Alright it's me Leon C. again, and I bring you yet another chapter of Distance. This is easily my favorite story that I'm having the most fun writing, and by coincidence it awesome seems to be my most popular story. Hell it's even my first story to break 50 reviews so yeah thanks for that to the readers of mine who like to express their opinions after they read. You know who you are. One reader, a ll-Persephone-ll, asked how many chapters I was planning to write, but truthfully I'm not sure, and I've thought of many different directions that this story can take. Hopefully you my readers like the route I chose to go with. Oh and also this is the long awaited Hikari chapter that has been twice delayed already. One thing I do have to say however is that yeah I agree that Hikari deserves a break, so be expecting that in this chapter. There will still be that angsty element, but I hope I did a good jopb in putting in that silver lining as well.

Disclaimer: I don't own digimon, but I own up to the fact that I write fan fiction based on said series.


Hikari thought of herself as a terrible friend. It was White Day, a day of love, and here she was hoping that her best friend's relationship would fail. To be honest she had been hoping for that since the moment Takeru first showed interest in Ayano, but everyday became harder for Hikari because everyday Takeru seemed to take more of a liking to the artist. It was only a matter of time before the two of them became official.

She had decided to stay home from school that day, having Taichi help her in convincing their parents that she was sick, and Hikari sat on the couch watching TV as she was eating ice cream while still dressed in her pajamas. Usually she was excited each year for White Day, but now she was not in the mood seeing as she was going to have to watch Takeru hand a thoughtful romantic gift to some girl that was too pretty for her own good.

Hikari hated feeling so jealous of Ayano, especially when the artist's relationship with Takeru was her own fault, but she couldn't help but get angry whenever she saw the girl. This wouldn't have been that big of a problem since they barely saw each other in school and for the most part attended different kinds of events, but ever since Takeru had started hanging out with Ayano, Hikari had been forced to spend time with her as well.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that Hikari didn't notice that her brother had just gotten home and was staring at her. She was still thinking about what exactly Takeru saw in Ayano, but halfway through her thinking she felt that it wasn't that hard to think of reasons why he would be so enamored with the artist. For one she was very pretty, the classy kind of pretty not the usual trashy one, and Hikari didn't know if she quite measured up to Ayano's looks. She had creative talent, like Takeru himself, and Hikari somewhat felt that her own interest in photography didn't quite match up to the other girl's artistic skills. Also she was apparently rich, but Hikari knew that Takeru wasn't really interested in that sort of thing. Either way that was still a plus in her favor.

"Are you okay?"

Being shaken out of her distraction, Hikari who was now shoving another glob of ice cream in her mouth looked up at her older brother. Comfort food was always the tastiest.

"I'm fine Ni-san."

Taichi eyed up his sister, and already knew immediately that she was lying. She looked terrible, lately terrible being her normal look and Taichi had a small inclination about who was responsible. He knew that this was Takeru's fault, and although he wanted to be angry with the younger boy he sympathized with him. He had gone through something similar.

"Is that why you're still wearing your pajamas at almost four o'clock, and eating all of our ice cream?"

Hikari looked at the spoonful of ice cream that she was about to enjoy, but she set her spoon down in the bucket feeling fat and guilty for having eaten so much.

"I don't want to talk about it."

Taichi didn't like his little sister being sad, so whether or not she wanted to he would get her to talk about the situation. Yamato had been right when he said that Hikari was jealous of whatever girl his brother was now dating, and having the proof right in front of him Taichi wanted to do everything in his power to make the jealously die down, or at least make his little sister's tough time just the tiniest bit more bearable.

"Is this about Takeru-kun's new girlfriend?"

He knew it was when his sister shot daggers at him with her eyes.

"I said I don't want to talk about it."

