost contact with
them. I don't know how long it's been since I heard from Joe or Mimi or Tai or anybody for that matter. Sure I've
made some new friends at college, but they weren't through all that we were. They don't hold any special space in my
heart as my true friends do.
'Well, enough moping for now. Guess I'd better take one last check around and make sure I've got everything.'
Sora jumped up off of her bed and checked around. Sure enough, all her things were packed for college yet again. She
headed out to her car after giving her mother a goodbye hug and drove off for college, idly wondering what kind of fun
the fates would have with her this year.
_ _ _ _ _
"Well I can promise you, I'm one roommate who won't bail on you halfway through the year Sora." Emi said as she sat on
her lower bunk bed. Emi was the closest friend Sora had made at college so far. She was a bit taller than Sora with
light brown hair that had blonde highlights, brown eyes, and dark tanned skin. She was something of a go-getter, and
a foreign language major. Aside from Japanese she spoke fluent English and Chinese, and was beginning to pick up
Spanish from her longtime boyfriend Hiroshi, who was also a foreign language major. She and Sora had hit it off well
their Freshman year, and Emi had been there for her the most after the breakup with Yamato.
Sora had taken the top bunk and was up top making her bed. She'd always had an affinity for heights, which she
attributed to all the time she spent riding on Birdramon's back. Besides which, Emi had stated that she knew if she
took the top bunk she'd end up falling out of bed and killing herself.
"Much appreciated, Emi. And don't worry, I'll respect your privacy when you and Hiroshi want some alone time." Sora
said, giving her roomie a knowing wink. Emi broke down into a fit of giggles at the notion as Sora jumped down to the
floor. "I'm going to go get a soda. You want anything?"
"I'm good. I've got more unpacking yet to be done."
"Suit yourself!"
Sora zipped out her door and took the elevator down to the first floor from the fourth floor where she and Emi lived.
The doors opened, and someone was right in front of the opening doorway with a laundry basket overfull with clothes in
their hands. It was so full, they couldn't see over it and they began walking in as Sora was trying
to get out.
"Hey, hang on a sec! People are trying to get off!" she yelled, pushing the mass of clothing backwards.
"Whoa! Hey, quit it! I'm losing my balaaaaaa!!!!" the person yelled. The person slipped and fell backwards,
spilling the clothing over top of them.
"Oh geez, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to knock you over!" Sora said as she began to help pick things up.
"No biggie. I'm used to being pushed around." the muffled voice said under the clothing. "I'm hoping college will
be different."
"I think you'll be pleasantly surprised."
"That's good to know. Say, you sound familiar."
"Oh come on, that's a lame pickup line."
"No, I'm serious!" the person said as they sat up, a sweater still hanging over their head. "Eh, it's probably just
wishful thinking. I used to have a lot of friends, but I've lost contact with pretty much all of them."
"Likewise. It seems to happen along with getting out of high school. All your old friends fall off the face of the
earth."
"Great. Just absolutely prodigious."
"Tell me about..." Sora stopped mid-sentence, her eyes widening. 'No way...it couldn't be...but...'
Sora stood up slowly, looking down at the person, who she could tell now was a guy.
"I only know one person who talks like that." she said warily.
The young man reached up and pulled the sweater away from him, revealing himself to be a short, red-haired young man
with brown eyes. He looked up at her, blinked a couple of times, then rubbed his eyes and looked at her again.
"Sora?" he asked.
"Izzy?" she replied.
"Holy cow, it's you!!!" they both said in unison. Izzy jumped up from the floor and quickly hugged Sora, who hugged
him back.
"How did you end up coming here for college?" Sora asked him after they finished rejoicing.
"Scholarships." Izzy said simply. "I've got a full free ride here so long as I keep my marks high."
"That's amazing! But I shouldn't expect any less from the only genius I know."
Izzy just shrugged and went back to picking his things up again.
"Oh God, Izzy! I'm so sorry about that before!" Sora said, quickly going back to helping him.
"Hey, you didn't know it was me. No worries."
"So you're living here, too?"
"I'm on the third floor, room 315."
"Heh, that's exactly below where I'm living."
"Oh great, now I'll never get any sleep with you and Matt up there." Izzy said with a groan.
