TK was walking around the dorm hallway with no plan in mind. He already checked every room for a way out and was hoping that he would've found something that either he or the others have missed, but there was nothing. What did he expect, the others said they found nothing, and it's not like they would lie. He's annoyed that there's nothing he can do at the moment, he just has to wait for someone on the outside to come save them.
'I just wish there was something I can do! It doesn't help that both stairways are locked and we're only limited to the first floor!' TK started to breathe, he needed to calm down. He can't let their situation get to him or else he'll do something he will regret.
'I just need to do something to clear my mind. Maybe I should take up Hina's offer and work out with her and Sakura. I'll probably be too exhausted to do anything else, but at least it's something,' TK was soon brought out of his thoughts when he heard someone sighing. He quickly rounded the corner to find Junko with a bored expression.
"God, I am seriously freaking bored…! I'm gonna die… I'm gonna die from being so bored!" Junko groaned. She hasn't noticed TK watching her. "I'm infected! I've got terminal boredom disease!"
"Don't you think you're overreacting?" TK said, making his presence known. Junko jumped, not expecting someone to hear her.
"Oh TK! How long have you been there?"
"Not long, and when did you start calling me TK?" He asked and she chuckled.
"I've heard both Sayaka and Hina call you that and thought I should join the party! Unless you don't want me to?" Junko asked and TK brushed her off.
"It's fine, I actually asked you guys to call me that day one. But what's wrong?" TK asked, going back to the original subject and Junko groaned.
"I just hate being bored. Hate it!" She exclaimed. "I never noticed how much I hate it. But once we got trapped in here, it finally hit me!"
'That didn't take long.'
"I'd rather be living homeless on the street than stuck in here!"
"Really?" TK asked and Junko nodded.
"Yeah, you know! Like, the hobo life! I've done it before, ya know," Junko revealed, surprising TK.
"You have!"
"Yeah. It's… a long story," Junko solemnly said.
"And now you're a model!"
"Well… that's a long story, too."
'With all these long stories she could write a novel,' TK thought. Junko was something of a mystery to him. She didn't entirely act like how he pictured a model to act, though he's not saying that all models act a certain way, but to him it seemed like Junko was putting up an act to hide something.
"Seriously, if I had to choose between staying here and being homeless again, gimme the street!" Junko said.
"I can understand. It's probably safer out there than it is in here," TK said, but Junko looked offended that he even said that.
"Oh, hell no! Homelessness is totally dangerous! You never know when a pack of wild animals might show up," Junko retorted, which surprised TK because he didn't know that huge cities had packs of wild animals.
"Wild… animals?"
"Oh, I don't mean literally. I mean people who attack the weak, who want to hurt you. The world's full of animals like that, ya know?" Junko clarified and TK could sympathize with her. When he was younger he and his friends had to be alert when they were in the Digital World, especially at night when they were being hunted by evil Digimon.
"But I think having to live like that made me way stronger," Junko sadly said and TK was worried about her.
"You're not thinking about doing anything… drastic, are you?" TK asked.
"Drastic? Oh, you mean the whole 'kill someone' thing?" Junko laughed and gave him a huge smile. "Don't worry, I could never kill someone! What, do I look like I would? Do I seriously look like a killer!?
"No! You don't look like a killer!" TK defended himself and Junko gave him another big smile.
"Right? I don't, right!?" TK nodded and Junko sighed. "But anyway, are you saying you were worried about me? Gotta say, TK… that's kinda cute. You almost killed me with cuteness here!"
TK was speechless. He couldn't seem to find his words after hearing a model call him cute.
"C'mon, I'm just screwing with you! You didn't take it seriously, did you!?" TK quickly shook his head and felt a ping in his chest. "But ya know… there's something about you. I don't get sick of talking to you like I do most people. Let's hang out sometime, 'kay?"
Junko chuckled to herself as she playfully walked away from the blond, leaving feeling all sorts of mixed emotions.
"I don't understand her."
TK got out of bed after Monokuma's morning announcement ended. After his encounter with Junko the other day he spent the rest of the day alone in the gym playing basketball. The only time he interacted with the others was either in the dining hall or if he passed any of them in the hallway. He knew that he should be talking with the others more, but TK just wanted to be alone with his thoughts for a little bit.
He kept thinking about his friends and Patamon and how worried they must've been. He still hopes that they'll come and rescue them but he couldn't help but wonder what's taking them so long. He knows that they would've assumed that something was wrong after he didn't pick up Patamon because he would never abandon his partner. It made him think that they weren't in Hope's Peak, but in another building, because his friends and family knew where he was going and it would've been the first place to look.
He also didn't talk with Sayaka until dinner because he wanted to give her space to calm down after her little panic attack in the trophy room. Though he did see her talking with the other girls so it's good to know that she's keeping her mind off being trapped in the school.
