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Part 1 Pairings: Daisuke/Takeru, Koushiro/Hikari (one-sided), Taichi/Yamato (one-sided), Yamato/Jun (one-sided).
"Daisuke! Turn off the TV and listen to me!" Jun relived her brother of the remote with the ease of sisterly practice. "Hey!" He squawked in protest, making a weak grab for it. It was early Sunday morning and Daisuke had just crawled out of bed to curl up on the couch with a blanket and Chibimon to watch TV. He wasn't feeling very mobile at the moment. "Neechan, lay off." Jun shook her reddish head, turning off the TV behind her without looking. "Nope, I have something to talk to you about and I want you to listen." Daisuke sighed in defeat, tucking Chibimon closer into his side. "Okay, okay. What is it?" "You want Takeru." Chibimon squeaked in surprise when his back support abruptly tumbled to the floor. "WHAT?" Daisuke yelled from the carpet. "You heard me." Jun placed a jaunty hand on one curved hip, watching her brother with a smirk. "You've got the hots for the little blondie. Can't say I blame you, he's got his brother's looks." "I do *not* have a thing for Takeru!" Daisuke sat up angrily, wincing at the resulting head rush. "Oh sure." Jun snorted. "I've seen the way you check him out." "I'm not checking him out, I'm checking out Hikari! They just happen to be standing really close all of the time! That's all!" "Oh? And what about the time at the beach? When that Iori kid got knocked over by a wave and grabbed onto Takeru's pants for support? I saw that nosebleed as the Takaishi family jewels were bared to the world." Jun grinned in triumph as Daisuke's eyes went wide. "How in the hell…you weren't there!" "Takeru has jewels?" Chibimon questioned, sitting at the edge of the couch. "Ah! So admit you were looking!" Jun cheered. Red spread across Daisuke's cheeks. "That's not what I said!!" Daisuke protested franticly. "I can barely stand him!" "Yeah right! You so totally have a crush on him!" Jun's grin turned wicked. "And I can help you get him." "But I don't want him in the first place!" Daisuke yelled, pulling at his hair in frustration. He always knew his sister was insane, but this just beat all. You'd have to be blind not to see how much he and Takeru hated each other. They were always fighting and insulting each other…for some reason, this line of thought was starting to depress him. "When did Takeru get jewels? I thought boys didn't like that stuff." "Stop denying it. I know what I'm talking about, you'll see. And when you're ready, I'll be here to help!" The way she said 'help' suddenly made Daisuke very afraid. "You're delusional!" "Just keep telling yourself that," Jun shook her head at the folly of little brothers. "Have I seen Takeru's jewels?" "But like I said, come and talk to me soon as you get your head out of the sand." With that final announcement, Jun tossed the remote back on the couch and sauntered out of the room. Daisuke groaned and fell back against the floor. "I do not have a thing for Takeru," he mumbled, crossing his arms over his face. "Neechan is crazy." Chibimon leaned over to look at his partner and sighed. "I'm confused."
"But during the Meiji era, swords were --" Daisuke tuned out the sound of the teacher's voice, paying just enough attention to copy notes off the board. He'd learned early on that teachers always wrote down the most important stuff, which was usually just enough to pass a test with. That was all he needed. The teacher had stopped writing on the board and was now just lecturing. Daisuke made a mental note to ask Ken about this subject later, just in case, and let his attention wander further. Hikari was sitting across and few seats up from him on the right. Takeru sat one seat over from her. They were both paying close attention to sensei, of course, hands moving quickly over their papers as they recorded down the key points of the lecture. The angle of sun through the windows glanced over the top of Hikari's milk chocolate brown hair, but caught Takeru's burnished gold locks perfectly. He couldn't wear his hat in class, so that left all of his spiky hair to be lit up like a yellow-white flame. He chose that moment to tilt his head, the light brightening the smooth curve of his cheek and length of his neck, reflecting a liquid glimmer in one ocean-blue eye. Daisuke's heart thudded painfully in his chest. He looked quickly back at the teacher, trying to ignore the sick, fluttery feeling in his stomach. 'You want Takeru.' [No, I don't.] He shook his head and glanced again at Hikari. But even with her in his direct line of sight, he could still see Takeru.
