Notes: Kizuna-compliant but set before, so this is spoiler-free. Now, ever since we saw the first shots of Kizuna, I've had the headcanon that the necklace Miyako wears with her outfit (the one from the sneak peek) was a gift from Ken. Of course I had to fic it, eventually!

Blue

"It's like he knew."

"Miyako…"

Hawkmon didn't complete the sentence, but he didn't need to. It wasn't like Miyako to be angry over a gift. She liked gifts! She loved them, even. Who didn't? It was always a good day whenever someone took the time to find something for her, something she would like and treasure.

And she did treasure this necklace. She wore it often, and every time she looked at it, she thought of… Well. It didn't matter what she thought of. She thought. That was the problem. She was thinking, when no thinking was necessary.

"It's like he knew what he was doing," she insisted. "He's good at mind games."

"Miyako, I don't think…"

"I know, I know, you're right. I'm just…" She needed to be angry, and she didn't want to be angry with herself . "It's not his fault, and it actually makes this worse."

Ken having no idea of what he was putting her through was worse than him knowing exactly what he was doing. It meant it was her fault, and it was all in her head, and that he was resting easy while her mind worked overtime. It was even past midnight in back home in Japan. He was asleep. It was unfair.

Her phone chimed, bringing her back to what had sent her spiraling in the first place. Miyako buried her face in her hands. Had it been a message from Ken himself, she wouldn't feel this silly. But she didn't need to look to know it wasn't him, though, she had to admit, he had become significantly better at writing to her unprompted...

"Are you sure it's a good idea to leave Amalia waiting?"

Amalia. Right. Miyako peeked at Hawkmon, who was picking up her phone and handing it to her.

"Don't look at my messages." She snatched the phone away from her partner, who jumped back.

"I don't have to!" He said. "You have been talking to Amalia for the last two hours!"

Miyako sighed.

"You're right. I'm sorry I snapped." Miyako then muttered to herself, "I hate it when you're right."

Hawkmon being right usually translated into her being wrong, and her being wrong meant she had to do something about whatever was clouding her judgment. And she didn't want to deal with any of it.

Miyako stared at her phone, still not opening the message that waited for her. People like Amalia were one of the reasons why she'd wanted to leave home for a while. Dating was nearly impossible for her when she was living with her parents and pining after one of her best friends. Miyako had hoped distance would get rid of both obstacles.

But she could see her necklace reflected on the screen of her phone. This wouldn't bother her normally. Quite the opposite, really, because it was Ken who had given it to her.

"A parting gift," he'd said as he extended it to her, on her very last day in Japan. He insisted on walking her home after Hikari had hosted a goodbye party for her, and only then she'd understood why. "I can't promise I'll write as much as you'll want me to, so I thought I could give you something else to remember me by."

...As if she could ever forget him!

Miyako even remembered exactly how he'd looked after she'd accepted the gift. Ken had stood with his hands in his pockets, face turned away as if hiding a blush, but with a completely serene expression. Miyako had been too stunned to say anything.

"You can open it," Ken said, before she could find her voice.

She hesitated for a second. Ken was the sort to stick to formalities even in the most casual situations… but her curiosity had won over any semblance of manners. She'd opened the package slowly, to calm her trembling fingers. It had been in vain. The second her eyes had fallen on the item given, her heart sped up.

It was a delicate necklace of multiple thin chains, adorned with vibrant blue stones that glinted in the dimming sunlight. She took a few seconds to drink them in. Beautiful, of course. She hadn't expected otherwise. Ken wouldn't have enabled her impatience hadn't he been certain that she would love it.

There was so much Miyako had wanted to say. That it was a wonderful gift. That she'd miss him. That this was too much. That he knew her too well. That she would think of him every time she wore it, and every time she didn't. That he was making her want to stay. That all she wanted now was to-

She'd stopped herself. Whatever she might have said, it would most certainly have been the wrong thing. So she put on a smile, and instead of closing the box it came in, she opted to wear the necklace. It felt cold against her skin, but the length was perfect and the weight was comforting.

You do have to say something, Miyako.

"I love it." It came out as a whisper, her voice failing her. "Thank you."

Ken had started, having been giving her space instead of gauging her reaction. But then his piercing blue eyes had fallen on her, and remained there for a long, hard second. She'd tried to get her body in check - her burning face, her shaking hands and her beating heart… but none of them would listen, and her discomposure was too evident to try to hide from someone as observant as Ken was.

He'd noticed. He'd obviously noticed. The silence didn't last for a second until it became heavy.

"Don't believe you're off the hook if you forget to write," she'd blurted out.

...And she'd almost wanted to scream at herself, because almost any of her other thoughts would have been more appropriate. But Ken laughed. It was a hearty, sincere laugh that never failed to shatter her defenses, no matter how much she tried to keep them up.