"Oh Izzy...that's right, you're the only person who didn't hear." Sora said, suddenly remembering.
"Hear what?"
"Matt and I...we broke up last year."
"WHAT?!"
"Heh...this is going to be bad, isn't it?"
"How in the blue blazes did I get left in the dark on that one?!"
"C'mon. Let's get your stuff up to your room. I'll help you out, and I'll fill you in on everything you've missed
out on."
Sora took an armful of clothing from his basket and headed into the elevator. It promised to be a long afternoon of
storytelling and explanations.
_ _ _ _ _
"I still can't believe this." Izzy said as he continued to hook up his computer. Sora sat backwards in a chair with
her arms folded, watching Izzy assemble his machine. "I mean, everything you two were to each other...it just doesn't
seem right."
"You're not the first person to say all this, Izzy." Sora told him.
"I know. It's just, well...I guess I just think it's particularly wrong for him to have treated you like that. I
mean, you and I go way back Sora."
"Yeah, that's true. I still remember how we met back in grade school. You had fallen into some mud, and were crying
because you thought your mom would be mad at you for getting your shorts dirty so Tai and I helped you get cleaned up
and then we all walked home."
"And we walked home together from there on every day." Izzy added with a smile. "Well, at least until junior high.
Then it was just Tai and me. And then in high school, just me."
"Oh Izzy, none of us ever meant to make you feel left out. You just...seemed to be interested in other things, and
we didn't want to bother you."
Izzy slid out from under his desk and sat up, looking at Sora.
"None of you were ever a bother to me, Sora. Least of all you. I felt like I just couldn't keep up with you all
because I wasn't an athlete, or a singer, or anything like that."
"We would've loved to have you along with us, Izzy. You never held us back or anything crazy like that. Hell,
sometimes Tai would wish you were around because it just wasn't as fun without you."
"Well, hindsight is 20/20." Izzy said, hopping up. "Just one more connection to make...there."
Izzy powered his system up, and in mere moments his machine was humming away silently, connected to the Internet
and constantly checking his e-mail.
"You always had a way with those things." Sora said, amazed at the speed that he'd put it all together at.
"Everyone has something they're good at."
"Well, almost everyone."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. Well, I've got some more unpacking to finish up myself."
"Okay. Hey Sora, I'm glad I met you again. It's good to have a friend around."
"That goes double for me, Izzy. Hey, wanna come to lunch with me and the girls? We can show you around and stuff
afterwards. You are a Freshman after all."
"Prodigious! Count me in!"
"Great! We'll stop by later on and pick you up."
Izzy waved goodbye to Sora and went back to sorting his things out. Sora headed back up to her room, a smile on her
face. Suddenly, the year was already looking to be a lot better.
_ _ _ _ _
"So Sora hasn't been making it all up, then." Emi said, looking across the cafeteria table at Izzy. "Your name isn't
really 'Izzy', is it?"
"No, that's just been my nickname since I can't remember when." Izzy said with a laugh. "Koushirou Izumi. But
really, you can call me 'Izzy'. Now why did you think Sora made me up?"
"Well we never saw any of the friends she ever mentioned to us other than Yamato. So we kinda started joking that
she made up her friends so she wouldn't be lonely." Rei said. Rei was the second of Sora's college friends.
She was something of a videophile, and spent most of her free time watching TV or movies. She had short, black
hair and dark brown eyes, and was shorter than even Izzy was. Rei was a drama major, and insisted that all of her
watching was studying to be a better actress.
"Why would Sora ever be lonely?"
"You weren't here last year when she and Matt broke up. Sora was pretty depressed after it all happened. We did
our best to try and get her out of her funk, but she was just heartbroken." Said Kimiko, who spoke up at last.
Kimiko was the last of Sora's college friends. She was the tallest of the group, with extremely long, chestnut brown
hair and blue eyes. Kimiko was a music major, her instrument of choice being cello. She was one of the most talented
musicians on campus, but had a tendency to be a bit high-strung and easily excitable.
"I really wish I had known about this sooner. I would've tried to contact her."
Izzy made a face of semi-disgust, thinking about how Sora must've felt. The other three girls exchanged a glance at
each other, and then looked back at Izzy.