"Yamato has to like me, I just know it!" Taichi announced as he rushed into the room he shared with his sister. Hikari was curled up in the desk chair, a book braced against her knees. Tailmon was on the desk itself, one eye opening at Taichi's abrupt arrival. "But niisan, Yamato doesn't like boys." Hikari informed him softly. He didn't seem to hear her; instead diving head first into his closet to look for something other than school clothes to put on. "The way he smiles at me…puts his arm around my shoulder…pays for ice-cream…of course, he's paying for it with the money he borrowed from me…" An old football rolled out of the closet. "I just don't think he's realized his feelings yet." "You're reading to much into it," Hikari insisted, "He treats you the same way he treats Takeru. Except he beats you up more." There was a moment of silence, allowing Hikari the chance to believe she may have gotten through to him. They'd been going back and forth about this for weeks now, every since Taichi had decided Yamato was his 'one true love'. She heard some scuffling from the closet, then Taichi wandered out; a shirt and a pair of shorts clenched in his hand, and a bright look in his eyes. "Takeru! That's it!" He sounded triumphant. "Huh?" Tailmon said, as confused as her partner. "Hikari, you like Takeru, right?" Taichi rushed on before she could respond, "It's perfect! You start dating Takeru and that'll be the prefect excuse for me to hang around Yamato more!" "But niisan, you already spend most of your time with him. And besides…" "Don't you see? I can talk to Yamato about Takeru and work with him about setting you two up. And when he sees you as the happy couple, he'll start thinking about happy couples himself, and feeling lonely, and then he'd really start noticing me." Taichi sucked in air lost from his rambling. "…Takeru's got a crush on someone else." The words rang clear into the quiet room. "I'll work out the details with you later. I gotta go do the dishes before mom shoots me." Grinning in the way of the terminally love-struck, Taichi headed into the washroom to change. There was a long pause as girl and Digimon stared at the empty doorway. "You know," Tailmon remarked slowly, "I just don't think he gets it." "Can't blame me for trying."
"Is that a new song?" Taichi asked, leaning over Yamato's shoulder, breathing slightly into his ear. The blonde teen bit back a sigh of annoyance. "Yeah." He finished up the last line and twisted in his chair so that Taichi was no longer looming over him. "Wanna see?" He offered the notepad a bit shyly. Showing new songs to other people always made him a bit nervous, but Taichi liked his music and usually provided a good ego boost. "Sure. Cool, it's about us! The Chosen Children I mean." "Yeah, since the last battle, I've been getting the urge to write more stuff about our group." He tapped his pencil rapidly against the desk, before reminding himself to stop. "And I've been trying to spice things up for the band." Though the media had gotten tired of hounding the Chosen after the first year, they were still a very popular subject among teens and pre-teens. The band had already taken advantage of having a Chosen Child in their midst (Gabumon was now the band mascot) and Yamato planned to build on that further. Taichi was vaguely singing the words to himself even though he got the tune completely wrong. "Destiny on the battlefield. We can't defend ourselves from fate. Coming on the horizon now. Don't brace yourself it's just too late." He descended into humming for a few more lines. "Courage will lead the way…I like that one." Yamato smiled warmly. That was the part where each of the Chosen Children were identified by their Crest and their place in the team. Taichi agreed with his word choices and how well the song fit them and their friends. "I'm going to have to do one for the next generation," Yamato noted with amusment, playfully poking Taichi's shin with his toes. "Or they may get jealous." The brunette glanced down at Yamato's foot, looking mildly disappointed when the other boy pulled it back. "Yeah well. Oh! I just remembered." Taichi set the notepad on his lap and leaned forward with a wicked grin. "I think we should set Hikari and Takeru up." Yamato cocked his head, long golden hair falling into his eyes. "Oh? Isn't that rather presumptuous?" Taichi looked baffled. "In what way?" "Because they've known each other since they were eight and have been close friends ever since, you're assuming that they should automatically end up together. I'd call that presumptuous." Yamato braced one arm against the back of his chair. "Also, my little brother hasn't said anything about liking Hikari that way." "Takeru doesn't tell you everything." Taichi said pointedly. "And you shouldn't assume that he would." A smug grin spread across Taichi's face. Yamato snorted and rolled his eyes. Yet, there was truth to that. He occasionally got the feeling that Takeru was hiding something from him, but he lacked the gumption to comment on it. Still, he believed Takeru would tell him when he felt ready for it. "So the song works?" "The song is the best! Now how about a love song Takeru could sing to Hikari?" Yamato sighed.
