Memories and Christmas Angels
Hikari sat on her bunk bed; she had the higher one, and swung her feet. Her mind was thinking about the upcoming holiday… Christmas! It was only a couple days away. Everyone had the holiday spirit. Even Ken, who came to visit his friends secretly, was waiting the glorious day. Ken didn't want to return just yet… He once told Hikari that it was too much pressure to see his family look upon him like a genius instead of a boy. She understood only a little. But she wished he would come back to his home for the holidays.
Taichi walked through the door with a glass of milk and cookies. Without any words, he offered one to Hikari and she gladly took it. The siblings formed a type of non-verbal code between themselves. They often made it up as they went. Hikari enjoyed having her brother around.
"Are you going to Sora's party?" Hikari asked her brother who was trying to fix his hair.
"Yeah." He replied simply.
"Oh."
"You're going too, aren't you?"
"No-no." She said quickly.
"Ah, really?"
"Yeah, um… Miyako, Daisuke, and myself are going to um… watch a movie."
Taichi adjusted his shirtsleeves and looked up at Hikari, stretching out his arms. "Yay or nay?"
"Yay." Hikari smiled.
Taichi gave his sister a thumbs-up and a wink, "Thanks, Kiddo."
"Anytime, big brother."
He left the room and Hikari dove to grab her laptop. Ken gave it to her as an early birthday present. She typed quickly on it and practically punched the enter key.
Bleep. The message appeared on her screen. It read: It's okay, Hikari. I know that brothers can sometimes be in need towards their looks.
Bleep. Another message: Yeah, Kari. Sisters can be like that too.
Bleep: We are still on for our "date", right, Hikari?
She typed in: Of course. I wouldn't miss this for the world.
Bleep: I'm signing out… I'll meet you guys later at the park. --Ken. Then he logged off.
Bleep: Yeah, Hikari, I'm comin' to pick you up okay? --Takeru. He logged off as well.
Bleep: Humph, lousy, TA. I'm coming too, Kari. --Daisuke. The logged off sign blinked a couple times.
Bleep: Guys, seriously… It's upsetting that Iori can't make it! Holidays, ne? See ya at the park. -- Miyako.
Hikari herself signed off and slid off her bed. She fell lightly onto her feet and she wrapped the coat around her body.
"Mom!" Hikari called out, before anyone could reply she added, "I'm going to study then go to sleep. So... Please don't bother me." Hikari shut the door, put a chair in front to block people from opening it, then dashed to her window, practically throwing herself out of it when it opened. Already, she heard Takeru and Daisuke climbing up the steps to the fire escape.
"You guys!" She called out, "try to be more quiet…"
"Okay, Hikari!" They both called out. Then they realized what they did and started to laugh.
Hikari smiled at the slight stupidity and made her way down the metal steps. Her bag was over her shoulders and her laptop was in her arms. The group always met confidentially because they couldn't tell their parents or siblings about Ken's appearance. If they did, they would have been in trouble anyway. What were they to say? "Oh, yes… We knew Ken was in the Digiworld. But we couldn't tell you because he was taking over the digimon. But don't worry! He's fine now!" Ha, that would be humorous.
The three hurried down the street and turned to go to the park. There was the park. It was lit up with two streetlights on either side and in the middle, there was a faint glow and two beams coming from flashlights. Miyako and Ken were already there. They walked down the path and sat down in the swings. Hikari placed herself in one and Takeru and Daisuke dashed to grab the swing next to her. Daisuke got there before Takeru, so the blonde stood next to her instead.
"What are we going to do today?" Hikari asked, pretending not to notice the two boys.
"Can we just talk?" Ken asked back, more to her than to anyone else.
"Sure," Miyako and Hikari said together.
Ken sat on the monkey bars with his laptop hooked by his waist. It had a strap that wrapped around his left shoulder. He leaned against on bar and looked towards Miyako who was sitting on the merry-go-round, moving her feet a little to keep it spinning slowly. Usually, Iori would be pictured up on the slide, but his known truancy made the slide look empty. The park was their place. It was for them only, or so they thought of it.
