I do not own Digimon.

Thanks for the support, all! It's appreciated more than you know.

"I like to try to hide things. I have for a long time. I don't know why. Or…maybe I do.

Maybe it's that I like for everything to be normal. Or at least, for everything to seem normal. If things seem normal, then everyone smiles. Everyone is okay. Everything is good.

I want everything to be good for as long as it can. Even if I have to pretend.

Even if it's really not."

"C'mon, Takeru! You're almost there!"

That was easy for Patamon to say; he wasn't the one climbing the tree. Takeru hoisted himself onto a branch with a huff. "You know, you could've digivolved into Angemon and given me a hand, here. Some of us don't have wings."

The orange Digimon giggled and turned to look out toward the horizon. "What a pretty sunset, Takeru!"

He steadied himself against the tree's trunk and got a look for himself. Orange, red, and the faintest blue haloed a sun that would soon be no more. Yes; it was beautiful. Like everything in the Digital World, even at its most bleak.

"It's pretty, isn't it, Takeru?" Patamon spoke again, this time looking for affirmation.

Takeru reached out to stroke his fur with a fond smile. "It sure is, buddy."

Patamon leaned into his hand for a moment, thoughtful, before turning to look him in the eye. Suddenly, there was urgency in his face.

"Takeru…" he began, "…don't let it set, okay?"

"…kaishi."

Takeru titled his head slightly in question. "Hm?"

"The sun," Patamon reiterated. He moved himself directly into Takeru's line of sight. "Don't let the sun set. Whatever you do, don't let it set, okay?"

"…Takaishi."

Now he was confused. "Don't let it set? Patamon, what are you saying? The sun is going to set, no matter what."

"But it can't!" His digimon was visibly shaking. "You don't understand! If the sun sets, everything will end! You'll-"

"TAKAISHI!"

Takeru shot up with a start and narrowly avoided falling right off the bench he was sitting on.

The tree, the sunset, and Patamon were gone. In their place were the old lockers and sweaty benches of his school's locker room.

And his basketball coach, who towered over him with his arms crossed.

"Just what do you think you're doing in here, Takaishi?" Coach interrogated him, glancing at his watch and sighing sharply. "Some of your teammates were saying that you were snoozing in here, but I found it hard to believe, since you're usually one of the first on the court." He shook his head. "I see I was wrong."

Takeru gazed dumbly up at him for a moment before turning away to rub his eyes. Patamon, and that sunset…it was only a dream?

That meant…Takeru let out a tired sigh.

He had fallen asleep. Again. He didn't even manage to change out of his uniform before he dozed off in the locker room.

Geez, what's up with me?

"Look, son," Coach geared up again, "I expect my players to take practice time seriously. If you're too tired to play, then you're done for the day." He looked at Takeru's haggard posture and softened. "Come back tomorrow when you're ready to go, alright kid?"

With that, he turned and left.

Takeru simply sat there, stunned. He had never been kicked out of practice before. And he had never been so tired as to fall asleep slumped against his locker partway through changing his clothes. Even he had to admit that that was pretty bad.

He shoved his gym clothes back into his locker and slammed it shut. He felt like a loser. An exhausted loser.

He exited the locker room and padded down the hall toward the computer lab, brow furrowed in thought. That was the second time he had fallen asleep at school today. The first had been in Nakamura-sensei's class. The man had been droning on about complex numbers and square roots, and Takeru hadn't stood a chance; he dozed off helplessly.

Then out of nowhere, Nakamura-sensei's hand had slammed down on his desk and startled him awake, emitting a surprised squawk from him which had Daisuke laughing so hard that he fell over in his chair and got himself kicked out of class. At least something good had come out of it.

Takeru groaned and rubbed his face with his hands. He couldn't remember ever having this little energy. Even his tiny seven-year-old self, after spending a day running from a rogue Kuwagamon, hadn't been as tired as he is right now.

I must be coming down with something, he concluded. Like the flu, maybe.

Did people get the flu in May? He was no doctor. The idea of asking Jou came and went without a second thought. No, he wouldn't say anything for now. No need to worry anyone.

He arrived at the computer room and slid open the door, not knowing who could be inside. Daisuke, he knew, would be at practice (like I should be, he thought dejectedly) but anyone else could be inside their little private hangout.

Hikari and Iori sat by a window, postures attentive as though they were having a conversation. His entrance into the room seemed to startle them; they both whirled around to see who had come in.

Takeru grinned at them. "You guys weren't talking about me, were you?"

Iori's green eyes darted away while Hikari countered his teasing with teasing of her own: "I guess you'll never know, huh?"

