Disclaimer: This story is written for fun-purpose only. I don't own Digimon or the characters I use in this story; and no money is made with this fanfic.

Genre: Tragedy/Drama

Rating: PG-13

Criticism: Always welcome, as long as it's constructive.

Summary: "In order to keep sane, I need to continue pretending. Because otherwise, my whole world would fall apart…" (Daisuke-centric)

Warning: Ehh…not beta-read. I could need a beta-reader, so whoever is willing and has time…send me and e-mail or tell me in your review! Thanks.

Notes: Bah. I don't like this chapter. Somehow, things are dragging along, running in a circle and I can't manage to change it. Worst of all, I realized when I read through this chapter, that I developed a sudden habit for run-down sentences. A lot of sentences stretched over several paragraphs and were simply too long. I corrected the worst ones, but I fear that there are still a lot of them hidden in this chapter, and it slows the whole story down. :grumbles:

Anyway, sorry for being late – how I said, I was backpacking and had a lot of fun (diving in the Great Barrier Reef, diving in the Whitsundays, hiking in the Tropical Rainforest…), but I didn't get much (zero) writing done.

Little Dragon

by Kaeera

Chapter Four: A Ray of Light

I hate studying. Sitting still is just not my thing.

But I think everybody already knows that I could never be a scholar.

I can deal with the pressure of fighting, with danger, with fear, but I can't bear the pressure that builds up during an exam. I alwas try my best, I do all the work and I study…but still my teachers call me lazy and stupid, and I don't know what to do. I just can't help it! I make all those stupid mistakes because…I don't know why, I just make them!

If anyone knew how much time I spent on homework the last weeks, they'd be surprised. And yet people assume that I'm stupid.

Maybe because I am. I simply cannot get my head around all this stuff. But I need to. I have to. After all, I promised. Promises need to be kept.

Daisuke's Notes

Daisuke was standing in front of the school building, his stomach clenching together. He didn't want to go in. He dreaded it. Because in less than fifteen minutes, he would sit down in his classroom…the teacher would hand out the question sheets and then the first exam – Maths – would begin.

He had studied so hard, and yet he didn't know if it was enough. For the first time in his life, Daisuke Motomiya was afraid of a test.

Sure, he had been anxious before – the kind of anxiousness you get when you know that you probably should have studied instead of playing the latest installment of Final Fantasy. But afraid? No way. After all, exams were only a way of testing people. You sat down, wrote your thing, and if you couldn't answer every question – well, bad luck. It was better than facing evil digimon, or dangling over a cliff. That's how he used to think.

However, right now, he was so petrified that his hands were trembling. He wanted to go home, he wanted to hide, he wanted to be somewhere else…but he knew, knew in his heart that he couldn't, that he had to go into the building and face it like man.

God, that sounded pathetic.

And so, slowly, he walked into the school hall.

It was crowded with students, some of them chattering, others reading over their notes, trying frantically to remember this formula and that way of solving a problem. All this anxiousness made him feel even sicker and he grabbed his backpack tightly. Oh, how he wished for Veemon to be there! But the digimon was forced to stay at home, all digimon were, since they would only disturb the peace and quite of the exams.

"Good morning, Davis!" a cheerful voice greeted him.

Daisuke turned around to face Takeru. The blonde had tucked his hands in his pockets and sent him a crooked smile. "The day of the apocalypse has finally arrived, huh? I can't help to feel a bit relieved – at least it will be over soon."

"Yes." was Daisuke's curt reply. He didn't feel like acting cheerfully today, and for once, he didn't care what the others thought. He felt that he needed all his remaining strength for the exams.

Takeru's smile wavered and he looked at his friend more closely – only to gasp in shock.

Daisuke looked like hell. Had he always been so thin? His whole frame was gaunt, his face pale and a hollow look in his eyes that made the blonde boy shudder. Where was the cheerfulness, the lifely spirit, the energy?

"Daisuke…" he started, but the boy shrugged him off. "Excuse me, I have to go."

He walked off, leaving Takeru gaping at his retreating back. What had he missed? What had happened to his friend? Something was seriously wrong, and he was determined to find out what.

The blonde glanced at his watch and cursed. It had to wait until after the exam, he thought wryly while hurrying to the classroom. He really needed to talk with Hikari about this.

