Notes::
Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Hyper_shark - of course TK smirks! :-)
To all that were confused-In this AU, there is one major change. While the digidestined fought their opponents in the Digital World, the same amount of time passed in the real one. Evil digimon slipped into the real world while the digidestined struggled with Devimon and Etemon, but after many battles the digidestined came back to the real world.
The evil digimon that found a way out of the digital world destroyed many lives and homes in Odaiba with no one to protect it. The digidestined returned to this destruction, and fought off the evil digimon, but they had been gone too long, and most of the damage was irreversable.
Taichi and Yamato, feeling guilty, made two major groups. Their purpose was an effort to help the younger, orphaned kids survive and keep them safe, but some of the kids in the two groups started wars between them.
Chapter 2:: Lifestyle
~
Takeru stared right into the wild eyes of the girl. He wondered what in the world he could do to make her believe…
That he was crazy. A slight grin spread across his features, his eyes dancing. He liked that idea very much--the afternoon had turned out to be very boring, and this could be the turning point. He didn't, however, want her to run, screaming. He finally found something that would freak her out…
He started to clap, tilting his head slightly to see her reaction.
~
He was a madman. Hikari was ready to whip out her digimon, but then she realized Gatomon would not come to her side…
*The cat abandons the girl, remember, Hikari??* these thoughts were dashing through her mind at incredible speeds.
The stranger was looking deeply into her eyes. Hikari was, ironically, wondering if her hair was okay.
He started to clap. Slowly, methodically, a small bit of fire in his amused eyes.
*Huh?* She looked at him, a resentment but passion burning in her hereditary chocolate eyes.
He was clapping, so she just…
Her back bent. She had bowed.
*So now what?*
~
Takeru was dizzy. He was so happy to find some amount of amusement in this girl-maybe she could become a part of Yamato's gang?… she seemed to be alone…
She came up from her distinct bow, and her eyes sparkled, challenging him to top that. Takeru wanted to make her shocked and, possibly, resent him more.
…
Yet he wanted her to *like* him.
Why?
She was a really horrible person, actually, dirty and bedraggled. But something in her eyes… about them…
She was starting to get impatient. He could tell. The slight fidgeting, her mouth pressed into a wary, thin half smile.
The girl turned, her brown hair swinging. Takeru's blue eyes widened. He didn't want her to leave yet!
He searched his mind for something, something to make her want to stay and talk to him. He thought of Yamato, and Gabumon-Gabumon…
"Bark."
~
Hikari needed to find Gatomon and Taichi. She couldn't just stay here with that silent stranger. He seemed to be in the Digital World, far, far away. She was a little angry, that he thought to be so superior that he didn't notice her existence.
So, she started to leave. She wasn't expecting a response, actually, but, there it was.
"Bark." Her mouth curved into a slight smile as the stranger, satisfied, almost turned to leave, the roles reversed. How dare he turn his back on a Yagami, especially since *she* was going to leave *him* first!
"Meow." She regretted the word immediately as it left her lips. That simple sound reminded her too much of Gatomon-and Miko. But she needed to keep him here, she…
She enjoyed the company. With that thought, Hikari blushed as the stranger turned back to her. His deeply tinted blue eyes eerily reminded her of…
Something. SomeONE. Hikari heard a distant 'whoosh' in the distance, but now, she didn't care.
~
Takeru was ready to do anything.
"Meow."
Fine, so… he hated her. That was clear. But that's okay, this insane urge to keep her there was just an excuse to release his insulting rage that had built during the past months.
Or was it? He got ready for a reponse, dreamily imagining their serenading calls of animal sounds.
His sensitive ears picked up a strange sound.
"Whoosh." and he instinctively looked around him. He turned back, right, left, in front, and finally checked up. Takeru almost fell down in surprise. There was Angemon, in his regal might.
He didn't want the stranger to see, she might be afraid and run off. Not every day you get to see a digital monster.
The blonde boy made a sign for Angemon to leave, and he looked at the girl once more.
"I'll see you again." He said. It almost sounded like a promise.
Then he ran off.
~
Hikari looked at the boy. He was being strange, he had just stared around paranoidly, causing Hikari to instantly become tense and ready to leap, like an animal. Then he looked up, and his face become surprised. Then he made a weird motion with his hands, and he looked at her again.
She wondered briefly if she was supposed to do something now.
"I'll see you again." He promised. She believed him… then he ran. An psychotic desire to follow him and throw herself into his arms made Hikari boldly step forward, then back. She shook her head and then started back towards base, remembering the weird blonde that she had met.
~
Gatomon watched through the camouflage of tree leaves.
"I don't like him." She hissed, watching his self assured smirk and aloof footing. But then the feline digimon watched the two interact, and then spotted something in Hikari's face that she had never seen before.
