Author's Notes:  So I finally update huh?  You know my excuse:  school.  No point in dragging this out.  Enjoy

Thanks to IchigoPocky, Angel Ran (You'll have to do with hints for a bit longer.  Gomen…), Redrum, Shadow, Sillie

Disclaimer:  Digimon is not mine; some big evil conglomerate owns it.

Reoccurrence

Chapter 9:  Reappearance

Hikari fidgeted in the silence.  It was a strange way to have a conversation, bursts of talk upon talk and then long uncomfortable deadly silences.  It didn't used to be like this…  She sighed and realized she seemed to be thinking that same thought more often these days.  It was a tough three weeks since they found a plausible excuse for Taichi's disappearance.  School was going to start in another month and it was getting perilously close to Taichi's reappearance.  They were still planning at the moment.  It was going to be a draw between showing up on the doorstep or an accidental run in at the mall or something of that sort.  The date was still up in the air too.  It was sort of funny how strange it felt to take a level headed vote among the digidestined to find a suitable date for Taichi's transition to the real world.  She'd spent the last two weeks chatting with her Oni-chan and catching him up on the whole family situation, little things that might help him readjust.  And it always hurt her when she painfully realized that Taichi was only a stranger now.  Their conversations always ended stilted, embarrassed and all types of things that a conversation between brother and sister shouldn't be.  As it was, she shifted again in the couch and struggled to find something interesting to say.  She settled on a bland question that probably was a good imitation of a very expensive therapist.  "How do you feel about Odaiba?"

Taichi considered carefully.  He'd been taking extended outings with the other digidestined every afternoon, learning about human customs, speech patterns, even curse words.  It was so ridiculously frustrating that he found himself longing to punch something fairly frequently.  How could he learn sixteen years worth of acting human in a measly month?  And to top it all off he was to meet his parents next week.  He was terrified of that experience; he'd seen their pictures, nice looking people.  Probably loving too, but they meant nothing to him.  And yet, looking at Hikari's hopeful face every now and then, he forced himself to smile and push himself along with everyone's suggestions.  He couldn't fail, not in this.  "It's a nice place."

"Yeah…"  Hikari mentally sighed at Taichi's usual vague answer.  "How do you feel about meeting kasan and tousan?"

Taichi controlled the urge to wince.  Here he was talking to his sister, the closest person he had in the whole world and he was talking to her in noncommittal, listless tones.  But he couldn't muster any enthusiasm here.  How good could the meeting with his parents possibly be?  If Hikari was any indication, it was going to be another long, trying experience, one that a large part of himself wanted desperately to escape from.  "OK."

Hikari smiled weakly.  A sense of anger bubbled up in her veins.  This was accomplishing nothing; she needed her big brother back, the protective goofy, head strong, opinioned sometimes jackass oni-chan.  "That's not an answer," she forced out.

Taichi's automatic response froze on his tongue. Searching Hikari's face, he suddenly got the impression that he'd never to be able to put a lie past her.  He grimaced a little, looking down at his lap.  "It's terrifying."

Hikari's face softened a little.  There was a surprising amount of truth in his words.  Of course he'd be afraid.  Kami-sama, if she was in his position…  She shivered.  "That's understandable Taichi.  I'll help you any way I can.  They're wonderful people, you'll see."

"Yeah."  He considered a while weighing his words carefully.  Would Hikari take offense?  "That doesn't really help…"

Hikari nodded again, slowly.  Her mouth dropped a little more and she was left wordless once again.  She only continued to watch Taichi avoid her gaze and all that insecurity and fear rose sharply in her stomach.  Any half daydreamed delusion of having her brother back as she remembered him, would be a long, long day off.

Taichi took a look at the kitchen clock and sighed.  Another afternoon wasted…  "Do you want something to eat?"

Hikari followed his eyes and found herself unsurprised that it was nearly eight.  She smiled a little and nodded, even though she didn't have much of an appetite.  Apparently being upset really ruined your mood and will to eat. 

