Unsuspected

By

Marie Darkholme

Chapter Six – Memories

As Mimi drove back to his hotel, Yagami Taichi couldn't bring himself to take an image from his head. The image of Sora, covered in the shadows of the night, her outline lit by the moonlight entering the apartment, her back to him. And then, all the suddenly, another picture appeared in his mind. The image of a little girl with spiked brown hair, and her voice ringed in his ears. Could it be? Could that girl be his? She had the right years; she looked like him. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to believe it. After all, what were the chances of him getting Sora pregnant by fulfilling her request, sleeping with her, once?

He looked outside the car window. A few drops started to fall over the windshield of Mimi's red coupe. It was going to rain, but at the moment that didn't bother Taichi. A part of him wanted to believe that child was his. But the other refused to accept it as truth.

His thoughts were interrupted. The car stopped and the brown haired man noticed they had reached their destination. He prepared to say goodbye to Mimi and return to his hotel room, but the girl stopped him.

"I'm sorry for what happened." She apologized. He smiled.

"Sorry for what?" before she could answer, he continued. "Maybe we can plan something else this weekend." He didn't know what he was quite thinking as the words simply seemed to slip from his mouth. Mimi watched him curious. "Maybe I can meet you girls the day after tomorrow? It'll give Sora the time she needs to…think things through." He continued.

Mimi mirrored him, a sad look on her face. "I don't think that's a good idea." She replied.

"You know that…me and Sakura…we're…divorced, don't you?"

There it was. Mimi had been waiting the entire evening to hear that word. No, she didn't know, but she suspected. Something from Yamato's calls told her something was wrong with him, with Taichi. She didn't know what had happened, but something had made her suspect that he was, indeed, divorced. She smiled, slightly happy to know that, even though a side of her said to her she was being selfish and cruel. "Actually, I didn't, but I had a hunch." She replied, her sad smile fading. "Still, I don't think…"

"I…" He stopped, not quite sure of how to ask the question. The simplest way was to go right to the point. "Who's the fa…?"

Mimi abruptly interrupted him. She wasn't the one he should be asking that. More than anything she wanted Sora and Ai to be happy, and because of that, she wished he was the father like she suspected. Yet, she was not sure if she was right. Ai was six years, freshly made. By the time she was conceived, Taichi would already been married and if not, he was already engaged. Either way, that would mean he had betrayed Sakura. It was complicated to balance the two facts. Besides, it was Sora's decision if she should or not tell him.

"I guess we can meet the day after tomorrow. Maybe you and Sora can get to talk and…work things out." She smiled. "I'll get in contact with you."

Taichi smiled back. They kissed goodbye and the brown haired ran from the car's door to the hotel entrance, a few drops wetting his overcoat. He waved Mimi goodbye as she set off and her red coupe quickly disappeared.

When, ten minutes later Mimi entered her home, she noticed the television of the living-room was on. Putting down her purse over the kitchen's table and taking her coat off, the girl walked into the room. She was expecting to see Sora lying down asleep on the couch. And she was, in fact, lying down, but she wasn't sleeping.

It had been a long time since she had last seen Sora drunk, and it was always an image that she could not suit into the auburn haired. The last time had been on her birthday. Strangely, on the floor was a bottle of the exact same wine the auburn had had that last night. Unfortunately, it wasn't alone. It took a while for Sora to get completely drunk. On her hands, tingling dangerously was a bottle of vodka.

The pink streaked haired girl approached. She slowly tried to remove the bottle from her friend's hands. No good. Sora pulled the bottle to her lips and took another sip. Her eyes were staring at the ceiling, tears falling, a smile plastered on her face. Her auburn hair discomposed fell over the couch and around her. Only then Mimi noticed the girl was wet. Her hair was slightly wet and so were her clothes.

Sora smiled as Mimi took the bottle of vodka from her hands. She picked the wine bottle and stared at it, tracing the outlines with her shaking fingers. She laughed.

"Did you know…" she slurred her voice was deep and shaking. "…that this is the exact same wine… that we had at my birthday party?"

