Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Digital Quickening ❯ Phoenix Blade - (Sora's POV) ( Chapter 2 )

Author's Note: First I would like to thank the readers that reviewed the previous Digital Quickening story. This sequel is a little bit longer and even more confusing. As usual: Really goofy dialogue, poor vocabulary, poor spelling, poor grammar, poor verb tense, ellipses galore, bad clichés, and SOUND EFFECTS! I will be using off-the-wall biology, metallurgy, technical jargon, etc. that even I don't know what I am writing about! I had to rewrite and explain the whole Rules of the Quickening in one story too! Just make believe it all sounds plausible. All the Soul Blades have been exaggerated in size, especially in metric! This is a work in progress that requires A LOT of work. Reviews are welcomed.

WARNING: Not for the Highlander AND Sora purists! Need I mention that I really liked Highlander 2 the Renegade Version? (Dodges even more thrown objects) Any ways, this continuation to my story will follow the same league… a bad sequel! ALSO, Sora's character will be loosely based after my older cousin who lives out-of-state from me. I have written this story with her blessings and some of her help in writing just to keep it fictional as possible!

Important Note: If you did not get any hints from my warning with Sora, here it is... There are mild… shoujo ai… thoughts. THOUGHTS ONLY! Got that? PLUS, the following song DOES NOT hint anything either. Lots of vulgar language too! As usual, my work pales in comparison to the other great work done by much better authors.

This story takes place after Season 01; the DigiDestined have defeated Apocalymon. The Digital World is undergoing the Great Reset. The DigiDestined have become fused with their Digimon. A continuation from Sora's POV.

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon, Highlander, Soul Edge, or Soul Caliber. I DO own a Shirasaya and an extremely cheap knockoff of Duncan MacLeod's Katana.

Digital Quickening: Phoenix Blade

by Mimi, Myself, & Iz.

To love!

To shine!

We all need to shine on, to see
How far we've come on our journey.
How far yet to go, searching for our star.

Deep in the night, I pray in my heart
For that special light
To shower me with love,
To shower me with power,
To shine from above!

I got to get to the Edge of Soul, to carry on
What I believed in from the very start.
I got to get to the Edge of Soul, to carry on
Deep in my heart!

Come strip down and face it, your all!
About time you broke down your wall.
Free your mind…
A brand new world waits for you, you'll find…

Nobody can just do it for you
It's time that you knew…

It's up to you to love!
It's up to you to shine!
The light true and blue!

To love…
…to shine.

Excerpts from the song The Edge of Soul

Performed by KHAN
Lyrics by Suzi Kim

From the soundtrack SOUL EDGE
by Namco

Transcending history of both worlds…

A tale of souls and swords… eternally told…

In the end, there can be only one.

Digital World
Beyond the Great Reset

Eternal Warrior… Takenouchi, Sora

'Souls and swords…'

I couldn't believe all of this has happened. First off, we were all fused with our Digimon. The power of the Digimon and Crests made us all grown into mature adults. On top of that, we were immortal! That was not the half of it though! We were now swordsmen! It still boggled me not only of what we have become, but what we must do to get home…

~~~

Gennai's Home
Yagami, Hikari's Quarters

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.

And may the angels watch you through the night,
And wake you with their morning light.

Amen.

I made sure Hikari was comfortable in her bed. She looked so peaceful when she sleeps. Even though she has the body of an eighteen to twenty-year-old woman, Hikari was still the same young girl I have always known. Always like a baby sister to me. I have watched her grow up from a small sickly child to a headstrong ten-year-old. As fate would have it, I am seeing her now as a young woman. Despite the fact that she appeared older, deep inside there was still this young girl that shined ever so radiantly.

'Like an angel,' I smiled. I brushed a few strands of her hair away from her closed eyes. I looked at her sadly. 'Poor girl… She took it the hardest of all.'

I kissed Hikari's forehead and stood up. In a quiet voice, I spoke to her, "Sleep well, Hikari. I cannot promise any sweet dreams this time, but everything will turn out all right. All of us are with you. The path home has been laid down before us. We have been given life in strange lands. We will make home. You'll see."

I lightly stroked her cheek. I could tell Hikari was sleeping a bit peacefully now. Her breathing was normal. I smiled. At least I managed to comfort her. I do hope she has pleasant dreams. I kind of wished all of this were a dream. I think it should be referred to as a nightmare. In reality we would wake up and find ourselves safe in our own beds, in our own homes, with our loved ones. My thoughts often think back of home again. I so wanted to get home and be with my Mom… and hopefully my Dad. I think I am okay with Ami there as well.

"Ami and Mom," I sighed as my thoughts drift back on their relationship.

When I first went to camp, I thought differently of everything. The breakup, my Mom, my Dad, and the woman that helps with the flower shop, Ami Aino… I hated my Mom and Ms. Aino. To tell the truth, I hated my Mom period! It was her I blamed for driving my Dad away. Now, it was just Mom, Ami, and I. I tried my best not to let my hatred for her show, yet I could not help it. I let it all come out subtlety when I started to do certain things just to piss her off. I avoided helping around with the shop. I ignored Ami when she's around. I ignored my Mom when she tries to make conversation with me. I played sports with the boys. I wore clothes that were… considered to her… non lady-like. Ami later joked that I was becoming the man of the house. I took it in stride. My Mom did not find it amusing.

'I was not sure if I was… taking Dad's place.' I shook my head, 'Such a ridiculous thought.'

Thinking back to that day, it was quite a shock to my Dad when my Mother confessed her true feelings and told that their marriage was… no longer. My Dad slowly yet surely accepted my Mother's new relationship. He understood the bond between my Mother and Ms. Aino. It was only a matter of time that my Mom and Dad had to legally separate their union. Mom and Dad's separation was not as bad as I thought it would be. It was I that sort of added the hostility to the breakup. Still my Dad was very open-minded to the new relationship, being a University Professor and all. He still supports my Mom and I financially as well as still being there as a father figure. He was still my Dad. He never remarried as a faith to me. My Dad and Ms. Aino were soon great friends also. It took me a trip to the Digital World to finally understand all of it.

'Understanding… Love…'

Piyomon was the first to make me understand most of it even before I found my Crest. Before I used to hate my Digimon's constant affections. It actually sickened me to think I could not get away from my Mom's sexuality and here was Piyomon doing just that with me. That was when I tempted Mimi to trade Piyomon for Palmon. I felt Piyomon should belong to Mimi because Mimi liked the color pink and well… Piyomon was an airhead! Of course the airhead part does not apply to Mimi. I believed Palmon should have been my Digimon because she kind of reminds me of myself, even though she being a flower eventually reminded me of my Mom's shop. Mimi politely refused of course. Those two were inseparable. Mimi and Palmon shared a strong bond that went beyond friendship, just the way it was to be with Piyomon and I. I later came to the conclusion that I was wrong to even consider trading my Digimon. I just couldn't believe how badly I treated Piyomon because of how she shows her love for me! I was treating her… like I treated my Mom.

Ever since I got the Crest of Love, I began to understand it all and even feel it happening. It was something that I still can't put to words. I am not a psychologist or anything like that. Our adventure in finding the Eighth Child and fighting against VamDemon proved that I finally understood. I knew I would be alone with Mom when I came home. Ms. Aino was away on vacation at the time and my Dad, being a University Professor, was on assignment for the various college institutions in Kyoto. I thought it was a chance for both Mom and I to finally talk. I tried to open up to her… trying to at least being a grateful daughter. But I was wrong. Still, Mom kept being distant from me. She still had some grudge against me from that dreadful night long ago.

I think it all began to fall apart about three years ago when my Grandmother died. Then about a year later, I discovered that my Mom was seeing someone else! It even shocked me more when I found out who she was seeing. I asked her… no I screamed at her to keep her new relationship away from me. That was when Dad found out everything, then my world fell apart. Now I wished I could take it all back. How foolish of me to think everything would be okay when I returned from the Digital World that day. I just wanted to tell Mom I understood now. I wanted to tell her I was different too. I wanted to tell her that I no longer blame her or Ami for Dad to be apart from us. I no longer thought ill of their relationship. I did not blame her for what she was. She was still was my Mom. It was that she kept it all from Dad too late. Not like it would matter now.

I shook my head at those memories. 'At that time, I realized there was something else. There was another reason why I hated her before, but I could never tell her. Not yet…'

I used to also blame her for making me who I am. She influenced me to be like her. I always thought that being who I am was because of being around Mom and Ami. But it was never like that. It was something more. Before talking to Mom about it, I consulted my Dad first on the phone. I figured he was the best one to talk to because he also had master's degrees in various studies of Behavioral and Cultural Sciences. I felt I was finally able to openly talk to him about Mom's current relationship and sexuality. He agreed with the fact that one's sexual orientation was not something that was taught. It was more biologically determined. Also it was not necessarily passed on hereditarily either.

'That, I always pondered on…'

All this time, I could not help but feel sorry for Dad. He promised he would never remarry. He wanted to keep it as is, Father and Daughter. I so wished he would give it up and find his own happiness. But I couldn't help but feel so grateful for him still being a loving Father. Still, ever since then, I sometimes sense his… uneasiness of Mom's relationship, maybe even jealously of Ami. He took comfort in it all because I shared some disagreement of Mom seeing Ami before. I wondered how Dad would feel now if he knew that Mom and I along with Ami were finally being close to reconciling our differences.

'How would he react now when I reveal my secret feelings for someone?'

I wanted to talk to him about my feelings for someone when the phone went dead. It was VamDemon's work. The Eighth Child, Hikari, had been identified and was being zeroed in for capture. By cutting all surrounding communication in a large blanket of supernatural fog would limit any unnecessary interference. It was terrible. I never got a chance to speak to nor see Dad again. He was still stuck in Kyoto. Even after our victory, I had to leave to the Digital World to face the Dark Masters.

'I hope my Dad is okay back home too.'

Strange, after I became one with my Digimon, I gained some wisdom. I sensed within me the memories of Piyomon. Piyomon did have a talk with my Mom during the battle with VamDemon. From what I remember through the soul of Piyomon, my Mom told her that she longed for the chance to talk with me about her relationship with Ami… A chance to finally settle everything, and rebuild the relationship I slowly made myself apart from. I too wanted to heal old wounds. I wanted to be the proud Daughter of my Mom. I wished I were there for her and Piyomon at the time. Instead, I was still too afraid to even begin to talk after she kept distancing herself from me. Of all that was going on with VamDemon, I had the nerve to go to soccer practice.

Things were different now. I want to make it right with Mom.

'I also was no longer ashamed of finally realizing what I truly am.'

Now, all I have to worry was what the others would think of me. Well, I don't give a rat's ass about the public. I only care of my friends. My real friends reactions… fiends for life… my fellow DigiDestined. Especially since I have a secret crush with one of them. Well, actually there were two others. I thought it was a passing crush, but that was not it. Now with us being turned into adults, I began to feel myself falling in love. Hormones I guess. Maybe it was my Crest of Love. Everyone was in a matured body. Unfortunately our minds, despite our new wisdom, were still that of children.

I have not yet told anyone about my secret love. Not even Hikari, Mimi, nor Piyomon knows of the one I love. Yet of the two DigiDestined I had just a crush on, only one other DigiDestined I know my heart belongs too. Still there was Taichi, my long time childhood friend. It was he that kept me sane through out my relationship with my Mom. Hikari and Koushiro also comforted me during my difficult times, even though they have no clue of what was actually happening between my Mom, Ami, and I.

'Hell, they were too young to know any ways! I haven't really told anyone of my Mom and Ami's relationship. They think it was because my Dad was absent, but it was more than that! They would never know. Not yet.'

Still I do love Taichi like a brother… maybe a bit more than that. I don't know. Yet, there was Yamato… Taichi referred to him as a rebel. For whatever reason, he was like me in a way. We would have this sort of understanding between us even though we actually don't. We almost share some quarrels with our parents. I hurt him a lot sometimes, not intentionally of course. There were countless times I had to come between Taichi and Yamato's fights. I try not to take sides, but I do. Now that Hikari has joined us, things were different. It always seemed to me that I was competing with Yamato. I don't know why or about what. Was it because of Taichi?

'Yamato… and Taichi. I feel myself connected to them in away. I just can't…'

I sighed. 'There was only one I felt so strongly in my heart-'

…11010101

…001110101011111

…000010001111100001011

'What?' I instinctively clenched my head.

"UHHNNNMMAAAHHHHHH…"

I heard Hikari moan. Hikari was flinching and her breathing became erratic. It looked like she was having a nightmare. I came to realize that the buzzing noise in my head was back again. That strange buzzing! It was weird. I am sure she feels the buzzing too. From what I could feel now it was getting painfully irritating! I felt it was best to distance myself from Hikari immediately. I reasoned that it was the only way to stop this buzzing in our brains. I quickly made my exit from Hikari's quarters. As soon as I closed the doors and walked down the hallway, the buzzing decreased.

…00011011

I continued walking hastily away…

…0010

Eventually, the buzzing disappeared.

I just couldn't explain what this buzzing was. It felt like… or sounded like our Digivices charging. I don't know. No one said a word about this to Gennai. Amazingly, not even Koushiro made any comment. I guessed Gennai had nothing to say about it because he didn't even notice our irritation of this thing happening in our heads. I knew the others must have felt this too. I had seen Mimi, Koushiro, and Hikari being effected by this, especially when we were in an argument. It would seem to purposely agitate us, causing us to argue and fight. If not fight, then just let us suffer a mean headache. Was this like a sensor? Maybe because we were one with our Digimon, we could sense each other within some proximity. We would be able to tell if one of us approached the other. However, sometimes it did not happen. It would happen at random. Sometimes, we felt nothing when another was near.

'This makes our predicament even more unsettling.'

