Note: Not much of this is actually canon, as you can expect. Not much is TaiKen either, but it'll get there, honest! Hope you all enjoy! Flames will be laughed at and ridiculed by the way. ::smiles sweetly:: oh, hold on -- this is TaiKen [Tai and Ken] so it is shounen-ai which means boy love -- two boys liking each other!! Got it? Good!
Ever since the creation of the Digital World, the balance between good and
evil had been extremely unstable. Finally darkness had been growing so confident
that the Maintainers of the Balance met to try and find a solution to the
growing problem. The digimon -- young and old -- were beginning to sense the
unease and tensions were growing high. The Maintainers met, dressed in their
long white robes, each looking strained and solemn.
"If we do not do something, darkness will strike at some point," one of them
began. She was an unearthly tall redhead, with slanting green eyes. "I have
heard rumours that Devimon is preparing an attack soon." She glared at them, as
if daring them to disagree with her.
"You are right," a dark man agreed. "But we risk too much if we head an
attack against the darkness. They will destroy us and everything we represent.
We will upset the balance too much."
"If we let the darkness grow any stronger the balance will be disrupted as
well!" the redhead argued angrily. She was becoming riled, her hands clenched
into fists inside her robe sleeves. The dark man looked annoyed with her
behaviour.
"Stop it, both of you!" a third voice cried. The Maintainers turned to see a
man and a white-skinned woman coming towards them. The woman's skin colour was
unnaturally white, as if she had not seen the day in many, many years. The
Maintainers stiffened when they saw her, but either she did not notice this, or
chose to ignore it. The man was also a Maintainer, his robe billowing in a wind
that should not be there. They were courteous to him. They were not to her.
"Gennai," the dark man said quietly. "We were beginning to think you were not
going to come. Have you a solution for us?" His tone was mild, but the
challenge in his voice was not missed by anyone. The woman startlingly blue
eyes, with no pupil and no white in them narrowed, but she did not say anything,
holding her tongue.
The redhead raised a delicate eyebrow. "Why would Gennai have a
solution for us?!" she barked, an extremely non-delicate sneer twisting her
lips. She clearly had no respect for him, although Gennai was older and far more
experienced than her. It was always a mistake she made, underestimating him.
Gennai gave her a cold look. "Why would I not have a solution?" he
asked her in a low voice that radiated: 'Dangerous. Do not anger.' The redhead
scowled, but this time kept silent. Gennai proceeded to ignore her and turned to
the other Maintainers "Darkness threatened us in this way before and we dealt
with it. Does anyone remember how?"
It was the dark man that answered. "We called the First Digidestined and
their digimon." This quiet statement was met with adamant refusal and cries of
dismay.
"Gennai, that just won't work again! The last Digidestined nearly
destroyed each other by themselves!"
"I agree. It is too risky to trust mere humans with this sort of threat. It
is rumoured the darkness is already commanding Virus digimon to dispose of Data
and Vaccine digimon. Humans can't deal with this."
"Besides, humans have too many faults. There will be at least one of whom we
will pick that will be easily susceptible to the darkness, no matter how
carefully we choose. Jordan was nearly brought to the dark side, remember?"
"Quiet!" the dark man ordered and all fell silent. He turned to Gennai, who
met his gaze directly, looking as if he had been expected the reaction.
"Gennai," he said quietly. "Please consider what you are asking us to do. We
cannot trust the humans to save us."
"They saved us the last time," Gennai pointed out, but this statement fell on
deaf ears.
"After nearly destroying themselves in the process," the dark man replied
smoothly. "Humans cannot be trusted Gennai, you know that as well as I do."
"If so, what else can we do? Who else can help us? I don't know -- do you?"
Gennai asked him, glaring at him. The dark man had no answers for him, just as
he had expected. "No, you don't. Humans are the only choice we have -- the
Digidestined are the only chance we have!"
The dark man looked distressed, but he knew what Gennai was saying was the
truth. However, the redhead, always a lover of stirring up trouble (it was
believed at least one of her parents were from the dark side), declared, "Even
if it is agreed to use those brats, we still have an eighth to choose. We have
only seven. I assume we shall use the girl and her Crest of Light then?" She
looked around as if it was preposterous that someone would actually disagree
with her. Someone did.
"No!" the woman that had come with Gennai said loudly. "It is not Light's
time to come!" Her unnaturally blue eyes flared as she looked around at the
people who shunned her because she had been punished. "Light must not be
called!" Her tone was severe.
