#koushiro and eye contact

[firefirefruit]

Steel in Her Veins, Chapter: Seventeen

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Chapter Seventeen: Onigiri

As your hand connects with his, you reluctantly trail behind Gramps, nursing a humongous grudge against him for ousting you from the workshop. 

"Social interaction’s important at your age!" he insists, his stubborn furrow signalling the inevitable shift in the course of your life.

Armed with his illegally immigrated Wano connections scrawled within his logbook, Gramps engages in a series of letters with a familiar Shimotsuki contact, meticulously planning a rendezvous through extensive log pose calculations.

"Why can't we just head to their dojo?" you grumble, eyeing the island that sits perfectly equidistant from your home and the Dojo-guy’s village. At least then there would be something to actually do, and people to see. The prospect of aimlessly wandering around on a boring old island makes you even more reluctant to the thought of ‘socialisation.’

"The less people see us, the easier it is to stay safe," Gramps replies.

His words bring to mind a recent incident, just a month ago, when you both urgently had to evacuate yet again, from another workshop, on yet another island. It was the result of an attack orchestrated by those shittily-dressed CP members who always manage to track you down, no matter how many times and how far you flee.

Hidden upstairs, you could only hear the rattles and thuds following Gramps as you scrambled to pick up your emergency bags, pre-emptively prepared for such occasions before escaping to the meeting point.

Gramps would never, ever, let you fight alongside him. He had this entrenched fear of them finding out about your existence and you didn’t know why. You didn’t get what was so detrimental about them seeing a girl living along with her gramps, working regularly on her craft. But you could tell, if there was only one rule that you had to follow, it was this one. 

The way Gramps demanded this from you from the very start of your immigration from Wano, with such an intense and severe resolution set across his face, made all the objections you wanted to spout out immediately die on your tongue.

The more you grew, the more dangerous it was simply to exist outside of Wano. And the rich bit was, you still didn’t know why. Gramps wouldn’t say – you didn’t know whether he actually knew the reason why, or if he was as unsure as you were, but it was always brushed off whenever you questioned him about it.

“Whatever,” you mutter lowly and roll your eyes, walking even slower behind Suki just to irritate him. 

“I’ll change the locks on the studio again if you keep moping,” he cheekily says, giving you a little side-eye. And in an instant, you kick your feet up to match his pace, not wanting to have to start lockpicking through the doors again just to do your work.

“Look, they’re here,” Gramps whispers to you before turning his attention to the two figures.

From a distance, you eye a young blue-haired girl moping behind the man who seems to be her father, annoyedly swinging a sword in her hand. The sword claws at the grass in front of her feet, becoming more of a pick-axe than a fearsome blade. Your eyes light up as you pay closer attention to the type of sword she has in her fingers, a slight interest warming you from the inside.

“Sukiyaki!” The man says in greeting, tugging on his daughter’s reluctant hand as he walks toward the two of you. 

Gramps grins wildly, embracing him warmly. “It’s been a while. Your old man leaving Wano’s done you some good, eh?”

The man laughs kindly, patting his back. “I can say the same thing about you, ex-Shogun.”

“You can thank this little rascal for that,” Gramps says, staring down at you pointedly. “This is Raya, my granddaughter.”

The man smiles at you, making you instantly want to smile back just by looking at the warmth that emanates from his eyes. “Hello, Raya. I’m Koushiro - this is my daughter, Kuina.”

Your eyes flicker back to the blue-haired girl who now has an eyebrow raised at you, her eyes twinging with slight interest. 

“I like your sword,” you shyly mutter, eyes glued to the weapon in her possession.  

The girl looks taken aback, unsure of what to say. She looks up to her father, uncertain of what to do – and as he gives her a little reassuring nod, a subtle smile creeps onto her face. Finally, there’s another girl who's just like her, who’s really into swords. 

“I like her too,” she finally says, fumbling the hilt across her palm. She steps towards you, extending her Wado Ichimonji out as a friendship offering. “Wanna hold her?”

With a sudden shock to your body, your eyelids groggily slink upwards. Hot breath blows on your face as you try to make sense of your surroundings, realising that the floor beneath you is moving at an incredibly dangerous pace. 

“What...?” You mumble heavily, forcefully blinking a few times to unblur your vision. You feel restrained, feeling fingers that aren’t your own that grip at your skin. A huff of paced breath hits your face again, the boulder set against your cheek expanding with each aggressive step. 

“Stay still,” Zoro exhales, his arms holding your legs and arms even tighter against his chest. 

Your eyes immediately snap wide open, gaping up at the green-haired samurai who’s running like his life is on the line.

“Let me go,” you slur, dizzily slapping your hand against his chest. “I can run by myself.”

“Like fuck I will. Not gonna make that mistake again,” Roronoa mutters through gritted teeth, his eyes glued on the path before him.

His footsteps reverberate through the landscape, each step a jolt that echoes through your restrained form. You squirm in his grasp, desperately trying to break free, but his grip remains unyielding.

“Seriously, Roronoa! Put me down!” you protest, your voice slurred from the side-effect of Chopper’s sedative. The world blurs around you as he sprints, carelessly snapping branches and rocks from beneath his heavy boots.

“Just shut up and stay still,” he snaps, his focus unwavering. The rhythm of his strides runs like a wild drum beat, chaotic and messy, and you can't help but feel a sense of intense dread within you.

As you keep protesting, your eyes catch glimpses of the passing scenery—a chaotic blur of mountains, rocks, and uneven terrain. Zoro seems to navigate effortlessly, his instincts finely tuned to the path ahead.

A surge of irritation courses through you as you look down and away from Roronoa’s clenched jawline, your fingers gripping over his tightening arms as you try to make sense of your surroundings. 

“Where are we even going?” you demand, hoping for an explanation.

Zoro glances down, his singular grey eye piercing through you.

“To safety. Hold on,” he replies.

The erratic journey continues until Zoro abruptly comes to a halt. You're released from his firm grasp, stumbling slightly as you find your footing. The world finally stops spinning, and you take a moment to regain your bearings.

“We’re here,” Zoro states, a hint of urgency still lingering in his voice. Your surroundings slowly come into focus —a cave within a mountain, the canopy casting shadows over the uneven ground.

“What’s going on? Why are we in the middle of nowhere?” you ask, frustration lacing your words. Zoro doesn’t immediately respond, his attention drawn to the surroundings as if assessing potential threats.

He lets out a sigh, then faces you, a hand carefully resting on the hilt of his Kitetsu. "We brought you to the shaman. The moment he laid eyes on you, he started screaming. Kept referring to you as Oni, then ordered his lackeys to spill your blood until it runs dry."

You stare at him silently. Then, you huff out a singular laugh. “What?”

“Yup,” he says, shifting himself to the rocky floor. “He thinks you’re a demon. Said he felt something in your blood.”

“Great, so I’m a demon now,” you say, staring down at your awfully blackened arm. The growth seems to have halted while you were unconscious, prompting a small sigh of relief. Well, at least there’s that.

Zoro looks away with a smirk, his arm crossed. “Now? You always were one.”

You scoff, an eyebrow raised. “You got some jokes, samurai.”

You stumble a little from the disorientation, gasping in the process. Zoro immediately shifts from his position, his eye widening, arms held out in preparation, but you manage to shift your arms onto the wall behind you, panting in surprise.

 “I got it.” You strain out. Zoro lowers his arms and pointedly stares at you in reply.

“Maybe you should sit down. You’re confused.”

So, you sit yourself down on the jagged terrain, earning a surprised stare from Zoro.

“What?” 

“You actually listened.”

“Yeah, well…” You look down at your arm again, grimacing. “Chopper’s sedative is gonna wear off soon, and my arm’s definitely gonna feel it.”

Zoro's gaze very slightly softens as he takes in the exhaustion etched across your face. "We'll find a way to fix this. For now, rest."

“Rest in the terrified Shaman’s cave. Great plan,” you mutter, though you do lean back against the cold, rocky surface.

As the minutes pass, you decide to rest your eyes whilst keeping your ears open. The images of your previous dream swirl in your thoughts, blending with the rhythmic dripping sounds of the cave, and you can't help but purse your lips at the thought of Kuina. What would she have been like, if she was still alive and the same age as you? You'll never know. You'll never know, and that's what hurts.

Before you let yourself completely relax your muscles and slacken your head against the wall, a sudden stampede of footsteps begin to scramble their way to the entrance of the cave, making your eyes snap wide open.

“They found us,” you whisper, instantly knowing the amount of hot shit the both of you are in right now. Your fingers curl over the dagger in your belt. “Tell me, did you see them use magic?”

Zoro drifts his gaze from the sudden clambering of the Shaman’s underlings to you, his lips pursed. You stare back at him, raising your eyebrows.

“Okay. So, are they talented?” 

He remains staring at you, pursing his lips even harder into a straight line. Instantly, you turn away, eyes flickering in thought.

“Well, fuck. Shit. Okay…” You heave yourself from the ground, stumbling slightly in the process. “I think I have a plan.”

Zoro rises, his sword now glimmering and unsheathed. He stands in front of the opening, pure focus in his eye, as he holds the Kitetsu into the air.

“Look, you’ve got to leave and let me deal with them,” you say, making Zoro snap his head to you in outrage.

“Absolutely fucking not,” he growls, narrowing his eye at you. “Are you insane?”

“Seriously, Roronoa, you need to run away. Leave me --”

“You know what you’re sounding awfully a lot like? Your old man.”

“But—”

He glares at you, ferocity lingering in his lone eye.

“I told you, I’m not fuckin’ makin’ that mistake again.”

[sloanerisette]

Fic For Odaiba Day 2024: You Need A Promotion, I Want A Shake Up, So Let's Get Married!

Hello everyone! Happy Odaiba Day! 25 years of Digimon! It's incredible to think about! I'm so happy I've gotten back into this show and this fandom because it's been so wonderful!

I know it's not Odaiba Day in America but it IS Odaiba Day in Japan so I'm going to post the FIRST of my two fics I'm osting for Odaiba Day!

Title: You Need A Promotion, I Want A Shake Up, So Let's Get Married! Summary: A newly 30 Mimi Tachikawa has it all: great friends, her dream career, and tons of fans, but she's missing one thing: a relationship she isn't allowed to have because of an overbearing manager.

Jou Kido is living a simple life: he goes to work at his father's hospital, he comes home, he goes to sleep and does it again. However, pressure from his father has him needing to live up to his lofty expectations to one day secure a promotion that will make all of the work he's done in his life worth it.

When the two of them get in touch after so many years and learn of each other's struggles, they decide on the obvious solution: pretend they're married. Big thanks to Camp Digimonth and zuz-senpai for all the support and excitement for this fic! I'm so happy to have this first chapter out and I hope you all enjoy! I'll post a blurb here under the read more, but you can view the fic on AO3 HERE!

Bright lights shined in her face, which a make up artist was currently patting foundation on. Mimi Tachikawa sat in a chair, curlers in her hair, phone held gingerly in her nicely manicured hands, and she tapped through it and looked through her contacts..

In three days it would be her thirtieth birthday, and she couldn’t be more excited. She was excited to reach a new milestone in her life— not that turning thirty was a particularly big one, anyways— and more than that, she was getting the finishing touches set up for her big birthday party. She rented out a fancy Italian restaurant at one of the nicest hotels in the area, one that had a beautiful view of the bay, and a bunch of her friends would be there to celebrate with her. Though the invites she sent out already were for fellow models who she worked with and became friends with since her late teens and early twenties, an old photo popping up on her phone reminded her of another group of friends she needed to invite. She tried to keep it small at first, but, well, she was Mimi! How could she keep an event like this small when she had so many friends? Especially friends.

And though she hadn’t had a chance to spend as much time with them as she wanted to for years, they were old friends and classmates who meant the world to her: Yagami Taichi, Ishida Yamato, Takenouchi Sora, Izumi Koushiro, Kido Jou, Takaishi Takeru, Yagami Hikari, Motomiya Daisuke, Inoue Miyako, Hida Iori, and Ichijouji Ken.

Twelve extra people was going to be a big ask considering she already had, what, twenty some other people going? But she couldn’t leave them out. It had been a long time since she sat down with most of them, but they were still all friends to some degree.

“Tachikawa-san? I need to apply your lipstick real quick,” the young woman who was doing her makeup told her. Mimi’s eyes flicked up to her and she smiled.

“Of course! What color?” she asked.

“It’s this,” the girl said, holding up a lipstick tube that was colored a beautiful, deep, rich burgundy.

“Oooh, that looks great! Go ahead!”

Mimi puckered her lips, and as the make-up artist started to apply the first coat, she glanced back down at her phone, adding each of them to a group chat. Once the makeup artist finished the first coat of lipstick, Mimi started rapidly firing off messages.

[Tachikawa Mimi]: Hey everyone! It’s Mimi!

