C'mon, C'mon, keep walking. Nothing to see here, really! Just another plain, typical and (hope not too) cheesy Takari dramance.
Uh? Still there? Ok, ok, you've been warned. Before we continue, there are a couple points I want to make clear.
-The story will be heavily focused on Light and Hope, even if most (if not all) of the other digidestined will be appearing too. It's set 3 years after the events of 02, not because of Digimon Tri, but because 14 seemed an adequate age for our favourite couple to kick things over. Also, probably no digimon will make an appearance, haven't made my mind yet. Anyway, no digimon fights, that much is clear. And I've decided that I'll be using the japanese versions of the names even if they're not the ones I'm used to. Can't help feeling they have a nicer ring to them.
-I want to specially stress this. English isn't my mother tongue, not even my second one, meaning my level isn't really good. So, I want to apologize beforehand for any weird sentence, repetitive phrasing or else I might use (trust me, that WILL happen). Any beta-reader, or any suggestion for improvement or correction be it spell check or grammar (or hell, writing style too!) will be warmly welcomed.
-I also must add that I don't now much about Japanese culture or idiom. That means that many names (be it places or whatever), dates, events, expressions or honorific/affectionate suffixes may be misplaced or misused. Again, any correction to improve the writing is welcomed.
Aaaand, that pretty much sums it all up. So let's hop into it. I swear. Right into it. No more delays. Let's get it sta...
Disclaimer: I do not own neither Digimon not a digimon. But seriously, how cool would that be?
..rted. Sigh. Whatever.
Updated as of .2015: Small changes to adapt the writing style, and some minor spelling corrections, no changes in the story.
Ch 1: It's never that easy.
The four friends came to a halt when they reached the agreed spot, one that would undoubtedly offer them a clear view of the fireworks. The night air was chilly for summer standards, but other than that it was a calm and propitious night. The moon shone full and the night sky was clear, auguring a perfect ending to the Sumidagawa fireworks festival and a perfect start to the summer break.
The boy with spiky hair and jazzy goggles laying on his head dropped himself down to the floor, immediately sticking his legs out of the railing surrounding the Sumida river, his feet dangling over the edge. He let out an exaggerated sigh.
"Man, did I really need to sit down for a while!", he pretended to wipe the sweat off his forehead. "These summer festivals sure are exhausting!
His friends couldn't help laughing. Sure, they had have their share of walking from stand to stand, and now and again a playful, childish rushy chase following a teasing comment or a mocking grimace, but they knew too well that the young boy was just performing. If someone had the stamina to withstand a day like that, it was no other than the captain of the Odaiba Junior High soccer team. Motomiya Daisuke may be one of a peculiar nature, but he knew how to keep the spirits high.
"Are you really going to make my neck hurt to keep up the conversation? C'mon guys, it's not fair!", continued the boy who embodied both the crests of courage and friendship, while impatiently tapping the ground next to him.
The brown short haired girl took seat to his right, adopting a similar posture while staring at the calm waters of the river, whose dark, blackish surface reflected the silhouette of the moon, and soon did the same the youngest of them, a boy with moss green eyes by the name of Hida Iori, to the left of Daisuke. Only the blond one remained still, leaning on the railing while looking to a fixed point in the opposite shore, lost in thought. The cherrywood eyes of his best friend stared up at his, unable to hide the guilt she'd been feeling for the last two weeks whenever she gazed at his friend and could see nothing but pain and hopelessness in his blue ocean eyes.
"Keru?", she called him hesitantly in the way only she would address him.
Why was it so hard to withstand? She knew she had hurt him, but had no other choice. She would have never hurt his childhood friend had she found the way to avoid it. But realizing that fact didn't ease the dull pain in her chest. Nor did it the smile he forced for her when he looked down and he realized the young girl was staring at him. If anything, it made it worse. He tried so hard... It was her fault, yet he tried so hard...
"Something the matter? You alright?", she asked gently.
The blonde raised an eyebrow, as if bemused by her question.
"Why wouldn't I on such a perfect day, Hika?"
