Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Castaways ❯ Stranded! ( Chapter 4 )

Sorry I took so long. I had to take care of a few things. So if you find this chapter boring, I'm sorry.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Darkness was all she knew. She couldn't tell if she was sleeping or awake, and she dreaded the thought of being dead. The last thing she was able to recall was the ship being caught in some terrible storm. She was desparately trying to get off the ground after being trampled by the crowd as they rushed for the stairs. She remembered someone shouting, then she looked up to see a massive wall of water falling towards her. When the wave hit her, it felt like a person slamming into her. Maybe it was a person? Either way, she found herself plunged into the sea, surrounded by water on all sides. Desperately, she swam towards the top, only to be pushed back down by another wave when her head broke the surface. Again and again she tried, but the waves kept pushing her back down. Her attempts were getting weaker, her movements slower from lack of oxygen. The water around her started darkening, and for a moment, she thought the Dark Ocean was after her again. As she started losing consciousness and started sinking, she made out the shadow of a body moving slowly towards her. She felt strong arms wrap around her waist and back, and then everything went black.

She had no idea how long she stayed like that, but suddenly images started running through her head. Images? Or were they memories? Memories of an early childhood perhaps? She didn't know when this was, but from what she can tell, a girl(or her, since she was looking from the girl's point of view) was walking home from school one day, when five boys came out of nowhere and began jostling and teasing her. Though she couldn't make out what they were saying, they obviously made her cry. Suddenly one boy pushed her from behind, making her fall onto the ground and scatter her books everywhere. She got on her knees and started gathering her books, but one guy standing in front of her grabbed her by her hair and forced her head up so that she was looking at him. He grinned wickedly at her, then pointed to his groin area while saying something that was obviously derogatory, even though she couldn't make it out. Suddenly there was a shout from behind them. The group of boys turned around to see who it was, all except for the girl, because her hair was still being held. More words were exchanged from the group and the single person, who happened to be a boy. The one holding her hair suddenly let her go, and he and the rest of the boys charged after the single guy. She turned around just in time to see the group attack the boy, all of them throwing punches and kicks at him. A head from the group snapped back here and there, indicating the boy was fighting back, but they still overwhelmed him. A loud shrill of a whistle being blown was heard, and the boys scattered, leaving the single one on the ground bloodied and bruised. A school security guard ran over to them and helped the boy up. The girl noticed he had short spiky hair that was brunette colored. She could barely make out his face since it was bruised in a few spots, and he was missing a tooth. The guard asked him how he was doing, and he said he was alright, grinning the whole time. The boy turned to her, still grinning, and asked her the same question. Even with the bruises on his face she found him to be quite handsome. She nodded her answer, and he grinned a bit more, showing off the space where his tooth was. His grin made her smile warmly, and although she was watching these images, she felt the corners of her mouth twist up into a smile. Suddenly, the images died out, and she was left in the dark again. She searched for the images again, but couldn't find them. She started wondering if her life was flashing before her eyes, but it felt more or less like a dream.

'If I'm dead, then why am I dreaming?' she thought. This and other questions plagued her mind. 'Where am I? What's going on? Who am I?'

"...Hikari..."

'Hikari? Is that my name? Where did that voice come from?' She listened into the dark again.

"Hikari...wake up..."

'Wake up? I can't even move! I don't even know where I am!' She suddenly felt pressure on her stomach, and a liquid substance in her throat, traveling up to her mouth, but then traveling back down, and back up again as the pressure on her stomach would move in quick, short intervals. She felt her mouth being forced open, and someone, or something, locked their lips with hers and forced air down her throat. The liquid was pushed down further. The lips left hers, and for some reason, she wanted them back. She felt the pressure on her stomach again. This time, the liquid came gushing out of her mouth.

Hikari shot up, coughing and spitting out sea water. She opened her eyes, looking around and panting. All around her was a darkish gray, sandy beach. To her far right was a large dark cove, big enough for a ship of some kind. Through the dark, she was able to make out large rock formations sticking out of the water, and every now and again, a small wave would crash into them, sending a spray of sea water shooting up. She looked up behind her towards a towering wall of sand that had large rocks jutting from it here and there, leading up to a cliff where she could make out blades of grass fluttering in the breeze.

'What in the world...?' she thought.

