English isn't my first language so I apologize beforehand for any mistakes. You can also find this story at AO3 under my pseud Mariyannu.
Of Faults & Apologies
This was supposed to be another mundane day in the Digital World. The spiked hair goggle boy let out a groan of discomfort while stretching his arms wide in the air. A refreshing breeze made its way to his location, causing him to remember that even if winter was near its end, spring hadn't started yet. Holding his sudden urge to sneeze, a small Conomon crashed onto his leg, hurting one of its small three horns and crying in pain. Daisuke was genuinely tired of this. Of course he was overjoyed that the Digital World's current state of affairs was in peace, but in a small corner of his heart he wished he could go on adventures again and to stop whatever he was doing right now. Everyone had decided to contribute a small grain of sand towards a common cause: to heal this world back to its original state. The first step for said restoration was to guide and tutor the Baby Digimon so they could grow to be upstanding Digimon Citizens, or at least that's what Koushirou said according to Daisuke's foggy memories due to him not paying the proper attention. Even with seventeen years now, he felt like there was still a lot of work to do, be it here or in the real world.
For the first time in a long while, he was the first one to arrive to an old classroom. It was a room which they constructed so it'd be a sort of Teacher's Room for them. The group held meetings and sort-of did counseling between Digimons and their Partners. The world had changed quite a lot and that made him smile like the setting sun. The sliding door opened, revealing Hikari. Her cinnamon colored eyes sparkled with brimming light while she waved her hand and a small giggle escaped her rose lips. She was certainly amazed to see him being the first one since he was always late. In fact the meetings started way over scheduled thanks to that. Fixing her hairclip, she sat on a chair next to him.
"When you left school early I was curious. So it was for you to get here on time. Kind of strange for you to miss soccer practice." Her giggle continued, transforming into a small smile. "The others shouldn't take long to arrive."
"Who is coming today?" He asked, moving a bit closer to her with utter delicacy.
"Takeru, Iori, Miyako and Ken. It'll be the six of us this evening, just like the old days." She joined her hands imitating an applause gesture, tilting her head to the left. "If I remember correctly, Iori and Takeru are supposed to go on ahead and pick some papers up from… what was it again? The Digimon Student Council?"
"I still can't believe they are seriously trying to replicate a school environment here. Sometimes Koushirou is a tryhard." Daisuke crossed both of his arms.
"Daisuke, don't say such mean things! He isn't like that. I guess Mr. Gennai liked his idea a lot! Although yes, I never thought they'd try to open up a Council but it never hurts to try new things. It might give the Child Level Digimon a new sense of responsibility while looking after the others and ensuring harmony."
"Alright Hikari, you win." he let out a sigh of defeat.
"Yup!" she smiled once more. "Oh right, I saw a crying Conomon at the hallway. It seems it had hurt one of its horns. The poor thing… I hope Tailmon is doing okay."
"Right…" Daisuke bit his lip. He pretended ignorance since he clearly knew it was his fault and was unable to admit he ignored the crying baby. "Our partners also have it tough. V-mon doesn't want me to see him teaching a class."
"Pretty sure that's because you'd laugh your head off about it when both of you are home." She stated with a matter of fact tone.
"I'm an open book in your eyes!" Daisuke extended his arms pretending to mirror the image of an open book. "Also, why are the others taking so long?"
"I saw Miyako and Ken taking their time. Well, at least that's what I know according to her. She told me she'd wait for him since she wanted to talk about something. I have no idea what it could be." Hikari rested her chin on both of her hands, which were resting lazily on top of the table.
"Ken hasn't told me a thing either. Man, I can't believe he is dating Miyako of all people."
"Love comes in unexpected ways and forms." The chestnut coloured hair girl stared into the distance through the window, her cinnamon eyes lost in the dying sun. "I think they're a perfect match though! Even if their relationship is… a bit… special."
"Yeah, very special." Unable to keep quiet, Daisuke kept talking. "Ya know, sometimes I worry about how these two behave. Like, Miyako can be pretty temperamental and Ken's like quiet most of the time, although when he gets mad he's kinda scary, but they're such an odd couple."
"An odd but sweet couple." Hikari closed her eyes, letting the sun rays warm up her cheeks. The Tsukishima high school's uniform wasn't enough to keep her warm.
Daisuke knew it was now or never.
