Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Another memorial. ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: birdboy2000 
Anime/Manga: Digimon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Classic | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 09.22.2005 | Pages: 6 | Words: 9.0K | Visits: 296 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Digimon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Classic | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 09.22.2005 | Pages: 6 | Words: 9.0K | Visits: 296 | Status: Completed
...We fought together once… I mean, we might have split up a bit and stuff, but we were all on the same side, we all wanted the same thing, right?
We were all such close friends…
We’re still close, like we used to be, we still care about each other. But I can’t even say we’re still allies…
And because of this, I think the digital world is suffering.
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Deathmon had little connection to Apocalymon. Sure, they came from behind the same firewall and were horrible evils that threatened the digital world, but the two had never even met in their eternal lives, were not formed from the same evil source, and shared little, if any, of the same attributes. (The exceptions being that they were both ultimate-level digimon and used darkness-based attacks. But that applied to almost all horrible evils in the digital world.)
Therefore, despite having “Death” in his name, Deathmon had no connection to the four horsemen of myth. If any group of digimon could be said to be the four horsemen, it would be the dark masters, what having been created by Apocalymon, the devastation they wreaked, and the tenuous connection between Mugen Dramon and war, Pinnochimon and famine, and Piemon and death.
That said… Looking at the impact he was having on the digital world, most couldn’t help but draw a few parallels. Specifically, the whole “Killing a sizable chunk of the world’s population” thing brought a lot of comparisons to mind.
The chosen were far away, concerned with Noriko and Chimeramon, too distant to be of any help… And the ghoulish creature was killing without mercy, bringing terror to the digimon of Directory Continent, digimon wondering if any from another world would come to save them, digimon already thinking it too late.
And if the Gekomon were fine, if Chimeramon’s progress was being slowed, if the east of the digital world was looking hopeful, if the east was thinking the chosen could save both worlds… south, west, north, they all looked towards the future, and they all found themselves facing nothing but, well… Death.
Unimon flew through the skies of this dilapidated region of the digital world, searching, hoping, fighting… Maybe this would be the Resistance, maybe this could be the world’s hope… It wasn’t going to be Takeru…
“Takeru…” the horned digimon thought, thinking back to that kid, that once bright-eyed chosen child turned serious by war. “Takeru… I’m failing, a chosen child is needed here.”
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Hopeless as it made the digimon of most of the world feel, the digital world was a big place, and the chosen had not even heard such a thing. Hikari’s mind was not focused in the slightest on Deathmon; even Palmon’s death had not put that beast on her mind.
After all, the Tsarina was a much closer, much more immediate threat, and Hikari had… Other reasons to be concerned with her.
“I was her mentor, after all…” she thought, remembering those brief months, those days when it really seemed her dreams of light would come true. “The dark seed children, their digimon, I’ve tried so hard to help them become like us. A few new chosen living together with their digimon, the beginning of a peaceful era… That’s what I hoped for.”
And even forgetting her role, forgetting her own failures, forgetting the fact that this could be said to be her fault… Noriko was a threat. Digimon would suffer if she were allowed to continue.
Her heart still concerned with the one she loved, Hikari turned towards the bishounen’s sleeping form, gazing at the one who so recently brought her happiness… “Takeru… I love you. And, I wish I could be with you when you wake up, I wish I could spend more time with you. But I have to do this. Alone.”
And with that the brunette took a step, preparing to leave, preparing to face the one symbol of her failures…
“Are you really going to leave me like this?” The bearer of light turned, hearing a catlike, womanly voice, a voice clearly saddened, though distracted as she was, Hikari hadn’t noticed the feline’s pain.
“Not even Yamato left his digimon, even with all he went through… Are you just going to leave me behind while you do something this important?!”
“Tailmon?” She turned to face her digimon partner, confused, unknowing. “What’s gotten into you?”
The feline digimon looked at her, tears of memory in her eyes. “When I wasn’t with you…” she began, thoughts of Vamdemon flashing through her head, and shook her head sadly; Hikari-chan knew her well enough that she didn’t need to say more. “I’ll devolve or something, I don’t even care if I have to become Nyaramon and hide in your shoe! But please...”
Hikari nodded, Tailmon switched forms and sneaked into the girl’s backpack (Backpacks being far more comfortable hiding places than shoes), and the two of them left, leaving to talk some sense into Noriko, leaving in the hope of bringing light to the digital world…
On the other hand, as much as Hikari wanted to do something, Noriko’s base was floating.
As in “Floating in the sky.”
As in “Not at all easy to reach.”
As in “Impossible to sneak into.”
On the matter of those few attacks that could reach her, Nefertimon’s, for instance, she had managed to construct more than enough weaponry to repel them. So, getting up there to talk to her was, to use a great understatement, not easy.
And there was a good possibility she wouldn’t even be the first chosen up there… She knew nothing of Penmon’s exploits, nothing of Ken’s impending return to the digital world. Then again, that return might just make it all much, much easier.
Or it could just fail miserably, or it could easily have no impact whatsoever.
So, after some wandering, there the Numemon queen found herself, staring up into the digital sky, wondering if somehow, someway, she could manage to reach her…
Up in said aerial fortress, with much “assistance” from Penmon, the former Kaiser and a tall green insect had made it into the Tsarina’s base.
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Ken Ichijouji began his wanderings through the Tsarina’s base, the base that looked so much like the one he himself had designed. “It’s similar… The location of the engine room, the impressive floors, the blue-and-black, telescreen-filled, near-empty lair, I’m sure it’s all the same, if I wanted to take this place down…”
But that wasn’t his intention. After all, there were guards there, and he had only one adult-level digimon on his side, an actual sabotage would be all but impossible.
No, his intentions were… Different. And much as he wanted to escape the digital world, he couldn’t just stand by and watch another follow his path, another feel his horrible, amnesia-bringing pain. And if anyone could help, he would be the one.
“Though it’s not like that meant much… Last time…”
Ken couldn’t help but remember how he confronted her on those steps, how she began yelling at her… She had been so bitter then, but the forcefulness of the words was enough to keep them in his head, keep them replaying as he walked towards a lair looking quite like his own…
“You’re Ken Ichijouji, aren’t you? What do you want? Don’t you know that spying is rude?” she had said once, emphasizing the word "you" with such a level of contempt that it was like a curse word in and of itself.
How did he respond back then? “I’m sorry I followed you, just hear me out, there’s something you need to know about before it’s too late.” Ken’s words eight months ago were kindly, sweet, the sort that, looking back at his tone, made him think he might have actually deserved his crest. Yeah, like that was meant to happen, like he was supposed to just have a crest, adventure with the others, let his digimon evolve… Maybe then he wouldn’t have abandoned this world, returning only to make sure others don’t make the same mistakes.
Noriko’s response, though… That was the cruel part, the part that made Ken so doubtful even now. “Something I need to know? It was her tone that was truly mocking back then, the words didn’t do it justice.
“Ah, please, why should I care what you have to say? Now that you’re a normal kid again you’re just an insect to me.” Okay, those words did it justice. Still, he couldn’t help but think, walking down a base that looked so much like his own… That was even the same metaphor he used, once, Noriko seemed so much like his old self.
“You gave it all up, the brains, the power, and for what? So people would like you?” The girl was still bitter that time, too, but a bit of curiosity was slipping in, as much as a child of a dark seed could hold one of the eight traits, it did seem like she really didn’t understand, like she wanted to know…
“No, so I would like myself. Power gave me nothing but loneliness, you have to believe me, Noriko, this isn’t the answer,” Ken had said once, gently, kindly, pleading with her to stop… It was then that she had spoken her most crushing, bitter words.
“I suppose you’re going to tell me that the answer’s having friends and parents who love you, right? Gimme a break, that’s just sad, I bet you don’t even believe what you’re saying. I’m sure not buying it.”
He had been unable then… Sure, it ended up fine, the digital world showed its power, the others who held dark seeds were more easily persuaded, and even she came around…
But now, whatever dream had worked on her, she had truly stopped believing in, now there was nothing he could do… Leaning up against a wall to speak, he turned to Stingmon, half-speaking to himself, half to a distant digimon, the one hearing him not having the slightest clue what he’s going on about.
“I’m sorry, Penmon, but I can’t. I tried once, I couldn’t do a thing.”
And with that memory and those words of despair, he turned back, departing Noriko’s base uselessly, his return to the digital world a pointless failure.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Four years ago, the Otamamon and Gekomon found themselves under a sleeping shogun, willing to anoint anyone princess if that person could simply wake him up.
Now, the battle had ended, and it became clear that they were instead under a crushed shogun, a shogun that had been killed by Chimeramon’s one attack that hit his palace.
And since there was no heir to Shogungekomon, since the Otamamon had always taken to monarchy, and as there was “royalty” of sorts in the area…
Mimi Tachikawa, despite a deep, profound desire to forget Palmon, open a portal, and turn her back on all digimon, had now found herself the not-particularly-willing ruler of a large group of musical, froglike creatures.
Creatures with a far too difficult task at hand… Rebuilding a society like this would not be easy; the wounds Chimeramon caused would not quickly heal… The castles, the luxury, all they once were able to give her simply in the hope of waking of Shogungekomon, all gone… A third of them gone too, reconfigured, call it, or maybe downloaded to a different computer, if Tailmon’s words of comfort were to be believed. But no, not really, they were dead… Dead, just like Palmon…
“Princess!” Mimi was snapped out of her cursed reverie by the sound of a Gekomon’s hornlike voice, sighing as she listened to the frog’s administrative questions.
Yeah, just look at me, sighing on the throne… So many of them would be energetically ruling, or just happy with the perks of being prince or princess…I would have been too, once...
“Is something wrong, Princess?”
“No, it’s fine. And… Tell the others that if he comes again, their princess will protect them.”
