AN: Oh, boy, third chapter!! You guys, PUH-LEEEEEEZE review this, I love getting reviews!! ^_^ So anyways, in keeping with the alternating thing, this chapter is Koukari. I think I will end this story after five chapters, because I'm running out of ideas. Ja ne, and on with the fic!! (Oh yeah, I don't own Digimon. Did I remember a disclaimer last chapter? @_@)
Chapter Three
"Hikari Yagami, are you listening?"
Hikari looked blankly up from her book. "Huh?"
The teacher towered over her, glaring. "I asked you if you were listening. This is the tenth time in the past three days! You had better be showing some more interest soon, young lady, if you want a passing grade in this class!" Finished with his tirade, the teacher clomped back to his desk and resumed the lesson.
"Yeah... whatever..." Hikari whispered in a small defeated voice. She actually hadn't been paying attention for the last few days. It was nearing the end of the school year, and she suspected that she had been the unlucky one singled out for the scolding. Of lately she had been contemplating her mortality, as she neared her graduation from seventh grade.
*Graduation...* she thought. *The first year he won't be with me...* A single tear rolled down her cheek and fell to the ground. It was as dark as night.
****
"Hikari? Can I sit with you?"
Hikari looked up from her lunch at Koushiro. "Um... yeah, I guess..."
Koushiro took his seat and began picking at the macaroni casserole on his plate. "I'm still not sure if this is really food. For all we know, they could be serving us toxic waste!" (AN: This is an actual subject of discussion between my best guy friend and me. You never can tell with school food... ^_~) He grinned at his own joke but stopped when Hikari failed to smile back at him. "Hikari, what's wrong?"
"Nothing!! I just... just..."
"It's about Takeru, isn't it?"
"...Yeah..." A tear started to form at the corner of her eye.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
The tear made it halfway down her cheek. Koushiro handed her a napkin. "Here. You're crying."
"Thanks." She wiped the drop of water away and stared at the wet spot it made on the napkin. If she stared hard enough, it looked almost like Takeru...
"Hikari?"
"Huh?"
"You zoned out for a minute there. Are you sure you're okay? After you went into that seizure last night, I'm worried about you."
"Yeah, I'll be fine. I think I'll be okay now." Making a half-hearted attempt to change the subject, she added, "How come you're sitting over here? Your normal table still has some empty seats."
Koushiro thought a minute before answering. "Well," he said slowly, "I was going to sit down over there, but I saw you sitting over here all alone... You really haven't socialized much since the... since the accident."
Hikari mulled over the answer. "Oh." A beat of silence passed. "Thanks." He smiled wanly at her.
The rest of the lunch period passed in silence. About a minute before the bell rang, Koushiro stood up. "I better go empty my lunch tray. You sure you'll be all right?" She nodded. "Okay," he said, with a tone meaning he only half-believed her, "I'll see you later."
He started for the trashcans when a voice pulled him back. "Wait." Hikari stood up with books in hand. "Could you come over and spend the night?" The words came out in a rush, as though she had been waiting to say them for a long time and she dared not wait any longer lest she lose her courage.
He contemplated her with a puzzled look. "I think so. I would have to consult my parents before agreeing to any sleepover. May I ask why?"
"I... I just... I've been having nightmares, and... and you always seem to know what to say so I feel better." Koushiro blushed slightly at this but she didn't notice. "Besides, my dad's on a business trip and we could use the extra help if I have another seizure. Mom said if I wanted a friend over to help me, I could."
"Okay. I'll ask my parents when I get home and if they say yes, I'll come over to your place around nine or so. Is that all right with you?"
"Yeah..." They stood there until the bell rang. "I'll talk to you later, Koushiro."
"Bye!" he yelled as he hurried towards his next class.
****
That night at the Yagami apartment, Hikari couldn't sleep. She hadn't told anyone, not even Koushiro, but every night she cried herself to sleep over Takeru. As she lay in bed, she felt as though she should cry again, but the tears wouldn't come. Hikari felt like she was trapped in a dark room, cornered by her despair. She failed to notice the dark tendrils coiling into a portal-like shape in the air above her.
Suddenly a faint noise made her gasp and brought her into an upright position. There in the space beside her bed, was a dark circle, almost like a mirror. And in the center of the circle was... "Takeru?" Hikari gasped in disbelief. Even as she said his name, the image faded. "Wait, Takeru, don't go! I can't lose you twice!" To her amazement, the image grew stronger the more desperate she felt. Takeru looked so real...
