#noctiswriting

A few hours in, Sora noticed Taichi’s spirits waning, just as he leaned back against his seat by the bus window, looking solemnly at the clouds darkening in the sky.

“I hope the weather isn’t bringing you down,” Sora said. “Who knows - it might clear up by the time we get there.”

“It’s not that, Sora,” he said. “I was just thinking about how everyone else couldn’t make it.”

Sora let out a laugh mixed with a scoff. “Thanks to somebody’s last minute plans.”

“Hey - it couldn’t be helped, alright? It got really busy for a while there at uni.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And… busy for everyone else, as usual.” Taichi’s tone was less defensive here, and he sighed and leaned further back into his chair. “Despite my screw-up… you’d think that with summer coming and the schools taking a break, a trip like this would actually get everyone together to go. I mean, it was hard to rally the group whenever there were those disturbances from the Digital World…”

Sora stared. “Some of us had our reasons…”

“Right. And I get it, but…”

“I understand, Taichi. You miss everyone being together, like when we were kids.”

“Yeah. But hey,” Taichi turned to her. “I’m glad you were able to show up.”

He flashed Sora a warm smile, and the warmth must have caught on to her cheeks. 

“So am I,” she said, trying to hide her reaction by smiling back, and then she darted her eyes from his gaze and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. She felt happy seeing the joy on Taichi’s face, and happy that she was going to spend the weekend with her best friend.

But Taichi’s smile made her heart flutter. There were feelings she had for him, feelings that she was able to distract herself from as they spent their young adult lives pursuing their respective dreams. These feelings were easy to hide away, but not easy to forget.

Taichi turned back to look at the window, and Sora turned to look at him again, finding herself caught by surprise at how quickly those feelings returned, even after hiding them away for so long.

Lightning flashed. Sora heard a gasp from Taichi as they both looked out the darkened bus window together. As the thunder boomed shortly after, Sora felt the rumble around her seat. The pending weather was usually something she loved, but she wondered if Taichi thought differently. She tried to read Taichi’s face as he looked out the window, and she hoped that he wasn’t going to let the sky dampen his mood even more than it already seemed to be.

Then he turned to look at her again.

“Hey, Sora,” he said. “You say you love thunder showers…”

Sora smiled and saw that he was eagerly awaiting her response.

“So, what’s a few raindrops between friends?” she asked in reply.

Once again, Yamato found himself in a place he least expected to be in on a Saturday night. He stepped into the lobby in his black button up shirt and dark jeans and observed nothing out of the ordinary from the staff and other guests, though he was mentally prepared for whatever it was that would come next.

It came to him as no surprise when he turned toward Mimi when she called for him. Her outfit was simple, a light spaghetti strapped tank top and a mini skirt and she let her long, wavy tresses flow down. The only thing added was a pair of white embroidered gloves on her hands that were cut to reveal her fingers. When she twirled in excitement and gave him a big smile, Yamato couldn’t help but be reminded of a spritely fairy. If only Mimi had a headband and a pair of wings.

Except the wings in this case were attached behind the ears of the headphones. Mimi held two of them on her wrist, and a pair of black fingerless gloves in her other hand. 

Yamato blinked at her, reluctant. What in the world did she talk him into this time? How silly was he going to look in this get up?

The staff called to them, signaling that the event was about to begin. Mimi glared at Yamato now, holding out her hands towards him. In the pressure of the moment, Yamato grabbed his pairs of headphones and gloves and put them on, then followed quickly behind Mimi as they went through the doors and into the darkened room.

Lights of blue, purple, and pink surrounded the room, where Yamato observed a large group of people wearing butterfly headphones of different colors and the same gloves on their hands. A young, female voice that he recognized announced her introduction as the night’s main performer and disc jockey through his headphones, and when he looked up towards the large screens elevated above he saw the virtual figure wearing her sleeveless collared top and mini skirt, her long twin tails of teal hanging on either side. The cheers from the crowd surrounded him as the music began to play.

So Mimi brought him to a Hatsune Miku-themed event. Yamato looked around for a few moments as he listened to the upbeat music in his ears and everyone around him began to dance, their butterfly headphones bobbing and waving around to the music. He had never been to a “silent disco” before, and he was intrigued at seeing dancing as they heard the same song in their ears.

Then, Miku gave a shout out to the dancers listening to the other station, to which there were less cheers. Curious, Yamato felt around the ear of his headphone to find a switch. When it clicked, a song of a different beat filled his ears along with the soaring sounds of an electric guitar. He dug this station already. 

Mimi’s cheers were louder than the song in his headphones, and Yamato saw that she was dancing with Jou and Sora, whom he had expected to see, especially with Mimi’s talent to convince their circle of friends to go anywhere she asked. Yamato waved at the three of them and walked on, bobbing his head to the music. He also passed Koushiro who was sitting by himself, but Koushiro was paying no mind to anyone else as he listened to the music on his own. 

When the next rock song began to play, Yamato recognized it and began to sing along. He continued to pass people by, scouring through the faces of the people dancing as a couple or in groups, hoping to find the face he was hoping to see. Yamato was surprised that this face had yet to show himself, especially when his hair was so easily spotted even in the densest crowd.

The music transitioned into a different song, though Yamato continued to sing. But the crowd of people seemed to part in front of him, and that was when his eyes caught onto a gaze of chocolate brown, his lips singing along to the same song.

Yamato stopped in his tracks, his lips parted in surprise. Taichi had stopped singing along, his expression appearing to match Yamato’s. Little did he know, Yamato found himself and Taichi making their way towards each other, and the flashing lights and surrounding people seemed to fade from view. 

The butterfly earphones looked sillier on Taichi than Yamato thought they did on himself. Taichi even wore a disproportionately small top hat on the side of his head, which he admitted was not Mimi’s idea as Yamato had thought - Taichi thought it would fit the theme of the night.

Still, Taichi wore the black on blue shirt and jeans to complement. Taichi even wore a nice tie to go with it. The whole outfit worked too well. One of the things Yamato loved about Taichi was that he found a way to make himself look good even in offbeat situations, and Yamato found himself breathless. 

When they stood face to face, eyes still locked on one another, Taichi smiled, singing to the lyrics sounding in Yamato’s ears. Yamato felt a chill on the back of his neck. That was another one of the things he loved about Taichi; aside from some pop songs that Yamato would kick him out of the room the moment he sang them, Taichi had the same taste in music as Yamato did, and he found it endearing to learn that Taichi sang along to a lot of the songs he did.

The more Taichi’s lips moved as he sang, the more Yamato yearned to be closer to him.

Yamato grabbed Taichi by the wrist and began to move for his new search. He waded his way through the sea of people with Taichi following closely behind, his eyes scanning for an ideal spot. In an area where the dancing crowd loosened, he spotted a place to go, and there he headed.

Turning a corner a few feet from the dance floor, Yamato found a small space where the strobing lights didn’t hit, away from the wandering eyes of his friends and from anyone else. He wasn’t in the mood to dance, anyway. It was a space for only him and Taichi, who stayed close behind Yamato the whole time. When Yamato turned around to face Taichi again, there was little space between him and the wall behind him. Taichi reached toward Yamato’s headphones and clicked the switch, changing the station back to Hatsune’s music. It was the type of music that Taichi annoyed Yamato to death with, but Yamato felt like he could tolerate this song, its pop beats with the piano playing the background. What was the song called? “Magnet”? Yamato didn’t want to bother with asking Taichi, not when their gazes remained fixed on each other.

Taichi wore a smirk this time, looking as though he knew exactly what Yamato wanted. Yamato moved closer, the rhythm of the bass and drums bumping in his ears, the beat of his heart pounding in his chest. He met Taichi’s fingers at the tips with one hand, and held Taichi’s chin with his thumb and forefinger of the other, their noses nearly touching. 

