a/n: Arguably one of the most important scenes in all of tri.

It was a lot to digest. Silence gathered like dust over the things they didn't know how to bring up.

"Meiko-san," Hikari said. She stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows that made up the back of Koushirou's office into the bustling streets below. Life seemed to carry on without a hitch. "She must feel so terrible…"

"Yes," Sora murmured. "About Meicoomon, and about Leomon as well."

"Leomon…"

They'd set up a tiny grave for him in the shade of a tree behind the school. It would elicit a lot of curious interest in the days to come from the other students who had no idea what had happened there, but none of the chosen really cared. No one had expected the rescue attempt to take such a tragic turn. Leomon probably hadn't either. To the end, he had thought of nothing but saving Meicoomon.

"It's not Meimei's fault! Or Meicoomon's!" Mimi cried.

"Mimi-chan, I'm sure no one here thinks that," Sora said, putting a comforting hand on her arm.

She sniffed. "But… but Meimei does. It was the infection. Meimei couldn't do anything. But…"

"Maybe we ought to talk to her and let her know that none of us blame her or Meicoomon," Takeru suggested.

"I think so too." Hikari turned to her brother, who sat heavily on one of the leather armchairs, submerged in his thoughts. The others followed her gaze to him.

"Yeah," he said finally.

Sora shook her head slowly. "I tried talking to her that day, after... what happened. I think she may need more time. She was really shaken up."

The warmth and care emanating from Sora seemed to bind them all together and relax their frigid joints. Takeru realized it must have been unexpected for Meiko, who was always used to being alone, to be confronted with such a loving presence after what had happened.

"I see," Taichi said. "Let's wait until she's ready to speak, then."

Silence. One topic done. So many more left.

"...Speaking of which, it was that infection that started all of this." Jou brought up the next one, pacing in front of Koushirou's desk. "What in the world is it, anyway? Is it like a disease? Some sort of sickness?"

In other words, was there a medical angle to this?

"Some sort of virus, I presume," Koushirou answered. "Guessing by the way it's been spreading… we've seen it in various Digimon now, including Ogremon. And now, Meicoomon."

They were quiet again as they tried to process the information and its implications.

"What else do we know about it?" Yamato asked. He had been stolidly quiet during their conversation about Meiko—not necessarily apathetic, just inept at considering girls and their feelings. "If it's like a sickness, there's got to be a way to cure it, right?"

"In the simplest of terms, it's a virus. Corrupted data." Koushirou stared intensely at his hands, focusing his thoughts. "It must have come from somewhere. We just don't know where. Or how to cure it, for that matter. It's a bit more complicated than curing a cold… first of all, the Digimon don't have an immune system that works like ours. It's altogether possible that they have their own sort of 'immunity' that kicks in when they get infected by corrupt data… how that works, though, is beyond me."

Taichi huffed as he watched Agumon tussle with Gabumon and Tentomon on the screen. "I don't get it. Agumon gets stomach aches all the time, and all he needs to do is take a dump. But this is different?"

"Evidently."

"Koushirou-san."

They all turned again at the softly determined voice, so filled with sadness and compassion. Hikari's eyes were fixed on some point outside in the moving world, as if something could be found there.

"Is there any way we can help Meicoomon? She must be so scared. Meiko-san, too. We have to find her and help her."

The almost tangible anger from before had without a doubt come from Meicoomon. Even so, Hikari couldn't forget the shy, anxious Digimon and how she had gazed so adoringly at Meiko, who clearly cared for her equally as much. And if there was anger, then that was still a feeling. It wasn't apathy.

Koushirou immediately pulled his keyboard closer, bringing up several windows on his computer. "I can keep track of any distortions that appear and also run a system that will recognize Meicoomon's data if it shows up in the real world. Unfortunately, it's impossible to go looking for her. We'll have to wait until she shows up again."

"Is there really no way?" Yamato said.

The computer genius shook his head. "If there was a way—any way at all—I would try it. The Digital World is complex, multi-faceted… there are many areas and even dimensions that we couldn't even begin to understand, let alone visit."