[Tachikawa Mimi]: I’m having my 30th bday in a few days! And you’re all invited!

[Tachikawa Mimi]: Sorry for it being so late notice! I’ll send you all the time and location!

She sent the RSVP from her calendar, unable to stop from feeling giddy, practically bouncing in her seat. Her phone immediately buzzed like wild, and she couldn’t wait to check on it after the shoot.

The girl finished the second coat of lipstick, and Mimi looked at herself in the mirror as she then removed the curlers, letting her hair fall down in loose curls and waves.

“Is hair and makeup done?” a man’s voice called from the other end of the room.

“Yup!” the make up artist chirped back. Mimi popped up from the chair. She gave herself a once over, turning to one side, then the other, to appreciate the midnight blue evening gown she had on. Combined with the lipstick and her honey brown hair, she looked like a real stunner, if she said so herself.

“This looks great! You did an incredible job! Thank you so much,” she beamed, before heading over to the set.

[atsoraasayoma]

Takari Week 2024

Fourth Day: Fourth Contact:

Title: Digimon ‘Whirled’ Tour Misunderstandings

Summary: Hikari, covered in ink and tired from her journey while traveling home on Imperialdramon after her trip to HongKong has some interesting conversations with Koushirou and Takeru. These talks lead to some misunderstandings due to some poorly timed phrasing from their partners and even hers as well where she will have to clear her name.

***

It had been forever since Hikari had seen Takeru. Ok, maybe less than twenty four hours thanks to Imperialdramon’s blistering light speed taxi that dropped them off to all corners of the world and then back again...But still. She couldn’t wait to see him again yet wished it could have been under better circumstances.

The briny scent of the ink from the three brother’s Octomon Digimon clung to her hair like a sticky sweat. The burning sun and dusty winds also did not help, Hikari feeling worse for wear. Koushiro himself had come out of it unfazed, having somehow been so interlocked and focused on his planning/computer work it shielded him from any Digital or environmental hazards.

Hikari had not noticed she had been staring at him, Koushiro looking a bit nervous, pausing, and then resuming typing on his computer. “Hikarichan,” he said, “I can’t concentrate when you’re looking at me like that. Do I have something on my face or something?”

Hikari shook her head a bit. “N-no,” she said, “Its just that I’m just surprised. How is it that I look like I’ve walked through a wilderness and a pen factory, but you look like you just got out of the shower? We were both at the same place so I’m just wondering how can you be so clean after our last adventure?”

The typing of hands tapping on Koushiro's keyboard immediately ceased. His eyes locked onto the screen, but as if he was looking at something else.

“Koushirousan?” she questioned, Koushiro not turning away.

Sweat beaded down Koushiro's face, his breathing shallow.

“Oh no,” Tentomon said, crawling up on his back inspecting him with his pincers. “It’s happening again.”

Hikari stared at them both confused. “I’m sorry, did I miss something?”

“You wouldn’t know it,” he answered, “But Koushiro has what you call post traumatic stress disorder,” he said. “My Koushiro has been living with it for a long time.”

“PTSD?!” Hikari said a bit shocked. “I had no idea! I can’t believe that our Digimon Adventuring left that much of an impression on you! But you’ve never showed that side of yourself before,” she said calming down. “What changed?”

“Hmm?” he said, turning towards Koushiro, Koushiro weakly glancing at him and nodding his head.

“Oh, you don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?”

“The terror of soccer.”

“Terror of soccer?”

She glanced up, Koushiro's face turning even more despairing as if he had just accepted he would die. His hands trembled, his eyes shivering as if not wanting to relive something unpleasant.

“You see,” Tentomon buzzed manner of factually with his pincers, “Koushiro told me about it. Back when he was little he often went to Taichi’s soccer games.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” she said, Tentomon glancing at Koushiro and patting his back.

“But, that’s the problem!” he gestured holding them both up. “That was back when Taichi was not, shall we say, very good.”

“Oh?”

“I still remember it quite well,” Koushiro said his breathing shallow. “Hey Koushiro! Koushiro look at me! Watch this! You’re not paying attention!” he said repeating inflections, placing his thumb and index finger spread apart touching his cheeks so the small curve of skin between them was pressed to his lips shaking.

“I used to watch his games, but the moment I looked at my computer a soccer ball came flying at me. No matter what I did, or position I maintained, I always locked on me somehow like a heat seeking missile- even when I actually sat in a tree watching from overhead!” he said incredulously over the bizarre situation. Over time I learned how to handle such trauma,” he sighed out. “...I never want to go through such a learning curve ever again.”

“Well, that and Taichi did get better,” Tentomon said making sucking squishing sounds between his tiny fangs in his mouth, Hikari a bit creeped out by it, but realized that must have been how he laughed.

“But by that time my Koushiro had adapted natural reflexes towards anything coming his way. Regardless it was a soccer ball or a Digimon attack, Koushiro could dodge it or bat it away and continue his work on the computer as if nothing had happened.

“That’s...impressive,” Hikari said glancing at Koushiro a bit differently as if he was a battle hardened soldier. It was no wonder he got so perturbed so easily when he multi tasked and someone interrupted him.

“Regardless,” Koushiro said, “The only way to snap him back out of this was either green tea or...lavish praise.”

“What, like saying ‘good job?” Hikari questioned.

“Yes, but you’d have to take it up a notch by a scale of 100!”

“Huh,” Hikari pondered.

“And it can’t just be one or two people. It has to be everyone present. Even you Tailmon.”

“Even me?”

“His pride won’t let him recover until everyone in the room acknowledges him.”

“Huh, you’ve got it tough,” Tailmon acknowledged. “All right, I’m in.”

“Very well,” Tentomon said. “I’ll start. Follow my lead,” he said holding up his claws and waiving them as if conducting a symphony. “And a one a two,” he said, “And a now! Koushiro is an outstanding upstanding citizen!”

“That’s a compliment?” Hikari said having a hard time believing they were actually doing this.

“Anything works!” Tentomon said still holding up his claws. “In fact I accidentally told him one time he was the smartest pizza maker! I think he just honed in on the ‘smartest’ part.”

“I think I get it now,” Hikari said having understood. “We just need to inflate his ego.”

“Let’s try it Hikari,” Tailmon smiled nodding her head

With that all three of them started singing Koushiro's praises one by one, some of them even starting to overlap together, this continuing on for several minutes, Hikari starting to feel dazed at the chaos of their words clashing like three symphonies overlapping and their notes narrowly avoiding colliding into each other. Worse, she had been running out of things to say!

Koushiro seemed to still be out of it, Hikari's’ turning having come around again.

“Hikari?” Tailmon said looking at her expectantly.

“Don’t stop now!” Tentomon said trying to keep everyone together. “We need one last push! Anything! Make it up if you have to!”

Hikari searched her mind this way and that, and knew she just had to say something. “K-Koushirou is the only one who can handle my mom’s special recipes!” she yelled raising her voice, Tentomon stopping.

Tentomon stopped, the imaginary rhythm he had been connecting coming to an end.

Koushirou stared at his computer, blinked his eyes a couple of times and glanced up at them all having regained his composure.

“I’ll have you know,” he said, “Those recipes are delicious,” he said. “I could eat blueberry bean spinach casserole any day of the week!”

“Koushirou!” Tentomon said relieved giving him a hug, “You’re back with us!”

“Yeah, I’m here,” he said calmly typing on his computer again. “Though, I don’t remember why I stopped working to begin with. Did something happen?”

Tailmon and Hikari exchanged glances, both of them silently acknowledging the same thing: Koushirou had become so traumatized he had blocked the memory out completely.

Don’t worry about it. Oh look,” Tentomon said flying over to the barrier wall and sticking to it. “Looks like we’re at the next stop!”

***

Eventually Imperialdramon had reached the other locations, the Digidestined greeting each other and catching up, Hikari a bit winded from this Reunited Digidestined Celebration. Lastly they started to slow down landing on the ground with a bit of a rumble, Hikari wishing Imperialdramon had seat belts, but thankfully none of them suffered jet lag...except Jou of course being comforted by Gomamon.

As it slowed down, Hikari felt her heart leap as Taichi and Takeru came up. A pretty girl with blue eyes and blonde hair and a Floramon waving at them. Both Taichi and Takeru waved back,Taichi grinning stupidly which meant that Hikari knew by his mannerisms he had gotten involved more than he probably should have. But that shouldn’t be a problem.

As the other Digidestined greeted them, Takeru walked over to the gleaming blue light and leaned back into the wall sighing out.

“Welcome back...Takerukun,” she said having turned away from him a bit.

“You to Hikarichan. Felt like I haven’t seen you in forever, even though it’s only been less than a day. Kind of weird huh?” he smiled Hikari turning his way, realizing he must have also missed her. She couldn’t react too strongly though in case he might think she cared for him more than what she was letting on, even if it was true.

“Mhm. Time flies when you’re...on Imperialdramon,” she said, Takeru just staring at her.

“And I thought I was tired,” he said lifting up his head and sliding to the ground, Hikari just glancing down at him a bit anxious.

“Hikari, you’ve been standing up this whole time. You sit too,” Tailmon said grabbing her by the hands and making her sit down next to him.

She then sat down as well, Patamon having found comfort curled up resting on Takeru’s hat.

She glanced down at Tailmon who had already passed out, her head nodded down against the wall.

“Our Digimon are really something,” he said. “They work so hard for us. We couldn’t ask for better partners.”

“Mhm,” she said stroking Tailmon’s fur, her ears folding back a bit.

Takeru glanced up at Patamon and tickled his ears a bit, both Digimon mumbling in their sleep.

“Anything interesting happen?” Takeru asked. “You know, aside from probably needing a shower.”

Hikari glanced away from him wishing he had not noticed that. Of course, that would have been impossible.

“Aside from this, nothing,” she said not wanting to talk about herself.“What about you?” Hikari asked, “Taichi was smiling so wide something must have happened. And he’ll never tell me, just get mad and tell me not to worry about it.”

“That sounds like Taichisan all right,” Takeru chuckled. “But, no nothing I could think o-”

“-Takeru,” Patamon moaned sweetly in his sleep, “Why are you kissing that girl?”

His eyes froze, Hikari staring at him, her mouth open.

She wanted to say something, but refrained herself at least for now. She could only could think about that blonde haired girl Katherine she had seen him wave to earlier. She was really pretty too.

Hikari pursed her lips holding them shut not wanting to imagine him kissing another girl. She could have sworn she heard voices in her head saying ‘What’s wrong with them?’ And another voice saying ‘The Lovebirds are being dramatic again’ but she just looked up at him expectantly for an answer.

She wanted to ask it. To ask if it was true he did that to say-

“-All right Hikarichan,” Takeru smirked, “I know you want to ask me if I really kissed a girl. Probably the Katherine girl, am I right?”

Hikari lowered her head and nodded.

“Well, I actually did. And Taichi too!”

Hikari felt her heart sink and then her stomach twist hurt and then horribly confused at the same time.

What kind of situation or relationship would Takeru and her brother and Katherine have to be in to...have such a...relationship? She imagined Katherine wasn’t so nice and had them chained like dogs enacting all kinds of torture on them with chains and a whip and the dogs enjoying it.

“Hikarichan? Hikarichan?” Takeru said having interrupted her imagination.

“Hmm?” she said glancing at Takeru like a dog as if he was beneath her. She couldn’t believe the Takeru she knew so well had-

“-I think you’re misunderstanding something,” he said with a wry smile. “In France people greet each other with a little kiss on the cheek.”

“On the cheek?” she said turning her face his way.

“Mhm, It was pretty awkward for me and Taichi but we managed to do it near the end of our adventure there. Part of my family has a french background. It felt kind of...familiar. I don’t remember ever going there though. It must have been while I was little.”

“Oh,” she said, Her face staring back down not wanting to look up at him. She should have realized the context of all of this. Why was she so flustered? Takeru was her friend. He had the right to do anything he wanted to. They were not going out or anything. It felt wrong of her to even think of him in a negative light.

She sighed out. “I’m sorry Takerukun,” she said. “I could only imagine about what you said when the both of you had kissed her.”

“Right?” he smiled as if a bit relieved. “I mean it’s not like I would come to any weird misunderstanding about you if I heard something about-”

-Tailmon meowed out loud like a yawn, holding up one paw weakly as if warding something away. “No, get away. Hikari, you can’t allow all three of them to surround you like that! Those brothers are dangerous.”

Hikari stared down a bit nervously, a strange pressure glaring down at her from overhead. She slowly lifted up her head to see Takeru smiling, but it wasn’t a happy smile. It seemed kind of...angry.

“Well, I’m sure YOU must be tired from your journey Hikarichan,” he said as if looking past the situation. “I’m sure all the attention really must have been exhausting. Since YOU put yourself in that situation maybe YOU should just sleep it off,” he said, Hikari irritated by his inflections.