~~~

Late Afternoon…

As I made my way back to my quarters, I looked across the stone gardens of Gennai's home. In the distance was another separate structure. The wooden structure was large with a noticeable front porch, several sliding doors, a chimney, hanging flowerpots, and so forth. From what I could determine, this could be Gennai's living quarters. This was where Gennai, Mimi, and Koushiro were. It's been awhile since Gennai asked Mimi and Koushiro to join him. It was some sort of private conversation. I wondered why he wanted to speak to those two for. I hope I could ask them when they return for dinner.

With that in mind, I felt convinced and made my way to my quarters. There were a few Gekomon and Otamamon scurrying along the dimly lit hallways. As I approached, all of them made room for me to let me pass. They bowed as well as I made my way through. Their eyes were closed and the expression on their faces was that of humbleness. As soon as I passed a good distance from them, they continued on to what they were doing before I arrived.

It felt strange to be treated like this. However, I have noticed that their bowing was different to that given to Mimi and Hikari. For Mimi, they bowed lower. I think they did the same for Hikari also, but bowed even much lower. They were practically sprawled flat on the floor. Even Takeru got the same treatment, but not to the extreme as Hikari. I figured because their titles attributed to royalty. They were Prince Takeru, Princess Mimi and Queen Hikari. I was just Warrior Sora, not that I mind being treated any less than Mimi, Hikari, or Takeru. I wouldn't care less if I were just plain old Commoner Sora. I smiled. The full versions of the titles the Gekomon and Otamamon gave us were a bit strange. A bit melodramatic too. I only heard some of it. I am not sure if I got them all right…

Taichi, the Knight of Courage

Yamato, the Soldier of Friendship

Koushiro, the Prophet of Knowledge?

Jyou, the Judge of Faith?

Mimi, the Princess of Purity

Takeru, the Prince of Hope

Hikari, the Queen of Light

And me…

The Warrior of Love

Gennai had no say in this, nor was he responsible. It was all the Gekomon and Otamamon's doing. These titles were not very imaginative to say the least. All of them were just plain silly of you asked me.

'Well, Mimi and Hikari do seem like the Princess and Queen to me. I kind of laugh about little Takeru being a prince.'

They deserved it I guess. They are very special friends to me. I especially felt this sense of protectiveness for Mimi and Hikari. I have been that way for a long time. Well, being the only girls among a bunch of boys in a strange world would do that. To tell the truth, Mimi and Hikari were the only girl friends I have. I mostly make friends with boys. Other girls my age never socialized with me because of my… I heard these girls refer to it as… my tomboy reputation.

'Peh…'

Of course I did care for everyone else equally in our team. Taichi, Koushiro, Takeru, Jyou, and even Yamato were great friends to have. Still, I would go to needless lengths to make sure both Mimi and Hikari were safe and well, even to the point beyond Taichi's responsibility as a big brother and our leader. I have treated even Takeru with the same protectiveness. Mother like? That was just the kind of person I am. It almost cost me my life when this obsession strengthened by my fear overpowered me into this psychic trap. I put so much responsibility in the safety of others, yet I doubt I could actually make any difference at all. I felt hopeless when the others started to leave the group. Yamato… then Mimi… then Jyou… With fear of not knowing what would happen to them, I fell into that place that created a visual depth of the darkness I carried.

