Hello! Here I am with a new chapter! I had been picturing this one for a few weeks in my head and it turned the way I wanted it to. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

Chapter 6: The Past Knocks On Your Door

Yamato walked out of the stage as soon as soon as the Knife of Day concert had ended. It was another great one, another sold-out show. It was also their last one before they left for the international tour. In a normal situation, he would be overjoyed with this opportunity. Of course he was happy with it, but not as much as he wanted to. Yamato was fully aware he would have to leave a lot behind. His heart started pounding. In a matter of minutes, he would be having one of the most nervous-wracking conversations in his life, if not the most one. He was so absorbed into his thoughts that he didn't pay attention to anyone that tried to talk to him during his way to the dressing room.
Once he walked inside the dressing room, he locked the door and leaned against it, sighing deeply. Sora had come to see him that night, along with Taichi. From the stage, he could see how happy and proud she was of him. That only made his pounding heart worsen. Yamato forced himself to move away from the door and he went to put his guitar back in its case. Not too much after that, some people blabbing could be heard outside the room and he knew his moment of peace was about to be interrupted. Akira, Kazuo and Hiroshi walked in chatting happily about their just-ended concert.
"Wow, did you guys see how crowded it was tonight?" Hiroshi asked, still in shock. "What a great way to leave for France."
"Yamato, what happened to you? You never come to the dressing room so fast."
"Sorry, I just have a lot in my mind tonight." Yamato replied as he took longer than he usually does putting his guitar inside the guitar case. It was the perfect excuse to avoid making eye contact with his band mates.
"Did you and Sora fight?"
Yamato flinched at the question. They didn't fight, but he couldn't bear imagine how devastating would be telling her the news.
"Hiroshi, you know how private Yamato is with his relationship with Sora. If he felt like telling us, he would have already."
Yamato thanked Akira mentally for standing up for him. It wasn't like he didn't want to share some information about his relationship with his band mates, but he knew how they could be sometimes. He also knew how Sora could be sometimes, and he definitely didn't want her to be embarrassed by some comments they'd make or mischievous looks they'd give her if he ever let out more than he was meant to.
"You know, we should go out to celebrate our last show at The Empire and the beginning of our tour." Akira suggested.
"I'm so down to that." Kazuo said excitedly.
"Me too." Hiroshi followed along. "Akira does know the best places to celebrate in Odaiba."
"Are you in, Yamato?"
"I'm not sure. That depends if Sora will be." Yamato finally finished zipping his case and placed it carefully against the wall.
"Come on, man." Kazuo said. "It's the beginning of a new era for Knife of Day. We should kick it big style."
"Kazuo, if he doesn't feel like doing it tonight, it's okay. There will be plenty of time for him to do that."
"That's right." Yamato agreed. "To be honest, I just feel like lying on the couch in my house and watch some bad movie on TV."
"That's cool, too."
The room fell silent the moment Sora showed up at the door. She had a suspicious look on her face, as if she realized she was the subject of the conversation. She shook her head and put on a sweet smile. "Hello, guys! What a nice concert you just played!"
"Hey, Sora." Akira said. "Thank you."
"Guys, would you mind leaving me and Sora alone?" Yamato asked. "There's something I need to tell her."
Akira, Hiroshi and Kazuo were ready to tease him about it, but they immediately dropped it when they saw the serious expression on Yamato's face. Akira squeezed his shoulder lightly on his way out. Yamato was fairly aware it was his bandmate's way of reassuring him everything would be fine, no matter what it was that he had to tell her. The lead singer smiled weakly before the guys left and he turned his attention back to his girlfriend.
"So, what do you have to tell me?" Sora asked a little apprehensive.
Yamato sighed and looked up. He knew it wouldn't be easy, but he had no idea it would be this hard. He turned his back at her because he couldn't dare to face her after telling her the news. Yamato couldn't help but feel like a coward for doing so.
"Yamato? What's going on?"
"Knife of Day has been offered a big tour overseas."
"That's great news!" Sora said excitedly. "You all said yes, right?"
"We did." Yamato said blandly and swallowed hard. That was it. "It is indeed great news, but…"
"But what?"
"The tour will last seven years."
"What?! Why so long?"
"The tour will have quite a few shows schedule in some concert halls and they will take place in many cities in Europe. The first one is in Paris."
"Oh." Sora said surprised. "And where does that leave us?"
"That's the thing." Yamato flinched. "It doesn't. I can't make you wait for me that long."
"Yamato, I'm sure we can work something out." There was a desperate tone in her voice.
"Please, Sora." He finally turned around to face her and his heart broke when he saw tears in the corner of her eyes. "Don't make it harder than it already is."
"But two nights ago we were just saying how much we loved each other. You held me in your arms and told me how you wanted to be with me forever."
"I love you, Sora. But it's not fair to ask you to put your life on hold for me during this time. A lot can change in seven years."
"Are you saying you want to break up with me, is that it?"
"Yes, that's what I'm saying." Yamato said firmly, though his heart was in pieces. "I'm breaking up with you."
Sora didn't even bother holding her tears back at that point. She couldn't even put into words how broken she was with this. Yamato felt a strong urge to embrace her and reassure her everything was going to be okay, and he had to fight against it with everything he had.
"I hate having to choose between you and the band. But this is a lifetime opportunity and I cannot waste it."
"I can totally understand this, and I think you should really go for it." Sora sounded unbelievably calm for someone who had two cascades of tears falling from her eyes. "I just can't understand why we need to break up because of it."
"How could we manage to make it work? Would you travel all the way to France with your parents' money?" Yamato said angrier than he meant to. "That could work in the beginning, and then what?"
"I don't know!" Sora shouted. "But I'm sure we could work something out. As long as we're willing to, we can figure out a way. Unless you don't want to."
Yamato looked at her cinnamon eyes and she immediately bit her lower lip, nodding her head and looking away.
"You don't want to."
"What am I supposed to do?" He rubbed his face with his hands nervously. "I know you probably hate me right now, but I can only hope someday you can forgive me. I also hope you can understand how hard it is for me to make this decision.
"I can't say I don't hate you because you broke my heart into million pieces. I really can't stay here right now." She dried her tears and left the room.
Yamato let himself fall on the couch behind him as he covered his face with his hands and let the tears from his baby blue eyes.

