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[STARLESS SKY]

chapter two

koushiro's birthday

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As much as Sora loved to deny it, her mother's cooking was delicious.

Despite the two disagreeing on numerous things, Sora could never disregard her mother's talented culinary skills. Her mother knew how to whip up anything from left over ingredients, when to add the right amount of spice and even the art of how to transform tasteless food into mouth-watering meals. Sora was certain that if her mother wasn't a florist, she would be a professional chef.

However, no matter how delicious her mother's current curry rice was, Sora knew that there was nothing she could do to alleviate the awkwardness that overwhelmed their dining table. It was to be expected. She hadn't expected that their reunion was going to be all rainbows and butterflies. Sora wasn't blind and she wasn't sure whether her relationship with her mother would be reconcilable.

The day Sora had arrived to Tokyo, her mother had walked in past eleven at night. Her mother had merely greeted her, re-orientating Sora to the apartment. The day after, Sora's mother had gone to work and had left 3,000 yen on the counter with a scribbled note for her to use the money wisely on school supplies. Sora had taken it with stride, persevering on as she bought the stationary she needed and familiarised herself with the neighbourhood once again.

It was now Sora's third day after leaving Kyoto: A Sunday. In other words, it was her mother's day off. The two of them had done well avoiding each other and only had talked to each other when needed. However, it was inevitable that they were bound to cross paths at some point.

Defeated, Sora stabbed at the carrot piece with her fork with her eyes fixated on her plate. She refused to look upwards because she could feel her mother's gaze, and meeting her gaze naturally made her feel more apprehensive.

Sora had stayed holed inside her bedroom for breakfast and lunch. During dinner she thought it would be a good idea to put at least some effort. When her mother had announced dinner was ready, Sora had timidly appeared at the dining table.

And it was then that her mother decided to break the awkward silence. "Sora, I want to introduce you to somebody. Are you free Wednesday night?"

Sora nodded. Of course she'd be free – she was a student after all. It wasn't like she had a schedule or was planning to sign up for extra-curricular activities.

"I've been wanting you to meet him."

It had been more than obvious that her mother was seeing or dating a new man. Sora had sensed traces of a male's presence in the apartment from the masculine scent, to the more obvious clues like the extra large shirts folded and placed inside the bottom of her bedside drawer, to the beanies and caps kept tidily besides the wooden shoe closet.

Sora gave a wry smile. Yes, it was always about her mother. It was like her to use words to cunningly force somebody to do her biddings without them even knowing.

She resorted to quietly draining the rest of the water from her glass. Although Sora wasn't thirsty, she felt like she had to finish it because her throat had suddenly felt dry. Sora pushed the plate forward, no longer having an appetite. Then again, she had lost her appetite a while ago.

Curiosity now got the best of her. She finally lifted her gaze and saw that her mother was still gazing at her. Sora noticed the way her mother bit her bottom lip, a gesture that even she had inherited from her mother whenever she was nervous. Sora was not a fool, she knew her mother was waiting for her to react.

"How long now?" Sora, at long last, asked her.

Her mother paused for a moment, before stammering, "A year."

"Oh," Sora replied.

Not knowing what else to say, she broke their eye contact, shovelling a spoonful of rice into her mouth. Sora noticed that had one last piece of chicken to eat, which also meant that she could flee into her bedroom anytime soon. What else was she meant to say? Her mother could live her life however she wanted, as long as she left her alone too.

Ring. Rinngggg!

"I'll get it!"

Sora jumped eagerly out of her seat, willing to use any pretext to her advantage to escape. Without waiting for her mother to respond, Sora hurried towards the door and pushed it open. Before she could register who the person was, a stranger pounced on her, causing her legs to give way.

Sora blinked her eyes, trying to make sense of the person who had toppled over her. She saw an unruly bush of chestnut brown hair, smelt a mixture of grass and sweat and, from the muddy shorts and polo shirt, it was a clear give away who the newcomer was.

