Miyako, you're a high school student! It's only been two weeks! Why are you still feeling like this?
Miyako folded and refolded her hands over her lap as she looked gloomily down on the floor. Hawkmon looked at her with an equally gloomy expression.
"Are you still worried about that, Miyako-san?"
"N-no! I'm…I'm just…I'm just thinking."
Hawkmon wasn't buying it.
"Miyako-san, it's been two weeks since you broke up with him…"
"I know…it's time I move on, but…"
She folded her hands again and fell silent, and Hawkmon knew that trying to get anything more out of her would be useless.
"That Miyako…"
Daisuke sighed and put his head on the table.
"This is the worst thing to have happened…everything's awkward now trying to get everyone together, because now the two of them can't even be near each other without awkwardness…"
"It's really shocking for this to have happened," said Takeru. "They were really a happy couple…"
"I don't know about happy, but they were working well enough," said Daisuke. "Especially Miyako, I mean…"
"She always looked very cheerful every time she went on a date with him," said Hikari. "Ken-kun never really said much, but I think he was happy every time he went out with her."
"It's hard to say what happened…" said Takeru. "But whatever it is, I really hope they resolve – "
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Miyako, still looking glum, walked in with Hawkmon trailing behind her closely. She sat at the table and forced a smile.
"Hello, everyone."
"Miyako-san…" said Hikari.
"I'm doing fine," said Miyako, in the most unconvincing tone ever.
Yet another awkward silence lingered in the air.
"So, uh…" said Daisuke. "How are your classes going…Miyako?"
"…They're going fine…"
"I see…"
Silence again.
"I'm…" said Miyako. "I'm going to use the bathroom really quickly. Please excuse me."
She walked off towards the restroom, and Hawkmon took the opportunity to look up at Hikari.
"Hikari-san."
"Yes, Hawkmon?"
"I'd like to talk with you in private."
The other children and Digimon looked curiously at Hawkmon, wondering what the reason for this sudden request was.
"Eh? Me?"
"Yes, please. I'm sorry to trouble you about this, but…"
"No, it's quite all right." Hikari got up from the chair and Hawkmon started to follow her as they walked towards the door.
"Ah, Hawkmon?" said Miyako, seeing the two as she walked back. "Where are you going?"
Not willing to be entirely straightforward about what he was doing, Hawkmon cleared his throat.
"I'd like everyone to try out that pastry you gave me the other day. I saw them selling it at a nearby shop, so I asked Hikari-san to help me get some."
"Eh?" said Miyako, bringing her head up a little. "If you wanted some, you should have told me earlier…"
"Miyako-san, you had two tests today, I don't think you should exhaust yourself. Feel free to rest with everyone; we'll make this very quick."
"I'll take care of Hawkmon, Miyako-san," said Hikari.
"But…"
Miyako clearly could tell something was up, since Hawkmon's excuse was rather pathetic, but she wasn't willing to press the subject.
"All right then. Take care and make sure you get enough for everyone."
Hikari and Hawkmon walked off towards the nearby pastry shop.
"That way," said Hawkmon.
"Wait, you actually wanted pastries?"
"If we don't actually get them, Miyako's going to get mad."
They went to the pastry shop and Hawkmon pointed out what he wanted, and Hikari pulled up a batch of them. As they walked back, they stopped by a bench.
"So, what was it you wanted to talk about?"
"About Miyako-san…" Hawkmon sighed. "As you can probably tell, she's still feeling down…"
"Yes…" said Hikari. "You're her partner, so would you know better than all of us…"
"However, even though I'm her partner…even if I know what's wrong with her, there's not much I can do. So I was hoping you would know something I could do…"
Hikari nodded.
"The situation between Miyako-san and Ken-kun is a difficult one, because this problem is something that's caused by them having become very close. So since she's lost that, it'll take a long time for her to recover that." She patted Hawkmon on the head. "It's frustrating for us to be unable to do anything besides comfort her, and I wish I could do something for her as well, but…well, hang in there, okay?"
Hawkmon nodded, but he still seemed down.
