#taioracalender2022

[dutchforstrangers]

Alive | Taiora fanfiction for 2022 May - Rainy month

Loosely based on Selah Sue's Alive. Written for Taiora Year 2022 May prompt 'Rainy month' after a sudden spark of inspiration last week.

Also, no romantic!Taiora! But anything can happen right after this story. I leave that hope to you ;) Last thing: what's Kizuna?

Content warning: A few little bits of light swears, implied depressive feelings (and a high building..............)

[Read on AO3 and FF.net.]

Taiora year 2022 - May: Rainy month | Genre: Friendship, Angst | Wordcount: 2.762 | Rating: T(+) | Characters: Sora Takenouchi, Taichi Yagami, brief appearances of most other DigiDestineds and Piyomon and Agumon

Alive

From inside the train, the young copper-eyed woman looked at the scenery quickly passing by. She counted the trees, saw how the sky line changed more and more with every moving mile. Her eyes traced the raindrops on the train’s window glasses, sliding down from top to bottom until finding the ground. A bolt of lightning could be seen in the distance and a jolt traveled her body as a reaction to the flashy spectacle miles away.

Rain. Coldness. The rummaging sounds of the thunder nearing. One would say it was depressing.

But not Sora.

She loved thundershowers.

A small smile made its appearance, her eyes now shifting from the window to the phone in her hand. She scanned through her messages, her thumb brushing the screen looking for the words she had been reading over and over again when she was still back in Kyoto.

He had some nerve, Sora thought to herself. Her fingers unintentionally tightened their grip around the phone as sudden frustration seeped through her body’s veins. She tried to think back to the last time she had seen him or properly talked to him. Just the two of them. Him and her.

There had been a time where that was the most natural thing in the world. They had known each other inside out, or at least, that was what she had always thought. By now she wondered though whether she had actually really known him.

Sora closed her eyes and exhaled, the tension in her hand loosening.

“Sora, we’re here.” Piyomon said to which Sora’s eyes opened again, her head turning towards the pink bird. The grimace she was carrying immediately softened. “Are you okay?”

Her partner was smart though and looked right through it. Was she okay? Sora wasn’t sure.

“I’m fine,” she smiled anyway and passed Piyomon, her feet making her move to the exit of the train and the pink bird only able to simply follow. A bit later the two of them walked through the pouring rain, on their way to their destination.

It was a mostly quiet walk, rather slow but undoubtedly determined. Her feet effortlessly guided them to where they were heading to, Sora was that familiar with this city. She had wandered through them uncountable times for a thousand different reasons and more. Alone or together. She loved these streets, even when rainy season was early like this year.

For the sake of feeling the water running down the sky, she stuck out her hand from under the umbrella shielding herself and Piyomon from the said water. The caught raindrops Sora took back into the shield, closely observing them as if she was looking for something. She shook her hand and rubbed it against her coat to dry her skin again, with that looking down.

In the reflections of the puddles decorating the stones paving the Tokyo streets, the rain only providing more and more water, Sora saw all the things she’d once experienced in these streets. Tokyo was like a memory lane and he sure was occupying lots of houses down the lane. He lived in all of those houses. And as much as Sora didn’t want to admit, he did live in her head and heart as well.

Sora was very much aware of the fact that this guy was very hard to let go. And it wasn’t him, it was all her.

Her feet eventually stopped in front of the apartment building she was expected at, her eyes immediately catching the blonde figure who was leaning against the wall. In his hand he was twirling around an old musical relic. One she hadn’t seen in so many years, but still remembered vividly, the sound of the so familiar harmonica bringing back even more memories, both fond and melancholic.

“Hey Sora,” Yamato smiled, pushing himself off of the wall while approaching her. Sora smiled back and stepped forwards while letting down her umbrella, stepping under the shelter Yamato was under. The two met each other in a friendly embrace.

“Yamato, how’s he?” She asked after letting go.

“He thinks it’s his fault. Again. Does that tell you enough?” Sora slowly nodded, a little sigh escaping her. “You have to see it for yourself though. Come on, let’s get you up there.”

Together with Piyomon, Sora followed Yamato inside to the 7th floor of the building, the sound of the rain on the steel balustrade of the gallery present the whole way. She knew these hallways and galleries all too well too, the entrance of this apartment one way too familiar. As was the nameplate with the name “Yagami” written on it. It looked the same for as long as Sora could remember.

The door was open, the house symbolically welcoming her in after years. It had never been her own home, but it certainly felt like that. Respectfully she took off her shoes and placed her umbrella in the holder. Her slightly damp coat she hung over Yamato’s, seeing there was no free spot left, telling her there were probably a lot of people already here.

