So I noticed that a lot of Takari exists, both on this site and elsewhere on the internet. Written by both my hand, and the hands of many others.
I've been thinking lately, and...this one-shot is a message to all Takari fans. Just something to think about.
Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon.
As the two of them waved and walked away from a group of girls in their class that they had run into on their way home from the movie theaters, Takeru already knew the types of things that those same girls would spread around as soon as he and Hikari turned their backs. He was used to it, as was she, that people would often mistake them for being a couple. And if they already knew that they weren't, like Miyako for instance, they were also used to her saying that it was only a matter of time before the two of them 'finally' got together.
They only just down the street from her apartment and as Hikari chatted with Takeru on the movie that they watched, a romantic comedy about a clown and a high paid lawyer, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She checked it while she laughed at one of his jokes, but then frowned when she read the text message that she had been sent. It was from one of the girls that they had run into, and she was wishing her good luck on her date with Takeru. Takeru had always been popular with girls around school, Hikari remembered a moment a few months prior when the girls of her class said that if Takeru had to have a girlfriend, that they were glad it was her. She denied that she was dating him, but even then a rumor spread around the next day that she and Takeru had romantically embraced one another on the steps of the school.
He considered asking her why she was frowning, but then shrugged and figured that if it was important that she would tell him later. She always did when it was anything of significance, and he always returned the sentiment as well. She trusted him anything and everything, as he did her, and Takeru had always thought that it was annoying when no one believed them whenever they said that they weren't an item. Taichi in particular had been a strain on the two of them being friends, one moment in particular that forever changed his relationship with Hikari's older brother was when Taichi had warned him to never break Hikari's heart. Takeru had laughed it off, figuring Taichi was just being an overprotective older brother just like he had a reputation for being, but that was until Yamato had warned him later that night to treat Hikari right or some other guy was going to eventually take her from him.
She glanced at Takeru who was looking at her quizzically, and then shrugged her own shoulders just as he had. "Don't be surprised if someone asks you how our date went later."
He thought for a moment and then nodded, not surprised if those girls they had run into had already spread it around that they caught Hikari and himself strolling romantically through the city, with fingers intertwined. They were in fact strolling, but it was more of Hikari trying to grab some popcorn and himself holding the popcorn high above her head where she couldn't reach because he thought it was funny. "It's fine by me just as long as my parents don't ask me about it."
She laughed at that one, remembering just three weeks beforehand where both of their parents had sat them down for dinner to talk about the importance of having a healthy and safe relationship. Susumu had warned the sweating Takeru that the only safe relationship was an abstinent one, and her mother and Takeru's mother had then proceeded to advise her that a man's favorite kind of woman was a virtuous one. Takeru had been flushed and tense the whole night, and when the two of them told their parents that they were just friends, Hiroaki had then said that they weren't blind and that everyone could see that they were madly in love.
"You know," Hikari began, "Miyako is going to use this as more evidence that you and I are 'destined' to be together."
He snorted, being very familiar with the sentiment that Hope and Light 'belonged' together. As the years went on, Miyako had become more and more vocal about it. He recalled a day where Miyako had set Hikari up on a date and then had Ken drag him by where the date was happening in some convoluted scheme to make him jealous, and then he also recalled when Miyako had gotten angry that her plan had failed when he saw Hikari on her date and then had only waved to her from afar so as to not interfere with it.
"She also said that there are thousands of people in the world that want us to be together, so that tells you how much of what she says that you can believe."
Hikari reached for a handful of popcorn since Takeru wasn't trying to poke fun at her height anymore, and then she popped some in her mouth as she considered what he said. Thousands were an exaggeration to be sure, but she did agree that there were people out there who lived vicariously through her relationship with Takeru, as true as it was or not. Hikari wouldn't have minded so much, but one of those people included the long haired shy girl that didn't have any friends who sat in the back of their class. Particularly since Takeru had been in love with her since they were in middle school.
In her youth she had also toyed with the idea that perhaps being with Takeru romantically wouldn't have been so bad, but the thought of it couldn't help but make her burst out into laughter back when she considered it. She did think that she and Takeru were soul mates, but not in the romantic sense. They were partners and best friends, but Hikari would always see Takeru as that little boy who saved her life more than once, all the while crying all the way.
It was then that they stopped in their tracks, having reached the entrance of her apartment. Takeru considered walking her up, but decided against it since Hikari's family were probably waiting and would most definitely call his mother to tell her about his 'date'. Instead, he gave her a hug goodbye and then they fistbumped as he turned to leave.
She waved after Takeru, and waited until he was no longer within her line of vision before she went inside. She would always be there for him, just as he had always been there for her, but what they had was too cute to be called love.
Some of you may recognize that final line as a pretty infamous one from Hikari's image song. Anyways, I do think that if two characters are just friends then that's nothing to get mad about. Whether you're a fan of: Takari, Daikari, Sorato, Taiora, whatever, don't go hating on others if someone makes a story where the two people are just friends and nothing more.
Goodbye, and good luck.