But now, I no longer feared that I couldn't trust myself to protect the ones I care about. I have also learned to trust the abilities of others. I knew now that they could take care of themselves as well. Mimi and Hikari especially have changed so much for the better. Still my responsibility to care for them, and all of my friends, remained. But I was no longer constrained in fearing for all.

I guessed I was more of Mimi and Hikari's protector in a royal sense. I was like a royal bodyguard. I have started to realize that now. The design of my sword demonstrates that as well. It was a rapier type from that of a noble time.

I clenched my Digivice…

…building…

I felt the ever lasting essence of Nyokimon, Pyocomon, Piyomon, Birdramon, and Garudamon…

…power…

Hikari was the first to unleash her Soul Blade. The rest of us easily followed suit. Gennai said it was all a matter of concentration. Searching for that familiar feeling when our Digimon digivolved. The Soul Blades were some sort of representation of our fused Digimon. A tangible part of them that we could still see and touch. Their shared strengths and weaknesses now embodied the form of a blade.

…SHINKA…

The familiar whistling sounds from my Digivice filled the air. In my hands, the Digivice started to glow brilliantly, yet it does not harm my eyes to gaze upon it.

'I feel the Digivice starting to change shape… The weight starting to shift… The once glowing Digivice in my hands was now becoming heavier… The ones and zeros emanating from it…'

As quickly as it started, the process ends.

I held the newly formed object to my eyes. In my hands was a graceful ring-hilt rapier concealed in a beautifully decorated scabbard. This was my Soul Blade. It resembled those used in the late sixteenth and earl seventeenth century. The time of dueling in the field of honor. The sharp mirror blade of unearthly forged steel was narrow with the traditional diamond cross section. The blade stretched one hundred twenty centimeters (120 cm) in length. On the blade itself, the heart shaped Crest of Love was etched along with stylized feather wings within swirling clouds.

Within the ring-hilt design were steel bars that looked like the wings and talons of Birdramon. Also connected to the hilt and grip was a silver blade collar or ring with etched hieroglyphs in the Digimon language. I knew this ring from what Piyomon had around her left foot. The twisting hilt design ended as the sword's guard. The grip looked like it was made from polished bone accented by a twisting wire. The pommel resembled the shape and designs of the head and mask of Garudamon. The entire sword did represent my Digimon in a way. Koushiro pointed out that it was like my name, it was the Sword of the Sky. Even the leather-like scabbard was decorated with gold etchings of feather wings and clouds. Yamato said it should be called Wing Blade. I sort of agreed with that. However, I ended up calling it the Phoenix Blade. I did so because it was how I see my Digimon friend now and also my friends and I. Like the fiery bird, we have been reborn from the ashes.

Because I called forth my Soul Blade in a non-combat situation, the scabbard was formed. If I removed the sword from the scabbard completely, the scabbard would dissolve into computer data and disappear within the sword matrix. This sort of adds to the strength of the Soul Blade. If I unleashed my sword for a fight to the death, no scabbard will be formed. It will be just my Soul Blade, the rapier… the Sword of the Sky… the Wing Blade…

The Phoenix Blade…

Concentrating again…

…taika…

My sword and scabbard began to glow brightly. I felt the weight and shape start to change. In an instant, the once glowing mass in my hand was now my Digivice. I held the Digivice closer. The Digivice was practically inseparable from me being now. Not like before. We could never lose it nor could we just simply throw it away and forget about it. It will always be there when we needed it. It was the source of our life… the key to our survival… It was our ticket home.

'I remembered that time when my friends found their Soul Blades…'

~~~

Swords of the Immortals…
The Soul Blades

Yagami, Hikari…
HEAVENLY BLADE

Hikari's Soul Blade was a katana samurai sword. The one hundred and two centimeters (102 cm) sharp mirror polished curved blade was forged from an unearthly steel alloy. The full-tang blade was complete with midare-ba or a confused temper line with beautiful surface engravings from hilt to tip. The engravings were of flowers, streamers, feathers, and the Crest of Light. It also had a beautifully crafted golden steel tsuba or sword guard that looked like the wings of an angel. A golden tail-like coil around the tang served as the grip. The tail began at the hilt and coiled down to the end. The tail resembled Gatomon's. At the end where the tail flared was what appeared to be Gatomon's gold ring etched with the glyphs of the Digital World. Hikari's little whistle was attached to it with a string.

Later on, Hikari formed the matching black marbled finish saya or scabbard. The scabbard had the same coiled tail design on the koiguichi or scabbard mouth. Plus there were special slots on the scabbard that held double kogatana, or mini tanto knives, decorated with angel figures. Overall, Hikari's sword was beautiful but ultimately deadly. I could sense she did not like the whole idea of it all. It was bad having the thought of her beloved Digimon friend now being a deadly weapon. She immediately reformed her sword back into her Digivice and remained in an uncomfortable silence.

Takaishi, Takeru…
EXCALIBUR

No doubt when we saw Takeru's Soul Blade, we immediately thought about Holy Angemon's energy blade. Yet this was a sword of metal. Again forged from an unearthly origin, the design was unmistakable. It was the legendary sword of the stone, the Excalibur. I have seen representations of this sword before. The extremely long mirror polished blade had gold stylized etchings of various angelic patterns and writings of the Digimon language. The beautiful gold guard was also etched in various writings and angelic winged designs. I think one of the symbols was that of the Pendragon Seal. The grip was wrapped in a black leather-like material. The large gold circular medallion pommel was shaped to that of the Crest of Hope. There was no scabbard to go with Takeru's Soul Blade.

The overall length was over one hundred fifty-two centimeters (152 cm)! It was taller than Takeru! I thought it would be too difficult to wield or much less lift. However, in Takeru's hands it was practically weightless to him. It looked like a two-handed great sword, but Takeru could wield it with just one! Takeru seemed to like his Soul Blade, but that would change later once we found out why we had the swords. When Takeru recalled his Soul Blade back into his Digivice, I saw something odd about the blade. For an instant, I thought I saw the blade edges become serrated. Also, a blood groove could have been seen running halfway down the center of the blade. I was probably the only one that noticed this.

Kido, Jyou…
MARINE TAI CHI SWORD

Amazingly, old reliable Jyou had a Tai Chi sword. His Soul Blade was a straight double-edged, or ken, blade of tempered steel. The mirror-polished blade was a whopping one hundred and two centimeters (102 cm) in length. The blue steel hand guard had intricate detailing of various marine-life. In the center of the hand guard was the Crest of Faith. The grip itself was a hard bone or ivory like material… something like tusk ivory? Violet ribbon strands could be seen on the grip. Probably a representation of Gomamon's striped fur. At the end of the grip was a metal pommel that was designed to look like Zudomon's head. Two red tassels that matched Gomamon's mohawk adorned the end of the pommel. It was used to blind and confuse the opponent while in motion. A matching scabbard was made from the same ivory like material with metal fittings.

I was surprised Jyou had a Tai Chi sword. I thought he would have Zudomon's hammer or something. This was a deadly weapon if wielded in the right hands, more preferably in the hands of a Tai Chi Master. A weapon that required absolute flexibility, dexterity, control, and more importantly, grace. Judging from my knowledge in Tai Chi swords, the blade would sometimes bend to the soul of the wielder. From what I have seen in Jyou, I saw none of those things. Plus, he was even taller now, maybe even lankier. But I shouldn't underestimate Jyou. He has been able to keep his talents as well as his feelings hidden very well.

Tachikawa, Mimi…
ROSEWOOD ZATOICHI

The design of Mimi's Soul Blade was surprising. At first I thought it was an ordinary walking staff. It looked like a one hundred forty centimeters (140 cm) long staff made entirely out of dark rosewood with a beautiful rich lacquered finish. Intricate design works of flowers, leaves, and vines decorated the rosewood staff and were carved painted in color. A reminisce of Palmon and her digivolved forms. I thanked God, that Mimi would be blessed with a non-lethal weapon. I knew that she, after seeing the others' Soul Blade, would not even touch any blade weapon. Mimi shared my relief.

However, our relief was short lived when Mimi noticed a separation about thirty centimeters (30 cm) from one end of the staff. Mimi then unlocked the separation to reveal within an extremely flawless one hundred ten centimeters (110 cm) full tang straight blade complete with hamon or temper line. The blade's horimono engravings on the surface had depictions of vines and flowers. The tear shaped Crest of Purity was engraved on the golden kabaki or blade collar.

It was then that I realized Mimi's Soul Blade was a shikomi-zue or sword cane. It was a special sword immortalized by the legendary Blind Swordsman, Zatoichi. It was during the late nineteenth century of the Meiji Restoration that the early Japanese government banned the wearing of swords. However, rebellious Samurai made many covert attempts to evade those laws. Thus disguising the sword within a walking staff. Strangely, Mimi calmly accepted her Soul Blade and reformed it back into her Digivice. I have never seen her call forth her blade since then.

Izumi, Koushiro…
BAMBOO BEETLE KATANA

Koushiro was also hesitant to form his Soul Blade. As he did, in his hands was what appeared to be a one hundred thirty-two centimeters (132 cm) shaft of bamboo. After seeing Mimi's shikomi-zue, Koushiro's bamboo staff was not what it appeared to be. It turned out that Koushiro's Soul Blade was that of a shirasaya, or a special storage scabbard made from a wood material used to protect the blade within. In this case, the blade was enclosed within bamboo. The bamboo had four culm sections that were equally about thirty-three centimeters (33 cm) in length. On one end of a culm near the node was a small golden beetle, which looked suspiciously like Tentomon.

Koushiro realized the Tentomon was a button and he immediately pressed it. There was a click and the culm section separated from the remaining bamboo shaft to reveal a one hundred and two centimeters (102 cm) katana blade. It was a mirror polished full tang blade with a beautiful confused temper line or midare-ba. The Crest of Knowledge could be seen etched on the golden blade collar. The bamboo section served well as the grip. Unlike the other blade surfaces, this one was void of any engravings. I guess as a representation of what knowledge was to the young genius. It was void knowledge. There was no limit to what one can obtain.

Koushiro did not say anything as he examined his Soul Blade. He did not even say "prodigious" either. He quickly reformed his sword back into his Digivice and remained quiet to see the others' Soul Blades.

Ishida, Yamato…
GUN BLADE

Now this was when it got even weirder… Yamato unleashed a Soul Blade unlike anything I have ever seen before. The "blade" was almost two meters long! The tempered steel blade shape was indescribable! It looked like a giant falcata! Various decorative engravings along with the Crest of Friendship were on the blade ji surface, between the hamon and blade ridge. Instead of a normal guard, grip, and pummel, it had a revolver! It looked like an extremely exaggerated steel forged replica of the classical Colt 45 Peacemaker with wood stock grip. However, the gun looked like it could hold six .50 caliber rounds! The barrel length looked like it reached over sixty centimeters (60 cm) and runs along the blood groove of the blade. If I did not know better, I could have sworn the housed gun blade was actually able to shoot! Thankfully the gun was not loaded.

Yamato admired his Soul Blade. He did not reform it back into his Digivice yet. He was playfully turning the revolver cylinder and dry firing it. 'Little boys with their toys.' Amazingly, Yamato could hold the massive gun blade in one hand! The entire weapon sort of represented the Chosen Digimon of Friendship's Mega form as Metal Garurumon. There was no scabbard to go with it to say the least. It scared me to think that this was the Soul Blade of Friendship.

Yagami, Taichi…
TRIDENT CLAW

If Yamato's Soul Blade were weird enough, nothing would have prepared us for Taichi's Soul Blade, or Blades. The monstrosity of a sword was over two meters in length. It appeared to be three large parallel blades joined into one grip. It looked like a long version of War Greymon's Trident Claw. The guard was oddly shaped like the various Champion to Mega digivolutions of Greymon's head and helmet complete with horns and mane. What was even stranger about the helmet guard were the two "eye holes." We could just see what appeared to be a closed eye underneath each of them. It did not look alive so we all figured it was part of the design. The Crest of Courage was engraved on the guard.

The shear size and beast-like attributes of the sword was extremely shocking. Taichi was able to lift and move it around easily. Hikari was very frightened of it. Perhaps everyone was too including Yamato. Taichi quickly reformed his Soul Blades back into his Digivice. He gave Hikari a reassuring hug that she will not have to see the Trident Claw ever again.

'I doubt that now.'

It was strange for all of us… We also obtained some sort of knowledge of metallurgy as well. I mean, I am not an expert, but I somehow knew enough of each other's sword. However, none of us have any experience of how to wield our swords. However, with practice, we could easily learn. Still, nobody was prepared for what would be our fate…

'Could we do it?'