"You okay?" said a voice in front of her. Hikari snapped her head to the front with a yelp, surprising the speaker of the voice.

"Huh?" she asked, still in shock.

"Are you okay?" the person said again. Hikari nodded slowly, taking in the person's disheveled appearance. The person was a male, with short, spiky, brunette-colored hair that was partially matted down on his wet forehead, and a pair of goggles hung around his neck. His wet clothes clung to his body, where Hikari could see his well developed muscles. He was looking at her with concern in his brown eyes.

'He looks like that boy I dreamed about,' she thought. Suddenly, all her memories came rushing back to her, and she found herself face to face with Motomiya Daisuke.

"AAH! Daisuke, what are you doing?!" she screamed, backing away from him.

"You're welcome, by the way," Daisuke said nonchalantly, standing up.

"What are you talking about?"

"You were drowning. I did what came naturally and saved your life."

"I don't recall asking for your help!" she said sternly, getting up.

"Would you rather drown?" Daisuke asked sarcastically. "I can help you if you want."

"You stay away from me!" Hikari started backing up. Daisuke stayed where he was, smirking at her with a derisive snort. He turned from her and started searching the cliffs.

'I'm sure there's more to do up there,' he thought, looking up. 'The question is, how are we going to get up there?'

"What time is it?" Hikari asked, looking at the darkness around them. Daisuke looked over at her.

"Are you talking to me?" he asked.

"No, your shadow. Of course you!"

Daisuke held up his wrists. "You see anything on my arms relating to the time?" he asked. He turned back to studying the cliffs. "It's an hour before dawn."

"How can you tell?"

"The moon's long since passed, and the tide's coming in."

Hikari looked up towards the sky. Sure enough, the moon was gone, having been replaced by groups of stars that were slowly winking out one by one. She looked towards the sea, and noticed that the water's edge was slowly creeping up the shore towards them with each passing.

"Daisuke, what are we gonna-" She turned towards him, but he was gone. She looked up the cliff and saw him scaling it by using the rocks. He was already half way up, almost to the top.

"Daisuke! What are you doing?!" Hikari called to him. Daisuke looked down at her.

"You can stay down there if you want," he said. "I'd rather be on higher ground." He continued climbing. Hikari searched the area where he was climbing and, finding his starting point, hauled her way up to the cliff. She was out of breath by the time she reached the top, where Daisuke stood surveying the area. He turned to help her up, but she slapped his hand away.

"I'm...fine..." she panted, standing up shakily.

"Suit yourself," Daisuke said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and turning away from her. He began walking off.

"H-hey!" Hikari shouted. "Where are you going?! Don't leave me!" She stumbled after him.
***********************************
Meanwhile, everyone back on the boat was recovering from the storm. They docked in Shanghai two hours before dawn, but everyone was instructed to remain on the yacht until further notice. Shanghai happened to be hit by the hurricane a few hours ago, but not very hard. Trees were scattered here and there, and the shingles from houses were blown off, but nothing was torn down or no one was dead. There were maintenance crews scattered at various places cleaning up the mess, or maintaining downed power lines where there was no power. The boat itself had its antenna fixed, but it was going to be a while before power was fully restored. The only lights that worked were a few of the rooms below decks, and about two thirds of the guest rooms. Not that anyone cared. They were too strung up by the storm to go to sleep or do anything else. Those that were hit by the wave were taken to a Japanese hospital that was stationed in Shanghai for a checkup. Everyone else went to their rooms to at least try to get some sleep, or wait until they get word from Go on what they were to do next. Saki asked him if he or anyone knew the whereabouts of Daisuke and Hikari. Go reassured her they were checking into that now.

"Think we should contact their parents and let them know what's going on?" an officer asked.

"No, no parents," Go said. "This is our responsibility. I don't want them to worry about anything. Besides, they won't ever trust me again if they find out."

"How are we supposed to find the two kids if they're not on the ship?" a security guard asked.

"For one, they're not kids, they're grown adults. Two, we don't know if they are missing or not."

"So what do you propose we do?"

Go thought for a second. "There is a clipboard in the ship's bridge next to the steering wheel that has a list of who's in which room. Get it, and find out what rooms they stay in, and if they have roommates or not. Omit the ones that were taken to the hospital. You," he pointed to the officer. "make sure everyone is in their rooms to make this easier. Go to it, now."