Taichi had taught him not to frustrate himself with what drew them to each other. How they could clash in disagreements yet Yamato still wanted him around. How in one moment Yamato couldn’t stand him, but in the next he wanted to feel his touch. Yamato had learned to run with what he felt he wanted to do, and at that moment with the music swelling and feeling Taichi’s warm breath soft, Yamato closed his eyes and gently pressed his lips against Taichi.

Gawd, he loved those lips that kissed back. Those lips that kissed him so deliciously urging him to come back for more. Yamato kissed Taichi slowly, savoring the feeling of Taichi’s soft touch, his tongue brushing his own. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

The year was 2010. Many of the Chosen Children were working their way towards their career paths, while the others were still honing their craft, or studying their way through university, hoping the answer to life would appear somehow.

Koushiro was lucky to find as many answers as he had at his age. He had already graduated from university by the end of Taichi’s second year, and at 21 years old, he was the CEO of his own technology company.

Taichi had been Koushiro's roommate in their two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment for three years now, since the time he had left his parent’s home and moved out after high school. Koushiro’s startup was a success and he had earned enough to buy his own place by that point. But he was used to having Taichi as a roommate; they were best friends, so Koushiro liked living with him.

Just as much as he liked living across the hallway from Daisuke, Takeru, and Ken in the same apartment building. There was a lot of hustle and bustle between their apartments combined as they had frequent visitors among all of the Chosen, and the three younger boys visiting Taichi and Koushiro’s apartment nearly every other day. Koushiro had learned to block out the noise, especially when he needed to focus, but it was a wonder that the rest of the building hadn’t reported any noise complaints against the two apartments. Taichi himself might as well have been a noise complaint on his own - he was usually the most jovial amongst their friends; and, not to mention those evenings when Sora stayed the night.

Koushiro had less to complain about lately, including one Friday evening when he happened to have the apartment to himself. Taichi had gone over to Sora’s place; and since Taichi’s schedule was free from classes the next day, he was not going to return to the apartment that night.

So, Koushiro relaxed in his moment of freedom, wearing a casual shirt and jeans, but adding a touch of gel to his hair from what he had already worn earlier that day at his office. He spritzed on some cologne because he wanted this night to be special.

A knock came at the door, and he couldn’t help but smile when he opened it. Hikari was standing there, and she looked as beautiful to him as ever.

“Hey,” he whispered.

Hikari smiled. “Hello,” she whispered back.

Out of habit, Koushiro peered over Hikari’s shoulder and around the empty hallway, eyeing the closed door across the hall. Hikari had looked around as well, but soon after, Koushiro took her by the hand to pull her inside, allowing her to close the door behind her.

Then, she leaned forward to greet him with a kiss - a kiss that nearly took his breath away.

“Hello, handsome,” she said, this time her voice raised to normal, her tone bubbly.

“Hey, Hikari,” Koushiro replied in his attempt not to sound breathless. He found it hard to use pet names, even though he wanted to call her ‘beautiful’.

Hikari giggled, then pulled him close for an embrace. He felt her breathe in. “Mmm, you smell nice.”

He took note of the sweet, floral scent on her, but his cheeks burned as he knew that he was too meek to say the same. Instead, he settled for holding their embrace for a few more seconds, with the knowledge that the moments he had with her that night was worth savoring.

Especially since no one had known that he and Hikari had been dating for a month.

They had prided themselves for keeping this secret from their circle of friends for so long. Luckily for them, the two of them were the least suspicious of anything out of everyone; therefore, the best two at keeping secrets and coordinating with each other whenever they interacted with the members of their group. Mimi and Miyako were intuitive enough to sense that Hikari and Koushiro had new ‘special someones’ in their lives, but they were so far out of their minds to even connect the dots.

Hiding this fact from Taichi had been their greatest achievement, but with Koushiro as his roommate and best friend, and Hikari as his younger sister, Taichi’s discovery was actually their greatest fear.

Another peck from Hikari had wiped the mixture of thoughts from Koushiro’s mind.

“So,” Hikari said, moving her hands from around his back to his arms. “I stopped by the market on the way here for ingredients to make us some dinner.”

“Are you sure?” he asked her. “You must be tired from being at uni all day. Why don’t we heat up some instant yakisoba?”

Hikari scrunched her eyebrows. “Nonsense! I will make you some from scratch. It’ll taste much better, I promise.”

“I’m sure it will.”

“And after that,” Hikari drew closer again. “We can watch something together, like a movie, and after that, maybe…"

Koushiro’s felt his heart beating more quickly for some reason. "Maybe… what?"

"You know… since it'll be just the two of us here by ourselves, we could…"

"...Enjoy the movie in each other's comfort?" Koushiro guessed.

Hikari paused, then she laughed, her cheeks turning pink.

"You can be so clueless about this. It's charming."

"Charming? I guess I wouldn't think of myself that way."

"Of course you wouldn't. That's part of your charm." Hikari giggled again at Koushiro's curious stare. "I wouldn’t be here to spend time with you and make you dinner otherwise."

She let go of his arms and turned to face the kitchen. As she took a step towards it, Koushiro took her wrist, stopping her. What she had been trying to say suddenly clicked in his head.

"What if I suggested for these events to be out of order?" Koushiro asked.

"What did you want to do first?" she asked.

"Well… the part that was meant for after the movie…"

His face was heating up again, but this time, his eyes were fixated on Hikari, who gave him a look of surprise.

“Really? You want to…?”

Koushiro nodded.

Hikari’s lips curled into a smile, the kind that he recognized when she was being playful. The kind that urged him to kiss those lips again. So when he drew her in like a magnet, her lips met his once more, and he gladly accepted. He kissed her back, his heart drumming in his chest as his hands wrapped around her waist, and her body closing in until her chest pushed up against his.

That “part” he was talking about was unexplored territory for him and Hikari. They had been taking their intimacy at a slow pace, and they had found pockets of time to sneak away with each other, stealing kisses here and there, even making out in each others’ rooms before their respective roommates showed up. But this time, Koushiro predicted that they would have no interruptions, and if they both wanted to end up in his bed that night, there would be no stopping them.

Not even a step was taken toward Koushiro’s bedroom when the front door opened.

“Kouuushiroooo!” came Daisuke’s voice. “I’m bored, let’s game…”

Both Hikari and Koushiro ripped apart from each other, but they were a second too late. They both faced Daisuke’s widened eyes and jaw which dropped so far it might as well have hit the ground.

“Daisuke!” cried Hikari, mortified. “Don’t you ever knock?!”

Gah! Koushiro thought in his head, but he might have said it aloud. He had been too enamored with Hikari to have forgotten to lock the door when she arrived. He gathered that her immediate reaction toward Daisuke was out of her guilt for the same reason.

“No, no way!” Daisuke said with surprised laughter in his voice. “Kou is your mystery boyfriend?! And Hikari’s your secret lover?”

“Daisuke!” Hikari repeated, her face turning as red as Koushiro knew his face appeared.

“Oh, man! I can only imagine what would happen if Taichi found out-”

Hikari started toward Daisuke, but Koushiro was faster, with his fear, panic, and anger surging all at once. He held Daisuke by the shirt collar and mere inches away from his face.

“You cannot tell Taichi,” Koushiro spat, and he realized that the tone of panic must have prevailed based on how his voice sounded. Still, his forcefulness seemed to have caught Daisuke frightened.

“Whoa, I didn’t think this would be so serious-” Daisuke sputtered.

“Please, Daisuke, promise you won’t tell him, or anyone else!” begged Hikari at Koushiro’s side.

“Alright! Alright…” After a few moment’s pause, Daisuke’s stare relaxed, but his next question threw the other two for a loop. “What’s in it for me?”

“Why would we owe you anything?!” Koushiro asked incredulously.

“This is a pretty big secret, and you know how terrible I am at keeping them. And when it comes to Taichi, there’s no way I could keep this from him.  I’d like some compensation.”

