Disclaimer: I do not own digimon, nor do I own any of its characters. All I own is the story plot
(boy am I poor), so hope you enjoy my fic! Flames are fine with me… just remember that this is
my first fic so don't expect much…
All the war poems used in this whole series are stolen from my war poetry booklet that we studied
in school a long, long time ago, so don't sue.
Skarred.
The Cry of the Dead
By
5kaRreD
When you see Millions of the Mouthless Dead
- Charles Sorley
When you see millions of the mouthless dead
Across your dreams in pale battalions go,
Say not soft things as other men have said,
That you'll remember. For you need not so.
Give them not praise for, death, how should they know
It is not curses heaped on each gashed head?
Nor tears. They're blind eyes see not your tears flow.
Nor honour. It is easy to be dead.
Say only this, "they are dead." Then add thereto,
"Yet many a battle one has died before."
Then, scanning all the o'ercrowded mass, should you
Perceive one face that you love heretofore,
It is a spook. None wears the face you knew.
Great death has made all his for evermore.
The crowd hummed and buzzed impatiently as they waited. The Government Square had
never looked so large before; it was filled to the brim with heads- black ones, white ones, bald
ones, hairy ones… Every nook and cranny of the open arena was covered up with a vast sea
of colour… it was as though the gods, in their carelessness, had tipped over enormous
buckets of multi-coloured paint onto this portion of the earth alone. The red, blue, yellow
green and black hues clashed, as waves do upon the rocky cliffs towering over the sea. On
the rooftops of the government buildings that formed the square stood millions of little red
Japanese flags. The little red and white flags stood tall and proud atop their guard posts… in
memory of all the riots that had taken place in this same square through the course of
Japan's history… the Syonan riots, in which over three hundred youths had lost their lives in
the period of barely two days in a struggle against Japan's decision to become allies with
Russia… the Rowaka battle, in which communists had tried to overthrow the government by
burning down their buildings, and many, many more.
The steady hum gradually turned into a roar of excitement as the crowd neatly parted into
half to reveal a sleek, shiny government car emerging from behind the State Bank. A huge
stand had been erected before the Kusara Court House, and this seemed to be the
destination of the vehicle. It crept up silently to the stand as a stealthy jungle cat towards its
prey, never veering off course. Just as it was about to pounce, the jungle cat came to an
abrupt halt. All eyes were on the car door as it slowly opened, as though trying to increase
the already unbearable suspense in the air… a single white pant leg emerged from the dark
interior of the car, clashing greatly with the dark colour of the car…
The crowd let out a sigh of exasperation as the butler stepped out of the car and made
his way around the Jaguar to the door on the opposite side. Like a dangerous chemical
spilling out of a discarded test tube, such did the tall, slim figure flow out of the car. People
sucked in the breaths that they had let out just a moment earlier… all eyes were glued onto
General Sohiko as he ascended the wooden stairs to the platform. He peered down his long,
hook-like nose at the crowd and pushed his spectacles up with a single bony digit. With
quick, jerky movement, he raised a stiff hand towards his forehead and saluted the crowd.
This action acted as though a signal- the crowd instantly exploded into a chorus of cheers all
at once… their shouts created a force about enough to blow a grown man of his feet… yet
the general seemed unruffled by this great show of appreciation. He silenced them with one
single word… "Japan…" Suddenly, the scene was split by flashes of black and white… and
the TV screen went blank.
Sora got up lazily and sauntered over to the rebelling apparatus, gently flicking off the
power switch. She was used to the television malfunctioning… it was a daily problem in the
household. It was a second hand television after all… as was most of the furniture and
appliances decorating her humble home. Her family wasn't very well-off… well, if you could
call it a family… it only consisted of Sora and her mother. They tried to keep afloat with a
mere budget of $150 every month… or sometimes even less, depending on what they earned
from the flower shop the two women owned. But Sora was satisfied. Their mother and
daughter relationship was soul-deep; a bond never to be broken, and that was all they
needed in life.
It was late. Twelve-thirty, to be exact. Sora stretched and headed towards her bedroom-
actually, the only other room in the house other than the kitchen- and plonked herself on the
tiny mattress sprawled on her floor... the mass of blankets which she called her bed. Her
mother was already asleep... exhausted from tending to flowers the whole day, she had gone
to bed the minute she had returned from the flower shop... Sora could hear a gentle snoring
coming from the bed beside her. Sora lay awake, listening to her mother's sweet breathing
noises... they gave her comfort, making her feel warm inside, knowing that all was well in the
tiny apartment...