The redhead snorted. "Really Gismaera --" she said her name as if it
was poison, "-- your obvious bias is quite a disgrace. You only disagree because
your descendant is the other choice!" Her green eyes were filled with
disgust as she stared with dislike at the once-human before her. Gismaera held
her gaze, stubborn as ever, her violet hair tumbling around her as she spoke
icily.
"If you ever accuse me of favouring my own descendant above all
others, I will not be as gracious as I am now." The redhead's expression clearly
showed she thought Gismaera wasn't being gracious now. "Is that
understood?" The redhead snorted.
"As loath as any of you may be to admit it," Gennai spoke quietly, eyes
grave, "Gismaera is right. I have the Sight and am a Seer. It is not Light's
time yet. She is to be called with the third generation." He looked around at
them all, and most had the decency to look down or away, ashamed. "The eighth
child is to be Kindness. Yes, he is Gismaera's descendant, but that has nothing
to do with it." He paused for a breath. "So it is decided, yes? Kindness will be
the eighth?"
There were only dissatisfied murmurs and mutterings for the next few moments,
but then the other Maintainers agreed -- except for one. The redhead met
Gennai's gaze defiantly, and Gennai knew she would end up being trouble one day.
He sensed a dark time ahead for her.
The Maintainers separated, but none, not even Gennai, would understand
exactly what would happen until it did. They had absolutely no idea of what
would really happen, what the Digidestined would end up facing. Even with
Kindness at their side.
Do I remember when I became a Digidestined? Oh yes, I can certainly remember.
I was eight years old and my brother had was dead, and I was sure it had been my
fault. It had been around a year since his funeral but my family still hadn't
moved on. My mother cried constantly and my father walked around with a stunned
expression on his face. Me...I stayed in my room all the time and did homework.
Lots of homework actually. I was the best in my class by then. They were saying
I could begin the Third Grade work half a year earlier because my current
schoolwork wasn't a challenge anymore.
But sometimes I sneaked into Osamu's room and just sat on his bed and looked
around. It was exactly as he'd left it that morning before he'd been killed by
that car, only it didn't look lived in anymore. Everything was spotless, too
clean, particularly for the room of a preadolescent. Although Osamu had always
been tidy. I was the messy one. Or at least I had been the messy one. Not
anymore. I was determined to be the good son now for Mama and Papa. They
deserved that much.
All the trophies and awards he'd won were lined up neatly on his shelves and
on the wall, but they held a fine layer of dust on them. Mama couldn't bear to
come into his room anymore. It was just too painful. I balanced myself
precariously on the soft bed and reached up and brushed the handle of one
trophy. My fingertips came back slightly dirty. I frowned and rubbed my hand
against my pants to get rid of the dust.
Oh Osamu, I thought, as I sat back down on the bed again. Why did I
say those hurtful things to you? If I hadn't, you'd still be here. We miss you
Osamu...please come back. Please... I felt tears prick my eyes and brushed
them away. Osamu had never cried, he'd never caved under in any way. So I
wasn't going to either.
It was then my eyes saw his computer.
He'd been so happy when Mama and Papa had given it to him for his birthday.
He was a boy genius now and the famous son of the Ichijouji family. So of
course he needed a brand new computer. They'd been so proud of him...they
had never been proud of me like they had been proud of him, I remembered. I was
just the average, younger son. No one really important to buy expensive presents
for. Osamu had loved that computer so much...he'd always yelled at me if I even
touched it.
He wasn't here now. My fingers itched to touch it, to do something on it.
Without realising it, I was already moving towards it, slipping into its
chair and flicking it on like an expert. I looked guiltily at the door as the
computer made its usual sounds as it loaded. I could only hope my parents hadn't
heard. They might never come into Osamu's room for things like cleaning, but
they would come in if they heard strange sounds coming from it when it was
supposed to be empty. They'd be so disappointed if they found me in here,
playing with Osamu's computer of all things.
But I wanted to play with it. There was no sense in letting it go to
waste like this, just sitting on the desk and gathering dust.
Finally it had loaded and I moved the mouse around on its pad quickly and
efficiently, wondering if Osamu had ever installed any games on this thing.
Anytime I'd seen him at this, he'd always been typing something for school, his
fingers flying over the keys, making them rattle. I'd loved to watch him type
but he'd always wanted to be alone. I knew I'd never be able to type like him.
