It's been a long time I know. I apologize if anyone waited for this.

I'm very grateful for those who reviewed the story. Those very positive comments made me feel good about myself for a couple of days.

Still, ideas, opinions and constructive criticism are welcome anytime.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or its characters. No surprise there. (Is this even necessary?)

Chapter 2

As Hikari walked in a fast pace through the school grounds, she clumsily placed her books in her bag. Anyone who watched the scene could have predicted what was about to happen. In seconds her school material was on the ground.

"Damn Murphy!" she exclaimed "Why do these sort of things always happen when I'm in a hurry?"

"Well, at least you know you're late" a familiar voice reasoned, with a sigh.

Hikari immediately raised her head from the books scattered on the floor to see the person whose voice she just heard. He was leaning against a wall, not too far from where Hikari kneeled. Had he not be wearing a hat, she would have seen his blonde hair, messy as usual. Hikari couldn't understand what kind of person would be lazy enough to keep a hat practically glued to his head, instead of just putting a comb through his hair.

"At least he doesn't hide his eyes with sunglasses" she whispered as she pondered whether the boy's eyes or his hair was his best feature. "The eyes definitely win" she decided, mildly blushing.

"What did you say?" he said, interrupting her thoughts. "I can't hear you" he continued as he approached her.

"Er… I said 'have you been standing there for too long?' I'm sorry to keep you waiting" she said, with a worried expression.

Hikari was known among her friends to be over apologetic. She let out an apology every time she had a chance, disregarding whether the context was her fault or even if it called for an apology at all. Proof of that was the occasion she apologized to her brother for not hitting a football as enthusiastically as Taichi expected her to. They were very young then. Hikari was very ill, but Tai ignored it and insisted for them to go out and play. She ended up hospitalized. 'I'm sorry nii-san. I'll get it right next time' were the first words to come out of her mouth once she was discharged. The episode earned Taichi a month away from his football as punishment for nearly killing his younger sister. It's probably also the guilt from this experience that triggered Taichi's brotherly protectiveness of Hikari to be one of his top priorities.

Aware of Hikari's tendency to apologize, the young man hurried to talk her out of the guilt.

"It's OK. I don't mind waiting anyway" he said truthfully. In fact, he waited for her every day after school was over. "Besides, it didn't even take that long. So… what kept you today?" he quickly changed the subject.

"Oh… I was discussing with our History teacher. He assigned my class a movie as homework and today we were debating it's relation with the historical importance of samurai warriors" Hikari excitedly replied. "So I confronted him after class as to why he chose that specific movie among dozens of great samurai movies. I mean, I get that his priority was historic accuracy, but still, there has to be a production that is both historically accurate and entertaining. Not to mention that his choice was incredibly shallow, one-dimensional and forgettable. There wasn't one convincing scene and…"

"Wait!" Hikari was interrupted "Are you actually saying that our History teacher told you to watch a movie for homework while I had to write endless pages in an essay about samurai warriors?"

"Yes, we had a movie for homework. And by the way, that's no reason for you to complain. You're always looking for an excuse to write endless pages of anything" she replied "But that's not the point. Even after I made all those reasonable points to our sensei, he wouldn't agree with me".

"Ok. First of all, I'd love to write endless pages about anything that does not qualify as homework" the young man started. "Secondly, sensei has the right to disagree with your opinions, even though I'm 'sure' you're 'very' reasonable. In third place…"

"Stop with the sarcasm. I AM reasonable and you know it!" Hikari interrupted, emphatic and slightly annoyed.

"Whatever! My point is: you can make your own samurai movie that pleases your super high standards a few years from now. So can we get going already?"

The couple of students started walking home in silence. Hikari had a small grin in her face, like she always had whenever someone mentioned her wish to become a movie director.

The girl's passion to be behind a camera started off with photography. As a younger teenager she used to carry a digital camera around her neck and snap a shot as often as she could. That led to a Yagami residence filled with portraits of the family and of the digidestined used as decoration. However, soon enough, Hikari's passion expanded and the motion camera seemed much more interesting in her perspective. Of course she didn't have the funds to afford a real quality motion camera anywhere in the near future. So she kept her photography hobby and started learning all she could from the films she watched, in an attempt to fulfill her passion.

"TK…" she called the boy's nickname. "If you stop being such a sarcastic clown, I'll even let you write me a script" she offered gleefully.

"Who says I'm interested?" Takeru responded holding a laugh.

***

Takeru and Hikari had been inseparable ever since they met in the Digital World. Their friendship was born naturally and grew rapidly. Their conversations were always playful, even when arguing. They had undeniable chemistry together.

The couple of young adults had a sort of commitment with each other to walk home together every day after school, since they were children. That also implied on Takeru waiting for Hikari every day, since she had a different reason to be late each day. On their way home, they often daydreamed together about successful careers as a director and a writer (for Hikari and Takeru, respectively).

In recent weeks, the two decided (with great encouragement from their friends) to try a relationship as more than friends. It only felt like the natural progression of their friendship, really. That was slowly and lazily taking baby steps forward. Truth is, even in their only date so far, acting as affectionate friends was as far as they got. Even considering they had feelings for each other, they had a hard time being romantic opposed to friendly. Still, they had their moments. Like when they got in front of Hikari's building.

"So… do I get a goodbye kiss?" Takeru asked nonchalantly.

"Who says I'm interested?" she shot back the words he used earlier, giggling, as she got closer to him.

"Your loss" he said, faking indifference. At the same time he reached out his hands to hold her.

They stood for a few seconds like that, his hands around her. And they kissed softly.

