Luckily, Hikari slipped out from underneath Daisuke’s arm before Takeru could throw a punch. "Sora, I love your bathing suit!" she changed the subject.

"Oh, thanks! I know Yamato doesn’t really take kindly to me wearing bikinis in public, but he said if I liked this little yellow one so much, he wouldn’t mind," she chuckled.

"I’ll say! I certainly don’t mind!" Taichi discourteously, perversely, joined the conversation.

Sora, dumbfounded, tried to cover up her skin from Taichi’s probing gaze with her hands and arms. Hikari, ashamed at her brother’s lewdness, blushed and looked away. Takeru turned around and noticed that Yamato had sprung up from his seat on Sora’s towel and determinedly stalked towards the group, the big T-shirt of his that she had worn as a cover-up on the drive there over his arm.

"Come on, Sora, can’t you take a compliment? You used to so well before..." Taichi leered at her and winked, and Takeru felt like punching him as well.

Before Sora could respond, Yamato had approached and slammed the T-shirt over his girlfriend’s head as he glared at Taichi. A sigh of relief could be heard escaping the shirt as Sora hurriedly pulled it on.

"How nice of you to visit the beach on the same day my girlfriend, brother and I decided to come," Yamato seethed, not bothering to hide the fact that he was royally pissed.

"Well," Taichi grinned, "I figured, ‘Why just let my little sister and Takeru and Sora and you have all the fun on this nice day? Why not join the fun?’ So Daisuke and I are here to do just that!" he raised his arm, revealing that he had brought with him his portable radio.

Takeru could see that the peace that had greeted he, his brother, and Sora when they had arrived would not grace them at all for the rest of their day at the beach.

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Surprisingly, and unhappily on the part of Yamato, Sora, and Takeru, the picnic lunch did satiate all six of them, though Takeru had lied and suspected that Yamato had too, just to ensure that the girls had as much as they wanted. Daisuke and Taichi, who hadn’t been invited, but also couldn’t be turned away without the maker of the picnic, Sora, seeming to be very rude, had also eaten as much as they wanted--quickly and impolitely. Their stomachs made such inhuman noises that a couple of times, Takeru thought that it was the bowels of Hell opening up to swallow them all down instead. Not that he would’ve minded if it was, since it would easily dispose of his problem with Daisuke, but then he would have minded, since Sora and Hikari wouldn’t have deserved that. Taichi definitely would have, and Takeru wasn’t sure if Yamato did too, since he did make Sora happy, but he had teased Takeru relentlessly when they were young children. Such is the sibling compleP>
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And it presented itself visibly at the beach that day, as well. Hikari, after the picnic, drew her brother aside to scold him for his lewdness towards Sora. Takeru could see them arguing down the beach, and could only sigh in frustration as he turned and saw Sora, who had become self-conscious that day thanks to Taichi’s stare, sat in the shade of her umbrella on her towel, her legs drawn up and hidden beneath her T-shirt, her eyes hidden behind Yamato’s sunglasses so she couldn’t meet the pervert’s gaze. Yamato sat with her, his arm draped about her shoulders in comfort, whispering things--probably of reassurance--to her while occasionally turning his head away to glare at the pervert down the beach.

Takeru sat alone, Daisuke out of sight somewhere, sort of building the sand in front of him between his spread-out legs into little sand castles, waiting for that half-hour wait after eating to subside so that he could pull on his goggles again and dive into that refreshing seawater. He wasn’t an excellent architect, so the castles looked more like the surf had reached puberty and was getting pimples.

"Did you build me a new home?" a divine being’s breath tickled past his ear.

"Hikari!" Takeru shouted as he jumped and turned to see her smiling at him over his shoulder, destroying the beach’s acne in the process.

HikaHikari feigned sadness, pouting her slices-of-strawberries lips in a manner that Takeru knew was playful, but deep down wished was seductive. "The demolition crews arrived before I could even move in!" she giggled.

"Oh!" Takeru suddenly felt very guilty, though he knew Hikari was just joking. Then he remembered something, "Hey, where’d your brother go?"

Hikari groaned and rolled her eyes, "That jerk...I feel so embarrassed and ashamed! The nerve of him! Saying such harassing things to Sora...I hate him sometimes."

"Well..." Takeru started to defend the behavior of men, "...certainly you know that once a male has his attentions on something, he won’t give up?"

Hikari sat down in the sand beside him and looked sideways at him. "Is that your nature too, Takeru?" Hikari giggled. She meant it teasingly, flirtingly, and Takeru understood that. The blood rushed to his skin, and he felt suddenly shy.

"U-uh...t-that is to say...what I mean is..." he scratched his head, embarrassed.

Hikari giggled again, but then turned serious. "True that Taichi still has...strong feelings...for Sora, but he should realize when to stop! This is destiny!"

Takeru froze: that word Hikari just used...that was what Sora had talked to him about the previous week when he’d talked with her about the feelings he had for Hikari. It seemed she knew the tendencies of fate as well...did she believe it held for her what Takeru hoped it held for him? Love...together? Takeru slowly shut his eyes as he imagined the possibility, but couldn’t let himself sink too far into it, for the angel spoke again.

