Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Diminished Light: Void's Assault ❯ Emotions ( Chapter 7 )

Diminished Light: Void's Assault

Chapter 7

Emotions

By

Sailor Janus

 

 

After several minutes of tears, everyone went back inside. Taichi sat on the floor facing his sister as he wrapped her hands back up. He contented to Daisuke sitting next to her. After all, if it hadn't been for the leader of the second group of Chosen Children, he may not a sister to fix up. Yamato continued trying to reach their comrades as Sora was making a batch of tea.

 

“Hikari, I want you to listen to me,” Taichi began with a rather serious look on his face as he finished taping up her left hand. “I know you don't like to bring other people into your problems, but please tell us what happened to you. Why are you so upset? I promise that I'll do all I can to make things better and if you want, we don't have to tell Mom and Dad. Okay?”

 

The young woman glanced at her brother and turned away as if ashamed. “You don't want to know, Big Brother.”

 

Taichi sighed and sat on the other side of her. Daisuke at this point was staring off into space. He'd have to have a talk with him next. “From what the others say, you were attacked, is that true? By an ex-boyfriend?”

 

Hikari sucked in a breath and focused on her freshly bandaged hands. “Yes, it wasn't official since I was still living with him because I had no place to go.”

 

“Okay, that's a start. What happened?”

 

“He-he was a chef and thought that everything was more important than me. I lived with him for two years and knew him for three. Things were good for a while, then something went wrong and I ended up being ignored and isolated at the apartment. All the money I made at my stupid part-time job went towards bills while he could spend his on whatever he desired.” She paused a moment and took a few shallow breaths. “He told me he loved me, but never really showed it anymore. Then I found out one day that he had been cheating on me with people online.”

 

Taichi nodded and said dryly, “I'll bet that it was some big breasted, blonde bimbo with long legs, and the IQ the size of her cup size.”

 

“Taichi! Don't be a pig,” Sora said as she set the tray of tea down on the coffee table and glared at him.

 

Hikari's head snapped up at the sound of a new voice, but didn't seem to mind the other woman hearing the conversation. She gave her a small smile as if suggesting her to stay before she continued. “Well, it was actually another man and half the time I was sitting next to Nitoni while he talked with the guy on the computer. He never acted the least bit guilty.”

 

“Oh. Well, I take back what I said earli…wait. He was cheating on you with you sitting right next to him in plain sight? I don't care who the guy is or who he prefers but that is just sick! You don't cheat on someone especially when the other person is in the same damn room sitting right next to you….not that I've ever cheated on anyone before…but that is wrong and really rude.” Taichi stared at his sister with the silliest look she had ever seen on his face in a mixture of bewilderment and disgust. Daisuke wore a similar expression. He paused a moment, cleared his throat, and scratched his head. “Aside from all that, why did he care if you left him or not since he wasn't interested in you anymore to begin with?”

 

“ I don't know. He never brought it up and pretty much treated me more like a pet or a sister than anything else. But he still insisted he loved me even though more often than not, he'd ignore me, yet he had to know my whereabouts at all times. I felt like a child yet I was the one spending more than my share of money on bills. I couldn't even buy a book without feeling guilty about the idea of possibly not having enough money left to pay the bills. I just didn't understand it. I still don't. He was never honest with me on anything. Sometimes I wonder if he was just using me as a cover or something…” She ran a hand through her hair and shook her head. “Well, I-I was getting tired of him and the lying and the sneaking. At that point I refused to eat the food he brought home to me from work. I didn't care if it was my only meal for the day, I just didn't want anything from him. After a while I decided to leave. I mean why should he care where I go? He has enough to live off of. The-the-then things got worse.” Her voice grew weaker as she continued to recount the events of the faithful day she ran into Daisuke. Hikari paused for a moment drawing a shaky breath as she finished retelling the rest of the day. She bit her lip and seemed panicked as she struggled to say anymore. Tears soaked her brown eyes again and she squirmed uneasily in her seat.

 

Taichi noticed the immediate change and gave her a reassuring smile, trying to prompt her onward. He rubbed her back, causing her to jump in shock. “It's okay, Hikari. Just spit it out. The sooner you do so, the better chance we have of helping you.”