For a head like his that was always full of ideas, Koushiro was running short of them at that moment. He let go of Daisuke’s collar, having no idea what would appease Daisuke for something like this.

“Ramen,” Hikari replied suddenly. “You can cook for us,” she continued. “We’ll critique it for you.”

Daisuke’s eyes softened. This was something that Koushiro knew meant a great deal to Daisuke, as he was studying and aspiring to be in the culinary field. Not a day had gone by that he boasted about his skills and he had begged everyone in his friends group to at least taste his food to help learn what worked and what needed improvement.

Koushiro was in awe of Hikari hitting the nail on the head with this idea, and it made him adore her more than ever.

“Do you guys really mean that?” Daisuke asked, and Koushiro swore that Daisuke’s eyes were getting glassy.

“Yes! We do!” Hikari replied, and Koushiro nodded enthusiastically. “Hikari and I will enjoy your ramen together!”

“You guys… are the best!!” Daisuke stood up, then hugged Koushiro and then Hikari tightly. Koushiro smiled widely along with Hikari, knowing that they both were laughing in relief.

Then, Daisuke laughed aloud in his glee, and he balled his hands into fists and held them at his sides. “Ah, well! Nothing like a couple devouring my best noods ! Wait, that didn’t come out right…”

Koushiro blinked in confusion, then turned to Hikari once more, and she shrugged as she smiled with embarrassment in reply.

~*~*~*~

After a few hours of practicing ikebana, Sora needed some fresh air. The first idea that appeared in her mind was to check on her friends. It was easy for her - she could pay a visit to one place and she could check mark five of her male friends’ names from the list, one of those males being her boyfriend, Taichi.

That day, she had been hoping to run into Koushiro, whom she hadn’t seen in a while. Her frequent visits had come to a halt lately, but at least Taichi stopped by her place to see her whenever he had the chance.

When she stepped off of the train, she wondered who she would see this time. Taichi had yet to respond to her text message, but even if he nor Koushiro were away, Someone was always at the other apartment for her to chat with. That was always something she expected.

What she did not expect as she stepped along the platform was to catch Koushiro's spiky red hair from the corner of her eye. She watched him quickly move through the platform with someone and turn a corner. Going on her instinct, she followed them, and she kept herself at a distance to remain unnoticed, but she was able to recognize that “someone” who sat on a bench so close to Koushiro. That petite someone who had a short bob haircut and who was slightly shorter than he was, but their head tilted upward for her lips to lock with his.

That someone who was Hikari.

Sora nearly dropped her shoulder bag, just as she heard her phone ring from inside. When she saw who was calling, her eyes widened, and she quickly took a deep breath, hoping to exhale her shock and fright before answering his call.

“Hey, Taichi,” she said. “You home?”

“I’m just leaving from work. You?”

“Oh, well I was just heading to see- uh- Koushiro-!”

Her mouth hung open as she watched the two, shamelessly kissing each other like that. Sure, they were behind a wall that was normally easily missed by any passersby, but to be out in public-!

“Huh? Koushiro?” Taichi asked.

Sora swallowed her shock and gathered herself to give Taichi a reply. “I was going to stop by the apartment to say hello.”

“Really? Want me to meet you there?”

“No-”

She realized that her answer might have been too quick. She turned around and began to head in the direction away from Koushiro and Hikari, as though every frantic step further would make Taichi less suspicious. “No. I’ll be there a short while before heading back to my place. It might take too long for you to get here. Why don’t you meet me at mine? Then we can figure out what to do then?”

Sora expected Taichi's silence for him to figure out that her suggested route made sense. She also welcomed his silence for her to process what she had just seen. Koushiro? Hikari? Together? How long had they been seeing each other? How serious was it? Did any of their friends know? Did Taichi know?

There was no way that Taichi could have known. He teased Koushiro for being a top secret "playboy", and he bickered with Hikari about any of her love interests, even if she refused to tell him any names.

"I guess I’ll take the train straight to your place then," Taichi said, then, he added with a tease, "Don’t stay too long with Koushiro. You know I’m the sensitive, protective type. I might start thinking that you’re his secret girlfriend, or something.”

Daisuke and Takeru enter their apartment and head to their room.

Daisuke: *stretches arms out* Man, what a night.

Takeru: *yawns* Yeah. I'm glad that secret is finally out in the open.

Daisuke: I'm really happy for them.

Takeru: Yeah, me, too.

*share a smile*

Daisuke: You taking the bathroom first?

Takeru: Nah, you can go first.

Daisuke goes into the bathroom, and a thought passes through where he wonders why Takeru didn't walk straight into the bathroom as he typically does. The thought quickly disappears as he washes up, yawns more. He walks towards his bed and it's Takeru's turn for the bathroom.

Daisuke takes his shirt off and throws it onto the top of his bed, which makes an odd creaking noise. He thinks nothing of it, and approaches his bed to lay down and turn in.

Except, as soon as he sits down, the creaking continues, and Daisuke feels the frame giving way. Quickly, he jumps up and out of the way before the bed frame breaks before him.

Takeru flies out of the bathroom.

Takeru: What happened?!

Daisuke: I have no idea!!!

Takeru: Are you alright?

Daisuke: I don't know! I almost died on my own bed! Does it look like I'm alright?!

Takeru: *Pauses and grimaces at Daisuke* Are you injured anywhere?

Daisuke: Maybe my pride, but at least no one else saw-!

Takeru: Daisuke, seriously-

Daisuke: Fine, fine. I'm alright! I guess I'll need a new bed but I'll figure it out tomorrow. I can sleep on the couch.

Takeru returns to the bathroom and Daisuke heads into the living room, finding that Mimi is sleeping there already.

Daisuke: I can't sleep there. Mimi's there, for some reason.

Takeru: Why is she sleeping here?

Daisuke: Beats me. You'd think she'd be taking the couch at Taichi and Koushiro's place.

Daisuke sighs and begins to sit on his bed but quickly stumbles back up.

Takeru: *laughs* You can sit on my bed, if you want.

Daisuke: *groans* So much for sleeping in the living room. I guess sleeping on the floor wouldn't hurt.

Takeru: ...You can sleep on my bed, if you want.

Daisuke: *stare*

Takeru: *stare*

Daisuke: And where would you sleep? The floor?

Takeru: There's room for the both of us.

Daisuke: Really?

Takeru: Really! *looks to his bed, hesitating* Well, you know, on second thought. Maybe you can take the bed. I can sleep on the floor.

Daisuke: Wait, what? Don't feel like you have to take responsibility for this. You didn't break my bed. And why are you being weird?

Daisuke is confused at Takeru's face turning pink.

Daisuke: I'm cool with sleeping with you- I mean. Next to you.

Takeru: Alright, then. Cool.

Daisuke: Cool.

Takeru: Cool.

Daisuke: Cool.

~*~*~*~*~

"What's eating you, Yamato?"

Yamato blinked his thoughts away to reveal a curious-eyed Taichi sitting across the table from him.

"Final exams are about to start, right?" asked Jou, who sat beside Yamato.

"Yeah," said Taichi. "I can't wait until they're over."

The three young men each had an open bottle of beer and empty plates of food they had just finished eating. They had slouched back into their respective chairs and Yamato knew that the two felt just as full as he did.

Yamato had invited Taichi out to celebrate the announcement of his internship, and he had asked Jou to come along, too. He figured that it would also be a break from their daily grind of school assignments and other projects.

Although, contrary to Jou's suggestion, Yamato had not been thinking about his final projects or the big presentation he had been preparing for. In reality, he had been thinking about a big secret - the one that Koushiro and Hikari had been keeping, and that Mimi hardly contained the moment she stepped through his door on the day she found out.

"KoushiroandHikariaredatingandTaichihasnoidea," she had spilled out in a single breath.

Yamato wasn't as close to Hikari, but he understood why she and Koushiro kept this from Taichi. And, knowing Koushiro, who kept his relationship endeavors to himself, Yamato figured that Koushiro wouldn't tell Taichi about Hikari right away out of his respect for her.