Takeru laughed and lowered himself heavily into a chair. "I'm sure that my Jogress partner will tell me the truth, won't you Iori?"

The boy in question turned to face him with characteristic solemnity. The light-hearted feeling in the room sunk a bit when he did, indeed, tell the truth. "Hikari was telling me that you fell asleep in class today. And that you seemed kind of out of it." It was not an accusation; it was concern.

Takeru couldn't help but smile slightly at Iori's confession. By all standards, he and Iori were like night and day: he was all carefree nonchalance, while Iori seemed to have the weight of the world on his small shoulders. What's more, since becoming Jogress partners, the younger boy had seemed to have taken on the role of attentive younger brother, making it his business to know if something was up with him. Takeru didn't like for him to worry, but it did feel nice, to know someone was paying attention. He wondered if this is how Yamato felt with him.

When it took him a bit too long to answer, Hikari hesitantly added "You're supposed to be at practice right now, right?"

Takeru laughed again, but this time it was edged with self-deprecation. "Yeah, I'm supposed to be. Except that Coach kicked me out because I fell asleep in the locker room and never even made it onto the court." He leaned an elbow on the table and rested his chin on his hand. "I'm okay, Iori. Just a little tired, that's all. Nothing to worry about." His assuring smile came nearly as a reflex.

"Kicked out?" Hikari asked, surprised. "Can he do that? You've never been kicked out before."

Iori frowned. "He should have asked if you were alright before just kicking you out of practice."

Takeru squirmed in his seat. He really didn't want to talk about it. He wanted to pretend that he felt perfectly fine and that this day of trudging through the halls and dozing off in class had never happened. And he really didn't want to be the center of attention in the conversation. It was a place that he did not enjoy being in.

A subject change was in order.

He smiled and expertly slid into a new conversation. "So do you guys have any idea why Mimi called this meeting today?"

Hikari seemed to sense his discomfort and gracefully accepted the change of subject. "No idea. Usually it's Koushiro or Onii-chan who gets everyone together like this." She gazed down at the floor in thought. "I wonder what it could be about."

"Especially because the Digital World is in peace right now," Iori added. "Koushiro told me so last week."

At that, Takeru stood – ignoring a faint wave of unsteadiness – and walked over to a window. Blue eyes took in the day, still as vibrant and alive as it had been this morning during his mad dash to school. The taste of the gifted green apple lingered on his tongue, and tiredness was forgotten for a moment when a feeling of contentment settled in its place.

"If the Digital World is at peace," he spoke, eyes fixed on the blue sky, "then we have nothing to worry about." He turned back to his friends and grinned. "It'll be good news, I'm sure of it."

Hikari returned his smile, and Iori finally seemed to relax. Takeru was glad.

"Shall we get going?" he proposed to his friends. "If we get there early, we can get good seats."

"Good seats?" Hikari laughed. "What are you talking about? We're meeting at the park. We all just sit in a giant circle."

He laughed again, but this one felt more genuine. "I still want a good seat! And maybe…we'll have time to get ice cream?"

He said it casually, but knew that he was poking at Hikari's weak spot for sweets. The widening of her eyes made it a done deal, and this time, even Iori laughed.

"Who told you that 'ice cream' is the magic word?"

He gestured to himself with a grin. "You forget that words are my specialty."

The three laughed and exited the room, and all thoughts of tiredness and weakness disappeared.

For now.

"Huh? A group photo?"

The entire group blinked up at Mimi, some with looks of confusion on their faces, and some looking as if they were waiting for her to elaborate. Hikari, herself, was intrigued. The mention of photography had that effect on her; already, she was imagining angles, backdrops, and lighting, even though she didn't know anything about the nature of this photo yet.

Good old reliable Jou, for his part, seemed to have different questions. "Uh, Mimi," he tentatively started, "No offense, but is this really why you called us all together here? For a group picture? I've got a paper due tomorrow and an exam on Friday and three quizzes and-"

"I think what Jou is trying to say," Sora gently inserted, rolling her tennis racket around in her palms, "is that you're going to have to explain, Mimi."

Hikari glanced around at the group. It was obvious that many of them had places to go, or had come from somewhere important before the meeting. Miyako was wearing the clerk's apron from her parent's convenience store. Several of them were dressed in athletic uniforms. Yamato was leaning on his bass guitar case, and Jou had a stack of textbooks on either side of him. It was a busy school day, and they needed to know what this was about.

