Apples, Cookies, and Strange soup
Ken glanced down at the boxfull of apples as Wormmon complained of stomachache. He sighed inwardly, and stuffed a bagful into the fridge. "Aunt....though I was glad to see you, two boxes are a little too much..." Groaning, Ken shook his head.
The sun was almost set, echoing the colours of well-ripe apples. Having finished all his homework Ken picked up a remote control and flipped channels.
A heated game of university soccer was playing. As he watched mindlessly, the blue haired boy couldn't help but think about the last match his had with Taichi senpai. It was totally astonishing what older boy could do. Even if he was against both Ken and Daisuke, Tai managed to win, much to younger goggle boy's admiration. Remembering the aftermath of the match, Ken furrowed his brow a little. Man, the older boy had an appitite as big as his hair!...
Not to mention a heart big as his hair.
Even though he has won the match, the generous senpai bought dinner for both kouhais, much to Ken's appriciation.
This took Ken as surprise, since it was kindness he didn't expect.
Ken glanced at the clock. He still had some time before the dinner time. "Perhaps, I'll visit Taichi senpai's and drop off some apples."
He picked up the phone and dialed. Yagami senpai's number....Yagami.
Listening to rhythmical ring of the phone, Ken smiled. An excuse to go visit friends, perhaps he'll drop by at Miyako san's apartment afterwards.
Hikari hummed to herself as she cleaned the dishes. Remarkably, cleaning always calmed her down, made her feel like she was putting back the pieces to whatever mess she had made...even if that was unlikely the case. Regardless, it was a mundane task her mother had assigned to her, so at least she could enjoy it.
The television babbled loudly in the backround, where her mother and father were seated, and Tailmon sat on the floor beside her, tossing a ball of yarn around. Hikari sighed. Her life really was dull. After all, she had just finished saying she enjoyed the doing the dishes.
A piercing sound bounced off the walls, and it took Hikari a moment to register what it was. Ah, the telephone.
Drying her hands on the apron tied around her waist, she ran over to the phone and quickly picked it up. "Moshi moshi?" She asked, in a rushed, excited voice. Just when things were looking pitiful, contact with actual people! Even if it was a telemarketer, so be it!
"Moshi moshi, Hi Hikari san. This is Ken. Is Taichi san home?"
Ken responded at excited answer. It was always nice listening to this cheery tone.
"Oh! Ken-san!" Hikari said happily, shifting the phone to the other ear. Not only a human, but one she knew! "No, he's not here...he was by earlier to drop some stuff off for Tou-san...but he's since gone back to school. You might be able to catch him at his dorm, or maybe Sora-chan's?"
Ken paused for a second. Too bad senpai isn’t home… Sure, it was possible for him to carry apples to the dorm, but If it was dorm, didn’t Taichi live in same dorm complex as Izumi senpai? Ken suddered as he recalled the visit to Koushirou’s stay. Walking all the up with bags of apple wasn’t fun, for sure.
Blue haired boy took a moment to decline the idea, and asked the younger Yagami instead. “Well…. Do you like apples Hikari san?”
She smiled into the phone in response, although he could not see her, the thought of fresh, crisp apples coming to mind. She glanced around the kitchen in search of something that resembled an apple...but all she came up with was a lone potato in the corner.
"I love them!" she replied.
“Fantastic!” Ken exclaimed happily. “You see, we have two boxes of apples sitting around in this household, since my aunt’s visit. It’s top grade delicious aomori apples, but Wormmon had a little too much and got a stomachache. If you want, I was wondering if it was okay if I went over and dropped some off?”
"That'd be wonderful, Ken-san!" Hikari exclaimed excitedly. "Apples would be wonderful!" Her visions of the fruit were coming true, right before her very eyes!
Ken smiled as he’s earned chance to go visit his friends. If he was lucky, perhaps he’ll catch other chosens. Since bus rolls around in about 15 minutes, it won’t take him too long getting there. Grinning, Ken said cheerfully. “Alright then, I’ll be over in about an hour!”
