Hey! Happy Turkey Day! Or should I say Happy Anorexic Girl's Worst Nightmare Day! I'm stuffed. I need a crane to pick me up. I'm gonna try and make this chapter kinda long (long-longer than my other chapters by like a paragraph) this time, MAD props to the wonderful people who reviewed! Shutting up now . . .
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, or the nifty characters. Bummer . . .
It was a new day in Tokyo. The sun had already peered out from the horizon and the day got off to a start. Cars raced the streets again, people strolled down the crowded sidewalks, and shoppers tried to catch the "lowest prices of the season" at the After Christmas sales.
Hikari woke up and found herself in the hospital, with the same black sweater and blue jeans on. Her hair though, was another story. Pieces flew every which way. One thing that was in place was Yamato. He hadn't moved a muscle.
Hikari shot up, finally realizing where she was. She pulled back her sleeve and looked at her cheap watch Celeste got her for Christmas.
7:26
Hikari panicked. She was supposed to be at work by eight. She grabbed her coat and slung her purse over her shoulder while standing up. She turned around to face the beautiful blonde-haired man.
"Bye" she whispered and walked toward the door until . . .
"Hikari!" Nancy exclaimed. "We didn't know you were here!" Behind her was the whole family - Lucie, Sal, Lacey, and Mr. Ishida.
"Hi" Hikari said softly. "Oh man I'm gonna be late . . . " she thought.
"Hi" Mr. Ishida replied as softly as Hikari's tone. That was much different from his loud, noisy self. "Were you here all night?"
"Yeah" Hikari admitted with a smile.
"You're like me, I can sleep anywhere" Lucie said. Then she walked over to Yamato's bed.
"And believe me, she has" Sal added while walking after her. One by one, they'd make their way to the bed.
"So, how's Yamato?" Nancy asked.
"Oh well, he's got more color" Hikari answered as she turned to face them. Nancy and Mr. Ishida leaned over the bed to look at him. His pale cheeks had gradually turned more tan.
"He's got some color!" Mr. Ishida pointed out again.
"Yeah" Hikari said in a daze. "Well I-I have to go. It was great to see you guys again."
"Tell her" Nancy nagged Mr. Ishida. In a whisper. Mr. Ishida took a couple steps forward, closer to Hikari.
"We didn't get to celebrate Christmas so, uh, it would be nice if you could join us." Mr. Ishida looked sincere in his request, an emotion hardly seen from him.
"Oh, um, oh I-I'd love to, but I can't" Hikari declined. She couldn't celebrate Christmas with people she had lied to and treated so badly.
"Takeru's gonna be there the next morning" Lacey said with a look of excitement in her ocean blue eyes.
"That's right, you haven't met Takeru yet!" Nancy realized.
"No, haven't met him yet" Hikari said.
"Oh, he'll be so glad to meet you!" Nancy tried hard to convince Hikari.
"So, you'll come tonight?" Mr. Ishida asked.
"I-I really shouldn't because I have to work"
"Well here" Mr. Ishida said as he handed Hikari a small business card and a pen. "Put your phone number and address down there. Nancy will call you and talk you into it"
"Ok" Hikari responded.
Mr Ishida held out another card. This one had a chair imprinted on the right along with the business information on the left. "And here's another card for when you changed your mind. We're in the estate furniture business, we buy furniture from dead people.
Hikari turned her head a little to Nancy who had an aghast look on her face. She obviously didn't want Hikari to know that information.
"Ok, well I have it so," Hikari said as she started to leave.
"Bye dear" Nancy said.
"Bye!" Lacey added with a big grin.
Hikari finally made it out of the crowded room. She was waiting impatiently to go down the elevator. She just wanted to get away from all those nice people she had wronged. Every hour, every minute just made Hikari feel even more guilty.
"Ma'am? Excuse me ma'am" a tall doctor shouted while running down the hall toward Hikari. He had a box filled with a couple items, the most noticeable item was a briefcase.
"What is this?" Hikari asked with an irritated tone.
"I'm sorry Mrs. Ishida, these are you husbands things" the doctor answered.
"He's not my husband" Hikari yelled in an unpleasant way. The doctor stood for a second, dumfounded.
