A/N: Yay! I finally got this chapter out:does a little victory dance: I am so so sorry it took so long to update. First I was in Japan for a semester, then my computer wasn't working, then I got sick, then my internet wasn't working, and then I got hit with an extreme case of writer's block. But I battled through and…look!...I got a new chapter out!
Daisuke stood beside Ken in front of Yamato's door. He had no idea what he was doing here, and Ken wouldn't tell him. He was starting to get a bit irritated with his best friend, even if he had let him crash at his place the night before. Whatever it was it had better be worth it—he had taken off work for this. He sighed as Ken rang the bell again. "Maybe he's not here," Daisuke suggested irritably.
"He's here," said Ken. And there he was with the mysteriousness again.
Just as he was about to snap at his friend, the door opened to reveal a tired-looking Yamato. "Sorry," he said through a yawn. "I was up all night and fell asleep on the couch waiting for you."
Ken gave Yamato a look that clearly said Yamato had said too much. It was gone quickly, but they had been best friends long enough for Daisuke to catch it. He decided to keep quiet though. He'd find out what was going on soon enough.
Yamato led them into the apartment and Daisuke noticed boxes stacked in the front room. "Are you moving?" he asked in surprise.
Yamato laughed. "No, my dad is."
Daisuke's eyes widened. "So where are you gonna live?"
"Here."
"On your own?"
"Actually I'm looking for a roommate."
Suddenly it all clicked. He glared at his best friend. "You sneaky bastard," he said, but he could hardly hide the smile creeping onto his face.
"You wouldn't happen to be interested?" Yamato asked nonchalantly.
Daisuke shook his head as everything sank in. "I wouldn't want to be a burden…"
Yamato rolled his eyes. "What burden? I need a roommate. It's a win-win situation, if you actually need a place. It's not like you'll be living here for free. You'd have to pay rent and we'd split all the expenses." Daisuke flopped down on the couch as he processed everything. This could not really be happening. "And don't worry about school. Ken here worked out a great plan."
Daisuke flinched. "That won't be a problem." Both friends looked at him in confusion. "I'm not going back."
He braced himself for the explosion. "You're dropping out?" exclaimed Ken.
"No!" Daisuke answered quickly. "I'm going locally." Ken gave him a funny look. "I can't afford to go back to my school," he muttered. Ken nodded in understanding.
"Well then," said Yamato, "guess I don't need to worry about switching roommates." He paused. "That is of course assuming you want to move in."
Daisuke shook his head in amazement. "But what about Tai? I would've thought you'd want him to move in."
Yamato shook his head. "His mom wouldn't let him." He sighed. "I'm actually kind of grateful. He's my best friend and all, but I think I'd kill him if we moved in together."
Ken chuckled. "I can imagine."
Yamato grinned. Whatever comment he might've made was cut short by the doorbell. Daisuke let his mind wander as Yamato went to answer the door. He felt an added weight on the couch and he turned to his best friend. "What do you think?" Ken asked.
Daisuke shook his head and glanced over his shoulder. Whoever was at the door must've needed Yamato outside: the blonde was nowhere to be found. "What did you tell him?" he asked as he turned back to Ken. He just couldn't understand why Yamato would ask him to live with him unless he knew everything and felt sorry for him.
"Only that you were thinking of moving out. You know Yamato, he doesn't pry."
"Then why does he want me to move in?"
Ken shrugged. "He needs a roommate."
"Why me?"
Ken glared at him. "Why do you find it so hard to believe that there are some people who really do like you?"
Daisuke didn't bother responding as he heard the door open. Yamato, Taichi, and Hikari walked in carrying empty boxes.
"I'd like you guys to meet my new roommate," exclaimed Yamato.
"Are you really moving in?" asked Hikari.
Daisuke glanced at Yamato and Ken. "I guess so," he said with a grin.
Yamato smiled and Ken sighed with relief.
"All right!" exclaimed Taichi throwing his arms in the air and dropping all the boxes he was carrying. "Party at Yama's!"
Yamato rolled his eyes. "You've been here not even five minutes and you're already making a mess." Taichi pouted and Yamato and Hikari shared a look.
"Well," said Hikari as she placed her boxes neatly against the wall. "I'm starving. Does anyone feel like a burger?"