Still, the discovery was intriguing for Yamato to think about, even if it distracted from hanging out with the clueless older brother.

"Things are going great, though!" Taichi said. "Once this term is done, It won't be long until Sora's lease is up at her apartment. We've been talking about finding a place together."

"Wow, that's great!" Jou said.

"That means you'll be moving out from Koushiro's apartment," Yamato observed.

"Yeah." Taichi's smile appeared to wane from the comment. "He'll be cool with it, right? I mean, I haven't been there lately and I'm always at Sora's place. It's like I practically live with her."

"So, you haven't told him, yet?" Jou asked.

"Not yet. I'm not sure how he'll react. But, he's my best friend and we've talked to each other about all sorts of things, even if either of us think it's hard to talk about."

The table fell silent. Taichi fell into a contemplative state while Jou eyed him with a small frown. Meanwhile, Yamato took in the conversation, finding irony in the grander scheme. Jou couldn't have known what Yamato and everyone else had known; otherwise, his facial expression and body language would not have appeared as relaxed.

Yamato took a swig of his beer and set the bottle down.

"You really need to talk to Koushiro," Yamato said.

"I know," Taichi droned with a sigh.

"No, Taichi. You really need to talk to him. I know you are at least responsible enough not to wait until the moment you move out. You two are better friends than that."

"You're right. Like, Kou wouldn't wake me up one day and announce that he's getting married and he needed me to be the Best Man."

Yamato pressed his lips together.

"Where… did you get that idea?" Jou asked, appalled.

Taichi burst into laughter. "Relax, I was joking! He never tells me anything about his love life, but I don't see him pulling something like that on me."

At that moment, the sound of ringing surrounded the table. The three of them took out their phones in unison.

"Oh, Hikari," Taichi said, and Yamato viewed the same name on the group chat message on his screen.

.

Hikari: I'm free from today's exam. Anyone Home?

Takeru: we're all here, come on over.

Miyako: Even the girls are all here! Hurry up!

Koushiro: I'll be over in a few.

.

At that moment, Yamato had an idea.

"Now's your chance, Taichi."

"Hmm?"

"You have your mind set and you know you won't change your decision. It's better for him to find out sooner rather than later."

"I agree, Yamato," said Jou. "Why not nip this in the bud now? That way, you wouldn't feel like you were keeping something from him."

"You're right," said Taichi. "You both are."

They waited until the hostess arrived to help with the bill, Jou and Yamato splitting the amount. Then, the three of them walked out and headed to the apartments, and Yamato couldn't help but think that the advice given to Taichi was also beneficial for Koushiro, and even for Hikari to hear. As the three of them left the restaurant, Yamato typed out a text to Mimi only and hit "Send":

Yamato: We're heading over there now. Do. Not. Tell. Anyone.

~*~*~*~*~

Mimi squealed as she read Yamato's text. She had been roaming around the boys' apartment, chatting and talking animatedly about her day that she did not realize that Yamato had sent her a message. Twenty minutes before she had actually read it.

"What happened, Mimi?" Sora asked.

Mimi froze, feeling Sora's and Miyako's eyes turning to her. She was sitting on the couch of Daisuke's, Ken's, and Takeru's apartment and was suddenly in the center of attention.

"Nothing," she said, more quickly than she realized would raise suspicion. Thankfully, the long strands of her hair fell over her face to hide her horrified expression from them.

Yamato coming over with Jou? And Taichi?! Everyone knew that Koushiro was still in his apartment, and that Hikari was with him. The fact that Yamato didn't want Mimi to say anything only meant one thing: that he intended to expose Koushiro and Hikari's secret.

Mimi knew that Yamato was not going to tell Taichi directly. He was a kind, honest person, and he wanted Taichi to find out for himself. Even if he had to deliberately force Taichi in the right direction.

Uggh! That boy…

"Did Yamato do something?"

"What?" Mimi looked to Sora, who tilted her head to the side, then laughed.

"Your reaction is a lot like mine when Taichi does something."

Mimi realized that she had groaned out loud.

"You're telling me! I just can't believe that Yamato has the nerve to come over-"

"Wait, did you say what I think you said?" Takeru asked from the kitchen. "Yamato's coming over?"

"No way!" Daisuke said. "Is he bringing Jou and Taichi with him?"

"Wait, what?!" Miyako cried, standing up from the couch.

Sora rose from her spot immediately. "Mimi. Do we have time to tell Koushiro?"

There came a knock at the door. Silence fell among everyone in the apartment as voices came from the other side. Mimi widened her eyes as she looked toward the door that opened from the outside.

"You know, you really didn't have to knock, Jou," said Taichi as he, Jou, and Yamato appeared as the door opened.

Yamato met Mimi's gaze, and she made sure that he noticed her displeasure. He didn't add any words to contribute to Jou and Taichi's banter, and no other words from him were necessary in directing Taichi - he had already done his job by telling Taichi to go here.

"Taichi!" Sora called, the tone in her voice with a note of apprehension. "You didn't tell me you would be here."

"Well, I guess you can call it a surprise, right? Even Jou is here!" Taichi slapped Jou's back before turning around and heading straight toward his apartment.

Sora tried to rush to him, but Mimi knew that she wasn't going to get to him in time. The rest of their friends began to move all at once, although it was as though they were going in slow motion. Daisuke, Takeru, and Ken fumbled with utensils and set them down before they ran out of the kitchen. Miyako followed Mimi as they hurried behind Sora, the first to reach the doorway. Everyone watched with intense anticipation. Yamato and Jou turned to face the door to the other apartment, Yamato watching with silent determination, and Jou with utter confusion.

When Taichi turned the knob and pushed to open the door, Hikari was already standing there to greet him. Mimi caught Hikari quickly running her fingers on the side of her head to flatten her stray tufts of hair, but other than that, Hikari looked as normal as she did when they saw her earlier that day.

"Oh, hey, Hikari," Taichi said. "Were you waiting for me?"

"Sure!" she said with a shrug and a smile. "I figured you were going to show up to your own apartment tonight, so I thought I'd hang out here until you did."

But it took a moment for Taichi to reply - one long, concerning moment that intensified the tension building in the dead silence over the whole group.

"Where's Koushiro?" Taichi demanded suddenly, and Hikari's cheerful expression turned dark.

~*~*~*~*~

One look was all it took for Taichi to figure it out.

Hikari saw it as Taichi stared at her after her greeting. She tried to flatten her hair and straighten her blouse and her skirt, but she knew that her hair wasn't as sleek as it normally was. She forgot to fasten the top button of her wrinkled blouse, and she was sure that the collar was crooked to reveal the strap of her tank top falling off her shoulder.

She had wanted to see Koushiro first before they walked across the hall together, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't resist the temptation to make out with him, his sweet lips on hers, his hands running free all over her. They let themselves get carried away again, carelessly forgetting about the unexpected. The moment they heard voices in the hallway, it took them only so long to fix themselves before they tucked their secret away again.

But as Taichi saw right through her, Hikari knew that she couldn't keep that secret hidden from him for very long.

"Koushiro!" Taichi yelled as he stepped forward, just as Hikari stepped in front of him.

"Taichi, hold on a minute," Hikari said. "Let me explain-"

"Koushiro!" he repeated.

Koushiro appeared from his room, his plain white shirt showing underneath his unbuttoned plaid shirt. His hair still had its spikes but showed signs of disheveling.

"Koushiro, tell me what is going on here?" Taichi's voice was lowered, but he seemed to be restrained.

Hikari glanced at Koushiro who stared back at her, his questioning eyes waiting for her to give him direction. She knew that Taichi needed to hear the truth from Koushiro the most, so she gave him a nod, and she watched as Koushiro took a deep breath.

"Hikari and I have been seeing each other for a few months," Koushiro replied. "I know this might come out of the blue, but we didn't want anyone to make a big deal out of this, and we didn't know how you would react."

