The Crack in the Mirror

By Chyna Rose

Chapter Five: Gathering the Pieces

Daisuke

"This is nice."

"Hmm?"

"This." I said, gesturing at our intertwined bodies.

We were lying on my bed, enjoying a quiet afternoon together. It had been five months since we were last able to do this. Five months since I accidentally hit Takeru in the head with a bat. We're both doing better, and he's not mad at me -for that anyway.

I snuggled closer to Ken, relishing his warmth. Ken murmured and turned away from me. I carefully brushed his hair away from his neck and kissed him. I rubbed up against him, my intention plain. Ken groaned, and ground against me instinctively.

"What time is it?" he panted as I began to suck on his earlobe. I stopped what I was doing and looked at the clock on the nightstand.

"Nine fifteen." I replied as I grabbed the tube of lube that sat next to the clock. I began to squeeze some of it into my hand.

"Shit!" Ken said as he sat up suddenly. He left the bed and began to search for his boxers. "We're supposed to meet the others at the park in five minutes." He explained as he tossed my clothes at me. I wiped my hand on my sheets. Dressed, I stopped long enough to grab an envelope before we raced out of my apartment.

Mimi

"Sorry we're late." Daisuke said as he and Ken arrived slightly out of breath. This was the fist time in five months that we all were together. And it would probably be one of the last. Come September, Joyu was going to start towards a degree in psychology. Yamato's band was going to go on tour while Tai, Sora, and myself were headed for college. Koushiro had a job with a computer company all lined up. But no matter what happened, the twelve of us would always come here to Odiba on the first of August for a reunion.

"Um, Hikari?"

"Yes Daisuke?"

"Here." he said, shoving an envelope into her hand. "I would've given you this earlier, but…"

"It's okay Dai. I understand."

Things were also changing greatly for the young kids. Or at least they were for most of them. Miyako's finally gotten over the fact that Ken likes Daisuke better than her. She's still got a ways to go, but at least she isn't taking it out on Daisuke anymore. Ken's busy adjusting to the fact that he's finally dating his best friend.

It's hard to say who else is facing the biggest change in their life. Iroi's heading into high school and an impending arranged marriage. He's a little nervous about the marriage, (not that anyone who isn't close to him can tell) but he's not even trying to fight it. Although he did suggest that the wedding be put off until after high school. I've met his intended. She's a good match for him. Both TK and Kari are facing the same complication, and possibly the biggest. In roughly three months, Mr. and Mrs. Takeru Takashi will be the proud parents of a bouncing baby. As for Daisuke…

"Hey guys. What's everybody up to these days?"

Daisuke just gout out of the hospital yesterday. He'd been in there ever since he hit TK in the head with a baseball bat. He'll be on anti-psychotics for the rest of his life. It's a big change, and one with few rewards. At least with marriage and kids you have things to look forward to. And teenage motherhood holds less of a stigma than mental illness.

Koushiro

"So what's it like?"

"What's what like?"

I watched as Daisuke stole a grape from Ken and popped it in his mouth. Ken retaliated by taking a sip of Daisuke's drink. After the initial meeting, the group had split up into smaller groups. The conversation in my group had gradually changed to the subject of Daisuke and what he had gone though, seeing as none of us have ever been placed in a mental institution.

"You know."

"No I don't."

"What's it like to be, well…"

"Crazy? I might as well ask you what it's like to be sane."

"I don't understand."

"I think it's hard for anyone to understand unless they've gone though it. You have to realize that I never thought anything was wrong. To me, everything didn't just seem real, it was real."

"Oh."

I could tell that the others wanted to know more about what Daisuke had gone through. I myself wanted to know, but was unsure what effect bringing the subject up would have.

Ken was the only one, outside of his immediate family, who had the most knowledge of what happened to Daisuke. While he was hospitalized, Ken was really the only one of us that Daisuke tolerated. For the first two months or so, he was terrified of Yamato.

Oh, I know some things. Daisuke has a very interesting set of delusions centering around the Digital World. After Daisuke's doctor met Chibimon, she called me in to explain about Digital World, as Daisuke had said that I was an expert in the field. She had brought up the subject of individual digimon, like Chibimon, Daisuke routinely mentioned. A number of them (such as Tialmon, Koumon, Kensumon, and Myiomon) I had absolutely no knowledge of. In fact, I was unaware that they even existed. Later, I talked with Genni. He confirmed that these digimon did not, in fact, exist. Although I wonder…

Miyako

I watched as Daisuke as he lounged all over Ken. Ugh! Why did they have to be so… so… so… open!? It was infuriating.

"It's just not fair."

"What's not fair?" Hikari asked. I blinked, not realizing that I said the last bit out loud. Hikari looked over to where I had been looking all this time. "Oh. Are you going to be okay?"

"I think so. It's just so hard."

It hurts. It hurts that I can never be with Ken the way I want to. It hurts that I'm not the one that makes him smile just by breathing. And it hurts so damn much that I never had a fucking chance.

Not long after we defeated Belial Vamdemon, I told Ken how I felt. He explained why it could never work out between us. After that, things I had seen before clicked into place. Small things. Things that at the time seem so simple, but are so clear in hindsight.

I hated him then. He took Ken away from me. Never mind that the only way I'd get Ken is if I had a sex change operation. Daisuke had Ken's heart right in the palm of his hand. And the worst part was, he didn't seem to notice or care.

"It always is, Miya. But we're all here for you if you need a shoulder to cry on."

"Thanks Sora."

~~~@~~~@~~~

"Daisuke, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure Miyako. What do you want to talk about?"

"Ken."

I could see his face fall a little. Not much, just a bit. By now, everyone knew that I still had a crush on Ken. But I was trying my hardest to get over him. This was just the next step.

"I know you love Ken, and he has loved you ever since the Digital World. He my never return my feelings, but I still care for him. If I ever hear that you hurt him, they will need dental records to identify you."

"Hurting Ken equals messy death. Got it. Although if I actually did hurt him, I might as well be dead. I had a hard enough time ordering Flamedramon to attack a spiraled Metal Greymon."

"So how are you doing, really?"

"Pretty good. It's hard though. I see Hikari and Takeru together, and it just doesn't seem right. Not because I thought she'd be with me, but because I always thought that Takeru loved Iori and Hikari loved you. I have to take pills everyday for the rest of my life, and I don't think I'm even sick."

"Oh."

"It's not that bad. At least I was right thinking Ken liked me back. It would've been pretty embarrassing if he didn't."

"It wouldn't have been embarrassing."

"It wouldn't have?"

"He didn't know how you felt for a long time. All that would've happened, is you going home with a broken heart."

"Oh."

"Just be happy with him. And I'm not above a threesome if either of you feel up to it."

"What?" he stammered as I winked and flounced off. I may not be able to win Ken's heart, but I'm not above teasing them. Or about to stop going after his body. Hey, who knows? If they decide to take me up on my offer, it might turn out to be a lot of fun for the three of us.

@---<-- End