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sloanerisette · 5 months

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To Have and To Hold From This Day Forward: Chapter 1 - Falling For You

My first entry for Miyakari Autumn is here!!! Thank you so much to @sluggybasson107 and @digitalworldbound for putting this on, I have been SO excited!!! I'm starting with Day 2 but will be working on the other days next month once I've finished with some big priorities!

I have wanted to write this idea for a while and it all came to a head when I decided recently to make this entire fic based around a Digimon Emperor!Yolei and Gogglehead!Kari AU, and I'm so so so excited to share this first one with y'all because I am very happy with it, haha. I absolutely LOVE Miyakari and I'm glad I got hit by the Miyakari bug recently because these two girls are so wonderful and I love them with all my life. My daughters who are also wives.

Summary:

Kari Kamiya never expected to take over as the leader for a new group of Digidestined. She never expected that she would have to lead new and old friends into battle against another Digidestined that wants to take over the Digital World.

And she would have never in her wildest dreams expected to one day share a future and a life with her.

You can also find it on AO3 here!

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No matter how much they did, how many spires they toppled, and how many Digimon they freed, the Digimon Emperor started right back up whenever they left the Digital World without fail. The fact that she didn’t need to worry about resting and could instead throw as many poor Digimon at them as she wanted without any concern simply caused anger to flare up in her chest even more as they approached a small mountainside village that had recently fallen under control of the Emperor.

TK flanked her and Davis covered the ground approach on Raidramon with Cody and Armadillomon in tow. She swallowed hard as they got closer, and snapped her goggles over her eyes. “TK, you go left, I’ll go right!” Kari shouted, trying her hardest to make sure she was heard over the harsh winds. She looked down and saw Raidramon coming up on the semi-fortified gate to the village, and knew that now was the time to strike. The Digimon in the village had them outnumbered, but with most of them being rookies and a handful of Centarumon backing them up, it seemed manageable. She didn’t want to fight them, but it was just until they could get the control spire down. They had been through much worse than this in the past few weeks, and they would free this village no matter what.

The crack of thunder screamed through the air as the wooden gate to the village shattered into splinters and Raidramon burst through. Cody and Armadillomon hopped off his back, and Cody wasted no time Armor Digivolving his partner into Digmon. So far, so good. There was no sign of the Control Spire, but there was also no sign of the Emperor.

“Rosetta Stone!”

“Star Shower!”

The two attacks launched towards a clumped up group of rookies and two Centarumon, the impact of thee stone slab against the ground stunning them before the stars broke the Dark Rings. She frantically looked around for the Control Spire, her eyes only catching thick forests and far off mountain peaks. As the sounds of Raidramon and Digmon shouting out their attacks rang in the air, Kari’s breathing started to speed up, the knowledge that Davis and Cody could get overwhelmed if they took too long leaving her on edge. There was a brief reflection of the sun’s harsh rays that glared against her goggles, and she pulled them up and shaded her eyes with her hand. Kari’s eyes widened as she saw just a hint of shiny black in the mountain range that she immediately recognized.

“She must have thought we wouldn’t be able to find it…” she mumbled to herself.

It was far out of the way and well hidden, and there was no way this wasn’t personally chosen by the Emperor to best maximize the space she controlled. Kari looked down at Davis and Cody.

“Hey! I found the Control Spire!” she shouted. Davis shot her a thumbs up and a grin.

“Kick its butt!” he shouted, “We’ll be fine down here!”

She hoped so.

Pegasusmon’s wings flapped as TK caught up to her.

“As soon as we knock that spire down, the Digimon in the village will be back to normal, let’s go,” Kari said, and Nefertimon sped off ahead.

“Hey, wait up!” TK shouted, and Pegasusmon flew after her, “Kari! Slow down!”

But no, she couldn’t slow down. She wanted to topple that tower as fast as possible, because these Digimon needed to be freed.

How could she be so cruel? To try and rule the Digital World with an iron fist without any care for the world or its inhabitants. How could she sleep at night? Kari could still barely believe she had her own partner.

How could she be so unlike the girl she met at school just a few weeks ago?

***

Even though she and the other DigiDestined had been working their butts off around the Digital World, gym class never seemed to get easier. Today they were running, and despite how she had managed to outrun a Unimon while being chased yesterday, this was somehow worse.

Kari managed to stick to the middle of the pack, and had been so focused on keeping a decent pace that she hadn’t noticed someone run up next to her. Their footsteps were in sync, and it was only once she finally noticed the extra noise that she turned her head, nearly letting out a yelp as a girl with lavender hair had seemed to pop out of nowhere. However, it didn’t take long to realize who it was: Yolei Inoue.

She was a year older than her, but Kari knew about her from all the positive things Izzy had to say about her from her involvement with the school’s computer club— especially about the fact that she was something of a whiz when it came to programming. He passed leadership on to her when he moved on to middle school, but still kept in touch with her frequently.

“All this running sucks, huh?” Kari asked between breaths. Maybe starting up a conversation would make the rest of the period go faster.

“Yeah, I hate it. I wish we could run inside or something, it’s getting too warm,” Yolei said, wiping a light sheen of sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.

