A/N: Hey guys! It's my first fanfiction of any sort in over five years. I have improved my writing ability immensely since then, so I hope you enjoy this short little ficlet of mine. I hope it's not too OOC or anything, as that's always been my downfall. Comments and criticism loved!

Setting: Digimon Adventure, Dark Masters saga. The group is split in three: (1) Yamato, (2) Mimi and Jyou, and (3) the others. Pinocchimon is rampant, and group number three is deciding what to do.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, but boy do I wish I did!

An Exchange Between Friends

Ebony eyes stared intently at the boy with the chocolate orbs sitting before him. He shook his head and stood up, towering over the the other boy, and sighed.

"Koushiro... There's no other way about doing this!"

The crimson-haired Koushiro shook his head and stood up as well, firmly stating his point, "Taichi, you're being too rash. If we make our move too quickly, we'll be done for! You can't risk the safety of the group by just assuming we'll defeat him. Don't you understand?!"

"...But we're sitting ducks..." gritting his teeth, Taichi lowered his head. He knew his fellow Chosen Child was right, but admitting that wouldn't be like Taichi Yagami. He tapped his foot slightly, finding the words to say while Koushiro waited patiently.

The sound of leaves crunching became apparent as a crimson-haired girl walked up to the two boys, looking at them with worry, "Taichi, what are we going to do? We need to come to a decision soon."

A head full of brown hair soon raised up to look to Sora, eyes full of worry, "I know... I just... don't know what is best. I have to protect Takeru. Yamato would kill me if anything were to happen to him! And Hikari..."

Sora reached over and put a hand on Taichi's shoulder, "I understand. Do whatever you think is best, Taichi. As Leader, we'll follow whatever decision you make." She smiled softly, quietly yet effectively comforting him. He nodded, sitting down once again to give some more thought to the subject.

Koushiro looked from Sora, to Taichi, and back to Sora, crooking his head to the right twice. Sora gave a slight nod, and the two of them leave their Leader to come to a conclusion. A crisp breeze blew and the sun beamed down upon them; the walk back to the younger children was silent but of the pleasant kind. Sora peered down slightly and came to a stop as she spoke, "What do you think he'll decide, Koushiro?"

He stopped suddenly and looked back at her, surprised by the broken silence and concentration. After quickly gathering his thoughts, Koushiro began to speak, "I'm not sure, Sora... I've never seen him hesitate so much. He's usually gung-ho for moving forward, being overly courageous at times. Maybe I should have kept quiet and gone along with his original plan..."

The younger boy's internal conflict was obvious to the bearer of Love. She shook her head, the edges of her lips curling upward a little, "No, Koushiro. The logical thing to do is to talk some sense into that boy sometimes. I'm glad you did, really. I'm proud of you."

"Th-thank you, Sora," Koushiro sputtered back, a small yet fragile smile beginning to creep upon his face. She really knows what to say at times like these... he thought to himself.

"You're quite welcome, Koushiro," she replied, smiling wider. Sora took a few steps forward and looked into his ebony eyes, quietly adding, "It's the truth, I promise." Slowly extending her arms out in front of her and wrapping them around the smaller boy's frame, Sora proceeded to give Koushiro a comforting hug, tacking on a quick peck on the cheek for good measure.

Koushiro's heart fluttered and butterflies multiplied like bunnies in his stomach. The unexpected hug was enough in itself to let a few butterflies loose, but her lips on his cheek was too much for him. His face was flushed, mouth partially agape. Koushiro couldn't find words, and even if he could, there was no way they would have come out coherently. Sora stepped back a little after releasing him from the hug, letting out a soft giggle.

"Let's get back to Takeru and Hikari."

"O-o-okay. Let's," he stammered as they slowly began to continue on their trek once again.