Hey guys! Thanks a lot for all the support you've given me so far. It means a lot that you like my characters and Aiko, thank you for the suggestions. This uses the prompt 'smiling'. Thank you so much to Angel's Sins for betareading the chapter! You are awesome!

2. Pieces Coming Together

Osamu 'Sam' Motomiya

It wasn't like Mickey to pull Sam away from the others during a lunch break so he wondered what the big deal was. The Takaishi boy seemed rather nervous and kept on looking around as if hoping to spot something. Odd, what could be wrong?

"Mickey, are you alright?" he asked softly.

Mickey blinked and gave a small smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Y-Yeah I'm fine. I just…I wanted to talk to you about Dai."

Now, the younger Motomiya brother could not help but stare at his friend. Had Mickey noticed Dai's fake cheerfulness as well?

"You noticed it too, didn't you, Mickey?" Sam said quietly.

Mickey seemed to frown at him and Sam noticed the other's face seemed to pale. He licked his lips and stuffed his hands inside his pockets. He looked anywhere but Sam. Wondering what could possibly be the issue, Sam placed a hand on the older boy's shoulder.

"Mickey, what is it? Is Dai okay?"

Somehow, Mickey's silence made an uncomfortable pit form in Sam's stomach. What was going on? Why was Mickey so quiet? He knew the other tended to worry a lot about his friends but this seemed…different somehow.

"Dai… He's been having trouble sleeping," Mickey finally spoke up, still refusing to meet Sam's gaze. "I was wondering if you could, you know, get him to take nerve-soothing tablets or something."

Sam stared at Mickey. That was all it was? Somehow, he didn't think so. Not that he thought Mickey would ever lie to him about anything—the boy was much too honest for his own good—but he did feel that the other was hiding something.

That must be why he refuses to look at me…

"Mickey," Sam said. "I don't mind getting the tablets for Dai but what's going on? You're hiding something from me, aren't you?"

"No, why would I hide something?" Mickey said. His gaze wavered though.

Honestly, you couldn't be more obvious, Mickey. I've known you since we were in cribs…

Sam sighed. "Look, Mickey, I've been worried about Dai. I know he tries hard to stay happy for me, but I noticed he hasn't been himself. That and he really isn't sleeping well lately. Has he told you anything?"

There was silence and Sam watched Mickey's cheeks redden and look down. The older Takaishi twin still seemed hesitant to say anything and Sam had to wonder if Dai had made him promise not to say anything.

"Mickey," Sam said, "did Dai ask you not to tell me about it?"

Mickey nodded and spoke miserably, "I want to tell you, Sam, I really do but if I tell you, I know you won't be able to stop yourself from talking to Dai."

That sent a shiver down Sam's spine. Was his older brother being hurt or something? He wanted to know but, at the same time, he didn't want Mickey to break his promise. If Dai was sharing his problems with Mickey, then he didn't want that trust to be damaged.

"Mickey?" Sam said, causing the other to look at him. "You promised Dai you'd keep his secret, right? But promise me something, too. Don't…don't let Dai get himself hurt." He wasn't going to force Mickey to tell him. He wanted to know but knowing that Mickey knew and was trying to help his brother was reassuring.

To him, Mickey was genuinely one of the kindest people ever and he knew he could probably help him better than Sam himself could.

Mickey smiled at that and pulled Sam into a hug. "Of course, Sam. You know I'll never let Dai be alone through anything."

Sam let his head fall on Mickey's shoulder. "Thank you." He knew it wasn't needed but he felt he didn't thank the older boy as much as he should. In fact, none of them did and he felt sometimes they needed to do it a bit more. He felt the other squeeze him and could almost feel him smiling. He still remembered the time Mickey had gone Taysuke out of the detention and didn't even get a simple thank you.

"I'm always here for you," Mickey murmured. "And for Dai."

Like you need to say that…

The truth was, if Sam didn't have Mickey and his other friends, he didn't know what he would do. It wasn't easy having two dads and sometimes, he still resented his parents for that.

"Don't start thinking about that again," Mickey chided, almost as if reading his mind.

Sam looked up and stared at his friend. "How…what?" Sam said, befuddled.

Mickey laughed. "You can be obvious sometimes, Sam. Your dads love each other a lot and they love you and Dai. My parents have always supported them and, heck, you know Aunt Jun supports them. It doesn't matter what the world thinks."

Sam wanted to believe but that didn't stop the name-calling. Dai may be more popular than he was but he still got odd looks from some of the students. Of course, Taysuke tended to tell anyone who gave that sort of look to Dai off but Tay hated Sam. There was no way he'd ever defend him like he defended Dai.

"I'll try, Mickey," Sam said quietly. "Right now, I'm more worried about Sam than anything else anyway so I'll focus on him for the moment."

Mickey smiled, although Sam could see the sadness flicker in his eyes. "Well, at the very least I'm sure glad you can prioritise." He squeezed the other once more before pulling away. "Just remember one thing, Sam. Uncle Davis, Uncle Ken, and Dai are all your family. You can't leave them behind no matter what. They're more important than what some students say about you."

Sam's eyes watered a little and he buried his head in the other's shoulder. It didn't matter and he knew he never wanted to make his dads feel like his feelings were creating a wedge between the two of them.

Noburu 'Nobu' Hida

Sometimes, Nobu hated being so shy. Usually his family and friends loved his shyness and Taysuke always said he was the cutest little brother ever, but whenever he came to school, he felt really lonely, even when Hika was there. Hika's friends didn't like him too much and there was only so much that Hika could do.