“You’re Kari Kamiya, right?” Yolei asked. Kari’s eyes widened as her eyes locked onto Yolei.

“Oh— yeah! How did you—”

“Your brother’s come into our store before. He’s talked about you a bunch,” she said, then nodded to the goggles that hung from Kari’s neck, “Plus I recognize your goggles.”

Kari looked down and laughed gently, “I guess they do make a statement.”

“They really do,” Yolei smiled. Kari suddenly felt flush, but shook her head. The heat must have been getting to her…

It was weird, but this was one of the first times in a while she really talked to another girl her age. Sure, Sora and Mimi were her friends, but the latter was in America and the former was busy with sports and school. She couldn’t exactly tag along with either of them that much, not when she was so busy in the Digital World.

At the same time, though, she felt a bit lost. Yolei was a little bit older than her, and she couldn’t help but feel out of her league. The gym teacher’s whistle rang through the air over at another track where the boys were running.

“I bet you’re usually pretty busy with computer club, huh?” Kari finally asked as they rounded the track.

“Yeah, but the vice president’s been handling a lot for me since I’ve had a lot to take care of after school,” she said.

“Oh! Are you helping out with your family’s store?” she asked.

“Mhm.”

Things went quiet between them, and Kari focused on not falling behind.

“You’re friends with Cody, right? I see you hanging out with him and that other guy a lot,” Yolei finally said. Kari blinked.

“Oh, yeah, him and Davis. Or do you mean TK?” she asked. She hadn’t realized Yolei seemed to notice her that much, but it sort of made sense— she had recognized her by her goggles, after all.

“I meant the loud one with the dark, spiky hair, but I guess both,” Yolei said. Kari started to laugh, which turned into a wheeze with how out of breath she had been getting.

“Yeah, he’s kind of a character,” Kari said, still smiling. “Cody’s a great kid, too— how do you know him?”

“We’ve been neighbors for years.”

“Well if you ever want to hang out, I’m sure Cody would be happy to hang out with you, too,” Kari offered.

“I’ll have to see,” she said, her voice suddenly sounding clipped. Kari felt herself shrink a bit as she looked over at the other girl, suddenly feeling so much smaller than she already was.

Kari focused straight ahead, her face suddenly burning as she couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

Thankfully, the teacher blew their whistle again, signaling the students to finish, and the two girls skidded to a stop simultaneously. Kari plopped down on the ground, taking some time to catch her breath, then Yolei stepped in front of her, casting a much needed shadow over her. Kari looked up, and Yolei offered her a hand. Kari took an extra moment to rest, then grabbed Yolei’s hand to get up.

“I’m sure we’ll see each other a lot more,” Yolei said with a smile on her face.

Kari felt the heat get to her again and her cheeks flushed. She needed to get some water to try and cool off…

“Y-Yeah… I hope so.”

***

Her breathing sped up as the memory rolled through her mind. Bile rose in her throat and she had to choke it down as anger flooded her. All she could focus on now was the black obelisk just ahead, and destroying it.

“Kari!”

TK’s shout registered too late, and as Kari looked over at him, she saw a blade of air shooting up at her from the edge of her peripheral vision.

“Nefertimon, watch—!”

Although Nefertimon started to move right, the attack still slammed into Nefertimon’s left wing, causing her to spin and Kari to fall off.

“Kariiiiiiiiii!”

TK’s scream was distant as she plummeted. She clenched her eyes shut out of sheer fear, feeling the wind whip against her body before it suddenly stopped. Before she suddenly stopped. Kari hesitantly opened her eyes and looked around, only to be met with a pair of big, round lenses.

“So you’ve finally fallen for me, huh?”

The Emperor.

She was holding her in a princess carry as she rode atop an Airdramon that was flying just above the canopy of the forest below. Kari flushed and glared at Yolei.

“Why did you catch me?” she asked harshly. The Digimon Emperor raised an eyebrow, then tilted her head and smiled.

“And let you fall?”

“It would get rid of a lot of your problems,” Kari spat. Yolei gasped in faux offense.

“But then I wouldn’t be able to see you, and I do so enjoy our meetings,” Yolei grinned.

Despite the intense wind and the harsh chill that came from it, Kari felt her face heat up intensely even as she shivered.

“I told you we’d see each other a lot more, and I intend on making sure that stays true. It’d be a shame if I lost out,” she added.

“So you’re doing this all just to… to see me more?” Kari asked, jaw dropped in disbelief.

Yolei cackled and shook her head, “Oh, I didn’t realize you had such an ego, Kamiya.”

“I-It’s not an ego…” Kari trailed off quietly.

It wasn’t lost on the brunette that she was still being held so gently by the Emperor. It was unnerving, and the more she thought about it the more her heart sped up.

“No, seeing you is just one of the many joys of it all,” she added

“Why are you doing all of this?” Kari asked. Despite how angry she was, her voice came out as little more than a weak, indignant squeak against her foe.

“I told you, because I truly do enjoy our time together, as rare as it is.”

That caused Kari’s flush to deepen and her brow to furrow, “N-Not that! I meant taking over the Digital World! Hurting all these innocent Digimon! Why would you want to do this!?” she shouted.

