Author's Note: So I haven't written anything in a while (fanfic-wise anyways) and I didn't want to throw myself into stories without getting a little practice in - and extend my horizons a tad while I'm at it. I might get shot for this. But then again, I have no idea what this is.

He could like her. You know, like-like her. Everyone did: Daisuke, even Takeru, although he wouldn't admit it. Ken knew Takeru liked Hikari though, or Daisuke wouldn't feel so threatened and he wouldn't be so protective. It made sense; everything Ken knew about socializing with other people told him that Takeru really cared about Hikari - and not in the way that he cared about Miyako. But of course, that wasn't saying much. Ken knew computers and math, not people.

But still, he could like her.

He should, shouldn't he? He felt like he should, if the other boys his age did. They didn't go to the same school, so he couldn't ask around and see what other guys thought. He only had Takeru and Daisuke to compare, but it seemed like a sound conclusion. He should like her: she was pretty, she was smart, she was determined and brave, she didn't let her demons destroy her soul, she had an inviting smile and always valued what he had to say. She was a kind soul. He should like her for that.

Or maybe he shouldn't. Maybe that was exactly why he shouldn't like her: because she was light, and he was dark, and she was daylight, and she was nighttime, and she was a flashlight, and he was the shadows, and he let his demons eat at his soul until he wasn't sure how much of it was left while she told her demons to go to hell and held her head high when she was drowning inside. She was so brave, trying to fight it by herself while he succumbed to it; no one knew what she felt, but Ken had someone, and he turned Wormon away when he needed him most. Hikari never doubted her friendships; Ken doubted constantly. She was security, he was constant fear. She was warmth, and he was shivering.

He could like her. But no matter how many academic awards he received, she would always be just out of his league.