Memories already sprung out of the visions of things. They had only been meeting for about three months, but so many things have happened, both humorous and painful. The time Daisuke had sprained his ankle was when they were playing graveyard tag. Oh, boy, they had tons of fun trying to explain it to his parents. And when Hikari got lost in the forest nearby… They had to wait 'til dawn until they realized she was a couple feet into the woods. (They lost their flashlights somewhere in the park, so it made it difficult to find… well… anything.) And then there was that time were they took their digimon to ride the merry-go-round… Daisuke and Miyako got a little too carried away with the spinning and within seconds, the digital monsters threw their dinners up. That was the last time they ever took them on the ride.
"So," Takeru removed his hat and ran his fingers through his hair, "I thought we were going to talk."
"Yes," Hikari answered, "but what about?"
"Memories?" Miyako suggested. Everyone smiled.
"Memories…" Daisuke echoed.
"This is a good time for anamnesis." Ken added, giving Hikari a little smirk.
"Yeah…" Hikari smiled brightly. "Christmas is so wonderful."
"I remember the year Yamato and Mimi sang that song for us and our families." Takeru leaned against the post of the swing set.
"And when Taichi tried to sing." Hikari giggled.
"I remember the time when my family was together." Daisuke said with a quiet laugh. "Jun and I were skating with our cousins; she was just learning to roller skate, so she went flying into the mascot of our school! It was hilarious! We were skating when my cousins pulled her to go faster, she started to scream and wail like a little kid. Priceless, I tell you… priceless."
Miyako joined in with the reminiscing, "I 'member the time when my brother and I made stockings for everyone. We were so little and so bad with glue and glitter…" she giggled, "our names looked like big blobs of gold. I think it was my dad who said "Why, they're works of art!" and hung them on the wall."
Ken smiled faintly, "Most of my Christmases were dull. Not as fascinating as your guys'. I bet most of the fun memories were when I was younger. I wish I could remember memories that far away."
"Yeah…" they all said in a drifting voice.
"Hey, Takeru," Hikari smiled widely and looked up at him, "I still remember all our Digimon experiences. Don't you?"
"Most definitely." Takeru nodded and returned to the smile.
"Let's make this Christmas," Miyako began, "the best Christmas ever."
Hikari looked up at the clouded sky and sighed, her breath able to be seen. "I agree. How do we begin?"
Daisuke looked up as well, "Exchanging presents, for a start."
"Secret Santa's!" Miyako tilted her head back to look at the clouds.
"That's a start." Takeru said and looked up, too. Ken did as well.
"And a miniature feast," Hikari added.
"And our own Christmas tree." Ken suggested.
"With homemade decorations!" attached to that comment was Miyako's idea.
"And small stockings." Daisuke blinked.
"With out big blobs of glitter," giggled Miyako.
"Will Iori be back in time?" Hikari asked.
"He should…" Miyako watched as a snowflake fell onto her nose. She twitched a little bit.
"Snow…" Ken held out his hand to catch a little drop of frozen rain on his palm.
"I'm… dreaming of a white Christmas." Takeru sang jokingly.
Hikari smiled brightly. "So many things to be hopeful for."
"Spending it with friends is even better than anything." Daisuke noticed that the snow started to drop quicker.
They all smiled and looked at each other. Friendship was felt strongly between them all.
"Hey, Ken?" Hikari asked.
"Hmm?"
"Do you plan on visiting your parents any time soon?"
Ken looked down at the ground. "I'm not sure if I want to go home and listen to my mother and father rant on about my disappearance. I like how my life is going right now. It's peaceful and calm for the first time in a long time… I'd like to keep it that way. And… do me a favor. Just drop the subject. …"
Hikari nodded in respect. "I remember when Taichi and I were little… We used to think of snow being fallen angels."
"Really?" Takeru asked, "how do you come up with that?"
"Well," she sighed. "Angels come from above… And if they're broken, then they can't fly. We figured that there was so many angels, that they all collided with each other and tumbled toward Earth. That's why Taichi and I were always trying to make snow angels. You know, to fix them and have them fly back to heaven."
"I remember once that Jun took me out to get our first Christmas tree. Only ours." Daisuke stood up from his swing. "It was also the first time we ever been outside in a lot of snow. We didn't know what to do, but we loved the snow." Daisuke started to spin in slow circles; "We just spun in circles, the snow falling onto us. And then, when we'd fall down, we'd just stare at the snowflakes coming down on us. One of the few times Jun and I get along is when it snows." He stopped spinning and sat back down.