As they walked back towards the café, they were met by someone surprising: Ichijouji Ken himself. He seemed startled to see Hikari there as well, while Wormmon seemed happy to see Hikari and Hawkmon.
"Hikari-san…"
"Hello, Ken-kun," said Hikari. "What are you doing all the way down here?"
"Ah, I was on an errand for a school friend…"
"We're eating at a café nearby," said Hikari. "If you have time, you can come with us."
Hawkmon, Wormmon, and Ken all looked, startled, at Hikari, not having expected her to so easily have made that offer, especially when Miyako was there.
"…I'm…I'm sorry," said Ken. "I have to do this errand so I don't have time…"
"That's completely understandable," said Hikari. "Next time, then."
"All right. Thank you for the offer. But I really need to…"
"Ken-chan," said Wormmon, "I think we should talk to them for a little bit."
"But…" said Ken. "I don't want to trouble them."
"I think Miyako-san can wait a little longer," said Hawkmon. "Please, feel free to chat with us. There's another bench right here."
"You're not…mad at me?"
"Why would we be mad at you?" said Hikari.
"Because I'm the one who broke up with Miyako-san…"
"We have no reason to be angry at you," said Hikari. "Things happen. You have no reason to be blamed, and neither does Miyako-san."
"I see. Thank you," said Ken. He looked aside. "Is…is Miyako-san doing all right?"
Hikari shook her head.
"I'd like to say yes, but I don't want to lie to you…"
"I see," said Ken, hanging his head. "So…she's still…like that, because of me…"
"You shouldn't think like that," said Hawkmon.
A pause.
"I'm really sorry for troubling you like this…" said Ken. "But I really do need to go now…"
"That's perfectly fine. I'll tell everyone that you said hi." She nodded, stood up, and started to walk back. "Well, see you later then."
"See you later."
They parted ways and started to walk back. Hikari sighed.
"It really is a difficult situation…"
"It is," said Wormmon.
"Yeah…"
It took a few seconds for Hikari to register what had just happened.
"Wait – Wormmon?" She looked at Wormmon and checked around her, to find to her horror that Hawkmon was gone.
"Wha – "
"This is bad…"
Ken looked around for Wormmon, panicked. "He…was right here a minute ago…"
"It's all right," said Hawkmon, flying behind his head. "He went with Hikari-san."
"E-eh? Hawkmon?" Ken continued to look around, as if doing so would suddenly bring back Wormmon. "But why? And why didn't he tell me…?"
"We apologize for that; it was a spur-of-the-moment decision. In any case…" Hawkmon faced Ken. "When you are finished with your errands, I would like to talk to you."
"I won't be done for a while, but…" He nodded. "All right, then."
"Miyako-san is going to get mad at me…"
"I'll take the blame for that," said Wormmon, "so please don't worry."
"But how are you and Hawkmon going to get back to Miyako-san and Ken-kun when they live in Odaiba and Tamachi?"
"We'll figure that out ourselves," said Wormmon. "I always find my way back to Ken-chan."
"I'm done…" Ken slumped down at the nearest bench. "I need to get you back to Miyako-san…"
"But first, I'd like to talk to you," said Hawkmon.
"Yeah, I understand…"
"I would like to ask you why you broke up with Miyako-san," said Hawkmon. "When I asked her, she couldn't give me a concrete answer."
The question was clearly one that Ken expected, but still was thrown off by.
"I…don't really know myself," said Ken. "It wasn't because we got in a fight…and it wasn't because anything happened between us. It was just something that happened…"
"I see," said Hawkmon. "I think what's been bothering Miyako is that. She is a straightforward person…she prefers a straightforward answer to everything."
"I'm really sorry that I can't…" said Ken.
"It was something that surprised me," said Hawkmon, "because you two seemed to be very close. Like when you went on that date to the amusement park, or when you got stranded at that lake and ended up having your first kiss…"
"Y-yeah…" said Ken (his face was crimson red). "…Wait, how do you know about that…"
"Wormmon and I sneaked up on all of your dates, didn't you know that?"
Ken sat there dumbfounded for a few seconds, and then laughed.
"You two are always looking out for us, huh…"
After fussing about Hawkmon for a long fashion, Miyako received her email three hours later. The writing was awkward and very clearly written under pressure from Hawkmon.