And they had all tried.

With Piyomon already reunited with her Digimon buddies, Sora made her way to the living room area. She saw how her old friends were all scattered across the room. Sitting down on the sofa, chairs, arm rests or the carpet. Standing, leaning against the wall or staring outside through the closed glass sliding door that led to the balcony.

“Sora-kun, you’re here.”

Jyou was the first one to notice Sora’s quiet entrance, greeting her by looking up from his spot on the couch, carefully waving at her.

“Sora-san!”

Hikari was the next one to verbally greet Sora, calling out for her for both Mimi and herself. Together with the honey-haired girl, Hikari stood up from her spot on the couch next to Jyou, getting to Sora as fast as they could. The two girls wrapped Sora into their embraces, their warmth penetrating Sora’s own skin and for a good minute, happiness overwhelmed Sora. It had been a while since she last saw all of them. Especially all together.

“It’s good to see you, Sora-san,” came Takeru’s voice. While Hikari stepped aside to give Takeru some space, Mimi clinged to Sora, taking in all the affection she could get out of the girl. On Sora’s other shoulder was enough space for Takeru to place a soothing hand on. “How are you?”

“I’m doing okay, thank you for asking,” she answered Takeru before her eyes darted around the room. “Where is he? Taichi.” She said to no one in particular.

“Up on the roof.”

The maroon headed man turned around in his place at the window to look Sora straight in the eyes. Even though Koushiro’s voice sounded almost stern and factually, Sora could see the worry and desperation in his dark eyes, the tone in his voice giving her hints as well. They had been friends for so long, she knew him, could read between the lines.

“I-in the rain? The pouring rain?!”

Koushiro traveled across the room, his head nodding in response to Sora’s questions. On his way, he swiftly brushed Hikari’s shoulder to calm her down a bit more. “Unfortunately…” He said as Mimi stepped aside now as well to get to a worried Hikari, giving the two redheads space for a brief hug. “We all tried to talk to him—”

“But with no success yet,” interrupted a voice Sora recognized as Daisuke’s, finishing Koushiro’s sentence. Usually, his voice was more uplifting and enthusiastic, but this time it sounded frustrated and maybe even defeated. Sora turned around to find Daisuke in the opening of the door, taking off his raincoat.

Taichi was a lost cause, Sora concluded to herself, and she was here to try to mend the pieces back together. She was fully aware of how Taichi could be or become, his depressive and angsty mood swings not something unknown to any of them.

“I’m glad you could come, Sora.”

This time the voice came from beneath her and so she looked down to see a small yellow dinosaur standing next to her. She could imagine being Taichi’s partner wasn’t always easy, though, Agumon often brought up the best in him. Today, however, it seemed like even Agumon couldn’t cheer him up.

“I think Taichi needs you.” Agumon told Sora.

From behind her she could hear confirmative sounds, both from the Digimon as from their human partners. A short encouraging touch of Koushiro’s hand on her shoulder and a silent nod from Yamato was enough for Sora.

She nodded to Agumon and the others, then made her way up to the roof. Umbrella in hand.

Sora found him standing there, with his back facing her, close to the edge, probably looking over the slowly flooding streets. He wasn’t wearing a coat or whatsoever, nothing to shield him except for his normal clothes. By now, his significant messy brown bush of hair was fully flat and down, the rain heavy enough for his to finally lose to gravity. Sora wondered how long he had been standing there.

“Taichi…?” She carefully started.

When no sound came back she slowly began approaching him. Step by step, the wet stones underneath her shoes crunching, warning Taichi someone was coming. Sora knew that he knew.

Her mind raced, trying to find the right words. She couldn’t be too vague.

“There was nothing you could do for that boy,” Sora said, immediately regretting it, worrying whether it was too direct or not. But then again, there’s wasn’t a way back anymore. She thought about the things she had heard over phone when they asked her to come to Tokyo as fast as possible. “It was his own choice to chase that dangerous Digimon.”

There had been a Digimon that appeared in the streets of Tokyo. Of course Taichi and Yamato had rushed to the scene with Koushiro in their ears. During the fight, Taichi was in charge of evacuating the people in the neighborhood, however, apparently one very adventurous boy had slipped his sight and went straight into the action, holding up his cell phone to record the whole fighting scene between Garurumon and the other Digimon, assumably to upload on the internet later. The boy got hit and was brought to the hospital, currently being in critical danger.

“I’m certain you, Yamato and Koushiro made the right decisions. You really couldn’t have done it any better.” Sora once again continued after not receiving any response from Taichi. But even now he kept quiet, his back still turned towards her. Her feet still carried Sora towards him though. “Taichi, please… Talk to me…?”

