Author's notes: Hi, I'm back. I'm not very sure myself why I named the chapter Mothdust. It just felt appropriate because everyone's shattering and their wings are disintegrating… into dust.
To shadowcat: I'm mentally sound. I think. I am an ardent fan of Takari, but sadly it doesn't come into existence in this fic…
The weather forecast said that it wouldn't snow today.
Yet somehow, as Taichi sat outside the Emergency Room in the hospital, he could see the light, feather-like snow floating down the sky through the large window before him. He felt like throwing a chair at the window and hearing the glass shatter.
All around him was blank walls, blank floors and blank ceilings. He couldn't stand the blankness of everything. They were so white, so piercing, so like snow.
He just needed something to blame.
Mimi wondered why everyone looked so bleak the next day. The weather was a little better than before, and she had passed her Japanese test, even if it was just by a single mark. She hadn't forgotten her little incident in which she got to slap a certain blonde, but those present at the scene seemed to have forgotten the whole matter. And so she didn't bring it up.
Sora's eyes were flooding with tears as she looked up from Yamato's arms. Strangely, Mimi didn't feel like strangling her this time, most probably because she was too puzzled.
"Um... What happened?" the younger girl asked cautiously, peering at her seniors, both huddled together.
His ice-grey eyes met hers.
She winced.
Hadn't seen that look for too long a time. She'd forgotten the intensity of his gaze. But somehow she knew his grieving wasn't for her.
When she learnt that Hikari could die any moment, the first thing that she thought of was how Taichi was taking it. She realized that he wasn't at the lunch table with them as he usually was.
Her heart felt like it was wrenching apart. Although some of the digidestined hadn't been in contact with each other, Mimi felt that they still shared that particular bond which nothing could sever; even when a few broken hearts were involved.
Unlike Sora, she couldn't express her pain aloud in her actions or words. It could also possibly be due to the fact that she didn't have anyone to cradle her in his arms and give her comfort.
As she sat in the bathtub watching the water spill out slowly, she closed her eyes and saw those piercing eyes again. Those aloof, grey eyes. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped on to the edges of the bathtub and plunged her whole body into the lukewarm water.
Taichi hated the smell of hospitals. After all, most of his experiences in this desolate place weren't very pleasant. He sat on a chair next to his sister's hospital bed. Hikari had lapsed into a coma, but at least her life was out of danger. The chair was hard and cold, but he was too numb to feel it.
As he watched his sister's chest rise up and down slowly, he wondered what was going through her mind now. Or she had wanted this – to live a life where there was no happiness, no anger, no pain, no sorrow. The serene expression on her still face seemed to prove this right. Silently, he walked out of the room so that he wouldn't disturb her in the world that she wished for.
The stench of sake hung in the air. Taichi pushed the unlocked door to his house open cautiously. A glass bottle came sailing through the air without warning. It crashed into the potted plants along the corridor. The weary boy trudged past his drunken father to get a broom and clean up the mess created. On his way back to the glass splinters, the older man grabbed his son by the front of his shirt.
Taichi looked back rather indifferently. Within his brown eyes, the spark that was once there had been distinguished entirely.
His father delivered a punch across his face which left him staggering despite his strong physique. Then another came, into his stomach, his arms, until he was left lying on the ground, quite bruised.
He tasted copper. Blood dripped down his whole face and stained his vision. He didn't retaliate, even though he had the ability to. There was no anger in him, nor was there any fear. There was simply acceptance. His father blamed him for what happened to Hikari and he accepted it; he took the blame upon himself already anyway.
There were more crashes of bottles breaking before the door was slammed shut, making the whole apartment shake. It was a wonder the neighbors didn't come over and tear their house down.
Taichi winced as he tried to get up. He swayed about for a few steps before collapsing like a crumpled doll into the couch.
Mimi wondered why she was doing this. Armed with a scarf and umbrella, she marched all the way to the Yagami household. It was nearing to ten o'clock at night and the streets already seemed dead. Gathering her coat around her, she told herself this was for Hikari. Her boots went "crunch" into the hardened snow gathered on the road.
He wasn't out cold; just extremely worn-out. Literally. The blood seemed to have stopped flowing down, at least. It was strange that he found it much more difficult to fall asleep in his own home. The couch wasn't very comfortable, he discovered after half an hour.
Her hazel-nut hair rustled as she pressed the doorbell. No one answered. She looked down, and realized that there were blood stains on the floor together with shattered glass. Thoughts running wild, Mimi pushed against the door with all her might. It flew open with a loud bang.
Light from the streetlights streamed into the house. She walked through the pieces of glass and kneeled down next to the slumped figure on the couch. Ever so gently, she touched his damaged face. There was a slight flicker of emotion in those dead chocolate eyes and suddenly he held her in embrace, in the shadowy living room.
"I'm tired," he murmured into her ear softly. She smelt like cinnamon. She felt crushed within his grip, yet she didn't flinch or move away.
The both of them clung onto each other; two broken souls, for comfort, because they had no one else to turn to. Mimi felt tears rolling down her face, and the ache in her heart increasing. She felt that it was odd. The numbness and indifference seemed to be slowly melting away. In place of these was the pain she had kept hidden within her inner self from a long time ago, when she had tried escaping from reality. Slowly, she released it bit by bit, until she felt a whole wave of emotions rushing at her. Somehow, this seemed to feel better than not feeling at all.
He held onto her, as if she was his only lifeline.
Mimi had never been close to him, even when they were in the digiworld. They had been just too different. He was the strong-headed leader; she was the prissy little princess who was too afraid to dirty her fair hands. When they were back in their own world, she was seldom with the rest of the gang because her family was in America. Even then, he thought little of her weird hairstyles and dressing sense. He knew she couldn't care less about him as well.
Yet somehow, bent down in the dim room entwined into each other, both of them felt more comforted, and less vulnerable to the harsh reality outside. No longer was each individual alone. As long as someone believed in them, that was enough.
"Rest well," Mimi replied as softly as he did, smiling a true smile for the first time in a long while.
Outside, snow fell, but unlike before, it fell gently.
To readers: Hmm, that was pretty wordy. Not much dialogue. I have decided to keep Hikari alive because she's such a great character. I'm not very good at emotional scenes, so please forgive me. This fic is probably coming to a close soon, so please keep watch! As usual, please review.
Revised: 16th September 2007