A/N:Okay, so while working on a multi-chapter Digimon fanfic, I've finished watching Digimon Xros Wars. This is also for Day 11 in the 28 days of love challenge. This oneshot came to mind after watching an ep and I was listening to the song, "Just So You Know" by Jesse McCartney.
Oh, and this doesn't include anyone from Boy Hunters...well, except Yuu, but he was in Xros Wars as well. XD
Just So You Know
Eleven years had passed since the adventure in the Digital World. The bonds between the Digimon and their Generals hadn't changed a bit, though the lives of the Chosen Children had gone in many different directions.
Taiki, always out to help those in need, was a Community Development Officer. Akari was a singer, had produced a fair number of albums, and by now was quite well-known in Japan. Zenjirou had become famous for his kendo skills, and he and Akari had been maintaining a steady relationship for a few years.
Kiriha was studying to become a lawyer and worked part-time in a law firm to gain work experience. Nene was working to publish a novel based on their adventure in the Digital World, but of course some of the more gruesome details had to be left out. The man, rallied by Taiki's grandma-esque nagging, had told Nene his feelings on Valentine's Day the year before, and the two had been dating ever since.
It was a bright, sunny day, one which found Taiki hanging out with Kiriha and Nene. Even with all the fun he was having with his friends, however, the former Xros leader's thoughts were constantly elsewhere.
His was thinking of Akari. Specifically, the day Zenjirou told him he'd asked Akari out and they'd begun dating. That day, though he'd pretended to be happy for them because they were his friends, inside he'd felt his world come crashing down. For the rest of the day he'd hung out with his partners in the Digital World, Kiriha coming by to give him some company.
He knew he shouldn't feel that way, but he couldn't help it. The boy was so angry at himself for not telling Akari his feelings earlier, but then that just made him feel guilty. Zenjirou was his friend, too, after all, and it was nice that he'd found someone who appreciated him. But…why Akari? Taiki always thought his rival had a crush on Nene…
Kiriha would kill me for thinking that,Taiki thought a little humorously.
Abruptly, Nene's concerned voice knocked him out of his musings. "Taiki-kun, are you all right?" Kiriha watched him as well, yet a knowing glint lit his eyes. The twenty-four-year-old blushed a little and laughed awkwardly.
"Uh-huh! Yeah, I'm fine! Sorry, I guess I spaced out! Anyway, let's go get some lunch!" he covered quickly, springing off the bench on which they'd decided to rest.
But before anyone could say or do anything else, none other than Zenjirou's voice broke through. "Hey, guys!"
Taiki jumped, warily peering over his shoulder to see his now-literal rival. Ignoring his heart's reflexive twinge, he forced a bright smile on his face, if only for his friend's sake.
"Zenjirou! Long time, no talk!" he chirped cheerfully. Zenjirou nodded with gusto.
"It has been a long time, Taiki," his smile seems likely to split his face in half, "but I'm so happy!" the twenty-three-year-old cheered, and Nene smiled lightly. It was typical of the kendo lover to be hyperactive, but the brunette guessed there was something more than just his normal personality.
"And why might that be, Zenjirou-san?" she asked, and if possible his grin grew.
"Akari said yes! I asked her to marry me, and she said yes!" he answered, still ecstatic. Turning to an unnoticeably-stiff Taiki, he requested with baited breath, "Taiki, will you be my best man?"
"Of course…!" the youngest of the group replied immediately, almost robotically.
Akari and Zenjirou were getting married...! Tears pricked his eyes, but he blinked them back for fear of Zenjirou getting suspicious. Memories of their first time in the Digital World flashed in his mind's eye: Akari always taking care of him and how she'd gotten jealous whenever Bastemon hugged him.
Snapping out of it when the memories stopped, he tuned back in to find Nene talking with Zenjirou. Kiriha stood with them, pretending to listen, yet secretly stealing glances at Taiki.
"I-I'll go tell the Digimon the good news! I'm really happy for you guys!" the gogglehead announced, and without another word ran off in the other direction. His blond friend frowned, growing increasingly worried, and Nene watched him go with sympathy burning inside her.
Then, shaking her head, she beamed. "I'm going to go find Akari and congratulate her!" Standing up, she leaned over and kissed Kiriha's cheek, causing him to turn red. Nene pulled back and giggled before sprinting away, earning a chuckling Zenjirou a glare.
