Author’s Notes: It’s been forever, but I’m finally updating! Life’s been a madhouse this year (that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.) But never fear, devoted readers (…I do have devoted readers, don’t I?) I have not forgotten about this fic. Hopefully the next chapter will be in about a month. Phew… this is officially the longest fic I’ve done now, chapter-wise at least. And you have no idea what’s coming… Ohohohoho! laughs evily …er… anyway, feedback – as always – is fantastic!! Please leave it to show me that people still care, and I promise to do my best to update much sooner this time!

Chapter 10

Hate was such a strong word, and Hikari really didn't like to use it, especially when she knew it wasn't really true... but sometimes she just couldn't help herself. Sometimes, in really extreme circumstances, she'd say she hated someone, even though she felt sort of guilty afterwards. This was one of those situations.

"I hate him!" she said, clutching her teacup tightly and staring down at it angrily.

Daisuke was gaping at her. She didn't have to look up at him, she just knew. He was shocked. He was probably also horrified. Hikari-chan hated someone? Hikari-chan hated Yamato-san?

Well, she had every reason to, didn't she? And with this new information... well, that was just the icing on the cake.

"Oniichan deserves better. All Yamato-san has done is fight with him ever since they've been friends, and it only got worse when they started dating, and now... now this?!" Hikari pursed her lips and bit the tip of her tongue to make herself stop. It wouldn't do any good to break down into an angry tirade at a time like this. Besides, Daisuke-kun hadn't ever really seen her get really angry before, and she wasn't sure she ever wanted him to.

"W-well, yeah! That's what I said!" Daisuke said hesitantly, giving her a nervous grin.

She glanced up at him and saw how nervous he'd become, and then shut her eyes and sighed. The guilt was building up in her now. How could she hate Yamato-san? How could she blame him for all of this? After all, her brother didn't exactly have the best relationship or communication skills, and she knew he was a pain to live with from experience.

Still, ever since that time when Yamato had made her cry when she was so young, she hadn't really liked him. Why had she cried that time? She barely remembered. She thought it was something about Taichi being in danger, and she'd wanted reassurance... what had he done? He'd told her her brother was probably going to die, or had he just ignored her? Either way, it had felt terrible at the time, and she'd been so scared.

Then of course he'd become Taichi's best friend, and the two of them were around each other constantly. Half of the time they fought, but they were inseparable. Even Sora-san, who had been Taichi's best friend until then, was pushed aside for him. Of course, Sora had become good friends with Mimi, and had begun to get busy with new hobbies like tennis... but it was so much easier to blame Yamato, wasn't it?

"When Oniichan was in high school I thought things would be alright. He and Yamato-san seemed to get along by then, they didn't fight very often anymore," she heard herself mumble, staring back down at her quickly cooling tea. "But then in college they started dating, and..."

"And they started fighting again!" Daisuke asserted, nodding and folding his arms, frowning. "Like I said, it was a bad idea from the beginning!"

Hikari opened her mouth to say something to agree, but the front door to Daisuke's apartment swung open. She jumped a little, thinking it might be her brother coming in, but it was too early for that. He'd still be out, taking care of the last of the paperwork finalizing his quitting his old job so that he could start the new one next week.

"And that has nothing to do with the fact that you wanted him for yourself, right Daisuke-kun?" Miyako said, striding into the apartment.

Daisuke gaped at her."M-Miyako?!"

The plum-haired girl posed with one hand on her hip and the other in a peace sign. "Ta-da! It's me!"

Ken was entering the apartment behind her, shutting the front door and taking off his shoes. He gave Daisuke a small bow, looking sheepish. "She took my key, I'm sorry. I meant to knock first..."

Hikari smiled widely and jumped up, setting her tea on Daisuke's coffee table and ran over to give Miyako a hug. "I didn't know you were coming!"

"Of course I came! The minute I heard Daisuke had called an emergency meeting earlier today I knew I had to come!" She peered over Hikari's shoulder and gave Daisuke a dark glare. "Not that I'd been invited myself, or even told he'd come back to Tokyo."

Hikari stepped back and went back to her seat on the couch, grinning a bit at how horrified Daisuke looked.

"I-I didn't mean- I mean- It's not-" he stuttered.

"He's been very busy," Ken said gently. "I'm sure he planned on officially announcing he'd come back in a few days."

Daisuke nodded quickly, giving Ken a thankful look. "Yeah! Like he says!"

Miyako kicked off her shoes and entered the living room, striding across it and sitting down on the floor on the other side of the coffee table from Hikari and folding her arms confidently. "Well, you still should have told me right away! I'm your friend too, you know!"

