A love so strong that it shines brighter than a brilliant star?
It's that little jewel so far in the distant and darkened horizon.
I see... The moon lights a path.
The path of love?
The obstacles of life.
With uncontrollable urges to embrace,
To give never ending love and affection,
And to give your partner your up most attention.
Just like a growing friendship...
The star of love will never stop shimmering... Keep the promise?
The promise of standing beside me and holding my trembling hand...?
...The promise of your amiable companionship... to calm my ardent soul.
Close your hand around mine.
And gaze up into the midnight sky.
Look for that shining star...
The Star... Of Love?
And the Friendship Stone...
My gift from me to you.
...Stand with me forever?
I will.

As will I...

Daisuke kicked his soccer ball down the dirt trail in the park. The sun was beginning to set and the golden rays fell upon the clouds to decorate them with the colors of red, pink, and orange. In the far east, the sky was a dark blue and it gradually lit up to meet the sun. Spring had its warm temperatures and sweet smelling flowers, but it made Daisuke feel funny to his stomach. Never in his life had he felt this, not even for the one girl whom everyone thought he liked.

Thought… He mused. Of course I had to flirt, of course I had to pretend. If anyone knew what I liked-who I liked… they'd make fun of me even worse than they already do. They think it's funny and great to talk about the stupid actions that I do. I laugh along with them, true, but if I didn't, they'd think less of me. Hikari, she doesn't know what I think. And Takeru doesn't care either way. Miyako doesn't need to know about it. Nobody does for that matter. Like I keep telling myself, if I say something about who I actually like, I'll be struck dead with humiliation. Ken… Ken… how easily that slips out of my mouth. And how easily I can picture me holding him. But how difficult it is to share feelings like this. Life sucks.

The dirt trail wrapped around the park and entered the forest in three different ways. If you were to follow one path, it would lead to a centerpiece of the park. It was a fountain. Standing so tall and beautiful, it was almost a place to find love. Daisuke guessed it wouldn't hurt to walk to the fountain. There was no real reason he was going there; he wanted to get out of the house, away from the talking, laughing, pressure… He just wanted to think.

In minutes, the goggle-wearing boy strolled to the fountain with his soccer ball being pushed by his feet. Placing his hands in his pockets, Daisuke sat down on the bench in front of the water display, his feet were placed on the black and white ball. The statue was a simple structure, the base was the widest and largest area with the most water, and the top had the faucet that poured out water. Each stream of liquid fell into the next pool and forever-going ripples slipped towards the end of the stone. No water ever dropped out of it and small amounts of money was thrown into it, like a wishing well. Daisuke reached into his pockets to search for anything to toss in. He came up empty handed.

"You weren't preparing to make a senseless wish," somebody behind the boy asked, "did you?"

Daisuke didn't look up, he already knew who it was. "What's so senseless about wishing?"

"Everything." A young boy sat down beside the other. "They never come true."

"Wishing helps though." Daisuke protested.

"How, Daisuke? Do you know how many times I've wished for the return of my brother?"

"That's different. Those types-"

"Can't be granted."

"Ken…"

"Stop trying to convince yourself that wishes help you. There is no good in invoking." Ken stared at the falling water.

"If it helps any," Daisuke said truthfully, "I wish I didn't have my sister."

"You wouldn't wish such a thing."

"Yeah I would- Have you even met my sister? You'd be going nuts by the time she says her second sentence!"

"Notwithstanding what you think you wish, you wouldn't actually want something bad happening to your sibling. Nor would you let something happen."

"You wouldn't know what I think," Daisuke snapped.

Ken kept his stare on the water while the other glared at him. "Trust me. If something happened to your sister, you wouldn't stand by and watch or laugh. You wouldn't witness it; you would take part in getting revenge. You wouldn't care if it was an accident or if it was a contemplate plan; you would just grab the chance to get your vengeance…"

"I guess you're sort of right." Daisuke leaned against the bench again. "What brings you here anyway?"

"Same reason you're here." Replied Ken. "To clear my mind."

There was an instant moment of silence until Daisuke spoke. "What do you think about love?"

"It hurts." He said quickly. "Never trust it."

"Love may hurt," Daisuke searched for his words. "But I would never mean to hurt you. "

"What?"

"I mean," the brunette started to panic, "you know, friends don't let friends get hurt. And-and stuff."

Ken knew what he meant but said nothing. In his own mind, he was afraid of the feeling. The sun just disappeared behind the horizon and the sky above them was a navy blue. Among the little amount of stars, there was one that was shining brightly.

"Would you promise?" Ken whispered and ended with a silent gulp.

Daisuke looked at his friend. "I promise… I will never hurt you in anyway."

By now Ken's left hand was trembling. Both of them glanced up into the sky and saw the bright shimmering star. Daisuke lifted his right hand and let his fingers wrap around the other's hand and squeezed it gently. Instead of pulling back, the boy genius let his hand be held.

"I'll be with you forever." Daisuke whispered lovingly yet hesitantly.

"As will I." Ken whispered back and let the lump in his throat sink by releasing the tear the swelled up in his right eye. What startled him the most was when Daisuke laced his fingers with his and he could feel his friend's hair brush against his neck. There they remained for the next few hours, in the warm weather with the warm embrace. And the endless sky with great stars and a bright half-moon above them… A wordless memory of which they will both remember from nights, or even years, to come. It was love's promise that brought the two together. And it is their love that will keep them together.

For Mercury: I hope you liked it… ^_^; I'm not very good at writing stories and such. But you asked a question if I could write a Ken and Daisuke story… so I did. Sorry it took so long; I had to try to figure out what type of story it should be. Tell me if you like it.

For others: I hope you enjoyed it too. I'm having this strange writer's block… I get this great idea for a story, then when I get to writing it, I start to decrease the interest and I wonder if anyone will like it anyway. And, by the way, I know the ending is kind of weird… I couldn't think of anything better. My apologies. ~HT

Please read and review!