[fanfic] Digimon Adventure 02: Fireflies: Chapter 5

[higuchimon]

Story Title: Fireflies
Word Count: chapter: 2,925||story: 14,546

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A quick look outside shows me that the fireflies are still out there. I didn't think they stayed up so late. Maybe they're celebrating with me. Yeah, that sounds right. Hey, guys, thanks a lot! Everything's going just fine! It's about time, too. I can't believe all of it has turned around just like that. Maybe I should pay attention to the bugs buzzing around here more often. Who knows what could happen if I do. I want to find out. It can’t be any better than this, but I won’t find out if I don’t pay attention to them.

I really want to talk to someone else about this. I've gushed to V-mon a lot already, and he doesn’t really understand the way that another human would. Digimon are awesome, but they don’t get human feelings most of the time, at least not the romantic ones. Fear, anger, courage, that sort of thing is what they’re good at. But I don’t think I’ve ever run into a Digimon in real love. I know V-mon and Palmon have looked as if they kind of like each other, but it isn’t the same thing. Besides, they’re still different from us. I can’t think of how to say it any other way.

At any rate, I don’t have a lot of people I can talk to about this. Jun's not really an option. She’d laugh at me too much, and she and Shuu are probably busy anyway. I don't think my parents would really want to hear anything else about it. I'm not all that sure, but I think I scared them before. Who would've thought that something like this would've been what really freaked them? I would've thought finding out I was picked to save the world would've pulled that one off pretty nicely. Shows what I know, I guess.

So who should I call? That’s the big question right now. I don’t want to try Takeru. Not that I wouldn't want to gloat a little, who wouldn't, but I think I want to wait to do that in person. It'll be a lot more fun. I don’t think he’s interested in Hikari the way I am, but I still want to. It’s a guy thing.

Miyako's probably all taken up with whoever her latest crush is. I haven’t heard about which guy she’s drooling about since she and Michizuki broke up, but I’m sure that there’s someone. There always is.

Iori's off on some martial arts thingy with his grandfather. Not even a cell phone allowed, and he said the only e-mail he would read would be something concerning the fate of every world in existence. He's no fun at all sometimes. Even when I can get him to laugh, he stops really soon. Oh, well, that’s just the way he is.

Geez, I'm an idiot. I know exactly who to call. Who else should I call right now? Who do you call when you've got the best news of your entire life? Your best friend, of course.

I've got him on speed-dial, too. It takes about a tenth of a second for the call to go through, and then he answers. “Hey, Ken! It's me!”

“I know, Daisuke. I do have caller-ID, you know.” He always sounds like he's about to laugh when he says something like that, and I guess he is. It's sorta funny, anyway. “How have you been?”

“Great!” I'd be waving pompoms in the air if I had any right now. Jun had some, but I don't think she left them around where I could find them. You'd think she was scared I'd do something silly with them. As if. I’d just do something crazy with them. That’s what she should have expected. But she still didn’t leave them here for me. I’ll have to talk to her about that when I can.

I can almost see that single eyebrow going up in that way he has. “And what has you so happy? From the way you sound, you're almost bouncing off the walls.”

“That's because I am! Well, I was. I’ve stopped now.” It was kind of fun while I was still doing it. Maybe he should try it. I've never really seen Ken as utterly happy as I am right now. He's smiled, and he's even laughed, but he's never actually been my kind of happy. That's really a shame. Everyone should try this at least once in their life. It's good for them. At least it hasn't caused me any problems. It’s cleared up a few too. I don’t have to stress about being overstressed.

He chuckles a little. “So what happened? Did your parents tell you they were going to get you your own place?”

“This is even better.” Though having my own apartment, or rather something I could share with V-mon, perks my interest in and of itself. I take a second or two to imagine all the things we could do there by ourselves and shiver. There'd be a lot of takeout boxes everywhere, that's for sure. Maybe I should hold off on this kind of thing until I'm a bit better around the kitchen, if I ever am. Living off of ramen isn't exactly the best thing for your waistline, after all. Even with all the soccer I play, I couldn't keep myself looking so great if that's all I had. Or maybe I could get Yamato to cook for me regularly. Or maybe I could ask if Hikari knows how to cook.