"Aye, Cap'n!" The two men saluted Go and rushed off. Go turned to another crew member.

"Go to the Japanese Embassy and ask to use the phone," he told him. "Call the Coast Guard or the Sea Patrol, whichever one, and have them search the waters for two missing adults, a male with spiky brunette hair and a pair of goggles, and a female with chestnut brown hair going past her shoulders. Get to it."

"Aye, Cap'n!" The crew member saluted and rushed towards the embassy.

"Won't that alert the parents on the news?" Mrs. Hibiki asked.

"The Coast Guard is very discrete about these matters. Besides, newscasters don't really consider their line of work exciting."

Mrs. Hibiki sighed. "And this trip was going so well, too," she said.

"Could be worse," Go said. "At least there wasn't an iceberg to sink us."

"I just hope they're not-"

"They aren't," Go said, cutting her off.

"How do you know?"

Go smiled at his wife. "The boy's strong. From what I can tell, he won't let anything happen to the girl as long as he's still breathing. They're still alive."

"You can tell by just looking at him?"

"No, I can tell because he loves her, even if he doesn't show it."

"Ah," Mrs. Hibiki said as understanding dawned on her.
***********************
An hour and a half later, the sun gave off the first of its rays, lighting up the water and bringing in a new day. Miyako stood at the side of the boat, looking out over the water facing the rising sun. She found out it was confirmed that two passengers were missing, and she had an accurate idea of who it might be. Ken was in their room still, mourning over his best friend.

'Daisuke, Hikari, I know you're out there somewhere,' she thought. 'Be strong, and survive long enough for us to find you.'

"Miyako?"

Miyako turned around to see a redhead girl coming up to her.

"Hey, uh...Suki?"

"Saki."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. You're not the first one to get my name wrong."

"Why did your parents name you after rice wine?"

"I was very pale when I was born, and due to that, I reminded them of the drink. It kind of fits, though."

"Why, because you drink it?"

"No, I tend to light people up when they cross me the wrong way."

Miyako laughed at that comment. "How many times have you lit Daisuke up?"

"Plenty of times," Saki said, laughing. She stared out at the water. "They're out there, somewhere," she said after a few seconds.

"How can you tell?" Miyako asked.

"I know Daisuke all too well. He doesn't give up without a fight, and he's always willing to protect someone he loves, no matter what the cost."

"That's nothing new. You should have seen him in the digital world. He was always being overprotective of Hikari, even when she didn't need help."

"That's his big brother mode. He's done that to me several times over the years."

"Have you two ever hooked up?"

Saki scrunched her face up a little.  "The thought crossed our minds, but we decided that it would be better if we were to just remain friends."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you want to remain friends, when you two seem to be a match for each other?"

"Like I told Go, you'll have to understand the history between us. We're so much alike, it's scary."

"Who's Go?"

"That's Mr. Hibiki's first name. He said we could call him that. How's Takeru taking this?"

"He's been in his room all morning. He might be asleep right now."

"I hope he doesn't take Hikari's disappearance too hard."

"I don't think he know's about it"

Saki looked at Miyako. "Come again?"

"He doesn't know she's missing. He figured she might be with the group of people that were taken to the hospital."

Saki whistled. "Won't he be in for a rude awakening. Wait, don't they share the same room?"

Miyako shook her head. "Hikari roomed up with a buddy of hers. I guess she figured that since she and Takeru share a dorm together already, why should they share a room together?"

"What about Takeru? Does he have a roommate?"

Miyako shook her head again.

"Wow," Saki said. "That must be depressing."

"Hey, he wanted it."

"Yeah, but still."

"Doesn't Daisuke have a room to himself?"

"Yeah, but his case is understandable. Takeru's is a bit different."

"How so?"

"Well, considering that Takeru and Hikari are together, one would figure they would be in the same room together. Daisuke can be a bit of a loner sometimes, but that's just how he is.  Staying by yourself can become very depressing."

"You sound concerned."

"Hey, I have a heart. I just don't want to see Takeru get hurt, that's all. Mentally or physically."

Miyako studied the red haired girl for a second. "You like him, don't you?"

"Ever since I first saw him back in middle school. He's been a heart throb to me."

