アオノナカデ [hiatus]

Glancing back at Kouji, Hikari stayed in silence as he closed his eyes. In contrast to her and judging by his reaction, he seemed to know the place, which in her opinion was baffling. The guy wasn’t  accompanied by a Digimon like she was, and he hadn’t told her if he had a digivice or not, so Hikari wasn’t sure how to react. What relevant information was she missing now?

When he spoke, she gently shook her head. “I haven’t seen anyone else,” she replied. “It was just Tailmon and me, we were heading back home when this happened, and I’m not sure how we ended up here.” The last time something similar happened to her, once the Digimon went away she was still in the real world. “Is there anything that I should know?”

Tailmon was staring attentively outside, with her eyes narrowed. She had travelled around the Digital World several times, she probably knew more places than Hikari did, but she had never been here before. She turned to face both humans, when the train suddenly stopped and opened its doors.

Well, if they had been called to the Digital World it meant that it needed their help, Hikari thought as she walked towards the closest door and stopped there, contemplating the dark sky above them. Was it already the night or was the place like this all the time? A shiver ran through her back as the images of the grey, monotone sky of the Dark Ocean popped up in her mind.

"Same here..." he said, realizing how unhelpful his answers have been.

Kouji fell silent at Hikari's next question and avoided her eyes. If he told her that he'd been here before with his friends and brother, would she believe him? She'd asked about the digivice earlier. He knew she was making sure of who he was, but right now, Kouji had no proof of his connection to the Digital World. He had been a little distrustful of Hikari, but from the looks of it, he was the most suspicious between the two of them.

The train came to a stop, sparing Kouji from answering. He looked outside and followed after Hikari half a foot behind. He wasn't raring to step outside the train, a concern Hikari greatly shared. 

"Whoever sent us here wants us to. I don't think it's a good idea either but we don't have much of a choice." Kouji walked to the train doors and looked at Hikari with a serious expression.

Izumi shifted her gaze again to Satomi’s face and analyzed her quietly, She had always wanted to meet the brunette, always curious about how could she be. Her warm smile, and those maternal eyes that she had when she was looking at Kouji, it was obvious that she cared for him, that she loved him as a mother could love her children. Then she looked at her friend and even if he wasn’t smiling, something similar was on his eyes. Unwittingly the blonde smiled and let scape a sligh sigh of her mouth.

She blinked twice at the unexpected question and then covered her mouth laughing a bit at Satomi’s words. “It’s fine, Kouji can be a gentleman.” She was being sincere, suddenly the picture of the warrior of light lending his jacket to her appeared on her mind. “I asked my parents to take them at home for me, since I knew Kouji would come to see me.” She explained cheerfully.

He took his mother's joke at stride, letting the girls chuckle at his expense. He was kind of expecting it. What he didn't expect, however, was for Izumi to sort of stand up for him. It left Kouji staring at her with a mixture of bemusement and surprise. He wasn't sure how to react. It was thoughtful of her but...it kind of went out of the blue. It had a reminiscing feel on it, so Kouji suspected Izumi was referring to a time when they were in the Digital World.

"Ah, I see. Yes, they are all nice kids. Kouji has made really good friends," Satomi said, eyeing at her son's expression. She smiled widely at Izumi, bending a bit as she put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Izumi. We'll go out and eat pastries someday to catch up! For now, where would you two like to eat?"

It was obviously going to be Izumi's call.

Especially where food was involved. The sleeknes of the bento hadn’t given away what was inside, so the bigger boy was totally surprised to see the overly fine display of fish and Japanese treats. The skin of every morsel seemed to glisten under the kitchen light, not unlike the sparkle that overcame his eyes.

"Wowie you’re really giving this all to me!?" His mouth was already watering - he didn’t often indulge in the finer restaurants that Japan had to offer, not because he couldn’t afford it, but just didn’t have the time nor the proper interest. Since he wasn’t with a girlfriend or his parents, he had no need to go out on fancy dinners and honestly just preferred the quicker fast-food shops and junk food markets. It had been too long since he feels like he’s had anything so… fancy.

"Wow, and you actually made this?" He couldn’t help but imagine either of Kouji’s mothers preparing this for him, which made Junpei feel a little guilty. But of course, he wasn’t going to let Kouji’s offer go to waste.

He took the proffered utensils and excitedly pinched them together a few times, about ready to dig in. Of course it wasn’t chestnuts, but Junpei wasn’t going to complain anymore. The sashimi looked just as good as chestnuts.

"Thanks buddy!"

It wasn't a complicated dish to be proud of. The sushi platter was known for the simplicity of its delicacies. Its ingredients were its most contributing factor, while Kouji merely poured in time and effort (as well as money) for preparing it. But even if it wasn't something he could brag about, Kouji had enjoyed making it. He also really liked how it turned out and his mother wholly agreed to it.

"Come to think of it, the sushi I made was the only time she praised me for anything kitchen-related." She probably liked seafood too like Kouji, though he was almost certain she preferred pasta...

Eight-year-old Takaishi Takeru lost his father and brother in one night. Left with a preoccupied working mother, Takeru adjusts to the new lifestyle and the lost his loved ones by splitting his own state of mind: one for the real world, and another for the imaginary.