~~~

Dojo Entrance
Present thoughts…

I made my way to this place that Gennai referred to as the dojo of his home. I was not sure why I wanted to come here now. Now of all times! In my mind I just reasoned that I should practice wielding my Phoenix Blade. I knew I would be alone here. Maybe it would be a good idea to practice. It would get my mind off everything regarding our fate, despite the fact that practicing with my sword would be part of it.

Before entering the dojo, I brought my right fist to touch the open palm of my hand directly in front of me. With a slight bowing motion I did the traditional Kempo bow at the dojo doors. I then took off my boots and socks in tradition. However, I knew I would have to eventually train with my boots on in the days ahead. Maybe I would also have to train barefoot on various surfaces like stone, dirt, sand… Hell, molten rock for all I cared!

I entered the dojo and stood in the center. It was an elegant dojo a design from so long ago. Lots of space to work with. Surrounding the training floor were simple wooden doors… hard floor… thatched mat… mirrors… It was perfect.

I called forth my Soul Blade again…

…SHINKA…

Instantly, the Phoenix Blade was in my hand again. I took a deep breath and slowly unsheathed the blade completely from the scabbard. As I had expected, the scabbard started to dissolve into computer particles and merged into my Soul Blade. The scabbard was useless for what I was about to do any ways. With a scabbard discarded completely, the naked blade would mean a fight to the death.

