Day 1- Dark: Apart
Yamato and Sora face their fears and worries in two moments of their lives.

.

Sora was sitting by the Tokyo bay with her feet in the water. It was the place she went to when things got too overwhelming and she needed to take a deep breath. It didn't take long until a pair of legs wearing gray pants stopped right beside her.

"Hey."

"Hi." She removed her feet from the water and embraced her knees. "How did you know I was here?"

"It wasn't that hard to guess." Yamato sat down with a suggestive smile on his face. "I know you too well."

She couldn't help but chuckle softly. "Indeed you do."

"So what's on your mind?" He asked. "Actually, I already know. You are thinking about Hikari and the dark ocean, aren't you?"

"Well… yeah." Sora embraced her knees tighter and winced, like she was there herself. "You can't not be shaken up when you went through something similar."

"Oh, I get it." The blonde replied, biting his lower lip and slightly shaking his head. "The dark cave."

"Yeah." She said in a low tone and bit her lower lip too.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, she's alright. Takeru called me and filled me in."

"That's such a relief."

"The darkness in your heart is gone." Yamato reached for her right hand and held it within his softly. "You came to terms with your mother and that makes me very proud of you."

Sora felt her cheeks burn slightly. "Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Your life would be very sad." He bragged.

"Hey!"

"What? Am I telling any lies?"

"No, but you may have exaggerated." She stuck her tongue at him.

"I'm an artist, that's what I do."

She couldn't help but giggle a little bit. "Thank you for being here with me. It really means a lot to me."

Yamato squeezed her hand a little tighter. "You don't need to thank me. That's what friends do."

"And you have been an amazing one to me." Sora looked at their hands and intertwined their fingers.

"I'm happy to know that." He replied and was a little surprised when she hugged him. "You can count on me for anything you need."

"Likewise." She pulled away from him and smiled kindly. "In fact, there is something you could help me with."

"Oh, what is it?"

Sora took some of her hair out of her face when she and Yamato stood on the platform of Kyoto's subway station that morning. It was way too windy for her liking.

"I will never be able to thank you enough for coming here with me."

"You don't have to thank me." He replied, making sure she knew he was more than glad to be there with her. "I'm glad you opened up to me about this."

She quickly looked away, a blatant gesture to hide her blushing cheeks from him.

"Is he coming to pick us up?" He added to make her feel more comfortable.

"No, he doesn't know we're here. I hope he likes this surprise."

"I'm sure he will. He will love to see you."

"Let's hope you're right." She finally looked at him, and felt her cheeks burn again. She wondered if he noticed it. If he did, he was doing a great job playing it cool.

"Does it ever stop winding here?" She complained when the wind disheveled her hair one more time.

"It's probably just a few windy days."

"Maybe." She shyly reached for his hand and laced her fingers with his. She could feel her cheeks becoming red, but that didn't stop her from letting go of it. She was also happy to know he hadn't done the same either.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, let's do it."

Sora felt her heart pounding so hard in her chest that she was sure Yamato could hear it loud and clear.

"Look, you don't have to do this if you don't feel ready. We can always go back to Odaiba."

"No, we came a long way to get here." She said firmly. "I want to do this."

"Alright."

She gave a few steps towards the intercom and pressed the number of his apartment. Then she returned to where Yamato was and waited for her father to answer, which didn't take long.

"Hello, who is it?"

"Hi, dad. It's me."

Haruhiko opened the door when the doorbell rang, about five minutes later. His shock only lasted a few seconds, and was quickly replaced by a smile and tearful eyes. Sora was pulled into a tight hug before she knew it. Yamato stood a few feet behind them and couldn't help but smile.

"I'm so happy you are here! I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, dad." She hugged him just as tight. "It's been so long."

"Tell me about it." He finally pulled away from her. "Things have been crazy at the university lately and I haven't been able to go back home yet."

"I understand, dad. It's alright."

"Thank you, sweetheart." Haruhiko said kindly. "I'm gonna make some tea and then we can talk. Is that okay?"