“N-no That’s not it!” She protested. “I didn’t choose to! They came at me!”

“What? They came at you Hikarichan?” Takeru said turning seriously, his now icy blue eyes glancing her way and cracking his knuckles in a fist that somehow made Takeru look not only incredibly attractive to her, but also kind of dangerous.

Hikari didn’t know what to do anymore about the situation. She hit her head back against the blue barrier of Imperialdramon wanting to snap herself out of it. She couldn’t lie. Just like she imagined Takeru having once been that Katherine’s ‘Pet’ she couldn’t stop her mind from seeing Takeru beat up a bunch of guys, Takeru shielding her in a seductive manner. It was even worse, or in this case better than Miyako sharing her romantic fan fiction stories with her.

“So, did you get their names?” he asked. “Maybe I’ll have Imperialdramon fly back after everyone else gets off.”

“No, don’t do that,” she said with an exhausted smile. “I can already tell what you’re thinking. But really it was no worse than Daisuke if there was three of him.”

Takeru’s eyes lit up a bit as if having snapped out of it. He also leaned back against the barrier resting his head against it. “I don’t know...if I could win against that,” he sighed with a smile.

“Thankfully I’m gone now though,” Hikari agreed. “I might have had a nervous break down if I had stayed any longer.”

Takeru snickered Hikari returning his back with a sweet smile. She really did miss him. Despite what they thought happened to each other, it was just one big misunderstanding after all. Maybe he even felt jealous too?”

The thought seemed so pleasant, Hikari’s mind drifting back to her imagination about Takeru. She couldn’t get that image out of his mind...in a good way.

“Hikari!” Miyako exclaimed running over to her and sliding down next to her. “Oh, good, your warm. I have the latest chapter on my fan fiction by the way. I wanted to know if you wanted to read it.”

“Maybe later,” she said. “It’s good to see you Miyakochan. “Did you have fun?”

“Of course!” she said. “And I got to meet Yuri, one of the cutest boys I’ve ever met! Man, I’m so lucky! I probably had the best romantic chance meeting yet out of all of us. And there was no weird misunderstandings,” she said both Takeru and Hikari smiling at each other, as if it was there own little secret. “In fact, I’m sure none of us had any-

A shocked gasp escaped from in front of them as everyone looked at Ken.

Both Sora and Mimi stood on either side of him both angry and demanding.

“What do you mean Ken clinged to a little girl?!” they said in unison towering over him.

“Wormmon!” Ken snapped agitated. “Phrasing! Phrasing!”

Hikari couldn’t help but smile just a little more matching Takeru’s smile with her own.

Just then Iori walked over to them a bit wary of them.

“Whatever’s the matter Iorikun?” Hikari asked.

“Come have a seat with us!” Takeru added.

Iori started to slowly back away from them. “You look like your enjoying this,” he said. “Is it that fun to take joy in watching one of your friends suffer?”

“What?” Hikari said turning towards Takeru.

“That’s not what we’re doing,” he said. “Really Iorisan you have such an imagination.”

“I’m not imagining!” he said defensively. “And you’re not answering my question!”

“N-no you’re just misunderstanding,”Takeru said getting up. “Look we’re almost back to Japan!”

Hikari adored him as he continued playing with Iori, dodging his question, Takeru turning back towards her with gladness.

She smiled back, Miyako glancing up at her. “Seriously, would you two just cut it out and stop telepathically communicating while smiling? I haven’t gotten that far even in my fan fictions!”

She could only be amused by her, Hikari knowing this must have been exactly how Takeru felt. She missed that about him; His jokes, his witty sense of humor, his protective eyes that would cut someone to pieces if anything threatened her. Sometimes he even made her feel safer than her own Digimon who could go to the mega level!

She glanced at him a bit differently affectionately retaining the image in his mind of the Takeru she knew so well. Whether being serious or joking and laughing with her, Takeru was Takeru. And no misunderstanding or fantasy could ever change that.

[dutchforstrangers]

Digimon Adventure: 2023 - The newborn chronicles 1/?

Since approx three weeks, I'm head deep into diapers, broken nights and feeding sessions, trying to navigate through life with a newborn. All the while, coming here feels like this could be both my escape from and way of dealing with everything. So I might as well throw in some drabbles about my faves during pregnancy/labor and/or with newborns! Don't expect too much shipping or even shipping at all, just these mofos being newborn parents and not knowing sh*t about all of this.

If you have any suggestions or requests for this series (character(s) and/or prompt/idea), please crawl into my ask box and leave a message (: It's great writing exercise for me after being out of it for so long! I'm taking everything on a scale from everyday domestic fluff to drama with a funny twist and from comedy with a serious touch to dark and heavy angsty emotional rollercoaster.

[1/?]

Episode 1: Taichi & newborn Souta, pt. 1

"Well, just kill me now..."

He said as he exhaled loudly, his hands desperately buried in his hair that seemed wilder than ever before. The bags underneath his eyes in combination with the messy hair and stinky boxers indicating the lack of sleep and showering.

A small piece of Taichi hoped his wife would hear him sigh, wake and come to his rescue. The biggest piece, however, wanted to let her have a peaceful night after all the tough ones she already had and show her he could actually do this by himself.

Thing was he wasn't sure how to.

He reached for his phone on top of the dresser, next to his one week old son. Their eyes met, one set of brown eyes expectingly piercing through his own pair.

"I'm sorry I'm letting you wait, I just... I just need to be sure. So stop looking at me like that."

Taichi's eyes quickly moved from the baby to his phone, scrolling through the names in his contacts.

If he'd call Hikari, or Sora, they would immediately mother and scold him for not knowing "anything". They were an easy skip.

He could call Yamato, but the scenario in his head made him skip his friend faster than lightning.*

Jyou could be useful knowledge-wise, but he'd probably be in a night shift and too busy picking up.

Mimi wasn't an option either, feeling she would leave him with unuseful anecdotes about her traveling life and more questions than answers.

Takeru he felt too awkward to call and Daisuke was simply a hard no.

That left him with one last option. And even though Taichi wasn't sure about that person's knowledge regarding this specific topic, he was sure that he would help him in the best way possible.

"Taichi-san?"

Plus, the voice on the other end weirdly soothed him.

With his gaze fixed on his son's overly yellow-brownish body, Taichi started rambling.

"Koushiro, you've got to help me. What do you know about changing diapers and cleaning one week old babies after they covered themselves in their own poop?"

x x x

* The Taichi - Yamato scenario/convo I envisioned:

Y: "Oi, Taichi, why you're calling me in the middle of the night?"

T: "Why are you picking up in the middle of the night?"

Y: "... F*ck you." *hangs up*

[digitalgate02]

Scrapped Himekawa Maki's parts in the dropped Hinode project.

So you know... I've said it before, with Kizuna showing the 02 group going well and being happy, I decided to drop this entire project because I was satisfied with what they had done there.

Though, I liked some parts of it and especially Himekawa Maki's "redemption" arc parts. Well, she wasn't totally "redeemed" -- Think about Ex-Aid's Dan Kuroto in this case. The idea was that she could help Daisuke and co. to solve this strange mystery connected to the parallel world from Lady of the Castle counterparts -- with them discovering that their world also had a counterpart for Pandora (the main villain of that series) and that those new villains were after said person.

Maki would just help with technical and analysis stuff -- but hey, why can't they just ask Koushiro? Well, this was ▽ compliant and the biggest traumatic experience from 2005 made Daisuke feel a little... out of himself. So he believed he was the culprit for all of the mess caused by the ▽ villains and forced himself to isolate from the others -- he would only keep contact with Ken, Miyako and Iori for some reason. No, he wasn't... angry with the other eight, but more with himself.

Anyway, here's the Maki's parts! I'll put the context for better understanding.

Ch 6 - Energetic Waves, Fauermon

It hadn’t been her end. She was pretty alive, but far away from her duties. Her partner, and by that meant her human partner, had been missing and possibly considered dead. Insanity had kept Himekawa Maki out of her job. “You… You’re not dead right?” She was glancing at a photo, her hands shaking but holding tight the portrait. “Tell me… You’re NOT dead…” She couldn’t believe in what they said to her. Not three years ago, not now. Maki was feeling an emptiness in her heart, the people she loved had left and she was alive. The Chosen Children had found her lost, after the events. Daisuke had yelled at her and had accused to tricking them. She had felt guilty… But learning that her partner had died… No, she hadn’t believed in those kids. All she had done caused that mess. It had been her fault. Once she had returned to the human world, her boss had forced her to retire. Maki hadn’t complained, and had left. Without Bakumon she had no power. BUT without Nishijima Daigo she felt incomplete. Now she was looking at that old photo of them, taken by the sweetest girl in the Chosen Children group, Kitabayashi Hitomi. “Call me.” Her eyes were fixated on the boy’s smile. “CALL ME…!!” If the price she had to pay for having Bakumon back meant Daigo’s death… … She shouldn’t have made a deal with Yggdrasil. “Himechan…!” - a voice called her, a feminine voice. The person opening the door was… “Daigo??” No, it was Hitomi. Visiting her from her day off. A woman -- with neck length black red hair and moon shaped glasses, wearing a black suit similar to the one Maki used to wear -- entered the room and frowned. “No, it’s just me.” Maki turned her head back to the photo.

Context: This was Maki's debut in the story, as well for Hitomi, who is the girl pictured in pt4 flashbacks. The one with Orochimon/Xuawumon as partner. You might remember her from this post here. Hitomi is a headcanon name for this girl.

Ch 7 - You never saw it coming

Ken was returning home when he received a message. Curiously, the Chosen of Kindness stopped nearby a store and checked his phone to see who sent him a text. He widened his eyes in shock about the sender. He didn’t expect THAT name to appear in a while, not when all of his troubles had started with her. But their exchange… What do you want? - Ichijouji I’ve been contacted by your friend, asking for my services - Himekawa I thought you had fun enough with us - Ichijouji My crimes had been paid with his death. I do not beg your pardon - Himekawa Which friend are you talking about? - Ichijouji Motomiya Daisuke, why do you ask? - Himekawa He would be the least person in this world to make a deal with you again - Ichijouji She got on Ken’s nerves. From all he had gathered about her, he couldn’t accept her help at all. Like, why would Daisuke contact her? My phone got a message from him, unless it’s a scammer - Himekawa Why did you contact me, then? - Ichijouji I need your digivice once again, to re-analyze it - Himekawa “What?!” - Ken almost broke his phone thanks to all the anger he felt - “Why would Daisuke want HER help??! Is he sane?! She was the one who tricked us in the first place!” You stole it from me to analyze it once, don’t you have the data with you? - Ichijouji The data is stored in the Bureau, and I was forced to be retired for a while - Himekawa … “Retired”? - Ichijouji You don’t need further details of my life, I’m asking for your cooperation this time - Himekawa How can I be sure you’re not going to fool us again? - Ichijouji I give you my word I won’t do anything against you or your friends - Himekawa Can he believe her?

Context: This is a follow up to the previous scene where Daisuke, Miyako, Hikari and Takeru discuss how to discover more about the digimon trying to murder Daisuke and how they can "freeze" the place during those attacks, blocking the digivice signal. Daisuke says "I can't believe I'm doing this, but we need her help this time." Note that he could've asked Koushiro, but he's still trying to not bother any of the older six and is still recovering from his own paranoiac episode. He will get better later, I promise!! But Ken is not very happy with that idea...

Not totally Maki-related, but here's the follow up of this scene with Hitomi:

A teacher had been observing Iori talking with a couple of kids and then left to talk on the phone. She, Kitabayashi Hitomi, was interested in whatever he was talking with… So she approached with caution to at least hear what he was saying. “I know, I need to pick Upamon and I can do it for you. No? Are you saying Daisuke-san contacted that woman?! Why didn’t he ask Ken-san for that information? Ah… I forgot about it… Ken-san suffered a memory loss once the Dark Seed stopped working.” He sighed, but proceeded: “No, I have nothing against her but… Is he sure we can trust her after all the things she has done to us? Is it even okay, because I do not want to remind him that she’s the one who sent us to the battlefield and probably encapsulated us once we were unconscious.” “The Chosen Children are trying to contact Himechan?” - Hitomi thought, but she decided to not call her boss. To be honest, she wanted to know more details… Perhaps asking Himechan by herself? “I see… He has some plan in mind” - Iori blinked in surprise - “I’m going to pick Upamon now, if you have more news please contact me immediately. See you there.” And he left the school. Not realizing Hitomi was around. “What would the children want with Himechan? Should I ask them?” - she wondered - “Maybe I should ask Himechan? I will keep my eyes on Hida-kun.”

In which you learn she's also an undercover teacher, but at Odaiba Jr. High School (aka Middle School) instead, as a Science teacher.