The Gekomon nodded, and Mimi looked onward at the lands she had somehow come to rule, hoping that somehow, at least her proclamation will do something for her digimon.
Yes, her digimon, they were her digimon now… Or maybe she was theirs. Still, she would protect them, protect them the same way Palmon had once tried to protect her… The time for vanity was gone, the crest of purity might never glow again… But she would still do what she could.
But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t cry over Palmon while she did it.
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“You saw an intruder here?”
To describe the fate of the Numemon now reporting to her as hapless wouldn’t exactly do it justice, but as this language holds no stronger word, it would have to do. Truly, the green, slug-like digimon was at least hapless, having caught Noriko in a bad mood. And catching Noriko in a bad mood was a thing which had brought death to far more valuable digimon than some adult-level that fights like a degenerated child.
“In other words, you noticed the disastrous failure of our security force and did nothing? A small engagement would have lured more than enough digimon to the scene, but no, you had to let him escape, didn’t you?”
The digimon’s green mucus body quivered, shaking, stammering in an attempt to create a response that would save him, an answer that would not come.
“It figures a slime-bucket like you wouldn’t do anything about it. Did he pay you not to fight him, and you turned and told me anyway? Or was he just an old friend you were trying to backstab?”
Still the Numemon stammered at the girl’s lecture, stuttering to answer, but then whip came, and his body became data before he could say a word in his defense.
“Well, that was annoying…” Ken’s apparent successor said, turning to the many telescreens of her lair. “Come to think of it,” the black-haired girl spoke, confused by the image she now saw, “Isn’t that a chosen child down there? That’s strange; she’s not attacking me or anything…”
“So shall we approach her?” Penmon spoke, grateful her partner was letting her stay by her side, yet still trying to get Hikari to do what Ken couldn’t.
“Sure, might as well. Has to be better than this dank place, at least there the Numemon stay off the surface,” the Tsarina responded, the dark seed twisting her to add racism to her personality, the same way it had added megalomania and all her disreputable, elitist traits. Then again, hadn’t it been said that it’s not racism if you hate all groups the same?
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Hikari watched the flying base approach, watched the girl come flying down on an Airdramon, watched it with no fear in her brownish eyes…
“So, you think you can convince me? Just because you used to be my mentor, you think you can come up with some words, make me turn back to goodness, save the digital world?” It wasn’t a typical way to start a conversation, so contemptuous to someone just for being in the area, but-- It wasn’t exactly uncharacteristic of Noriko either, not as she was now.
“You came back to me, didn’t you?” Hikari answered calmly, the Tsarina flinching as she heard the long-time chosen child’s words. “If nothing I say could matter, why’d you come and talk to me?” Now, this was an uncharacteristic tone, wasn’t Hikari always the timid girl, her will bending to that of others?
Still, there was a faint glow coming from her, an almost unnoticeable one, but she was the child of light. And when the digital world had to be saved, when innocent digimon were suffering… Well, it had happened before.
Once. Maybe twice, if the false Hangyomon counted. At least the others had personalities for crests, instead of just some weird power she herself barely understood…
The black-haired girl fumbled in response, trying to answer why, determined not to even concede the slightest point to the “idealistic fool” (This being the sort of thought most likely running through her head) opposite her.
“There’s one trait the dark seed can’t take away, that every villain can have…” she began wistfully, thinking of Koushirou, wondering how he even managed to exist with them, being surrounded by such idiots yet able to stomach being polite to them, even able to call them friends...
“Just because I’m evil doesn’t mean I’m not curious.”
The confused, torn chosen child, (If that’s not redundant) nodded, at least a slight common ground had been reached. But this was not to be a conversation of pleasantries, of two people involved in the digital world happily reminiscing, or of Hikari giving advice on more things digimon-related…
No. It wouldn’t be like that at all. Hikari was determined to save the digital world, to do what she could, to somehow find the words to turn Noriko to light… To light, was that her purpose? Was she to make the light of the digital world grow?
Yet so much had been spoken of the balance, and even her friends had been so bored. Could she even do this?
She had to, she knew she had to. Destiny, was that it? Was she willing to do all of this just for some vague idea of fate, that she had to do it anyway? It wasn’t like destiny said anything about a life of boredom once said purpose was fulfilled.
No… But her heart, that too was that of a light-bearer, and she had seen far too clearly the suffering it caused. And if she was to be happy, truly happy... Well, Hikari wasn’t about to let what she dreamed of simply fade away into a new era of digital warfare, she wasn’t going to let Noriko stop allowing humans and digimon to live together in peace, to stop the happiness of so many.
But it might have just been that she didn’t see it, she saw a new future, a challenging future, with many difficulties ahead regarding trans-dimensional integration, adjusting to digimon walking the streets of Earth, that kind of thing. And she didn’t see how bored Takeru was, how much Sora was lost in her memories, how much even with that going on, this new, victorious era just seemed to so many like a distant shadow of the past and the path to a boring future…
And she did have one other problem. After all, she still didn’t have any good words for Noriko; she still couldn’t come up with anything that sounded persuasive enough, the sort of words that would save both worlds still eluded her. So instead, like so many other anime characters with severe mental issues, she ran away.
Well, she had at least run away with her voice, nothing would make her concede the utter humiliation and disastrous effects on the digital world involved with physically running away from the Tsarina.
“I’m a chosen child, aren’t I? I’m here as a guard, you’re the one who came to see me.”
There are times when even the coldest of hearts are broken, when even the ultimate evil can feel disappointed, when alignment or morals don’t stop someone’s hopes from being dashed… And right then, at that very time, a dark seed wouldn’t shield Noriko from this heartbreak.
But she wouldn’t let her heart break openly either, so instead, the girl turned away, turning away with the same sorrow that had once caused Yamato’s nearly-unnoticed departure.
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The loves of the chosen children, those things that had caused many arguments, brought such sorrow, and created many a shipper in a distant world, these things were not something to be so important in one episode only to be disregarded in the next.
Well, maybe in the first two adventures… In fact, probably in the first two adventures, save a few exceptions like Wizarmon’s feelings towards Tailmon, which could easily be interpreted away as being platonic or out of honor. But not this time around, it was one of the few things that the gods actually did think they could make better, to try to make the third adventure match up to the first two.
Though even the gods can sometimes lack wisdom.
More to the point, Miyako Inoue was, quite simply, losing it. The events that she had gone through might be called “character development” to someone less aware of the details, but turning Miyako, yes, Miyako, into a sobbing wreck over some girl that didn’t even show her cruelty, well… That didn’t really seem like character development to anyone.
Could she just end up with Koushirou? The computer geek did seem rather close to her, and maybe she was at the point where anyone’s love would help, even if it wasn’t coming from Hikari…
Maybe. Or maybe nothing Koushirou said could ever have the impact on her that Hikari’s simple words did so easily, or maybe she was too stubborn to give up on her love, not strong enough to do the noble thing. She had dreamed of her jogress partner last night, after all, even if dreams were her only escape…
On a popular American website, a website that none of the chosen children had ever been to, there is a cliché in headlines that’s something along the lines of, “Since you’re reading it here, you know what happens.”
Here, it’s not so clear-cut. Even in the world of shoujo manga, a world quite different and far more betrayal-filled than either of those which the chosen called home, some people are known to step aside and allow the loves of others to flourish. All while crying tears of envy for the one their loves goes with, crying tears they work desperately to hide. And open romantic competition was a rarity in the digital world, everything had always been beneath the surface…
That said, she wasn’t exactly going to work to break them up; she wasn’t like that. But, if the right opportunity were to come along, if she were given the chance…
If I could let go of Hikari, if I could forget about her easily, if I didn’t care so much-- it wouldn’t be so hard. But as I am now… Given the chance, what would I do?
Meanwhile, Noriko was still mad at her senpai, still holding the anger anyone holds at those who create hopes and then failing miserably to fulfill them … The romantic struggles of those chosen to save both worlds were none of her concern, it didn’t matter to her if Taichi ended up with Yamato or Sora, it really wasn’t important. But given a weakness…
She still wouldn’t turn down the chance, and she was still just as sadistic as the predecessor whose shadow she was still trying to escape from. So watching the chosen turn against one another, that would be just fine, in fact… It might even be fun.
And all she needed was a trustworthy-looking digimon with a well-concealed dark ring. Starmon? It had worked before, but that also meant they wouldn’t be kept off guard. Igamon? They can conceal well enough, but who trusts an Igamon?
She had one, only one, and it wasn’t exactly a common species. But that one would prove quite valuable. And besides, who had ever heard of an evil Gabumon?
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As evil plotted, as what would be described as “an ominous cloud” hung over them, had that phrase not been so overused by a certain anime character, Hikari had returned to Takeru, the two of them prepared to begin their first day as officially boyfriend and girlfriend, the so-called destined couple finally coming together…
Takeru put his arms around the returning bearer of light, his gaze still distant and forlorn, for all his desire to just be happy with her.
“Perfection, completeness, wasn’t that what I should be feeling now? Hope and light, together at last, just as we were meant to be...”
“So why am I still so empty inside?”
“Takeru-kun?” Hikari asked, seeming concerned, worried, almost about to fade away.
“Just look at me, being loved by someone as sweet as Hikari-chan, even after I betrayed her like that… And we’re gonna become enemies, even if I hope otherwise, I’ll probably launch the first attack.”
“Onii-chan broke up with Sora-san,” the inhumanly kind girl blurted out, wanting this knowledge to help, even if it did conflict with her dreams.
“That’s…” Takeru paused, still wondering if he could even finish that phrase if he had a chance with Sora now. “No, I won’t… She’s Hikari, dammit! After all she’s done, after all I’ve promised, I’m not gonna make her cry!”