…Exam time…
It was the time of utmost silence, of heavy concentration and air that severely lacked oxygen. The quietness was almost eerie; usually, there was always noise during the classes – people talking, someone listening to his MP3-Player, the talk of the teacher, rustling of paper…

Now, the silence was deafening. Every student's head was bent down, reading the instructions, most of them frowning while doing so.

Daisuke was sitting at the front, his pencil case in front of him, sheet clutched tightly in his hands. His previous anxiousness was gone; now he was focusing on the task only. Hunger, fatigue and emotional distress became unimportant as he looked at the familiar equations, the things he had practised so direly during the last weeks.

There was a look of fierce determination on his face – the same determination he had used while fighting in the Digital World.

Usually, he didn't care enough to direct this determination at something as unimportant as school work. This time, however, it was different. He had spent all his effort, all his energy into this. And Daisuke owned a lot of energy, despite what other people said.

A short smile flickered over his pale face and then he started to write. The scratching of the pen on the paper was the only noise audible; and he wrote, and wrote, and wrote, until he didn't think of anything else anymore, saw only numbers and functions.

Little Dragon, make me proud

I'm not giving up and neither should you

If I have to go down, then I want to go down fighting

Little Dragon

Keep your spirit

You can do things you never dreamed of

Because you're you, and I know what you're capable of

Little Dragon, promise me

Promise me to give your best

Even though I won't be there to encourage you

Little Dragon, think of me

As I will think of you

Always

Daisuke stared at the paper in amazement, his right hand cramping. He had actually written on every single sheet, completed every single exercise. This had never happened before, and he couldn't help feeling suspicious. Surely he must have made a mistake, he couldn't have finished already.

But then he looked at his watch and was startled to realize that he had been writing for the last three hours straight. Only ten minutes more and the bell would go, announcing the end of the first exam.

Wow, he thought surprised, I didn't even notice how the time passed.

He scanned over what he had written. Well, at least he had answered every question, maybe he would get points for the right approach, even though the result might not be correct. It would be a first if they were – the was famous for his silly results, and more than often they had been read aloud to give the class something to laugh about…

Somehow, he always managed to make tiny mistakes or to misread the question or forget a number or stupid things like that. He couldn't even remember the last time when he there hadn't been a single drop of red ink on a test.

Daisuke shook his head. No use thinking about that right now.

With a sigh, he scribbled his student number and the date on each of the sheets and started packing his things together. At least his heart felt a little bit lighter. Of course, it was just the beginning of the exams, but the first hurdle had been taken, and not bad at that.

Daisuke felt confident that he could manage the rest of the week quite fine. And after that he'd be able to take some time of. Sleeping in, and maybe even going out with his friends…he missed those occasional meetings. Although he wasn't so sure if he'd be able to enjoy them as much now that Jun…

This reminded him of the fact how harsh he had been to Takeru this morning, and he suppressed a groan. He knew his blonde friend; he'd certainly be worried and would try to investigate matters further. The last thing Daisuke needed right now was a bunch of worried friends poking their noses into his business.

He went into the hall that slowly crowded with students coming out of their classrooms. The gloomy silence of the morning had vanished, instead everybody was now chattering and wearing relieved smiles on their faces. The mood was contagious, and Daisuke couldn't help smiling himself.

"Hey, Takeru!" he waved cheerfully when he finally discovered his friend in the crowd. "How did it go?"

The blonde turned around. "Not bad, not bad at all." There was a note of concern in his voice. "How about you?"

Daisuke made the thumps-up sign. "I managed to write an answer for every question. Not everything might be correct, but still, it's better than expected."

A genuine smile lit Takeru's face. "That's great to hear!"

"By the way, TK…" Daisuke's face became serious. "I'm sorry for how I treated you this morning. I was quite stressed, that's why I was so rude, but I shouldn't behave like that. It wasn't fair on you. So…sorry?"

"That's alright." The blonde waved it off. "We've all been under a lot of stress lately. But Davis…are you okay? Really okay, I mean?"

Daisuke stepped back slightly. "Why are you asking?"