"I'm sorry, your fiancée" he corrected. Then he shoved the box into her arms and ran off again.
"Why me?" she thought to herself as she stepped into the elevator.
"Uh, you're Yamato's fiancée?" a guy asked. Hikari had to stop the elevator doors from closing with her foot.
"Ok," Hikari gave up.
"Nakai Kanzi, colleague of Yamato's at Nakai, Ishida, and Hiura Law Firm."
"I have to go now" Hikari said as she stepped into the elevator.
"He's a great guy" Kanzi started again. Hikari stepped back into her original position. "He's had a tough year, with the accident last month and all."
Hikari readjusted herself. "Accident?"
"Of course it was an accident, it wasn't my fault, did he tell you it was my fault?! We were playing basketball, and I was carrying a pencil, that's what lawyers do."
Hikari stepped out of the elevator and let the doors close. She braced herself for a long, uninteresting story...
"So, what's the big deal?" Jerry asked on the crowded streets of Tokyo after hearing Hikari's situation. They made their way past the people to get to their usual hot dog stand.
"What's the big deal?! Jerry, they think I'm they're future daughter-in-law! And his grandmother, she's got this heart problem and if I tell her the truth, she'll have a heart attack, and she'll die and it's going to be on my head" Hikari rambled.
"Well just go along with it" Jerry suggested. "And when Yamato comes out of the coma, they'll be so happy they probably won't care that you lied to them. They might even thank you!"
He hot dog man handed Hikari a hot dog. "Just mustard" a stressed Hikari demanded. The man just rolled his eyes. "Okay, what if he doesn't come out of his coma?"
"Well then who's to know?"
Hikari was losing hope, and Jerry's words weren't helping much. "Look, look, look. When my mother found out I was marrying my wife, her intestines exploded. Now, if you tell them about this now, you might as well shoot Grandma." Hikari buried her head in her arms. She knew this couldn't be good.
"Come on Kitty" Hikari yelled as she was fixing her cat's dinner. She was all alone in her apartment, lounging in the kitchen.
"Kitty" she yelled again. She turned her T.V. dinner around so that the chicken would be closer to her.
"What a pathetic way to spend my day" she thought to herself. Then she caught a glimpse of her refrigerator. She saw that business card with the imprinted chair on it.
"Well, they really did want me to come" she reasoned as she dipped her oreo in milk.
Hikari found herself in a taxi in suburban Tokyo. She glanced at all the large houses, and the snow that covered their yards. The driveways and sidewalks were perfectly shoveled, leaving no tiny hints of white. And then she came upon a large, white house with many lights and decorations in their yard, trees, and bushes. In fact, it was one of the only houses with their lights on. Hikari assumed this must be their house. The taxi stopped in front of the magical sight. She assumed right.
She stepped out of the taxi and held a beautifully wrapped gift for the family. As she stepped onto the sidewalk, the taxi drove away. She took a few steps up the driveway, which was filled with cars, and stopped to admire their decorations. Then thoughts rushed into her mind. "What am I doing here? I can't do this, it's wrong!" She started to turn right back around because she knew she couldn't pretend to have a family.
"Hikari!" Sal shouted from behind her. She knew there was no turning back now.
"Hi Sal, hi" Hikari greeted with a fake smile.
"You made it!" Sal exclaimed.
"Yeah"
"So, uh, how do you feel?"
"Okay," Hikari wasn't in a talking mood.
"Come on, keep me company for a while. I don't like to smoke in the house." They continued walking toward the house.
"Listen, you want one?" Sal offered.
"No thanks, I'm trying to quit."
Sal chuckled a bit as they sat on the steps in front of the door. Hikari rubbed her arms in an attempt to make them warmer.
"They don't bother you, do they?" Sal asked.
"Oh, no, no, I'm fine."
"Did you know I was Yamato's godfather?" He said randomly.
"Really? I thought you had to be Catholic for that."
"Mr. Ishida convinced the pope. He donated fifty folding chairs to Father Shiba's bingo night." They both smiled at Mr. Ishida's crazy actions. "You know being a godfather is important to Catholics." Sal continued. "It's like practically being a part of the family."