"Why didn't you get with him?"

"Too shy, too scared, whatever. Besides, I wasn't much of a looker back then, so I figured he wouldn't want anything to do with me."

"What was the deal, you were too skinny?"

"That, and I wore coke bottle glasses. I got laser eye surgery during my ninth grade year when I moved to Tokyo."

"Have you ever had a boyfriend?"

"Nope. I'm too feisty and stubborn."

"...Okay, have you ever had sex?"

"Twice."

"With who?"

"Aren't you curious!"

"I'm just trying to start up a light conversation, that's all."

"And talking about who I have sex with is a good topic?"

"It's a start."

"That's something you don't need to know about. Anyway, I'm going to go take a walk around and breath in some of this fresh air. See ya." She turned from Miyako and walked off.

'What a weird girl,' Miyako thought.
******************************
Takeru was laying down in his room with the lights off, wondering where Hikari might be, and getting more and more frustrated.

'Where is she?' he thought. 'I didn't see her anywhere on the boat, and I don't know if she's with those that were taken to the hospital. Oh, God I hope that she didn't get washed away by that wave.' He reflected bitterly on the memory of seeing his fiancee getting hit by a massive wave, and him not being able to do anything about it. But who was it that jumped through the crowd towards her? Could it have been Daisuke? It certainly looked like him, but Takeru couldn't be sure. A knock on his door brought him out of his musings.

"Come in," he said, sitting up. The door opened, and Saki stuck her head in.

"Hey there," she said. "Are you still alive?" She looked around the room. "What's with all the gloom and doom?"

"What do you want?" Takeru asked, laying down again.

"Just to talk," Saki said, coming into the room and flicking on the light. "How are you doing?"

"What do you think?" Takeru said sourly. "Hikari's missing, and I don't know where she is."

"So is Daisuke, but you don't see me killing myself over it."

"Aren't you two a couple?"

"No, we're just friends."

"..." Takeru just looked at her.

"Don't worry. Everyone thinks the same thing." She grabbed the fold out chair leaning next to the wall and set it up in front of Takeru's bed. "So, wanna talk?" she asked, straddling it and crossing her arms on the back rest.
 
"Look, uh...Saki, was it?" Takeru asked, sitting up again.

Saki nodded.

"Now's not a really good time, okay? My fiancee's missing, and I don't know what to do."

"You just said that."

"Apparently, you're not getting the hint!" Takeru said, getting annoyed.

"I get it," Saki said, unfazed by his outburst. "You want me to leave so you can sulk away your loss."

"Well, how else am I supposed to take this?!" Takeru said, raising his voice and throwing up his hands. "What, am I supposed to be calm that Hikari's disappearance? Wouldn't you feel this way if someone you care about disappeared?!"

"If I had a boyfriend, I might. But it wouldn't last very long, since I know he'd turn up soon."

"So you're telling me that you're not sad that Daisuke's missing?"

"Well, of course I'm sad, but I also know Daisuke real well. He's still alive, and so is Hikari."

Takeru stared blankly at her. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, that's right. You don't know," Saki said. "Hikari and Daisuke weren't anywhere on the ship, nor with the ones that were taken to the hospital. So the only possible place for them to be is at sea."

"Oh no..." Takeru buried his head in his hands. "I was hoping you weren't serious about her being tossed out into the sea by that wave."

"What would you expect from a wave that big? I'm actually surprised that no one else was swept away by it. And don't forget Daisuke's out there as well, though I don't know how he was caught up in the wave."

"Look, I can care less about Daisuke," Takeru said, looking up sharply. "For all I know, he was probably the one that conjured up that storm!"

Saki had enough of his surly attitude. It was enough that he was beating himself up about the situation, but now he was being ridiculous. "Hey, Bush," she snapped at him. "That's my friend you're talking about, and this isn't hurricane Katrina, so stop being stupid!"

Takeru turned his head away from her.

'Good grief,' Saki thought, sighing. "Look, Takeru. They're okay. Daisuke's actually a strong, resourceful person, not the ditz that you guys thought him to be. He'll protect Hikari from any harm. You have my word."