The dark ocean, Takeru thought, his eyes on the brown-haired girl standing by the window. His thoughts flitted briefly to Ken.

"And we have no way of knowing or tracking Meicoomon's whereabouts in the Digital World," Koushirou continued. "Even if we did, we'd have no way of getting there."

They sat on this for a moment.

Takeru spoke up. "How soon do you think she'll be back here?"

"I don't know," Koushirou answered honestly. He looked weary, battletorn. It was frustrating to not have an answer. "We can only wait and support Mochizuki-san as best as we can."

"Leave that to us," Sora said, her hand on Mimi's shoulder.

Mimi nodded resolutely.

"Meicoomon will come," Hikari said. "She'll come… she'll be looking for Meiko-san."

"Hikari," Taichi murmured.

"Yeah!" Jou declared. "After all, they're partners, right?"

"Of course," Takeru said.

The dust cleared, if only for a second. They had found the small ray of hope.

"By the way, what about Ichijouji?" Yamato mentioned. Another question that none of them quite had an answer to.

"Was that really Ichijouji-kun?" Sora sounded like she didn't want to believe it.

Takeru stood from where he had been sitting beside his brother and went over to the window, placing a gentle, grounding touch on Hikari's hand. It was protective, familial. Familiar.

"The thing is, I don't think that was Ichijouji," he said.

Hikari's fingers curled into his and let themselves be enveloped by his brotherly touch. "Me neither," she admitted.

"Even with Imperialdramon there?" Mimi quaked at the memory.

Hikari shook her head firmly. "I'm not sure why Imperialdramon was there, but Ken-kun wouldn't become like that again."

She and Takeru knew better than anyone that Ken was protected now. Protected by his bonds with everyone else. He had Daisuke, Miyako, Iori, Wormmon, the rest of the chosen and their Digimon, his family and friends—they grounded him now, eradicating any overwhelming feelings of bitterness and sadness. The real Ken was the kindest, gentlest person they knew.

"Then who in the world could that have been?" Sora mused. "And why would they want Meicoomon?"

"Hikari-chan and I'll try looking into it. We'll see if Ichijouji's family knows anything," Takeru said.

"We've been trying to contact everyone else from the D-3 group as well," Hikari supplied.

"Right. Then we'll leave that to you, Hikari, Takeru." Taichi frowned, fingering the modified goggles that hung around his neck. "I'm worried about Daisuke and the others."

Mimi sniffled again. "And I thought I'd be able to see Miyako-chan when I got here, but I haven't heard from her… it's so scary not knowing what's going on..." She accepted the box of tissues Koushirou nervously offered her and blew her nose quite loudly.

"Hikari-chan and Takeru-kun are going to find them, so it'll be alright, Mimi-chan," Sora reassured her.

"I understand how you feel, Mimi-kun. But we should try to think of what it is that we can do now," Jou added.

"You're right," Mimi said. Crying wouldn't solve anything. She took a breath as if to center herself, and in that moment, the teary dread in her face was replaced with a radiant grin. "Everyone, I have a suggestion! About Meimei!"

She had everyone's attention now, even Yamato's. Mimi's strength of self was impressive at times like this.

"After we talk to Meimei and make sure she knows it's not her fault, I think we should help cheer her up and get her mind off this whole situation!"

"Is that really a good idea?" Yamato playing devil's advocate was his way of indicating that he was listening.

"According to Koushirou-kun, we have to wait for Meicoomon to show up again, right?" Mimi pointed out.

"I suppose." He backed down, disgruntled but unwilling to further incite her wrath.

She smiled sweetly again and proceeded. "Right! So, we should all try to have some fun together and help her get her mind off things until Meicoomon comes back."

"Well, as long as Meiko-chan feels better, I think it's a good idea," Sora expressed. She winked at Yamato, who rolled his eyes and looked away, cheeks red.

"Right?" Mimi exclaimed. "Annnnd, I have the perfect idea!"

She jumped up, propping one sneakered foot triumphantly on the nearest footstool (it was Koushirou's, so of course he didn't mind), and pointed directly at the two youngest chosen, who were still holding hands by the window.