"So, how far back do you and Sora go?" Rei asked, a smile playing across her face.
"Huh? I've known Sora since grade school. Why?"
"Oh, just curious. That's all."
"So you're pretty good friends?" Emi asked.
"Well yeah, we've been through a lot in the past." Izzy said. "Although we do try not to talk about the past too much.
Personal reasons and all that."
The three girls nodded in agreement, and were about to question Izzy further, when Sora finally arrived with her lunch.
She sat down next to Izzy and got ready to dig in, only to curse quietly to herself.
"I forgot a drink again! Augh! I do this every time!" she complained.
"Only because you used to let Ma…er, uh…" Kimiko said, trailing off at the end before she mentioned too much about Matt.
"I'll go get you one, Sora. I'm thirsty anyways." Izzy said, standing up.
"Thanks Izzy. I appreciate it."
Izzy nodded and headed over to get some drinks for them. Sora turned to her friends, who were trying to play innocent.
"Okay, how much did you bug him?" she asked plainly.
"He seemed perfectly willing to answer our questions." Rei told her.
"Probably only because you guys wouldn't have let him go without getting some dirt on him or me."
"Oh come on Sora, we're just curious is all. We didn't mean anything bad by it." Emi told her. "And besides…"
"Besides…?" Sora repeated.
"He's kinda cute, you know? In a way." Emi finished, looking over in Izzy's direction.
"Emi, Hiroshi wouldn't like to hear you talking like that." Sora told her, smirking at her friend.
"Who said I was interested in him for me?"
"Emi…don't even joke like that right now." Sora said, a bit annoyed. "Izzy is an old friend of mine, and I'm happy
to see him again. Besides, I just…not now."
"Suit yourself." Emi said. "But don't be surprised if someone else picks him up then."
"I'd be happy for him. Izzy deserves to have someone."
"So do you, Sora." Kimiko said. Emi and Rei nodded in agreement.
"Just leave it be!" Sora told them.
"Hey there. Did I miss something?" Izzy asked as he set a can of soda down for Sora and himself.
"Nothing much. The girls were telling me how much they were bugging you before." Sora told him, quickly changing gears.
"Oh, it was no bother. I'm happy to make new friends."
Izzy smiled at the three other girls, who giggled amongst themselves. Sora just shook her head and continued with
lunch. After lunch, Emi, Kimiko and Rei headed off to sign up for classes while Sora and Izzy walked back towards the
dormitories.
"They really didn't bother me, Sora. Don't be so hard on them." Izzy told her.
"I just know what it's like to be new and just assailed with questions by people. I don't want you to feel like
you're being pushed around anymore." Sora told him.
"I know I'll be fine so long as I have a friend like you around."
"Likewise, Izzy. I hate to make mention of if, but I kinda wish you'd been here last year. It would've helped me
immensely."
"I wish I could've been there for you, Sora. I've always thought highly of you, and to know that you were put through
all of that alone, when I know you didn't have to be alone, well…it kinda gets to me is all. You were always there
for me when I was in trouble, or when it seemed like I was all alone."
"Izzy, you never owed me anything for any of that."
"That's not what I meant." Izzy said. "I just…I wanted to be able to do the same for you. You know, be there for you
when you needed it most. I thought maybe Matt would always be that person for you, but now…well, just know that
whenever you feel like you need someone to turn to, I'll be right there. Or at least one floor down from you."
"Izzy…that's sweet of you to say. Since when are you Mr. Smooth?"
"Oh come on, Sora. I'm still an introverted super geek at heart."
"Heh, so the more things change the more they stay the same?"
"Maybe something like that."
"Then maybe we need to work on getting you to open up some." Sora said, stopping and looking at him. "What we need
is a party."
"I've never been a party kind of person, Sora…" Izzy said hesitantly.
"All the more reason we should have one!"
"Sora…"
"No 'buts', Izzy. You leave the planning to me. Trust me, okay?"
"Okay, I trust you Sora." Izzy said begrudgingly. "But let's concentrate on getting going with classes first, okay?"
"Right on."
The pair reached the dorms, missing the elevator just as it headed up. As they stood waiting for it to come back, both
of them in turn stole a few glances at the other.