"Yeah, well if they are somewhere, he'd better not try anything with her."
**********************
"Daisuke, you'd better not try anything with me-OW!" Hikari yelped as Daisuke applied pressure to her right ankle as he checked it after she tripped and fell over a large tree root sticking out of the ground. Daisuke stopped what he was doing and looked up at her.

"Woman, I don't even want to touch you. It's bad enough that I have to be on this island with you," he said, looking around the area of trees. "Now hold still." Hikari hissed in pain as he lifted her foot at an angle to inspect it closely.

"Looks like it's starting to swell," he said. "I think you twisted it, nothing too bad. Your shoe's going to have to come off, and I can use your sock as a brace." Carefully, he undid the shoelace and slowly pulled her shoe off. Hikari winced and groaned slightly in pain. The whole time he was doing this, Hikari couldn't help but notice how lithe and smooth his hands were, deftly moving on her ankle so as to not hurt her. He carefully removed her sock, and winced at the sight of her ankle, which was the size of a golf ball and turning purple. Switching hands, he placed the sock under her foot so that both ends were easy to grab. Holding it there with one hand, he laid one end over her foot, then took the other end and grabbed the first one so that both ends were in his hand. Using that as a lever, he held her foot up as he moved to set his leg under hers for support, then tied both ends together in a snug knot, making sure that the sides were covering her ankle.

"There. How does that feel?" he asked, gently laying her leg down.

"Better than it did," she said, still amazed at how he managed to come up with that idea. "Where'd you learn how to do that?"

"Survival training in ninth grade," he said. "I also took a few health courses over last summer."

Hikari stared at him, slightly surprised.

"What, you thought the only thing on my mind was soccer?" he asked with a grin as he helped her up, grabbing her shoe and placing it in his pocket in the process. "Try not to put too much pressure on that foot. We need to find somewhere for you to rest until we can get you a better splint."

"I wonder if there are any caves around here," Hikari asked as she hopped over to his left side so he can support her.

"Maybe. If so, I hope they're big enough," Daisuke said. Hikari placed her arm around Daisuke's neck which, unaware to him, caused her shirt to rise up above the hem of her jeans so that a little skin showed. Daisuke wrapped his arm aroud her waist for support, but suddenly felt her stomach under his fingers.

"Oops," he said, drawing his fingers back quickly and looking down. He searched for any space that was above her skin, but also below her chest. Unfortunately, he couldn't find any. "Um..."

"It's alright, Daisuke," Hikari said with a sigh. "I know you're just trying to help me."

"Sorry about this," Daisuke said, placing his hand back onto her exposed skin. He marveled at how soft her skin was next to his hand, and how nice it felt for her to be standing next to him.

'Get a grip, nutcase,' he thought to himself as they started walking as best as they could manage. 'You know you won't be able to get with her anytime soon.'

"Daisuke, I have a question," Hikari said, breaking him out of his train of thought.

"Shoot."

"This morning when you said the tide was coming in, how was that possible?"

"It was from the setting of the moon. Just like the sun, the moon rises in the east and settles in the west. As for the tide, you know that gravity from the moon affects it, right? When the moon rises, the waters recede from the beach because the moon's gravity is pulling the water back, or to put it into better terms, the gravity was lifted off the water. The reason for that is because the moon is getting farther away from the earth as it rises. When the moon sets, it gets closer to the earth, so as a result, gravity is pressed onto the waters, causing it to expand. You can call it the Push-Pull Effect of Gravity."

"Doesn't the moon's phases have anything to do with it?"

"Yes. When the moon goes through its phases, it affects the pushing and pulling of gravity on the water. For example, when there's a new moon, basically no moon in the sky, the water's neutral. And when there's a full moon like last night, the tide is in full effect. Depending on what phase the moon is in depends on how far the water expands and contracts."

It amazed Hikari to hear Daisuke talk like this. All this time she thought he was a complete ditz that just happened to get lucky and score a college scholarship from just playing soccer.

"How smart are you?" she asked at length.

"Smart enough," he said. Hikari frowned at him.

"Let me rephrase the question," she said. "What's your I.Q.?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"I'm just curious, that's all."

"You wouldn't believe me even if I showed you proof."

"Come on, Daisuke. It's not that bad, is it?"

"No."

"Then why won't you tell me?"

"Because I don't want to."

"It's because you're embarrassed about it, aren't you?"

