DISCLAIMER: I do not own Digimon or any of its characters. Dyani just wants me to torture them. I don't own Barnes and Noble, but everyone should shop there. ^_^** Please don't sue.
Authoress's Notes: This is for Dyani, who won Best Review. ^_^ That was a very, very long time ago, and I apologize for taking forever. Anyway, she reviewed a Daikari fic, and when she gets back to me, what does she ask for? A Daikari, of course--which is great! I love Daikari! ^_^** She wants Ken and Jun in here, too. I'm glad for the practice--by the time I finish this, I should have Jun's character down pretty well, which will help me a lot in one of my fics that's in the works--which I know is making some of my fans happy and causing others to run screaming... ^_^ Anyway, here you go, Dyani. Hope ya like it.
Oh, wait, actual notes--Japanese names as names, American as nicknames, typical drill. I've been led to believe that the approximate exchange rate (according to my sis those kinds of things shift on a daily basis) is one yen to the cent, so 500 yen is about 5 bucks.
A nice breeze floated over the Motomiya's apartment balcony as Daisuke sat inside on the couch in anticipation. Earlier in the day he had taken half a second to pause and be grateful that the weather was decent, but now he was so wound up he could barely think.
School was starting in a week, and Daisuke had decided that there should be one last "occasion" before they were sent "back to the torture rooms," as he'd put it. So, since the weather was still fairly warm compared to normal, he'd invited the other DigiDestined to a cookout at his apartment. Granted, a small charcoal grill on the balcony wasn't quite the same as having a big yard and a giant gas grill, but it would suffice. Besides, there were always video games if there was a lull in activity.
The first question Jun had asked him was if Yamato was going to be there. "No," Daisuke had answered, with little patience, "There's only enough room for us younger kids. It's not like we're getting together at Mimi's big house in America. It's just going to be me, 'Kari, Ken, T.K., Cody, and Yolei."
Jun nodded.
Suddenly they both got the same look on their faces. In unison, they offered, "I'll give you 500 yen..." and both stopped suddenly. Sometimes they were more alike than either cared to admit. Jun pouted. "What were you going to say?"
Daisuke grinned. "I was going to say I'll give you 500 yen to go away and stay away while my friends are here."
Jun pouted some more. "I was gonna give you 500 yen to let me stay..." she whined.
"No! No way am I gonna let you hang around here and..."
"I just wanna meet your friends," she said. "I'm curious."
He cocked his head in thought for a moment. Finally he said, "Okay, how's this? No money, but I'll let you stay if you hang out in the kitchen and serve the drinks."
She considered this. It was a fairly generous offer, compared to some of his past bargains, and after all, the wall between the kitchen and the living/dining room was only a half-wall that she could see over. She bit her lip. "Okay," she'd decided. "But only if you promise not to treat me like your slave. You have to introduce me to everyone."
Daisuke nodded. "Whatever, just...don't talk to anyone, okay?"
Jun had rolled her eyes and let it slide. She knew he wouldn't be upset if he saw her saying a word or two to one of his friends.
So that was why Daisuke was going insane looking forward to a fun afternoon with his friends, and why Jun was sitting on the kitchen counter watching him without his noticing. All his thought was bent on the doorbell ringing.
She mentally counted over his guest list. ~'Kari, Ken, T.K., Cody, and Yolei.~ She'd met Ken before, the famous boy genius Ken Ichijouji. She'd been pretty impressed at that, and even more impressed that the two of them acted like two normal teenage guys. Daisuke had said that Ken was his best friend, and when Jun had thought back to the Ken she'd met instead of the Ken on TV, it wasn't such a big surprise after all.
On the other hand, she'd heard Daisuke complain about this "T.K.". Their friendship was a rather tentative on-again-off-again thing depending on Daisuke's varying moods. She guessed that this T.K. was rather patient because he seemed to put up with it. She wondered why Daisuke had even invited him, but apparently it was a diplomatic situation. Of what their ongoing quarrel was, Jun only had a hazy idea, but she set that aside for the moment to think of the other guests.
Cody. The younger boy had been in the doorway of the apartment once or twice, but he'd never stayed because Daisuke was just there to get something and then go again, or he was just there to let Daisuke know that it was time to leave for school, so there was no time for him to take off his shoes and come in. He'd struck Jun as somewhat of a wallflower, very quiet, extremely polite. She was sure he was a little sweetheart once you got to know him. Why Daisuke was friends with him (aside from the DigiDestined thing which she was still trying to grasp, now that her brother had supposedly saved the world), she wasn't sure. She knew that Cody and her brother had been walking to school together for a few years, those two and that girl, Yolei.
Yolei. Another on-again-off-again relationship. Daisuke had come home several times, slammed the door and yelled, "That stupid Yolei makes me so mad!" Jun had met Yolei once several years back when she'd come down from her apartment elsewhere in the building to tutor Daisuke in math. The studying had turned into a yelling match that ended with an exiting door slam, so now Daisuke just called her on the phone if he had a question. It seemed to work, if Yolei couldn't see his facial expressions there was nothing to get upset over. It seemed that the two of them conveyed friendship by arguing. Jun knew what that was like, she was like that with one of her own guy friends. Sometimes that was the only way two people could maintain a relationship. So long as there was no *real* disrespect (or punches) thrown around, she thought it was okay. She knew that he didn't treat all girls that way.
And that brought her back to the first name on her brother's list. 'Kari. Now here was a person her brother talked about quite often. He worshipped the ground she walked on, but she didn't seem to care. Jun knew this hurt her younger brother, and that bothered her, but she didn't know the situation, so it seemed to be her place to stay out of the whole thing. That was mainly why she'd wanted to stay, to meet this heavenly beauty that set Daisuke's heart aflutter. Daisuke had her picture--well, a group picture--in a frame beside his bed. In Jun's opinion, she was pretty enough, looked sweet and caring, just...not towards Daisuke. If she was completely honest with herself, Jun had to admit that she really couldn't understand why. Her brother was sweet and kind when he wanted to be, handsome, funny...she knew there were other girls that drooled over him. So why not the one girl that he actually liked? He'd be good to her.
Her train of thought was interrupted by the doorbell. Daisuke jumped up like he'd been shot. "Coming!" he yelled.
When the door was opened, Miyako and Iori stood there together. "Yolei! Cody! Come on in!" Daisuke grinned. It seemed that he enjoyed being host.
Within fifteen minutes the guest list was checked off, with Ken next, then Hikari, and Takeru last. Jun was introduced and acquainted with their real names versus the nicknames she'd been hearing so often, then was banished to the kitchen. After pouring sodas and handing them over the counter, she resumed her position on the counter and silently observed.
She knew that a person could learn a lot without asking any questions if they just watched and listened carefully. Her observations explained a few things to her.
Takeru and Hikari were childhood friends. She could see that it was a platonic--albeit very close--relationship, like brother and sister. Her brother probably perceived it to be more romantic than that, and that was his quarrel with Takeru.
Iori was not quite the wallflower Jun had thought him to be, but he was with friends now. He wasn't afraid to say his piece.
Miyako and Ken seemed to have something going on; she'd greeted him with a quick peck on the cheek and barely left his side.
Ken really was Daisuke's best friend. He was the one who helped Daisuke keep his temper in check and keep him in the conversation and quietly explained stuff to him. Daisuke probably didn't even realize all that Ken did for him.
Jun abandoned the thought as her father brought in the meat from the grill. There was a momentary flurry of activity, and then she was left in the kitchen, alone again, to eat a hot dog or a hamburger, her choice.
She turned her attention to Hikari. The girl was a dainty eater. In fact, she was just a dainty person. Not delicate or fragile--at least not now, though she was probably capable of it--but dainty.
Jun paused to wonder what kind of person Hikari was psychologically. It was hard to really get anything worth knowing without talking to her. Jun assumed she was nice enough, Daisuke wouldn't fall for a girl who wasn't.
She turned her attention to Daisuke. He was going out of his way to be nice to Hikari. The girl acknowledged it politely but did nothing in return. Jun realized just how gone he was over her. It really wasn't fair to him that Hikari refused to make a statement; she should either declare her love or turn him down definitely instead of skirting the issue. Of course if she turned him down, that would hurt him, and Jun wasn't sure how much damage that would do, but she was willing to risk that if only--
If only what? She was scheming and she didn't even realize it. Yes, she wanted to get this Hikari to tell Daisuke how she felt. How on earth she could go about it, she had no idea, but...
"Jun-sama?"
Jun blinked and looked up at Ken. ~He's so polite,~ she thought. It had taken several insistences on several occasions to get him down to "Jun-sama" from "Miss Motomiya-sama". "Yes?" she asked.