Hikari reached for his hand, but he faded back with a distant-sounding, "Hikari..."
"Wait!" she cried. "I'll do anything! Just don't take Takeru from me!"
*Gooooood...* a voice mumbled from inside her. *The portal grows stronger with each drop of despair... You can keep the portal open... But not from here... Closer to the spirit world...*
"Yes..." whispered Hikari. "Closer..."
****
In a different part of the apartment, Koushiro was also awake, but for different reasons. He was pondering his relationship with Hikari. *Well, I obviously have feelings for her...* he thought. *But isn't this kind of taking advantage of the situation? She is obviously still depressed over Takeru's death. I guess if I don't actually confess my feelings toward her, I can keep her safe, if for nothing else than Takeru's memory...* A faint cry from Hikari's room jolted Koushiro out of his musings. Grabbing his digivice, for all the good it would do without Tentomon, he slipped from his resting place on the Yagami's couch and headed for Hikari's room.
The first impression that Koushiro got of Hikari's room was that there was an almost tangible sense of despair pervading the atmosphere. Hikari was sitting on her bed, back to the door, bowed over.
"Hikari? Are you awake?"
"I'm fine," came the answer.
"Good, because I thought I heard you yell." When Hikari didn't move, he asked, "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Yes," said Hikari.
*Her voice is almost mechanical, * thought Koushiro. "What can I do?" he said out loud.
"Answer this: is the digital world closer to the spirit world than the real world?"
"Well, yes, I suppose you could look at it that way. Digimon are able to be reborn, so in a sense, there is reincarnation of old spirits who are able to transfer from the land of the dead to the land of the living."
"Thank you, Koushiro. That is all I need to know." She stood up and crossed to her computer, turning it on.
"May I ask why you wanted to know?" The computer screen winked on.
"That is none of your business."
"Hikari? Are you okay?"
She finally turned her face towards Koushiro, and he gasped. Her eyes were completely black. "When I return, I will bring Takeru with me. Farewell, Koushiro." With that, Hikari opened a portal on the computer to the digital world and disappeared with a flash of crackling lightning.
"HIKARI! WAIT!" Without a moment's hesitation, Koushiro pointed his digivice towards the computer and linked through the portal an instant before it closed.
AN: Ooooo, I am evil, no? MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! I will try to get the next part out faster than I did this one. Ja ne!! ^_^
Chapter Three
"Hikari Yagami, are you listening?"
Hikari looked blankly up from her book. "Huh?"
The teacher towered over her, glaring. "I asked you if you were listening. This is the tenth time in the past three days! You had better be showing some more interest soon, young lady, if you want a passing grade in this class!" Finished with his tirade, the teacher clomped back to his desk and resumed the lesson.
"Yeah... whatever..." Hikari whispered in a small defeated voice. She actually hadn't been paying attention for the last few days. It was nearing the end of the school year, and she suspected that she had been the unlucky one singled out for the scolding. Of lately she had been contemplating her mortality, as she neared her graduation from seventh grade.
*Graduation...* she thought. *The first year he won't be with me...* A single tear rolled down her cheek and fell to the ground. It was as dark as night.
****
"Hikari? Can I sit with you?"
Hikari looked up from her lunch at Koushiro. "Um... yeah, I guess..."
Koushiro took his seat and began picking at the macaroni casserole on his plate. "I'm still not sure if this is really food. For all we know, they could be serving us toxic waste!" (AN: This is an actual subject of discussion between my best guy friend and me. You never can tell with school food... ^_~) He grinned at his own joke but stopped when Hikari failed to smile back at him. "Hikari, what's wrong?"
"Nothing!! I just... just..."
"It's about Takeru, isn't it?"
"...Yeah..." A tear started to form at the corner of her eye.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
The tear made it halfway down her cheek. Koushiro handed her a napkin. "Here. You're crying."
"Thanks." She wiped the drop of water away and stared at the wet spot it made on the napkin. If she stared hard enough, it looked almost like Takeru...
"Hikari?"
"Huh?"
"You zoned out for a minute there. Are you sure you're okay? After you went into that seizure last night, I'm worried about you."
"Yeah, I'll be fine. I think I'll be okay now." Making a half-hearted attempt to change the subject, she added, "How come you're sitting over here? Your normal table still has some empty seats."