Weird. She would have to ask Sora about it.
Her instincts then told her that her holy angel partner was nearby. She looked up and saw Angemon, and then the boy…
It clicked.
He was a digidestined, too! A weird, clockwise digidestined, however… he was so weird.
He mumbled something to Hikari, which almost made Gatomon want to fly down and rip out his vocal chords by the way her partner looked, but stopped when Hikari looked reassured.
He was special, this digidestined, wasn't he? To Gatomon's partner, anyway.
Then Takeru walked away and jumped onto Angemon's back. Gatomon narrowed her eyes into slits, and then stalked away to find Taichi once again. She had resumed her original mission.
Would it be a complication if she followed this digidestined, too?
~
Hikari found Sora helping the others.
"Where did you go?" she asked strictly, but Hikari knew better. Sora had been worried. They *had* lost Taichi…
Her shoulders quaked, remembering the way her brother had looked out for her.
*Stop thinking that way, Hikari! Keep faith, hope!* the better half of her cried out.
"Hikari? Are you okay?" Sora asked gently, a slight uneasy note in her voice.
"Yeah. Of course, Sora!" Hikari shook off the soft, nimble hand of the older girl.
"Have you found Gatomon yet?" Sora ignored her question, mostly because the answer was no, but asked one herself.
"Where did you go?" she repeated. Hikari still did not answer.
"Somewhere." Sora almost snorted in spite of herself at this reponse. Nice and general. Sounded like Hikari was doing something she wasn't supposed to.
"Hmm." Sora said, gazing at the sky.
"Nice weather," Hikari commented, and gazed at the ground.
*I wonder if I really *will* meet you again?* she thought sadly, remembering the boy. If even she hated him, of course… of course.
… maybe he would join Taichi's group.
~
Gatomon saw where the boy had gone. She gasped.
'Oh no.' she almost shrieked. The feline needed to report this to Hikari.
That boy *was* special.
Not in the good way, either.
~
Hikari drew a rough sketch of the boy. He had not met her, not in weeks. Dart after dart joined their mates on his nose, eyes, lips, and everywhere else.
"Ouchhh." She said as a dart intentionally joined two others between his legs.
"What are you doing?" Sora asked. The girl's eyes widened as she ran over to the sketch on the ruffled couch and smiled innocently.
"We scrouged a lot for that couch. Don't destroy it, please?" Sora said, ignoring the torn up pieces of paper strewn under the cushions.
"Uh huh." Hikari said, swallowing the last of his face and blond locks. Too bad that she had to eat it, of course, she had spent so much time on this drawing. The way his blue eyes glinted in the blonde beauty of his hair…
"Really, Hikari, I thought you had better taste." Sora said, shaking her head as she found another large piece of paper that Hikari couldn't digest.
"I *do* have a--why am I defending myself?" Kari shook her own head and walked out onto her favorite place now, a path far, far away from her troubles, and her own home. Wind torn and gray, old benches scattered around its circling edges, was perfect to think.
Of course, she never thought *he* would be there. She stopped dead at the boy, who did the same. He looked at her.
"Well, well."
~
Takeru's heart almost skipped a beat. There she was, the girl that had, in his opinion, abandoned him.
"Well, well." Baka Ishida! He cursed himself. What an idiotic thing to say, and so--so frostily.
"Why… hello there." She countered right back. Uncomfortable silence drifted between them.
*So much for the barnyard serenades.* Takeru thought mentally, laughing at his stupidity.
"We didn't have a chance to, to introduce each other, now, did we?" Takeru carried on the conversation. He sucked in his breath. What beautiful name could match her?
*What am I THINKING?*
~
"I'm…" Hikari hesitated. Should she give him her real name?
*I trust him. I think.*
"Hikari." She said finally.
~
Takeru smiled.
"What a beautiful name." He was unable to stop smiling. What a gooey, un-Takeru-like mush Hikari was making him turn into.
Light. It means light.
How fitting.
"And you are?" Hikari touched his arm, and he felt jolts, immediately answering.
"Takeru," there was silence, and he saw Hikari smiling, just as mucked up as he was.
Ahhh, life was good.
The scent of flowers spiced up the air, and Takeru was ready to tiptoe through the tulips with Hikari.
Pause.
Hikari… where had he heard that name before?
…
Hmm…
"What's your last name?" Takeru asked her, prying instantly due to his curiousity.
"Yagami. And-" Takeru froze.
Not at the last name. No, he barely heard the name.
He was concentrating more on the huge blast that was tearing through the clearing.
*
Well, I found this chapter while rummaging through my PC.
I don't really have motivation to finish this fic, because I have a new pet project that I'm extremely devoted to… I do, however, like this fic.
I'm not really sure if I should go on with it… it's been a very long time since I updated. o.O
What do you think? Review an answer, please. Thanks.