***

Taichi saw his sister enter the apartment. She looked really happy, cheeks a little pink.

"Man, these are going to be hard news to deliver" he spoke to himself, making his presence known to his sister.

"Onii-chan!" she said in a cheerful, high pitched voice as she threw herself at the couch.

"How is Takeru doing?" he asked, out of habit.

"Fine" she answered, blushing harder.

"Is he treating you right?" he kept going, enjoying her embarrassment.

"Tai!" she exclaimed "I'm not having this conversation with you"

"Why?" he asked with a smirk on his face, even though he knew exactly why.

"Because you always go super protective older brother with me"

"Is that not what I'm supposed to be?" Tai defended himself from the accusation.

"Not all the time" she said, expressing her annoyance.

Kari noticed Tai's expression turn serious in an almost sudden way.

"You should be glad. There will be a lot less of those conversations in the future" he said, not glad at all about it.

"Because you've finally come to your senses?" Hikari pressed the matter, trying to shake off the severe look Tai had and place the usual upbeat appearance back on his face.

"Actually yes" his response caught her off guard "That is why I'm moving out".

"What?!" she exclaimed, startled. "Oh wait… that wasn't funny at all Tai."

"I know. It's wasn't a joke"

***

After almost one hour trying to explain his reasons to Hikari, Taichi was tired with her lack of support.

"Look, you're lucky I waited for you to come home before I left"

"You mean I'm lucky you're not a coward?"

"I understand that you won't change your mind. You're upset. It's all very sudden. But couldn't you be a little supportive? I'm not changing my mind either"

At that point of the discussion, Mr. and Mrs. Yagami entered the room.

"Believe me, he means it" Mr. Yagami interjected.

Hikari went silent. She was exhausted from the argument. It really wasn't like her to confront people like that. So she gave up.

"I'm going to get my stuff in my room" Tai said, leaving the room in uncomfortable silence. By the time he came back, they hadn't moved. But now he saw tears welling up his sister's eyes.

"Please don't go" was all she could say, in a low voice.

"I have to" he simply answered.

The atmosphere was heavy inside the Yagami residence, as if the building was about to fall apart. Hikari had now looked away from Tai so that he couldn't see her weeping. She knew, however, that he could hear her clearly. Their mother, seeing the situation, went to comfort her daughter, embracing her.

"Are you sure of this, son?" his father inquired, mainly to end the unbearable quietness.

Tai just smiled in response.

"We love you" Mrs. Yagami said.

"I love you too" Tai spoke while hugging each one of them "See ya!"

Tai put on a smile and walked out the door.

***

"Oh man! This has to be the stupidest thing I've ever done" Taichi said out loud, expressing his second thoughts and frustration. "Maybe this wasn't as well thought out as I imagined"

He had been wandering aimlessly for the past couple of hours around the city. And he still had zero clue of where to go, or what to do next, for the matter. His bag was starting to weigh harder on his shoulder. He knew that he could stop at any restaurant and spend some time trying to figure things out while having a snack. He always had better ideas on a full stomach. However he didn't do that. He felt it wasn't worth wasting his time, for evening was about to fall and he didn't want to walk alone at night having nowhere to go. It just didn't seem very smart. He could worry about food after he had found a place to sleep.

"I just wish Agumon could be here" Tai said, with a sigh.

Truthfully, having Agumon there wouldn't actually help. He would still need to find a place to stay and the digimon would be another responsibility Tai would have to embrace. Yet, his digital partner would ease other kinds of issues. When the two were together, every problem seemed less important, easier to overcome. It just felt like they were an unstoppable team. Very much like the feeling that instigated him into defeating Etemon. At the time, losing wasn't an option, and maybe that's why his bold decision to face his enemy caused his crest to glow. And only then Greymon was able to evolve correctly into MetalGreymon.

But the troubles he had gone through with the help of Agumon in the Digital World were very unlike the ones he had to deal with in his own world. It didn't involve fighting, evolution, crests or anything of the sort. And Tai's fearless leadership wasn't called for. The method of attacking first and dealing with the consequences later was rather useless in the real world, where every single action leads to a chain of consequences that have to be dealt with. And his usual procrastination wasn't an answer to the consequences he had to deal with right now. After all he had to find himself a place in a matter of hours.

Also, to add up to that situation, Tai was a leader. When he had problems he needed someone to lead, to delegate tasks to. That's his way of solving problems. And it is also part of the reason he worked so well with Agumon to begin with. Obviously his ability to delegate wasn't going to help now that he was virtually alone, hence why he wished for Agumon's presence. It was almost as if he couldn't be Tai if he was alone. With no one around him to recognize and appreciate his actions and characteristics, his personality would get lost. And he couldn't stand the thought of being just another face in the crowd. That was the reason he was in this situation in the first place. He didn't want to be a jobless, failed football player. He didn't want to idly watch life pass him by. He didn't want to go with the flow or blend in. Anyone could do that and be nobody. But Taichi needed more. That's why he moved out, and that's why he needed his best friend. It was overwhelmingly frustrating. He needed his best friend right now and they weren't even in the same planet.

"Oh wait!" Taichi snapped. He had an idea. "How in the world didn't I think of this earlier?"

He hurriedly searched his bag for his cell phone. Tai dialed fast the numbers he knew by heart and waited for an answer. After a few rings, Tai impatiently hung up.

"Screw it! I'm just gonna show up there" He changed directions and started walking decisively in a fast pace.

***

So, this is it for now.

I'm not particularly satisfied with this. It feels like it needs some work in some parts. How do you feel? (review please =])

I'm posting it anyway, so that at least I can move on with the fic.

That's all folks!