Recollections of Days Gone By

Disclaimer: YEAH!! I own digimon!! *dances around the room* I've waited so long for this day!! *Yamato enters the room and whispers something in my ear* WHAT?! *bursts into tears* Noooo!!~ *sniffles* I-I don't? *Yamato nods him head sadly* All my dreams… *sobs* Please don't sue me! I didn't know! I swear! …I also don't own 'Crush' which is performed by Mandy Moore.

A/N: Thank you to all the people who reviewed! You guys are the best, feedback means SO much to me! I promise there will be more SORATO in this…as it's a Sorato and all. Remember, these chapters happened before the prologue, thus they are flashbacks. Also, I will be writing these chapters in third person, meaning that you will also get Sora's emotions, feelings etc. I know it's not consistent when it's Yamato's flashback, but this gives me more to work with…and more Sorato (!!) So… Also, the flashbacks will take place from the start of their relationship to the end (i.e the break-up), thus, after much deliberation, I have decided to start from the Christmas episode, even if I haven't seen it. *sweatdrop*

Yamato: Are you done?

IN A MINUTE!

Yamato: *sigh* How much can you say about one chapter?

I haven't seen the Christmas episode! That's sad!

Yamato: You'll see it soon…it's not your fault that you went on holiday last year, and missed out on seeing it…and then you didn't know they were re-running the series so you had to wait till they re-ran it a second time…

*glare* Shut up! So, it was stupid of me…I know!

Yamato: *reads disclaimer* You know, I'm glad you don't own digimon…think of all the torture I'd have to go through with the kind of storylines you write… *shudders*

You wait till I own digimon! I'll make you pay!

Yamato: …

~~*~~

Chapter One: Crush

~ You know everything I'm afraid of

You do everything I wish I did

Everybody wants you, everybody loves you ~

He checked that his bass was in tune, twanging the string loudly to disguise his nerves. Everyone would be out there tonight, everyone, and that everyone included… Sora. It seemed impossible to still his wildly-thumping heart, and she wasn't even in the room! He sighed softly, all too glad that no one was paying him any attention at the moment, the whole band was as nervous as he was.

At least I don't seem out of place. He reassured himself, strumming on the bass. More perplexing were his thoughts on a certain, red-headed girl. Sora had been under his nose the whole time, and he had never noticed. All through their digital world adventure, he'd been so caught up in protecting Takeru, and when he'd left the group, he'd had too much on his mind to pay much attention to the girl who had taken his place in looking after his little brother. In their 'years of quiet' as he'd heard Taichi mockingly call them, he had kept himself busy with the band, wanting more than anything to be a successful musician, he had barely anytime for his digidestined friends. Then had come the whole incident with Ken and the spire digimon, and even now, the fight against the powers of darkness and light was still going on.

I'll never have a chance…

The thought filled him with remorse, Sora had always been closer to Taichi that him, and Taichi was fiercely protective of her, although he would never tell her that. Absentmindedly, Yamato began plucking out a tune on the instrument that was lying on his lap. If Sora was going to fall in love with anyone out of their little group, it would most likely be Taichi.

And Taichi doesn't know it. He turned, hearing Rei call his name, "Yamato! There's someone here for you!" His friend and bandmate grinned, "And she's hotter than you are too!"

"Shut up," he shoved the still-grinning boy out of the doorway, "Sorry about that," he began smoothly, assuming that it was another one of his numerous fangirls, "He's just- Sora!" he flushed slightly, looking into her cinnamon eyes, "Hi, I didn't realise it was you…" he trailed off, opening the door wider so she could step in.

Was it just him, or were her cheeks redder than normal? She was pretty well bundled up against the cold, maybe that was it. "So, uh, what are you doing here?"

"Hi, Yamato!" A bright voice chirped.

He grinned down at the small digimon, "Oh, hey Biyomon, didn't see you there."

