Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Vision ❯ Impaired ( Chapter 1 )

The ball flew with a violent force toward the ready player, although was expertly returned with a powerful swing of tight mesh.The racquet sent the ball into the fence across the court.

She watched the ball travel,as though mesmerized by the motion. However, her reverie was broken by another ball striking her shoulder. Balance lost, the star of the Odaiba Tennis Team fell onto her rear end, landing on the pavement below.

Takenouchi Sora blinked,surprised by the sudden pain. Another came zooming past her head. A final one connected with her forehead before she forced herself into motion, standing and making a shaky walk to turn off the machine.

A quick look around assured her no one had seen the incident.

Like anyone would be out here watching me at 5:00am on a Sunday! I just wish I could make my eyes focus.The school shower provided enough cold water to bring the swelling of her recent injuries to a level where make-up would hide them. A frown touched Sora's features, followed by a wince as fingers connected with the bruise.

That won't be gone by tomorrow, dammit.A visor did the job of covering the offensive area, enough that she could walk past other teams in practice without having to offer an explanation and assure them of her well-being.

"Okaasan, tadaima!"Mom, I'm home!

The elder Takenouchi looked to her daughter's entrance from behind an arrangement.

"Sora-chan, okaeri nasai!" Sora, welcome home! She favored her daughter with a brief smile. "Will you be going out again today?"

"I'm meeting Yamato to listen to his band practice today before he leaves tomorrow, and then shopping and a movie after. I should be out all day."

Sora vanished into her room to deposit her soiled tennis gear and change into another outfit. She found herself in a black skirt and grey scoop-necked shirt, the ensemble accented with a burgundy sweater.

I'm so plain. The thought presented itself as it did regularly when she looked at her reflection. What does Yamato see in me that I don't?

The feeling returned; her hand rose to her heart, holding the fabric of her shirt in a clenched fist. I can't see him looking like this. Smile, Sora…..life is good. Life is nothing but a happy dream. Your friends don't need to see you like this.

The words were repeated until she tricked that mental voice telling her otherwise; the mask of a smile returned to her face.

Much better. She blinked her eyes. Why is it so hard to focus? Maybe my eyes are just tired again.

Her feet made silent falls on the carpet, out of habit.

"Okaasan! I'm going now!"

"Have a good time! Be careful!"

A statement of acknowledgement was left behind as Sora exited and took the few flights of stairs to the pavement. Once there, she made her solitary walk to the bus that would take her to the studio Yamato practiced in.

Good, there aren't many people here. She chose a seat towards the front, closing her eyes and wincing at the momentary pain. How long had her eyes been bothering her? Certainly the number of days were impossible for her to recall, as she merely wished it would go away so she could focus on more important things.

The bus brought Sora within close walking distance of the studio, and she made the walk quickly, the thought of seeing Yamato bringing a slight color to her cheeks. Perhaps he noticed as a smile snuck onto the Sora's features when she stepped into the room.

"I'm sorry I'm late." The softly spoken apology made the young man shake his head in response.

"You're not late. Glad you made it." Yamato shrugged once. "I brought onigiri, since we're not breaking for lunch till later, so help yourself."

She did so, taking one of the stuffed rice balls and nibbling on it as the Teenage Wolves prepared for rehearsal.

Don't watch him. There's nothing going on. Is he looking at me?

It was the briefest of glances, a response to a whispered word from a bandmate. Ishida Yamato turned his eyes directly towards her, an unreadable expression evident. Sora's own eyes met those, before she turned back to memorizing the glutinous grains of rice in her onigiri.

With the first chord, her attention turned away from the food, eating it only as an afterthought. Yamato's voice was enticing, better food for her troubled soul than the physical nourishment gained from one ball of rice. Each rise and fall, each change in pitch, each word; the series of notes combined with lyrics held her enthralled.

She might have attributed the sudden pain behind her eyes to the loud guitar. It caused her eyes to suddenly close; a hand quickly rose to dab at the resulting moisture with a napkin.

It was the heavy fall of Yamato's hand on her bruised shoulder that brought her eyes open, wide and staring. The moisture remained on her cheeks, sticky in a way her senses told her it should not be.

"Oh god. Sora, your eyes….are bleeding!" Yamato turned to one of his bandmates. "Get a wet cloth, and call emergency."

Sora couldn't see the expression of shock and concern her friend displayed for the blurring of her vision.

"Yamato, I'm fine.It's…it will go away. Don't worry about me." She choked on the words,another flash of pain causing her eyes to close tightly. In moments, a cool wet cloth was pressed against her eyes, her head pulled to rest against a cotton-clad shoulder.

"Like hell you're fine." The arm around her shoulders trembled. "We'll get you to a doctor, then you can tell me how long this has gone on."

No answer could be made. The pain behind her eyes finally ended as she fell into darkness.

A heavy weight on her hand brought her to awareness; a groan escaped her lips as she made the attempt to shake off the drug-induced fog.

"Hey, you're awake! Wow, they wrapped up your head like a mummy." The teasing voice brought a smile to Sora's face, despite the dull ache in her head.

"Gabumon! What do you mean?" A wave of dizziness threatened to pull her back into unconsciousness as she tried to sit up properly.

"You're in the hospital, Sora. There's something wrong with your eyes, or that's what I heard from Yamato." The Digimon sighed. "Piyomon fell asleep an hour ago, while waiting for you to wake up. You've been asleep since yesterday afternoon."

"Oh….." Words failed her.

Asleep…since yesterday? Something wrong with my eyes?

"Yeah, Yamato was worried, but he had that class trip, so he had me bring you this." Gabumon continued. "It's a tape recorder. He wants you to record a letter to him, and he said he'd send you one back. I'm going to meet him there, so I can take your first one to him."

My eyes. Of course, I can't see to write.

Yamato's words came to mind.

"Like hell you're fine. We'll get you to a doctor, then you can tell me how long this has gone on.">

"Oh, Yamato….." I'm an idiot. "Gabumon, I will."

"I'll come back for it then. Just send word when you want me to get it, ok?"

She answered with a slow nod, hand feeling for the device.

Raised icons on the buttons. Cute.

"Of course I will, Gabumon. Thanks." She smiled for her friend's partner, hoping not to indicate just how little she wished to burden Yamato by expecting him to respond. "Give me about ten minutes, ok?"

"Sure thing!" The closing of the door indicated that Gabumon had indeed vacated the area, and one shaky finger hit the record button.

Ah...
Dear Ishida Yamato-kun. How are you doing?
I'm...well, I'm getting along.
Thank you very much for before. Even if it was just for a short
time, it was fun to speak to you.
Even indirectly, through "this letter, cassette, whatever you call it"
Haha!
How is school? Be careful you don't become stupid because of
being so busy with your band. Oh, um, well- even with my
talking like that, I'm worried about high school myself...
Oh, that's right! A friend of yours came to see me before!
What a fun person- and I can't believe their nickname was
"Gabumon".

End Chapter One