For Taiki, the Digital World was where he could escape his worries and be happy. But today, even coming here didn't cheer him up. He was the type to stay positive, sure, but right now, he felt so much agony.
He ran towards Shoutmon's castle, finally allowing the tears to drop as he did so. Pushing open the double doors of the castle, Taiki caught everyone's attention as he fell to his knees. "Shoutmon!"
The red dragon-Digimon, who'd been offering some DigiNoir to Lunamon, jumped at his partner's yell. Getting over this quickly enough, he rushed up to Taiki with Dorulumon, Cutemon and Ballistamon at his heels.
"Taiki! Taiki, what's wrong?" he asked urgently, face filled with concern and eyes wide.
"Akari...Akari and Zenjirou are getting married!" the gogglehead choked out. Shoutmon's mouth dropped open in shock, and he was about to go on one of his tirades when Ballistamon clamped a hand over his mouth. At this, the human smiled minutely.
"Taiki, you must speak up at the wedding, kyu!" Cutemon told him, and the man raised an eyebrow.
"What are you talking about?" the twenty-four-year-old inquired. "Zenjirou asked me to be his best man! I-I can't just ruin this for them!"
Dorulumon sighed. It was so typical of their General to put others before himself. He opened his mouth to speak, but Shoutmon cut in.
"Listen, Taiki, if you don't do something now, you'll lose Akari forever!" Shoutmon advised, doing his best to talk some sense in to his best friend. "Akari loves you, anyone can see that! She probably only dated Zenjirou because she thought you didn't return her feelings!"
Cutemon nodded in agreement. "Akari definitely loves you, kyu!"
The young man was still hesitant. Even if that were true, Zenjirou was his friend, and it would break his heart if the gogglehead crashed the wedding. It just wasn't like him to cause someone pain.
"Zenjirou is your friend. I'm sure he'll understand, even if it's hard or takes a while," Dorulumon counseled calmly.
"If he still doesn't want to accept it or forgive you, we'll explain things!" Ballistamon assured, knowing how hard it was to do anything where it felt like he was betraying one of his best friends.
Shoutmon raised his staff in determination, roaring encouragingly, "You have our full support, Taiki!" The others yelled their approval as well.
Taiki looked at each of his friends in turn and closed his eyes tightly, clenching his fists. Before, he would have died before betraying one of his friends…but if he had the support of the Digimon and maybe Nene and Kiriha, perhaps he could do this without permanently damaging his relationship with Zenjirou. Finally opening his eyes and relaxing his hands, he nodded at last.
Once the big day arrived, Nene was the obvious choice to help Akari get ready. Over the course of the morning, the brunette attempted to talk to the redhead about Taiki multiple times, but it always ended with the same roadblock: Taiki didn't love her the way she loved him and never had, so she was simply getting on with her life. It made Nene wonder what she would have done if Kiriha had waited so long to tell her how he felt…
Such pondering came to a staggering halt when Akari stepped up to the full-length mirror.
"You look beautiful, Akari!" she complimented, making the redhead smile and turn to grasp her Maid of Honor's hand.
"Thank you, Nene! For everything!"
The older woman simply nodded, though her searching eyes seemed to reach down into Akari's soul. The bride-to-be turned away and pretended to adjust her hair and dress in the mirror in order to hide herself. She couldn't let Nene see even the smallest bit of truth.
After accepting Zenjirou's proposal, she'd spent many nights crying herself to sleep because she couldn't stop thinking about Taiki. As much as she denied it, as many times as she'd tried to convince herself it was a long-done childhood crush, she still loved the boy and even more so the wonderful man he'd become.
Dropping her hands, she mentally scolded herself. She was marrying Zenjirou, so these thoughts of Taiki would have to stop!
Finally satisfied with both facets of herself, she walked with Nene into the waiting arms of her Father.
Standing to the side of the altar, Taiki couldn't help but fidget. He hadn't told anyone, not even Kiriha, what he was planning to do. This wasn't going to be easy, he knew that, but he also knew he had to do it. He was just glad all of his Digimon friends would be there to provide back-up. Still…h-he didn't even know what he was going to say…
Glancing to his right, the twenty-four-year-old caught a glimpse of Zenjirou. Instantly, he felt the guilt settle in the pit of his stomach before he forced himself to look away. C-could he really do this?