"Oi, Nobu, stop thinking silly stuff!" Hika's loud voice caused Nobu to jump and stare. What was she doing here? He had left her and her friends because it was causing fights with them and he didn't want Hika to end up lonely like him.

"Stop it, Hika. You don't need him"

He had to admit it had stung when Mika had said that, but his friend's angry retort did make things a bit better.

"He's my friend. I won't leave him."

Nobu flushed when he realized he was staring at his friend. "Um, what are you doing here? Your friend Mika…"

Hika huffed. "Honestly, Nobu, you're so silly! I don't care if Mika and my friends don't like you! If they don't, they can just go play with each other." She grasped Nobu's hand. "'Cause Nobu is my best friend."

Nobu blushed even more and even squirmed. He hated it, he hated taking Hika away from her friends; and what was worse was that she didn't mind doing it. "Hika, don't…"

Hika pouted at him. "Oh, hush, you, I'm going to stay here and that's all." She placed one hand on her hip. "Don't make me tickle you. Come on, play with me!" She tugged at his hand.

Hika…

Nobu smiled shyly and hugged Hika. "Thanks, Hika." She really was the best friend he could ever have. When she was with him, he didn't feel as lonely as he always did and that was the best feeling ever.

"You're smiling!" Hika said, happily hugging him back. "Mickey and Matty always say you don't smile enough. You should smile more, okay? Aki likes it when you smile, too! He told me that!"

Nobu laughed a little as Hika mentioned her cousin, Aki. The other boy was fun to be around but he could be a little mischievous sometimes. He really did read too much. What eight year old knew a word such as mischievous? He couldn't help it though. Mickey read a lot of interesting stories that he couldn't help wanting to know more about the type of stuff the boy read.

Mickey made him feel like he didn't need a big brother because he was always there to talk to. He just wished his classmates didn't always push him away. Hika always said it was because he never stood up for himself but he hated fighting. He didn't want to hurt anyone, no matter how much anyone hurt him. Besides, Mickey was the same way and everyone liked him…right?

"Hika?" Nobu mumbled. "Why don't your friends like me?" He realized he was still holding her.

Hika frowned. "I dunno but Mika is stupid sometimes! She fights with me too when I don't agree with her. I think her Mama doesn't tell her to be nice."

"Oh, really?" Nobu said.

Hika nodded. "But she listens when I throw water balloons at her! You just need to be strong with her 'cause everyone listens to Mika and my friends. It's silly."

Nobu rolled his eyes. "Hika, you think everything is silly."

Hika pouted. "I don't think you're silly."

Nobu turned pink again. "Hika…" Honestly, how does she always say these things with a straight face? She's gonna make me faint someday.

Hika giggled and made a cute face. "Yes?"

Nobu sighed, shaking his head. "Never mind, let's go play."

Hika cheered, running ahead, and Nobu smiled, shaking his head once more. However, it was fond, not annoyed. He felt a bit lighter as he followed his friend. There are some things he can look up to.

Taysuke 'Tay' Kamiya

Somehow he had gotten caught pranking again and landed himself in detention. Grumbling to himself, Tay blamed Dai and Matty. Dai seemed so spaced out lately and Matty—Well, he was too busy worrying about what Mickey and Sam were talking about. Honestly, what was wrong with his friends? It was like every one of them had gone on the high end.

'You're such an idiot, Tay! Don't talk about your friends like that!' He could hear Ai scolding him and see her glowering at him with her hands on her hips. That made him cringe, and he looked around wearily as if she could pop out of nowhere. He had been walking out of the classroom and decided to head home when he saw activity in the computer lab. A buzzing sound was coming from the screen and he could see the light of the computer coming outside.

That's weird. Everyone should have gone home by now. It's probably just some older students… But it's so dark…

Unable to help but wonder what was happening, Tay went inside the computer lab and realized there was only one computer on that was beeping and flashing.

What the heck? Did someone leave it on?

Maybe it was an accident. Taysuke should just turn off the computer and go home. It was the best thing to do, right? He reached to touch the mouse to shut down the computer but it flashed an even brighter light. He quickly shielded his own eyes. Once the light seemed to fade away, a message in big bold letters began to write itself on the screen.

DARKNESS HAS FALLEN AND NO RAY OF LIGHT CAN BE SEEN. THE HOLY DEVICE MUST OPEN THE GATES THAT WERE SEALED ONCE MORE. NEW HEROES WILL COME TO DEFEND WHAT IS LEFT OF A BROKEN PEACE. NEW DIGIDESTINED, THIS IS OUR LAST ATTEMPT. PLEASE READ THIS MESSAGE AND ALLOW US TO BRING YOU HERE.

Taysuke stared. What the hell? Was this some kind of joke? Maybe this was why Matty and Dai had not supported him in the last prank, because they were planning this against him. He glowered at all four corners of the room, as if expecting the two boys to jump out at him.

"Matty, Dai, this isn't funny!" Taysuke said, crossing his arms. "You're not scaring anyone! Come out already!" He clenched a fist. Honestly, if it were those two, he would never let them hear the end of it! Matty was meant to be his cousin and best friend for god's sake, his partner in crime, not playing pranks on him! However, neither of them was coming out. Frowning at the screen, he decided to back away, turn around, and run away.

I am so going to tell those two off tomorrow! How could they play such a stupid trick on me? And I can't believe I actually almost fell for that!