PS: In this story, Hikari is a Elementary School teacher and not a Kindergarten one like in the Epilogue.

Day 5 - Festival: The Spring Festival

Hikari had a bittersweet sensation in her chest when she walked into the Odaiba Elementary School that Saturday morning. She was there as a teacher, a mother and an aunt. She was feeling very proud of her students' hard work in bringing their project into life and couldn't wait to see everyone's reactions about it. Her students had created musical instruments from materials that could be recycled and have been rehearsing some J-pop and worldwide famous pop songs to perform on stage. She was sure Mimi was going to freak out when she saw Yasuhiko playing a fully handmade recycled guitar.

She understood that feeling quite well. Hikari was really anxious and excited to see what Yamazaki was doing with his classmates. She tried to find out about it, but her son simply told her he wasn't supposed to tell and it was a secret, so she simply waited for the festival to arrive. She wondered what the other children were doing. Her nephew, Takeru's and Jou's sons and Koushiro's and Sora and Yamato's daughters also attended there, so there would be a reunion that day and they all would get to see everyone's project.

Her students' performance was only near lunch time, so she walked inside the building and climbed the stairs to the second floor, where Yamazaki's room was. She turned right when she arrived and memories came back to her mind. She had walked down these halls for years when she was a child. Especially towards the Computer Room, where she and the rest of the Chosen Children went to the Digital World everyday after class. Before she even realized it, she was standing by the door looking inside it.
"I'm pretty sure that's not Yamazaki's room." A very familiar voice echoed in her ears and Hikari glanced up to come across a pair of blue eyes.
"I guess I got lost." She smiled and looked into the small window on the door again.
"Nah, I don't think that's it. You know these halls better than any of us." Takeru stopped beside her. "Feeling nostalgic?"
"I do everyday." She placed her palm against the door. "But I suppose I'm feeling it a little bit more today."
"More than two decades have gone by since then."
"Yeah." She took a deep breath. "A lot has changed since 2002."
"That's to be expected, isn't it? The world is in constant evolution."
"I think you've been spending too much time with Koushiro." Hikari teased and laughed. "How's your book coming along?"
"I'm almost halfway through with it. I'm struggling though. I had no idea how difficult it was to write a fiction novel."
"It can't be much more difficult than writing a book telling our adventures in the Digital World."
"It is, trust me." Takeru ruffled the top of his hair nervously. "I keep wishing to show it to Kimi and hear her opinions, but at the same time I want her to be surprised. It's so frustrating."
"Why don't you show it to someone else then?"
"For the same reason. I don't want them to know about the story beforehand."
"Isn't there anyone from the publisher house that can read it and give their opinion to you?"
"Yeah, I will have to ask for their opinion."
"I'm sure they will love it."
Takeru opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by hearing his name being called. He looked to his left and saw Kimi searching for him.
"There you are." She approached him with a smile. "I was looking all over for you. Hi, Hikari."
"Hello." Hikari smiled gently at her. "Well, I should get going. I want to see how everything is going for my students and help them with anything they need. See you later?"
"Sure." Takeru replied. "When is your students' presentation again?"
"At 11:30 at the patio. It can't be hard to miss because of the stage that's set up."
"We'll be there."
"Great. See you two then."

.

Hikari went down the opposite direction of the hall and soon stopped by the door from Yamazaki's classroom. It was closed, so she spied from the small window. She recognized one of his classmates, who called him right away. He quickly came to the door and walked out.
"Mommy? Is everything okay?"
"Yes, everything's fine. I just wanted to see you before your presentation. You know, to wish you good luck. We didn't have much time to talk earlier today."
"That's true." Yamazaki took her away from the door, so she wouldn't take a peek at what they were doing.
"Is your teacher there helping you?"
"She is. Everything is almost ready, so you'll find out what it is soon. I have to go back."
"Okay. I'll see you soon."
Yamazaki gave Hikari a hug and turned to go inside his room again. As he was about to open the door, he looked at his right and saw his father standing next to the stairs. "Daddy!"
"Hey." Katsuo hugged him tight and looked up at Hikari, who was smiling warmly at their gesture before walking towards them.
"I thought you'd be here by now."
"Yeah, my parents were a little late. They weren't ready when I arrived, so I had to wait for a while."
"I see. And where are they?"
"They are downstairs talking to your parents. We ran into them and Taichi and Akiko when we came in."
"Uncle Taichi is here too?" Yamazaki's face beamed with happiness.
"Yes, he is. He wanted you to know he's very excited to see what your class is doing and can't wait for it."
"Cool!"
"So you better go back in and get everything done." Hikari said. "Good luck."
"Thank you, mommy." He gave another hug to each one of his parents and rushed inside his room.
"Aren't you supposed to be helping your students too?"
"I am." She nodded. "Being here made me lose track of time. I'm going to check on them now."
"I'll go with you downstairs." Katsuo reached for her hand and their fingers laced together as they made their way out of the building.