"Of course." She smiled. "That sounds perfect."

"So, it was a great weekend, huh?" Yamato tried to break the ice, as neither he nor Sora were talking.

"Yeah, it really was." She shook her head slightly. "I'm sorry, I've been on my own world. I'm just trying to process everything that's happening."

"That's alright. It's understandable that you feel this way."

"I suppose so."

"It is." He confirmed. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling good. Actually, I'm feeling great. I'm so glad that we went to Kyoto and I got to talk to my father. I feel like a big weight has been taken off my shoulders."

"Hearing that makes me happy." Yamato said with a smile. "Now you can finally start a new chapter with him."

"You're right. It was good to make peace with the situation. I didn't hold anything against him, I just wanted to see him more often and spend more quality time with him."

"I know, Sora." He reached for her hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "Now that he knows how you feel, you can move away from this heavy cloud above your head."

"That's true." She smiled softly and stood on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. "Once again, thank you for doing this for me."

"Anytime." The blonde replied, despite his blushing cheeks. "It was my pleasure to do this. Now let's go home."

"Let's go."

.

Yamato didn't know how long he had been holding that letter, but it felt like years. He had wanted for this moment a long time, but the excitement he was feeling was slowly being replaced by apprehension, worry and fear.

"You knew this day was coming eventually, and so did Sora." Takeru's voice faintly echoed in the room, as he was on the phone.

"Yes, I know." Yamato sighed deeply. "But it's still a difficult situation."

"I know it is." But remember, this has been your dream for years."

"It has. It still doesn't make leaving Sora alone for months any easier though."

"It will be tough on her, yes, but she will pull this off. It's Sora we're talking about."

"You know what? You're right." He sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "I'm gonna talk to her about it."

"I think you should. Uh, I have to go now. Good luck, brother."

"Thank you. I'll let you know how it went later."

"Awesome. We'll talk later. Bye."

"Bye."

Sora felt her heart pounding in her chest when she walked through Yamato's floor. She couldn't get over the fact he sounded nervous on the phone and tried to figure out what he possibly had to tell her. She took a deep breath and quietly opened the door from his apartment.

"Baby, where are you?"

"Hey." He walked into the kitchen, wearing brown pants and a dark blue T-shirt.

"I'm sorry I came in unannounced, but…"

"It's alright." He interrupted her. "You can come in unannounced anytime you want."

"Alright. I suppose at this point I'm no longer a guest here."

"That's right." He bit his lower lip and an awkward tension began to grow between them.

"So, are you going to tell me what's going on?" She asked as she sat on his couch; her hands lightly grabbing her thighs. "Though I think I have a clue."

"I've played this moment in my mind many times so far, and none of them were easy." Yamato grabbed the letter and almost twisted it, from nervousness. "But I don't think we can keep avoiding talking about it."

"Yeah, I don't think so either. So let's talk about it."

"Okay." He took a deep breath and looked at the envelope in his hands. "I'm going to leave soon."

"Oh." She was a little surprised, even though she was already expecting it. "When are you going?"

"Next week."

"I see." Sora looked away and stood up. She looked for something to keep her focus on, so they wouldn't make eye contact.

"It took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon." Yamato looked at her back, silently waiting for her to say something, in vain. He sighed and stood up. "Please, say something."

"I guess I'm just processing it." She turned around and looked at him; her eyes sparkling with tears. He knew she was holding them back to look strong. "I mean, we knew it was just a matter of time."

"Yeah." He said in a very low tone as he walked to her and held her elbows. "I don't want to leave you."

Sora fought the lump on her throat, but a few tears escaped her eyes when she blinked. "You have to go. This is your dream."

"I know, but being away from you for months isn't something that pleases me."

"I feel the same, but we'll get used to it. Besides, we will talk through video chats during it, so it's not like we won't keep in touch while you're on mission."

"You have a point." He paused. "But still, we will spend months without touching each other or having any kind of physical contact."