"Taichi!"

For the first time, in a long time, Sora laughed...hard.

She felt his hands encircle around her waist, hugging her as their bodies rolled back and forth on the floor, almost crashing against the wall. Her sides hurt from laughing and she couldn't stop the tears from falling down her cheeks to finally see her childhood friend again.

A moment later, Taichi jumped back onto his feet. He bent down, offering her a hand, which she took. She smiled as he pulled her back into a standing position before he gave her another brief hug.

"Well, well, well! Haven't you grown, Takenouchi?" She felt his eyes slowly survey her, first from her feet and it was when Sora caught his eyes traveling upwards to chest-level, she non-hesitantly scowled and kicked him behind the legs. He doubled over, chuckling, "And you still kick like a girl."

"That's because I am a girl." She corrected him, rolling her eyes, vainly trying to disguise a smile, but failing immensely. "How have you been, Yagami?"

She hadn't seen Taichi for a good six years. No longer was he the kid in kindergarden she had taunted for being a centimetre shorter than she was. He was taller – much, much taller. His voice was lower and she could see that his toned body was of an athlete. Asides from the height difference, Taichi's disheveled brown hair and warms eyes remained the same. His appearance may have matured, but from the way he had tackled her onto the ground proved otherwise.

Taichi would always be Taichi.

"Who is it, Sora?" Her mother joined them, evidently having heard the ruckus. When she saw Taichi there, she gave a soft simper. His charming, yet mischievous attitude, was infectious. There was something about Sora's old friend that made people, even like her mother, smile. "What brings your here, Taichi?"

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Miss Yokoyama." Taichi bowed lower than usual as he politely greeted the older woman. "I thought of escorting Sora out tonight."

"Escorting her out to where, exactly?"

Her mother's eyes narrowed slightly, but it was enough for Sora to notice. Even the decibel in her tone had lowered, something that tended to occur whenever her mother would get irritated. It may have been years since she had physically seen her mother, but Sora vividly remembered whenever she opposed of something.

Sora crossed her fingers, behind her back, hoping that Taichi's smooth-talking could save them.

"Didn't she tell you?" Taichi started, as if he had read Sora's mind. "It's Koushiro's birthday.. We thought it would be a good idea to merge his party with Sora coming back-"

"Koushiro?" Her mother exhaled. "Oh, that's fine then."

From the mention of Koushiro's name, her mother had silently granted Sora permission in a heartbeat. While Taichi had the charms, Koushiro was the golden kid that every parent praised and strived for their own children to be like.

Her mother continued, "I wouldn't even have thought Koushiro would want to have a party. Wasn't it last year he asked his mother to send him to computer camp instead-"

"Yes, that's him!" Taichi exclaimed. "Boring as..."

Sora stepped in his foot. She didn't want Taichi rambling on any longer because she didn't want her mother having second thoughts about her going to Koushiro's party.

"I'll get my coat," Sora said curtly, excusing herself.

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What was meant to be a few people, turned out to be over twenty.

Sora had been at the party from the beginning, assisting Taichi bringing the crates of alcohol into Koushiro's apartment. At first, she had objected to Taichi's scheme telling him that they shouldn't since they obviously weren't of legal age, but after Taichi's words of convincing persuasion Sora found herself sucked in, helping the troublemaker instead. Taichi always found a way to talk her into doing something she didn't like. Sora remembered that, because of this, they had gotten in trouble countless of times.

"Think of it as our present to Koushiro. I did tell him that I'd be in charge of the beverages. Sor, there's nothing to worry about because his parents are out of town! Besides, a little alcohol couldn't hurt anybody." Taichi reasoned out before she could scold him. "Stop being old-fashioned!"

Sora scrunched her nose when she swigged another mouthful of beer from the can she had been holding for the past hour. It was warm and the taste of it made her frown. It wasn't like she was new to liquor. She had shared a few glasses of sake with her father in the past, but beer was a new thing to her – and something she wasn't that all too fond of.

