Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Digimon seasons or any of its characters. The plotline is based off a Manga titled "Penguin Brothers", which has not been licensed in America. I don't own that either.
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Shades of Gray: Chapter 15
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-Flashback-
"Hey, what're you doing here?" a little girl asked. As she leaned over a few auburn strands fell in front of her face.
"I hate them. . ." the little boy replied. His ice blue eyes shifted in the direction of the other children playing in the playground.
"Why?" she tilted her head.
"They make fun of me," he said, not understanding why he'd tell her this. "They said my eyes were scary."
The girl frowned. "I think Yamato-kun has really pretty eyes!"
"Do you really?" he looked up at her, his eyes glistening in the sunlight.
She nodded her head quickly. "Do you want to play with me?"
He nodded slowly. "Okay."
"My name's Sora," she offered her hand to the boy.
Yamato took her hand and she helped pull him up from the ground. "Nice to meet you. How'd you know my name?"
"Taichi mentioned you. . .He said you always sit here alone. It made me sad, so I wanted to be friends with you!"
"Oh," he watched her and she flashed a toothy smile. "Do you. . .hate those kids too? I watched them make fun of your hair and eye color."
"They make fun of the color of my hair and eyes, but its normal. Mommy told me they just don't understand, so I don't hate them."
-End Flashback-
"Sora. . ." Taichi's chocolate orbs began to fade its liveliness as the blade etched into Sora's side. The knife had slit her fingers enough that blood began to stream down it. Soon the crimson liquid had mixed with the salt water falling from her auburn eyes.
She winced, closing both eyes shut at the pain. "It's okay, Taichi. . .don't be mad at Yamato." Her hands slid to his wrist. She gently pushed it away along with the blade. "He's just sad he never got a whole family like you. . .he's never had someone who's always been there for him."
-Flashback-
"Yamato, what happened?" the girl reached for his eye but he slapped her hand away.
"I. . .I told them they didn't understand why my eyes were scary. I told them. . .it was normal. They laughed, so I pushed one of the kids." He sniffled. "Then one of them threw dirt at me, and it got into my eye. I ran away because they laughed at me. No one understands. . ."
Sora smiled. "I understand Yamato-kun. Isn't that what matters? At least someone cares about you, and likes you the way you are."
"You. . .really like me?"
"A lot!" she said smiling. "I promise. . .I'll always be there for you, okay? I'll protect you."
-End Flashback-
Sora turned and fell on one knee, clenching the wound as she looked up at Yamato with a smile. "I promised I'd always be there for you. . .right? That's why. . .you were sad I didn't remember. . .I'm sorry I forgot such a promise. . ." She placed the back of her hand against Yamato's face. "I remember everything now. I still think your eyes are pretty," she chuckled. "Please don't close your heart again."
Yamato slid down and held her in his arms. "Sora."
/ "I'll protect you. Yamato-kun, you are a very important person to me!" /
"You are very important to me," she said softly, and then the world faded away.
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Yamato stared at the tombstone. He bent down on one knee, his eyes focusing on the name engraved.
Hyori Takenouchi. . .Yamato thought. I'm. . .sorry about Sora. I let her get hurt. . .But I promise I'll protect her.
His cell phone began to ring. After checking the name on the screen he picked up. "How is she?"
"She's fine. The wound itself was shallow," Jyou said on the other line. "I think she went unconscious because of the sudden recovery of her memories. I didn't tell the nurse about it, since I can't – or rather, shouldn't – explain how she got the wound. I bandaged it up to stop the blood. As long as her shirt doesn't magically get short I don't think anyone will notice."
"Thanks Jyou, I owe you one," Yamato sighed in relief. "I'm so happy you're going to be a doctor when you grow up."
"Yes, I'm glad I'm just a tool at your convenience. . ." the senior replied sarcastically. "By the way, Jun keeps bugging me about the End of the Year Dance. Why don't you come back and talk to her before she goes berserk?"
"And this is the problem with nominating a girl to be the Vice-President of Student Council," Yamato sighed. "Later." And the phone clicked.
Sorry I have to leave so soon. Goodbye.
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Taichi gawked. "You're fixed up already?"
"The wound was shallow to begin with. . ." Sora replied. She stared at her bandaged hands. "You made it very hard for me to write now."
"You shouldn't do something reckless," he retorted. "Who told you to jump in like that?"
"Who told you to go around stabbing people?"
Sora stepped back into a wall when Taichi's hand landed next to her head. He was dangerously close. "Listen. Do you remember when we were running away from the gang, and my leg started acting up?"
She nodded.