The smile on his face widened as did the grief inside her. 'Liar! Liar, liar, liar!' she thought. And a pretty good one, she must recognize, seeing how the vast majority of their friends didn't seem to realize what the blond was going through. But she had always been able to see through the charades of her best friend, had always felt his pain whenever something troubled him. And she had always been thankful for that ability, that trait Takeru seemed to share, that close bond that had helped them to comfort each other when they most needed someone by their side. But knowing she was the cause of his misery almost made her wish the bond would vanish so she could fall for his faked smiles, think that the boy he treasured the most was really happy. And she felt awfully selfish because of it.
"Just wondering", she shrugged, trying not to sound bitter. "You seemed worried."
"I'm fine Hika, you shouldn't worry for anything", answered the blond calmly. He playfully mussed her hair before taking a seat next to her.
She kept herself from pushing him further. She knew he wouldn't open to her, not anymore, and Daisuke and Iori were already looking at her weirdly, genuinely bemused by her questioning. An uncomfortable silence grew, the four of them looking quietly at the water, but with Daisuke around those awkward moments never lasted long.
"Can't actually believe we're finally free from school!", he shouted while leaning down on his back and stretching his arms, his feet now pointing to the starry sky. "It feels so... good!"
"You realize the appalling amount of homework you have, don't you?", said the ever liable Iori.
"Not to mention you still have to attend your soccer training sessions, mr. knukclehead", added Takeru teasingly.
"Same as you with basketball, in case you've forgotten, lord scatterbrain", replied Daisuke sticking out his tonge "C'mon, don't be such killjoys! IT. FEELS. GOOD!"
The blond turned to him ready to tease him a little more, just a little more, but his heart skipped a beat as he eyed Hikari's distended smile. She was gorgeous in her strapless pale yellow dress, those big cherrywood eyes of her shining brightly, reflecting the moonlight. Even knowing his feelings were not reciprocal a warm sensation grew on him, grateful for having her by his side. And he felt compelled to agree.
"You're right, Daisuke. It feels really good".
*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#
Night sky shone in all kind of colours as fireworks found their way up and burst soundly into mesmerizing forms that spread rapidly, merging one with another. Silence had fallen once again upon the group of friends, only it was a soothing one this time, only broken by the fireworks blasting and the occasional "whoaa" whenever the show frenzied, filling the whole of the sky above the city with colourful figures. The calm waters of the Sumida river reflected clearly the shiny patterns, as if playing their particular replica of the festival's final act.
None of them broke the silence until the show came to an end. There was no need for it. Only when the sky darkened and the waters reflected nothing but the light from the paper lanterns and the round face of the full moon, the girl who embodied the light allowed herself to let out a loud and dreamy sigh while she stood up.
"Every year I convince myself that it can't get any better, and every year they manage to prove me wrong", said Hikari, her eyes still sparkling.
"Did you see the big yellow one!? The Agumon-shaped one! Was it amazing, or what!? Which display you liked the most!?", questioned lively Daisuke in his habitual high-volumed tone. Some people glared at the noisy and jumpy young man, but he never noticed. The rest of them exchanged glances, a grin in their face, until they finally burst into laughter. He would never change. "What! WHAT!", could only babble a perplexed and blushed Daisuke.
"Can't believe Miyako and Ken couldn't come. They had never missed the festival before", said Iori frowning, after the laughter abated. He had always liked the girl, as crazy as reliable. She was like an older sister to him, always keeping the group of new digidestined tight and making sure Iori wasn't left apart because of his young age. Not that any of them would have done such a thing. Hikari had always been nice to him and Daisuke, even if blunt at times, had always looked after him in his own, odd way. And as much as it took him to get to understand his blond friend, he had finally managed to know the caring person behind the equally confusing and thick layers of tenderness and coldness Takeru insisted on weaving to shroud him from everyone around. But it was Miyako he missed the most whenever the lavender haired girl missed one of their meetings.
"It can be helped, Iori", Hikari smiled down on him. "She had to attend the family store and Ken knew better than tagging along with us and leaving her alone. If only her parents weren't out of the city... But it can be helped. Which reminds me...", she interrupted herself, smile still on her lips as she drew her camera out of her handbag. "Time for a shot! I made a promise!", added giggling when she saw Daisuke grimacing.
"But Hikari-chan...!" grumbled the Motomiya boy playfully, as she gently pushed him to the desired spot.