"What?" Takeru verbalized as all eyes turned to them.

"The Odaiba Middle School Festival!" Mimi declared. "It's coming up soon. We should all go with Meimei!"

Taichi sighed. "Is this really the time for things like that?"

"I agree… we should find Meicoomon as soon as we can," Hikari said hastily.

"My thoughts exactly," Yamato threw in, glad to have some people on his side (though not so thrilled about one of them being Taichi).

"But we can't do anything about it anyway, right?" Jou pointed out.

"I think it's a good idea," Koushirou agreed with a pleasant smile. "There's nothing anyone can do to make Meicoomon appear faster, so the best we can do is help Mochizuki-san relax and not worry too much. Besides that…"

His eyes narrowed into a sly grin that was rather uncharacteristic of him.

"I heard that Hikari-san's class is doing a play, and evidently, she's playing the main character. Isn't that right, Hikari-san?"

Taichi's ears twitched.

"K-koushirou-san, how did you know that?" Hikari stammered, eyes wide.

She cast a suspicious look at Takeru, who shrugged innocently. He was just happy that they were still holding hands. He had to be careful, though. The minute he let any romantic feelings or passion slip into the physical contact, she would notice. Platonic. I definitely wouldn't want to kiss you or something if I got the chance. No, stop, don't think about kissing.

Koushirou continued in a matter-of-fact sort of tone, like a news reporter. "Also, Takeru-kun has an exhibition game during the festival, correct?"

Takeru abandoned his private inner struggle and grinned in affirmation. "Yep!"

Yamato perked up very slightly. He coughed. "Well, I guess it couldn't hurt. Just for a bit."

"Hmm." Taichi grunted, not saying much but obviously making precise plans to be there in his head.

Sora gave a tired but loving smile. "Brothers."

"And there you have it!" Mimi asserted, victorious.

"But make sure Meiko-chan is feeling up to it first," Sora warned.

"Of course! Who do you think I am, Sora-san?"

After a few minutes of watching the now enthusiastic Mimi, Koushirou stood up from his desk and walked up to where Hikari still stood by the window with a concerned expression.

"Hikari-san, if it makes you feel better, I can stay here and keep an eye on the system for any signs of Meicoomon. That way, we can move quickly when we have to." He cast wary eyes towards his computer screen. "I feel as if I should try to figure out these infections anyway. The sooner we know, the better."

"Koushirou-san…" she murmured. "Is there really nothing else that we could be doing?"

It was mystifying to Koushirou. At times she still seemed like the little seven year old girl who happily rubbed Digieggs to get them to hatch and helped him by blowing her whistle with all the force she could muster when they were stuck inside Whamon many years ago. But at other times, she looked like a grieving celestial being who had seen entire worlds begin and end.

"I feel bad enough that I have to spend time preparing for this play that just seems to be so unimportant…" she said.

Takeru chuckled, used to this train of thought. "Koushirou-san, please tell her that's not true."

The older boy smiled. "He's right, Hikari-san. It's during times like this that we have to keep our spirits up."

"Alright," she conceded.

"So, since I'll be staying here, Takeru-kun, if you could just record the play on your phone…"

Takeru gave him a thumbs up. "Leave it to me."

"What? Why?" Hikari protested, blushing.

Koushirou rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I wouldn't want to miss it. Seeing as you're like a little sister to me…"

That made her smile. "Okay. I'll record Takeru-kun's basketball match!"

"That'd be perfect."

Takeru grinned. "I guess we better win, then."

"Alright, I've decided!" Jou announced abruptly. He had been listening to their whole conversation with a frown, as if conflicted. "I'm going too!"

They all turned to him in surprise.

"What about studying?" Gomamon called from the screen.

He shrugged. "I think I can afford to take one day off."

"And your girlfriend?" Takeru asked, to which both Yamato and Taichi reacted with not-so-secret shock.

"What? When?" Taichi said, turning from face to face in the wide room but only seeing varying degrees of acceptance. "Am I the only one who doesn't know about this?"