Mimi was sitting on the floor, by Sora's chest, her own head slightly bended, leaning on the auburn's lap.

"The exact same year…can you believe it?" she wasn't waiting for an answer. "He was…so happy." She trailed off, her words staring to make no sense as she talked about the past and the present, the sentences mixed as she reminisced, without order, events, memories, thoughts...

Mimi listened. She knew that her friend needed to talk, to spill the beans. Then it would be the time for her to ask the questions.

"That was fucking great idea…" the auburn haired continued. Mimi knew she was talking about the dinner. "He still has the charm…didn't change a bit…maybe a little more mature…" she chuckled. "Remember when we were kids? No, of course you don't…you didn't know us then…we were always best friends…since childhood…" she stopped, remembering those times. Her mind slowly drifted from the farthest past to the nearest present. She tried to seat, and Mimi sat by her side, pushing her head to her lap and playing with her hair.

"Do you think he knows?" she asked. Mimi started at the ceiling, the television on the background almost inaudible. She realised that maybe Sora wasn't as drunk as she had thought.

"About what?"

"About Ai. Do you think he knows she's his daughter?"

Mimi couldn't help a smile. "You never told me who the father was, remember?"

Sora smiled. "Yeah, but you always distrusted."

"So it is true." Mimi sighed. "Why don't you tell him?"

Sora was slightly chocked. "I can't. He would take her from me. You know how it goes. He has a family; he can provide a mother and a father, the same good schools and medical cares, if not better. The court would give him her custody and I wouldn't bear it. I wouldn't bear losing my daughter."

Silence filled the room as Mimi took in her words. "When did it happen?" she asked, the question burning in her lips. She couldn't see Taichi as a guy who would easily cheat on his fiancée. No, there were other motives, of that she was sure. Otherwise, it was better that Sora wouldn't be with him. He would only end up hurting her, and Ai. She could see Sora's smile in the dark.

"It was two nights before the marriage." She stopped, remembering what she had longed to forget everyday and yet remember every night, when she woke up alone, in the cold bed. That night she hadn't woke up alone. She had stayed awake for the simple pleasure of watching him asleep, his manly features, yet fragile appearance, drifting in some dream she wished it was about her and yet couldn't bring herself to believe it would ever happen. That night, she had caressed his hair softly as he lied by her side, their naked bodies covered with the sheets.

Early in the morning, reluctantly she had stood up, afraid to face him when he awoke. Quietly she had put his clothes over a nearby chair. Then, she had dressed herself and made breakfast for him. He loved chocolate. She wondered if Sakura would know that and make him his favourite breakfast. She had stood on the doorway of his room, watching him, unable to leave. Tip toeing, she reached near him and kissed his lips as he slept, taking in everything there was about him, his sweet smell, his soft tanned skin, the touch of his lips.

On her way out, she had left a note over the table. Thank you. Love Sora. It was a silly thing to write, but she couldn't think of another four words that would explain everything so well. Now, she was sure those had been the best words she could have chosen. Thank you. Ai Sora.

It wasn't a mere accident the name she had chosen so carefully for her unborn baby girl. Ai was the Japanese word for love. And Ai was without a doubt the child of love, of her love for Taichi, and, even if only for one night, of his love for her. Make love with me.

Mimi smiled, feeling her friend's tears on her lap. She took her in her arms. "You should tell him."

"I can't."

Mimi baled her like a child, the child she felt Sora would like to become at the moment. "He's divorced now and he loves you. There's nothing on your way anymore. You must tell him." However, Sora was already asleep, baled by her own tears.

Taichi conducted himself to his hotel room in a kind of hypnotic way. The lady in the reception was still the same blond girl that had mistaken the key earlier. Fortunately, she was in a better state now and as he reached the attendance counter, the girl immediately handed his card to him, without the brown haired even asking for them. He thanked her, and the girl innocently smiled at him, gesturing a thanks for the earlier happenings.

