Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Disclaimer: I could use the money I'd surely have if I did own Digimon.

Trigger warning for sexual assault. This chapter touches on a subject that may be sensitive for some people. While it does not delve into the matter too deeply, if you are someone who might be made uncomfortable by the mention of it, please consider skipping this chapter.

Prepare yourselves. The drama reaches a zenith in this chapter.

All-American Girl

By ebacusta

Chapter 13:

Breathing: Part 2

Shakey's Pizza was crowded, though since it was Friday night, the opposite would have been more surprising. Considering the late hour, the crowd was mostly young people—high school and college students hanging out and recharging after a long night of playing in the streets of Shibuya.

Of course, the boys seated in the corner of the restaurant were completely oblivious to this or the stares they were attracting from the girls around them. Though the table was stacked with empty plates, a plate full of pizza sat in front of each boy. Not that they took much notice of either fact at this point. They were too busy laughing, much to the chagrin of one of the blondes seated in the middle. If you could say he was "sitting," that is. Face flushed, Takeru was currently scrunching as far down in his seat as possible.

The dark-haired boy seated to the right of his brother, Yamato, let out a gush of air as he attempted to quell his laughing, managing only to quiet his guffaws to sniggers. "Wow," he gasped, slipping his fingers beneath his glasses to wipe his eyes. "To think we've been in the presence of royalty all evening."

"Royalty, you say, Akira?" the other blond, seated at the far end of the seat to Takeru's left, squeezed out between laughs. "Whoever do you mean?"

"Why, my dear, Yutaka, surely you must have noticed Prince Charming," Akira replied, gesturing grandly to Takeru. Akira, Yutaka, and Yamato burst out into renewed laughter.

"I knew I shouldn't have believed Yamato when he said you guys wouldn't laugh," Takeru mumbled, tangling his hand in his hair as he lowered his head to the table in defeat. Yamato's band mates were generally cool, relaxed people—just like Takeru remembered them. Before he'd lost contact with them after Yamato had gone to college, they had often been an endless source of comfort and advice about girls when Takeru had started dating in middle school. That had been his mistake. Thinking that being good with girl problems meant they were good with all problems, especially his current predicament.

A soft laugh sounded from beside him, stopping his downward spiral into despair. "Takeru," Takashi said, patting him reassuringly on the back. "It's not so bad. Unexpected moments like these are exactly when people discover new sides of themselves. You may never know, you may gain some really cool new experiences from this."

"I suppose that is one way to look at it," Takeru grumbled into his hands. Despite Takeru's less than enthusiastic response to his attempt to assuage the teen's mortification, Takashi laughed.

"Tell you a secret," he said quietly, leaning close to the collapsed Takeru's ear.

Takeru looked up at the brown-haired drummer, gratitude in his eyes. "Takashi, you're the best. I always knew you were my favorite!" Takeru exclaimed, hugging the drummer in the manliest way he could in their awkward configuration.

That shut Akira and Yutaka up fast. "Wh-what?!" Akira demanded, slamming his fist on the table in indignation.

"Favorite?" Yutaka sputtered.

Takeru and Takashi took one look at both boys' faces and burst out laughing. Before long, their sputtering and incredulous exclamations had been replaced by laughter. They were all still chortling as they scooted out of the booth, said their goodbyes, and parted ways in front of the restaurant.

Now alone, the brothers started strolling towards the subway station. Though there was still an hour before last train, neither of them really had anything left to do in Shibuya, and if the number of drunk people staggering around was any indication, there didn't seem to be anything left for anyone sober to truly enjoy.

"Well, that was fun," Yamato sighed, tucking his hands into his pockets.

Takeru nodded, following suit. "Save for me having to suffer complete humiliation at the hands of your band mates, yeah, I'd say it was pretty fun."

"Okay, okay. Keep your gloves on, Prince Charming," Yamato laughed.

Takeru shot him a look. "I told you that, because I needed some advice. I got enough laughter at my expense from my friends." More than a week and a half had passed since the casting announcement, and their first big cast meeting was on Monday. Takeru, unlike his brother, was not a singer. He was not one to stand on a stage in front of crowds. Since Miss Kinoki wasn't budging on letting him do backstage work instead, he'd wanted some advice from some professionals, people who used to do it for fun all the time. Instead, he'd gotten more of what he'd already had more than enough of: laughter.