"Hey, Hikari…"
But he was interrupted when the door was opened and a familiar figure made its way inside. With a huge bandage over half of his left cheek, a look which reflected an inner death on his indigo eyes, Ken Ichijouji kept on walking while fixing his beige scarf. Both teenagers stood up heavily worried, however, it could be described as an astonished Hikari and a skeptical Daisuke.
"This smells like a new problem." The goggled boy whispered into Hikari's ear. Slowly, he made his way towards his best friend, who just stood there as if analyzing the events that had transpired minutes before he arrived. Daisuke mustered up the courage to ask him what was wrong, even if he knew his bored voice gave him away. He wasn't surprised in the least. Lately, it was common to see Ken with a small bandage or two. This one wasn't an exception. Nevertheless, he still asked. "… Was it an accident?"
"A man-made disaster." Ken's voice was dead, the same way as his indigo eyes looked. "So… Miyako."
"Oh? Did you guys fight again?" Hikari leaned closer to them, the sweater of her uniform dancing in her left hand. It was big for her but for some reason she found it comfortable enough underneath her jersey.
"Yes." Ken left out a sigh of discomfort.
"I knew it." Daisuke lifted his right eyebrow while tapping the floor with one of his feet. "Still, she got you real good."
"I'm definitely not apologizing this time." The boy with raven coloured hair closed his eyes, letting his face get covered by half of the scarf. He couldn't deny being upset about the whole issue. His discussions with Miyako weren't often but, when they happened, he was always the party who suffered the blow, be it figuratively or literally. "Definitely."
The door to the Teacher's Room rattled once more, revealing an unexpected guest. Or, at least, a guest Ken didn't wanted to see at that precise moment.
"Evening." Miyako was clearly pissed. Hikari could see it even if she tried to smile. A very small bandage was on her left cheek too, near her eye. Even with her glasses on, it wasn't hard to miss.
"Miyako, please tell me what happened to your face!" Hawkmon was standing behind her, asking the question the other two Chosen Children were afraid to do. "It looks awful!"
"Hawkmon, go back to your class, you're supposed to be a teacher!" She tried not to yell while still hiding behind that fake smile.
Leaving this small argument as a background conversation, Ken was doing his best not to succumb to nervousness. Daisuke held both of his friend's shoulders, asking the second question which needed to be answered for the sake of their dying curiousness.
"Wait, you fought back?"
"No, no…" Ken rapidly shook his head, looking briefly towards Miyako who was still discussing with Hawkmon. "You see…"
So he decided to retell the events that transpired a while ago during Miyako's argument with her Digimon partner.
.
.
.
"Stupid!"
Miyako closed her eyes while raising her hand. She was used to Daisuke being his punching bag but that habit had persisted whenever she was seriously angry about something. At least once, everyone had suffered the same fate when being with her. Even Yamato and Jou had experienced her legendary slap but the one who got them the most (especially after they started dating) was Ken Ichijouji. It wasn't an abusive relationship, not at all. It was just as Daisuke and Hikari expressed it: odd and special.
Ken caressed his cheek, looking sideways, without the energy to respond to her tantrum. He was clearly tired about all of this. He knew she didn't had bad intentions but he had to make her know that it wasn't polite nor the best course of action. Still, he liked this small quirk of hers and started to question his own sanity.
"What!?" The lavender haired girl turned her hands into two small fists, displeased by being ignored. "If you have something to say, spit it out!"
"It's fine… you keep calling me stupid over and over, so I'm just going to skip all of this and make my way to the Digital World, stupid." He mumbled with a deadpan voice as he left the empty park. It was the place where they had decided to meet-up to have a small talk which transformed into this disaster.
"Hey! Who are you calling stupid?!" Miyako couldn't hold it in anymore and perfectly knew she had to go that way as well to leave. She turned around, still with her eyes closed. "You seriously get on my nerves!"
Slam.
When Ken heard the loud noise, he turned around to find Miyako's face plastered onto the park's bathroom wall. He was completely wordless.
.
.
.
"She got herself so worked up, she hit herself." He sighed. "With the wall."
"Wow…" Hikari coverd her mouth with both hands.
"Stupid, right?" Said Ken under his breath, making sure Miyako didn't hear him.
"Even if your story is interesting and all…" Daisuke interrupted unamused. "How come you both have bandages if you came here directly."