The three boys drew closer, leaning on the railings, the calm waters rivalling with the calm sky behind them, while Hikari looked through the lens, focused on snapping the best shot she could manage. They had tried to convince her of lending the camera to someone else so the four of them could stand together in the picture, but she had roundly declined. Not only was she reluctant to hand her costly camera to a stranger, but also was she determined to take the pictures herself. She loved to immortalize everything on her camera, specially if her friends where involved. Not that it was a challenge, all of them were natural, despite Takeru's and Iori's shyness. Smiling cheerfully when he sensed the most propitious moment, she pressed the button, only to repeat the process after her friends had swapped places.
*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#
Daisuke rubbed his eyes comically, as if bothered by the flash after the umpteenth photo Hikari insisted on taking, this time beside the stand where they had stopped to buy some takoyaki to satisfy their empty stomachs. As the red eyed girl put down the camera, Takeru approached her. She smiled on him as he drew near, but guilt took over once he got close enough for her to perceive the missing spark of hope in his eyes.
He was her best friend since before she could even remember, the one that had always been there for her, protected her, that had comforted her after a bad day and had listened to her concerns no matter how trivial they were. The one boy who would look at everyone with hope beaming on his eyes, hope she had taken away from him. How could she make his most treasured friend suffer like that? 'You had no choice', whispered a voice in her head whenever she felt she was to blame, but then again another would always reply 'There is always a choice, you silly little girl'.
"Want me to take over?", offered him, a smile on his face and the lifelessness only she seemed to perceive on his eyes.
She shook his head.
"You look breathtaking tonight, Hika. You cant stay behind the camera all the time!", he widened his smile while reaching his hand to her bare shoulder, petting her comfortingly. Her face reddened even in the chill of the night, but it was the tears that threatened to well her eyes what made her look away and stare nervously at her feet. She couldn't let him see her cry, she couldn't let him suffer more.
"I... I guess I'm not in the mood", she regretted the words the moment they came out of her mouth.
"Are you... are you alright Hikari?", he addressed her by her full name this time, clearly disquiet, sending a chill down her spine . "You're not feeling sick, are you?"
Pain stabbed her again right through the chest. Why did he have to try so hard? And why did that made her feel so miserable? She blinked furiously to keep the tears from falling down her cheeks. She couldn't let that happen. And she wouldn't.
She shook her head, still staring at her white shoes.
"You know... you know you can still talk to me about anything, ok? Anything. Like it as always been. No need for anything to change between the both of us", lied his mouth, his dull eyes yelling the truth. Truth she already knew. She would never open to him again the same way, if only to keep him from suffering more, just as she knew he wouldn't ever confess to her how bad she had hurt him.
She finally looked back at him, tears now at bay, forcing herself to gift him a smile as the blond always did.
"I'm... I'm fine Keru, really, I am. As fine as I am hungry".
He nodded, not really convinced, as she lead the way to the bench where Daisuke and Iori where already munching voraciously their takoyaki.
"What whed you takin abut?", questioned Daisuke, mouth still half filled with food as the both of them sat down beside Iori. "Thez are adredy getting culd!"
Takeru frowned, but Hikari couldn't help giggling as she answered.
"That's not nice of you to ask, Daisuke-kun. It was personal", teased him.
"But... Hikari-chan!", he tried to protest once he had swallowed all of the takoyaki in his mouth. But Hikari had focused back on her camera, carefully taking the memory card out of it.
She immediately put it back into his mobile phone and started texting while Iori seemed to lecture Daisuke about his manners. 'I'm really sorry you couldn't come. Really missed you tonight. But don't think I forgot my promise'. She then attached the pictures she had taken and hit the send button.
Miyako's message came before she had even finished her share of takoyaki.
'It's not that bad, you know I like attending the shop, specially with you-know-who keeping me company. But next year we wont miss it, I promise. And you can be sure that Inoue Miyako doesn't forget his promises either.
Anyway, hope you guys are having fun!
P.S.: He looks really hot today, doesn't he? ;)'
She smiled despite the sudden rush of pain in her chest, warmth creeping to her face, making her cheeks redden vividly. She needn't ask who she meant.
'He certainly does', texted back.
*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#
And there it goes! First chapter of the fic done! But now I feel like I cheated you into reading it since, unlike Miyako and Hikari, I can't really keep my promises! Haven't re-read it but it actually felt too cheesy while writing!
Anyway, any review, comment, or wathever you feel like writing back is welcomed. Just don't be too harsh on a rookie! It is my first fic after all. Please? :P