"If it's not too much trouble, could I please have some more of the orange soda?" Ken held his glass forward.
She took it. "Of course, Ken-san." She went about changing out the ice and refilling the glass.
Suddenly, inspiration struck. "Ken-san?" she asked.
"Yes, Jun-sama?"
"You're in the phone book, right?"
"Yes...why?"
"Listen," Jun said conspiratorially, "how late can you accept phone calls?"
He blinked. "Ten, but why?"
"It's about Dai-chan."
He cocked his head.
"I'll explain later, okay? Don't worry about it."
Ken nodded, not sure what to say. He accepted his glass with a confused "Arigatoo, Jun-sama," and returned to his seat and broke back into the conversation.
Jun settled back on the counter once again, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
Ken arrived home around seven after a half-hour train ride. He ate dinner with his parents and was about to get online when the phone rang. His mother answered it, but remembering Jun's strange questions, he paused to see if it was her.
"Moshi moshi, Ichijouji desu," Mrs. Ichijouji chirped. "Yes, he's here, may I ask who's calling?...Motomiya? Oh, of course. Just a minute, please." She put her hand over the phone. "Ken-chan," she called, "It's for you. Your friend's older sister."
Ken came over to the phone. "Jun-sama? Dai-san's sister?" he asked.
Mrs. Ichijouji nodded and placed the phone in his hand. "Hello?" he asked, taking the cordless phone down the hall to his room.
"Hi, Ken-san, it's Motomiya Jun..."
"Yes, my mother told me. What's this about?" He closed the door to his room.
"It's about Dai-chan," she said.
"Yes, *you* told me that. What about him?"
"Tell me, Ken-san, how much does he like that Hikari girl?"
"'Kari-san?" Ken asked. "Well, that's--kind of obvious, isn't it?"
Jun chuckled. "Exactly what I thought. Listen, would you be willing to help me--give him a push in the right direction?"
Ken frowned. He tried not to let it escape into his voice. "What do you--"
"Jun! Who are you talking to in there?!" Daisuke's voice came from the background.
"I'll be done in ten minutes, tops!" Jun called back. "Go away, doofus!" Ken heard a pillow smack against Jun's door and footsteps stomping off before Jun apologized. "Sorry, Ken-san, I haven't told him anything--I can't, you see. Now, what were you saying?"
"I was asking, what do you mean by helping him in the right direction?"
Jun lowered her tone in case Daisuke was listening at the door. "Listen. I think Hikari may like him, or at least could like him, if the two of them could just get together and talk. An 'accidental' date or two, if you get my drift. Now, all you'd have to do is help me a little. I'll do most of it."
"I don't know, Jun-sama...I'm not...well, skilled in those kinds of things."
"You've got more experience than Dai-chan, you have a girlfriend," Jun said.
"Yolei-san's just a friend!"
"You say that now," Jun said in a tone that implied that the three years she had on him had put in a lot of experience on her part. "Anyway, I'll be the brains. You only have to do what I ask you to. I promise it won't be anything that would be a major inconvenience, or at least, I'd pay you back. Please, Ken-san?"
"Well, I...I don't know..."
Jun sighed into the phone. "All I want is to see my ototo-chan happy..." she said. Ken could almost see the puppy-dog pout. "Don't *you* want to see your best friend happy?"
That was it. "All right...what do I need to do?"
Now he could hear the smile in her voice. "Okay, Ken-san, how well do you know Hikari?"
"'Kari-san?" he asked for the second time in five minutes. "Well...I...not as well as Yolei-san does, or T.K.-san...but...I don't know, I talk to her on occasion. If the party had been at my house I would have invited her."
"If you talked to her and asked her how she really felt about Dai-chan, would she think you were being pushy, or be suspicious?"
Ken pondered that. "Well...she'd be surprised that I'd say it, maybe, but she'd answer."
"Great! Okay, here's how you're going to set up such an opportunity. Do you have plans tomorrow?"
"No," Ken said.
"Perfect. Here's what you do--where's a good place where you can meet Hikari and a couple of your friends?"
"Oak Lane Mall," Ken suggested.
"Okay. Call your friends and tell them to meet you there around 1:30. Then call Hikari and tell her to be there at one. You'll have 30 minutes to talk to her. Explain that you had had some errands--have a bag from a bookstore or something--and you got done early. Tell her you're surprised to see her early and when she says she's right on time tell her you misspoke, so on and so forth. You're a genius--you can fudge it. Do you need money for the book or anything?"
"No...I was planning on going shopping some day soon anyway, I'll just get part of it done earlier tomorrow and do the fun part with my friends."
"Great! Now, you call whoever you want. Even Dai-chan if you think it'll throw off suspicion. Whatever you do, do *not* tell anyone about this call."
"No one?"
"Well, fine, not Hikari or Dai-chan. Tell your girlfriend if you need to."
Daisuke thudded at the door. "JUN! I gotta call Ken-san!"
Jun giggled. "If he only knew...listen, I gotta go. If he should happen to get in between your calls go ahead and invite him, okay?"
"I was going to anyway--but Yolei-san is not--"
"I gotta go! Bye! Oh, don't call me in case Dai-chan accidentally answers!" Jun hung up on him.
Ken hung up too and hit the button again so that the line would be busy should Daisuke try to call. He had to gain his composure before he started calling people.
The next day, Ken sat in the coffee-shop area of the Barnes and Noble in the Oak Lane Mall at five to one. He had a bag containing some navy blue socks purchased at a nearby store. That gave him an alibi. He perused a newspaper while waiting for Hikari to appear.
The weather had cooled slightly and the sky was overcast. Daisuke had had his get-together on the right day, that was for sure. Ken had slipped on a light jacket and grabbed an umbrella before he left home, and wasn't surprised to see Hikari enter wearing a light sweater.
"Ken-san!" she said, coming over to his table. "Listen, let me grab something to drink before the others get here," she said.
"You may as well," he said. "It'll be a while."
"What?"
"Oh, nothing. It's just that I realized on the train that I told you one o'clock when I told everyone else 1:30. The only reason I'm here now is I had errands and I got done early and decided I should be here to tell you. I'm sorry," he said. ~I hope that sounded convincing.~
"Oh, no problem, Ken-san," she said. "Besides, that means I got here dry and everyone else will probably get rained on. We'll just wait here, then?" she asked.
"Of course. Go get something if you're going to," he said.
She nodded and made her way the counter, returning shortly with a steaming cup of tea that smelled faintly of mint. "It's kind of cold out for this time of year," she said.
He nodded. "Not like yesterday," he said, well aware that he didn't have long to steer the conversation to a more personal vein.
"No, not like yesterday," she agreed. "We had perfect weather for Dai-chan's cookout."
He nodded. "Yes...that was fun, wasn't it?"
"Oh, Dai-chan knows how to throw a party," she laughed, taking a sip of her tea. "Good food and good company. That's all it really takes...unless of course, the company is really good. Then you don't need the food."
Ken smiled faintly. Laughter was hard to get out of him, and his friends had learned not to expect him to be overly expressive--no matter how funny or how serious things were. "Dai-san's good company, isn't he?" It wasn't a *very* personal query. Ken's tone implied it to be almost as much of a statement as a question.
"I guess..." Hikari said noncommitally.
"Oh, come on, this is my best friend we're talking about. How do you see him?"
Hikari blinked. "Well...I don't know...he's a good guy, I guess...I don't know. I never really put a lot of thought into it."
"Well, put some thought in it now," Ken said. "Now I'm curious. How do you feel about Dai-san?"
Hikari set down her mug. "Did he put you up to this?"
Ken blinked. "No, not at all. I just never thought about it myself...I'm reading a book on psychological theories and it said that a person is defined by relationships and when you think of it, it's amazing how we're all connected..."
"Spare me the details," Hikari laughed. "I'll tell you. I...I just...I think he's a nice guy. He's my closest friend save T.K.."
"What about that crush he has on you?"
"What about it? If you're asking me if I like him back, the answer is no."
~Oh boy, there go all of Jun-sama's well-laid plans...~
Hikari continued. "I don't like anyone that way right now. I mean--it could happen with anyone, right now. I'm not in a rush to get a boyfriend and it's just--if the magic happens, it happens. If not, then no big deal."
Ken nodded. "I see..."
"So, what about you? How are you and Yolei getting along?"
"What? We--we're just friends..."
"That's not what she told me!" Hikari grinned. "She said you're about to ask her to be--"
But Hikari was cut off as the bell above the door jingled and Ken pointed to the door. "It's Takeru-san," he said. ~Saved by the bell!~
Takeru, slightly damp from the sudden shower outside, sat at the table with them until Daisuke and Miyako arrived at almost the same instant from different directions. The party of five browsed the bookstore, and then began scanning the main mall for whatever caught their varied fancies.
