348First off, my apology for taking so long to update. I've been travelling this summer, watching the World Cup (which I was sad that Italy crashed out like that, while Germany fully deserved the title) and before I really knew it, school has started now for me. Some of you might have already known that I'm beginning my graduate study this semester, which translates as that I won't have much time to write, let along updating this story. I do hope I'll be able to squeeze some time to complete this, as this is one big story that I have worked on for over a year. I'll try my best, and from the bottom of my heart I thank everyone for still keeping an eye on this.
I'm actually glad people like the previous chapter which does absolutely nothing. I was worried that it would tip some people off since there was no development whatsoever, but I am grateful for the kind words of many. There likely won't be any music chapter in the future, but I might squeeze in a tiny scene from time to time.
In addition, a big thanks to every reviewer, since this story now has over 300 reviews! Thank you very much for all the support over the year!
Chapter title refers to the ED of the recently aired Hanamonogatari, which is part of the long, ongoing Monogatari series. I find this particular arc a little bit dull, when compared to the fantastic Koimonogatari (the last arc of Monogatari Second Season), but still it has a bittersweet, adolescent tone to it.
Chapter 23: The Last Day of My Adolescence
2nd November, 2006
'So when an oxygen atom connects with two hydrogen atoms, they form water?'
'That doesn't make any sense at all. How do they just meet and connect? Besides, won't they connect with other molecules then? What if the hydrogen atom likes potassium more?'
'Yea, like, how about three hydrogen and two oxygen?'
'Or that after forming water, they connect with helium too, so that the water can float in the air? Is that how water balloons work?'
Ken had to try his very best not to slam his head against the wall, as his best friends were busy discussing what kind of chemicals they could create by blatantly discarding all scientific laws and principles of nature. He knew that Daisuke and Takeru were not bright in the science department, which was the very reason why they were now having a study session together, but he had expected them to have at least some common sense and know the difference between magically floating water and steam. But then, their scores in physics were not any better than their scores in chemistry by any means, with the two sport team captains barely passing their previous tests in any science-related subjects.
In a way Ken thought this was why Hikari excused herself to go prepare tea and biscuits for them, just so she did not have to listen to their delusional exchange. The excuse that she was just playing a good host, since they were in her apartment now, seemed to be too convenient of a reason to be used. Perhaps Hikari was plotting this all along, so that her secret camera in the room would capture his utterly helpless expression that they could all laugh at later? It was a ridiculous thought, Ken knew, but comparatively that sounded more plausible than Daisuke's latest suggestion that the Big Bang was caused by the hydrogen atoms committing suicide after the oxygen atom heartlessly left them behind and engaged in an illicit affair with nitrogen instead.
'That's it, you guys,' Ken shut his eyes, grabbed the notes on the table, and smacked them in the back of his friends' heads. Daisuke and Takeru did not appreciate the gesture and cried in surprise.
'Calm down, Ken, no need to be so serious,' Takeru weakly rebutted.
'Yea, Takeru just finished his gig last night. Can't we just relax for a bit instead of focusing on studying?' Daisuke protested, trying to take the pile of notes from Ken's hand, only to receive another smack in the forehead this time.
'The final exams will be in just a month, and before that we have a lot of tests,' Ken reasoned, ignoring the collective moans of his friends. 'If you don't start working on your weak subjects, you'll just get detention and extra homework.'
'Com'on Ken, the finals are in a month. We got enough time for that,' Daisuke shrugged and Takeru nodded in agreement, apparently not as concerned as Ken was about their grades. At that moment, he could hear Miyako screaming in a delighted tone from the kitchen. The lavender-haired girl decided to join them for their study session despite being a grade higher than the rest of the teenagers in the room, though the trio figured she was here to taste the cakes that Hikari's mother had prepared for them.
Ken let out a sigh, calmly rested his hands on his knees, and raised his head to look at his friends directly in the eyes.
'Daisuke, you rank below the 50th percentile in June's exam, and you almost failed all of your science subjects since the beginning of the year. I don't need to remind you that your admission to Odaiba Senior High has a condition that you need to maintain high scores in your tests as well, or they will not accept you even though you were one of the top scorers in the National Tournament this year.
'Takeru, while you score well in language and humanities subjects, you're even worse than Daisuke in science, failing a couple of physics and chemistry tests. Hikari-san maintains pretty good grade so far, and based on the current trend of grades it's very likely you two will be studying in different schools next year when you enter senior high.'
