Time Of Your Life

A/N: One of my first Digimon multiparts! Cheer! This is going to turn out quite sad, though. It's a
coming of age involving my two FAVE couples, Jyoumi (Jyou and Mimi) and Daiken (Daisuke and Ken).
Takes place after that last fateful episode in Digimon 02.
Disclaimer: Digimon belongs to Toei and respective holders. "Time of Your Life" is a song copyrighted to
Green Day, on their CD "Nimrod". It's very good! Stupid song makes me cry…

Couples:
Somi
Taito
Jyoushiro
? Jogress Couples
Daiken
Takori
Hiyako
Full Summary: A coming-of-age story set after Digimon 02. When all the Children are forced to go their
separate ways, how will they leave each other behind? Can relationships last? Why is growing up so hard?
The Chosen are about to learn life's most valuable lesson: that some things can never change.

Chapter One
Another Turning Point

Taichi looked from the envelope, to Hikari, to the envelope. His chocolate eyes were wide with surprise,
his face glowing in pride and delight.

"You're joking," he said for the fifth time in the minute.

"I'm not, Onii-chan."

"You've GOT to be joking, Hikari!"

"Onii-chan," Hikari shifted uncomfortably. "If you're mad, I'm sorry. I won't go."

"Hikari. Shut. Up!" he said, laughing and standing up smoothly. He reached out for the short girl in front
of him, and he pulled her firmly into him. "I'm so proud of you, sweetheart. Of course I want you to go!
Are you crazy? It's HARVARD! I don't speak enough English to spell Harvard, and well, look! Now
you're goin'! You're such a smart little girl and I can't believe it! My little sister! At Harvard!" He
laughed aloud in his joy and utter disbelief. "This is wonderful, Hikari! Wonderful!"

Taichi gazed at the girl below him. She was only about 5'2, just a tiny little peanut, but she was for all the
world beautiful. Taichi himself had grown to 5'11, a strikingly tall height for his family, and was now a
well-built 22-year-old. Taichi was working in a political office just outside Tokyo. He wasn't at home, but
it was Spring Break, and there was nowhere he'd rather be than here with his little sister.

Her smooth, dark hair swung around her shoulders and her breasts had poked out into soft round apples,
small and firm. Her thighs ran smooth and slim and her waist was small. Taichi thought he had never seen
a more beautiful girl then when he looked upon his 18-year-old sister, smiling, chocolate eyes flashing. He
realized at that minute he would die for her and that he would bring the world to a halt, if it were only
because Hikari wanted it. She was his life.

That last statement was false, he corrected himself mentally. She was half his life. Yamato was the other
half. He released Hikari from their hug and picked up his coat. His coat was something Hikari thought
should be preserved in the Tokyo Natural History Museum. Old, worn and tan, it bore the stains and
threadbare reminders of harsh weather and dazzling adventures most would kill for.

But neither Taichi nor Hikari would. They loved their Digimon and they loved their Crests, but they
wouldn't repeat their younger life for anything.

Taichi pulled the coat on. "I'm going to Yamato's, to tell him the good news!" He stopped as he saw
Hikari look at him. "What's THAT face about? H'm?"

"You're not going over there to tell him. Well, I mean, you will tell him, but you're not going over there
JUST to tell him that."

"huh?" Taichi stared at the younger girl. "What do you know?"

"You would have called," Hikari gently pointed out. Taichi snorted.

"Whatever. What ELSE would I do at Yamato's?" Hikari arched a slender brown eyebrow and coughed.
Taichi stared, gaping-mouth, at her. "Who-Who" he sputtered indignantly. "Who told you?!"

"Takeru."

"Who told HIM?"

"No one did. He saw you two himself." Hikari watched her brother stare and open and close his mouth at
her, like a grounded fish. She had him now.

"Does YAMATO know this?"

"Yes."

"…SO WHY DIDN'T HE TELL ME?"

"Oh, I donno…probably because he KNEW you were going to take it this way." That stopped him for a
minute

"What way? I'm not taking it any way!"

"This way, this homophobic denial way. It's childish and it hurts his feelings! Yamato's a sensitive
person." Taichi stared at her again, brown eyes flashing.

"What do you know, Hikari, you're a child."

"A child in a relationship," she fired back defiantly. Taichi stopped and whirled around.

"With whom, may I ask? No, let me guess. Takeru! You know why? Because you're the PERFECT
couple. You're so PERFECT it's sick. I bet Takeru is going to Harvard, too! I bet he and you are going to
your AMERICAN school and you're going to become American and you'll be KARI and he'll be TK, and
you'll be perfect Americans with two lovely children, a blond girl with brown eyes and a brunette boy with
blue eyes, and you'll be HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY! Right? That's right. You wouldn't know the problems
with Yamato and me, because you're not GAY, you're not struggling to keep your JOB, your boyfriend
isn't recovering from the death of his FATHER, because Takeru doesn't even HAVE a father, no no,
because Natsuko wouldn't let her little boy be subjected to BIG BAD MASARU! Well what about
Yamato, huh? What about him?! You make me sick." He gasped for breath, his brown eyes dull from the
pain and yet flashing from the anger at the same moment. Hikari stared at him in fear, never seeing Taichi
quite this mad before.