"Alright! I'll be waiting!" she said as she twisted the phone's cord around her finger. She grinned. She hadn't seen Ken in a while, so this was a certainly happy turn of events.
Ken went into the kitchen to pick up some plastic bags to place apples. He spotted his mother, who was busy reading Opra magazine. Walking up to them, he asked her politely. “Mom, is it alright if I went over to Yagami san’s house and dropped off some apples?” His mother looked at the clock. She didn’t liked the idea of Ken leaving at dusk, but again, he was a good son. Having overheard the phone conversation, his mother answered frowning a little. “Make sure you return before 11 and next time, ask me first.”
“Thank you mom!” With this, Ken dashed outside of his house to catch the bus.
Hikari quickly finished up the dishes and began straightening things around the house. It'd been a while since anyone besides Taichi or Sora had been around, so she wanted everything to look nice. She looked at her parents, still seated at the couch.
"Kaa-san, Ken-san's coming by for a while, she that alright?" she asked sweetly. Her mother nodded and smiled, lost in the television program in front of her. Her father, on the other hand was a little more skeptical.
"A boy, is coming here now?" he asked. Hikari rolled her eyes. "Tou-san, it's only Ken-san!" She began. She sighed. "And, he's bringing apples." Her father's face lit up, and Hikari shrugged and straightened the magazines and newspapers on the coffee table.
Blue haired boy hummed "butterfly" as he walked towards Yagami apartment. Arriving at the doorway, Ken paused for a second. "Hnn. perhaps it's a little odd I'd visit at this time of the day... I'd better make it short." Taking a mental note, he pressed doorbell, a little anxious.
Hikari stood at the fridge, feeling the cold air on her skin. She sighed, wishing that she had something that could be considered edible to serve Ken when he came, but alas, her fridge seemed full of odd looking concoctions created by her mother. Upon hearing the doorbell, she closed the fridge and quickly raced to the front door.
Opening it, she smiled brightly at her friend in front of her. "Ken-san!"
"Konbanwa Hikari san." Ken smiled back warmly.
Stepping to the side, Hikari gestured for Ken to enter. "Come in! Come in!" she said cheerfully. "Make yourself at home!"
“Ojamashimasu” Ken commented politely as he entered. The apartment was not as big as his family’s but it certainly felt more cozy. The warm colors in the wall helped soften the area, as well as the wooden furnitures placed adjacent to the entrance. Carefully, the boy picked up the apple bags again after taking off his brown shoes, then bowed to Mr.Yagami who was currently watching TV. Then, turning to Hikari once again, Ken asked. “May I ask where the kitchen is? I’ll go put down the apple bags.”
"Oh! Let me help you!" She exclaimed, flustered at not offering sooner. "It's just this way, to the left!"
“Thank you.” Handing Hikari one of the bag, Ken started orienting himself towards the kitchen. Turning left, Ken recognized Mrs. Yagami immidiately. She was busy preparing dinner, mumbling something about avocado and banana in a soup. Sweat-dropping a little, Ken wondered if it was really good idea to bring apples at this time of the day, since knowing Mrs.Yagami it’ll probably end up in soup as well. None-the-less, the boy bowed once again politely, to cheerly woman who greeted then commented “Too bad Taichi isn’t home.”
Hikari stared at the food her mother was currently preparing, hoping she could make an excuse not to eat it later. "We can just set the apples down here," she said, motioning to the table with her hand. Setting the bag down, she smiled brightly at Ken. "It is a shame Onii-chan isn't here; he would have loved to see you! But I'm glad you and I could spend some time together!"
Ken smiled politely. “I… actually thought I’d return home once I dropped the fruit off, but since you insist, I won’t decline.” A little awkward, he stood, thinking what to say next. “Uh…may I sit down?” Dumbfoundly, the blue haired boy asked.