'We are terribly sorry for our misdeeds. Please instruct us to do better and help us improve our grades, master.'
The moment Hikari and Miyako re-entered the room, they were surprised to find Daisuke and Takeru kneeling in front of Ken, bowing, and asking for his forgiveness. A second later, on Ken's command, the two boys who previously showed no interest in reading their textbooks sat straight on the floor and devoted all their attention into reading their books and notes, not even acknowledging the girls' entrance with trays of tea and food on their hands. Hikari cast a questioning look at Ken, but the top boy of the school just smirked and casually smacked Takeru in the head when he put down the wrong chemical equation in his homework.
While Miyako lay on Hikari's bed to read manga while chewing on her cake, the four junior high students focused on their work. Ken and Hikari, being hardworking students themselves, did not have much trouble completing their homework, but it was not the same case for Daisuke and Takeru, who not only had a hard time doing their homework but also needed to do much revision on previous materials that they vowed to ignore for much of the year.
As a result, just as Ken had intended, he and Hikari were in-charge of instructing their two friends. Hikari was good at science and maths, so it wasn't hard for her to show Takeru the correct way to apply chemical formula to the questions or how to use trigonometry efficiently. Daisuke also wasn't as bad as Ken had predicted. Once the mahogany-haired boy made up his mind, he could concentrate fully on his materials and was able to catch up on most of the materials that he had missed.
Hours passed by like that, and when the group decided to finally take a break, Daisuke and Takeru dropped themselves to the ground and sighed heavily. The boys felt like their brains had probably melted down as a result of staring at numbers for far too long. Both their mothers had complained before that the only times they were comfortable with numbers were when they read sport games statistics, but this afternoon showed that with sufficient motivation (Ken threatened to remove Daisuke from the football team once they got to senior high if he failed another test, and persuaded Hikari into agreeing that Takeru wouldn't be able to kiss or hold her for a whole week if he slacked off) the two could actually do some good work.
As he eyed his tired friends, Ken felt bad for the way he pushed them. While studying was a piece of cake to him, he understood that people had different capabilities in life, and not everyone would be good at memorizing a bunch of information that sounded alien to their ears. But still, no matter how much his friends loathed studying, science in particular, he wanted them to realize he was just trying to ensure they could have more options in the future. No matter which career they chose to pursue, it was always beneficial to be equipped with more fundamental knowledge of how the world worked. After all, they were living in a world where there were actually people who believed a man kissing another man would cause hurricanes, or that the female body would shut down in the case of a legitimate rape, whatever that really meant. At this stage of their lives, Ken believed, they ought to be taught the basics of scientific thinking in order to be reasonable persons once they left school.
'Hey Takeru,' Daisuke moaned as he lay on his back, staring at the ceiling aimlessly, 'how well do you think we'll do in our Finals after today?'
'We'll probably pass,' came the reply, as the blond mimicked his friend, spreading his limbs on the floor while trying to think about anything but atoms and wavelengths, 'and that will be good enough for me.'
Ken looked at his friends and smiled. Based on their performance today, the blue-haired boy was sure they wouldn't just 'pass'. If they kept holding effective studying sessions like this in the coming weeks, he knew that when the finals came they would have no problem surprising every teacher who had looked down on them beforehand.
'Now that we did our part,' Daisuke beamed and jumped from the ground, 'where is our reward for paying attention for so long? I want my share of cake!'
He probably didn't expect his announcement to be met with silence. Ken's and Hikari's embarrassed expressions told him that something was wrong, and it was Miyako who unveiled the brutal truth.
'Cake? What cake? When you guys were studying, we ate them all already.'
If there was anything in the world that could make Daisuke lose his calmness no matter what, it was knowing that his share of food was being unfairly taken away from him. He could tolerate insulting remarks and offensive gestures, but there was no way he would be okay that somebody else had eaten his food.
'How can you do this!?' Daisuke rose from the ground and dashed in front of Miyako, his eyes wide in horror. 'My…my…my cake! The cake that I've been waiting for the whole time! The cake that belongs to my stomach and not yours!'
