Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Diminished Light: Void's Assault ❯ Forgotten World ( Chapter 2 )

Diminished Light: Void's Assault

Chapter 2

Forgotten World

By

Sailor Janus

 

 

The night sky bore down upon a small shopping plaza, whose many stores were beginning to close their doors for the evening. Several people clung to the outer edges of the sidewalk near the shops; talking, smoking and in short, loitering. Hikari slowed to a walk when she felt she had achieved enough distance between her and the apartment.

 

Her entire body ached thanks to her jump. She was surprised that the bush didn't do worse damage other than cuts and scratches. Her wound from the letter opener however was the worst pain of them all. Loss of blood plus lack of nutrition did not bode well to her survival. Her head was spinning and more than anything she wanted to vomit.

 

She was thankful that she had never unpacked her backpack from her previous escape attempt. That small thing may have saved her. Of course, that may have also been why Nitoni had snapped like he did. Since she never did unpack, he was suspecting her of leaving again. The young woman sighed, stumbling slightly as she stepped off a curb. Having a pair of shoes stashed by the bag also did wonders. Normally the shoes were lined up at the front door, but just like with her bag, she was prepared. Now if only she could do something about her cut and find someplace to stay.

 

“I think I'm going to be sick.” Hikari pressed a hand to her forehead and winced as she realized she had probably scratched it on the sharp branches of the shrubbery. She was tired and knew that she couldn't walk forever. “Maybe I can see if Mai wouldn't mind me staying with her…. not that I actually know where she lives or anything…. damn it.”

 

Her mind felt so cloudy that she swore she didn't know how much longer she could continue without falling over. A bitter laugh erupted from her throat as she thought about how pathetic she must look. Any passerby would probably suspect her of being drunk. Then again, that fact was no laughing matter. That suspicion was liable enough to get her hurt or killed. It was already after dark, and anyone with intelligence would know that wandering around the streets at night was not the smartest thing to do.

 

So tired… I just want to stop and sleep… No. I can't do that. I have to keep going. Can't stop… can't sleep. Have to keep going. Have to keep going. Can't… Hikari faltered mid-step and fell to the dirty sidewalk scraping her palms as she tried to catch herself. The young woman clenched her eyes shut, trying to block the tears that were threatening to seep out between her eyelids.

 

A picture of the same six children flooded her mind again. This time they were at a beach. It was a bright sunny day with a soft breeze. The girl wearing glasses was staring out in the distance at the taller boy she seemed to have a crush on who was trying to keep his balance on a surf board as he rode a fairly high wave. His chin length hair was matted down, several strands plastered to his face. The girl had a laptop on her lap and seemed to have been writing a message to someone. Near her, the smaller boy was constructing a rather impressive looking sand castle that looked like something out of a fairytale.

 

The blonde boy and the boy with the goggles were off to the side playing a rather competitive game of beach volleyball. The brown haired girl stood from afar, cheering them on and snapping pictures of everyone with her camera. She gasped when the tanned boy accidentally hit the other one in the face with the ball. Everyone paused for a minute wondering what was going to happen.

 

The blue-eyed blonde however narrowed his eyes as he grabbed a bottle of water and unscrewed the top. He then took a step closer to his opponent, said `good game,' and splashed the icy water on him.

 

The boy with the goggles yelled in shock and snatched up his bottle, throwing the contents on the blonde. They both paused for a moment and burst out laughing, shivering slightly, but laughing nonetheless. The two boys looked at the group then at the brown haired girl and whispered something to each other. Still armed with the bottles half full of water, they charged towards the camera girl. She screamed and ran as fast as she could, losing her sandals as she went.

 

Unfortunately for her, the boys caught up in a matter of seconds. Before she knew it, she had an unpleasant icy sensation rolling down her neck and back. The girl shrieked loudly and started giggling helplessly as more water rushed down her face. She then whipped her head around like a dog, spraying them back with whatever water was not clinging to her hair. All three of them collapsed on the sand laughing uncontrollably.

 

 

Hikari groaned as she opened her eyes and blinked, realizing she was looking at cement. She frowned and sat back on her heels. I must have blacked out. She stood up and stumbled a few more steps until she found a small bench outside a restaurant. She sighed and practically fell on it as she sat down. The young woman drew a breath, pulled her knees to her chest, and buried her face in them. Her arm was still throbbing, but she didn't care anymore. All she cared about was staying as far away from Nitoni as humanly possible.

