Leon here, and this chapter actually made me realize something. I'm kind of a sadist.

Disclaimer: Don't own digimon.

Random fact: The Japanese school year tends to end in mid-to-late March.


The last week of school had gone by fast, time always being something that snuck up on people, and it was something that Hikari was forcing herself to think about so that her apprehension at the upcoming night didn't stop her from attending Miyako's graduation party. Normally whenever the Chosen ever celebrated something it was just small get-togethers and hanging out, but tonight, mostly due to Daisuke's insistence, Miyako was going to have an actual bona fide drinking party for once. It was something that wouldn't have usually interested Hikari, and being frank it still wasn't something that she actually wanted to go to, but this was supposed to be a grand celebration, a night where a drunken Miyako was supposed to be a queen amongst friends and strangers, and that alone made it something that she had to go to.

As she stood right outside of Jun's apartment, an apartment that Daisuke was supposed to be taking care of while his sister was gone, Hikari double checked everything to make sure that she looked okay. Satisfied, she knocked on the door and waited until a hazy eyed Daisuke answered it; he reeked of alcohol.

"Hikari!" Not giving her a chance to greet him, Daisuke grabbed his old friend by the wrist and pulled her into Jun's apartment. He grinned at her as she tried to politely smile at him while he dragged her inside, and content with the drunken world he had created for himself, he stumbled as he flung an arm over her shoulder. As they walked deeper into a crowded room filled with strangers and classmates Hikari noted that Daisuke had forgotten to close the front door, "I didn't think you were coming?"

She smiled politely again while she wriggled out of Daisuke's hold, and before she answered him her eyes searched around the room. She was looking for Miyako to let the older girl know that she had showed up after all, but after a few moments of searching she couldn't find her. She pouted for a second; what was the point of being at a party for Miyako if Miyako hadn't even bothered to show up?

"Where's Miyako-san?"

"She dragged Ken off like twenty minutes ago."

Ah, yeah that sounded like something she would do. Say what you will about her, but Miyako is the kind of girl that takes what she wants when she wants it. Good thing Ken is a good sport about it all.

"Oh," Hikari paused for a second not really sure what else to say since talking about the sex life of her friends wasn't really the most comfortable topic around, but now that she was thinking about it, it did remind her that Miyako and Ken weren't her only friends that had the possibility of being intimate. It seemed to be just a matter of time until Takeru reached that level as well, though it wasn't something that Hikari liked thinking about. And on that not, having all her thoughts somehow make their way all back to him wasn't something she was very fond of either, "where's everyone else?"

Everyone else? Daisuke smiled. He may have been drunk, but who the hell did Hikari think she was fooling? When it came to being conspicuous she wasn't exactly a master at it.

"Takeru's out on the balcony."

Her face flushed since getting caught thinking about something so sensitive was pretty embarrassing, but it at least wasn't as bad as it could've been since this was Daisuke and not some random stranger that had caught her. Though, she wondered maybe it would have been better if things were the other way around? If that were the case at least her interactions with the Chosen wouldn't be as strained or awkward as they were now. Takeru wouldn't have been pitied by them as he had been earlier, and in turn the same would currently apply to her as well.

"Thanks."

She began to make the motions as if she were going to go outside where Takeru was at, but stopped when Daisuke touched her arm. She turned to him, but didn't really know what to say since Daisuke was staring at her strangely. She didn't know if it was all the beer in his system that had prompted him to stop her, but she had an inkling that it wasn't when she saw an old familiar look in his eyes.

"You look pretty tonight."

All Hikari did was smile at him. For all his brashness and the heavy-handed way he dealt with things, Daisuke could be really sweet sometimes.

"Thanks, you look nice too."

His response was to laugh as loud as he could, and even though it wasn't the most ideal place to end a conversation Daisuke backed away a little and waved goodbye at Hikari knowing that she wanted to go talk to Takeru or something to that extent. He waited until she returned his wave, and then happily made his into the drunken sea of people that had gathered in his sister's home. He felt Hikari's eyes still watching him, he felt the buzz from all that he had drank still going through his system, he felt as if the coming morning was years into the future; in short, Daisuke felt content.

It was watching him that made Hikari wonder if she was going to be able to feel like that anytime soon. He was filled with happiness, that much was obvious, but what stuck out most about it was that Daisuke's happiness was simple. Just him living his life with a smile on his face and glow in his heart; just one guy living his life as if nothing could ever go wrong.

So with that in mind Hikari moved through the crowd that had gathered to apparently celebrate Miyako, and couldn't help but wonder how many of the people there actually knew Miyako. She saw some familiar faces here and there, but it seemed as if there was an equal amount of strangers as well. As she pushed her way through she didn't know what to think, but after she let the thought settle for a moment she was a little bit more receptive to the idea. What better way for people to become friends than to join in drunken revelry and celebrate a single person's life changing moment?

It was a thought that once she embraced it actually made her feel pretty good, but the feeling didn't last long when she finally made her through and to the balcony door. She put a smile on her face wanting to look her best when Takeru saw her, but when she slightly opened the door in front of her, she stopped. All she saw there was him standing with Ayano at his side as they looked up at the stars in silence, and there was something about the sight that made Hikari not feel right in interrupting. Instead she watched them as she peeked through the slightly ajar door since she had clue to what else she should do, but she felt a tight knot form in her stomach when she saw Ayano grab Takeru's hand and rest her head on his shoulder.

What made it worse though was seeing Takeru be receptive of it, and it was like someone slapped her in the face when she saw him rest his head on hers. Had it been any other couple she would have thought the sight to actually be sweet in its own way, but watching this happen between Takeru and Ayano, it was starting to get pretty painful for her. It was like a knife in the wound when she heard what his girlfriend said next.

"I love you."

With that Hikari shut the door since she didn't want to hear what Takeru's response was. Everything had happened so fast, one minute she was talking with Daisuke while he was having fun being drunk and being his happy self, and the next she was watching Takeru as he embraced his girlfriend under the stars. And it was that thought and that word that made Hikari want to just go into one of Jun's rooms and cry; girlfriend, that's what Takeru had once wanted her to be.


Yeah this was a short chapter compared to the rest that I wrote right here, but I like where it ended.

P.s. The abruptness of it all near the end was on purpose. To mirror how quick everything was that was going through Hikari's mind. That, or I'm a shitty writer. Your choice!