Oops, I did it again; I put aside the latest Pandora's Box chapter (which, like last time, is in the works and hopefully almost ready!) in favor of another one-shot Digimon Tri drabble.

Blame Tri. I do. I just watched Confessions this weekend and it was so good. Probably the best of the movies yet, and that's saying something for me given how much I enjoyed Determination. So many things happened. So many interpersonal moments between characters. So many throwbacks to the original series, while at the same time, feeling like a genuine continuation of the Chosen Children's stories.

And a few more subtle teases from those evil, evil writers. I'm so onto them.

I very nearly uploaded this as a second chapter to Beyond the Sea, before deciding it deserved its own post. You may note that the theme is very different this time. Almost a complete turnabout. Because BtS was meant to be about how deep Hikari and Takeru's understanding of one another goes...while this is about their shared greatest fault, and the only thing that can keep them apart. It's also notably shorter, and rather than taking place after the movie, is more like an insert scene I could have imagined happening right in the middle of episode 3.

SECRETS

o o o

"Could you have? I couldn't. I mean...I couldn't say anything..."

o o o

By the time Hikari made it back to her shoe locker than afternoon, her feet felt as heavy as her eyelids. Twice in the span of a minute, she had to stiffen a yawn. Strange. For her to still be so tired, even though—apparently—she'd been unconscious for quite some time.

Anemia, the doctors had said. At least, that's what Himekawa-sensei told her. It explained a lot, really. Why her skin was so pale. Why she couldn't seem to remember anything after answering her cell phone-(which should have been turned off, yet kept ringing)- in the middle of the hallway and why she felt, no matter how still she stood, she couldn't quite catch her breath. Her red blood count was low. Her muscles weren't getting enough oxygen. She was deficient in either iron or B12. Or both. They'd given her a supplement before discharging her, but its effects had yet to fully kick in.

All that made enough sense, and yet Hikari couldn't help that nagging feeling in the back of her mind telling her there was more to it. Her mind wandered back to the last moment she remembered. She'd been so sure her phone was off. The screen was dark. But when she'd pressed it to her ear...

...there had been a voice...

At least, she thought she'd heard a voice. Then...nothing. Until she woke up in the hospital.

And her phone...

...was sitting right there in her locker, tucked safely in one of her shoes. Had she brought it there? No, that couldn't be it. Had someone found it after she collapsed? One of her classmates, maybe, who recognized it as hers. Either from the design or the charm.

Slowly, she reached in and pulled out the phone. Flipping it open. The screen was still dark. It was off. Just to be sure, she pressed the power button, and-

"You weren't in class."

Her head darted up at the sound of Takeru's voice, mouth slightly agape. When did he-? And his eyes. He was staring down at her with...curiosity. Not yet concerned, but certainly eager for a response to his unspoken question.

"No. I wasn't." Discreetly closing the phone, she tucked it in her bag and sent the boy a sheepish smile. Inwardly, she hoped her weariness wasn't too notable. "Neither were you."

Thinking she was trying to change the subject, he frowned. "I was."

But she shook her head. "I meant earlier." Returning her attention to her locker, she finally remembered to retrieve her outdoor shoes, replacing them with her school slippers. Balancing on one socked foot, she partially bent down to pull the first one on. "I went to find you during lunch."

He shifted uncomfortably. She noticed.

"I went out."

She also noticed he didn't specify where. Out could have meant any number of things. Out of the classroom. Out of the building. While it was greatly frowned upon to leave the school premises, that still left any number of locations students were allowed to go in between classes. Which would have been fine...except he hadn't waited for her. He usually waited for her. Not always, but more so as of late.

"You must've just missed me." he added.

She opened her mouth to protest. Then closed it. Her eyes averted, and she focused instead on her second shoe. "I guess. The same way...you must've missed me too."

Only she hadn't just come from her classroom.

And Takeru knew this. He knew because a couple of the girls in her homeroom had told him before he'd needed to ask. It was sort of an unspoken fact known to their classmates that whenever one of them appeared at the doorway, they were looking for the other. For one reason or another. That's usually how it went with best friends who were separated in middle school after spending their elementary years sharing a homeroom. Takeru knew of two other guys and one girl in his class who were in the same situation. Though he was the only one whose situation was with a member of the opposite gender.

(Which wouldn't have mattered, except those same girls he'd spoken to earlier kept sending him weird looks he tried really, really hard to ignore. Granted, the slight worry at Hikari's inexplicable disappearance had made for an excellent distraction.)

She wasn't looking at him. Deliberately avoiding his gaze. And that worried him far more than the initial learning that she'd gone missing. Because she wasn't being honest with him.

...then again, he wasn't being entirely honest with her either.

On her third attempt, Takeru realized she was struggling to put that second shoe on. The floor wasn't that slippery, yet she couldn't seem to maintain her balance. Each time she nearly had it, she would wobble just enough that she risked falling over.