"It’s too bad he isn’t more mature...but that’s why Sora had to leave him. I’m sorry to say it about my brother, but it’s true. At first he was everything she thought she wanted, but as she grew up in their relationship, he didn’t. So she couldn’t stay with him."

"That’s too bad..." Takeru didn’t know how to respond. He recalled quite well when Sora first started dating Taichi: his brother Yamato was completely devastated. But Yamato was mature, and maintained his friendship with Sora while she was with Taichi by respecting her decision and not criticizing it. And because of his honest behavior, she began to lose interest in Taichi...for obvious reasons. By the end of Hikari’s brother’s and Sora’s relationship, it was clear to everyone that the only thread that was holding it together was their libidos...their shared sex drives, if you will. But even with the hormones binding them, Sora never let Taichi claim her virginity...that was something she felt she had to keep intact until she decided she was reallylovelove, and Taichi had never made her feel that way (though he had made her feel in...various other ways). When the end was nigh, Taichi kept persisting that they sleep together, that it would save what they had together. But Soteadteadfastly, and wisely, refused. Besides, for the last half of their relationship she had secretly had a huge crush on Takeru’s brother. And when Sora finally broke up with Taichi, she felt very free, and soon bound herself--though she never felt bound--to a real man: Yamato. And Taichi was left alone, bitter at his best friend and persistent to reach Sora’s telephone. Eventually, he couldn’t, for she had happily moved in with Yamato, and had been happy ever since. Taichi then abandoned bitterness for charm, trying to seduce Sora away from Yamato like he had before. Sora never gave in, and each time Yamato hated his ex-best friend even more.

"I’ gla glad Sora’s got a nice, strong, loving man by her side now," Hikari said while Takeru stared at her as she glanced over her shoulder in the direction that Sora and Yamato were sitting together. "Does it run in the family?" she asked Takeru while chuckling and still staring in the lovers’ direction.

Takeru quickly looked away from her, instead directing his gaze at the sea. Her flirting wasn’t fair! She was so lovely...he couldn’t take it that he wasn’t bold enough to tell her how he actually felt.

Suddenly, he realized that he couldn’t hear Hikari breathing. He whirled to face her, and saw a shocked and delighted expression on her face. She was still staring in the direction that Yamato and Sora had set up their towel and umbrella in.

Takeru turned tok ink in the same direction, and saw that Sora had regained her confidence. She was lying on her stomach on the towel, out of the shade of the umbrella and instead in the sun, wea wearing her cover-up T-shirt. Or even her bikini top, for that matter, as she had taken it off so as not to get any tanlines. Yamato was generously rubbing her back with tanning oil, wearing the sunglasses Sora had also removed when her confidence returned, and both he and she were seemingly enjoying it, judging from the expressions on their faces. Then Takeru remembered something.

"Hey, you didnnswenswer my question from before," he turned back to face Hikari. "Where did Taichi go?"

Hikari glanced up at him briefly from beneath her eyebrows. "The picnic. Remember how much of it he just ate?"

Takeru nodded...but didn’t know why.

"He was the only one who had any sashimi...in fact, he ate all of it, right? And with this hot sun and all, it must have spoiled before lunch. So right in the middle of my lecturing him, he whirled away and threw it up."

Takeru felt a smile coming on, ‘Ha! Serves him right!’ he thought, but said nothing and kept the corners of his mouth down.

"I didn’t know what to do, but luckily Taichi did. He was obviously embarrassed, and sputtered he had to go sit in the shade and cool down. He ran off to the parking lot, I assume to nurse himself in his air-conditioned car," Hikari seemed ashamed, shifting her sitting position so her legs were drawn up with her chin resting on her knees, and twirled a finger in the sand. "I want to yell at him that this is what he gets for hurting Sora, but he’s my brother..."

Takeru scowled, thankful that the hat Hikari wore didn’t allow her to simply cast her eyes up without turning her head, so she couldn’t see his disapproval of this part of her kindness. But he did indeed love every other aspect of her caring nature.

"Oh, my," Hikari suddenly gasped and raised her head, again gazing in the direction that Yamato and Sora were situated on the beach. Takeru quickly erased his scowl, and again followed her stare.

Yamato was on his knees on Sora’s towel, leaned down, the curve of his bare back facing the sun, as he whispered what Takeru assumed to be sweet nothings in Sora’s ear. Sora was broadly smiling, giggling uncontrollably, and Yamato was still rubbing her back. Then he let one hand stray too far, and rub beneath her torso on her side facing away from Hikari and Takeru, and she sprang up to lie on her other side, her back facing her boyfriend’s younger brother and Hikari, holding a corner of her towel to hide her bare chest as she laughingly shoved Yamato away. But Yamato animalistically pounced back, and pushed Sora on her back as she still held the towel to cover her nakedness. Then her lover jumped on top of her, straddling her hips, and leaned in for the kill: a passionate kiss. Sora wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, and let his hands roam to touch what she hid beneath the towel...

