Anna didn't look it, but she was very strong.
What most people didn't understand was that there was physical strength and mental strength. Physical strength could be achieved, or it could just happen, but it didn't do much for a Digidestined. Mental strength… Anna wasn't sure how people got it, but it was part of the job. Ever since the day she got her digivice, she'd known things were going to be tough. Things always were, for her.
Anna was poor. Most wouldn't believe the pastel blonde, blue-eyed girl if she'd told them, but she was. And while Anna was strong, she was not strong enough for a long time to admit to the other Digidestined that she lived in, essentially, the ghettos. Anna begged her Patamon not to tell them, either. It was best that everyone keep up the illusion that she was perfect. If they did, Yuri's and Sonya's faith in her as the leader wouldn't falter.
But even with no one knowing, she took a lot of crap. There's no nicer or politer way to say that, either. It was pure torture. The boys all hated her because she never went out with them and never really said anything to anyone. That, and Yuri would punch the first guy who tried anything. The girls hated her, because, well… frankly, Anna was sure it was because she was blonde and blue eyed and not evil. They thought she was fake.
The moment she got her digimon, Anna started feeling… different. As though she finally had someone with whom she could be herself. There was no need to pretend she could manage everything in front her Patamon. He saw right through her, with those big aqua eyes. And somehow, that was okay. Because Anna started really thinking about things after she'd met Sora and Yolei. She'd been thinking hard, now, when she made decisions. Anna even let Sonya and Yuri suggest things more often. No more walking into the computer room, head held high and saying, "Niet, niet, I have a better plan!"
Being a Digidestined was like growing up, only more fun, Anna thought with a smile as her Patamon and Sonya's wrestled. One could not forget the fun times, the idle times. There were whole days and nights that the three Russian Digidestined had spent just talking to their digimon and amongst themselves. Those hours spent laughing (or, in Anna's case, smiling) were when their real bonds were formed. That was when the playful Patamons and the stoic Kunemon reached an understanding. That was when Anna, Yuri, and Sonya became a team. The responsibilities were numerous. The perks were a little… rarer.
Sometimes, Anna's biggest problem was the clashes between Sonya Veferoff and Yuri Yagankarski. Sonya was very brash, very outspoken, and was bound to take things literally. Yuri was always falling for some female – whether it was digimon or human – and he tried to put his zany sense of humor into everything. They clashed. Sometimes, the two could get so loud and so angry that they'd simply cease speaking to each other for days.
They'd been in one of those days when they met Yolei and Sora.
Now, it was hard enough for Russians to comprehend Japanese as it was. Not speaking to each other made it nearly impossible. Anna remembered how, even as she smiled and hugged the purple haired Chosen, her knees were knocking and her heart was pumping a mile a minute. The memory was engraved in her mind, along with her one guiding thought at the time – This is disaster!
That day, Anna learned that Yuri and Sonya were willing to put aside their own fight to join the greater fight. And suddenly, she was touched. When she got down to the ground, she wanted to buy everyone dinner. She wanted to hug everyone, too, which was rare for Anna. But instead, she just ended up buying dinner for Yuri and Sonya. Still, that was okay. These were her comrades, her team. Sitting around the table, Anna felt touched by them. She had once had to be the strong one, the leader. But that day, they had proven that they, too, could act their age. Not to mention the digimon, who had trusted themselves completely to their partners that night, without a moment of hesitation. It amazed her that finally, after such a short time, they could work together like that.
And tears brewed in her eyes later that night, because Anna had never known before that they had that inner strength.
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Author's Notes: Anna has always been one of my favorite international digidestined. Review, please. And if you flame, don't use chatspeak. But other than that, flame your own way. I support individuality.