Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Dark Wings, White Wings ❯ Rain ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer: Toei owns the character. I own the plot of this story and two names so far.

***

Chapter 7: Rain

Hikary woke from a dream and sat up. She didn't immediately recognize her surroundings or remember how she had gotten there. But a quick scan around the room proofed it familiar and another look confirmed that she was in her own room.

She was in her nightdress and was sitting in the soft bed with all the pillows and silky bed coverings. The curtains were drawn around the four-poster bed and the strong smell of roses were in the air.

Yes, she was home.

She didn't remember how she had gotten into her room, though, or how she had returned to Heaven at all. She remembered running, running until she thought she couldn't run anymore, until her breaths came in ragged gasps, but she didn't stop. For she felt that if she stopped, she would never be able to stand up again. There were tears, she knew she was crying but couldn't seemed to be able to control that impossible flow of liquid from her eyes yet she didn't make a sound. It blinded her, and everything was blurry but her feet somehow knew the way and somehow, she had avoided bumping into anything. When her vision cleared enough for her to recognize her surroundings, she had found her in her brother's arms, crying into his shoulder. How she got there, she didn't know. And she didn't care.

She remembered the soft soothing voice of Taichi and his gentle hand running through her hair and she had suddenly felt tired and the weight that was crushing at her heart suddenly couldn't be kept in any longer and she had cried, gasping, and breaking down completely in her brother's arms and just let him hold and comfort her.

She didn't remember anything after that and decided that she must have fallen asleep right there in her brother's arms. The light shining in through the gap in her curtain told her that it must be morning. She gently pulled the covers off and slipped silently into the slipper that she knew was placed there. The curtains were pushed aside as she stood up.

It was raining. The view from the window directly in front of her told her that. It was falling steadily and no wind disturbed its downward course from the sky. Everything she could see had already been touched by its wet fingers and it hit her window with a soft rhythmic beat before rolling down the smooth clear glass.

Hikary walked over to the huge windows and sat on the window seat without taking her eyes off of the view before her. A hand went up to touch the glass. It was cool against her warm fingertips. The faint reflection that she could see from the glass stared back at her.

She blinked. Were those really her eyes that stared back at her? They looked dead, so different from her usual reflection. She tried to smile but her reflection came out wrong. It was forced and didn't seem natural. She looked alien to herself today and she didn't know why. Her hair was still brown and short like always but only a little ruffled looking. Her creamy skin was smooth and there were no pimples or anything. Her perfect nose and her delicate mouth, yes they were all the same. But something was missing, something that didn't make her look like the usual her. Was it just her imagination?

She continued to stare.

***

Sora had been specially assigned to take care of the princess by the king. She was one of the new maids that King Hiroshi had employed and even though she wasn't the princess' personal maid the two had gotten on well.

Ever since the Queen died from the third pregnancy, Hikary had suddenly closed herself up. Her mother was the only one that Hikary opened herself completely to and the death of the still young woman was a very bad shock to the girl. After that nothing the king or the prince did could get the girl to open up again. She didn't talk as much anymore and kept to herself more often.

But recently the King had noticed a great change in his daughter. Hikary laughed more often and a glow entered her face that had been gone since the death of her mother. Ever since Sora came, Hikary had been more open. She was able to talk to Sora like she did to her mother and Sora adored the younger girl. They've gotten on very well.

But that wasn't why Hikary had seemed open these past few weeks. She did like Sora but it was more like a big sister. She shared her thoughts with her but those were what she couldn't talk about with her brother or any boy. No, Sora was definitely not the reason.

It had been Takeru. The time she spent with the boy reminded of her of the time when her mother had been alive. She found that she could talk about anything with the boy and he would listen, never once making fun of her. He never once criticized her ideas or thought her weird. He even agreed with her. And Hikary found herself pouring out everything that she had cooped up inside. She couldn't stop herself but it felt nice. And for the first time since the Queen's death, she was truly happy again.

The King didn't know of this nor did he know about the relationship between his daughter and the prince of Hell at all so he sent Sora to the princess' room, hoping to find out what had caused Hikary to weep.

So Sora stood before Hikary's door with a tray of food that was the breakfast she had prepared. Was it better to knock or just enter quietly? Sora hesitated. She didn't want to disturb the girl from a much needed sleep. With a nod to herself she made up her mind. Placing a hand gently on the doorknob, she pushed the door slowly open. When it was big enough for her to slip through, she silently slid in and closed the door again behind her. Then she tiptoed through the many sections of the princess' chamber until she reached the bedroom.

The bed was empty, the curtain was open, and the slippers were gone. It did not take long for her to spot the fragile figure of the girl sitting in front of the window staring outside. The sight was a new one for Sora. She had never seen that quiet yet bright girl like this before. There was no emotion on the girl's face and such an expression didn't fit the child's young face nor should it have been there. Something must have caused the girl to be like this and Sora had every intention of finding out what.