"Taichi-"

"Shut up." He stood to get up but before he knew it he was flat on his back, an angry Hikari pinning him to
the worn carpeted floor.

"You listen to me, Yagami Taichi. I am not going out with Takeru. Am not am not AM NOT! Jesus, did
you even take the TIME to ask who it was? NO! It's NOT TAKERU! Do you know why? Because
Takeru has a BOYFRIEND! That's right! Boyfriend! He's as GAY as you and Yamato are! And guess
what, Taichi?" She angrily shoved a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm GAY too! I'm a LESBIAN! A
DYKE! BUTCH! BISEXUAL at best! Whatever you want to call it! But that's who I am! I'm a lesbian
and I'm seeing Miyako! She's not going to Harvard and I know that Yamato's grieving for his father, and
so is Takeru! How dare you be so heartlessly cruel to accuse Takeru of not having a father! Just because
ours kicked you out because you're a fag-" she didn't wince at the pain in Taichi's eyes "That doesn't mean
other people separated from their parents don't CARE about them!" She stopped to catch her breath. "And
I don't wanna be an American! I'm not like Mimi!" She stopped, stunned at her own cruelty, and slid off
of Taichi.

"Don't call me a fag. Don't you EVER call me that again. I'm gay but I'm NOT that." He took a calming
breath. "I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions about your orientation, Hika…I'm sorry I called you an
American wannabe. I'm sorry that I said all that mean stuff about Takeru. And…I'm sorry I used your old
nickname, too."

"It's ok. I'm sorry I called you a fag, I shouldn't have, I should've remembered. I shouldn't have said that
about Mimi, either, it wasn't her fault she moved to America. I didn't mean what I said. But I am gay and
I am seeing Miyako. Do you care?"

"If I did, Hika, I'd be as big a hypocrite as you are," he said gently and hugged her again. She even
overlooked the small mistake of Taichi calling her a hypocrite. She was relieved to have him not mad at
her. She let him get up and she pulled on her own coat- a much less battered, but equally as tan, coat.

"Well, I should go tell Miyako." The two slipped on their shoes- a battered pair of tennis shoes for Taichi,
shiny loafers for Hikari- and took their respective keys. "I may spend the night, but Mom and Dad are
expecting me home tomorrow anyway."

He smiled at her then.

"I may spend the night, too." She laughed at him and leaning up, kissed his cheek. The two left the
apartment, Taichi locked it up, and Hikari turned down the east row, Taichi down the west. They had a
long way to go before the night was finished. They both did.

As Hikari walked briskly to the few apartment buildings growing closer with every step, she wondered to
herself.

"What am I going to do without my brother? How am I going to survive without Takeru? Daisuke? And
Miyako…" her eyes grew dark. "How can I bear to be away from her so long?"

Taichi was thinking as he walked up a few flights of stairs to Yamato's apartment.

"How did Yamato take it when I went to college…I never asked," he mused. "I must find out for Hikari."
Both were so deep in thought that they ran right into other pedestrians. Taichi was delighted to find that he
ran into Yamato.

Hikari was also happy that she ran into Takeru. She hadn't seen him in a very long time.

"Takeru! How are you? How's your mother doing?" Takeru's eyes were red from crying and his breath
was heavy with alcohol. "Takeru, have you been at a bar?"

"Yah," he slurred, hands groping at her chest. She stared at him in horror.
"Takeru! You can't stomach liquor at all! You better not be drunk-Takeru!" Takeru had her pushed up
against the corner wall. He shoved her into an empty lift and they took the lift up to where Takeru's
apartment was, next-door to Yamato's. It had been Hikari's idea for them to move there after Masaru's
death because Yamato would need his brother and his mother to support him. Natsuko had agreed- plus,
she liked Hikari- and the boy and the woman had moved in.

Hikari thought fast. Taichi would be coming up to Yamato's apartment any minute now-

As she was shoved around the corner, she couldn't even cry her brother's name before she saw a thin,
porcelain hand closing the door to the number 563 apartment, Yamato's apartment. Takeru pushed her into
his own apartment. Hikari was thrown roughly onto the nappy sofa. As Takeru's roving hands ripped off
her clothing, she felt her brain shut down.

"This cannot be happening," she thought firmly as Takeru stripped off his pants. "This is Takeru. I'm
Hikari. This isn't happening."

She screamed as the pain shot through her body and then she fell silent and still, her mind blank and body
sluggish as she cried inside her mind from anger, maltreatment and disbelief.

Taichi heard the cry he thought was his sister, but Yamato insisted it wasn't. He agreed; how could Hikari
possibly be next door? And if she was. Why on earth would she be screaming? Taichi shrugged and he
and Yamato surrendered to the night.