Something I've noticed and subsequently changed my mind on.
The whole not a date thing between Takeru and Hikari is invalid now.
No, this will not be some far out theory.
As a heads up I will be Avoiding all flowery language like I am prone to say
Yes, I do like to hear myself talk so if I do talk flowery and self aggrandize myself you can make that conclusion yourself and grill and chastise me after.
(sigh) yes I am aware you have the barbecue on standby.
When it comes to Takeru and Hikari they first established the whole 'not a date' line in 02 in the episode ghost of a chance.
As watchers we picked up they have this vibe together and it was all nice and smiles until Daisuke brought up the idea of it being a date.
Maybe they are just late bloomers but they were both smiling and a bit embarrassed by it. Not a date. We promise. Insert explanation. Come with us! Ok, fair.
After this event. When they get older into high school I noticed a bit of a change. The Digidestined get together for the school festival and go off on their own way.
Not with his friends but with each other they are clearly seen but interact with the other Digidestined. They interact.
Yamato's concert. Other events.
Even into the cafe where Takeru says three implying Koushirou who was waiting for them? But they all met up except Takeru and Hikari who stayed together that whole event. But we see how they imply group dynamic. This avoids suspicion of a 'date'.
Moving on. In Kizuna Takeru has his infamous line basically saying Oh I forgot to eat breakfast who wants to join me? Yamato and Taichi pass and let them babysit their Digimon while they go to class. Attempted group dynamic this time.
So then we now get to the next movie-when they are older after 02 the beginning And we get some context from this scene:
Based off of Audio story two from Digimon Kizuna the context is they come up with some farfetched ideasat a restaurant to troll Ken and Wormmon over dinner and drinks.
Yes. Stomp on it hard. Get whiplash. Pull over. Do not let this be swept under the rug.
Yes I did break this all down into context for this one scene.
So before you turn the grill on hear me out. These two, the whole just really close friends who at no point have ever dated decide to have food and drinks before another friend shows up.
Ah, so there is the group dynamic by association for the meet up.
But what happens before the meet up establishes the date. So let's recap and make some inferences here.
We can infer Takeru picked her up for the ahem, meeting based on the movie and how she is 'familiar' with his driving habits and is not surprised by his recklessness. She also curiously enough is the only person with shotgun privileges. Make of that what you will.
So they show up, order a meal, order alcoholic drinks and get a bit tipsy and silly while coming up with a story to explain some of the other Digidestined's involvement. But it's not a date. Oh no. Absolutely not. (Keep in mind you don't find out about that part about the date after the story is nearly over).
The amount of closeness one has to finish another's story without giving it away and making it believable demonstrates how close a bond they really have.
And here's the point to all of this.
Takeru and Hikari don't even need to go on a date.
Put the stabbing fork away already. They know each other so well they don't even need to go on a date.
And the whole point of an 'incremental' relationship drives home that point.
Blink and you'll miss it. Take notice and think about it and you'll wonder about a few things about what their relationship is.
Most of us are either like this: (Taichii or Sora's perspective).
When you see just where they started to where they are now you can choose to be cynical or optimistic about just what their relationship is.
But we can't define it unfortunately. Whatever they have together they are so close it's not something you could define in a friendship or a romantic sense- yet you can say it's intimate-whatever that entails.
They are traumatized comrades from a Digimon War, they are soulful companions, and they are definitely closer to each other than I daresay anyone else with the exception of their siblings.
The whole purpose of a date is to get to know someone personally and as you open up to them intimately.
The only thing these two would get out of a date that they don't already know about each other is physical affection.
All right. I've said my piece. I'll just drench myself in barbecue sauce first.
I'll leave it to Sora to sum up how I feel about all of this:
