4: Only You

Summary: Taiki and Akari go outdoor rock climbing together.

Timeframe: Approximately 4 years into the future.

"C'mon Akari! Just don't look down! You'll be fine!"

The 16-year-old redhead looked up to find her best friend at least 10 feet ahead on the course. "Easy for you to say!" she glared back at him. "You're super athletic and practically fearless! Just because I don't have acrophobia like Zenjirou doesn't mean that I'm not a little bit scared of heights!"

"But Akari! We'll never make it to the top by lunchtime if you keep stopping and looking down like that…"

"That's why I told you I didn't think that this would be such a great idea after all!" Akari stuck her tongue out at Taiki. "Can't we just hang out the way normal friends hang out?"

"But that'd be so boring! C'mon Akari, where'd your adventurous spirit go?" Taiki chuckled.

"Never had one. That's why Omegamon left me behind back then, right?" she joked.

"Nahh, and you know that's not true!" Taiki said sternly. "Now hurry up! You're past halfway there!"

Akari sighed. About a week ago, Taiki had excitedly barged into her house, waving around a couple of slips of paper and mentioning something about getting a discount for outdoor rock climbing.

"Oh. Yay?" She had replied confusedly, not knowing how to respond.

"Of course yay!" he had exclaimed. "That means that we can have a private picnic at the top for HALF-PRICE!"

"Oh—WAIT, 'WE'?"

Taiki had looked slightly confused. "Well of course. Who'd you want me to go with, Kiriha?"

"NO, it's not like that! I-I was just taken aback, that's all. I mean, it sounds…unique, but I don't think it'd be such a good idea…"

"Aw, don't worry about it. It'll be fun! Let's go next Saturday, okay? Leave that day open for your date with me!" he had joked, winking as he left as suddenly as he came.

"But wait…" she had tried to call after him, but he was already gone.

And now, here we are…Akari thought, slightly annoyed. She sighed again, trying not to look down. Like Taiki said, at least she was past halfway! Indeed, she had cleared 20 feet, but it had taken a tremendous amount of willpower and brute strength to make it that far. How the hell did Taiki manage to make it near the top? Oh wait—now he was at the top.

"Akari! Don't keep me waiting for so long!" He called to her, waving one hand in the air.

"Yeah, yeah," she grumbled. Okay, she breathed to herself, I can do this. I got this. Slowly, she inched herself up the boulder; right foot, left foot. Right hand, left hand. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Pretty soon, she was near the top.

"There you go! See? That wasn't so bad after al—"

But Taiki had spoken too soon. At that moment, while trying to grab onto the top, Akari's sweaty hands slipped off and she started to fall backwards.

"Akari!"

The next thing Akari knew, she was (finally) at the top.

But she was also on top of Taiki, who had fallen over backwards trying to pull her back up.

"OHMYGOD I AM SO SORRY," she spluttered, her face bright red. She immediately reeled away from him.

"Heh heh that's okay, it wasn't your fault," Taiki rubbed his head, looking rather embarrassed himself.

"A-anyway, l-let's eat now! You have our bentos, right?" Akari found it hard to meet his eye.

"Y-yeah." Taiki unzipped his backpack and took out two neatly wrapped bentos that Akari had prepared in the morning. "Here." He handed Akari her bento. Their hands brushed slightly as she took it from him, and she blushed a little.

"Th-thanks."

Taiki opened his bento and eyed the contents: some vegetables, the typical octopus-shaped sausages, rice topped with red bell peppers and two olives arranged in the form of Shoutmon's head. "Oh wow, this looks so good!" He took a giant bite of the rice. "Thanks, Akari!" He flashed her a huge smile.

Seeing that signature smile, Akari blushed again. "Th-thanks. I'm glad you like it…" She poked at her rice, trying to calm her racing heart.

"Huh? Why aren't you eating your bento?"

"I lost all my appetite climbing that horrendous thing," Akari tried to joke, pointing to the side of the boulder.

"Ahh, but you really should eat! I mean, that climb took a lot of energy out of me, so I'd imagine you'd be even more tired than me!" Taiki looked over at her, concerned.

The concern in his face made Akari's heart beat even faster. "S-stop looking at me like that! I'm not 12 years old anymore! I'm a big girl now! I can take care of myself!" But Taiki wouldn't avert his gaze. "Okay, okay, I'll eat," she grumbled, taking a small bite of her rice. It was honestly so hard to eat when her heart was beating a mile a minute…since when did this innocent picnic turn so awkward?

Oh right, since I found myself on top of Taiki…

Satisfied, Taiki looked off into the distance. "I'm…really glad you came, Akari. I wouldn't have done this with anyone else but you."

"Eh?"

"Zenjirou would refuse at once because of his acrophobia. Kiriha just wouldn't care. And Nene…well, if I went with Nene, people might get the wrong idea."

"Get the wrong idea…?"

Taiki looked at Akari and grinned. "That we're going out or something, silly! That's why it has to be you. Only you."

Akari turned red. "Well actually I—"

"WHOA since when did it turn past 1? We gotta get down soon because I promised Yuu I'd be his kendo practice buddy at 2!" Taiki exclaimed, looking at his watch.

No way! Akari felt frustrated. The mood was perfect, and she was just about to confess her love for Taiki...

"Uh Akari? You okay? You look a bit out of it…"

"N-no, I'm fine. A-anyways, let's go then! Can't keep Yuu waiting, ha ha ha!" Well damn. That was anti-climactic. Taiki smirked, and Akari instantly felt nervous. "Wh-why are you smiling like that…"

"'Cause y'know, the only way down is the same way we came up…you ready?"

A/N: Sorry for the abrupt ending…but I wanted to leave Akari's reaction completely up to you guys hehe C:

Although I have never actually gone outdoor rock climbing (been indoor rock climbing plenty of times though :D), I know that there are ropes and pulleys and stuff so you don't fall…I didn't know how to incorporate that into my story without ruining the mood (because I really wanted the suspense of Taiki grabbing Akari so she wouldn't fall), so I just left it out altogether. Suspend your disbelief, yeah? :D

And as always, R/R-ing would be nice :D