"Well, you have been behaving a bit…unusual lately." Takeru rubbed his head. "Hikari pointed it out to me, and…you know, you don't look to well, you're very pale and thin, and you've started avoiding as. Is there something wrong?"

"No, no, everything is fine!" The begoggled boy chuckled uneasily. "Just the stress of the exams, really, you know how much I hate school stuff."

Takeru studied him closely. Somehow, he couldn't believe that. Daisuke had never been one to be put down by studying.

He seemed so pallid, almost frail, as if he could break down every second – and he had lost his energy. Sure, he was still smiling and cracking jokes, but they became less and less convincing with each passing day. The more Takeru looked, the more he was convinced that something was seriously wrong with his fiery friend, and he was determined to find out what.

"You can always talk to me, you know that?" he said softly. "If you need a friend, I'm here for you. You don't have to deal with everything on your own."

Daisuke stiffened, and for the shortest moment, an expression of pain flickered on his face. Only briefly, and Takeru nearly missed it, because it was gone as quickly as it had come and Daisuke was smiling again.

"Sure, I know buddy, but really, there's nothing wrong with me, believe me…by the way, I gotta go now, I promised Jun to drop by and tell her how the first exam was. So see ya tomorrow!"

And he dashed away as if he was hunted by evils. Takeru blinked, taken aback by the sudden departure. "Something is wrong with you, Davis." He muttered under his breath. "Why aren't you talking to us? Don't you consider us your friends anymore?"

"…promised Jun to drop by…pah…" Takeru continued his soliloquy. He always found it easier to focus his thoughts when he spoke them out aloud. "Uh…so where is Jun? Isn't she at home?"

That somehow didn't make sense. Since when did Davis and his sister get along so well? The last thing he, Takeru, had heard, was that they were trying to avoid each other as much as possible. Not that he had ever cared much about Jun, he found the girl quite scary. But still, could the whole relationship between the two Motomiya siblings have changed without him noticing? And why?

There was definitely something going on here!

Walking out of the school, the blonde made a decision. He would talk with the others this afternoon, since they had decided to meet at Miyako's place. Ken would be there as well, and he would ask him. If anyone knew what was wrong with their begoggled leader, it was him. After all, he was Daisuke's closest friend.

If anyone knew that I was writing this…what would they think? I never was much of a writing person. Sitting down and letting the thoughts play through my head? Naw. Far too depressing, better things to do. But now…now I feel it's my only escape.

Suddenly my life has become full of secrets, so many secrets that I somehow lost count. I can't tell the others about Jun; I can't tell Jun that the others don't know; I can't tell my parents how much I know about the seriousness of the situation; and I can't tell Veemon how I really feel, because it would destroy the little guy.

Although I suspect that he knows. He's a smart little digimon – too smart for me.

The fact is that I'm starting to scare myself. I do things without even noticing that I'm doing them. I barely sleep. I barely eat. I know that it's bad for me, but I can't change it. I even started thinking that maybe, maybe I should tell Ken about what is happening. He knows. He might be able to help. He will understand.

But each time I see him, the masks falls into place. Before I know what's happening, I'm smiling and cracking jokes and being so…normal, even though I'm crying underneath. And I get afraid because I think…I think that I'll never get rid of this mask. I've somehow forgotten where the acting ends and the real Daisuke starts…

I fear the others are suspecting that something is going wrong. But on the other hand, I'm glad. Maybe…maybe they can make it easier somehow. Maybe they can take the pain away…

Who am I kidding? Nobody can take the pain away, unless there is same miraculous medicine that will make Jun healthy again.

The pain is mine and mine alone.

Daisuke's Notes

'Done. First exam done. First day survived, and not even that badly…'

That was the only thing Daisuke could think of this particular afternoon. Sure, the second exam would follow tomorrow, but right now, he didn't want to worry about that, nor about the work he still had to do, some last minute revision…

It also reminded him of the fact that he had agreed to meet the others, only for a short time, at the shop of Miyako's parents. The lavender haired girl had briskly decided that they needed a break and had invited them for a round of sweets and chatter at her apartment. Not long, she had promised, maybe three quarters of an hour, but the distraction would do them good, as she knew from her own experiences with exams.