Ken smiled in spite of himself. ~Phase one completed without a hitch!~
That night Jun calld Ken again. "Hey, how'd it go?"
"Well, no one suspects anything..."
"Wonderful! Now, how does Hikari feel about Dai-chan?"
Ken paused. "Well...bad news: she does not like him specifically."
Jun groaned. "Please tell me there's good news that will fix that."
"There is! She told me that she doesn't like anyone right now and she'd not particularly looking to like anyone--the way she put it was, 'if the magic happens, it happens. If not, then no big deal'."
Jun let out a sigh of relief. "Great! That's exactly what I figured."
"How could you--"
"Oh, just the way she acted with Daisuke coupled with the fact that she had not firmly turned him down and her...demeanor, I guess."
Ken "mm-hmm"ed into the phone. "What next?"
"Well...I have to think about it. I'll call you when I figure out phase two. And if you're hanging out with either one, or anyone, and you think of anything that could get them together, by all means, feel free to act without me!"
"Of course..."
"Listen, I'm gonna go ahead and get off before Dai-chan gets on my case, okay? Talk to you--later. I don't know when I'll figure it out."
"Okay."
"Ja ne!"
"Bye."
They hung up. Ken shook his head. ~How did I get into this mess?~ He did want to do this for Daisuke, but had anyone told him two days before that he would be assiting Jun Motomiya in some wild scheme, he would have laughed. ~Oh well...too late now...~
Jun smiled to herself, sitting on her bed in the dark, wrapped up in a throw and cushioned by many pillows. ~Phase one: mission accomplished.~ She was pleased.
She was also happy that Hikari was open to romance without looking for it. That was the best way to get it, Jun knew from experience. The one really nice boyfriend she'd had she had met right after she'd given up on boys for the moment. When you weren't looking for it, you weren't picky about who you talked to, who you were friends with. You weren't focused on talking to that one cute guy. It was all about coming out of nowhere.
It also meant that Hikari could possibly fall for the one person she least expected to--Daisuke. Now that it was established that she did *not* hate him (as Daisuke had so often complained), it was time to get her to more-than-like him.
But how?
Jun was hitting a roadblock on that one.
It crossed her mind that she should work on Daisuke and Ken should work on Hikari, because if she tried to talk to Hikari about Daisuke for no apparent reason, Hikari would get suspicious.
Okay. That was a starting point. Now what?
She should probably talk to Daisuke and see if he'd made any attempt to talk to Hikari about his feelings--he probably hadn't. It wasn't too late to bring up "the girl from your party". She decided to make that phase two. Now for phase three.
She racked her brain. What could possibly get those two together?
Well...if it was on Daisuke's mind he'd probably say something to the poor girl. But saying something usually got him into a tactless mess.
~AH-HA!~ Jun smiled. There was the trick. When she talked to him, she would also make suggestions about what to say to the poor girl. ~Phase three planned. Now, phase four--how to get them alone for a good long while to talk.~ That wouldn't be hard; a stunt similar to the shopping trip, only no one ever showed up at all. Of course, the cat would be out of the bag, but that didn't matter--at that point the two would be safely together and be grateful for the planning. But, what to invite them to? Jun puzzled over that.
A shopping trip wouldn't work again--Daisuke wouldn't say anything in such a crowd. He'd take the girl shopping and nothing romantic was ever said in a mall when a guy was broke.
School was out--that was three more days away and again, the crowds ruined that idea.
No, it definitely needed to be someplace like--like the park! That was more romantic, anyway. Now, why would Hikari and Daisuke both be at the park at the same time?
A soccer game, either Daisuke's, Taichi's, or Ken's. But the teams hadn't even been formed for the year. That was a school thing. Besides, there was that stupid crowd factor again.
Another party? Daisuke had wanted his to be the last of the year--would he show up for another? ~Yeah, he would.~ Jun knew her brother well--a person who considered themselves the life of the party never tried to force the issue of a "last" party.
Ken would have to "throw" it--but that wasn't a problem, it wasn't like there'd need to be decorations or anything. No food, no place...all he'd have to do is call them, and then call the rest of his "guests" and fill them in so no one accidentally gave it away by saying they'd never been invited.
Jun debated on whether or not to call Ken right then, but she figured his parents might be upset at two calls from an almost-total stranger in one night, and it was getting late. She flicked on her lamp and looked at her clock. Time to put on her PJ's.
Hikari stood at her window in her pajamas. That was the one thing she'd liked about getting her own room when she'd turned twelve; she could stare at the stars for hours and Taichi never told her to get into bed.
A shooting star swished across her view and she quickly, almost reflexively, wished for everyone's happiness. It seemed like a selfless wish, but "everyone" included herself.
Ken had asked her how she felt about Daisuke and at the time she'd honestly answered in the neutral; but now that he had put it into her head, she'd been putting more thought into it. She had never considered what kind of boyfriend Daisuke might make. She had to admit he could be pretty sweet.
She knew Daisuke thought that Takeru was her boyfriend, but he wasn't. Everyone else could see that, but Daisuke was...Daisuke. Slightly protective. So he freaked out unnecessarily ~But if I was his girlfriend that would stop.~
Taichi liked Daisuke; that counted for major points in Hikari's estimation. She trusted Taichi's judgement, and what's more, he would never worry when he knew she was with Daisuke because he knew and trusted him.
Daisuke respected her; she knew that he took pains to be polite and nice to her. She liked that in a boy. She knew that if he worried about her in the small things that he would listen to her in the big things.
She could talk to him; she was comfortable around him except when the "Takeru" issue arose.
Another shooting star raced past and she could barely blink before it was gone. ~Wow. Two in one night. That must be a sign of *extra* good luck.~
She decided to put the whole thing out of her mind for the moment and get to sleep. It was late, and she needed to get back into the habit of getting up early before school started. She raised her arms over her head and strectched. It was out of her hands, anyway, she would never say anything until he spoke first. She was all for equality, but if Daisuke liked her as much as he seemed to he was going to have to prove it.
Daisuke slapped the alarm in the morning and stirred himself out of sleep. He groggily made his way to the table.
"Good morning," Jun greeted him in a sing-song voice. "What do you want on your toast?"
"Butter...and orange jelly."
"Marmalade," Jun told him.
"Marmy--marshmallow--marmlate. Whatever. Orange jelly. I can't think at this hour."
Jun laughed. Four slices of toast popped up and she turned to put butter and marmalade on his two and butter and raspberry jam on her own. "You know," she said, "I'm curious. Who was that girl at your party?"
"Yolei? You know Yolei..."
Jun, facing away from him, rolled her eyes. He was thinking more than he claimed to be capable of. He didn't want to talk about it. ~Well, tough. He'll just have to deal with it.~ "Yeah, I know her, but I meant that *other* girl. The shy one with that blond guy. She took all those pictures."
"'Kari-chan wasn't with that blond guy!" Daisuke argued.
"Whatever. Who is she?"
"She's...she's a friend of mine."
"Is that all?"
"Right now, yeah..."
"But you wish she was more?" Jun handed him his plate and a glass of orange juice. Citrus seemed to get him jump-started in the morning.
He nodded. "Yeah, but she pays all her attention to T.K.."
"The blonde?"
He nodded again.
"I don't know, Dai-chan--"
"Davis."
"Whatever. She seemed to talk to you an awful lot, too." She personally thought Hikari was harboring the beginnings of a secret crush, but she dared not tell him that.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Have you ever told her how you feel?"
"I asked her on a date a couple of times."
"That's different."
"It is?"
Jun blinked in mock surprise. She was going to give him a free lesson on what women want and he wasn't even going to notice, much less appreciate. "Yeah. If you tell her that you want to go on a date, there's no meaning in that. You just want someone to hang with to pass the time. But if you say you like her and want to talk about turning the relationship into more than friends, and then set up a date so you can, that's different. You know? It's asking to get to know her instead of asking to kill time."
Daisuke pondered that.
She continued. "Have you ever expressly said, 'Hikari, I like you. I want to be more than just your friend. Can we talk? Could we go to dinner and *talk*?'"
He shook his head.
"Of course, you have to elaborate more than that. Make it more...flowery, I guess. Make it nice. Tell her how you *feel* instead of what you *want*."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You think I should actually go out and do this?"
"Sure, why not?"
"Well--I--but--when?"
"Next time you're alone with her."
Daisuke frowned. "That's not going to be anytime soon."
Jun shrugged. "Call her."
"Their only phone is in the middle of the living room--"
"Oh...right, of course, this should be discussed in private."