Hikari's head lowered when he mentioned family. "You're lucky. It's important to have family this time of year" she said.
"Aren't your parents with you?"
"No, no. My mom died when I was really young, and my dad got sick a couple years ago so we moved from Odaiba to Tokyo so we could go to the Research Hospital."
"Research? A medical term for very expensive?" Hikari smiled along with Sal.
"Exactly. I had to quit school and I started working for the City Subway System or as we call it CSS, and about a year ago, he decided he had enough and he passed away."
Sal's happy expression quickly turned into one of sympathy. "My wife of fifty-one years passed away two years ago, February 9. Yeah it was a rough time for me, but Mr. Ishida got me through it."
"Is he a friend?"
"Oh, my best. Hikari, the Ishida-Takaishi's took me in as part of their family. I'd never let anyone hurt them." Sal wondered if he should tell Hikari he knew his secret, but he brushed off the thought, knowing that Hikari's already been though too much and this wasn't the time.
"Neither would I" Hikari said. She gt this weird burning pain in her stomach.
"I believe you wouldn't."
The door of the magical house swung open. Hikari jumped to her feet in surprise. She faced Nancy who had a crimson blouse and a black ankle length skirt on. She wore a black and white checked apron on her waist.
"Hikari? You came?!" Nancy squealed with delight. "Hi Sal, oh this is great! Hey come on in, its freezing out here" Nancy made her way to the door. "Lucie made her eggnog," she said over her shoulder.
"Word of the wise, drink slowly" Sal advised. Hikari laughed as he got up.
"Come on you guys, look who's here! Hikari came!" Nancy shouted in the house. Lacey ran up to Hikari, and gave her a hug in her white hooded sweater and plaid skirt. Lucie stayed with Mr. Ishida because she didn't want to get her white dress messed up. The two greeted everyone as they entered the house.
"That's Yamato on the right" Lacey pointed out while looking through his memory book.
"That's sweet" Hikari said while sitting next to her.
Lacey turned the cream colored page. On the left was a torn out yearbook page with his third grade class on it. To the right, it had a newspaper article with the headline "Local Boy Saves Squirrel", and the article also had a picture of Yamato when he was about the age of eight or nine.
"Oh, there's the squirrel thing," Lacey laughed.
"Eggnog everyone" Nancy said as she walked into the living room with a tray of empty glasses and a pitcher. She made a frightened looking face for a second when she said eggnog. "Ma, where are you? I'm serving your eggnog."
"I'm getting my camera" Lucie shouted from another room. Hikari smiled at their relationship.
"Come on everybody, get close to the tree" Lucie commanded sweetly.
"Ooh, pictures" an excited Nancy said. Everyone except for Hikari got into a cluster.
"Hikari, come on" Lucie nagged. Soon the whole family started nagging her.
"I can't"
Lacy pulled her up from the sofa, and positioned her to be in the middle of the picture.
"Watch the birdie" Lucie said before she took the picture.
"Oh, Ma, take it again. I blinked" Nancy said.
A few minutes later, they all sat on the furniture in the living room, telling stories about Yamato in the past. Sal poured himself a glass of wine while the storytelling was going on.
"Want some?" Sal offered Lucie.
"I don't drink anymore" she said with a smile.
"Ooh," Sal replied and put the bottle back on the table.
Lucie held out her glass. "I don't drink any less, either"
Everyone laughed at Lucie's antics. Hikari really wished she was engaged to Yamato, she loved his family. She took a sip of Lucie's eggnog, and made a face similar to Nancy's when anyone mentioned eggnog. "It sure has a kick," she thought as she tried her hardest to swallow it.
The night continued on, and they all opened their presents and all got looks of joy. Hikari even got a gift from the family. Hikari forgot about the joy of Christmas so many years ago, but it was all coming back to her.
Meanwhile, at Yamato's sleek apartment, the phone had been ringing off the hook. All sorts of people called, wondering where Yamato was or if he's okay. He was up to thirty-seven messages on his answering machine.
"This is Ishida. Leave a message, and I'll get back to you. Ciao" His machine let out a large beep. "Hi, it's Ashley. The Alps are absolutely gorgeous, but I'm cutting my trip short because I've been doing a lot of thinking, and oh what the hell. I will marry you!" Beep.