Takeru quickly looked away, not wanting to see such a sight again...and shook his head vigorously before the image of what he saw ‘That Night’ rematerialized in his mind. His sweat sprayed in all directions, and he suddenly remembered why he was sitting there in the sand to b wit with: he had been waiting until he could visit the sea again. His hands fumbled at his side that Hikari wasn’t sitting on, finally grabbing a hold of his swimming goggles. He raised them to his head, to put them on, when the angel beside him suddenly sprang to her feet.

"You’re right!" she exclaimed, "We should give them some ‘alone time.’ Let’s go swimming!"

"Huh?" Takeru slowly swung his gaze towards her, and was shocked when she began to strip. She pulled off her khaki shorts, revealing that the white and purple striped tank top she was wearing wasn’t a tank top at all, but part of her one-piece bathing suit. His jaw dropped as she kicked off her sandals and threw off her hat, seemingly not caring where they landed. The next thing he knew, Takeru was watching Hikari skip into the surf, swinging something from her hand...his swimming goggles!

"Hey!" Takeru’s hormones dispersed as he realized she’d taken his goggles right from his hands without him even remembering that happening.

Hikari put the goggles on herself, and kneeled in the refreshing-looking water. "If you want them, come and get them!" she giggled as she threw herself in the water and started swimming away.

Takeru, without knowing when he had gotten into the water, was giving chase.

Takeru was a strong swimmer, and he had caught up to Hikari...repeatedly. He kept falling back, since his hormones had returned, and were presenting simple words in unison in his mind. ‘...Hikari...limber...wet...Hikari...soaked...bathing suit...Hikari...all wet...gorgeous...’ With such a distraction, Takeru wondered how he remembered to breathe.

He then realized where Hikari was headed. She was swimming in the direction of the cliffs of the peninsula he had eyed when he first arrived at the beach. ‘Maybe she wants to go spelunking too,’ Takeru thought.

The swimming was beginning to wear Takeru down, but also, he found he was quite aroused. ‘Probably because its Hikari I’m chasing...’ Takeru chuckled inwardly. Mid-stroke he glanced towards what he was approaching. Hikari was ahead of him a few meters, and clifcliffside was just a few meters more! Takeru decided he could beat her there. He dove underwater, feeling the smooth, eroded rocks just below the water’s surface with his feet, bent his legs, and pushed off of them, propelling himself farther underwater than he could swimming with his head above the waves. His hands held straight in front of him, he felt that he had reached the cliff, and victoriously jumped to surface out of the water, it being only waist-deep now that the sea-bottom was closer to the land.

"Ha! I beat you!" Takeru shouted as he rubbed his eyes then searched for Hikari. He couldn’t see her anywhere. "Hikari?" he asked quietly, fearing the worst: that the tides had caused her fragile bones to crash against the huge cliff rock, and drown her. "Hikari!" he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted away from the cliff and towards the open sea.

An angel giggled above him.

Takeru whirled around, and found sitting on an outcrop of rock, her legs dangling off its edge out of the water, Hikari. She wasn’t drowned; she wasn’t even hurt. She was kicking her legs slightly, smiling down at him, and twirling Takeru’smminmming goggles from their elastic headband around her wrist.

"I beat you," Hikari teased.

Takeru feigned anger and crossed his arms, pouting slightly. "...you had a head st&quo" he ventured.

"That’s no excuse. I’m better than you anyway," Hikari’s grin expanded.

"Better at what...?" Takeru raised an eyebrow and left the question open to interpretation.

Hikari laughed again, and tossed his swimming goggles down to him. Takeru scrambled to catch them, splashing water and keeping his attention focused to holding them...and not letting Hikari take them away from him again.

"Look out below!"

Takeru glanced up to see that Hikari had pushed off her rock-seat, and was falling down towards him. He had just enough time to throw his goggles over his arm to hang from around his elbow, and stretch his arms out to catch the falling angel.

There was a sudden splash, and for a horrifying minute, Takeru thought he had missed catching the girl he loved. But then he felt arms being thrown about his neck, an ear pressed against his shoulder, and uncontrollable giggling. He had caught Hikari, and she was making herself at home in his arms.

"Hey, you are good at something!" Hikari playfully teased, nuzzling her nose in his neck as she still laughed.

"...y-yeah..." Takeru couldn’t believe it. After months of dreaming of such a moment, he finally had Hikari alone with him, and happily in his arms! He thought he’d drowned and gone to Heaven, his angel with him.

"...Takeru?" Hikari wondered why he wasn’t laughing too. But then she felt herself blush as she turned to look at him, and found him staring straight into her eyes. It was unnerving, but strangely thrilling, and she found that she couldn’t look away from him, either.

"...u-uh, Takeru, you can put me down, now," Hikari ventured, trying to break the trance.