He nodded. "She's like that."
"You're like that," she informed him.
He blinked suspiciously. "What do you mean?"
She tilted her head. "You...you seem to wear your feelings right on your sleeve because you're always noisy and cutting up and being a clown, but that's not true," she said. "You have a lot more feelings that don't show. Quieter feelings. Feelings you don't want anyone to know about. You hide them and use the joshing around as a cover--and then you want your close friends to know about those feelings and they don't understand."
"Yeah..." Daisuke breathed. "How did you know all that?"
Jun shrugged. "I just did. I'm analytical or something. I'm good with people."
Daisuke began to be uncomfortable with all the "mush". "So if you're so great with people, how come you can't keep a boyfriend?"
Jun ignored that. "See, you're doing it again. Using a joke to deflect from the fact that you love your oneechan."
"Am not!"
"Yes, you are," Jun insisted.
He continued to protest but she ignored him as she continued getting ready for the day. She left herself a sticky note on her bedroom mirror that even Daisuke couldn't decipher--"Call K. about park tonight!"
Daisuke decided to veg out with his video games until it was time for him to meet Iori and Miyako on the front steps to the building.
As he died for the umpteenth time in half an hour, he let the game go to screensaver and let his mind wander.
~I wonder why Jun was bugging me about 'Kari.~ There weren't any real explanations, other than the possiblility that she was trying to annoy him. It hadn't, although he wasn't sure why. He was kind of glad--the advice she'd given had made sense...somewhat. ~Maybe I *should* tell 'Kari how I feel...but how can I get her alone?~ He wasn't sure, because he couldn't tell her over the phone, and he couldn't call and ask her to meet him alone. She wouldn't do it.
He sighed. Why couldn't she just like him back?
When Jun arrived home that evening, her parents weren't home and Daisuke was holed up in his room. She was used to it--both of her parents worked very late hours and Daisuke wasn't fond of the openness of the kitchen/dining room/living room when no one was around. She made her presence known with a little noise and quietly took the phone in her room.
A few minutes later, Ken was on the line.
"Moshi, moshi?"
"Ken-san! Listen, I talked to Dai-chan today about Hikari, I kind of planted the idea in his head to tell her how he feels if he ever gets a chance alone with her. He doesn't realize that I did but I know it's on his mind. So now all we have to do is create a chance for the two of them to talk, uninterrupted. So here's what I need you to do--I need you to create such an opportunity."
"How?" Ken asked.
"Kind of like you did with the shopping trip, only you call everyone else and tell them what's going on and to keep up the front if they're asked, but not show up."
Ken considered. "Do you really think if they're alone together now that anything will come of it?"
"I've put a lot of thought into it--and I think so, *if* they're at the park and there's no crowds around to make him nervous. The park is so romantic, anyway...listen, do you think you can do that?"
"Of course. What if it doesn't work, though?"
"Then we create a plan B. But we don't plan it until we need it."
"Okay. I'll call everyone right away."
"Great! Ja ne, Ken-san!"
"Bye."
Daisuke answered the phone half an hour later.
"Moshi, moshi, Motomiya desu, the cool one speaking."
"Dai-san? It's Ken. Listen, do you have plans tomorrow?"
"No..."
"Then come meet me and the rest of the group at the park at two."
"What for?"
"Oh, we're just going to hang out...you know..."
"Uh, sure. Yeah, I don't have anything else to do. I'll be there."
"Great! See you then!"
"Bye."
"Bye!"
Hikari arrived at the park first. She had called Takeru to see if he wanted to walk with her, but he'd said that he had a few things to do around the house and he'd be half-an-hour late.
She stood underneath a group of shade trees at the DigiDestined's accustomed meeting spot. She wondered when anyone else would show up.
The storm clouds seemed to have passed, and the weather was sunny but not hot. She was wearing a light cardigan over her t-shirt, but the sun filtering through the trees turned the air kind of yellow, making it seem summery.
She leaned against a tree trunk, waiting. Surely not everyone would be late.
At last, five minutes past the appointed time, Daisuke showed up.
"Sorry I'm late...hey, are you the only one here?"
"So far," she informed him. "Aren't Cody and Yolei with you?"
"Cody said he'd be walking form kendo class and couldn't walk with me, and Yolei said her dad had just called her three seconds before me and asked if she would come down and help for a few extra minutes down in the store, and to go on without her."
Hikari nodded. "It's a nice day. Looks like summer, but it's not."
Daisuke looked around. No one from their group was coming, he knew it might be the only chance he'd get in a long time to tell her anything privately like this. "'Kari-chan, can we talk?"
"About what?"
"Oh...well...you know I like you."
"Yes..." Hikari was afraid she knew where this was heading.
"Well...I...that is...we're friends, right?"
"Of course."
"Well...I...I really would like to get to know you better. I mean, I know that I know a lot because of all the DigiWorld stuff, but...I want...I want to be close to you. I care about you a lot, Hikari. Do you suppose maybe we could...go for dinner sometime and talk?"
She looked at him. "Just talk?"
He cocked his head at her. "As opposed to what?"
"Not a *date*...just, going to dinner? Hanging out? Spending time together?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's what I mean."
"None of that 'be my girlfriend' stuff?"
"If that's what you want. I just want to be with you."
Hikari thought about this. "And you're willing to not move fast, not try to get me to be your girl, not push me too much?"
"Yeah. I mean, yeah, I'm willing to do that."
"And you won't be jealous of my friendship with Takeru?"
He gulped. "I'll try really, really hard. I think I can."
She smiled softly. "I really appreciate a guy that can do that," she said.
He wasn't sure what to say to that. He just stood there in front of her.
"I...I mean...you're being all polite and agreeable...and you're not saying that you love me just like that, but you want to see if you could...and if I could love you back...and you can take it slow...that means a lot to me, Dai-chan."
He was still unsure of what to say to her at that moment.
"And...I think...I think I could do that. Spend time with you, get to know you really well...in fact...I *want* to do that."
He blinked. "Really?"
"Yeah. I like you a lot, Dai-chan. Maybe more than a friend. I don't love you--now. But I think it's a possibility, someday...and I want to find out."
"Yeah...so can we do that, then?"
Her soft smile turned into a grin, and she impulsively stepped forward and gave him a quick peck of a kiss on the cheek. She drew back as quickly as she had advanced. "Does that answer your question?"
That evening, Daisuke came home and Jun was waiting on the couch.
"Have a good time?" she asked.
"Yeah...nobody but 'Kari-chan showed up, though."
"That's weird."
"Yeah...I think Ken-san set us up."
"Really?"
"Yeah...'Kari-chan said he'd been talking to her about me, and stuff...and she thinks he must have had someone helping him...but we couldn't figure out who. We had a good time, anyway, though. We went shopping and then out for dinner. Then it was kind of starting to get dark, so we went back to the park and went stargazing."
"You and what's-her-name?"
"Hikari! Yeah...I kind of talked to her, like you said...and we're going to...not date...but kind of get to know each other a little better. I walked her home."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah..."
"And?" Jun asked tauntingly.
"And what?"
"Well, did she kiss you goodnight?"
Daisuke blushed. "Well, it wasn't a really big kiss, or really long..."
"Was it on the lips?"
Daisuke was visibly squirming where he stood. He didn't answer.
Jun grinned devilishly. "It was! Oh, boy, my brother is really coming up in the world now..."
He decided to change the subject. "Yeah, I guess. Tomorrow I'm going to call Ken-san and thank him. And ask him who helped him out. Tonight, I'm pooped." He shuffled off towards his bedroom.
Jun picked up the phone and called Ken.
"Moshi, moshi, Ichijouji desu, Ken speaking."
"It's Jun. Phase Three a success."
"Really? That's great! Is he mad at me for not showing up?"
"Nah. He's gonna call you tomorrow morning and thank you, but apparently they did a lot of running around--he was pretty tired. Pretty happy, too. You can tell him who was in on it with you."
"Like I could keep a secret from him."
Jun laughed. "He's stubborn that way, isn't he?"
"Yeah...Jun-sama, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
He paused. "How did you know how he and Hikari were going to react to everything?"
Even though he couldn't see it, she shrugged. "I just know that kind of thing. I don't know how I know. I observe people, and life, and then when I know a little about a person, I can just figure that kind of thing out."
"Have you ever thought about going into psychology? As a career, I mean."
"No...but you know what? That sounds very do-able. I'll think about it. Listen, I gotta go."
"Okay."
"And Ken-san?"
"Yes, Jun-sama?"
"Thanks. A lot. This really means a lot to him, and that means a lot to me."
"You're welcome. Bye."
"Ja ne!"
