2. Pillar of Strength

Nene, being an idol had many experiences with men who wanted to take advantage and in this day and age, even females who got too close for comfort. Tagiru for all those years had been a shield for her in that sense – he would gather people or even grab a random object and beat them with it. He could sometimes get a little mean-spirited in the antics he did in an attempt to chase them away, but he excused it as anyone who didn't respect boundaries didn't deserve anything.

But Hideaki doing this? The people who tried to get a little too close were random strangers – Hideaki had been Tagiru's friend since the two of them were kids. This was something she had not expected. Taiki and Yuu had always been a little suspicious of him and she had never gotten a good vibe when she and Tagiru were in the same proximity as Hideaki, but this was something she had not seen coming. She stepped out of the hospital room for a moment to let the nurses do their thing and to see Taiki and Yuu, who had been respectfully waiting outside.

"How is he, Neesan?" Yuu asked, shifting from foot to foot.

Nene sighed. "Unconscious. They're trying to get the drugging out but that…how could he do this? They were friends."

Yuu's face fell at that and Taiki shook his head.

"Tagiru was Hideaki's friend," Taiki corrected. "If Hideaki was ever Tagiru's friend, he would have never done this. He would have accepted Tagiru's feelings and respected them even if it hurt him. Friends don't hurt each other if one rejects them."

Nene paused at that, but she nodded. That was true. Their whole group had become close friends and Kiriha had not hated her when she had rejected him. He had become a little bit distant but now they were close friends again as if that rejection had never happened between them. Friendship was unconditional and anyone who set those kinds of conditions on their friends was not a real friend.

Tagiru would need her now more than ever though. Being a rock for her when she went through similar situations, he was the shoulder she allowed herself to shed a few tears on. As much as she showed around Yuu that none of it bothered her, that she knew this would happen if she decided to pursue her career as an idol, a reason her father had not wanted her to leave.

She still remembered a time when she was first harassed during an acting gig she took on for a TV show where one of her co-stars attempted to get a little too close for comfort. Her and Tagiru had not begun dating yet, but she did find herself sharing things with her friend every now and then because he was so full of life, remaining positive through life's circumstances. That first moment…had been hard for her.

"Amano-san," Minoru, her co-star for this Japanese TV show came into the room. "That was a good shooting, you're a natural at acting."

Nene smiled a bit. It was good to be polite with your co-stars even if she had only starred in a single episode, especially when he was giving her such a compliment. "I appreciate that, thank you." She paused when he closed the door behind her. "Is everything alright, Sukimoto-san?"

Minoru didn't respond to that; he simply closed the gap a little more between the two of them. "It's more than alright, Amano…no Nene-san. You have not only impressed me with your acting, but your beauty is stunning. I could get you more TV show gigs if you want."

Nene frowned, not liking the look that had come in his eyes suddenly. "No, thank you. I'm happy as a singer." She made to step back but he suddenly grasped her by the wrist, stepping even closer.

"I know," Minoru said softly. "They say beauty is on the inside, but I haven't been inside you yet, lovely. Let me have a taste of you and I can take you to great places."

Nene felt her fists clench at these words, and she struck out at him, pushing him back. "I said no, is that too much to understand?" She was trying not to flinch, and she stormed over to the door, opening it and running faster than she had when she knew she was being hunted by DarkKnightmon. She wasn't really watching where she was going, only wanting to get away from him when she bumped into Tagiru.

"Nene-san!" Tagiru caught her and it was in that moment, Nene realised she was trembling a little. "Are you alright? What happened?"

Nene shook her head. "Not here. I want to go somewhere better."

Tagiru nodded immediately. "Ok, let's get out of here."

He had done the one thing no one had for her before – he had listened. He had held her as she had cried, shaken by the whole encounter because nothing like this had ever happened before. No one had ever gotten this close before. She had always been good at keeping things professional but now, she wasn't so sure what was happening. How this had even happened – the only thing good that had come out of it was it brought her closer to the love of her life. That was one thing she was grateful for in all of that even with all the bad, she gained the one good in her life and she wouldn't let Hideaki dim his spirit.

"Is Hideaki in jail?" Nene asked, bringing herself back to the normal conversation they were having. She did have some connections as well, after all.

Yuu nodded. "We pressed charges against him for sexual assault and attempted rape." He shifted a bit. "He really deserved worse; we should have killed him. If Tagiru had his X-Loader, Gumdramon would have beaten Hideak to a pulp."

"Why did he not have it?" Nene asked. Tagiru took his X-Loader with him everywhere no matter what.

"Hideaki kidnapped him from his apartment, he knocked on the door pretending to be a guest," Taiki explained. "When Tagiru went to answer the door, he kidnapped him. Tagiru didn't have time to grab it."

Nene scowled at that. Of course he did. It wouldn't be so easy to hurt Tagiru if he had his digimon partners with him. She clenched her fist for a moment before breathing out. "I'm going to get back to Tagiru. Do you two want to come see him?"

Taiki nodded. "Yeah, he needs us all. Now, more than ever."