Author's Note: Ah... Finally... Digimon is not my specialty (not that I have any specialty in the first place) so this is kinda awkward… uh… but because I suddenly got Takari storm, I've decided to make this fic. It may not center on Takari relationship, but I hope this one is still decent enough. By the way, as a preemptive attempt to put down flames and questions, English is not my mother language and I am not from Japan nor ever been there so if there is any grammar mistakes or inaccurate portrayal of Japanese culture, feel free to tell me. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any lyrics of poem I used in this fic.

A Takari Fanfic
Decide Your Pain

Chapter 1
Zenbu ga Hajimeyou

Feel the people, hear the voices
They are reaching out to catch you

Long Dream - Makiko Noda (The World Ends With You OST)

She was always generous. Too generous, if he may add. She was also too kind, too positive-thinking, too… too oblivious perhaps. Or maybe she pretended that she was oblivious. At least that was what he thought about her most of the time. He was also, much more than 'often', right about her.

They were in high school now, reaching the sophomore year. High School was good and all, with plenty of homework to catch up and club meetings to attend to. Daisuke went to their same high school, while Miyako and Ken were in a different private high school and were on the third grade, preparing for university exams. Iori was still junior high and was still as anxious as ever. Sometimes they did travel to the Digital World, along with the older Digidestinied, just to check on how it was going and meeting with the Digimons. Somehow, every time the group talked to Gennai about things or maybe to the Digimon, they could almost hear how experienced they were about these whole Digital World things. Never once, though, never once they thought about their experience in real life, real world, real Odaiba, real Tokyo.

Well at least, now Takeru thought of that.

It was spring time when all it began, when they have just reached their high school once more after all those holidays. The event was actually short, but it managed to make him realized that they may need some more real life experiences too, not only those that exists in the world that was secrets to everyone else but them.

That morning he found her standing by the intersection, her amber eyes looking at the monotonous blinking lights of the traffic light. She had the green uniform ready and her signature hairclips kept her shoulder-length hair in check. With the sunlight's gentle ray on her, she looked like she blended with the cherry blossom petals that fell from the trees. She was just as beautiful, if not more.

"Good morning, Hikari!" He greeted, carrying his school bag one handedly on his shoulder. HE was being cheerful today, with Yamato had made a nice breakfast and all. He didn't even have the heart to bring out the unfortunate rule of the school that told him to let go of his fishing hat and…

She didn't answer.

Takeru blinked, inching closer to her.

"Hi-Ka-Ri?"

Still no reaction. He looked at the traffic light, sighed, then finally…

"GOOD MORNING!"

It was enough even for other pedestrians to look at him… and Hikari jumping.

"Takeru-kun!" She looked at him with a scowl but he greeted with a grin. As she turned to see the traffic light again with a pout on her face, Takeru laughed. He patted her shoulder and said, "I mean, I'm here before Daisuke, but that's how you're going to greet me, Hikari? I mean, you should at least give me some credits for winning against him this morning."

"Aren't you always?" She sighed, brushing some strands of her hair off her face. Her answer made the boy laughed even harder. "He couldn't remember to set his clock to save his life, for heaven's sake."

"Well, at least I'm always winning in this round," He threw a blinding smile. It was enough for her scowl to finally fade away. Well, no one can resist his smile, she must admit. She sighed and raised her shoulder while saying, "I don't think calling it a "round" still fits since you always win."

The comment only made him laughed again. That laugh lasted even when they started walking—waiting for Daisuke would only bode them ill omens when they arrived at school.

Hikari smiled at his cheerful demeanor, feeling how contagious his spirit could be. It always managed to light her up, no matter how somber she felt at that time. That said though, for now even though her bad feelings had now stepped aside, she couldn't let go of the things that bothered her mind before Takeru came. It was not something concerning bad breakfast or tripping off some pebble…

"Is there anything wrong, Hikari?"

His blue eyes shone with concern as he slightly bent to look straight at her eyes. He was getting much taller than her, so much taller that his chin was as high as the tip of her head. However, no matter how much he had grown and matured, he couldn't let go of that young and vibrant vibe of his. That was why when his spirit didn't seem to channel well with Hikari, he knew something was up. Anyway, Hikari was always the girl with mysteries.

Back to the question that he threw, Hikari could only purse her lips, slightly titling her head.

"Mmm… Noooo…?"

The longer bit of the "o" only made Takeru's eyes more demanding. His face was just some inch away and his blue eyes were the only things she saw. It was the color of both oceans and sky, of freedom and of hope. Blushing, she laughed and pushed him away.

"Stop that!"

"Well, you haven't given me a decent answer," Takeru raised his shoulder. He gave her a gentle smile. "Or maybe you don't want to tell me?"

"Not really," She smiled back and shook her head. The school building was getting nearer as they walked and by looking at the big clock of their school, she knew the bell could ring at any second. Sighing, she gave a reassuring pat to her best friend's back. Her eyes softened. "There is nothing I wouldn't tell you."

Takeru smiled at her last comment and nodded.

"A promise then?"

"A promise."

.oOo.

"Kanda!"

"Present."

"Tanaka!"

"Present!"

"Daiyama!"

Takeru yawned as the lists went on. He was disappointed when he found out that his and Hikari's class was different. Although it meant good academically (since he won't have the chance to glance to her place every five seconds anymore) he must say that he was still upset by this. His blue eyes went to the window, watching the court just below his window. The gate was being closed and he saw Daisuke squeezed through the gate while the gate keeper hollered and yelled at him in annoyance. The blonde could hear himself chuckling under his breath. No matter how old he was, Daisuke would never change.

