Unmei: Okay, my new and improved chapter. I know many of you believed that the story was fine as it was, but I just felt that it didn't have a certain something and decided to redo it. Hopefully, none of you mind that much. Also, I'm very sorry I made all of you guys wait so much—almost two whole month! I'll really try to update faster, but it might be a little difficult because of the other fic I am now writing as well. Anyways, time for the disclaimer!

Mimi: Hi Minna-san! Mimi-chan desu

Unmei: …Mimi just get on with the disclaimer.

Mimi: Fine, fine, you're no fun. Anyways this grumpy Unmei no Hana does not own any of the seasons of digimon or any of the characters.

Unmei: Thanks Mimi. Oh, and I would like to apologize for the confusion about the last chapter and Catherine's "lover." What I meant was like, he's a little robot dude and like… these robot people of the future are in every way just like men except for one little exception: they can't um… make a girl have a baby. So, like, that's why their "lovers" not like… lovers as in they're having an affair but like you know um "sweethearts" I guess you could call it. So, sorry for the confusion and I hope you all understand now, hopefully my explanation worked. I'm not very good at explaining things. Well, onto the (new) story!

Of Clones and Outcasts

Chapter 7: Of Colds and Stolen Kisses

Unmei no Hana

One sunny, or not so sunny, afternoon, Hikari was walking back from work. She skipped a little, glad that it was a Sunday for the bakery was closed today and she had had the entire day to herself. But suddenly, ominous dark clouds filled the sky and rain began to fall, drenching the unsuspecting girl. Cursing to herself silently at her misfortune, Hikari ran home being totally unprepared for the sudden change of weather—equipped with no umbrella, rain boots, or anything of that sort but instead only a light jacket over a shirt and Capri's.

'Oh, I hate this weather. Why does it have to rain all of a sudden? The sky looked so clear and sunny this morning. I mean I didn't even consider needing an umbrella but now I'm getting soaking wet. And on top of that, I just bought this shirt!'

Running headlong in an attempt to keep her face relatively dry, Hikari failed to realize that she had taken a wrong turn. But to her great misfortune, she did not notice her mistake until quite a while afterwards and, after slowing down from fatigue, looked around and realized that the scenery was unfamiliar to her.

'What? I couldn't have taken a wrong turn! Mou, it's going to take me forever to reach home now.'

Drenched, cold, miserable, and worst of all, lost, Hikari trudged through the deserted streets. Due to the lateness, the only shops that were open were the occasional bars and questionable looking buildings that Hikari dare not enter. Quickening her pace at the sound of drunken laughter and hiccupping, Hikari hastily made her way out of the center of town and into the residential district. Rows of houses lined the streets, several with light still streaming out of the windows, but soon only a few lights were kept on to illuminate the dark street.

The pounding rain had become a light drizzle at last and a bright, full moon slowly revealed itself from under the blanket of dark clouds. Hikari quickly realized that she was in the complete opposite side of town from her apartment. Shivering in her soaked clothes, she dejectedly made her way back to her apartment, thankful that she at least knew where she was.

A bright light all of a sudden filled the once pitch-dark streets and the sound of a motorcycle became present. When Hikari realized that it had pulled up beside her, she cast a glance through her wet bangs. At once, she recognized the designs and color of the motorcycle, and, filled with trepidation, she peered up at the driver and was met by the ever-familiar ice blue eyes of Takeru. Mentally she cringed and closed her eyes, expecting words of insult to be muttered by him. Instead, and much to her great shock, nothing but silence reigned for several seconds. She opened her eyes tentatively and saw a helmet being thrust into her. Hikari looked up at Takeru questioningly. Gruffly, he answered her unspoken inquire.

"You live in Roppongi (1.) apartment complex right? It'll take you all night to get there. But if you'd rather prefer walking, I'll leave you here gaping like a fish out of water."

His cold comment cut through Hikari's stupor and she hastily put on the helmet and climbed behind Takeru. She smiled to herself ever so slightly at the simple gesture of compassion Takeru displayed, although he attempted to cover it up with his bitter remarks.

The ride to her apartment was oppressively silent and uneventful, but Hikari was thankful that her feet were finally able to rest after their severe physical beating. What would've taken her several hours to arrive at her apartment took a mere fifteen minutes and Hikari found herself standing in front of her apartment door. She turned around to thank Takeru when a cold breeze passed by. Her clothes still drenched, Hikari shivered and let out a sneeze. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she was enveloped in warmth and a rather pleasant, heady smell. For the second time that evening, she was shocked at Takeru's warm gesture and turned to him questioningly.

