Look. I know. I get it.

THAT scene was probably one of the most ridiculously entertaining parts of TRI. It had to happen. I understand why it had to happen, and I can't really regret that it did, because it gave us one of the greatest canon takari moments to date. Which I loved immensely and have probably rewatched more times than the Filipino English dub of Season 02, episodes 7 & 13. And trust me, I've rewatched that dub a LOT.

But, you see, a part of me has since wondered what might have happened if the girls had come up with...literally any other solution to their dilemma. And by girls, I mean of course Sora and Hikari, because we all know Mimi is Mimi and is the primary reason that everything did happen.

Yes, yes, said alternate solution wouldn't have given us nearly a comedic scene and would have ended that whole subplot on a disappointingly, non-takari, anticlimactic note...

...

...but what if it didn't?

LITTLE AWKWARD MOMENTS

o o o

Little awkward moments
Little jokes you make
You like to watch me sweat
Because there's so much ice to break

-Keywest

o o o

Yagami Hikari was never very good at being in the spotlight. She tended to leave those moments to her older, braver sibling. Or Takeru. Or Mimi. Or, despite the fact that his rambles tended to extend past most of their attention spans, Koushiro. Really, if there were literally any other Chosen she could step aside for, she would have without question.

But now was not one of those times, and as she shifted nervously from one sandaled foot to the other, the young girl felt the full weight of three pairs of eyes staring at her expectantly.

"...I don't know..."

"Please, Hikari-chan." Sora—the girl she often looked to like an older sister, given their extended history together—was holding up both hands in front of her, palms pressed together. Pleading. Desperation read in her expression. "If you don't, we'll have to do it Mimi's way."

"I still say you're making it sound way worse than it is!"

Mimi's latest plea for her case went ignored.

Biting her lower lip, Hikari glanced between the three girls before sighing in defeat: "Alright. I'll do it."

–

–

"Excuse me?"

A soft voice called to the two boys exiting the men's bath, startling them both. Soft and distinctly female. Hesitant to the point where, had it not come from directly beside them, they might have missed it altogether.

Once their hearts had settled from the mild surprise, they turned towards the source and saw a young girl. Younger than either of them by a few years, at a glance, but with a strange aura of maturity about her. Maybe it was the way her hair was cut in a short bob with those long bangs framing her face. Or maybe it was the way she carried herself—nervous, yes, but a quiet reserve rather than skittishness. One of the many kimonos made available to the springs guests was still tightly wrapped around her, and they saw her hands fiddling with the sash.

But it was her gaze that captured their attention most. Even as it remained lowered, they could see she looked...almost upset about something.

"Yes?" The one on the right chose to speak first. "Can we help you?"

The question alone seemed to ease her mind some, and they witnessed her shoulder slump. A more genuine smile appeared as she lightly nodded, hand rising to a place just above her chest.

"I'm looking for my brother. Yagami Taichi." Her lips pressed together, and neither boy could deny it only amplified her cuteness. Her eyes did dart towards the entrance, but they saw no signs of her trying to catch a peek of anything more than perhaps signs of the person she had named. "I came here with him and a few friends of ours, and I need to talk to him about something important. I don't suppose...either of you could go find him for me?"

She finished off the request with closed eyes and a slight head tilt that...well, at least she wouldn't be able to see their cheeks flush a very light red at the sight. Sharing a glance between them, the boy on the right let out a quick, forced cough to cover for them before placing a hand on his hips. The boy on the left appeared to agree with the unspoken sentiment and nodded.

While his companion had spoken, he'd taken a quick glance around. Suspicious as to why such a cute girl would have approached them in such a manner. Then he'd seen them. Three slightly older girls in the far corner of the room. Huddled together. Whispering. He wasn't stupid. All the signs of a prank were there.

And yet...for the life of him, even with all that...he couldn't help believing her anyway.

"Yeah, sure." After all, what was the harm on their part in finding someone very obviously out of her current reach? "We'll go get him for you right now."

–

–

"Is there a Yagami Taichi here? Yagami-san?"

Takeru had just barely settled into the bath stall when he heard the voice call out. Then another, echoing the first. Neither of them were immediately recognizable, so he risked peeking his head out. A quick glance around told him where both Jou and Koushiro were, each looking similarly puzzled. He already knew Yamato had disappeared into the steam room a few minutes prior, and the distinct lack of visible, wild brown hair indicated there was every chance...

"I'm sorry, did you say you were looking for Yagami Taichi?" Tossing his shirt over one shoulder, Takeru exited the stall...and was immediately met with matching look of suspicion.

"You're Yagami-san?" One of them question, voice laced with doubt as he eyed Takeru up and down. "You don't look anything like her."

Takeru's head tilted to one side, confused. "Like who?"

"The girl who said she's your sister." It was the other who spoke that time, folding his arms across his chest. Looking increasingly annoyed as he attempted to blow a tuff of hair from his eyes. The humidity in the room made it difficult. "I knew it. I knew those girls were up to something. I still don't know what, but I'm not-"

"Ah..." Holding up both hands defensively, Takeru offered what he hoped was a sheepish smile and not a reflection of the internal laughter threatening to bubble to the surface. "I'm not Taichi-san. Honest. I'm just a friend of his, is all, and was surprise to hear someone I didn't recognize call his name. But..." His hands slowly lowered as the gears in his mind turned. His expression sobered, hints of concern gleaming in his bright blue eyes. "...if his sister is looking for him...is she okay?"

Clearly surprised (again) by the question, the boys shared another look before shrugging in unison.

"She seemed fine. Probably embarrassed at whatever those other girls were putting her up to. It's always the shy ones who get roped into that sort of thing, you know. I kind of feel bad for her."

"I don't," the second boy shook his head. "I don't care how cute she is when she blushes. This isn't-"

"What did she say?" Takeru interrupted.