"And Yamato-san," Hikari added.

"Isn't it just unbelievable?" Mimi snickered.

"That's right, you and Yamato left early that day," Sora recalled. The girls all exchanged smiles, finding it somehow funny that Taichi and Yamato had been left out of the loop.

Jou narrowed his eyes at the youngest boy, who still had a kind of joking grin on his face. "Takeru-kun, you still don't think I'm telling the truth, do you?"

"Oh no, I believe you, Jou-san," he replied amicably. "But is it really okay for you to come to the festival? I thought you said you barely have time to meet her."

"That's true. I was thinking about asking her to come with me. Maybe that'll finally make you guys believe me." Jou looked pointedly at Yamato and Taichi, who seemed to be whispering something like "Are you sure?" at the three girls and Koushirou, who nodded solemnly.

"Besides," he continued with a resigned smile. "I kind of owe it to everyone… especially Hikari-chan. For snapping me out of it. So much for being the oldest, huh?"

"No, I think you're always mindful of important things that the rest of us forget about," Takeru said sagely. "We're all different and prone to different ways of thinking, but that's why there's eight of us. Or, sixteen, rather."

They looked up at the screen where the Digimon tumbled around. Gomamon and the others were chasing each other. Patamon fluttered around on his ears as Tailmon and Biyomon chatted in the background.

"We need each other. Hikari-chan probably sees it that way," Takeru said.

Jou had the expression of a weepy parent on his child's first day of school. "Takeru-kun, when'd you grow up so suddenly?"

"You're the one who's been distant, Jou-san," the younger boy claimed. "I'm hurt that you didn't tell me about your girlfriend sooner. And here I thought I was the one you confided in… after all, in the past you would tell me about how you liked Mimi-sa—"

"Shh!" Jou jumped in panic, then relaxed when he realized the other chosen weren't paying any attention to their conversation. "That was years ago. But point taken! I'm sorry. I have no excuse to give. But that doesn't make the fact that I have a girlfriend any less true."

"I told you, I believe you!" Takeru said a little too quickly, laughing.

"Sure…" Jou grumbled. "What ever happened to that nice little boy who used to respect me so much?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I still respect you, Jou-san."

"Ah," Mimi, who had been busy giggling with Hikari and Sora, started suddenly. She fished her buzzing cell phone out of her pocket, and her eyes widened as she read. "Um… guys? Meimei's on her way here."

"Meiko-san is?" Hikari said.

"Does she know we're all here?" Sora asked.

"I told her we were at Koushirou-kun's office. Was that a bad thing?" Mimi answered readily. "She texted me asking if she could come, so…"

"I think it's fine," Taichi stated. "If she feels ready to talk on her own, that's what counts."

Koushirou nodded. "I have some questions for her as well…"

"Just don't push her too much, okay?" Sora advised him. She cradled both her elbows in her hands, evidently still worried. "I get the feeling she might be forcing herself."

"Of course."

Takeru spoke up at this. "Would it be bad if I wasn't here? I was thinking of going to Ichijouji's place. It's Saturday, so there's a chance someone might be home."

Hikari regarded him in slight surprise. He's leaving, she thought, and was perplexed at how lonely she felt as he gently disconnected their hands. Of course, the well-being of Ken and the others was of utmost importance, so she tucked that empty feeling under the layers of unanswered questions and realizations. Like dropping a stone into the ocean and losing track of it as it sinks deeper and deeper.

"Right, Hikari-chan?"

His words, and the shining smile on his face, brought her back. "Mm?"

All of a sudden, she was the stone, and he was scooping her out of the water, bringing her up from the depths closer and closer to the surface, where the blazing sun and sky waited.

"It's probably fine," her brother was saying. Or at least seemed to say. It all sounded a little blurred to her, like they were underwater.

"Then Takeru and Hikari-chan will go check on Ichijouji, and the rest of us will try to talk to Mochizuki-san and figure out what happened," Yamato decided. "Just give me a call and let me know how it goes, Takeru."

"Sure. Let's go, Hikari-chan."