Taichi headed to the kitchen and raided the fridge, pushing aside the leftovers indistinct and bleary through the translucent Tupperware containers.  Curry, ketchup, soda, juice, meat, noodles, rice.  God Yamato really did have strange tastes.  That or his father.  Taichi shrugged and picked some container out at random.  It was nice enough for Yamato to let him stay in his apartment after exploring Odaiba; there was no need to insult his tastes.  Taichi looked down at the white box which he held; leftover 'take-out' or that's what Koushiro called it.  "We have um, noodles and…"  He reached in to pull out another box.  "Some reddish sticky blobby thing…"

Hikari appeared in the doorway and stood by Taichi, looking into the open boxes.  "Uh, that's chow mien and sweet and sour pork."  She frowned slightly.  "You've never had Chinese?"

"Maybe…"  Taichi looked dubiously down at the food.  "Gennai usually had all sorts of stuff, but I've never seen stuff like this.  We usually used what we had around…"

Hikari nodded and took the boxes out of her brother hands and began to flip through the cabinets for a pan.  "Well, first time for everything right?"  She plopped the food into the pan and soon the kitchen was sizzling.

They stood in silence in their respective places a few feet apart.  Taichi leaned on the counter and sniffed the air.  "It smells good."

"Yeah.  I think it's done."  Hikari grabbed a plate and poured the food out into two mounds.  "Can you get some chopsticks and napkins?"

"Sure."  Taichi stared at the wall of cabinets in determination.  He should know where everything was; he'd been here often enough right?  He pulled out the drawer on the far right next to the refrigerator.  Frowning, he scowled at the array of plastic wraps and tinfoils.  Okay, double or nothing.  He tried the one to the left.  A telephone book greeted his efforts and he fought off an irrational annoyance.  Okay, third time's the charm as he heard some guy on TV say.  He pulled out the second drawer on the left, near the corner of the kitchen.  Success!  He hastily grabbed a bunch of napkins and chopsticks and spoons.  He turned and waved his treasures in victory only to stop when he met Hikari's unreadable gaze.  "Uh, something wrong?"

Hikari shook her head slowly and turned to put down the plates and cups she hand in her hand.  Midway to standing up, she stopped.

Taichi watched Hikari's back freeze and then quiver.  What was going on?  He rushed over to Hikari's side.  "What's wrong?"

Hikari's shoulders shook more and soon she was all but on the floor laughing.  Her laughter rolled into the apartment like a foreign entity.  She turned and latched onto Taichi's body, trying to stifle the breathless gasps into his shirt.

Taichi smiled awkwardly and laughed along a little.  He tried to pat her back, especially when he stopped laughing and Hikari was still gasping.  Something didn't seem right…  "Hikari, are you okay?"  He pulled her away slightly and really began to worry when he realized she wasn't laughing anymore. Instead, she was crying.  He panicked and looked around desperately as if there was someone near that could help her.  "What's wrong?"

Hikari couldn't answer; she couldn't do anything.  She had lost control to whatever was flooding through her.  The tears rolled and her body couldn't shook, and she had no idea when it would end.  It had just hit her when Taichi was doing his little victory pose with the napkins and chopsticks.  It was just so Taichi, so much like her Onni-chan, and when she thought of minutes before in the living room when he was just another stranger, she felt an inconsolable grief rise up.  It was just like losing him again.  The pain rose up and there wasn't a switch to bury it back down where she couldn't feel it anymore.  It had been building for four years; it poured of her.  She sniffed loudly and clutched tighter at Taichi. 

Taichi had full-blown panic with Hikari crying hysterically in his arms.  His forehead was damp with nervous sweat.  Something was really wrong, and he had no clue what to do.  He half stumbled with Hikari to the dining table and carefully sat her down on a chair, himself kneeling down to her level.  He began to smooth her back again.  He had never dealt with someone crying before.  He felt a temporary relief when she began to quiet down a little, though her grip hadn't relaxed at all.  "Hikari?"

Hikari raised her away from Taichi's shirt, feeling that cold hard lump in her chest start to loosen.  Her eyes were still blurry, but she could tell she'd worried Taichi immensely.  She wiped a sleeve across her eyes and sniffed and tried to sit up to get herself back in control.  "S-sorry, Taichi.  I don't know what happened…"

"It's okay."  Taichi helplessly offered her the napkins still in his hands.  "You're okay now?"