Silence. For a solid three seconds.

Out of the corner of his eye, Takeru saw both Koushiro and Jou watching intently. As were a few other boys nearby. The room had stilled into a near silence, save for the running water and occasional drips. Momentarily captivated by the scene playing out, and curious as to how it would end. But only the three Chosen boys would have a much more solid grasp of the situation at hand. They knew Hikari well enough that she would never pull a prank like this. Not if it involved her asking for Taichi, and definitely not if she even suspected the others could be within earshot.

Not even if the other girls-(meaning Mimi)-were involved.

"She didn't say much else. Just that she needed to talk to him about something important."

Takeru frowned at that. "Where is she now?"

–

–

"Hikari-chan?"

Leaning beside the wall next to the entrance, Hikari's head picked up at the sound of her name. But it wasn't Taichi's voice caling to her, as she'd been expecting, it was-

"Takeru-ku—ah..." She turned to greet her best friend, only to immediately avert her gaze when she caught sight of him.

And the fact that he was currently standing at the doorway with slightly dampened hair and skin...and wearing a white towel around his waist. A large towel, yes, which covered him all the way to his knees. But a towel, and—almost certainly—nothing else.

"Is everything alright?" She could hear the concern in his voice, and even without looking at him, could picture the worry in his gaze. "I heard those two guys looking for Taichi-san. They said you sent them in after him."

She nodded, still staring at a very particular spot on the ground between them. "I did." Though her lips soon twisted into a small frown, despite her current state of embarrassment. "But...if you knew I was looking for Oniichan...how come you're out here?"

There was a pause. A solid two seconds' span of time during which Hikari realized her possible error. She hadn't meant it that way, of course. Taichi had simply been the easiest excuse for what she needed to do, but there was no reason-

"I'm wounded, Hikari-chan. Are you saying you don't want to see me?"

The accusation might have carried more weight to it if she didn't recognize that tone. The light-hearted tease he often used towards Yamato whenever he sought to get a rise out of the older boy. He used it on the others sometimes, too, and on the rare occasions he tried it with her...like right then...he always managed to get precisely the reaction he was seeking: a swift, fierce glare.

The fact that she knew she was reacting exactly the way he wanted only fueled her annoyance at him all the more. Certainly enough to momentarily forget about her very obviously flushed cheeks.

But Takeru didn't.

"Kidding, kidding," Hiding a grin of amusement behind a smile of apology, he leaned against the frame of the door as his expression softened. If there were any signs of embarrassment at his current state of (un)dress, he certainly didn't show it in front of her. "As for your question...he's currently sweating it out with a certain someone in the steam room. I thought it was best not to disturb them unless absolutely necessary."

He was being sincere now. She could tell. And it was enough to assuage her temper for the time being. She even relaxed enough to take on a look of concern.

"Are they-?"

"Probably."

"Still?"

Takeru sighed. A hand came up to rub at the back of his neck. "There's only so much we can do about it, Hikari-chan. In the end, the only ones who can get them to make up are themselves."

"...I wonder how long that'll take this time."

There was something in Hikari's tone that gave Takeru pause. Glancing down, he saw the girl staring at the floor again. Not to avoid his eye this time. In fact, he could still see hers, and they were darkened with dismay. A look he'd seen in the mirror far too many times not to recognize. Not when they shared a common cause: the ongoing love-hate relationship between their respective older brothers, and the palpable tension felt by those closest to them.

A tension no doubt felt all the more strongly by someone as sensitive to the feelings of others as he knew Hikari to be.

"Is that what you wanted to talk to him about?" He asked again, this time a little gentler. Less teasing and full of what he thought to be a deeper understanding.

"...hmm?" To his surprise, she didn't nod. In fact, when she looked back up again, she seemed to remember herself. And something else that caused her to shake her head. "Oh. No...no, that wasn't it." A weak laugh followed, and she smiled sheepishly before sighing. "Piyomon and Meicoomon are missing. We saw them run into the men's bath, and...well..."

This time, things clicked for real.

"...it's not like you could explain to those guys what was really happening, so you told them you had an emergency and needed to find your brother." Despite his own exasperation at what she told him, Takeru couldn't help a grin. "Clever. I get it now. I'll go tell Jou-san and Koushiro-san and we'll see if they're still hiding in here somewhere."

The weight of the last several minutes seemed to lift from her shoulders, and she peered up at him with a look of pure gratitude. "Thanks, Takeru-kun."

"Anytime." He turned to head back inside, but pause partway and added: "Hikari-chan?"

"Hmm?"

She was expecting some reassuring comment about their brothers. How things would work out between them because they always did. Words she already knew, but could benefit to hear coming from someone else, and what better person to speak them than Takeru?

What she hadn't been expecting, however, was for Takeru to lean in close until his breath lightly tickled her ear as he whispered: "...you really do look cute when you blush like that."

He whole body tensed, gasping softly as she stared up at him with wide eyes. Proving his point all the more by blushing a deep red.

"TAKERU-KUN!"

Her cry of annoyance would carry with him all the way back into the men's bath area. And he laughed it off, content with the knowledge that she would be too distracted by that feeling to continue worrying about either the digimon or their brothers' ongoing feud.

–

–

Mimi Tachikawa stared. Then continued staring. Then, after pausing to blink once, she stared some more.

She stared at Takeru's smug retreating form. At Hikari's reddened face. She turned back towards Sora, figuring the other girl would look equally shocked by what she was seeing...only to find her heaving a resigned sigh at the display. As if completely used to it by now.

Jaw dropping slightly, Mimi alternated her gaze between Hikari and Sora several times before finding her voice long enough to ask:

"...are they...?"

Expression unchanging, Sora gave a half-hearted shrug. "Who knows?"