'I hate to admit it, but Emi's right. Izzy is kinda cute anymore. I never noticed before because I was so star struck
by Matt, but putting all the geekiness aside and he's really pretty handsome.' Sora thought. 'He'll find someone good
here, I know it.'
'I've always thought Sora was pretty, but she seems even moreso now. Maybe because she's been at this for a year now,
and she's more herself than before. She seems so natural now, like this is who she really is. Heh, if I thought I had
a chance I might…nah, who're you kidding Izumi? She probably considers you more as a brother anyway.' Izzy thought.
The elevator came, and Izzy and Sora rode it up to the third floor, where Izzy got off.
"See you later on, Sora?" he asked.
"Anytime, Izzy. Take it easy!" Sora replied as the doors closed. Upon arriving at her floor, Sora entered her room
and hopped up onto her bed, looking up at the ceiling. She played Izzy's words back through her head once again as
she relaxed.
"…whenever you feel like you need someone to turn to, I'll be right here." He'd said.
"I may just take you up on that offer, Izzy." She said to herself with a smile. "More than once…"
Another year loomed before her. Try as she might have over the summer to put out of her mind all that had happened the
prior year, going back to campus brought back all the memories of what had once been, and how it had all fallen apart.
In hindsight it was totally ironic that when they finally had the freedom to be as close as they wanted to be, they
couldn't stand being around each other. Finally, he had been the one to suggest that they stop seeing each other. At
the time, she agreed to it if for no other reason than any more close contact and what was left of their friendship might
have been jeopardized as well. Now, however, she couldn't deny that she still felt an attraction to him, even if she
couldn't muster the courage to ask him if he'd changed his mind at all.
She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as she mulled over all of this while lying on her bed at home, staring at the
ceiling. Somehow, to her, it wasn't fair. She had been so certain of what they'd had together that she still didn't
understand why things had happened as they had last year. Why couldn't she love someone without ending up hurting that
person or someone else in the process? It just didn't make any sense. It was a conundrum that no one she knew could
solve, and as the guardian of the Crest of Love, Sora Takenouchi was deeply troubled by it all.
'I've done everything I can think of, and I just can't hang onto anybody.' she thought as she let her mind wander. 'I
tried to be into guy things to get Taichi to notice me, and that sure didn't work. Then again, Tai was never the
sharpest knife in the drawer. Then I went the other way and was all girly for Yamato, and that seemed to work for a
while. But then Tai started getting all jealous, and I hardly saw him during Senior year in high school. And then last
year happened.
'Damn you, Ishida. Nothing I ever did for you was good enough, was it? I just couldn't be your #1 love. It was always
the music and everything that went along with it. I knew it was important to you, but...we got to college, and music
was all you ever did in your free time! I saw you less and less every day, and then...then the fights started. You
were so scary when you were all riled up...I couldn't believe you were the same person I thought I loved.
'And now I'm all alone again. If this were baseball, I'd have two strikes against me, with no one on base, two outs, in
the bottom of the ninth inning. Everyone else I knew is either otherwise involved or I've completely lost contact with
them. I don't know how long it's been since I heard from Joe or Mimi or Tai or anybody for that matter. Sure I've
made some new friends at college, but they weren't through all that we were. They don't hold any special space in my
heart as my true friends do.
'Well, enough moping for now. Guess I'd better take one last check around and make sure I've got everything.'
Sora jumped up off of her bed and checked around. Sure enough, all her things were packed for college yet again. She
headed out to her car after giving her mother a goodbye hug and drove off for college, idly wondering what kind of fun
the fates would have with her this year.
_ _ _ _ _
"Well I can promise you, I'm one roommate who won't bail on you halfway through the year Sora." Emi said as she sat on
her lower bunk bed. Emi was the closest friend Sora had made at college so far. She was a bit taller than Sora with
light brown hair that had blonde highlights, brown eyes, and dark tanned skin. She was something of a go-getter, and
a foreign language major. Aside from Japanese she spoke fluent English and Chinese, and was beginning to pick up
Spanish from her longtime boyfriend Hiroshi, who was also a foreign language major. She and Sora had hit it off well
their Freshman year, and Emi had been there for her the most after the breakup with Yamato.
