Disclaimer: I am making no profit for this little fan endeavor. Motomiya Daisuke, Catherine, and any other Digimon character appearing in this are the sole property of Toei Animation. I promise to return them in mint to near mint condition.

Author's Notes: This story is being based (And originally posted) in a LiveJournal community called 52 Flavours. Fifty-Two themes, one for every week of the year. I decided to put my bid in for Daisuke and Catherine. If you don't think you can handle the idea of the pairing, that's okay. Just, don't go flipping out over my fic. Go find something that you'll actually like to read.

Fifty-Two Flavors

Theme 2: The Cruelest Month

It wasn't that Motomiya Daisuke couldn't handle rejection. Sure, he didn't take it well, but given enough time to fume over it and a sturdy enough wall to kick a few times, and he'd be back to his energetic self in no time.

It was the not being told he was rejected that was leaving a lasting sting in his heart. She could've at least said something to him. Hadn't years of being friends earned him at least that much respect? A simple, "I'm sorry, Daisuke-kun, but I just don't feel that way about you." It would've hurt, but at least the understanding would've started there.

Instead, what he got was her smiling face as she nervously introduced a boy he'd never seen before. "Daisuke-kun, this is Hiroki-kun. He-he's going with me to the Sakura Festival this year."

Oh. Was he now? Well, Daisuke supposed that settled that. At least it wasn't Takeru.

Ken had tried to tell him that Hikari probably just couldn't think of any other way to tell it to him. She wasn't very good at confrontation, like Daisuke himself or Miyako were. The brunette generally avoided it to the best of her ability. Most likely, this was the best way she could gather enough courage to explain it to him.

And, after a while, Daisuke had understood that. Hikari was Hikari. She never truly meant to ever be cruel. It wasn't in her nature. She just didn't handle situations like he did, didn't even look at them the same way he did. And maybe that's why she had chosen this Hiroki over him in the end.

Still, he couldn't help but hope that during the festival, Hiroki choked on a dumpling. A few times.

---

Two weeks before the Sakura watching, Takeru had called with a frantic request.

"Please, Daisuke," he had pleaded. "I'm stuck practicing late with the basketball team. Just pick her up at the airport!"

A fellow Chosen was set to arrive that day. A French girl named... Christine? Caitlin?

"Catherine," Takeru said for the fourth time. "Her name is Catherine Bodine. Blonde, blue eyed. She'll have a Floramon with her. You won't be able to miss her."

"Fine," Daisuke sighed. "You owe me one."

"Yeah, I know," Takeru sighed back, but the begoggled boy could practically hear the grin in it. "Thanks, Daisuke."

And that was how he wound up at the airport, a haphazard sign reading, "BODINE" scribbled onto it with the help of his sister, who had a far better grasp of the horror that was the Roman alphabet.

The airport gate itself was dark, thanks to a few broken lights that they had apparently decided not to fix. He began to wonder if this girl would even be able to see his ridiculous sign with such terrible lighting. Maybe he should've brought V-mon along. The dragon could've sat on his shoulders and gotten a better look. As it was, he felt like she was just going to be lost in the crowd.

He truly felt stupid, waiting in the middle of the place, people zipping by him, and occasionally hitting into him with their overpacked luggage. These past couple of weeks just seemed to get progressively worse with every passing day. He was beginning to wonder if maybe he should start paying attention to his horoscope. It had probably forewarned him of terrible times ahead of him. "All Libras should stay inside the month of May. Trust us on this. Do yourself a favor, and just stay in bed." Slightly bitter over the situation, Daisuke began to ponder a proper payback to extract from his tall friend.

"Ah, Catherine! Là-bas!"

The high pitched voice caused Daisuke to focus in on the crowd. Only one sort of creature in the world had such a cutesy voice; a digimon. And with that, came a digimon partner. And he couldn't imagine many "Catherine's" walking about Odaiba.

Still, he didn't see anyone unusual in the crowd. Just your standard set of Japanese people, now with their own digimon partners either walking, flying, or being carried. Maybe he had just been hearing things. Hoping that she was there, so he could leave the place, instead of standing around like a moron with some sign that he couldn't even read.

"Pardonnez-moi. Eh- Excuse me?"

It was a soft voice at first. Uncertain, and nervous in tone. With a very thick accent. It excused itself again, this time obviously trying to make its Japanese a bit more presentable. It failed miserably. But Daisuke liked the lilting note it had in its overdone inflections, and he tried desperately to figure out where in the darkness it was coming from.

And finally, the voice and its owner stepped out of the darkness of the terminal gate into the awaiting sunlight from the large windows. The pale girl looked flustered and unsure, but her stride was delicate. She moved almost like she was listening to a steady bit, with perfectly swaying hips, and heeled sandals that clapped in time to it. Blonde curls bounced about, being barely restrained by a red headband, and pretty blue eyes were obviously trying to seek someone out.

"Là-bas, Catherine!" a Floramon said beside the girl, yanking lightly on the blonde's red sundress, as she pointed toward Daisuke.

The girl looked up, caught his eye and his sign, and a smile formed on her face as she waved a slender hand to him.

"Ah, hello...?" her pretty voice trailed as she finally reached him.

"Daisuke," he grinned. "Motomiya Daisuke. Takeru couldn't make it. He asked me to pick you up."

"Die...Skay," Catherine tested the foreign name. "Die-skay."

"Close enough," he shrugged. He couldn't pronounce her name properly, either. "C'mon. I'll get us a cab."

Happily throwing the sign away, he helped the blonde retrieve her luggage (Which was overpacked itself, he noted with some annoyance. Would it kill a woman to pack light?), and took a sigh of relief when they stepped outside.

"So," Daisuke began, trying to make conversation, "what made you visit now?" He hoped this girl didn't force him into some uncomfortable silence. That would just be the cherry on top of his sundae of misery.

"Tah-kehroo asked me to come," Catherine replied, her accent delicately mangling the language. "Something about bringing me to a festival..."

Takeru was getting his date from outside the country. Daisuke was almost impressed. But mostly, he was irritated. Now it seemed he was the only one of his friends who'd go alone. Ken had stuttered out a request for Miyako's presence, which was naturally accepted with an exuberance that left the blue haired genius so red it looked like he had been about to faint. And, of course, Hikari had her Hiroki. Hiroki... Had Daisuke hoped that he choked yet? If not, he decided to do so now, just in case. And Iori... Well, Iori was thirteen now. He still had a couple years before he'd worry about his. Besides, top kendo players always seemed to have a flock of fangirls wherever they went.

"You'll be there too, no?" Catherine asked, interrupting his uncharacteristically depressed thoughts.

"Probably not, no," Daisuke muttered, waving a hand for a cab.

The French girl frowned at this, but said nothing else. Well, this was great. He was going to have to deal with uncomfortable silence.

That did it. Daisuke decided that he hated May, and from now on, was banning it for the rest of his life.