"S-sure..." Takeru immediately obeyed, gently placing her on her feet on the water’s rocky bottom. The water level was above her navel, and it seemed to Takeru that it supporher her slightly curvaceous chest. She looked beautiful to him.

Strangely, however, when he put Hikari down, she never relinquished his neck, and still had her arms wrapped around it as they continued looking in each other’s eyes. Takeru, not knowing where to put his hands now, unconsciously let them go to rest on Hikari’s hips. But she didn’t even seem to notice.

‘Heaven...I’m in Heaven...’ an old song playing in his mind, Takeru was spellbound by Hikari’s gaze. Was she moving closer? No, it had to be the sea’s waves pushing up against them. But her grip was tightening, and her hips pressed more tightly against his...

"...Takeru..." Hikari was also lost in her dear friend’s eyes, their emerald depths not allowing her to look away. She was slightly aware of the surf crashing against them and the cliffside, but all her eyes took in was Takeru’s gaze, and her sense of smell welcomed the aroma of saltwater combined with Takeru’s personal musk needfully, and her touch understood the lean muscles of Takeru’s back with her arms wrapped about his strong neck. Only one sense was unaccounted for: taste. She had the undeniable urge to experience it as well, and his lips looked inviting in the form of pink slivers of licorice. Without her realizing it, she was going in towards, wa, want forcing her to stand on tip-toe to try to reach Takeru’s mouth.

Takeru was also disconnected, only seeing a pair of delicious strawberry slices approaching, and since his stomach was unsatisfied from not eating enough at lunch, he wanted them. He let his lips part slightly to take them, desiring to first feel their juices against the outside of his mouth.

Suddenly, a particularly strong ocean wave crashed up against them, pushing their legs out from under them and carrying them with it towards the cliff. They both snapped out of the trance, and Hikari held more tightly onto his neck as his hands released her hips and reached out to stop the water from forcing them into the rocks. Takeru’s hands touched rock, and his feet found the sea bottom. The water retreated, leaving them both panting at the event.

Hikari released her tight hold on Takeru, and leaned back, parting their bodies. Her back met seaweed-covered rock, while Takeru’s back faced the sea. His arms stretched out, his hands were planted firmly on the rock, shielding Hikari from any more forceful waves with his body. Her arms were still wrapped about his neck, so he was forced to lean his head menacingly close to hers. Though it wasn’t menacing, since their eyes locked again...

"...u-uh, thanks," Hikari mumbled, her cheeks growing hot.

"...n-no problem," Takeru stumbled, her lips inviting him closer again.

The waters calm again, Takeru’s hands strayed down the rockd red rested on Hikari’s hips. He meant to this time, and he thought he saw a coy grin begin to grow on her face.

"...that was quite a ride..." Hikari ventured, her arms releasing their grip about his neck.

"...y-yeah..." Takeru couldn’t think of anything else to say.

"Were you scared? I think I could hear your heartbeat over the waves," Hikari explained, a hand sliding up hhesthest to rest over his heart. "Ah, there it is."

Takeru caught his breath, ‘God...she’s so tender when she touches...’ he thought. His mind began to wander, to think about where else she may touch tenderly...but he reprimanded himself, trying to keep his mind non-perverted when he was with Hikari. At least, right now.

Then Hikari removed her hand, and replaced it with her ear. She sighed, "Yes, its very strong..." her hands sliding up to rest on his shoulders.

"...I guess..." Takeru said quietly, almost laughing hysterically. This had to be a hallucination: she was Heaven touching his heart. Yes, he was going insane. That had to be it. Or else, why would she be this close to him? He knew she considered him a very good friend...and wasn’t that all? It was he that was in love with her, not she in love with him...right? He refrained from looking in her eyes: he would probably go over the edge with grief that he couldn’t have her. He was so damn shy: he had the feelings but no courage.

"...Takeru."

He looked down at her with her insistence. She was looking in his eyes...then looking at his lips. Then his eyes again, and she pressed her hands down on his shoulders, raising herself up. Almost on cue, Takeru leaned down to meet her, thinking once again that her lips were strawberries, and nothing would stop him from tasting them. Closer...and closer...

And her mouth turned away from his, though her head continued moving forward. Takeru felt gentle hands wrap around his bare torso, tracing his spine, as he felt strawberry slices graze his earlobe.

"...Takeru, I think..." Hikari faltered, her voice raspy.

Takeru slipped his arms about her back in kind, pressing her to him again. Hikari sort of gasped in his ear, and he could smell the salt water in her hair.

She continued, "Takeru...I think I really...really li-"

"HEY!! What are you guys doing here!?" a voice exclaimed from somewhere behind them. Then it realized something, "...ALONE!?"

Hikari turned away from Takeru, to face whoever was talking, who was in the direction of the spelunking cave Takeru had sighted from the beach. Takeru dropped his head into Hikari’s shoulder, his lips touching her collarbone, but noticed neither how pleasant it felt nor smelled since the moment was gone. Takeru cursed himself inwardly, for his cowardice, for he had the opportunity to kiss Hikari, and it had passed. He suddenly demanded of himself that he be bolder, but it would be too late to use in the situation they had just shared...alone...together.

