We'd all had a really long and scary day. It had now turned into night, and everyone else was seemingly asleep, by some miracle. I didn't know how they were able to relax that much after the past day's horrors. I had tried, but after a good hour or so of just tossing and turning I gave up. I had no hope of sleeping whatsoever. So I stood up and left the room, being careful to not bump into anybody and wake them up. Falcomon followed. I closed the door behind us and just walked outside, sitting on the steps. The atmosphere was eerie. Spooky, with the low-hanging fog slowly wrapping the school yard in its unnerving embrace. That fog seemed like ordinary fog to me, but still I felt some chills run down my spine. A good amount of minutes was spent in silence. I had apparently fallen quite deep in my thoughts. Finally, Falcomon was the one to pull me out of there.

- Minoru?

he asked as he returned from his quick stroll around the yard. He'd made sure everything was safe for us to stay outside. I looked in his direction, an unusually gloomy expression on my face.

- What's keeping you awake tonight, my boy? Everyone else was fast asleep,

he continued. I briefly shrugged, finally speaking up. Although my voice was lacking all the usual enthusiasm.

- Falcomon.. I just can't stop thinking about what happened today. How we almost lost Ryo. I try not to think about it, but every time I even try to close my eyes, I see that scene play out again. And suddenly.. it's not Ryo who's about to get dragged away by those hands.. it's me. I see you try to come and grab me.. Takuma's trying to do the same. I see his hand reach out to me. And I try to take his hand. But you're both too late,

I told him. After I started talking, everything just came flooding right out. It was quite a lot. Falcomon didn't even quite know what to say.

We just sat in some uncomfortable silence for a while.. until I suddenly continued talking. I had quite a lot weighing on my mind.

- I'm not a hero. I never was. I'm not brave or reliable like Takuma is. Everyone always turns to him to get his opinion on something. And I understand why that is. He's always there for everyone equally, right? And.. I could never be able to keep everyone together and in line like Aoi does. I joke around about it a lot, but.. I really don't know how she does it. She's strong, isn't she? Strong in ways that you wouldn't believe at first. She can break up a fight just like that. But me..? I joke around and laugh a lot just to hide the truth from everyone. I'm pathetic. But they don't need to see it. They don't deserve it, they're having a hard enough time with everything as it is. They don't need my problems on top of it all. It's why I always act so cheerful, like nothing's bothering me. But.. I don't know what I'm good for. Why is it so important to have a class clown around when we've got guys like Takuma, or girls like Aoi?

I barely stopped talking to take a breather. But as I did, Falcomon took that short opportunity to say:

- I believe you're being needlessly hard on yourself.

I didn't quite have enough time to say anything to that as we both heard the door behind us open. Falcomon swiftly turned to look who it was. I did, too, although much more sluggishly. It was Takuma, by himself. Agumon must still be sleeping like a log.

- Minoru. I will leave you two by yourselves for now,

Falcomon said and headed inside, probably sensing that we needed to talk. After he left, Takuma took his place, sitting down right by my side. I said nothing for a bit. My heart was racing. How much of my monologue had he possibly heard? The night was cold, and I felt more shivers run down my back. Yet I didn't get up. Not now that Takuma was here. My cheeks, though, felt warm. Maybe it was because of embarrassment. Takuma was needed to break the otherwise neverending silence.

- You couldn't sleep either, huh..?

he asked, sounding pretty normal. Maybe I was just overreacting and he hadn't heard a thing.

- No..

I responded, still sounding very down in the dumps.

- I tried, but.. it was no use.

Takuma nodded, and a silence fell on us. Although this time, it didn't feel just as crushing as it had done not too long ago.

What Takuma said next was something I had half expected, but still it managed to catch me by surprise.

- You know, Minoru.. I think you're more than you're allowing yourself to be. I don't think you're trash, or a coward. You've got a brave heart beating in your chest,

he said, somehow sounding very convincing and genuine. He moved a little closer and put his arm around me as we sat there. The school yard seemed to be bathing in the cold moonlight. My heart felt like it was suddenly skipping a few beats. Being around Takuma seemed to be doing that more and more often, even though we spent a lot of time together every day, so that wasn't anything new. But still, over time he had started to make me feel more at ease with myself. Jokes weren't always needed to mask insecurities. I could just be myself.

- I believe in your courage, Minoru,

he then said, with his arm still around me. It seemed like he was in no rush to move it anytime soon. And I was fine with it. Right then and there, with Takuma by my side I felt a new kind of bravery somewhere in my heart. And, maybe even more than that, I felt safe. Who cares if I wasn't superhero material? I had my everyday hero right here with me. Someone who without question believed in me.