Love: Definition

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Summary: A "chance" meeting between old friends begins a chained set of events that leads Koushiro, Sora and their friends to learn new things, rediscover others and change their view on life itself. What does the future hold for the red-heads? KoushiroxOC, YamatoxSora, HikarixTakeru… though the fic might not end with those…

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Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. Shotgun on all the OCs though.

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1. Coincidence

Koushiro: The occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection

Sora: Another word for fate used by people who don't believe in fate.

????: It's life's way of trying to be funny.

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Koushiro got up to face yet another day of school and felt a bit nostalgic. As he got out of bed and instinctively looked outside the window, like he did everyday, he sincerely wondered how all the digidestined were doing. The thought surprised him; it had been months since he had heard about any of them, let alone thought about them. He somewhat missed them, though he could see them everyday if he wanted. Their last get-together was last year's digi-picnic and since then he had barely talked to them.

The feeling didn't last long though; this wasn't the train of thoughts that would get him out of bed and on the way to school. He took a shower, got dressed in the Odaiba High school uniform he had been accustomed to wear for half a year now, and headed to the kitchen for breakfast. There, he saw his food waiting for him, and his mom still over the oven, apparently cooking for her husband and herself. Koushiro groaned.

"Mom, I already told you that I could make breakfast for myself."

"Oh, good morning dear, sleep well?"

Koushiro sighed. Her mom masterfully changed subject, while making sure to nudge him about politeness, all in one sentence. Having grown up with her he called this special talent "the mother's gift". She used it quite often.

"Good morning mom. Yes, I had a good night sleep. Why are you awake this early?"

"Why, to make you breakfast of course."

"But mom, it's about six in the morning! Dad won't be awake for the next hour and 26 minutes. I could have made breakfast myself."

"Are… Are you saying that you don't like my cooking? " She looked like she was about to cry. Koushiro always hated she used that ploy. It never failed.

"No! Of course not! But you don't have to wake up early just for me. I'm 16 now; I can take care of myself perfectly fine."

"What are you talking about? You'll always be my little Kou-kou, she said giving him a kiss on the forehead."

The red head quietly sat down and started to eat his food, almost sulking. He blushed furiously while thinking he'd die if one of his friends ever heard about "Kou-kou". It's not like he expected things to change; they had been the same since Koushiro attended middle school. In the end it didn't matter that much because he had a wonderful meal, instead of the cereal and toasts he would have probably made in a hurry. After the meal, he kissed his mother goodbye and started to head down the stairs leading to the exit of his apartment block.

Now, if there was one that Izumi Koushiro was ever sure of, it would be this: there's no such thing as fate. Of course, it's easy to find his statement ridiculous when knowing about his adventures in the digital world, especially since he was handpicked along seven others to become digidestined. But after the years at looking at it in a different objective, Koushiro's opinion on the matter only became stronger. The only reason he had been chosen along with Tai, Hikari, Jyou, Mimi, Yamato, Takeru and Sora was because he was at the right place at the right time; coincidence. Also, their partners and crests had been chosen according to their dominating characteristic; though Yamato also though that this had to do with what the others saw the most in a specific person. It wasn't because of fate that they had beaten Devimon, it was because of sheer necessity and will of survival. And that prophecy about VenomMyotismon… well, he had no explanation for it yet; it definitely had to do with Genai's tricky way of giving them information.

Knowing what he thought about the digital world and fate in general one would think he didn't enjoy his time there; he'd be correct. Going through months of either looking for someone or something and/or running away from something else wasn't his idea of pleasant memories. He was only grateful for one thing: Tentomon. It's true in those times he had learned to know the seven other digidestineds better, but he only considered Jyou and Tentomon as his real friends. Since one was attending medical school and the other was currently in the digital world however, they didn't have the constant contact the young genius would have wanted.

As for the others: Mimi… was nice, when she didn't drag him into one of her endless shopping trip – which she did 95% of the time. Besides, she had moved to America four years ago; Tai had been close to him for a while but eventually they became distant; Hikari still called him "Koushi-nii", and treated him like a second brother, but that was when she saw him, which happened once every other week. He would keep tabs on the rest of them, but the relation was cordial at best. Of course he was at Yamato's concert, and yes he still chaperoned the new generation of digidestineds on their trips, but he barely talked in those occasions, as he felt like an intruder: completely out of place. That isn't to say that he felt lonely in any way: Koushiro had always been somewhat of a loner, even a little bit antisocial at times. Besides, he had made good friends outside of the digidestined circle. It's just that… he felt a little confused at the current situation.

That being said, as he past one of the apartment doors, thinking about the past, he heard a familiar voice on the other side.

- Goodbye mom!

Sora? It was definitely her voice. He wondered what she was doing there until it hit him: she lived there. In fact, she had always lived under Koushiro's apartment: This was the building from which they had both observed their first digimon fight. The genius had totally forgotten that fact. Not that it changed anything though; of the now 11 digidestineds, Sora was the one he felt the least close to. Still it sure was weird to hear her voice after thinking about renewing lost connections and whatnot. The red head shrugged: coincidence. He took a look at his watch, decided it was better for him to hurry, and made his way for school, while trying to forget this small incident.

