Hikari surveyed the camp, and all of the kids in it. She knew an awful lot of secret things about them all. When Yamato and Takeru were still there, she had many times seen Taichi and Yamato kissing. Then, just last night, she heard what Mimi had said to Sora. It wasn’t weird to her, they were all just people in love, and she saw them as just that. Hikari was smart like that.
Her eyes inadvertantly travelled to Jyou, who was fighting with Gomamon again, over something ridiculously trivial. Hikari couldn’t really see Jyou being in love, he seemed too insecure. But what if there was someone to counteract that? Someone so set in themselves, that they didn’t have to delve deep into feelings, over-analyze emotions...someone like Koushiro. Hikari thought about what kind of couple they would make, and after awhile it seemed to work. She couldn’t see Jyou with any of the girls...or the guys...and before she knew it, the idea was permanently planted in her mind.
“Thinking about anything in particular, Hikari?”, Taichi asked, meeting her eyes.
“Oh, you know, just...stuff”, she answered.
“Well don’t think too hard, or your brain might implode!”, he said smiling.
Hikari raised her eyebrows at him, “Right”, she said flatly, then added in a softer tone, “Niisan”.
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Yamato hadn’t bathed in a couple of days and his roomates in the treehouse were less than happy. He didn’t dare tell them the real reason for his newfound fear of the lake, his dream, so he just played it off nonchalantly.
“There’s a lot of work to be done around here, no time”, was one excuse, another was, “I need to gaurd the treehouse”.
Takeru sensed something was wrong with his brother; he was acting funnier than usual. Maybe he missed Taichi, or felt lonely without their friends there. Takeru tried to be extra nice to Yamato, to keep him happy, but he still seemed distant...
“Takeru...you don’t mind living here with me...do you?”, Yamato asked rather abruptly one afternoon.
“Well, I do miss our friends, but I still like being with you”, Takeru answered.
“So, you’re alright now?”, Yamato asked.
Takeru sighed, “Yeah.”
A wind blew the grasses, as twilight set in. The full moon hung high, as if supported by tiny invisible strings. Yamato sat alone by humself outside, the breeze mangling his hair. Takeru had contracted a slight cold, and now Yamato was even more worried about their living on their own. Would he still be able to take care of Takeru? What if he became more ill? Yamato didn’t feel too good himself, but that was probably just the stress accumulating.
Garurumon came around, “Yamato? Why aren’t you asleep”, the wolf asked.
“Can’t. I don’t know, maybe I’m just too worried about Takeru”, he replied, running his fingers through his hair, trying to straighten it back into place.
“Well you shouldn’t stay out here, night is when all of the bad digimon come out”, Garurumon grwoled.
“I can handle myself”, Yamato murmered.
As if they had heard him, a pack of Kanemon appeared, their fangs bared, the fire on their tails burning bright through the darkness. Garurumon noticed them first, and assumed a battle mode.
“Yamato, the Kanemon are here. They’re not a very nice bunch to tangle with , you’ve got to get out of here!”, Garurumon said, his body tense for the oncoming fight.
“No! I’m not leaving Takeru!”, he exclaimed.
“They won’t notice him, he’s saife. Go hide in the water, that’s the Kanemon’s weakness”, Garurumon ordered.
Yamato hesitated, he never ran away from a fight, and he never left Takeru, but...for some reason he trusted Garurumon, after all, he knew this Digiworld a whole lot better than Yamato.
He bolted off, the Kanemon getting closer. A few of them noticed the streak of blonde hair hair swiftly moving through the night. they chased him, whle Garurumon stayed and fought with the others.
Yamato looked behind him for a moment, and seeing their firery tried to push himself to go faster. But he just couldn’t...
One of the Kanemon had pounced on his, digging it’s claws into his sunburned bare back. He cried out in pain, as the others caught up, scratching him, and burning him at intervals.
It was awhile until Garurumon came and tried to scare them off. They fought back hard and it took al of Garurumon’s energy to defeat them. As they scampered off, wincing in pain, Garurumon un-digivolved back to Gabumon, and was still a little tired.
“I’m sorry, my friend”, Gabumon said, noticing Yamato’s cuts and scars.
“It’s alright...you tried”, he said, rubbing the red marks on his body.
“Those will heal, don’t worry”, Gabumon said, “Oh, if only I could digivolve back into Garurumon, you could ride me back to the treehouse”.
It took Yamato awhile to struggle back, and his body ached terribly when he got there. When Takeru saw his brother, his eyes teared.
“Niisan...what happened?”, he asked.
“I was atacked...Kanemon”, Yamato replied, distantly.
Takeru hugged his big brother, still sobbing, “Will you be alright?”
“Yeah, they’re just cuts and burns...I’ll live”.