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They were out of breath, he concluded as he saw sweat trailing down her porcelain face and both of her hands on her knees. She was struggling to breathe in, as he finally looked at her. At her condition. He knew better than to push his limits when it came to her, with her body still not completely healed. Taichi told him that she tried hiding it but they all knew and most of all, he knew no matter how hard she tried to hide it from him, he always was one step ahead of her. Always. He could see her brown hair in a mess as she tried to straighten it out. He noticed that her hair was no longer as long as before— it was shorter, far shorter with her ends split and damaged. Her pink clothes becoming more tattered as they ran deeper into the forest. He was staring intently at her, he couldn't help it after finally seeing her after weeks. She raised her head and hazelnut met azure eyes. He could feel shivers running down his spine at her intense gaze that he couldn't helped but looked away because he couldn't deal with it, not now for the very least. Not now when he had no idea if they were going to survive this mess or not. Especially not now when his emotions were distorted— completely and utterly messy for anyone's own good.
He could feel the anger boiling inside him the more he thought of their situation. It was ridiculous, completely so. It wasn't anyone's fault— oh he knew that far too well but that didn't mean he couldn't blame the girl in front of him. Every logical part of him was saying that it was wrong but emotional wise, he couldn't care less. His emotions were a mess and it was all because of her. Because really, no one is capable of tearing his heart and stomping on it one minute, to only mend it the other. He could feel her stare on him, he knew she didn't stop staring ever since they locked eyes. He knew but he couldn't help but ignore it. He knew it was wrong but in his messed up mind, it was the perfect thing to do. And in the end, he did so. He ignored her— ignored her when he stood up to brushed any dirt off him before starting off again. He didn't need to look behind him to know she was following, at a much slower pace compared to before. He knew that it was urgent to get out of there with wild digimons chasing after them but he felt that facing them was a much better option to him that very second.
Their walk was filled with silence, the overbearing silence that was far too awkward and uncomfortable that even the sharpest of swords couldn't even cut through it. The noises coming from the forest were the only thing that could be heard. Step by step. A broken twig. The sound of water flowing. The noises of digimons flying above them. The faint sound of insects. The shining sun slowly being covered by clouds as time passes by. They didn't know how long they walked, how far were they from danger, how further along were they from the rendezvous point. She didn't know anything, he refused to tell her anything just for good measure. All she knew was that they were on a mission to save her when they ended up splitting up. Leaving her alone with him, both of their partners not being anywhere in sight. They were vulnerable, they both knew that. And they hated being vulnerable. It made them weak. She couldn't take it anymore, she couldn't take the deafening silence that was growing louder minute by minute. She took a deep breath, opening her mouth for words to magically come out from her mouth. But nothing did, nothing came out. She could feel tears beginning to form but she couldn't help and she let one fall before forcing herself to be brave. She stopped walking, her hands cocooning herself within her own warmth. She could see him walking further and further away before he finally stopped. With a weak voice, she called out his name.
"Takeru…"
And he turned back to look at her. Azure met hazelnut eyes and she could see the storm behind his calm façade. She could see all his emotions in his eyes, a weakness of his that she found beautiful. She always loved looking at them because they reminded her of home. She couldn't help but choked back a sob as she saw how broken and vulnerable and tired he was with everything. He took a step forward as she took a step back. This reminded her of a distant memory they shared before all the madness began. He took another and another while she went back, following his pace. She could see the flash of frustration in his eyes as they never broke contact with one another.
"Hikari." She could hear his voice breaking from just speaking her name, the stress and emotions finally catching up to him. She knew he went through too much for such a young boy. He was only 17 years old and he had to face the loss of his best friend already. Suddenly, lighting flashed and the booming sound of thunder followed. She broke eye contact with him as she took a moment to look up at the sky. It was already so dark with the sun no longer could be seen in the sky as it was shielded away by the looming rainclouds. She thought it wasn't natural that it was already so dark but then again, this part of the digimon world was never natural to her. It always felt like death.
She stilled as the warm hands of Takeru gently wiped away the tears that were flowing down her face. Tears? She didn't even realised she had cried. Slowly and tentatively, she looked up to meet his eyes and hazelnut met azure once more. She saw that he was no longer angry, frustrated but now she could see the guilt in his eyes. All that guilt because he could not save her the first time and at all their failed attempts that followed after. She felt his hands moving to her back—feeling the tingles and shivers climbing up her body, before he fully enveloped her in his arms. Her face instantly found his neck and they fit perfectly like a piece of puzzle. One hand moved to tangle itself with the tresses of her hair while the other gently held the small part of her back as if she was going to disappear that very moment. He could feel her bones, an indication that she hadn't been eating well for the past few weeks. She was thinner than the last time he saw her, much thinner than the last time he held her in his warm arms. He could feel the himself slowly getting drenched from the rain, as he tried to shield her from it. He could feel the front of his shirt dampening but he didn't know whether it was from the rain or from something else. He decided that he didn't mind it as long as he gets to hold her in his arms. He would trade anything just to be with her again, just to have her in his arms.
He realised he needed her in his life for him to be able to function him to be able to be himself and just be happy. He realised he didn't just want her, he needed her. It was different from all those other girls he'd been with before. No, this was a far more complex feeling. The feelings he had for her trumps every other girls' he was with. He realised, finally after so long why he needed her in his life. He loved her. He can finally admit the fact that he was in love with her. He didn't understand why it took so long for him to realised and why everyone else knew about it except for him. And maybe the girl in question.