"Koushiro-san!" The redhead turned around at the sound of his name, smiling when he recognized Hikari. "Hello Hikari-san, Tailmon." He slowed down as the younger girl and her partner jogged up beside him. "What are you up to?" "Oh, just meeting Takeru for lunch." She smiled shyly as the two fell into step. "How have you been? And where's Tentomon?" "I've been good, keeping busy with school and such. Tentomon is visiting some friends in the Digital World today," he looked slightly embarrassed, "The girl I'm going to study with is a little afraid of him." "A study date, huh?" The cheer in Hikari's voice dropped slightly with the word 'date', but Koushiro didn't seem to notice. "Essentially, yes. She has a quiz on Java coming up soon." Koushiro's face lit up and Hikari couldn't tell if it was from the prospect of being with a girl, or of getting to study computer languages all day. "What's her name?" "Hayabasa Suko. You wouldn't know her." He looked out at the passing traffic, swinging his computer case in one hand. Hikari took the chance to study his profile. "Is she nice?" Hikari winced. [What am I, a masochist or something?] Koushiro turned his head back to her, surprised. "Suko-san? She's always been very polite with me," he said, confusion evident in his voice. Tailmon coughed to hide a snicker and Hikari took several deep breaths to keep from screaming. "Oh, that's…good," Hikari said slowly. Koushiro nodded, still smiling pleasantly. "So how is school going?" They talked a little longer before Koushiro had to head down another street. The older teen waved at her as he left. "Enjoy your day, Hikari-san!" "See you later!" She called after him, waving even though he was no longer looking. Letting out a sigh, she bent over to pick up Tailmon before joining the crowd waiting for the light to turn green. "I take back everything I said about him starting to notice things," the cat Digimon said snappishly, rubbing the top of her head against her Chosen's chin. "It's a wonder he can function, he's so oblivious." "It's just the way he is. Oh well." Wishing she could dismiss her feelings just as easily, Hikari ran across the street, keeping an eye open for traffic. "Yet another lost cause." Tailmon made a comforting noise. They spotted Takeru just a half block down the street, seated at one of the round tables in front of the café, his white hat like a beacon in the spring sunshine. Keeping to a walk, Hikari slid through the crowd to the restaurant. Takeru was staring at something across the street and didn't notice them until Hikari was standing right next to him. "Oh, hey," he said, his classic 'the world is a good place' smile spreading across his features. "Hey yourself." Hikari returned, pulling away the chair he had his feet braced on and sitting in it. Tailmon jumped from her arms, landing on the ground with practiced ease, before climbing into one of the open chairs. "Have you ordered yet?" "No, I wasn't sure when you'd show up." He tucked his feet behind the rungs of his chair, resting one arm on the glass tabletop. "You are paying, right?" Hikari frowned in disapproval. "Lousy date you are." He beamed innocently in reply. "Where's Patamon?" Tailmon spoke up, noticing the absence of her friend. Takeru sighed and pointed across the street. Several trees had been planted at intervals along the sidewalk for shade and visual appeal. A crowd of first-graders where circling around the base of one such tree, squealing at the top of their shrill voices. One industrious ankle-biter was trying to climb the slender trunk. Hikari was confused for a moment, until she saw a bundle of orange hidden among the branches. "Oh dear, poor Patamon," she gasped, one hand coming to her mouth. Takeru nodded ruefully. "They saw him while we were coming down the street. Do you have any idea what it's like being mobbed by six and seven year olds wanting to cuddle the 'cute widdle Digimon?' Scary." The blonde shivered dramatically, "He'll be all right. They can't get him up there and they'll lose interest eventually." He waved over a waitress. Hikari narrowed her eyes at him, considering several retorts about his abandonment of his Digimon. But it wasn't like the kids were that dangerous, and Patamon had faced far worse and come out okay. So…"I have some interesting news," she said instead, accepting a menu from the waitress. "Could I get a green tea, please? Thanks." The waitress nodded and made a note on her pad. "Want anything, Tailmon?" "No thanks, I'm just fine." Tailmon curled up in her chair, eyes focused on the spectacle at the tree. "Water for me. What sort of news?" Takeru braced both elbows on the table and rested his chin in the cup of his hands, one eyebrow raised curiously. Hikari matched his posture. "It seems that my esteemed brother has decided to set the two of us up in order get in better with *your* brother." Ocean-blue depths reflected surprise. "He does know oniichan is straight, right?" "If he does, he's doing a really good job of hiding it. Or he's trying to bring out Yamato-san's inner bisexual. You should hear how he *thinks* his plan to hook us up is going help him. He went on and on about it last night after dinner." "Oh?"