Ken rolled his eyes, Takeru sighed, and Hikari sniggered. Miyako looked dumbfounded by Daisuke's outburst, for she was not familiar with the teenager's obsession with food (that he declared to be his). Daisuke ignored all his surroundings and kept his full attention on Miyako, who was never to back down in an argument of such. If the neighbours paid enough attention, they would wonder why the usually quiet and peaceful Yagami apartment seemed to be on the verge of World War III at the moment.
'It's just a cake! What's the big deal here? Your name isn't even written on the cake! I have every right to eat it!'
Not content with the two yelling at each other over such a minor thing, Ken tried to separate the two, who were ignoring him completely. Takeru and Hikari decided to stay back and let Ken, ever the peacemaker, handle this. While Hikari was usually the one who did not enjoying the sight of her friends arguing with each other, she knew for a fact that Daisuke would calm down after a while. Spending so much time with the trio meant that she had gotten so used to each of their own temper. She let out a relaxed yawn.
'So…'
Hikari turned her head to face Takeru, who started scratching his cheek with his finger. He looked a bit flustered, but his eyes showed a glint of wiliness that was omnipresent whenever the teenager was showing his prankster side.
'Daisuke's reward for studying is cake,' the blond continued, the corner of his lips lifting so slightly, 'what about my reward for being such a good student for the whole time, Hikari-sensei?'
Ken's 'reminder' surfaced in Hikari's mind, and her face boiled faster than a kettle upon Takeru's sneaky remark.
'So, Hikari-san,' Ken lectured with much authority, ignoring the plea of a sulking Takeru who demanded Ken's treatment to be too cruel and inhumane, 'let me repeat myself: until Takeru completes all his homework and catches up on previous class materials, I want you to keep a purely platonic relationship with him for the moment, meaning that you are not to touch him, kiss him, or even communicate with him save for the purpose of teaching him.
'During our break, or when he shows that he has mastered the materials, you can reward him with whatever he wants under your consent.'
Judging by the look on her boyfriend's face, Hikari knew right away what Takeru wanted. However, she had the perfect comeback to wipe that smirk off his face. Quietly, without the others noticing, the brown-haired girl dragged Takeru's arm and led him out of the room, taking him to the kitchen where she opened the refrigerator and took out something. Takeru eyed the item curiously, and was surprised to find a piece of nicely cut cake being presented.
'Didn't Miyako-san say…' Takeru began, but a thought quickly entered his mind. 'Did you save this for me?'
Shyly, Hikari turned her gaze away and nodded, fidgeting her fingers nervously in the process. Takeru switched his attention between the girl's pink cheeks and the white strawberry cake. The fruit was a perfect match for Hikari's white clothing, where different kinds of berries painted a colourful pattern over her one-piece dress. Subconsciously, Takeru licked his dry lips.
He was then urged by the daughter of the household to sit at the table, where she took a seat next to him. 'Take a bite,' she signed. 'You've worked so hard for the afternoon. This is your reward for giving your best to study the materials.'
Takeru was not particularly into snacks like cake, and he was sure Daisuke would want the cake more than he did, but at the moment he couldn't see a reason of him not eating the cake that his girlfriend had deliberately saved for him. Hikari's expectant eyes were glowing with each passing second, and Takeru never knew a cake could taste so well when he took the first bite. He allowed the cake to melt inside his mouth, letting the soft texture gradually deforming into tiny solids before gulping each and every bit down his throat.
Letting out a satisfied sigh, he saw Hikari beaming at his reaction. Rolling his eyes in a puerile manner, he cut a small piece of the cake with his fork and held it in front of the brown-haired girl. Hikari widened her eyes.
'How about you share some with me?' Takeru added, a warm smile playing on his lips. Grinning, Hikari joyfully accepted the offer by opening her mouth, and Takeru carefully moved his fork to ensure the cake landed right on top of her tongue.
It wasn't the first time for the two to feed each other like this, and there was nothing more satisfying to the young couple than seeing the other's saccharine countenance. Perhaps only their affectionate eyes could top that in this case, as they took turn feeding each other while their eyes never shied away from staring at each other. For Takeru, the pair of bright and round, kitten-like redwood-coloured eyes of Hikari was something that he could never tire of. For Hikari, those ocean blue orbs of Takeru always seemed to contain a layer of mystery that she wanted desperately to unveil.
Mere minutes had passed and they had finished consuming the cake, after Hikari swallowed the last piece of strawberry remaining. Both let out a happy sigh and they smiled at each other. It was then that Takeru noticed a stain of white cream on the corner of Hikari's lips. He pointed it to her and she tried to wipe it away, but she constantly missed a tiny spot. Blinking at how cute she looked as she tried to figure that out, Takeru smirked.