"I thought you were smart enough to know that at this rate, you'll catch a cold in those wet clothes. You ought to take a warm bath and change into dry clothes."

Not trusting herself enough to verbally thank Takeru, Hikari mutely nodded her head and quickly made her way into the apartment. Taking Takeru's advice, Hikari carefully removed his jacket and then proceeded to peel off the layers of wet clothes from herself and dip into a soothing hot bath. By the time she was finished and changed for bed, it was already two in the morning and she was exhausted. Hikari was asleep before her head even touched her pillows.

Hikari was awaken by the very familiar, very abhorred, and very shrill ring of her alarm clock. Getting barely five hours of sleep, dark circles and heavy bags were present under her eyes. Envious of her roommate who was able to sleep in, Hikari grudgingly went to work, too tired notice that Takeru hadn't attempted to run her over. When she arrived at Junsuisa bakery, Mimi and her other co-workers were surprised at her disheveled appearance.

"Hikari-chan, are you alright? You look horrible! How many hours of sleep did you get last night?"

Hikari mumbled an answer, not noticing or caring about the shocked looks she received.

"You ought to take the day off today Hikari and rest. We'll be fine, but if you don't be careful, you'll catch a cold."

Lacking the strength to protest, Hikari simply nodded and lethargically made her way back to her apartment. Miyako had already left and it felt unpleasantly empty and cold. She slipped back into her pajamas and bundled herself under many layers of blankets, trying to rid herself of the persistent shivers and sneezes that plagued her.

It was around two in the afternoon when Hikari awoke to sound of knocking. She peered into her empty room through the haze of a fever. After several seconds, her brain finally processed the information and grumbling, she made her way to the door, bringing her cocoon of blankets with her. She opened the door and stared dumbly at the person in front of her. There stood a very embarrassed looking Takeru holding a large pot and paper bag in his hands. He took one glance at the sick girl before commenting,

"I guess you were dumb enough to get sick after all." Hikari bristled with indignation at that comment.

"What's that supposed to mean? I can't help it if I got sick. And why did you come here? To ridicule the sad state I'm in currently? Well, if that's the reason, you ought to be pleased at what you're seeing, so you can just leave now." Unbeknownst to Hikari, tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as she spat out each venom-laced word. She slammed the door in his face and huffily prepared to go back to bed, wiping the tears that were beginning to threaten to fall. However, the sound of knocking prevented her from doing so. Once again, she opened the door, an irritated look crossing her face.

"What are you still doing here? I told you to leave, didn't I, or are you as dumb as I really thought you were after all?" For a brief moment, a look of extreme rage crossed over Takeru's handsome face. Hikari closed her eyes, bracing herself for a punch she was almost certain would come. However, when she opened her eyes after a few tense seconds, she saw Takeru had once again placed his cool, emotion-free façade on—all traces of his past anger gone. Ignoring Hikari's question, Takeru instead replied,

"Are you going to invite me in or not?" Sputtering in surprise, Hikari retorted,

"Why in hell would I invite you in?"

"Because it's common courtesy. Or do you not know that either?" Hikari felt her face heat up and grow red. But, Takeru wasn't finished speaking. "Also, Mimi told me to give this to you when I visited her earlier today. So, are you going to invite me in now?" Reluctantly, Hikari gave in and stepped out of the way, allowing Takeru into her apartment. Without even casting so much as a glance in her direction, he took off his shoes and proceeded into the dining room/kitchen area and set the items that he were holding onto the counter. Hikari shuffled behind him and curiously peered over his shoulder as he took off the lid of the pot. Curls of steam rose in a spiraling pattern, bringing with them the delicious scent of rice porridge, undoubtedly made by Mimi. She closed her eyes, inhaling the aroma. When she reopened her eyes, she noticed that Takeru was staring oddly at her.

"What? Do I have something on my face." Takeru gave a snort.