“But if she’s really that important to you… Why aren’t you happy?” Had his conscience, if he could even call the source of such horrible thoughts a conscience, taken Patamon’s voice now? Then again, that did make sense, considering all he had been through with Patamon…
“Hikari-chan…” the bearer of hope began, cupping the girl’s face in his hands. “I…”
Takeru paused again, a vision of some future of perfection, of the two of them as angels dancing, watching over both worlds as they fluttered around in each others arms, such a vision flashed quickly through his head. But it wasn’t a confession of love he was about to make, just an attempt, an attempt to tear the two of them apart so that it would hurt less when the time came…
“Takeru-kun…” the girl began, leaning against the golden-haired boy, even unable as she was to think of anything but repeating his name.
The bishounen blushed, even smiled, wondering if he needed to walk this path if he had her love. It might only have been an instant, but it really did seem that he could be happy with her, have one more adventure, atoning for the evils he had inflicted, and then go off into the sunset, spend the rest of some perfect life with Hikari…
Like love really worked that way, with that strength, with a force more equivalent to Angemon than to Garurumon. Like light was really any less boring than darkness. Like those past eight months really could have been happy ones if only Hikari had been with him.
“But still, more than anything… I had been there so long, I really was like Sora, and I still am. And what I want – What I really want is to adventure in the digital world, to fight by Patamon’s side.”
So at last he knew what he would do. “But…” He thought, blushing as the Light gently stroked his cheek, Hope unsure even what drove his thoughts.
“Maybe I can give her a little more happiness.”
“I love you, Hikari-chan.” And even if the smile those words brought Hikari wasn’t meant to last, at least they weren’t completely untruthful, and at least they could make her smile.
Miyako Inoue continued to wander through the digital world, so lost in thought that she didn’t even remember how she had wound up back in this place, let alone where exactly she was.
How had she entered the digital world? Was she looking for Hikari, hoping that yesterday was a bad dream, thinking she could just declare her love to the bearer of light and she’d ignore Takeru to jump into her arms? Or… Was it just to see her again, entering the gate just so that she could be in the younger girl’s ever-warming presence, so that she could maybe, distantly, see Hikari smile?
Even though it would be Takeru causing the smile…How long can I go on like this? I’m looking whenever I hear her name mentioned, I’m almost ready to hug a light bulb, just ‘cause it too is light, it too is Hikari – just not the Hikari I love.
“Miyako-sama?” The purple-haired girl turned, looking for the source of that deep, friendly, familiar voice she had just heard. The voice’s source, judging by the fur, horn, sound, and general body shape, was Gabumon. (And it did sound like his voice.)
Then again, when had Gabumon used “-sama” to refer to any of the chosen children? That reverent tone still shocked her, but coming from Gabumon? Gabumon, who had fought at least fifty battles, risking his life to save the digital world?
No, it had to be a different Gabumon, of that, even in her broken-hearted state, even being the way she had only been when her carelessness had got Hawkmon hurt, she was sure.
“Yes, it is I, your great Miyako-sama! Now go get me some bishounen!” One might have expected her to respond. But that wasn’t how she answered at all.
“Miyako…-sama? Thanks, I guess…” The inheritor of Love and Purity said, as the Gabumon looked utterly baffled, which to onlookers probably looked oddly amusing. “I’m just Miyako.”
The reptile looked awed, humbled, even if he was only doing this out of an evil ring’s spell, the feigned looks were the same as they’d have been otherwise. Shaking himself out of his flustered appearance, he spoke.
“Anyway, Miyako-sama…” the Gabumon began, as the one he was talking to began to wonder just how programmed digimon really were, “I have… Some information that may be of interest to you.”
“Information?” The chosen child was now confused, to say the least, confused and wondering what the obviously reverent Gabumon, this Gabumon who took such a serious tone around her and probably thought of her as a deity, what could someone like him want her to know?
“It’s about Takeru.” The friendly false dog’s voice had sharply turned into a darkly serious tone, the sort you might expect from that other Gabumon’s partner in a moment of angst, but certainly not from a Gabumon… And about Takeru, at that.
Sensing Miyako’s reaction, the black-ringed digimon backpedaled a bit, needing a non-scary, non-evil explanation. “Sorry I sounded like that… I had to tell you, though, it’s important you know this kind of thing, especially concerning one of your fellow chosen children.”
Miyako Inoue listened intently, her emotions mixed even now, wondering if somehow, some way, Hikari could find this out, run from Takeru and leap into her arms, liked things ever worked that way.
Yeah, she should just have gone with Mimi-oneesama or something, as if she could ever feel that way for another again.
“Deathmon… And that first battle… He’s not exactly a loyal chosen child,” the Gabumon spoke, his voice one of dread.
“Not exactly – a loyal chosen child?” Miyako asked, half confirming the information, half processing what exactly this Gabumon meant, not quite being a quick thinker when her thoughts were still mostly about Hikari.
“So… Takeru’s a traitor?” the purple-haired girl asked, shock in her voice, but the evil-ringed Gabumon was long gone, and Miyako could only wonder how to use this information, and whether to use it toward some feeble hope that Hikari would somehow love her.
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And once again, as Taichi broke up with Sora, as the digital world seemed to be falling into darkness, as what looked like a new adventure was coming to pass… Yamato Ishida, still reacting from that last battle and the massive deaths across the digital world, was as he had been four years ago, drowning in a cloud of angst.
After all, this new adventure, which even he had wanted, if only a little, it was already causing tremendous casualties in the digital world. “And it’s not like we have a chance or anything either,” the bishounen muttered silently, Gabumon still watching him with those compassionate, reddish eyes, still unable to think of anything to say.
“It’s still like before… The others, they’re still growing, but I’m still the same as I was yesterday, or even four years ago, drowning in my own darkness.”
“Yamato? What’s wrong? I can’t help you if you don’t say anything!” A thickly-accented, gruff voice shot towards Yamato’s ears, but his partner’s plea went unanswered.
“Taichi, he’s with Sora now, isn’t he? It’s only natural, friendship is weaker than love, so it wasn’t like what little we had would last...
“And even if he weren’t, I haven’t even been able to figure out how I feel about him, let alone be able to ask him out or anything, and there’s no way he’d say yes. So -- What do I do?”
Yamato glanced at his flashing D-terminal, pressing the button to open it up, at least this time he’d try to be mature enough not to let something this silly get in the way of saving both worlds, though his friendship might not be strong enough even now.
“Yeah, I failed even back then… I had Metal Garurumon with me, so I could have really helped, but instead I ordered him to attack the others. And then I wandered off, barely even showing up until the final battle, and only a bit of luck had me make it time. Yeah, in time to get turned into a puppet, in time to let my little brother save everyone.”
Leaving that train of thought, he opened the message from Koushirou, eyes scanning the words in shock, like an electrical shocker coming not from Koushirou but the far more fearsome (though still loyal and valiant) Kabuterimon, shock that would only bring more angst…
“Taichi… Broke up with Sora?” he was thinking, processing, so much so that he couldn’t even react, for all it meant to him, for as close as they both were to him, until he got over the shock of such a statement.
Gabumon, having no response from Yamato, peered over at his D-terminal. There wasn’t much light, and the blue-eyed boy’s arm was blocking the way, and it was a short message, so he couldn’t be sure.
It had to be wrong. It just had to be. Taichi breaking up with Sora after one or two days? Taichi breaking up with Sora that quickly, when it seemed even their history in the digital world was trying to set them up?
And though he said nothing, though he was unwilling to speak or even let Yamato know he had looked… Gabumon’s fur-clad face said enough with its look, a look that is typically accompanied by the phrase “What the hell?”
“But -- If he did…” Yamato spoke, still taking a questioning tone, though it wasn’t like Koushirou would be lying about such a thing. “Why they broke up so quickly… I can’t be certain, but I know them well, even when Sora was dating me she didn’t seem that into it.”
The realization had dawned on Yamato at last.
“And just look at me. I’m way too much of a coward to ask him out. It doesn’t matter that this is the best chance I’ll get, that he probably broke up with Sora because he cares about me, I still don’t have the guts to ask him.”
The boy glanced down at his shirt, ignoring the attractive body it was clinging to, instead simply looking at the space where his tag had once hung. “I’m friendship, not courage. It’s not like I’m ever gonna be able, I’m too afraid of jeopardizing what I have, and even with everything else… I’m so damn jealous of him.”
“Yamato?” the pseudo-canine digimon asked, wondering whether to just give his partner a quick chomp on the leg.
“Gabumon’s calling for me, and I can’t even answer him… I’m not courageous enough to say anything to Taichi, yet I’m still not able to bring myself to tell him to forget about me, I can’t even bring myself to talk to my digimon.”
“I don’t want to do this, Yamato, but if you won’t say anything,” Gabumon began, hoping that at this time, like last time, a bit of pain would make the thin-legged boy less angst-filled. “Crush nail!”
At least when it came to making him speak, making him listen to his digimon, that was all it took. Though it would take far longer to free him from his angst, and even now, in the back of his mind, the similarities to the past were simply too much to take. “Gabumon? You – attacked me?”
“If I didn’t, you wouldn’t even notice my pleas!” A gruff voice erupted from the child-level digimon, and no matter how many times it had happened, hearing Gabumon screaming always felt like a simply wrong, reality-bending occurrence. (Similar to hearing Fladramon talk, but less insanely ethereal.)
“Gabumon…” he began softly, wishing he could break down into tears, apologize, hug his digimon, and live happily after. But at least saying something might help.
And much as he wanted to improve, to at least do things differently, Gabumon had helped him in the past.
“It’s… Taichi. I’ve been thinking about him so much lately…”
“Taichi?” Gabumon asked, though it wasn’t like the one he was talking about had a name that would be confused with anyone’s, or at least the names of anyone Yamato knew.