Taichi's eyes flashed. "Why would you think I would make a big deal out of this?!" he asked with his voice raising in volume.

"Taichi-" Hikari started, and she saw in the corner of her eye that Sora and Yamato held their palms to their forehead.

""Why didn't you just tell me up front?" Taichi continued. "I can't believe you both have been fooling around behind my back! I don't believe this. My best friend and my sister…"

"None of us knew about them at first, Taichi," Sora said with an exasperated sigh. "You're not the only one they hid this from."

"So, then, if I'm not the first to know, and you all knew, then I must be the last. Geez! What gives?"

"Um, I didn't realize what was going on until Kou's confession to you," said Jou. "So, technically I'm the last to know…"

"Oh."

"Taichi, we aren't just fooling around," said Hikari, feeling guilty from her brother's reaction. But now that Taichi knew about her secret, she knew she had to pour out the rest of her feelings, whether or not it convinced him. So, she walked over to Koushiro's side and took his hand. "I love him."

Hikari's cheeks burned after her reveal, and she felt more vulnerable as Taichi kept his eyes on her. Then, she felt Koushiro's hand grasp hers tighter as he cleared his throat beside her.

"I love her too, Taichi," Koushiro said with confidence, though Hikari turned to see his cheeks tinge with pink.

Taichi stepped back from the two of them, his mouth hanging open in surprise. Everyone that stood behind him watched and waited in suspense. Hikari couldn't tell his reaction, and she gripped Koushiro's hand in anticipation.

Then, Taichi started toward her and Koushiro. Hikari had no idea what he was going to do. Was he going to grab her shoulders and scold her? Was he going to take a swing at Koushiro? She didn't know whether to step back or throw herself in front of Koushiro, but she was too panicked to even move.

But instead, with a jolt, she was pulled in against his chest. The others gasped from afar, but it took a few moments for Hikari to realize what was happening. Taichi had wrapped his arms around Koushiro and Hikari together, holding them together in a tight embrace.

"Taichi…?" Koushiro began. "This is a change…"

"I can't tell if you're still mad or not, Taichi…" Hikari added.

Taichi loosened his arms and the three of them pulled away to face each other.

"I'll be honest, I wish you both told me about this sooner. But, I realized something when you did. Neither of you are going to say things like that lightly. Hikari, when you say that you love someone, I believe it. Koushiro, I trust that you always mean everything you say. And I'm glad you said it to her."

"Taichi…" Hikari's eyes welled up as her brother stared back with a smile. She leapt into his arms to hug him once more.

Taichi laughed as he held them both, and Hikari noted a tone much more cheerful than before. "My best friend… and my sister… I can't believe this!"

"Oh my gosh!" Miyako whispered but loud enough for everyone to hear. "Is he crying?"

"And you aren't?" Mimi asked.

"I'm not," said Jou, who had been dabbing his eyes a few times already.

Sora joined Taichi's side soon after, kissing his cheek before giving Koushiro a hug, and then Hikari. The weight of worry on Hikari's mind lifted the longer she realized that Taichi accepted her choice, and that him finding out about her and Koushiro wasn't as bad as she thought it would be.

She felt Koushiro's hand slide around her waist behind her. With a smile, she held Koushiro closer to her, relieved that she no longer had to hide anything from her brother as well as all of their friends before them.

"Say, Taichi," Yamato said as he approached. "Weren't you going to tell Koushiro something?"

"Oh, right," said Taichi. "Koushiro, I've been talking with Sora about moving in together soon."

"You were?" Koushiro said. "That's great!"

"You really think so, Kou?"

"Of course it is!"

"You two were practically living together already, anyway," Hikari said with a giggle. She watched as Taichi laughed, and she noticed that he seemed to be more relaxed, maybe even relieved, than he was a few moments ago.

"Hang on a second," Daisuke chimed in. "If Taichi's leaving, then that means Koushiro will need to find a new roommate."

"I already have someone in mind," said Koushiro. "I was thinking that Hikari should move in with me."

"You were?" Hikari asked in surprise.

"You were?" Taichi added blankly.

"Not right away, of course!" Koushiro said, waving his hands frantically in front of him. "I could use the extra room as a separate office space whenever I work remotely. The idea of her moving in with me might be premature, but it was just an idea…"

"I can't believe you were thinking that far ahead," Hikari said, her heart fluttering.

"But they will be sure to tell you when it happens, right, guys?" Sora said slowly with almost an exaggeration. Both Hikari and Koushiro nodded simultaneously with vigor.

"Ha! I'm sure they will," Taichi said, his expression softened.

As Taichi turned away, Sora waved her hand gestures and facial expressions to Koushiro and Hikari, implying that neither of them should worry about any of Taichi's reactions.

Hikari turned to Koushiro and they shared a smile, followed by a laugh.

"Let's make sure that he's the first to know," Hikari said.

"Deal."

+owari+

I may not be as active but trust me when I say I'm still tinkering with my fics. I hope to share more things soon.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Piyomon was at Sora’s family home again. The first time she had visited Sora was in her home when she lived with her mother, before Sora had matured and moved into the home she lived in now.

Aside from living out her dreams, pursuing the career path she truly wanted, and marrying the man whom she loved, Piyomon thought that Sora was still the same. She kept her red hair the same length and styled with the ends flipped outward, although on some days, she combed it neatly and tied it back with a hair tie.

Sora had tied her hair back that day, and she was more relaxed in her posture and her casual walk around the house, compared to the sprints across various rooms on her busier days. Piyomon wondered if the day was a ‘weekend’ day where she had a day off from her job.

And Piyomon had climbed up the couch cushion to sit on, as Sora would tell her to do whenever she couldn’t devote her full attention to Piyomon, but wanted her to be comfortable. And Piyomon was comfortable. She sat atop the soft cushion with her back against the couch pillow. When she wasn’t helping Sora and she was left waiting for her, Piyomon used to turn her head to follow Sora traveling to and fro, watching her complete her chores or move the flower vase from the living room side table to the kitchen to fill it up with water.

Now, Piyomon sat with her head facing the front of her, finding amusement in the television turned on before her. She had learned to get used to waiting for Sora to finish her typical life tasks. What she was still learning to adjust to was the tug she suddenly felt on her side, as she realized that a tiny fist had pulled on a clump of her feathers.

“Pou-mo!”

“Hmm?” Piyomon turned and lowered her beak to find a small pair of eyes staring up at her, followed by a wide smile.

“Pou-mo! Pou-mo!”

“What is it, little one?”

The toddler squealed and laughed as she smacked her palms lightly against Piyomon’s feathers.

Piyomon smiled back, although she was uncertain. Was the little human laughing at her? Was she trying to tell her something?

“Pou-mo!” the baby repeated, and this time, she pressed her cheek against Piyomon’s side, nestling herself underneath Piyomon’s wing.

“I don’t understand what you want, ‘Kumo-chan’,” Piyomon said hesitantly.

“She’s very fond of you, Piyomon,” she heard Sora say with soft laughter behind her.

“How do you know that?” Piyomon asked. “It’s hard to understand her when she doesn’t know how to speak, yet.”

“She’s learning.” Sora sat on the other side of the couch, next to her daughter, whose attention had drifted toward the children’s anime on the television. “She practically learned what to call you right after ‘mama’. That’s how you know she likes you.”

Piyomon giggled. “That’s right. I feel bad for ‘papa’, though.”

“He’ll get over it,” Sora said with a laugh. “Besides, she always cries right after you leave, and she behaves whenever you’re around. I was wondering if you’ve caught on to that yet.”

Piyomon felt Sora’s daughter nuzzle closer to her, and she felt her breath calming down. She caught Sora’s smile as she looked down at her daughter, and Piyomon realized that she had fallen asleep.