In an instant Yolei’s expression became impassive. She looked over her shoulder, seeing the small dot that was Pegasusmon’s attempt to approach the Control Spire and her minions. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Then tell me so I can understand!” Kari begged.

Yolei scoffed, slowly turning to look back down at Kari, “No,” she said simply. Kari couldn’t stop herself from tearing up. But even that wasn’t enough to stir Yolei.

Her cape whipped in the wind which was the only sound around them.

“Even if I told you, would that change anything?” she finally asked.

“O-Of course it—”

“Of course it wouldn’t,” Yolei interrupted immediately, “We would still be enemies. You and your friends would still hate me. What would be the point?”

Kari was speechless, her face crestfallen as she looked up at the Emperor.

No, she wasn’t the Emperor… it felt like this was the best look at Yolei Inoue she had ever gotten. Her heart ached.

“If we were enemies you wouldn’t have caught me, or-or you would’ve dropped me already,” Kari said, her voice cracking.

“I already told you, I enjoy you too much to stop our little games of cat and mouse.”

That cool, confident aura came back in an instant, and it seemed impenetrable.

Maybe there was no way to get her to realize why this was all so horrible.

Maybe there was no getting through to her.

Maybe there wasn’t even someone to get through to.

Kari didn’t want to believe that there wasn’t a good side of Yolei somewhere. Somewhere, deep down, there just had to be. Even if the others thought otherwise, she couldn’t believe it was as simple as that.

Even if it was becoming harder and harder to think it, Kari still wanted to believe it with all of her heart.

There had to be good in Yolei Inoue.

“Cat’s Eye Beam!”

Two red hot lasers sailed right by Yolei, missing by only a few feet. Yolei clenched her jaw as she saw it from her peripheral vision.

“It’s a shame that our time together is up again,” she sighed, not wistful or playful, but genuine.

“Kari!”

Before Kari could say anything, TK, Pegasusmon, and Nefertimon started to approach, flanking Airdramon on both sides.

“Put her down right now!” Nefertimon shouted.

“You’re not getting away with her!” TK followed up.

The look on Yolei’s face was… smug. Confident.

Like she knew she would be able to get away with her.

Kari’s stomach churned again.

“Well, my dear,” Yolei started, “I guess it’s time to say goodbye yet again.”

Nefertimon sped up, now flying next to Airdramon.

“You know, Takaishi, if you try and shoot me down, she’ll go, too! Be careful!” she taunted, laughing after. Kari could practically feel TK’s anger despite the distance.

Yolei let her down gently, and Kari looked at her with sad eyes, before she took a breath and jumped. Nefertimon managed to maneuver herself for Kari to land on her in time.

“Silver Blaze!”

Pegasusmon fired an emerald beam from his forehead directly at Airdramon, but it zoomed up, dodging just in the nick of time. TK and Pegasusmon stopped next to Kari and Nefertimon, watching as Aidramon twisted in the air to face them. Yolei looked down at them.

“It was fun, but I really must be going. I have big plans to work on,” she said, that playful tone seeping back into her voice. She then brought her hand to her mouth and blew a kiss to Kari in an exaggerated manner, then waved with her fingers.

“Goodbye, my darling and your merry band of fools! I can’t wait to square off again! Ohohohohoho!”

Kari was still, quiet, trying to keep a stony expression but unable to hide the way her face was becoming redder by the moment. TK’s knuckles were turning white with how hard he was clenching his hands.

“Blue Thunder!”

Another attack shot up, this time from the ground, as a large ball of lightning sped towards Airdramon. Airdramon flapped its wings, causing the attack to dissipate, and the harsh gust nearly caused Nefertimon and Pegasusmon to spin away.

Without another word, Yolei flew away, still standing on Airdramon’s head. Nefertimon and Pegasusmon slowly landed, and Kari offered a weak smile to Davis and Cody.

“I’m so sorry I went off ahead without you all,” she said sheepishly, “I saw the Control Spire and I thought if I could take it down, then we could be done.” Once again she got ahead of herself and was more focused on finishing the job than doing it safely.

Tai wouldn’t have done that. Even if her brother could be rash, the safety of the group under his watch was always paramount. She was barely treading water in comparison.

“Kari, it’s ok. You don’t have to apologize, we came out of it ok,” TK said, offering her a lopsided smile. That smile didn’t offer her much reprieve in those moments, though.

“Even though TK is right, it’s important that we’re more careful next time,” Cody said. She knew Cody didn’t mean to lecture her, it was just a reminder of her mistake. A mistake that was so obvious in hindsight, but her tunnel vision left her so dead set on the immediate victory that seemed just in reach.

She wished she could just set all that guilt aside, but it was going to stay with her for a long time, she knew it. Even if they took down the Control Spire and helped the village, it could’ve gone so wrong. Someone could’ve gotten hurt.

“Where does that stupid Digimon Emperor get off trying to kidnap you, anyways!? Ugh, she’s the worst,” Davis huffed. He folded his arms and pouted, now glaring up at the sky

“She wasn’t always like this…” Cody mumbled, “I wonder what caused her to change… or if she was always like this.”