A/N: Ah...that was sweet. I had fun. Hope ya liked it, Dyani.
Authoress's Notes: This is for Dyani, who won Best Review. ^_^ That was a very, very long time ago, and I apologize for taking forever. Anyway, she reviewed a Daikari fic, and when she gets back to me, what does she ask for? A Daikari, of course--which is great! I love Daikari! ^_^** She wants Ken and Jun in here, too. I'm glad for the practice--by the time I finish this, I should have Jun's character down pretty well, which will help me a lot in one of my fics that's in the works--which I know is making some of my fans happy and causing others to run screaming... ^_^ Anyway, here you go, Dyani. Hope ya like it.
Oh, wait, actual notes--Japanese names as names, American as nicknames, typical drill. I've been led to believe that the approximate exchange rate (according to my sis those kinds of things shift on a daily basis) is one yen to the cent, so 500 yen is about 5 bucks.
A nice breeze floated over the Motomiya's apartment balcony as Daisuke sat inside on the couch in anticipation. Earlier in the day he had taken half a second to pause and be grateful that the weather was decent, but now he was so wound up he could barely think.
School was starting in a week, and Daisuke had decided that there should be one last "occasion" before they were sent "back to the torture rooms," as he'd put it. So, since the weather was still fairly warm compared to normal, he'd invited the other DigiDestined to a cookout at his apartment. Granted, a small charcoal grill on the balcony wasn't quite the same as having a big yard and a giant gas grill, but it would suffice. Besides, there were always video games if there was a lull in activity.
The first question Jun had asked him was if Yamato was going to be there. "No," Daisuke had answered, with little patience, "There's only enough room for us younger kids. It's not like we're getting together at Mimi's big house in America. It's just going to be me, 'Kari, Ken, T.K., Cody, and Yolei."
Jun nodded.
Suddenly they both got the same look on their faces. In unison, they offered, "I'll give you 500 yen..." and both stopped suddenly. Sometimes they were more alike than either cared to admit. Jun pouted. "What were you going to say?"
Daisuke grinned. "I was going to say I'll give you 500 yen to go away and stay away while my friends are here."
Jun pouted some more. "I was gonna give you 500 yen to let me stay..." she whined.
"No! No way am I gonna let you hang around here and..."
"I just wanna meet your friends," she said. "I'm curious."
He cocked his head in thought for a moment. Finally he said, "Okay, how's this? No money, but I'll let you stay if you hang out in the kitchen and serve the drinks."
She considered this. It was a fairly generous offer, compared to some of his past bargains, and after all, the wall between the kitchen and the living/dining room was only a half-wall that she could see over. She bit her lip. "Okay," she'd decided. "But only if you promise not to treat me like your slave. You have to introduce me to everyone."
Daisuke nodded. "Whatever, just...don't talk to anyone, okay?"
Jun had rolled her eyes and let it slide. She knew he wouldn't be upset if he saw her saying a word or two to one of his friends.
So that was why Daisuke was going insane looking forward to a fun afternoon with his friends, and why Jun was sitting on the kitchen counter watching him without his noticing. All his thought was bent on the doorbell ringing.
She mentally counted over his guest list. ~'Kari, Ken, T.K., Cody, and Yolei.~ She'd met Ken before, the famous boy genius Ken Ichijouji. She'd been pretty impressed at that, and even more impressed that the two of them acted like two normal teenage guys. Daisuke had said that Ken was his best friend, and when Jun had thought back to the Ken she'd met instead of the Ken on TV, it wasn't such a big surprise after all.
On the other hand, she'd heard Daisuke complain about this "T.K.". Their friendship was a rather tentative on-again-off-again thing depending on Daisuke's varying moods. She guessed that this T.K. was rather patient because he seemed to put up with it. She wondered why Daisuke had even invited him, but apparently it was a diplomatic situation. Of what their ongoing quarrel was, Jun only had a hazy idea, but she set that aside for the moment to think of the other guests.
Cody. The younger boy had been in the doorway of the apartment once or twice, but he'd never stayed because Daisuke was just there to get something and then go again, or he was just there to let Daisuke know that it was time to leave for school, so there was no time for him to take off his shoes and come in. He'd struck Jun as somewhat of a wallflower, very quiet, extremely polite. She was sure he was a little sweetheart once you got to know him. Why Daisuke was friends with him (aside from the DigiDestined thing which she was still trying to grasp, now that her brother had supposedly saved the world), she wasn't sure. She knew that Cody and her brother had been walking to school together for a few years, those two and that girl, Yolei.
Yolei. Another on-again-off-again relationship. Daisuke had come home several times, slammed the door and yelled, "That stupid Yolei makes me so mad!" Jun had met Yolei once several years back when she'd come down from her apartment elsewhere in the building to tutor Daisuke in math. The studying had turned into a yelling match that ended with an exiting door slam, so now Daisuke just called her on the phone if he had a question. It seemed to work, if Yolei couldn't see his facial expressions there was nothing to get upset over. It seemed that the two of them conveyed friendship by arguing. Jun knew what that was like, she was like that with one of her own guy friends. Sometimes that was the only way two people could maintain a relationship. So long as there was no *real* disrespect (or punches) thrown around, she thought it was okay. She knew that he didn't treat all girls that way.
And that brought her back to the first name on her brother's list. 'Kari. Now here was a person her brother talked about quite often. He worshipped the ground she walked on, but she didn't seem to care. Jun knew this hurt her younger brother, and that bothered her, but she didn't know the situation, so it seemed to be her place to stay out of the whole thing. That was mainly why she'd wanted to stay, to meet this heavenly beauty that set Daisuke's heart aflutter. Daisuke had her picture--well, a group picture--in a frame beside his bed. In Jun's opinion, she was pretty enough, looked sweet and caring, just...not towards Daisuke. If she was completely honest with herself, Jun had to admit that she really couldn't understand why. Her brother was sweet and kind when he wanted to be, handsome, funny...she knew there were other girls that drooled over him. So why not the one girl that he actually liked? He'd be good to her.
Her train of thought was interrupted by the doorbell. Daisuke jumped up like he'd been shot. "Coming!" he yelled.
When the door was opened, Miyako and Iori stood there together. "Yolei! Cody! Come on in!" Daisuke grinned. It seemed that he enjoyed being host.
Within fifteen minutes the guest list was checked off, with Ken next, then Hikari, and Takeru last. Jun was introduced and acquainted with their real names versus the nicknames she'd been hearing so often, then was banished to the kitchen. After pouring sodas and handing them over the counter, she resumed her position on the counter and silently observed.
She knew that a person could learn a lot without asking any questions if they just watched and listened carefully. Her observations explained a few things to her.
Takeru and Hikari were childhood friends. She could see that it was a platonic--albeit very close--relationship, like brother and sister. Her brother probably perceived it to be more romantic than that, and that was his quarrel with Takeru.
Iori was not quite the wallflower Jun had thought him to be, but he was with friends now. He wasn't afraid to say his piece.
Miyako and Ken seemed to have something going on; she'd greeted him with a quick peck on the cheek and barely left his side.
Ken really was Daisuke's best friend. He was the one who helped Daisuke keep his temper in check and keep him in the conversation and quietly explained stuff to him. Daisuke probably didn't even realize all that Ken did for him.
Jun abandoned the thought as her father brought in the meat from the grill. There was a momentary flurry of activity, and then she was left in the kitchen, alone again, to eat a hot dog or a hamburger, her choice.
She turned her attention to Hikari. The girl was a dainty eater. In fact, she was just a dainty person. Not delicate or fragile--at least not now, though she was probably capable of it--but dainty.
Jun paused to wonder what kind of person Hikari was psychologically. It was hard to really get anything worth knowing without talking to her. Jun assumed she was nice enough, Daisuke wouldn't fall for a girl who wasn't.
She turned her attention to Daisuke. He was going out of his way to be nice to Hikari. The girl acknowledged it politely but did nothing in return. Jun realized just how gone he was over her. It really wasn't fair to him that Hikari refused to make a statement; she should either declare her love or turn him down definitely instead of skirting the issue. Of course if she turned him down, that would hurt him, and Jun wasn't sure how much damage that would do, but she was willing to risk that if only--
If only what? She was scheming and she didn't even realize it. Yes, she wanted to get this Hikari to tell Daisuke how she felt. How on earth she could go about it, she had no idea, but...
"Jun-sama?"
Jun blinked and looked up at Ken. ~He's so polite,~ she thought. It had taken several insistences on several occasions to get him down to "Jun-sama" from "Miss Motomiya-sama". "Yes?" she asked.
"If it's not too much trouble, could I please have some more of the orange soda?" Ken held his glass forward.