 

“Hey, Hikari. Are you okay?”

 

The young woman weakly lifted her head and wished she hadn't. Looking down at her was the same guy from the park. She immediately jumped up and began backing away from him. “Get away from me! Leave me alone, you stalker!”

 

“Take it easy. I just want to help you,” Daisuke said, putting his hands up in surrender.

 

“Yeah, right.” Hikari took a few more steps back and suddenly lost her footing. She started to fall backwards only to be caught by the wrist by the same strange man. She stilled for a moment then realized that he was touching her. “Get your hands off me,” she snapped but lost most of her conviction as another dizzy spell took over.

 

The soccer player noticed her sway as if she was about to faint any moment and fought to maintain his grasp so she didn't hurt herself. “You're not okay. Just listen to me for a moment because I have to show you something.”

 

Hikari pressed her free hand to her face feeling utterly ill. “Please…. Leave me be. Go away.”

 

“I can't.”

 

The young woman frowned at his words. There was a rather odd look in his brown eyes. Determination, frustration….concern? Fear? She couldn't fully tell at this point. She felt like she was about to lose consciousness any moment. “Let me go.”

 

Daisuke gave her a pitying look then reached in his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He flipped it open and shoved it in Hikari's face. “This is what I've been wanting to show you. I don't know what has happened to you and your memories, but you can trust me. You used to after all.”

 

A gasp escaped her raw throat as she stared at the photographs. They look rather old and a bit tattered but smiling up at her were the same six children she was having visions of. But how could he have known? I never told anyone… She paused in mid-thought as her brown eyes fell upon the brunette girl with the camera. She blinked and gaped at the young girl. “It can't be….”

 

“That's you, Hikari.” Daisuke simply said, pointing to the girl with the cheerful smile as she stood between the boy with the goggles and the blonde wearing a fisherman's hat. He then moved his finger to the boy to her left. “And that's me. I also have a picture of all of us with your brother too.” He paused for a moment and flipped to the next picture. Sure enough Taichi was there along with her and the other children. It looked like they were at a park.

 

“But….how? I don't remember any of this.”

 

“That's what I'm trying to figure out.” He pulled her gently towards the bench so she wouldn't fall over and sat her down. “I'd be lying worse than the time I kicked a soccer ball through the science lab window at school if I told you that I wasn't worried about you. Hell, my ramen went cold because I was too busy thinking about the other day in the park and how you seemed to have forgotten everything.” Daisuke gave her a silly grin, which perfectly resembled the one the boy in the goggles usually had on his face.

 

The young woman frowned and felt her head pulsing horribly. “But…” She groaned fell off to the side barely giving the Chosen Children leader enough time to catch her before she could hit the ground.

 

“HIKARI!” Daisuke was thankful he had been quick enough, sliding to his knees as he firmly held her by the waist. It was then, however, that he noticed the blood that had seeped through the thin gray jacket on her left arm. He frowned and sat her back on the bench, leaning her against him so he could slip the heavy backpack off her shoulders. “Hikari?” The soccer star shook her gently but she didn't respond. He checked her pulse and released a breath of relief to find that it was still steady.

 

What the hell happened to her? He pulled away and held her by the shoulders. His brown eyes narrowed at the small scratches on her pretty face and red marks on her neck, which made him silently curse. Her hair, which was usually shiny and healthy looking, now resembled straw at best. It was so stringy that it could probably be used as dental floss. She looked so thin and pale that he was afraid if he used too much pressure that she might break. At that moment, more than anything Daisuke wanted to kill something, but resisted. Hikari needed him now and blowing his temper would do neither of them any good.

 

Unfortunately, now that he had found her again and she could no longer run away, he had no idea what to do with her. He couldn't just leave her there. She was bleeding, and seemed to be really sick. Since he didn't know what was causing it, taking her to the police or the hospital wouldn't be a good idea because they'd ask questions and possibly take her back to wherever she was running from.