It was then that something started to go wrong. The computer started to make
a faint buzzing sound that gradually grew louder and louder, until I was
beginning to feel alarmed. I noticed that the screen was starting to blink until
it finally went completely black. It didn't change in the slightest, remaining
an endless stream of darkness.
I panicked. My eyes wide, I scrambled out of the chair and backed away,
staring at the empty scream with rising fear. This could not be
happening! Frantically, I looked around to see where the plug was. I knew it
wasn't the proper way to shut down the computer, but I was desperate, and no one
would be checking a computer that was never used anyway.
I was three steps away from the plug when the screen suddenly lit up and
something came bursting out of it. I wanted to scream, but I could only stare at
the small object that clanked onto the floor, as the computer returned to
normal. For several moments I was too scared to do anything except look at it,
before finally walking over to it and after much arguing with my head, bending
down and picking it up.
Nothing happened.
I don't know what I expected to happen, but I suppose I wanted
something to happen. But the strange object remained silent, just lying
in my palm as if it was the most natural thing in the world. I didn't know then,
but I had just received my digivice.
I didn't know how to react. Finally I walked towards the balcony. Sliding the
door opened, I stepped outside, letting the breeze ruffle my head. I had never
seen Osamu's view of Tamachi before. He had never allowed me out here before.
But we'd spent lots of times out in my balcony -- I remember he taught me how to
blow bubbles once. I liked that. I leaned against the railing and stared at the
buildings around me.
That was when the digivice slipped through my fingers and fell to the ground
below. I uttered a small cry (followed by a guilty look and hope that my parents
hadn't heard) and stared down at the my new fallen toy in dismay. I'd never be
able to go down and get it, not without my parents hearing me. But I couldn't
just leave it there either.
Words cannot describe the disappointment and pain I felt when I saw the cat
pass by and take my digivice away. I remember standing there, staring down at
the ground where it had just been in shock, before finally sighing and closing
my eyes. There was no way I'd be able to find it now. So there was no point in
getting upset. Right.
I thought then that I'd never see it again. I was wrong. I thought it was all
over. It had barely just began. I was so very, very wrong.
It was a beautiful day in Odaiba, but none of the seven kids with strange
stuffed toys under their arms seemed to notice. What was even more strange was
the tense, worried expressions on their faces. It was summer, there was no
school and the weather was wonderful, so there was no reason for them to be so
gloomy. Well there was one reason: the task of saving the world lay on their
shoulders. No wonder they were so gloomy.
The assumed leader of the group, a tanned boy with large, wild brown hair
that gleamed in the sun and the goggles nestled in it sparkled, and soft hazel
eyes that had a particularly sombre expression on his face, his brows knitted
together tightly. The pick stuffed animal tucked under his shoulder seemed to
have a worried expression on its face too, if one looked close enough to see it.
But that was ridiculous of course. Stuffed animals didn't have expressions
according to the moods of their owners. Of course not.
The seven made their way towards a large clump of trees in the park, each
quiet and intent on their task. They waited until they were all seated and made
sure no one was listening to them, before the leader spoke. "Well, we're here.
At last."
The girl in pink, with long brown hair and large amber eyes spoke up
suddenly. "Why do we have to do this? We're finally home, isn't that enough?"
She looked frustrated, as if things hadn't been going right for her in a very
long time. In one sense, that was correct.
The other five turned to look at her sternly, the leader looking furious.
"Mimi! You know well why we have to do this! We're the Chosen Ones! This is our
destiny!" Anyone who would have passed by would have assumed they were acting
out something or were role playing. They never would have thought these seven
ordinary-looking children held the fate of their world in their hands.
Mimi glared at him. "Well I'm sorry for wanting to have a normal life again!
I'm sorry for wanting to forget all of this happened! Isn't that okay Taichi?"
"No, it's not okay!" Tai yelled. "We can't just forget about everything that
happened! It's a part of us now!" He looked positively furious with her.
The redheaded girl quickly gripped Taichi's shoulder. "Calm down Tai," Sora
said quietly. "Overreacting isn't going to help anything or anyone." Tai gave
her a sullen look, but nevertheless he quietened, watching as the plant-like
creature beside Mimi gave her a worried look.
"Does that mean you want to forget me Mimi?" Palmon asked quietly. Mimi
looked shocked and appalled, and Tai allowed himself a brief moment of
satisfaction. Mimi was paying for her thoughtless words now, in the worst way
possible.
"No Palmon, I could never forget you!" Mimi cried and flung her arms around
her digimon and hugged her hard, looking close to tears. Even Tai felt slightly
sorry for the way he had acted with Mimi, as he watched her work herself into
near hysterics.