He turned to look back at where she stood, still framed by the window in the summer sun. They were all smiling at her like it was the most natural and obvious thing in the world that they go—be—together. Even her brother had a sort of gruff acceptance on his face.

Of course. That was just how it was. Being with Takeru-kun was just one of the many universal truths that kept the world spinning onwards. She felt relieved, unsure of where that sudden loneliness had arisen from. She nodded quickly, nervous that something would be taken away from her if she didn't.

It was hot. A perfect day for ice cream.

No, it was always a perfect day for ice cream.

Hikari walked slowly, placing her footsteps carefully, lightly on the uneven sidewalk. She and Takeru usually walked side by side (if the narrow sidewalks allowed for it), but today she walked just a bit behind him, eyes trailing shyly on his back.

"It's getting pretty hot, huh?" he said.

"Yeah. It has."

He didn't seem to notice that she was holding him out at arm's length like that. Studying him. He probably thought that she was just letting him lead the way as he was the one who remembered exactly where Ken's house was. They continued to the Ichijoujis' apartment in this fashion, and she made some new discoveries along the way—things she had never bothered to notice before, despite all of their years of closeness. The way his otherwise perfect hair was slightly disheveled at the back, above the nape of his neck. The tiny mole on his right earlobe. Small calluses on his fingers that spoke of endless hours with a pen in his hand. Did he hand-write his stories?

Who was Takeru, really? And not just the Takeru she had always known, but the Takeru in front of her now.

She wondered briefly if he still had his green hat. It most likely wouldn't fit him anymore. The thought brought a small smile to her lips.

Only seeing the Ichijouji's front door brought her back to the problem at hand.

He nodded at her, and she reached out, pressing a slender finger against the doorbell and eliciting a low peal that echoed emptily around them. There was an eerie stillness to the apartment.

"Looks like no one's here," she murmured after a few moments, heart sinking.

Takeru knocked a few times to no avail. "Did you get a response from anyone?"

She shook her head. "Not yet. Ken-kun…."

All of the dark possibilities clouded her mind and pulled her downwards. Murky water pooling around her shins. The image chilled her, and she shivered despite the heat.

"I'm sure it'll be fine." He could sense her slipping away into her dark quiet world, but he wouldn't let her go.

She looked up again, feeling once more like she was being pulled upwards and embraced by something bright and warm.

"Let's look into it more," he said.

His voice was as gentle as always, but behind it was something firm and unwavering that seemed to pull her close, to remind her not to look away from all of the good that they knew and believed in.

And it was so. She went on hoping. "Okay."

He relaxed, feeling her return to him. Now that they knew what they had come to find out, there was no sense in staying any longer. They needed to leave behind the foreboding that permeated the apartment.

He reached out and touched her shoulder, fingers brushing her bare skin for just a moment. It was a casual tap on the shoulder, but the contact itself seemed deliciously foreign. "Come on, let's go back."

As he passed her, he scrolled aimlessly through his phone, unable to remember why he had pulled it out. He was distracted by the magic of how she looked in that sleeveless blue dress (as he had been for most of the day) and enthralled at his daring touch. He had never touched her bare shoulders before, and her skin was about ten times softer than he'd imagined. He swallowed a giant grin and busied himself with dialing his brother.

Her eyes followed him. She found herself looking at his back again. Tall and slim, shoulders sturdy but still somehow boyish. He was as beautiful as ever.

"Yeah, nii-san? No, no one was home…"

And that ready confidence and strength of his stunned her. Had he always been that way? He floated easily, carefree and unaffected, above the pull of deceitful voices.

As she gazed at him, the warmth of his earlier touch still on her shoulder, she couldn't remember the last time her heart had been so full. And distraught. She felt painfully shy, like she was standing behind a compelling stranger she wanted desperately to learn more about.

Nice to meet you. Who are you?

The question from before came back, rising out of the fog.

She wanted to know this time. And before she could stop it, some door deep within her mind creaked open. In a moment of clarity and collision, all of the pieces she had scattered before seemed to come together like rushing water.

