Chapter 20 – Sora's Decision
"If I hurry, I can make it…" Sora rushed to the train station. He had purposely missed it that morning so he could talk with Kairi, but now he regretted he ever did. However, it did make him think about her in a different way…
"I just want you to be here when I need you. When your family needs you." Kairi's words repeated over and over in his head. He just couldn't shake them away. He arrived at the train station just in time before it was about to depart. Sora gave the man his ticket and got on. He was heading over to Ancient China, where his game would take place.
"When your family needs you…" He said aloud, not realizing it. He had to admit, he did overreact a little too much at her and she was probably feeling really bad right now, but he was going to do something about it that would hopefully make things better. The train ride seemed longer than it really was, and Sora was in a dilemma. He had to decide then on what he was going to do, not when he got there.
Flashback
Sora walked through the door carrying all his luggage and such from the previous away game. The lights in the kitchen were out, as well as the rest of the house. It must've been later than he realized. He noticed a note on the counter from Kairi.
"Out with Namine and Orett. I'll be back later. The twins are spending the night at Keita's house."
There wasn't even an "I love you" after it, which seemed sort of strange for the moment. Sora set the paper down and dropped his bags to rest his arms. He went over to the sink. It was filled with dishes. He also noticed that the laundry hadn't been washed either.
Lately Kairi has been out of the house more and more, which wasn't a bad thing, if it wasn't too frequent. Sora couldn't come home and see his wife grinning at him with the breathtaking smile she used to have, or kiss her like he used to. It was like they were in completely separate worlds, even when they were in the same room together. The only words they would say to each other would be those of casual conversation, such as "hello," or "how are you?"
They also never found any time to have a real conversation, because Sora was gone most the time as well. He knew that when he took this job he would have to travel around a lot, away from his family. He told Kairi that, and she agreed to it. However, over the years, Sora felt as if he had been gone all along.
End of Flashback
But that didn't
stop him from getting up and going to practice or a game every day.
He had a commitment to his team that he couldn't break, or at least
that's what he used to think. Ever since that argument him and
Kairi had that morning, he has been debating on which came first,
family or money. Sora knew the answer, it was obvious, but it was
just really tough on him. Could he really give up a life of fame just
to go back to living a normal life?
Another thing that had been bugging him lately was the role he had as a father. He couldn't remember the last time it was just him and the twins out together. He barely ever spent father and son time with his children because he was away so much, and he's always wanted to change that. And Kairi… how could he forget her? She's the love of his life and he just tossed her away.
"I love her…"
- - -
"Hello and welcome to the game where one wins and the other literally goes to hell! Okay, not literally, but you get my drift, right?" Said the announcer as thousands and thousands of people in the stands went wild. Sora arrived at the stadium and rushed past the pedestrians and reporters standing outside without even greeting any of the publicity cameras pointed at him.
"SORA! Where have you been?" The coach hustled him as Sora tried to catch his breath.
"Sorry coach, I had a few family problems," Obviously the coach didn't hear him because he then pushed Sora out into the arena. (A/N: Is that what you call it?) He took his place next to Soubi up top.
"Dude! You missed the train!" Soubi shouted to him.
"I know, let's forget about it, okay?" Sora looked straight ahead, ready to seize the ball. He had no intention of losing the last game he would ever play in.
- - -
Kairi was still a little moody from the fight earlier and had made herself some hot chocolate. She wondered if Sora still went to his stupid Blitzball game, so she turned on the TV and saw him there. The game had just started.
"Idiot…" She mumbled to herself. Kairi went back into the kitchen. She never really liked Blitzball anyway.
- - -
It was halftime. Sora stretched over near the benches as Soubi came over to talk to him.
"What's up, man? It seems like something's bugging ya."
Sora looked up at him and shook his head. Soubi stared at him a little longer before he spoke again, trying to make sense of his blank facial expression. Sora made sure his shoes were tied and everything was ready and then stood up again.
Sora was trying to block Kairi and the twins out of his mind as he played the game, but no matter how hard he tried, they always popped up. It held him back a lot throughout the second half when he thought about how he was leaving after this game…
"SCORE! The Chinese are down by three! Can they catch up before this game is over? And what is Kiyamoto doing? He really needs to get his head in the game!" (A/N: High School musical! XD) Sora was staying low for a while and letting Soubi get a few shots in. Although he was competitive, Sora didn't like rallying up point after point. It made the other team feel bad and he didn't want to do that, which is why he gave the ball to Soubi.
"Ten seconds to go…"
- - -
Kairi sat back down on the couch and decided she might as well watch the rest of the game. She wondered why Sora wasn't doing much, but when she saw the score she knew. Her soccer team used to lose all the time, and they were lucky if the other team had a decent coach that didn't continue make his players score all the time.
- - -
The game was over. They had won, and the crowd was cheering. The Twilight Cheerleaders jumped up and down with their golden pompoms and skirts flying in the air for everyone to see. A couple of Sora's teammates patted him on the back congratulating him on a good game just like they did every time, but he knew it wouldn't last for long. They all headed to the locker room for a team meeting.
"I just have to say that you guys did a great job out there…" The coach said, wiping a tear from his eye. He always did this when they won a game. Someone passed him a few tissues. He talked a bit more, but Sora seemed to have zoned out.
After the speech was over and the guys were done getting dressed, Sora blocked the door. He decided that if he was going to tell anyone that he was quitting first, it would be his own team.
"Sora, what's going on, man? Let us through!" Said one of them.
"Hold on… I want to talk to you all." Sora said in a peaceful manner holding up one hand. They all stared at him for a moment and then went and sat back down. This was going to be harder than Sora thought.
"Uh…" He rubbed the back of his head slowly, looking around at all of their perplexed faces. They were starting to get impatient, so he was rushed even more. Sora's coach urged for him to go on.
"Well, I've come to a decision that… I will not be able to play for the Twilight Town Hornets anymore."
It was like a mob had just spurred out of nowhere, because automatically there was confrontation and anger. Sora expected this to happen, but he wanted to explain himself too. He calmed them down a bit and spoke again.
"The reason I was late this morning was because I had just figured out from someone else the night before that my wife was pregnant… and I got a little angry because she never told me about it. So this morning we… talked about it, and well… it made me realize that my family needs me more than I knew. So I just wanted to tell you guys that I am quitting the team. Thanks." He grabbed his bags and walked out, leaving about twenty-five astonished faces in the locker room.
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A/N: Did Sora make the right decision? Found out in the next chapter!
Sora, groaning: Are you seriously thinking of doing an I Heart You III?
Me: I dunno, it's a thought…
Kairi: Oh goodness, I'm not going to be old, am I?
Me: Possibly in your thirties… that's not that old, is it?