Finally, unable to look at it anymore, he said quietly, "Anyway, we better
move onto the present situation." He hoped Mimi and Palmon would pull themselves
together eventually. "We finally made it home, but we were very lucky. No doubt
Myotismon is already in the city, searching for the eighth child, and we have to
get him or her before Myotismon or any of his followers do." Tai's eyes lit up
with a grim light as he looked around at the others with a determined
expression. "And we will!"
"But how Tai?" the tall blonde spoke up. Yamato regarded the leader with hard
azure eyes. "We have no idea who this person is, except for the fact he or she
is in Japan. We have no crest and no digivice to search for them. The chances of
us finding the eighth are pretty slim." He hadn't meant to be so pessimistic,
but they had to look at things the way they were. No use hoping for something
that might not ever happen.
Tai looked frustrated. "That's beside the point Matt! The point is we have to
try," he said earnestly. Everyone had always said Tai was too impatient
and eager. Matt was definitely beginning to understand why they said it. But as
usual, he stood his ground and locked eyes with Tai.
"Fine; we'll try. But what are we going to do? Follow people in the street
and hope sooner or later we'll meet Myotismon along the way?" Tai's expression
turned unpleasant at this obvious show of sarcasm.
"Isn't it obvious? We were chosen as Digidestined that night in Heighten View
Terrace. So, whoever the eighth is, they were there with us. We probably knew
him or her!" Tai crossed his arms and waited expectantly, as something occurred
to him for the very first time. He blinked.
Yamato nodded. "That makes sense," he agreed. "I still have my phone book
from then. How about everyone else?" Taichi nodded, as the others thought about
it quickly. Finally, there was all round agreement.
"So it's settled," Taichi decided. "We go home and find our phone books from
then. We give them to someone --" He glanced around. "-- how 'bout you Jyou?"
Joe spluttered. "Me?! Why me?!"
"You just said yourself you had to spend some time at home studying," Tai
said reasonably. "If you're at home, you can use the phone, right?" Joe nodded
reluctantly. "So you can do it then!"
Joe sighed heavily, but nodded. "I can do it." He didn't look very happy
about it, but he didn't protest, and for that Tai was glad. He didn't want to
get in a fight with anyone -- well, maybe Matt, but that was it.
"Okay. We meet back here in a couple of hours with the books, and we'll
figure out what the rest of us will do then." He looked around. "Is that okay
with everyone?" There were nods and murmuring. Tai rolled his eyes. "All right!
I'll see you guys in a while then!" He tossed them a casual wave over his
shoulder, as he began to walk away in the general direction of his home.
Koromon, along with the rest of the digimon, had been silent through all of
this, so Tai said quietly as he walked along, "Are you okay buddy? You didn't
say anything back there. Come to think of it, neither did any of the other
digimon!"
Koromon shrugged, or at least shrugged as much as a pink ball could. "There
was nothing to say," he said in a low voice. "You and the others know this world
-- we don't. There was no point in putting forward our opinions, because we
didn't have anything helpful!"
Tai nodded slowly, trying to look casual as people passed around them. "That
makes sense," he remarked, unknowingly echoing Matt. "You guys are smart."
"Can't help it," was his digimon's nonchalant answer. Tai chuckled softly.
He hadn't wanted to say anything in front of the others, but he did have an
idea of who the eighth child might be. A rather certain idea. He knew someone
who had lived in Heighten View Terrace with them and had met the digimon along
with Tai... his sister Hikari. He remembered when he had been tossed back into
his world again after the fight with Etemon and had gone home. His sister hadn't
been surprised to see Koromon at all, and the digimon himself had remarked it
was like he had met Hikari before. Tai frowned.
Could it be Kari? he thought, walking along the street quickly and
briskly. Could she be the eighth child? It was a possibility, but Matt
was right. They had no crest or digivice to test her with. This was going
to be hard.
He sighed as he let himself into the apartment. After a quick shout, it was
clear his parents weren't home and Koromon was left bounce around wherever he
wanted to go. He bounced right onto the couch in front of the TV. Tai shook his
head in amusement.
He nearly jumped when a soft voice from behind him said softly, "Hi Tai.
Where've you been?" He whirled around to see his sister standing near him,
looking at him with wide russet eyes.
"Kari!" he said in relief. "I thought you were Mom!" It was true, for a brief
moment adrenaline coursing through him had made him think it was his mother
standing behind him. Thankfully, it hadn't been.