The small murmurs that were heard throughout the crowded church before hushed now, and he turned to see his two women in the doorway. Nene sneaked off to join the other bridesmaids, and Akari walked arm-in-arm with her Father down the aisle. She looked so stunning in her wedding dress that she almost took his breath away and his eyes never left her on her journey.
When she reached the altar and Zenjirou took her hand, he was able to tear his gaze away at least. The priest's speech echoed in Taiki's head. He was listening closely to know when it was his turn to speak.
"Speak now or forever hold your peace!" the clergy man commanded at last. Taiki felt his heart thud rapidly in his chest, and his voice stuck in his throat. He could hear the Digimon whispering to him and shut his eyes in order to gather his courage, forcing himself to take a step forward.
"I object!" he cried, and as all eyes landed on him, his gaze never left Akari. Zenjirou was about to ask what was going on, but the gogglehead didn't give him a chance. "Akari, you can't marry Zenjirou!" His voice was borderline desperate, and he was shaking from years of pent-up-now-released emotion. "I was a coward for never summoning the courage to tell you that I love you! Zenjirou is the one who truly deserves you for being able to confess when I couldn't, for giving you so much love, but...Akari, please don't turn your back on me now! I love you, Akari!"
"Taiki...!" Akari whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek. Why was he telling her this now? It was too late for them! She was getting married, for Xros' sake! More tears rolled down her cheeks in the midst of her inner turmoil.
"Kudou, Taiki…!" Zenjirou uttered, almost numb thanks to the emotions raging inside of him. He was angry and hurt, but at the same time he didn't blame Taiki. This hadn't been easy for him, not by far, but it took incredible courage for the former Xros Heart leader to speak up like this, and the younger man wouldn't let that go to waste.
"Akari…go to him," he quietly ordered, making her snap up to gaze at him in extreme surprise. "Taiki loves you a lot, otherwise he wouldn't have done this. Now, go!"
He smiled for her, but averted his eyes so she wouldn't see the pain there. Whether he'd admit it outright or not, he couldn't handle all of these emotions at once and ran out the church door before anything could be said or done.
Akari was frozen in shock. Unintentionally or not, they'd just really hurt Zenjirou…! Still, his words rang clearly in her mind, and instantaneously she swiveled on her heels and ran as quickly as her feet would take her into her gogglehead's loving arms.
"Idiot!" she screamed into his chest, punching his shoulder and wiping away the remainder of her tears. "I love you, too!"
Taiki held her gently, feeling some of his worries ease and chuckling a little awkwardly when the term 'idiot' came up. He didn't argue; he honestly had been an idiot for waiting until now...
No more time to think on that. In a moment's notice, the Digimon were upon them.
"Congratulations, kyu!" Cutemon exclaimed, jumping into Akari's arms. She smiled and held the fluffy Digimon close.
"We have to find Zenjirou," Taiki interrupted prematurely, determinedly. "I can't turn my back on him!" At this, nearly everyone sweatdropped except Akari, who nodded her approval.
"I'll come with you!" Ballistamon volunteered, Nene and Kiriha doing the same. The three ran out the doors in search of Zenjirou, only to find him a short time later, sitting on a rock outside his kendo-practice dojo.
"Zenjirou?" Taiki called softly to catch the other man's attention, and when he finally looked up, guilt tore at the born leader's heart once more. "I'm sorry."
"Shouldn't I be saying that to you, Taiki?" his friend returned just as quietly, and the gogglehead blinked, not sure how to respond. "It was obvious Akari always loved you. It's just…when you went to the Digital World to fight alongside Kiriha and Nene, the two of us became really close…and I guess I was just glad someone appreciated me so much. I'm sorry I got in the way of your happiness."
"Zenjirou...!" Taiki breathed, stunned at how mature the other had become over the years, and let a small smile break through. "Thank you!"
The taller grinned, then furthered it into a smirk and glanced over at the Digimon, causing them to blush and Cutemon to hide his face in Akari's dress. "I'm just glad your partners convinced you to do this!" He directed a barely-more serious countenance to his best friend and rival. "I won't say I'm not upset, but that doesn't matter now! What matters is that you'd better take care of Akari or we'll have a proper kendo match, understood?"
A second passed in dead silence, and the whole company broke out in laughter.
Taiki sighed happily. Xros Heart was finally back to normal! Well, no, actually…
It was better!