Daisuke grinned a little, looking sort of embarrassed, and nodded. "Yeah."

Sitting down in an armchair next to Miyako’s place on the floor, Ken gave Daisuke a concerned look. "So what's this emergency meeting about?" he asked.

Daisuke opened his mouth to reply, then hesitated and gave Miyako a suspicious look. "Why are you getting Ken's messages? I left it on his answering machine at his house."

Miyako frowned at him and pushed her glasses farther up her nose. "Because I was visiting his house when he got the message, of course. It's not like I broke in!"

Daisuke held the suspicious look a moment longer before answering Ken's question. "It's about Taichi-senpai."

Hikari felt her stomach sink and she lowered her eyes, picking up the teacup again, wanting something to stare down at other than her own scrawny legs, but not wanting to look at any of their faces while they heard the news. She felt too guilty over her previous outburst, she didn't want them all to say they hated Yamato-san as well just because she was upset for her brother.

"Of course it is," Miyako said, rolling her eyes. "But what about him?"

Daisuke sounded annoyed when he replied. "Yamato-san cheated on him! And they broke up!"

Hikari had expected a long silence, like the response she'd given when she'd heard the news. She'd been shocked, horrified, and somehow felt betrayed... yet vindicated. That was the part she felt the worst about. But Miyako's response wasn't that complex.

"That bastard!" she yelled, gaping at Daisuke. "He cheated on Taichi-san?!"

Daisuke nodded eagerly, leaning forward with a serious expression. He seemed glad to have someone that felt the same about the situation to talk to about it. "Yeah! And they broke up," he said, emphasizing the last part to make sure they heard it this time.

Ken sighed and ran a hand through his hair, looking like he felt bad for everyone involved, including them, just from hearing about it. "Daisuke, are you sure they won't-"

"Yeah, I'm sure! 'Cause I know who Yamato-san cheated on Taichi-senpai with!" Daisuke replied quickly, leaning forward more.

Hikari's eyes widened at this and she looked up quickly. He hadn't told her this part. Miyako looked just as eager for the news, whereas Ken looked oddly calm (as if this was anything new.) Licking her lips, because they'd suddenly felt quite dry, Hikari found the ability to speak again. "Is it... someone we know?"

Daisuke gave them a grave expression and nodded again, slowly this time. "Yeah."

"Well, who is it?!" Miyako shouted, pounding on the table with her fist. "You can't say things like that and not tell us right away, we might have heart attacks and die!"

"I don't think this sort of thing would kill you," Ken offered quietly, knowing they were all toning him out.

"Takeru," Daisuke said.

Miyako blinked at him, turning her head towards the door, as if she thought he was greeting the other boy who must have just snuck in behind her and Ken. "Huh? He's not here..."

But Hikari knew what he meant. "Oh... oh, no..." she moaned, sitting back against the couch, suddenly feeling a bit like crying. "Oh no, oh no..."

"Takeru!" Daisuke said loudly. "It was Takeru who he... he... he did it with!"

Miyako's jaw dropped so far that Hikari actually winced, wondering if it was hurting her mouth. "YOU'RE SHITTING ME."

Now Daisuke's jaw dropped, obviously stunned at Miyako's language.

Miyako flushed slightly, obviously a bit embarrassed by her outburst, but didn't back down. "Tell the truth! This isn't funny! They're brothers!"

"Well yeah, that's why it's so gross!" Daisuke said, slapping his hand down on the table and shaking the teacups he'd put out for Hikari and himself. "Because they're brothers! And anyway, it doesn't matter, because either way he shouldn't have cheated on Taichi-senpai!"

Ken put a hand on the table gently, as if to comfort it after being pounded on so much. "Daisuke, I'm sure that there's a good explanation for-"

"How?!" Miyako gave Ken a stunned look. "What kind of explanation can you give for... for... for doing that with your brother?!"

Daisuke wrinkled his forehead. "Or for cheating on Taichi-senpai!" he said.

Hikari frowned at all of them. "What about Takeru-kun?"

They all quieted, looking at her warily.

"Have you thought of how he feels?" she asked, still feeling on the verge of tears. She knew a lot more about this situation than she was allowed to let on, being Takeru's best friend, but she wanted them to think about what they were saying. "He must have... he must be feeling very scared right now."

