Part Six

The ride back to the apartments was mostly quiet. Sora and Mia hadn't spoke since they left the scene of the robbery. Sora was more than happy to be away from the massive crowd that had surrounded him after saving the woman from the gunman. As he continued his thoughts, he couldn't help but think of the words the man said before being taken away by the officers.

"Sora."

Sora looked up at the sound of Mia's voice.

"Hm?"

"We're here."

Sora looked out and realized the vehicle had stopped. He nodded and soon got out of the taxi while Mia paid the fee to the driver. Sora wordlessly followed behind Mia as she led him to the apartment. As they entered the apartment, Mia turned to face him.

"Sora, what you did was completely RECKLESS.. You SERIOUSLY could've DIED."

"Hey, I had to do SOMETHING," Sora tried to reason. "She was in TROUBLE."

"You seriously have no idea how dangerous the crime is here, do you?" Mia said, taking a stepping closer. "That guy is only one of the thousands of the crazies that walk the streets of New York.. And worse are out there."

Sora took a slight step back as Mia took another step.

"I've actually seen what they've done and they're not the kind of people to MESS with."

Sora felt a bit uneasy, but soon recovered as a look of determination crossed his face.

"I'm not gonna let some crazy guy scare me!" Sora stated. "I'm gonna help anyone who's in trouble!"

Mia stated at him before shaking her head with a slight chuckle.

"Nothing scares you, does it?"

Sora looked at her in surprise but soon his expression became sad. Mia saw this and frowned.

"Sora?"

Sora looked up, his sadness evident on his face.

"Hey.. I'm not upset.." Mia said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"It.. It's not that.." Sora replied softly.

He soon turned away again, keeping his gaze at the floor.

"Then what-?"

She suddenly stopped as she remembered Sora's mental breakdown after seeing the ads earlier that day.

"Sora.. I told you.." Mia tried. "You're not a FAKE..!"

Sora only looked as the floor, lost in his thought.

"Sora, look at me.."

Sora snapped his head up at her suddenly authoritative tone.

"You're not just some fictional character.. Not to me."

Sora smiled a little and nodded.

"Thanks.."

Mia smiled and nodded.

"Don't sweat it.. By the way, we should probably get cleaned up.. I gotta get to work."

"So uh.. What exactly do you do?" asked Sora, curious.

"I work with computers," Mia smiled. "I help design software."

Sora was surprised by this but soon smiled.

"That's awesome!"

Mia let out a soft chuckle.

"Yeah, but it's tons of work," Mia admitted with a sigh. "Tons of bustin' yer a$$ to get things done."

Sora nodded.

"So, would you mind if I came along too?"

The question caught Mia off guard.

"You want to go to work with me?"

"Eh.. Well.." Sora stammered.

"Ehh, why not?" Mia finally said. "Not sure how long I'd be out so, might as well."

Sora suddenly felt as though he may have overstepped his bounds for asking to follow Mia to her workplace, but nodded and smiled nervously.

"Y-yeah.."

Mia nodded in response and soon the two got ready.

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After getting cleaned up and getting ready, the duo began to head out.

"We should probably get you some new clothes.." Mia commented. "Just so you don't just have one set of clothes."

"O-oh.." Sora muttered, but soon nodded. "O-okay.."

As the two left the apartment, Sora and Mia were both swarmed by an enormous crowd. It was the same crowd as before after Sora had stopped the robbery at the electronics store.

"Not this again.." Mia grumbled.

As the crowd became restless, Mia managed to get a taxi to bring them take them far from the media crowd. After about three hour long drive, they came to a stop.

"We can walk the rest of the way.." Mia stated. "It's Just up the street here.."

Sora nodded and after Mia paid the taxi, the duo made their way toward a rather large office building. The two entered through what Mia said was a parking garage and soon they were in an elevator and heading up to the ninth floor. As they left the elevator, there was a young man with fair skin and dark hair waiting for her.

"Ah, Miss Slade," the man grinned. "Good to see you this evening."

"Hello, Mr. Green," Mia replied. "It's nice to see you too."

Sora noticed the change in her tone. It was a type of tone that one would use when speaking with an important individual, much like when Riku would talk to Yen Sid.

The man soon turned to Sora then looked at Mia again.

"And Who is this?" asked Mr. Green.

"Oh, this is Sora," Mia replied. "He's a close friend of mine."

"Hey there," Sora smiled.

Mia gave him a look. Seeing her reaction, he then remembered what Riku told him about addressing someone who was in a higher standing than he was.

"Eh.. I mean, hello Sir." Sora restated, smiling a little nervously.

Mia soon relaxed before turning back to the man, who was undoubtedly Mia's boss. The man eyed Sora curiously but soon nodded.

"Pleasure to meet you."

Sora smiled and nodded shaking his hand. Mr. Green soon turned to Mia and began to talk about the upcoming project. Sora took that moment to look around the room, taking in the countless sections of walls that separated everyone. He was snapped out of his thoughts as Mia nudged his shoulder.

"Hm?"

"C'mon, let's go.."

Sora nodded and followed her, becoming a bit overwhelmed by the room filled with sectioned off rooms. He soon began to relax once they reached Mia's office, which was a bit larger than the other rooms, but was still a bit small. Just outside the room, Sora noticed a type of machine that was filled with a dark brown almost black liquid along with a bunch of cups and small paper packets. He looked at it curiously, but feeling as though he may cause a scene, he continued to follow Mia into the office.

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Sora sat in one of the chairs and was gazing out one of the massive windows, amazed at how lit up the outside world was. He had been curious about what Mia's work required and was amazed to see the project she had been working on. After about twenty minutes, Sora had decided to allow Mia to do her work and took a seat near one of the windows. He was so entranced by the sight of the city, he barely even notice Mia finally standing from her chair. Sora turned and looked up at her curiously.

"Is everything okay?" asked Sora.

Mia nodded.

"Just getting some coffee.."

Sora looked at her a bit curiously.

"Oh, I guess you've never had it.."

Sora shook his head no.

"Well, we use it to keep us awake or wake us up."

"Oh.."

Mia soon left the room, Sora following behind her. As they left the office, Sora noticed other people were gathered around the machine he had seen before. He turned to Mia as she took a paper cup and got some of the liquid from the machine. Glancing around, he noticed three of the workers were watching him and so he sheepishly took a cup and put some in a cup. He gazed into the swirling dark liquid and took a rather large sip. Sora was immediately hit but the overly bitter taste and fought to swallow it down. He choked and coughed a bit as he tried to fight the uncomfortable feeling. One of the workers chuckled as he watched him.

"I take it ya never had coffee before?" the man asked.

Sora snapped his head up and shook his head no, coughing a little.

"W-why's it so BITTER..?" Sora choked out.

The man chuckled again.

"Well, it doesn't HAVE to be.. That's what the sweetener and creamer is for."

Sora looked at him and then at the packets of sweetener and took about five of the packets and put them in. Though he was unsure about trying it again, he took a more cautious and much smaller sip. Sora was surprised by the sudden difference in taste and took a much larger sip, now enjoying the flavors.

"See? Sweetener makes things much better." the man commented.

Sora nodded and soon after finishing his first cup, he filled another cup and added the same amount as before. Mia stared at him and soon shook her head.

'Oh God.. Now I'm gonna have an over caffeinated kid on my hands..'

Author's Note: I myself love to drink coffee and so it was one of the reasons I decided to add it to this section.. I will try to get more up soon..