Hello! Here I am again! This chapter is really intense and has a plot twist, and I enjoyed writing it a lot. I wasn't feeling the Sorato vibe in this story until now, so I thank Yamato for that lol. It may seem that Yamato is going around in circles with this thoughts, but I hope I could show how conflicted he is. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter! See you next month xoxo

Chapter 7: Yamato's Inner Battle

Taichi looked at the phone ringing in his hands and then to Yamato, unsure of what to do. He really wanted to talk to his best friend, but at the same time it wouldn't be nice because of Yamato. The rock star shifted uncomfortably in his seat and looked at Taichi with his eyebrows raised.
"Aren't you gonna answer her?" He said at last. "If you take too long, she will hang up."
"Yes, but…" The ambassador darted his gaze back to his phone. His eyes widened when Yamato grabbed it from his hands and pressed the green button and the speaker one right after. He placed the device in the center of the table and looked at Taichi, who still had the same look on his face. The blonde soundless spoke, only moving his lips. "Just talk to her, don't worry about me."
It took Sora's echoing voice to call Taichi's name twice for him to wake up from his trance. He glanced down to his phone. "Hey, Sora."
"Thank God! I thought you didn't want to talk to me. Is everything okay?"
"Yes, yes. I just..." Taichi took a deep breath. "I just miss my best friend."
"I miss you too." Sora said softly. "I wish you all were here with me. London is amazing, you'd love it."
"I'm sure I would." He smiled. "How is my niece?"
"She's… getting better. She still hates the idea of living in England, but is complaining less about it now. I guess she inherited a lot of Yamato's personality."
Taichi and Yamato exchanged glances and then both men looked at the device on the table, carefully paying attention to the conversation.
"Well, that's an overstatement."
"No, that's actually true. He used to complain a lot about certain things." Sora sighed. "Yumi is actually here now. We came to a square nearby and there's a small playground. Mike took her there and they just came back."
Yamato couldn't help but feel a little jealous of Mike as he realized Sora's fiancé seemed to be Yumi's real father rather than him. He didn't think he could ever forgive her for keeping such a secret from him, even if he understood her reasons for doing so. But he also knew he was in no position of judging her about it when he was at fault as well.
"So I take it the weather there is nice."
"It is, but who knows how long it will last. Would you like to talk to her?"
"I do."
Yamato found himself leaning over the table, closer to Taichi's phone, as Yumi's voice echoed around the kitchen.
"Uncle Taichi!" She said in her usual exciting voice.
"Hello, kiddo!" Taichi couldn't help but smile hearing her pitchy voice, so childish-like. "How are things around there?"
"London is okay, but I miss Japan!" Her tone changed from happiness to a crying one. "I want to go back. I miss you all. I miss my friends. Uncle Taichi, convince mommy to come back to Odaiba."
Taichi looked up at Yamato, who had a guilty expression on his face. He could tell the blonde was blaming himself for the whole situation. He didn't know which one to comfort first, but he knew that if he gave Sora any sign that Yamato was there and listening to the conversation as well he'd be screwed.
"Yumi, we've talked about this. Your father had to go back to work and we didn't want to be away from each other anymore."
"Who said he's even my father?" Yumi snapped, much to the men's surprise. Taichi couldn't remember a time where she gave such a response to anyone, especially Sora.
"Watch your mouth, little lady!" Sora said firmly. "I didn't teach you to say such things. So apologize to Mike now."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay, Yumi." He said reassuringly. "I knew you didn't want to move to another country and it's a huge change, especially to you."
"I'm sorry about this, Taichi. I don't know what happened to her so suddenly."
"Don't worry about this, Sora. Please take it easy on her, okay? She's only a child and like Mike said, this is a huge change for her. It's only been a few days since you moved away."
"Yes, I know." She said and then sighed. "But it's still not ok. How's Akiko doing?"
"She's great, actually. We went out last night."
"It seems like it's getting serious."
"Yeah." Taichi let out a laugh. "I accidentally let it slip that you met her and now Hikari wants to as well."
"Well, it's about time you introduce her to your sister. There's a very high possibility they become sisters-in-law."
"It's way too early for that."
"You keep that pace and she will end up marrying Ken before you and Akiko do."
"I'm not eager to marry her at the moment. We haven't talked about this and probably won't for a few months, or maybe years. We've been together for like four months. What about you though? Have you and Mike talked about setting up a date already?"
Yamato pushed his chair away when Sora began to answer and the noise it made against the floor cut her off completely. Taichi looked at him with wide eyes; he had forgotten he was there for a moment and immediately regretted asking his question.
"Is Hikari listening to the conversation too? You put this call on the speakerphone?"
"No." He quickly said and came up with the first excuse he could think of. "Today is cleaning day, so I put you on speakerphone because it's easier for me to do my housework."