"Oh, you see, when I saw that Miyako was okay after seeing her furious reaction towards the wall, I rushed to the Digital World and patched myself up in the infirmary."
"This place has an infirmary?" Now he was amused.
"Sometimes your listlessness regarding this stuff amazes me, Daisuke…" Hikari let out a small sigh.
"Thanks, Hikari!"
"That wasn't a compliment at all." Ken directed his gaze towards the ceiling.
"So, what started it?" The burgundy haired boy completely ignored Ken's remark, resuming the original conversation.
"I can't even remember." The other boy looked downward still confused about the events.
"I think Miyako has mastered her slap into a wiping memory technique…" Daisuke crossed his arms, deep in thought.
"But, this time… I won't give in until she apologizes!" Ken did a sudden comeback filled with determination.
"Is that so…" Small sweat drops of nervousness crawled upon Hikari. "Something tells me this can either go extremely wrong or awkwardly fine."
"Well, since she's injured you, you should try seeing how much money you can get outta her." Suggested Daisuke. "Just sue her, man. I'm sure she'd pay up, even with extra credit."
But while both guys started to argue the pros and cons of suing Ken's girlfriend, Hikari didn't have enough time to call for help when Miyako kidnapped her by pulling her wrist and silently closing the door. Hawkmon was nowhere to be seen, and the Chosen of Light knew her best friend had won the argument.
.
A few moments later, inside the Digimon Student Council Room, Miyako created an unwanted break for the Child Digimon to go out and leave the place alone for her and the others. Even if the Digimon protested since they had some work to do, she blatantly refused to open the door and added a lock to prevent unwanted interruptions and visitors. She was sitting at the table with the recently abducted Hikari, a confused Takeru (who got dragged into this unwanted mess just for being inside the room with some paperwork) and a sleeping Iori who had recently managed to close his eyes due to all the accumulated school stress he was going on at the moment, preventing him from having a proper night sleep.
"He is unbelievable! He never gets violent! He doesn't even get mad!"
Ah, so this was it. This was the trigger. Those were the thoughts of a poker faced Hikari. Ken never gets mad at her nor violent. The one who pays the broken plates, usually, is Daisuke. Is Miyako still jealous about that? About Ken never showing that somewhat aggressive side towards her?
"He's just so stupid!" Miyako dived her head into her arms and hid away.
"I-It'll be okay…" Were the only words Hikari could say, now that she knew both versions and the possible motive which Ken couldn't remember anymore. She wasn't too surprised due to this being an everyday issue between them.
"Still… it's not like he's cheating on you with some girl. I don't see why you're so upset." Takeru finally spoke with his trademarked charming smile.
"How do you know it's not a man?" Miyako's voice transformed into a menacing threat which somehow unaffected the blonde. "How do you know it's not Daisuke? How do I know it's not you?"
So she's persisting with this even now, Hikari let out another sigh. She still thinks of Daisuke and other guys from Ken's high school as love rivals. Oh, dear.
Takeru just laughed it out.
"Are you okay, Miyako? Did you hit your head?" Iori had finally spoken, waking up thanks to all the commotion.
"Are you even listening, Iori!?" She over dramatically turned her head towards his direction.
"Mmm…" He pondered, the room staying in complete silence. "…Just break up with him…" The youngest one of the group added a yawn at the end of his sentence.
"Why!?" She stood up as part of a defense mechanism and her lavender hair flew along with the rhythm of her body. "Are you really going to ask me that?!"
"What would you do?" Iori finally asked, dropping what seemed to be… a bomb. "If Ken stopped liking you."
Miyako stayed quiet, frowning and with a small pout manifesting on her face.
"He might be there for you today, but there's no guarantee that he will be tomorrow." Hikari couldn't hold it in. She needed to make her friend realize it before it was too late.
"Ah!" Miyako's eyes went wide open. Afterwards, she gave her back to Iori, looking at Hikari and Takeru face to face. "It pisses me off when Iori says it, but it makes sense when Hikari's the one saying it… You're right." She added a small nod.
"Hey." Of course, Iori was not pleased with the first remark.
"Ahh… and now I'm angry again." A dark aura enveloped Miyako once more.
"Back to square one…" Hikari's body fell on the chair, as if it was jelly.
"This will take a while." Takeru on the other hand couldn't hold his laughter.