She had no idea how Taichi had gotten his hands on the alcohol, and she wasn't keen to ask. There was no point convincing Taichi that what they were doing was wrong because he wasn't going to back down. Unfortunately, that part of his personality hadn't changed either.

What bothered Sora more was how Taichi seemed fine that Hikari was drinking too.

Was this a normal thing in the city? Isn't Hikari too young? This is wrong!

No matter how Sora tried to let it slide, she couldn't get her conscience around it. The fact that teenagers were drinking alcohol at a unsupervised party made her anxiety levels increase.

Or perhaps Taichi was right? Perhaps she was old-fashioned...

Not wanting to spoil the mood, Sora chose to passively fade into the vibe around her. As time went by, Sora observed how everybody had gradually began to speak louder in slurred speech, drank more excessively (much to her displeasure), and even struggled to walk in straight lines. The more Sora stayed there, the more she felt out of place.

It wasn't that she had nobody to talk with. Despite Taichi ditching her for his soccer friends, Sora had easily been drawn into Hikari's small group of friends. They were the youngest there, but at least Sora had already met Daisuke and had a vague idea of Takeru from the previous basketball game.

"So tell me, Sora," Takeru said, grinning cheekily. The group had been preoccupied talking about people she didn't know that Sora hadn't anticipated the young athlete to suddenly target her.

Takeru wriggled forward on his seat, palms resting on his knees with bright blue eyes. In absolute seriousness, he spoke up, "Was Taichi still an idiot when he was younger?"

"Always," Sora played along, smirking.

Hikari swatted Takeru on the head, which made him chortle in laughter. "That's my brother you're talking about."

"Hey, don't hit only me! Sora agreed too. Admit it, Kari, you know how idiotic he can be-"

"I know he is, but I don't need you to reconfirm it to the world," Hikari grumbled.

As the two continued to bicker, a finger poked lightly at Sora's ribs. She glanced next to her and Daisuke gave her an impish grin. In a lowered voice, he spoke, "Don't mind them, Sora. They always fight like a married couple."

Sora smiled, agreeing, as she watched Takeru and Hikari continue to argue. If anything, she sensed something more than friendship between the two. Daisuke caught her gaze and gave a knowing nod, which made her giggle quietly.

"What's so funny?"

She looked up and saw that Koushiro had reappeared. Like Taichi, puberty had given him a growth spurt. At seventeen, he was slightly lanky, red hair more manageable and less scruffy, and his skin paled in contrast to Taichi's golden tan. Koushiro had always been an indoor person, preferring to spend more time behind a computer screen than stepping into the sunlight. In fact, it had been easier to keep in contact with Koushiro than Taichi with his efficient e-mails and giving her updates of the happenings in Odaiba.

"Nothing," Sora brushed off. Grinning, she patted besides her and Koushiro took her invitation, slumping onto the sofa on her right. "It's your birthday, you know? Where did you go off to, Izzy?"

He stifled a yawn. "I was in my bedroom. Had to fix up some of the coding. The deadline is tomorrow and I promised my client that I'd get it done on time."

"You have clients?" Sora gaped.

"Yeah," Koushiro mumbled offhandedly, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "It's a part-time job I've got going on at the moment. It helps me buy new games and the teachers have told me that it will look remarkable on my college applications."

Koushiro's maturity and intelligence had always been a step ahead for his age. Both she and Taichi would often playfully tease their friend, but whenever other people bullied or badmouthed Koushiro, Taichi would start fistfights and Sora would bark vicious words to protect him. They were an odd trio, which somehow had made them even more inseparable.

The celebrant lounged back onto the sofa, propping a arm around Sora's shoulder as he drank from his bottle of beer. He glanced at the other people surrounding them, speaking to nobody in particular, "Is Yamato late again?"