Thinking of the rules, I began…

~~~

What I remembered…

"What the hell is this about, Gennai?" Yamato demanded.

"Parts of the Digimon data have manifested themselves as swords," Gennai replied.

"I see, since they cannot be released from us, they generate weapons of defense. Just like they have protecting us before we got fused," Koushiro speculated. For once, I think I understood what he meant.

"For us to defend ourselves from evil Digimon, right?" I asked.

Gennai looked at me and said, "In a way, but not entirely. No, these swords will not be used against any Digimon or any evil threat since there are no evil Digimon now. Thanks to you."

Taichi then asked, "So, these swords are just for combat readiness? Is that right? We don't actually need them?"

"NO! YOU WILL BE USING THEM!" Gennai boomed.

"Okay…" Taichi said as he sweat dropped.

I found this confusing so I addressed Gennai again. "I thought you said there was no threat-" I was about to continue but got interrupted…

"Ack! Shit! Yamato! Watch where you point that thing!"

"Sorry, dude."

"Ahem," Gennai cleared his throat.

"Huh?" Taichi said, absolutely clueless.

I sort of lost my patience. "YAMATO! WOULD YOU PLEASE PUT THAT THING AWAY!"

"Sorry…" Yamato quickly followed suit and reformed his Gun Blade back into his Digivice.

Gennai let out a muffled groan but he continued, "Okay, about you question, Child of Love… You will be using your swords… against each other."

"WHAT?"

Gennai ignored our outburst and said, "The manifestation of your swords prove the prophecy to be correct. Let me explain about what happened to you first."

Everyone stayed quiet and waited to hear what Gennai had to say.

Gennai took a breath and spoke. "When the Digimon fused with you. You have become immortal. Unlike your formal frail organic human forms, you can now regenerate yourselves like Digimon. Even the most serious injuries imaginable, as close as to actual death, you can regenerate or heal yourselves quickly."

"Immortal? Us, Master Gennai?" Koushiro asked.

Gennai nodded and said, "Yes. For example…" Gennai turned to me and then Yamato and spoke, "Yamato? Sora?"

"Yeah," Yamato replied.

"Yes, Gennai?" I said.

He turned to me first and said, "Sora, you may not notice it now, but you did break Yamato's jaw."

"She did?" Yamato gasped wide-eyed.

"I did?" I said in a quiet shocked voice.

Gennai nodded to me. "Yes. Superficial fractures and a few loose teeth…" He turned to Yamato, "Yamato, you would not be able to talk right now… much less move your head. The intensity of Sora's punch has caused a severe misalignment of your neck. The pain would be unbearable if you even attempt to move your head."

"Teeth? My neck?" Yamato was already checking his teeth and moved his head, neck, and jaw.

"I knocked some teeth loose?" I asked.

Yamato finally finished his… diagnostics. "But I feel fine!" he said.

Gennai laughed. "Of course. That is the point of being immortal."

"So, I quickly healed then."

"Yes."

I found this all fascinating! The idea of us being immortal was… like a dream! I mean, WOW! Unfortunately, the only thing on my mind was… "Hey, Yamato. Can I hit you again? I want to make sure about this immortal thing."

Needless to say, everyone screamed at me with jaws hanging open.

"SORA!"

"NO WAY!" cried Yamato.

"SHIT! WHAT'S UP WITH YOU SORA?" I heard Taichi say.

Realization finally hit me of what I just asked Yamato. What brought that on? I felt myself turning red. With a nervous grin, I tried to say, "Sorry… I was just curious."

Yamato groaned in irritation. "What if I break YOUR neck just to satisfy YOUR curiosity, Sora?" Yamato threatened as he loomed over me.

"Okay… okay… Sorry…" I pleaded as I slowly backed away from Yamato. I was still probably making that goofy grin.

Yamato just shook his head in disbelief.

Just then we heard a voice mutter, "Riiiight…"

We all turned back to see Gennai looking not so pleased.

"CAN I FINISH HERE?" he boomed.

"Er… Yes, please… sir…" Taichi stuttered. Everyone else just slowly nodded in agreement. We did not want to upset the Host any further.

Satisfied, Gennai continued, "Being immortal means another thing. You cannot die or be killed."

"You mean we can't die?" Jyou asked.

"Exactly!" Gennai responded.

"COOL!" Takeru said.

"Amazing," Jyou said as he stroked his chin. He turned to Yamato and said, "Otherwise, I would have considered wrapping bathroom tissue around your broken jaw, Yamato. Serious fractures within the lower jaw line would cause life threatening infections and-"

Yamato just groaned. "That would have been so kind of you, Jyou."

"You cannot age either," we heard Gennai say.

"Come again?" I asked.

Gennai turned away from me with his arms crossed behind his back. "Well, let me put it this way. Right now, all of you are at the minimum age of human physiological maturity. After your human puberty, I might add." He turned his head to look at me.

"You mean, I would stay the same age, Master Gennai?" Mimi finally spoke.

Gennai turned to face Mimi. "Precisely, Child of Purity. Of course, because of the time remaining of the Great Reset, all of you will not be around to notice." Gennai then added, "All of you have less than a digital year."

Taichi folded his arms. "This isn't so bad. Of course, it will be fun while it lasted."

Gennai cleared his throat. "There is a catch,"

"What catch?" Yamato asked.

"There is a limit on your immortality," replied Gennai.

"You mean we are not entirely immortal or something?" Taichi said.

Gennai nodded, "Correct. That is where the swords come in."

"What about the swords, Master Gennai?" Koushiro asked.

He faced away from us again. Finally he spoke… "The only way an immortal can be mortally damaged and killed is by your Soul Blades."

Taichi gave a slight chuckle and said, "What are you getting at, Gennai? You really want us to fight each other or something?"

He turned his head just enough to face Taichi. "Not just fight. You have to kill each other to get home."

"K-KILL?"

"You must all fight… to the death."

"DEATH?"

Gennai nodded. "By decapitation from each other's Soul Blade."

~~~

Dojo
Present thoughts…

'Von Tag…'

Falcon Guard…

Thrust… Perry…

My sword… like an extension of my body… it is a part of me…

A dance…

"KYAHH!"

A fake to the right… Anticipate the counter by my opponent.

'Wechsel…'

~~~

More from Gennai…

"In the end of every battle, the Victor will… inherit or fuse with the DNA of the Fallen. This is known in the prophecy as the Quickening. Only one can bring all of you home."

"Why?" Taichi began.

Gennai sighed in irritation, "LOOK, THAT IS NOT IMPORTANT! LET ME LAY OUT THE RULES SO YOU ALL CAN UNDERSTAND!"

Everyone silently nodded.

"Okay…" Gennai began to slowly pace about the room. "First off, you all must engage in a duel of Soul Blades. Of all of you, the battles are fought one against one." Gennai stopped pacing and added, "Another thing that is important is that you must also face the correct opponent at the correct time."

"Each of us must know who to fight and when?" I asked.

"Correct."

"How would we know?" asked Takeru.

"You will know…" Gennai trailed off. I could have sworn he was grinning under that mustache of his.

"Um, excuse me… Master Gennai?" Koushiro started. "You said… the Quickening?"

Gennai nodded. "It is an old term that I have incorporated with your current… situation. Traditionally, the Quickening was once a term used in your world to describe the first discernible movement of a fetus in Mother's womb. A relatively crude way of determining judgment on any life form, but it translates as the phase in which the fetus shows the first signs of life."

"Interesting," Koushiro said.

"Now this force you will have is something like that, the spark of life. It is sort of like a fusion within you. It will be surge of energy passing through you, much like digivolving. Once you have defeated your opponent, the fusion will begin. The fusion of the Victor and the Fallen. Much like you and your Digimon within you."

"Master Gennai?" It was Mimi.

"Hmm?"

"What will happen to… the Fallen?" Mimi paused and added, "The… dead?"

Gennai turned to Mimi and replied, "Once the Quickening has passed, the body of the Fallen will… undergo… fragment resolution-" Gennai stopped as he noticed that Mimi was about to cry again. Gennai sighed and walked up to her. He placed his reassuring hands onto hers and said calmly, "To put your mind at ease, Child of Purity… No body will remain. No corpse will be around to see."

I sort of felt better when he said this, as with the most of us. I am not sure if it made Mimi feel any different though.

Gennai continued to pace as he spoke, "Like a vessel in which the soul is kept. The Victor will be able to carry the actual soul and more souls of the Fallen. Everything that makes who you are… the power, essence, knowledge… everything will be inherited by the Victor through the mystical process of the Quickening. The more 'vessels' the Victor defeats, the more stronger and skilled he or she will become… AND…" Gennai stopped in his tracks.

"AND?" asked everyone.

He turned to us and said, "The Chosen Digimon of the Fallen will be released! Alive and well."

"Alive?" asked Hikari who was silent the whole time.

"Yes, Child of Light," Gennai said. "They will no longer be as Soul Blades."

A bit of relief started to wash over our group at the thought of seeing our Digimon again, but it soon died down. It still would end up as us having to kill each other to do so! We just remained silent, still trying to coupe with everything Gennai has said to us.

All of a sudden…

"ANOTHER IMPORTANT THING!"

Everyone jumped. Then all eyes focused on Gennai again…

Gennai lifted his left foot to examine whatever was interesting under his red sneaker. He placed his foot down and said very calmly, "Siblings cannot fight each other. The Quickening will not work if one defeats his or her own flesh and blood."

"Why not, Master Gennai?" asked Koushiro.

"Genetics, my boy. That sort of thing. Relation by blood… Only those of unique blood lines can accomplish and receive the Quickening."

"Huh?" Taichi asked. "Why?"

All of a sudden, Gennai appeared on Taichi's shoulders and back! Before anyone could react, Gennai was grinding his fist into Taichi's thick skull while yelling…

"I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHY! SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE OTHER PROPHECIES! JUST ACCEPT IT! OKAY?"

~~~

Dojo
Present thoughts…

'Oberhut…'

So… Siblings cannot fight one another. Only those of unique blood lines. I later exchanged glances with Mimi, Jyou, and Koushiro. I then looked back at Taichi and Hikari, then Yamato and Takeru.

'So this was how it's going to be.'

'Now how do we begin?'

It was clear that Taichi and Hikari could not fight each other, so too with Yamato and Takeru. This would just leave Mimi, Koushiro, Jyou, and I against one of them at a time. Someone will have to take one of the siblings out! But I know that would be impossible. The degree Taichi and Yamato guard their siblings with their lives. Half brother or not, Yamato would never let anyone harm Takeru. Still for anyone to go after Hikari and Takeru was just plain wrong to begin with! The only way I could think of was that Taichi and Yamato have to be taken out first! Unless they fight each other! They cancel themselves out of the sibling equation. Unless, Mimi, Koushiro, Jyou, and I fight each other out. That would leave the Yagami's and the… Ishi… no Yamato and Takeru to fight each other!

'That would work!'

'But is it the right way?'

'Still, what would happen if Hikari and Takeru were left to fight?'

'And what about Mimi, Koushiro, Jyou and I?'

I knew there was tension between Jyou and Koushiro. Some silly rivalry over Mimi, which Mimi had no clue that it was happening. Well, it was Jyou that kept bringing it up in Koushiro's face. Still, I am sure they won't let that fuel them to fight each other with swords. They are friends none the less. Just as I am protective of the others, I can't find the heart to fight Mimi. She was not a fighter! If it came down to just the both of us, I would let her win my head… However… Mimi must also…

"SHIT! I FORGOT!"