"Tell me. What's so funny about this?" The chestnut haired girl couldn't grasp it at all.
"I dunno, this situation is lively and interesting. Plus, I'm sure things will work out in the end."
"Work out huh…? I hope they do."
Hikari stared at the setting sun in the distance, the last ray of digital sunlight dying in its afterglow.
: : :
The following day, things transpired in a monotone pace within the group. Just like usual, everyone had their specific chores to do before their usual evening meet up. It was a beautiful Saturday, so Daisuke's group had decided to be in charge of the weekend and give Taichi's party a rest for now. They had been busy with college and according to the others: they deserved a good rest due to all the stress. Although, once the promised time arrived with the setting sun, he and Hikari knew things wouldn't turn out well. Once again, they were paired up with Ken and Miyako to write a report while Takeru and Iori fixed a broken classroom. They didn't even bother to ask why it broke. It might've been due to the baby's training to evolve but they decided not to question it and just focus on their chore… If, for starters, they could.
Ken and Miyako were sitting next to each other, incapable of looking one another. Their bandages were still fresh on their cheeks, and the concealed anger flowing through their bodies.
"We're supposed to submit… Our group's report, y'know?" Daisuke was clearly exhausted. He never acted this way but seeing that they both hadn't even cooperated a bit for this, he knew he'd be stuck doing it alone with Hikari and he didn't want it to be a bother to her. Writing reports wasn't his forte and what he least wanted was to be a burden to the chestnut haired girl.
Both teenagers didn't answer and tilted their heads violently, looking away towards the opposite direction of their partner.
"Fine, I'll just compile everyone's opinions. Is that okay!?" The goggled boy couldn't hide his anger anymore.
"Go ahead." Unfortunately, it didn't last long, since the couple had replied at the same time using the exact same words "Ah."
Sparks flourished out of their eyes due to the tension between them.
"Yeah, yeah, you guys jinxed each other. Get over it!" Hikari could clearly see how Daisuke was about to lose it.
.
.
.
"Seriously…" Daisuke threw his arms over the table during the small break they had scheduled. The atmosphere had grown so extremely tense when writing the report that Hikari suggested to take a breather. Miyako was the first one to go, leaving the three Chosen Children catching some peace for now. "Miyako is terrifying. You guys are seriously tiring me out…"
"I'm sorry for getting you involved…" Ken was truly apologetic. He never wanted his friends to be involved in their silly fights but, sometimes, it was plainly unavoidable. "To be honest, I'm tired too… Wait… Why is she so mad at me anyway? What started it again…?"
Dying on the inside, Ken was clearly struggling to remember. Hikari just bit her lip, being fully aware of the cause. She wanted to say it but then, she'd be victim to Miyako's wrath for giving her motive away, so the most intelligent thing to do was to keep quiet.
"Do me a favour and at least remember the reason for your fights, dude. You're in danger of falling into an endless loop." Their leader sighed and turned his lips into a small pout. "Just make up already… this is worse than BelialVamdemon's Mind Illusion."
"Believe me, I want to…" Ken slurped his peach juice delicately until his D-Terminal emitted a small light. "Oh, a message."
He slowly opened it and his eyes were filled with surprise when he noticed the sender.
From: Miyako Inoue
Sub: (no subject)
My period isn't coming. Good job, stupid.
Daisuke never knew the reason of why Ken's peach juice was suddenly all over his body.
Ken never noticed when he just spitted all over his best friend.
"I'm going to kill you." Now it was the turn for their leader's voice to become as cold as ice, his eyes filled with an endless void as well.
Ken couldn't stop coughing while Daisuke's face dripped with the juice, the smell of peach impregnating the area. Once again, the D-Terminal's light turned on and, with trembling hands, Ken slowly opened it.
From: Miyako Inoue
Sub: (no subject)
I'm obviously lying, stupid.
The heavy weight from Ken's body was lifted, releasing a big hahhh while he just gave up over the table, unable to move a muscle.
"Hikari, do you happen to have a handkerchief?" was the only thing Daisuke could ask to the brunette.
"Yep! I think I… wait, so the peach juice smell was coming from you?" Hikari searched for the object and handed it to him. "What happened?"
"I have no clue, but I'm pretty sure Ken almost had a heart attack."
.
.
.