“Yeah…” Yamato answered, speaking in a cool, familiar tone.
“How so?” the horned digimon asked kindly, so knowing of Yamato, yet still from a species that rarely reproduces, and still so oblivious.
“I…” The blond paused. This was Gabumon he was talking to, after all, he couldn’t exactly lie to him. But admitting that he loved the gogglehead? Not exactly an easy thing to do. “He’s been constantly in my thoughts, y’know?” the bearer of friendship said, as his digimon processed the information, even he didn’t always instantly know what to say.
“And I still can’t figure out what he is to me…” the boy added under his breath, not even sure whether to tell Gabumon those words, his suspicions being what they were, even if he would admit that to no one. “He broke up with Sora recently, I’m not quite sure why, but…”
“You’re worried he noticed how sad you were when they were going out, is that it?” To say Gabumon’s answer was right on the mark would not be a hyperbole in the least. Then again, the bond between Yamato and Gabumon was strong enough that such a thing was to be expected, even if it was stronger on one side.
“Yeah… Exactly.” It was at this point that, or at least at very similar points in the past, Gabumon would have given his partner some excellent advice, Yamato would follow and everything would be resolved with happiness. But when dealing with the romances of the chosen children…
So all Gabumon could say was to spend time with him, be happy in his presence, and enjoy the adventure once more. But even as the bearer of friendship nodded his head in agreement, even if his loyalty as a chosen child was never in doubt… He still couldn’t help but still wish that, even if it only lasted a day, it would have been him in Taichi’s arms.
For all the thoughts of digital love, the war continued, and these wars were not the sort to pause, not even when half the chosen children once again are engulfed in their own darkness. And for this reason, Sora, tormented as she was, still had to fight. Even though her foe was more of a monster-of-the-day than anything, really just a black-ringed Sabirdramon attacking a tired, love-confused Sora and an unprepared Piyomon on one of Noriko's half-forgotten plans.
“Mach shadow!” The black bird-dragon flew, a winged bullet of dark flame exploding into Piyomon's weak, feathered chest.
“Magical fire!” the chocobo-like digimon shouted back, sending a green flame harmlessly off the larger bird's talon. “Sora, I need your help!”
The auburn-haired girl sighed, casting a tired glance her digivice's way. Was she really this tired, not even remembering to make Piyomon evolve immediately, letting her fight on with some feeble bits of fire?
“Black saber!” The Sabirdramon flapped its dark wings, then dove at the pink bird, looking like a sword piercing right through the child-level digimon's heart.
“C'mon, pull yourself together, Sora,” she muttered to herself, gazing at her wounded digimon. “The longer you wait, the more Piyomon will suffer. It's just grabbing a digivice and holding it up, it's not exactly hard...”
“Heaven's Knuckle!” An orange beam of light from afar, coming the same way Birdramon's flames once flew. From beyond the treetops, once Sora to save the others, now Takeru and Angemon fighting, just to save her. The light connected and the evil ring quickly burst, the Sabirdramon flying off freely before even getting a chance to meet its savior.
And when the light faded, when the girl rubbed her eyes and was able to see again... It seemed hope itself was emerging from the light.
“Yeah, hope emerging from the light -- He really was meant to be with Hikari-chan, as much as I'd want otherwise...”
“Takeru... You saved me – again,” Sora spoke, a touch of thankfulness permeating her voice.
The bishounen nodded. “I heard reports of a Sabirdramon rampaging around the area, so I came here to check it out.”
“Well...thanks,” she said, blushing, hopeful for Hope, hoping that Hope would love Love. (Or something of that sort, thinking in terms of crests can get quite confusing.)
Takeru's small mouth opened again, his words having a far more serious tone. “To protect Hikari... I promised you that, didn't I?”
“When we were fighting Piemon,” Sora answered, smiling. “Right before he turned me into a key-chain.”
Takeru's eyes began to take a wistful, longing look, as once more he spoke... “Yeah... And to protect her happiness, with all that adventure had caused...”
To say, “At last, Sora understood” might have been an exaggeration. But she was more knowing now, and at least she was smiling. “Hikari-chan's happiness...” she spoke, moving closer to Takeru, wishing for Taichi's courage and persuasion ability... Yeah, like I'm not selfish enough already... I wished for that earlier, didn't I?
“Yeah -- I wanted, I hoped... This is doing enough to her already, even if I hadn't promised... She's light, after all, we're destroying her dreams.”
Sora nodded. “Thanks again... You kept your promise.”
“I hope she can be happy with one of the others, that Daisuke-kun or Miyako-chan will be right for her.” Takeru added, sighing. “Like there's a single combination of us twelve that won't make half of us cry.”
“It's my crest, it's one of the eight crests, I should be its champion, happy to see it bloom,” Sora spoke, putting a hand to her flattish chest, remembering where the crest had once hung. “So why does it have to end up destroying everyone?”
“Sora-chan...” Takeru spoke, putting a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. “Love... Can also bring so much happiness.”
And once again, her angst cured, or at least healing... Hadn't Takeru been around every time she had regained happiness? (Though it wasn't like she had noticed before, or like Yamato and Piyomon hadn't been there too, every time.)
“Takeru-kun... I...” Sora stopped. It may have been painful, but it was only eight months since the last adventure, all she could say was that she didn't deserve it, any of it, no matter how precious to her those digital memories were. And Hikari deserved happiness, after all she had gone through, after all the kindness she had shown, she wasn't so selfish as to break that pairing up.
But... Koushirou, just yesterday, his words.
“At least when none of us were together, all of us could hope.” And even though I can't turn back time... Being without hope – it's such a terrible, crushing thing.
“So I have to try...Though it's not like I can tear Takeru and Hikari apart, not fall for either, and have none of them come to hate me.”
“And the one who holds the crest of love deserves to love, right?” Takeru spoke, his voice regaining its long-lost innocence.
“Like the crests even matter anymore.”
“Sora-chan…. I won’t let you be lonely, I care too much about you.”
“Thanks... But I wished for this adventure, that should be enough... I belong on the outside of our love dodecagon, pining for another.”
“And I belong with Hikari, everyone says it was destined.”
“What?”
“Sora-chan... I want to be with you.”
“Takeru-kun...” She shook her head a little, somehow forgetting her sorrows. “Me too.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The digital world is, to put it lightly, a big place. In fact, if Koushirou’s theory from four years ago is to be believed, it is as vast as the human world. And for all people say of “It’s a small world” when meeting people randomly, both worlds are actually pretty big.
So really, all the random encounters between chosen children… They can’t be easily explained, even if they were all being drawn to each other subconsciously, active searching wouldn’t result in this many meetings, dispersed as they were right now.
That said, call it love, if you like, but none of this distance stopped Hikari, head held down, still depressed from her failure with Noriko, from randomly bumping into Miyako in some random, digital forest.
“Miyako-chan?” Hikari asked, her tone a mix of “Is that you?” and “What brought you here?” though none of those words were spoken.
“Yeah… Unspoken…We’re chosen children, this stuff was always unspoken between us… Until now.”
“Hikari!” Miyako responded, her reaction a mix between excitement and a fangirl’s yell, even with all the sorrow she felt underneath.
“So she can still be that excited … I was really afraid I broke her there…”
“How’s it been going with Takeru?” Miyako said, trying desperately to at least conceal her sadness, painful as it was to even chat with her like that.
Hikari smiled. It hadn’t been long or anything, but she had been so happy, and just thinking of it… “Have you found anyone? Koushirou-san seemed interested, though I understand if you’d rather wait.”
“So kind, so understanding, I love her so much. I know she’d be hurt, even if I don’t know if what that Gabumon said was true, or why…”
“Or wait?” Had Hikari implied what Miyako thought she did? Then again, this was Hikari she was talking about, it shouldn’t surprise her, she was that kind… And they could jogress, so at least her heart had once beat like that.
“But last time we tried…” The purple-haired girl thought, remembering how the jogress failed, how their hearts no longer beat as one, and couldn’t help but wonder if this was because their feelings towards each other were so different.
But the bearer of light, isolated from Miyako though her thoughts were, she too had to wonder, she too was asking those questions of digital love with no answers that would not bring at least some sorrow...
“Was it always supposed to be beneath the surface? Was who loved whom a fact never meant to be revealed?”
That seemed to make sense, at the very least... Taichi had managed through Yamato and Sora's short-lived relationship, sure, but even that had caused sadness, and it wasn't like their love had lasted long, either.
“It's not like we haven't been able to grow close this way, what I had with Takeru back then, or Miyako, or Tailmon, none of it was any less real just because we never kissed or said ‘I love you.’
“But even still, I wanted... I wanted to have something more, more than all we shared. Something I could openly call love. And my crest is light, not purity, I'm still a teenage girl, I still have those desires, it's not like I'm as innocent as everyone thinks. If it were that easy, if two could fall in love without making the other ten cry... So...”
“Or wait,” Hikari confirmed, and words can not easily convey the look of happiness that crossed Hikari's face just then, even with all the doubts she had about Takeru's loyalty.
“Say, Hikari-chan... Can I have a little preview to make the wait easier?”
The bearer of light nodded, placing her arms lovingly around the older girl.
“I may never be meant to say this out loud... The convoluted, many-pronged relationships of us twelve make that certain. But if I could... I love you, Hikari-chan.”
Author's notes: Yay, another chapter!
Umm... umm...
Yeah, it seemed too much like a continuation of the past one... And I've probably driven off the non-shippy sort by now. (Come to think of it, maybe they could have gone as one extra-long chapter... Nah, it was better in two parts, though the two parts are way too short for me.