 

She drew a deep breath and released it slowly. “A-as the days passed, I guess I became more and more depressed. I stopped eating all together started scratching myself…and-and had some occasional thoughts when things were bad. Th-then one day, the day I was found again, Nitoni snapped. I don't know why, but he did. I was so terrified… I was just trying to leave the room, and he accused me of attempting to leave him again. I-I argued against it and he said something about us being like Romeo and Juliet then he tried to stab me with a letter opener. I moved at the last second s-so it grazed my arm instead. He-he tried to pull it out, b-but it was stuck…so he-he decided to strangle me instead.” Tears fell from her eyes and she began to shake. “I-I-I tried to make him let me go. Finally I managed to knee him in the groin and punched him in the face. Th-then I ran into the bedroom, grabbed my stuff, and jumped out of the window. I-I-I didn't care where I went as long as I was away from him. He-he-he tried to kill me. Twice. He never hit me before or anything so the least likely thing I expected was him trying to k-k-k-kill me.” Hikari broke off, barely able to speak anymore as she began to sob again. “W-w-why? If he didn't love me, why did he-he want me? He didn't need me. Why couldn't he j-j-just let me go? I just wanted to go.”

 

By the time she had finished her story however, both Taichi and Daisuke and even Yamato appeared ready to hunt the guy down and kill him with their bare hands. Neither of them said it, but it was very evident that the Chosen of Light had been merely used as a tool and nothing more. It also seemed that Nitoni had an obsessive-compulsive problem and made it seem to him that she was piece of property for him to do as he pleased with no matter how unpleasant for her it was. This realization was best unmentioned for the moment until Hikari had a chance to come to term with things and heal.

 

The Chosen of Courage instead drew a breath and placed his hands on his sister's. “Listen to me, Hikari. I know you've been through a lot, but you should know that you can trust everyone in this room. In fact there are seven or eight other people that you can trust and would not dream of hurting you. Not to mention, your ex has no clue where you are now. You're safe.”

 

The young woman sniffled and looked at her brother with tear-stained eyes. “If you say so.”

 

“Yamato and Sora through the years have thought of you as much their little sister as my own. The same goes for Koushiro, Mimi, and Jyou.”

 

Hikari bit her lip and glanced briefly at the other young man sitting quietly next to her. “And what about him?” She gestured towards the younger leader with an inquiring look on her face.

 

Taichi froze for a moment as he contemplated just what to tell his baby sister who still did not remember a single thing of her youth. He turned to Yamato and Sora who both shrugged in response. “Well, Daisuke is pretty much the best friend you have ever had. He's been with you through thick and thin and as you can could see, he won't leave you hanging.” He paused then added, “In fact, I think I need to have a talk with him right about now.”

 

Daisuke shifted his gaze towards the Chosen of Courage and blinked in surprised. “Now?”

 

“It's as good a time as any, Daisuke.”

 

The spiky haired brunette stood up and hesitantly followed Taichi out onto the balcony leaving Hikari with alone with Sora as Yamato trailed after the other two men.

 

 

 

Daisuke gazed out into the streets as the older Chosen Children shut the door behind him. His mouth quirked into a smirk and he folded his arms behind his head as he addressed the other two young men. “So, are we having a male bonding session or what?”

 

“You know exactly why we wanted to talk to you,” Yamato firmly said, withdrawing a cigarette from the package in his pocket. He lit it and shrugged as Taichi raised an eyebrow at him.

 

“No, I don't. All I know is everyone is worried about Hikari, but who wouldn't be?”

 

“Damn it, Daisuke. We're concerned about you.” Yamato lit his cigarette and took a long drag off it. “You constantly do this and it's not healthy.”

 

“Neither is what you're doing,” the younger man scoffed in reply earning a glare from the musician.

 

Taichi scratched his head and shuffled his feet. “Look, everyone knows you care about Hikari. A lot. No matter how hard you may try to deny it or push the memories of the past away, the evidence is still there. You need to stop trying to forget everything and remember how things used to be.”