"What am I even doing?" Miyako let a small sigh escape from her lips after closing the lid of her D-Terminal. She was sitting all alone in the courtyard, watching the baby and child Digimon play around with happiness, without a single worry in their small world. "I'm being an idiot… all I have to do is say I'm sorry."
Miyako crossed her arms on top of her knees, placing her head within them while she drowned into her own self misery.
"It's my fault anyway…"
.
.
.
The school bell rang, indicating it was time for the last class to start. The baby and child Digimon hurried to their classrooms with excitement, and the rest of the gang had to finish up some pending work before leaving. Today, supposedly, they were going to divide into small groups to go give some speeches for some classes about how the human-Digimon partnership is and the mechanics behind it. Ken was walking aimlessly in the hallway, attempting to find the room he was supposed to go since his speech was supposed to be with Iori. Suddenly, a friendly voice got him out from his sadness.
"Ken, over here." Takeru was calling him, waving his hand.
"Hm?" Ken approached him, not sure of what was going on.
"Have you seen Miyako?" The blonde asked.
"Huh?"
"She wasn't in class. We're supposed to be a pair today but she hasn't showed up yet" Takeru placed his hands on his jean pockets.
"Ah…"
"She wasn't in the infirmary either. Or the dressing room. I'm worried." But even if he was concerned, a mischievous smile was still plastered on his face.
"You didn't go inside, did you?" Now it was time for Ken to be concerned.
"…Anyway, the point is, I can't find her." Takeru closed his eyes, still smiling, ignoring Ken's question.
"Did you?"
"She left all her personal belongings. Not to mention it's getting cold outside…" Takeru turned around and started to walk towards the opposite direction leaving him alone.
"Okay…" Ken just couldn't believe how Takeru had changed during these years. He never thought he would have to ask such questions about his actions. "Wait, outside?"
The raven haired boy started at Takeru's back, not knowing what to think. He then switched his gaze upon the window, knowing what he should do.
.
.
.
"The ball's over there!" A small Sakuttomon was playing soccer with Frimon, both truly engaged in their game.
"Pass! Pass!" His digital friend screamed eager to keep the game ongoing while skipping classes.
Ken never thought some Digimon would do the same as some kids do in real life, but somehow said thought made him smile, and forget his problems. If Miyako saw them, he was convinced she'd give them a very harsh lecture about the cons of being a delinquent. But, of course, Ken never imagined that when he stepped to the courtyard he'd find his girlfriend sitting down on some stairs, head between her arms; arms over her knees.
So this is where she was, Ken thought.
Her light, lavender coloured hair was brimming with life instead of being unkempt after the whole drama. The raven haired boy wondered how much longer her knees would last in that position. Her porcelain skin was beautiful as always, and her glasses were still on her face (even if he knew that having them on must be hurting her due to how she was sitting.)
Ken looked towards the floor awkwardly, not knowing what to say or how to start. He scratched the back of his head, feeling every strand passing through his fingers as silk.
"What?"
Miyako's hurtful voice brought him back to reality. He was genuinely surprised by her noticing it was him, even if she was incapable of looking at him face to face, even if she had lifted hers from her arms and knees.
"Nothing." Ken replied the same way, tilting his head to the opposite site. If Miyako was playing this game, so could he.
"You probably don't like me anymore, do you?" She lowered her eyes, a melancholic amber gaze growing inside of her. She bit her lower lip, scared to hear an answer.
"What?" Ken was dumbfounded.
"It's not like you'll always be around." She mustered up the courage to continue.
"Oh…" was everything Ken could answer, still confused about her sudden choice of words.
"You must hate me now." Hearing those words, Ken's heart reached a sudden halt and froze.
His indigo eyes were wide open not knowing what to think.
"Why?" Now it was Miyako's turn to squeeze her arms after hearing Ken's question.
"B-Because I…" He saw Miyako on the floor, doing her best not to cry and break apart. The girl managed to keep calm, while crystal tears rolled down her plumped cheeks, forcing herself to keep them closed under lock and key but escaping nevertheless.
Drip. Drip.
"Huh!?" At first, Ken had really thought it was an illusion. He knew Miyako could be a cry-baby in some occasions, but he never thought she would genuinely cry over this unusual argument they had yesterday. Sure, they had them but she had never cried. Not even once. "W-Why are you crying?"
Concerned about his girlfriend, he kneeled down in front of her to calm down her sobbing.