The name had come up more than a few times that night. Sora didn't know who the person was, but she hadn't failed to hear the name being brought up once in a while in many conversations. Whoever this person was, Sora had a fair understanding that he must have been a regular during their friendly gatherings and parties.

"He's at a gig," Hikari replied. "Yamato told Tai that he'd be here after the last song."

"He'd better. He promised me manga."

Takeru added, "He'll make it though."

"I know he will," Koushiro replied, finally satisfied. When Koushiro finished his beer, Sora watched as he was about to clear up the coffee table.

Sora stopped the celebrant, telling him off. She took on the task instead, carrying an armful of empty cans and bottles into the recycling bins in the kitchen. She had tried to be discreet, pretending to use cleaning up as an excuse to fetch herself some water.

The alcohol had made her face hot, yet she didn't feel drunk at all. Was it because she was uncomfortable around everybody? Was she embarrassed? Perhaps it was a combination of alcohol and being over-exposed to many people?

Her thoughts kept pestering her. She was about to turn on her heels to go back to the others, but she hesitated midway. She was suddenly tempted to get out of there. She wanted to get out of there. The air felt stuffy and it was a struggle to breathe. Sora let out a gasp of relief when she spotted the open balcony. She found her feet leading her outside before she had even decided.

The frosty air cooled her down.

She closed the door behind her, finding a seat and placing the glass of water on the balcony's ledge.

Although she preferred Kyoto's scenery, she couldn't condemn Odaiba's breathtaking scenery at night. Koushiro's apartment was set in the prefect location, overlooking the Rainbow Bridge. The sparkling city lights glittered, reflecting onto Tokyo Bay, the gigantic ferris wheel turned slowly and the starless sky made her feel empty, like she was missing something.

She wondered how her father was coping without her. Her father hasn't contacted her ever since the move. She understood he was overseas, but she missed him. Even a text message would have been nice...

Coincidentally, a new message alert sounded. Excited, she pulled the phone out from her coat's pocket, only to realise that it hadn't been from her father.

I start tomorrow. I don't know if I'll cope with Tokyo. I'm doomed. I can't even navigate myself to the closest train station. It's so busy. How are you fairing?Do you feel as hopeless as I do? Tell me I'm not the only one who is fretting like I'm going through a midlife crisis...

At least Jyou felt the same.

She had exchanged a few texts with him ever since they had saved each other's numbers on the train. It felt comforting knowing that she wasn't the only one experiencing change.

Just as she was about to text the medical student back, she heard the door slide open.

Turning around, Sora half expected the person to be either Taichi or Koushiro trying to drag her back inside. Unfortunately, for her, she observed the person to be the same rude boy who she had briefly seen at the basketball game.

He narrowed his eyes, but when he realised it was her he gave hint of acknowledgement with a small nod. She watched as he was about to light his cigarette with a lighter, but paused midway.

There was a clear scowl on his face, but he still chose to address her, "Do you mind if I..."

"Smoke?"

"Yeah."

She had waited for him to snap at her, but he had instead asked her for permission. It wasn't like she could stop him anyway. At least the guy was being courteous. Sora shrugged, not wanting to hold a grudge against him from their first encounter.

"Go ahead."

She wasn't all too pleased about smokers or the thought of smoking, but if Sora had tolerated drinking and sneaking alcohol into Koushiro's apartment that night...what right did she have to tell a stranger off for underage smoking?

Sora heard the click of the lighter and soon she could smell the scent of tobacco combining with the cold air as it drifted uninvitedly to her direction.

Was she meant to say something?

She shook her head to herself at the thought. No way. Besides, she couldn't do it. She wasn't the type to do small talk – that, and the fact she didn't know how to.

Sora looked dumbly down at her phone, but she had forgotten the words she was going to reply to Jyou. It was impossible when she could feel the guy looking at her from the corner of her eye.

Or was he looking at the scenery?