Miyako's eyes widened. "That's right! Because his brother raped him! Or... or seduced him... you know! Like, 'Oh, my little brother, I've always felt passion for you, and since we haven't been raised together it's okay so let me show you my LOOOVE,'" she said, dropping her voice and posing with a hand on her heart and her eyes half shut. "Like in a yaoi manga!"

Daisuke was making a face as if he'd just swallowed some milk that had gone bad months before. "That... that's really gross... Miyako..."

"Well but it's true!" she said insistently. "Right?"

Biting his lower lip, Daisuke glanced at Hikari, looking as if he knew she knew more than she was letting on. "I don't... think so. I think... maybe Takeru knew what he was doing." He wrinkled his nose again for good measure.

"Takeru-kun isn't stupid," Ken said, folding his arms and looking thoughtful. "Besides, I think we've all known about his... feelings for Yamato-san for a long time."

Daisuke gaped at him. "What?! You knew and you didn't tell me?!"

"You knew Takeru wanted his brother and you didn't say something?!" Miyako wailed, looking betrayed.

Ken flushed and leaned back a bit. "I... I thought you knew! And it's not the sort of thing I just... would go around talking about!"

Hikari pursed her lips, deciding not to get involved. Often she found it much easier to let people like Daisuke or Miyako or Taichi to carry conversations, only speaking up when it was something important. She didn't know how people like them kept up all that energy.

"Well, Takeru and Yamato-san always did seem pretty close," Miyako mused, stroking her chin thoughtfully. "But still, I never expected this."

"Exactly! It's probably illegal, too!" Daisuke added.

Hikari sighed and glanced away, wondering if there was any excuse she could use to leave soon so that she could check on Takeru. Depending on what was really going on here, he might need a friend right now. Of course, Daisuke did tend to misunderstand things and exaggerate a lot, so it was possible that nothing was going on.

"Are they dating, then?" Ken asked calmly, standing and walking to the kitchen, returning with cups of tea for himself and Miyako.

"Dating?! Can they do that?!" Daisuke asked, jaw dropped.

"If they can screw, they can date," Miyako said, frowning at Ken and taking the cup. "I don't know if that makes it better or worse."

"Well, it doesn't matter! What does matter is that Taichi-senpai is really upset, and if he knows it's Takeru who Yamato-san was with, I think he might be even more upset!" Daisuke said, looking fretful.

"You worry about Taichi-san too much," Miyako said, sipping her tea.

"I do not!" Daisuke said, glaring at her.

"Do too," Miyako replied.

"Do not!" Daisuke shouted back.

"Ah, maybe this isn't the best time to argue about-" Ken began, but he was cut off by Miyako and Daisuke's shouting.

"I don't worry too much about him! Taichi-senpai is my friend!" Daisuke shouted, jumping up from his seat, fisting his hands, and glaring fiercely at Miyako.

"Oh, is that what you call it?" Miyako asked, smirking up at him.

"Wh-what does that mean?!" Daisuke yelped, flushing a dark crimson.

"It means that I mostly don't want to molest my friends," Miyako replied, looking smug.

"I don't want to mole-" Daisuke began, then he paused and frowned at her. "What do you mean, mostly?!"

"Oh, don't worry, Daisuke. I wouldn't want to molest you," Miyako said, looking positively devious.

Hikari was toning most of the shouting out, which is why she noticed when the front door had opened, and when her brother entered the apartment and walked into the living room. From the look on his face, he'd heard quite a bit of their conversation as he'd walked up the stairs (which of course meant that half the building also heard them, which made Hikari think that maybe they should be a little quieter.)

"Hello, Oniichan," Hikari said, grinning a bit at him, trying to look innocent.

Taichi arched an eyebrow at them as Daisuke yelped and spun around, losing his footing and falling on his bottom on the floor. Miyako and Ken turned and gave Taichi guilty looks.

"They accepted my resignation really easily," Taichi said, sitting on the arm of the couch and giving them all suspicious looks. "Guess they were tired of having me break stuff and yell at people. So it didn't take as long as I thought to get out of there."

"Ah, um, that's great!" Daisuke said, quickly climbing back up to sit on the couch, his posture stiff and his expression horribly guilty. "I mean, I'm glad it was easy! And that you're home! Haha..."

"I think we should go," Ken said as he stood, and gave Miyako a pointed look.

Miyako frowned and stood as well, giving the rest of them a longing glance, then sighed and followed him to the door. "Yeah, I suppose," she said.

Hikari took note that Miyako had listened to Ken so easily, and hadn't fought for her right to stay and gossip. Maybe Ken had some kind of blackmail on her... she'd have to ask later. For now, she had damage control to do, whether her brother wanted it or not.