Kari giggled. "Silly." She went over to the couch and sat beside Koromon, who
bounced into her arms happily. "Hi Koromon! You came back!"
"Yep!" Koromon replied, grinning. "Have you got anything to eat?" he asked,
looking the perfect picture of innocence. Hikari laughed, smiling at him.
Tai watched them, amused, before remembering what he had been thinking about
concerning his sister. He sighed and thought quickly, walking over to them and
sitting down. "Don't you ever wish you could have your own digimon Kari?" he
asked slowly, wondering if this was going to work.
Kari smiled up at him, scratching a content Koromon on the head. "Sure I do
Tai," she replied quietly. "Anyway, I know I can wait."
It took a few moments for his sister's words to sink in, before Tai actually
realised what they meant. He blinked and stared at her. "What do you mean,
'wait'?"
Kari glanced at him. "I am going to have my own digimon one day -- it's just
not right now. I know I can wait." She gave him a sad smile. "I'm not the person
you and the others are looking for."
If Tai had told her about the eighth child, that sentence might have made
more sense to him. But as it happened, he hadn't told her about the
eighth, and as far as he knew, no one else had, so how had she known? Keeping
the bad feeling in his stomach down, and fighting to keep his voice calm, he
asked her, "Kari, how did you know about that? Who told you?"
She stared up at him, eyes wide and innocent. "No one told me Tai... I just
knew..." She trailed off as she realised how odd that sounded. She looked away.
"It's not me Tai, no matter what you say or think. I'm not the eighth child."
Tai could only stare at her, wishing he could figure out the strange mystery
that was his sister.
When night fell around Odaiba, the shadows lengthened, defeating the light at
the only time they could. When sunrise would yet again approach, the light would
come forth and chase the shadows back and away again. And darkness would wait
until sunset and the never-ending battle would rage again. The moon began its
slow journey up to the ink-black sky, settling itself in its dominant position
as ruler of the stars.
People gradually hurried towards their homes, settling themselves in their
apartments of warmth and light, believing the flimsy shelters to be enough
protection against everything that threatened them. Too often they were wrong,
very wrong.
Ken Ichijouji was safe in his own home, asleep in his bed, the memories of
the strange object that had come bursting from his dead brother's computer
nearly forgotten. He was also completely unaware that the monsters from his
nightmares were gathering, preparing to search for him. He was blissfully
oblivious.
On a bridge overlooking Odaiba, these strange dark shapes gathered. They made
a strange company, all of them silent, as if they were waiting for someone -- or
something. And then something did appear.
The large collection of bats did not frighten any of them, although the
screeching cloud did cause ripples of unease to float through some of the
shapes. The bats collected and gradually a vague human-like shape materialised
out of them, a billowing cloak and long hair completing the picture. The shapes
whimpered and shut their eyes. When they opened them again, a pale man stood
there in a curious costume and long blonde hair. But he was not dressed in a
costume and he was not a man. He was a digimon: Lord Myotismon, King of the
Undead. He was also a vampire.
He cast a cold glance around the assembled gathering, and they shuddered and
cowered. Myotismon's lips curled in a sneer. "Pathetic. All of you." Many
gulped. Only two were indifferent to emotion -- a wizard-like digimon and a
small cat with green, clawed gloves. Myotismon noticed this and was silently
approving.
"You know why we are here," he continued and the company straightened,
listening intently. "We must find the eighth child before any of those brats and
the eighth must be destroyed. Without that child and the partner digimon, we
will gain control of this world." A cruel smile curved Myotismon's lips, and
some of the company even dared to crack smiles, praying they would not be
punished.
"You have copies of the crest," the vampire lord went on. "They will react
when you are near or beside the eighth child, so pay attention to gatherings of
children." He glared at them. "But first we must know this world, so get
going!" The last two words were uttered in a roar and the company scattered,
frightened.
Myotismon sighed heavily and noticed two of the digimon had not fled in sheer
terror -- Wizardmon and Gatomon. Instead they had left at a leisurely pace, the
fake Crest of Kindness held tightly in the wizard digimon's hands. The two stuck
together as always. Myotismon cracked an extremely thin smile. Those two were
possibly the only followers he had who weren't bumbling idiots and they served
him well.
Myotismon stared out at the city and sneered. This city was too full of
goodness -- so much it sickened him. That would be gone when it was under his
control, he would make sure of that. There was no point brooding, for the city
would soon be under his control. He knew those brats had no crest or digivice to
help them find the eighth and their search would be a blind one. He however, had
the real crest and copies of it. The odds were definitely in his favour.