Kari looked up at the sky, holding her hand up to her heart. Yolei was long gone by now, probably planning some new way to ambush them. She was starting to add more forces to major areas she wanted to hold onto, and they’d have to push hard to try and free those sections from her control. If Yolei was able to separate her from the group, then those excursions would probably be doomed in an instant. There was going to be a lot of planning and preparation in the upcoming days…

A hand on her shoulder caused her to jump in place. Her eyes went wide and she started to pant.

“Whoa! I’m sorry, you were zoned out there, so I wanted to let you know we were thinking about heading back,” TK said.

Kari let out a long, relieved exhale, “Yeah… yeah that’s a good idea. Sorry, just a lot on my mind.”

“Let’s head back then! We deserve to relax!” Davis whooped.

But even still, Kari couldn’t tear her eyes away from the horizon, where the Digimon Emperor lay in wait somewhere out there.

She could feel her heart speed up again, as a rush of butterflies started to swarm in her stomach. So many of the things that had happened during this trip to the Digital World slotted together perfectly. Neurons lit up, causing a light bulb to shine as bright as the sun in her brain.

“…Oh no.”

#fallingformiyakari #miyakari week #miyakari autumn #digimon #digimon adventure 02 #emperor!yolei and gogglehead!kari au #hikari yagami #miyako inoue #sloanefics

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seventeenlovesthree · 11 months

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@taichiyagamiweek 2023: Thank you!

I really wanted to contribute to Taichi week(end) as much as possible - even if I couldn’t put as much time into this piece as I wanted to, I still tried to represent all possible prompts altogether: Our favourite goggle boy has become an adult by now and after all the adventures he (and all the nostalgia we) went through, he chose his own path and lead his way towards a better future, together with his dearest family. While all Chosen Children would obviously be part of his Found Family, sometimes you just want to come home after one of your ambassador trips to be greeted by your son, your sister and her child, your best-friend-slash-life-partner and his child as well as by all your Digimon partners. Life is good.

To quote one of my favourite Digimon artists: “A family can be you, your ambiguously-unlikely-but-inherently-plausible love interest, your sister and your isekai soulmates wondering what exactly is up.”

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stravanerry · 2 years

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🌸#𝐻𝑖𝑘𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑊𝑒𝑒𝑘2022 ♡𝐷𝑎𝑦 01: 𝐿𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑘 ♡𝐹𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑚𝑒

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digimon-adventure-nightmare · 2 years

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@takariweek

Day 2: First Date

a callback to this:

#takari week #takari #Digimon #Hikari Yagami #Takeru Takaishi #wings au #day two #first date #The Romulus Complex #fanart #watercolor #illustration

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bacomon-art-blog · 2 years

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Taichi Yagami Week Day 2

#digimon #digimon adventure #taichi yagami #taichi yagami week #yamato ishida #jou kido #iori hida #hikari yagami #takeru takaishi #sora takenouchi #mimi tachikawa #miyako inoue #daisuke motomiya #ken ichijouji #koushiro izumi #sorry it took so long

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ri-ships-takari · 2 years

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a hint of lavender rose (one-shot)

pairing: takeru-hikari summary: There was no doubt about it. Takeru Takaishi was in love with someone. And Hikari was going to find out who. [ao3, ffnet] note: this was supposed to be for the takari week prompts letters and first date, but i finished late. anyway here's some fluff with barely any plot for you ^__^ it's lowkey a prequel for shimane in spring too for how they get together genre: fluff words: 3667

There was no doubt about it. Takeru Takaishi was in love with someone. And Hikari was going to find out who.

Until last week, she had never really thought about Takeru being interested in anyone. He just couldn’t have had the time. Since middle school they’d been almost inseparable — in every possible world — and even when they were apart, each knew precisely where the other was and why.

Rain or shine, Takeru’s day would begin with a good morning from Hikari. Though they both knew these functioned more as wake-up calls than actual well-wishing.

Both could identify the precise day this habit started. It was that day in high school when Takeru slept through all his alarms and missed first period. This would not have been an issue if he hadn’t borrowed Hikari’s notebook the night before to study for their math test set for second period. (Not that Hikari needed the notes to cram any studying that morning — she knew every equation by heart from having tried to tutor Takeru on the subject the weekend prior — but it was the principle of it.)

Since then, she never let him hear the end of it, but this censure ended better than either of them could have expected. A conversation opened that day and never closed.

Simple ‘good mornings’ led to ‘see you soons’, that eventually evolved to the more provocative ‘race you to class’ (which Hikari, as a Yagami, took so seriously that she tripped enough times running across the school yard for Takeru to add the obligatory ‘Take care,’ or more jeering, ‘Don’t hurt yourself’ to their daily ritual. When the competition was close enough, Takeru also made the additional habit of reaching for Hikari’s hand as she rushed to beat him. She always accused him of playing dirty for these, but he’d saved her from face planting across the school steps enough times — pulling her up just in time — so she never passionately pressed the argument.)

Class would put a pause to this daily banter but they would pick up right back where they left off during breaks and at dismissal. Hikari might come over to Takeru to share some of her bento, from a recipe he had shared with her last night, while Takeru would walk her home as she briefed him on any homework he missed out on while daydreaming during class.