It was a wonderful day. Warm, with just enough of a breeze to keep it from being too hot. Iori walked at a steady pace along the cobblestone path between the trees. He loved visiting the park. It was more private between the trees, a perfect place for Upamon to work out some of his boundless energy. The current youngest of the Odaiba Chosen bushed his fingers over the rough bark of a tree, before stepping off the path entirely. Dark coolness surrounded him as he moved under the branches. Miyako had once commented that this part of the park 'felt green'. Having never felt a color, Iori hadn't understood her. In fact, he still didn't. But every now and then, he would remind himself of it and make an effort to 'feel the greenness' (another Miyako statement). Hmmm, still nothing, he decided. "Look Iori, its Jyou and Sora!" Upamon chirped gleefully, pointing with one ear tuft. Iori turned his head, seeing the two older children standing next to each other. "So it is." He smiled slightly. Jyou was one of the few older Chosen he truly looked up too. Not to say that he didn't have the utmost respect for the entire original Chosen Children, they just weren't the most outstanding role models. "Want to stop for a minute and say 'hi'?" "Sure!" The beige fluff ball bounced eagerly and changed his course. Iori followed him, face brightening even further. The two older teens didn't notice the boy and his Digimon. As he watched, Jyou lifted his right hand and lightly ran the back of his knuckles along Sora's upper arm, mouth moving as he said something. The ginger haired girl blushed and turned her head to the side and up slightly. Their gazes locked for a moment, before both looked away. Iori came to a stop. He was the bearer of Digimental of Chishiki, Knowledge, and like his predecessor Koushiro, he was very good at collecting and using information. However, unlike Koushiro who pursued knowledge to the point of blocking out the world, Iori gained knowledge though observation, by opening himself to the world. Now he observed the actions of his older teammates; the way they stood, the expressions on their faces as they avoided looking at each other, and the very fact that they were together alone in a secluded area. Being not much over twelve, Iori knew a limited amount about relationships, but that didn't hinder his ability to spot one. "Upamon," he called softly, running to pick up his Digimon, "Lets leave them alone." Iori turned around and headed back the way they had come. "Besides, I want to get some practice in before we go to meet Miyako-san." He talked quietly, even though the other pair was a distance off and probably couldn't hear them. "Okay. Can I have candy when we get back?" "You'll rot your teeth." Iori warned, them sighed when Upamon sniffled. "Well, a little won't hurt."
"My sister is so delusional! Takeru and me...ha! I don't even like boys that way! Right Chibimon?" Daisuke demanded, pacing around the mess of his bedroom. "Uh huh." The small blue dragon answered, not looking up from his game on Daisuke's Game Boy Advanced. "I mean, I loved Hikari, right? Not that I do anymore, I mean not in *that* way, but she's still so beautiful, I just love looking at her. And remember Hana? Not that I loved her or anything, but we did kiss that one time! That proves I like girls, right?" "Sure." Chibimon agreed again, blue hands moving quickly on the control buttons. "Okay, I admit I really don't think that much about girls in general. There just aren't that many that catch my attention. So I care more about football and Digimon than girls, that doesn't mean anything!" He kicked aside an old shoe that had long since lost its mate. "Uh-huh." "Not being into girls doesn't automatically make me want guys." He continued to lecture to room in general. "I've never even thought about it! I bet I wouldn't have ever known about stuff like that if I hadn't heard about it at school once. Shouldn't I sort of instinctively *know* if I felt that way?" "Yeah, sure." "Like a bolt of lightening or something, I don't know. Anything. I have those dreams sometimes, but they're not…it's not…it's not a guy in them. At least, I don't think so, they're not very clear. Well, there *was* that really weird one where *I* was that girl, but that was just a freaky one time thing that came from eating too much okonomiyaki. Really. And the whole Takeru thing…I was just surprised when Iori pulled down Takeru's pants that one time, that's all. It's not like I was excited or anything…I've seen him naked before and…I was just surprised." He stopped pacing and stood still for a long moment. Little beeps and shrills came from Chibimon's game as little 2-D characters died horrid deaths. Daisuke let out a sigh and ran a hand through his mahogany hair. "I'm going to take a shower. Thanks for listening, Chibimon. I bet this human stuff really confuses you, huh?" "Yep." More evil minions met their doom. Daisuke gathered his bathing supplies from under a stack of manga and candy wrappers and left the room. A few minutes later, Chibimon sat back. "Darn, I died. What were you saying, Daisuke? Um, Daisuke?" To be continued...
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