Revised: I added a part to it (The Fight) and I have edited it, but I still believe I have quite a few grammar kinks…
Enchantment – Never, Never, Never . . .
"We never were, we never will be . . .Takeru, but . . .I miss you more than anything."
Yagami Hikari raced against the clock to finish her math exam. She still couldn't understand why math was a required subject at the Kyoto University. It had been since she had gone to Kawada Elementary, she remembered, but she still didn't see why she, of all people, had to take the exam. She hated math of all subjects, but she knew that she had to be good at it if she ever wanted to become a teacher – becoming a photographer had been one of the silliest ambitions Hikari had ever had, and probably wouldn't be one unless she could become top photographer, internationally known. That was almost impossible.
She could still remember her old friend's words: "Don't worry, Hikari, I'm sure you'll do just fine!"
She swallowed her pride, and thought of Takeru. He had been so faithful as a friend to her, yet she could scorn him by so much! It wasn't for anything he had done, but what she had done to him. She had betrayed him – and though Takeru wanted to restart their friendship, she just couldn't. Even so, she missed the blond so much and could remember everything about him, from his kiwi-scented hair to his blue eyes, like the colour of the Atlantic Ocean. She had been so arrogant, and had nothing now. (1)
Yet after everything, she missed him more than anything. Soft tears stung her eyes, but she bit down on her lip, trying not to remember the big fight…
She was scared; Takeru looked unusually serious and desperate. "What?" she asked. Blushing, she added, "Hi! Umm…" She met his gaze slowly, her heart meeting his in thoughts.
Takeru smiled weakly at her. "I'm sorry, Hikari…" he trailed off, staring into her eyes with the impact of strong blue eyes.
Hikari was confused: "S-sorry for w-what?" she asked, afraid of the next sentence. She kicked at the pebbles on the sidewalk ground, contemplating. She knew that there was something special about this boy she had held so dear to her heart, but……
"I'm sorry, Hikari-chan," he repeated, his heart heavy with guilt, "I tried to keep this to myself, and kept wishing it would go away…" He trailed off again, taking in a breath. He approached closer in a gentle and innocent way.
Hikari walked to him with trust in her heart. "Yes?" she asked, tightly wrapping her fingers around his fist. She looked up at him curiously, wanting to know. Yet a part of her knew that it was something… unexpected.
"I… I…" he turned away guiltily, "I shouldn't have cared any bit, but… it happened. I can't stop thinking, Hikari… about you." He weakly looked away, still guilty, feeling her fingers loosen the grip on his hand. He felt her withdrawal, and retrieval; painful to his heart and spirit.
"Y-yes?" she asked, gesturing him to continue, hands in lap. Nervously, she chewed her lip, listening. And she knew that it was something so… a feeling.
"I… I…" he heaved, meeting her sorrowful gaze, "I think… I lo…" but his words were lost in the wind.
She was already running away, afraid of the future. No, no, she thought, I'm only his best friend. She could hear him calling her name……
"Hikari! Hikari! Wait! Forget about it………" he called out, shouting desperately. He at least wanted his best friend back. He felt torn in two, tears stinging at his eyes. "We can still be friends, can't we?" he asked sorely.
She stopped for a second, turning around to him. "I'm sorry, Takeru-san, I can't forget. I… I… we never were, never will be . . .Takeru, but . . .I miss you more than anything," she said quietly and coldly, surprised herself. And she couldn't forget his words; maybe she loved him too…
Hikari set herself at a quicker pace, determined to finish the exam. She was determined to ace her classes, so that she could be a teacher – not that she wanted to be a teacher so much; she really wanted to be a photographer.
DONE! she thought in excitement. She had finally finished before time – and she was sure her problems were written correctly. She had the intuition that everything was perfect – maybe not her life, but her academic grades were up at A's. That was the best she had ever done in school – her elementary school records weren't the best, nor were her junior high records, but she had improved by far in high school, and was now striving.
So much had changed since when she was in fifth grade, but so much had stayed the same, as well. Yamato and his band had broken up after the second year of college – too much work had been put on them. He and Taichi were still best of buddies, even if Yamato was dating Sora. Taichi could still beat Daisuke in a soccer match, easily. And Daisuke didn't follow Hikari around, thankfully.
Hikari quietly walked up to the front desk and turned her test in, without bothering to double-check; she hated double-checking her math homework, none less math exams. She quickly slipped out of the lecture hall, and quickly walked out to the main entrance, where her bicycle – her only vehicle of transportation other than the bus – awaited her.
She eagerly rode her bicycle to the local bookstore as a treat to herself. The bookstore she often went to was a magnificent one, with a small café and a variety of books at a low price for students.