"Need some help?" he asked, and watched her reaction closely.

She hesitated at first, then peered up at him with a faint chuckle. He recognized it as the kind of laugh she would give whenever she was trying to cover her embarrassment. Any other time, he would've found it endearing.

"Yeah. Thanks."

At her confirmation, he bowed down just enough to offer his shoulder. She placed a hand on it, using his upper body strength as additional support to keep herself balanced as she finally got that shoe on. It took almost no effort on his part. Supporting her felt like second nature to him.

Though, no sooner did she tap the toe on the ground to secure it when her leg finally gave out altogether, sending her to the floor-

Or would have, if he hadn't been right there to catch her.

Again.

"Whoa. Easy." He surprised even himself at how calm he sounded, though his heart sped up a little. He looked down at the girl with even more concern than before. "Are you sure you're alright?"

She was leaning heavily against his chest, and though he couldn't see her face from that angle, he could hear her breathing more heavily than the moment would have required.

"I'm..." She rose a hand to her head and felt no fever, but the vertigo took time to subside. I'm fine, she had been ready to say. A reflexive response offered whenever most people asked. Habit, really. Except she knew there was every chance this time that she wasn't, and she couldn't lie to him. Omit parts of the truth, perhaps, but never outright lie. "...I'm just tired."

To him, she sounded more embarrassed than exhausted. Maybe even annoyed that she'd been caught (literally). Takeru couldn't help the corners of his lips twitching upward at the thought. An expression that further widened when he helped her back to her feet and got a better look at her face.

"Are you sure? Your cheeks do look a little red."

His words had precisely the effect he'd been looking for, and he took a step back to laugh as she sent him a heated glare. It never failed to amuse him the way her eyes narrowed at him like that. The way her nose scrunched up just so, in a rare display of immaturity. The Hikari he had come to know over the years was usually so composed and so calm that he loved being able to evoke this kind of reaction out of her. Maybe a little too much. Sometimes, she even puffed up her cheeks.

(He did note, in the back of his mind, that she was still too short on air to do that. Still...if she was alert enough to make the Face at him, then maybe she really was just tired. He couldn't have been the only one getting very little sleep these days.)

"Tell you what." Flashing what he knew to be his most charming smile, he appeared unfazed by the Face. Mostly because he deserved it. He always deserved it. "Why don't we get something to eat on the way home? My treat."

He was trying to bribe his way out of getting in trouble, the little troll. And the worst part of it all was that...his offer was so incredibly tempting. Hadn't the doctors advised her to get in a good meal? She had no major plans for the evening besides, and if Takeru was willing to treat...

Then she got a better look at his face. More specifically, his eyes. The typically mischievous shine to them when he was like this was dulled. Eye contact was pretty steady between them, but there was a telltale twitch that spoke of an occupied mind.

His offer...he didn't regret it, she knew that much, but it hadn't sprung from any desire to satisfy free time with her company. More like he was willing to sacrifice that time to be with her. Instead of a certain little digimon who was waiting for him at home. With everything else going on, Hikari had nearly forgotten, but now that she remembered, she wondered how she could have let such a thing slip her mind. Hadn't he felt so strongly about it that he'd fought with Jou...and refused to conceded when confronted by the others about the fairness of it all?

Some girls might have been put out upon the realization that they came second in someone else's thoughts. Not Hikari. Because she knew that Takeru's actions then had been so unlike him. Whatever was going on with her best friend, it had to do with his bond with Patamon. A bond she could understand as well as any of them. Maybe more so, given how close they were too.

If anything, it warmed her heart to know he was willing to delay their reunion for her sake.

Which was why she promptly shook her head. "Another time, maybe. When you're really up for it."

His brows rose in surprise. Not from the rejection, but because of her reasoning. "Why would-?"

"Ah!" She held up a finger to silence him, with a smile that could rival his best. It was her turn to be supportive of him. "I know where you really want to be right now. And it's okay. Really. We'll have plenty of time to hang out later."

We'll have plenty of time...

Takeru had no idea if Hikari knew or even suspected, but her words hit far closer to home than she may have realized. Time. Something so precious. So fleeting. He had no idea how much time he had left, and he wanted so badly to hold tight to every minute of it. And Hikari understood that. Without question or protest. If anything, she was insisting.

And he...appreciated her so much for it. Right. Appreciated was the word. Enough that he very nearly broke down and told here then and there. He wanted to tell her. Except...

"Have I told you lately that you're the best?"

He couldn't.

"Not lately, no." Reaching for her bag, she shut her locker and turned to head towards the exit. One last glance was thrown over her shoulder as she called back: "Tell Patamon I said 'hi'."

"I will."

As he watched her leave, the afternoon light pooling around her like a soft halo until she faded from view, he remembered that she still hadn't told him where she was that afternoon. And he wondered if she would. Later. Before or after he finally confessed to her what was going on with him.

One secret for another.