Hey people! It's time for chapter 4. Thank you so much for all the reviews! I hope you are enjoying the story. Reviews are appreciated.

Chapter 4: Revelations

"It's been a long time, Takeru." Sora took her black wig off, revealing her usual red hair. It was a little longer than it usually is, currently being below her shoulders.
"Aunt Sora!" Yamazaki ran to his aunt and gave her a tight hug when she knelt down to greet him.
"Look at you! You grew up so much these past two years!"
"Where were you? You don't like us anymore?"
"It's far from it, actually. It's a long story, but I'm back for good now."
"Yamazaki, let's go find your mother." Takeru's voice was colder than ever. "Give me Aiko, Sora."
"I want to spend the weekend with her, Takeru."
"Don't make things harder. I promised Yamato I would take care of her this weekend and I don't plan on letting my brother down. You've done more than enough hurting to him." He picked his niece from Sora's arms and walked away without looking back.
"Mommy!" Aiko cried over Takeru's shoulder. "Mommy!"
Sora watched them leave with tears in her eyes. She knew it wasn't going to be easy, but she had to be persistent. She looked over her shoulder to the baby stroller behind her with a smile. She was glad she got to introduce Aiko to Kouji without Yamato knowing. It was easier than she thought.

.

Takeru carefully closed the door from Yamazaki's room and then walked to the living room. Hikari was leaned against the balcony admiring the sunset in the horizon.
"They are finally asleep." The writer stopped beside his wife and leaned against the balcony too.
"Finally." Hikari let out a sigh. "Today has been a rollercoaster. I can't believe Sora is back in Odaiba."
"Neither can I. Do you think I made the right thing bringing Aiko home with us?"
"I'd like to think so. We are responsible for her during the weekend. Yamato would kill you if he found out we'd let Sora stay with her."
"Yeah, that's what I think too. But then again, Sora is her mother. It's her right, you know?"
"True, but we can't forget she disappeared for two years. To be honest, I think it's best if we let them solve this alone. Nothing good can come when other people try to meddle in."
"You're right."
There was a long silence between the couple. Each one of them was trying to process the whole thing on their own. Hikari glanced at her husband with concern. She knew that seeing Sora had him shaken and torn. She could tell he was internally debating whether to bring this subject up next time he saw Yamato, but he didn't want to end up giving him the news in case he was unaware of it. Hikari gently touched Takeru's shoulder and he immediately looked at her.
"I'm sure she had already seen him. I'll go even further and say his apartment was the first place she went to."
"I can't imagine the wreck Yamato must be, Hikari." Takeru looked at her with desperate eyes. "He needs me and I… I don't know how to be there for him. Not the way he needs me to."
"Of course you do, baby." Hikari pulled him into a hug and started stroking his hair with a little difficulty because of the height difference between them. "Just listen to your heart. The answer is right there. Besides, I'm positive only your presence is enough for Yamato to know he can count on you whenever he needs. We'll both be here for him. So will Taichi, Koushiro, Jou and Mimi."
"I don't understand why Sora did all this, you know? She was crazy for Yamato. They had a small baby."
"I wish I could tell you exactly what it was, but each other works differently. So we'll have to believe what she said last time she talked to us. That she was offered an opportunity she couldn't decline. We can only hope this time away made her rethink about all of this and now is trying to make it up for everything she had left behind or lost."
"I hope so." Takeru wrapped his arms around his wife and buried his head on her shoulder. "You always know the right words to say to make me calm down."
"Well, you're not the only one good with words here." Hikari smiled. "Jokes aside, I think it's because we've known each other for so long, so it's very easy for me to know exactly what you are thinking. Your blue eyes are like a mirror from your soul."
"So what am I thinking right now?"
"You are thinking you have the most amazing wife ever."
"Hmm, maybe." He pulled away and stared into her eyes. "It's true, though. I do have the most amazing wife ever."
"You certainly do." Hikari reached up and touched his lips with hers.

.