.

Hikari headed to the improvised dressing room behind the stage, where her students were gathered. They made a circle around her, hugging her and screaming her name.
"I'm sorry for taking so long to come." She hugged as many of her students as she could. "How are we going over here?"
"Everything is going good, sensei." One of the girls replied. "We had a small incident with one of the instruments, but we called the Music teacher and she was able to help us fix it. And then we had another rehearsal, but I think we can have another one now."
"That sounds good to me. Do you want to rehearsal some more?" Hikari saw all of them nod affirmatively and went to sit on a chair next to her. "Alright. Let me hear it then."

She was barely able to hold her tears after they played the last chords of the final song on the setlist. She was up on her feet, clapping enthusiastically. "Wow, angels, that was very beautiful. I'm pretty sure everyone is going to enjoy it so much. Congratulations."
The majority of the children cheered happily and couldn't hide their excitement with their teacher's compliments, but a specific student in the middle of the crowd caught Hikari's attention.
"Ayame, is everything alright?" She stretched her hand towards the girl and the rest of the kids immediately went quiet and turned to her. "Come here."
She took the woman's hand and was led to a chair next to the one Hikari was previously sitting on.
"What happened, sweetheart?" Hikari held her hand within hers softly. "Are you nervous?"
Ayame simply nodded, without making eye contact with her teacher.
"Is it because your family is here?"
"I don't like big crowds, they scare me."
"It's okay, angel." Hikari pulled the girl into a hug. "You're going to be in the front, right?"
"Yes."
"Maybe we can switch places with someone else, so you'll feel better and more comfortable." She looked up at her students. "Can anyone trade places with her?"
"I can, sensei." Yasuhiko raised his hand and Hikari couldn't help but smile at him.
"Great. Thank you, Yasuhiko." She looked down at Ayame. "Are you feeling better now?"
"I am. Thanks, sensei." Ayame hugged her and then went to stay close to her classmates.
"Okay, everyone. Let's make a circle now. I want to talk to you all before your presentation." She waited until everyone was settled down near her and looked at each one of their faces before talking again. "I know this is scary to some of you and exciting to other ones, but I'm sure every single one of you can do this. If you feel nervous with the crowd, try looking someplace else or down to the instrument you're playing and don't forget to breath. It will help you calm down too. And most importantly, have fun. Your families and friends will be there watching it, but this isn't only for them. It's for each of you before anything. And last, but not least, trust yourself. You worked very hard to this moment and now it's your time to shine. I'm very proud of you all and I know you'll do amazingly on the stage. You got this."
The students all smiled and stood up after Hikari did the same. She had her fingers intertwined together and a gentle warm smile on her lips. "Now I want you to hug the ones on your right and on your left and wish them good luck. Then we're going to have a big group hug and get ready to go on stage, okay?"
"Okay!" The kids said together and followed Hikari's instructions.
"Great!" Hikari spoke again after the last hugs were given and all eyes fell back in her. "We have fifteen minutes to our performance. Use this time to concentrate and relax. Remember to believe in yourself and have fun. I'm proud of each one of you. You're gonna do great."
"Group hug!" Yasuhiko screamed and all the students gathered around Hikari, hugging her and screaming and jumping up and down.

.

Hikari peeked from the black curtain backstage seconds before the white curtains that separated the band from the audience. Her students' families and friends made a lot of noise when the curtains opened. She could see Mimi from where she was standing. Her reaction was exactly like Hikari had expected, probably even more. Mimi was hugging her mother and both of them were crying desperately already. She wondered how they would be after the end of the concert.