I thrust my sword into thin air… Through the very heart of my opponent…

'Morteschlag!'

~~~

The Old Man rants on…

"There is more! In order for the Quickening to happen, both combatants must have high battle gage levels… or battle aura."

"What does that mean?" asked Yamato.

"He means our Digivices," Koushiro replied.

"Come again, Izzy," Taichi asked.

Koushiro turned to Gennai and asked, "Master Gennai?"

Gennai nodded. "By all means, Child of Knowledge."

Koushiro smiled and addressed the rest of us. "I'll put it in Layman's terms for all of you to get the gist of it."

"Yeah… whatever…" Jyou muttered.

He took a breath and spoke. "In the past, our Digimon's power attacks, damage, and evolution reserves are shown as a bar gage on our Digivices. For our Digimon to effectively use an attack, defend, or evolve to the next level, the Digivice gage must be within full reserve margin. Already our Digimon are successful in the regulation of energy, therefore they can sustain themselves in any condition, whether in battle or rest. Like measuring battle aura."

"Like a video game!" exclaimed Takeru.

Koushiro gave Takeru a smile. "Correct, Takeru! It is not just how much they have rested or how much food they intake. It is the experience of combat while using that energy. The actual battles of our Digimon would create a detectable energy source via Digivice. Not only does our Digivices measure current power levels, but also provides a bypass boost of channeled energy. Enough power to strengthen a Digimon's current technique, to achieve a new technique, or to digivolve. Now in our case, it applies the same way. If we engage in swordplay, our Digivices will coordinate our strength and battle aura."

"Battle aura from our fighting…" I reasoned.

Koushiro nodded to my reasoning. "Yes, only in actual fighting would our aura be detectable by our Digivices. The Digivice would undergo the same bypass energy channeling, being about to regulate the energy through defense and attack."

I then said, "And because our Digivices are our swords now…"

"Then it is us and our swords… My theory is that this is how the Quickening can finally be observed, obtained, and channeled." Koushiro turned to Gennai. "Am I right, Master Gennai?"

"Correct, Child of Knowledge. Well said," Gennai commended. "The high battle aura gage applies to the Victor and the Fallen. Both must actually fight. No cheating! No sneak attack! No ganging up on one fighter! One at a time, one against one! Your inner crest prevents any fallacy in fighting!"

"Our Crests…" Takeru said.

"Yes. You must fight not in anger or hatred. You must feel that unique power from each of your respective Crests. Exactly how is something you must discover on your own."

"Great. Another chore to worry about," Yamato grumbled.

Gennai suddenly appears behind Yamato. I was not sure if it was intentional for what Gennai said next… "No suicide either! If you do not have the necessary power gage level, the person that is decapitated will die mortally. He or she will be lost forever. Seeing an actual decomposing decapitated corpse is not a pleasant sight."

~~~

Dojo
Present thoughts…

'Zornhut…'

The one thing that mattered most of all! The battle gage within the Digivice must be high! Our battle aura must be high! Like some mother -king video game! That was the sure thing to achieve the Quickening after each duel to the death! How would we accomplish that? We have to be at each other's throats to do so! We had to do this for real! We do have to fight to the death! How can we? How can we just turn our friendships away and just go after each other's heads? None of us would want to do it!

A quick vertical slash through the air… Slicing the ribcage open…

'Zwerchhau.'

'It was the only way to go home…'

'The only way…'

'Who will be the one?'

'I prey neither would be the innocent.'

Forward spin… high horizontal slash… The head of my opponent… falls to the floor…

'Was sehrt, das lehrt.'

~~~

Yet, more from the old bag…

"Oh yes, and another thing…" He ignored the numerous groans around the room and continued, "There is to be no fighting on holy ground."

"What holy ground, Master Gennai?" Mimi asked.

"What we consider holy in the Digital World are places like the Primary Village. Rebirthing grounds. A place of worship like the Bakumon shrines. And my home."

"Your home is holy ground?" I asked.

Gennai unexpectedly boomed, "IN MY OPINION, YES! IN OTHER WORDS, THERE IS TO BE NO FIGHTING IN MY HOME! I DON'T WANT ANYBODY CRASHING THROUGH MY PAPER DOORS LIKE ONE OF YOUR SAMURAI TELEVISION DRAMAS!"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Ooooookaaaay…"

"Good!" Gennai then mumbled, "Then, I won't go into sterility either."

"You mean our blades must be sterilized?" Jyou asked.

"No… It's nothing. Um, look. Just forget I mentioned about the sterility part. Okay?" Gennai said quickly. Gennai then cleared his throat, and said, "Like I said before, there can be only one Victor. Only one can bring you all home."

"But, Gennai…" It was Jyou again.

"Yes, Child of Faith?"

Jyou nervously combed his fingers through his hair. "We know nothing about using swords. Much less chopping off the heads of our friends!"

"I did not say it was going to be easy."

"NO SHIT!" Jyou yelled.

Gennai just continued, "Look, the Prophecy speaks for itself. All of you must now follow the right path to get home. I trust you will be able to do it. You have all remarkably succeeded in profiling every Prophecy."

"Right… As long it doesn't mean to beheading anyone," Jyou muttered in sarcasm.

Taichi said to him, "Calm down, Jyou. You think having a huge arrow of pure energy get shot through the heart easy?"

"Taichi's right. Ordering my Digimon to shoot my Brother, was the most gut wrenching decision I have ever made!" Takeru added.

Yamato smiled and added, "It may be hard, but I know we can achieve this. We will get home!"

I just nodded in agreement. Mimi nodded too. She was a bit uneasy but confident. This was the only way home.

Jyou finally calmed down. "I do understand, guys. Thank you." He then said, "But keep in mind… I will be puking one way or another, even if my head is separated from my the rest of my body."

Everyone else laughed with Jyou… except Hikari and…

"AHEM!"

The laughter died down.

Gennai then spoke again, "Remember, Children, the goal is NOT to die as a mortal. Breaking the rules, decapitating a sibling or one with low battle aura… surely you will fail. You must achieve the Quickening for every duel no matter what! AND if any one of you die a mortal, all of you or who ever is left in the Digital World… will forever loose the chance to return to your world."

He took a breath and said very slowly, "The Chosen Children… Generation 07… the DigiDestined of Japan… will not return home. You will be trapped here forever."

~~~

Dojo…

'I the Victor.'

'The Fallen before my feet.'

I kneel down… I wipe the bloody filth from my sword onto the headless corpse.

'Finished.'

~~~

The Troll was not yet finished…

"Now that I have settled this, you may go about your way. You may stay here for a few days to figure it out. I may remind you that you have about the time of a Digital year to get your asses back in your world." Gennai then made his way to the exit.

"One ass would describe it better," I heard Yamato mumble.

"Err… Sora?" It was Taichi.

Surprised, I looked at him, "Yes, Taichi?"

"Could you accompany Hikari to her room? She's… not feeling well."

"Oniisan? I want you to be with me." Hikari pleaded.

"What's wrong, Hikari?" I looked at her in concern. "Are you ill?" I asked. 'Not that I blamed her for hearing all that bullshit from Gennai.'

Taichi spoke for her. "Nothing… She's just tired, for now." He turned to look at Hikari. "Don't worry, Sis. I will be around. I just need to talk to with Yamato. We'll be together when it is dinner time."

"But…" Hikari tried to say but was interrupted by…

Gennai again…

"Child of Knowledge… Child of Purity… Could you two join me for awhile?"

Mimi and Koushiro looked at each other in confusion and then at Gennai.

Gennai added, "Privately."

~~~

Dojo
Present thoughts…

I am still not sure why the old troll wanted to talk to Mimi and Koushiro. Koushiro yes, but Mimi? I could tell that she too was very upset about the whole thing. Hell, everyone was just about as upset and sickened as Hikari. I just wanted to be there for Mimi too. I never got the chance to realize how she was taking all this… Immortals, Souls, and Swords…

'Unless, I do something… How do we even begin?'

I know martial arts. Despite my sword being of European origin, I could easily incorporate my fencing and kendo skills to accommodate my sword. I am not sure how Taichi can wield such a huge sword like the Trident Claw. Yet he handles it as if there was no weight to it. Taichi had only a little experience in martial arts but he was still flexible due to his soccer and weight lifting. Koushiro had studied some Aikido to take care of some bullies that pick on him. He too was flexible in soccer. Hikari, no. Her parents prevented her from participating in any extraneous physical activity because of the fear she might get sick again. I have no idea about the others. Mimi I know for sure does not know martial arts.