Ken smiled to himself. "I remember one Christmas. My whole family was together…" He started to chuckle a little bit. "I really wasn't sure of the Santa Clause concept, so I tried to stay up all night to catch him. Instead… My brother and I…" his voice trailed, but a smile still remained on his face. He shook his head. "We caught my mother in action. She felt so guilty and tried to make up the fact that our present-giving friend wasn't real. My brother told me to start crying because I wanted to see St. Nicholas. So I cried; my mom felt even worse. The outcome was that we gained an extra present and a couple extra cookies."
Hikari, Miyako, and Takeru laughed a little bit.
"Hey?" Daisuke blinked, "Santa isn't real?"
The kids remained silent and looked at the goggle-wearing boy. Takeru twitched a little bit.
Daisuke started to laugh hysterically. "I'm just kidding." He choked out. Miyako threw a small snowball at his head to make him stop laughing. Everyone blinked.
Hikari leaned against Takeru a little bit, a frown across her face.
"What's bothering you, Kari?" Daisuke asked.
She sighed and told them, "I remember the time I had to spend Christmas in the hospital. I was so alone and scared. Nobody visited me so I thought they didn't care. But on Christmas morning, I woke up to a bunch of flowers and presents and balloons. It was beautiful, really it was. Taichi was smiling brightly as if he would know the expression on my face. Everything was perfect, aside from being in the hospital. But that's what got to me; I was in the infirmary. I broke down in tears despite all their effort. My mother, father, and brother had to leave. They said that my illness would increase if they didn't do anything. So I spent my Christmas alone…"
Takeru hung his head, "My first Christmas without my dad or Yamato; it was a disaster. I wouldn't participate in anything. I didn't eat that whole day. The only thing I did was I opened up the present labeled: TO: Little bro' FROM: Big bro'."
"What was it?" Miyako asked.
"It was a picture of the whole family. Together." Takeru grinned. "Yamato always found a way to make things seem better."
"I was away from my family once, too." Daisuke noted. "It was more my fault than anyone's. I was outside of the cabin when my family told me they were going back home to visit my grandma for a little bit. Jun said that she'd stay with me. And she did, for a while. I don't know where she went, but she left me alone on Christmas Eve." He shrugged, "They came back for me 'round Christmas evening. They told me how irresponsible I was, took me by the wrist, and led me out to the car. That's all I remember."
"I remember when it was only my boring brother and I." Miyako rolled her eyes, "We bawled like babies because of our parents being gone. We never figured out why either."
"I guess we've all been torn apart from our family in some ways." Ken said firmly.
"Yeah…" They said at once.
By now, the snow reached at least half a foot. The kids were surprised at how rapidly it was piling up. Surprised, but very glad. The time easily reached midnight without them even knowing. Hikari wondered when Taichi was to be coming home so she could be there. She shrugged, not caring if she got in trouble; she always found a way out anyway.
"Miyako, what time is it?" Takeru asked, as if reading Hikari's mind.
"Wow!" She exclaimed, "It's nearly one o'clock."
His eyes widened, "I think Sora's party ended at midnight." He and Hikari shared a worried expression.
"Let's go." Hikari stood up, then realizing her toes were getting numb.
"I'll talk to you guys later!" Takeru said, taking Hikari by the hand and starting to dash down the sidewalk.
"The same with me!" Hikari called out.
Trying to be as silent as possible, Hikari made her way up the fire escape. She tiptoed up each step, then she saw Taichi getting out of a car. The girl gasped and dashed up the rest of the stairs, opened the window, silently climbed in, and then removed her wet coat, boots, and other items. She quickly dressed in her pajamas, took out any book, jumped onto her bed and started to read casually. Taichi walked through the door.
"Hey, Kiddo." He greeted.
"Hey, big brother." She replied.
"You're still up?"
"No, I'm just sleep-reading."
Taichi smirked, "Get some rest, or you won't be able to stay up for Christmas."
She shut the book and fell onto her pillow. "I was just waiting for you." She lied.
Automatically, the tired girl fell asleep. Taichi took her book and set it back on the bookshelf, then went to tuck her in.
He kissed her on the forehead and added in a whisper, "Next time you want to see Ken, you don't have to lie." He chuckled and turned off the light.