Hikary seemed unaware of her presence in her room since she hadn't moved at all. Sora approached cautiously. Despite her effort to not scare the girl, Hikary still jumped when Sora tapped her gently on the shoulder.

For an instant Sora saw panic, shock, and fear but that soon disappeared when Hikary recognized her. Then her expression almost turned back to her normal ones. Almost. But it was different. It wasn't smooth and seemed forced as if the girl was taking great pains just to smile. She tried, Sora saw that, but it didn't reach her eyes. Her eyes were still that horrible dead expression.

"Did you sleep well?" It was better to act normal as if she didn't notice anything. Sora began preparing the breakfast on the low table.

"Yes, thank you." Hikary replied in her sweet and bright voice. A little too bright.

Sora observed as Hikary took her seat and started to eat. Her movements were stiff and robotic.

"That is good. Your father and brother are worried about you." Sora poured a sweet smelling tea into the small white teacup.

"I'm alright." Hikary reached out and took the teacup in her hand. It wasn't obvious, but Sora noticed it. The girl's hands were shaking.

"They would like to know what happened."

The cup was halfway to her lips before it froze. Her face suddenly had a distant look

*What happened, Hikary?*

The girl put the cup back onto its saucer.

"Are you alright?" Sora asked softly.

She nodded but she looked no where near fine.

"I-I'm not that hungry anymore, Sora. Thank you for bringing me this but I don't want it." She said in a not so smooth voice. "Sorry." She added, her gaze lowered to her lap.

Then her eyes widened as suddenly she felt arms around her. She stared, surprised, as Sora who had acted on impulse, pressed her closer into her shoulder.

"It's alright Hikary. If you want to cry, don't hold it in. Just cry." She had no idea what possessed her to do this and she didn't even know what was wrong with the girl but it was clear something had hurt her emotionally and deeply. They stayed like that for a long time. Hikary sobbed out her entire story, unable to stop and just cried with Sora patiently listening.

Somehow, Sora convinced Hikary to tell the whole story to her father which the girl agreed to do, too tired to argue back.

***

Takeru decided to forget about the whole experience. He read his books, talked to his brother, even flirted with girls but everything reminded him of 'her'. He wanted desperately to go down to Earth but he didn't. He knew he'll regret what he had done to her even more if he did and he was thankful for the rain for it provided an excuse for him to not go.

Now, he wandered aimlessly through the hallways, talking to everyone he met just to keep his mind from wandering. Normally, he would have gone to the library but not today. The books brought too many memories to mind and he didn't need that right now. And so, he stayed away from his favourite place in the whole palace.

His father was greatly angered at the escape and wasn't in a very good mood. The Kaizer was even more upset than the king. He snapped at everyone and muttered curses. And Yolie? Well, she was as cool and graceful as ever. The seemly impossible escape of the Princess of Heaven had not affected her. And while the king pondered on how the girl disappeared without anyone noticing, Yolie was doing some serious sneaking around.

Of course the Kaizer and his sly daughter knew who helped with the `disappearing act'. But they also knew that the king will not believe them and they had no proof and besides they still could not figure out how the prince sneaked the girl out. The guard by the entrance to the dungeon had clearly stated that the prince had only entered once. So Yolie, like the fox that she was, sneaked into Takeru's chamber for an investigation.

It didn't take her long to find the bottle of dye that was still on the table where Yamato forgot to put away nor was it hard for her keen eyes to spot a single white feather stuck between the carpet and the floor. And she left with a satisfied smirk and the feather safely wrapped in her handkerchief.

***

"Sora, thanks." Taichi said.

"What for?"

"For helping my sister. I don't think she would have told us anything if it weren't for you."

Sora smiled a little.

"She reminded me of myself. Did you know that I used to be like that? Ever since my father left, I felt so lonely, you know. I just don't want anyone to feel how I felt."

"I-I didn't know." Taichi said.

"I never told you before. And about Hikary. . ." Sora said.

"What is it?"

"She's sleeping right now but I don't think she'll recover quickly. Someone should go talk to her and try to keep her from thinking too much about `him'." Sora advised.

"I'll do that. Thanks again." Taichi gave her a little wave before they parted.

***

*So my daughter is in love with the prince of Hell. The son of. . .Kurokami*

King Hiroshi didn't know how to take that in. The relief of having his daughter miraculously returned to him was great but this little thing puzzled him. It was clear that Hikary loved Takeru even if she didn't admit it to them.

And it was with a sense of irony that the king remembered a promise. A promise made long ago when he was still young and the kingdom was still peaceful. It was a promise that had not yet been broken but soon would be if the contract was found.