That’s where it started, those carefree days in middle school when the setting sun painted their youth in its golden glow. They found themselves caught in a conversation with no conclusion. Even on their busier days — buried in books as they struggled to get to university — they somehow found the time to stay connected, studying together, or calling the other for a break in between more stressful study sessions.

Going to different universities did pull their academic lives a few wards apart, but though they spent school days away from each other, their routine remained, albeit adjusted slightly.

They endured as each other’s first greeting in the morning, though the frequency of banter did die down as the two tried to manage the additional academic load of being university students.

Besides academics, Hikari got a bit busier than Takeru when she started taking part-time jobs to support herself, as her brother had previously.

First she tried working at the local pachinko parlor her brother part-timed when he was a student, against Taichi’s own advice. He had warned her about all the sleazy creeps she’d encounter if she dared to work at that place, but if anything she took this more as a challenge than as a deterrent (the only thing keeping Taichi from arguing about this was the acknowledgement that she probably got this adamancy from him.)

The older Yagami then tried to ask his former workmates to watch out his sister for him, but the night she got wind of this, he found his sister at his doorstep, brimming with irritation (I am not a baby and I don’t need a babysitter, nii-san!) She then let herself in and served the home-cooked meal she prepared for him that night (which both made no sense, and absolute sense to Taichi.)

Hikari constantly reassured her brother that she was perfectly fine at work. In fact, she was enjoying the unique new characters and challenges she faced at the job. To prove a point, she even sent him selfies daily of how happy she and her co-workers were in the staff room, which concerned him only more, firstly, because he knew of her tendency to mask her struggles with a smile, and secondly, because he himself had had more than a few burnt out breakdowns in that same room.

Taichi just couldn't shake his worry for his sister, but he had to be less conspicuous. So he sought a more subtle accomplice: Takeru. This made more sense anyway as they already spent most of their off hours together anyway. It felt only natural that he might check up on her at work too.

That’s what Takeru was doing at the pachinko the day Hikari got fired.

It wasn’t that she had done anything wrong. Takeru even could see that she was one of the most attentive staff at the parlor, kindness shining through over the cold incandescent lights. If anything, the problem was that she was too kind, and too attentive.

Hikari had somehow befriended a few of the regulars and gotten them to open up about their home and personal lives. She even took to counseling some of the more aloof customers, convincing them to try and get out and reconnect with their friends and families. That touch of care and random kindness was precisely the push they needed to lead them to seeking their dopamine fix elsewhere, in the comfort of real connections, rather than in synthetic wins at the pachinko parlor.

Needless to say this was not good for business, and her manager was obliged to fire her (though not without contention from the rest of the staff and some of the regulars who were still in the process of kicking the habit. Takeru had never seen so many grown Japanese men cry, and he found himself needing more to comfort them than Hikari herself.)

Though slightly saddened at the loss, Hikari was generally unfazed. A job was a job, and she could keep the friends she made along the way anyway. (“Don’t worry, Ojii-san! I’ll still help you win back your wife!”)

More pressing for her was that she had to find another part-time job.

She was hoping to apply for teaching aide positions at a nearby preschool, but it was early summer, and those wouldn’t start hiring until the next month. The school year was fast approaching and she had tuition and school fees that needed saving up for.

It was Takeru who found her next job, at a flower shop near her university (he internally debated whether to finally admit the source of the flowers he had been getting for her regularly since they started uni — daisies for winning scholarships, sunflowers for surviving sad days — but the owner was kind and he knew she’d be in good hands.)

Once she started working at the shop, Takeru continued his commitment to Taichi to check on his sister at work, perhaps with some added accountability, as it was the younger boy who had recommended the place to her in the first place.

This was their second summer at university: ‘Good mornings’ turned to ‘see you laters’, and spending days together at the boutique, perhaps the most time they’d spent together in person since starting university. (Takeru had his own summer job at the time, editing papers for STEM graduate students, but whether he worked cloistered by dusty old books at the library or surrounded by sage buds with Hikari, the grad students were none the wiser.)

It helped that the Takeru and the shop owner seemed to already be good friends by the time Hikari started at the shop, so him hanging around all day did not face much administrative objection. He’d sit next to her by the counter working on his laptop, sometimes helping her clean up or keep stock, and often chatting with the shop owner. If anything, Hikari felt she was the one who was tagging along, when the two would whisper in the back room, thinking she was out of earshot.

That was how Hikari figured out something was up with Takeru.

“So when are you going to ‘fess up?” her boss whispered.

‘fess up? Had Takeru done something wrong? But what was with the whispering?

“Eh,” Takeru sighed. “I’m not sure I can right now.”

Her boss stifled a chuckle. “You’re young. You might feel like you’ve got all the time in the world, but if you truly love this woman you’ve got to tell her. Tell her with your whole heart.”

“I’m just not sure how. I can’t seem to find the words.”

“Don’t need no words. Tell her with flowers.”

“I’m not sure if she understands flowers.”

“Guess you gotta give her better hints then.” her boss said, before returning from the back room with the bouquet he had just finished arranging for the customer Hikari had been attending to.

That’s how she knew. Takeru was in love.

