Chapter 7
What do I want to say? I haven't seen him in more than a year. What if he's changed? What if that wasn't the "real" Wallace to begin with? Could I just be kidding myself, believing what I want to believe and remembering only what I want about him?
Such questions had been running through Hikari's mind ever since she left the flower shop. She would have preferred to silently ponder them on her own, but Iori's incessant questioning prevented her from resolving the issue. It's funny, she thought, I feel so alone sometimes, yet whenever I actually want some time to myself I just can't get it. When she finally parted ways with him she walked home, faster than usual. Once she walked through the door though, Taichi told her that Wallace's flight would be considerably late. Hikari was eager to leave, but glad that she would have more time to get ready. She placed the flowers in a tall glass of water and sat on their balcony, taking in the breezes from across the bay and enjoying the late summer afternoon sun. She spent a considerable time doing nothing but thinking about her life, and how extraordinarily weird it had been up to that point. After all that she had been through, not much could shock her. Still, she couldn't believe that he was coming. He's coming, and he'll be here today! The time soon passed and she went back inside. After a hot shower and almost an hour making sure that she looked just perfect, she left with her brother and their friends.
Now she was wedged in the backseat of Yamato's Toyota, squished against the right rear door by Takeru and Daisuke. It was by no measure a large car, but sitting with two boys made it feel even more cramped than it actually was. In the front seat Yamato and Taichi were arguing about how to get to the airport. It will be even worse on the ride home, she thought, unless I get to sit by Wallace. Thinking about it more though, she realized that it probably would not be the right time or place to get caught up. The ride home would play host to a number of general questions and small-talk including but not limited to 'how was your flight?', 'what do you think of Japan so far?', etc. They would reminisce about their time in America and answer whatever questions he had about Japan. There would surely be too many to answer in the car, but they would all do their best. They planned on going to a restaurant to celebrate the occasion before dropping him off at his new apartment, a building nearly a mile from hers. There certainly wouldn't be time for any consequential discourse, not between the two of them.
So why did I bring him flowers? Do I want to look desperate? No matter how he feels about me, he'll just interpret it as a cultural thing, 'Oh, it must be a Japanese tradition to greet guests with flowers.' The bouquet sat on the armrest in between Yamato, who was desperately trying to change lanes as the exit ramp came into view, and Taichi, who was holding a road map in his face. Daisuke and Takeru were being quite restrained considering that they had sat next to her for the past half hour and barely touched each other. She realized that it had been some time since either of them had even spoken, so she glanced over at them, noticing something on Daisuke's forehead
"Daisuke, is that a bump on your head or are you just hiding a hickey?" A large white bandage covered the right side of his forehead, halfway concealed by his protruding spiky bangs.
"Iori dropped by this morning," Takeru said. "I guess he thought our kitchen was kendo class."
"Aren't they supposed to learn not to attack innocent bystanders?" Daisuke moaned. From his appearance, he probably should have stayed in bed.
"I don't know Daisuke. You do look pretty scary in the morning." Takeru joked.
Hikari thought of asking Takeru 'Oh, and how would you know?', but it just didn't seem like the right time for a joke. Making cracks about their relationship had gotten old, not to mention that she thought it just sounded immature. Even if she had been in a sillier mood, Hikari still would have kept it to herself. In light of what happened to Sora that morning, she was very intrigued, not to mention somewhat worried. Is Iori out to kill us? "I don't understand. Why did he hit you?"
"I don't know. I guess it was just an accident." Takeru said.
Hikari sighed, fogging the window as she leaned back against the door. Wallace's flight was scheduled to arrive at 5:45. The clock on the dashboard, which was an hour fast, read 6:32. Yamato never did figure out how to set it back. She rested her head against the window, trying to rest. Fortunately, Yamato's CD player was stolen, otherwise she'd be subjected to a barrage of noisy punk rock at dangerously high decibels. Regardless, the broken suspension made every minor crevice in the pavement feel like a pothole, transferring the jarring force throughout the body of the car directly to where she was sitting. Not only was the car barely running, but the backseat was also filled with trash. Hikari was up to her ankles in discarded pop cans, french fries and torn up magazines. And this will be the first car Wallace will set foot in here in Japan. Way to make a good impression Yamato.
"Sometimes I just wish that we didn't have to put up with him." Takeru suddenly said. Everyone was stunned by his words, everyone with the exception of his brother.
"What did you say Takeru?" Yamato asked, looking at his brother in the rear view mirror.
"I said that I wish we didn't have to put up with him! Iori's just not cut out to be a Digidestined, and if he wasn't he wouldn't be following us around all the time!" Takeru's voice cracked, but he continued, undaunted. "Look, I don't expect either of you to understand, but if you only knew what we've been through…well, then you would."
"Takeru, when I was a Digidestined…" Taichi began.
"What are you talking about? You still are!" Yamato interjected.
"Whatever. Back then we never looked down on you or excluded you from the group just because you were younger. Right Hikari? I realized that we all had to stick together!" Taichi exclaimed.
Yamato was appalled. "What do you mean YOU realized?".
"Okay, alright, WE realized that we were a team, and that no matter what we had to work together and put aside our differences. That's what friendship is all about! Right Yamato? Huh? Huh?"
"You have the money for parking, right?" he replied.