Hikari put her camera down when the curtains closed about forty minutes later. Her position wasn't very favorable for great pictures, but she still managed to get some good ones. She greeted her students and whispered 'good luck', and they high-fived and hugged her in return before going backstage. Some couldn't stop smiling, some were bawling hard and some were still processing what was happening. When the last one walked past her, she followed him backstage.
"That was amazing, angels!" She spoke a little louder than the blabbing noise in the room and it immediately fell quiet. "The audience loved it and you all were really amazing! You made me so proud!"
"We did it, sensei!"
"Yes, you did! Just like I knew you would."
"Did you like it?"
"Absolutely! I even took some pictures I'll show you next week. Now you're all free to go stay with your families and enjoy the rest of the festival."
"Sensei, is your son's presentation going to happen soon?"
"Yes, it will. Right after lunch."
"Do you know what he's doing?"
"I have no idea. He wouldn't tell me, no matter how much I tried."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I'll find out very soon." She smiled.

Hikari said her byes to the last students at the backstage and noticed Yasuhiko was the only one there. "You're still here?"
"Yeah, I didn't want to leave you alone."
"I would be fine." She assured him. "Your mother is probably freaking out though. It's a surprise she still hasn't come here looking for you."
"She makes a scene sometimes."
"She's always been like this. I guess we all got used to it. We wouldn't want her to change, though." Hikari laughed. "You should go see her and the rest of your family."
"Okay."
"I'll be fine. I'll see you later."
"Bye, sensei." Yasuhiko hugged her. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."

.

Hikari and Katsuo were sitting on a bench eating lamen and a few other typical Japanese dishes when Taichi arrived with their parents, Akiko and Takato.
"There you are." Yuuko sat down beside her.
"We decided to eat something before going to see Yamazaki's presentation."
"Have you seen him?" Taichi asked.
"Yes, before my students performed." She took a sip of her orange juice. "I wanted to wish him good luck since we barely saw each other at home."
"I bet he's excited."
"He is. And I'm almost biting my nails from anxiety. He wouldn't tell me what they planned and I'm so curious."
"You don't have to wait much longer anymore. These final thirty minutes will fly by."
"They surely will. Have you seen any of the others around here?"
"It wasn't that hard to notice Mimi during her son's performance. I guess old habits die hard."
"She's just a mother being proud and happy for her son." Hikari said simply. "It wouldn't be her if it was any different."
"You may be right." Taichi sighed. "
"I saw Jou briefly then too, but he was already gone when I tried to talk to him."
"That's too bad."
"Well, maybe we'll get to talk to him later. I think Sora and Yamato should be arriving now, since Kenichi's class is also presenting in the afternoon."
"Yes, Takeru told me earlier this week. I've run into him this morning though. Actually, he found me."
"I should send a text in the group telling everyone to meet up around here later. Have you heard anything from Koushiro?"
"Not so far." Hikari shook her head negatively and looked at the time on her phone. "We have ten more minutes. We better get going, I don't want to be late."
She felt Takato poking her back and saw her mother crying silently when she turned to pick him up.
"Mom, is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine." Yuuko wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes. "I'm just emotional over Yamazaki's presentation."
"You've seen other ones before."
"I know, but this one is special."
"Why? Did he tell you what it's about?"
"Let's go, Hikari." Katsuo offered her his hand, in a clear attempt to cut the subject. "It's almost time and we are going to be late if we don't leave now."
"Alright." She made sure she was holding her nephew firmly before taking her husband hand and standing up. "You're nervous."
"Excuse me?" He looked at her over his shoulder.
"You're tense."
"It's probably because of the presentation."
"You know something too!"
"What are you talking about, Hikari? I have no idea what he's doing."
"Yes, you do. You refuse to look at me, just like you do when you don't want me to find out the truth."
"Sister, I'm surprised you still haven't realized what Yamazaki's class will do. It's so easy."
"Wait, you know as well? I can't believe I'm the only one who doesn't. I'm his mother."
"Exactly. And in two minutes you will find out."