Some of you may already know that my dog was stolen about a month ago (more details on my bio page) and I haven't really been in the writing mood because of it. I'm not trying to find an excuse for being late on the updates, but I'm just giving you guys a reason to let you know that I've kind of lost the heart to keep writing as of now, especially with my less than serious stories. Hope my dog's safe, and if I find the guy who stole him, ima kick his ass. Especially because of the fact that since my dog was taken, two other dogs have been reported missing as well.

Disclaimer: I don't own digimon. Sometimes it pisses me off that I have to say that at the beginning of every chapter, but other times I don't really mind and somewhat enjoy it since it's kind of a staple of writing fanfiction.

P.S. Not to get your hopes up, but I think this is one of my favorite chapters that I've written for this story.


It was one of those nights in Japan, the kind where the air was cold regardless of how the daytime had been, and the way that the frosty clouds of Hikari's breath formed in front of her only worked to cement in the fact that she should've been home by then. It was much too late out, much too dark, to be out looking for Takeru, and yet here she was going after him as the result of a single phone call. When he had called earlier it was like the butterflies in her stomach couldn't decide whether she was excited or uncomfortable at hearing his voice, so she reluctantly settled for a combination of both with an added dash of nervousness and headed straight for where he said he was.

According to what Takeru had told her he was at a little pond area in one of the several parks that were located in Odaiba, and Hikari felt that uncomfortable sensation pop up again when trying to think of why he had been there. It was a place that the Chosen used to go to a lot when they were younger after Daisuke had accidently discovered it since it was somewhat hidden from the rest of the park, and Hikari didn't like what she assumed had happened. She knew that Takeru had been out with Ayano earlier, but the thought of this random girl, this stranger really to everyone but Takeru, being in this place where the Chosen had spent countless hours of their youth made Hikari feel troubled. She knew it was silly, but it was like Ayano had violated a sacred place; and what's worse, Takeru had helped her.

She didn't like thinking about it since it just reminded Hikari that Takeru was moving on with his life, and it wasn't just from her; lately it seemed as if he was moving on from everything and everyone else. He had been acting more and more distant ever since he started hanging out with Ayano, but this past week Takeru had been downright reclusive in the way that he blew off his friends and family. The situation in and of itself was upsetting to her, but what got Hikari the angriest about everything though was the way that nobody seemed to mind at all. Maybe it was just her jealousy talking, but she thought that the 'honeymoon phase' that everyone said Takeru was in was just, for lack of a better phrase to use, straight up bullshit.

These thoughts though, those ugly feelings, disappeared when she moved passed some shrubbery in the park and walked a little ways more only to find Takeru lying down in the grass staring up at the sky. Hikari smiled since she, despite the underlying selfishness of it, enjoyed the sight of Takeru relaxing without Ayano anywhere near him. She knew that she would have trouble getting her relationship with Takeru back to where it once was, that it would be almost impossible to move passed being just platonic, but hey, a girl can dream right?

"Takeru!"

He sat up when he heard Hikari call his name, and he waved and motioned for her to come over to him when he saw her. Takeru smiled as Hikari made her way to him noting that it was nice seeing her since he didn't really have the chance to do much of that or even talk to her when at school or otherwise on account of the fact that his new girlfriend was taking up almost all of his free time. He didn't really know what to make of it since he had never been a boyfriend to anyone before and he wasn't sure if something like that was supposed to be normal or not, so Takeru decided to just ask Yamato about it later or something and simply stood up from the grass to greet his old friend.

"Hikari," What was meant to be an enthusiastic hello turned into a hug that Takeru initiated, and it wasn't until after a moment that he realized that there was still a certain awkwardness that accompanied such an action. He sheepishly let go of Hikari and let his arms fall to his sides, and Takeru just dropped back into the grass figuring that there wasn't much else that he could do. Despite the cold Japanese air that surrounded them, despite that lingering awkwardness that found itself still floating around, Takeru was happy to see Hikari; to be out here with her, "what's up?"

She smiled at him knowing that Takeru was just making small talk on account of the unsuspected awkward moment, and instead of answering just sat in the spot next to where he was laying down. She honestly didn't mind the hug from Takeru or the somewhat odd feelings that were made all the more evident when he did that, but Hikari was still having certain disconcerting sentiments that she couldn't really put her finger on. Although to be honest, even though she would have preferred to ignore it, she knew that the real reason why she was so uneasy sitting with Takeru in a place where only about an hour ago he had been there with Ayano, was because the air around the pond had a certain ambience of romance to it.

"Did you really call me all the way over here just to say what's up?"

Her voice had that oh so familiar jokey tone that Takeru had come to miss, and he let the sound settle before he spoke at all. It was a noise too dainty to not take the time to appreciate.

"Was Miyako-san mad that I didn't show up?"

"Not that I noticed," Hikari paused for a moment as she shuffled in the grass not really sure if she should say the next part or not, "she was too distracted with Ken."

As Takeru laid there with blades of grass prickling the back of his neck, he let the simple smile that he had on his face remain since what Hikari said was, to put it simply, 'delightful' for all the wrong reasons.

"Poor guy."

Hikari scrunched her eyebrows and looked over at Takeru not really sure where he was going with his statement. He was either going to genuinely be concerned about Ken, which she didn't hold her breath for, or he was going to make a dumb Daisuke-like joke at Miyako's expense.

"Why?"

She was being cautious, and inwardly prepared for the worst. There was little chance that what the blonde was going to say was going to be pretty.

"Miyako raped him again."

She grunted. Damn it, Daisuke.

"If Ken didn't like it, he wouldn't go along with it."

As he laid there in the grass Takeru laughed heartily, more so from the unfortunate yet humorous implications of their conversation than any prickling grass. It had been a long time since he had been able to just sit alone with Hikari and laugh. No drama, no discomfort, no fakeness; just laughter.