Takeru was rather unfazed by Taichi's lecturing, and turned the questions back onto him. "Taichi, are you saying that I was an annoying pest? Was I really that much of a pain to have to watch over?"
"No way."
"Did Takeru ever put us in danger?" Hikari asked her brother.
"Of course not."
"Did he ever cause you any serious injuries?" Daisuke moaned.
"No," Taichi admitted. "Not yet anyway," he said, glaring at Takeru suspiciously.
"So then why are you comparing me to Iori?" Takeru asked.
"Because you should know what it feels like to be in his position!" Taichi said, satisfied that he had made his point.
"Are you forgetting about me? I'm two months younger than him!" Hikari sarcastically asked her brother.
"Okay Hikari, you can relate to Takeru. Tell him that he needs to be more patient with Iori."
"The only way that we can relate on this is that we both agree!" She looked at Takeru, who wore an expression balancing between frozen shock and gleeful surprise. Hikari felt slightly guilty for saying something so mean, yet relieved to have finally gotten it off her chest, not to mention finding that she was not alone in her feelings. It was comforting to know that there was someone else that shared her disdain for the boy.
"As our leader I propose that we just get rid of him," Daisuke declared. "Who seconds the motion?"
"Daisuke, you can't do that! Yamato, pull over now!" Taichi was outraged.
"I'm not pulling over. We're almost to the parking lot," he replied.
"Daisuke, that's not how it works," Taichi pleaded.
"Why not? You're not the leader anymore, I am," Daisuke insisted.
"That's it!" Taichi cried, unbuckling his seat belt and turning around. "Give me back my goggles, now!" He reached for them and missed, instead ripping the bandage off Daisuke's head.
"Owwwwwww! Hey, that hurt!" Daisuke pulled his goggles down around his neck and cupped his hands around his wound. It had swollen considerably over the course of the day and looked like it could burst.
"Taichi Yagami!" Hikari screamed. "You'll pay for that!" She reached over his head and locked her arms around his throat, pinning him against the back of the seat. As he struggled to break free of her grip, Takeru tried to comfort Daisuke, who was groaning in pain. Despite the commotion, Yamato kept his composure, that is, until Taichi accidentally flicked Daisuke's sticky bandage into his lap. He quickly slammed on the brakes, causing everyone except for Taichi (who was being restrained by his sister) to lunge forward in their seats. Yamato remained motionless, staring straight ahead as he spoke.
"Okay, look. I don't know what has been going on between the three of you and Iori, but I don't want to hear another thing about it for the rest of today. Does everyone understand?" He gazed at them in the rear view mirror. They nodded obediently. "Now we're all going to be on our best behavior and we're going to give our American friend a friendly and respectful Japanese welcome. Okay?"
"Yes," everyone said in unison.
"Well alright." Yamato rolled down the window, grabbing the temporary parking pass from the ticket machine. Everyone was looking for an open space, but they had to settle for one towards the back of the lot. As they got out of the car Hikari stretched her calves; it would be a long walk to the terminal. We might as well take a plane to get there, she thought. Taichi handed her the flowers, which she cradled with care as they began their journey to gate C9 of Narita International. She lagged behind the others, excited to see Wallace but struggling with her expectations of him. Takeru and Daisuke held hands as they walked ahead of her, and Hikari couldn't help but wonder if Wallace would ever offer his hand to her. She honestly believed that he someday would, but felt that she was setting herself up for disappointment. Why can't I just be his friend? Why do I have to think of him like he's going to be my boyfriend? She felt utterly disgusted with herself and considered turning around and just waiting in the car. It took the roaring sound of a 747, coming in for a landing no more than a few hundred feet over her head to break her out of her self-pity and alert her to the absurdity of her attitude.
"What are you thinking Hikari?" she asked herself outloud. Stop being so immature and get in there. She turned around and was surprised how far she had lagged behind the others, although she knew she couldn't expect Daisuke and Takeru to notice. Hand in hand they walked, unconcerned with what anyone else thought of them. To be so strong, she thought as she jogged ahead, catching up with them just as Wallace's plane touched down.
...end of chapter 7
Taito? I don't think so, but if you see it that way then just go with it. I hope that I haven't made Hikari sound too codependent, but try to imagine what you'd be thinking if the guy/girl of your dreams, who you never thought you'd see again, was moving just down the street from you. Anyway I hope that you have been enjoying this story and that actually it's made sense so far. If it hasn't then I might as well just trash it and go back to writing little 2-page fics. Hey, there's nothing wrong with that, as I 've read tons of great short fics on this site, but I thought it was time that I tried something a little more complex.
I'm quite sure that the Digidestined live in Odabia, but a little voice in the back of my head is trying to tell me they live in Obadia. Also I'm not sure if Iori's last name is Hido or Hida. The last time I can remember reading it, it was Hida, so I'm going to stick with that. Without access to the Internet here at home, there's no way I can check these, so if they're incorrect they may not be fixed for some time. I post my fics using Netscape Composer in a complicated manner I won't try to explain here, but once I write something, I can only fix it from my home computer, not the computer I use to get on the Internet. It's a long story.
I've been trying to keep everyone in character, but I realize that I
may have gone a little over-the-top with Iori. I think I've done
a pretty decent job with everyone else though, but I want to know what
you think. I love reviews and I'd really appreciate any, even if
they're really short (example: 'It sucks!'), so give me your honest opinion
of this so far.