The doorbell from the Ishida residence rang two times in a row. Yamato rolled his eyes when he entered the kitchen. He was wearing a black V-neck shirt and dark blue jeans pants. He went to open the door and soon Taichi, Koushiro and Jou walked in.
"Gosh, I was starting to think no one was home." Taichi complained as he put the box with beer bottles on the sink.
"Dude, you literally rang the bell a minute ago."
"So? A good host should always stay by the door."
"What did you get that from?" Yamato's eyebrows were raised. "I have other things to do, especially as a host."
"Don't mind him, Yamato." Koushiro said. "He just has a lot on his mind lately. "
"He thinks?" The blonde teased. "That's new."
"Hey, I'm still here!"
"Did something happen?"
"Mimi came to talk to us last night." The red haired man had all eyes on him. "She proposed to us to be the fathers of her baby."
"Wait, what?!" Yamato almost dropped the bottle of beer he was holding. "She asked you two to be the fathers of her baby? She's pregnant?"
"No. At least not that we know of." It was Taichi who replied. "She wants to be an independent mother."
"Somehow it doesn't surprise me."
"She came to talk to me a few nights ago." Jou revealed. "She wanted to know more about sperm banks. I'm still surprised she asked you two about this though. I wonder how she will choose one of you two."
"We came to an agreement about this."
"Which one?"
"It's a secret." Koushiro said apologetically. "I'm sorry guys. I think Mimi would prefer this to be a private thing."
"Yeah." Taichi nodded. "It's her decision in the first place."
"It's very nice of you to be so thoughtful about her feelings and choices."
"How are you two dealing about this though?" Yamato asked as he leaned against the door that led to the balcony.
"It was a shock at first, I'm not gonna lie. But ultimately, we decided to help her."
"Wow, you two are gonna be parents." The astronaut drank his beer. He was eager to tell his best friends that Sora was back, but he wasn't sure if he should or not. So he kept quiet about this.

.

A few bottles of beers and some videogames plays later, the boys were now wasted. Yamato was still leaned against the balcony door, except he was sitting down at the moment. Taichi almost stumbled on himself while going to the kitchen to grab another bottle of beer. Koushiro was almost asleep on the couch and Jou seemed the only one sober enough.
"Sora is back." The words escaped Yamato's lips before he realized. He was so drunk he was on the verge of losing the control over the connection between his brain and mouth. Still, he was sober enough to curse at Taichi for letting the bottle fall and get his floor wet and dirty. It would be a lot of trouble to clean up later.
Koushiro suddenly was fully awake again and Jou's eyes were wide.
"Dude, that's a funny joke." Taichi laughed and pointed his hand towards Yamato. "It's probably your best one."
"Eh, Taichi, I don't think Yamato is joking. He may be drunk, but I think it's serious." Jou turned to the astronaut. "What did you say?"
"Sora is back in Odaiba." He repeated, taking another sip of his beer.
"How do you know that?" Koushiro asked. "Did you see her or…"
"She came looking for me yesterday. Or was at the day before that?" Yamato seemed to think about it for a moment and then shook his head. "Oh hell, what matters is that she came to see me."
"Now what? Are you guys continuing where you left off?"
"Looks like someone is completely wasted." Jou stood up and took the car keys away from Taichi's pocket. "I'm driving back."
"You're always so thoughtful." Taichi went to give his friend a hug and stumbled in his own feet, falling into the man's arms.
"It's a good thing there's no one from your job here, Taichi. You would be the joke the following day. A diplomat behaving like this."
"Shut up, Koushiro."
"No, we're not continuing where we left off." Yamato chose to ignore all the awkward moments that just happened. "I told her to go away."
"Good for you, Yamato." Taichi looked at his friend after Jou sat him down on a stool.
"You know she's not gonna give up easily, don't you?" The doctor said when he returned to his previous seat.
"Yes, I know. Sora can be quite determined when she wants to. Still, she was away for two years. There's no way to get through that. I was the one who had to see Aiko's hurtful eyes every time she asked about Sora and heard the same answer from me."
"I can imagine. Still, it was nice of you not to let her forget about Sora."
"Well, what Sora did was terrible, but it's not Aiko's fault. I wouldn't forgive myself if I turned Sora into a total stranger to our daughter out of my hurt and disappointment. I won't say it was an easy thing to do though. A lot of memories came into my mind while I showed her pictures and all."
"That's very noble, Yamato."
"I suppose so." Yamato shrugged.
"You do realize that Sora will want to see Aiko again, right?" Jou asked. "Are you ready for that?"
"To be honest, I don't know. I want to protect Aiko from all the bad choices Sora has done, but at the same time, she's her mother. My hands are tied."

.