Myotismon chuckled mirthlessly. "Yes, soon this will be mine," he murmured,
before preparing himself and then floating into the air. As of that moment
however, his chief concern was finding a meal. The one advantage of controlling
a city would be the large blood supplies, he was sure of it.
The night had passed slowly.
Gatomon stretched leisurely, blinking her large blue eyes slowly, as she
peered around at her surroundings. She and Wizardmon had decided they would have
more luck finding the eighth child during the daylight, and had then searched
for a suitable sleeping place for the night. Now the sun was creeping up through
the sky, and her excellent hearing was picking up strange sounds that could only
mean the humans were awake and moving around.
She shook her head quickly, moving to the edge of the rooftop she and
Wizardmon had spent the night on, intending to peer down below. The arrival of
morning had meant her master had retreated to his coffin for the day. She wasn't
sure whether to be sad or glad. Myotismon was her master, but she was very
afraid of him, but she knew better than to let him see her fear. He would only
use it against her.
She balanced her gloved paws on the edge of the rooftop, before peering down.
Sure enough, movement buzzed on the street, and she could make out faint shapes
that could only be the humans that inhabited this place. Satisfied that she
hadn't been seen, Gatomon turned and loped back to her sleeping friend.
Wizardmon had tilted his hat brim so it was over his face and he was breathing
evenly, proof he was still asleep. Gatomon studied him for a moment, regretful
that she would have to wake him up. Wizardmon looked like he needed the sleep.
Still, the earlier they began their search, the more chance they had of finding
the child.
"Wizardmon!" she said sharply, taking off his hat to reveal his face -- or
part of it considering his clock collar hid his mouth. Gatomon knew Wizardmon
was most ashamed of his appearance and she had never brought it up, respecting
his decision. But sometimes she couldn't help wondering what was so wrong with
his mouth and chin... her paw became tantalisingly close to the collar... no!
She jerked back, staring at her paw as if it had a life of its own. She could
never betray her friend's trust like that! She was sure Wizardmon would show her
what he was hiding when he was ready... she also realised he had still not woke
up. She sighed, before placing her claws on one of his cheeks and running them
over it gently, not hard enough to make a mark, but with enough pressure to wake
him up. It worked.
He snapped awake, staring up at her with wide green eyes. "Gatomon! What are
you doing?!"
She smiled at him. "Good morning, finally got you awake did I?" Chuckling,
she took her paw away and turned around to pick up his hat. "Here," she said,
holding it out to him. He took it warily. She sighed, saying, "Relax. I wasn't
going to hurt you, I just wanted you to wake up. Come on, we have work to do."
She turned and padded towards the edge of the rooftop again. Wizardmon joined
her after putting on his hat. She nodded down below. "We have a lot to search
today. If you think any of those other fools are going to actually find
the eighth child, then you really do need me to hit you."
Wizardmon chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not that stupid." He looked down again,
making sure that none of the humans walking below could see him. "So where do we
start?" he asked.
Gatomon followed his gaze. "With the first child we find." Her voice was
short.
It was harder than it seemed. They had never really realised before just how
many kids populated the city. They were everywhere, talking, laughing,
playing, running and chattering. Wizardmon was beginning to look swamped and
Gatomon couldn't blame him. Even the sight of all of them was beginning to make
her feel dizzy. Thanks to her resemblance to a cat, she was able to go up as
close to them as she dared, leaving her gloves with Wizardmon, who had no such
advantages. The loss of her gloves made her vulnerable and nervous, but she
didn't stick around for long if the crest around her neck didn't glow. No point.
Near midday she and Wizardmon ducked into the shadows of an alley, the
coolness easing their discomfort. It was looking as if it was going to be a very
hot day. Gatomon panted slightly as she scowled at the pink crest in Wizardmon's
hand. "That stupid thing is being no help! Why won't it glow?!" She hissed
reproachfully at the offending object, as Wizardmon gave her an amused look.
"Why Gatomon," he said, nearly teasing. "If I didn't know any better I'd say
you were getting ruffled!" He laughed as Gatomon gave him a seething look.
"I don't get ruffled!" she snapped at him, not making her sentence any more
probable.
"Of course you don't," Wizardmon replied reasonably, not making Gatomon's
dark mood any lighter. "Think about it Gatomon. This crest has been made for one
child and one child only. It won't glow for just anyone. You said yourself it
was going to take a long time to find the eighth."
