Image art was made using the base at: biffsims/art/base-37-request-352338071 on deviantart.

Samsara

Chapter 3

Hikari placed her chopsticks on the table. "Thank you," she bowed, "Thank you for the food. It was very good."

Sora picked up the bowl. "I'll be sure to tell Mimi that her noodle store tip worked out great."

Hikari's eyes drifted to the take-out box shoved hastily into the trash. "I'll pay you back when…"

Takeru interrupted from her side. "I'll take care of it."

"Takeru," Hikari said.

He took hold of her hand. "I'll take care of you from now on, I promise."

She turned away, cheeks bright red. She had not known that Sora and Yamato were eating dinner when she arrived earlier. She was going to leave, but they could see how upset she was; after all, she had cried like a baby the bus ride over. After the explanations had come out, after she had told them about her father, Yamato was on the phone to order more take out, while Sora prepared the guest room. When the food arrived, she was pleasantly surprised to see that Takeru had accompanied it.

Patamon turned to Plotmon; all digimon partners were at the table as well. "What does this make us now?"

Plotmon shrugged. "I guess we can mate."

"Don't talk like that in front of everyone," Piyomon sighed.

Takeru gave a nervous laugh. "Um, well, like I was saying, I'll pay for mine and Hikari's meal…"

Yamato emerged from the bathroom while buckling his pants. "Don't worry about the food, we've got it."

Sora scowled at him. "Don't do that. We have company."

A giggled escaped from her lips. "S-sorry. Taichi thinks it's funny."

A strange expression crossed Sora's face. "T-Taichi thinks it's funny?"

Takeru placed a hand on Hikari's stomach. "He's talking to you?"

"Not really," she said, "I just feel things, emotions."

"You're pregnant," Sora said, "That's going to happen."

She shook her head. "It's different."

Sora glanced at Yamato, who leaned forward with elbows on table, hands curled next to his face. "Um, we'll discuss that later. What about your things? Will Takeru and I be able to go over and get them?"

She frowned. "Dad's probably even angrier at me now. I'll go over tomorrow when he's at work and…"

"We'll do it," Takeru said, "We'll get whatever you need."

"What about your mother?" asked Sora, "Should I let her know you're here?"

"I texted her where I was going."

Sora rose from the table. "I'll show you the guest room."

Takeru followed then into the smaller room. It was simple, as most guest rooms usually existed. His eyes focused on the bed and he sighed. "I guess I'll sleep on the floor."

Hikari shook her head. "No, you don't have to stay. Please, I'm sure your mother would be worrying."

"Besides which," Sora said, "The two of you should not be sharing a room."

Their faced turned a similar shade of red. "W-we're not going to do anything!" Hikari protested.

"You two aren't even dating," she replied, "If you're going to stay under our roof, you're going to follow our rules."

Takeru blushed even more but Hikari giggled, which exploded into a full laugh. Sora returned the laugh and shook her head. "I'm already sounding like a housewife, aren't I? Let me get you spare clothes."

Once alone, Hikari sat on the edge of the bed, hands resting in her lap. "How is your mother?"

Takeru frowned. "Not as bad as your father, but she's angry at me. I'm not sure how my dad feels."

Hikari's hands twitched. "I…I shouldn't be here, what if Phelesmon comes after me again?"

"Hikari," Takeru sighed, "You're safer here then off on your own. Gabumon and Piyomon are here, remember?

She was not convinced. "But I'm just imposing on them."

"And where are you going to go?" he protested, "Do you want to be in a youth's shelter when you're pregnant? Yamato wants you to be here, Sora loves taking care of people. You've got so many people that care about you. "

Hikari's hands curled, soft tears in her eyes. "Takeru…"

Sora returned and handed Hikari a large nightgown. "I don't think my pajama pants would fit you."

The sixteen-year-old ran a hand over her bump.

Sora placed a hand on Takeru's shoulder. "Say goodnight. You can come over tomorrow."

A grin came to his face. "I'll see you tomorrow, Hikari."

"Good night," she called. Her eyes followed them from the room, remained on the door as it closed.

"They're really good friends, aren't they?" Plotmon asked from the bedside. Hikari had forgotten her faithful partner was at her side.

She smiled once again. "Yes, yes they are."