 

He was grateful that she still had her D3 and D-Terminal whether she realized it or not. Otherwise he wouldn't have been able to track her down as easily. He hadn't bothered to look at it the first time he ran into her, mainly because he wasn't expecting to see her. However after he had made up his mind to find her, he decided that the adjustments Koushiro had done on them made tracking a lot easier. Daisuke made a face at her backpack and realized that it was probably somewhere inside since she seemed to have forgotten about Digimon and their Digital World all together.

 

Okay, she passed out, now what? Am I going to have to turn into Super Daisuke and whisk her away to safety like some cheesy super hero? Great. And me without my cape. Daisuke heaved a sigh and swung her bag over his shoulders. He paused a moment to adjust the straps then carefully scooped Hikari into his arms. He glanced down at her in concern then headed off to find a cab. Hopefully they would buy the story of the girl just being really tired. He didn't feel like spending a night in jail for kidnapping. Of course, unless she believed those pictures, that's exactly what might happen. Damn heroics.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Fear ignited in the young woman's brown eyes and she stood paralyzed against a wall. Nitoni was slowly approaching her with a menacing look in his pale blue eyes. The room they were in was fairly dim, but the long jagged blade of the dagger he held glistened deadly against the little light that shone, illuminating the savage weapon.

 

Nitoni chuckled and ran his lips against the blade. “Kiss of death, darling.”

 

Hikari fought to scream, move, do anything, but her body refused to respond. Instead she stared in disbelief as hot tears rushed from her eyes. Just as the blade was about to be forced into her body however, the wall evaporated and she fell through into a room filled with bright light.

 

Oddly enough when Hikari opened her eyes, she wasn't in a room but a park sitting next to the girl with glasses and lavender colored hair as warm streams of sunlight glowed down upon them. They were watching and cheering on the two boys playing a competitive game of soccer.

 

“Hikari?” The girl looked at her friend who was staring out into the field.

 

“Huh?” Hikari turned to face the girl but never received an answer as the soccer ball shot towards them and nailed Hikari in the face.

 

“HIKARI! HIKARI!”

 

“Hikari? Are you awake?”

 

She opened her eyes again and felt her face where the ball hit her, but there was no pain. She then looked at the boy sitting next to her and realized that it was her brother. He was wearing his goggles on his head again and looked much younger. “Yes.” She glanced hesitantly around and saw what looked like a strange cat in her lap then noted that they were somewhere outside as if they were camping.

 

“Good. I just wanted to tell you that no matter what happens-” Taichi began but his voice was fading away. “And….”

 

“Taichi, I can't hear you,” she said, but he never paused to repeat himself.

 

Suddenly Nitoni appeared from the shadows and Hikari scrambled to get away. “Taichi! RUN!” But it was too late. The man had already plunged the dagger into her brother's back before the boy had a chance to move. Blood drizzled off the blade like thick water as he pulled it out of the boy who fell lifeless to the ground. Hikari tried to scream but her voice was once again useless.

 

A horrified gasp erupted from her throat as she lifted her head and realized that she was now at school. Everyone in the classroom was staring at her with confused or amused expressions on their faces including the boy with the goggles and the blonde. Hikari blushed and rubbed her face. “Sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep.”

 

The teacher narrowed his eyes sternly at her. “I had better expectations of you, Miss Yagami. Sleeping in class is something I would expect out of Motomiya. Not you. Detention.”

 

“Hey!” The boy with the goggles made a face as if insulted but fell silent when the teacher gave him an annoyed look.

 

Once the teacher had departed for the blackboard, the boy gave Hikari a reassuring look and mouthed that he has detention too.

 

Hikari squirmed in her seat afraid of how her parents would react to the slip of paper they were going to have to sign. She knew brother had had several detentions throughout his years. In fact he was still getting them, but still, just like the teacher, they too had better expectations of her. She sighed drearily before nodding off once again.

 

This time she was running for what felt like her life. From what? She wasn't sure and deep down didn't want to know. Somehow she had ended up on a roof of a strange building. She cursed silently, but knew she didn't have much of a choice so she jumped, praying she would land on the roof of the building adjacent to the one she was on. Unfortunately, she didn't completely make it and instead found herself clinging to the edge.