Koushiro thought a minute before answering. "Well," he said slowly, "I was going to sit down over there, but I saw you sitting over here all alone... You really haven't socialized much since the... since the accident."
Hikari mulled over the answer. "Oh." A beat of silence passed. "Thanks." He smiled wanly at her.
The rest of the lunch period passed in silence. About a minute before the bell rang, Koushiro stood up. "I better go empty my lunch tray. You sure you'll be all right?" She nodded. "Okay," he said, with a tone meaning he only half-believed her, "I'll see you later."
He started for the trashcans when a voice pulled him back. "Wait." Hikari stood up with books in hand. "Could you come over and spend the night?" The words came out in a rush, as though she had been waiting to say them for a long time and she dared not wait any longer lest she lose her courage.
He contemplated her with a puzzled look. "I think so. I would have to consult my parents before agreeing to any sleepover. May I ask why?"
"I... I just... I've been having nightmares, and... and you always seem to know what to say so I feel better." Koushiro blushed slightly at this but she didn't notice. "Besides, my dad's on a business trip and we could use the extra help if I have another seizure. Mom said if I wanted a friend over to help me, I could."
"Okay. I'll ask my parents when I get home and if they say yes, I'll come over to your place around nine or so. Is that all right with you?"
"Yeah..." They stood there until the bell rang. "I'll talk to you later, Koushiro."
"Bye!" he yelled as he hurried towards his next class.
****
That night at the Yagami apartment, Hikari couldn't sleep. She hadn't told anyone, not even Koushiro, but every night she cried herself to sleep over Takeru. As she lay in bed, she felt as though she should cry again, but the tears wouldn't come. Hikari felt like she was trapped in a dark room, cornered by her despair. She failed to notice the dark tendrils coiling into a portal-like shape in the air above her.
Suddenly a faint noise made her gasp and brought her into an upright position. There in the space beside her bed, was a dark circle, almost like a mirror. And in the center of the circle was... "Takeru?" Hikari gasped in disbelief. Even as she said his name, the image faded. "Wait, Takeru, don't go! I can't lose you twice!" To her amazement, the image grew stronger the more desperate she felt. Takeru looked so real...
Hikari reached for his hand, but he faded back with a distant-sounding, "Hikari..."
"Wait!" she cried. "I'll do anything! Just don't take Takeru from me!"
*Gooooood...* a voice mumbled from inside her. *The portal grows stronger with each drop of despair... You can keep the portal open... But not from here... Closer to the spirit world...*
"Yes..." whispered Hikari. "Closer..."
****
In a different part of the apartment, Koushiro was also awake, but for different reasons. He was pondering his relationship with Hikari. *Well, I obviously have feelings for her...* he thought. *But isn't this kind of taking advantage of the situation? She is obviously still depressed over Takeru's death. I guess if I don't actually confess my feelings toward her, I can keep her safe, if for nothing else than Takeru's memory...* A faint cry from Hikari's room jolted Koushiro out of his musings. Grabbing his digivice, for all the good it would do without Tentomon, he slipped from his resting place on the Yagami's couch and headed for Hikari's room.
The first impression that Koushiro got of Hikari's room was that there was an almost tangible sense of despair pervading the atmosphere. Hikari was sitting on her bed, back to the door, bowed over.
"Hikari? Are you awake?"
"I'm fine," came the answer.
"Good, because I thought I heard you yell." When Hikari didn't move, he asked, "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Yes," said Hikari.
*Her voice is almost mechanical, * thought Koushiro. "What can I do?" he said out loud.
"Answer this: is the digital world closer to the spirit world than the real world?"
"Well, yes, I suppose you could look at it that way. Digimon are able to be reborn, so in a sense, there is reincarnation of old spirits who are able to transfer from the land of the dead to the land of the living."
"Thank you, Koushiro. That is all I need to know." She stood up and crossed to her computer, turning it on.
"May I ask why you wanted to know?" The computer screen winked on.
"That is none of your business."
"Hikari? Are you okay?"
She finally turned her face towards Koushiro, and he gasped. Her eyes were completely black. "When I return, I will bring Takeru with me. Farewell, Koushiro." With that, Hikari opened a portal on the computer to the digital world and disappeared with a flash of crackling lightning.
"HIKARI! WAIT!" Without a moment's hesitation, Koushiro pointed his digivice towards the computer and linked through the portal an instant before it closed.
AN: Ooooo, I am evil, no? MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! I will try to get the next part out faster than I did this one. Ja ne!! ^_^