"No."

"Yes you are."

"Whatever."

"Come on! Tell me!"

"No."

Hikari was getting nowhere. Her curiosity was getting the better of her, but he wouldn't spill the beans. Unless...

"Tell you what. I'll tell you my score, and you tell me yours. Deal?"

Daisuke stopped abruptly and looked at her squarely. "Want to know what I find funny?" he asked.

"Uh..." Hikari looked at him blankly.

"I find it funny that you tease me all morning about not wanting me around you and touching you-which, belive me, would be the last thing I'd want to do right now-yet you presume to strike up conversation with me by asking me what my I.Q. is. That's a little contradicting, don't you think?" They started walking again.

"Look, I'm just trying to get a little friendly conversation going until someone finds us."

"I don't want a friendly conversation. I just want to hurry up and get off this island before next semester starts. Matter of fact..." he suddenly stopped, and in one motion moved behind Hikari and lifted her off her feet and cradled her in his arms. Hikari yelped at his sudden quickness and automatically wrapped her arms around his neck.

"What are you doing?!" she breathed in surprise
 
"It was getting quite annoying helping you hobble," he said as he presumed walking.

"Don't you think that I'm a little heavy for you?" Hikari asked.

"You weigh next to nothing to me," he said. "My I.Q.'s 197 by the way."

"What?!"

"Mm-hmm," Daisuke said.

"Daisuke, be serious."

"I am," he said, looking at her. Hikari was stunned. But then again, how else could she explain his knowledge of the moon's phases?

"Wow. I never knew you were so smart," she said.

"That's because you never took the time to get to know me," he said.

"Well, you kept acting like an idiot every time, so that's just what we assumed about you."

"I was young. What did you expect?"

They walked for a few more meters, emerging out of the group of trees onto a clearing where a small cave, partially covered by hanging reeds from the large hill it was carved in, sat off to the side about ten yards from the edge of the trees on top of a smaller hill.

"And speaking of caves," Daisuke said, making his way over to it. "This looks to be big enough for the both of us."

"I just hope we're not sharing it with anything else," Hikari said. Once inside the cave, Daisuke laid Hikari gently on the ground and surveyed the area. The reeds outside only concealed what the cave looked like on the inside.

"This place is huge," Daisuke said, looking up at the rocky ceiling.

"I hope there aren't any bats in here," Hikari said, shivering slightly.

"Afraid of the winged rats?" Daisuke asked, smiling at her. Hikari stuck her tongue at him. Daisuke chuckled and looked towards the back of the cave, which was pretty dark. "I wonder what's back there?"

"You're not thinking of going back there and leaving me here, are you?" Hikari asked, worriedly.

"If I had my phone I would, but I lost it in the sea."

Hikari pulled hers out of her pocket. "Mine's busted," she said, placing it back into her pocket. "All of that water got into it."

"Well, until we get a better light source, we'll just have to stay up front. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see what's on this island."

"You're going to leave me here?!"

"You can't do anything until we get a better splint for your ankle. The best thing for you to do is rest it so it can get better."

"How can it get better without any ice?"

"By not moving, or putting any pressure on it." He moved towards the mouth of the cave. "I'll be back after a while," he said. "Try to stay out of trouble."

"Har har," Hikari laughed dryly. "I thought you didn't want a friendly conversation?"

"I changed my mind."

"I don't get you sometimes."

"Neither do I," he said, leaving out of the cave.
**********************
"Alright, let's see what's around here," Daisuke said to himself when he got outside. He scanned the area, deciding where the best place to start looking was. He decided to head back towards the tree line from where they emerged from. Making his way through the trees again, he stopped at the root that Hikari tripped on.

'How could she not have seen this thing standing out of the ground?' he thought, kicking the root lightly. 'Granted, we were coming down a hill, but still.' He left the root and made his way east through the trees.

"This may or may not be a forest, depending on how big it is," he said, looking around as he walked. He began thinking about the past events that led up until now. 'First a hurricane, and now I'm stuck on an island with a girl that doesn't even like me, save for being a friend. If at all that.' The path he was on turned up to a steep hill. He began climbing it, wondering how far he was from the cave, and also wondering how Hikari was doing.