Hikari woke up at seven. She always woke up then, if not, then she'd wake up earlier. The girl pulled out her laptop, climbed down from her bunk, and walked out into the living room. She was the only one up so far. When she logged onto her chatting thing, Takeru and Ken were already on.
Bleep: Hey, Hikari. --Takeru wrote.
Bleep: Good morning. --Ken greeted.
They started to talk about their Christmas plans. Eventually, all six of them were on. (Iori was back by now.) Deciding on what day to drop out, the dropped out on Christmas. That means they were going to meet up on Christmas Eve… tonight.
Bleep: I could get our Christmas tree. --Miyako.
Bleep: We'll all make our own decorations. --Takeru
Bleep: I'll bring some food! --Daisuke.
Hikari typed: Sounds good t'me! Hey, I have to go. I think my parents are waking up. So… Ten o'clock? Or what?
Bleep: Ten thirty. --Takeru
Hikari sent a message with a simple "okay" and turned her computer off. She tiptoed back into her room and started on her decorations. Later, she would begin to make cookies. Joy was engulfing her mind every time she got ideas for her share. She took pictures of her other five friends and their digimon, then she included herself and Gatomon. Combining the pictures all together to form another picture, Hikari then printed it out, (because she used her digital camera) and mounted the small version of the picture on a light piece of wood. Larger and clearer pictures were put aside; there were six bigger pictures, and six smaller ones. The girl smiled triumphantly at her work. This was one Christmas that she wasn't going to miss out on.
Inside of his room, Takeru sat in front of his desk, thinking of what he could bring. He knew Daisuke and Miyako were planning to bring the stockings and the stocking gifts. Hikari, for sure, was to bake the cookies. (She was the only one in the group who could bake them with out burning them.) Ken was bringing the tree, he guessed. And possibly Iori was to bring the main course. He slouched in his chair. How was he supposed to figure out what to bring? Then he started to think about the presents… He groaned. What was he to do with those?
Daisuke placed his finger under his chin in thought. Hikari liked photography; he got her an actual camera, and a frame to put a picture in. Iori said he wanted a new portable CD player. He chuckled. Who knew someone like that kid would be so determined to listen to music? So that's what he got him. Miyako wished to have computer gadgets. And he bought some for her. Including a mouse with actual whiskers! He bought one for himself, thinking it was kind of funny to watch the eyes roll around and the whiskers twitch every time he clicked it. Ken was still distant from Daisuke; so he didn't know what to get him. He came up with a miniature soccer field with little people you could move around. It had a small soccer ball too. As for Takeru… Daisuke himself didn't know what he desired. Aside from his girl. He just wrapped a basketball the best way he could. He then moved onto making the stockings. Miyako was to come by later to pick them up and decorate them.
Iori pondered on what to bring. He guessed that people wouldn't mind eating rice and sushi. Other dinner ideas were still a possibility. Maybe he'd surprise them. Unlike the others, Iori had a tough time on getting gifts. He hoped they wouldn't mind that he made them himself.
Ken wondered what Hikari liked. He didn't really want to get her camera equipment, for most of the others were probably getting that. Originality was a must for the genius. So he spent most of his time on his presents rather than getting the Christmas tree.
Miyako was working on her presents: a fake camera with candy in it, camera film, and computer disks. She remembered how her friend kept complaining about how she couldn't save her pictures because she didn't have any disks. She bought Daisuke a soccer ball pillow. It was round, just like the ball, but it was really soft and neat. She got the same thing for Takeru, only a basketball. Ken, her boyish, smart, cute, and long loved crush. Well… short loved. She hasn't really gotten to know him very well… He was to receive a new laptop bag thing. Yeah, it was cheap, but it was really neat! To her at least… She and Iori already exchanged gifts. So that was one last thing she had to worry about…
That night…
Snow coated the ground beneath it. It was very chilly, but Hikari and Takeru made their way down the metal steps of her fire escape. Before, she tried to convince her brother to go to his friend's house or watch a movie. Just so she could sneak out of the house. She didn't care if he came back and she wasn't there. He just couldn't see her leave. The usual clunks of their feet touching the metal were muffled because of the snow. By now, it was a foot and a half deep.