Ch 8 - Deals

If Daisuke said so, we can trust her… Not. That was what Ken thought, he was against that idea of asking Himekawa for help. But he had to, his memories about the Kaiser’s tricks and gimmicks never had returned. And knowing the Data Bureau wouldn’t let touch the analysis she did in the prior three years gave him no choices. The young kids met her after school, in her residence. There, the kids saw a few photos of Daigo, and some peculiar ones with them as children with a group formed by five kids and… five digimons?! But when… “Himekawa-san was one of the original Chosen Child” - Miyako explained to Takeru and Hikari - “That’s how she gained Daisuke’s trust.” “Why didn’t she tell us before?” - Hikari was in shock - “Does it mean Nishijima-san was one too?” “Yeah, he too” - Daisuke answered her - “I guess we know by the photos who were their digimon partners.” Most of them had Bakumon, some of them had the other digimon and their partners: A Muchomon with a chubby boy, a Guilmon for a sporty boy and a Kamemon for a girl with glasses. Daigo’s partner was a Bearmon and they were present in the group’s photo. Iori realized the girl with glasses looked like a teacher from Odaiba Junior High. Daisuke, Miyako, Hikari and Takeru too, since they had seen her when they attended the school three years ago. “Kitabayashi-sensei was a Chosen Child too?” - they said in unison. “Ah, you’re here” - Maki received them, and they glanced at her - “Oh…” - she realized they were looking at the photos - “I apologize for not telling you kids before, it was confidential information.” “Confidential?” - they repeated. “In the time we all were recruited, we were forced to not contact the new Chosen Children. Actually, the Data Bureau was only created after the incidents of August 1999 and we became the bridge connecting the human world and the Digital World. In other words, all our work was to represent the Bureau in front of Gennai-san and the Digital World’s deities. I also was the vessel for Homeostasis in the past, which means I got a higher position for being able to bring her to the human world for beforehand reunions.” “You were a vessel like Hikari-chan?!” - Takeru gasped. “I didn’t like it, because Homeostasis had betrayed me as a child. But that’s not storytelling time, Motomiya-kun said you kids needed my help.” “Ah yes, we were almost forgetting it!” - Daisuke then glanced at Ken - “Ken, please?” Ken wasn’t okay with that idea. “I don’t understand what you want to search on my digivice, Daisuke” - he answered - “Actually we’re trying to search for some way to discover what’s blocking our power when we’re… Dragged in a distorted reality.” “Hm…” - she was thoughtful. “That’s why we need to check your digivice, Ken!” - Daisuke insisted - “Because you had this power once… Because your digivice is the Digivice of Darkness, right?” “Yes, I agree” - the other nodded - “But it sounds like it’s my fault you’re unable to evolve your partners and I… I do not like to feel that I’m the issue.” “It’s not you, we know that! We want to know about the source of the dark powers. They must have something similar from your digivice…!” “I see…” - he hesitated, then he glared at Maki - “I will let you do your analysis, but I demand to keep an eye on you. Takeru-kun and Daisuke will stay at the door, Miyako-san and I will be with you. Hikari-san and Iori-kun will stay at the front door.” “Even if I wanted to do something harmful, I could’ve done once you all were here” - Maki replied calmly - “But if it would make you comfortable, then feel free to lock the front door and the windows so I can’t escape from them.” “She’s sassy like Ken-kun” - Miyako whispered to the others.

Context: You can clearly notice this is old because I used my own assumptions for the partners of the kids, that before ReArise game (suspiciously) released the playable Holy Beasts evoline in game, which also used the same digimon depicted in pt4. I had this funny idea of the leader of them all being not Daigo, but Qinglongmon's tamer -- So I made him be a Guilmon here.

Also this is the part I miss the most -- Because the funny clash of sass masters Ken and Maki lol. And yeah, this would be the part Maki just spills the beans about her, Daigo and Hitomi's connections with the digimon.

Ch 9 - Fire 'n' Ice

“I have the results, Please contact Motomiya-kun as soon as possible.” Why was she calling Ken? Why was she talking to him and telling him to give the news if she could do that by herself? Ken had no patience with her anymore, but he had to cooperate and be polite. She was older than him, more older than Osamu. But oh he hated her. Hated her voice and her mind. “I will, but could you tell me what you found in my digivice?” “Well, that’s supposed to be discussed with your group in the next meeting. I’m sure you would wait until then.” “I’m very curious about the results” - he was pretty irritated with her, but didn’t let it be noticed in his voice. He kept speaking calmly - “If you could give me some information by phone, I’d be thankful.” “I found an interesting mechanism in your device. Unique, different from the digivice of your friend Inoue. It’s able to generate Dark energy and Light energy, it seems it’s related to the World of Darkness, or as you kids call it, Dark Ocean.” “That we know already, it was how we sealed Daemon six years ago. I opened the gate to the Dark Ocean and sent him there.” “I found that plan stupid when I learned about the events.” “What did you expect us to have done?! Let him catch me?!” “You could’ve gathered your friends’ digimon and finished him. If you had Omegamon’s All Delete on your side--” “We couldn’t! Their digimon was out of energy to help us! We had no choice, so please avoid criticizing our decisions and give me details.” “Your digivice has some kind of shard, like a sand pebble, from the Dark Ocean. It’s not literal, there’s data from that world installed in your D-3.” “A program?” “Yes, what did you expect? It’s a program. If you could bring me some samples of this distorted reality, I could discover more about its functions.” “Um… I will tell Daisuke and the others about it, I’m sorry but I have to go.” “Anytime.”

Context: Still part of the sub-plot she was involved, by analyzing stuff and telling the children. Ken and her had this not-so-friendly relationship as well, because of the events of ▽ lol. Anyway, this was the last thing I wrote before dropping the entire story.

You can read a few redux version drabbles of the main part of the story (the ones related to Wallace, Dai-Lightnimon, the Digimental Weapons, and the evil guys of this dropped plot) on my AO3.

Hope you enjoyed it ( •̀ ω •́ )✧

[digitalworid]

For the first time Rui had seen, Daisuke became unreadable. For a boy so vivid and easy to interpret the feelings of, the sudden lack of expression was stark, disquieting.

He turned forward again before he spoke.

"I won't accept that!"

A beat, and eye contact resumed; he glanced over his shoulder and held Rui's gaze.

"I have to help you. That's my job as a person who sees someone else in trouble. The same as rescuing you from those Flymon."

His voice was soft, his gaze was not; precise determination boring back at his rescuee. "Even if you don't accept it, I'll keep trying anyways, so if you don't want my help, you'll have to hope I get struck by lightning or something."

"Listen! Us kids get hurt the worst when we try to hide our wounds from other people!" He parroted his mother, from a time far younger and far less serious. "Things wouldn't have gotten this bad if you'd come to us for help, we can handle Ichijouji just fine for you! And Koushiro can look at your curse and he'll genius it out in a week tops!"

"You have a mouth so that you can talk to people! Especially when you're in trouble! You're not protecting everyone else by not telling us, you're being a total brat!"

"..."

He just looked at Daisuke annoyed. He does not want to meet anyone. He only brings misfortune to others.

You shouldn't say that to a kid who's never had any friends before. I mean, he's friends with three neighbors who go to the same school as him, but...

"Yeah. Really lucky," Rui rolled his functional eye.

There was a hint of jealousy in Rui's comment.

And he immediately added: "I have nothing else to say, that's why."

He also wanted to go home, to his sweet, cozy home. But he can't sadly. He sighed again,

"I can't get closer to anyone because... A digimon has cast a spell on me, and... I don't want anyone to get hurt. And this guy is hunting me because of that curse."

"So just take me to a place where there's no one and drop me off."

[izzyizumi]

Digimon Adventure x tri. x 2020 ~ Japanese version featuring CHARACTER Koushiro[u] Izumi [Koushiro “Izzy” Izumi in US dub] + Koushiro & Tentomon {as Friendship}; & Izumis {Familial} + IMPORTANT DIALOGUES + Character DEVELOPMENT (*Across various series media) + Canon Parallels

Adventure Episode #24 x Kokuhaku [Confession] (Tri Movie #3); among other significant Koushiro moments

“It’s my Inquisitive Heart!” {Note: US dub calls it “Curiosity”, but it is Inquisitive Heart in the original} “Staying ignorant isn’t what makes me, me!”

“Wanting to KNOW everything is a part of WHO I AM!”

“Please KEEP learning more new things AND enjoying it.”

Original Poster’s [Mine] Commentary:

Koushiro Izumi’s story in ALL medias of this series (regardless of series/writers involved) is about his ADOPTION, FOUND FAMILY, (Yes, his friends {like Tentomon!!} can also count as his Found Family) AND SELF-acceptance. (Including of those Intense Interests of his!)

“Please keep learning new things and enjoying them.” - Tentomon, who has been championing Koushiro since the very start of Adventure (which ALSO gets reflected in 2020 AND tri moments):

“Can you TEACH ME?”

caps/gifs by @izzyizumi, {DO NOT REPOST} {DO NOT REMOVE CAPTION} {DO NOT USE MY POSTS FOR ARGUING OR DISCOURSE} {DO NOT COMMENT / TAG WITH SERIES / CANON HATE} {OTHERWISE YOU WILL BE BLOCKED} {THIS ALSO APPLIES TO TAGGING/TAGS ON THIS POST.}

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[lonely-paracosmos]

its okay to be grey ♡♡♡

recently found out im demiromantic? woah that explains a lot!

i am very happyyy and made this edit! the drawings of the characters are NOT made by me

[koushirouizumi]

Just Digi-Things

Me, as I open Ryo eps to make things, laughing into my Void:

{IMGs by Me} {DO NOT re-post} {DO NOT remove caption} (Please ASK to Use)

[ahiddenpath]

Hooray!  I’m planning to hold Koushiro’s week from October 3-9, 2022!  Doesn’t he seem like an autumn boy?

The event site is forthcoming, but here is how I’m hoping things will work.  I will provide a hefty list of potential prompts- I’ll be consulting Koushiro fans, too, but please contact me if you have ideas!  Once the prompt list is made and sent to some folks for review, I will post it on the event site.  Here are some existing ideas: 1, 2.

Participants are free to use any prompt on any day during Koushiro week, or to ignore the prompts entirely and do their own Koushiro-centric thing.  There is no set schedule, other than what days I will be checking for and reblogging content to the event blog (October 3-9, 2022).  Participants can post multiple times per day, daily, or contribute one piece to Koushiro week!  It’s all up to you!  I want the event to be as freeform and flexible as possible.

Let’s celebrate this sweetheart together :D

PS:  I took this template from this post (thank you!) and then tweaked Koushiro’s right eye by using the Transform tool to make it smaller and match the pupil angle of the left eye, lol!  C’mon Toei animation!  xD

[redthreadoffate]

the day love expired (but it didn’t have a definitive date)

header by: @/earlgreymon

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know love had an expiration date.” - letters to juliet

i’m a little late but i forgive myself because i really just thought of this last week. i wrote this one in one sitting today, this wrote itself, and although i know it isn’t my best, i think it’s okay enough? you decide.

anyways, this is my january entry for my own monthly challenge it’s just like in the movies, it’s my second takari fic so let’s see how it goes! (and yes, i changed the title)

digimon adventure masterlist

it’s just like in the movies masterlist

the day love expired (but it didn’t have a definitive date) | main characters ; hikari yagami | inspiration ; letters to juliet | pairings ; takeru x hikari | genre ; au, slight angst | word count ; 2,300 | rating ; g | edited ; thrice - forgive me for any mistakes

Twenty-three.

Twenty-three years.

It had been twenty-three years since she last saw him. They were only eight years-old when they first met, but now, at thirty-one, he was back on her mind. Her first friend. Her first crush. Sometimes she wonders if he was her first love. Probably. Maybe. Perhaps. But who’s to say at such a young age?

But Hikari knew that she would never see him again. They lost contact at the age of fifteen when one of them—she could not remember who; well, more like, she did not want to remember who—had stopped replying.

A few years back, she had tried to look for him. After intensive research, including asking her friend Koushiro for help, she came up empty-handed. It was hard but she eventually moved on. Sort of. 

She married one of her student’s uncles, a man named Tatsuya, and they had a son, Akihito, who was the spitting image of her. She was happy, although she did remember him from time to time. But she loved her family, she cared for them with every bit and piece. And her son was her world.

It seemed everything was in place until Tatsuya’s accident. For a while, she and Akihito drifted apart. He blamed her for what had happened. If she had not gone to see her friend on such short notice even though she was feeling sick, he would not have had to walk in the foggy rain where cars could easily lose control.

And she did blame herself. Her son was right. She was feeling ill when her friend asked her to come over for help, which in hindsight was with something pretty petty. But she was persuaded still and headed out. When Tatsuya learned about whereabouts, he instructed her to stay put and they would walk home together.

Hikari walked home alone that night.