"Hell yeah!" exclaimed Tai. He went for the door but Yamato grabbed the back of his shirt.
"Like hell you're leaving. You said you'd help me pack."
"But Yama—"
"No. You just got here. We'll go get something after we're done."
Hikari laughed at their antics and turned to Daisuke and Ken.
"I better not," said Ken apologetically. "I have a test to study for."
"Test?" asked Tai, appalled. "It's summer!"
"Summer courses," explained Ken.
"Figures," muttered Tai.
"Daisuke?" Hikari asked with pleading eyes.
"Umm…" He felt Ken jab an elbow into his side. "Sure, I could go for food."
She smiled. "All right, let's go! I think my stomach's gonna eat itself."
Daisuke laughed. "Well we can't have that happen." He stood up. "Thanks Yamato."
Yamato shrugged it off. "You actually did me a favor. Now I don't have to advertise."
Daisuke grinned and followed Hikari out the door. The late afternoon breeze had come to cool the air, and the sun was in just the right position to set a soft glow on everything. He took a deep breath and for the first time since school let out, let a little bit of hope fill his heart.
Daisuke flopped down on his bed in his new room in his new home. He just couldn't believe this was really happening. They had gone back to his father's apartment to get his stuff. Jun, Taichi, and Yamato had all brought their cars so they could get everything in one trip. Daisuke didn't want to risk his father coming back in between trips, though he didn't tell them that. Jun probably knew, but she hadn't mentioned anything. He really hadn't had that much stuff. He let himself smile as he thought about his father going home to find an empty room.
He looked up as he heard someone clear their throat. Yamato stood in the doorway looking rather tired. "Your sister finally left," he said. He made a face. "I'm beginning to see the downside to having you move in."
Daisuke chuckled. "You don't look too abused."
Yamato shook his head and walked into the room. "Are you sure she's over her crush? Because it was quite difficult to make her leave."
Daisuke shrugged. "That's what she told me. She just likes to talk a lot."
"I can tell," the blonde sighed. "Thanks for leaving me with her by the way." He glared at the younger boy.
Daisuke sat up. "I thought she was leaving." He stretched. "You know in all honesty she's probably lonely. Most of her friends are potheads and drunks who party all the time. It's not often she gets to have an intelligent conversation." He grinned at Yamato. "Though I doubt you're the proper candidate for that."
Yamato's look of surprised changed back to a glare. "I'm going to ignore that one for your sake." Yamato was silent for a moment, as if thinking. "Does she party as much as her friends?"
"Not really. I mean, she has a job and school for most of the year. Even during the summer she would increase her work hours so she couldn't really afford it. Plus my dad—" he stopped himself. "Well, things may be different now that she's out of the house. She seems okay though." He shrugged.
"Do you party with her friends?"
Daisuke studied Yamato for a minute but decided the question wasn't accusatory. "Once in a while. Not nearly as much as Jun does. But I don't smoke and don't drink enough to get hungover…usually."
"Except when you're meeting up with people the next morning right?" Yamato smirked.
Daisuke made a face. "You heard about that huh?"
Yamato chuckled. "I never want to be on the receiving end of Miyako's temper. I was at Takeru's when she called and started complaining. She was loud enough that I could hear her. Poor Takeru. I don't think I've ever seen him so irritated."
Daisuke laughed. "I didn't realize Takeru had become her new verbal punching bag."
Yamato shrugged. "Apparently Hikari was out and Iori hung up on her, which by the way was worth an extra half hour of bitching."
Daisuke gaped at the blonde. "Iori hung up on her?" He laughed again. "The kid's finally getting some balls. Good for him!"
Yamato studied Daisuke in amusement. "So you're not upset about Miyako slandering your name over the phone line to your worst enemy?"
Daisuke rolled his eyes. "The only one who actually listens to Miyako when she goes off is Miyako…and Ken if he's feeling generous. I've said everything I have to say to her and I've realized I will always be her favorite person to bitch about."
The blonde nodded. "Probably true." He was silent for a moment. "You know, you should really try to patch things up with Takeru. He got sick of fighting with you quite some time ago."
Daisuke looked at Yamato in confusion. "We don't fight anymore. We hardly even talk!"
"Well, that's exactly it." He sighed when he realized Daisuke was still confused. "As long as you guys aren't talking you aren't fixing things. He hates that you two never got along and wants to change that. You know he admires you?"