…00

…0011

I started to feel and hear the ringing in my head… The signature was familiar…

"Jyou…"

I spun around and brought the edge of my blade just a few millimeters from Jyou's neck.

"Um, I see you are taking this Soul Blade thing seriously," Jyou said.

Still I kept the blade close to his neck…

"Sora?"

…001110

…001010010

"Sora, come on. I did not come here to argue… not to fight either!"

…0111010110100

…001100101011000101

…1010101101110110100001001

"SORA!"

…011110101011111111111101101

"SORA!"

…011111111101101

"SORA!"

…0101000101

…0100

00

"J-Jyou?" I am not sure what happened. I blacked out for a moment, but I was sure I had Jyou in a fatal sword stance… or something.

'Just one stroke to end his pitiful life…'

"DAMN IT!" I finally became aware of my surroundings. I quickly retracted my sword. Instantly the sword disappears. In my hands was my Digivice.

Jyou put his hands down and breathed a sigh of relief. "Sheesh, Sora."

"I-I'm sorry Jyou… I don't know what came over me." In the back of my mind, I tried to rationalize what happened and what I would have done to Jyou. 'Why did I do that? I wanted to see the blood! My God! What's happening to me? Was it because Jyou also likes Mimi?'

"Are you okay, Sora?" he asked.

"What are you doing here, Jyou?" I demanded ignoring his question.

Jyou was taken aback but replied nervously, "Oh, uh nothing. Just thought I take a walk."

I felt a smirk forming on my face. "I see. Can't wait to see Mimi again, huh?"

He turned away shyly and said, "Well… yeah… sort of…" I noticed he was looking in the direction where Gennai took Mimi and Koushiro.

I sighed. "Well, I am sure whatever Gennai wanted to talk to Mimi and Izzy about would be over soon. Hopefully before dinner time."

"Yeah, I guess." He turned to me and asked, "Do you any idea why Gennai wanted to see those two, Sora?"

I shrugged, "Beats me. Probably nothing. He might be just going over some stuff with them that he might do the same for each of us later on."

He smirked and said, "Unless it's about the whole 'Master' Gennai thing."

I couldn't help but laugh. "You noticed that too, huh?"

"Well, Izzy does show admiration for the Old Geezer. However, I am not sure why he used 'Master.' Now Mimi's doing it."

I shrugged. "What can I say? Master Gennai does sound a bit over the top. Probably the Gekomons and Otamamons doing again." I then added, "Right, Judge of Faith?"

Jyou's faced turned sour. "Don't even start!"

I stiffened a laugh and said, "Well, I am sure on Mimi's part that she was showing noble respect for the elderly. She followed suit accordingly by following Izzy's example."

He nodded in agreement, "I guess you right. Especially when Gennai calls us by our Cre-"

"GENNAI! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US?"

"What the-" Jyou was about to say.

"That sounded like-"

"MIMI!" we both said in unison.

That was Mimi! What the hell were they talking about in there? That was the first time I ever heard her use contractions! Both Jyou and I exchanged confused glances at each other and in the direction Mimi's voice was coming from.

"YOU WERE GOING TO LET US LEAVE HERE WITHOUT US KNOWING?"

I did not like this.

Jyou and I scrambled outside through the dojo doors. I came across a giant column of water where the force field and Gennai's home separated. The force field held the water from crashing in and flooding the place. The sound of something I would describe as a pleasant sound of white noise emitted from the water column. The closer I came to the water column, the white noise increased. There was a current that was building up in the column, which increased the white noise as well. Directly across from us was the backside of where Gennai asked Mimi and Koushiro to join him. From the distance I could see Mimi running out. She looked really upset. She sat on one of the bench and started to cry.

"MIMI!" I yelled.

It was no use! The water column made it impossible for my voice to travel through. Also, the column was like a barrier that separated Jyou and I from Mimi. The entire path was blocked. I could not make my way across unless I walked back into the house's maze-like structures and retrace my steps to where Mimi was. That would take time. It would be too dangerous to just break through the force field even if I could. Immortal or not, I couldn't risk it. All I could do was watch Mimi helplessly from a distance.

I don't think she could even see us either. Judging by how the rays of the overhead sun were angled from above, a mirror effect would happen. The column from Mimi's point of view would look like giant liquid mirrored barrier. She would only see her reflection and others around her and not beyond the other side. I have seen this happen. It was useless. She had no idea we were watching her.

I wanted so much to comfort her. It always hurts me when I see her crying. Especially like this. It was when she never makes a sound. Tears pour from her eyes. A look of sadness in her eyes, almost like seeing the sadness of her soul. Never bawling when she was in this state. Never once blinking. Staring at nothing… Just silent tears.

'What was all that she meant about leaving? What did Gennai say to her? And where's Izzy?'

Just then Koushiro appeared and quickly sat down by Mimi's side on the bench. Upon sensing Koushiro's presence, Mimi immediately stood up to face him. Koushiro followed suit. Mimi never did look up to meet his gaze. Tears were still falling from her eyes. Koushiro stepped closer to Mimi. He then gently placed both his hands on the sides of Mimi's face. I saw Koushiro say something to her. I wished I could hear him. Mimi's eyes finally met Koushiro's. More tears flowed from Mimi. Koushiro gently removed some tears. He too had tears forming in his eyes. Mimi did the same by brushing away a few of his tears.

All of a sudden they started to… smile? I watched intently as smiles were finally forming on their faces. There were definitely smiles of joy! This was so… captivating! Koushiro and Mimi so close to each other… This picture was worth a thousand words! All I could guess now that they were close enough to… kiss!

I watched…

Still they haven't moved.

I couldn't help but feel jealous as I watched them together being a bit more… intimate. I guessed I shouldn't be. I knew it would be like this. It was too late for me. It didn't matter though. This was for the best. Koushiro and Mimi were so perfect for each other. Despite the obvious clash of personalities… they do belong to each other.

All I could do was watch…

The only thoughts swimming in my mind were…

'I wished that I was out there.'

'I wished that I was the one…'

'…holding Mi-'

"That sneaky little -uck!" I heard a voice mutter.

'What?'

I finally awoke from my daydream. I realized I had forgotten about Jyou. I looked at Jyou and almost gasped. It was that same look Jyou has when he sees Mimi and Koushiro together. It was even fiercer than before, mainly because his eyes were no longer shielded by thick framed glasses. Yet I could not help but feel sorry for him. I sort of feel the same way. But for me, I couldn't have gotten the chance to begin with. But for Jyou… he tried so hard to make Mimi notice the he liked her a lot. Despite the obvious age difference between the two, Jyou fell in love with the young Mimi. With them being in adult bodies, it was even more apparent.

But Mimi never noticed this. Jyou, like a fool, all this time never actually revealed to Mimi his true feelings for her. Things became worse when Mimi was hanging around with Koushiro a lot now. Not that they were doing anything romantic. Mimi and Koushiro did share the same interests like computers. Not to mention they were the same age with practically close birthdays. That made them become closer friends. That was just that, being friends. However, Jyou thought differently. He was just plain jealous of Koushiro getting all of Mimi's attention. Didn't he realize that he was their closest friend too? Especially when Mimi and Koushiro, next to Hikari and Takeru, were the young ones in our group. They were not into silly crushes and so forth like we elder DigiDestined were. But not in Jyou's eyes.

'That fool! He being the eldest of all should have known better! He shouldn't act this way!'

I sighed. 'I guess it is true of what they say about hormones…'

"Izzy… Stay away from her, you -UCKING FREAK!" Jyou spat in venom.

'Oh no, not this again!' I thought in disgust.

Finally I yelled to him, "JYOU!"

Jyou did not say anything, nor did he even acknowledge my presence anymore. I noticed that he started to frantically feel something around his nose. I was looking at his actions in confusion. Finally I figured out what he was trying to do… He did too. Jyou then stopped with the frantic movements and cursed himself. It took him awhile to realize that he was NOT wearing glasses anymore!

'Poor Jyou…'

Without a word, he stormed off back to the living quarters of Gennai's home. He accidentally… or purposely collided, shoved, and kicked some Otamamon and Gekomon that came across his path. One poor Gekomon got a nasty hit in the groin area… if they had any. However, the Gekomon seemed to regain whatever composure it had and continued on its way. A strange mix of pain, fear, and confusion was kept hidden by its usual awkward joyfulness plastered on its face. As it walked, it staggering a bit to the left… then the right. I guess it was still a nasty hit in some sort of sensitive area.