*Things could have been so different*

But the unexpected meeting of Takeru and Hikary was something no one had counted on and which made the promise harder to break. . .not that King Hiroshi wanted to. In fact, he wanted it to be kept.

*I wonder what made him change so much? And why didn't he tell me anything? Things could have been very different. I should have noticed that something was wrong before it got so out of hand. We could still have been friends and we still could if only you would talk to me instead of fighting against me.

Kurokami, what happened to you?*

***

There used to be five of them. One a warrior born and a natural leader, another with a skill to match, one as smart as time was old, another with a generous heart. The last held the beauty of a rose and the grace of a swan, the envy of every man.

These five were inseparable.

Until another came into their mist. . .

. . .and everything changed.

Now two of the five are dead and one is missing. Another is plagued by hatred while the last is forced to fight.

And the one that joined them last? The sixth? The sixth watches, unknown to all, yet that is the only thing that could be done. The sixth could only watch and wait.

***

*This is a bad idea, a very bad idea*

Daisuke was fidgeting in his chair that Hikary provided for him. Being the best friend of the princess, he had the privilege to learn about what had happened. Now he sat staring at the floor in Hikary's room unable to say what he `had' thought as a good idea.

*Well, at least Taichi agrees with me*

With that thought lodged in mind, he meekly peaked up at the girl. They had not spoken a single word to each other since Hikary let him in, which only made Daisuke nervous. But unaware of the discomfort of her friend, Hikary was staring out the window again as if oblivious of the presence of another person in her room. Or maybe she just had forgotten.

Daisuke gulped and took a deep breath, his hands clutched tightly into fists.

*Here I go. . .*

"Hikary-chan. . ." He shut his eyes tightly and lowered his head and blurted out what he had been trying to say.

He waited with his eyes closed but there was complete silence. Daisuke wondered if she heard at all and the idea of repeating what he said brought a blush to his cheeks. After a while, curiosity made him look up.

Hikary was looking at him with a surprised look on her face and. . .was that amusement he saw?

*Well, at least she's not looking at me in horror or disgust.* Daisuke thought with some relief. But the next words that came out of Hikary's mouth shocked Daisuke even more than if she had a look of horror and disgust.

"I think I will."

Daisuke fell out of his chair.

***

Takeru was completely miserable. Now that he forbade himself to go to the library, he didn't know what he could do and teasing girls soon became very boring. And what with the rain, he couldn't even go take a walk outside. Now, he was stuck in his room since there wasn't a better place to be.

It was hunger that drove him out of his room at the end. He realized that it was way past lunchtime and so he decided to go to the kitchen to get some food. He didn't feel like eating with the other's in the great hall because it was too noisy and Takeru wanted quiet at the moment.

It was just as well. He needed to stretch his legs anyway. Sitting around in your room all day could be very tiring. A walk to the kitchen would be good and some food would satisfy his stomach. It gave him something to do at least and after that. . .well, he'll think about that later.

The kitchen was large and chefs were already cooking for the next meal. It was very crowded with people hustling and bustling here and there. Takeru managed to weave through them without getting in their way and after getting a few pieces of cheese, ham, and bread, got out of the kitchen as quickly as he could. He made himself a simple sandwich, which he ate slowly while he thought about what to do next.

Just as he finished his last bite, the person that Takeru wanted to see the least appeared before him.

"What do you want?" He asked coldly, stopping in his tracks.

"Relax, I'm not going to do anything. I only came to tell you a bit of news since you seemed to be a little behind the times." Yolie smiled.

Takeru hated that smile.

"Princess Hikary of Heaven is engaged and the wedding will be taking place in three days."

***

He ran. It didn't matter if he was completely drenched from head to foot or that he was shivering with cold. He actually welcomed the rain that he had hated moments before. It made everything seem less real.

He should be happy shouldn't he? Hikary was getting married. She had moved on and she'll be happy from now on. But oh, how he hurt.

He placed a hand on the trunk of a tree and panted for breath as he scanned his surroundings.

A lake.

The lake.

How in the world had he gotten here?

It didn't matter anymore. She had already forgotten about him and went on with her life. He should do the same. But he couldn't. He raised his face to the sky as he let the droplets of rain ran down his face and neck.

He couldn't.

Emotions coursed through him and he didn't want to hold them in. He couldn't hold them in.

And he let them out in one single word that was thrown at the sky.

"Hikary!"

No one heard that desperate cry.

And the rain continued to fall, undisturbed.

***To Be Continued. . .***

First of all I must say, TAKARI FANS PLEASE DO NOT HATE ME!!!

OK, Um, I promise that the marriage thing will be resolved in the next chapter and some really nice Takari moments coming up soon! Please review!