"Hope she's okay," he said. "I must be about a mile or two away from the cave now." He reached the top of the hill, which was tall enough for him to overlook every direction of the island. "Wow, this hill is huge." He turned to look in the direction he came from.

"So it was a forest," he said, looking at the tops of the trees. "Kind of small, though." A movement in the midst of the forest caught his eye. When he looked closer, there was nothing there.

'Must have been the wind, blowing the trees,' he thought. He looked out over the horizon, noting the cliff where they climbed to get to the top, and also the large, rocky cove that didn't have a ceiling. Something about it sent a shiver of excitement through him, though he couldn't explain why. He turned away from the scene and headed through the clearing towards some bushes. As he approached them, he heard the sound of running water. Quirking an eyebrow, he pushed his way through, and found himself looking down at a large forest glade. Several small waterfalls were splashing out of various rock formations all over the place into a large pool of water. At the front was a medium sized waterfall, pouring steadily out of a large hole in the rocks. It was the most beautiful thing Daisuke had ever seen.

'Hikari might like this,' he thought. He imagined watching her as she stripped her clothes off slowly, her beautiful, naked body calling for him. She would step to the edge of the drop off, raise both arms over her head, and do a perfect swan dive into the water. She would come up for air and look at him enticingly, her beautiful face dripping with water and her hair matted down. Cupping a breast, she would beckon him with a finger and smile at him...

Daisuke caught himself before he fell over the edge of the glade, breaking out of his imaginations. He looked down at the front of his pants, noticing a bulge in it. "Before I do something that requires me to use an alternative, I'd better go," he said. He turned around and was about to head back through the bushes again, when something tall and pointy to his right caught his attention, and he turned to look at it. There through the large ferns blocking the view, not more than half a mile away at another edge of the island, was what looked to be a crow's nest of a ship.

'What in the world...?' he thought. He turned in that direction and began making his way through the underbrush towards the object.
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'I can't believe myself,' Hikari thought bitterly as she sat on the grass outside of the cave. She had painfully made her way there a few minutes after Daisuke left her. The cave was too dark and cold for her. 'How could I have been so clumsy to not see that tree root sticking out of the ground?' She looked down at her ankle. The purple coloration had gotten lighter, but her ankle was still swollen.

"Hope I didn't break or tear anything," she said. "It's still hard to believe that Daisuke was able to come up with a makeshift brace using my sock. I wonder when he became so smart?" She remembered the times when they used to hang out together on a weekend basis. He had always made her laugh with his goofiness. She reflected on the time when they were at the park one snowy weekend. They were walking and cracking jokes to each other and laughing the whole way. Hikari stooped down, grabbed a handful of snow, and chucked it at Daisuke, who was trying to flee when he saw what she was doing, and thus, a snowball fight ensued between them.

Hikari smirked at the memory. Those were happy times for her. That was before Takeru moved back to Odaiba.

'Takeru.'

Her smile faded. Things had gotten slightly complicated with his arrival. Though she had never forgot him, she was well overjoyed at the sight of her childhood friend, and started spending much of her time around him. She didn't notice how badly it hurt Daisuke that she ignored him most of the time. She figured he was just being his usual goofy self when he and Takeru were in the same vicinity and he would act like an idiot, in which Takeru would make a rude comment about him, making her laugh, and making Daisuke look like a bigger fool. Hikari looked down at the ring on her finger, touching it gingerly. A small part of her wondered how he was doing, but she was also wondering why he wanted to marry her. And more importantly, why did she accept? Suddenly the dream she had about Daisuke flashed through her mind.

"That wasn't a dream," she said to herself. "That actually happened. But why that memory in particular?" She let out a big yawn, finally showing the first signs of fatigue since they arrived on the island.

"That can wait," she said, stretching out on the ground. "I'm going to get some sleep until Daisuke gets back." She closed her eyes, and was claimed by sleep in a few seconds. On the far side of the island, Daisuke was doing the same thing.

"I'd like to check out whatever that is," he said to himself, stretching out in a patch of sun that shined through the large ferns. "But I haven't slept since last night. I'll deal with it when I wake up. Hikari should be okay until then." He closed his eyes and went to sleep as well.
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I didn't put a lemon in this chapter, because...I didn't want to. I'll try to put one in the next chapter, featuring Iori and Rosa 0_0! Until then, read and review.