Takeru was sitting on the couch holding a picture frame in his hands when Hikari joined him.
"I was waiting for you in our bedroom." She noticed the object he was holding. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, it is. I was just thinking how crazy it is that everything changed all of a sudden."
Takeru looked down to the picture frame in his hands. It was a picture his parents, him and Hikari with a toddler Yamazaki, Yamato and Sora with newborn Aiko in her arm.
"This just proves how little we know about life and people." Hikari sat down beside him and started stroking his hair gently. "You're still bothered by the fact Sora is back and how it will affect your brother, aren't you?"
"I am. I got to see how devastated and lost Yamato was in the beginning and how he had to put on a strong mask in order to raise Aiko and be her rock. It was clear he was hurting, though he always said he was fine. It feels like those days are back again, and I feel so hopeless right now." Despair was written all over his face when he looked up at his wife. "He's so lost, Hikari. He was doing so well lately and now it's like…"
"Aww honey." Hikari pulled him down against her body. "I know things seem really bad right now, but I have faith they will get better again soon. You may feel like you're not being much of a help, but you are, trust me. The fact that you're always taking care of and watching out Aiko means a lot to Yamato. Besides, he knows you'll have his back no matter what. We will, actually. We're in this together, remember?"
"How could I forget this?" Takeru smiled. " It was the last sentence in your wedding speech."
"That's right. Believe in Yamato, he'll know what to do when the whole situation is absorbed. He'll need you more than he ever now, so you need to be calm and ready for when he does."
"You're right. Things will be better soon."

.

The golden rays from the sun were reflecting on the water from the Tokyo Bay. It was the comfort place for both Sora and Yamato for so many years they lost account. Whenever they were going through a tough moment and needed to think, this is where they came to. If one of them couldn't be reached, this was the place they'd come to find the other one. It was no different this time.

Yamato silently watched the water course in front of him. He still had some minutes before Hikari took Aiko back to his apartment. He couldn't help but wonder how it would be like when Sora sees their daughter again after a couple of years. And just like that, as if she had the ability to read his mind whenever he thought of her, she stood a few meters on his left.
"I should have known." Yamato chuckled. Deep down, he was hoping to see her again. No wonder he had chosen this place out of all of Odaiba's landmarks to go to.
"Some habits die hard, don't you think?"
"I do." He embraced his knees. "What's up with this black wig?"
"I just wanted to try something new. A new different hairstyle." She spun it around her hand. "I wanted to see how I'd look like with black hair, since I've been thinking about dying it but am still not brave enough for it."
"Why would you want to change your hair color?"
"New beginnings, new hairstyles. I think it's good to change a little sometimes."
"Red hair suits you." He said before he could control his words, but still kept looking ahead towards the bay.
Sora sat down beside him and was surprised to see he didn't move or push her away like the first time they saw each other a few days ago. "Wow."
"What is it?" He looked at her.
"You didn't tell me to go away this time." She smiled. "I take that as a good sign."
"It doesn't mean I'm not hurt from it or upset at you anymore."
"Right. I didn't expect you not to."
"Why did you come back, Sora?" Yamato asked bitterly. "You could have easily stayed in France."
"That's true. I could. But my heart was here. It has been here the whole time."
Yamato laughed ironically and hugged his knees. "It's funny it took you two years to realize that."
"In my defense, I've always known this."
"Still, you chose to run away and lose touch from your family completely. Have you ever wondered how Aiko would be without you? She was only a baby, Sora."
"I know, Yamato. I have thought about her every single day since then. I don't know how many times you want me to say this before you believe it."
"I find it very hard to believe, Sora." He paused to bit his lower lip. "I understand that you had this lifetime job opportunity and I was really happy for you. What I can't understand is how you simply decided to cut all your connections from here."
"I knew I would regret this if I didn't."
"So you do know it was a selfish action."
"I never said it wasn't."
"You weren't the one who had to deal with Aiko being incredibly sad that you had gone away. It always broke my heart, but I had to be strong for her." Yamato could feel himself getting angry, so he took a deep breath. "The truth is, I was broken too. God knows how much I missed seeing you on the bed when I woke up every morning. But I couldn't let myself mourn over it because all the weight of the responsibility fell on my back. Aiko was depending on me. I'm thankful I could count with both Takeru and Hikari during all this time. They were real angels to me and Aiko."
"Yamato." Sora said softly and reached out for his hand.
"Look, I don't have time for this." He took his hand away from her and stood up to go home. "I don't even know why I'm telling you all of this. It's not like I forgave you about what you did. Besides, Hikari is coming with Aiko soon, so I should be home when they arrive."
"Yamato, wait!" She called his name when he was beginning to walk away. He slightly turned to look at her. "There's someone I want you to meet."