Hikari knew that her brother had always been at least the tiniest bit dense, but she didn't know how he couldn't understand her wishes as he sat down next to her. She, in vain, tried to hold onto the bucket of ice cream she still had in her hands, but Hikari stopped resisting when Taichi got the ice cream away from her. She decided to listen to what he had to say; it was the only way to get her dessert back.

"Alright don't talk, but you have to listen to what I have to say. Takeru has a new girlfriend right now, and the only reason that she's been taking up most of his time lately is because they're in the honeymoon stage right now. Once they start dating longer, or once you get yourself a boyfriend it won't really seem like that big of a deal."

A boyfriend that wasn't Takeru. For Hikari that had been something that she had wanted for a long time since people around her almost expected her to end up with Takeru, but now that that seemed the most likely outcome, she wanted nothing to do with it. She had been stupid for turning down Takeru; at least that's what Hikari was now feeling. She had so many damn chances. She should have said yes.

"I don't want a boyfriend Ni-san, I want Takeru."

Taichi looked at his sister oddly for a moment, but then sighed as realization hit him. His sister, now at a point where Takeru had already had his heart broken multiple times over and had a new romantic interest, wanted to be with her best friend. He didn't want to say anything, but it wasn't fair to Takeru that this was now how Hikari felt, but Taichi, always the doting older brother, knew that his baby sister wallowing in sadness was not fair either.

"For you and Takeru-kun to date," Taichi paused for a moment wanting to put his next words as delicately as possible, "would be really impractical with all that's happened."

Hikari didn't look at her brother, and she kept her gaze looking down and away letting his words sink in. This was what she wanted, but now that the fact that Takeru and she had little chance to move past friendship was in her face, she wished she could have taken back all the rejections that she knew had deeply hurt Takeru. She wished that she had not pulled away from his kisses.

"How do you know that?"

She was torturing herself, she knew that, but Hikari couldn't just drop the subject now that the truth of it was coming out. She had taken Takeru's feelings for granted, and now that they were slipping further and further away from her she knew that she should have not taken him lightly. She wondered if he still had those feelings for her, and Hikari also wondered if it would still be too late to act on those feelings.

"From what Yamato says you've rejected him like what four times?"

Taichi waited for a moment, and took his sister's silence as a yes and continued with what he was going to say. He didn't know if he was sounding harsh, and he certainly did not want that, but he felt as if he needed to make sure that Hikari knew the seriousness of what was going on. If Taichi didn't get her to understand, than the possibility that she would continue to get even more depressed than she already was still existed.

"You've hurt him Hikari. Guys don't forget that kind of stuff."

She felt like telling off her older brother, but stopped when she heard a knock at the door. She stood up and headed for the door since something inside of her told her that it was Takeru. Seeing his face when she opened the door made her smile since that something had been right.

However, the smile lessened when she saw that standing at Takeru's side was the only person that Hikari could honestly say that she hated. She was a little angry at Takeru since she felt that he had no right to bring Ayano of all people to her home, but she felt more hurt than anything seeing Takeru with the artist girl. It was not lost on Hikari how said artist girl was glaring at her.

"We'll talk later Hikari."

As Taichi said this he watched his little sister turn to him for a moment before he got up from the couch and set the tub of ice cream he had confiscated from his sister on the coffee table in the living room. Taichi then made his way to the front door of his apartment and exchanged the proper greetings and goodbyes with Takeru and this girl that was obviously the same one that he had been hearing so much about lately. After quickly putting on some shoes Taichi left the apartment, and he made a note to himself that he had to congratulate Takeru later on scoring a total babe.

"Your brother seems nice."

Hikari's eyes met Ayano's, and she knew that the other girl was daring her to do something or say something that would make her look bad in front of Takeru. At first when Ayano was spending more and more time with their group Hikari thought that she was only imagining the dirty looks or off hand compliments that worked better as insults, but the longer she was around this artist the more she knew everything that had been done was on purpose. Hikari hated that whenever Takeru was watching, that Ayano seemed to be the perfect girlfriend, and that whenever his attention was somewhere else it seemed that Ayano would get just the tiniest bit meaner.