Fujioka's chiding. Mimi's comments. The little inklings that told her something was happening. Changing.

How he smelled different from her brother. The small happiness of him coming to find her at school, the full-hearted feeling after hanging up on the phone, the constant question of when—when would I see him next? Speak to him next? Not being able to forget about the little things he'd done, unable to scrub him completely from her mind. Taichi's nervousness, and later, his resignation.

There was no stopping it. How do you stop a flood? All this time, she had been so afraid of seeing—of opening the door to something unknown and breaking what had already been so precious—that she had been wading knee-deep near the shore with her eyes closed. Blind to her own feelings. And blind to him. It was time to cast out into the open ocean and see what awaited her there.

Takeru-kun's grown up, she thought.

At this realization, she felt horribly compelled to run into his arms and feel the sunny warmth of his skin against hers. Only this newfound timidity towards him was stopping her.

As if somehow sensing this quiet renewal of his own identity behind him, he tensed, glancing back towards her. "What is it?"

She flinched and flushed pink. "N-nothing!"

The air felt different, saturated with something new that he couldn't quite place. His heart was jumping.

"I see," he said.

They walked quietly back to Koushirou's office where the older ones waited. Neither of them could really breach the topic. She followed him bashfully, twining her fingers in front of her.

He, for one, recognized that something in her eyes had been different when she looked at him moments ago, but he had no way of knowing for sure what had changed. He knew that up until then she had been seeing him in a freeze-frame of when he was seven, but he wasn't sure about that now. Poor Takeru, who was so good at recognizing romantic tension but who had also never experienced it firsthand, now found himself utterly confused and at a loss for what to do. Happy, yes. But also very, very confused.

Was Hikari feeling how he thought she was? Should he bring it up? What if she didn't actually feel that way? Say something.

But what?

He racked his brain. His answer: "Wanna get ice cream?"

They stopped. They were in front of the convenience store. It was the best he could come up with.

But his words seemed to save her, as she was just about drowning in the realisation of him.

"Sure," she laughed.

"So that's what happened…"

"It was kind of a big fat mess." Mimi sighed, taking a noisy slurp from the virgin pina colada in front of her.

"I think Meiko-san understood that none of us blame her, though," Hikari said gently.

They were sitting inside a Hawaiian themed brunch house, chatting and waiting for their pancakes. The restaurant had been a hit with all of the trendy teenage girls when it first opened up at the mall in Odaiba, but on that day, it was pretty empty. The outside was gray and wet, in stark contrast to the festive interior of the restaurant and the bright, flowery dress Mimi wore. It hadn't stopped raining since that morning.

"Two orders of pineapple pancakes?"

"Ooh!" Mimi brightened considerably as the waiter set the plates down on their table. "Yesss, finally. I've been wanting to come here for so long."

"Me too!" Hikari was equally as excited.

Setting their conversation aside for the moment, they both dug into the steaming stacks of pancakes.

"Mmm! They're soo fluffy!"

"It's the perfect amount of sweetness..."

"Right? The pineapples really balance it out, and this ice cream!"

"Do you think they make their own ice cream here?"

They stopped when they realized they were the only ones making a commotion in the peaceful restaurant and burst out into laughter.

"Anyway," Mimi said once they'd calmed down, dabbing at her eyes with a napkin. Some of the seriousness returned to her face. "We called it a day after that, since Meimei was upset, and she's called in sick to school since then."

"I'm sure she's still really shaken… it's good that she has some time to rest," Hikari replied.

"Yeah, I guess so. Sora-san's going to go see her right now to bring her school handouts she's missed and also to see how she's doing." Mimi ate another forkful of pancakes with surprising delicacy.

"Can you believe Koushirou-kun, though?" she continued. "Bombarding her with all those questions like that when she was clearly too upset to answer." She stabbed angrily at a pineapple ring as the memory came back to her.

Hikari thought for a moment, stirring her peach iced tea and letting the ice clink into the sides of the glass. "I think that might just be Koushirou-san's way of trying to keep everyone safe. We all saw how… devastating it was. I don't think he wants to let that happen again."