"Daisuke, I’m just spending some time with just Takeru, here," Hikari explained to him, and Takeru thought that she was almost annoyed, and nearly spoke to the intruder as though she was talking to a five-year-old. Though Daisuke was silenced for a moment by Hikari’s words, Takeru didn’t appreciate the fact that her being alone with him required her to justify it to Daisuke.

"Oh yeah?" Daisuke challenged. "Well then, now you can come and spend some time with just ME," Takeru, eyes still closed and lips still on Hikari’s collarbone, felt Daisuke’s anger sear his tone of voice.

Suddenly, Takeru felt Hikari shudder in his arms. He raised his head to look at her, to see what was wrong, and witnessed in her eyes near berserk anger as she scowled at Daisuke.

‘Yes!’ thought Takeru, ‘she’s been turned against him without me having to lift a finger! Thank you Daisuke for your ignorant and irritating attitude!’ Takeru turned and smirked at Daisuke, but then Daisuke’s body, as he stood at the mouth of the cave, suddenly relaxed.

"...sorry, Hikari," Daisuke softened. Takeru felt Hikari cease shaking, and she visibly cooled down, her ire subsiding.

‘Sorry!?’ Takeru thought as he realized that he had thought too soon that Daisuke had screwed himself. ‘What the Hell!? What game is he playing!?’

"Hikari," Daisuke’s eyes were pleg, bg, big and puppy dog-like, "I just wanted to show you these interesting animals in this spelunking cave. I didn’t mean to interrupt you and Takeru...really..." Daisuke begged.

Takeru heard the lie, and felt berserk rage building in himself instead. ‘What a disgusting jerk,’ Takeru thought, and he looked up to see that as Hikari looked at Daisuke, Daisuke was almost pouting, pushing his lower lip out as though an apology...but Takeru knew that his ‘friend’ was probably thinking that this move was seductive, as he presented to the girl his lower lip for her to suck on.

"...oh," Hikari broke the silence. Takeru whipped his head around to look back to Hikari, and her eyes stared back into his: he thought she was trying to implore him...perhaps to forgive her? And then he realized what she may have been beseeching for forgiveness for, as she removed her hands from their comfortable positions on his shoulders, and slowly--reluctantly?--pushed away from him.

"...that’s all right, Daisuke," Hikari began wading away from Takeru and towards the blond youth’s rival. But she went away slowly, as Takeru unconsciously raised his arms up in Hikari’s direction, as if to catch her were she to suddenly change her mind and return to him. But he knew she wouldn’t...not this time, anyway. He could only watch sadly as she ventured towards the enemy, and he almost began to cry.

Suddenly, he heard the devil chuckle. While Hikari was busy being careful of where her feet stepped as she walked on the ocean bottom, looking down through the waves, Takeru looked up to gaze at her charge. Daisuke was looking straight back at Takeru, the pouty lips gone as one hand was placed confidently on its corresponding hip, and he smugly smirked back at the Ishida youth. ‘Hah!’ the demon’s eyes seemed to mock at Takeru, ‘You don’t have her anymore!’

Takeru could only look sadly at Hikari as she cautiously goose-stepped amongst cliff rocks, and then turn and stare daggers at his rival.

And Daisuke’s smirk murdered poor Takeru.

Finally Hikari reached the cliff outcrops at the base of the cave opening, and as she reached her arms up and out to grab a hold and climb up, Daisuke reached his hand down to grasp hers, and pull her up. Takeru nearly shouted protest, but mutely stood and watched Hikari smile as she accepted Daisuke’s assistance. Suddenly, Takeru realized that those were his swimming goggles that were dangling from around Hikari’s elbow. They must have transferred from his arm to hers--somehow--when they were standing close together...enjoying each other’s company...before Daisuke had interrupted.

As Hikari stood up next to Daisuke at the mouth of the cave, she seemed to realize that she had Takeru’s goggles...or did she really seem to? She sort of gasped, but it appeared fake, as though she had known all along that she had Takeru’s goggles. She took a step away from Daisuke, away from the cave and towards Takeru, looking at the blond as he stood dumbfounded in the water. She had deliberately taken his swimming goggles--again--though this time, instead of as a game, she seemed to have taken them for an excuse: an excuse to leave Daisuke and go back to Takeru--to return the goggles. Had she really done that? Takeru’s mind spun: she wanted to return to him! She had done this on purpose!

But before she could say a word, Daisuke piped up, gently grasping her upper arm and tugging her back towards him. "Where are you going, Hikari? You agreed to come spelunking with just me," Daisuke stated plainly, almost orderly, reining her into her promise.

Takeru’s heart plummeted, and Hikari visibly froze. "That’s right," the lithe girl sighed.

"So, come on then," Daisuke turned to walk into the cave, his hand still clasped about her arm, lookas tas though he would go so far as to drag her in with him were she to suddenly change her mind. But both boys knew that Daisuke would not have to do this, as Hikari was a polite girl who kept her word.