"No, I was just wondering when you'd finish acting like an idiot and tell me where the bowls and silverware are." Hikari flushed bright red at his comment. Thoroughly embarrassed she told him where he could find them and, after noticing that she was being ignored, sat on a stool, watching Takeru intently. Takeru pulled out two bowls and spoons, as well as two cups, from the cupboards and spooned in a generous amount of the porridge into the two bowls before placing them on the table, setting the spoons next to them. Then he filled the cups with water, placed them on the table too, and opened up the paper bag. From there, he extracted a bottle of what seemed to be some kind of medicine and placed it in front of Hikari's side of the table and sat himself down across from her, beginning to shovel the porridge into his mouth. After a moment, when he noticed Hikari wasn't eating, he looked up.

"Why aren't you eating? You need to eat in order to get better." Hesitantly, Hikari replied,

"I know that. But…it's just…why are you eating as well? You're not sick…are you?" Takeru rolled his eyes slightly and told Hikari,

"No, I'm just hungry that's all. I had to skip lunch because Mimi told me she had an 'urgent emergency.' Also, I doubt you can eat that porridge in there, so why let it go to waste?" Afterwards he began shoveling down his food again. Sighing, Hikari reluctantly began to eat, taking a small spoonful of the porridge. She placed it in her mouth and marveled at the deliciousness, yet simplicity of the dish. Immediately, she too began to shovel the porridge down. Several minutes passed before Hikari was finished. She sighed once again, this time in satisfaction, sat back, and took the bottle Takeru had placed in front of her. She screwed open the top and peered inside the bottle before she held it away from her in disgust. It was not the plain-coated capsules inside that made her so repulsed, but the odor they emanated. Horrified, she looked to her companion,

"These aren't for me right?" He snorted once again.

"Whom else would they be for?" Hikari once again brought the bottle near her, peering at the capsules in utter revulsion.

"You have to be kidding me. There is no way I'm taking one of these."

"And why not? They'll help you get better sooner."

"They smell horrible."

"So?"

"They're just, just, yuck! I'm not taking them and that's that." After she had set that, Takeru had obviously begun to get irritated. Yelling slightly, he slammed his hands onto the table.

"Dammit Hikari, just take the damn pills!"

"I told I'm not going to. You can't order me around." Hikari failed to notice that, in her anger, she had stood up, hands on the table as well, staring menacingly at Takeru. He stared back just as fiercely as he replied,

"You're going to take those pills even if I have to force them down your throat."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, it is."

"I'd like to see you try.".

"Gladly." At once, Hikari regretted ever challenging him. Once Takeru had finished speaking, he stood up and took the bottle from her, a mischievous glint in his eye. He continued to advance nearer and nearer towards Hikari. Terrified slightly, she backed up. However, he continued to advance towards her. She, in turn, backed up even more. They continued to do this until Hikari felt the firmness of the wall behind her back. Takeru advanced closer, closing the gap between them until only a couple of mere inches separated their faces. He then surprised Hikari greatly by popping a couple of pills into his mouth. Bewildered, she began to ask,

"Takeru, what the heck are you do—" She was unable to finish, however, as her words were swallowed up by a very warm mouth. Hikari's eyes widened, her brain attempting to process the events taking place. She began to squirm, but was stopped when Takeru slithered his arms around her slim form. He then flicked his tongue into her open mouth, forcing the pills to also follow. Hikari swallowed on impulse. Satisfied that she had swallowed the pills, he retracted his tongue and pulled away from her. Two rosy patches were present on her cheeks, but whether they were from anger or embarrassment, Hikari wasn't sure. Takeru smirked at the stunned expression on Hikari's face. He leaned over and whispered into her air, his warm breath making Hikari blush an even deeper shade of red.

"You're very annoying." He then exited the apartment, leaving Hikari to stand in the middle of the kitchen, staring off into space like an idiot. When she heard the door click shut she sank down onto her knees, her eyes glazed over.

"He stole…a kiss from me. My first kiss… stolen."

1. Roppongi: literally "six trees" but it's really a district in Tokyo, and in this fic, a name for an apartment complex.
Unmei: Finally done at last! Boy, that chapter took me longer than I had expected it to. This was actually my first idea for this chapter instead of the whole err, rape attempt. But because of the shortage of time I had, that option was much quicker for me to write. I'm so sorry for how long it took. I really do hope this chapter made up for it a bit. I know it's a bit on the short side, but I hope all of you enjoyed it. I have to thank all my reviewers that, even after I didn't update for such a long period of time, still stuck with this story. I'm so grateful. So thank you all very much. Please continue to read and review! This is Unmei no Hana signing off. I'll see you soon, ja ne!