"Come on, there's nothing to cry about." He did his best to reassure her.
"B…B-But…" Miyako did her best to speak. "I always… Get mad at you… Over really stupid things."
Ah, she's aware of it, and that's when Ken noticed that this was, indeed another meaningless and silly fight between them. One of those that happened once in a new moon.
"Let me see your face, Miyako." With a sweet voice, he did his very best to convince the lavender haired girl to stop rubbing her whole face with all her arms, since she never did take her glasses off and was hurting herself. Unable to convince her, he grabbed her wrists and separated them from her face, leaving her exposed. "There we go!"
Her glasses fell off, revealing her red eyes and an astonished face. Tears were rolling down her cheeks and a small blush formed in between. On his eyes, she looked more beautiful than she had ever done before.
"You're crying!" He said, holding his laughter. He had never expected her to actually cry about this silly fight, thus finding it amusing. "You're crying!"
His laughter turned into a sweet melody for Miyako's ears. She loved it when Ken laughed. He barely did it. She was in love with that laugh. She was the first one to make him laugh, and wanted to be the only one who made him laugh forevermore.
"I guess even prideful and stubborn Miyako can cry sometimes." Ken added, knowing that his girlfriend can be that way just to have her way during her arguments. She always was determined to have her way and win during small fights, especially with Daisuke. "Your nose and your ears are all red."
Knowing she was exposed, Miyako flinched.
"You're crying, you're crying~. There's snot everywhere~" he kept teasing her, enjoying this unique moment for him. Just for him. "You look so funn—"
"Shut up!"
But before he could finish, Miyako raised her knee towards his stomach as a defence mechanism. She never did that, only towards Daisuke. Still, she had reacted by instinct and felt terribly bad for hurting him that way.
"Why are you so nice!?" She screamed, unable to keep calm. "It always makes me think about these stupid things, like how I don't know what I'll do if you hate me!"
And more crying ensured.
Ken's gaze was lowered, incapable of believing that was the motive of her tears. A silly, silly fear according to him. Of course, he couldn't know the reason for the fight was another cause, but now he had identified the motive of her tears, which was his main concern at the moment. He was speechless.
But mad? He wasn't mad at all. Miyako was full of surprises. She was a surprise herself. He wanted to know more about her. More about her quirks, her reactions, her happiness, her tears, her anger; everything. Being with her was an adventure itself.
"W-Were you worried about that this whole time?" He asked, holding his stomach.
Miyako was silent, her sobs decreasing.
"You occasionally call me stupid, but I think you're the most stupid here from us both." He said with a wide smile.
"I know that already!" She was clearly frustrated.
So she's aware of it. Well, that's good, Ken thought.
"Also, I like you even more than you think." Kindness overflowed from Ken's gaze and body, small butterflies forming inside Miyako's stomach when she met his sparkling, brimming, ever loving, indigo eyes. "Why would I suddenly start to hate you?"
Once again, the girl was left speechless. She had been defeated. After a few seconds, her mouth was able to move again.
"Why do you always say stuff like that? You, silly!" A small tantrum began, and Ken patted her head.
"Because it's true, Miyako." He lowered his body once again to be on her same height. She was still on the small stairs, but he was down on his knees. "Fine."
They couldn't hear the baby Digimon playing anymore, only the whispers of the wind blowing a lullaby on their ears.
"I'm sorry for liking you."
The world stopped for Miyako Inoue. She got lost on Ken's appearance, on his pure, genuine smile, on all the feelings of love he transmitted towards her. She loved him. She loved him more than anything in this world. Her tears had stopped and her heart was about to go crazy with all the beats.
"Ah…" Ken suddenly arrived to a realization. "Crap. I apologized. Even though it's not my fault."
"Yeah, it isn't even your fault!" Miyako got herself together, standing up, clearly mad now, and crossed her arms with fury. "It's always my fault, okay!? Okay!?"
"Okay…"
A thus, the argument was over.
But, unbeknownst to them, Daisuke and Hikari had been spying their conversation the whole time through the classroom's window.
"I can't hear what they're saying, so I can't really comment but… Miyako definitely kicked him in the stomach, didn't she?" Daisuke shivered, flashbacks from similar experiences running through his mind.
"Yes…" Hikari did an awkward smile as her answer, slowly holding Daisuke's hand with tenderness.