Gatomon reluctantly agreed, but didn't look happy about it. "We better get
going again," she sighed, getting to her paws. Wizardmon too uttered a sigh, but
got to his feet and followed her.
"I'll distract the bunch of kids over there," he told her, pointing at a
group of kids who were playing some human game together. "Pretend I'm a magician
again. Creep around them, see if the crest will glow." He walked forward,
heading in the direction of the children. Gatomon frowned, but darted towards
them in a slightly different direction. No use letting anyone see they were
together.
She did notice a girl in the group. She was small and looked rather delicate,
with her pale skin, short brown hair and kind russet eyes. She was talking and
laughing with a boy of her own age, a boy with short blue hair and deep blue
eyes. His eyes and face held an expression of slight sadness, as if the boy was
nursing some secret wound for a long time. Gatomon kept her eyes on the girl, as
she circled around the group, who stood, enraptured with Wizardmon's
performance. She didn't know why she was so attracted to the girl, but she was.
There was no logical explanation, but she still was. It was as if the girl held
the answer to why she felt so lonely at times, why she never felt fully
complete.
Gatomon frowned and stepped closer to the boy and girl. It was then she felt
it -- a slight burning sensation at her neck. She looked down and gasped. The
crest was glowing! She looked up at the boy and girl, the only children she was
standing near. One of them was the eighth, but which one? They'd have to be
separated to find out.
She locked eyes with Wizardmon and gestured to the crest around her neck. She
saw his eyes widen at the burning tag, and then quickly finished his
performance. The children cried out for more, disappointment evident in their
eyes, but he refused, hurrying away. Gatomon leaped after him.
"The crest glowed!" she yelped when they were a safe distance away from human
eyes and ears. "One of those two children is the eighth!" She turned to check
the two were still there. Yes they were still there, playing together.
Wizardmon nodded. "We should report this to Lord Myotismon," he said quietly,
absently touching the still-warm crest around Gatomon's neck.
Gatomon nodded, but still disagreed. "We should follow them, see where they
go. We'll return at nightfall. If all goes well we'll be able to tell him where
those two live and make the job easier." She smirked.
Wizardmon nodded and looked over at the two. "Look! They're beginning to
leave!" he hissed, gesturing.
Gatomon bounded up. "Quick, let's follow them!" she snapped, leaping forwards
and letting Wizardmon follow, silently trailing them all, making sure no one
else had seen them. She and Wizardmon intended to take all the glory this time.
Koushiro absently wiped his brow quickly, before beginning to type again. He
was probably the only kid actually inside on a day like today, but his parents
understood him enough not to pressurise him to go out. That was one benefit of
having nice parents. He frowned at the screen of his laptop and typed in a few
more commands. At this rate he should be finished soon and he'd join the others
and therefore satisfy Tentomon.
His digivice lay on the table beside him and Tentomon was sprawled on a chair
beside him. "Are you done yet?" the insect digimon asked plaintively, giving him
his most cutest look that an insect digimon could give. Izzy glanced at him and
smiled slightly.
"Nearly done," he said, typing quickly. "Don't worry, all the ice-cream won't
disappear like magic," he assured him. Tentomon didn't look reassured in the
slightest. With a near sullen look on his face he began to fiddle with Izzy's
digivice, bored out of his mind. He nearly fell on the floor when it began to
beep impatiently.
"I didn't do it!" he cried, as Izzy picked it up and looked at it. There was
a dot he didn't recognise on it, moving haphazardly across the screen. The
computer genius frowned at it, trying to remember the reason why he didn't
recognise it. Then it hit him and he gasped.
"It's the eighth digivice!" he yelled, jumping to his feet and shutting down
his laptop quickly. This was a lot more important than any computer program!
"Come on Tentomon!" He moved towards the door.
Tentomon, on the other hand, looked to be at a loss. "Eighth digivice...?" he
repeated, looking blank. Then he finally realised what it meant and hurried
after his human partner. "Hey, Izzy, wait for me!"
For someone who preferred spending time on his computer than playing many
sports (although granted he was on the soccer team with Tai), Izzy moved
surprisingly fast through the city, his eyes glued to the dot moving across the
tiny screen on his digivice. He finally figured out where it was and darted into
the alley, Tentomon following him, yet keeping to the shadows to avoid being
seen. They both skidded inside and looked around.