'Ouch. Poor Frog…'

I shook my head sadly and turned my attention back to the dynamic duo. I continued to watch that very touching scene. They kept themselves in that position for awhile now. Koushiro, with his hands on the sides of Mimi's face… Mimi, holding on to Koushiro's hand… It looked so perfect! Koushiro was now just a few centimeters taller than Mimi was. The both of them were able to stare into each other's eyes… More tears flowed from their eyes. Tears of love. It was like a really sappy cliché soap opera being played out right before my eyes! I figured they finally realized they loved each other.

'I knew Izzy losing his laptop would end up being a good thing!'

'Izzy… so perfect for Mimi…'

'Mimi… so beautiful…'

I waited a bit longer…

They were so close…

'Just kiss.'

They were not moving.

I was tapping my foot…

'ARRGH! Just kiss already, you guys! What are you waiting for?'

They never even moved.

I groaned, "I wished they just would kiss each other now!"

Then as if they heard me, they moved and…

…they hugged each other!

My face faulted and I almost collapsed on the floor. I regained my composure. I shook my head of what had just happened… or what did NOT happen.

'It must be the Crest of Love that was screwing with my mind!'

Finally sighed, "So much for those two to be romantic. Those kids. They wer-"

I trailed off when all of a sudden a strange man appeared from the building Mimi and Koushiro were once in. The stranger looked like a man… It did not look like anyone I have seen before. It sure was not the short balding old Gennai.

'What? Who is that?'

The man looked strange. He was very tall compared to Mimi and Koushiro. He was almost the combined height of the both of them. He wore the same black and red robes with strange protruding cables that Gennai wore. Except these robes were tailored to fit the stranger's towering height. I think he also wore red… sneakers. Still his back was to me. I could not see the face. Only long black hair passing the shoulders. His hands were bare. They were pale white.

'The clothes… Is that who I think it is?'

Mimi and Koushiro released themselves from their embrace and confronted the tall stranger. Both of them were holding each other's hand. Mimi on Koushiro's left and Koushiro on Mimi's right. The two seem to engage in a conversation with the stranger. I could not hear any of what they were saying because of the white noise from the water column being louder now. Mimi and Koushiro were also listening intently. I watched… Mimi seems to smile in relief… Koushiro too… They both hug the stranger. I calmed down. Everything looked fine… I think. Mimi was okay.

Still, I wondered what had happened to upset Mimi. Koushiro too. And who was that? It would seem they know him. I could ask them later at dinnertime. I hoped this stranger appears too. Mimi finally dried her tears. It was then that I finally noticed something very odd about Mimi. Her eyes were… black… Black! The once beautiful caramel-colored eyes of Mimi were gone!

'Black? What's happening here? Has something happened to Mimi's eyes?' Maybe it was just a trick of the light and the water column separating us.

Then Gennai approaches… The same old bald troll!

'If that's Gennai…' I looked at the taller figure with Mimi and Koushiro. 'I did not know there were other humans here! Not that I would consider Gennai human. Unless… Is this stranger also a Digimon?'

Gennai and the Stranger started to walk further in the vastness of Gennai's home. Gennai turned around and gestured for Mimi and Koushiro to follow them. Koushiro and Mimi, still joined hand-in-hand, followed Gennai and the tall stranger. They were walking to another part of Gennai's home that any of us have not yet even ventured to.

I decided that maybe I should follow them… just to be safe. This was all too strange. I was worried about Mimi and Koushiro

'Her black colored eyes were just an illusion, right?'

~~~

Wandering around Gennai's home…

'Shit! Blocked!'

I walked up to yet another set of double doors. I grabbed the doorknob and twisted…

CRACK!

The doorknob broke off in my hands!

"What the hell?" This was not even a door! Just a wall with stupid doorknobs! I turned around to find another why around. Without looking where, I hurled the broken doorknob away…

WHACK!

"Ack!"

I looked across the hallway. 'Now how do I get around here now?'

"Warrior Sora?"

I swirled around to the source of the voice. It was another Gekomon right next to my feet. It was rubbing some sort of sore spot on its head. The spot was red and swelling as if something hard just hit the Digimon. I decided to just ignore the Gekomon. I had better things to take care of. I continued searching for another path to take as I stormed down yet another hallway.

All of a sudden, that same Gekomon walked up in front of me. It gave me that stupid bow again and said, "Sorry to interrupt your… exercise, Warrior Sora, but-"

I just about had enough with this! It was bad enough I couldn't find my way around this stupid place! But being continuously bothered by this Gekomon addressing me with that stupid title was pissing me off!

"GET OUT OF MY WAY, DAMN IT!"

I felt compelled to call forth my Soul Blade and slice that -king frog in half!

The Gekomon quickly made way for me and sprawled itself on the floor. I felt a sudden rush of superiority like a Master to a Slave. A strange alien feeling… and I liked it… Satisfied, I continued my drastic search around the grounds for a way to get to where Mimi and Koushiro walked off with Gennai and that tall stranger.

Yet the Gekomon continued… "Warrior Sora?"

Master… Slave… my ASS!

"WHAT IS IT?"

The Gekomon walked up to face me. It bowed none the less. "By your orders, Warrior Sora. We have retrieved the remnants of your headwear. You wanted us to search for it in the cable car ruins and bring it back to you urgently." As it bowed, it brought up a little blue velour cushion above its head. On the cushion was my…

"My lucky hat!"

It was a gift from my Grandmother…

I seemed to forget all about Mimi and Koushiro. I knew it would take me days to figure out this place. I was sure Mimi and Koushiro were all right. They were in Gennai's care, despite that tall stranger with them. I finally relaxed.

I took my hat from the Gekomon.

The Gekomon put the cushion on the side. While still bowing, it said, "Little to no damage to the fabric. Some of the sewing came loose, but overall in perfect shape, Warrior Sora."

I looked over my hat. Beside it being several sizes too small for my adult head now, it looked in perfect shape from what I could see. The Gekomon surely have keen eyes of a true tailor to see any sewing imperfections. Well, that was what I liked about this hat. It was my Grandmother's hat when she was young. I have my Grandmother's hair too! She gave this hat to me as a gift when I was about four. It was too big then, but I grew into it. Of course I couldn't wear it now. Ever since then, I had worn it for good luck, even though it offers little protection against the elements unless it was chilly weather or hail for that matter. It was very durable and could withstand a lot of damage. It was just as good as new even after Taichi puked in it a long time ago…

'Stupid Tai…'

The Gekomon spoke again, "If you wish, we will repair the damage. Or we can have it modified to that of your current headgear, Warrior Sora."

I remembered the Gekomon had fashioned me a newer hat like my old one that would fit my adult sized head. They did several hats for me. One was actually made like a military Kevlar helmet. I guessed they couldn't get the materials right. Mimi joked and said it could serve as a PASGT Helmet, or Personal Armor System Ground Troops helmet. It still boggled me on how much Mimi knew about this military stuff. The Gekomon agreed to make me a newer one that was softer, more like a wool cap. It was not as sturdy or tough as my Grandmother's hat, but good enough. I still haven't worn it yet. I kept in neatly folded in my coat.

Finally I said to the Gekomon, "It's fine, thank you. No need for repairs."

I decided that if there were any repair sewing to be done to my hat, I would do it myself. On the outside it looked fine. I checked the inside my hat and studied the sewing. There was my name embroidered in red on the inner band. The band sewing was a bit undone but not at all irreparable. I finally noticed that underneath the band was exposed. I folded the band over and saw in red embroidered lettering…

K A S U M I

'My Grandmother's name! I don't believe it!'

All this time I had worn this hat and I only saw my own name embroidered on the band. Well, my Grandmother was the previous owner when she was young. My Grandmother must have sewed the band up for my name. Plus it would fit better on me later on.

I was about to fold the band back in place when I noticed something else. There was something pink embroidered next to my Grandmothers name. I folded the band just a bit to see a shape of…

'What? A heart?'

I finally noticed something strange about the heart. The way it was sewed… The intertwining lines… It resembled the Crest of Love!

"The Crest of Love?" This was all confusing!

"I beg your pardon, Warrior Sora?" I heard the Gekomon say.

I ignored the frog. Realization hit me as I tried to put the pieces together… "Was my Grandmother part of the DigiDestined before us?"

'And, what about Izzy and Mimi… and the others…'

"Oh sshh-"

To be continued…