"He is."

Both girls turned to Takeru who had broken the tension, and both girls smiled at him, but stopped after a couple seconds knowing that the other was smiling as well. For a moment Hikari felt like punching the girl in her pretty stupid little face, but then she surprisingly felt a little sorry for her when she looked at things from her point of view. If Hikari had been going out with a boy that she knew was in love with a different girl, and he still hung out and visited said girl, that she would have been angry at the girl as well.

"What are you doing here Keru?"

Hikari made sure to say Takeru's nickname especially affectionate, and she made sure that Ayano had a good view of the way she placed her hand on his arm. Hikari then smiled; partly because she was now touching Takeru, but mostly because she could tell that Ayano was pissed off.

"You weren't at school today so I came to check on you."

Hikari's smile came back; Takeru was always so sweet.

"I'm fine Takeru."

Hikari noticed that Takeru almost had that childish twinkle in his eye that had disappeared when she had first rejected him. She hadn't seen that twinkle in what seemed to her a really long time, and Hikari didn't realize until now on how badly she missed even the tiniest thing about Takeru. She frowned a bit when she thought about if it was Ayano who had brought back that twinkle.

"Are you sure?"

She saw the way he was smirking at her, probably since she was wearing pajamas with a bunch of ice cream stains on them, and Hikari had to fight back the urge to smack Takeru. She looked at Takeru and then at the girl who was with him, and she knew that as soon as Takeru's face frowned that he had understood what she wanted. She watched as he looked down at Ayano, and Hikari didn't like the way that the other girl smiled at him and put her hand to his face. Ayano had also taken the hint that Hikari had wanted her to go away, but Hikari hated what Ayano did next. She kissed Takeru.

Hikari didn't like what Takeru did either, which was kissing Ayano in return, and she couldn't help but feel a little bit hurt seeing a goofy grin on Takeru's face after they had broken away from each other.

"I'll see you later tonight okay Keru?"

He smiled at her, and she returned that smile with just as much happiness. Hikari hated watching the two of them.

"I'm a bit nervous."

Ayano's response to Takeru was to laugh and kiss him on the cheek, and then without giving him a chance to do anything in return, she quickly scurried off down the hallway of Hikari's apartment. Hikari watched the two, and admitted that the dynamics of their relationship was cute to an extent, but she still couldn't help but feel jealously as she watched Takeru's gaze linger on the other girl, and said girl turn back around to smile at her almost boyfriend with a face that was too damn pretty for her good. Hikari couldn't believe that she had pushed Takeru away; that she had thrown away her chance to act the way Ayano had been with Takeru. Hikari knew that she couldn't watch anymore, and that she had to somehow distract Takeru.

"What's tonight?"

Takeru paused for a moment, and Hikari wondered about if he was mad.

"She's meeting my ka-san."

Hikari bit her lip clearly not wanting to hear that things were getting so serious in Takeru's new relationship, and she moved out of the way so that he could go inside her apartment. She watched as he sat on the couch, and after closing her front door she made her way to Takeru's side.

"Oh. I didn't know things were that far along yet."

Takeru didn't respond Hikari at first, and it was obvious that he had something that was on his mind. There was a selfish feeling in Hikari that bubbled up with her wishing that something about Ayano was troubling him. Maybe he found out that she had another boyfriend somewhere else, or maybe she was a lesbian only using him as a cover. Something like that was too good to be true in Hikari's eyes.

"Please don't be mean to her."

Hikari sighed knowing exactly who he was talking about.

"She hates me."

It was Takeru who sighed this time.

"Please?"

She didn't want to say no to him since he sounded so desperate, but she didn't even know why it was so important to him that she and Ayano were friends. The fact that he didn't even try to deny that Ayano hated Hikari proved that he knew there was some animosity between them, and if he knew that then Takeru had no right to ask Hikari to play nice with the other girl.