Daisuke gaped and then laughed so hard he fell back on his bed. He finally stopped when he realized he must be scaring his friend and wiped the tears from his eyes. "That was a good one!" He composed himself when he realized Yamato was being completely serious. "Why would he admire me?"
Yamato smiled. "That's something you'll have to ask him." He got up and turned to leave. He threw a wink over his shoulder and said, "I for one have no idea what he's talking about." Daisuke threw a pillow but it hit the closed door.
Takeru and Hikari sat together on the swings, watching as exhausted parents called out to the few remaining kids on the playground. The park was thrown into increasing darkness as the sun finished making its descent. As the last child left the playground the blonde turned toward his silent friend.
"What's on your mind?" he asked softly.
Hikari sighed. "Nothing really."
Takeru frowned. "Hikari, how long have I known you? I can tell when something's bothering you."
Hikari turned to the blonde. "What makes you think something's bothering me?"
Takeru gave her a look. "I thought we stopped playing this game years ago."
Hikari sighed again but gave him a soft smile. "We did, didn't we?"
He rolled his eyes. "Yes, we did. I believe you yelled at me for not being upfront with you and letting it eat away at me without talking to someone. So…I do believe I'm completely justified in asking you why you haven't talked to me lately?"
She blinked. "I've talked to you!"
"Yeah sure, we've had little conversations, but I'm talking about serious talk. Something's been bothering you for weeks now, and I've waited for you to be ready to talk about it. Well, I'm sick of waiting and I want to know what's going on."
"You're nosy."
"I'm concerned."
Hikari looked at the ground and began kicking at the sand. She tried to ignore the harsh stare she knew Takeru was giving her but finally gave in. "Well, it's about Daisuke…"
"I should've known!"
Hikari glared at him. "Why can't you just accept that fact that I'm concerned about him?"
"Hikari, you've been concerned about him for years now!"
"For good reason!"
"Fine, fine," grumbled Takeru. "But it's no good plaguing yourself with misconceived responsibly over a friend's well-being when you don't even know you should be concerned about it."
"He moved in with Yamato!" she spat angrily.
Takeru raised an eyebrow. "And? That's hardly reason to be concerned. Unless you're implying that my brother is cause for concern?"
Hikari didn't take the bait. "Aren't you in the least bit surprised?"
"Not really. Yamato's my brother; he told me Daisuke was moving in."
"That's not what I meant," she replied.
Takeru shook his head. "Yes, I was surprised he moved in with Yamato. No, I don't think that's any reason to worry nor is it any of our business if he doesn't want to share."
"But he did!" Hikari gasped and quickly closed her mouth.
Takeru studied her. "Uh huh, and the truth comes out."
"Shut up, Takeru."
"Here's the thing, Hikari. I know you have a big heart and want to help everyone in the world escape all their woes. I also know that this attitude has gotten you into trouble before. You are not the world's savior, and you need to stop thinking you are. I know you care about your friends and want what's best for them, but Daisuke is not your responsibility. Just because you like him—"
"I don't like him!" she protested.
He gave her a look. "Puh-leez. This has gone on way too long. Just get over it and admit it. It's the first step to—"
"Takeru!"
"Well, it's true. We'd all have been saved a lot of grief if you had just admitted—"
"Would you shut up?"
"You know, you keep interrupting me and I might just have to stop talking to you."
Hikari buried her face in her hands. "If only…" she mumbled. "Takeru, we've been over this before, I did not like Daisuke."
"Of course not," said Takeru rolling his eyes. "You just liked the attention."
She blushed.
"Okay, here's the thing. You have to promise not to interrupt me because this is important." He glared at her until she nodded. "When Daisuke stopped trying to get you to go out with him you got sad. That was when we decided you missed the attention. But then when you started getting that attention from other guys in high school it didn't seem the same. We decided that it was either because you'd grown up and it didn't matter as much anymore, or Daisuke just blew it all so much out of proportion that all the other guys' attention seemed so much smaller. Let's take a look at what's happened since then.