"Fine, you're right," Yamato acquiesced. "I'm sorry. It's just funny th—"

"Hey there, big boy," a voice cut in. The boys turned simultaneously as a blonde—hair clearly from a bottle—sidled up to Yamato and dragged her hand slowly down the length of his chest. "You're pretty cute," she breathed into his face. She was shorter than him, but that didn't stop her alcohol-laden breath from heading straight up his nose. Yamato recoiled instantly.

Had another girl just as drunk as her companion not come up behind Takeru and pinched his behind by way of greeting, he might have gotten a bit of retribution for his earlier embarrassment at the hands of the Teenage Wolves. But life just couldn't give the younger boy a break. His hand had barely even risen from his side, his fingers curling into a fist as he prepared to point and laugh at his elder brother, when the other girl slithered up to his side and cupped his cheek with her hand. And though Takeru tried not to judge people based on outer appearances, he couldn't stop himself from thinking that she wasn't even pretty.

Everything about her seemed slightly off. Her skin was a touch too dark, her lips a bit too pink, her eyes barely too small, her nose just too pug. The highlight of her face was definitely her cheeks, which were rounded and flushed (no doubt from the alcohol), yet without detracting from the slimness of her face. At least her skin was soft, he thought as he tried to dislodge her hand.

"You're too good to be true," she purred, pressing her face closer to hers. He ducked out of the way of a kiss and sidestepped her attempt to hug (read: hang on) him.

Yamato seemed to be faring much worse with his lady friend. They were locked in a stalemate, she holding his right wrist in a visor grip, and him holding her left, which seemed to be fighting to unbutton his shirt. "Ma'am, I don't… know you!" he exclaimed, grunting with the effort, lurching from side to side in an attempt to both throw her off balance and escape her left hand's lunges for the placket of his shirt.

She was undeterred. "Well then, we should definitely fix that, don't you think?" She gave him what she must have thought was a sultry look, but it just made her look half asleep instead.

"No!" he replied.

"Where are you from? You come here often? I've not seen you around before!" her friend said, still trying to lay her hands on Takeru. Fortunately, it seemed that his basketball training made him just a bit too quick for her, especially in her intoxicated state. "Come on, baby. Let's hang out! The night is young!"

"I can't. I have to go. Early morning appointment. And I live far away. Far, far away!" he added for good measure.

"Oh, come on. Live a little!" she begged, lunging forward and managing to pin him against the wall. She pursed her lips and leaned forward.

"Ugh, oh god, no! I can't! I have a girlfriend!" he exclaimed, straining to get away and finally turning his head to the side in hopes of at least avoiding any mouth-to-mouth contact. It was then that he caught sight of another drunk girl, only this one looked familiar.

"Hikari," he breathed. She was dressed in a short dress, surrounded by a small group of boys Takeru didn't recognize. They hadn't talked since she'd yelled at him last week on the beach, but he'd been worried. Something had obviously been bothering her the last week and half; she hadn't been herself at all. But now, she was especially out of sorts, leaning heavily on the shoulder of a blond boy with long, carefully coiffed hair. Another boy with brown hair had his arm around her waist, ready to catch her if she fell. Something that looked like it might occur at any moment. Her footfalls were uncertain and inconsistent. In fact, she was less walking and more being dragged by her company.

Takeru's heart jumped in his throat. Something wasn't right. Sure, he didn't know who her companions were, but something about her body language—and theirs—seemed to indicate that she didn't know who they were either, but they definitely wanted to get closer to her. They were moving toward an alleyway at a pace that definitely outstripped Hikari's own stride. Takeru didn't even have to look up at the neon skyline to know where they were headed.

In a panic, he yanked his arm from the girl's grasp and used his shoulder to shove her away. She squawked in protest and began flapping her arms as she yelled at him, but Takeru wasn't listening. His eyes were following the group as they neared the alley.

"Yamato!" Takeru exclaimed and pointed. Yamato, who was still struggling with his admirer, paused and glanced, first at his brother, then in the direction he was pointing. He took in the scene in an instant. Takeru was already hopping the railing that separated the sidewalk from the street as Yamato spun the blonde around (a relatively easy task considering the level of her intoxication) and managed to slide his wrist free in her ensuing confusion. Without wasting a second, he jumped the railing too and raced across the street after Takeru, whose eyes were firmly fixed on the alleyway they'd just turned down.

"Who are they?" Yamato yelled.