"'Let that happen?'" Mimi put down her fork. "Hikari-chan, you don't think… Koushirou-kun is blaming himself for this, do you?"

Hikari hesitated. "I... think that he may, to a certain extent. He knows that he's the best equipped to deal with this situation, and I think it probably kills him that he doesn't know. That he didn't know enough to stop it. That's why he's so desperate to find out. So that he can help Meicoomon and Meiko-san, too."

The older girl deflated. "I had no idea. I yelled at him… and said some pretty horrible things…" She stared at her gleaming stack of pancakes with their sweet and zesty syrup and suddenly felt completely undeserving of such a treat. "I wonder if he's angry…"

"I'm sure Koushirou-san understands. He knows Meiko-san needs the support more than anyone else right now." Hikari gave her an encouraging smile. "Maybe you can try cheering him up?"

Mimi frowned. "But how do I make up with him after all I said?"

"That's easy," Hikari answered, scooping up some ice cream. "You've always been good at cheering people up, Mimi-san. Just be yourself."

She perked up. Hikari was right—being herself was something that she had no problem with.

"Right!" she agreed. "And I think I know just the thing! What's Koushirou-kun's favorite food?"

This seemed to catch the younger girl off guard. "Food? Hmm…"

"Oolong tea, for starters, but that isn't really food," Mimi mused. Her appetite had returned, and she cut into her pancakes.

"Ah! I feel like oniichan mentioned that he likes asparagus!" Hikari recalled.

Mimi squinted. "Asparagus?" Of all the foods to like. "Guess I'll have to see what I can do with that…"

Hikari giggled as Mimi muttered to herself. She couldn't help but feel a bit envious, exactly as she did when she was with Miyako, who was similar to Mimi in a lot of ways. They were both so honest and forthcoming. Able to say what they wanted, what they did and didn't like.

"Hikari-chan?"

Mimi's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She had a beam on her face that cut through the dreariness outside.

"You have something you want to tell me, right? I mean, apart from just wanting to know what happened with Meimei."

It was easy to forget that Mimi could be awfully perceptive, what with her anything-goes, energetic personality.

Hikari nodded shyly, not really knowing where to begin.

Luckily, Mimi cut straight to the chase, leaning knowingly onto her elbows. "Did something happen with Takeru-kun?"

She couldn't even keep track of how many times Mimi had asked her about Takeru in the past 5-6 years. Usually she would fumble and redirect the question, or pretend to be otherwise occupied with whatever was in front of her (in this case, the pancakes), but this time, she set her fork down and steeled herself to speak.

This alone surprised Mimi, who almost dropped her own fork. "Wait, really?" She had been half-joking. "That Takeru… what has he done now?"

Had he finally gone too far trying to get her attention?

Hikari smiled a bit at her reaction and paused to collect her thoughts, going over the absolute flood that had been last Saturday afternoon.

"He hasn't done anything, really," she assured Mimi. "I think I just… finally understand what you said before about him seeming grown up."

"Oh," Mimi breathed.

She got the feeling she was witnessing something extremely rare and important. To the extent that she'd known her, Hikari had never mentioned her own personal feelings. It was always directed outwards, for someone else. She nodded raptly, as if to say 'go on.'

It was strange for Hikari as well. Even as she spoke, a part of her felt that it was just unimportant and a big waste of time, especially when their friend was in need and Meicoomon was wandering lost out there, but Mimi seemed to think otherwise. It was her attentive prompting that kept her going.

She told Mimi everything. Watching basketball practice. The phone calls. What happened at Oedo onsen (except the accidental kiss—no one else could know about it), the picture and all of the gossip that followed. And everything she had felt or noticed about Takeru in the past couple of months, how she had been trying to ignore it or shut it out, and finally how it had all culminated past the point of no return. By the time she finished, their (mostly eaten) pancakes were put to the side, completely forgotten. The condensation from their melting drinks left puddles on the table.

"And so... everything's different," she concluded. "He's different. And I'm… I feel differently. About him."

She stopped, looked down at her hands.