She took the paper and rubbed her face, and looked up at Taichi's face still looking halfway desperate.  She knew she looked like hell, but she tried to smile a little anyway.  "I'll be fine."  Taichi didn't move, so she put on a bigger thinner smile.  "I'll be okay.  Let's eat before the food gets cold again."


Taichi unwillingly stood up and sat down at the table opposite Hikari.  He took a few concerned glances every now and then.  He really wanted to know what the hell happened.  They settled into a silence of tableware clinking and chewing.  The food disappeared quickly as both of them needed an excuse to not have to say anything.  Taichi abstractedly appreciated the new taste, but his thoughts still fixed on Hikari.  He couldn't quite explain it, but seeing her there sobbing was one of worst feelings he ever had.  When his chopsticks no longer had anything to pick up, he sighed and gathered his courage.  "Hikari?"

Hikari looked up, still looking slightly haggard but otherwise normal.  "Yes?"

Taichi rubbed his damp hands together under the table.  "Do you want to talk about it?"

Hikari hesitated but eventually nodded, not quite meeting his eyes.  It was strange; this was first time she had anyone to really discuss her feelings with.  It was all the more ridiculous that she was talking to Taichi about his 'death.'  Somewhere in her head she was laughing madly at the scene.  Her voice however, remained low and quiet, barely loud enough to rise above the muted traffic that floated through the kitchen window.  "It was when you disappeared…when we thought you were dead."

Taichi listened attentively.  His disappearance was an issue that was never brought up.  The rest of the group tried to treat it like it never happened.  He just thought they'd all moved on, but apparently that wasn't quite the case…

"When you 'died' we were…upset."  Hikari almost laughed at the understatement.  She kept her away from his face, but compromised and looked a little to Taichi's left, on level with his face.  "We were so lost; I was only eight; it was like someone kicked me in the stomach.  And kasan and tousan were…you were the oldest.  It was worse for them; they thought you ran away."  She hastily ran a hand over her eyes, in precaution for any stray moisture.  "But I knew the truth and I couldn't cry for you.  I couldn't grieve for you."  She moved her gaze a little closer to Taichi's face and wrung her hands on the table.  "And then you came back and it was like a miracle; you were here again. But you're a stranger."  She waiting as if she was expecting some melodramatic gasp from Taichi, but only silence met her pause.  "You're a stranger.  I realized today that I really did lose you."  She dared to fully meet Taichi's gaze.  There wasn't anything discernable in it.  "Taichi?"

Taichi knew her words were true, but they were so stark and bluntly stated… "You're right."  The dangling hope that he'd be able to transition back easily burst into flames and its charred cinders blew away out of his reach.  "I.-I'm not Taichi, not the one that you knew…"  He glared half-heartedly at a stain on the fake wood surface of the table.  "I want to be him, but I don't know how."  He looked back up at Hikari and fixed her with an ironic smirk.  "Sounds stupid doesn't it?"

"No…not in the least." 

Taichi looked down as Hikari took his hands in hers.  "I'll try to be him, I will."

The hands squeezed a little.  "Just be whoever you want to be; I'll help you any way I can."

"Thanks…"

"Now, let's get these plates cleaned up ne?"

Taichi nodded and withdrew his hands and began to gather up the utensils and napkins.  Hikari stacked the plates and headed over to the sink.  She grinned teasingly in his direction.  "I see that Gennai has finally taught you some manners."

Taichi frowned and let the silverware clank against the bottom of the sink.  "What do you mean finally?"

Hikari turned the tap on and began to industriously to pour the dishwashing liquid.  "I distinctly remember a time when washing dishes to you meant plugging up the sink and letting the plates soak until someone else cleaned them."

"Well, I don't remember that so I say it didn't happen."

"That's going to be your excuse for everything isn't it?"

Taichi dried another plate with the towel.  He smirked.  "Damn straight."