Daisuke had contemplated not going, but unfortunately Jun had heard about this – had coaxed it out of him somehow – and been happy about the idea. Now he had to go, for his noisy sister would surely want to know all the glory details, including what was going on with Hikari.

He snorted at that. Yes, Hikari. He had been quite infatuated with the girl, but over the years, she had become a very good friend, nothing more.

Anyway, right now such feelings were the least thing he needed. He would feel…guilty about being in love while Jun, who's greatest dream had always been to have a boyfriend, was stuck in the hospital. No, that didn't seem fair.

Honestly, he couldn't understand why his sister had suddenly so much interest in his love-life. Almost as if she wanted to make sure that…

No, he didn't want to go down that lane.

"Are you brooding?" Veemon inquired, munching some chips he had found under Daisuke's bed. Heaven knew how long they had been there, but the digimon never seemed to care.

Daisuke smiled softly. "No. Just thinking."

"You're doing that an awful lot lately."

"Well, there's a lot to think about."

Veemon nodded solemly. "True. By the way, when are we going to Miyako's place? I'm hungry!"

Daisuke rolled his eyes. "How can you be hungry? You just had lunch, and then you ate a full package of chips…"

The digimon just blinked innocently and the boy sighed. "I shouldn't have asked. But actually, it's good of you to remind me – we're supposed to meet the others there in-" he looked at his watch, "-about twenty minutes."

"Judging from the fact that it takes you about 25 minutes to get there, I suggest we'd better go."

"Gotcha." He took his backpack and grabbed a coffee drink from the kitchen. During the last days, he'd come to rely quite heavily on the caffeinated drinks, since they were the only things that prevented him from falling asleep in the middle of the day. Plus, they tasted quite good.

The can opened with a low click, and Daisuke took a large gulp before he left the apartment. He didn't even bother to write a note to his parents; he'd stopped doing that a long time ago. They never seemed to care, anyway. Sometimes he wondered why they'd even had children.

Correction. They never seemed to care about him. Jun was a different matter.

Ah well. Parents. No use thinking about them. At least he was able to do what he wanted, which, in Daisuke's opinion, paid back for many things.

"Are we going to the Digital World?" Veemon inquired. "Are we? Are we?"

"You know as well as I that we won't." Daisuke rolled his eyes. "Exams, remember? Maybe next week, but definitely not today."

"Awww."

...
"You were right." Takeru said to Hikari as soon as he entered Miyako's apartment. "There is something wrong with him."

"Oh, and hello to you, too." Miyako replied sarcastically. "What's wrong with who? Did I miss out some interesting gossip?" The lavender-haired girl was stretched out on the sofa, a can of coke in one hand and a chocolate bar in the other. Hawkmon sat on the ground beside her, deeply engrossed in a book.

Iori was there as well, silent as usual, and the only ones that were missing were Daisuke and Ken.

"It's about Davis." Hikari frowned. "He's behaving weirdly."

Miyako snorted. "Sorry to disappoint you, 'Kari-chan, but Davis is weird."

"Not like that." The brown-haired girl bit her lip thoughtfully and looked at Takeru. "What exactly did you notice?"

The blonde flopped down on the couch. "I don't know – he was very subdued and not as energetic as usual. He looks…tired. Pale. Almost ill. As if he hasn't been sleeping. And he snapped at me as soon as I asked. It's just not him, this type of behaviour."

"Maybe it's the stress of the exams." Iori offered.

Hikari shook her head. "No. Daisuke never acted like this, even when he was stressed. I can sense that something is wrong, but I can't put my finger on it."

"Let's ask Ken," Miyako suggested and pointed out of the window, where the indigo-haired boy was approaching the house. "He should know. After all, they are best friends."

Said best friend made his way slowly through the store, smiling tentiatevly at the cirlce of kids as he entered the little apartment. "Hope your exams went alright." He spoke in the soft voice that was so typical for the former Digimon-kaiser. "Mine was pretty hard."

"It was okay." Hikari shrugged it off. "It's math, after all."

Takeru grinned. "I've got a good feeling about mine – I managed to solve at least half of the questions and that's always good, isn't it?"

"Only when you solve them correctly." Was Miyako's dry reply. "Ken, those two were just discussing about that dear friend of yours. Apparantly, Daisuke has been behaving weirder than usual. Can you confirm that?"