TK walked to the dining hall for breakfast but Leon stopped him.
"Takeru, my friend! Listen, I wanted to ask you something…"
"Sure, what's up?"
"Well, I wanna start up a band, right?" Leon asked and TK nodded. "I was wondering if you know anyone who's good at writing music. Oh, but nobody too popular! I don't want anyone to overshadow my own popularity as the lead singer."
"You're serious about being a musician?" Leon smiled and nodded.
"Absolutely! And I don't wanna be a George, ya know? Gotta get that Paul action!" TK had no clue what Leon was talking about but he nodded along like he understood.
"Do you even know what type of music you wanna make?" TK asked.
"What if I said I wanted to be like The Damned, The Clash, The Sex Pistols," Leon said, and after quickly thinking it over TK knew what genre of music Leon wanted to make.
"So Punk."
"Damn straight! My plan is to conquer the world with punk!" Leon exclaimed. "Cuz I mean… when it comes to punk, it doesn't really matter if you can actually play or not."
'I think a lot of punk bands would disagree with you on that.'
"Anyway, by the time I got to this school, I'd already decided I was gonna quit baseball. I was just gonna use it as a stepping stone once I got into Hope's Peak to propel me to stardom. I was gonna use my time here to become the Ultimate Musician!" Leon looked annoyed as he sighed. "That dream's dead now, though. I came here chasing a dream, but I never imagined it'd turn into such a nightmare…"
Leon became extremely frustrated. "Dammit…! I have to do it! I have to become a famous musician!" Leon got really angry as his face became extremely red. "Stop screwing with me, world! Give me back my youth! Give me back my dreams!"
'This is Leon's dream and it has nothing to do with baseball. He was never really serious about baseball, and from what he told me, I can't really blame him,' TK thought and he saw that Leon started to calm down.
"I…I swear to god, I have to do it! Then that girl at the hair salon will go out with me!" Leon revealed.
"Huh?"
"Oh yeah, she told me that she only dates musicians," Leon smirked and winked at the blond boy. "Her face is only okay, but she's got a smokin' hot body. I gotta get some of that!"
"That can't be the only reason, right?" TK asked and Leon gave him a puzzled look.
"What better reason is there!? The whole point of becoming a musician is to be popular, right?" Leon said and TK couldn't help but sigh. He was a little like Matt when he first formed his band, for the most part, he wanted to make music but there was always a small part of him that liked the attention. Not that there's anything wrong with wanting attention, but he didn't like it was Leon's sole reason for being a musician.
"Speaking of which, do you know what kind of guy Sayaka's into? Is she into musicians? Or maybe actors? Maybe I should become an actor!" Leon chuckled to himself as he walked away.
"I feel like I'm understanding Leon a little better… I think?" TK said to himself and walked into the dining hall for breakfast.
After a quick breakfast, TK realized that his clothes stink. He quickly went back to his room to see if he had any new sets of clothes that he could change into, but only found a pair of black basketball shorts.
"Of course, I don't have a new set of clothes, as if being trapped in a school couldn't have gotten any worse!" TK groaned. Though he remembers seeing that the others were wearing the same clothes they had on when they were trapped so at least it wasn't just him without a new set of clothes. He quickly changed into his shorts and made his way to the laundry room. "At least I don't have to wait in my underwear until my clothes are clean."
TK walked into the laundry room and sighed, annoyed that there were only washing machines and no dryers. Guess he has to air dry his clothes for the time being. He chose a washing machine when Junko walked in.
"Hey, TK? Can I tell you something? I mean, you and you alone…"
"Sure, what is it?" TK asked, concerned about Junko's out of nowhere seriousness.
"My true intentions," Junko said bluntly.
"Huh?"
"To be honest, I'm kinda fed up with all this. We're all ultimates, right? So we get carried away and rush face-first into stuff," Junko then sighed and had a somber look on her face. "Even I have to wonder if it's okay to live like that…"
"Are you thinking of quitting modeling or something?" TK asked. Junko was silent for a few seconds like she was thinking about what to say next.
"Dreams are meant to change as you grow up, right? Depending on where you're at—kindergarten, elementary school, junior high, high school…" she said before getting a little frustrated. "But I've had the same dream since I was a little kid, and I've been rushing toward it ever since. So I've never really had to think all that hard about my dreams."
"That's not a bad thing. You just feel the same way about it," TK told her, but she didn't see it like that.
"That's what I used to think. But if it doesn't change, your possibilities can't grow, right? That's how new opportunities are born. All I saw was that one dream. I put everything I had into that one narrow little world," Junko said and TK understood what she was saying.
It's amazing that she managed to accomplish the dream she had when she was a kid, but it might not be as great as it sounds. Since she only paid attention to obtaining her dream and nothing else, who knows how her life would've ended up if she had a hobby outside of modeling.