"Sora has something for you," she informed him as her human partner flushed redder.

"Really?" he looked at her, blue eyes twinkling.

She offered a shaky smile, obviously very nervous, "I just wanted to wish you good luck, we're out there cheering for you." She winced slightly as Biyomon poked her in the leg, "Oh, and I made these for you, kind of like and early Christmas present. Here," she handed him the box that had been cradled under her arm.

Now it was his turn to look embarrassed, "You didn't need to, I didn't get anything for you," he said regretfully, his expression altered when he opened the box though, "Cookies!" He grinned taking one out, and tasting it, "Mmm…these are good. Thanks, Sora!" Impulsively, he pulled her into a hug.

When he let her go, they were both blushing furiously. "G-glad you like them," Sora managed to say, "I-I'm just going to go outside…you'll be starting soon…and…I, uh…good luck!"

"Yeah, um…thanks…" he muttered to the closed door, looking down at the box in his hands and wondering if his heart could beat any faster.

~ I know I should tell you how I feel

I wish everyone would disappear

Every time you call me, I'm too scared to be me

And I'm too shy to say… ~

Still blushing, she slid into the empty spot that Taichi had been reserving for her. "Thanks, Taichi," she murmured, still flustered from Yamato's sudden show of affection.

"Well?" The big haired boy demanded.

"Huh?"

Taichi sighed, "Did he like the cookies, Sora?" he asked impatiently, wondering what on earth Yamato could have done to unnerve her like this.

"Oh, the cookies, yeah…he said they were good…" she mumbled still engrossed in her thoughts.

"And?"

He waited several minutes before his patience gave out, "Sora!" he whined, tugging at her sleeve like a little kid.

"Oh, sorry. Did you say something, Taichi?"

He rolled his eyes and gave up. There were a few minutes silence before there was a deafening cheer as the band took to the stage. Taichi had to grin at the look on Sora's face as she saw Yamato. It was so obvious that the two of them had feelings other than friendship for each other, obvious to everyone but them. Taichi sighed, shaking his head, hopefully, Sora had give Yamato something to think about with the cookies.

Her eyes were glued to the stage, more precisely, glued to the young man standing centre stage, bass guitar loosely held in his hands. The stage lights highlighted his hair a golden-brown. He was the epitome of perfection, every girl in the room swooned at the sight of him, and she had to admit that she wasn't much better.

Yamato. 

She had made a complete idiot out of herself earlier, and she was sure that Yamato had been laughing at her. It was a hug between friends, nothing more, she scolded herself, feeling her face heat up again as Yamato, still singing, winked at her. She managed to return the wink with what she hoped was a passable smile. Sora was barely aware of the jealous glares that the girls around were giving her, for the moment, the whole of the world was Yamato, there was no other sound but his voice, no other scenery except for him and she had to admit that she liked it like that.

Of course, she'd never be able to look him in the face again without blushing. Why had she panicked after the hug? It hadn't been that big of a deal, right? And she'd probably been as red as a tomato when she left, another blow to her self-esteem. She sighed, deciding to focus on the music, and the liquid syllables flowing from his mouth. Slowly, instinctively, she began moving to the music.

~ Oooh, I've got a crush on you

I hope you feel the way that I do

I get a rush

When I'm with you

Oooh, I've got a crush on you

A crush on you ~

There might have been millions of fangirls out there screaming his name, but Ishida Yamato was focused on the one girl who mattered, the one girl who wasn't his fan because of his looks, the girl who was his friend. He cherished his friendships more than anything else in the world, and the friendship between Sora and him was more special to him than most. Feeling a blush creeping up his cheeks, he concentrated on singing for the moment, knowing that thoughts of Sora would most likely distract him from the task at hand.