"Hello eighth digivice," Tentomon proclaimed, pointing near the end of the
alley. When Izzy followed his gaze, he found a stray cat absently pawing at an
object that looked suspiciously like a digivice. "I hope he's not going to eat
it."
Izzy began to move forward, his eyes glued on the object near him. "Shoo!" he
yelled at the cat, making fleeing motions with his hands, that, unsurprisingly,
didn't work. The cat gave him a bored look and didn't move. Then he caught sight
of Tentomon who moved forward, and yowled in surprise, his fur sticking up on
end. Within seconds he was gone.
"Well dent a guy's pride why don't you!" Tentomon yelled after the fleeing
feline, while Izzy bent down and picked up the digivice. He held it carefully,
wiping off the dirt and dust that clung to it.
"We got it Tentomon!" Izzy whispered excitedly. At last, they had something
to held them in their search for the eighth child! Myotismon hadn't the full
advantage! "We better take this to Tai," the redhead decided, pocketing the
digivice carefully and starting to wake towards the entrance of the alley. They
had just reached it when someone came skidding towards them, nearly falling into
them. "Tai!" Izzy exclaimed.
"Did you get it?!" was Tai's demand. He said this through heavy pants,
leaning over and rubbing his side. "You did get it, right?!"
Izzy nodded and pulled out the digivice, holding it proudly up to Tai. "Yes."
He yelped as Tai snatched it from him, staring at it as if spellbound. "Hey,
watch it! Don't drop it!" Tai ignored him, still focusing on the digivice in his
hand.
"At last," the leader of the Digidestined whispered, "we have something to
help us." He looked up at Izzy and grinned. "Great going Izzy!" Izzy only
grinned back at him shyly, pleased that he had done something more to help than
tapping a few keys for a change.
Tai pocketed the digivice and patted his pocket carefully. "I better go. I
left Koromon alone at home," he murmured absently. "Tell everyone we'll meet at
the park later okay?" Izzy nodded as Tai turned and began to walk back to his
apartment.
When he turned the corner and was out of sight and earshot, Tentomon turned
to Izzy. "And you said going on would be boring!" Izzy could only laugh.
When Tai came home, he found his sister and one of her friends sitting at the
kitchen table eating ice-cream. Kari looked up as he came in and grinned. "Hey
Tai!"
He smiled as he turned and shut the door, slipping off his sneakers. "Hey
Kari. Hey..." he trailed off, trying to remember if he'd met the boy in front of
him before.
"This is Ken," Hikari supplied for him, gesturing at the boy beside her. Ken
smiled shyly at him, but Tai also caught a flicker of sadness in his eyes and
wondered what it was there for.
"Hi Ken," he returned warmly, giving him a friendly smile. Ken's own smile
broadened in return.
"Want some ice-cream?" Hikari asked, and Tai considered for a moment, before
shrugging.
"Why not?" He sat down opposite them, as Kari got up to get a spoon and bowl.
She handed them to Tai, who proceeded to spoon ice-cream into his bowl. "So what
did you two get up to today?" he asked, before swallowing a spoonful of
ice-cream.
"We went to the park," Kari said, stirring her ice-cream slowly. "There was
this weird magician there. He was really good though." She took a bite of
semi-melted ice-cream once her sentence was finished and swallowed. "Yum."
"He was pretty strange though," Ken commented, frowning slightly. "He was so
small, he was only a little taller than us." Neither of them noticed Tai's
frown.
"And the cat was so cute," Kari continued. "And the pink thing she had around
her neck was such a cool collar. It's a pity she wasn't a stray." She sighed.
"Even if she was, we still have our own cat anyway." Ken had to hide his smile
at this. Tai's frown deepened, alarm bells beginning to sound in his head.
Acting on a hunch, he took the eighth digivice out of his pocket and placed it
on the table in the space between Kari and Ken. Both of them were very
interested in it.
"Isn't that one of those game things you carry around?" Hikari murmured,
watching it in interest. "I don't know why you and all your friends are so hyped
about them," she commented.
"Can I try it?" Ken asked, reaching for it. Tai was about to tell him not to
touch it, when Ken jerked his hand back and stared at the digivice in shock. Tai
and Hikari then started to stare at it as well. It was beeping crazily, a light
shining from it. Tai turned pale.
The digivice had reacted to one of them, but who? He stared at his sister and
at Ken, knowing one of them was the eighth child, but just didn't know it yet.
He frowned. Was Kari wrong? Was she actually the eighth child? Or was it Ken all
along?
He wish he knew.