“Shouldn’t you be in Kyoto?”

Sora stopped walking, taken aback by Taichi’s words sounding so passively aggressive. He looked over his shoulder, his eyes not directly making contact with Sora’s. She could feel how, similarly to the way her hand had tightened around her phone back in the train, it now tightened around the grip of her umbrella.

“Yes. But I’m here now, right? I came here for you,”

“Well, you’re too late now!” Taichi snapped, turning around. His brown eyes pierced through her own eyes and Sora sharply gasped, taking the verbal hit from her childhood friend. “That boy is fourteen and he’s in the hospital now fighting for his fucking life! I could have saved him, Sora, I—”

“No, Taichi!” Sora’s impulses took over, screaming at him in ways she was only capable of doing so when directed at him. “Damn it. You can’t protect everyone! You have to understand that! And you can’t let yourself become depressive after every fight you fight, whether it’s with or without Digimon! Sometimes you have to take your losses and let it go!”

“Then why are you here Sora?! Tell me, weren’t you the one who decided to let go? Huh? Who decided to move to your dad in Kyoto to change study direction? To leave all of us here fighting for our lives?!”

Sora’s jaw dropped from disbelieve. “Taichi, that’s so unreasonable, I—”

“You were the one who decided to leave me.”

She was going to tell him how he dared to say things like that. How she had been so mad with him when he moved to his own little condo basically right after high school. How disappointed she was every single time he didn’t text or call her back. Of course she knew how busy he was and obviously she was busy with making life decisions herself, but she needed her friend. The one she had been friends with for better or worse.

She had been annoyed with him for slowly forgetting her. She absolutely despised herself for giving him the space to fade away from her life, faster than she wanted. And she had been downright outraged with the fact that she had left Tokyo without telling him a thing. Because she thought he didn’t care. Or in the hope he did care, enough to let him make the step to message her.

That message never came. And Sora regretted it, now more than ever.

“Yeah…” Taichi huffed and turned back around to face the building’s height again.

Instead of swallowing it away, tears started to stream down her face. Her eyes were the rainclouds that made it rain, her cheeks the canvas for the drops of salty water to paint on. She lowered her umbrella, her hand loosening, resulting in the umbrella finding the ground, the rain now having free game to soak her clothes just like Taichi was soaking wet. Sora wondered whether he had been crying too and that she just wasn’t able to see it due to the rain mixing with his tears.

The rain had washed it all away.

The rain.

“There’s a reason I love the rain so much.” With her body and voice calmed down, Sora spoke. “Even now that we’re standing here together like this.” She said as she stepped closer and closer to him with every word.

“You do?” She could hear Taichi quietly say, his head turning a mere millimeter.

“Mmhm. Do you remember how we used to play soccer in the rain and how we somehow always ended up here? Laughing, making stupid jokes? I’ve never told you, but I really needed those little moments.”

Sora looked at his wet face revealing itself to her bit by little bit. Every word, every second was worth another inch. Simultaneously, Sora kept making baby steps, until she was right next to him. She didn’t look at him, her eyes finding peace with the rainy skyline of Odaiba.

“You were my escape, Taichi,” the corners of her lips slightly curled up. “On my way from Kyoto to Tokyo, I kept wondering why I let myself be persuaded to come here. You know why?”

“Because I’m being a drama queen baby who needed his mother?” Taichi said looking down to which Sora giggled. Her eyes found his again as she playfully punched Taichi in his arm.

“No, baka, because I needed an escape. And there’s only one place to go for an escape and that’s my home. Which is right here,” Sora said looking at him, “in the pouring rain,” she said looking up, “on top of this…” she said stepping forward looking down over the edge, “… very high roof, holy shit…”

Taichi smiled. “A swearing Sora Takenouchi, who thought— Look out!”

Fascinated by the height, Sora had taken one step forward too much, almost tripping over her own feet. However, she safely landed in Taichi’s arms.

“Oi, Taichi, thank you…!”

Just sheer seconds felt like eternity. Sora’s eyes met his hovering over her, her heart skipped a beat or two. With him above her, it felt like the rain had stopped for a little while, of course it had.

“If I can’t protect everyone, then at least let me protect you.” He grinned.

Taichi was like a home. The walls to keep her safe and protected. The roof to shield her from any storm. Sora bit her lip, the blush that was forming on her face one she was unable to hide.

“Such a cheese,” she teased him as he brought her back on her two feet again. With her hand she went through his wet hair after brushing the skin of his overly hydrated cheek. “How do you feel now?”

“Cold,” Taichi said while following Sora back to the staircase, taking the hand she was holding out for him. “But alive.”

You stay alive in the cold in the rain. - Alive by Selah Sue