Sorry for the delay... And the short length, for that matter, but it took me THAT long just to get it this far... I hope with this I can finally resolve the romantic aspect, or at least finish a nice tribute to it while not making it overwhelm the rest of the fic.
Well, there's always hope. :P I'll throw in a huge battle in the next chapter or something. Deathmon's waiting...
We were all such close friends…
We’re still close, like we used to be, we still care about each other. But I can’t even say we’re still allies…
And because of this, I think the digital world is suffering.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Deathmon had little connection to Apocalymon. Sure, they came from behind the same firewall and were horrible evils that threatened the digital world, but the two had never even met in their eternal lives, were not formed from the same evil source, and shared little, if any, of the same attributes. (The exceptions being that they were both ultimate-level digimon and used darkness-based attacks. But that applied to almost all horrible evils in the digital world.)
Therefore, despite having “Death” in his name, Deathmon had no connection to the four horsemen of myth. If any group of digimon could be said to be the four horsemen, it would be the dark masters, what having been created by Apocalymon, the devastation they wreaked, and the tenuous connection between Mugen Dramon and war, Pinnochimon and famine, and Piemon and death.
That said… Looking at the impact he was having on the digital world, most couldn’t help but draw a few parallels. Specifically, the whole “Killing a sizable chunk of the world’s population” thing brought a lot of comparisons to mind.
The chosen were far away, concerned with Noriko and Chimeramon, too distant to be of any help… And the ghoulish creature was killing without mercy, bringing terror to the digimon of Directory Continent, digimon wondering if any from another world would come to save them, digimon already thinking it too late.
And if the Gekomon were fine, if Chimeramon’s progress was being slowed, if the east of the digital world was looking hopeful, if the east was thinking the chosen could save both worlds… south, west, north, they all looked towards the future, and they all found themselves facing nothing but, well… Death.
Unimon flew through the skies of this dilapidated region of the digital world, searching, hoping, fighting… Maybe this would be the Resistance, maybe this could be the world’s hope… It wasn’t going to be Takeru…
“Takeru…” the horned digimon thought, thinking back to that kid, that once bright-eyed chosen child turned serious by war. “Takeru… I’m failing, a chosen child is needed here.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hopeless as it made the digimon of most of the world feel, the digital world was a big place, and the chosen had not even heard such a thing. Hikari’s mind was not focused in the slightest on Deathmon; even Palmon’s death had not put that beast on her mind.
After all, the Tsarina was a much closer, much more immediate threat, and Hikari had… Other reasons to be concerned with her.
“I was her mentor, after all…” she thought, remembering those brief months, those days when it really seemed her dreams of light would come true. “The dark seed children, their digimon, I’ve tried so hard to help them become like us. A few new chosen living together with their digimon, the beginning of a peaceful era… That’s what I hoped for.”
And even forgetting her role, forgetting her own failures, forgetting the fact that this could be said to be her fault… Noriko was a threat. Digimon would suffer if she were allowed to continue.
Her heart still concerned with the one she loved, Hikari turned towards the bishounen’s sleeping form, gazing at the one who so recently brought her happiness… “Takeru… I love you. And, I wish I could be with you when you wake up, I wish I could spend more time with you. But I have to do this. Alone.”
And with that the brunette took a step, preparing to leave, preparing to face the one symbol of her failures…
“Are you really going to leave me like this?” The bearer of light turned, hearing a catlike, womanly voice, a voice clearly saddened, though distracted as she was, Hikari hadn’t noticed the feline’s pain.
“Not even Yamato left his digimon, even with all he went through… Are you just going to leave me behind while you do something this important?!”
“Tailmon?” She turned to face her digimon partner, confused, unknowing. “What’s gotten into you?”
The feline digimon looked at her, tears of memory in her eyes. “When I wasn’t with you…” she began, thoughts of Vamdemon flashing through her head, and shook her head sadly; Hikari-chan knew her well enough that she didn’t need to say more. “I’ll devolve or something, I don’t even care if I have to become Nyaramon and hide in your shoe! But please...”
Hikari nodded, Tailmon switched forms and sneaked into the girl’s backpack (Backpacks being far more comfortable hiding places than shoes), and the two of them left, leaving to talk some sense into Noriko, leaving in the hope of bringing light to the digital world…
On the other hand, as much as Hikari wanted to do something, Noriko’s base was floating.
As in “Floating in the sky.”
As in “Not at all easy to reach.”
As in “Impossible to sneak into.”
On the matter of those few attacks that could reach her, Nefertimon’s, for instance, she had managed to construct more than enough weaponry to repel them. So, getting up there to talk to her was, to use a great understatement, not easy.
And there was a good possibility she wouldn’t even be the first chosen up there… She knew nothing of Penmon’s exploits, nothing of Ken’s impending return to the digital world. Then again, that return might just make it all much, much easier.
Or it could just fail miserably, or it could easily have no impact whatsoever.
So, after some wandering, there the Numemon queen found herself, staring up into the digital sky, wondering if somehow, someway, she could manage to reach her…
Up in said aerial fortress, with much “assistance” from Penmon, the former Kaiser and a tall green insect had made it into the Tsarina’s base.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ken Ichijouji began his wanderings through the Tsarina’s base, the base that looked so much like the one he himself had designed. “It’s similar… The location of the engine room, the impressive floors, the blue-and-black, telescreen-filled, near-empty lair, I’m sure it’s all the same, if I wanted to take this place down…”
But that wasn’t his intention. After all, there were guards there, and he had only one adult-level digimon on his side, an actual sabotage would be all but impossible.
No, his intentions were… Different. And much as he wanted to escape the digital world, he couldn’t just stand by and watch another follow his path, another feel his horrible, amnesia-bringing pain. And if anyone could help, he would be the one.
“Though it’s not like that meant much… Last time…”
Ken couldn’t help but remember how he confronted her on those steps, how she began yelling at her… She had been so bitter then, but the forcefulness of the words was enough to keep them in his head, keep them replaying as he walked towards a lair looking quite like his own…
“You’re Ken Ichijouji, aren’t you? What do you want? Don’t you know that spying is rude?” she had said once, emphasizing the word "you" with such a level of contempt that it was like a curse word in and of itself.
How did he respond back then? “I’m sorry I followed you, just hear me out, there’s something you need to know about before it’s too late.” Ken’s words eight months ago were kindly, sweet, the sort that, looking back at his tone, made him think he might have actually deserved his crest. Yeah, like that was meant to happen, like he was supposed to just have a crest, adventure with the others, let his digimon evolve… Maybe then he wouldn’t have abandoned this world, returning only to make sure others don’t make the same mistakes.
Noriko’s response, though… That was the cruel part, the part that made Ken so doubtful even now. “Something I need to know? It was her tone that was truly mocking back then, the words didn’t do it justice.
“Ah, please, why should I care what you have to say? Now that you’re a normal kid again you’re just an insect to me.” Okay, those words did it justice. Still, he couldn’t help but think, walking down a base that looked so much like his own… That was even the same metaphor he used, once, Noriko seemed so much like his old self.
“You gave it all up, the brains, the power, and for what? So people would like you?” The girl was still bitter that time, too, but a bit of curiosity was slipping in, as much as a child of a dark seed could hold one of the eight traits, it did seem like she really didn’t understand, like she wanted to know…
“No, so I would like myself. Power gave me nothing but loneliness, you have to believe me, Noriko, this isn’t the answer,” Ken had said once, gently, kindly, pleading with her to stop… It was then that she had spoken her most crushing, bitter words.
“I suppose you’re going to tell me that the answer’s having friends and parents who love you, right? Gimme a break, that’s just sad, I bet you don’t even believe what you’re saying. I’m sure not buying it.”
He had been unable then… Sure, it ended up fine, the digital world showed its power, the others who held dark seeds were more easily persuaded, and even she came around…
But now, whatever dream had worked on her, she had truly stopped believing in, now there was nothing he could do… Leaning up against a wall to speak, he turned to Stingmon, half-speaking to himself, half to a distant digimon, the one hearing him not having the slightest clue what he’s going on about.
“I’m sorry, Penmon, but I can’t. I tried once, I couldn’t do a thing.”
And with that memory and those words of despair, he turned back, departing Noriko’s base uselessly, his return to the digital world a pointless failure.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Four years ago, the Otamamon and Gekomon found themselves under a sleeping shogun, willing to anoint anyone princess if that person could simply wake him up.
Now, the battle had ended, and it became clear that they were instead under a crushed shogun, a shogun that had been killed by Chimeramon’s one attack that hit his palace.
And since there was no heir to Shogungekomon, since the Otamamon had always taken to monarchy, and as there was “royalty” of sorts in the area…
Mimi Tachikawa, despite a deep, profound desire to forget Palmon, open a portal, and turn her back on all digimon, had now found herself the not-particularly-willing ruler of a large group of musical, froglike creatures.
Creatures with a far too difficult task at hand… Rebuilding a society like this would not be easy; the wounds Chimeramon caused would not quickly heal… The castles, the luxury, all they once were able to give her simply in the hope of waking of Shogungekomon, all gone… A third of them gone too, reconfigured, call it, or maybe downloaded to a different computer, if Tailmon’s words of comfort were to be believed. But no, not really, they were dead… Dead, just like Palmon…
“Princess!” Mimi was snapped out of her cursed reverie by the sound of a Gekomon’s hornlike voice, sighing as she listened to the frog’s administrative questions.
Yeah, just look at me, sighing on the throne… So many of them would be energetically ruling, or just happy with the perks of being prince or princess…I would have been too, once...
“Is something wrong, Princess?”
“No, it’s fine. And… Tell the others that if he comes again, their princess will protect them.”
The Gekomon nodded, and Mimi looked onward at the lands she had somehow come to rule, hoping that somehow, at least her proclamation will do something for her digimon.