"I feel like there's so much more I could be doing that I'm not, and I don't like that feeling. So I think I'm going to start looking for it…" Junko declared before blushing. "Is it childish of me to think like that? Am I just being a baby?"
"No, not at all," TK told her. "I actually feel the same. I don't completely know what I want to do with my life and sometimes I feel like I will never find out. I sometimes think that I'll never find out what I want to do. But maybe it's not about finding it or not, maybe the important thing is that you're looking for it."
"TK, you… You actually sounded cool right now!" Junko said, causing the boy to blush.
"N-No, I was just-"
"But you could be right. Getting lost can be a good thing! As long as you're looking for it, maybe that's enough to be happy," Junko interrupted. She had a bright smile on her face with a new sense of determination. "Yeah. I'm gonna remember what you said. Thanks, TK."
"You're welcome."
"In return, I promise that if I do decide to kill someone, it won't be you!" She joked.
"Please don't," TK said and Junko laughed.
'After all the conversations I've had with Junko, I think we might've become friends.'
"But before I can do what you said, I gotta get out of here first! So I'm definitely gonna find out how to get out…!" Junko yelled as she left the laundry room.
'If she spends less time yelling about finding a way out of here, she might find it,' TK thought as he turned back to the washing machine. 'Now let's see if there's anything in here to kill time as I wash my clothes.'
TK was making his way to the dining hall for dinner after another uneventful day. After his clothes were dry enough to wear he didn't know what to do. He didn't want to get his clothes dirty again, so he chose not to play basketball or work out. He decided to stay in his room all day, only leaving to eat or to walk around his school to prevent himself from going insane.
"Hey, Takeru. I have something to tell you, but… it's kind of a secret. Could you, uh, come to my room?" Leon asked.
"Your room? Sure, just let me get something to eat first," TK told him and Leon nodded.
"Cool, I'll be waiting," Leon said before going to his room.
'Why does he always come talk to me whenever I go to the dining hall?' TK thought to himself.
"Welcome to the room of a future superstar!" Leon said after TK entered his room. It looked exactly like his room, but there was a guitar, a microphone, a shelf full of CDs, and a whole bunch of stuff.
"So, what do you want to talk about?" TK asked. Leon didn't say anything as he thought things over.
"Well, okay, it's like… Let's play baseball!" Leon said before forcing out a fake laugh. "Kidding, kidding! That was a joke. Super joke! I hate baseball, remember?"
Leon then ran his hands through his hair and groaned. It didn't sound like Leon was telling a joke and he looked frustrated.
"Leon, are you saying that you want to play baseball again?" TK asked and Leon got mad at him for even saying such a thing.
"Wh-What are you talking about!? Don't be stupid…! How many times have I told you how much I totally hate baseball!? I, like, don't like it at all!" Leon exclaimed before he took a deep breath and calmed down. "...is what I thought. But actually… This is the longest I've ever gone without playing, ya know? I mean, I was so good, they forced me to play like, all the time."
"And being away from the game for so long made you realize how much you miss it," TK said what Leon was feeling and that made the red-head more frustrated.
"Dammit! It's like mind control! Baseball brainwashed me!" Leon shouted. "But fine, whatever! I just wanna throw the ball around a little! But I can't play baseball by myself! Ghh… I never shoulda come to this school!"
"Leon," TK said softly. He gave the boy a few comforting pats on the back, which Leon greatly appreciated.
"If what's happening to us really is some kinda school event thing, then when it's all over… I think I'm gonna drop out and go back to my old school," Leon said and TK nodded. He doesn't think Leon will be the only one to drop out after all of this is over. "Maybe my team won't want me back, but all I can do is beg for their forgiveness and hope for the best."
"It's not going to be easy," TK told him. "But if your willing to show your teammates how you feel about baseball and putting in the work by going to practice-"
"Practice?" Leon interrupted him. "Hell no! No way! I really, seriously hate practice! I don't need practice! I just wanna play the game! Even an exhibition game or whatever!"
"Then I hope it all works out for you then," TK said, not really knowing what else to say.
"Yeah, they can't just drop someone as good as me! I'm sure they'll forgive me no problem!" Leon exclaimed while TK just shook his head. If it was his team, it wouldn't matter how good you were, you weren't going to be able to rejoin the team if you didn't show up to practice.
"I mean it's me, right!? I'm the up-and-coming Koshien Stadium Superstar!" Leon proclaimed. "Hehehe! You're gonna be there rooting for me, right TK!? I hope it's not weird I called you that, I saw some of the girls call you TK and you didn't seem to mind."
"It's fine. All of my friends call me TK and I consider you one of my friends," TK told him and he smirked. The two boys then gave each other a fist bump before TK left. Seeing that it was almost Nighttime, TK went back to his room.