A shadow flickered over Ken's face. "So you noticed as well."

"Noticed what?" Iori wanted to know.

"That Daisuke is hiding something."

"He is?" Miyako crossed her arms defiantly. "That little twerp! How dare he to keep secrets from me? Oh, I'm so going to tell him…"

Hikari sent her a dark look. "Be serious, Miya. This is not a joke." Then she turned towards the blue-haired boy.

"Have a seat, Ken. We were hoping that maybe you could bring a little bit more light into the matter. Takeru and I noticed that Daisuke isn't his usual self. But when we asked him what was wrong, he just brushed it off…well, you know how he can be."

Ken nodded. "Yes. He's been doing the same thing to me, but I know that something is wrong – seriously wrong. I don't understand why he won't tell me, though." There was a look of utter loss on his face.

Takeru flinched. He knew how important Daisuke's friendship was to Ken, and the fact that the begoggled boy apparantly didn't trust him enough to tell his problems hurt Ken deeply. "I'm sure he's got his reasons." He said soothingly. "He probably wants to protect you. You know how he can get sometimes."

A small smile flickered over Ken's face. "Maybe you're right. Anyway, since he didn't tell me, I watched instead. I think it has something to do with his sister, but I don't know what."

"What makes you think that?"

"Well…" Ken pursed his lips. "Usually, when I'm at his apartment, Jun's always around, watching TV or fighting with Davis, annoying the hell out of him and amusing me greatly…but during the last weeks, I haven't seen her at all. And worse, whenever I mention her, Davis kind of steers away from the topic, as if he doesn't want to talk about her. I wonder where she is, really."

"You think Jun might be the reason why Davis is all pale and weirdish?" Miyako asked doubtfully. "Somehow, I can't imagine that. They don't exactly like each other, do they? He'd be glad if she was away."

Takeru remembered his own thoughts about the matter and nodded eagerly.

Iori tilted his head. "Why don't you just ask him? Won't that be easier?"

They all exchanged glances and then shook their heads.

"No. He's way too stubborn." Hikari explained. "He doesn't want to tell us, so he won't tell us. If we keep on asking, he'll end up getting mad and staying away from us. We don't want that to happen. Still…it worries me."

Takeru scratched his head. "Is there any way we can find out what's wrong with Davis – or his family – without asking him?"

"Ask his parents?" Miyako suggested.

Takeru sent her a dark look. "Yeah, and how are we supposed to do that? 'Excuse us, but we noticed that Davis is behaving a bit strangely, could you tell us the reason?' That might be just a tad weird, don't you think?"

Iori, always the polite one, coughed a little, and everybody turned to look at the boy. Although he was the youngest of the group and the most silent one, he usually gave very good advice – if he chose to speak.

"So, we know that something is wrong with Davis, but we can't ask him." He summarized, a frown on his face.

"Well, as far as I can see, we have only a few options. We can either wait until he tells us – or we can try to find out behind his back."

Miyako's eyes lit up. "Let's find out behind his back! We can follow him around – I've always wanted to be a spy."

"I don't know…" Hikari said hesitantly. "That seems awfully much like breaking his trust."

Ken nodded. "I think the same. If he doesn't want to tell us, well, then it's his choice. Maybe he just needs his time." However, he wasn't fully convinced by this. Deep down, the genius knew that something was seriously wrong and that the longer they waited, the worse it would be. Still, they couldn't just walk around and sneak after Daisuke, could they?

"I think he will understand." Miyako argued. "After all, we're worried about him. Maybe he wants us to find out that way!"

Iori snorted. "That's a twisted logic."

"But it could be true."

"Yeah, but…"

Takeru, who had been looking out of the window, interrupted the two. "We have to adjourn this conversation anyway – Davis is coming. What I suggest is that we all stay silent about this and meet again in a few days, preferably after the exams are over. Does that sound okay to you?"

"Good suggestion, TK." Hikari smiled. "I think that's going to work best for all of us."

Miyako sighed and leaned back on the couch. "No spying?"

"Nope."

"Aww…you're no fun."

Ken just nodded, feeling relieved at the fight that he wasn't the only one who had noticed that something was amiss there. Even though Daisuke could be annoying at times, they all loved him dearly and would hate to see something bad happen to him.