"A long time ago, I got cocky over winning a soccer game, so one of the opposite teammates went up and started beating me up about it. But somehow, it was all planned by Yamato. He said it so casually, why would he want to tell me this? It was as if he wanted me to stab him. . ."
"He was envious," Sora said simply. "He wanted to uplift the burden."
Taichi sighed and pushed himself away. "Whatever. Now that you're here everything will be okay."
"About that. . ." she said quietly. "I'm moving again."
"What?" two voices asked simultaneously; Yamato had entered through the doors just then, hearing her statement.
"My dad wants to see me. . .now more than ever since I remember everything. I'll be studying in America my last year of high school."
"When. . ." Yamato looked at the ground. "When are you leaving?"
"Some time after this school year ends," she placed her hands behind her back. "But we'll keep in touch this time."
Yamato looked away, and then continued up the courtyard stairs and towards the Student Council office.
"Bad timing on his part," Taichi scratched his head. "It'll be alright Sora."
"I hope so."
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Later that afternoon while Sora was walking home, she felt someone fall in step behind her. She stopped.
"Your backpack's unzipped," Yamato said.
She shifted the strap, about to zip her bag up until she noticed what was inside. She pulled out a blue origami box of chocolates. "Yamato. . ."
"I'll take it," he said. He ambled past her as he swiftly grabbed the box. "Thanks."
She nodded, glancing away to hide the blush on her face. "You're welcome."
They strolled in silence, him in front while she followed behind.
"I don't want you to leave."
Sora stopped. "Yamato, I'm not going to forget you again."
"I know, Sora, I know, but. . ."
She leaned against the light post. "My father wants to see me."
Yamato turned around. "So why doesn't he come visit you?" he snapped. "If he wanted to see you that badly he wouldn't make you move!"
She found it hard to look into his eyes. "I don't want to leave either."
He didn't say anything. Sora tilted her head at him, only to have her lips meet his.
She saw his eyes close, and soon found she herself doing the same. She felt his hand touch her bare arm and it made her shiver. He took a step closer to her body, deepening the kiss. Her fingers gently clenched his shirt. Her grip tightened when she felt his tongue slide against her lips. Sora gasped and pulled back.
"Sorry," he said, gently placing his forehead against hers. She slowly rested her head against the light post.
"It's okay."
"Sora."
"Hm?"
"Let's go talk to your uncle."
Before she could answer he grabbed her arm and began pulling her towards her house.
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Yuta looked up from his sketchbook he was doodling in. "Hello Sor—what happened to you hands?"
"Oh, uhh. . .I spilt some chemical stuff in my science class today," she said quickly. "It kind of burnt, so they wrapped these around them.
He nodded. "Hello Yamato."
"Yuta-san," Yamato acknowledged. "I'm going to get straight to the point." Yuta arched a brow, but couldn't help grinning when he saw Yamato place his arm around Sora's waist and draw her close to him. "I want Sora to stay."
"That's good to hear. I agree."
Sora felt her eye twitch. "You. . .what?"
"I agree," he said simply.
"That was easy," Yamato mumbled. "So she isn't going to leave?"
He shook his head. "Clearly, the best thing for Sora is for her to stay here with you. I have already explained the situation to her father and he will be flying in a few months to reside here."
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A few weeks later, Sora and the gang were all dressed up and posing for a picture at the End of the Year Dance. Her hands were placed over Yamato's, whose arms were wrapped around her waist.
"You took look good," Ken commented, pulling Miyako along by the hand.
"Likewise," Sora responded.
"I'm so happy you're staying!" Mimi cried. Koushiro grinned at his overly happy date. "Yes Mimi, we're already covered this. . ."
"We still can't believe it," Takeru said. "I was scared I wasn't going to see you ever again, Sora."
She smiled. "Everything's going to be okay. Where's Hikari?"
"She went to look for Taichi. . .he might be causing some kind of prank. . ."
Yamato shrugged. "Can't be too surprised. . ."
"EW!" Jun shrieked. "There's a worm in my drink!"
"And here we go. . ."
Sora smiled, leaning her body against Yamato. Everything's going to be okay now. . .
And she intended to keep it that way.
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The End
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Author's Note: Yes, this is it, folks. Sorry if it seemed rushed. I really wanted to finish this before I left for college (my first year) this Friday. I figured I wouldn't have much time to write with all my courses and stuff. I hope you enjoyed the story (or most of it!). I would like to thank all of you who read this story and enjoyed it. Thanks for all the reviews, I really do love/appreciate them. (And a minor sidenote... for some reason, I couldn't put in horizontal rules through the story as usual cause of the editing thing... so I hope the dotted lines weren't too much of a distraction.)