Dun, dun, dun . . . next chapter=TAKARI! Well, only if you press that pretty Lil button down there!
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, or the nifty characters. Bummer . . .
It was a new day in Tokyo. The sun had already peered out from the horizon and the day got off to a start. Cars raced the streets again, people strolled down the crowded sidewalks, and shoppers tried to catch the "lowest prices of the season" at the After Christmas sales.
Hikari woke up and found herself in the hospital, with the same black sweater and blue jeans on. Her hair though, was another story. Pieces flew every which way. One thing that was in place was Yamato. He hadn't moved a muscle.
Hikari shot up, finally realizing where she was. She pulled back her sleeve and looked at her cheap watch Celeste got her for Christmas.
7:26
Hikari panicked. She was supposed to be at work by eight. She grabbed her coat and slung her purse over her shoulder while standing up. She turned around to face the beautiful blonde-haired man.
"Bye" she whispered and walked toward the door until . . .
"Hikari!" Nancy exclaimed. "We didn't know you were here!" Behind her was the whole family - Lucie, Sal, Lacey, and Mr. Ishida.
"Hi" Hikari said softly. "Oh man I'm gonna be late . . . " she thought.
"Hi" Mr. Ishida replied as softly as Hikari's tone. That was much different from his loud, noisy self. "Were you here all night?"
"Yeah" Hikari admitted with a smile.
"You're like me, I can sleep anywhere" Lucie said. Then she walked over to Yamato's bed.
"And believe me, she has" Sal added while walking after her. One by one, they'd make their way to the bed.
"So, how's Yamato?" Nancy asked.
"Oh well, he's got more color" Hikari answered as she turned to face them. Nancy and Mr. Ishida leaned over the bed to look at him. His pale cheeks had gradually turned more tan.
"He's got some color!" Mr. Ishida pointed out again.
"Yeah" Hikari said in a daze. "Well I-I have to go. It was great to see you guys again."
"Tell her" Nancy nagged Mr. Ishida. In a whisper. Mr. Ishida took a couple steps forward, closer to Hikari.
"We didn't get to celebrate Christmas so, uh, it would be nice if you could join us." Mr. Ishida looked sincere in his request, an emotion hardly seen from him.
"Oh, um, oh I-I'd love to, but I can't" Hikari declined. She couldn't celebrate Christmas with people she had lied to and treated so badly.
"Takeru's gonna be there the next morning" Lacey said with a look of excitement in her ocean blue eyes.
"That's right, you haven't met Takeru yet!" Nancy realized.
"No, haven't met him yet" Hikari said.
"Oh, he'll be so glad to meet you!" Nancy tried hard to convince Hikari.
"So, you'll come tonight?" Mr. Ishida asked.
"I-I really shouldn't because I have to work"
"Well here" Mr. Ishida said as he handed Hikari a small business card and a pen. "Put your phone number and address down there. Nancy will call you and talk you into it"
"Ok" Hikari responded.
Mr Ishida held out another card. This one had a chair imprinted on the right along with the business information on the left. "And here's another card for when you changed your mind. We're in the estate furniture business, we buy furniture from dead people.
Hikari turned her head a little to Nancy who had an aghast look on her face. She obviously didn't want Hikari to know that information.
"Ok, well I have it so," Hikari said as she started to leave.
"Bye dear" Nancy said.
"Bye!" Lacey added with a big grin.
Hikari finally made it out of the crowded room. She was waiting impatiently to go down the elevator. She just wanted to get away from all those nice people she had wronged. Every hour, every minute just made Hikari feel even more guilty.
"Ma'am? Excuse me ma'am" a tall doctor shouted while running down the hall toward Hikari. He had a box filled with a couple items, the most noticeable item was a briefcase.
"What is this?" Hikari asked with an irritated tone.
"I'm sorry Mrs. Ishida, these are you husbands things" the doctor answered.
"He's not my husband" Hikari yelled in an unpleasant way. The doctor stood for a second, dumfounded.
"I'm sorry, your fiancée" he corrected. Then he shoved the box into her arms and ran off again.
"Why me?" she thought to herself as she stepped into the elevator.