 

“Like either of you actually do that.” Daisuke narrowed his eyes at his friends, feeling sick and tired of being the one that was always interrogated and preached to. “Taichi, you're trying to hide behind a suit and pretend to be something you're not. Yamato is living in a dream of being a rock star while working at minimum wages jobs to just make ends meet! He barely talks to Sora who seems to have some sort of complex going on with her as well and I can't forget to mention the fact that he and the baby brother whom he once adored, NOW HATE EACH OTHER!”

 

The response the hotheaded Chosen Child was greeted with was a solid punch in the face. Taichi then grabbed Yamato, trying to restrain him before a full fight could break out.

 

“Knock it off, both of you.” The leader closed his eyes and shook his head. “This is ridiculous and is in no way going to help Hikari.” He growled under his breath and pulled his best friend back a bit. “Both of you need to calm down now.”

 

“He's the one who hit me,” Daisuke hissed, gingerly touching his cheek. “I just want to know why the hell he's not talking to Takeru.”

 

“And it's none of your business,” Yamato glowered. “You're too busy crying over Hikari to notice anything, anyway.”

 

It was Daisuke's turn to snap. Without even thinking he shoved the blonde as hard as he could, sending Taichi stumbling to the ground on his butt in the process. The Chosen of Friendship then grabbed the younger Chosen Child by the shirt and shook him roughly. Daisuke spat at him, too blinded by anger to care any less as fire ignited in his brown eyes. “I'm sick of you people treating me like I'm a stupid half-wit. You're the one who hasn't spoken to your brother and from the looks of it, it's got to be a really pathetic reason.”

 

“You shouldn't talk,” Yamato threw a punch at the other man who evaded it. “You don't know what's it's like.”

 

“Really? News flash, Yamato. Takeru still has his damn memories. Hikari has absolutely no clue who the hell I am. She at least knows who her own brother is. But everything else? Scratched.” The Bearer of Miracles tightened his grip on Yamato's shirt with one hand. “So what has gone wrong between you and Takeru?”

 

“None of your business.”

 

The fight continued on and didn't halt until Daisuke got socked in the gut and fell to his knees. He gasped and glanced up only to realize that Hikari was standing in the doorway looking at them. Her face was blank, although there was a rather eerie glow in her eyes. “Hi-Hikari?”

 

She took a shaky step forward and continued to stare out into space as though she couldn't see at all. Her voice became high and child-like as she spoke, reminding them slightly of the younger Hikari. “D-Digimon.”

 

Taichi's jaw dropped and he searched around, but there were no sign of any digital monsters. “Where? Do you see any digimon, Hikari?”

 

Yamato frowned at Daisuke. “I thought you said she didn't remember the digimon.”

 

The younger man scratched his head as a confused expressed crossed his face. “She didn't.”

 

The young woman took another step forward and point at her brother. “Surrendered.” She then turned to Yamato and did the same. “Loathing.” Then it was Daisuke's turn. “Doubting.” After that she faced the apartment where Sora was still inside trying to contact the other Chosen Children. “Insecure.” Lastly touched her chest, placing her hand over her heart and closed her eyes as if pained. “Fearful.”

 

“Hikari? Are you okay?” Her brother for the first time in the long time felt rather anxious about his sister. Something about her actions was oddly familiar.

 

She didn't reply to his question and instead lifted her face to the sky. The wind abruptly picked up, whipping her long hair across her face as she continued. “Withdrawn. Uncertain. Hiding. Despair. Angry. Denial. Lost. Vindictive. Afraid. Worthlessness. Apathy. Self-blame. Broken. Trapped. Hateful.” Suddenly she began to emit a faint glow. “Crying. Desperate. Help.”

 

Everyone was so thunderstruck that they didn't realize that she was falling to the ground. Quickly Daisuke slid on his knees and caught her. He looked at her now pale face and peered back up at his two friends who seemed to be attempting to shake themselves out of whatever it was that Hikari was trying to tell them. “What was that all about?”

 

Yamato was the first to actually respond and leaned back against the railing in thought. “I'm not sure. It sounded like she was addressing an emotion with each of us at the beginning but the others…. she said more than twelve.”

 

“Maybe some of the digimon fit into the description? I mean she did say Digimon. Maybe the others were for one or more digimon.” Taichi got to his feet and shook his head then winced in pain. “The next time you two decide to duke it out, I'm staying as far away as possible with a cell phone handy to call the emergency room if need be.”

 

“Sorry,” Daisuke apologized softly, still cradling Hikari in his arms. He pursed his lips and narrowed his brow. “I guess we really are going to the Digital World if Hikari said Digimon.”

 

“What?” Her eyes fluttered open and she glanced around as if perplexed over her surroundings. “How-how did I get here?”

 

“You don't remember?”

 

“Remember what?” She touched her head and groaned. “Ow. My head hurts.” It was only at that moment that she realized that Daisuke was holding her. “Um, can you let me go?” There was a faint tint in her cheeks as she bit her lip.

 

The young man blinked then frantically obliged, not wanting to make her anymore uncomfortable than she already was. “Sorry.”

 

“It's okay. I guess I must have fainted again.” She sighed and ran her hands over her face. “I really need to stop doing that or one of these days I'll wake up with a concussion.”

 

“Better than being in a coma. Otherwise, you wouldn't wake up for a while,” Daisuke shrugged. Hikari raised an eyebrow at him and appeared as if she were trying to determine whether he was being serious or attempting to make a joke.

 

“Let's get you back inside.” Taichi rose to his feet and approached the glass sliding door only to find himself face to face with Takaishi Takeru, the Chosen of Hope. “Hey, Takeru.”

 

 

 

The younger blonde haired man shuffled his feet nervously and dug his hands deep into the pockets of his large jeans. He wished he hadn't been so impulsive to take a taxi over to his brother's place, but by the time he thought of turning on his heel and head back to his dorm, he was already at the front door knocking. Takeru concentrated on the floor, trying to avoid his older brother's gaze. “Hi, Taichi. I don't think I'm going to stay long, but I just wanted to see how Hikari was doing. Sora seemed kind of frantic on the phone so I decided to come by.”

 

The young woman stepped past her brother and blinked at she looked at Chosen Child that was practically like her twin brother once, but her eyes showed no recognition in them. “Hello. Um, I'm sorry, but I don't remember who you are.”

 

Takeru's mouth fell open as he took in Hikari's appearance. She had definitely grown up and looked more beautiful than he could last remember, but that description stopped when his blue eyes discovered the lack of glow to her skin and eyes. Sora is right. She does look half dead. He realized a moment later that he was staring. Quickly, he plastered a grin on his face and ran a hand through his hair. “It's okay. I'm Takaishi Takeru. We were friends when we were kids. I just heard you had been through a lot so I decided to drop by, but I'll see you tomorrow.”

 

Daisuke gently brushed by Hikari and walked up to Takeru. He narrowed his gaze at the blonde and cocked his head to the side. “Hey, Takeru. I need to discuss something with you outside. Right now.”

 

The other young man blinked, but found himself yanked away and out the front door by his shirt cuff. “Daisuke, what are you doing? If this is about Hikari-”

 

“Why is it that whenever I want to talk about something, people always think it's about Hikari? It's getting really annoying.” The spiky haired brunette stopped dragging the Bearer of Hope once they were a good distance away from the apartment. He turned his face towards the sky and took a deep breath.

 

Takeru watched him for a moment and withdrew a cigarette from his shirt pocket. “So, what do you want to talk about then?”

 

Daisuke glanced towards the writer who was lighting his cigarette and raised an eyebrow. “Are you trying to be Yamato's clone or something?”

 

That earned the Chosen Child leader a cold glare. “Shut up. I don't want to discuss my damn older brother. Shit, I knew this was going to happen. I shouldn't have come.”

 

“You swear now too? Gee, the world really is going down the toilet.”

 

Takeru scoffed. “Who doesn't swear nowadays anyway?”

 

“Hikari doesn't fit under that list anymore.”

 

The Chosen of Hope nearly choked. “No way. She used to get at you when we were in high school, even if all you said was damn.”

 

“Yeah, well that's changed even more.”

 

“Oh, wow. Has Taichi heard her?”

 

“No. Good thing too. So far she has only said `damn' around him, and that started back in high school. Not such a big deal since she'd say it off and on when frustrated about something.”