She was worried about him, he was not picking up her calls nor was he in his parent’s house. It was not until the next day that the police arrived at their doorstep. She identified the body. Then she allowed herself to break down.

“It wasn’t your fault,” her mother would assure her.

But she could not believe that, and for the rest of her life, she knew she would feel guilty for his death. ‘If only I hadn’t…if only I hadn’t, if only I hadn’t.’ Those words were tattooed now, she knew it was going to be permanent.

It was now Tatsuya’s fourth anniversary and she and Akihito were paying their respects. They had grown closer once again, knowing that they only had each other now. 

“Mama,” Akihito started in a low voice. Hikari’s eyes were filled with tears, her lips quivering, her whimpers getting louder. She felt herself shaking until her son held onto her arm. “It’s okay. Papa wouldn’t want this.”

Hikari sniffled. “I know.” She wiped her tears away and said, “I’m sorry.”

Her son gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s not your fault.” That was a far cry from three years ago. He had only begun allowing himself to reconnect with his mother. Being angry at her was his way of coping, he needed to let out his anger and grief and he lashed it out on her. She had no fault and he knew it. “It’s not your fault.”

When her own father had passed away, Hikari knew it was time to move on. Yes, she still felt guilty, she still felt that it was all her fault, but she needed to start again. She would never forget him, she would always love him, but she knew he would want her to have a new life. And that was just what she planning on doing.

One day, she was rummaging through some of her mother’s books in her childhood home. She nearly gave up looking for one of the photo albums when she found a tiny notebook. As she dismissed it and popped it back to its proper place, a photo fell out. It was a sepia-colored shot and she wondered what it was doing inside.

She took a closer look and her eyes widened when she realized it was her mother Yuuko and a man she did not know, a man who was not her father. And they looked happy, happier than she had ever seen her mom.

She scanned through the notebook and found that it was much like a diary, but more in the form of letters. She stood up from the floor and walked out of the hall and to her mother where she was cooking in the kitchen.

“Mama.”

“Mm?”

“Who’s Juliet?”

Her mother slowly dropped her arms, then placed the spatula on the counter, and lowered the blaze of the fire. “I forgot where I put those.” Yuuko turned around and smiled. A smile that Hikari could only describe as melancholic. “I never got to send those letters, Hikari. I was too scared, too nervous.”

“You haven’t answered my question,” Hikari said a little impatiently. If her mother was reminiscing about the past which did not include her father she had the right to know why. “Why do you have a notebook filled with letters meant for her? And,” she held up the photo, “who is this man?”

Yuuko sighed and turned off the stove. “Sit,” she ordered.

Hikari hesitated but then complied. She slid on a chair and waited as her mother took the one in front of her.

“In Venice, there’s a group of women, Juliet’s Secretaries, who would read and respond to those who wrote letters to Juliet. They would stick their letters to their wall and the secretaries come to collect them then send out their responses.”

Hikari did not react.

Yuuko sighed. “Long before I met your father, I’ve been with a man named Tomoki.” She smiled and bowed her head. “I loved him and we were to be wed.” Then she sighed. “But he had to leave for Venice, his parents were stationed there and they wanted him to go with them. Tomoki asked me to go with him, but I couldn’t just leave your grandparents.”

Hikari lowered her eyes. “Oh.”

“I went to Venice, remember that? I went to Venice with my friends as a celebration for—ah, what was it for again?” She chuckled. “We went to Venice and when I found out about Juliet, I wrote to her. I was hoping she could tell me what I could do. But I thought it was a lost cause so I didn’t bother. I’m going to be honest, I looked for him. I looked for Tomoki, but,” she shrugged, “it just was never meant to be.”

There was a wave of sadness that filled the room, and against her better judgment, she felt bad for her mother.

Yuuko nodded slowly. “You don’t mind if I keep the notebook and photo, do you, Hikari?”

It took a while for her to answer. But now that she listened to her mother’s story, what right did she have? Yes, she was a little angry about her mother loving someone who was not her father but…her mother had done nothing wrong but love a man.

And then it hit her, she and Yuuko were two peas in a pod.

A school choir competition in Venice was all she needed to remember everything. During their free time, she and Akihito would roam around; but what she was really trying to do was prepare herself to walk to the the famous alleyway. She had wanted to go since day one, but she also wanted her son to have some fun.

“Where do you wanna go tomorrow?” Akihito asked, a knowing smile on his face.

Hikari giggled. “You got me.”

And as they walked along the long stone wall, they watched as people stuck their letters of different colors and different designs. She smiled and clutched her purse. Licking her bottom lip, she let go.

“Stick it before they get it,” her son said suddenly. “Hurry.”

She exhaled, a soft laugh came along with it. She stood up, took the pink envelope from her bag, and stuck it to the wall. She may never get their response, given she put her home address in Japan, but with her son’s encouragement, she knew it was going to be alright.

As they were driving back, they passed by a small vineyard. They were taking a long way detour, thus they did not see it earlier. She rolled down the window of the rental car and sniffed the air.

“When I’m older, I’ll be drinking a lot of those,” Akihito joked, and she laughed.

She saw the grape farmers picking the fruits, examining them, and then placing them inside their baskets .

But then she came to a halt, surprising her son and even herself.

“What’s wrong?”

Hikari put the car in reverse, stopped, and stared at the man a few feet away. Unbuckling her seatbelt, she told her son to stay in the car as she opened her door and walked towards the vineyard.

She walked slowly, carefully. But as she neared, the man looked up at her. He looked confused, and really, she could not blame him. He spoke in Italian. Hikari blinked. It seemed like he was asking her a question but she did not understand what he was saying.

“May I help you?” he spoke again, this time in English.

“Yes,” she replied in English. “Do you know a man named Tomoki Chidori?”

The man looked even more puzzled. “He’s my grandfather. Why?”

Her heart was beating faster and she could hear the pounding in her ears, she could feel her nerves, yet, she was very excited. The man in front of her looked exactly like the man in her mother’s photo. ‘He must be the one’. “My name is Hikari Tanaka. Could you…could you tell him I know someone named Yuuko Nakamura.”

The man eyed her cautiously before nodding and walking away.

She watched him until he disappeared before exhaling. ‘This is interesting.’ She walked back to the car and then parked by the side.

“Is everything okay?” Akihito asked, worry evident in his voice.

Hikari stared at the wheel before nodding. “I have to tell you something.”

And it was a year later when the wedding of Tomoki and Yuuko was about to commence.

Akihito, along with his cousins, would tease their grandmother, telling her she was a little too old to be getting married again. Yuuko would laugh and kiss the top of their heads. “I know.”

As Hikari arranged all the last-minute details, someone tapped her on the shoulder.

“Hikari Yagami,” the person said her name softly.

“Hm?” She tilted her head. “Tanaka,” she corrected before spinning around. “Hikari Tana…ka….”

And there, in the flesh, was Takeru Takaishi. They both grew up, they had both changed. But she knew it was him. She knew. She would always know.

He had a small, shy smile on his face. “It is you.”

She nodded. “And it’s you.”

He nodded. “Uh…Tomoki is my father’s friend,” he explained.

“Yuuko…,” she stopped. He knew that.

“I heard it was you who brought them together.”

“I suppose.” She swallowed. “I looked for you. Everywhere.”

He lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry, I just couldn’t stand not being able to see you…so I thought, might as well, right?” He scoffed and shook his head. “Teenagers.” He sighed. “But I thought you would be happy by then so I let you go. I got married, you know. But um…didn’t work out.” Hikari realized that he was rambling. “I have a son, Tenma.”

“I have a son, too, Akihito.”

He smiled. “I think they’re about the same age.”

She smiled. “Playmates then.”

He chuckled. “I’d love to meet your husband.” He looked around. “I think I saw Akihito earlier so I guess he doesn’t look like his father.”

Hikari bit her lip. “He passed away a few years ago.”

“Oh.” He paused. “I’m so sorry, Hikari.”

She nodded. “I miss him, but I don’t want to ruin this day. I’m sure he wouldn’t want me to. This is for my mom and future step-dad,” she gave him a tiny smile, “nothing’s going to ruin it.”

“I don’t know him but I’m sure he wouldn’t want you to ruin this day either.” He grinned.

She looked at him. “I missed you, Takeru.”

“I never stopped thinking about you,” he admitted. “I mean, my pen name is Nozomi Hikari.” He gave an awkward, nervous laugh when Hikari’s eyes widened.

“You’re Nozomi Hikari?” She gasped. “I didn’t—”

“I keep a low profile,” he said. “I was able to ask a few people to work around it.”

“Not even Koushiro could find you.”

“Eh…I don’t think that’s true.”

“What do you mean?”

“Koushiro emailed me once, asking about my life. I figured that this guy wasn’t going to sell me out or anything, so I told him my life story. Then he mentioned you…and I asked him not to say anything.”

Hikari’s mouth dropped. “Takeru.”

“I’m sorry, Hikari.”

She bowed her head. Before she could say anything, the wedding coordinator was calling everyone inside. “The ceremony is about to start.”

It was not until the latter part of the reception that Hikari finally talked to Takeru. He slid beside her and gestured towards the back where Akihito was playing with whom she was sure was Tenma, he looked exactly like the man beside her.

There was a cheer and Tomoki and Yuuko complied.

Hikari smiled.

Takeru cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know love had an expiration date,” he said. “I quoted that in one of my books.”

She smiled. “I know, I read it.”

He smiled. “They’re wrong. Love has no expiration date.” He turned to her. “That one I’m sure.”

She turned back to him, a smile still on her face. “I agree. Love…has no expiration date.” And she was sure of that. She was very sure of that.

[patamon]

Inspired by this text post by @stoppingtosmelltheflowers​, I thought I would write a little fic of Mimi imagining herself crushing over Takeru in the future. Please be nice, I literally wrote it in 2 hours last night T___T

Title: Perhaps Someday Characters: Takeru Takaishi and Mimi Tachikawa Pairings: Takeru/Mimi (Takimi? Mikeru?) and Koushiro/Mimi (Koumi) Word count: 2160

Excerpt (full text below the cut)

She focused her gaze on Takeru, cuing only now to the crick on her neck as she strained to keep eye contact with him. She never realized how tall he had gotten, his height surpassing that of Yamato. 

“When did you get so tall?” she blurted out without thinking

Takeru’s brows furrowed in confusion, “Uhh…well…I guess everyone said I hit my growth spurt at 11…so maybe around that time?”

Mimi laughed in response. She studied him some more, noticing for the first time how soft his eyes were. It reminded her of warm silk. Strange, in all the years they spent together, she never noticed it. Perhaps because she was too busy remembering tiny eight-year-old Takeru to notice his height, or perhaps because she only associated Takeru as Yamato’s younger brother in all the years they spent together. His eyes were always Yamato’s eyes, his hair were always Yamato’s hair. She never saw them as his own…until now.

Perhaps Someday

The cobbled street beneath her feet might carry with it a certain charm, one unique to the rustic district she found herself in. But at this moment, underneath the hot sun with frazzled hair and frayed nerves, the heels of her new stiletto tripping over the bumpy sidewalk, she only had mind for frustration and ire, her mental energy cued into her discomfort like a lightning rod.

She didn’t know who to blame for this predicament. Perhaps if she needed to point a finger, she would turn it towards her hapless new boyfriend. Wicked smart and kind, but clueless and without a lick of fashion. But he was her clueless dork, and this was to be his first birthday with them together as a couple. She had everything planned, from the party to the outfit, crafting the perfect theme and sending out the most clever invite after spending months learning the intricacies of computer codes. Now, all she needed was a perfect birthday gift.

But, it was today that she learned how hard it was to shop for the Koushiro Izumi.

She spent days wandering the malls of Tokyo, and weeks searching the boundless confines of the internet. Yet, she was at a loss as to what to buy for him, a problem she, the queen of gift giving, was not accustomed to.

As she listed the possible gifts in her head, her heels caught a bump on the uneven pavement, and with a yelp, she tripped forward. If it wasn’t for the post beside her, she might have face planted on the hard ground, But somehow, perhaps through years of fighting and running away from dangerous digital monsters, her reflex kicked in and she managed to hook her arms around the nearby post and steady her posture. 

She looked up and sighed in relief, and found herself facing a quaint bookstore. The sign at the front informed her it carried new and used books, and the display of cat sculptures intermingling with a village made of books drew her in.

After all, Koushiro was smart. And smart people like books. So…this could work. Right?

The moment she stepped inside, a strong scent of old books and cinnamon candles greeted her. She sighed as the cool air-conditioned interior caressed her sweaty skin, stirring within her an almost childlike delight.

Deeper into the quiet store she ventured. It was completely empty, she regarded with sadness. She hovered over a shelf of picture book, running her finger over the wrinkled spine of a faded cover, squinting hard to make out the title when a familiar voice called out her name.

“Mimi?”

She whipped herself around, and sure enough, standing before her was the familiar, smiling face of Yamato’s younger brother with a black fedora on his head.

