Daisuke was not feeling very happy at the moment. It had been just over two years now since they'd saved the world, he'd moved into Middle School, and overall, things had been going pretty well. But now, he was hearing rumours that a far graver threat existed. One that was earth-shattering if it was true. One that would destroy a destiny. One that would ruin everything.

Some of the girls had started claiming Takeru and Hikari were dating in secret.

"What do we do, Veemon?"

The goggle-head had decided to try and see if his Digimon had any ideas. There had been more and people gaining Digimon partners recently, and it was now easier for Veemon to be seen... Except since this was top-secret world-saving stuff, the pair were trying to speak in privacy, and so, were at a relatively quiet bench in the grounds of Odaiba Middle School during lunch break.

"Um... About what?"

Daisuke suddenly remembered he hadn't told Veemon anything about the problem.

"Okay, you know I like Hikari, right?"

Veemon nodded.

"Sure. Everyone likes Hikari."

"No, not that kind of like, Veemon, the romantic kind of like." Daisuke corrected.

"...Why not just say love then? You humans can be really weird about this stuff."

"Okay, fine. You know that then, right?"

"It's pretty obvious." Veemon shrugged.

"Well, see, the thing is... I've heard people saying she's started dating another guy, and I need to figure out a way to get her to realise that the other guy isn't the one she wants to be with. I want her to like me, not him."

Veemon pondered this.

"You mean love, right?"

Daisuke sighed.

"Fine, whatever. What do I do?"

"Hm... You could embarrass him. Like that time Jun took those photos of you sleeping and threatened to give copies to everyone you knew? Or that time your belt snapped and your shorts fell down? Or that time you fell asleep on that bus during a school trip and..."

"I get it! Jeez, Veemon, I'm not feeling very confident about anything and you aren't helping!"

"Well, would it work?" Veemon asked.

"Uh... I don't think so. See, he's had embarrassing stuff happen to him and he's just shrugged it off..."

***

It had been last year. As part of a project, the class had been split into groups and told to study the homework together as a group. Daisuke and Takeru had been in a group with Hikari, another boy from the class, and two other girls.

They'd decided to go to Takeru's house one day, after Daisuke's warnings about Jun reminded the other boys why that was dangerous, and none of the other five had even needed Hikari to warn them about her mother's cooking.

And it was after they were done and had been getting dinner, that Natsuko had produced the photo albums, handing them over to the girls. The other two boys had known the cruelty of mothers and baby photos in the past, and had been silently sympathetic, especially as the three girls all giggled at the first few photos they were shown.

Then they realised Takeru hadn't cared. He'd only looked jokingly upset when one of the girls had commented on some of the baby photos.

"You were cute when you were little, Takeru."

"Were? You mean I'm not cute now?" He had pouted. The girls had just giggled back as the pout became a grin.

***

If three cute girls looking at his baby photos didn't embarrass the blonde, nothing would. Well, maybe being locked outside naked, but that might have been going too far...

"No. I think we need a different plan."

"Hmm... Maybe you could just give Hikari lots of gifts and say nice things about her?"

Daisuke thought about this for a moment.

"Okay, Veemon, two problems. The first problem is, what gifts can I give her? I can't give chocolate and flowers all the time, and her main hobby is photography. I've no idea what would make a good gift for her at all for camera stuff."

"Clothes? She's a girl, girls like clothes, don't they?" Veemon tried.

"Maybe, but... That's risky. Too big and the girl thinks you're calling them fat. Too small, they're really random how they react, but they'll never wear what you buy them no matter what." Daisuke corrected.

"Oh. What's the second problem?"

"The second is, she's meant to be dating a guy already,  so what happens if I buy her gifts and stuff? Remember when that guy tried to get Sora to break up with Yamato? Something broke up all right."

Veemon eeped.

"Yeah... Did that guy's nose ever get fixed?"

"I think so, but he's lucky Sora never took his head off with the way she punched him."

"Well, obviously, you don't do what he did. I'm a Digimon and I know how stupid that is. Besides, if you grabbed Hikari's butt and told her to ditch the loser, Tai would probably kill you later anyway."

"Yeah. But the point is, if you try that, a fight starts."

Veemon thought for a moment.

"Maybe that's it. Fight him, beat him, and Hikari sees you're stronger than him?"

"Uh... No, see, how do I fight him? It either winds up obvious I start it, or that I provoke him. You've got to think here. Hikari already likes the guy, so, if it comes to picking sides, she'd go with him first, see? Even if I win the fight I lose. Besides, I'm a lover, not a fighter..."

"Yeah, you have me do all that. And don't you mean liker?"

"Shut up."

Veemon smirked, and then had an epiphany, or so it seemed.

"I've got it! I fight him!"

"Um, no. Think about it, if you attack him, then what will the other Digimon do?" Daisuke noted.