 

Takeru nodded as he snickered. “Namely, you.”

 

Daisuke's face fell and he turned away. “I don't want to talk about it. It's only the past after all.”

 

This sobered Takeru up as he studied his friend's slacked shoulders. It was very evident that the leader of his group of Chosen Children had been through a lot, more than likely just in dealing with Hikari's condition. That plus her lack of memories had to hurt worse than breaking every bone in his body. “I see.” He looked up and swore to the sky. “Some friends we are. We've been so worried about Hikari that we completely forgot about how you felt about everything.”

 

“Takeru, drop it.”

 

“Look, I know I'm not Ken, but you can talk to me. After all, it's not like I'm your rival or anything. You can trust me.”

 

“I don't want to get into it.”

 

“Man, I could go for a drink right now. This is just too much.”

 

Daisuke looked at Takeru in disbelief. “You drink too? What the hell happened?”

 

“I find myself asking that question a lot.” He took a long drag off his cigarette. “I mean, Yamato and I were pretty good friends as brothers then when I get to college, his college by the way, boom. I hate his guts. He was Mr. Popularity and I was just a shadow.”

 

“So, then what? Did you two just stop talking or something?”

 

“Can't really remember. Then I decided that maybe if I were more like him, people would like me more. Of course, now I realize that people don't like a poser.”

 

Daisuke chuckled at that revelation. “Nope, they don't.”

 

“So…. we really are going back to the Digital World tomorrow?”

 

“Yeah, which is why I think you and Yamato should make up, otherwise if something were to happen you'd never forgive yourselves.”

 

Takeru nodded thoughtfully and snuffed out the remains of his cigarette. “Like Ken.”

 

“Yeah. Wonder how he's really doing.”

 

“I guess we'll find out.” Takeru raised an eyebrow at his companion. “Didn't you used to smoke?”

 

“Yeah, but I made a promise with Hikari that I'd give it up as long as she keeps eating. For every meal she skips, I get to smoke one cigarette.”

 

The blonde laughed that answer. “I should have known.”

 

Daisuke smiled a bit and looked up into the night sky. “She's had it rough though. That bastard of a boyfriend she had did a real number on her.” He then told Takeru everything she had explained to them earlier about what had been going on in her life.

 

The Chosen of Hope dropped his gaze to the ground and shook his head sadly. “She didn't deserve that.”

 

“I know.” The soccer player sighed and kicked a lamppost. “Let's get back inside. It's getting late.”

 

Takeru threw him a look. “You just want me to make up with my brother,” he said dryly.

 

“There's no time like the present,” Daisuke smirked.

 

The two friends then turned around and headed back for the Ishida/Takenouchi residence. Each young man hoping for a better turn out than what they had started with.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Sora placed the phone back on its cradle and yawned. At long last she was done. She had spoken to each of their Chosen Children friends and from the sound of it they would all meet up in Odaiba at their usual park around noon. “Well, Mimi is bringing Michael and they're flying here as we speak. The others will meet us at the park tomorrow since they need to pack and everything.”

 

“It's good that everyone is taking this seriously,” Yamato replied from his place at the table. He glanced over to the sofa where Taichi was sitting with Hikari who was half leaning on the arm, curled up into a ball, and humming softly to herself. Her brother looked even more out of it than she did, staring at the wall.

 

At that moment the front door opened as Daisuke and Takeru walked inside. “We're back,” the brunette said cheerfully as he and the blonde took their shoes off.

 

“I thought Takeru was leaving,” Yamato coolly said eying his brother with disapproval.

 

“He thought that too until I talked to him and speaking of talking, I know of two brothers that should be doing that right now and since Taichi and I both have a sister, that leaves you two.” Daisuke grinned at the bewildered expression on Yamato's face. “Hey, since we have to go to the Digital World tomorrow, it'll be best to clear anything that needs clearing up since we don't know what exactly is going on in there and one Ken is more than enough.”

 

The older blonde looked at the young man with a pair of sunglasses on his head where goggles once had been and sighed. “Fine. Takeru, let's go outside. I don't think you've had enough fresh air.”

 

“Right,” the younger Chosen Child nodded with a slight groan as he followed his brother to the balcony doors when suddenly the sound of someone singing a rather familiar song distracted them along the way.