"I see."
Taichi watched Yamato go back to Hikari's room and felt an urge to hang up on Sora and apologize to him. "Listen, Sora, I…"
"Taichi, I need to confess something to you."
The man raised his eyebrow in confusion. There was something about the tone in her voice that got him very concerned. "What is it?"
"I don't think I liked London. I'm seriously considering going back to Odaiba."
"What? Sora, did something happen?"
"No, I just…" She took a deep breath. "I know it's been only a few days, but this city is so strange to me. I can't understand what most people say and it gets harder when Mike isn't around to help me."
"Well, it has only been a few days. Getting used to living in another city takes a lot longer than that. Besides, you're not the type to quit things easily."
"It seems like you don't want me to go back. You're right, though. It takes a lot of time to get used to living in another city. I guess I should just be a little more patient and things will turn out fine."
"That's true. And for the record, I'd love to have you back here. Things just aren't the same without you. I also miss seeing Yumi's sunshine-like smile and picking her up at school when you can't and stopping halfway home to get ice cream."
"I knew that was you!" Sora said playfully. "Disobeying my orders regarding my own daughter."
"In my defense, she makes a cute face and I just can't say no to her. "
"You're gonna be so screwed with your future child."
"Most definitely." Taichi pressed his palm against his forehead, laughing. His face immediately became serious when he remembered Yamato was still there. "Listen, Sora, I'd love to talk to you more, but today is shopping day and Hikari should be here soon, so…"
"Yeah, yeah, I totally get it. I'll call you again some other time."
"Great! Please don't take too long though, I miss talking to you."
"I miss it too." Sora sighed. "Oh and Taichi… I love you."
"I love you too, Sora." Taichi smiled. "Take care."
"You too."

Taichi gently knocked on Hikari's bedroom door and waited for Yamato to say something, but there was no answer. So he slightly opened the door to make sure it was safe to walk in and he found the blonde sitting on the floor with his back leaned against the bed. His legs were crossed and his cellphone was resting on his left thigh. Taichi's gaze immediately fell on the device and his eyes widened when they came across the picture displayed on the screen. It was a picture of Yamato and Sora back when they were dating. He then looked over Yamato, who was looking back at him. There was something on his expression Taichi couldn't figure out what it was. Realization, maybe? Yamato turned his attention back to his cellphone, now in his hands, as the brunette sat down on the bed, beside him.
"I just couldn't." The blonde said simply.
"Huh?" Taichi raised his eyebrow. Confusion was written all over his face.
"I don't know why, but for some reason I couldn't." Yamato repeated. "I know you are wondering why I kept this photo even after so many years."
"It took months for Sora to be able to smile like this again." The ambassador mentally cursed himself for his statement, which he was fairly sure felt like a punch on Yamato's stomach. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"
"It's okay." Yamato said without taking his eyes on the phone. "Would it help if I said I still feel bad for breaking her heart? I mean, I know I had to make a choice and deal with its consequences, but in the first years I thought about what we could have been from time to time. Maybe she was right all along. Maybe we could have made it work, even with the distance. But until what point is okay to make someone you love wait seven years for you? She said she was willing to, but would it be fair to her?"
Taichi wasn't quite sure if he was meant to answer his inquiries or if they were just him voicing out loud what was buried deep down in his mind and heart. "Yamato…" It was all he could manage to say at the moment.
"How long have they been dating?" Yamato finally got to look at the man beside him, who swallowed hard when he noticed his blue eyes were full of hurt. But he also noticed how they still wanted the truth nonetheless.
Taichi looked down at his feet and lowered his head before answering. "I think she only got to fully open up to Mike about a year after they met each other. And that was about three years after you broke up with her. Before that Mike had tried, but I guess the wounds were still too big and recent. I remember she used to call me or come here and cry for hours, saying she couldn't go through another hurtful breakup. At the same time, she had to put on a brave face and push her feelings aside for Yumi. But we all could tell how it was killing her." When he looked up again, tears were falling from his eyes. He knew Yamato was looking at him and probably blaming himself even more for putting Sora into this situation. Reliving such moments weren't pleasant for Taichi, but he knew he had to revisit them for the sake of Yamato. If things were going to turn out the way he thought they would, then he had to tell the man beside him the whole history. "Mike was understanding and patient enough to wait for her to be ready. Honestly, I don't know what could have happened if he didn't appear in her life."
"Taichi, I…"
"She didn't want you to blame yourself for making that decision." Taichi intertwined his hands between his knees. "That remains true to this day."
"I know." Yamato looked away to a point on the floor across him.
"So what changed your mind? You wouldn't be looking at a picture of you and her back when you were dating if something inside you didn't ignite after that phone call." He paused. "We may have spent years without talking to each other, but you are still the same old Yamato in your essence."