Sora had taken the top bunk and was up top making her bed. She'd always had an affinity for heights, which she
attributed to all the time she spent riding on Birdramon's back. Besides which, Emi had stated that she knew if she
took the top bunk she'd end up falling out of bed and killing herself.
"Much appreciated, Emi. And don't worry, I'll respect your privacy when you and Hiroshi want some alone time." Sora
said, giving her roomie a knowing wink. Emi broke down into a fit of giggles at the notion as Sora jumped down to the
floor. "I'm going to go get a soda. You want anything?"
"I'm good. I've got more unpacking yet to be done."
"Suit yourself!"
Sora zipped out her door and took the elevator down to the first floor from the fourth floor where she and Emi lived.
The doors opened, and someone was right in front of the opening doorway with a laundry basket overfull with clothes in
their hands. It was so full, they couldn't see over it and they began walking in as Sora was trying
to get out.
"Hey, hang on a sec! People are trying to get off!" she yelled, pushing the mass of clothing backwards.
"Whoa! Hey, quit it! I'm losing my balaaaaaa!!!!" the person yelled. The person slipped and fell backwards,
spilling the clothing over top of them.
"Oh geez, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to knock you over!" Sora said as she began to help pick things up.
"No biggie. I'm used to being pushed around." the muffled voice said under the clothing. "I'm hoping college will
be different."
"I think you'll be pleasantly surprised."
"That's good to know. Say, you sound familiar."
"Oh come on, that's a lame pickup line."
"No, I'm serious!" the person said as they sat up, a sweater still hanging over their head. "Eh, it's probably just
wishful thinking. I used to have a lot of friends, but I've lost contact with pretty much all of them."
"Likewise. It seems to happen along with getting out of high school. All your old friends fall off the face of the
earth."
"Great. Just absolutely prodigious."
"Tell me about..." Sora stopped mid-sentence, her eyes widening. 'No way...it couldn't be...but...'
Sora stood up slowly, looking down at the person, who she could tell now was a guy.
"I only know one person who talks like that." she said warily.
The young man reached up and pulled the sweater away from him, revealing himself to be a short, red-haired young man
with brown eyes. He looked up at her, blinked a couple of times, then rubbed his eyes and looked at her again.
"Sora?" he asked.
"Izzy?" she replied.
"Holy cow, it's you!!!" they both said in unison. Izzy jumped up from the floor and quickly hugged Sora, who hugged
him back.
"How did you end up coming here for college?" Sora asked him after they finished rejoicing.
"Scholarships." Izzy said simply. "I've got a full free ride here so long as I keep my marks high."
"That's amazing! But I shouldn't expect any less from the only genius I know."
Izzy just shrugged and went back to picking his things up again.
"Oh God, Izzy! I'm so sorry about that before!" Sora said, quickly going back to helping him.
"Hey, you didn't know it was me. No worries."
"So you're living here, too?"
"I'm on the third floor, room 315."
"Heh, that's exactly below where I'm living."
"Oh great, now I'll never get any sleep with you and Matt up there." Izzy said with a groan.
"Oh Izzy...that's right, you're the only person who didn't hear." Sora said, suddenly remembering.
"Hear what?"
"Matt and I...we broke up last year."
"WHAT?!"
"Heh...this is going to be bad, isn't it?"
"How in the blue blazes did I get left in the dark on that one?!"
"C'mon. Let's get your stuff up to your room. I'll help you out, and I'll fill you in on everything you've missed
out on."
Sora took an armful of clothing from his basket and headed into the elevator. It promised to be a long afternoon of
storytelling and explanations.
_ _ _ _ _
"I still can't believe this." Izzy said as he continued to hook up his computer. Sora sat backwards in a chair with
her arms folded, watching Izzy assemble his machine. "I mean, everything you two were to each other...it just doesn't
seem right."
"You're not the first person to say all this, Izzy." Sora told him.
"I know. It's just, well...I guess I just think it's particularly wrong for him to have treated you like that. I
mean, you and I go way back Sora."
"Yeah, that's true. I still remember how we met back in grade school. You had fallen into some mud, and were crying
because you thought your mom would be mad at you for getting your shorts dirty so Tai and I helped you get cleaned up
and then we all walked home."