Miyako-san – I'll be waiting with Hawkmon at the park nearest the café where you ate with the others. Please bring Wormmon with you. Thank you. –Ichijouji Ken
"I should take you back to Ichijouji-kun," said Miyako. "I'm sorry for all of this…"
"No, this was my fault," said Wormmon.
She said goodbye to the others and went quickly to the park with Wormmon in tow.
"Miyako-san."
"Ah?"
"Have you been feeling bad because of the breakup?"
"No, no, I'm perfectly fine!" said Miyako with more false cheeriness – but as usual, Wormmon could see right through it.
"Ken-chan is the kind of person who never says everything about how he feels," said Wormmon. "But I think it would make him sad to know that you're still feeling bad. To cause others pain is what he hates the most – even if he's the one who broke up with you."
She saw Ken waiting there on (yet another) bench, looking downwards. He seemed to have finished his conversation with Hawkmon and was staring at the ground glumly.
"Ichijouji-kun…"
"Oh, Miyako…-san…"
The two had not used such formal terms for each other since they'd started dating.
Miyako walked up to the bench and placed Wormmon down.
"Thank you for having taken care of Hawkmon. I'm sorry to have troubled you with this."
"No, it's no problem at all."
She sat on the other side of the bench, unable to make eye contact with him. Ken could sense the tension in the air and looked away as well.
"Hey, Ichijouji-kun…"
"Yes?"
"Something I've wanted to ask you…" Miyako swallowed. "It's okay if you don't want to be in a relationship with me, but…I want to know why."
"…ah?"
"Why you broke up with me…I just want to know why. Was it because I did something wrong, or because you just didn't like me anymore or…what was it? That's all I want to know…"
"I don't really know myself…I'm sorry, but…"
He clenched his fist where nobody could see.
"…I…"
"There must have been a reason! I don't want to have broken…to have done all this because of something we don't know…"
He dropped his head even further.
"…No, I think I know. It's because I didn't think it was right."
…You didn't…think it was right…"
He shook his head.
"I never knew much about relationships, or dating, or…things like that. But I didn't think it was right, because…"
"What was wrong?"
Ken's voice was shaking at this point.
"When you're in a relationship, you're supposed to be making each other happy, right? But…"
"So you…weren't happy, is what it was…"
"It's nothing like that!"
He raised his head and Miyako saw that he was crying.
"Please don't misunderstand me. Every time we went on a date, when we went out I…I really did enjoy it. But every time we went out, I could never tell if you were really happy, because I never did much, and I was constantly worrying about that…so it didn't feel right at – "
"Ichijouji Ken!"
The sudden sharpness of her voice snapped Ken into shock. Her facial expression had changed – she was now legitimately angry.
"How many times did I tell you…how many times did I tell you not to give me that 'I'm not good enough' stupidity? Do you have no self-worth at all?"
"…Mi…yako…"
Miyako remembered what Wormmon had said: To cause others pain is what he hates the most.
"So you thought you could solve everything by just breaking everything off…but do you know how horrible I've felt these past two weeks?" The tears were now breaking through her anger. "Even if you thought for some reason you weren't putting out enough, I enjoyed it, I really was happy…I thought I could spend the rest of my life like this, and then I had to face the idea that I'd never see that again…!"
"Miyako…"
She let her head fall on his shoulder, startling him.
"Tell me right now! If you don't want to be with me – if you really don't want to be with me, that's fine, but you have to tell me! If you don't want to be with me…"
At this point, her words were no longer coherent through her crying.
Still startled from having Miyako's head on his shoulder, Ken closed his eyes.
Is this the future I'm willing to throw away?
He put his hand around her shoulders and pulled her in closer. Miyako gasped for breath; he hadn't done that kind of thing even when they'd been dating.
"I'm sorry, Miyako. I won't hurt you again. If you're willing to forgive me, I want to start over again."
"Stop acting like it's always your fault…" said Miyako.
"Hey, Hawkmon."
"Wormmon?"
"Does this mean we get to spy on Ken-chan and Miyako-san's dates again?"