****

Yamato woke up all at once. He was almost pretty sure he was screaming loudly. His heart was beating fast from the dream he was having. When it slowed down, he realized he wasn't in his bedroom. Instead, he was in one with white walls, except the one across him, which was light pink and matched the curtains behind him. The furniture was made of white wood and the whole bedroom caused a weird yet familiar sensation on him. As Yamato was about to get up, he felt a sharp pain in his forehead as he shook his head, leading to a terrible headache. It was so strong he had to put both his hands at the top of his head like it would help the headache diminish or maybe go away completely. He immediately tried to remember how much he had drunk the night before, but the memories were just a fog in his mind. When he was sure he could stand up without feeling dizzy, he left the bedroom.

Once Yamato walked into the hall, he immediately found himself covering his eyes due to sudden change of luminosity. When his eyes were fully adjusted to the clarity, he looked around the place and wondered where he was and what had happened at The Empire last night. He knew he definitely wasn't kidnapped, or he would be tied up in a chair or something. His first guess was that it was Jou's house, but he found odd the idea of his friend to go to such places as The Empire. Then who the hell did this apartment belong to and what was he doing there?
It was only when Yamato entered the kitchen that he found someone in the house, and the person he least expected to. He smiled awkwardly, thinking it had to be some joke the universe was playing with him.
"Oh you're awake." The man said as he turned around with a coffee bottle in his hands. "Did you sleep well?"
"Not exactly." Yamato yawned and politely covered his mouth with his right hand. "I had a bad dream that seemed so real it made me wake up in panic."
"What was it about?" Taichi asked him out of curiosity and the look on Yamato's face made him regret asking it right away. "I got it. Well, I hope you didn't feel weird about sleeping in Hikari's room. I would lend you mine, but it's really messy. We don't have a guest bedroom here, and she spent the night at Ken's, so…"
"No, it's okay." Yamato replied dully, still trying to connect the dots in his mind. "Taichi, what's going on? Why am I here?"
"Geez, you don't really remember what happened at the club, do you?"
"I don't remember seeing you there." He shrugged. "But then again, last night is just a blur in my mind."
"It's probably because you already almost wasted when I did." Taichi pulled out a chair and sat across Yamato. "It turns out Akiko is friends with the girl you were flirting with."
"Oh God." Yamato buried his head in his hands. "What were the odds?"
"Tell me about it." Taichi drank a sip of his coffee. "Do you want some?"
"No, thanks. I don't drink black coffee."
"Wow, things changed. I remember you being crazy about it when we were teens. You had to drink at least two glasses."
"That was before I found out straight coffee is bad for the vocal chords, especially before concerts and things like that."
"Oh… then it makes sense for you to stop, I guess."
"Yeah." Yamato sighed. "So then what happened last night?"
"Well, like I said Akiko is friends with the girl you were with. I can't remember her name though."
"Was it Megumi? I can't remember it either."
"Anyway, you had a bunch of sex-on-the-beach drinks already and you started to fight with a guy who had hit on her."
"Gosh." Yamato covered his eyes with his left hand, visibly embarrassed at his behavior. "Twenty five years old and fighting on clubs for woman. Can it get any worse?"
"It can, actually." Taichi put the glass over the table and looked at him. "Do you want me to go on?"
"I'm embarrassed enough as it is, so why the hell not? Shoot."
"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you." Taichi poured himself another glass of coffee.
"Just go on with it already." Yamato said rather annoyed. He decided to join Taichi in drinking coffee. "Oh to hell with it, pour me some too."
"I knew you'd back down eventually." Taichi said with a proud tone and then went to grab another glass in the cupboard. "There you go."
"Thank you." Yamato took the glass from him and filled it with the black beverage. "So, keep going."