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Yamato unlocked his apartment door with hesitation.  Would it be deadly silence again?  Surely, Hikari wasn't one to be envious of.  His fear dissipated once he stepped into the hall, and he was aware of the foreign sound of laughter and lively chatter.  He came upon a scene which he hadn't expect for quite a while.  Hikari and Taichi were seated cross-legged around the coffee table, murmuring quickly and pointing to a photo album laying open.  Yamato noticed that it was old album his from years ago.  His annoyance of them having the audacity to sneak into his room and pry around soon evaporated when Hikari became aware of his presence and sent him a broad happy smile.

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Not long."  Yamato shrugged off his guitar case and flung his coat over the nearest chair.  "Sorry about being so late, the band refused to budge until we got through the set twice."

"Late?"  Hikari looked up at the wall clock and grimaced.  "Oh Kami-sama, they're going to kill me.  I was supposed to be back fifteen minutes ago."

Yamato nodded sympathetically.  Ever since Taichi's disappearance, her parents had gotten progressively more overprotective.  It was amazing that they let her out of their sights at all.  "You should give them a phone call; they'll probably come by to pick you up.  I'd have tousan give you a ride but who knows when he'll be home."

"Good idea."  Hikari quickly disappeared into the kitchen.

Yamato plopped down on the loveseat and looked at the photo album.  He hadn't looked at it in so long…  "We look so young."

Taichi nodded, flipping the pages and noting his own face among a few of the pictures but not having much of any remembrance of when they were taken.  He got a fleeting sensation about one of them at some kind of lodge with snow and lots of strange colours, but other than that nothing.  "How long did we know each other when these were taken?"

Yamato creased his brow in thought and shrugged.  "Not long.  We were at summer camp; it must've been a couple of weeks before going to the Digiworld."

"That explains why we were always glowering at each other."

Yamato chuckled as Taichi pointed to a photo where they were both turned away from each other, arms crossed over their chests and faces scowling at the camera. "I was really moody then, what with the whole 'everyone is trying to piss me off' attitude."

"Yeah well, I'm sure I wasn't a perfect little angel."

"You sure as hell wasn't; you were the biggest prick I ever met."

"Hey!"  Taichi huffed.  He scowled.  "How about we agree we were both screwed up?"

"Sounds good to me."

Hikari returned from the kitchen.  "They're coming right now.  Kami-sama, they were like ten seconds from calling the police.  As much as I hate to say it, I think you need to get back Taichi.  I don't think it would do to have kasan and tousan see you here."  Hikari bent down to give him a solid hug.  It lasted a few minutes before a loud sudden knocking at the door broke them apart.  "God, they must've run through every red light.  Bye Taichi."

Taichi said a hasty goodbye before retreating to Yamato's room.  A few minutes later, Yamato found him frowning at the computer screen.  "Something wrong?"

Taichi looked up at Yamato and frowned again.  "I need a digivice to get back.  Do you think I could borrow yours?"

Yamato agreed and went to pull out the drawer.  He was about to give the digivice to Taichi, but stopped when he suddenly found that there were two in the drawer.  He still had Taichi's digivice.  He smiled as he lifted the device from its resting place, a little beat up from the time he tried to break it, but still blinking the time.  "Actually, Hikari gave me your digivice a while ago.  I think it's time to return it, ne?"

Taichi looked surprised at the gray digivice.  This was his?  He gingerly turned the machine about in his palm to inspect it.  A few scratches, but still alright.  As if on instinct, he clipped it neatly to the waistband of his pants.  He caught Yamato's gaze and smiled gratefully.  "Thanks."

"Sure, it's yours after all."

Taichi nodded and unclipped the digivice and pointed it to the screen.  "Still, thanks…  Have a good night Yamato."  He disappeared in an orangish light.

Yamato stood staring at the monitor for a while after Taichi had left.  He brushed his fingers across the screen before shutting the computer.  He smiled softly as he got ready to go to bed.  "Night Taichi…"

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Author's Notes:  So that's that.  Sorry if Hikari's reaction was rather too sucky; I'm having a characterization block these days.  I think I might put the family reunion in the next chapter.  Good-O.