"I dunno, but they're clearly up to no good!" Takeru replied, jumping the white rails of the opposite side of the road and racing toward the mouth of the alleyway, not caring if he bumped into anyone along the way.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" one especially indignant man yelled after him before returning to cuddling with his girlfriend as they walked. Takeru ignored him and skidded around the corner of the alley. They were about halfway down, but at least Hikari's befuddled steps were slowing them down. Takeru would be on them in an instant.

"Yeah, he sounds like a total dick," the brown-haired boy was saying to Hikari. She only sobbed in response and muttered something Takeru couldn't hear.

"Hey!" he yelled. The group collectively jumped and turned. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"None of your business!" a dark haired boy shot back.

"It is now. Let her go!" Takeru shot back.

The blonde—whose hair, upon closer inspection seemed more orange than yellow—upon whom Hikari was leaning scoffed. "We found her first, man. Get your own."

Anger swept through Takeru's veins. Up to no good and completely disgusting to boot. Takeru barely slowed as he approached them. Instead, he put the extra momentum into the solid punch he landed on that orange-haired boy's cheek. The boy, clutching his face, flew to the side and crumpled like a paper bag. The other three boys yelled in surprise.

"Wha'zz goin ahn?" Hikari slurred heavily, tears frozen on her face. But no one answered her. The brown haired boy who'd been holding her removed his arm from her waist and lunged at Takeru, shoving her aside in the process. Disoriented and already swaying on her feet, the shove pushed Hikari right off her feet. Fortunately, she fell right into Yamato's arms. He paused only briefly to set her up straight before jumping on one of the three boys who was currently wailing on his younger brother.

He grabbed the silver-tipped bastard by his gaudy hair and pulled, watching with a grim satisfaction as he wilted from the pain and came away from the scuffle without much of a fight. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" he yelled, hands clutching uselessly at his scalp. Yamato decided to put him out of his misery and punched him in the face. He joined Orange Hair on the ground.

Takeru, meanwhile, was scuffling with the brunet and the dark-haired guy who'd been the first to speak after Takeru yelled at them. Currently, even though Yamato had relieved him of one assailant, things were not going as well as Takeru might have hoped. The two boys were taking turns landing blows on various parts of Takeru's body, but their team up ensured that his own punches hit nothing but air.

He grunted as the black-haired guy kneed hit him in the stomach. He started to double over just as the brunet hit him in the back of the head. Hell if he was going down without a fight. It was a long shot, but Darkie wasn't paying a lick of attention to where he was placing his feet. As he prepared to hit Takeru again, he placed his right foot right behind Takeru's left one.

He was practically begging for it. Without wasting a second, Takeru kicked his leg back, knocking Darkie's leg out from under him. He fell to the side, unable to readjust his stance to regain his balance. Taking advantage of the short break in blows, Takeru spun around and sent his palm straight towards Chestnut's face. He'd hoped to break the dirt bag's nose, but unfortunately, Chestnut reacted fast enough to avoid that. So Takeru would have to take satisfaction in the makeshift upper cut to Chestnut's jaw, which sent him careening into the wall, jaw cradled in his hand.

Yamato had been so busy watching Takeru, he didn't even hear Takeru's first victim approach from behind. The boy drew back and punched Yamato square in the mouth. "Sonnova—!" Yamato grunted in pain as his head snapped around and he staggered to the side, accidentally stepping on Silver-Tip in the process. Silver-Tip cried out in pain, but Yamato ignored him, much more pressing matters on his mind: he was tasting blood.

Great, just great, he thought as he gingerly touched his lip. Well at least the punch hadn't split his lip. The blood was coming from inside his mouth, probably from a cut caused by a tooth. Still, had that really been necessary? He looked up to see Orange Hair shaking out his hand, preparing for another blow. Like hell.

Yamato kicked him in the stomach and dropped his elbow on the back of his head when Orange Hair bent over to clutch his belly. Without pausing, Yamato leaned down and grabbed a fistful of his collar, yanking him right back up and slamming him against the wall, free hand poised in a fist to punch him if he tried anything funny. Yamato inclined his head and spit the blood in his mouth on the ground.

"I think it'd be best if you and your buddies here got lost," Yamato said, voice low, eyes serious. "She's with us now."

"Yeah, whatever, man. Sh-sh-she's all yours!" Orange Hair whimpered, raising his hands in the universal sign of surrender. "S-sorry!"