'Here,' he offered, 'let me help you.'
He leaned forward and, before Hikari could comprehend what was happening, pressed his lips on the white stain to lick it away. Hikari was shocked at his action, yet when he pulled back to grin smugly at her, she couldn't help but let a wide smile appear on her face. Takeru laughed, and rested his forehead on hers, rubbing it slowly as their noses touched each other, all the time the two were grinning like the person in front of them was the only thing that ever mattered to them.
Which was why they frantically broke apart, after a full minute, when the corner of their eyes caught three pairs of daunting, felicitously annoyed eyes.
'You know what? Forget about the cake,' Daisuke was the first to break the silence, as he turned towards the front door. 'Let's just agree to stop arguing and go buy an extra cake to eat. I'm starving.'
'I second that,' Miyako followed suit, putting on her shoes. 'My arms cannot take any more goose bumps at the sight of these lovebirds.'
Takeru and Hikari looked helpless. They were too engaged in their own world that they had not even realized the shouting had quieted down. Moreover, they had no idea when the three started watching all of their interaction, which only made matter worse for them.
Takeru turned to look at Ken, the voice of reason in the room, who shrugged apologetically. 'I'm sorry, Takeru, but the aura you two are exerting there is too much for me to handle. We'll be back soon.'
The sound of a closing door indicated the three's departure, and suddenly the wonderful atmosphere had turned awkward. Takeru gawked at Hikari, whose flushed face told him that she felt totally the same: a mixture of embarrassment at their moment being under such scrutiny and uncertainty of what to do next now.
'How about we just go back to the room and rest there?' Takeru asked, not really knowing what else to say to break the awkward silence. Hikari nodded in response, and followed Takeru into her own room.
This also gave Takeru another chance to really look at Hikari's room. It wasn't his first time here, but since Hikari did not want to let her family know about them dating yet, he didn't get to be here unless they were holding a study session like today.
The room was a typical girl's room, with books and clothes neatly organized on one side, while Hikari's bed, right by the mild yellow wall, was filled with different stuffed animals. One that Hikari particularly liked, as she had told him, was a white cat with yellow paws and purple-striped tail. Sitting next to that was her second favourite, a round, orange pig with medium-sized floppy wings. Miyako said that those two dolls were gifts from Taichi after Hikari's accident, and to further cheer her up Taichi even bought an orange dinosaur doll for himself to that they could 'fight' with each other. Daisuke had joked that if it were Yamato doing this, he would still just buy a guitar for Takeru so they could do duet together.
The two teenagers sat quietly on the bedside, looking at anywhere but at each other to avoid the lingering embarrassment. Yet Takeru wasn't content with this awkwardness between them. He tapped his fingers and moved his hand to place it on top of Hikari's petite palm, causing the girl to jolt in surprise. In a diffident manner she glanced at Takeru, who moved his whole body closer as well. Hikari could hear her heart pumping like a racing car.
As Takeru leaned forward and his face inching closer and closer to hers, Hikari had a pretty clear idea what kind of reward he was looking for. Out of instinct, she retreated, but Takeru did not back down, and his hands reached for her face to stop her from pulling away. Not giving her any rooms to run away, he closed the distance between them.
If Ken's method had worked for Takeru's study session, it had also worked for the young couple now. Not being able to kiss, let along touch each other, for the day was too cruel for both of them to handle. Many times Takeru tried to sneak a peck on Hikari's hand or face, only to be caught and scolded by Ken. Truth to be told, Hikari found this rather exciting, with the two of them constantly trying to show affection without Ken noticing, but the boy and Daisuke (who claimed Takeru could not betray him when they were supposed to go through hell together) were always quick in noticing any of their subtle movements. Now, without anyone to interrupt them, they had all the world to themselves to show how much they treasured each other.
Their kiss deepened and Hikari put her arms around Takeru's waist. The blond responded by dragging her closer to him, fully embracing her body to feel her feminine curve pressing against his body. The physical contact aroused both of them, and without a second thought Takeru staged his next offence. Hikari could feel his tongue licking her lips and pushing against her teeth, asking for entrance. Her skins could feel her heart beating loudly at this and her body stiffening in excitement, with chills being sent down her spine at this new sensation that she had never felt before. She gladly obliged to his request, and immediately she felt his tongue entering her mouth and engaging in a fierce battle with her own.