She gave a forlorn look in Takeru’s direction, and was about to turn to go with Daisuke, when she remembered the swimming goggles hanging on her arm. Her eyes seemed desperate to say something concerning the goggles, but instead of insisting she had to return them, her lips instead formed the words, "Takeru, can I borrow your swimming goggles?" she immediately seemed to regret what she had said.

Still without his senses, Takeru spoke before he could think, "Anything for you."

Suddenly Takeru felt his face grow hot, and thought he saw Hikari blush before she turned her head to look away and say quietly, "Thanks."

Then Daisuke, with a jealous expression on his face, roughly turned away from the sea and back to the cave, and with his hand still in a tight hold around Hikari’s arm, made her follow him as they descended into the cave.

Takeru watched the two figures disappear, then stood there alone in the ocean spray a century longer as his mind reeled. He had nearly kissed Hikari! This was a step in the right direction. But Daisuke now knew that Takeru was getting bolder, and would probably try to make his own move for the lovely girl while he had her alone with hn thn the dank spelunking cave.

‘Should I follow them? Ensure that Daisuke won’t kiss her first? ...I mean, at all!?’ the Ishida youth pondered. But then his fear welled up again, ‘But if I do that, and prevent him from making a move, she’ll see that I really like her, and what if she doesn’t like me back, then she’ll reject me, and I couldn’t handle that...’ Takeru was the coward again, totally forgetting that just minutes ago the object of his affections had pressed her near-naked body against his willingly.

Saddened, Takeru could only listen a while longer for the couple spelunking in the cave, for when they had gotten too deep inside of it--and so far away from Takeru’s heart she seemed--the pain of imagining what Daisuke could do gnawed at him. To put his mind at ease and on other things, Takeru looked back to the beach. Yamato and Sora seemed to be done playing, so it was safe for him to return. He threw his body over the waves and began swimming back to shore.

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The day for the beachgoers would end when the sun leaned down to kiss the horizon. With such an action, poor Takeru was left to wonder what Daisuke had done with Hikari in the cave besides spelunking.

After swimming back to shore after leaving Hikari with his rival, the Ishida youth was left to sit in the sand and stare at the far away mouth to the cave, min mind spinning with whatever images his desperate heart could conjure. Maybe as Hikari had Takeru’s swimming goggles on, Daisuke feigned tripping and falling just so, as he was reaching out to regain balance, he could ‘accidentally’ grab a hold of the angel, while instead he was trying to cop a feel. Or perhaps he would point out an interesting nocturnal creature in the water to Hikari, and as she tried to see it she would have to lean in close to him to try to see what he was seeing, and he would quickly steal in and kiss her.

Whatever Daisuke had tried with Hikari in the cave was not evident to Takeru, as when they finally returned to the beach they were both laughing and fresh faced, after having such a fun time alone together. The fact that the angel was laughing alongside the Devil and not with Takeru himself caused the blond teen to break inside, his brows furrowed in disbelief that Hikari could have fallen for Daisuke’s obvious attempts to steal her innocence from her. But Takeru had also lost his voice during that process, and could only weakly smile and nod with reluctant approval at all the things Hikari explained she happily investigated in the spelunking cave while alone with Daisuke.

"Well, it looks like the day is done," Hikari said as she gazed out over to the horizon at the sunset.

Yamato and Sora were busy packing up their refuse from the picnic and whatever other things they had brought with them to the beach. Taichi was presumably still nursing his rotten sashimi sickness in the comfort of his car, and Daisuke was nowhere to be found--he had disappeared almost as soon as he and Hikari had returned to shore, and Hikari had abandoned him to explain to Takeru all she had seen in the cave (and to return his swimming goggles to him). That left, at this current moment, Takeru sitting alone with Hikari in the surf, though Takeru was still shocked that Hikari had been alone with Daisuke and had failed to realize that it was now HE who was alone with Hikari.

"...Takeru?" a hand of slender elegance, lightly tanned upon its back from the sun’s rays, slipped up the boy’s upper arm and came to rest on his shoulder.

Takeru regained his senses, and slowly turned to acknowledge who was talking to him. He was startled to find that an angel was at his side.

"Oh! Hikari! How was the cave?"

Hikari stopped for a moment, then broke into laughter. "Have you not been listening to a word I’ve been saying?"

"...no, I have..." Takeru fumbled for words.

"Then what was it that I told you I saw in the bottom of a shallow pool in the depths of the cave?" Hikari queried him.

"...uuh...cockroaches?" Takeru hurriedly said the only thing that came across his mind. Then he looked awuickuickly, embarrassed that he was wrong and had not been paying attention to the one thing that usually held his focus so well. He cursed himself inwardly, pondering why he had cared so much that Hikari had been alone with his rival when he knew damn well that Hikari wasn’t the type to succumb to a Demon’s influence. He swore silently to himself about himself even more for not trusting Hikari, since he realized that if he really did love Hikari, he would be able to trust her everything. And he thought he loved her.