Yes, her digimon, they were her digimon now… Or maybe she was theirs. Still, she would protect them, protect them the same way Palmon had once tried to protect her… The time for vanity was gone, the crest of purity might never glow again… But she would still do what she could.
But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t cry over Palmon while she did it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“You saw an intruder here?”
To describe the fate of the Numemon now reporting to her as hapless wouldn’t exactly do it justice, but as this language holds no stronger word, it would have to do. Truly, the green, slug-like digimon was at least hapless, having caught Noriko in a bad mood. And catching Noriko in a bad mood was a thing which had brought death to far more valuable digimon than some adult-level that fights like a degenerated child.
“In other words, you noticed the disastrous failure of our security force and did nothing? A small engagement would have lured more than enough digimon to the scene, but no, you had to let him escape, didn’t you?”
The digimon’s green mucus body quivered, shaking, stammering in an attempt to create a response that would save him, an answer that would not come.
“It figures a slime-bucket like you wouldn’t do anything about it. Did he pay you not to fight him, and you turned and told me anyway? Or was he just an old friend you were trying to backstab?”
Still the Numemon stammered at the girl’s lecture, stuttering to answer, but then whip came, and his body became data before he could say a word in his defense.
“Well, that was annoying…” Ken’s apparent successor said, turning to the many telescreens of her lair. “Come to think of it,” the black-haired girl spoke, confused by the image she now saw, “Isn’t that a chosen child down there? That’s strange; she’s not attacking me or anything…”
“So shall we approach her?” Penmon spoke, grateful her partner was letting her stay by her side, yet still trying to get Hikari to do what Ken couldn’t.
“Sure, might as well. Has to be better than this dank place, at least there the Numemon stay off the surface,” the Tsarina responded, the dark seed twisting her to add racism to her personality, the same way it had added megalomania and all her disreputable, elitist traits. Then again, hadn’t it been said that it’s not racism if you hate all groups the same?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hikari watched the flying base approach, watched the girl come flying down on an Airdramon, watched it with no fear in her brownish eyes…
“So, you think you can convince me? Just because you used to be my mentor, you think you can come up with some words, make me turn back to goodness, save the digital world?” It wasn’t a typical way to start a conversation, so contemptuous to someone just for being in the area, but-- It wasn’t exactly uncharacteristic of Noriko either, not as she was now.
“You came back to me, didn’t you?” Hikari answered calmly, the Tsarina flinching as she heard the long-time chosen child’s words. “If nothing I say could matter, why’d you come and talk to me?” Now, this was an uncharacteristic tone, wasn’t Hikari always the timid girl, her will bending to that of others?
Still, there was a faint glow coming from her, an almost unnoticeable one, but she was the child of light. And when the digital world had to be saved, when innocent digimon were suffering… Well, it had happened before.
Once. Maybe twice, if the false Hangyomon counted. At least the others had personalities for crests, instead of just some weird power she herself barely understood…
The black-haired girl fumbled in response, trying to answer why, determined not to even concede the slightest point to the “idealistic fool” (This being the sort of thought most likely running through her head) opposite her.
“There’s one trait the dark seed can’t take away, that every villain can have…” she began wistfully, thinking of Koushirou, wondering how he even managed to exist with them, being surrounded by such idiots yet able to stomach being polite to them, even able to call them friends...
“Just because I’m evil doesn’t mean I’m not curious.”
The confused, torn chosen child, (If that’s not redundant) nodded, at least a slight common ground had been reached. But this was not to be a conversation of pleasantries, of two people involved in the digital world happily reminiscing, or of Hikari giving advice on more things digimon-related…
No. It wouldn’t be like that at all. Hikari was determined to save the digital world, to do what she could, to somehow find the words to turn Noriko to light… To light, was that her purpose? Was she to make the light of the digital world grow?
Yet so much had been spoken of the balance, and even her friends had been so bored. Could she even do this?
She had to, she knew she had to. Destiny, was that it? Was she willing to do all of this just for some vague idea of fate, that she had to do it anyway? It wasn’t like destiny said anything about a life of boredom once said purpose was fulfilled.
No… But her heart, that too was that of a light-bearer, and she had seen far too clearly the suffering it caused. And if she was to be happy, truly happy... Well, Hikari wasn’t about to let what she dreamed of simply fade away into a new era of digital warfare, she wasn’t going to let Noriko stop allowing humans and digimon to live together in peace, to stop the happiness of so many.
But it might have just been that she didn’t see it, she saw a new future, a challenging future, with many difficulties ahead regarding trans-dimensional integration, adjusting to digimon walking the streets of Earth, that kind of thing. And she didn’t see how bored Takeru was, how much Sora was lost in her memories, how much even with that going on, this new, victorious era just seemed to so many like a distant shadow of the past and the path to a boring future…
And she did have one other problem. After all, she still didn’t have any good words for Noriko; she still couldn’t come up with anything that sounded persuasive enough, the sort of words that would save both worlds still eluded her. So instead, like so many other anime characters with severe mental issues, she ran away.
Well, she had at least run away with her voice, nothing would make her concede the utter humiliation and disastrous effects on the digital world involved with physically running away from the Tsarina.
“I’m a chosen child, aren’t I? I’m here as a guard, you’re the one who came to see me.”
There are times when even the coldest of hearts are broken, when even the ultimate evil can feel disappointed, when alignment or morals don’t stop someone’s hopes from being dashed… And right then, at that very time, a dark seed wouldn’t shield Noriko from this heartbreak.
But she wouldn’t let her heart break openly either, so instead, the girl turned away, turning away with the same sorrow that had once caused Yamato’s nearly-unnoticed departure.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The loves of the chosen children, those things that had caused many arguments, brought such sorrow, and created many a shipper in a distant world, these things were not something to be so important in one episode only to be disregarded in the next.
Well, maybe in the first two adventures… In fact, probably in the first two adventures, save a few exceptions like Wizarmon’s feelings towards Tailmon, which could easily be interpreted away as being platonic or out of honor. But not this time around, it was one of the few things that the gods actually did think they could make better, to try to make the third adventure match up to the first two.
Though even the gods can sometimes lack wisdom.
More to the point, Miyako Inoue was, quite simply, losing it. The events that she had gone through might be called “character development” to someone less aware of the details, but turning Miyako, yes, Miyako, into a sobbing wreck over some girl that didn’t even show her cruelty, well… That didn’t really seem like character development to anyone.
Could she just end up with Koushirou? The computer geek did seem rather close to her, and maybe she was at the point where anyone’s love would help, even if it wasn’t coming from Hikari…
Maybe. Or maybe nothing Koushirou said could ever have the impact on her that Hikari’s simple words did so easily, or maybe she was too stubborn to give up on her love, not strong enough to do the noble thing. She had dreamed of her jogress partner last night, after all, even if dreams were her only escape…
On a popular American website, a website that none of the chosen children had ever been to, there is a cliché in headlines that’s something along the lines of, “Since you’re reading it here, you know what happens.”
Here, it’s not so clear-cut. Even in the world of shoujo manga, a world quite different and far more betrayal-filled than either of those which the chosen called home, some people are known to step aside and allow the loves of others to flourish. All while crying tears of envy for the one their loves goes with, crying tears they work desperately to hide. And open romantic competition was a rarity in the digital world, everything had always been beneath the surface…
That said, she wasn’t exactly going to work to break them up; she wasn’t like that. But, if the right opportunity were to come along, if she were given the chance…
If I could let go of Hikari, if I could forget about her easily, if I didn’t care so much-- it wouldn’t be so hard. But as I am now… Given the chance, what would I do?
Meanwhile, Noriko was still mad at her senpai, still holding the anger anyone holds at those who create hopes and then failing miserably to fulfill them … The romantic struggles of those chosen to save both worlds were none of her concern, it didn’t matter to her if Taichi ended up with Yamato or Sora, it really wasn’t important. But given a weakness…
She still wouldn’t turn down the chance, and she was still just as sadistic as the predecessor whose shadow she was still trying to escape from. So watching the chosen turn against one another, that would be just fine, in fact… It might even be fun.
And all she needed was a trustworthy-looking digimon with a well-concealed dark ring. Starmon? It had worked before, but that also meant they wouldn’t be kept off guard. Igamon? They can conceal well enough, but who trusts an Igamon?
She had one, only one, and it wasn’t exactly a common species. But that one would prove quite valuable. And besides, who had ever heard of an evil Gabumon?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As evil plotted, as what would be described as “an ominous cloud” hung over them, had that phrase not been so overused by a certain anime character, Hikari had returned to Takeru, the two of them prepared to begin their first day as officially boyfriend and girlfriend, the so-called destined couple finally coming together…
Takeru put his arms around the returning bearer of light, his gaze still distant and forlorn, for all his desire to just be happy with her.
“Perfection, completeness, wasn’t that what I should be feeling now? Hope and light, together at last, just as we were meant to be...”
“So why am I still so empty inside?”
“Takeru-kun?” Hikari asked, seeming concerned, worried, almost about to fade away.
“Just look at me, being loved by someone as sweet as Hikari-chan, even after I betrayed her like that… And we’re gonna become enemies, even if I hope otherwise, I’ll probably launch the first attack.”
“Onii-chan broke up with Sora-san,” the inhumanly kind girl blurted out, wanting this knowledge to help, even if it did conflict with her dreams.
“That’s…” Takeru paused, still wondering if he could even finish that phrase if he had a chance with Sora now. “No, I won’t… She’s Hikari, dammit! After all she’s done, after all I’ve promised, I’m not gonna make her cry!”