"We'll just make the best of them when we do." She had such a reassuring smile on her lips that he felt his shoulders relax.

"You're certainly handling it better than I expected."

"Thank you, I suppose. I've seen you work so hard to get here. This has been your dream for many years. I can't stand between it. And I don't want to."

"Sora."

"It's gonna be hard without you physically here, but it would be worse if you stayed and gave up on your dream for me. I would never forgive myself for letting it happen. So, you should go."

"Okay, I'll go."

"We can do this." Sora said in a reassuring way, smiling and running her hands through his arms.

"You're more optimist about it than I am."

"It doesn't surprise me. I'm actually the most positive one in this relationship."

"I think that's pretty even actually, but I'll let you have this one."

"That's fair." She slid her hands to his hips and looked up at him. "Are you feeling better now?"

"I am." He nodded, placing his own hands on her waist. "Thank you for being so supportive."

"Awww, you're welcome." She stood on her toes and pressed her lips against his briefly. He seized the opportunity to wrap his arms around her tight and deepen the kiss. "Sneaky!"

"I like to think I take the opportunities as they come." He smirked at her.

Sora was making her way to her house that night. It had been a few days since Yamato had left on his mission and he still hadn't tried to contact her. She was trying to get herself busy with other things, but it was hard not to think about him. As she entered her floor, she came across Takeru and Taichi sitting by her door, waiting for her.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?"

"We wanted to check on you." Takeru said as he stood up. "How have you been?"

"I've been good. Still trying to adjust to Yamato's absence."

"Aren't we all?" Taichi said without thinking and received a nudge on his ribs from Takeru. "Ouch!"

"You two are so predictable." Sora couldn't help but laugh as she opened the door from her house. "Do you want to come in? I could have some company tonight."

"That's why we're here." Takeru said as he and Taichi followed her inside.

"I thought so. Make yourselves at home."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." She smiled at them and then opened her cupboard to grab two little boxes of tea. "Do you want black or oolong tea?"

"Black."

"Oolong for me."

"Alright." She closed the door and she started heating some water. "So, how's life going for both of you?"

"It's going good." Taichi answered first. "Work's been quiet lately, nothing really important is happening in the Digital World."

"That's a good thing." The woman looked over her shoulder towards her future brother-in-law. "What about you, Takeru?"

"The same. I'm working on a new novel though."

"Are you serious?"

"That's awesome! About what?"

"It's a love story. That's all I can say for now."

"I'm already excited to read it."

"Hopefully soon." Takeru looked at Sora. "Hey, Sora, is everything alright?"

"Huh?" She shook her head and smiled at him. "Yeah, yeah, everything's fine. I was just thinking about Yamato."

There was an awkward silence in the room, as neither of the guys knew what to say after that.

"Oh God, I'm sorry." She covered her face with her hands and her voice came out a little muffled. "I didn't mean to…"

"It's alright, Sora." The blonde grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes. "It takes time to get used to it."

"It does." She sighed. "I just came across his mug and that made me miss him a little more."

"He will contact you before you know it." Taichi assured her.

"I know, I just hope it happens soon."

"It will." He stood up. "Well, I guess we better be going."

"Ah, okay." Sora said in a sad tone. "I'm sorry if I made things awkward. I'm trying, I promise."

"We know. Don't be so hard on yourself, Sora. You're in a difficult position and you're doing the best you can."

"Thank you, Taichi. It means a lot."

"You're welcome." He smiled at her. "Takeru, are you going?"

"I, uh… I think I'm gonna stay here, Taichi. Is that okay?"

"Of course." The woman answered quickly. "You're more than welcome to stay over. You too, Taichi."

"Thank you, but I…" He shook his head, realizing his friend needed him. "In that case, I'm staying too."

"Great! How about a movie night?"

"That sounds perfect."

"Alright. I'll go make some snacks for us first. You can decide the movie in the meantime." She glanced towards her living room and smiled, feeling lucky and blessed.