"Um, we weren't talking about you or anything!" Daisuke said, flushing. "I mean, we were, but not like that!"

"Not like what?" Taichi asked, frowning.

"Not like... you know! Anything bad! Bad stuff! We weren't talking about bad stuff! About you!" Daisuke's voice was getting more and more high pitched now, and Hikari could tell he was about to completely panic.

"Oniichan?" Hikari said, standing.

"Mm?" Taichi asked, distracted from Daisuke for the moment.

"Why don't you walk me home? I should really get going," she said, giving him her sweetest smile.

Taichi narrowed his eyes. "Since when do you need somebody to walk you home?"

"Since it's polite, and you have mail there that you need to pick up, anyway," she said curtly, and walked to the front door. "Thank you for the tea, Daisuke-kun."

Daisuke nodded quickly and gave Hikari a thankful look, obviously thinking that she was doing this to help him out. It made her feel a little guilty, especially since she hadn't told him what she already knew about Takeru and Yamato-san. Still, those weren't her secrets to tell.

"I'll be back after this, Daisuke," Taichi said, slipping his shoes on and opening the door.

Hikari followed her brother into the hall and down the stairs, but she didn't say anything. It was always better to wait for him to start first. Otherwise he'd just get defensive and deny everything.

"So I guess you guys know about that stuff," Taichi mumbled, walking next to her with his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

"Stuff, Oniichan?" Hikari asked, glancing at him from the corner of her eyes.

"Takeru and Yamato," he said, frowning.

"Mm, well, Daisuke thought he overheard something, but you know how he can be," she replied, trying not to sound worried.

"...Yeah." Taichi finally grunted after a moment. "Well, he didn’t misunderstand anything this time.” Taichi glanced at her, then removed his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, even though it wasn’t even dusk yet, and even though the air was warm.

Hikari accepted the jacket, grinning just a bit at her brother’s ability to be overbearing even in the midst of a crisis. “So… you mean, Takeru-kun and Yamato-san-“

“I didn’t really ever want you to find out…” Taichi mumbled.

“Oniichan, really, I’m not a kid anymore,” she scolded him gently, cocking her head at him as they walked.

“I know. I know that.” Taichi was frowning down at the sidewalk now, and looking uncharacteristically depressed. “But that doesn’t mean I wanted you to know the guy I was with wanted his little brother, either.”

Hikari wondered when Taichi had stopped calling Yamato his ‘boyfriend,’ and then suddenly wondered if she’d ever heard Taichi use that word at all. “It’s okay, Oniichan. Besides, Takeru-kun is my best friend. I’d sort of… figured it out years ago.”

Taichi’s ears flushed just subtly enough that if she didn’t know that was the tell-tale sign for her older brother being embarrassed, she never would have noticed. “Right.”

Hikari stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, giving Taichi a worried look. “It’s not your fault, Oniichan.”

Taichi turned to look at her, his expression vulnerable, something that even Hikari had only seen a handful of times in her life. “Yeah, right.”

“It really isn’t.” Hikari stepped forward and put a hand on his arm. “Yamato-san has always had… some problems. You didn’t-“

“I thought I fixed them.” Taichi glanced away, sighing heavily and running a hand through his hair. “Besides, it’s not that. It’s just… am I that easy to get over? I can deal with being hated, we’ve gotten in enough fights for that. But… I don’t think that’s what this is about.” Taichi smirked, looking back at her. “It sorta ruins my badass image.”

Hikari shook her head, poking her older brother on the chest. “It has nothing to do with you, Oniichan. Yamato-san and Takeru-kun have always had this… thing between them. No one is going to think you’re any less cool because of it.” She knew he wasn’t really worried about looking ‘cool’ so much as being seen as weak or unimportant. He’d had sort of a complex about that since she could remember, which is probably why he’d always been so hot-headed. So she knew that was what he was really upset about. But she also knew if she said so, he’d close himself off from her and never open up again.

Taichi hesitated, then grinned just a bit. “Yeah. Well. Being cheated on kinda bruises the ego is all.”

Hikari cocked her head and gave him a fretful look. “I know.”

Taichi glanced away, his ears turning red again. There was a small pause, where he seemed to be awkwardly trying to think of something to say to change the topic. Finally, he blurted out, “Sora hasn’t cheated on you, right?!”

Hikari’s eyes widened before she shook her head quickly. “No, no! Of course not!”

“Good,” Taichi grunted. He turned and began to walk down the street again, chin up, eyes fixed ahead, looking quite a bit less droopy and depressed.