"If he didn't go along with it, it'd be me or Daisuke that Miyako-san would sink her claws into."

Like Iori's joke earlier in the night, Hikari couldn't hold in the chuckle knowing that it was all in good fun. She didn't know why she had been so nervous about coming to hang out with him all night, and as she snuck a glance at the boy who was nonchalantly staring at nothing in the sky, Hikari felt as if she had somehow gone back in time. As if she had somehow traversed through yet another unknown dimension.

Here she was with Takeru, at a point she had doubts that they could one day reach again, and there they were sitting with each other, joking with each other, as if nothing had ever happened. It was like the two of them had both silently and subconsciously agreed to ignore all the regrets and poorly handled incidents that had accumulated between them lately, and Hikari was grateful; even if it lasted for just this night.

"Admit it Takeru, you love her."

"Of course," despite all the joking around or brashness that was exchanged between the Chosen, he knew that none of them ever meant it at heart. These people were his truest companions, his family, or as the Italians would put it, his paisans, and Takeru for one was not ashamed to admit it, "I love all you guys."

It was a nice thing to hear, especially since she and the Chosen in generally had seen very little of Takeru since his new relationship had taken off, and she decided to play around in a way that she would have never dared had she not felt so reassured.

"Even me?"

Takeru didn't even need think about his answer.

"Especially you."

It was something to smile about, so Hikari didn't try to hide it despite the cheesiness of it, and despite the fact that right now was a dangerous time to think too much of Takeru's words on account of his girlfriend.

"That's just corny."

The cold air made him shiver for a moment, and as he formed little clouds of nothing when he took a breath, Takeru glanced over at Hikari. She looked a tiny bit cold but she seemed to be fine, so Takeru set his eyes back up to the sky. It seemed so empty without any stars in it.

"I thought girls liked corny?"

"Yeah, but you have a girlfriend Keru. You're only supposed to be corny with her."

Takeru sighed. He seriously didn't want to talk about, or even be reminded about the fact that he had a girlfriend right now. He had decided that he was going to call Ayano later, probably in the morning, but right now he just needed time to think, and just wanted a distraction. What better way to get both than in the form of Hikari?

"Can we please not talk about her right now?"

And just like that, the playful atmosphere that they had set up had vanished. Hikari shuffled in the grass suddenly feeling uncomfortable, and she looked over at Takeru knowing that it was a different type of discomfort than the one she had felt earlier. Before it had been her nervousness and the awkwardness of the situation that she was in that made her uneasy, but now the discomfort came from the fact that something was bothering Takeru.

"Is something wrong?"

His eyes didn't move from the starless sky that he had been looking at all night, and he wondered how it would have appeared with no bustling city or buzzing streetlights to obscure its true form. Of all the billions and billions of stars out there, how many would he see if the sky wasn't clouded with smog from factories, and fluorescent lights from office buildings? As he still stared, Takeru could just imagine it; beautiful.

"Would you date someone that has been with people?"

It was an odd question, but Hikari could tell that it was weighing heavily on Takeru's mind as he asked it. She hoped that it wasn't more serious than it sounded, and she hoped that despite her dislike for the person that he was dating, despite her dislike for Ayano, that she could somehow help Takeru out.

"People date all the time."

"That's not what I mean," This isn't what he wanted to talk or even think about, but it was too late to just say nothing. His conversation with Ayano earlier was still ringing loud in his head, still hurting even though he knew that she wasn't at fault, "like sexually."

Hikari had no idea what to say at first. Ayano didn't really seem like the promiscuous type, but from what she could tell according to what Takeru had said his girlfriend had apparently done things with at least one other guy. He hadn't outright said anything, Hikari knowing that this wasn't really the type of thing that he would want to acknowledge, so she sat and thought for a moment. In front of her was the opportunity to be proactive about Takeru and Ayano breaking up, and being perfectly honest, she was more than tempted to do something about it.

"It's not fair to judge a girl by things she's done before you dated her."

He was still lying down, and Takeru knew that Hikari was right. He hated the idea of Ayano having any boyfriends other than him, but just thinking about the one that she had told him about earlier, the one she had let do all those things to her, Takeru despised him. Even though he wanted to he knew that he couldn't hold it against her, and he just let Hikari's words settle in his mind. He made sure to remind himself to call Ayano on his walk home instead of waiting for morning.

"You know, I don't think I like living in a big city like this."

It was an abrupt change in topic, but Takeru had no doubt that Hikari would go along with it knowing that this abrupt change was something that he needed right now. And as he stared up at the starless sky above him, as he hoped that his eyes wouldn't start to tear up from all the ugly thoughts that he was having, Takeru wondered about the place that his grandmother lived. In the city of Matsue, in the area that used to be Shimane, he wondered if it was still the same little town whose skies were brimming with stars. He wondered, would Ayano like it?

"Why not?"

And under the empty sky, there they sat with only cold air surrounding them, as if nothing was ever going to happen.

"No stars."


(Something I'm going to post on my bio later, but I feel fits here too.)

I haven't been fair to you guys. Some of you have been faithful in reading and have expressed excitement in the things that I've posted, and I strongly feel that I've betrayed your trust. The business with my dog has hurt me, as silly as it might sound the old furry bastard was my friend, and having him stolen almost killed my desire to write not only fanfiction, but everything in general, but I can't just stop. That's just letting some asshole win, and well we can't have that now, can we? I'm done just sitting in the slump that I've been in, and I'm done just looking despair in the face. So fuck it, and cheers to the rest of the year my fellow writers and readers!

With regards to you amazing people,

Leon Ciasslasi

To absent friends, let the adventure continue