"Uh, you're Yamato's fiancée?" a guy asked. Hikari had to stop the elevator doors from closing with her foot.
"Ok," Hikari gave up.
"Nakai Kanzi, colleague of Yamato's at Nakai, Ishida, and Hiura Law Firm."
"I have to go now" Hikari said as she stepped into the elevator.
"He's a great guy" Kanzi started again. Hikari stepped back into her original position. "He's had a tough year, with the accident last month and all."
Hikari readjusted herself. "Accident?"
"Of course it was an accident, it wasn't my fault, did he tell you it was my fault?! We were playing basketball, and I was carrying a pencil, that's what lawyers do."
Hikari stepped out of the elevator and let the doors close. She braced herself for a long, uninteresting story...
"So, what's the big deal?" Jerry asked on the crowded streets of Tokyo after hearing Hikari's situation. They made their way past the people to get to their usual hot dog stand.
"What's the big deal?! Jerry, they think I'm they're future daughter-in-law! And his grandmother, she's got this heart problem and if I tell her the truth, she'll have a heart attack, and she'll die and it's going to be on my head" Hikari rambled.
"Well just go along with it" Jerry suggested. "And when Yamato comes out of the coma, they'll be so happy they probably won't care that you lied to them. They might even thank you!"
He hot dog man handed Hikari a hot dog. "Just mustard" a stressed Hikari demanded. The man just rolled his eyes. "Okay, what if he doesn't come out of his coma?"
"Well then who's to know?"
Hikari was losing hope, and Jerry's words weren't helping much. "Look, look, look. When my mother found out I was marrying my wife, her intestines exploded. Now, if you tell them about this now, you might as well shoot Grandma." Hikari buried her head in her arms. She knew this couldn't be good.
"Come on Kitty" Hikari yelled as she was fixing her cat's dinner. She was all alone in her apartment, lounging in the kitchen.
"Kitty" she yelled again. She turned her T.V. dinner around so that the chicken would be closer to her.
"What a pathetic way to spend my day" she thought to herself. Then she caught a glimpse of her refrigerator. She saw that business card with the imprinted chair on it.
"Well, they really did want me to come" she reasoned as she dipped her oreo in milk.
Hikari found herself in a taxi in suburban Tokyo. She glanced at all the large houses, and the snow that covered their yards. The driveways and sidewalks were perfectly shoveled, leaving no tiny hints of white. And then she came upon a large, white house with many lights and decorations in their yard, trees, and bushes. In fact, it was one of the only houses with their lights on. Hikari assumed this must be their house. The taxi stopped in front of the magical sight. She assumed right.
She stepped out of the taxi and held a beautifully wrapped gift for the family. As she stepped onto the sidewalk, the taxi drove away. She took a few steps up the driveway, which was filled with cars, and stopped to admire their decorations. Then thoughts rushed into her mind. "What am I doing here? I can't do this, it's wrong!" She started to turn right back around because she knew she couldn't pretend to have a family.
"Hikari!" Sal shouted from behind her. She knew there was no turning back now.
"Hi Sal, hi" Hikari greeted with a fake smile.
"You made it!" Sal exclaimed.
"Yeah"
"So, uh, how do you feel?"
"Okay," Hikari wasn't in a talking mood.
"Come on, keep me company for a while. I don't like to smoke in the house." They continued walking toward the house.
"Listen, you want one?" Sal offered.
"No thanks, I'm trying to quit."
Sal chuckled a bit as they sat on the steps in front of the door. Hikari rubbed her arms in an attempt to make them warmer.
"They don't bother you, do they?" Sal asked.
"Oh, no, no, I'm fine."
"Did you know I was Yamato's godfather?" He said randomly.
"Really? I thought you had to be Catholic for that."
"Mr. Ishida convinced the pope. He donated fifty folding chairs to Father Shiba's bingo night." They both smiled at Mr. Ishida's crazy actions. "You know being a godfather is important to Catholics." Sal continued. "It's like practically being a part of the family."
Hikari's head lowered when he mentioned family. "You're lucky. It's important to have family this time of year" she said.
"Aren't your parents with you?"