Mimi stood at the head of the circle, hands on her hips. "I'm trying to explain, if you would all just listen." Her sharp eye swept the group, and the murmuring died down. "Good. Now. You all know that our team has gotten a lot bigger, and I think that we should acknowledge that by taking a new group picture. The only one we have is that one in Primary Village from all those years ago. It's super cute, don't get me wrong. But there's more of us now. We should take a new and better picture with every person accounted for! So," she clapped for dramatic effect, "what do you think?"

The thought of a new group picture, now with all twelve of them together, unified and strong, brought a smile to Hikari's face, and she was instantly on board. Responses from the others soon popped up.

"A new group photo, huh?" Taichi pondered out loud, leaning back in the grass and considering the idea. "Doesn't sound too bad. Are we including the digimon in this?"

"Oh, we totally should!" was Miyako's enthusiastic response. Hikari grinned at her friend, who was always willing to support Mimi and her decisions (even when they were a little crazy). "Imagine Hawkmon all dressed up for a photograph! How adorable would that be?"

"Um, so we're dressing up for this?" Ken questioned from his spot in the shade. "I could try to find a bowtie for Wormmon."

Mimi tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm…I hadn't even thought of a dress code…but that might be super fun! Yeah, we should totally try to coordinate something!"

Ideas and opinions came from all directions, and Hikari felt herself growing excited about this prospect. She imagined Tailmon in a frilly dress, frowning with the indignity, and she couldn't help but giggle.

"We could consider formal attire," Koushiro suggested, clicking away at his laptop and looking intently at the screen. Hikari could see from the corner of her eye that he had his fashion software up on the desktop.

"No way am I dressing up!" was Daisuke's response. He sat up and flexed both arms. "I say we all wear something with flames!"

Miyako made a face. "Can you spell 'tacky,' Daisuke?"

"Sure I can! T-A-"

Sora agreed with Miyako, but politely didn't comment. "We could all just wear our school uniforms."

"We could, but not all of us go to the same school," Yamato put in. "We wouldn't all match."

"Do we have to match?" Jou asked, polishing his glasses with the hem of his sweater. "And there are other things we need to take into consideration, like the weather, the climate, the potential for sun burn or heat stroke-"

The opinions flew back and forth, and Hikari began to wonder if a group consensus would even be possible when she heard her brother's hearty laughter.

"C'mon guys, who cares what we wear?" Taichi posed to the group with his goofy smile. His confidence was infectious, for many in the group began to relax. "The important thing is that we'll all be together with our partners for an awesome photo. We could all be wearing polka-dots and crazy hats, and the digimon wouldn't care, heck, they'd probably love it." He laughed at the idea. "I'm sure we could just borrow the hats from Takeru's collection, ain't that right, Teek?"

Hikari turned to grin at her friend, but when she did, the smile slipped from her face.

With all the commotion going on around them, she failed to notice that Takeru had fallen asleep, leaning against a tree. He was curled in on himself, as though he might have been chilly. Which was odd, considering that she herself was getting warm in the sunshine.

She reached out and gently shook his shoulder. "Takeru."

Takeru's eyes blinked open and he promptly sat up as though pretending to have not been caught snoozing. He had to catch himself with one arm before he fell over. "Hm?" he questioned sleepily.

The group had gone quiet, and a blush creeped across Takeru's face when he realized that everyone was looking at him. He let out a hollow laugh. "Sorry, what? I didn't catch that."

"You were sleeping again," Hikari told him, and she saw Iori on his other side seeming to scrutinize his face.

"Takeru, did you hear anything I said?" Mimi asked with a hint of irritation. "About the group photo?"

"Hey, lay off, Meems," Taichi said to her good-naturedly. "It's not like he fell asleep on purpose, right Takeru?"

"Uhh…" Takeru was clearly struggling to find words through his haze of sleepiness and his embarrassment at being put on the spot.

Hikari put on her 'best friend' cape and stepped in. "Sorry, Mimi. He's had a long day and he's exhausted. Right, Takeru?"

The gratefulness was evident on his face. "Uh, yeah. Sorry, Mimi."

The older girl's face softened. "Don't worry about it. If you're that tired, maybe you should go home and take a nap."

"Maybe you should," Iori murmured beside him.

Hikari made to agree, but Takeru straightened himself and spoke before she could. "Really, I'm fine, I'm just-"

"I'll take you home." Yamato casually stood and slung his guitar case over his shoulder. "I've got to head out, anyway. Band rehearsal."

Miyako stood and brushed some grass off her apron. "I've got to go, too."

Several voices conceded their agreement.

"Alright, meeting adjourned, for now," Taichi stood up and stretched before shooting Mimi a thumbs-up. "Cool idea, about the group photo. We'll come up with a time and place later."

