A/N: Written for the 5,10,20,50,70,100 fandoms challenge, fandom 7.

Another to Understand

I don't understand people. I suppose it's a simple enough fact to state, but its consequences turned out to be quite complex. Thinking back though, if I had understood them – I mean, really understood them – only one of two possible outcomes could have achieved. Either the entire fiasco, starting from a seemingly childish argument with my brother and ending in the family I created with the woman I had learnt to love, would have not happened…or the Digimon Kaiser, and ultimately BelialVamdemon, would have triumphed.

You'll notice I've said "don't" in the present tense; that is not a slip of the tongue – or finger in this instance – I assure you. When I say "don't", I mean it applies just as much to the present as it does to the past. I still don't understand people, but at least now that has a different meaning. It doesn't mean that I see them all as insects below my feet in a gross underestimation. It doesn't mean I'm annoyed beyond reason when something doesn't go according to the script…although they'll always be people like Daisuke who manage to surprise you at every turn. It means…I suppose it's refreshing. Not having to think so hard. To allow myself to relax and not have to think several steps ahead on rough sketches.

So I still don't win every round of Poker I play. Actually, I lose more now than I ever did, but I have more fun. I don't understand people; never have, and perhaps I never will. But that's simply not me; that's people like Daisuke who can pick out the good in anyone with a sharp toothpick. People like Hikari who can dig into your very soul with her soft eyes and sweet words. Iori though…he's more like me. I don't think he understands people either, but he understood that a lot earlier than I did.

Maybe that's why the two of us have a hard time getting along. I think, given a Dark Spore, he could have turned out very similar and sometimes, I think he realises that too. But it's something we never talk about; we hardly talk without the others around, simply stare. Maybe, when one of us starts understanding the world a little better, we'll break the ice. Until then, we'll leave that to Daisuke or Miyako or Hikari or even Takeru.

I'll leave that to the people who do understand others; I still need to understand myself, and I've got a long way to go for that.