"I won't forget, Miyako."

Well, he had not forgotten. Which made things worse at present time, because if he had been too caught up with life to write, she could have avoided thinking about him. She could've held that against him… but there was nothing she could hold against Ken.

And Amalia… well, Amalia couldn't have known any of it when she'd complimented Miyako's necklace the previous night.

Her host university had arranged a movie night. Miyako had already seen the movie, but her friends hadn't, so she and Hawkmon had tagged along for the company and the free popcorn. But something else caught her eye. She got to the auditorium-turned-cinema fifteen minutes before the movie was set to start… and then she saw it.

A Digimon…!

Yes, it was a small, black, dragon-like creature. She'd met with other Chosen Children in Spain, but she'd never seen this Digimon before.

He looks so cool! I bet his human is really cool too!

She'd excused herself and left her friends, looking at the people standing and sitting nearby to find the person in question. It didn't take long. Amalia's gaze had been every bit as curious as she was feeling, so Miyako didn't hesitate to walk up to her and introduce herself. They'd greeted each other like they'd always known each other. There was a sense of complicity upon meeting other Chosen Children that Miyako could never quite put into words…

And yet, this had been something else entirely. Not only because she'd been instantly drawn to Amalia, her spiky fire-red hair, her deep voice, and her long-lashed eyes. No. Finding people attractive was too much of a common occurrence for Miyako...

People finding her attractive in return, however… now that was exciting.

The conversation had taken them to obvious places. Amalia's English was good, if heavily accented, and Miyako had liked her all the more for it. She'd learned that Amalia was from Granada, became a Chosen Child in 2003 and that she was finishing a degree in mechanical engineering. She'd been introduced to Vorvomon, who met her every expectation.

Amalia had asked many questions too, about her life in Japan, and her time in Spain, but something had seemed stilted until her dark gaze had fallen below Miyako's face.

"I really like your necklace," Amalia had said, coming close to examine it. Her fingers brushed Miyako's skin as she held one of the crystals. Miyako didn't move away. "Where did you get it?"

"It was a gift."

"A boyfriend?"

Ah, there it was, now. That fake innocence, that sly smirk… but Miyako couldn't smile back as she would normally have. Amalia's loaded question had been a knife piercing her lungs and leaving her out of breath, if only for a second.

"A friend," she'd answered, waiting a few seconds before confirming, "I'm not seeing anyone."

Amalia's dazzling smirk had widened.

"I think it's already past seven," she'd said. "Come sit with me. I'll introduce you to my friends."

But Miyako hadn't really wanted to watch a movie, at least not there and then. She hadn't wanted to get to know other people… she'd just wanted to get to know this one better.

"Amalia… how much do you want to watch this movie?" Amalia had raised her eyebrows without any displeasure. "I think I have a better idea."

They'd left the event early and ended the night in Amalia's dorm. They'd opened a bottle of wine, ordered pizza, and watched a different movie with their Digimon partners, whispering jokes to each other about how it felt like they were being chaperoned.

Those were jokes that held semblances of truth. That's why Miyako had crashed asleep on the couch and then slipped away early the next morning, making up something or another about having to finish an assignment. She didn't want things to move too quickly between them, whatever things were. She'd only half-pretended to be busy, though, as they'd exchanged messages all afternoon.

That was until Amalia had asked her if she wanted to meet the next day after her class. Miyako had smiled, her excitement compelling her to do something with her hands - and they'd found the chain of the necklace still hanging around her neck.

And that's where she was.

"I wish I could forget, if only for one second…" She sighed, then frowned, turning to face Hawkmon. "No, I can forget. I can. You thought Vorvomon was pretty cool, didn't you, Hawkmon? That makes this easier."

...Except she was still frozen in place.

"Miyako," Hawkmon intervened softly, "what is this about?"

Hawkmon had learned to ask that question long ago, whenever it was clear Miyako wasn't being honest. Well, this was about the fact that she wanted to flirt with a cute girl in peace, without thinking of anybody else. She couldn't tell that to Hawkmon so frankly.

"Amalia wants to meet tomorrow. I'm just... I don't know what to do."

Hawkmon blinked twice. The older Miyako got, the more it became apparent that her Digimon partner hadn't changed with her. But Hawkmon was still there, doing his best, and his best was more than enough.

"Didn't you have fun last night?" He asked.

"I did! And I do like her, but…" Clarity struck Miyako suddenly. "Of course. You're right. Again."

"But I didn't say anything…"

Hawkmon trailed off, because Miyako wasn't listening anymore. She could finally answer the message to say that yes, tomorrow would be wonderful. She'd had fun, and she liked Amalia. That's all that mattered. Whatever waited for her back in Japan, there was nothing she could do about it now. And even if she couldn't really get over Ken that easily, she could push him to the back of her mind for the next five months.

She'd had eight years worth of practice.