Hikari smiled again, thinking that it was nice that even though it was easy to make her older brother mad, it was easy to cheer him up, too. “Sora-san would never do that. Besides, she knows you’d kill her, so she has to treat me well.”

“Damn right she does.” Taichi stopped as they approached his parents’ apartment building. “Look, uh… I’ll get that mail some other time. I don’t really wanna explain about all this to them right now.”

Hikari nodded, then wrapped her arms around Taichi’s middle and gave him a tight hug. “I’ll tell mom and dad you said hi. Take care, Oniichan.”

“Mm,” Taichi grunted, patting her on the head. He grabbed his jacket and grinned at her before she entered the building, and then turned to go back to Daisuke’s apartment.

Hikari waited in the lobby just long enough to see her brother walk away before slipping back out the front door and walking to Takeru’s place. She knew he’d need someone to talk to, and she was fairly certain she was the only one left who’d listen.

--

When she arrived, she knocked on the door, and it was answered quickly by Takeru’s mother.

Ms. Takaishi gave Hikari a relieved look, and shook her head. “I don’t suppose you know why my son has been locked in his room all day, do you?”

Hikari’s eyebrows went up and her lips parted, giving the worried mother her best innocent look. “Oh, is Takeru-kun sick?”

“I don’t know,” Mrs. Takaishi mused, folding her arms. “When I got home, he was in his bedroom and he hasn’t come out yet. I keep trying to check on him, but he tells me he’s fine… I’m really worried.”

“I’ll see if I can find out what’s wrong,” Hikari said sweetly, entering the apartment and taking her shoes off.

“Thank you, Hikari-chan, you’re always so good to my boy. I’m sorry he’s such a bother.”

Hikari shook her head. “He’s not at all.” She smiled, then passed the concerned mother and walked down the hall to Takeru’s room, knocking firmly. “Takeru-kun, it’s me. Can I come in?”

From inside the room Hikari could just hear Takeru say “Okay.” She entered, her eyes trying to adjust to the pitch black of the room. Sighing, Hikari flicked on the overhead light and shut the door behind her.

Takeru was sitting in bed, the blankets pulled up to his neck, and flushed. His eyes were watery. He looked like he’d been crying.

“Oh, Takeru-kun,” Hikari said, walking over to the bed and sitting down next to him. She put an arm around his shoulders and rested her head against his own. “What am I going to do with you?”

Takeru let out a long sigh, relaxing against Hikari’s body. “You’ve heard.”

“Oh, we’ve all heard Daisuke’s very dramatic version of things, as he overheard it. Also, Oniichan told me.”

Takeru tensed just a bit. “He… he knows, huh? That it was me?”

“Mm, seems he figured it out.” Hikari rubbed Takeru’s side gently. “How are you, though? That’s the important thing.”

“He’s your brother, Hikari-chan, you don’t have to pretend to be on my side. I know you must… not be very… happy with me,” Takeru mumbled.

“Oh, hush. It’s not your fault. The person I’m mad at is Yamato-san, and don’t you try to defend him. What he did was wrong, and it was his choice, not yours. You’re not responsible. The person who cheats is the one at fault every time, not the person they cheated with.” She nodded decisively.

“…Okay,” Takeru said softly. “But don’t hate him.”

Hikari frowned, squeezing his shoulder. “Don’t worry about how I feel about him. Worry about how you do, and how he feels about you. The most important thing right now is that. Are you hurt? What did he say? Is he going to…” she trailed off, not really sure what she could imagine Yamato doing to make this okay.

“He said… he loves me.” Takeru continued quickly, “I know he means like a brother, but… maybe not just that. And… and he said he wanted to, too… so… even though I think he still loves Taichi-san, maybe if he could love me, too…”

Hikari shut her eyes tightly, thinking instead of saying all the nasty things she wanted to about a man who could use someone like that twice and still not be with them.

“I think… I think we might have a chance,” Takeru said softly, turning to look at Hikari. “I think he might actually… once he’s used to it… I think he might really be with me this time. For good. If he and Taichi-san are that unhappy, even if he still loves him, he might…”

Hikari opened her eyes and wished she hadn’t. Takeru’s face practically glowed with hope, just like his crest had said he always would. “Takeru…”

“I know, I know it’d be weird and we couldn’t tell anyone but our friends, and I know Taichi-san must be really angry and hate me, but…” Takeru smiled just slightly. “I don’t care. Does that make me a horrible person? I’ve been sitting here in the dark all day trying thinking about it, trying to feel bad, but I can’t. I can’t feel bad if Oniichan loves me.” He flushed, then ducked his head. “That… sounds really selfish.”