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If Koushiro was someone that believed in coincidences, Sora was his polar opposite. Nothing in her mind happened without a reason: she had understood that when she had received the crest of love. The problem she had in her world had been resolved by the trip she had in the digital world, as with most of the digidestineds. And it couldn't be a simple coincidence that they all had a connection with each other one way or another. In fact, she was grateful for that adventure; she strengthened the bonds she already had, while making knew friends. The digital world taught her to see the grand scheme of things in every little incident.

But as time went by, she lost a little of the closeness she had with the chosen group. Of course she was close to Taichi, Hikari, Yamato and Takeru – though she still didn't admit her crush for Yamato – and had kept a strong relationship with Mimi through a healthy dose of e-mails every day, but she couldn't say the same for Koushiro and Jyou. The fact that the former lived in the same apartment building as her didn't help the matter at all. In fact, they were really distant though physically close. Even Yolei, the next generation child of love, was closer to her than them. She definitely had to do something about it.

Those were the thoughts of Sora Takenouchi, as she got dressed for her early tennis practice session. Since she had missed the last one, she wanted to make up for it. She didn't realise it was this early though which was kind of new for her. She got out of her room and made breakfast. She had almost finished eating it when her mother came out of the shower.

- Sora? Why are you up this early?

- Morning Mom! Got tennis practice early today.

- Does that mean you'll be helping at the shop later this evening?

- Sure thing, mom.

She finished her last piece of toast, got up and hugged her mom. They had become closer since her last adventures, and Sora even helped her with her flower store. She picked her stuff and said goodbye to her mom. When she opened the door, she saw a kid with the same uniform as her, and donned of red, almost brown hair. Koushiro? She tried to call him, but her mom held her back. She had forgotten to prepare her lunch. She really felt stupid, especially considering she had just missed a chance meeting with an old friend. She thought by hurrying she might have a chance to catch up with him. She quickly put some leftovers into her bento box and dashed out of the house, surprising her mother. However, she wasn't able to meet up with him even when hurrying all the way to school.

She decided to look for him later and set out for her tennis practice, where she bumped into Taichi. Since the Soccer and Tennis field were side by side, they went there together. While going there, they talked about sports in general until the child of courage went on about school.

- Man, that math test was hard!

- Yeah, it was, said Sora as she sighed. But you did pretty well.

- Didn't I? I owe it all to Koushiro though.

- Koushiro?

- Yeah he's my math tutor

Strange, she was just thinking about him this morning, and almost ran into him to. Now even Taichi was mentioning him, never mind the simple fact that Koushiro, a freshman, was tutoring a second year. She concluded it wasn't mere coincidence. She'd have to jump on the next occasion of meeting him.

- So how is he?

- Huh, you don't know? I thought I'd ask you since you live in the same building.

- No, she said, slightly blushing. I haven't talked to him for some time.

- Is that so? Well I see him from time to time. Wish it could be more though.

Though she didn't reply, she agreed. They headed their own way on that note. She tried to focus on her tennis practice, but the coach could clearly see she was lacking concentration. The session ended earlier than planned for her: she was told to comeback when she was really ready to play. The young girl left somewhat upset as this wasn't the first time this happened. Blushing, she couldn't help but think it had to do with a certain handsome blonde she had seen strolling by the court…

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After his math tutoring session, Koushiro headed for his locker to prepare for the day. He had made sure that, as usual, his little meeting left him enough time to check on his agenda, while having some spare time to do some research in the computer room. It didn't go as scheduled though; as he was going to his favourite room of the whole school, he bumped into a familiar figure.

- Hey! Well what do you know, it's Koushiro

- Good morning, Taichi-san.

He thought that his mind was playing tricks on him, but for a second the computer whiz could swear he had seen the smile of his old friend cringe when he greeted him. It wasn't the first time either; for a while now he would see the same behaviour every time Koushiro would greet him, or call his name. It saddened the red head because it was further proof that they had gone distant, but he kept hope that someday they would go back to being the friends that they were before.

- Where are you going?

- To the computer room. You're up early this morning. To what do we owe this honour?

- Just got out of soccer practice.

Koushiro didn't know they had additional morning practice on top of all the training sessions they participated in after school. Taichi continued:

- It's weird.

- What is?

- Me and Sora were just talking about not seeing you enough.

- Beg your pardon?

- Yeah, I met Sora just then and we were talking about you.

This simply did not compute for the young genius. Sora, the girl that practically lived with yet never talked to, was talking about him? Not to mention now that it was the second time he'd been brought to think about her, directly or indirectly. Well, since she was a close friend of Taichi's, it was normal that he would mention her in a conversation, but he never did so in one of their conversation as long as he remembered. He maybe had, but Koushiro couldn't remember it.

- Is that so? And what were you saying about me?

- That we didn't see you enough. You know, like when we used to play soccer together.

- Ah well, that can't be helped. We're in separate grades, aren't we? Besides, we have those tutoring sessions for Math every… Thursday, I think?