“Do you remember when you and I first made our way through the Digital World with everyone?” Sora asked. “I didn’t realize how much you loved me back then, even at the beginning. You wanted to be around me all the time.” She placed her hand onto her daughter’s hair, gently running her hand through as her daughter slept peacefully. “She might not be able to express it with words that either of us can understand, but she is showing it to you.”

Understanding a little better, Piyomon moved her wing across the child to bring her closer. “I’ll always protect her, just like I’ll always protect you, Sora,” she said.

Yamato and Garurumon were falling.

They had been at the top of a mountain where the ground underneath their feet was sturdy enough to keep them standing. There came a strike from their opponent digimon, and Yamato didn’t expect the blast to cause a crack in the rocks and destroy the ground underneath them.

Yamato held his arms toward Garurumon, but he was too far. Garurumon couldn’t push through gravity hard enough to get to Yamato. They were at a loss on how to survive this.

Then, Yamato crashed into something and he heard a yelp. His eyes closed at impact, but when he opened them, he saw red hair up close, and that he was sitting on top of terra cotta feathers. Sora sounded like she was in pain, but she held him tightly.

“I’ve got Garurumon,” Garudamon’s voice thundered below.

“I’ve got you,” Sora whispered to Yamato, her voice quivering and her arms shaking but she held him like she didn’t want to let him go.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It was one sunny afternoon with a light breeze in the air, as Sora stood with Taichi at a street corner, waiting for the stoplight to turn green. Sora wore her tote bag on one arm and Taichi slung his backpack on one side. Taichi’s peppy, off-key singing was jumping between scattered lyrics and melodies behind his humming lips. When Sora recognized the song, she turned to look at him, his expression being relaxed and carefree.

Sora recognized this very street corner as the one where they both confessed their feelings toward each other. It happened just before they graduated high school, and it happened quite suddenly, even when both of them harbored those feelings for years. Although Taichi was the one whose strength was of courage, Sora felt the more courageous one when she moved to hold his hand.

The hesitation and heightened emotions they had back then were far from their minds at that moment, especially while Sora studied Taichi’s expression. It showed her how much he liked this song. Of course, while he sang along to any song that caught his interest, she didn’t expect him to be so captured by a song like this one.

Sora’s thoughts took a pause when her eyes caught the pedestrian signal flashing with a countdown. In a panic, she grabbed Taichi’s hand, this time to hurry them both across the street. In turn, Taichi stopped his hum-singing, his eyes drawing toward her direction, but he quickly noticed the green light soon after she pulled him to walk with her. 

“How did we both miss the light when it turned?” Taichi asked with amusement when they reached the other side.

“It’s simple,” Sora said. “I’ve been hanging around you too much.” She giggled when he scrunched his nose at her remark. 

“If you had caught it sooner, you would’ve been scolding me for not paying attention.”

They continued to walk side-by-side, and to spare him from gloating, she decided to refrain from telling him how right he was. Regardless, maybe he had been distracted by the song, but Sora had to wonder if he would stay on that street corner had she not been there for him to follow.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Their friends and his family had taken notice of Taichi’s liking to that song. Taichi wasn’t ashamed to show it, especially during their one group karaoke night when it became known as his signature song. Sora saw him being welcomed with cheers by half of the group, Mimi, Daisuke, Takeru, Miyako, and Hikari. Jou, Iori, and Koushiro watched him with bewilderment, while Yamato kept quiet, though his amused expression was priceless. 

Taichi belted into the microphone, holding up his fist as he sang with passion. At one point, he knelt on one knee in front of Sora and held out his hand toward her as he sang the lyrics of the bridge. Sora sat on the seat cushion, covering her face with her hands, half with embarrassment, half with laughter at how silly her boyfriend was.

Although Taichi could not get enough of this song, it was only a matter of time before Sora could not stand to hear it. She had told him to stop singing it one morning, when she was cooking him breakfast and he entered the kitchen. Expectedly, she told him to shut up once again when they sat down to eat. It was not until later that morning as the radio played the song when she screamed in frustration and slammed her bedroom door on him before he headed to the university for his class.

The days after that went by as they normally did. Taichi stopped by Sora’s apartment between his classes, sometimes to study with her, sometimes because he was hungry and her place was closest from the campus than home, and sometimes to spend time with her and even sleep over.

Yet, Sora took note of how quieter some moments were with him. What used to be filled with out-of-tune melodies had been replaced with silence. No longer was Taichi humming that signature song, or any song for that matter. 

It had been a week before one day, Sora woke up and found herself missing it. Even as Taichi slept soundly beside her she noticed that his mood lately wasn’t as bright as it was before she snapped at him out of annoyance. She started to contemplate her apology but noticed the time on her bedside clock. She whispered Taichi’s name as she nudged him to wake up for class.

She had to push his shoulder with more force. Taichi was never easy to wake up in the mornings.

“Taichi!” she called with an ultimately scolding tone. “Get up already!”

He groaned softly, but he also had the nerve to add with his attempt of a tune: “I’m the man who can’t be moved.”

Sora smacked his shoulder in annoyance, but it took her a moment before she began to laugh.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Is he still singing that song, Sora?" Mimi asked during a lunch date with the girls a month later.

"Of course he is," Sora replied, taking a sip of her drink with a smile. Taichi hadn’t been as obsessed with that song as he was before, though it was in the forefront of her mind since he had sung it just the night before, when he had his arms wrapped around her as they lay in his bed. She found it hard to fall asleep, knowing that the way he tried to serenade her was with the full intention to make her laugh.

"Aren't the words to that song so romantic?" Miyako asked. "I mean, the guy wants the whole world to know just how much he loves that girl!"

"Yeah, I think it’s a sweet gesture," Mimi added.

"Sweet, but over-the-top," said Hikari.

"What do you think, Sora?" Miyako asked.

"To be honest, I think the guy in the song seems desperate."

Both Mimi and Miyako gasped.

"What?!" Miyako cried.

"Does he have to draw that much attention to himself for the girl to notice? She would have already let him know whether or not she loved him back before their fallout, and if she didn't, then he would be wasting his time."

"You say that like all girls are sure about love," replied Mimi.

"I'd bet that you would act differently if you were in the girl's shoes, Sora," Hikari added.

Sora was taken aback this time. "How so?"

"What if Taichi pulled a stunt like that for you?"

“That would be silly.”

“You know, I wouldn’t put it past him to do something like that,” Mimi thought aloud.

“Same,” said Miyako.

He wouldn’t, would he? What would possess Taichi to wait for her out in the street? They have had their fair share of disagreements, some small and petty bickering matches and some that were serious enough for one of them to leave the room for the two of them to cool off. Those fights had been settled, but Sora could hardly imagine that even a bigger, more serious conflict would drive Taichi to that kind of madness.

Sora sipped her drink again, and her thoughts suddenly dissipated when she noticed three pairs of eyes watching her expectantly.

“He wouldn’t!” she said, trying to sound adamant but she knew she looked flustered. She wondered if it sounded at all convincing to her three friends. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

Then, one night, they had the biggest fight in their relationship. It happened after having dinner with both of their families at the Takenouchi family dinner table. Sora’s mother, Toshiko, had just announced how proud she was of Sora dedicating a lot of time with her to practice ikebana. Susumu, Taichi’s father, liked to comment on certain topics that Sora had found offensive, but Sora kept quiet out of politeness. It was at this dinner that Taichi had finally snapped toward his father, yet to Sora’s dismay, Toshiko gave words of protest to both Susumu and Taichi. Both Sora and Taichi’s mother Yuuko joined forces to intervene and help calm everyone down.

The shouting should have ended there, but it only continued between Sora and Taichi when they reached her apartment. Taichi argued that having this dinner was a bad idea, especially knowing that their parents would clash as they did before their dinner plates. 

“You could’ve said something, Sora!” he said, his voice raised. “You shouldn’t have let this build up all of this time until now.”

“What about you?” she argued back. “If you didn’t say anything-”

“Then, what? Your mother would have disapproved of me less than she already did?”