Friends…ha. Sometimes I wonder…I wonder if there's something like real friendship.

I mean, look at Jun. There she is, at hospital, during a time when she would need her friends the most…and suddenly they are all too busy, or they decide that they aren't that close friends anymore…Barely anyone comes to visit her. A few times, but nothing frequent, as if they are afraid of seeing her being so frail…

It bothers her, I know it. I can see the pain in her eyes everytime she asks me to tell stories about my friends. And it makes me wonder…what if our positions were reversed? Would my friends visit me? Would they come day after day, bearing with my decreasing strength, my bald skull, my obvious illness?

Never before I doubted my friends, but now, I cannot help it. Yet I simply cannot believe that Ken, for example, would leave me on my own. No, not him. He would visit me, and he wouldn't care about my appearance.

I wish I could give my friends to my sister. She needs them desperately.

Daisuke's Notes

He looked down at his hands and noticed to his dismay that they were trembling.

"Shit," Daisuke cursed under his breath and tried to hide them in his pockets, so that nobody would see the effects of his fatigue. It became more difficult to hide with each passing day, but then again, exams would be over soon and then he could sleep as long and much as he wanted to.

The boy smiled at Miyako's sister who was behind the counter of the little shop, and then he went up the stairs which led to the apartment, Veemon trailing closely behind.

To his dismay, he discovered that everybody else was already there.

"Oops – am I too late?" he asked sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that."

Miyako sent him a scolding glance. "You really should know better, Davis. Everybody else was here on time!"

"You always have to wait for the important people," Daisuke said with an air of importance and sat down on the floor, since all the seats had been taken. There was a pile of sweets on the coffee table and he eyed them with interest. "So, why are we meeting?"

Hikari shrugged. "Just for some chilling after the first exam. We won't be long, but it's nice to talk about something else for a chance – I'm getting sick of numbers and dates."

"Yeah, so let's please not talk about questions and answers," Takeru added with a painful look on his face. "I'd like to forget about that as soon as possible. And if anyone starts asking things like 'what did you write for question 17b, then I'm going to start screaming!"

"Man, you're so right!" Daisuke agreed happily. "I'll be so glad when this is over!" And in more ways than one, he added in his thoughts.

Miyako leaned forward, studying the auborn-haired boy intently. She hadn't seen him quite as frequently as the other kids during the last days. However, after having listened to their concern, she wanted to make sure that they weren't juyst imagining things.

She had to admit, she probably wouldn't have noticed – Daisuke was awfully good at fooling people – but he really didn't look to well. His whole skin was pale and waxen, and his movements were slow and lacked energy. He looked as if he hadn't gotten enough sleep in days, and there was a haunted expression on his face that made her shudder.

No, this wasn't just stress. The others had been right – something was amiss here.

Miyako frowned and adjusted her glasses, as she always did when she was thinking. Somehow, it didn't feel right, not adressing this issue. She was the digidestined of sincerity, after all. How could she not ask?

"Say, Davis," she started, "You look a bit strained. Are you sure you're okay? You look awfully pale."

Daisuke froze and everybody else seemed to hold their breath. "W-what do you mean by that?" he stammered.

The lavender-haired girl rolled her eyes, never one for patience. "I meant exactly what I said. I've got the feeling that you're not as well as you want us to believe, and I wonder why that is. I mean, we are friends after all, or at least we were the last time I checked. I think you're hiding something. Are you?"

"Miyako." Hikari hissed under her breath, annoyed at the fact that the girl was so obviously ignoring their previous decision. Hadn't they agreed to give Daisuke a little bit more time?

But Miyako ignored her. She had her own reasons for asking, and she didn't want to be interrupted. Her purple eyes focused on the brown-haired boy, waiting for a response.

Veemon, caught in the middle between the two, frowned in concern, wishing that he could tell, but not daring to break his promise.

Daisuke gulped and for a moment, all kinds of emotions played over his face. Weariness, exhaustion, and an incredible pain. Then they were gone, and the girl watched astonished as a mask slid into place. In the matter of mere seconds, Daisuke suppressed all those upwelling emotions and hid them somewhere deep inside.