Yamato stared the boy down a moment longer then released him. He practically ripped his clothes, scraping his back against the wall to stay as far away from Yamato as he scooted to the side and finally took off at full speed down the alleyway, his friends in close pursuit. Takeru was already by Hikari's side. Slowly, he moved to join them.

"Hikari, are you okay? What's wrong?"

"I hayt him!" she sobbed.

"Who?"

"My dad!" she yelled, drunkenly, shooting a look at Takeru that was both confused and extremely annoyed. "I jus tol' yew that! Why 'rn't yew lisssening?! Nobod-ee lissens." In the space of three seconds, her voice had changed from annoyed to frustrated to defeated and sad. Her last sentence brought on a fresh wave of tears that left Takeru feeling alarmed and more confused than before.

"Shh, shh, there, there. Don't cry," Takeru shushed. "I'm sorry. I did listen! I am listening!" He pulled Hikari into his chest and stroked her hair as she cried. He looked at Yamato, confused and unsure of what to do, but his older brother merely shrugged and shook his head. He had no idea either. After a minute of the two staring at each other, Yamato finally said, "Look, maybe we should get her home."

"If she's already upset about her dad, I don't think taking her home drunk is gonna help whatever's going on there."

"Okay fine, my place. She's been staying there all week anyway."

"All week?" Takeru asked, surprised. "She won't go home?"

Yamato shook his head, solemnly. "And every time I ask Tai about it, he just says she's going through a rough time. She had some kind of fight with their father? But sometimes, I hear them talking and—"

He was cut off by a violent sob from the brunette, who quickly dissolved into a coughing fit from it. Takeru immediately began patting her gently on the back and shushing her. "Shh, shh, it's going to be okay, Hikari. Don't cry."

Yamato watched them a moment and then turned. "I'm gonna go flag down a cab. We'll talk later." He exited the alleyway, already casting his head left and right to find a taxi.

Coughing fit subsided, Hikari buried her face into Takeru's shoulder, slurring as she spoke, "Izz not fayuh! He jus RU'NT my life an' he nev—he n'ver lissens! Always work, work, work. I HAYT HIZZ WORK!" The last sentence, she did not speak so much as yell, straight into Takeru's chest as she thumped her hand against it for emphasis.

"I don't know what you're going through, Hikari, but it will get better. You'll get through this," Takeru said in a low voice as he gently stroked her back. "No matter what happens, I'll always be here. You can come to me anytime. I've got your back." Slowly, as he spoke, her sobs quieted and her shoulders stopped trembling, until finally, the only indication she'd been crying at all were her hiccups and tearstained face, which she finally raised to look at him.

Takeru felt his cheeks grow hot as he looked into her red eyes. The look in them was vulnerable, to be sure, desperate for something familiar to hold on to, but he thought he also detected a hint of longing. A desire for an intimate connection that—he stopped. Why was this making his heart speed up? He was not the sort of guy who took advantage of girls—especially drunk, clearly emotionally distraught, vulnerable girls such as the one he held in his arms. And yet…

"You promise?" she whispered, searching his face with her eyes. Embarrassed, he wanted to look away, but he forced himself to keep eye contact with her. It was important that she know he was serious.

"I promise."

She visibly relaxed and closed her eyes as she, without warning, leaned up and pushed her lips against his. The world exploded into light. Thoughts raced through his head faster than he could keep up with them, each leaving him more confused than the last. The feeling of her soft, warm, slightly moist lips against his own. The sudden desire to kiss back. The longing that suddenly flooded into his own heart. The heavy taste of alcohol on her breath that made him feel dizzy drunk with want. It was overwhelming.

What is going on? They're so soft. What is she doing? Why is she doing this? You can't kiss her back. But she kissed me first. She's not Miyuki. She could replace her. If you take advantage of her, you'd be just like that scum you just rescued her from! But I just want—NO. This is wrong! Stop it! Stop it now—!

"Takeru, I got a ca—" Yamato's voice cut Takeru's inner battle short.

The younger blond jumped away from her, pushing her, perhaps too hard, in his effort to put distance between them.

"Yamato, I-I-I don't know. She just—she just kissed me, and I…I didn't," he stammered and eventually trailed off. A pain was welling up in his heart as his chest rose and fell, rapidly. His breath came in short, agonizing spurts as his face screwed up in a mix of confusion, shame, and grief. What had he done? Why was he such a horrible human being? The wave of guilt that suddenly swept over him was crushing, causing tears to well up in his own eyes.