Hikari didn’t berate him for not listening, however. Inst whe when Takeru felt the hot flush in his cheeks fade away and he turned back to face her, he noticed that her features had softened, and the expression on her face was one of concern.

"If you weren’t listening, what were you thinking of?" the angel sincerely wanted to know.

"...sunsets," Takeru blurted out as he gazed into Hikari’s eyes.

Hikari blushed, but remained looking at her dear friend, "...they are beautiful, aren’t they?"

Takeru was about to debate what Hikari said, and state something (someone) else that he found more beautiful than sunset rays at dusk, but she suddenly turned her head away from him and looked out at the horizon. She smiled as the wind whipped gently around her head, wisps of her hair riding the currents and waving it to those behind her. Takeru quickly stole a glance over his shoulder to ensure that it wasn’t Daisuke that the hair was waving to, and when he didn’t see Satan’s minion he quickly turned back to watching the angel.

"...yeah," Takeru finally answered Hikari’s question, though he felt like he was slipping away and would soon not hear a word she said again as he instead would be entranced by her appearance.

The two friends sat in silence as the sounds of the ocean crashing and seagulls calling and wind breezing flew past them, Hikari staring at the orangening sun that slowly fell below the horizon line and Takeru staring at the aura that surrounded the girl beside him.

"Takeru, were you really thinking of sunsets?" Hikari suddenly spoke.

Takeru jumped: the angel had deceived him. She had not turned to face him to alert him that she was going to ask him something; she had simply looked out of the corner of her eye at him without turning, her query slipping out from between grinning lips.

But Takeru also couldn’t lie to her, and without thinking said the truth, "No."

Hikari was quiet for a moment, but she had turned her eyes back to look to the sun. Takeru thought that she hadn’t heard him, but then she softly chuckled, "Why have you been staring at me?"

"...no reason," Takeru quickly looked away. He knew she wasn’t dense, that her peripheral vision would easily have allowed her to see him whilst watching the sunset. But he was shocked that he had let himself become so obvious: though he spoke no word, his actions were letting Hikari know what emotions he had for her.

Hikari looked down at the sand, "...friends shouldn’t lie to one another," she stated.

Takeru began to mouth an apology, but suddenly heard something very dear.

"...they also shouldn’t lie to their hearts."

"...Hikari?" Takeru’s heart skipped a beat.

"Yes?" Hikari turned to look fully up at her old friend, sincerity in her eyes, an earnestness to hear cen won words.

"I--"

"Come on you guys, it’s time to go!" Yams vos voice rang loudly through the air, crushing the moment.

Takeru let out a deep sigh, and turned, exasperated, to see the source of the atmosphere-destroyer. Yamato was waving at them from where he was standing next to the parking lot. Sora suddenly ran up from the car to stand beside Yamato, and violently nudged him. Yamato let out a childish "Ow!" as Sora reached up on tip-toe to whisper earnestly in his ear. He stopped waving, confused as he listened to her, but then his face cleared as he suddenly got the picture. Takeru sighed again: Sora had now told Yamato of Takeru’s efforts to tell Hikari of his emotions. Sora scowled at Yamato before turning and heading back to the car, and Yamato gave Takeru the thumbs-up before turning and heading to the car himself.

Takeru sort of smiled to himself, thinking he finally had some REAL alone time with Hikari. Then Hikari stood up.

"He’s right, we should get going," she brushed the sand off of herself, then lent a hand down to Takeru to offer helping him stand up.

Takeru sighed once more, took the soft hand gently with his own, and got up.

"I had a nice time today with you," Hikari said as Takeru took his hand back and brushed the sand off himself.

The Ishida boy stopped, but his senses remained conscious as he smiled back at his friend, "Me too. I’m glad you could come."

Hikari rolled her eyes. "I’m sure you don’t feel the same way about my brother staying around," she began walking towards the parking lot.

Takeru followed her, "Weeellll, I didn’t see much of him after he got sick. I’m sorry you’ll have to deal with that when you get home."

"...thanks," the angel answered, reluctantly since she figured that she shouldn’t be harbouring vengeful ghtsghts towards her own flesh and blood.

Takeru laughed heartedly, and Hikari joined in. They continued as they approached the parking lot, and as Takeru scanned the lone two cars situated there, he could see Daisuke sitting at the wheel of Taichi’s car, a scornful glare cast from his eyes directly to Takeru, his knuckles clenched white around the steering wheel. Takeru noticed, and smirked as he reveled in his rival’s jealously, but Hikari didn’t see as she had turned back to face Takeru.

"I guess Taichi is still sick...or maybe just too ill to drive," Hikari made small talk.

Takeru smiled down at her, "Drive safe."

"I’ll make sure Daisuke does," Hikari giggled as she turned and skipped to her brother’s car.

Takeru faltered as he noticed Daisuke grinning evilly. The brunette youth suddenly threw his door open and jumped out of the car, grasping tenderly the angelic hand reaching for the back passenger door.

"Allow me, Madame," Daisuke flirted as he opened her door for her with his other hand and bowed down to her.