“Oh, Takeru, what are you doing here?”

Takeru looked taken aback for a moment, but brushed it aside quickly with a wide smile, “Actually…I work here”

“Really? You work here?”

“Yes, I mean…I used to love coming here when I was younger so…it’s a natural fit. What are you doing here anyways, Mimi? I would never expect to find you here”

Her old frustration returned, pulling her lower lips out in a pronounced pout, “What is that supposed to mean? You don’t think I read?”

Takeru’s eyes widened, she could hear the panic in his voice as he struggled to rectify his words

“No no no…that’s not what I meant. I meant…I would imagine you at a much fancier bookstore, maybe that big one in Shibuya with a Starbucks”

“Oh…well…you know, this place has a certain charm,” she waved her arms around the store nonchalantly, swiveling her head to inspect the place, noticing for the first time the high ceilings and wooden furniture, the colour dark red, like mahogany wood. It reminded her of the bookcase she had in New York, the one she shelved with Japanese novels and books that reminded her of home, her attempt to preserve Odaiba in a foreign land. Suddenly, a wistful smile played across her lips.

“Can I help you find something, Mimi?”

“Oh, actually…” 

She focused her gaze on Takeru, cuing only now to the crick on her neck as she strained to keep eye contact with him. She never noticed how tall he had gotten, his height surpassing that of Yamato. 

“When did you get so tall?” she blurted out without thinking

Takeru’s brows furrowed in confusion, “Uhh…well…I guess everyone said I hit my growth spurt at 11…so maybe around that time?”

Mimi laughed in response. She studied him some more, noticing for the first time how soft his eyes were. It reminded her of warm silk. Strange, in all the years they spent together, she never noticed it. Perhaps because she was too busy remembering tiny eight-year-old Takeru to notice his height, or perhaps because she only associated Takeru as Yamato’s younger brother in all the years they spent together. His eyes were always Yamato’s eyes, his hair were always Yamato’s hair. She never saw them as his own…until now.

“Uhh…Mimi, are you okay?”

Mimi cleared her throat and turned away from him quickly, pretending to be absorbed in the books before her to ignore the captivating shine in his eyes.

“Of course, I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well…for a moment there, I thought…never mind”

He rattled out a light laugh, then bent forward and pulled out a picture book from the shelf.

“Perhaps you’ll like this one, Mimi”

Mimi accepted the offering with somewhat flushed cheeks. She looked down at the cover and gasped, her inside danced with recognition as she basked in its familiarity.

“Goodnight Moon. Ohhhh I used to love this book as a kid, my mom would read it to me every night before bed, then I would read it to her. It was my way of staying up as late as I can to…”

“...to wait for your dad to come home”

The book dropped from Mimi’s hand, she jerked her head towards Takeru, mouth agape with shock, “How did you know?”

Takeru blushed and shuffled his feet

“I overheard the story a long time ago…while you were talking to Sora one day”

“What story? When? Where? Are you eavesdropping on our conversations, Takeru?”

“No…it’s not like that. This was back when we were younger, when we were lost in the Digital World. At the time, I would sit still and listen as you guys talked amongst yourself because…I guess you all assumed I was too young to be included”

Mimi’s eyes softened. She bent down and picked up the book, then clutched it against her chest as she looked Takeru up and down.

“Oh Takeru…that’s not true”

“Ah it’s okay, I understand. I think I would have done the same if I was Yamato and his friends, I was just some crybaby kid tagging along for the ride”

He took his hat off and combed his fingers through his hair. It was a lot longer than she expected it to be. Strangely, she found it much more mesmerizing than Yamato’s, with thick blonde locks that appeared almost unruly. Unpredictable and spontaneous, just like him.

Her heart hummed with a familiar excitement, while butterflies fluttered in her stomach.

No, it couldn’t be.

This was Takeru. Yamato’s little brother. That tiny kid they had to tow around and protect while they fought monsters and enemies in another dimension.

She can’t be crushing on him. 

Could she?

Takeru placed the hat back on his head and flashed his brilliant smile. She never noticed how warm it was, and with his golden hair and magnetic presence, he could be mistaken for the goddamn sun. And Mimi found herself powerless to its glow.

Perhaps maybe…just maybe she was crushing on the Takeru Takaishi.

“By the way, Mimi, what were you looking for?”

What? What was she looking for?

Then reality descended on her, and the blush across her cheeks dissipated as she remembered her clueless dork. The butterflies in her stomach became heavy guilt that plunged in her soul

“Oh right! I’ve been looking…I was hoping I could…well…I need to find a present for Koushiro”

“Koushiro? Right, his birthday is coming up! Clever invitation for his party, by the way. It really looks like computer coding! It took me forever to figure out what it said”

He turned and walked down the aisle, his hand beckoning her to follow him.

“I was saving this as my gift for him, but I think it would be better if it’s from you”

He handed her another picture book, this one was in much better condition than the copy of Goodnight Moon in her hand, but the cover just as colourful and vibrant

“Horton Hears a Who?”

“It’s the book his mother read to him when he was younger. Plus, I think there’s a clever parallel in there somewhere, Horton discovering the secrets to an unknown world the same way Koushiro is discovering the secrets to the Digital World as a researcher”

Mimi flashed a grateful smile and flipped through the pages, her enraptured eyes catching words here and there amongst the cartoonish illustration.

“Thanks, Takeru. I didn’t even know…are you sure…? I mean, it’s your gift”

“Sure I’m sure. After all, you are his girlfriend, Mimi. I was worried it would be too sentimental for me to give to him. It might come off as weird”

“So…what will you give him?”

Takeru’s lips spread to a roguish grin, he then led Mimi down more shelf-lined corridors before he settled on the self-help section. He pulled out a thick paperback volume with a yellow cover. Mimi took one look at it and broke down laughing.

“Fashion Sense for Dummies,” Takeru read the title, “Although…it might be more of a gift to you than to him”

“Hey watch it,” Mimi cried out. She shoved him playfully, as if she was teasing her crush in the schoolyard, back when she was young enough to have crushes, “That’s my boyfriend you’re talking about”

Takeru shrugged and pushed the book back on the shelf, a teasing smile on his lips

“But I made you laugh, didn’t I?” he noted with a sly wink

Mimi shook her head and sighed, although she had to admit, she was working extra hard to force the smile away from her lips. She knew Takeru was impish, his witty brain capable of conjuring up the perfect comeback to any statement. But still, she didn’t know he was this funny. She couldn’t remember the last time she laughed this hard.

Perhaps…just perhaps…she was crushing on Takeru. The type of crush that had her high on euphoria, twirling her hair as she dangled her feet in the air, gossipping and laughing with her friend over the phone as they divulged every tiny detail about their new crush of the week.

Stranger things have happened.

“Hey Takeru, how old are you now?”

“I’m 18”

“18?” She took a step back and scrunched her face. 

It might be the height and the calm tone of his sturdy voice, but he was a lot younger than she thought he’d be. An unsettling ick took over her bones, berating her for daring to cross that line with someone so young. She looked back at Takeru moving books on the shelves, and all of a sudden, the illusion dropped, the sun went back behind the cloud, and she found herself looking at Yamato’s younger brother again.

“But I’ll be turning 19 soon,” he added as he looked back at her with his smile.

“Right,” Mimi mumbled in response. He was 18 turning 19, she just turned 21. The age gap wasn’t too crazy, all things considered, even if the idea of her crushing on a younger guy was a little disconcerting.

“Anyways, let me cash you out,” Takeru continued, “Unless you changed your mind about the books”

Mimi blinked, clearing her throat to force herself back to reality

“I will take them,” Mimi informed him with her own dazzling smile, “Thanks so much, Takeru, for your help, for today”

“Anything for you, Mimi”

Charming, Mimi thought. He certainly embodied a certain charm.

Perhaps now wasn’t the best time. She was still too self-conscious about their age gap, too bothered by his younger status to allow herself to commit to the crush. There was also Koushiro, who was her clueless dork, the man she wanted to commit herself to. She’d rather devote her energy to building up their relationship before daydreaming about silly potential crushes.

Perhaps someday, when they were old enough that age gap no longer mattered. Perhaps someday, when she felt secure enough in her relationship with Koushiro to dapple in crushes and daydreams here and there.

Perhaps someday, just not today. But for today, she was certain of one thing. In her eyes, Takeru was no longer Yamato’s little brother.

In her eyes, Takeru could now hold his own.

[bokura-no-digital-world]

Michi Week 2022 - Day 7: Coda

Days: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Title: Parents² Characters: Mimi Tachikawa, Taichi Yagami, Takato Yagami (OC), Koushiro Izumi and Hikari Yagami. Summary: Mimi has some news for Taichi while they plan Takato's second birthday party. When Taichi arrived home from work that night, he found his nearly two-year old son riding the tricycle he had gotten from Hikari on his first birthday. He couldn’t help but wonder why Takato was alone in the living room, since Mimi always kept an eye on him after he started crawling and then walking. “Hey, son.” Taichi picked him up and turned him around. Takato’s shirt didn’t go unnoticed by the ambassador, who raised his eyebrows with confusion. “Big brother? What’s that… Mimi?” “What’s wrong, honey?” Her voice echoed on the house and she couldn’t help but smile before he even walked into their bedroom. “Why is our son wearing a T-shirt that says ‘big brother’?” “Isn’t it obvious?” She said without making eye contact with him, her smile turning into a grin. “He’s going to be a big brother.” “What? How’s that even…” “Didn’t you find the tiny sweater by the door?” “No.” He placed Takato on their bed and went back to look for the clothing. He found it at the right side of it. Taichi bent down to pick it up and a note fell from it. He grabbed it and then returned to his previous position, unfolding it. Congratulations! You’re going to be a square dad. “So it’s for real?” He turned to Mimi again, not quite sure how he was feeling at the moment. “I wouldn’t lie or joke about something so special like this.” Mimi finally looked at him. “It’s for real.” “I’m so…” Taichi sat on the bed and Takato immediately jumped on his arms, completely interrupting him. “Papa, play.” “Do you want to play?” “His caretaker said he didn’t sleep at all this afternoon. I’m surprised he’s still full of energy.” “Let’s go, papa.” The child got off the bed and grabbed Taichi’s hand. “I’ll be right there, son. Papa is talking to Mama right now.” “That’s okay.” Mimi smiled at him. “We’ll talk about it when he goes to bed soon.” “Are you sure?” “I am.” She nodded. “He misses his papa.” “Alright then.” He leaned over his wife and kissed her briefly. “I really want to talk about it.” “We will later on.” She cupped his cheeks and gave him another brief kiss. “We also have to plan his second birthday party.” “Okay.” “Come on, papa!” “I’m going, Takato.” Taichi held his hand tight and they headed to the living room. “Honey?” Mimi called him from the bedroom. “Don’t play with him for over an hour, okay? He still needs to shower and eat.” “Got it. You give him a bath and I’ll make dinner tonight?” “That sounds perfect to me.” “Is there anything you or our child want to eat?” “I’ll let you surprise us.” Keep reading it on FFN or AO3

[izumiyagami14]

Cherry Blossoms

Day 17-20: fall/bloom

summary: due to failed plans, Koushiro tries to cheer Hikari up by taking her to a cherry blossom festival in town… @koushirohikari

“Wow.”

That was the only word that escaped Hikari’s lips when she looked at the sight in front of her. Petals from the cherry blossoms danced delicately in the spring breeze as they fell to the ground below. Light weaved between the tree branches and illuminated the pathways throughout the festival. Couples sauntered by, children skipped along, and families gathered around, catching glimpse of beauty that only happens once a year.

Koushiro looked down at the girl beside him and softly smiled. Her awestruck look and wonder filled eyes made his heart flutter. While she stood there admiring the beautiful pink flowers in the trees, he admired the beautiful girl next to him. Her eyes eventually found its way to his, causing him to advert his eyes downward and bring his hand to the back of his head. He rubbed his neck nervously and asked, “You ready to go?”

She smiled, still looking up at the boy. “You bet!”

The two started their way down the pathway, stopping at different vendors and looking at the variety of food and souvenirs. They grabbed a baggie of treats to eat later and some trickets to give to their friends. As they made their way through the festival grounds, Hikari took photos of their experiences with her camera.

The deeper they walked into the festival, they heavier the crowd became. Hikari initially tugged Koushiro’s arm sleeve to grab his attention, but now she just didn’t want to lose him in the sea of people. The scurrying of bustling sightseers around the two caused her to grip a little harder.

He stopped in his tracks and turned around to face her, her actions catching him a bit off guard. He craned his head down to look at her, face full of concern. “Are you okay?”

She instantly let go of his sleeve and kept her eyes downward. “Yes. I just… I just didn’t want to lose you… in the crowd.” She cautiously looked around at the people that were lightly bumping and tripping over them.