"Hey, it's okay," Yamato said, suddenly beside his brother. Takeru hadn't even heard him close the space between them. He clamped his big hand onto his younger brother's shoulder reassuringly. "It's okay. We'll talk later. But now, Hikari…"

That's right. Hikari! He'd shoved her away. His head snapped around to see what had happened to her, to see that she was all right. She was standing, physically unhurt, but the look in her eyes seemed to say a different story. Her mouth was open in shock, and the hurt she felt at having been rejected, as she no doubt perceived it, was written all over her face.

"But, Chase…." she whispered, as tears started trickling down her face again. "Why?"

Suddenly, Takeru understood, and he felt even guiltier. "I'm sorry, Hikari. But I'm not your ex-boyfriend. I'm just your classmate. I'm just your friend."

She squinted at him, as if she were finally seeing him for the first time. And then she frowned, recognition dawning. "Takeru?"

"Let's go home, Hikari. Come on. Let's go home to Tai. There's a cab waiting." And slowly, Takeru approached her and wrapped his arm stiffly around her shoulder, holding her at arm's length as he led her gently to the waiting cab. Hikari didn't notice at all. But Yamato certainly did.

"Care to explain what happened back then? When I went to go get the cab," Yamato asked, as he poured hot, steaming tea into two mugs and sat one in front of Takeru. But Takeru didn't feel much like drinking tea. The two of them had just carried Hikari, who had passed out five minutes into the cab ride, up to Yamato and Taichi's apartment and straight to Taichi's bed. He was fussing over her now, but there was no doubt in Takeru's mind that he would be out soon demanding answers. Answers that neither Takeru nor Yamato was really equipped to supply.

Yamato watched his younger brother closely, who remained silent and merely continued to stare at his hands. He looked pretty defeated. Still, Yamato did not feel that inclined to feel sorry for him, because while he was certain there was a good reason for what had happened, Yamato had still walked up on his brother kissing a girl who was clearly drunk out of her mind. And that was something that Ishidas, and Takaishis, didn't do.

"You can explain it to just me, Takeru, or you can explain it when Tai is here, but you're going to have to explain yourself eventually. I think we both know which option is more painless. What happened?"

Takeru took in a deep, shaky breath, held it for a moment, and then let it out in one big gust of air, considering his hands the whole time. Yamato watched him closely, but he made no effort to answer the question. The older brother was just about to give up and let Takeru fight this battle against Taichi on his own when Takeru began to speak in a quiet, broken voice.

"I don't know," he said.

Yamato waited for more, but when none came, he asked, "What do you mean you don't know? You were there, weren't you?"

"Yes, but I don't know." Tears welled up in his eyes, but he ignored them as he continued to talk. "I was just trying to comfort her. She was saying something about… her father…always working, never listening. And she sounded so beaten down. I just wanted her to stop crying. So I just said, you know, the usual things." At this point, the first tear spilled over the rim of his eyelid and beat a line straight down his face.

His voice broke, but he continued. "Like, 'It'll get better' and 'I'm here for you.' And then, suddenly… she kissed me. Outta nowhere. And I knew… that what was happening was wrong, that she must have been confused about something, But at the same time, I thought about how lonely I was… how lonely I am, how much I miss Miyuki. And then I thought about how lonely she was, and I thought, 'Aren't we a perfect pair?'" He raised his hand as the tears started falling in earnest and tangled his hand in his hair as he rested his forehead against his palm.

"It was just for a split second, I swear. And then I started thinking about how wrong this was, how I should stop it, but I never had the right reaction. And then… and then you came. And I'm just… so ashamed." He paused to catch his breath between his soft, anguished sobs. "It must have been something her boyfriend did back in California. Something I said must have reminded her of him, and that's why she kissed me. I didn't know at first, but then she called me Chase, and… I mean, how sick am I? Taking advantage of a girl like that. Pretending to be the guy she loved."

Yamato watched Takeru in silence, this time his heart was breaking. Leave it to the sweet, caring Takeru to come down on himself harder than was necessary. "Takeru, you didn't know."

"It's no excuse!" Takeru snapped back. "I knew that she was vulnerable. That her defenses were lowered. And still I…" He couldn't even bring himself to say it again. He felt disgusted. The room fell into silence; no doubt Yamato was upset with him too.