He nuzzled his face in her hair, tightening his hold on her as he finally said those three precious words.
"I love you." With no doubts, no regrets and no hesitation whatsoever as he whispered those three sacred words. She pushed him away instantly. He expected happiness, gratefulness or anything along those lines when he looked into her eyes— but none could be seen. Instead, she was surprised, terrified even at his confession. More tears welled up in her eyes, mixing with the rain that was pouring down on the both of them. The rain was worsening, it was a downpour now compared to when it was drizzling before. He could see her slowly shaking her head as she managed to break free from him, his hold on her loosening at the shock. He could see her taking a step back from him and then another before she sprinted off into a whole new direction. He stood there, shocked and surprised and angry at her reaction. It took him a second to regain his thoughts before finally sprinting off after her. He ran and ran like a madman, chasing after his girlfriend. His feet were beginning to hurt as he could feel blisters starting to form. He could feel his energy draining due to the lack of sleep. He could feel himself losing breath as he struggled trying to inhale. But none of them managed to stop him, it only made him run faster at the urgency to pour his feelings into her. The murderous feeling of the rain hitting his back only increased his pace as he tracked down the girl. He could see her just in front of him, a few metres ahead of him. As he chased after her, he could see the thick forest slowly decreasing until he could see bright light and her running into it.
He grasped her hand, pulling her into him before finally smashing his lips onto her, carefully avoiding their teeth from clashing. He then poured all his pent-up emotions and feelings into her. It took a few moments before she finally kissed him back with just as much passion. His hands moved to cup her cheeks and wiping the stray tears that fell. Her hands fisted his shirt as she stood on the very front of her legs to help match their height. They broke away for air reluctantly, face still merely cetimetres apart from each other. Their noses touched as they breathe in each other's scent. With eyes locking, he confessed to her again. Again, she had a terrified look before slowly, in a small voice, she whispered back the words. Finally breaking free from each other, they realised that they had an audience. Miraculously, they managed to reach their rendezvous point. He could see the rest of the digi-destined and their partners standing just a few metres away. He could tell that their faces were getting redder as they heard cat-calls and cheering from them. He could even hear someone saying that it was about time that it happened. He looked at everyone slowly before catching eyes' with his girlfriend's brother. Taichi gave him a small nod, an indication that he approved their relationship as long as he took good care of her. That was an improvement compared to her ex-boyfriend who got a punched to the face when he caught them kissing goodbye. His hand unconsciously took hers in, giving her a small grip. A sign that everything was going to be okay.
Koushirou opened a digi-port with his digivice to the real world. Everyone all gathered and smiling as they mingled with each other, getting ready to head home. Tailmon ran to Hikari, pouncing on her as she told her how much she missed her. They exchanged smiles and a few tears were shed as they talked with each other, with Hikari being reserved more than normal. He knew it was weird seeing her like that but he didn't care because she was there with them. With him. Slowly, one by one went through the circle with swirling lines until only Takeru, Taichi and Hikari were left with their own digimons. Taichi planted a kiss on his sister's forehead, telling her how he missed her. The digimons decided to cross over first, letting the two share a moment with Takeru following after them slowly. He kept on stealing glances at his girlfriend, worrying about her. They knew they needed to work things out first after weeks of separation before they can go back to normal. He locked eyes with her as half of his body were already being sucked into the portal. She mouthed something he couldn't hear and he tried to make out what she was saying. Before he could, he was already on the other side of the world, the real world and their home. They waited, everyone waited for the siblings to appear in front of them happily. But then it took them a bit too long than normal. Everyone held their breath, anxiously waiting for the Yagami siblings to appear. A minute passed, then two and three.
It took a few more minutes before a flashing white light to appear in the room and somehow, Takeru could see a light tinge of pink within it. A wide smile was on his face as he saw a figure emerging from the light. His face instantly turned crestfallen as the sight in front of him and the digi-port instantly closing behind the figure. There stood Taichi with his head downwards, holding onto Hikari's digivice. His hair was a mess and his shirt was torn at the side. He could see trickled of blood on his forehead as he looked at them. He had a frown as his tears fell down his face and hit the floor. Takeru could hear everyone in the room gasping and some were already beginning to cry. But he— he couldn't do so because he dreaded the thought of losing her forever. He was numb, his brain was numb and somehow, he couldn't feel his heart beating because she had his heart. She was his heart and without her, he was no better than a robot. His mind replayed the words she whispered to him and he finally could decipher what she said.
Farewell.
And with that revelation, he fell on his knees, his hand clutching the shirt where his heart was supposed to be and cried. He cried, wailed, begged for her to come back. He failed her, he failed her once again. And he promised that he wouldn't fail her this time. not this time when their plan was solid, that they could bring her back in their arms. But he failed, and he would always keep on failing her. Everyone in the room could only stare as the boy they cared and grew up with broke down in front of everyone. The boy who was hurting as much as they did, probably even more. And there was nothing they could even do or say to make him better. There was nothing that could mend his broken heart except for his heart itself. Because without Hikari Yagami, Takeru Takaishi was no more.
Without her, he was merely just an empty shell.
And he felt like one too.
Author's note
Thank you to everyone that reviewed and favourited and followed the story. I'll try my best to keep you all entertain with the story and keep you all on your toes. I'll try to update frequently but I can't promise anything. Either way, thank you very much.
*deep bow*
Beauty of musings signing off