“But if she’s really that important to you… Why aren’t you happy?” Had his conscience, if he could even call the source of such horrible thoughts a conscience, taken Patamon’s voice now? Then again, that did make sense, considering all he had been through with Patamon…
“Hikari-chan…” the bearer of hope began, cupping the girl’s face in his hands. “I…”
Takeru paused again, a vision of some future of perfection, of the two of them as angels dancing, watching over both worlds as they fluttered around in each others arms, such a vision flashed quickly through his head. But it wasn’t a confession of love he was about to make, just an attempt, an attempt to tear the two of them apart so that it would hurt less when the time came…
“Takeru-kun…” the girl began, leaning against the golden-haired boy, even unable as she was to think of anything but repeating his name.
The bishounen blushed, even smiled, wondering if he needed to walk this path if he had her love. It might only have been an instant, but it really did seem that he could be happy with her, have one more adventure, atoning for the evils he had inflicted, and then go off into the sunset, spend the rest of some perfect life with Hikari…
Like love really worked that way, with that strength, with a force more equivalent to Angemon than to Garurumon. Like light was really any less boring than darkness. Like those past eight months really could have been happy ones if only Hikari had been with him.
“But still, more than anything… I had been there so long, I really was like Sora, and I still am. And what I want – What I really want is to adventure in the digital world, to fight by Patamon’s side.”
So at last he knew what he would do. “But…” He thought, blushing as the Light gently stroked his cheek, Hope unsure even what drove his thoughts.
“Maybe I can give her a little more happiness.”
“I love you, Hikari-chan.” And even if the smile those words brought Hikari wasn’t meant to last, at least they weren’t completely untruthful, and at least they could make her smile.
Miyako Inoue continued to wander through the digital world, so lost in thought that she didn’t even remember how she had wound up back in this place, let alone where exactly she was.
How had she entered the digital world? Was she looking for Hikari, hoping that yesterday was a bad dream, thinking she could just declare her love to the bearer of light and she’d ignore Takeru to jump into her arms? Or… Was it just to see her again, entering the gate just so that she could be in the younger girl’s ever-warming presence, so that she could maybe, distantly, see Hikari smile?
Even though it would be Takeru causing the smile…How long can I go on like this? I’m looking whenever I hear her name mentioned, I’m almost ready to hug a light bulb, just ‘cause it too is light, it too is Hikari – just not the Hikari I love.
“Miyako-sama?” The purple-haired girl turned, looking for the source of that deep, friendly, familiar voice she had just heard. The voice’s source, judging by the fur, horn, sound, and general body shape, was Gabumon. (And it did sound like his voice.)
Then again, when had Gabumon used “-sama” to refer to any of the chosen children? That reverent tone still shocked her, but coming from Gabumon? Gabumon, who had fought at least fifty battles, risking his life to save the digital world?
No, it had to be a different Gabumon, of that, even in her broken-hearted state, even being the way she had only been when her carelessness had got Hawkmon hurt, she was sure.
“Yes, it is I, your great Miyako-sama! Now go get me some bishounen!” One might have expected her to respond. But that wasn’t how she answered at all.
“Miyako…-sama? Thanks, I guess…” The inheritor of Love and Purity said, as the Gabumon looked utterly baffled, which to onlookers probably looked oddly amusing. “I’m just Miyako.”
The reptile looked awed, humbled, even if he was only doing this out of an evil ring’s spell, the feigned looks were the same as they’d have been otherwise. Shaking himself out of his flustered appearance, he spoke.
“Anyway, Miyako-sama…” the Gabumon began, as the one he was talking to began to wonder just how programmed digimon really were, “I have… Some information that may be of interest to you.”
“Information?” The chosen child was now confused, to say the least, confused and wondering what the obviously reverent Gabumon, this Gabumon who took such a serious tone around her and probably thought of her as a deity, what could someone like him want her to know?
“It’s about Takeru.” The friendly false dog’s voice had sharply turned into a darkly serious tone, the sort you might expect from that other Gabumon’s partner in a moment of angst, but certainly not from a Gabumon… And about Takeru, at that.
Sensing Miyako’s reaction, the black-ringed digimon backpedaled a bit, needing a non-scary, non-evil explanation. “Sorry I sounded like that… I had to tell you, though, it’s important you know this kind of thing, especially concerning one of your fellow chosen children.”
Miyako Inoue listened intently, her emotions mixed even now, wondering if somehow, some way, Hikari could find this out, run from Takeru and leap into her arms, liked things ever worked that way.
Yeah, she should just have gone with Mimi-oneesama or something, as if she could ever feel that way for another again.
“Deathmon… And that first battle… He’s not exactly a loyal chosen child,” the Gabumon spoke, his voice one of dread.
“Not exactly – a loyal chosen child?” Miyako asked, half confirming the information, half processing what exactly this Gabumon meant, not quite being a quick thinker when her thoughts were still mostly about Hikari.
“So… Takeru’s a traitor?” the purple-haired girl asked, shock in her voice, but the evil-ringed Gabumon was long gone, and Miyako could only wonder how to use this information, and whether to use it toward some feeble hope that Hikari would somehow love her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And once again, as Taichi broke up with Sora, as the digital world seemed to be falling into darkness, as what looked like a new adventure was coming to pass… Yamato Ishida, still reacting from that last battle and the massive deaths across the digital world, was as he had been four years ago, drowning in a cloud of angst.
After all, this new adventure, which even he had wanted, if only a little, it was already causing tremendous casualties in the digital world. “And it’s not like we have a chance or anything either,” the bishounen muttered silently, Gabumon still watching him with those compassionate, reddish eyes, still unable to think of anything to say.
“It’s still like before… The others, they’re still growing, but I’m still the same as I was yesterday, or even four years ago, drowning in my own darkness.”
“Yamato? What’s wrong? I can’t help you if you don’t say anything!” A thickly-accented, gruff voice shot towards Yamato’s ears, but his partner’s plea went unanswered.
“Taichi, he’s with Sora now, isn’t he? It’s only natural, friendship is weaker than love, so it wasn’t like what little we had would last...
“And even if he weren’t, I haven’t even been able to figure out how I feel about him, let alone be able to ask him out or anything, and there’s no way he’d say yes. So -- What do I do?”
Yamato glanced at his flashing D-terminal, pressing the button to open it up, at least this time he’d try to be mature enough not to let something this silly get in the way of saving both worlds, though his friendship might not be strong enough even now.
“Yeah, I failed even back then… I had Metal Garurumon with me, so I could have really helped, but instead I ordered him to attack the others. And then I wandered off, barely even showing up until the final battle, and only a bit of luck had me make it time. Yeah, in time to get turned into a puppet, in time to let my little brother save everyone.”
Leaving that train of thought, he opened the message from Koushirou, eyes scanning the words in shock, like an electrical shocker coming not from Koushirou but the far more fearsome (though still loyal and valiant) Kabuterimon, shock that would only bring more angst…
“Taichi… Broke up with Sora?” he was thinking, processing, so much so that he couldn’t even react, for all it meant to him, for as close as they both were to him, until he got over the shock of such a statement.
Gabumon, having no response from Yamato, peered over at his D-terminal. There wasn’t much light, and the blue-eyed boy’s arm was blocking the way, and it was a short message, so he couldn’t be sure.
It had to be wrong. It just had to be. Taichi breaking up with Sora after one or two days? Taichi breaking up with Sora that quickly, when it seemed even their history in the digital world was trying to set them up?
And though he said nothing, though he was unwilling to speak or even let Yamato know he had looked… Gabumon’s fur-clad face said enough with its look, a look that is typically accompanied by the phrase “What the hell?”
“But -- If he did…” Yamato spoke, still taking a questioning tone, though it wasn’t like Koushirou would be lying about such a thing. “Why they broke up so quickly… I can’t be certain, but I know them well, even when Sora was dating me she didn’t seem that into it.”
The realization had dawned on Yamato at last.
“And just look at me. I’m way too much of a coward to ask him out. It doesn’t matter that this is the best chance I’ll get, that he probably broke up with Sora because he cares about me, I still don’t have the guts to ask him.”
The boy glanced down at his shirt, ignoring the attractive body it was clinging to, instead simply looking at the space where his tag had once hung. “I’m friendship, not courage. It’s not like I’m ever gonna be able, I’m too afraid of jeopardizing what I have, and even with everything else… I’m so damn jealous of him.”
“Yamato?” the pseudo-canine digimon asked, wondering whether to just give his partner a quick chomp on the leg.
“Gabumon’s calling for me, and I can’t even answer him… I’m not courageous enough to say anything to Taichi, yet I’m still not able to bring myself to tell him to forget about me, I can’t even bring myself to talk to my digimon.”
“I don’t want to do this, Yamato, but if you won’t say anything,” Gabumon began, hoping that at this time, like last time, a bit of pain would make the thin-legged boy less angst-filled. “Crush nail!”
At least when it came to making him speak, making him listen to his digimon, that was all it took. Though it would take far longer to free him from his angst, and even now, in the back of his mind, the similarities to the past were simply too much to take. “Gabumon? You – attacked me?”
“If I didn’t, you wouldn’t even notice my pleas!” A gruff voice erupted from the child-level digimon, and no matter how many times it had happened, hearing Gabumon screaming always felt like a simply wrong, reality-bending occurrence. (Similar to hearing Fladramon talk, but less insanely ethereal.)
“Gabumon…” he began softly, wishing he could break down into tears, apologize, hug his digimon, and live happily after. But at least saying something might help.
And much as he wanted to improve, to at least do things differently, Gabumon had helped him in the past.
“It’s… Taichi. I’ve been thinking about him so much lately…”
“Taichi?” Gabumon asked, though it wasn’t like the one he was talking about had a name that would be confused with anyone’s, or at least the names of anyone Yamato knew.
“Yeah…” Yamato answered, speaking in a cool, familiar tone.
“How so?” the horned digimon asked kindly, so knowing of Yamato, yet still from a species that rarely reproduces, and still so oblivious.