She took it. "Of course, Ken-san." She went about changing out the ice and refilling the glass.
Suddenly, inspiration struck. "Ken-san?" she asked.
"Yes, Jun-sama?"
"You're in the phone book, right?"
"Yes...why?"
"Listen," Jun said conspiratorially, "how late can you accept phone calls?"
He blinked. "Ten, but why?"
"It's about Dai-chan."
He cocked his head.
"I'll explain later, okay? Don't worry about it."
Ken nodded, not sure what to say. He accepted his glass with a confused "Arigatoo, Jun-sama," and returned to his seat and broke back into the conversation.
Jun settled back on the counter once again, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
Ken arrived home around seven after a half-hour train ride. He ate dinner with his parents and was about to get online when the phone rang. His mother answered it, but remembering Jun's strange questions, he paused to see if it was her.
"Moshi moshi, Ichijouji desu," Mrs. Ichijouji chirped. "Yes, he's here, may I ask who's calling?...Motomiya? Oh, of course. Just a minute, please." She put her hand over the phone. "Ken-chan," she called, "It's for you. Your friend's older sister."
Ken came over to the phone. "Jun-sama? Dai-san's sister?" he asked.
Mrs. Ichijouji nodded and placed the phone in his hand. "Hello?" he asked, taking the cordless phone down the hall to his room.
"Hi, Ken-san, it's Motomiya Jun..."
"Yes, my mother told me. What's this about?" He closed the door to his room.
"It's about Dai-chan," she said.
"Yes, *you* told me that. What about him?"
"Tell me, Ken-san, how much does he like that Hikari girl?"
"'Kari-san?" Ken asked. "Well, that's--kind of obvious, isn't it?"
Jun chuckled. "Exactly what I thought. Listen, would you be willing to help me--give him a push in the right direction?"
Ken frowned. He tried not to let it escape into his voice. "What do you--"
"Jun! Who are you talking to in there?!" Daisuke's voice came from the background.
"I'll be done in ten minutes, tops!" Jun called back. "Go away, doofus!" Ken heard a pillow smack against Jun's door and footsteps stomping off before Jun apologized. "Sorry, Ken-san, I haven't told him anything--I can't, you see. Now, what were you saying?"
"I was asking, what do you mean by helping him in the right direction?"
Jun lowered her tone in case Daisuke was listening at the door. "Listen. I think Hikari may like him, or at least could like him, if the two of them could just get together and talk. An 'accidental' date or two, if you get my drift. Now, all you'd have to do is help me a little. I'll do most of it."
"I don't know, Jun-sama...I'm not...well, skilled in those kinds of things."
"You've got more experience than Dai-chan, you have a girlfriend," Jun said.
"Yolei-san's just a friend!"
"You say that now," Jun said in a tone that implied that the three years she had on him had put in a lot of experience on her part. "Anyway, I'll be the brains. You only have to do what I ask you to. I promise it won't be anything that would be a major inconvenience, or at least, I'd pay you back. Please, Ken-san?"
"Well, I...I don't know..."
Jun sighed into the phone. "All I want is to see my ototo-chan happy..." she said. Ken could almost see the puppy-dog pout. "Don't *you* want to see your best friend happy?"
That was it. "All right...what do I need to do?"
Now he could hear the smile in her voice. "Okay, Ken-san, how well do you know Hikari?"
"'Kari-san?" he asked for the second time in five minutes. "Well...I...not as well as Yolei-san does, or T.K.-san...but...I don't know, I talk to her on occasion. If the party had been at my house I would have invited her."
"If you talked to her and asked her how she really felt about Dai-chan, would she think you were being pushy, or be suspicious?"
Ken pondered that. "Well...she'd be surprised that I'd say it, maybe, but she'd answer."
"Great! Okay, here's how you're going to set up such an opportunity. Do you have plans tomorrow?"
"No," Ken said.
"Perfect. Here's what you do--where's a good place where you can meet Hikari and a couple of your friends?"
"Oak Lane Mall," Ken suggested.
"Okay. Call your friends and tell them to meet you there around 1:30. Then call Hikari and tell her to be there at one. You'll have 30 minutes to talk to her. Explain that you had had some errands--have a bag from a bookstore or something--and you got done early. Tell her you're surprised to see her early and when she says she's right on time tell her you misspoke, so on and so forth. You're a genius--you can fudge it. Do you need money for the book or anything?"
"No...I was planning on going shopping some day soon anyway, I'll just get part of it done earlier tomorrow and do the fun part with my friends."
"Great! Now, you call whoever you want. Even Dai-chan if you think it'll throw off suspicion. Whatever you do, do *not* tell anyone about this call."
"No one?"
"Well, fine, not Hikari or Dai-chan. Tell your girlfriend if you need to."
Daisuke thudded at the door. "JUN! I gotta call Ken-san!"
Jun giggled. "If he only knew...listen, I gotta go. If he should happen to get in between your calls go ahead and invite him, okay?"
"I was going to anyway--but Yolei-san is not--"
"I gotta go! Bye! Oh, don't call me in case Dai-chan accidentally answers!" Jun hung up on him.
Ken hung up too and hit the button again so that the line would be busy should Daisuke try to call. He had to gain his composure before he started calling people.
The next day, Ken sat in the coffee-shop area of the Barnes and Noble in the Oak Lane Mall at five to one. He had a bag containing some navy blue socks purchased at a nearby store. That gave him an alibi. He perused a newspaper while waiting for Hikari to appear.
The weather had cooled slightly and the sky was overcast. Daisuke had had his get-together on the right day, that was for sure. Ken had slipped on a light jacket and grabbed an umbrella before he left home, and wasn't surprised to see Hikari enter wearing a light sweater.
"Ken-san!" she said, coming over to his table. "Listen, let me grab something to drink before the others get here," she said.
"You may as well," he said. "It'll be a while."
"What?"
"Oh, nothing. It's just that I realized on the train that I told you one o'clock when I told everyone else 1:30. The only reason I'm here now is I had errands and I got done early and decided I should be here to tell you. I'm sorry," he said. ~I hope that sounded convincing.~
"Oh, no problem, Ken-san," she said. "Besides, that means I got here dry and everyone else will probably get rained on. We'll just wait here, then?" she asked.
"Of course. Go get something if you're going to," he said.
She nodded and made her way the counter, returning shortly with a steaming cup of tea that smelled faintly of mint. "It's kind of cold out for this time of year," she said.
He nodded. "Not like yesterday," he said, well aware that he didn't have long to steer the conversation to a more personal vein.
"No, not like yesterday," she agreed. "We had perfect weather for Dai-chan's cookout."
He nodded. "Yes...that was fun, wasn't it?"
"Oh, Dai-chan knows how to throw a party," she laughed, taking a sip of her tea. "Good food and good company. That's all it really takes...unless of course, the company is really good. Then you don't need the food."
Ken smiled faintly. Laughter was hard to get out of him, and his friends had learned not to expect him to be overly expressive--no matter how funny or how serious things were. "Dai-san's good company, isn't he?" It wasn't a *very* personal query. Ken's tone implied it to be almost as much of a statement as a question.
"I guess..." Hikari said noncommitally.
"Oh, come on, this is my best friend we're talking about. How do you see him?"
Hikari blinked. "Well...I don't know...he's a good guy, I guess...I don't know. I never really put a lot of thought into it."
"Well, put some thought in it now," Ken said. "Now I'm curious. How do you feel about Dai-san?"
Hikari set down her mug. "Did he put you up to this?"
Ken blinked. "No, not at all. I just never thought about it myself...I'm reading a book on psychological theories and it said that a person is defined by relationships and when you think of it, it's amazing how we're all connected..."
"Spare me the details," Hikari laughed. "I'll tell you. I...I just...I think he's a nice guy. He's my closest friend save T.K.."
"What about that crush he has on you?"
"What about it? If you're asking me if I like him back, the answer is no."
~Oh boy, there go all of Jun-sama's well-laid plans...~
Hikari continued. "I don't like anyone that way right now. I mean--it could happen with anyone, right now. I'm not in a rush to get a boyfriend and it's just--if the magic happens, it happens. If not, then no big deal."
Ken nodded. "I see..."
"So, what about you? How are you and Yolei getting along?"
"What? We--we're just friends..."
"That's not what she told me!" Hikari grinned. "She said you're about to ask her to be--"
But Hikari was cut off as the bell above the door jingled and Ken pointed to the door. "It's Takeru-san," he said. ~Saved by the bell!~
Takeru, slightly damp from the sudden shower outside, sat at the table with them until Daisuke and Miyako arrived at almost the same instant from different directions. The party of five browsed the bookstore, and then began scanning the main mall for whatever caught their varied fancies.