"And we walked home together from there on every day." Izzy added with a smile. "Well, at least until junior high.
Then it was just Tai and me. And then in high school, just me."
"Oh Izzy, none of us ever meant to make you feel left out. You just...seemed to be interested in other things, and
we didn't want to bother you."
Izzy slid out from under his desk and sat up, looking at Sora.
"None of you were ever a bother to me, Sora. Least of all you. I felt like I just couldn't keep up with you all
because I wasn't an athlete, or a singer, or anything like that."
"We would've loved to have you along with us, Izzy. You never held us back or anything crazy like that. Hell,
sometimes Tai would wish you were around because it just wasn't as fun without you."
"Well, hindsight is 20/20." Izzy said, hopping up. "Just one more connection to make...there."
Izzy powered his system up, and in mere moments his machine was humming away silently, connected to the Internet
and constantly checking his e-mail.
"You always had a way with those things." Sora said, amazed at the speed that he'd put it all together at.
"Everyone has something they're good at."
"Well, almost everyone."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. Well, I've got some more unpacking to finish up myself."
"Okay. Hey Sora, I'm glad I met you again. It's good to have a friend around."
"That goes double for me, Izzy. Hey, wanna come to lunch with me and the girls? We can show you around and stuff
afterwards. You are a Freshman after all."
"Prodigious! Count me in!"
"Great! We'll stop by later on and pick you up."
Izzy waved goodbye to Sora and went back to sorting his things out. Sora headed back up to her room, a smile on her
face. Suddenly, the year was already looking to be a lot better.
_ _ _ _ _
"So Sora hasn't been making it all up, then." Emi said, looking across the cafeteria table at Izzy. "Your name isn't
really 'Izzy', is it?"
"No, that's just been my nickname since I can't remember when." Izzy said with a laugh. "Koushirou Izumi. But
really, you can call me 'Izzy'. Now why did you think Sora made me up?"
"Well we never saw any of the friends she ever mentioned to us other than Yamato. So we kinda started joking that
she made up her friends so she wouldn't be lonely." Rei said. Rei was the second of Sora's college friends.
She was something of a videophile, and spent most of her free time watching TV or movies. She had short, black
hair and dark brown eyes, and was shorter than even Izzy was. Rei was a drama major, and insisted that all of her
watching was studying to be a better actress.
"Why would Sora ever be lonely?"
"You weren't here last year when she and Matt broke up. Sora was pretty depressed after it all happened. We did
our best to try and get her out of her funk, but she was just heartbroken." Said Kimiko, who spoke up at last.
Kimiko was the last of Sora's college friends. She was the tallest of the group, with extremely long, chestnut brown
hair and blue eyes. Kimiko was a music major, her instrument of choice being cello. She was one of the most talented
musicians on campus, but had a tendency to be a bit high-strung and easily excitable.
"I really wish I had known about this sooner. I would've tried to contact her."
Izzy made a face of semi-disgust, thinking about how Sora must've felt. The other three girls exchanged a glance at
each other, and then looked back at Izzy.
"So, how far back do you and Sora go?" Rei asked, a smile playing across her face.
"Huh? I've known Sora since grade school. Why?"
"Oh, just curious. That's all."
"So you're pretty good friends?" Emi asked.
"Well yeah, we've been through a lot in the past." Izzy said. "Although we do try not to talk about the past too much.
Personal reasons and all that."
The three girls nodded in agreement, and were about to question Izzy further, when Sora finally arrived with her lunch.
She sat down next to Izzy and got ready to dig in, only to curse quietly to herself.
"I forgot a drink again! Augh! I do this every time!" she complained.
"Only because you used to let Ma…er, uh…" Kimiko said, trailing off at the end before she mentioned too much about Matt.
"I'll go get you one, Sora. I'm thirsty anyways." Izzy said, standing up.
"Thanks Izzy. I appreciate it."
Izzy nodded and headed over to get some drinks for them. Sora turned to her friends, who were trying to play innocent.
"Okay, how much did you bug him?" she asked plainly.
"He seemed perfectly willing to answer our questions." Rei told her.