“You’re not listening to me, Taichi, she always liked you! If anything, it’s your father who doesn’t like me!”

“Don’t try to sweep this aside, Sora. I know what’s happening, and I know you know it, too. Your mother’s been forcing you to focus on arranging flowers and spending less time with me.”

“Taichi, you know how much time it takes to practice and to help her out. What about you and your midterm exams? We’re both busy. Please don’t take it the wrong way.”

“No, Sora. When was the last time we spent time together? We barely have time to meet for the small lunch breaks I have between classes. Our phone conversations get cut off when you forget to mention that you have ikebana sessions with your mom. Something that I’m not even sure you want to pursue. Is that what you really want? To follow your mother’s footsteps instead of what you actually want to do?”

“Taichi…” Sora’s voice trembled. She was certain that the events of the evening on top of the stress of his studies had gotten to his head, but Taichi’s words that rang with force stung her more than whatever words were spewed at the night’s dinner table. “Taichi, maybe we should call it a night.”

“Yeah.” Taichi’s eyes averted her gaze. His expression was serious but contemplative, as though he knew any more words from his mouth might hurt the both of them even more.

“Did you want to stay the night?” she asked.

He sighed, still not looking toward her. “Not tonight. I think I'm going back to my place. I can’t stay here right now.”

“Okay,” she said quietly. She watched as he got up from the couch, and she wondered if he was going to turn around to look back at her. She waited for him to say, “I’ll call you tomorrow,” or even, “Goodnight.” Her eyes followed him to the door, where he took his jacket off of the coat hanger, put his arms into the sleeves, then walked through the door and quietly closed the door behind him.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Two weeks had passed, and the second thing Sora thought of on the morning of her ikebana exhibition was to get dressed in her kimono, with a hairstyle of her mother’s approval.

Her first thought was about Taichi. Other than sending him a text saying, ‘good luck’ for his exams, Sora hadn’t spoken to him since the night of their big fight, and she decided not to bother him to give him time to focus on his exams. And maybe, give him time to think about their relationship.

The anticipation of the exhibition had Sora’s heart racing. Sora and her mother had traveled from Odaiba to Kyoto for this exhibition, and Sora felt that her display was the best she had ever arranged.

But it was also important to Sora, because she planned to tell Toshiko once they were both dressed that this exhibition was going to be her last.

Toshiko turned away from Sora after her announcement, appearing as though the wind had been knocked out of her with her hand grasping her chest. Sora held her arm around her mother’s shoulder with concern and also apprehension. She knew that her mother cherished the time spent with Sora, and her devotion with ikebana, and Sora relished in her mother’s praises. But Sora also knew in her heart that this was one thing she didn’t want to do forever.

“You should have told me this sooner,” Toshiko said, sadly.

“I know, Mom,” Sora replied, hesitant. “I just didn’t want to… to disappoint you.”

Tears bubbled in Sora’s eyes at her admittance, and she saw her mother’s face soften.

“Oh, dear child.” Toshiko turned to face Sora and cupped her hands on either side of her face. “I will always be proud of you. I’m sad that this isn’t what you want, but what makes me even more proud is for you to follow your heart.”

“Mom…” Sora felt the tears stream down her cheeks, relief washing over her as she shared an embrace with her mother. When they pulled apart, Toshiko thumbed Sora’s tears away gently and gave her a warm smile.

“Let’s make this last one count, then,” Toshiko said. “Say, will Taichi show up?”

“Taichi?” Sora asked.

“I called the Yagami residence earlier to give him a personal invitation before we left, but his father answered and said he wasn’t sure. ‘Sometimes, I don’t know where on this earth that boy goes,’ he said.”

“Oh…” Sora replied with surprise. “It sounds like you and Yagami-san are getting along.”

“Sure! We even apologized to each other for our behavior that evening. He even said that I didn’t have to, it was all his doing. He even wants to apologize to you in person, Sora.”

“That’s thoughtful of him.” Sora gave a small smile, but wondered where Taichi had been in all of this. She really missed him.

Looking out of the window, Sora noticed the gray clouds expanding against the blue sky, and she wondered if rain was going to be in the day’s forecast. Luckily for her, she had the fortune of being inside and covered by a roof to worry about that. Soon, she was standing next to her flower display at the exhibition, greeting the judges and onlookers with a smile and a bow. 

The hours flew by, and before she knew it, the exhibition was over. To think, after this event, she would be able to pursue the things she was passionate about, and spend more time with the people she loved. Sora thought about this as she boarded the train with Toshiko back to Odaiba, holding her large umbrella above their heads underneath the heavy downpour.

Sora felt relaxed and clear-headed after the success of her final exhibition, and with Toshiko resting soundly in the seat next to her, Sora wanted to look onward and see what her friends were up to. She felt guilty for not being able to contact anyone for the last few days, as for some reason the area she was in in Kyoto had terrible reception.

She took her phone out from her purse, thinking about the possibility of meeting up with the girls for dinner later that evening, or even lunch the next day.. There seemed to be excitement with the girls, however, as Sora noted the number of message notifications in their group chat seemed to be the largest. Not to mention the few missed calls and messages from her other friends.

Before Sora tapped on the group chat notification, a new notification popped up from Mimi, inviting her to the video chat. She accepted, and was greeted by Mimi’s look of surprise.

“Wow, look at you, Sora!” Mimi cried in awe.

“You look beautiful!” added Miyako when her face popped up next to Mimi’s. “Oh, that’s right! You had your exhibition today.”

“Yeah,” Sora said with a smile. “It was actually my last one.”

The two of them gasped.

“Whaat?” Mimi said. “I want details!”

“I’ll tell you about it later.” Sora lowered her voice and turned the phone volume down, hoping that she and her friends weren’t too loud for the other passengers. “So, what’s going on? I saw you left a lot of messages in the group chat.”

“You mean you didn’t read them?” Miyako asked. “Oh my gosh! And where is Hikari!”

“I don’t know, I’m trying to call her to join, too!” said Mimi. “Sora, you won’t believe what’s happening!”

“Tell me,” Sora requested in a hushed voice.

Mimi’s eyes widened with excitement. “It’s Taichi - he’s gone crazy!”

Sora blinked. “What?” What do you mean?”

Miyako groaned. “It would be a lot easier to explain with Hikari’s video evidence, she’s there with him now-”

“I know, right?” Mimi said. “I’m trying to get a hold of her…”

Sora found herself ignored by her two friends’ distractions and decided to try to find the answer herself. With their bantering in her background, Sora tapped into the group messages and quickly scrolled through, finding a string of messages with short exclamations in all capital letters.

Finally, Hikari’s face appeared on the screen.

“Aah!” Miyako screamed excitedly. “There she is!”

“Girls, I give up,” Hikari replied with a sullen expression.

“Hikari!” Sora spoke over Miyako and Mimi to cut to the chase. “Tell me what’s happening.”

“Sora…” It was as though Hikari was looking straight at her through her phone. “I’m so fed up with him. I’ve tried to talk him out of it but he was adamant in sitting himself out here.”

“Out ‘here’? Out where?”

Hikari mentioned the cross street and Sora recognized it immediately.

“He swore he had his reasons,” Hikari continued. “He couldn’t find you when he went looking for you.”

“Did no one tell him where I was going?”

“Did you?” Mimi asked.

Sora opened her mouth to respond, but her voice didn’t come out.

He’s been out here since this morning,” said Hikari. “I got Takeru and Yamato to show up and try to talk sense into him. He’s not gonna move. And you know, Daisuke only showed up to cheer him on, only after heckling, though…”

Sora pressed her palm against her face, in disbelief of what was happening. Taichi was at least rational enough not to follow the lyrics of a song, she told herself. He would have called her, left her messages, waited for her to reach out to him when she had the chance.

She minimized the video chat and realized there were more notifications on her phone. Missed calls from Taichi from the last couple of days, and text messages asking where she was.