"Yeah," Takeru whispered lowly, "I got in trouble by my mom. I'm really supposed to be grounded. But I promised myself I'd do somethin' tonight."
"Really?" She smiled, "I never knew you had a bad streak within yourself, Takeru."
His cheeks turned a slight shade of pink, despite the fact they were already cold, "You learn something new every day."
They rounded the corner and walked onto the path to go to the park. Their flashlights danced on the snow as they walked and they could see four other people in the center. Instead of the funny "how do you do's", they got right to business. Fun business, of course. The trade with gifts went first. Ken actually made small plushies of them.
"I didn't really make them," he blushed and sweatdropped, "Wo-Wormmon helped a lot."
"They're so cute, Ken!" Hikari giggled at the sight of him being embarrassed.
Iori gave them little trinkets of their crests; Takeru and Hikari only had one, but they still were grateful. To them, it was one of their greatest Christmases ever; and it was only the beginning! Time faded quickly as it always does. Since the nights were longer, they thought of it as their daytime. Wishing it would never end, just so they can stay together without anyone bothering their friendship. Eventually, things did have to end. Time had taken its final reach for two o'clock and Iori was practically dead asleep.
"Merry Christmas," Ken said flatly. "Thanks, too."
Hikari and Takeru nodded. The two left to go back to Hikari's home. When she got up to her window and opened it, she gasped.
"Yagami Hikari!!" Her mother screamed, she could tell that she had been crying.
"Mother!" Hikari gaped. Takeru's eyes widened as he stood against the wall.
Minutes and minutes flew by with her mother's roars of worry and anger. Hikari cried because her mom refused to listen to her. The girl never climbed through the window, and her mother never took a step closer to her daughter. Taichi passed by the open door several times, sharing looks of apology. Hikari ignored him. She despised everyone at the moment.
Finally, Hikari blew her top and screamed out at Mrs. Yagami, "I hate you, Mom! I loathe you! I hope I am to die soon so you don't have to put up with me. And then I wouldn't have to put up with you!"
Hikari dashed down the fire escape, sliding every few steps. Takeru followed, wishing he didn't hang around to listen. He chased her all the way back to the park. When she couldn't run any more, she fell onto a bench and wept to herself. Takeru stood for a little while, hesitated, then sat down beside her, pulling her closer to him.
"Hikari," he whispered. Her reply was a small squeak and tears falling onto his jacket.
"Hikari," Takeru started again. "Listen to me."
She looked up, her eyes spilling out tears every second. "How could I say such things?"
"It's just anger."
"On Christmas..!!!"
"Anger can come across anytime, Hikari."
"I'm sorry you had to stay for that," she tried to calm herself down.
Takeru still held her in his arms, not realizing that he was hugging her with love, "Stop apologizing. People make mistakes. Deal widdit." He added a warm grin.
Hikari smiled a little and threw her arms around her friend. "I don't know what I would do without you." She giggled lightly, "You're my Christmas Angel, Takeru."
Takeru remembered what he promised himself when he was making his gifts. "Hey, Hikari?"
"Huh?" She sniffed lightly; her tears were gone now because of his comforting.
"I-I, well, I…" he felt his cheeks get warm.
"What's wrong?"
Takeru blushed deeply, "Nothing is wrong. But something is right."
"What do you mean?"
"Hikari," he said in a questioning tone, "I… I would like to be… m-more than a friend."
She tilted her head; "Do you mean?"
Takeru turned away, staring at the snow, "Hikari… I love you."
Hikari looked down at the snow too; "I love you as well, Takeru."
Both of the kids' mothers were upset with them because of their escapes from home. Both of them knew how the other one felt. And both of them knew it was hard to face their family. Hikari made herself comfortable in Takeru's arms and she closed her eyes.
"Thanks." She whispered.
Takeru leaned himself against Hikari and closed his eyes as well. "Right back at ya."
As if it were some cue, they said together, "My Christmas Angel."
Cheesiness! Cheesiness! Warning, warning, cheesiness! ^-^
::dances around to the Cheesiness song.:: I know, I know. It's really stupid.
But, I'm going to be getting more Christmas stuff in… 'Cause X-mas is so… story-filled. ^-^; Please R/I (That's my new trademark… o.o Read/insult.) Thank you. Hikari Takaishi.