"If you ask me, it seems like your defenses are pretty low right now too," Yamato finally said, and Takeru was completely taken off-guard.

"What?" he asked, raising his eyes to look at his brother who stood across the counter from him, running a long finger along the rim of his teacup.

"You said it yourself. You miss, Miyuki, was it? But you broke up with her remember? And you had good reasons at the time, didn't you? Probably still do, but you're still missing her. It's natural when you've grown attached to someone, grown accustomed to leaning on someone, and then suddenly, for whatever reason, they're not there. The first time any kind of trouble comes along, what are you going to do? You're going to look for them. But they won't be there. And suddenly, you feel all alone. I bet Hikari feels the same."

"Only she's got no one here. Miyuki's made sure of that."

"She's got you, doesn't she? And Tai."

"But, I just make things worse for her. Miyuki's bullying has been escalating."

"Yeah, obviously, I don't really know Miyuki, but don't discredit yourself. I bet you can do more than you realize."

"I wonder…"

But Takeru was cut off by the arrival of a predictably angry Taichi. "Okay, does someone want to tell me what the hell is going on!" It was an exclamation, not a question. The two blondes exchanged glances and then shrugs.

"Honestly, Tai, your guess is as good as ours. We just saw Hikari being led down some sketchy alley by a group of sketchy guys, obviously bent on taken advantage of a clearly intoxicated girl…" Yamato began.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Taichi yelled, and then, considering the thinness of his walls, he grudgingly lowered his voice. "You could have been raped, Hikari. You almost were. If Takeru and Yamato hadn't… What the f—what on earth were you thinking?"

"I don't know," Hikari said, quietly. She was ashamed. Clearly, she had gotten in way over her head last night, but she could only remember the beginning of the evening. Evidently, Takeru and Yamato had saved her from some sort of deep trouble.

"Well you better figure it out and fast!" Taichi replied, glaring at her. After a moment, he snapped, "Eat your breakfast!" and spun on his heel, slamming cups and pots around in the kitchen with absolutely no regard for Hikari's poor head. She cringed and tried to cover her ears as discreetly as possible, but her brother's sharp eyes caught the movement.

"Oh, have a hangover, do we? That's what happens when you don't drink responsibly!" Had she not known better, Hikari might have sworn that her brother was intentionally talking louder to punish her, but surely he wouldn't do something as petty as that. He had suffered through many a hangover before.

Not unkindly, Taichi suddenly slammed a glass down right in front of her and started pouring water into it. "Drink it. And didn't I tell you to eat your breakfast?"

Hikari was not hungry in the slightest. In fact, the thought of food kind of made her feel nauseated, but anxious to appease Taichi's anger (anything to make him stop slamming things!), she began to stuff the food into her mouth in earnest. As she was doing so, Taichi set two pills down beside her. She nodded gratefully, but the look in his eyes told her that Taichi was still furious. He watched her eat in tense silence, the veins practically popping out of his forehead. She had barely finished eating when he whisked the plate from in front of her and started scrubbing it furiously in the sink.

HIkari felt awful. Embarrassed, ashamed, and guilty, and with the way Taichi kept treating her, more and more like a child. "Tai, I'm sorry," she finally said.

"You're sorry?!" he exclaimed spinning around to face her, but as he did so, the plate, slippery with soap slipped from between his fingers, and broke in half in the sink. He swore violently, pausing in what Hikari could tell was about to be a tirade in her direction to curse out the two broken halves of the plate as he chucked them into the garbage can. Rid of the plate, he rounded on her again. "You think being sorry covers what you did?"

"No," she replied, quietly.

"So why don't you tell me exactly what happened, Hikari?" And so she did. She told him how she had gone to Shibuya to meet Miyako, but had gotten sidetracked by her classmates who had offered her a drink. How she had slammed that first drink back without even thinking, and how they, encouraged by her seeming desire to get drunk, had started buying her drinks, and she had drank each and every one without even asking what was in it. And that was where things got fuzzy. She remembered leaving the park where they had been sitting, but where they had gone or been heading, she had no idea. She remembered voices and bright lights. And she remembered hearing a fight, but about what, she had no idea. Retelling her evening from the previous night was painful; the shame burned white hot in the pit of her stomach. But she made herself keep talking in the most level voice possible. When she finally finished, Taichi's face was as hard as stone.

"So, let me get this straight: you accepted a drink from people you barely knew, allowed them to buy you more drinks, which you drank without even asking what was in them, and then you let them take you around to god knows where? And you think just saying sorry fixes all that?"

