Author's Note: Forgive me. This is a little bit of a filler chapter. Still, I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: Nanako, Yukira and Akiryomon belong to me. Digimon, sadly, does not. I'll keep hoping though.

The hours dragged endlessly through the night. Each of the Chosen Children took their turn, waiting for an update from the doctors. Nanako was last, but she insisted that she would take her turn just like everyone else.

Night was ever so slowly turning to morning. The sun was not yet risen; it wouldn't be for at least another hour or so, but birds were beginning to sing out their morning songs. She looked over the waiting room, scanning everyone's faces. Though they all slept, even the Digimon, every single one of them wore their worry etched into their entire bodies. They were stiff, brows furrowed, the occasional twitch, the occasional wake up.

"Look at you," said a familiar voice. "Look what you've done."

"What have I done?" She turned her head to see Hideki sitting beside her, swinging his little legs from the chair. She smiled kindly at the face of her younger brother. She knew he wasn't real; he'd been dead for nearly ten years. Still, being able to see him in her mind was a beautiful thing. He was the only one of her friends that she never tried to silence.

"You made so many friends!" Hideki giggled. "And they have cute pets!"

"I don't think they're pets," she smiled. "Something tells me it's more than that."

"Maybe," he said thoughtfully. "But they all like you."

"How do you know?"

"They're nicer than the others." She nodded. Hideki had never liked her other friends. They often said things that were unkind to her, reminding her of her faults. But never Hideki-he was just as kind and bright now as he was in life.

"They are," she agreed. "But after tonight..."

"Daisuke won't let that happen," he assured her. "I like him."

"Who are you talking to?" Her eyes snapped up at the sound of someone talking to her-actually, physically talking to her. Before her stood a tall, slender boy. He had silky, raven-black hair hanging to his shoulders and the most stunning amethyst eyes she had ever seen.

"You're Ken!" she exclaimed. He looked taken aback, and she added, "Daisuke told me all about you!"

"Only good things, I hope," he joked, sitting down next to her. He slumped down into the chair, and she could almost see the exhaustion take over his body. He had been in the room with Daisuke since the second they arrived, and had made it very clear he would not leave. The doctors must have finally coerced him.

"The best things," she assured him. "I'm...I'm sorry."

"What are you apologising for?"

"It's my fault Daisuke is sick," she said, hanging her head. Tears welled in her eyes again, and she tried desperately to choke them back.

"No it's not," Ken reassured her.

"But he got the pills from my bag..."

"And he wouldn't have run off if it weren't for me," Ken said. "Did he tell you that part?"

"Yeah," she said. "But not like that. He said you were probably mad at him for not giving you any space and that he was worried about you and that he didn't want to mess anything up more."

"He didn't mess anything up," Ken shook his head, covering his face with his hands for a moment. She stared at him; he looked the most worried of all of them.

"You love him," she blurted out. His gaze snapped up to meet hers.

"What?"

"You love him," she repeated. "I can see it."

"How...?" His head tilted in curiosity.

"You refused to leave the room," she explained. "You're exhausted, but you're not letting yourself sleep. You look worried, more worried than any of the others." He thought for a moment, then sighed and slumped back down in the chair. Nanako smiled triumphantly.

"You never answered my question," Ken chuckled, changing the subject.

"His name is Hideki," Nanako said. "He was my little brother."

"Was...?"

"He died when he was really little. He got into my medicine and..." Try as she might, she couldn't stop the tears this time. She buried her face in her hands.

"I lost my brother too," Ken said softly. Nanako looked up at him and he continued, "He was older than me. And he was the smartest person I knew."

"What happened?"

"There was an accident. I blamed myself for a long time." He looked at her sincerely and added, "I'm sorry about your brother."

"I just don't want it to happen again," she squeaked. Ken reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently.

"It won't," he said, reassuring himself more than her. "We're not going to let it happen."

"What was your brother's name?" Nanako asked.

"Osamu," Ken replied with a smile. There was a time once when he wouldn't have been able to even speak Osamu's name, let alone talk about him to a stranger. Now, though, he felt that the best way to honour his brother's memory was to tell people about him.

"I like that," she said. "Was he as nice as you?"

"Most of the time. He had a bit of a temper," he chuckled. "But he taught me a lot of things and he took care of me. What was Hideki like?"

"He was the sweetest," Nanako said brightly. "He was only six when he died, but he was so smart. He loved to snuggle and his favourite thing in the whole world was butterflies. We'd go to the park and chase them for hours." She laughed softly.

"So you still talk to him?" Ken asked.

"I'm psychotic," she explained, as if it were completely natural. "I have been since I was a kid. My imaginary friends aren't all that imaginary and when Hideki died he became one of them."

"Oh. So you have others that you talk to as well?"

"Yeah, but they're not always nice. Sometimes they tell me to hurt myself or to hurt others. Makoto is the meanest. He keeps telling me to punch you in the face." Ken looked taken aback, and she added, "Don't worry. I ignore him the most."

"Is that why you have the pills?"

"Yepp. They help to keep them all quiet when they get too loud. Mostly I can ignore them on my own at this point, but sometimes I can't. I think that's why Daisuke took them. I think Katsu got too loud."

"Who?"

"Katsu. That was Daisuke's friend. Well, not a friend really. He was kind of a dick."

"Daisuke was hearing voices in his head?"

"Oh you don't just hear them," she said. "You can see them too."

"So...so he was hallucinating?"

"I suppose so, yeah. That's probably why he left home," she mused.

"I wish he'd told me..." Ken felt even more guilty now for not answering Daisuke's calls. What if he'd needed help? Ken swore he'd always be there for his best friend, and where was he?

"Well, you're here now," Nanako said. "So maybe he will."

"I doubt it," Ken murmured.

"Why? Because you guys had a fight? Look, you all showed up here the second you found out about him. You wouldn't leave his side. I haven't known him for very long, but I think he'd be happy about that part instead of being mad at you."

"Thanks," Ken said.

"You should try to sleep," Nanako said. "It's my turn to stay awake so if the doctors say anything I'll wake you up first." She smiled at him and he nodded, sinking into the chair once more. Within minutes, he was asleep.