Misunderstandings:
Part Two
By: Sakura
~*Flashback*~
"Takeru!"
Pausing in his step, Takaishi Takeru turned
around and waited for the girl to catch up with him. Sukimi Chiharu latched
herself to his arm and looked up at him, smiling. Takeru, blushing, smiled back
at her weakly. As much as he liked the girl, she came on a little too strong
for him sometimes. Chiharu straightened up and flipped back her long, silky,
chestnut hair.
"Thanks for waiting for me," she gushed,
"you're just one of the nicest boys I know."
"No problem," answered Takeru, sighing
inwardly. He allowed Chiharu to drag him into school.
"Takeru," continued Chiharu, "the two of us
should go out sometime. You know, a movie, a pizza, stuff like that." Takeru
blinked at her words, a blank expression on his face.
"Go out?" he repeated. Chiharu beamed and
nodded her head vigorously. Takeru tried withdrawing his arm when he reached his
locker but the girl didn't let go of him. "I don't know, Chiharu, I'm a little
busy, and-"
"Hey, Takeru, Chiharu." Takeru and Chiharu
turned around and were greeted by a teen with short dark green hair and
friendly hazel eyes.
"Oh, hey, Hiroshi," responded Takeru, still
trying to take his arm back. Kumiko Hiroshi looked from Chiharu to Takeru with
a raised eyebrow but didn't comment about their stance. Beside him stood Yagami
Hikari. When Takeru met her eyes, he saw confusion, and a little hurt. "Hikari…"
he started.
"Hi, Takeru," interrupted Hikari softly. When
she looked at Chiharu, she was met with great hostility in the latter's cold
amber eyes. Chiharu glared at Hikari silently and tightened her grip on
Takeru's arm. The school bell rang; the first warning bell.
"Come on, Takeru," said Chiharu semi-sweetly,
"let's get to homeroom before we're late."
"You go ahead first," answered Takeru, "I'll
meet you there." Chiharu nodded and, letting go of his arm and shouldering her
school bag, she walked down the hallway to the classroom, but not without
glaring at Hikari first. Hikari watched her go and she turned to leave herself
as Hiroshi went to class when Takeru's voice stopped her. "Hikari, wait."
Hikari paused in mid-step and turned around to face Takeru, a questioning look
on her face. Just one look from her… "I…uh…I…" he stammered. "I-" The final
bell rang, cutting him off.
"What is it, Takeru?" asked Hikari, her
expression showing concern. Takeru smiled weakly, waving his hand down as a
gesture of saying never mind.
"I'll see you in class," he said, "I don't
want to make you late." Hikari turned to leave again, then paused and faced
Takeru with a smile on her face.
"I'll wait for you," she said. Takeru nodded.
Quickly grabbing his books out of his locker, he slammed the door shut, locked
it, and the pair hurried to class.
"Takaishi! Yagami!" called their homeroom
teacher. "Why are you two late?" Takeru tried to think up an excuse but nothing
came to mind. When he glanced over at Hikari, he could see she was at a loss
for words as well. "Detention, both of you; after school!" They both nodded
submissively and quietly made their way to their seats.
"There goes basketball practice," thought
Takeru glumly.
~*End
Flashback*~
Hikari seated herself between Yagami Taichi
and Ichijouji Miyako at the picnic table. All traces of tears had been wiped
away and she smiled as if everything was all right. But two pairs of eyes held
worry within them: Takeru's and Kumiko Taka's. Takeru was still worried about Hikari.
He didn't want her to feel as if she had no one to turn to. After all, she
still had him…
Taka subtly glanced between his lunch and his
mother, keeping silent all the while. His mom was acting…different. She wasn't
herself. She smiled a lot, as she always did, but even he saw that she was
quieter than usual and her smiles were forced. Could Keisuke's dad have
something to do with that? He looked over at his friend to ask if he had
noticed anything out of the ordinary but sweatdropped instead. Takaishi Keisuke
was busy devouring his food and he was nearly done…while everyone else had just
started. Keisuke finished his lunch and caught Taka watching him. He raised an
eyebrow and Taka just shook his head. Then the latter went back to his lunch
Wiping his hands clean, Keisuke observed the
people at the picnic table. All of the members of the old DigiDestined team
were there, along with their children. This was his first time at one of many
reunions in the Digi-World; that was why he hadn't known that Taka would be
there as well.