Ken smiled in spite of himself. ~Phase one completed without a hitch!~
That night Jun calld Ken again. "Hey, how'd it go?"
"Well, no one suspects anything..."
"Wonderful! Now, how does Hikari feel about Dai-chan?"
Ken paused. "Well...bad news: she does not like him specifically."
Jun groaned. "Please tell me there's good news that will fix that."
"There is! She told me that she doesn't like anyone right now and she'd not particularly looking to like anyone--the way she put it was, 'if the magic happens, it happens. If not, then no big deal'."
Jun let out a sigh of relief. "Great! That's exactly what I figured."
"How could you--"
"Oh, just the way she acted with Daisuke coupled with the fact that she had not firmly turned him down and her...demeanor, I guess."
Ken "mm-hmm"ed into the phone. "What next?"
"Well...I have to think about it. I'll call you when I figure out phase two. And if you're hanging out with either one, or anyone, and you think of anything that could get them together, by all means, feel free to act without me!"
"Of course..."
"Listen, I'm gonna go ahead and get off before Dai-chan gets on my case, okay? Talk to you--later. I don't know when I'll figure it out."
"Okay."
"Ja ne!"
"Bye."
They hung up. Ken shook his head. ~How did I get into this mess?~ He did want to do this for Daisuke, but had anyone told him two days before that he would be assiting Jun Motomiya in some wild scheme, he would have laughed. ~Oh well...too late now...~
Jun smiled to herself, sitting on her bed in the dark, wrapped up in a throw and cushioned by many pillows. ~Phase one: mission accomplished.~ She was pleased.
She was also happy that Hikari was open to romance without looking for it. That was the best way to get it, Jun knew from experience. The one really nice boyfriend she'd had she had met right after she'd given up on boys for the moment. When you weren't looking for it, you weren't picky about who you talked to, who you were friends with. You weren't focused on talking to that one cute guy. It was all about coming out of nowhere.
It also meant that Hikari could possibly fall for the one person she least expected to--Daisuke. Now that it was established that she did *not* hate him (as Daisuke had so often complained), it was time to get her to more-than-like him.
But how?
Jun was hitting a roadblock on that one.
It crossed her mind that she should work on Daisuke and Ken should work on Hikari, because if she tried to talk to Hikari about Daisuke for no apparent reason, Hikari would get suspicious.
Okay. That was a starting point. Now what?
She should probably talk to Daisuke and see if he'd made any attempt to talk to Hikari about his feelings--he probably hadn't. It wasn't too late to bring up "the girl from your party". She decided to make that phase two. Now for phase three.
She racked her brain. What could possibly get those two together?
Well...if it was on Daisuke's mind he'd probably say something to the poor girl. But saying something usually got him into a tactless mess.
~AH-HA!~ Jun smiled. There was the trick. When she talked to him, she would also make suggestions about what to say to the poor girl. ~Phase three planned. Now, phase four--how to get them alone for a good long while to talk.~ That wouldn't be hard; a stunt similar to the shopping trip, only no one ever showed up at all. Of course, the cat would be out of the bag, but that didn't matter--at that point the two would be safely together and be grateful for the planning. But, what to invite them to? Jun puzzled over that.
A shopping trip wouldn't work again--Daisuke wouldn't say anything in such a crowd. He'd take the girl shopping and nothing romantic was ever said in a mall when a guy was broke.
School was out--that was three more days away and again, the crowds ruined that idea.
No, it definitely needed to be someplace like--like the park! That was more romantic, anyway. Now, why would Hikari and Daisuke both be at the park at the same time?
A soccer game, either Daisuke's, Taichi's, or Ken's. But the teams hadn't even been formed for the year. That was a school thing. Besides, there was that stupid crowd factor again.
Another party? Daisuke had wanted his to be the last of the year--would he show up for another? ~Yeah, he would.~ Jun knew her brother well--a person who considered themselves the life of the party never tried to force the issue of a "last" party.
Ken would have to "throw" it--but that wasn't a problem, it wasn't like there'd need to be decorations or anything. No food, no place...all he'd have to do is call them, and then call the rest of his "guests" and fill them in so no one accidentally gave it away by saying they'd never been invited.
Jun debated on whether or not to call Ken right then, but she figured his parents might be upset at two calls from an almost-total stranger in one night, and it was getting late. She flicked on her lamp and looked at her clock. Time to put on her PJ's.
Hikari stood at her window in her pajamas. That was the one thing she'd liked about getting her own room when she'd turned twelve; she could stare at the stars for hours and Taichi never told her to get into bed.
A shooting star swished across her view and she quickly, almost reflexively, wished for everyone's happiness. It seemed like a selfless wish, but "everyone" included herself.
Ken had asked her how she felt about Daisuke and at the time she'd honestly answered in the neutral; but now that he had put it into her head, she'd been putting more thought into it. She had never considered what kind of boyfriend Daisuke might make. She had to admit he could be pretty sweet.
She knew Daisuke thought that Takeru was her boyfriend, but he wasn't. Everyone else could see that, but Daisuke was...Daisuke. Slightly protective. So he freaked out unnecessarily ~But if I was his girlfriend that would stop.~
Taichi liked Daisuke; that counted for major points in Hikari's estimation. She trusted Taichi's judgement, and what's more, he would never worry when he knew she was with Daisuke because he knew and trusted him.
Daisuke respected her; she knew that he took pains to be polite and nice to her. She liked that in a boy. She knew that if he worried about her in the small things that he would listen to her in the big things.
She could talk to him; she was comfortable around him except when the "Takeru" issue arose.
Another shooting star raced past and she could barely blink before it was gone. ~Wow. Two in one night. That must be a sign of *extra* good luck.~
She decided to put the whole thing out of her mind for the moment and get to sleep. It was late, and she needed to get back into the habit of getting up early before school started. She raised her arms over her head and strectched. It was out of her hands, anyway, she would never say anything until he spoke first. She was all for equality, but if Daisuke liked her as much as he seemed to he was going to have to prove it.
Daisuke slapped the alarm in the morning and stirred himself out of sleep. He groggily made his way to the table.
"Good morning," Jun greeted him in a sing-song voice. "What do you want on your toast?"
"Butter...and orange jelly."
"Marmalade," Jun told him.
"Marmy--marshmallow--marmlate. Whatever. Orange jelly. I can't think at this hour."
Jun laughed. Four slices of toast popped up and she turned to put butter and marmalade on his two and butter and raspberry jam on her own. "You know," she said, "I'm curious. Who was that girl at your party?"
"Yolei? You know Yolei..."
Jun, facing away from him, rolled her eyes. He was thinking more than he claimed to be capable of. He didn't want to talk about it. ~Well, tough. He'll just have to deal with it.~ "Yeah, I know her, but I meant that *other* girl. The shy one with that blond guy. She took all those pictures."
"'Kari-chan wasn't with that blond guy!" Daisuke argued.
"Whatever. Who is she?"
"She's...she's a friend of mine."
"Is that all?"
"Right now, yeah..."
"But you wish she was more?" Jun handed him his plate and a glass of orange juice. Citrus seemed to get him jump-started in the morning.
He nodded. "Yeah, but she pays all her attention to T.K.."
"The blonde?"
He nodded again.
"I don't know, Dai-chan--"
"Davis."
"Whatever. She seemed to talk to you an awful lot, too." She personally thought Hikari was harboring the beginnings of a secret crush, but she dared not tell him that.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Have you ever told her how you feel?"
"I asked her on a date a couple of times."
"That's different."
"It is?"
Jun blinked in mock surprise. She was going to give him a free lesson on what women want and he wasn't even going to notice, much less appreciate. "Yeah. If you tell her that you want to go on a date, there's no meaning in that. You just want someone to hang with to pass the time. But if you say you like her and want to talk about turning the relationship into more than friends, and then set up a date so you can, that's different. You know? It's asking to get to know her instead of asking to kill time."
Daisuke pondered that.
She continued. "Have you ever expressly said, 'Hikari, I like you. I want to be more than just your friend. Can we talk? Could we go to dinner and *talk*?'"
He shook his head.
"Of course, you have to elaborate more than that. Make it more...flowery, I guess. Make it nice. Tell her how you *feel* instead of what you *want*."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You think I should actually go out and do this?"
"Sure, why not?"
"Well--I--but--when?"
"Next time you're alone with her."
Daisuke frowned. "That's not going to be anytime soon."
Jun shrugged. "Call her."
"Their only phone is in the middle of the living room--"
"Oh...right, of course, this should be discussed in private."
He nodded. "She's like that."
"You're like that," she informed him.