 

Just as she managed to pull herself up, someone stabbed her left hand with a knife. She cried out in pain and glanced up to find herself face to face with Nitoni. He pulled the blade out then stomped on the fingers of her other hand, forcing her to let go. Hikari screamed all the way down as she fell.

 

 

 

A shriek exploded from Hikari's throat as she thrashed in fear. The sound of frantic footsteps forced her to sit upright. She panted clutching her chest, feeling a thick stream of sweat roll down her back. Just then someone shouted her name as they raced for her.

 

“Hikari! Are you okay?” Daisuke looked at her in concern rushing to her side.

 

The young woman's eyes flew open and she screamed again. “GET AWAY FROM ME! HELLLP-” Her cry was silenced however as the man clapped a hand over her mouth.

 

“Wow, you're soaked.” He shook his head and looked apologetically at her. “Never mind. Hikari, I know you still don't remember me, but I want to help you and I swear to you, I won't hurt you. And I know it might be a lot to ask, but trust me.”

 

Hikari however clawed at his hand in an attempt to remove it, but even when she drew blood, he wouldn't budge. Tears suddenly rushed from her brown eyes as she began to panic.

 

Daisuke cursed then gently brushed the tears from her face. “You know I hate it when you cry, especially when I'm the reason you're crying. It's like the time I accidentally hit you with the soccer ball and knocked you off the table you were sitting on at the park. You wouldn't believe how bad I felt about that.” He gave her a half smile then handed her a vase of pink, purple, and blue flowers that was sitting on the bedside table. She gave him an odd look as if asking what they were for. “To help you get better. Listen, if I take my hand away do you promise not to scream? I know you're probably scared of me, but you had fainted and I couldn't just leave you there where you would have gotten seriously hurt or even killed. If you don't believe me, look at your arm.”

 

The frightened woman blinked and glanced at her left arm. Her sleeve seemed to have been cut away and the wound from the letter opener was now bandaged with thick gauze and tape. She frowned at Daisuke in disbelief and handed the flowers back to him.

 

“Sorry about your shirt but I'll cut the other sleeve off if you want too that way they'll match.”

 

Hikari solemnly gazed down at the colorful pastel blanket in shades of blue, green, cream, peach, and gold covering her lap. Everything was now so confusing that she couldn't tell what was what anymore. There she was with some crazy guy who insisted that he knew her when they were kids. All of this because her ex-boyfriend tried to kill her. Fate really had some interesting ways to give her a headache. What choice do I have anymore? Although I have to admit, the look in his eyes is completely different from Nitoni's. Damn it. Why did my life have to get turned completely upside down? She closed her eyes for a moment and sighed realizing that the man did have a point. If he wanted to kill her, he would have done it already. With that thought in mind she turned her focus to him and finally nodded.

 

“Good.” Slowly Daisuke removed his hand and watched her carefully just in case she decided to bolt for the door or something. He pulled up a chair, facing the back of it to the bed and sat on it leaning his arms over the back. He studied her face for a moment then spoke again. “That must have been one hell of a nightmare. I was afraid the neighbors were going to send the police. You thrash really badly in your sleep.”

 

Hikari however said nothing and instead stared at her hands. Tears flooded her eyes and slid down her cheeks. Daisuke tried to reach out to her but she jerked away and snapped at him. “Don't touch me!” She stared at him as her respiration increased, widening her eyes in terror.

 

“Okay, sorry,” the athlete said sheepishly and rested his hand on the back of the chair again.

 

The silent tears soon turned into heart wrenching sobs as Hikari buried her face in her hands. Once again she felt trapped and like a prisoner. Only this time, instead of being with her homicidal ex, she was now with some insane stranger who insisted that he knew her and even has pictures of her as a kid. She felt so sick and her head was spinning so badly that she just wanted to curl up and die.

 

“Here. This might help.”

 

She sniffled loudly and looked up at the young man only to discover that he was trying to give her a bottle of water. She wiped her eyes and hiccupped slightly but shook her head at him.

 

“Don't be stubborn or you'll just get dehydrated. Then you're going to feel dizzy again.”

 

“I don't care. I already feel dizzy.”

 

Daisuke snorted. “With your injury, I don't doubt it.”

 

Hikari glared at him. “I didn't exactly plan on being stabbed today WITH A DAMN LETTER OPENER!”