"No, no. My mom died when I was really young, and my dad got sick a couple years ago so we moved from Odaiba to Tokyo so we could go to the Research Hospital."
"Research? A medical term for very expensive?" Hikari smiled along with Sal.
"Exactly. I had to quit school and I started working for the City Subway System or as we call it CSS, and about a year ago, he decided he had enough and he passed away."
Sal's happy expression quickly turned into one of sympathy. "My wife of fifty-one years passed away two years ago, February 9. Yeah it was a rough time for me, but Mr. Ishida got me through it."
"Is he a friend?"
"Oh, my best. Hikari, the Ishida-Takaishi's took me in as part of their family. I'd never let anyone hurt them." Sal wondered if he should tell Hikari he knew his secret, but he brushed off the thought, knowing that Hikari's already been though too much and this wasn't the time.
"Neither would I" Hikari said. She gt this weird burning pain in her stomach.
"I believe you wouldn't."
The door of the magical house swung open. Hikari jumped to her feet in surprise. She faced Nancy who had a crimson blouse and a black ankle length skirt on. She wore a black and white checked apron on her waist.
"Hikari? You came?!" Nancy squealed with delight. "Hi Sal, oh this is great! Hey come on in, its freezing out here" Nancy made her way to the door. "Lucie made her eggnog," she said over her shoulder.
"Word of the wise, drink slowly" Sal advised. Hikari laughed as he got up.
"Come on you guys, look who's here! Hikari came!" Nancy shouted in the house. Lacey ran up to Hikari, and gave her a hug in her white hooded sweater and plaid skirt. Lucie stayed with Mr. Ishida because she didn't want to get her white dress messed up. The two greeted everyone as they entered the house.
"That's Yamato on the right" Lacey pointed out while looking through his memory book.
"That's sweet" Hikari said while sitting next to her.
Lacey turned the cream colored page. On the left was a torn out yearbook page with his third grade class on it. To the right, it had a newspaper article with the headline "Local Boy Saves Squirrel", and the article also had a picture of Yamato when he was about the age of eight or nine.
"Oh, there's the squirrel thing," Lacey laughed.
"Eggnog everyone" Nancy said as she walked into the living room with a tray of empty glasses and a pitcher. She made a frightened looking face for a second when she said eggnog. "Ma, where are you? I'm serving your eggnog."
"I'm getting my camera" Lucie shouted from another room. Hikari smiled at their relationship.
"Come on everybody, get close to the tree" Lucie commanded sweetly.
"Ooh, pictures" an excited Nancy said. Everyone except for Hikari got into a cluster.
"Hikari, come on" Lucie nagged. Soon the whole family started nagging her.
"I can't"
Lacy pulled her up from the sofa, and positioned her to be in the middle of the picture.
"Watch the birdie" Lucie said before she took the picture.
"Oh, Ma, take it again. I blinked" Nancy said.
A few minutes later, they all sat on the furniture in the living room, telling stories about Yamato in the past. Sal poured himself a glass of wine while the storytelling was going on.
"Want some?" Sal offered Lucie.
"I don't drink anymore" she said with a smile.
"Ooh," Sal replied and put the bottle back on the table.
Lucie held out her glass. "I don't drink any less, either"
Everyone laughed at Lucie's antics. Hikari really wished she was engaged to Yamato, she loved his family. She took a sip of Lucie's eggnog, and made a face similar to Nancy's when anyone mentioned eggnog. "It sure has a kick," she thought as she tried her hardest to swallow it.
The night continued on, and they all opened their presents and all got looks of joy. Hikari even got a gift from the family. Hikari forgot about the joy of Christmas so many years ago, but it was all coming back to her.
Meanwhile, at Yamato's sleek apartment, the phone had been ringing off the hook. All sorts of people called, wondering where Yamato was or if he's okay. He was up to thirty-seven messages on his answering machine.
"This is Ishida. Leave a message, and I'll get back to you. Ciao" His machine let out a large beep. "Hi, it's Ashley. The Alps are absolutely gorgeous, but I'm cutting my trip short because I've been doing a lot of thinking, and oh what the hell. I will marry you!" Beep.
Dun, dun, dun . . . next chapter=TAKARI! Well, only if you press that pretty Lil button down there!