Once changed, Hikari stepped from her room. Yamato and Sora were seated on the couch, television turned to a comedy show. The blond man waved to the edge of the couch, "Have a seat."

"T-thank you," she blushed, "But it has been a long day, and…"

Smiles on their faced again. "Sure," Sora replied, "Good night."

Hikari bowed. "Thank you again for your hospitality and…"

Yamato shook his head, a wave of his hand. "You're pregnant with my brother's child, we're like family now."

Family? They were like family now? She swallowed, heart racing. This would be the first time she said this, first time she called them this. It would be awkward at first, but for everything they did for her, everything they would do for her, they deserved it.

"Good night Oniisan, Oneesan."

One Month Later-Two Months Pregnant

"Good day everyone," the homeroom teacher bowed, "And I wish you all a pleasant spring holiday and hope to see all of you in the next term."

The students exhaled a collective sigh. They had made it through another school year; and while many of them would return, a few had already put plans into motion to transfer to other high schools come April. For Hikari, however, it was a different feeling entirely.

"My last day of school forever," she sighed, "At least I can say I finished Freshman year."

She rose to her feet, hands grasping her desk. She was still not use to Taichi's extra weight throwing off her balance. A few of her female friends had raised their eyebrows over her expanding waistline, but she had brushed it off as stress-eating. Another month, and her true condition would have become obvious.

She adjusted her skirt, tugged down a little on her blouse. She picked up her empty lunch box and frowned; admitting that a few of those extra pounds were not from the baby.

Takeru pushed through the crowd to her. "Ready?" he asked.

She exhaled, head shaking. "No, but, I have to do it."

"We have to," he corrected.

"Don't, please," she said, "You might not be kicked out, but things won't be the same for you."

"I'm not letting you take on everything yourself," he said, a reassuring smile on his face.

"Yo guys!" Daisuke waved, "Another year done, huh?"

Takeru frowned, eyes glaring. "Just trying to lighten the mood," the other boy sighed, "You're still going through with it then?"

He nodded, hand around Hikari's shoulder. "Want me to come along too?" he asked, "You know, for support."

Hikari smiled. "There's really no need for that, but thank you." Breath filled her lungs, "No going back now."

They walked past Daisuke, the goggle-wearer and the blond giving each other a high-five. "Good luck, man," Daisuke said.

The teenage couple marched through the school halls, tears in Hikari's eyes. "I'll never be here again."

"We can still think of another way," Takeru replied.

She shook her head. "No, I need to do this. It's my punishment…"

He sighed. "Hikari, please don't start talking like that again."

She winced, but head nodded in agreement. "Okay."

The principal was behind his desk. "Ah, Miss Yagami. Mr. Takaishi. What can I do for you?"

Hikari bowed and sat down. Takeru stood beside her. "Please forgive me for interrupting you, sir."

He shrugged. "Just a few last minute things."

She opened her mouth once more, but no sound emerged. She had gone over in her mind a thousand times what to say, but now the words struggled against each other. "I, um, I'm sorry to say that I won't be coming back…"

He frowned. "Miss Yagami, all transfer paperwork needed to be completed by…"

"She's not transferring," Takeru barked, "She's leaving school."

Eyebrows raised. "Leaving? Miss Yagami, I understand how stressful things must be since your brother passed, and I understand you are no longer living at home, but…" His voice faded, eyes locked on the way Takeru's hand was on her shoulder, then to her abdomen.

"I see. Well, there's nothing left to discuss then."

Takeru's eye flashed red. "Don't dismiss her like that. You don't know what she's been through."

"Takeru," she whispered, "its okay."

"I understand what she's been through," the principal said, "But the rules are clear."

Hikari stood. "Takeru, come on. It's part of my punishment."

Takeru winced, the principal stood. "Punishment?"

The girl nodded. "For my brother's death. I need to let him be born again…."

Takeru's hands on her back guided her to the door. "Thank you," he said to the principal, "Thank you for seeing us."

Once outside, Hikari's eyes remained focused on the ground. "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have said that, but it just slipped out…"

Takeru sighed. "It's fine. I lost my temper back there too."

They were surprised to see Sora waiting at the apartment. "What about your classes?" Hikari asked.

"I was more concerned about you," she said, hands motioning to the couch. The couple sat, Sora handed them glasses of tea. "How did it go?"