Inevitably though, his mind returned to her, she looked different today, he was used to seeing her in school uniform. Tonight, in her street clothes, she looked pretty. Not that he didn't mind the school uniform, he told himself, remembering the short skirt that was a part of the package. He felt the blood rushing to his head, Okay, no more hentai thoughts, especially not about Sora! His bass playing faltered a little and he could see Rei, who was on guitar, giving him a strange look.

Concentrate on playing! He scolded himself, embarrassed at allowing thoughts of a girl to get him sidetracked. But then, Sora wasn't just any ordinary girl. He saw her standing in the middle of the crowd, beside Taichi, she looked rapt, listening to the music. When the strobe lights lit up on her, she looked like an angel, and he couldn't help wanting to go down there and dance with her. Coolly, keeping to his stage persona, he winked at her, knowing that she wouldn't freak out like the rest of his fangirls. He caught her smile and grinned back, watching as she danced. He could watch her forever.

His little reverie was interrupted by screams as the ground underneath began to shake, causing one of the amplifiers on stage to fall over with a crash. The rest of the band members stood around in shock as the walls began to fall on them, fans were screaming and trying to get out of the building.

Sora! Frantically, he leapt off stage, pushing through the people as he tried to find her in the hysterical crowd. He was mildly surprised when digimon came crashing through the walls, and the need to find Sora and make sure she was safe only increased. He caught sight of a flash of red hair, "SORA!" his yell was swallowed up by the crowd as she disappeared. He cursed under his breath and continued making his way forward.

~ You know, I'm the one that you can talk to

And sometimes you tell me things that I don't want to know

I just want to hold you

You say, exactly how you feel about her

I wonder do you ever think of me that way… ~

"We have to get out of here!" Taichi shouted, pulling her towards the door, "Agumon can't digivolve!"

She wrenched her arm from his grip, "No! Taichi, I have to find Biyomon!" She looked around frantically, trying to locate the small, pink bird digimon.

"Sora!" he yelled, exasperated, "The whole building's going to cave in! Not to mention the fact that there's rampaging digimon in here!"

"No!" she said more forcefully, smacking his hand away, "Would you leave Agumon in here if he was alone?" she demanded, "Would you, Taichi?"

He sighed, knowing that the answer was 'no'. "Fine," he said, not really wanting to leave her alone in here, "Agumon and I will get out of here and contact the others, get out of here as soon as you find Biyomon! Got that, Sora? No heroics," he ordered, sounding very much like the leader of the digidestined again.

She nodded, "Okay, okay! Just get out of here and get the others!" She pushed him towards the door, resuming her search for Biyomon when she was sure that he and Agumon were safe.

"BIYOMON!"

Even at her loudest, she could barely hear herself, the combined noise of the digimon, the building shaking and the fearful screams were deafening. She tried again, cupping her hands around her mouth to form a make-shift megaphone, "BIYOMON!"

Someone in the crowd was calling her name, she turned around, Yamato was yelling for her, gesturing wildly above her. She looked up and a scream escaped her terrified lips, the ceiling was crashing down on her. To her panic-stricken eyes, the whole scene seemed to be moving in slow motion. She couldn't seem to force her legs to move fast enough. The huge slabs on concrete were almost on top of her when something came crashing into her, sending her tumbling ungracefully to the ground and out of the way of danger.

She opened her eyes to meet Yamato's blue ones, "Y-Yamato…" she trailed off, a sob choking her throat.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice hoarse, as he pulled her into a sitting position. "You're not hurt are you?" His warm breath caressed her cheek and his eyes scanned her body for injuries.

"I'm-I'm okay," she said finally, unnerved by their proximity, "Help me up, will you?"

He grasped her hand and pulled her to her feet, "You sure? I saw Taichi leave, why didn't you go with him?" he demanded, "It's not safe in here!" Worry for her made his voice harsher than he intended.

"I-" her voice quivered slightly, still in shock over what happened, "Biyomon, she's still in here," a few tears leaked down the side of her face.

Roughly, he wiped them away, "Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell," neither of them seemed to notice his arm was still wrapped securely around her shoulders, supporting her, "I was just worried about you."