"I hate her too."

She watched as he ran his hand through his hair and debated something in his mind. She didn't like watching him think, because it made Hikari feel as if Takeru was trying to decide between her and Ayano, and the answer should have been obvious to him. Hikari was the one he had known for years on end, and Hikari was the comrade who had fought by his side. She knew that he had forgiven her for the broken heart that she caused, and that alone should have let Takeru be able to choose her immediately. Hikari's thoughts were dampened though when she remembered her brother saying that guys don't forget it when a girl hurts them. She wished that just this once that her brother wasn't right.

"Maybe I should go."

Hikari felt a pain in her heart feeling that Takeru had made his choice between the girls; a choice that wasn't her. If that's how he felt Hikari didn't even want to see him, and for a tiny brief moment she hated him. The hate though disappeared when she felt heartache rush through her body once again. She wanted Takeru to stay with her so much.

"If that's how you feel, then leave Takeru."

He didn't move for a moment, not wanting to be without Hikari again just yet, but then he sighed as he stood up. He thought he was over the girl, but honestly he knew that he had only been lying to himself now that he was once again in her presence. Everything about her made his heart leap, but everything about her made that same heart push the boundaries of how much pain he could feel. He reached into his pocket, and as he left Takeru dropped the present that he had gotten for Hikari beside her on the couch.

Hikari looked at the wrapped box, and immediately knew that Takeru did get her something for white day after all. Cautiously, she took the box and carefully removed the wrapping and smiled when she saw what was inside. It was a beautiful and expensive looking necklace, and Hikari looked up at Takeru who was now standing at her front door already about to leave.

"Keru wait."

She watched as he froze, and when he turned around Hikari smiled at him; the smile only growing larger when he smiled at her in return. He walked back over to her and sat next to her expectantly wondering what she had to say. Hikari handed him the necklace and turned so that he could put it on her. He did.

Now that she was wearing it, Hikari looked at the pendant that was attached to the necklace and smiled at the pink Sakura flower. Sakura flowers were everywhere when it came to Japan, but she knew the reason that Takeru had given her a beautiful necklace with a pendant of one was a reason of his own. There was an old story that the two of them always used to talk about whenever Takeru was in a deep feeling mood, and Hikari's heart beat fast just thinking about it.

There was a princess, a daughter of a mountain god, named Konohanasakuya-hime whose symbol was the Sakura flower. One day on a seashore she met a god named Ninigi, and the two of them fell in love. Ninigi ended up asking the Sakura princess to be his wife to which she accepted, but her father, the mountain god, proposed that Ninigi marry his oldest daughter instead. However, Ninigi was in love with the younger princess, and he refused to marry anyone other than her. The mountain god reluctantly accepted allowing Ninigi to marry his younger daughter, and it is said that this is why the lives of humans are like Sakura flowers; short and fleeting.

There was more to the story than just that, but Hikari didn't remember the rest; such things were always more of interest to Takeru. However, what she did know of the old story touched her that even gods would give up immortality for love. Whenever she used to hear Takeru tell that story to her she always wanted to experience a love that powerful, but it never occurred to her why Takeru would tell that particular story. Thinking back on it maybe it was because he already felt a love that passionate, and was trying to find a way to express that love.

"Thank you Takeru."

She smiled at his smile, and there was something inside Hikari that told her that maybe things were going to start to get better. The way that Takeru was looking at her she knew that the boy still loved her, and somehow she knew that his love was the powerful kind that was just like the one that Ninigi had. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it as they sat on the couch together. It was the best White Day that she had ever had.


The Japanese story that I included in this chapter is actually a real one from Japanese Mythology. If you have the time I suggest going to check it out. it's always good to learn about different cultures, and I just hope that I didn't butcher it or anything.

P.S. It feels like I've uploaded/posted a lot in this past week. Maybe I should take a break from this site for a bit? Maybe not. haha