"I messed up again," Hikari frowned, "I almost told him that Taichi's going to be my child."

"I lost my temper too," Takeru blurted.

"I suppose it doesn't matter anyway," Sora sighed, "Since you won't be going back. Um, speaking about that…" She grabbed a stack of papers from her desk, "I have the names of some private tutors. You might not have a high school graduation certificate, but you'll at least have a high school education."

Hikari's face could not determine whether she was happy or sad. "But Sora, you can't afford…"

"Don't worry about that," she smiled, "I told you, me and Yamato are better off than you think."

"Where is Yamato, anyway?"

"Uh, he had some things to take care of, but, I did speak to your mother earlier. How'd you like to go shopping for baby clothes tonight?"

Her heart fluttered. "J-just us?"

"Well, we decided I should come along too, just in case one of Phelesmon's goons show up."

Hikari turned to Takeru. "But didn't you want to…"

"You should see your mother," he nodded, "Go ahead."

The sixteen-year-old raced to her room. Plotmon yawned from where she was curled up at the end of the bed. "You're home."

"It's okay," she giggled, "I'm just going out for a while, you can go back to sleep."

Plotmon stretched, circled around the bed once more before plopping back to sleep.

The guest room's closet had so far been reserved for her school uniforms and a few maternity dresses. Sora had tried to buy her appropriate clothes for her condition the first weekend she arrived, but even the smallest size was too large for her. They ordered clothes online, and Hikari felt sadness not only at how many teenage girls needed such a selection, but also that many of them could not afford it.

She removed the spare uniforms and tossed them into an empty box in the corner. No use keeping those anymore; there were certainly girls in the area that could use them.

She changed out of her uniform and into a pink maternity dress that reached her knees. Winter and spring were still battling outside, so she choose black leggings as well. She examined her reflection; the dress left no question that she was pregnant.

"No use hiding it any longer," she mumbled, exiting the room.

All Takeru could say was, "Wow," and lay a hand on her baby bump.

"Your mother's going to be waiting for us," Sora said, "We'd better get moving."

"Okay, Oneesan, I'm ready."

They met Mrs. Yagami at the entrance to the local mall. "Hikari!" she cried, arms wrapped tight around her child, "How are you doing? Are you okay?"

The sixteen-year-old returned the embrace. "I'm okay, Mom, things are okay."

She pushed her daughter back, eyes studying her from head to toe. "Wow, you look so beautiful."

Hikari blushed. "Mom!"

Mrs. Yagami bowed to Sora. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter and my grandchild."

"I'm happy to do it."

"But Mom, you're okay, right?" Hikari asked, "You would tell us if you were being threatened by more evil digimon because of me, right?"

"Yes, of course I would."

"Koushiro thinks that Boogiemon just got lucky when he found us that night," Hikari continued, "And since Tailmon destroyed him before he reported back, you should be safe." Her mouth twitched, "I'm sorry, Mom, that was all my fault…"

Sora placed her hands on the teenager's shoulders. "We're not going to think about that right now, right?"

Mrs. Yagami nodded, her face all smiles as well. "When was the last time we went out shopping?"

Hikari searched her memories. "I…I can't even remember."

They walked into the infant clothing section. Hikari caught the attention of everyone and whispers emerged between their fellow customers. "Just ignore them," Mrs. Yagami whispered.

Hikari's ears resounded with their words.

"No discipline, that's the problem with kids today."

"They don't have the patience to just wait until they're out of school."

"She's going to miss out on her education."

"I bet she sleeps with every boy she meets."

The last criticism had come from a young woman only slightly older than Sora. The redhead's eyes burned. "I'll teach that little bitch something…"

"Sora, please," Hikari said, hands tugging on her arm.

Mrs. Yagami pulled a onesie from the rack. "How about this one?"

It was blue, but contained an image of a firetruck. "I don't think so." She fished through the clothes. "Here." She removed another onesie, this one with a dinosaur. "He'll like this one, because of Agumon."

Dropping it into her mother's hands, she darted to a striped t-shirt displaying an image of a soccer ball. "And this one. He loves soccer." She smiled and ran a hand over her stomach, "You can play all the soccer you want when you get older, I promise."