"Alright." Taichi cracked the bones of his fingers, as if he was getting ready to play the piano or something. "Sometime while you were dancing with her, you called her Sora."
"I DID WHAT?!" Yamato screamed very loudly in disbelief. He stood up in shock at the revelation. "I can't believe I did that. I ruined every chance I could have with this woman."
"What chance, Yamato?" Taichi asked him rather calmly. "You don't even remember her name."
"You have a point. But don't flatter yourself over it. It's very easy to find someone nowadays, with technology and all."
"Dude, you called her Sora. No woman would ever be okay with dating a guy who's still in love with the ex-girlfriend."
"Who the hell said I'm still in love with Sora?"
"I think it's quite clear, isn't it?" Taichi asked seriously. "Why else would you?"
"I don't know. But what I do is that I'm not in love with her. Years went by, she moved on and so did I." Yamato stated firmly. "I swear you sounded just like Takeru. I'm grateful you rescued me, but don't push your luck. So, please, cut this crap, alright?"
"Alright, alright. I'm sorry."
"Thank you." Yamato held the glass tight with both of his hands, debating whether or not to get into the topic he wanted to. He eventually shook his head and decided to go for it. "So…"
"You want to know about Yumi, right?" Taichi looked up and came across Yamato's wide eyes and raised eyebrows.
"How did you know that?"
"Let's just say old habits die hard." Taichi reached for his phone in his pocket and placed in on the table. He unlocked it and accessed his camera roll, looking for a picture of his heart niece. He found one they took about two months ago. He couldn't help but smile at her wide smile while being on his arms. She was the one who took the picture, and judging from the way it turned out, Hikari would have a tough competition for the best amateur photographer ever.
"Is that her?" Yamato asked and Taichi finally woke up from his daze.
"You haven't seen her?"
"No. Takeru was meant to ask for a picture, but I haven't come back home yet, so…"
Taichi slid his phone towards Yamato, who immediately grabbed it. A smile appeared on his lips the moment he looked at the picture and noticed how happy she was. She looks just like Sora, except she has the same blue eyes he does. So what he felt when he met Yumi wasn't just a coincidence. He had met his daughter without knowing about her.
"I've met her before."
"You what?!" Taichi asked in shock. "Where did you meet her?"
"At school. I was offered a job as a musical teacher at Odaiba Elementary School last week. I was walking down the hall and found her crying as she waited for a friend. She said she was going to move away, but she didn't want to. She asked me to talk to her mother about it and see if I could change her mind. When she was about to tell me her mother's name, her friend came back and they left."
"Wow." Taichi said astonished after Yamato finished the story. "So you actually met your daughter without even knowing it was her? It's surprising she told you all of this barely knowing who you are. Yumi isn't the type to be so open that fast with everyone."
"I guess so."
"She's a very special child. I swear you are going to fall in love with her the moment you get to know her a little bit more."
"That is, if Sora allows me to meet her for real." Yamato added. "Which I don't think she will, especially considering she moved away."
"Yeah, probably not." Taichi looked away for a moment and then back at the man across him. "But hey, everything can change, right?"
"I guess so." Yamato shrugged. "So tell me, how did Sora react when she found she was carrying my baby?"
"Honestly, Yamato… does it matter now? Would you have stayed if both of you found out about her pregnancy before you left?"
"I don't know…" He said unsure. "I don't think I would because of the other band members, but we could have figured something out maybe."
"Maybe…" Taichi said absentmindedly. He bit his lower lip as he pondered what to say next when his phone started vibrating on Yamato's hands. He watched as a shock looked appeared on Yamato's face as he stared at Taichi's phone. Taichi immediately knew who was calling him and couldn't help but think of how twisted the universe was.
"It's Sora."

-

So there it is! I was planning this Taichi/Yamato reencounter for quite a while and it finally felt like the right time to make them meet again. Do you think they will rekindle their friendship again?