Mimi chewed on everything for a few moments. A lot had happened. And about a dozen different things came to mind, from disappointment at herself for not noticing and witnessing all the fun drama (Mimi, through and through) to excitement that something finally seemed to be changing for the two youngest chosen.

She wasn't great at this whole giving advice thing, admittedly. But something told her that she needed to tread carefully, so as not to undo all of the circumstances that had slowly coaxed Hikari out of her shell. She forced herself to think, flushing out the words that the younger girl in front of her needed to hear. What Hikari had just told her was amazingly similar to what Takeru had said several years back, when the two youngest were visiting her in New York.

"Do you feel happy about that, Hikari-chan?" she asked.

The younger girl was silent. "Yes," she finally decided. And then, in a voice so filled with sadness and guilt and yearning that it made Mimi tear up, she said, "Do you think that it's okay for me to feel this way?"

"Hikari-chan!" Mimi reached forward and grabbed Hikari's hands firmly in her own. "Of course it is. It's more than just okay. It's important! How are you supposed to make the people you love happy if you're not truly happy yourself?"

The simplicity of it stunned her like a slap in the face. Like that one time with Miyako (although that had literally been a slap in the face). She thought back to the many instances she had kept her own feelings and pain to herself. As a sickly young girl, she hated how she worried her parents, how she kept her brother waiting, unable to play with her outside. She hated how her weak legs couldn't kick a soccer ball properly. So she would smile and swallow her own pain and practice kicking the ball until she collapsed.

Had that made her parents any less worried? Her brother, happier?

She could still remember her brother wailing over her as the ambulance came rushing in, her mother weeping and her father with his head in his hands.

And other times, still. The whole fiasco with Machinedramon. Takeru coming to find her at the dark ocean.

"Mimi-san, I… I want to be more honest." The irony of this was not lost on her, and she smiled wryly. "But I'm not very good at it."

Mimi leaned back in her chair in a show of exaggerated confidence. "Would you like some tips? Cuz, you know, I know all there is to know about that."

That seemed to cheer Hikari up, and the two giggled conspiratorially.

"Is Takeru-kun important to you, Hikari-chan?"

"Yes," Hikari said, startling herself with the immediacy of her own answer. "He is."

And he was important. Not just as a member of the chosen, and not just in their current situation. Important to her.

"I see," Mimi nodded. "Then you know what'll help you be more honest? If you think about what you might lose if you're not honest."

"What I might lose…?"

"Yep! And you know, sometimes we can't always avoid it, but if what's at stake is important enough to you, then that should be enough to forget about other stuff for a moment and just be true to what you want."

That had never occurred to her. Loss was something she had always embraced and learned to live with. If she had to lose something for the sake of others, it was justified and bearable.

But would I be okay with losing Takeru-kun? She asked herself.

The thought alone filled her with such incomprehensible emptiness that she immediately knew the answer. No. Never.

"I see…" she murmured.

"If it's important to you, it's totally okay to grab onto it before it passes!" Mimi winked and gave her a large thumbs up. "And I hereby give you permission to be as selfish as you want."

Selfish. Hikari remembered how desperately she had yearned for his embrace on Saturday and flushed a deep pink. That had been pure selfishness on her part. Physical intimacy with Takeru would do nothing to help other people. It would only satisfy her desires. Nothing more. It was going to take a lot of courage to be selfish.

But she smiled, also a little excited. It was almost thrilling, or dare she say—fun. To be just the tiniest bit unexpected and unpredictable. She wondered how Takeru would react.

Mimi sipped at the dregs of her melted pina colada contentedly. It seemed like Hikari had found somewhat of an answer. Of course, she knew that Hikari was never in any real danger of losing Takeru, no matter how long it took her to finally embrace her own feelings. He would wait forever if that was what it took. But it couldn't hurt to give the ever selfless girl a little push.

Well, Takeru-kun, she thought, glancing outside and noticing that the rain had stopped. Don't mess things up now.

a/n: sorry to say Mimi, but as most of us know,

[spoiler] he does. but

[spoiler] it's ok, it works out (kind of). ;)