Glances were exchanged between Sora and Mrs. Yagami, but Hikari let it pass. She was having fun, real fun for the first time since Phelesmon, since Taichi's death, since her father…

"Thank you for doing this for me and Taichi," she said.

"Of course," Sora said.

Mrs. Yagami embraced her. "You're my daughter, I'll love you no matter what."

She noted with sadness that her mother made no mention of her father.

Yamato stood on the cliff's edge, eyes squinted in the stinging wind. He examined the device in his hand once again, the small monitor and display lights remained silent. He gave the village of Digieggs below him a final look before returning to the tent.

Once inside their makeshift shelter, he removed his gloves and pulled off his furred parka. "We're sure this works, right?"

"I tested the concept on mine and Ken's digivice," Koushiro explained, "Before I calibrated it with Taichi's."

He sighed and plopped into the chair, arms resting on the table. "Then we've hit another dead end."

"Maybe Agumon hasn't been reconfigured," Tentomon suggested, "If his data was just too corrupted this time…"

Yamato sighed, "At this rate, it might be easier to test the baby."

Koushiro stared at him from across the table. "For that to work, you'd actually have to tell Hikari."

Yamato returned the glare. "You want to talk about this again? Fine. We get her hopes up and then we can't find Agumon, then what? And what if we do find him, but he has no idea if Taichi's being reincarnated or not. What's that going to do to her?" His mouth twisted into a frown, "She's gotten a little better, but… me and Sora have talked about trying to get her to see another therapist, but…"

"How would you pay for that?" Koushiro questioned.

"Her mother's been sending us money," he answered, "And don't say anything to her about it. The only reason we got her to stay for so long is because she thinks me and Sora can afford it."

Koushiro frowned. "Fine. I don't like it, but I'll do it."

Yamato rose to his feet and pulled on his gloves. "I'm gonna take another look and then we'll call it a day."

Koushiro opened his mouth to talk, but his laptop exploded in light and sound. "What's going on?" Tentomon asked.

Yamato and Gabumon leapt behind the boy with a head of curly red hair. Windows were popping open on his laptop with Koushiro trying to close each one. "Something's hacking my connection!"

A red window opened on screen, an image of a devil appearing a second later.

Yamato growled. "Phelesmon."

"Chosen Children," the digimon said, his voice a mix of graveling and snarling, "You've hidden Light from me, and since I have not heard from Boogiemon in some time, I can only take it to mean he had been destroyed after following that pathetic Plotmon back to your world. Shame he did not report back Light's location."

"That's how he found Hikari that night," Koushiro said, "Good thing he was destroyed."

Yamato grabbed the sides of the laptop. "Where are you hiding you fucking coward!"

"Yamato," Koushiro hissed, "It's a one-way transmission."

Phelesmon continued, "But I will find her, Chosen, and then a new world will be birthed in darkness!"

Yamato's fist smashed into the table as the video cut off.

Hikari let her feet fall softly as she stepped into her old apartment. "Are you sure it's okay that…"

Her mother gently pushed past her. "Your father won't be home for another few hours."

"Y-yes, but how is he going to feel with all the baby supplies?"

"He won't even know," she explained, "As long as we keep them in storage until…"

Hikari frowned, "Until he forgives me?"

Mrs. Yagami's arms wrapped around her. "I'm trying."

"And you can stay with us as long as you want," Sora added.

She stared at her feet, the pain, the darkness, the sorrow creeping back into her heart. "But I can't stay there after Taichi's born."

"We can discuss that later," the redhead replied, "We've got time, don't we?"

Hikari found a smile pushing through the pain, the darkness. "Yeah, but I'm growing fast."

Mrs. Yagami stepped into the kitchen. "Let me make you some tea."

"I'll help," Sora offered.

Hikari watched her mother and 'older sister,' in the kitchen before her eyes peered into her room. Her vision blurred, tears flowing down her face. She pulled away and stepped into Taichi's room, empty save for a box of soccer trophies.

She winced, a sharp feeling in her abdomen. Her hand rested on her bump, "Its okay, Taichi. I know you want to come back here, but I'm working on that."

Yamato and Takeru were at the apartment when the young women returned. "Did you have fun?" Takeru asked.

Hikari grinned, carefully lowering herself onto the couch. "We got enough baby supplies for Taichi to last a while. I wonder how fast he'll grow. I guess Jyou can tell us."