***********************
Sora awoke to the soft twittering of birds outside her window. They sang of the morning
dew, which rested on the tips of the flower petals and grass blades in the park… of the
unsteady sun as it slowly crept up into the young sky and painted it with its red and yellow
hues. It was just as Tai had once told her… he had said that she was his morning sky… her
beautiful scarlet eyes, his sun… her flaming red hair, its rays… and her smile… her smile
was the light… the light that painted his soul with love just as the sun's light did the sky with
hope and awakening. She had blushed radiantly at this remark… Tai had never sounded so
emotional… those words had been spoken from the bottom of his heart… She was broken
out of her train of thought by a sudden ear-piercing clash of metal to the floor.
Oh no… mom's cooking…
Sora snapped back to reality and leapt out of bed, struggling into her moss-green school
uniform. She burst into the kitchen, fully dressed, hair neatly combed, shoelaces… untied.
Sora tripped on her runaway shoelaces and was sent sprawling across the floor, landing in a
messy bundle at her mother's feet. Debra Takenouchi looked down bemusedly at her clumsy
daughter and chuckled lightly.
'Since when were you into baseball? Practicing sliding to base?' Debra joked.
'Haha… so what do you think you're doing anyway mom? Trying to set fire to the house?
Here… let me do that.'
Sora snatched the frying pan from her mother's loose grip and commenced scraping off the
remains of a burnt egg from the bottom of the pan.
***********************
A jammed locker. Perhaps the most infuriating thing on the face of the planet… not including
Maths teachers, that is. Sora struggled in a futile combat against her obstinate locker… it was
stuck for the fourth time this week. Exasperated, Sora had to result in a method she knew
was rash… you could be sent to detention if caught damaging school property… not a very
happy prospect. Sora glanced up and down the white corridors, checking for the presence of
any teacher lurking behind a corner, like a meek little mouse inspecting its surroundings to be
totally cat-free before setting out on its perilous journey across the kitchen floor. Coast clear.
She summoned up all the strength in her 17 year-old body and concentrated it on her right
fist… she pulled back her arm, ready to fire… Suddenly, a firm, yet gentle hand was placed
on her shoulder and spun her around. Sora's eyes shot open as she found herself unable to
control the momentum and force… she landed the punch in the figure before her, sending
him stumbling back, gasping for breath.
'OUCH! Sora Takenouchi, if you had something against me then you could have told me, not
tried to kill me!' Tai grumbled.
'Hey… it's not like it hurt, right? I was able to use minimum strength, and with a flabby
stomach like yours, the punch wouldn't even be forceful enough to rearrange your intestines!'
Sora laughed.
'I'm not fat…' Tai whined, pouting his lips, arms folded across his chest.
Something inside Sora stirred… a strange emotion seemed to well up inside her when she
laid her eyes on this boy she called 'best-friend'. If only we could be something more…
Realising where all her thinking was leading to, Sora quickly reverted her attention back to
the stubborn locker, which was still stuck fast. Tai immediately sprang forward to offer his
help.
'Do not fear! Taichi is here to save the damsel in distress!' Sora rolled her eyes at this
comment.
Tai turned to the problematic locker, fiddled around with the hinges, then banged on it a few
times with his fist… the locker rolled lazily around its pivot and opened.
'Voila!' Tai stood proudly beside Sora and put his hands on his hips.
'Wonder Tai always manages to save the day!'
Sora chuckled softly. The image of Tai in a mask and superman cape was too much.
'Hey Sor… this is strange… the hinges of your locker seem to have been jammed with a
piece of metal or something…' Tai held out his hand… in the center of his palm lay a twisted
paper clip. Sora instantly stopped laughing. She flung open her locker with one furious move.
Behind the locker door, a piece of paper had been carelessly stuck onto the plastic. Sora
ripped the paper off… it was a message.
TO: The owner of this locker
I know, Sora.
You are one of the doomed ones…
You can't hide it forever.
You will be found out
And removed.
Our country must be cleansed!
Only those deserving to live shall live…
And you are not one of them
-anonymous
Sora stared in shock at the untidy scrawl on the crumpled piece of paper. She was suddenly
caught off guard as a hand shot out from beside her, grabbed the grubby piece of paper and
ripped it into a million little pieces.
Tai opened his shaky fist, allowing the little pieces of paper to flutter down onto the floor, then
proceeded to stomp on them continuously. Sora watched on in horror as a side to Taichi she
had only seen when he had murdered Datamon, was exposed to the world again. She finally
composed herself enough to begin speaking in a shaky voice…
'Wha… what does it mean?' She looked at Tai with a questioning look etched upon her
beautiful features… yet Tai ignored her…
'Let's go. We're late for class.'