She gave him a shaky smile, "I know, it's just after what happened-"

The entire building seemed to groan and shake on its foundation. Yamato tightened his grip around her, "Get out of here, Sora," he began leading her towards the door.

"I can't leave Biyomon here!"

He turned her to face him, "Do you trust me?"

His azure eyes bore into her coffee coloured ones, seeming to see into her soul, "I-"

"Sora, do you trust me?"

Wordlessly, she nodded.

"Good," he pushed her towards the doorway, "Get out of here. I'll look for Biyomon."

"But-"

He placed a finger on her lips, "No 'buts'. I'll find her, I promise."

~ Oooh I've got a crush on you

I hope you feel the way that I do

I get a rush

When I'm with you

Oooh I've got a crush on you

A crush on you ~

"SORA!" Taichi came running up to her, Agumon at his side, "Did you find Biyomon?" She shook her head, he caught sight of her tearstained cheeks and immediately slipped into protective brother mode, "What's the matter? Are you hurt?"

"Yamato," she murmured, fresh tears flowing down her cheeks, the full realisation of what had happened sank in and she abruptly sat down on the ground, Taichi hovering over her protectively, "I almost died in there," she whispered, "Yamato saved me. He-he said he'd look for Biyomon…"

He knelt down next to her, giving her a brotherly hug, "He'll be okay, Sora. They'll both be okay. Look," he pointed some meters away, "Daisuke and the others are sending the digimon back to the digital world now."

She could see the towering form of Shakkoumon overshadowing the smaller Exveemon and Sylphimon. The fact that this would all be over soon was not as comforting as one would have hoped. Yamato saved me…and I just left him in there! What kind of friend am I? she berated herself mentally, turning her eyes back to the smoking doorway of the concert hall.

There were still people pouring from the entrance, less than before, but she was only looking for one person, the one person that didn't appear. Yamato, where are you? I'll never forgive myself if something happens to you or Biyomon. She closed her eyes willing him to show himself, a few more tears slipping unbidden down her cheeks.

Taichi sat next to her, giving her what he hoped was a reassuring look, "Don't worry so much, Sora. Yamato's a big boy, he can take care of himself."

He promised he'd find her…but he didn't promise that he'd be okay… A half formed sob caught in her throat, "Will he be okay, Taichi?"

"I hope so…" the brown haired boy said, giving her another hug.

~ Oooh I wish I could tell somebody

But there's no one to talk to, nobody knows

I've got a crush on you

A crush on you, I got a crush…~

He coughed violently, covering his mouth with his hands in an attempt to keep from inhaling the dust. However, it impeded his ability to shout Biyomon's name.

"YAMATO!"

He blinked dust from his eyes, trying to make out the figure waving him over. "R-Rei?" He coughed again, "What are you doing?"

The tall guitarist had his instrument strapped to his back, "I should be asking you that, man! We've got to get out of here!"

Yamato shook his head, "No…I-I've got to find something, you go first."

"Are you crazy?" Rei looked at him curiously, "What's so important? Is your bass? It's over there…" He pointed to where Yamato had abandoned the instrument earlier, "The place is falling down around us!"

"Yeah, I can see that," Yamato said sarcastically, "Look, get out of here first! I'll be right behind you, once I get my-" he broke off to clear his dust-clogged throat, "-bass. Okay?" One lie couldn't hurt, and he had promised Sora.

"Okay," Rei began running for the door, and Yamato resumed his search.

"BIYOMON!" several people ran past him, pushing him out of their way, "BIYO-" he was overtaken by a fit of coughing.

"Yamato?"

He looked down to see the pink bird digimon, he smiled with relief, "I've been looking for you, come on, let's get out of here!"

She nodded in reply, "Is Sora okay?"

"She's fine," there was an ominous rumble and creak as the walls threatened to fall in, "But we won't be if we don't hurry," he picked up the small digimon and began running for the door.