 

Daisuke froze as if he were electrocuted and stood gaping at the soft voice as Taichi turned his head and stared stupefied at his sister as she sang.

 

“Do I have to tell the story

Of a thousand rainy days since we first met

It's a big enough umbrella

But it's always me that ends up getting wet

 

Everything little thing she does is magic

Everything she do just turns me on

Even though my life before was tragic

Now I know my love for her goes on

 

At that moment Hikari looked up and flushed as she realized that everyone was staring at her. “Sorry. Was I that bad?”

 

“No, no, Hikari. You were great…. It's just that song…” Taichi glanced over at Daisuke who still resembled a marble statue except with really wide eyes and an open mouth.

 

“You don't like the song?”

 

“No!” Sora shifted her gaze briefly towards the still stunned young man and fidgeted. “It's just….”

 

“Why did you decide to choose that song?” Takeru appeared to be as spooked as the others in the room.

 

Hikari frowned. “Why are you guys making such a big deal? I like the song. That's all.”

 

Yamato crossed his arms and tried to be as sincere as possible. “Yes, and that's fine, but do you remember where you heard it since it's an American song?”

 

The young woman thought of it for a moment and shook her head. “No, but it kind of gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.” She smiled and covered her face as if she were afraid she would start blushing again.

 

Daisuke's breath caught in his throat. “A good feeling?”

 

“I suppose you could call it that.”

 

Sora hurried from the kitchen and thrust a glass of water into Daisuke's hand. “Drink.”

 

He nodded silently, not removing his eyes from Hikari for a second. The cool water did help with the spinning sensation that was threatening his head. He looked at Sora and mouthed `Sweet Sixteen.'

 

She smiled at him and patted his shoulder in a motherly fashion. “I know. Maybe she is starting to remember.”

 

“But she said she can't remember why she knew the song.”

 

“She said it gave her a happy feeling, didn't it?”

 

Daisuke focused on the floor hoping that he wouldn't blush next. “I suppose, but I doubt doing a reenactment of her 16th birthday party would do any good…although it would be amusing to see Takeru do `I'm Too Sexy,' again.”

 

“Don't count on it.” Takeru glared at the spiky haired young man. “And I only did it because you dared me. Remember?”

 

“It was still a damn good show.” A mischievous smirk lit up his face. “And I could always dare you to do it again, buddy.”

 

“Uh huh. We'll see about that.”

 

“Come on you two, it was fun and that was the point,” Sora pointed out.

 

Daisuke's face fell as he remembered what Hikari's Sweet Sixteen entailed and suddenly he didn't want to skip down memory lane any longer. “Guys, I don't want to talk about this anymore. It's not fair to Hikari.”

 

Taichi raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing since the expression on his protégé's face was a faint smile to mask the pain he felt on the inside. Instead he glanced at his sister who was now staring at the floor. “Are you okay, Hikari?”

 

“It feels familiar, but not.” She fingered a long strand of hair and bit her lip.

 

“Well, things are a bit different, but that's okay. It's been a few years since you last saw everyone.” Her brother gave her a reassuring smile, which she didn't return. He leaned back against the couch and sighed.

 

Yamato nodded at the writer and gestured towards the balcony door. “We'll be outside if you need us.”

 

“Yeah, just holler if you need anything,” Takeru trailed after and closed the door behind them.

 

Daisuke turned back to the Chosen of Light only to discover that she had fallen asleep. He smiled lightly and took another gulp of water. Maybe she would actually be able to rest peacefully this time for a change. He could only wonder what tomorrow would bring them next; hopefully the answers to their questions.

 

*~*~*~*

Author's Notes: I do not own The Police's “Everything Little Thing She Does.” It was however, necessary to include the snippet. A lot of times, just a song or smell (as in the ice cream parlor) can bring back a memory, even if it is just a fragment.

 

And please remember, that it has been several years since the season two, so yes, they do seem a bit out of character, though you can still see bits and pieces of their personality from the series still present, but as I have previously stated, everything in this story happens for a reason and something things may change while other may not. There is a lot more going on in this story than meets the eye.