Now that she thought about it, she noticed the obvious symptoms, the tell-tale signs they show in all the rom-com montages. There was a sparkle in his eyes, the skip in his step, and if she truly listened she could hear the song in his voice when he talked to her.

But wasn’t he always this way? When could he have fallen in love?

He wasn't the type to get flirty with schoolmates. She knew this from having been in his class all the way up to senior high, where she watched countless classmates confess their affections for the boy, consistently to no avail. She always thought he was too serious about his studies — as she was — to entertain such a silly thing, and she respected him for that.

Outside school, they still spent most of their available time together — him cramming papers, and her poring over course material. When they weren’t studying they were both working, and when they weren’t working they were catching a quick bite to eat, at either of their homes, or at a local convenience store if they were really busy.

Sure they had other friends, but she also knew all his social groups, and was certain all of these were platonic. (She’d actually even helped some of his friends courting the objects of their affection by providing them with the nicest, freshest flowers from the shop.)

Hikari had absolutely no idea who Takeru could have been interested in, but she was going to find out. What were friends for if you couldn’t tell them things? What kind of friend was she if she couldn’t even help her best friend with something so dear to him? And why was he keeping these from her?

She couldn't keep ruminating about it though. She had to act. She spent most of last week waiting for her chance to bring it up.

This afternoon she finally got the chance. Her boss was out of town for the week, so it was only the two of them at the shop. Takeru had uncharacteristically stood from his laptop to inspect the carnations display.

“Looking for something?” she asks, disguising her personal curiosity as professional duty.

He nods casually, not even meeting her eyes.

This was her chance.

“Is it for someone special?”

Another nonchalant nod, as he checks every color of carnation.

“A girl?”

“Well, aren’t you interested?” he chuckles, finally meeting her eyes.

“Am not!” she huffs. “It’s literally my job.”

“Alright, then I could use some of your professional advice,” he teases.

“At your service,” she bows with mock professionalism. “What do you need?”

“Some flowers, for tonight.”

“Got a date?” Hikari tries to hide her eagerness.

Takeru laughs. “Today? Don't you remember?”

Remember what? She tries to recall if he’s told her of any date he was planning, or if he’d mentioned asking anyone out. Unless he was the one asked out?

“What’s up with today?” she asks, at a complete loss.

He clicks his tongue, annoying her only more. “What kind of best friend forgets such an important day?”

“What kind of best friend keeps secrets about their dates!”

“Who told you I had a date tonight?” he asks.

“Not you! I had to figure it out from all your whispering in the backroom!” she counters, crossing her arms.

Takeru’s instant blush is all the confirmation she needs. Caught red handed.

“I know you’re keeping secrets, Takeru Takaishi. How could you keep something so important from your best friend?” she pouts, sincerely hurt.

At this he walks over to her at the counter to hold both her hands in his. “I’m sorry, Hikari,” he says, caressing her hands with his thumb. “I’m sorry I’ve been keeping things from you.”

Her eyes light up. “So you’ll tell me who you like now?”

She feels the pulse in his palms speed up, all color abandoning his face.

“Eh— um—”

Beads of sweat build up on his forehead.

“Takeru?”

“Um—” He clears his throat. “I’ll tell you in a bit. Could you help me pick out flowers first?”

“Fine, but—” she says, pulling her hands from his hold and lifting her pinky at him. “Promise?”

Hikari could see the boy stop breathing for a second, like his soul left his body as they spoke.

“Promise?” she repeats, soft eyes piercing his soul like hooks, reeling it back into the conversation.

A minute passes. Hikari could imagine the internal debate playing out in his mind, as she had helped him process countless times for other concerns great and small before.

Finally, he takes a breath and sighs, lifting his own pinky with hesitation. As he brings his pinky to lock with hers, he pauses to say, “As long as you promise it won’t change anything between us.”

Why would anything change? she wonders. She thinks about this herself a moment, then finally resolves, “As long as you do too.”

The caveat surprises Takeru for a second, but he soon nods once in solemn agreement.

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

They lock pinkies, press hands, then perform an intricate seven step secret handshake that involves complex hand signs, knuckle bumping, and some spit-infused, slapping conclusion.

“We really should update that handshake,” Takeru comments.

"Hey, 'if it aint broke, don’t fix it,'" Hikari replies, Yagami ease shining through.

Takeru nods.

“Okay, so what do we need?” Hikari asks, with newfound focus.

“Flowers.”

“Guessed so far.”

“—for tonight.”

“For your date?”

“I guess you could say so,” Takeru laughs lightly.

“Okay, what do you want to say?”

“Um, ‘I got you some flowers’?”

Hikari fights the urge to smack the boy, but the future educator in her overpowers this. “No, no. I mean, what do you want the flowers to say?”

Takeru stares at her in surprise.

“Like, ‘I appreciate you’, ‘I’m grateful’, or if you’re a bit bolder, even ‘I love you’.”

The boy blushes.

“Something like that.”

From under the front desk, she pulls out a thick catalogue filled with photos of flowers in every color, each annotated with various symbolisms and implications. Hikari herself wasn’t yet so well-versed in flower language, but she imagined Takeru should have at least encountered this reference in the store before (though perhaps he never truly needed its insights until this moment.)