Taka and Keisuke, though best friends,
certainly did not have similar personalities. Taka was quieter and more
reserved where Keisuke was outgoing. It was Keisuke who built the first stone
in foundation of their friendship. He could be rather aggressive at times,
something he had picked up from his mother, but he was also very observant of
people and their actions, a good thing he had learned from his father.
With their friendship, both Taka and Keisuke
helped each other out. Taka was not as shy as he used to be and Keisuke quieted
down a little bit and was less aggressive. At the moment, though, the latter
chose to be silent, which was still unusual for him. Keisuke, besides observing
the other families, watched his father out of the corner of his eye. He was
acting…differently today…ever since he had met Taka's mom…Every so often he
would smile and laugh with his friends, but then his eyes would keep glancing
over at Mrs. Kumiko…
Takeru didn't understand it. Why was it every
time he looked in Hikari's direction, memories would flood him…memories of
her…of events in the past…some that he wished she would remember, too…He wanted
the two of them to get back what they had when they were in high school.
Takeru's shoulders slumped forward slightly, unnoticed by anyone. "But that
would be impossible…" he thought to himself.
~*Flashback*~
"Takeru!" whined Chiharu audibly. "I don't
think you're listening to me!"
Takeru was hurrying back to his homeroom
class after school that same day. The faster he got through his detention, the
faster he could get back to his basketball practice. But along the way, he had
picked up a little extra something: Chiharu was once again clinging to his arm.
"Chiharu, please!" cried Takeru
exasperatedly. Realizing he had nearly yelled at the girl and seeing the hurt
look in her eyes, his expression softened and he said gently, "I have to get to
detention and I don't want to be late." Chiharu pouted and let go of Takeru's
arm; but she still walked alongside of him.
"Don't get cranky with me just because Yagami
made you late for class," she told him.
"Her name is Hikari," he corrected her. "And
actually, it was my fault we were late. If I hadn't taken so long, she wouldn't
have waited for me and then get in trouble for being late." Chiharu muttered
something to herself that Takeru didn't hear; but it was just as well.
Ahead of them in the hallway was Hikari. She
was about to walk into the classroom when Takeru reached her. "Hikari," he
greeted her, a smile on his face. Hikari nodded and returned the smile. But her
smile dropped when she faced Chiharu. An angry glint could be seen in Chiharu's
eyes. Anger directed at…her? Takeru saw the change of expression on Hikari's
face, though he didn't know the cause of it.
"Come on," said Takeru, ushering Hikari into
the room. He turned to say goodbye to Chiharu and she smiled and blew him a
kiss before flouncing away to cheerleading practice. Takeru smiled inwardly. He
truly did like Chiharu, for beneath all her frivolities was a kind girl at
heart. His teacher directed him to a seat and he took it; one right beside
Hikari's seat. His brow furrowed in thought. Something was wrong with Hikari…he
could sense it. She was unusually quiet lately. "Hikari?" whispered Takeru.
Hikari looked up and faced Takeru, questioningly. "Maybe she's thinking about
who to ask to the dance…" wondered Takeru. Suddenly, he found himself blushing.
Pushing it aside, he continued, "Hikari, are you oka-"
"Takaishi Takeru! No talking!"
Takeru paused in mid-sentence and looked
sheepishly at his teacher's direction. "Sorry," he murmured, red with
embarrassment. Their teacher indicated for him to move to the opposite end of
the room. Takeru gathered his stuff and mouthed the word "sorry" to Hikari
before moving to the other side. He reminded himself to ask her again after
detention.
~*End Flashback*~
Author's Note: I'm so unused to writing
Takari fics when they're that much older…okay, I've never written Takari
fics like that. Does anyone know the name of the high school Taichi and the
others went to in season two? If not, I'll just stick to Odaiba High School.
So what do you think of Chiharu so far? And
Hiroshi (though he doesn't play much of a part in this chapter…)? And Takeru
and Hikari aren't too out of character, are they? *worried*
Author's Note to Pc Gurl and Rinoa: I'm so
happy that our exams are over! Yes! Goodbye grade ten! But, but, but…Rinoa, I
can never face our science teacher again…and Pc Gurl, I just know I failed
math! *sighs* Wait, you two still have one/two more exams…oops o_O, I nearly
forgot. Well, good luck on your last exams and tell me how they go!
*Sakura
~The Animé Archives Team