"When Daisuke stopped hanging out with all of us you were the one who took it the most personally. When Daisuke avoided us like the plague last summer you harassed Ken like no other. I still feel bad for him, by the way. No one should be subjected to that. But anyway when Daisuke went off to college you were the one most trying to find a way to get in touch with him. When he came to the picnic you were the first to greet him, with great enthusiasm I might add, and kept close to him all day. Can you count all the phone conversations we've had concerning him, cuz I sure can't. Or how about all the unsent emails you wrote in case you got a hold of his email address? Or the number of times you've gone to visit him since he's been back?"
"I'm not done," he exclaimed when Hikari began to open her mouth. "Now let's look at this logically. It's not like you guys were best friends from the beginning. In fact, you tried really hard to dissuade his attentions at first. I remember hearing you complain about it. Then you started complaining about it all the time. That was when I realized you actually liked complaining about it. More than that, you actually liked the attention. And then when that attention came from other guys you always compared them to Daisuke. Face it Hikari, those aren't the responses of a caring friend. Stop denying it and look at it the way I am, and then look at it from your heart. If you can do that and honestly give me the same old denial, I will stop harassing you about it."
Hikari moved to say something but then stopped, and really thought about everything Takeru had said. It would be dumb to say that what he was saying wasn't true, seeing as she had confirmed it all before. She and Takeru had decided together that she liked the attention and that other guys just couldn't compare. She missed not just the attention, but Daisuke himself when he disappeared. What was more, she was glad that Daisuke was back and enjoyed his company more now than she ever had. She was concerned enough about Daisuke that she had gone to his home and his work to drag it out of him. She had done it so often that he finally told her everything. And instead of being ashamed of bothering him or satisfied at the knowledge—the reactions a nosy person would have had—she had cared. She had wanted to fix everything because he didn't deserve any of it. In fact, he didn't deserve to have anything bad happen to him at all.
Then it hit her. All these years Daisuke had seemed like a brash, arrogant, self-obsessed, loud-mouthed, airhead with no sense of tact or subtlety. He was always either happy or angry, as he had a very short temper. But he was never sad, depressed, or hurt. He always brushed things off as nothing or just didn't understand enough to be insulted or hurt. And because of this he couldn't understand when other people felt that way. Or at least that's how she thought he was.
After talking and hanging out with this newer version of Daisuke that had suddenly entered her life, she had believed the old Daisuke of the past was gone. The new Daisuke was funny, considerate, kind, intelligent, emotional, and receptive. He listened when other people talked. When he did bait people with insults or bluntness, it was in good humor, even Miyako. He was exactly the type of person that Hikari liked to be around. Now she realized he always had been.
She shook her head and turned to look at Takeru, who had been watching her this whole time. "How do you do that?" she asked, awed.
Takeru shrugged. "I'm a psych major, it's what I do."
"You need to stop psychoanalyzing your friends."
He grinned. "Never."
Hikari rolled her eyes.
"So, are you admitting to liking him?"
"No…" she answered carefully. "I'm admitting that you might be on to something."
Takeru groaned. "And the world wonders why psychologists suffer," he said dramatically, throwing his hand over his eyes.
Hikari snorted. "Hardly. Nobody cares about the fate of psychologists except psychologists themselves."
Takeru glared at her. "You'll regret that someday, when you need a therapist and all of them have gone crazy."
"And I suppose you'll be one of the crazy ones."
Takeru stood up and placed a hand to his heart importantly. "I, my dear, will be leading the revolt."
Hikari grinned. "It's true what they say: all psychology majors are crazy."
"And emotionally disturbed," Takeru added.
She sighed. "No joke."
"Speaking of emotionally disturbed… you gonna tell me what's been disturbing you?"
Hikari looked at him. "You want to know what's going on with Daisuke," she accused.
Takeru sat back on the swing. "While your concern has definitely caused me concern, my primary reason for asking is for your well-being. If something is bothering you, it's not good to keep it in. Even if it concerns another person, you have to talk to someone about it."
"And betray his trust?"
"I won't tell anyone or give any hint that I know. Therapists honor."
"You're not a therapist yet."
Takeru shrugged. "Close enough."
Hikari sighed and, hoping she was doing the right thing, told Takeru everything that had been bothering her since the picnic.
Dun dun dun! But it actually looks like things are looking up for Daisuke. But will his lucky trend continue? Well…not even I know at this point.
Thank you to everyone who's reviewed and to all of you who have waited patiently for this chapter. I hope I didn't run you off… Please review! And the next chapter should be out much much sooner.