"Ah. Right. Gatomon would probably try to kill me anyway for attacking Hikari's boyfriend. Wait. Maybe we can get Gatomon to not like the guy!"

"No good. Gatomon likes him too."

"...Okay, now I'm thinking I do want to fight this guy..." Veemon muttered.

"Not that kind of like you idiot!"

"Well, how about we just get rid of him? So no one knows..."

"What... kill him!?" Daisuke said in alarm.

"Whoa, no no no, nothing like that. We just send him away or something!" Veemon clarified.

"How? How do we send him away, put him in a box and ship him to Canada?"

"Well, I was thinking, we could get Hawkmon to digivolve to a Cockatrimon, right, and then... Well, we just leave him in the park..."

"No. Not even as a joke. You know how cruel that is for starters?"

"Fine, it wasn't a serious idea. I don't think Hawkmon can digivolve to a Cockatrimon anyway."

Daisuke sighed, and then heard a voice that he had hoped not to hear as he tried to solve the problem of the love triangle.

"Hey guys. What's this about Hawkmon?"

It was the Hypotenuse in the triangle himself. Takeru.

"Uh..." Daisuke paused.

"Nothing, we're just planning to get rid of a guy that Hikari likes so Daisuke can date her instead."

Daisuke was now the one with a resemblance to a statue as his mind shut down in sheer horror at Veemon's idiocy.

"Oh. How?" Takeru pondered

"We're gonna have Hawkmon become a Cockatrimon and..."

"No, we're not, you idiot..."

Daisuke leaned down close to the blue Digimon and hissed a quick warning

"Takeru IS the guy you moron!"

"Oh. Well, sorry, Takeru, it's nothing personal but..."

Takeru, however, was actually amused.

"Wait, this is me you're talking about? How do you plan to deal with Tai being so overprotective, hire a hitman?"

"Okay. So I guess I'm busted. I don't suppose I could ask you nicely to stop dating Hikari and let me date her instead?"

Takeru frowned in confusion.

"...Daisuke, all of this is news to me. I'm not dating Hikari, and I didn't know she was supposed to like me like that. To be honest I don't think she does."

"Really? Prove it."

"Well, she's never dropped anything close to a hint she thinks that of me. See, if a girl likes you, they try to steer you into dating them without actually asking themselves. Except for girls like Miyako who think a sledgehammer is subtle. And then there's all the little looks they give you when they think you don't see them. Oh, and then there's the fact they act a little strange around you too."

"Uh, okay... How do you know all this?"

Takeru grinned.

"Because I pay attention. If you did that you'd probably not be worried about Hikari at all, but since you are and since she's not dating anyone, here's a tip. Just ask her."

"What? I have asked her! She's said no!" Daisuke protested.

"No, she hasn't, because you never asked to DATE her, did you? You've asked her to go places. You never said to go alone. Remember that time you asked her if she wanted to go to a movie and we all wound up going? She thought you were looking to go with her as a friend because... Well, don't let her know I said this but sometimes... She really is Tai's sister."

"Huh?"

Takeru chuckled.

"You two have so much in common. You can both be kind of dense sometimes."

Daisuke took a few moments to get this.

"Wait. So, the only reason Hikari's never went out with me is she thinks I never asked her out on an actual date?"

"Bingo. So, just ask her straight, say it's a date and that should be it. Girls like honesty usually. Except when they ask some questions. Little tip here, she does look good in that dress and she does not look fat in it at all."

"Oh... Wait, how do you know all this? Yamato?"

"Nope. Personal experience."

Daisuke stared.

Takeru stared back blankly.

Daisuke still stared.

"Wait. Personal? Like you've already dated her?" Veemon said.

"Not Hikari, no, but other girls."

Daisuke still stared, but then spoke.

"When did you get a date?!"

Takeru frowned in confusion.

"...Well, the first time was when I lived outside of Odaiba, and we were staying at my Mother's Cousins place. I asked a few girls out there."

"Wait, you were like ten then!"

"Yup. And you were eleven when you started calling Hikari your girl, and we're thirteen now. Your point?"

"But... If Hikari knew you dated other girls and stuff, why does she hang around with you all the time?"

"She hangs out with us, Daisuke. We're her friends. Besides, Tai's likely to kill any guy he doesn't know who tries to ask her out, and only a few guys he does know would meet his approval. By the way? I'm not one of them."

"What? Why?" Daisuke was puzzled.

"Because I've dated seven girls in three years, and I'm dating one just now. All six were mutual breakups but still, you know Tai. Believe me, Daisuke, you've got way better odds of dating Hikari than most guys." Takeru said.

"Oh. So... There was never any sort of love triangle at all?"

"Not between the three of us, no. I'm not interested in Hikari like that, she's not interested in me, but as for you, well, go for it."

"I will then! But, uh... What do I say to her? What if I get it wrong?"

Takeru sighed.

"Just ask her."