Author's Note: This really just came out of nowhere, and I really wanted to write this one as soon as I started listening to that song. Took the inspiration of this one-shot from the song, "Summertime" by My Chemical Romance. I personally think it's one of their bests. This is set during one of the Chosen Children's celebration of Odaiba Memorial Day. This is my first time writing in first-person with Yamato, so I do hope this piece somehow succeeds.

Summertime

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"She's here!"

And I turned around.

The rest started to gather around her like bees on a flower. Her high-pitched voice had already started babbling about her little trip from New York to Tokyo via the Digital World. I eventually came over as well, but no way am I going to join the doting party and talk about how… how 'attractive' she turned out to be.

To say that we are friends is an overstatement; though, it doesn't mean I don't care. Believe it or not, I care about her; surprisingly more than I thought.

And contrary to popular opinion, I find her intriguing rather irritating. It all started with those eggs and fermented beans, as far as my memory suggests.

And, I guess I underestimated her love for pink, since she dyed her hair and somehow managed to put plastic stars all over it. No, it does not look bad at her at all. She arrived here with the rest of the guys (and even Sora and Hikari) ogling at her, including me. Of course I only did so discreetly.

However, I have to admit that I spited her at times, mostly whenever she had to voice out the unspeakable-yet-obvious, or whenever she bluntly asks for what she wants – most of them were impossible, impractical, even both. But I do find it funny and weird that everyone (well, mostly) is very tolerable of her.

But I get it now; there was just something about her smile that seems to relieve and satisfy everyone from the chaos.

"Come on, let's start the picnic," said the brunet as he laid out the picnic blanket on the grass. "I'm starving."

So what now, that there are no monsters to fight against, no adventure to take on, or no life-and-death missions to accomplish? We all had to move on, somehow. It wasn't easy, especially after getting used to the frenzy and gradually being attached to strangers and out-of-this-world creatures. It was sort of a coming-of-age phase in our lives; just the right bizarre crap we needed before the real thing. Real, normal, boring life beckons.

Most of us are to graduate from high school, and according to our very first college student, Jyou, college life is a whole new level of struggle – the gateway to dreams, the entry to adulthood – stuff that I really am not ready for yet.

Her life, however, seems to only get better and better. I notice every now and then whenever I see her name during wasted hours online, and my assumptions prove me right so far: her whole vibe felt very upscale and we were nothing more than mere plebeians. She had already been to places outside America, had at least let go of the stubborn Engrish from her system, while most of us are yet to visit Okinawa, and still struggle with some of our kanji.

Sometimes, I do envy this life of hers. It's just really different, but I guess she's also just trying to make her way in the Big City. After all, it's not called the Big City for nothing.

Even so, I still want to know if the others are also getting that sort of Western aristocratic vibe, and if she notices it too.

"Do you think we'd still have the time to go around the city?" I heard her say as we all sit down.

"I sort of skipped class for this," said Takeru sheepishly.

"Umm.." drifted Sora as she opens the picnic basket and places the food accordingly. "We all have school tomorrow, Mi."

"Can't you just visit every now and then?" suggested Jyou while helping the ginger. "You have the portal for your convenience."

"I want to, but.." she responded, also helping out in preparing the picnic. "Is it too much to ask if I want someone to fetch me?"

"But why? You've been out on the Digital World all by yourself and you fare fine," said Koushiro as he passes on the food.

"Yeah, yeah.. I know," she scoffed. "But you're all so busy and I don't know if my timing will be right."

And she wasn't finished yet.

"I just didn't want to be alone when I go back here. I need to have a reason why I'm visiting."

Ahh. I see now.

"We'd volunteer." Offered Taichi as he pointed to himself and Hikari. Mimi gave a genuine smile, and Taichi returned the smile in satisfaction.

I'm honestly still amazed that everyone else still treats her like their princess, but I guess I'm just thinking too much of this. Even if she's posh, I'm just really glad she didn't become such a brat that the rest of us feared her to be.

"Mimi, you should get one of these," said the motherly redhead as she placed a slice of raw fish on the pink-haired girl's bento. "You like these,"

Mimi shuffled from her seat, reached over across the picnic blanket and retaliated demurely when she got her fish.

The rest of the picnic we walked down memory lane, visiting the very first days spent at the Digital World. And we all continued to talk about it even after eating lunch, voicing out our own favorite memories. We shared our own self-discoveries, the little experiences no one else knew, and they are now receiving their rightful recognition with a chorus of "ohh's" and "ahh's."

So I admire the view from my left to right, finding myself sitting with a bunch of friends I have acquired during that vacation-of-a-lifetime, and I'm thinking if 'friend' applies to her, too. So much for bearing the Crest of Friendship, ugh.

Soon after, the rest decided to play frisbee for an hour or two before we go home… Frisbee?.Uhh, yay.

"I'm fine," I excused myself. "I feel tired."

Taichi frowned, but it didn't take him that long to let me do as I wish. He then ran towards the mound where everyone else waited. I would have joined in, but I really didn't feel like socializing when I'm too uncomfortable.

So when I was readying myself to become the bystander, I was surprised to notice that she didn't join the happy flock.

My eyes searched for a hint of pink, only to find her with the unusual melancholy painting her face. She sat under a now greening cherry blossom tree, and I just kind of liked how picturesque it was as she stared down to the grass. She and the view.

I didn't know this side of hers.

It was then that I truly acknowledged that she had changed – and for the years I have known her by name, face, and hearsays through our mutual friends, I have never gone past from there.

Judging from how Koushiro, Jyou, Takeru, and Taichi benefit from their friendship with her, it really seemed like I missed this big one out. I ran out of chances to build the friendship I always wanted from her, due to my lack of words and guts, and also because she now lives at the other side of the world, approximately thirteen hours away from here.

I admit, my first impression did get the best of me, and I did avoid her like the plague – what's an attractive girl with a penchant for everything pink with a too-perfect family portrait would appreciate the company of a psychological mess such as me anyway? – but she surprisingly managed to subvert my judgment and now I'm way behind, missing out on a friendship that would ease my life and save me in more ways than one.

But even though she's truly a stranger to me, I do care about her, even if it's not obvious enough to notice, because right now she's making a god-awfully pitiful look towards my direction while everyone else is too busy having fun. I swivel my eyes left to right, hoping someone else had taken notice, but much to my misfortune I was the only one.

And the more the seconds pass us by, the eerier this wordless exchange is turning in to. She did not tear her gaze away, and the more intensified her honey eyes are becoming. Does she want something from me? I cannot for my dear life fathom the push and pull of this relationship that is anything less than an acquaintanceship.

I do not know her very well apart from being an ally years ago, but it has always been my wish to change that. So I stood up from my seat, slowly approaching towards the tree she was resting against as her smile widens with every step I take.

I swear that I had a million things in mind, but the closer I get, the more I am running out of plans and ideas and words, and it's coming out nothing like what I've mentally rehearsed.

Whatever.

I might just sit next to her and spend the next few minutes starting with a loathsome small talk, and hope it might turn into a real conversation, for the very first time;

then maybe, just maybe I could, umm, take you out of here and run away –

maybe tomorrow, or the next day, whenever you want –

or how about now?

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