"Probably only because you guys wouldn't have let him go without getting some dirt on him or me."
"Oh come on Sora, we're just curious is all. We didn't mean anything bad by it." Emi told her. "And besides…"
"Besides…?" Sora repeated.
"He's kinda cute, you know? In a way." Emi finished, looking over in Izzy's direction.
"Emi, Hiroshi wouldn't like to hear you talking like that." Sora told her, smirking at her friend.
"Who said I was interested in him for me?"
"Emi…don't even joke like that right now." Sora said, a bit annoyed. "Izzy is an old friend of mine, and I'm happy
to see him again. Besides, I just…not now."
"Suit yourself." Emi said. "But don't be surprised if someone else picks him up then."
"I'd be happy for him. Izzy deserves to have someone."
"So do you, Sora." Kimiko said. Emi and Rei nodded in agreement.
"Just leave it be!" Sora told them.
"Hey there. Did I miss something?" Izzy asked as he set a can of soda down for Sora and himself.
"Nothing much. The girls were telling me how much they were bugging you before." Sora told him, quickly changing gears.
"Oh, it was no bother. I'm happy to make new friends."
Izzy smiled at the three other girls, who giggled amongst themselves. Sora just shook her head and continued with
lunch. After lunch, Emi, Kimiko and Rei headed off to sign up for classes while Sora and Izzy walked back towards the
dormitories.
"They really didn't bother me, Sora. Don't be so hard on them." Izzy told her.
"I just know what it's like to be new and just assailed with questions by people. I don't want you to feel like
you're being pushed around anymore." Sora told him.
"I know I'll be fine so long as I have a friend like you around."
"Likewise, Izzy. I hate to make mention of if, but I kinda wish you'd been here last year. It would've helped me
immensely."
"I wish I could've been there for you, Sora. I've always thought highly of you, and to know that you were put through
all of that alone, when I know you didn't have to be alone, well…it kinda gets to me is all. You were always there
for me when I was in trouble, or when it seemed like I was all alone."
"Izzy, you never owed me anything for any of that."
"That's not what I meant." Izzy said. "I just…I wanted to be able to do the same for you. You know, be there for you
when you needed it most. I thought maybe Matt would always be that person for you, but now…well, just know that
whenever you feel like you need someone to turn to, I'll be right there. Or at least one floor down from you."
"Izzy…that's sweet of you to say. Since when are you Mr. Smooth?"
"Oh come on, Sora. I'm still an introverted super geek at heart."
"Heh, so the more things change the more they stay the same?"
"Maybe something like that."
"Then maybe we need to work on getting you to open up some." Sora said, stopping and looking at him. "What we need
is a party."
"I've never been a party kind of person, Sora…" Izzy said hesitantly.
"All the more reason we should have one!"
"Sora…"
"No 'buts', Izzy. You leave the planning to me. Trust me, okay?"
"Okay, I trust you Sora." Izzy said begrudgingly. "But let's concentrate on getting going with classes first, okay?"
"Right on."
The pair reached the dorms, missing the elevator just as it headed up. As they stood waiting for it to come back, both
of them in turn stole a few glances at the other.
'I hate to admit it, but Emi's right. Izzy is kinda cute anymore. I never noticed before because I was so star struck
by Matt, but putting all the geekiness aside and he's really pretty handsome.' Sora thought. 'He'll find someone good
here, I know it.'
'I've always thought Sora was pretty, but she seems even moreso now. Maybe because she's been at this for a year now,
and she's more herself than before. She seems so natural now, like this is who she really is. Heh, if I thought I had
a chance I might…nah, who're you kidding Izumi? She probably considers you more as a brother anyway.' Izzy thought.
The elevator came, and Izzy and Sora rode it up to the third floor, where Izzy got off.
"See you later on, Sora?" he asked.
"Anytime, Izzy. Take it easy!" Sora replied as the doors closed. Upon arriving at her floor, Sora entered her room
and hopped up onto her bed, looking up at the ceiling. She played Izzy's words back through her head once again as
she relaxed.
"…whenever you feel like you need someone to turn to, I'll be right here." He'd said.
"I may just take you up on that offer, Izzy." She said to herself with a smile. "More than once…"