~ You say everything that no one says

But I feel everything that you're afraid to feel

I will always want you, I will always love you

I got a crush… ~

A startled cry escaped Sora's lips as the building caved in emitting a huge cloud of smoke. She moved towards the building, willing to enter it if it meant she could find her friends. "Let me go!"

Taichi however, had a firm grip on her waist and wasn't about to let her run into the unstable building. "Sora! You can't go in there! It's too dangerous!" She collapsed against him, sobbing.

I caused this…if I hadn't left Yamato in there…

He would never know how she felt now. She cried harder, Taichi's arms were the only thing keeping her upright.

"Taichi!" Takeru came running up to them, "Are you guys okay?" He was followed by Hikari, who had seen her brother and Sora and was worried that they were hurt.

"We're fine," Taichi said, his face creased into a frown, "But," he paused, "Yamato hasn't come out yet."

Hikari tried to pry the crying Sora off Taichi, "Daisuke has gone to Tamachi to help Ken out," she informed her brother.

"The rest of you need to contact Koushiro," her brother said grimly, "He'll know what's going on."

Takeru wasn't listening to either of them, worry for his brother clouding his better judgement, "I'm going in to look for Yamato. Patamon! Let's go!"

"YAMATO!" fresh tears, of joy this time, streamed down Sora's face as she recognised the two figures that just made themselves visible in the smoke. "BIYOMON!" Breaking free of Taichi's embrace, she raced towards the two of them.

She hugged the small digimon close to her, "Biyomon, where did you go?" she reprimanded gently, "You had me so worried."

"I was okay, Sora," the digimon chirped in her high pitched voice, "I was worried about you."

A comforting hand rested on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Yamato, impulsively, she let go of Biyomon and hugged him instead. "Hey, hey," he murmured softly, "I'm okay, Sora."

She broke the embrace and slapped him. Stunned, Yamato reached up to touch his stinging cheek, "What was that for?"

"Don't you ever do that again!" She said sternly, tears still shimmering in her eyes, "Do you know how scared I was?"

He pulled her close, "I'm sorry for worrying you, but I had to keep my promise," he whispered softly, "You okay?"

"Baka," she scolded, "You just ran out of a collapsing building and you're asking me if I'm okay?"

"Oh no…" he murmured, looking upset.

"What?"

"I left the cookies in there," he whined, "I didn't finish eating them either!"

Sora had to laugh, "How about I make a promise? I'll bake you a new batch tomorrow, okay?"

~ Oooh I've got a crush on you

I hope you feel the way that I do

I get a rush

When I'm with you

Oooh I got a crush on you

A crush on you ~

~~*~~

A/N: Why am I so sure that this isn't how the Christmas episode turned out? It kinda ran away on me, I hope that it wasn't overly melodramatic… *sweatdrop* Well, comments and criticisms are welcome! Review it please! *big puppy dog eyes* I only got six reviews…for the last chapter! Could we try for like, ten? Please? Thank you!

If you're reading this on FF.net, visit my webpage: Cherry Blossoms and Ki Blasts

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If you have a Digimon, Dragonball Z, Flame of Recca, Rurouni Kenshin or Card Captor Sakura fic you want me to host: Email me!

Yamato: Jeez, talk about plugging

*glare* So I'm a little lazy when it comes to looking for fics to host, are you gonna sue me?

Yamato: After the emotional and physical trauma you put my character through in this fic I just might!
You wouldn't dare!

Yamato: *smirks* Try me…

You wouldn't be my muse anymore…

Yamato: Hmm…something I will willingly forego, for MONEY!!

*sighs* Even anime characters are swayed by cold hard cash, what is the world coming to?
Yamato: *still ranting* I'll be RICH, RICH beyond my WILDEST imaginings!! HAH!

*sweatdrop* ….

© Abi

2001-12-08