“Daisuke, are you going to tell me what it is, or am I going to have to play Twenty Questions about it?” Ken wouldn't know how to get really angry if he tried, not at me, but I can tell he's at least thinking about it. Maybe I should give him lessons in losing his temper. This constant calm can't be good for his health. That’s one reason I’m as healthy as I am. I don’t keep anything back. In fact, some people have suggested that I hide things away some more. As if I ever would. Oh, well, it's time to get on to the fun stuff anyway!

“I've got a date with Hikari! We're going to be having dinner in the Digital World!” I'm almost squealing. There's nothing wrong with that, of course. I'm happy! But V-mon keeps giving me these weird looks every time I do. Maybe I'm hurting his ears or something. I’ll have to tone it down some. I don’t want to hurt him.

“Congratulations. What made you get up the nerve to ask her?” Why does everyone always ask me that? You'd think it was something they'd never expected. But I tell him. I really want to hear what he has to say about it.

Ken doesn't seem to be all that bothered by the firefly explanation. Hikari was a little surprised, and my parents really seemed freaked, but Ken just accepts it. I guess after the things he's had to deal with, his best friend being urged on by flickering bugs isn't all that unusual. Or maybe he's just used to this kind of thing from me.

“I really hope you two enjoy yourselves, Daisuke. I know you've wanted this for a long time. Good luck.”

“It's going to be awesome! Yamato agreed to make the dinner, so that will be just perfect! And you can't go wrong with a walk, so that'll be perfect too!” I don't really want to take things any further than that. I don't think anything will go screw up, but you just never really know sometimes. I'm going to try and keep my expectations down a little. I'd say to what most people call 'reasonable size' but that's a little boring. I'll settle for 'just the sun and the moon' instead of the entire universe. I can be really patient when I want to be. Or so I tell myself. I haven't told anyone else that, because I'm pretty sure they'd just laugh at the thought of me being patient. I don't know why. I waited a whole week once for a movie I wanted to see! What more do they want? People confuse me, when they don’t make me laugh. Sometimes they confuse me even when they do make me laugh. Or especially when they do.

Ken chuckles again, and I wonder what else might be going through his mind. “Sounds like you've got everything planned. Maybe we'll run into you that night. We're going to have a date there too.”

“We?” Uh oh. Did I hear that right? What does he mean by ‘we’? Is he dating someone? When did Ken start dating someone? I'm his best friend, and I didn't know about this? I think we're going to have to have a talk about this. I called him when I had a date with Hikari! The least he could have done was tell me!

I can almost hear him blushing. I want some answers, damn it! “I guess I forgot to say anything, right?” He sounds so apologetic. I can't let him get away with this, though. No one gets away with anything like this on my watch, not anyone! Not even my best friend!

“You could say that. So spill! Who is it?” I can't think of anyone who it would be, really. Ken just doesn't really seem to associate with any of the same girls I do. Maybe it's a guy? That could be why he didn't say anything. Not that I'd care if it was, but the subject's never really come up before now. But then again, I can't really see him with any of the guys I know either. So it’s probably a girl, just one I don’t know. Maybe she goes to his school. There are some I’ve seen there who are really nice. I don’t know them that well, since I’ve mostly met them when our schools played against each other, and Ken and I have talked during breaks and stuff. But they did seem okay.

He's hesitating. Doesn't he trust me? Finally, he says something. “I'd rather not say right now. This is still kind of new to me. Well, to both of us, really. I'm not ashamed of her or anything; I just don't want to say right now. If we run into each other next weekend, you'll see who it is. I’ll talk to her about it. She might want to let you guys know.”

I can't help but laugh at that. “You're just trying to keep secrets, aren't you? You always have liked being mysterious.” If I were looking at him right now, I just know he'd be redder than a tomato. Ken does like to keep secrets at times. I think it got started with that whole Kaiser thing. He's never kept anything that big from anyone since then, but somewhere along the way he developed what I guess people call a sense of the dramatic. I call it being annoying, but that's just me. It only comes out these days when it doesn't really make that much of a difference one way or the other. So I guess it's all right.

“I think you'll understand once you see her.” There's some kind of extra depth to his voice. I don't think I'd really heard it there before. I think it's...happiness? Contentment? Weird. I haven't heard him sound like that in as long as I can remember. Whoever this person is, I think they're good for him. They'd better be at least. Now I've got more reasons to look forward to Saturday night, since now I’ve got this date with Hikari, and hopefully I can find out who this mystery person Ken is dating is.