Miyako couldn't help but admire this ability; she hadn't known that Daisuke possessed such a control over his emotions. Who would have guessed? After all, he was as hot-tempered as her. Usually, that is.

"I'm fine, just a bit stressed." he said in a flat voice.

The girl tilted her head. "You didn't answer my question."

"Which question?"

"Are you hiding something?" She knew that she would get scolded for this later, but she simply couldn't stop. Miyako knew that Daisuke hated lying, and if she asked directly…he had to answer. Of course, they had agreed not to ask, but that was before she had seen how miserable the boy really was. She'd gladly take the consequences if she could only bring a little bit of light into this matter.

However, Daisuke paled and refused to answer.

Ken chose that moment to interject, fearing that Miyako might chase their friend away. "It's just that we're worried, Davis." he explained in a soft voice. "We can see that something is wrong with you, and we'd like to help. But you won't let us near you, and…and it hurts." He took a deep breath. "You can trust us – trust me, you know that, don't you? If you've got any problems, then don't hesitate to tell them, alright? Because it does make things a lot easier…"

Daisuke looked at his best friend as if he had gone mad. Telling them everything? About Jun? About what was happening to his sister? He couldn't!

As if he had read his thoughts, Veemon came to his side. "One day you have to tell them, Dai-chan." He whispered. "Now's as good as anytime."

He looked at his digimon partner, and then at his friends, a fearful look on his face.

There was Hikari, with a gentle, yet worried smile, Gatomon stretched out on the couch beside her. Miyako, Hawkmon by her side, a frown marrying her beautiful features. Iori, with a stoney look on his face, not betraying his emotions. Takeru, with Patamon in his lap, blue eyes full of concern. And Ken, with Wormmon in his hands, regarding him with a sad expression full of understanding and kindness.

And all of sudden, Daisuke knew. He knew that he would have to tell them, and he dreaded it. He had been bottling things up for so long, he didn't know what would happen if he let them out.

"Not now." He croaked, begging for a little bit more time. "I appreciate your concern, but please…you have to understand that I can't tell you now. After the exams…when we're done and the exams are over…then, maybe, I can tell, but not now…"

His friends exchanged confused glances. They couldn't understand why he was so upset by this, yet they could see how important it was for the distressed boy.

"Why until after the exams?" Takeru wanted to know. "I don't understand…"

Daisuke bit his lip. "I will tell you…it's just, I need to get the exams done first, it's a promise, you see…please, don't ask me any more questions!" There was a desperate plea in his voice.

"Alright." Hikari agreed gently, now even more worried than before. "We'll wait. We won't bother you until the exams are over. But Davis…if you need any help, don't hesitate to come to us."

"We're there for you." Ken added.

Miyako nodded. "Yep. We might be a pain in the ass sometimes, but we're still your friends!" And she smiled mischievously, a desperate attempt to lighten up the mood.

Daisuke took a deep breath, inwardly scolding himself for his outburst and smiled back. Somehow the fact that his friends would be there for him, no matter what happened, made life a little bit easier. And he would tell them. Just a few more days.

"Thank you."

After all, the pain was his and his alone.

Little Dragon

Stretch your wings and fly

Leave behind the burden you bear

And soar through the skies

Like you always did

Mind and spirit free

To be continued...

As always, reviews would be greatly appreciated

ashes2ashes – Duh, I absolutely LOVED your fic Excuses. I don't know if I ever reviewed for it, though…I'm getting kind of lax in the review department lately. Now that you mention it, there are some similarities O.o I never noticed, it has been such a long time since I read your story. I sincerely apologize; it was never my intention to steal your idea. Though it probably influenced me a bit, even when I wasn't aware of it. Anyway, thanks for reviewing, I'm really flattered that such a great author as you reads my humble little story!

Puppeh – How long? Eh. No idea. I never know how long my stories are going to be. Depends on my muses and my time :)

Dark Quiviut – Bad feeling, eh? You could be right with that – I've got quite a bad feeling myself. :smiles: BTW, I checked the story you told me about and I really liked it. Do you know more stories of that kind?

And thanks to everybody else who has reviewed – I simply haven't the time to respond to all right now, maybe next time. Sorry 'bout that, but be assured, you made my day!