Somehow, that answer didn't convince the digidestined leader. An awkward silence ensued, that became unbearable sooner that either of them expected. It's not that Koushiro wasn't accustomed to those moments; it was that it this kind of situation never happened with Taichi, and the first year student wished it could have stayed that way. He rapidly excused himself and left his friend, but when he looked at the time, he noticed that he wouldn't have the time to work on the computer properly. He sighed and headed directly to his classroom.

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The day quickly went by. The classes ended and Koushiro left school. It was another normal day at his school; nothing out of the ordinary. Even the geography pop quiz didn't surprise him that much. As the red head marched along the sidewalk, he gave into his daily routine of reviewing the day's courses and preparing for the next one. Koushiro himself often wondered why or when he decided to do this while walking home, but it suited him. But since things had been relatively easy, his mind wondered into something else; namely the fact that Sora came to mind twice today and at rather peculiar moments too. Both times he was thinking about her. That brought him to think about another incident that happened during lunch. It seemed he had heard someone calling him, but it was so faint and sudden he had thought it was his mind playing tricks on him.

- Koushiro!

Yup, just like that. Wait… What!?

- Wait up Koushiro!

The young boy thought for a second that he was hearing things, but since he clearly heard his name twice, and from a familiar voice too, he decided to stop and turn around. A girl taller that he was came to a screeching halt, almost bumping into him. If the athletic figure or the similar uniform didn't give her identity away, her red hair did.

- Eh, Takenouchi-san? What are you doing here?

- Nothing, she said catching her breath. 'Just going back home.

- Is that so?

- Yeah, what a coincidence meeting you here huh?

Koushiro approved and laughed nervously, then looked away. Whatever it was, it couldn't be coincidence, this he was sure of. Sora never took this path to get to the apartment building before. Heading there from the west side of school is usually the faster way. Koushiro usually walked part way home with a friend here, so he took this road every day. She definitely wanted something from him. That made even more sense if the voice he heard at lunch belonged to her. He wondered what could have brought the girl here.

- Koushiro?

- Yes, Takenouchi-san?

- Mind if we walk home together?

- Of course not.

It was sure weird though, he didn't understand why she would go out of her way just to walk home with him. Whatever the reason, he was glad she did; it really had been a while since he last saw her.

- So… how are you doing?

- I'm fine, what about you?

- Great! How's school?

- Same old. How's tennis practice coming?

- I'd rather not talk about it

The chat went on for a little while, and silence quickly followed. Koushiro quickly forgot that he was walking home with someone and lost himself in his thoughts. He remembered his math test was coming soon, along with his foreign language project. He had obviously taken English since He had some of the basics from talking with Mimi. And then there was the tutorial lesson he had to prepare for next week, not to mention he had that homework to bring in tomorrow. But he'd eventually take care of those in due time. He then started to come up with things to do for his free afternoon tomorrow.

As for Sora, she took that time to study the friend she hadn't seen in a while. Koushiro had grown. He was now almost at average height. She still was taller than him though, and felt somewhat proud of the fact. He also looked more mature, and strangely less preoccupied than before. As they were walking home, Koushiro did not once look at the ground as he used to: instead he always seemed to look around to observe. He really had changed since she last saw him.

- Hey, Koushiro?

- Huh!?

Koushiro remembered he wasn't alone today, which totally threw him off.

- Ah, Takenouchi-san! I totally forgot that you were there! Sorry.

- It's Alright Koushiro. She giggled.

- I really am sorry. Walking silently like that must've felt awkward.

- I didn't actually. Usually, I'd feel awkward with someone else, but since it's you it kind of felt normal.

- Really?

- Yeah.

The young boy her gave the strangest of looks muttered his renowned "This doesn't compute." Sora didn't expect his reaction at all. She wondered what it was that was so weird about what she had just said.

- What doesn't compute?

- …Ah! You… heard that? Nothing really. So, what did you want to ask me?

- Come one Koushiro, now you're making me curious.

- Well, a friend of mine told me about a theory he heard, and I thought his theory was sound but you proved it wrong just now.

- Really?

- Yeah… anyway, here's you're apartment.

- I'll see you around then.

- Yeah, have a nice evening Takenouchi-san.

On that note, Koushiro left Sora at the door. She was glad: her first contact with her old friend felt more natural that she could have hoped for. She changed into suitable clothes to help her mom while thinking about him: If things continued that way she had nothing to worry about. The more they would see each other the more their connection would grow. Sora then left her appartment, already anticipating what topics to discuss with Koushiro next time she saw him.

On the other hand Koushiro was surprised by Sora's behaviour: she didn't really want anything from him. It didn't matter though; it had been a good day, though it could have been better. The odd thing was, as he looked back at the fortunate reunion that took place moments ago, not once did have any kind of positive thoughts whatsoever. Instead, his friend's theory came to his mind and he praised himself for not telling her of his friend's musing in detail. Telling Sora that he found that incident weird because usually people as distant as them would behave otherwise wasn't such a good idea after such a happy event. Besides it would imply things that he wasn't ready to tell her yet. But he quickly shook off those thoughts; it was time for him to tend to his homework. Now if only he could come up with a way for his computer to do his homework for him…

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A/N: Well, I didn't see enough Koushiro fics for my taste so I tried to do one myself. Hope you enjoy.