Opening the compendium to its table of contents, she asks, “So what do you want to say?”

He settles next to her, huddling shoulder to shoulder over the large book. He ponders this question for a bit. “I guess something along the lines of, ‘I’m thankful for you and all that you do.’”

How cute. how coy, Hikari thinks as she flips through the pages to find the section on gratitude. “Hydrangeas are in season, I think. We got some fresh ones this morning.”

“Those feel a bit too apologetic. I was thinking of more carnations or something. I think she’d like pink.”

Aha! So it was a she, Hikari notes. Carnations though. “What is she, your mom? If we’re going for pink anyway, I’d recommend pink roses.”

“So you like pink roses?”

“That’s my professional opinion, based on the official guidelines, of course,” she says, pointing out a section of text on every color of rose. “Our display is over there by the window.”

He knew every inch of the store just as well as she did though, and he had already stood to inspect the selection of roses before she even finished directing him to it.

After some deliberation, he chooses a humble bundle of pink roses, precisely as she had advised. As he turns to ask her to check them out, he pauses at the roses section once again.

“What do you think of lavender roses?” he asks, toying with the tempting purple petals of a single rose on display.

“Hmm,” she sounds, looking for that item in the catalogue. Not finding it in the ‘Rose’ section, she flips through both the table of contents and the index, but fails to find any notes on that specific color of rose. “I guess they’re kind of pretty.”

“So you don’t know what they mean?”

“Well it’s not in the catalogue,” she concedes.

“Tsk, tsk. I should bring this up with your manager,” he jests.

“Fine. If you’re so smart what do they mean then?” Honestly, this was more frustrating than the pachinko clients, she decides as she gives up on the catalogue. When she looks up from the text though, he surprises her by having already made his way to the counter, a bouquet of pink roses in one hand, and a single lavender rose in the other.

“Could you ring these up for me, please?”

She nods, remembering she was on the clock. “Do you want me to arrange the lavender one in the bouquet for you?”

“No need, I’ll be giving them separately,” he smiles.

He then picks two gift cards from the display by the counter. Could it be Takeru had not one but two dates tonight? This boy had some explaining to do.

She sets aside her suspicions just long enough to account for the sales and wrap the two purchases separately. By the time she’s finished, Takeru has already written on both cards, folded them tight, and was prepared to promptly secure them into their respective bundles, before Hikari could even take a peek at who they were addressed to.

“Thanks for all your help today,” he says, as he picks up the pink bouquet and casually makes his way out the store.

“Hey! ” Hikari calls out. ”Aren’t you forgetting something!”

“Yeah, look at the time! Got to go or I’ll be late for dinner.”

“You promised!”

“I’ll talk to you later then,” he bids with a salute. She meant to push the argument, but a couple of customers entered exactly as he was leaving, so she had to set aside her annoyance for the meantime.

The rest of the afternoon is so unusually busy — with more customers filing in today than the entire week prior — that it isn’t until the end of the day, as she was cleaning up to close shop, that she finds the single stem Takeru had purchased earlier, on the counter precisely where she had left it.

Or at least she suspects it’s his. With the traffic they got today she can’t be sure, or this is how she justifies peeking into its gift card, folded tight and snug its crisp paper wrapping.

To her surprise, it was addressed to her. It reads:

Dearest Hikari-chan, Thanks for all your help today ♡ about the bouquet, you were right. They’re for mom. It’s her birthday (You greeted her this morning, remember? ;) ) This one’s for you. Would you know what it means? If you don’t, you could google it haha or would you be up for dinner tomorrow? My treat. Sorry I was so wishy washy. I’ll explain everything tomorrow, for real, promise. (Here was a rough doodle of what Hikari could only guess were two locked pinkies, with sausage fingers so chunky that she had to laugh. Takeru was a writer after all, not an artist.) Sorry I couldn’t commute with you home today too, but please let me know when you head out so I could tell you to take care. And don’t hurt yourself ;p Talk to you later! See you tomorrow (?) — takeru

Hikari sighs. Help a boy out and he gives you homework. Somehow she isn't even annoyed though. For some reason she couldn’t identify, she is even relieved to learn the only object of his affections today was his mother. Maybe he and her boss were talking about his mom all along. It didn’t make as much sense, but it was definitely a possibility.

In any case, she would appreciate the free meal. They’d been surviving on home cooking and convenience stores for a while, so this occasional treat would be nice.

She thought of googling ‘lavender rose’ on the train home, but decided against it on principle. He’d already made her think too much today. She’d let him walk her through this one tomorrow. She had no idea what Takeru had to explain, but she could at least rest in the assurance that whatever it was, nothing would change. All that they had cultivated since childhood would remain. At least in that much, she could trust.

In the meantime, the flower was a pleasant companion on her commute home. She was surprised to find that it smelled ever so slightly like the flower of whose namesake it got its color, as the hint of lavender rose to envelope her in its soothing scent, enkindling in her a sense of excitement for what was to come.