"… Shi…"

He remembered what an exhausting summer it was, teaching him to help getting him into this high school.

"Takaishi!"

Those days were…

"TAKAISHI!"

"Yes! Present!" Takeru could almost be said swirled on his chair, raising his hand. The round-glasses male teacher, Tsuchiumi-sensei, narrowed his eyes and looked at him while jotting down that, indeed, Takaishi Takeru was present. "… sensei?"

"What's with that hair of yours? You cannot bleach your hair in this school!"

"M-My hair?" Takeru quickly touched his golden locks. Tsuchiumi-Sensei bowed down really close to him, pushing his glasses to the bridge of his nose, and eyeing him like some hungry cat smelling a rat. "But this is my original hair color, Sensei!"

"Japanese people can't have blonde hair!"

"But my grandfather is French!"

"And what's with those contact lenses? To make your eyes blue?"

"My eyes ARE blue, Sensei!"

"HAH!" The teacher let out a snort as he straightened himself. He jotted down things on the absentee book and grumble audibly, "That's why I hate foreigners marrying our people!"

MY GOD. Takeru could almost feel himself jawdropped. What is with this teacher? Blame my parents! … And don't be racists!

When Tsuchiumi-sensei finally turned around with a loud disbelieving snort, Takeru messed his hair and put his chin on his hand. He turned to see the window again with a worse mood and let out a loooong sigh. So much for a first day.

.oOo.

The time for the first break seemed like it crept so slowly along the thread of time. When the bell finally rang and the teacher finally decided to leave, he couldn't help but to smile happily and reach out for his wrapped lunch. He was just about to stand up when Kanda, a boy that sat near the door, hollered to him, "Yo! Takaishi! Your girl's here to see you!"

"Oh, Hikari!" Takeru smiled joyfully when he saw the familiar auburn haired girl by the door. As he walked closer, he punched Kanda slightly on the shoulder, which made his classmate gave a playful 'ouch'. "Thought I've told you to stop calling her that, Kanda! For Heaven's sake… Anyway, Hikari, is it anything about this morning?"

"Yes, but…" The girl seemed to notice everyone's eyes on them. She slightly blushed and quickly took Takeru's hand. "Let's go somewhere else."

.oOo.

The wind was kind of hard on the rooftop but the view made up for it. The sky was blue and before them stretched Odaiba, with all its bustling streets and buildings. There was chain fence bordering the edges of the rooftop so that no one can just commit suicide too easily or maybe fall from sheer stupidity.

Hikari stood unmoving by the fence; one of her hands touched the steel fence slightly as her eyes wiped the view of Odaiba before them. Takeru watched patiently behind her, enjoying his onigiri lunch as he did so. This was not the first time for Hikari to suddenly be silent and he knew more than anyone else—other than Taichi—about her strange ability. Even if, perhaps, there was nothing that Hikari wanted to talk about with him, he wouldn't mind standing behind her just to watch over her. He had always did that, hadn't he? His place was always to watch over her, like a guardian would…

"I have been having these feelings recently, Takeru-kun…"

Her eyes were so distant, perhaps they were looking at more than only buildings and streets.

"Like… someone's crying in this school."

"Crying?" Takeru took a step forward, crumpling the wrap of his already eaten onigiri. "What kind of cry? Or… rather… what is it that cried? Digimon?"

"No," She turned to look at him. Her eyes were solemn. There was kindness in there and along with it, sadness. It was the sadness for whoever that cried, Takeru knew, for the maiden was kind, too kind for her own good. It was one of her traits that used to bring trouble to her, but also gives her the greatest strength. "It was… a girl."

If Takeru was Daisuke, he would have looked around him and shouted, "WHOA! A Ghost?" but since he wasn't, he stood there with a concerned look and asked softly, "Do you know who and where she is?"

She sighed and shook her head.

"I don't know… I never meet her," said Hikari sadly. She looked up to see Takeru again. "I've been having these feelings since last semester; at first it was faint but it was getting stronger. Now, after the holiday, it struck me that it had grown this big already. Maybe something bad happened in her holiday, I don't know but…"

"You want to help her," said Takeru, understanding shone through his deep blue eyes. His hand rested on Hikari's shoulder; the warmth of his hand seeped into the fabric of her clothes and touched her delicate skin. He had always been the one who was there for her, who never questioned her heart and resolve. If there was anyone she would call for help in this world other than her big brother and Gatomon… "It's ok. I will help you find her. Let's do this together, shall we?"

And finally, the Child of Light gave her sincere smile.

"Thank you, Takeru-kun…"

Both of them didn't know that at that moment, things would become much much more complicated than it had ever been in their real life.

To be Continued

Author's Note: You may be wondering why Hikari called Takeru 'Takeru-kun' while Takeru called Hikari 'Hikari' without any suffix (in the anime, Takeru called Hikari "Hikari-chan"). Because I think Takeru is a guy easygoing enough and feels a lot closer with Hikari given their years long friendship, calling her without any suffix fits well (it shows closer relationship). I have never heard of a girl calling a boy without suffix, so I let "Takeru-kun" as it is (it also sounds cute and endearing. The suffix itself shows close relationship, just like "chan" is for girls). Hope that clears off all confusion? :)

Sensei – meaning teacher. It also used as a suffix to address one's teacher.

Onigiri – Japanese dish, rice wrapped with seaweed (nori), usually with some fillings too (example: Umeboshi)