"No, it doesn't."

"Damn straight, it doesn't! You want to know where they were taking you, Hikari? To a love hotel! Takeru and Yamato just happened to see them leading you there and intervened on your behalf because you clearly weren't yourself. What do you think would have happened if Takeru and Yamato hadn't seen you going into that alley with those scumbags? What do you think would have happened?" Taichi asked, pushing his face in front of hers unmercifully.

Hikari averted her eyes. "I don't know…" she whispered, though they both knew very well that she knew exactly what would have happened. And Taichi was angry enough to call her out on it.

"Of course you know, Hikari. Contrary to what your behavior last night might say, you're an intelligent girl. You know they would have taken advantage of you, Hikari. And if they were kind, they would have just stopped there. Do you understand that?"

Hikari nodded, her bottom lip quivering as she stared at the counter top. Of course, she hadn't thought about any of this last night, but here, sitting in front of Taichi, it sounded like common sense. How could she ever have thought anything different? Now, in retrospect, she was absolutely terrified.

"Don't you dare cry," Taichi commanded, glaring. He straightened, gratified to know that at least his sister had not completely lost her head. Last night, yes, she certainly had made nothing but bad decisions, but she was perfectly aware of what a bad choice that had been, and she felt remorseful about it. Even still, Taichi was angry. Mostly because the knowledge of what happened, what could have happened worried him practically to death. He wanted to make sure she never thought to do something this stupid again.

"I think you've cried enough these past two weeks, Hikari. It's time you grew up and learned to deal with things like an adult. I'm going to work. Make sure you apologize to Takeru and Yamato for inconveniencing them and thank them for taking care of you last night. You really are indebted to them, especially since you selfishly invaded one of their personal spaces. Don't forget to pay them back for the cab they brought you home in last night either." He stormed from the room, and didn't even say goodbye before he slammed the front door behind him.

Hikari sat at the kitchen counter in silence, her bottom lip quivering violently, her eyes watering, as she struggled not to cry. His last comment had been like a slap to the face. She was not a child, she wanted to say. She had acted like an adult! But even she couldn't pretend to believe that. The truth of the matter was that she had acted exactly like a child, and she was completely and utterly mortified. Plus, his comment about invading either Yamato or Takeru's personal space only deepened the guilt and shame that permeated her heart. What on earth had she done? She couldn't even remember. The salty tears prickled at the corners of her eyes, but Taichi was right. She didn't deserve to cry about this. Even still, she couldn't help herself.

Takeru and Yamato looked at each other feeling extremely uncomfortable. They lay frozen, Yamato in his bed, Takeru on the floor, trying to pretend like Taichi wasn't slamming about in the kitchen as he and Hikari had a very heated discussion. Perhaps he was not aware that his roommate and his roommate's younger brother could hear them (or just him, really) or perhaps he just thought they were still asleep or perhaps he just didn't care, regardless, both boys sat in an embarrassed silence until they heard the door slam behind Taichi as he headed off to work.

Understandably, Taichi was angry, but didn't he think that maybe he had gone overboard? There didn't seem to be any more sound in the kitchen, so maybe Hikari went with him. It seemed safe for them to emerge from the safety of Yamato's room. Quietly, they opened the door and looked around, and when they saw the coast was clear, they emerged and trotted to the kitchen, prepared to at least enjoy a delicious breakfast since any hope they'd had of shuteye had vanished at seven this morning when Taichi had first had started throwing dishes around the kitchen making breakfast.

They froze, however, when they entered the kitchen and saw Hikari still sitting there, cradling her head in her hands as she leaned against the counter, her shoulders trembling slightly. Both boys immediately felt embarrassed to have seen such a scene and tried to back out of the room, but Yamato accidentally ran into the trash can. The sound caused Hikari's head to snap around to face them. She looked both sad and ashamed as she looked at them, and the boys returned her defeated gaze with one reminiscent of deer caught in headlights.

"Good morning," she said, quietly as she climbed off the stool and bowed so low that her body was parallel with the floor. "Thank you so much for taking care of me last night. I am so sorry for the inconvenience I caused you."

"It's okay." "Really, it was no trouble at all," the boys mumbled, feeling extremely uncomfortable. She straightened and looked at them with tired, weary eyes.