When they opened their eyes again, they found themselves in a rather compromising position: Takeru was holding Hikari's wrists and had pinned her down the bed, and he was basically crawling over her body with her legs in between his knees. They had to take some deep breath after such an intense make-out session, and their flushed faces only seemed to show that, ultimately, both wanted more than this.
Thousands of thoughts were running through Takeru's mind, most of which he knew were wrong to even think about, but he couldn't help it when they were positioned like this. Gazing downwards, Hikari's panting figure was more beautiful than any expression he had seen before. He watched as hot breath emerged from her mouth, her developing breasts rising and falling rhythmically and seductively, and that only fuelled his intention to bring this to the next level, one that rationally he wasn't sure if they were ready to do so.
Or maybe they were, when Hikari, with half-parting eyes, slowly placed his hand on her cheek, feeling the warmth of his hand and giving a silent permission for him to continue by grabbing his shirt and pulling him down to lie on top of her body.
A battle with his own hormones proved to be a difficult case, as despite the situation Takeru had to try his best not to unveil his animalistic nature. With Hikari's breasts pressing against his chest and his legs wrapping around hers, he lowered his head to gently press kisses along the curve of her face, from her forehead to her nose, from her cheek to her neck. At the same time, his hands started to whirl around her peripheral side and her waist, trying to feel her as much as he greedily could. Hikari raised her head to give him more rooms to pull his trick, and if Takeru could see her face, he would find Hikari moaning excitedly in full enjoyment. She tightened her embrace on his body, and she wanted nothing but to feel more of his affection and passion.
All that moments of refreshing ecstasy was abruptly brought to an end with the cracking opening of the door to Hikari's room. Next thing he knew, Takeru found his back crashing against the wall before he slid to the floor with a shrill. He did not even have time to react when he felt something grabbed his shirt and sent him across the floor to the other side of the room. Moaning in pain, he opened his eyes fully to find none other than a Yagami Taichi standing with tightened fists, and he was ready to charge again. Hikari had risen and sat on her bed, too stunned by the development to do anything. But she recovered in time when Taichi raised his hand and mercilessly left a huge mark on Takeru's cheek. She jumped out of the bed and wrapped a protective arm around her boyfriend, her eyes begging for her brother to stop.
'Hikari, move,' Taichi's voice was uncharacteristically low. Never for a second did his eyes depart from the blond. Taking a step forward, he easily swung Hikari away and was about to send another punch, when a pair of arms restrained him from continuing the motion that he so desperately wanted to make.
'Stop it, Taichi! You'll kill him!'
Takeru's eyes snapped wide open when he heard that voice. There was no mistake in it. Even though his body was still in much pain after receiving several of Taichi's blows, he was sure he recognized that voice.
'Sora-san?' he blurted out even before he raised his head to confirm his suspicion, and he was right. The one who prevented his face from being demolished completely by a wrath-driven Taichi was none other than Takenouchi Sora, who looked equally shocked to find the blond there.
'Takeru…kun?' she whispered, not quite believing her eyes. Hikari looked back and forth between the two, not understanding the situation. Taichi turned to look at Sora, his expression mimicking the confusion on his sister's face.
'You know this punk?' Taichi urged, but no one answered that question for him. The four of them remained in their respective positions, each trying to figure out what was really going on.
End of Chapter 23
I just have to throw in that Patamon/Tailmon/Agumon reference there. It's hard for me to make no mention of the cute little piggy that I have always adored since childhood.
I understand that many readers consider Takeru and Hikari to be 'pure' and share such a kind of relationship. I'm not saying it is wrong or that I am against this idea, but I just hope to clarify that 1) this is an AU fic; 2) they are healthy teenagers; and 3) they didn't really cross the line, so I take it as that I'm good. After all, we have sis-con no.1 Yagami Taichi to save the day.
Like most people, if not all, I am pretty excited by the announcement of a new Digimon series to be aired in January 2015, with a seventeen years old Taichi being the main protagonist. I don't know what the story will be about this time, but I guess I'll be good with anything if they establish Takari for good? Haha, I really wonder how our favourite 01/02 characters will play a role in this new series.
Reviews will be deeply appreciated! And I'll try to update as soon as I can!