"And… Done! Now my room won't look so bland," TK said to himself after he put up the final poster. He looked around the room, quite pleased with how it turned out. It almost reminded him of his bedroom back home, minus the bolted windows. When he was putting his posters up he noticed two picture frames hidden underneath his posters.
One was the picture his friends took at the end of their first adventure in the Digital World. The second one was a picture of him and the second group of Digidestined hanging out in the computer room during his second adventure. TK felt his heart ache as he stared at the two pictures. His friends must be so worried about him and there's nothing he can do about it.
Well, there is something he can do, but he quickly shook that thought out of his head. His friends wouldn't want him to kill and after getting to know some of the others these past two days, he doesn't think he could kill, even if he wanted to. But, he doesn't know how long it would take for him to become desperate to get out of here, but for right now he needs to suppress it for as long as he can.
His doorbell rang and he was grateful for the distraction. He opened his door and saw Sayaka standing in front of him.
"Hey, can I come in?" She asked. TK nodded and moved aside to let her into his room. After he closed the door behind him, TK saw Sayaka looking around his room.
"I see you're still a big fan of basketball," she said and she came across the two pictures on his desk. She looked at both pictures but she paid more attention to the second one, even picking it up in her hands. "So, how is everyone?"
"They're fine. We're a little busy focusing on our own things, but we get together from time to time," he told her and she smiled. She then looked back at the picture, paying more attention to one person than the others.
"And how's Hikari? Did she have any more accidents like the one in class?"
"Once, but I don't think we have to worry about that ever happening again. Though she does get sick sometimes," TK said. Sayaka placed the picture back onto the desk and started taking a few deep breaths, even playing with her hands a little.
"I know this is a weird thing to ask, it doesn't really matter anyways but I wanted to know… Were you and Hikari dating back in elementary school?" Sayaka blurted out, red in the face. TK just stared at her speechless. "After you ran after her that day there was a rumor going around school that you two were dating, and I just wanted to know if they were true!?"
TK didn't know what to say. He didn't even know about the rumors between him and Kari, and he was surprised that Sayaka cared enough about the rumors to ask him years later. He shouldn't be surprised though, after what he did that day he should've assumed that someone would've started a rumor. He's just surprised that none of his friends heard of it.
"Um, no, we weren't dating back in elementary school," TK said and Sayaka discretely sighed in relief. "Though we did date in junior high."
"Really!?"
"Yeah, but it didn't work out between us."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Sayaka said sincerely.
"It's fine, we just felt that we were better off as friends," TK said and Sayaka rubbed his back.
"So are you seeing anyone now or have a crush on someone?" Sayaka asked, making him a little uncomfortable.
"No, I've been paying more attention to myself that I haven't really had a crush on anyone or dated anyone since Kari," TK said. It's not like he hasn't tried after he and Kari broke up; his brother and friends tried to set him up on multiple dates. He never really felt anything towards those girls.
"Are you going to ask me?" Sayaka asked and TK didn't know what she was talking about.
"About what?"
"If I have a boyfriend or a crush on someone," Sayaka said, blushing.
"Well, do you?"
"I don't have a boyfriend, but I do have a crush on someone… Someone that I'm very interested in," she said, staring directly into TK's eyes.
'Good for her! I hope she'll be able to tell her crush how she feels,' TK thought, not picking up her obvious signs.
"But I need to put those feelings aside for now. Getting out of here is all that matters," Sayaka said with some determination.
"You're right!" TK agreed with her.
"Let's get out of here together, TK! No matter what… Please don't turn your back on me, okay?"
"Wouldn't dream of it," TK reassured her.
"I want you to know something, TK. I want you to know that I mean it–I can't fake my feelings…" Sayaka took a deep breath and gave TK a bright smile. "I'm… really glad you're here."
After seeing her smile like that TK could feel himself get motivated. He could feel the bond between him and Sayaka grow stronger.
'I have to do my best in here! Not only for myself but for the others and Sayaka as well!'
"I'm so happy you're going to be doing your best for me!" Sayaka said, breaking him out of his thoughts.
"You heard me?!"
"Like I said, I'm psychic," she said before giggling. "Kidding! I have really good intuition… But is that really what you were thinking?"
"Don't worry about it, let's just make sure we help each other get out of here, no matter what it takes!" TK exclaimed and Sayaka gave him a bright smile.
"Yeah, you're right. We need to work together and do our best!" She giggled.
Sayaka left after Monokuma's Nighttime announcement and TK got into bed and thought about what he promised Sayaka.
'I'm going to do my best to get us out of here! I swear!'
TK then closed his eyes and started drifting off to sleep before they shot open after he thought about what Sayaka said earlier about her crush.
"WAIT A MINUTE!"