The two gathered their belongings and silently made their way to history class… and Sora
was left clueless as to the true meaning of the note… but she would find out soon, and that
wouldn't be a very pleasant experience…
Continued…
(boy am I poor), so hope you enjoy my fic! Flames are fine with me… just remember that this is
my first fic so don't expect much…
All the war poems used in this whole series are stolen from my war poetry booklet that we studied
in school a long, long time ago, so don't sue.
Skarred.
The Cry of the Dead
By
5kaRreD
When you see Millions of the Mouthless Dead
- Charles Sorley
When you see millions of the mouthless dead
Across your dreams in pale battalions go,
Say not soft things as other men have said,
That you'll remember. For you need not so.
Give them not praise for, death, how should they know
It is not curses heaped on each gashed head?
Nor tears. They're blind eyes see not your tears flow.
Nor honour. It is easy to be dead.
Say only this, "they are dead." Then add thereto,
"Yet many a battle one has died before."
Then, scanning all the o'ercrowded mass, should you
Perceive one face that you love heretofore,
It is a spook. None wears the face you knew.
Great death has made all his for evermore.
The crowd hummed and buzzed impatiently as they waited. The Government Square had
never looked so large before; it was filled to the brim with heads- black ones, white ones, bald
ones, hairy ones… Every nook and cranny of the open arena was covered up with a vast sea
of colour… it was as though the gods, in their carelessness, had tipped over enormous
buckets of multi-coloured paint onto this portion of the earth alone. The red, blue, yellow
green and black hues clashed, as waves do upon the rocky cliffs towering over the sea. On
the rooftops of the government buildings that formed the square stood millions of little red
Japanese flags. The little red and white flags stood tall and proud atop their guard posts… in
memory of all the riots that had taken place in this same square through the course of
Japan's history… the Syonan riots, in which over three hundred youths had lost their lives in
the period of barely two days in a struggle against Japan's decision to become allies with
Russia… the Rowaka battle, in which communists had tried to overthrow the government by
burning down their buildings, and many, many more.
The steady hum gradually turned into a roar of excitement as the crowd neatly parted into
half to reveal a sleek, shiny government car emerging from behind the State Bank. A huge
stand had been erected before the Kusara Court House, and this seemed to be the
destination of the vehicle. It crept up silently to the stand as a stealthy jungle cat towards its
prey, never veering off course. Just as it was about to pounce, the jungle cat came to an
abrupt halt. All eyes were on the car door as it slowly opened, as though trying to increase
the already unbearable suspense in the air… a single white pant leg emerged from the dark
interior of the car, clashing greatly with the dark colour of the car…
The crowd let out a sigh of exasperation as the butler stepped out of the car and made
his way around the Jaguar to the door on the opposite side. Like a dangerous chemical
spilling out of a discarded test tube, such did the tall, slim figure flow out of the car. People
sucked in the breaths that they had let out just a moment earlier… all eyes were glued onto
General Sohiko as he ascended the wooden stairs to the platform. He peered down his long,
hook-like nose at the crowd and pushed his spectacles up with a single bony digit. With
quick, jerky movement, he raised a stiff hand towards his forehead and saluted the crowd.
This action acted as though a signal- the crowd instantly exploded into a chorus of cheers all
at once… their shouts created a force about enough to blow a grown man of his feet… yet
the general seemed unruffled by this great show of appreciation. He silenced them with one
single word… "Japan…" Suddenly, the scene was split by flashes of black and white… and
the TV screen went blank.
Sora got up lazily and sauntered over to the rebelling apparatus, gently flicking off the
power switch. She was used to the television malfunctioning… it was a daily problem in the
household. It was a second hand television after all… as was most of the furniture and
appliances decorating her humble home. Her family wasn't very well-off… well, if you could
call it a family… it only consisted of Sora and her mother. They tried to keep afloat with a
mere budget of $150 every month… or sometimes even less, depending on what they earned
from the flower shop the two women owned. But Sora was satisfied. Their mother and
daughter relationship was soul-deep; a bond never to be broken, and that was all they
needed in life.
It was late. Twelve-thirty, to be exact. Sora stretched and headed towards her bedroom-
actually, the only other room in the house other than the kitchen- and plonked herself on the
tiny mattress sprawled on her floor... the mass of blankets which she called her bed. Her
mother was already asleep... exhausted from tending to flowers the whole day, she had gone
to bed the minute she had returned from the flower shop... Sora could hear a gentle snoring
coming from the bed beside her. Sora lay awake, listening to her mother's sweet breathing
noises... they gave her comfort, making her feel warm inside, knowing that all was well in the
tiny apartment...