“Of course it does,” Hikari said, giving him an amused look. “Love is always selfish, silly. But you shouldn’t be… locking yourself in the dark and punishing yourself because you’re happy about something.” She sighed and shifted on the bed so they were facing each other, and took Takeru’s hands in her own, giving him a serious look. “Oniichan can take care of himself. He and Yamato-san had enough problems already, and that’s not your fault. Yamato-san chose to do what he did, and that’s not your fault, either. And… so… you should just be happy.”

Takeru smiled widely, his eyes glassy with fresh tears. “Thank you, Hikari.”

She pulled him into a hug and nodded. “But if something happens, and he won’t stay with you…”

“I’ll know who I can call,” Takeru said, then he laughed softly. “But I don’t think that’s going to happen. At first I did but now… I thought about it all day. He wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t love me.”

Hikari winced and shut her eyes, tightening the hug. “I hope so.”

--

“And then I had to tell his mother that he had a cold, and that was why he wouldn’t come out, and he looked so happy, I just…” Hikari trailed off, leaning heavily against the girl who was hugging her from behind. This was how they sat whenever Hikari needed to get something off her chest that was hard to say. They’d sit on the couch and Hikari would sit between Sora’s legs, leaning back against her, so she didn’t have to look her in the eyes when she said things she felt bad about saying… things like what she was saying today. “Am I a traitor?”

Sora rested her chin on Hikari’s shoulder. “Why would you think that?”

“Because Oniichan is hurt, and instead of trying to help him get back together with Yamato-san, I’m helping Takeru-kun.” Hikari bit her lower lip hard, feeling guilty and confused.

“Ah, that.” Sora sighed softly against Hikari’s neck, making her get goose-bumps. “Taichi and Yamato’s relationship is messed up because of their own stupidity, not Takeru’s. And even if this didn’t happen, they were going to break up any day now, anyway. Don’t feel bad. You’re looking out for your best friend, and he’s the real victim in this, not Taichi.”

“I can’t… think that Oniichan isn’t a victim,” Hikari said softly. “I feel bad but I sort of… I said that I hate Yamato-san today. I don’t want to hate him, but… I keep thinking it over and over again.”

Sora kissed Hikari’s cheek gently. “You don’t hate him. You just hate what he’s done, and so does everyone else, including him. I know him well enough to know that whatever he’s putting himself through over this is worse than anything you or I could do.”

Hikari felt herself relax slightly at that, and nodded. “Do you think that he’ll stay with Takeru-kun?”

Sora hesitated before answering, then shrugged. “I don’t know. I hope so. It’s not exactly the most… acceptable relationship, but they’d be hurting a lot less people if they’d just get together already, instead of constantly wishing they had and ignoring it.”

Hikari shifted and turned around so she was kneeling in front of Sora, facing her this time. She smiled gently at the older girl. “How did I get such a smart girlfriend?”

“I already told you, I think it’s some sort of spell you cast on me, because there’s no way anyone is supposed to look as pretty as you, Hikari-chan, or as irresistible.” Sora leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Hikari’s waist and nuzzling the tips of their noses together.

Hikari giggled, flushing with pleasure as much as embarrassment.

“If it isn’t magic, then explain why it is that every time you walk in a room I just want to eat you up. Explain that one, missy!” Sora said, then placed a gentle love bite on the nape of Hikari’s neck.

Hikari’s giggles softened into a long sigh. “Is it okay for us to be happy, even when everyone else isn’t?”

Sora lifted her head and gave Hikari a gentle smile. “It’s not only okay, it’s our duty. If we’re not happy, we can’t take care of our friends, can we?”

Hikari shook her head, gazing into Sora’s eyes, and feeling more certain and safe than she had all day. “I guess not.”

Then Sora’s eyes narrowed, and her lips quirked into a small but evil grin. “So that means we’d better be as happy as possible, doesn’t it?”

Hikari’s eyes widened slightly, and she felt herself grin. “Oh. Well-“

“Which means that you’d better come into the bedroom with me right now, so that I can make sure that we’re both very-“ Sora said, placing a kiss on Hikari’s neck, “very,” she said, placing another kiss lower, “happy.”

Hikari let Sora lead her into the bedroom, and left her thoughts of worrying about her brother and her friend and all of their friends’ problems on the living room floor, promising she’d pick them back up in the morning. But for now, she’d just let herself be happy.