Sora realized then, that he did call her, and he did leave her messages.

“Show me where he is,” she said, and on command, Hikari rotated her phone camera. There he stood on the street corner, idly moving about and holding a cardboard sign in one hand. She couldn’t make out what he had written on it, but she noticed there were a few people passing by with their attention caught on. She watched him wave his hand to a couple and shake his head, a gesture for them to keep whatever they attempted to offer him.

“He’s waiting for you, Sora,” Hikari explained. 

Sora’s breath caught at the confirmation.

“That… that idiot,” she said, not knowing how to express all of her emotions at once.

“We were right, weren’t we?” Miyako chirped. “That he would actually pull this stunt.”

“Yeah, but it still surprises you, doesn’t it?” asked Mimi.

“I can’t believe him…” Sora said, her face now buried in both of her hands.

“Aah!” Hikari yelped suddenly. “It’s starting to rain! I don’t have an umbrella! I’m sorry girls, I have to go.”

As Sora heard this, she removed her hands from her face and stared back at her screen. “Hikari, find cover, and tell Taichi to get out of there, too.”

Sora and her friends exchanged their goodbyes, but Sora knew that Taichi would be too stubborn to listen. After all, he claimed to be ‘The Man Who Can’t Be Moved’.

~*~*~*~*~*~

After two grueling hours, the train stopped at the station. Sora had explained to Toshiko as soon as she woke up that she had to see Taichi as soon as she arrived in Odaiba. Although this left Toshiko confused, she gave Sora the okay to do so.

So, once the train doors flew open at the stop, Sora broke off into a run. She ran as fast as she could in her kimono, the umbrella above her head protecting her from most of the rain that poured down. Onlookers stared at her as she ran past, but she paid no mind - she just needed to get to that corner.

As she expected, Taichi was still where she had seen him hours ago. She stopped at the corner across the street, panting as she caught her breath. She saw him sitting on the side of the building, wearing his jeans and a dark jacket that had a hood to cover his head. He sat against the side of the building underneath a canopy for cover from the rain, but that didn’t change the fact that he had been in the cold for so long.

She stepped toward him until she stood above him, and she made him look up as soon as she called his name.

"Sora-!" Taichi stared in at her in wondrous awe, though she looked down at him with a frown. 

"Taichi, why are you out here in the rain like this?" she asked, her mind racing with thoughts on how to respond next.

"It wasn't raining when I first got here."

"Taichi."

"I didn't know what else to do, Sora. I know we both didn't really talk after that night, and I took that time for some space. I was thinking that you needed the same. But when you didn't answer when I called, I guess I panicked and thought that you would end up finding your way here, one way or another. We always find ourselves on this corner, anyway."

Guilt crept into her as she realized that she had failed to tell him about her trip to Kyoto. She didn’t anticipate the bad cell phone signals, but she didn’t think about how the silence from her could affect someone, especially for Taichi.

"It made me wonder if you didn't want to be near me at all. I just, didn't wanna lose you."

Sora’s heart fluttered in her chest. She looked into his eyes that stared up into hers, looking apologetic. She shifted her gaze and her eyes caught the cardboard sign that now lay flat on the floor, its color drenched into a darker brown that fit the asphalt of the sidewalk. The words written in black were still sharp and legible. She knew that any stranger walking by would be confused by them, but as she read those words, she knew they were just for her.

“I’m sorry,” they read.

Sora gripped the umbrella tightly in one hand, and held out her free hand down to Taichi. She knew that he had been persistent about staying in his spot all day, based on the lamenting from Hikari and their friends. Even in the way he sat, his shoulders slumped, his knees bent up toward his chest, his posture seemed to shout out, “I’m not gonna move.”

But it was only a few seconds of pause before Taichi reached his hand toward hers, letting her help him up with a pull to get him back on the flat of his shoes. He was now looking down at her, his eyes yearning, and she looked up at him, the umbrella covering the two of them from the heavy rain, yet the drops she felt were from the tears streaming down her cheeks.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Sora knew that Taichi was going to follow her, so used that to her advantage when leading him to her apartment.

“Sora,” he began as soon as they walked through the front door.

“Shoes,” she replied, slipping the geta from her feet, then bending down to remove the tabi socks that had gotten damp from all the commotion. She took Taichi’s jacket and socks, and she walked briskly to her room to hang them in her bathroom to dry. Then, she grabbed two pairs of woolen socks, along with a towel as well as a pair of jogging pants, a cotton shirt and a hoodie for Taichi to change into.

When she returned to her living room, Taichi was sitting on a dining room chair, and Sora let out a ‘tsk’.

“I’m surprised you were wise enough not to sit on the couch, considering the fact that you sat in the rain.”

“Sora…”

“Here, change into this.” She handed him the fresh set of clothing for him, and he got up, obligingly taking off his jeans and putting on the jogging pants.

“Can we talk about this?”

“Hurry up and get out of that shirt,” Sora said, pushing the clean T-shirt close to his face.

Taichi sighed, pulling the damp shirt off of his back and taking the shirt from Sora’s hand, his own brushing against hers in the process.

His hand was cold. How was he not shivering? A burst of worry flooded into her mind at the thought of how long he stood out in the rain before deciding to find cover. The jacket was drenched and his shirt was damp, meaning the rain had soaked through to his skin.

“Put on this jacket,” she ordered, her voice softer now, and Taichi quietly raised his arms for her to put it on over him. After that, she grabbed the towel to wrap it around his shoulders and behind his neck.

Finally, Sora took a seat on Taichi’s lap. She ran her hands over his hair which had some dampness, and then brushed against his ears and cheeks that still felt cold. 

“Can we talk now?” Taichi asked.

“Only if you let me talk first,” she replied. “Don’t you realize how much of an idiot you are? So you do this grand gesture, but look at yourself! You’re cold and wet and I wouldn’t be surprised if you came down with a fever and a runny nose. I love you too much to lose you like this!”

“I know,” Taichi said, averting his gaze like a child being scolded by his mother.

“But…” Sora moved to rest her forehead on his shoulder. “I’m an idiot, too. We left things up in the air after that fight. We hardly talked, and I should have tried harder to talk to you instead of letting myself focus on other things. I didn’t even mention to you that I was going to travel to Kyoto for an ikebana exhibition, and that it was my last one.”

“What? It was your last one?” Taichi asked in surprise.

“It was.”

“Sora, I…” She heard Taichi pause and take a deep breath. “I feel terrible about what I said before. I should have supported you instead of bringing you down. If that really was your dream-”

“But Taichi, it wasn’t!” Sora lifted her head to look into his eyes. “It might have hurt, but you were right in the end. It was something I needed to hear, even if I wanted to avoid it. If anything, I have you to thank.”

“I still want to apologize, Sora. I want to be there for you, even if it’s hard for the both of us.”

“I’m sorry, too, Taichi. I want to be by your side, always. I want us to talk more. I know that’s not my strongest suit, to tell you how I really feel.”

“Well, it’s frustrating when you don’t talk to me, Sora, but you sure know how to show how you feel when you do.”

“That’s not an excuse…” Sora mumbled. 

“You don’t have to be so hard on yourself, either. I mean, look at what’s happening here. You made sure that I was warm and bundled up, woolen socks included. And you’re still in your kimono with your feet bare.” 

She felt a gentle touch on her forehead as he traced a strand of her hair with the tips of his fingers.

“I love you too, you know,” he added.

Sora smiled. “You’ve made that loud and clear. Now, please promise me you won’t do this to yourself again.”

Taichi said nothing.

“Taichi.” Sora’s brows furrowed.

Taichi remained expressionless, to Sora’s frustration.

“Taichi!”

Now that Sora was flustered, Taichi began to laugh.

“I promise.”

“Good,” she replied, searching his eyes for an answer to change her skepticism. His expression was still playful, so to her disdain, she never got it. This man was hopeless.