"Um… Tai says that I did something to one of you." Takeru immediately felt his face grow hot, but he tried to keep it impassively blank as she continued. "I'm sorry, I… I don't remember anything at all. Who was it? I want to apologize properly."

Yamato resisted the urge to look at Takeru, not wishing to give him away if he didn't desire it. Takeru, meanwhile, struggled not to react in anyway with his body. However, realizing it was a losing battle, he finally said, "Really, it wasn't a big deal. Please don't worry about it."

"No. I'm sorry," Hikari said, approaching him and grabbing his hand as she looked at him earnestly. He could tell she was making the sincerest apology she knew how to make, but that just made him feel guiltier. He felt that he should apologize too, but he didn't want to say anything about the kiss, about the way he hadn't reacted like he should have. "Really and truly, from the bottom of my heart, I am so sorry for any duress or mental distress I caused you with my actions. Please, tell me how I can make it up to you."

"Really, it was nothing," Takeru replied, going pink.

"I insist. I don't even know what I did, I just—"

"Please, Hikari. Forget about it. It was not important and… you know… things happen. Trust me, you don't need to concern yourself about it."

"But I've treated you so horribly these past two weeks. And last week, when you tried to help me, and I just snapped at you. And I've thought such wicked thoughts about you. I'm a horrible person. I am sorry. I'm so sorry. And I'm completely mortified you had to witness such an embarrassing sight last night. I mean, really, I don't… I don't know what got into me. You too, Yamato. I would never have done something like that a month ago. I'm so ashamed."

"Hikari, it's okay. Really. We all make mistakes. We forgive you," Yamato said, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her slightly so that she would understand how much he meant what he was saying.

Takeru nodded. "Yeah. We're just glad to see you're okay. We all go through rough patches. I just hope that now you know that just because you're in Japan now doesn't mean you have to go through them alone. I'm here for you too. That's what friends are for, right?"

Hikari looked shocked a moment, then relief and gratitude flooded her eyes. "Mm," she agreed with a firm nod. "Thank you guys. For everything. If you think of anything I could do for you, please. Please let me know."

"Sure thing." "No prob," the boys nodded.

She smiled weakly at them and slowly released Takeru's hands, letting her own fall back to her sides as she straightened. "I'm, uh… I'm gonna go take a shower, I guess. I'm sure you two are sick of seeing me and would probably love to enjoy a quiet breakfast together, so."

Takeru wanted to stop her and invite her to join them, if only so that she would know that they were, in no way, annoyed by or tired of her presence. But, she had already eaten, and part of him wondered if that isolation was more for her own benefit than theirs. So he stayed silent and watched her shuffle out of the kitchen. Yamato watched beside him. They didn't speak again until they heard the door to Taichi's room shut.

"Well, that was awkward," Yamato muttered, his shoulders slumping as he released the tension he hadn't even realized he'd been holding.

"Yeah." Takeru seemed to mirror his reaction, though he looked considerably more troubled than Yamato imagined he did. In fact, Yamato didn't feel troubled at all. She'd apologized, and yeah, that hadn't exactly been necessary, but now the awkward part was out of the way so everyone could work on returning to normal.

The former musician opened his mouth to ask what was on his younger brother's mind, but thought the better of it and asked instead, "What do you want for breakfast?" as he turned toward the refrigerator. Though he was curious, let Takeru decide on his own whether he wanted to confide in Yamato or not. And if he didn't, well, everyone was entitled to keep some secrets.

o-o-o-o-o-o

In the next chapter, Hikari wants to make up with Miyako, but Miyako doesn't seem to want to be found. Meanwhile, Takeru and Daisuke get in over their heads when someone from the not-so-distant past tracks Takeru down.

Thanks for the reviews: penguindan333, Topazled Hannah, Final Genesis, and ShireFolk. Appreciate you as always!

I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. Honestly, I was so embarrassed posting it. The drama was just so…dramatic. But you guys didn't judge me at all! TT_TT So much gratitude. (If you silently judged me, plz continue to keep it to yourself! kthx) Anyway, I'm having a bit of difficulty writing the next chapter, but it should be up within the next two weeks or so.

I will end my rambling on a happy note. Many of you have mentioned wanting to see the Murphys come to Japan. To which I say… of course they will come! That's always been in the cards for this story. I love Angela too much to not let her appear in the flesh at some point. The question that remains, though, dear readers, is when?

Leave me a review if you enjoyed this chapter too! Catch ya on the flipside!