Yamato let out a soft laugh. "It's amazing how you can still lecture me that well. It seems the years apart never happened."
"We were best friends after all."
"I guess listening to her voice and how the three of them sounded like a family ignited something inside me. It could have been us instead. It's probably an awful thing to say, but I feel like Mike stole my place. I don't hold anything against him, and I'm actually very thankful that he helped Sora raise our daughter. But I can't help but think I should be the one taking her to the park or to school."
"Is this only about Yumi or are you trying to convince yourself that? It doesn't have anything to do about Sora as well?"
"It doesn't matter now, does it?" Yamato finally looked at him. "She moved on. She's happy and engaged to a guy who loves her, who deserves her. What is he anyway?"
"He's a doctor."
"Honestly, Taichi, what could I ever offer to her? Stability? That's probably the last thing a musician can offer to a girlfriend or boyfriend."
"Alright, enough of your self-pity." Taichi said and slipped down to the ground beside him. "You can offer her love. That's all she's ever wanted in the first place. I even dare to say it's what she still wants, she's just too afraid to admit it out loud."
"And then what?" He asked desperately. "I show up at her door and everything magically falls into place? This isn't a fairytale, Taichi."
"No, it's not. Of course it's not a fairytale, it's actually far from it. You know Sora, she doesn't let go of some things easily. But if there's one thing I'm certain about is that she has never stopped loving you. She may have buried her feelings, but they are still there. And from the looks of it, so are yours."
"I don't even know why I'm saying all of this." Yamato shrugged. "A lot has changed since then."
"Really, Yamato? Are you seriously playing the fool now? You practically said you're still in love with Sora. You can deny it to yourself all you want, but I know better. You should have seen how sparkly your eyes were when I walked in and caught you looking at that picture on your phone. It was the same sparkle I used to see every time you were on stage and she was next to me during one of your concert and your eyes locked."
"You do realize you are throwing her towards me, right? What about what she wants?" Yamato made one last attempt to convince himself things were better off the way they were. "It's clear as crystal she didn't forgive me for what I did. Why would she anyway?"
"Because she still loves you. And yes, I realize I'm throwing her towards you and that's an awful thing to do. Yamato, she freaking ran away to London to get away from you! She doesn't even want to be there!"
"What are you saying?"
"She told me this on the phone earlier, when you had already left." Taichi looked at him. "You two didn't break up because you didn't have feelings for each other anymore. You had to break up with her because you made a choice. Yes, you left deep scars in her heart and I guess me encouraging you to fight for her makes me a crappy friend for that, but you are older now and seem to be genuinely sorry about everything. I honestly believe there is something unresolved between you and Sora. Love is still there, Yamato. The real question here is: are you really willing to let it go or give yourselves another chance?"
"I don't know." Yamato sighed. "Honestly, I don't even know what I'm feeling right now. I can't tell if it's because I heard my daughter's voice for the first time after I found out about the truth or I actually felt something for Sora coming to life again inside my chest."
"Well, this is something for you to figure out before you do anything about it."
"I still can't understand why you are doing all this when you have stated she took years to trust Mike and open up to him. They are happy, so why are you trying to break them up? You can look at me that way and argue all you want, but that's what you're doing."
"I like Mike, I really do. He's a very nice guy. But he knows about everything. He knows he's not Yumi's real father, but he loves her so deeply that she became a daughter to him. He knows Sora has never forgotten about you, and he's still standing by her side. I'll be forever grateful for everything he did to her and him helping raising Yumi. As much as I feel bad for him because no one deserves to be a backup option for anyone, I know he's fairly aware there's a part of her heart that he'll never be able to reach no matter how hard he tries. What I'm doing sounds awful from one's point of view, but I believe things will be unbearable to everyone if you ever get to be a part of Yumi's life and, consequently, of Sora's too. I know Sora very well; things between them will be a living hell if you ever decide to make yourself more present in your daughter's life."
"So your plan is to bring it as soon as possible so they break up?"
"You know, when you put it like that, it sounds really awful."
"Maybe because it is. She should be the one making this decision. They should, actually. Don't you think you and the others have already interfered a lot in her personal life already? And it's not only her life that is going to change, mine is too. And Mike's. We're not teenagers anymore, and we should start being more careful about the impact we have on other people's lives."
"I guess you have a point." Taichi admitted. "I hadn't thought about it like that. I shouldn't have encouraged you to fight for Sora, I'm sorry."
"It's okay." Yamato smiled. "You may have been right in certain points though. I mean, I still don't find it okay, but I can understand your reasons." He turned his back to Taichi and looked through the window in the opposite side of the room. "I don't know what the future holds for me, but if there's anything this whole morning made me sure of is that I want to go to England and meet my daughter."

So there it is! What do you think will happen now? Next chapter will be more focused on Sora and her life in London, I miss that woman!