He blinked suspiciously. "What do you mean?"
She tilted her head. "You...you seem to wear your feelings right on your sleeve because you're always noisy and cutting up and being a clown, but that's not true," she said. "You have a lot more feelings that don't show. Quieter feelings. Feelings you don't want anyone to know about. You hide them and use the joshing around as a cover--and then you want your close friends to know about those feelings and they don't understand."
"Yeah..." Daisuke breathed. "How did you know all that?"
Jun shrugged. "I just did. I'm analytical or something. I'm good with people."
Daisuke began to be uncomfortable with all the "mush". "So if you're so great with people, how come you can't keep a boyfriend?"
Jun ignored that. "See, you're doing it again. Using a joke to deflect from the fact that you love your oneechan."
"Am not!"
"Yes, you are," Jun insisted.
He continued to protest but she ignored him as she continued getting ready for the day. She left herself a sticky note on her bedroom mirror that even Daisuke couldn't decipher--"Call K. about park tonight!"
Daisuke decided to veg out with his video games until it was time for him to meet Iori and Miyako on the front steps to the building.
As he died for the umpteenth time in half an hour, he let the game go to screensaver and let his mind wander.
~I wonder why Jun was bugging me about 'Kari.~ There weren't any real explanations, other than the possiblility that she was trying to annoy him. It hadn't, although he wasn't sure why. He was kind of glad--the advice she'd given had made sense...somewhat. ~Maybe I *should* tell 'Kari how I feel...but how can I get her alone?~ He wasn't sure, because he couldn't tell her over the phone, and he couldn't call and ask her to meet him alone. She wouldn't do it.
He sighed. Why couldn't she just like him back?
When Jun arrived home that evening, her parents weren't home and Daisuke was holed up in his room. She was used to it--both of her parents worked very late hours and Daisuke wasn't fond of the openness of the kitchen/dining room/living room when no one was around. She made her presence known with a little noise and quietly took the phone in her room.
A few minutes later, Ken was on the line.
"Moshi, moshi?"
"Ken-san! Listen, I talked to Dai-chan today about Hikari, I kind of planted the idea in his head to tell her how he feels if he ever gets a chance alone with her. He doesn't realize that I did but I know it's on his mind. So now all we have to do is create a chance for the two of them to talk, uninterrupted. So here's what I need you to do--I need you to create such an opportunity."
"How?" Ken asked.
"Kind of like you did with the shopping trip, only you call everyone else and tell them what's going on and to keep up the front if they're asked, but not show up."
Ken considered. "Do you really think if they're alone together now that anything will come of it?"
"I've put a lot of thought into it--and I think so, *if* they're at the park and there's no crowds around to make him nervous. The park is so romantic, anyway...listen, do you think you can do that?"
"Of course. What if it doesn't work, though?"
"Then we create a plan B. But we don't plan it until we need it."
"Okay. I'll call everyone right away."
"Great! Ja ne, Ken-san!"
"Bye."
Daisuke answered the phone half an hour later.
"Moshi, moshi, Motomiya desu, the cool one speaking."
"Dai-san? It's Ken. Listen, do you have plans tomorrow?"
"No..."
"Then come meet me and the rest of the group at the park at two."
"What for?"
"Oh, we're just going to hang out...you know..."
"Uh, sure. Yeah, I don't have anything else to do. I'll be there."
"Great! See you then!"
"Bye."
"Bye!"
Hikari arrived at the park first. She had called Takeru to see if he wanted to walk with her, but he'd said that he had a few things to do around the house and he'd be half-an-hour late.
She stood underneath a group of shade trees at the DigiDestined's accustomed meeting spot. She wondered when anyone else would show up.
The storm clouds seemed to have passed, and the weather was sunny but not hot. She was wearing a light cardigan over her t-shirt, but the sun filtering through the trees turned the air kind of yellow, making it seem summery.
She leaned against a tree trunk, waiting. Surely not everyone would be late.
At last, five minutes past the appointed time, Daisuke showed up.
"Sorry I'm late...hey, are you the only one here?"
"So far," she informed him. "Aren't Cody and Yolei with you?"
"Cody said he'd be walking form kendo class and couldn't walk with me, and Yolei said her dad had just called her three seconds before me and asked if she would come down and help for a few extra minutes down in the store, and to go on without her."
Hikari nodded. "It's a nice day. Looks like summer, but it's not."
Daisuke looked around. No one from their group was coming, he knew it might be the only chance he'd get in a long time to tell her anything privately like this. "'Kari-chan, can we talk?"
"About what?"
"Oh...well...you know I like you."
"Yes..." Hikari was afraid she knew where this was heading.
"Well...I...that is...we're friends, right?"
"Of course."
"Well...I...I really would like to get to know you better. I mean, I know that I know a lot because of all the DigiWorld stuff, but...I want...I want to be close to you. I care about you a lot, Hikari. Do you suppose maybe we could...go for dinner sometime and talk?"
She looked at him. "Just talk?"
He cocked his head at her. "As opposed to what?"
"Not a *date*...just, going to dinner? Hanging out? Spending time together?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's what I mean."
"None of that 'be my girlfriend' stuff?"
"If that's what you want. I just want to be with you."
Hikari thought about this. "And you're willing to not move fast, not try to get me to be your girl, not push me too much?"
"Yeah. I mean, yeah, I'm willing to do that."
"And you won't be jealous of my friendship with Takeru?"
He gulped. "I'll try really, really hard. I think I can."
She smiled softly. "I really appreciate a guy that can do that," she said.
He wasn't sure what to say to that. He just stood there in front of her.
"I...I mean...you're being all polite and agreeable...and you're not saying that you love me just like that, but you want to see if you could...and if I could love you back...and you can take it slow...that means a lot to me, Dai-chan."
He was still unsure of what to say to her at that moment.
"And...I think...I think I could do that. Spend time with you, get to know you really well...in fact...I *want* to do that."
He blinked. "Really?"
"Yeah. I like you a lot, Dai-chan. Maybe more than a friend. I don't love you--now. But I think it's a possibility, someday...and I want to find out."
"Yeah...so can we do that, then?"
Her soft smile turned into a grin, and she impulsively stepped forward and gave him a quick peck of a kiss on the cheek. She drew back as quickly as she had advanced. "Does that answer your question?"
That evening, Daisuke came home and Jun was waiting on the couch.
"Have a good time?" she asked.
"Yeah...nobody but 'Kari-chan showed up, though."
"That's weird."
"Yeah...I think Ken-san set us up."
"Really?"
"Yeah...'Kari-chan said he'd been talking to her about me, and stuff...and she thinks he must have had someone helping him...but we couldn't figure out who. We had a good time, anyway, though. We went shopping and then out for dinner. Then it was kind of starting to get dark, so we went back to the park and went stargazing."
"You and what's-her-name?"
"Hikari! Yeah...I kind of talked to her, like you said...and we're going to...not date...but kind of get to know each other a little better. I walked her home."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah..."
"And?" Jun asked tauntingly.
"And what?"
"Well, did she kiss you goodnight?"
Daisuke blushed. "Well, it wasn't a really big kiss, or really long..."
"Was it on the lips?"
Daisuke was visibly squirming where he stood. He didn't answer.
Jun grinned devilishly. "It was! Oh, boy, my brother is really coming up in the world now..."
He decided to change the subject. "Yeah, I guess. Tomorrow I'm going to call Ken-san and thank him. And ask him who helped him out. Tonight, I'm pooped." He shuffled off towards his bedroom.
Jun picked up the phone and called Ken.
"Moshi, moshi, Ichijouji desu, Ken speaking."
"It's Jun. Phase Three a success."
"Really? That's great! Is he mad at me for not showing up?"
"Nah. He's gonna call you tomorrow morning and thank you, but apparently they did a lot of running around--he was pretty tired. Pretty happy, too. You can tell him who was in on it with you."
"Like I could keep a secret from him."
Jun laughed. "He's stubborn that way, isn't he?"
"Yeah...Jun-sama, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
He paused. "How did you know how he and Hikari were going to react to everything?"
Even though he couldn't see it, she shrugged. "I just know that kind of thing. I don't know how I know. I observe people, and life, and then when I know a little about a person, I can just figure that kind of thing out."
"Have you ever thought about going into psychology? As a career, I mean."
"No...but you know what? That sounds very do-able. I'll think about it. Listen, I gotta go."
"Okay."
"And Ken-san?"
"Yes, Jun-sama?"
"Thanks. A lot. This really means a lot to him, and that means a lot to me."
"You're welcome. Bye."
"Ja ne!"
A/N: Ah...that was sweet. I had fun. Hope ya liked it, Dyani.