Sora swallowed. "S-so, Hikari, are you going to keep calling him Taichi?"

She shrugged. "It's his name. It would just be too confusing for him to hear a different one."

Sora's mouth opened, but only sounds emerged. Was she struggling to think of what to say? "A-are you sure that it won't be confusing to have your son and brother with the same name? I mean, people might think it's strange…"

"Other people," Yamato said, a strange glare at his girlfriend.

Hikari was quiet for a time, but then a smile came over her face. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Um, I guess we can call him Taisuke. This way it sounds familiar to him, but I can also say that I named him after my brother."

Takeru smiled, a nod of his head. "What if it's a girl?"

Hikari's head moved from side to side, "It will be a boy." A smile crept over her face as she turned to Sora. "Not unless Taichi wanted to see how we girls live this time. Maybe he felt sorry for teasing me about my first period."

Sora gave a nervous laugh. "I-I'm not sure Taichi would…"

Hikari shook her head once again. "I don't either. I was only kidding."

Takeru pressed. "What about Miaka if it's a girl?"

Hikari frowned. "It's not going to be a girl, but we'll call her Taiko, if it is, okay?"

Takeru's head nodded, his arms embracing her. "Well, boy or girl, you'll be the best mother in the world."

Her smile was a mirror of his. "And you're going to be a great father."

Once dinner was finished and Takeru had returned to his apartment, Hikari gathered her things for her bath, her eyes focused on the mirror hanging behind the door, and then to the phone on her bed. Nothing to hide now.

She pulled down on her dress, causing her bump to stand out even more and snapped a picture of her reflection. "Two months down," she wrote, "Seven to go. I can't wait for you to get here Taichi."

Her thumb hovered over the screen. She had almost said too much, revealed too much. She needed to keep it quiet, hidden.

She hit the backspace, edited her last statement. "Can't wait for you to arrive."

Another hesitation. Once it was posted, there would be no questions. If her school friends did not guess before, they would know for certain now.

No going back.

She took a breath and clicked.

Once dinner was finished, baths were taken, and Hikari retired to the guest room, Sora was left on the couch with Yamato. Her attention struggled to stay focused on the sitcom, which Yamato found hilarious for some reason, but her mind continued to drift to her houseguest. "Yamato, we need to talk."

He frowned, a deep sigh escaping his mouth. He switched off the television. "Okay, what is it?"

She heard the tone in his voice but chose to ignore it. "I'm worried about Hikari, she's getting worse."

Yamato said nothing, so she continued. "She's going further and further into her delusion…"

"Who says it's a delusion?" Yamato asked.

Sora stared. "What? You really believe her?"

He shrugged. "We've seen some really strange stuff, right?"

"If you believe her, then why are you spending so much time looking for Agumon?"

"Not so loud!" he hissed, eyes focused on the door to the guest room. "I'm just keeping an open mind. I'm surprised that you're so convinced."

She slunk back into the couch, a frown on her face. "Taichi's gone," she said, "We need to accept it and move on."

Yamato's mouth opened, but she was not going to let him convince her otherwise. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

Hidden within a section of the Digital World, the devil Digimon rested his hand on his throne. His evil eyes focused on the Digimon appearing before him. "Turuiemon, report."

The rabbit man bowed. "Master Phelesmon, I have found the Chosen Children."

His eyebrow raised. "And you did nothing?"

His head hovered low. "My lord, they appear to be searching for Courage's Digimon partner."

"What? Explain."

"I observed Friendship and Knowledge scouring Primary Villages across the Digital World."

"What would they be doing there?" Phelesmon asked, "Their partners are still with them, aren't…" A smile spread over his face, "They are seeking Courage's partner."

"Would that not mean that Courage is still alive?" Turuiemon asked.

"I don't know," the devil answered, "But keep your attention on them. Once they find Courage's partner, we may be able to use it to draw Light here. I don't understand the human's relationships to one another, but Courage and Light were far closer to one another then the others. I kill Courage, and Light completely shuts down. If I were to injure Courage's partner, would Light feel it? Since the Chosen are guarding their tracks since Boogiemon followed Light's partner back to Earth, this seems to be the best course of action."

His eyes glinted. "Do you understand?"

Turuiemon nodded. "Yes, master."

End of Chapter 3