Mimi returned it with a thumbs-up of her own. "Can't wait to take the digimon shopping!"

The group began to disperse with a chorus of goodbyes, and Hikari lifted a hand to wave before turning back to Takeru. "Don't worry, I'll fill you in later," she assured him, hoping he'd give her a relieved smile.

But when he did, it seemed…odd.

"Thanks," he said, but it was distracted. Like his mind was working to sort through other thoughts.

Yamato stood by with his hands in his pockets, seeming nonchalant, yet with a tenseness to his posture which indicated he, too, had something on his mind.

Hikari frowned, and when she and Takeru both stood up, she asked him the big question: "Hey…are you okay? Really?"

His answer was more dishonest than even he knew.

"Oh yeah. Never better."

The city flew by in a noisy blur as the motorized scooter made its way across the bridge. By now, it was late afternoon; the sun was sinking in the sky. The lively people from the morning were replaced by weary students and businessmen in search of rest or an emotion-numbing drink.

Takeru fiddled with the strap of the guitar case that was now slung over his shoulder. It dug into his skin with the weight of the case, and Takeru thought that his brother must be stronger than he looks, to be carrying this thing around all the time.

Yamato, for his part, sat in front of him and steered the scooter in silence. For that, he was grateful. He knew he'd have the hardest time convincing Yamato, of anyone, that he was feeling okay.

He felt like an idiot. An idiot who couldn't even get through a normal school day without falling asleep. Three times.

It didn't make sense. He felt fine last week. He felt fine this past weekend. Hell, he felt fine yesterday. Well, maybe he was a little tired then, but…

They passed by the fruit stand from this morning, still vibrant with nourishing, delectable fruit. The shop-keeper, though, was absent. Perhaps he needed rest, as well.

Takeru shook his head. The day was over. The sun was setting, and everything that had happened today – falling asleep in class, getting kicked out of practice, snoozing during the Chosen's meeting – it was all in the past. He didn't need to dwell on it anymore.

Tomorrow, he would wake up, feeling ten times better, and laugh at the terrible day he had yesterday. He would get dressed, meet his friends, and walk to school, on time. He would pay attention in class, play hard in basketball, and involve himself in the plans for the group photo.

He would be awake, alert, and alive, and that's that.

The brothers came to a stop at some traffic when Yamato finally spoke.

"Did that tree make a comfortable pillow?"

Takeru paused at the question before averting his eyes, despite the fact that Yamato wasn't even facing him. "I just dozed off, that's all."

"Mm-hm. What did Hikari mean, that you had a 'long day'?"

Takeru sighed. He really should have seen this coming. This was his Nii-san, after all.

"Exactly that. I'm just tired, Nii-san. That's all."

Yamato didn't respond, seeming to consider the idea. Feeling like he had evaded an interrogation, Takeru took that opportunity to change the subject, and before long, the scooter rolled up in front of his apartment complex.

Takeru dismounted and slipped the guitar case off his shoulder, handing it to his brother. He grabbed his bag from the scooter's small trunk and came back around to Yamato.

"Thanks for the ride," he said with a grin. "Dinner at dad's place on Thursday, right?"

His brother smirked back. "You got it. Dad's been really into American food lately, so…it'll be interesting."

Takeru chuckled. "What, really? Why does he keep getting into these different weird cuisines?"

"Hey, Mom's cuisine is a little weird itself: TV dinners and canned soup."

"Hey, that's my cuisine, too!"

Yamato gave a despairing sigh. "I guess I'm the only normal one in this family."

Takeru bid him good night and made to enter the lobby when Yamato's voice stopped him short. "Hey."

He turned back around. "Yeah?"

Yamato turned his eyes to the ground for a moment before replying. "…you'll be alright by yourself, right? Much as you deny it, I can tell you don't feel well."

Takeru felt his heart sink a bit. He had been so close to escaping undetected.

Would he be alright? Of course. He wasn't that sick, if he was even sick at all. Just tired, and a little dizzy, and a bit off. That's all.

No big deal.

A little mischievous smile crossed his face. His instinct to make a joke of the situation kicked in, and he went with it.

"Of course, Onii-san," he said innocently. "I'll be perfectly fine. I'll just be playing with matches and sharp objects like usual. Nothing to worry about."

Yamato deadpanned for a second before slipping his helmet back on and revving up his scooter. Takeru's smile grew at his brother's annoyance.

Brotherly concern, successfully evaded.

Yamato looked back at him with a dry "Good luck with that," before speeding off.

Takeru watched him until he was out of sight, and then the smile slipped from his face.

Of course he'd be alright.

Why wouldn't he be?