***********************
Sora awoke to the soft twittering of birds outside her window. They sang of the morning
dew, which rested on the tips of the flower petals and grass blades in the park… of the
unsteady sun as it slowly crept up into the young sky and painted it with its red and yellow
hues. It was just as Tai had once told her… he had said that she was his morning sky… her
beautiful scarlet eyes, his sun… her flaming red hair, its rays… and her smile… her smile
was the light… the light that painted his soul with love just as the sun's light did the sky with
hope and awakening. She had blushed radiantly at this remark… Tai had never sounded so
emotional… those words had been spoken from the bottom of his heart… She was broken
out of her train of thought by a sudden ear-piercing clash of metal to the floor.
Oh no… mom's cooking…
Sora snapped back to reality and leapt out of bed, struggling into her moss-green school
uniform. She burst into the kitchen, fully dressed, hair neatly combed, shoelaces… untied.
Sora tripped on her runaway shoelaces and was sent sprawling across the floor, landing in a
messy bundle at her mother's feet. Debra Takenouchi looked down bemusedly at her clumsy
daughter and chuckled lightly.
'Since when were you into baseball? Practicing sliding to base?' Debra joked.
'Haha… so what do you think you're doing anyway mom? Trying to set fire to the house?
Here… let me do that.'
Sora snatched the frying pan from her mother's loose grip and commenced scraping off the
remains of a burnt egg from the bottom of the pan.
***********************
A jammed locker. Perhaps the most infuriating thing on the face of the planet… not including
Maths teachers, that is. Sora struggled in a futile combat against her obstinate locker… it was
stuck for the fourth time this week. Exasperated, Sora had to result in a method she knew
was rash… you could be sent to detention if caught damaging school property… not a very
happy prospect. Sora glanced up and down the white corridors, checking for the presence of
any teacher lurking behind a corner, like a meek little mouse inspecting its surroundings to be
totally cat-free before setting out on its perilous journey across the kitchen floor. Coast clear.
She summoned up all the strength in her 17 year-old body and concentrated it on her right
fist… she pulled back her arm, ready to fire… Suddenly, a firm, yet gentle hand was placed
on her shoulder and spun her around. Sora's eyes shot open as she found herself unable to
control the momentum and force… she landed the punch in the figure before her, sending
him stumbling back, gasping for breath.
'OUCH! Sora Takenouchi, if you had something against me then you could have told me, not
tried to kill me!' Tai grumbled.
'Hey… it's not like it hurt, right? I was able to use minimum strength, and with a flabby
stomach like yours, the punch wouldn't even be forceful enough to rearrange your intestines!'
Sora laughed.
'I'm not fat…' Tai whined, pouting his lips, arms folded across his chest.
Something inside Sora stirred… a strange emotion seemed to well up inside her when she
laid her eyes on this boy she called 'best-friend'. If only we could be something more…
Realising where all her thinking was leading to, Sora quickly reverted her attention back to
the stubborn locker, which was still stuck fast. Tai immediately sprang forward to offer his
help.
'Do not fear! Taichi is here to save the damsel in distress!' Sora rolled her eyes at this
comment.
Tai turned to the problematic locker, fiddled around with the hinges, then banged on it a few
times with his fist… the locker rolled lazily around its pivot and opened.
'Voila!' Tai stood proudly beside Sora and put his hands on his hips.
'Wonder Tai always manages to save the day!'
Sora chuckled softly. The image of Tai in a mask and superman cape was too much.
'Hey Sor… this is strange… the hinges of your locker seem to have been jammed with a
piece of metal or something…' Tai held out his hand… in the center of his palm lay a twisted
paper clip. Sora instantly stopped laughing. She flung open her locker with one furious move.
Behind the locker door, a piece of paper had been carelessly stuck onto the plastic. Sora
ripped the paper off… it was a message.
TO: The owner of this locker
I know, Sora.
You are one of the doomed ones…
You can't hide it forever.
You will be found out
And removed.
Our country must be cleansed!
Only those deserving to live shall live…
And you are not one of them
-anonymous
Sora stared in shock at the untidy scrawl on the crumpled piece of paper. She was suddenly
caught off guard as a hand shot out from beside her, grabbed the grubby piece of paper and
ripped it into a million little pieces.
Tai opened his shaky fist, allowing the little pieces of paper to flutter down onto the floor, then
proceeded to stomp on them continuously. Sora watched on in horror as a side to Taichi she
had only seen when he had murdered Datamon, was exposed to the world again. She finally
composed herself enough to begin speaking in a shaky voice…
'Wha… what does it mean?' She looked at Tai with a questioning look etched upon her
beautiful features… yet Tai ignored her…
'Let's go. We're late for class.'
The two gathered their belongings and silently made their way to history class… and Sora
was left clueless as to the true meaning of the note… but she would find out soon, and that
wouldn't be a very pleasant experience…
Continued…