Hikari flushed, worried she might have made him uncomfortable. "Uh, yes, of course! Sit!" she pulled out a seat as well. She smiled awkwardly. "Um, if you don't want to say long, don't feel obligated! We can just chat for a while..." she drifted off. "Um, how have you been?"
With a small bow, Ken thanked Kari and sat down on the chair. “No worries. I’m not in any hurry.” Ken smiled and continued. “I have been alright. Things have been hectic until the end of October, but it’s all right for now as all major projects are finished at school. What about yourself?”
"I've been alright..." Hikari said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Had she really? She hadn't been terrible by any means, but she hadn't be fantastic either. "Just trying to balance school and dance...trying to find time for something like a social life," she chuckled sheepishly.
Ken smiled. He knew all too well what it’s all about. “It could certainly be tough… I nearly burnt out myself last semester, so I refrained from registering so many clubs this semester. It could be a little tiring, and you end up terribly missing other people.” Furrowing his brows, he smiled knowingly.
Shifting his eyes a little, Ken wondered if it was alright to ask about the evil girl at the dance...
"Yeah..it can be a hassle," she said, averting her eyes to the table.
“So, you haven’t been able to see anyone at all lately? It’s a little surprising since I’d expect you to at least run into them at school.” Ken continued as Mrs. Yagami brought out some cookies and set it down on the table. “Thank you.” Thanking the older lady, the blue haired boy smiled.
Picking up a cookie, Hikari inspected it. It appeared to be store bought...probably her Tou-san's doing. "I see Onii-chan alot, and I see Daisuke from time to time at school, but not near as much as I'd like. We're not in the same class this year," she bit into the cookie. "I saw Mimi-chan the other day...but I seldom see Takeru-kun. He seems more busy than I am sometimes."
Ken frowned. If Daisuke had heard of this matter just about a year ago, he would’ve plummered Takeru to the ground, no doubt. …But his current situation isn’t all that great either, after all. “That’s really unfortunate… but if it makes you feel any better, I haven’t been able to see Daisuke or Miyako chan at all lately. I’ve read from LJ that Daisuke’s caught cold, but it’s really difficult to arrange even a meeting since he doesn’t have a cell phone nor gets online much… “Ken’s face grew a little dark.
“We really need to put tracking devices on some people you know.” Ken said jokingly, trying to lighten up the mood.
Hikari laughed. "You're very right! That would save so much time!!" she cocked her head to the side and smiled. "How are things with you and Miyako-chan anyways?"
Ken paused to think for a second. “She hasn’t been answering my calls or e-mails, but last time I checked we’re still dating?” The boy shook his head.
"As long as she hasn't said 'we need to talk', you should be fine!" Hikari said, trying to be optimistic.
Ken nodded in agreement… After all, there’s no use in worrying.
“Ah, but enough of that, how was the outing with Mimi san?” The blue haired boy asked curiously. “She seems to be seeing Ishida san awful lot these days.” Ken commented, picturing Takeru’s older brother in his head.
Hikari nodded. "It was fun! But being around Mimi always is!" she stopped for a moment, thinking. "Yes, Mimi-chan and Yamato-san seem to be a large topic of conversation amongst us chosen lately, ne?"
“It’s a little strange since they never seemed so close beforehand. You know. When a female and a male friend start to see each other outside of circle of groups….It’s just too delicious for our inner gossip queens.” Grinning, Ken commented, as he muched on the cookie.
Laughing, Hikari nodded. "Exactly. Everyone's been wondering what's been going on, why are they spending all that time together, etcetera, etcetera
“A rock star and princess…Who would’ve thought?” Ken grinned cheekily.
Reaching for the milk, Ken continued. “But no need to jump for the conclusion now… After all, it’s Mimi-san.” Remembering the older chosen’s bubbly nature, Ken smiled.
“Also, It’s good she isn’t the type to mope in the dumpster… and it also looks like Koushirou san’s trying to get out of his comfort zone.”
The boy took a sip of the drink and then continued. “Did you know that he’s a great singer?”