Reaching the second floor and opening the door to his hotel room, Taichi allowed himself to drift towards the mini-bar. He definitely needed a drink. Slowly, he walked to his bed and without taking his overcoat, allowed his body to fall into the mattresses, as if the gravity had suddenly added pressure on the atmosphere and he could no longer stand, in his hand, a cane of beer.

His arms and legs were sprawled, occupying the most space over the bed. As he took a sip of his beer, he didn't felt like to drink anymore, so, reaching to the night table he put down the cane. The room was engulfed in a pale light, coming from the street lamps outside the window, slightly filtrated by the curtains of dark blue, matching the bed and small couches in the small entrance/living-room.

He began to feel sleepy, as his mind slowly drifted in an ocean of memories. He should have realised there was something wrong the moment he started prolonging his stays at the office, even when he knew there was nothing or little to do. He simply didn't have the will, the desire to go home. He didn't know why, couldn't quite put the finger in the reason, but his life suddenly seemed obsolete. There was nothing for what he was willing to try a little harder. The dinners with Sakura turned common and daily. He started to feel engulfed in a routine that he could not break, and always present, there was a sensation that something was out of place.

Little by little, he was ruining his marriage. It took him a while to realise that. It was necessary for Yamato to interfere in his life for him to know that he and his wife hadn't anything in common anymore, and as much as it hurt, it was his fault and not Sakura's. It was only when he found his wife lying on someone else's arms did he noticed that Sakura was no longer his, and for his stupefaction, he didn't really care.

The divorce had been pacific. There was little to divide, house, car…nothing else. She got the house, he got the car. Living a single turned out not to be as different as when he was married. The big difference was that the time he didn't spend at the office, he would spent it at home, watching some movie for the millionth time and eating frozen food. There was always the feeling of something missing. Little by little, he isolated himself, lost track of his friends. Still, there was this one person that kept crossing his mind, and that person was his lost best friend, the auburn haired girl, Sora. But he never related it to anything besides their lost friendship and his wish to know how she was.

Time went by and it took him a while, that it wasn't friendship the bound that connected him to the auburn haired. It took him a while to realise that it wasn't the wish of knowing how she was doing that kept her in his mind, but the need to have her near him, the desire to touch her again, the long of having her in his arms.

The only thing he knew was that she was living with Mimi in New York. For years he had avoided to travel to New York. But now his company was thinking of establishing an office with a representative in the city and he had been the chosen one. He wasn't sure if he should call it destiny or simply coincidence, but when he was over the clouds, crossing the Pacific Ocean, he decided that it was simply destiny. He was destined to find Sora and correct his mistakes. Never in his entire journey occurred to him that she could have kept with her life.

And then, when he finally met her, even though things were still foggy between the two, he finds out she has a daughter. And, more important than anything, a daughter that he might share without knowing. It wasn't difficult for him to understand the reasons that would take Sora to hide his daughter from him: the fear of losing her, like she had lost him. That was easy to understand.

He tried to keep his thoughts away from the idea. He wasn't sure of his paternity over the child…still, he felt so highly connected to her…and she was so look alike him. Could it be just an amazing coincidence that the father of Sora's daughter would have similar features to him? His mind shouted no. Deep inside, he wanted to believe the child was his. It was destiny again, crossing the lines. One night had made what years of marriage couldn't: bring a child to the world.

He started forgetting everything as his mind slipped to slumber. There was this happy picture filling him, of Sora, him and their daughter playing in the park. He remembered he didn't know her name, but something came up to his mind, the perfect name…Ai…Sora…her hair was falling to her shoulders, a small braid on one side of her head, tied by a blue ribbon…his arms on her waist as he twirled her around…and around…and…around…

This was suppost not to have more than five chapters but I guess I got carried away...eheheh

Anyway, this was a little boring but it explained somethings that happen. I hope to have it finished soon.

Thanks to reviewers:

DarkMetalAngel of Destruction: I didn't know you could get so emotional... --

Anubis24: you're always on top of the situation, right? Am I that obvious, because if I am, I'll have to fix it. I don't like being obvious.

Well, that's it for now, Ja ne...