He exhaled and looked around the area for a for more vacant and secluded spot. Koushiro brought his head down to her level and talked quietly for her to hear. A stranger nudged his body, causing his lips to lightly brush against her ear as he spoke. “Follow me, I have an idea.”

“But I don’t want to lose you.”

As those words rolled off her tongue, the two made eye contact, something they he was avoiding all day. Koushiro could have sworn that his heart stopped. He gulped, outstretched a hand, and replied, “Here, take my hand.”

Still holding that dangerous eye contact, she reluctantly placed her small hand in his. Much like the light weaving through the tree branches, he too weaved through the busy crowd. Once they made their way out of the human maze, Koushiro continued walking away from the festival grounds and onto the green grass.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

Still hand in hand, the two walked past the spring trees and through the dangling branches of a weeping willow tree. On the other side, there was a huge cherry blossom tree, in bloom just in time for the festival. To their amazement, there were no strangers around.

“Wow.”

That was the only word that escaped Hikari’s lips when she looked at the sight in front of her. Petals from the cherry blossoms danced delicately in the spring breeze as they fell to the ground below. Light weaved between the tree branches and illuminated the base of the tree, making it a perfect place to sit.

Koushiro looked down at the girl beside him and softly smiled to himself. Her awestruck look and wonder filled eyes made his heart flutter once again. While she stood there admiring the beautiful pink flowers in the trees above, he admired the beautiful girl next to him. Her eyes eventually found its way back to his, causing him to advert his eyes downward. It was then when he realized that their hands were still intertwined. He let go of hers and brought his hand up to scratch the back of his head. “Did you want to sit and eat under the tree?” He asked.

She smiled, still looking at the boy. Her hand found its way back to his. “Of course, Koushiro.”

[digitalgate02]

Final part of that AU setting.

( PLEASE DO NOT ADD ANTI-▽ COMMENTS/TAGS ON IT. Like i said before, i do not like fix-it attitude, i prefer AUs instead. AUs are valid and free to our own interpretation. If i see any hate on this or on ▽ you will be immediately blocked ^_^💢 )

[Part one here]

Here’s the final six pages.

Project Mei

Meiko faces her dad, asking more about Meicoomon and her purpose. The old man feels nervous to talk about it, yet he decides Meiko should know. He explains Meicoomon's reason to exist was to create their own squadron of Chosen Children in order to fight menaces from the Digital World. But the Digital World’s Gods hated it and told them to cancel the project.

When Meiko talked about Meicoomon being made to kill digimon, her father elaborated it more, about her not being a total killing machine and she would only kill the enemy if they refused to give up, by injecting a powerful virus in their data. Meiko gets mad, because now this means Taichi, Yamato and their friends’ digimon were infected. The old man strokes his chin, hearing that more digimon might be in trouble. He then refers to Meicoomon also having an antivirus in her program, in case of one of their allies getting infected by accident. This makes Meiko less concerned, but she remembers of some strange parasite digimon consuming her.

Mr. Mochizuki finds it odd, a parasite digimon? And then he receives a call from the Data Bureau agent Nishijima Daigo, to talk about Meicoomon with him and Meiko. The man asks why, but the other couldn’t give details sadly.

Meanwhile, Daisuke tells Koushiro and the others about Himekawa’s offer, and that she could help them. Not that Daisuke believed her, because she was extremely shady and stalking him, but he started to wonder if she wasn’t involved with what happened to Imperialdramon and Meicoomon.Ken thinks that’s possible, but they have not enough evidences to accuse Himekawa. Mimi wonders how Meiko is feeling and offers to talk to her.

Sora thinks it’s too dangerous for them to fight, so she says to only work as their support, Jou apologizes and says he cannot help much since there’s a school exam coming, but he also joins the support cast – in case of them being needed, they will rush to aid their friends. Yamato is afraid of Gabumon’s health, and Taichi decides to keep seeking for Meicoomon in the meanwhile. Daisuke and Ken are also concerned about their partners, but they can’t stay doing nothing, so their help would be investigating stuff for Koushiro. Miyako, Iori, Takeru and Hikari agree to assist Taichi in the search for Meicoomon.

Meiko and her dad are escorted to the Data Bureau HQ, where they meet Nishijima. With him, there’s a pretty man in light robes, Gennai. They came to discuss Meicoomon’s status and destiny. The girl knew this could mean they had to put Meicoomon down, but…

… It was about one of the scientists in the old program contacting them to allow her complete Meicoomon’s program in order to stop the imminent crisis. Meiko raised an eyebrow at this – She was aware Meicoomon’s program was incomplete, but not totally? Like, Meicoomon had been functioning like a legit digimon being, having a heart and such… What could this woman mean?

The said woman was Himekawa, and Meiko was surprised by that revelation. Why would she…

The reveal

The young kids and their seniors were running against the time. Koushiro had copied the papers Meiko had brought him before so he could read them calmly later, and now he was sitting in his office checking them, again. Tentomon wonders if there’s something interesting in those, only to catch with his eyes some detail they skipped.

The developer of the virus program. He then analyzed the data from V-mon and Wormmon’s eggs and noticed it contained an ID number from the papers, which means the mysterious parasite digimon was also human-made. He checked the developer name and… Maybe Daisuke’s suspicion was right.

Mimi talks with Meiko, and the girl seems a little upset. Mimi tries to ask what happened, but Meiko asks to talk with Koushiro as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Taichi and the 02 group report seeing Meicrackmon on the loose, Koushiro tells them to not approach her and prevent her from hurting people and digimon. 

Ken and Daisuke are not great at hacking things, so their plan was asking Himekawa how they could save their digimon from getting their data corrupted. Himekawa knew he would come, especially asking for help.

She talks a bit about her developer function in an old project, that she was this close to fixing corrupted digimon data… But the government ceased their activities. Ken asks how they can save their digimon, and she says she couldn’t do anything without the data under the Data Bureau’s server. The boys look at each other, and she asks them to retrieve that data for her.

They would say something, but Koushiro calls Daisuke immediately. The duo leave after saying they would discuss that with their friends. Koushiro gathered all the info given by each party. It was when Meiko connected the dots and messaged Taichi immediately about a detail. Koushiro also understood what that meant, but Daisuke was a little confused. Until he noticed it too.

Taichi and his juniors were in battle right now, and Meicrackmon was Causing a lot of damage. She then mutated again into Raguelmon. She was even more powerful thanks to the parasite digimon. Silphymon, Shakkoumon and WarGreymon weren’t happy with that, neither were their partners.

Meiko, Daisuke and Ken went to the battle scene immediately. It was when the 02 group, Taichi and Meiko saw Himekawa hiding in a spot. Meiko accuses her of manipulating everyone, and the woman smirks.

Of course they caught her. But it’s okay, she got permission to reactivate the project Mei development in order to stop Meicoomon. Why was she using those kids like that?

It was for Bakumon.

Gennai meets Koushiro

During that climax battle, Gennai came in, with Nishijima, to explain details to Koushiro. The decision to not destroy Meicoomon was unanimous and everyone agreed to keep watching her development. But there was another detail they were trying to avoid – Himekawa’s obsession with bringing her partner back. Nishijima says that he was her friend and teammate, witnessing the fall of them. Himekawa’s digimon dark evolved into Mugendramon and attacked the enemies, but lost control and went on rampage. His partner and the others had to evolve further to stop Mugendramon, who returned to digiegg state. The egg got corrupted and was told it couldn’t hatch, but Himekawa refused to believe it and became obsessed with the idea of creating a program able to fix the problem.

They had to stop her, and since she was using her knowledge as a former Chosen Child for the government, they had more reasons to intervene. Daigo joined the Data Bureau as some “spy” for Gennai and Homeostasis, to keep an eye on her. But now they just discovered she was doing some illegal experiments and created a digimon called Shademon, which can control and corrupt other digimon, and especially cause Meicoomon’s incomplete program to go on a rampage. All of that in order to convince the Data Bureau to reactivate the project development.

Koushiro wasn’t aware of those details, but this was what he and Meiko realized. So now he feels a little disturbed by the consequences of that plan, and then he just wishes they could do something to stop Himekawa and save Meicoomon. He shows the other two the copy of the project’s papers and points to the section about Meicoomon’s restore abilities. Tentomon comments that if they all work together, they can find a way to activate said function.

In the Battlefield, the kids, Taichi and Meiko try so desperately to prevent a disaster. Ken calls Koushiro, to update him about their situation; Daisuke was about to snap, but he’s trying to act cool right now. Koushiro then tells Ken to pass the phone to Hikari, and then he asks the girl to use Angewomon’s healing powers on Meicoomon.

Sure, to do that you will need backup right? WarGreymon and Shakkoumon could do it. Miyako says they could call the others if things get bad, which everyone agreed. Silphymon jogress was undone, and Tailmon evolved to Angewomon. The rest should keep Raguelmon occupied and without touching her, while Angewomon could use her healing powers to exorcize the parasite enemy inside her body.

Back to Koushiro’s office, Nishijima and Gennai keep explaining what happened before, and then Gennai revealed that Bakumon’s egg had hatched but the digimon turned into a Dark Master, the one the kids fought before. Tentomon then asks if the Dark Masters had been reborn, and Gennai says their data got locked in the Dark Area. Nishijima exclaims and asks why they didn't tell him before, only to Gennai explain Bakumon had turned into a vile creature so they couldn’t break the news to him or even Himekawa. Nishijima agreed that could’ve been worse than now.

“So this is what she meant by being a ‘former’ Chosen Child” Koushiro muses. Gennai confirms it, they revoked Himekawa’s access to the Digital World and turned her digivice inactive, she was really out of their reach so this was the best option they could find. Nishijima laments that.

Rampaging Meicoomon

Since Angewomon had holy powers able to extinguish evil and heal the good, their idea was simple: Keep Raguelmon occupied, get Angewomon to use Saint Air at her and then take the chance to destroy Shademon. 

Easier said than done. 

To protect Angewomon from getting hit by Raguelmon’s claws, they would have to stop her first. But how do you stop a digimon from moving without touching them? These were times Daisuke wished Paildramon could help them, but…

Suddenly, a very beautiful digimon woman appeared – it was Rosemon and she used her whip to grab Raguelmon. They looked behind and saw Mimi coming. The group focused on attacking Raguelmon, but not at full force so they could avoid destroying her.  When Angewomon approached behind her, the holy angel released a heavenly aura to purify the enemy, but it wasn’t enough to beat Shademon. The group was losing their hopes…

Himekawa knows she can’t let them take Raguelmon away from her hands, or else she would never finish her program to save Bakumon, so she inserted a few more codes to induce a new mutation. The laptop overheats due to the max data loaded in it, making Shademon lose control over Raguelmon, turning her extremely feral.

Raguelmon mutates to another higher form, Ordinemon, and starts corroding the barriers of human and digital worlds. The group of digimon fighting her had to retreat for now. Meiko is mad, she snaps at Himekawa for that, and the woman is terrified – everything got worse. She lost the data, she lost her chances to bring Bakumon back!!

Gennai realizes this could mean the end of both worlds if they don’t take her down, Nishijima requests Gennai to gather his and his friends’ partners, in order to fight alongside those kids. By that request, Gennai tells Daigo to bring his friends as soon as possible, and leaves in order to gather the Holy Beasts. Koushiro is intrigued, but he decides to keep helping them all as soon as possible. Koushiro’s desire to help everyone with his knowledge unlocks the HerakleKabuterimon form (outside the building, of course), which he rides in, taking Nishijima with him.

Jou, Yamato and Sora come in, concerned with what was happening. Jou couldn’t take a test at this hour! So he grabbed Gomamon and pedaled his bike til the heart of the battle. Yamato and Sora came together, afraid of what could happen to Taichi, the younger kids and Meiko. Their wishes to protect their beloved ones and their loyalty to their friends unlocked Hououmon and Vikemon for Piyomon and Gomamon. MetalGarurumon carried Yamato and Sora to the battlefield.

The group, almost complete, started to fight Ordinemon as an attempt to stop her. Daisuke clenches his fists, because all he could do was watch. Ken felt even more useless, but he knows even without their seniors being able to evolve their partners, Taichi and the others were able to find ways to help. He had witnessed it, as the Kaiser. Himekawa is still petrified by her mistakes, so she does not notice Ken taking the busted laptop from the ground. He knew soon or later this would come handy, and, if they’re lucky, they can remove the HD disc and connect it to Koushiro’s computer at the office.

They had no other option but to escort people away from that area. Himekawa had no other option but to go with them, and call the Data Bureau to secure the area.

Himekawa discovers the truth about Bakumon

They went back to Koushiro’s office and their digimon just jumped inside the pocket dimension inside the server (Miyako has full access to it, remember?) so it didn’t feel too crowded outside. When Miyako tried to contact Koushiro, the boy replied that he and Nishijima went to gather the Holy Beasts’ partners in order to save the world.