______________________________________________________________

a/n: if hikari did google what the flower meant, she might have found this:

as usual this came about cause I needed to get this out of my brain to function T_____T its also midkey 'Fluff without plot' (no plot in this house we go on vibes)

this was also lowkey takari week 2022 for the prompts 'first date' and 'letters' but I'm not gonna push it because it so lowkey and also so late oops it's also remotely monster at the end of this book, if any of you grew up with that

#digimon #digimon adventure #takari #takeru takaishi #hikari yagami #not takari week but #this is your sign to checkout the takari week content this year tho!!!!

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stuckinthewrongworld · 2 years

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DigiWeek Day 5: Crossover

I always pictured my Digimon fanfic taking place in the Adventure/ 02 world. I would love for my characters to me some of the international DigiDestined that the main cast meets on their travels. I wanted to do the 02 characters as well, but I ran out of room and time.

#digiweek 2022 #digiweek #digimon #digimon adventure #digimon adventure 02 #digidestined #digidestined oc #tamersona week #taichi yagami #hikari yagami #takeru takaishi #yamato ishida #sora takenouchi #mimi tachikawa #jyou kido #izumi koushiro

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uniarycode · 10 months

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Hikari Yagami Week 2023 - Day 4 - Sports

for @hikariyagamiweek

Hikari and Takeru had only been in the same class for months, yet there was no one else in the school she was closer to. It wasn’t that they knew everything about each other, but they didn’t need to.

Takeru always knew when Hikari was down, and had a talent for picking the best gifts for her. Franchises she didn’t even know he knew she liked, necklaces that instantly fit her aesthetic, sweets she’d never reject.

And in turn, she could just as easily read and adjust to his moods and attitudes.

So strong was their bond, it came as a shock, to her, to him, likely to all their observers, when Takeru nonchalantly kicked a soccer ball to her feet.

Hikari instantly retreated.

“I-I don’t play.” She said simply.

Takeru blinked.

“You don’t play?”

It was a ludicrous statement. Hikari knew every rule of the sport. Could be just as loud as her brother in calling out the referees when she felt they made an incorrect call.

She was also intricately linked to the soccer club. Having assisted the team readily when she and Taichi shared the same school. It was how she met Daisuke. It was how she’d met Sora. It was even how she met Koushiro.

And while she wasn’t n Sora or Taichi’s level, Hikari was still an athlete. She could handle herself in other sports.

And yet, she didn’t play. That wasn’t a lie.

Takeru looked at her, attempting to solve her riddle. “Well, could you pass the ball back?”

Hikari glanced at the ball, then at her feet. She felt woozy. She reached down and scooped the ball up with her hands, throwing it to her best friend.

It was too much to ask for that to be the end of that. Takeru had let the subject drop, but only because there were other people about. Two days later Hikari found herself cornered, with a well-intentioned blond and a bag of soccer balls.

“Takeru, if we’re going to waste time, couldn’t we spend it destroying dark towers?” she asked.

He saw right through her on that. “we already agreed to take a break from that. Relaxation is important as well.”

She didn’t feel very relaxed.

“I don’t play.”

“You don’t? or maybe you won’t? or maybe you can’t?” he set a ball down, about a yard in front of her. “Can Hikari not kick a ball?”

She felt part of herself rise to the challenge and the rest fall. “It’s not about can.” She said simply.

“Ohh? Well then, if you can get this ball in the net before we have to leave, I’ll spend the extra time treating you to that ice cream place you like so much. But you gotta kick it. No hands.”

Of course, he knew what tempted her the most. “Takeru… it doesn’t matter. I don’t play.”

“I’m not asking you to play, I’m asking you to kick. What’s the worst that can happen?”

Sirens, bright lights, doctors yelling words she couldn’t understand. An angry mother, a tearful father, a frightened brother.

“You never know.”

Takeru sized her up. “is the ball going to turn into a dinosaur? Or maybe an evil robot? I don’t recall those stopping you before.”

She twitched. “it’s different.”

“Well, maybe it can be the same?” Takeru said. “Maybe this ball is Ladydevimon.”

Hikari brought a hand to stifle a giggle. “What?”

“it is. It’s her head.”

“Takeru…”

“It’s her head. She sat there taunting you, and she called Angewomon a goodie two shoes. Are you going to let her get away with that? Come on Hikari kick her -”

“Takeru!” Hikari said. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because you can’t go through your entire life scared to kick a ball Hikari. You want to be a teacher when you grow up, you’ll have to help kids learn as well.”

“That’s when I’m an adult.”

“You can’t put it off forever,” Takeru said. “Look at you, I’ve seen you do incredible things. Things no other kid can say. And you can’t kick a soccer ball? Where’s the girl who was antagonizing a perfect-level she-devil.”

Hikari paused. She looked down at the ball, and did her best to do as Taekru directed. Imagining the ball was actually that hag’s head. She sulked up until the ball was right in front of her right foot, curled her knee, closed her eyes, and let it go.

It was not the most accurate kick in the world. Not by far. But of the two kicks of the soccer ball she’d taken in her life, it was by far the least disastrous.

Hikari far preferred ice cream to hospital beds.

#digimon #hikari yagami #takeru takaishi #takari #if you squint #HikariWeek23 #HikariWeek #hikari yagami week

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