“I…” The blond paused. This was Gabumon he was talking to, after all, he couldn’t exactly lie to him. But admitting that he loved the gogglehead? Not exactly an easy thing to do. “He’s been constantly in my thoughts, y’know?” the bearer of friendship said, as his digimon processed the information, even he didn’t always instantly know what to say.
“And I still can’t figure out what he is to me…” the boy added under his breath, not even sure whether to tell Gabumon those words, his suspicions being what they were, even if he would admit that to no one. “He broke up with Sora recently, I’m not quite sure why, but…”
“You’re worried he noticed how sad you were when they were going out, is that it?” To say Gabumon’s answer was right on the mark would not be a hyperbole in the least. Then again, the bond between Yamato and Gabumon was strong enough that such a thing was to be expected, even if it was stronger on one side.
“Yeah… Exactly.” It was at this point that, or at least at very similar points in the past, Gabumon would have given his partner some excellent advice, Yamato would follow and everything would be resolved with happiness. But when dealing with the romances of the chosen children…
So all Gabumon could say was to spend time with him, be happy in his presence, and enjoy the adventure once more. But even as the bearer of friendship nodded his head in agreement, even if his loyalty as a chosen child was never in doubt… He still couldn’t help but still wish that, even if it only lasted a day, it would have been him in Taichi’s arms.
For all the thoughts of digital love, the war continued, and these wars were not the sort to pause, not even when half the chosen children once again are engulfed in their own darkness. And for this reason, Sora, tormented as she was, still had to fight. Even though her foe was more of a monster-of-the-day than anything, really just a black-ringed Sabirdramon attacking a tired, love-confused Sora and an unprepared Piyomon on one of Noriko's half-forgotten plans.
“Mach shadow!” The black bird-dragon flew, a winged bullet of dark flame exploding into Piyomon's weak, feathered chest.
“Magical fire!” the chocobo-like digimon shouted back, sending a green flame harmlessly off the larger bird's talon. “Sora, I need your help!”
The auburn-haired girl sighed, casting a tired glance her digivice's way. Was she really this tired, not even remembering to make Piyomon evolve immediately, letting her fight on with some feeble bits of fire?
“Black saber!” The Sabirdramon flapped its dark wings, then dove at the pink bird, looking like a sword piercing right through the child-level digimon's heart.
“C'mon, pull yourself together, Sora,” she muttered to herself, gazing at her wounded digimon. “The longer you wait, the more Piyomon will suffer. It's just grabbing a digivice and holding it up, it's not exactly hard...”
“Heaven's Knuckle!” An orange beam of light from afar, coming the same way Birdramon's flames once flew. From beyond the treetops, once Sora to save the others, now Takeru and Angemon fighting, just to save her. The light connected and the evil ring quickly burst, the Sabirdramon flying off freely before even getting a chance to meet its savior.
And when the light faded, when the girl rubbed her eyes and was able to see again... It seemed hope itself was emerging from the light.
“Yeah, hope emerging from the light -- He really was meant to be with Hikari-chan, as much as I'd want otherwise...”
“Takeru... You saved me – again,” Sora spoke, a touch of thankfulness permeating her voice.
The bishounen nodded. “I heard reports of a Sabirdramon rampaging around the area, so I came here to check it out.”
“Well...thanks,” she said, blushing, hopeful for Hope, hoping that Hope would love Love. (Or something of that sort, thinking in terms of crests can get quite confusing.)
Takeru's small mouth opened again, his words having a far more serious tone. “To protect Hikari... I promised you that, didn't I?”
“When we were fighting Piemon,” Sora answered, smiling. “Right before he turned me into a key-chain.”
Takeru's eyes began to take a wistful, longing look, as once more he spoke... “Yeah... And to protect her happiness, with all that adventure had caused...”
To say, “At last, Sora understood” might have been an exaggeration. But she was more knowing now, and at least she was smiling. “Hikari-chan's happiness...” she spoke, moving closer to Takeru, wishing for Taichi's courage and persuasion ability... Yeah, like I'm not selfish enough already... I wished for that earlier, didn't I?
“Yeah -- I wanted, I hoped... This is doing enough to her already, even if I hadn't promised... She's light, after all, we're destroying her dreams.”
Sora nodded. “Thanks again... You kept your promise.”
“I hope she can be happy with one of the others, that Daisuke-kun or Miyako-chan will be right for her.” Takeru added, sighing. “Like there's a single combination of us twelve that won't make half of us cry.”
“It's my crest, it's one of the eight crests, I should be its champion, happy to see it bloom,” Sora spoke, putting a hand to her flattish chest, remembering where the crest had once hung. “So why does it have to end up destroying everyone?”
“Sora-chan...” Takeru spoke, putting a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. “Love... Can also bring so much happiness.”
And once again, her angst cured, or at least healing... Hadn't Takeru been around every time she had regained happiness? (Though it wasn't like she had noticed before, or like Yamato and Piyomon hadn't been there too, every time.)
“Takeru-kun... I...” Sora stopped. It may have been painful, but it was only eight months since the last adventure, all she could say was that she didn't deserve it, any of it, no matter how precious to her those digital memories were. And Hikari deserved happiness, after all she had gone through, after all the kindness she had shown, she wasn't so selfish as to break that pairing up.
But... Koushirou, just yesterday, his words.
“At least when none of us were together, all of us could hope.” And even though I can't turn back time... Being without hope – it's such a terrible, crushing thing.
“So I have to try...Though it's not like I can tear Takeru and Hikari apart, not fall for either, and have none of them come to hate me.”
“And the one who holds the crest of love deserves to love, right?” Takeru spoke, his voice regaining its long-lost innocence.
“Like the crests even matter anymore.”
“Sora-chan…. I won’t let you be lonely, I care too much about you.”
“Thanks... But I wished for this adventure, that should be enough... I belong on the outside of our love dodecagon, pining for another.”
“And I belong with Hikari, everyone says it was destined.”
“What?”
“Sora-chan... I want to be with you.”
“Takeru-kun...” She shook her head a little, somehow forgetting her sorrows. “Me too.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The digital world is, to put it lightly, a big place. In fact, if Koushirou’s theory from four years ago is to be believed, it is as vast as the human world. And for all people say of “It’s a small world” when meeting people randomly, both worlds are actually pretty big.
So really, all the random encounters between chosen children… They can’t be easily explained, even if they were all being drawn to each other subconsciously, active searching wouldn’t result in this many meetings, dispersed as they were right now.
That said, call it love, if you like, but none of this distance stopped Hikari, head held down, still depressed from her failure with Noriko, from randomly bumping into Miyako in some random, digital forest.
“Miyako-chan?” Hikari asked, her tone a mix of “Is that you?” and “What brought you here?” though none of those words were spoken.
“Yeah… Unspoken…We’re chosen children, this stuff was always unspoken between us… Until now.”
“Hikari!” Miyako responded, her reaction a mix between excitement and a fangirl’s yell, even with all the sorrow she felt underneath.
“So she can still be that excited … I was really afraid I broke her there…”
“How’s it been going with Takeru?” Miyako said, trying desperately to at least conceal her sadness, painful as it was to even chat with her like that.
Hikari smiled. It hadn’t been long or anything, but she had been so happy, and just thinking of it… “Have you found anyone? Koushirou-san seemed interested, though I understand if you’d rather wait.”
“So kind, so understanding, I love her so much. I know she’d be hurt, even if I don’t know if what that Gabumon said was true, or why…”
“Or wait?” Had Hikari implied what Miyako thought she did? Then again, this was Hikari she was talking about, it shouldn’t surprise her, she was that kind… And they could jogress, so at least her heart had once beat like that.
“But last time we tried…” The purple-haired girl thought, remembering how the jogress failed, how their hearts no longer beat as one, and couldn’t help but wonder if this was because their feelings towards each other were so different.
But the bearer of light, isolated from Miyako though her thoughts were, she too had to wonder, she too was asking those questions of digital love with no answers that would not bring at least some sorrow...
“Was it always supposed to be beneath the surface? Was who loved whom a fact never meant to be revealed?”
That seemed to make sense, at the very least... Taichi had managed through Yamato and Sora's short-lived relationship, sure, but even that had caused sadness, and it wasn't like their love had lasted long, either.
“It's not like we haven't been able to grow close this way, what I had with Takeru back then, or Miyako, or Tailmon, none of it was any less real just because we never kissed or said ‘I love you.’
“But even still, I wanted... I wanted to have something more, more than all we shared. Something I could openly call love. And my crest is light, not purity, I'm still a teenage girl, I still have those desires, it's not like I'm as innocent as everyone thinks. If it were that easy, if two could fall in love without making the other ten cry... So...”
“Or wait,” Hikari confirmed, and words can not easily convey the look of happiness that crossed Hikari's face just then, even with all the doubts she had about Takeru's loyalty.
“Say, Hikari-chan... Can I have a little preview to make the wait easier?”
The bearer of light nodded, placing her arms lovingly around the older girl.
“I may never be meant to say this out loud... The convoluted, many-pronged relationships of us twelve make that certain. But if I could... I love you, Hikari-chan.”
Author's notes: Yay, another chapter!
Umm... umm...
Yeah, it seemed too much like a continuation of the past one... And I've probably driven off the non-shippy sort by now. (Come to think of it, maybe they could have gone as one extra-long chapter... Nah, it was better in two parts, though the two parts are way too short for me.
Sorry for the delay... And the short length, for that matter, but it took me THAT long just to get it this far... I hope with this I can finally resolve the romantic aspect, or at least finish a nice tribute to it while not making it overwhelm the rest of the fic.
Well, there's always hope. :P I'll throw in a huge battle in the next chapter or something. Deathmon's waiting...