She opened the door to the bookstore, sniffing the air with her delicate nose. She smelled wonderful things: cinnamon, coffee, chocolate . . .Hikari smiled softly, and leaned over the counter of the mini-bakery and café. "Excuse me? May I please have the chocolate-filled croissant and a cup of café latte?" she said, fumbling with her wallet. She took out a few notes, and a few coins, and pushed it over the glass counter. "Arigato," she said, slightly smiling at the boy.
She fumbled with a newspaper and looked for the editorial section: it was her favourite. Even though it hurt to remember, it was her last link to him . . . . . .
She read the editorial intently. Wow, that was extraordinary, she thought, and looked to the bottom for the writer: Takaishi Takeru.
*
Hikari felt a trembling beat in her heart, the same familiar pain that had plagued her. She was still so in love with the dear boy, desperately in love. She shivered at the familiar feeling; she knew that . . . . .she missed him, by a lot.
Suddenly, she had an idea. Maybe she could go see Takeru . . .maybe rekindle the friendship. It had been so long since they had talked together. Even a cup of coffee would be nice to Hikari. She felt utterly desperate, just for another chance. She still missed him, though she had said the awful, hopeless words to him: We never were, never will be, Takeru. But now, she regretted it even more. She missed him so much, even if they couldn't be.
*
Dear Takeru,
It's been so long, hasn't it? Well, I'm finally cracking my shell. I'm coming out and facing the world. I hope you'll reply, or I'm wasting my words, my time, my paper, and pen ink.
First, I want to say that I'm sorry. I'm very sorry, Takeru – will you please forgive me? I know it seems awfully late and sudden that I want to rekindle our friendship, but . . .I've been ignorant of that fact that I miss you so much. It's time to get back together. How about a cup of coffee and a chat? Or, at the least reply for god's sake and mine.
Let's talk.
Wow, you've come far, Takeru. From the first time I met you, I remember one thing the most: your hopeful, bright, cheery aura. Now I'm wondering if you're still the same, after all the years of not being in contact with you. You're a writer – that's an amazing feat, Takeru. I could never become that good at photography any time soon. I want to be a photographer, don't get me wrong, but . . .I'm so busy with school – I need to get a teaching degree first to become an elementary school teacher.
I know I haven't always been there for you, like you've always been there for me, but I always think of you. Just like this morning, when I took my math exam! Yes, Takeru, I still hate math as I always have. And you know what I thought of while I took my test? Your words. So, I still think of you everyday, and I still miss you.
Do you know what my favourite picture of all time is?
Yes, it's that picture. It's the picture I took when we were younger. I still have it, Takeru – I'm sending this copy to you. Isn't it wonderful, how we used to be great friends? I miss those days. I really miss those days, when we were kids. We were young, wild, free, careless – even if I had to live through the terror of Daisuke and the routine.
On that first day of school that year, I was so happy to find that you were in all my classes – that you were back! You had grown up so much from that little kid I knew. Yes, naïve still, but you were so . . .tall!
Takeru, maybe we were, maybe we can be . . .and I still miss you, Takeru, My Last Hope . . .
With Love,
Yagami Hikari.
Ah! Done! With a wink and a kiss! ^.^ As you can see, it is much of a Takeru/Hikari fic – bittersweet, realistic, and left to your imagination. I leave it to there – a letter written by Hikari. And mind that she might have sent it, might have not – Takeru might reply, might not – all the way, it's supposed to be much of a friendship-fic basically. It relies and roots from the friendship. However, I greatly hint takari. GREATLY.
I'm wondering if you all liked my experimental Takeru/Hikari 'fic – so, did ya? Sorry, you guys are my guinea pigs for this experiment. Is it "Kawada Elementary" in original? I hear that Odaiba is a really big place, so there can't be only one elementary school, right? Hm, with that thought in mind, might it be Odaiba University? I thought Odaiba was a suburb of Kyoto . . .??? Well, I'll edit that later. Then again, Kyoto is a national University – gotta think about this one. Please review! Thank you!
Kara
1 – If anybody asks, "Kiwis?" – here's the explanation! Kiwis just happen to be in the thoughts of my mind, so I did exactly that! Go figure it out! ^.~
2 – Takeru is supposed to be a wonderful writer in 02 . . .but I still don't see where Toei and Akiyoshi Hongo got these crazy, random ideas of what the kids would be as adults. It just drives me crazy, because . . .please! Yamato is a . . . . .an astronaut? (x.x) The world's gone crazy!
(Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, never will, but I still wish I could…)