Daisuke went to check the V-mon and Wormmon eggs, just to distract his head for a while. They were fine, but still not hatching. He wouldn’t force it though, he preferred to expect his and Ken’s partners to come at their own pace. Ken was worried about Daisuke’s mental health so he just went to ask if he was okay, and the other boy replied “Yeah, I’m better now. No worries.” which made both smile, one in relief.

Jou and Meiko were staring at Himekawa, who was still lost in her thoughts, broken inside actually. Patamon asks from the screen what they should do with her, and Takeru decides they should at least ask her some info. Taichi is not sure if Himekawa would help them out though. Ken tries connecting the HD disc to Koushiro’s computer with Miyako’s help, and by a great miracle it was still running. They decide to examine its contents, while Jou, Taichi, Yamato and Takeru watch the woman. Iori inspects the HDD with Ken and Miyako. Daisuke is still quietly watching the eggs, and Hikari, Mimi and Sora try to help Meiko cool off.

Meiko had her own reasons to dislike Himekawa after this. And the group was trying to fix Himekawa’s mess, and Daisuke now was aware who was the culprit for what happened to Imperialdramon. But he tries to not get involved with the interrogation, he needs to cool off as well! He needs to cool off…! He and Meiko actually. Sora takes both outside and try to hear them out.

Daisuke growls about what happened, but he doesn’t want to fight a younger adult. Meiko vents about knowing Himekawa for years and never expected her to do something like that before, but now she noticed the red flags. But deep down both Daisuke and Meiko noticed something strange in Himekawa, something they couldn’t be totally mad at her and yes feel pity for. Sora wonders what it would be, and Meiko says “She’s lonely” Daisuke remembers of the dude, Nishijima, who had said to be her ex-boyfriend. All three start thinking of why she would do something like that, if she had a boyfriend before…

Himekawa is still in shock. But she’s coming back down to Earth, little by little. When the kids ask her about what she was aiming for she mentions that her goal was trying to save a digimon from data corruption. Mimi frowns, so that lady had noble reasons… Himekawa continues by saying the Project Mei was her chance to cure data corruption, how close she was from it until the government ceased their operations. Hikari almost snapped, and Taichi saw it in her eyes. Someone connected with the power of life itself like her would feel this narrative was too soulless and toying with the concept of life.

Sora took Daisuke and Meiko to go buy something for them all to eat and drink. The investigation outside gets more and more creepy, as Himekawa starts feeling delusional in front of them, saying maybe now they will let her finish her job! Maybe now she will see Bakumon once again! Hikari snapped politely, “That’s not how you will get your partner back!” and everyone is shocked. She continues: “Meicoomon is suffering right now because of your actions, she’s not a toy! She’s not a tool! V-mon and Wormmon are in the Digiegg stage because of you! ” – That definitely made them all silently look at Hikari, until Takeru says he agrees with her.

Koushiro calls them, saying he and Nishijima just reunited the Holy Beasts’ partners and they’re moving ahead to the battle field. Taichi and Yamato decide they should meet with them and fight Meicoomon. Seven of them agreed, but Miyako said they would stay there trying to find any useful information to help them. Thus, Taichi and the others leave. Piyomon says she wants to go but Sora’s not back yet– And Sora, Daisuke and Meiko come in, with food. Daisuke asks where’s everyone and Iori says they went to face Meicoomon. Piyomon tells Sora she wants to go, and then Daisuke comments she should go and take Meiko with them. Sora’s not sure about this, she doesn’t want to fight a friend’s digimon… Only to Daisuke put a hand on her shoulder and say this would’ve been what Meicoomon wanted. Meiko is a little antsy, but she gets it – Mei-chan would prefer to be destroyed than keep hurting innocent people, especially her friends and family. With those kind words and encouragement, Meiko, Sora and Piyomon go after Taichi and the others. Miyako and Iori smile, because they know exactly where Daisuke got this lesson from.

The group joined forces with the previous generation – Higashikata (Qinglongmon), Kitabayashi (Xuanwumon), Minamino (Zhuqiaomon) and Nishijima (Baihumon) – for this battle. They examined all of their possibilities, but Ordinemon had strong defense by creating dark digimon from her wings. Omegamon was good with numbers, so they decided to let it take care of it. Koushiro analyzed the other Final form digimon’s specialties – and then he discovered Hououmon has an ability which could purify Meicoomon. “Maybe if we combine the divine power of the Holy Beasts with Hououmon’s special ability…” 

Holydramon, Seraphimon, Rosemon and Vikemon were in the same group fighting evil digimon while opening the path for Hououmon and the Holy Beasts. It felt a terrible risky idea, but they wanted to give it a shot.

The Miyako, Ken and Iori were so busy searching for anything they could use to stop Ordinemon that they didn’t notice Himekawa leaving the room, but Daisuke did and went after her. The Lady had lost her composure and was trying her best to ‘Save Bakumon’ that the poor boy couldn’t keep watching that disastrous talk. But nothing he could say would make her stop right… She’s beyond salvation. It was when Gennai appeared from a security camera and stood in front of her. Daisuke approached cautiously to hear their conversation. This is how he and Himekwawa learned about Bakumon’s fate – Bakumon had hatched but became a vile creature, and then evolved straight into Megidramon, becoming a Dark Master. Daisuke wonders if said Dark Master was the one Taichi and the others had fought before, and this was exactly what Gennai said next. Mugendramon’s data was sent to the Dark Area, sealed alongside the other three Dark Masters.

Himekawa Maki does not believe it, and condemns Gennai and the others for destroying Bakumon. Daisuke couldn’t stand that and approached a little more. She screams, and falls on her knees, crying loudly and holding Gennai’s robes. Gennai himself did not like to bring bad news, and Daisuke knew it. So, the boy tries to talk with Himekawa… But she was too deep into madness to hear a child out. Gennai apologizes for this, but she does not listen. Suddenly, Data Bureau agents appear and take Himekawa under custody. Daisuke gets confused about how did those people know, only to find out he got something like a small spy wire attached to his goggles. “Since when…!?” It was probably the time he went to save Imperialdramon, maybe??

(No. It was implanted on his goggles when he first met Nishijima. )

Saving Meicoomon

They had to take that chance and purify Ordinemon, so they didn’t want to waste it. The moment they had it, Hououmon and the Holy Beasts gathered their powers and Hououmon used her Starlight Explosion on Ordinemon’s body. Since it was amplified by the godly and holy power of the Holy Beasts, Ordinemon started to be purified.

Ordinemon then converted into Rasielmon. The gloomy atmosphere changed drastically, filled with hope and happiness. Meicoomon didn’t die, and she was purified from Shademon… Which got destroyed by Omegamon’s cannon attack the moment it left Rasielmon’s body.

Rasielmon apologized for her acts, but the kids and the previous Chosen said it wasn’t her and Meiko’s fault. Meiko was so thankful her digimon had turned back to normal. Before reverting into Meicoomon again, Rasielmon said she had to do one more thing, and rushed to Koushiro’s office at the speed of light. Meiko wonders what it is, but the other eight were pretty sure what it was.

Daisuke returned to the office, where Miyako, Ken and Iori were ready to leave and meet their seniors. They say they found out a way to help in the battle and Daisuke grins. Suddenly, Rasielmon appears in a smaller size to not destroy the room and talks to the four. An unfazed Ken then comments “Maybe they solved it without us…” and Daisuke sighs, he wanted to help them all so badly…

Rasielmon then moves to the room with V-mon and Wormmon’s eggs and uses her powers to heal them, making them hatch. Iori finds this curious, only to remember the files said Meicoomon has also an antidote to her own virus program. The eggs hatched into Chicomon and Leafmon, making Daisuke so thankful he immediately hugged Rasielmon as his way to thank her.

Ken also thanks her, but in his own way by bowing and being polite. Rasielmon giggles, and then disappears. She returns to also heal the other eight’s digimon as her apologies, then reverted into Meicoomon and fell on Meiko’s arms.

A few weeks later, Taichi and the group heard some good news regarding Meicoomon: Hououmon and the Holy Beasts’ powers supposedly had helped to finish her program, becoming more stable and suitable for interacting with other people and digimon. Data samples of her special ability – by infecting and controlling digimon with a virus – were used to create vaccines in any case of her accidentally infecting civilized/pacific digimon. Nishijima asked Meiko’s parents to allow her and Meicoomon to be part of the Data Bureau as some honorary agent. Daisuke commented he was a little jealous about that, and that it would’ve been cool to work as some special agent. Koushiro jokes about him already serving in some special unit only to make him go like “??! Really!? Am I a secret agent!?” only to Taichi cut the joke by saying he needs to get a little more mature to handle special agent business. They all laugh, and then they all return to their daily routines.

[digitalworldbound]

next time (koumi)

hello! welcome to the fourth day of valentine's drabbles! today's is dedicated to @stoppingtosmelltheflowers. thank you for always being so kind. i adore you and your writing. happy valentine's day!

Oolong bottles lay empty across the wooden floors, takeaway boxes overflowing in his trash can. Objectively, his office was disgusting, but Koushiro didn’t have time to worry about it.

Colorful lines of code filtered down his computer screen. His eyes scanned the page, desperately trying to decipher the code. The flurry of numbers seemingly streamed into a nonsensical line of text, words jumbling together in his mind.

“What is this?” he muttered under his breath. The glare from his computer illuminated the dark circles under his eyes.Tentomon stirred restlessly at his feet, prodding at Koushiro.

“You need to eat something, Koushiro.” Tentomon tried once again, voice falling onto deaf ears.

His partner mumbled back another weak excuse, eyes nearly watering with focus.

“Tentomon’s right, you know?”

Koushiro jerked in surprise, scattering his day-old leftovers in the process. “Mimi?” incredulousness in his tone, “What are you doing here?”

A lift of her finger bathed the room in fluorescent lights, Koushiro’s eyes clenching at the sudden intrusion. “I was going to see if you’ve already eaten , but Tentomon beat me to it.”

Koushiro’s cheeks grew warm, only deepening the closer she got.

His eyes trailed gently over her frame, trying to deduce exactly what had changed. Mimi’s eyes were the same bright pools of hazel they always were. Her hair was swept away from her face, a coy smile settling on her lips. Maybe it was her dress, a wispy green thing that fluttered around her knees. She looked radiant, but that was nothing new.

Something had changed.

“So, are you hungry?” A bag hung loose around her arm, bright, red label eliciting a growl from his stomach.

His eyes flitted back towards the screen, tension high on his shoulders. It would only take a minute for Koushiro to unweave this numerical puzzle; he was so close.

At least, that was the feeble excuse he offered to Mimi, fingers quickly going back to work once she was seated.

Slowly, his office dipped into darkness, late-night shadows crawling up the wall. Stars shone into the window, Tentomon’s light snores pulling Koushiro from his stupor. It had been too long.

Guilt simmered in his stomach. Back stiff with disuse, Koushiro stole a glance at the clock before seeking his partner out. His singular minute had turned into four hours; Tentomon was surely to be famished.

Except, the little bug wasn’t next to Koushiro’s feet. He wasn’t underneath the desk or hidden away in a drawer.

For a moment, icy tendrils of panic gripped Koushiro’s heart. Bottles clattering, he rose to his feet, heart pounding in his ears.

In his haste, Koushiro’s foot caught the underside of his office chair, the pair crashing haphazardly onto the ground. His face made rough contact with the floor, but the pain never registered. From his low position, the tension in his muscles finally relaxed. Tentomon was safe, curled into Mimi’s side as they snoozed together.

The guilt returned tenfold, seeing Mimi’s limp hand still curled around the handles of the bag she had brought for him.

Once he untangled himself, Koushiro quietly meandered towards her, doing his best to avoid the creaky spots in the floor. A warm flush had risen to her cheeks, an arm drooped lazily around Tentomon. The little Digimon seemed at home in her arms, Koushiro’s heart giving an odd skip.

She was so peaceful like this, eyelashes resting against her rosy cheeks.

Gently, so carefully, Koushiro coaxed the bag out of Mimi’s grasp. It was much too late for her to meander across town. Besides, he didn’t have the heart to wake her.

‘What a way to spend our first Valentine’s together,’ Koushiro chastised himself. Out of all the puzzles he had managed to solve, Mimi’s faith and reassurance seemed the most puzzling. She deserved much better than sleeping on an uncomfortable couch, gas station food in clutch. He had promised to care for her, to meet her every need, and yet he had allowed her to go to bed hungry.

Still, Koushiro’s pulse thrummed unsteadily as he gently tucked an extra blanket around her chin. ‘Tomorrow,’ he promised. Tomorrow, he would make it up to her.

Until then, his computer hummed in overdrive, another numerical string filtering across the screen.

Tomorrow, Koushiro would make things right. He had a few more hours before daylight; another puzzle awaited.