 

“You were WHAT?” The young man gaped at her in horror.

 

“Shit. Just forget it.” Hikari crossed her arms and turned her head away from him. She had quite enough of the interrogations and such. Now she actually wished that she hadn't moved when Nitoni tried to kill her. Damn reflexes.

 

Daisuke rose to his feet with an unidentifiable look on his face, as if he were trying to hold something back. He set the water on the table and without a single word went in the bathroom, closing the door quickly behind him. “SON OF A…. ARGH!” His voice rang out as the sound of something being slammed, possibly a fist into a wall, followed.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Hikari's angry words repeated in Daisuke's head as he glowered at his throbbing hand. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself, but it was doing little of any good. He sank down to the floor and leaned his back against the beige bathroom wall, focusing his gaze on the small white sink. I should have been there. I should have frigging been there to help her.

 

His breathing slowed gradually and he hoped he didn't scare her with his outburst, but he couldn't hold his fury back any longer. She had been stabbed, was covered in cuts and scratches, looking pretty much like death warmed over. How exactly was he supposed to feel? Giddy? Now all he wanted to do was find whoever hurt Hikari and tear them limb from limb then toast marshmallows over the burning corpse. Nah, might give the marshmallows a really nasty flavor. And I wouldn't want to feed it to any animals since they might end up with a bad case of indigestion.

 

Once he had a dark chuckle out of that idea, the Bearer of Miracles then reflected back to the other Chosen Children. He wondered how they would react to Hikari's current state, especially her brother. Crap. Taichi would explode if he knew that someone had tried to kill his sister. Maybe I should wait awhile before sharing the news with him. Daisuke swallowed thickly at a mental image of the Bearer of Courage losing his head…. then of him going full out assassin mode complete with a samurai sword, katana, machine guns, rifles, and explosives looking like something out of a bad action flick. Just picturing it was enough to make one quiver in fear. Definitely NOT telling Taichi yet. Not until I figure out what has happened to Hikari.

 

He looked down at the back of his right hand and laughed lightly at the claw marks. “I'd say Tailmon has been giving her tips if I didn't already know that she has forgotten about the Digital World.” Feeling better, he climbed to his feet and turned on the sink to clean his hands. Just thinking about her Digimon was enough to sober him. With thoughts back to his own partner, V-mon, he realized that the cat digimon was probably still in the Digital World. In fact, when was the last time he heard from the little blue guy? He'd have to worry about whatever was going on in the Digital World later. Right now, the Chosen of Light was his main concern. Hikari swears? What strange, alternate universe have I stumbled into and when can I go back home? Ugh, I'm getting off track again. Still, it's so surreal to hear her curse when she used to lecture me on using swear words worse than my own mother!

 

Daisuke froze for a moment as something flashed in his eyes. He shook his head then dried his hands and stepped out into the main room of the pastel toned motel room.

The soccer player peered down at Hikari who was once again sound asleep in the bed. His eyes glistened as he approached her sleeping form and gazed down at her peaceful face. Despite the cuts and scratches, he thought she still looked beautiful and probably always will. At that moment he felt like he was about to cry. He could tell that she had been through a lot, probably more than he realized and definitely more than she deserved. She was different from the way she used to be. Her light seemed like it was fading into nonexistence. That mere thought hurt him the most. He wanted to see her warm and friendly smile again.

 

He knew it was going to be difficult, especially to help Hikari trust him and find her memories again, but no matter what, he would do all he could to help her. He swore he would see her smile once again. Until then, he would simply be her best friend because right now, it seemed like she could use all the friends she could get.

 

The Chosen of Miracles placed a hand softly on hers and rubbed the back of it with his thumb. “Don't be afraid, Hikari. I'll protect you this time. I promise.” He brushed a few strands of hair from her face then moved to the corner of the room near the television set and took a seat on his blankets.

 

I should try contacting the others and see if they have any idea what the hell is going on. If they have also forgotten me, and the Digital World I think I might die of a heart attack. With that thought in mind he pulled out his laptop and started typing.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Author's Notes: I hope you enjoyed the newest chapter. I have put a lot of thought into this and it's going to be more than likely a lot more complex than it seems as the tension continues building.