“I'd better.” I try to sound menacing, but I don't think it goes over that well. I've never really been able to pull it off quite like Ken can. I don't really think anyone can, but he does have the most practice out of us all. “Or else!”

“Trust me, Daisuke.” Aww, did he have to say it like that? He knows I trust him. Always have and always will. Well, maybe not always have, cause I couldn't have trusted him before I met him, but still, I've trusted him for years. That was a really silly thing to say. I suppose that’s par for the course for Ken, though. He can just be silly and it won’t be silly, because he’s Ken.

I also think I’m confusing myself again.

“All right, all right. If we don't run into you that night, though, will you tell me who it is anyway?”

I think he's thinking about it. Ken always thinks about everything. Which isn't always so bad, but it was a severe pain when we were trying to decide what movie we should all go see last month, and he was the one who spent two hours comparing reviews about all the options before he made up his mind. I mean, there's thinking about things, and then there's just being weird!

“All right. If we don't see you, and if she doesn’t mind, then, yes. I'll bring her over to your place on Sunday. She should be able to come then.” Okay, that's even weirder. Why would she not be able to come over? Ken hasn't pulled a mystery like this in about ...three years or so. I think I kinda like this one, though. I mean, who really did catch him? Is it a just friends kind of thing or are they seriously serious? Yeah, Saturday's going to be one interesting day. I almost wish I went to Tamachi now. I bet I could figure out who it was if I were there. I can’t imagine Ken doing anything like holding hands with someone going down the hall or whispering in an empty classroom or anything like that. It’s just not him.

I catch myself yawning, and stare over at the clock. Whoa. It's late. Not really too late, but late enough so that I can’t sit around talking that much anymore. The time snuck up on me! Darn time. It does that way too much. If I didn’t know better, I’d think time liked to do that, just to annoy me. In fact, I do know better, and I still think it. “Ken, I hate to hang up so soon, but I've got to get some sleep. I’ve got school tomorrow.” I make a face. I just have to deal with a few more years until I'm done with this whole school mess and can go out and do something with my life. I can hardly wait.

“That's all right, Daisuke. I'll see you soon.” Once we've both hung up, I change in my nightshirt, give V-mon his evening snack so he won't try to nibble on my ear in his sleep, and settle down into bed, staring out the window. The fireflies seem to be settling down now too. They’re not exactly tucking themselves into bed, but I’m seeing less and less of them flickering outside. They don’t go all night, not that I’ve noticed, anyway. I hope they’re all having as much luck as I am with that girlfriend hunt.

Thanks, little guys. Maybe I should name my first kid after you. That’s if I ever have a first kid, and if it's a girl. If I named a boy 'Hotaru' I wouldn't be too surprised if they hated me. Oh, well, that's a long way off in the future, if it ever happens at all. I've got things a lot closer to look forward to, like my date with Hikari and finding out just who Ken’s date is. Maybe V-mon can get it out of Wormmon. Ken didn’t say I couldn’t try to find out ahead of time, of course. He probably didn’t think that I would even think about it. Boy, does he still have a lot to learn about me. He won’t mind, though. If Wormmon doesn’t know or won’t tell, I can still try to find out some other way. I could head down to Ken’s place and watch from the bushes or something and see if she comes over to visit, or see if he goes out to see her. Or if that doesn’t work out, there’s just waiting for the weekend. It won’t be as much fun, but it’ll work, I’m sure of it.

So, yeah, I’ve got a lot to look forward to. Dates. Schemes. Plans.

Oh. And something else. Something I wish I hadn’t remembered just now. It’s tomorrow’s biology test that I forgot to study for. Great. I’m not exactly passing that class with flying colors either. Ken could’ve helped me work it out, but I was too busy with all the other homework I had to do to even think about it until just now. I don’t want to get up and open the books again. I want to sleep. And dream about Hikari. But if I don’t make some kind of a decent grade, there’s a chance my parents won’t even let me go on the date. Not a big chance, but it’s not one I think I want to take.

You know, not that I’m not grateful for the date they inspired, but I want to blame this on those little blinking lights outside. It’s all their fault. Hey, fireflies, why didn't you remind me of that test a lot sooner, huh?

To Be Continued