Hikari smiled at him and giggled. "Thank you, Monsieur," she stepped into the vehicle and took her seat.

Daisuke shut Hikari’s door, then turned and grinned triumphantly as he returned to his driver’s seat and shut the door. Takeru was fuming as he watched the spectacle, but then Taichi’s car roared to life, and it was all Takeru could do to weakly raise his arm and wave to Hikari as she waved to him. The car sped out of the lot and away down the highway.

And Takeru stared until the backlights of the angel’s chariot had disappeared, then he, slumped over, sauntered over to the lone car waiting for him.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Man, I feel lshitshit," Taichi swore freely: Hikari had fallen asleep in the back seat, so he had no worry of her jumping up to reprimand him.

"Your own fault, man," Daisuke scolded as he drove, "you had complained on the drive there that the sun was murderous. I stayed away from the fish: I figured you’d put two and two together and come to the same conclusion."

"Yeah, yeah, shut up, you sound like my mom," Taichi dragged a corner of the beach towel on his lap across his forehead to mop up the sweat. "...what an embarrassment. Sora probably didn’t think I was too sexy today."

"Why should she? She has a boyfriend," Daisuke droned.

"If that’s a boyfriend, he’s a pretty pathetic excuse for one. I bet she misses what she had with me: I could really make her feel good," Taichi mused as he smiled to himself.

"Did she tell you that?" Daisuke disbelieved.

"Of course! I can’t make up the way I make her moan!"

"...made. You can’t make her react that way anymore."

"No, make. Because I still have the skills she loved in me, and she most likely would still appreciate them were I to use them on her today."

"But you couldn’t, because you got sick. So pay up," Daisuke held his hand out to collect the money from their bet.

"Yeah, yeah," Taichi weakly reached for his wallet, and forked over the agreed upon $20. "But if it wasn’t for that damn fish, my friend, it’d be your money that would be exchanging hands right now."

"Sure, whatever," Daisuke smirked as he shoved the bill in his shirt pocket. Then he resumed his focus on driving, and Taichi groaned in his illness as he mopped his brow with the towel again. They sat in silence, only the sound of Hikari’s gentle breathing as she dozed in the back seat could be heard.

"...she sounds beautiful," Daisuke finally spoke, more to himself than to his friend in the front passenger seat beside him, as he glanced up to the angel’s reflection in the rear-view mirror.

"...yeah, I know," Taichi mused, lolling his head in agreement. "At first I never wanted a sister, but she’s proved herself. I must say that I admire her: she’s really strong in many different ways."

"...I’ve noticed," Daisuke smiled.

Taichi pondered, "Listen, man, you’ve proven to be a real good friend to me...since Yamato isn’t such a great pal to me. Girls have some rule about not dating their friends’ exboyfriends...isn’t there some rule like that for guys, too?"

Daisuke merely chuckled, "If there is, it’s news to me."

"Yeah, well, anyways, I think I’ve done as much as I can in trying to get Sora back on my own. I need help. Preferably yours," Taichi muttered.

"My help? How can I help?" Daisuke feigned naiveté, knowing quite well what his friend was going to suggest.

"Idiot. I need you to convince Sora that I’ve changed. She still trusts you, unlike me..."

"True that," Daisuke laughed.

"...so? Will you do it?"

"How’ve you changed? Just today you were rude concerning complimenting her bikini...I d thi think that has made it any easier to get her to believe you’re different."

"...just tell her I still love her...and it’s not just the fooling around I miss."

"That lie is so thick I could cut it with a knife..."

"Hey! It’s not just the making out! I really do love her...she’s perfect."

"But for the time being, it’s your libido that needs satisfaction."

"That, and showing hat hat asshole ex-best friend of mine. I mean, what the hell has he got that I don’t have? I’m more mature now! Plus, she probably doesn’t get enough satisfaction from Yamato anyway, and misses me."

Daisuke sighed, "Fine, but I need you to do something for me in return."

"Name it."

"Takeru used to be a real pal, but now that he’s got his eye on your sister he’s become a jerk to me. I don’t blame him, he realizes that I’ve got a chance with Hikari, and he’s jealous because he wants her too. But I’m afraid that Hikari will consider him over me, just because she’s known him longer and so trusts him more. I want her to pick me, of course, but the only way to do that would be to show her Takeru’s less-than-perfect traits. You know, the stuff that he does when she’s not around. That way, she’ll be able to see that Takeru is not the guy for her."

"Sounds good. Hikari’s a sweet girl, and I’m sure that you and she will make a good couple. Sure, I’ll help you out," Taichi reached over and patted his friend on the back, as they couldn’t shake hands on the deal while Daisuke was tr to to drive.

"Excellent. I’ll help you win Sora back, and you’ll help me get set up with Hikari. Excellent," a wicked grin slid across the teen’s face.

"You’re like the brother I never had, Daisuke," Taichi chuckled heartedly.

"But, Taichi, you never know, that wish may become reality," Daisuke said.