She didn't know.

Sighing, she stared at him and realised that he wasn't looking at her, but at the scenery. He looked reserved, deep in thought as his pensive blue eyes gazed over Tokyo Bay and into the black horizon. For some reason she felt like she wanted to know what he was brooding about, what ticked in that mind of his as he leered into the blurry night.

She cast her gaze away, hoping that she hadn't been caught staring too long.

Sora shivered, only then sensing that the cold air had transformed into a chilly breeze. She pulled her coat tighter around her body, glad that she did something right when she had picked it out of her wardrobe. Under her grey coat, Sora had settled for a white sweater, comfortable black jeans and a pair of black runner. All night Sora had felt underdressed compared to the other females at the party (even Hikari had worn a dress!), but now she was grateful for her casualness.

She, too, gazed at the scenery. It felt odd that being outside, with the stranger, felt more calmer than being inside in the over-stimulated environment.

Minutes passed as they quietly watched the city before them. When Sora began to look for stars, she heard the guy stomp out his cigarette. He took his leave, closing the sliding door behind him.

Before Sora could let out a sigh of relief, knowing that she was finally by herself, her self-reassurance shattered when the door slid open again.

He had returned, head sticking out from behind the door. "Shouldn't you be going in? The drizzle is getting heavier."

"I-I," Sora stuttered, cheeks turning pink as she wiped the mist from her face. She had been deep in thought that she mustn't had noticed the dampness of her hair and how subtly the rain drops had kissed her skin. "Thanks."

"Anyway, Koushiro's about to blow the cake." He muttered, "I'm sure he wouldn't want you to miss it, Sora."

She blinked, surprised. How did he know her name?

His phone started ringing. He answered the phone, a scowl appearing on his features once again. One hand rested on the door's frame, the other hand pressed the phone to the side of his face.

He hissed, "What now, Akira? Didn't I tell you that I'm busy tonight? This had better be an emergency-"

Although the blond headed boy was speaking on the phone, his eyes held onto hers as he gestured for to get inside and away from the impending miserable weather. Sora quickly got out of her chair, ducking under his arm as he closed the sliding door behind her. In the process, she had felt the drizzle of water turn into larger droplets of rain. If he hadn't warned her, she would have been drenched.

Heat and the loudness greeted her.

If anything, the stranger had been correct about Koushiro blowing the cake.

All the guests were circled around the dining table, singing 'Happy Birthday' to the celebrant. It didn't help that Taichi had climbed onto the table, waving his hands in the air as he orchestrated the choir off drunken off-key riot of voices with a pair of chopsticks.

Sora grinned. She couldn't help but wonder what the stranger had thought about the whole scenario, and the mess that would unfold later too. As she craned her neck to glimpse him, she was startled when she noted the stranger had went the opposite direction.

Across the room, Sora could see him lacing on his shoes and shrugging on a leather jacket. As he grasped and was about to turn down the doorknob, he cast one final glance at everybody at the party – until he realised that she was staring directly at him.

Instead of eying her off, he pointed at something resting on the coffee table. She followed his gaze and noticed a bundle of, what looked like, coloured pieces of paper all bunched together with a scarlet ribbon and bow. Sora quickly strode towards the table and hovered over the bundle of papers to realise that it was stack of manga – One Piece to be exact. She laughed out loud, eyes searching for the stranger who now was pointing repeatedly from the bundle of manga to the person behind the cake.

It was clear as day that it was the stranger's gift to Koushiro. She gave the blond boy the thumbs up, understanding her mission.

With a small nod and a hint of a smile, he was gone.

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last edited: 16/05/15.

(a/n) There are bounds to be mistakes here and there. I'll fix 'em up later. I wanted to make sure this chapter was posted up before Digimon Tri aired. I was honestly surprised by the reviews in the previous chapter.

Heck, it still surprises me that this fandom continues to be very much alive. :) Thanks for reading!