Disclaimer: I claim no rights to Digimon or any of the related characters, places, or ideas.
Masquerade Dance
Chapter One: A Day At Camp
Hikari woke up one Sunday morning to the soft purr of the Digimon that was curled up in a ball on her stomach. She gently lifted Gatomon, without waking her, and put her back on the cot. She rolled over and whipped her paws in the air as if attacking something. Hikari scratched her tummy and the feline Digimon began to purr loudly as Hikari left the room.
She was warmly greeted by her fellow campers: Taichi, her older brother, Yamato, his college roommate, Takeru, her number one best friend, and her Cousin Gabriel. Taichi was making them all bacon and eggs, Gabriel got the orange juice and poured everyone some and Hikari watched Yamato and Takeru arm wrestle.
"Ha! Got you Yamato! Now cough up those five bucks."
Yamato sighed and started rummaging through his pockets.
"I'm too old to arm wrestle you now!"
"You're nineteen Yamato. You are in your prime! You should be able to out arm wrestle your younger brother." Taichi put in while nibbling on a dark piece of bacon.
"Ah! Who asked you guys anyway?"
"Who said we couldn't have an opinion?" Asked Gabriel.
"I did!" Yamato retorted standing up and facing Gabriel.
"No you didn't!"
"Well that's hardly common knowledge."
As the digidestined of Friendship and Wisdom continued there strange argument Takeru and Hikari began to eat the food eggs and bacon provided by Taichi. He had eaten his hare while cooking so he went to everyone's room to wake the still sleeping Digimon. Meanwhile Hikari and Takeru started their own conversation.
"So, any news from Diasuke, Miyako, Iori, or Ken?" Asked Takeru taking a bite of bacon.
"Yes! There is supposedly some special Masquerade Dance coming up at school."
"What is a Masquerade Dance?"
"It's a dance where everyone wears masks and fancy costumes. You're not supposed to know with whom your dancing." Hikari answered before taking a sip of O.J.
"That actually sounds kind of fun." Takeru said with grin. "I think I might go. But where could I get a costume and a mask."
Hikari also slapped a big smile on her face. "I was hoping you would go. I told Miyako I was going." Then her smile faded a little. "But your right. It's not like that stuff comes cheap."
Half way through their conversation Taichi came back with the Digimon. Gatomon leaped past him and jumped onto table next to Hikari. Patamon flew over Taichi's hair which was pretty tuff and landed on Takeru's head listening to the two talk about costumes. Archermon attempted to try what Patamon did but crashed into Taichi's head, knocking him to the floor. He landed gracefully on the ground and tried to help him up which proved difficult when Gabumon and Agumon came in and walked right over Taichi's back rubbing their hungry tummies.
"You need to watch were your flying Archermon. And you two need to watch were your walking. My back is not made of steel you know!"
Gabriel, who had long since one the argument of whether or not people should state their opinion after bringing up Martin Luther King Jr. who had one rights for black people by stating his opinion, started filling up plates for the Digimon. Patamon and Gatomon left the two teens at the table to eat with their other Digimon friends. After a little pause Hikari nearly jumped out of her chair after she had stumbled upon an epiphany.
"You know how Gabriel is obsessed with Drama and acting and stuff like that and how in his house he has a whole room stuffed with play costumes?" Hikari said a bit excitedly.
"Yeah!" He answered with a smile creeping up his face in understanding of where this was going.
"Well maybe he could let us use some of them. He would have more then enough for the six of us." Thinking of her friends as well.
"That's a great idea!" He just looked at her and vise versa. Until they finally snapped out of it. They looked away from each other, both a little red, until Takeru said "So . . . are we supposed to ask anyone to the dance?" He questioned making them both a little redder.
"No. You aren't supposed to know who it is, remember?"
"Oh yeah! Sorry."
"Oh its o.k. I was going to ask someone."
"Me too." 'Great she doesn't like me. What the crap am I thinking? I don't like Hikari like that. Or do I?'
'Ahhh! He likes some OTHER girl. What I would do to get my hands on that ugly, blood sucking, little . . .'
"Hikari. Hikari! HIKARI!!!"
Hikari's thoughts were shattered by her older brother. "What?" She asked watching her brother putting on his boots.
"Yamato, Gabriel, and I are going on a hike and we are not leaving you two alone so come on." He threw her jacket incase it got cold. She looked annoyed with him.
"What, you can't trust us? Can we please stay?" She asked with a puppy dog face.
Taichi raised an eyebrow. "No! Now come on."
"Humph!" Hikari pouted and crossed her arms none to pleased. With a reassuring smile from Takeru sighed in defeat got ready. In about a minute all of them had marched out of the cabin and started up a nearby mountain.
They walked up it for about an hour till they decided to head back. Hikari had been shivering the whole way up. Takeru noticed this and gladly took off the jacket he had on and draped it over her and pulled her close. She immediately felt warm again but not just because of the second jacket. She was really close to him and she felt her face go red.
"Why didn't we take the Digimon?" Gabriel asked as they were only a few minutes from the cabin.
All of them froze where they were and looked at each other. Without warning Gabriel burst into a run. The faster they ran the longer it seemed to drag on. The cabin finally came into sight. The front door was wide open. They all bustled in and to their horror found the place completely a ruin while in the center of the room the five Digimon were sprawled on the floor. The five Digidestined ran to their partner Digimon and held them.
"What happened to them?" Yamato asked.
"I don't know." Taichi answered.
Gabriel was completely speechless. Who could have done this to such innocent creatures? They looked as if they had been beaten mercilessly. And with them gone they couldn't have digivolved and defended themselves. They all heard a slight moan from Gatomon. Hikari gasped.
"Gatomon! Speak to me!"
"Hikari is that you?" She managed to say with a couple of coughs.
"Yes it's me. What happened?" She asked nearly crying.
"I don't know. It was so sudden and we didn't even have time to react. They didn't even take anything; they just came and beat us without any reason. Hikari?"
"What?"
"Please come closer." She said just above a whisper.
"What is it?"
Hikari leaned in closer. But to everyone's horror Gatomon's face turned red, her eyes grew watery then without warning bust into uncontrollable laughter. Everyone looked dumbstruck as their Digimon opened their eyes and all started laughing. They could not believe that they had been so maliciously tricked.
"Why . . . you . . . tricky . . . little . . . WEASLES!!!" Taichi roared before he too began to laugh. "Just because I am laughing doesn't mean I don't still hate you all for doing this!" He yelled between fits of laughter.
"How could you do something like this Patamon?" Said Takeru watching the little orange bat like Digimon who was literally crying with laughter.
"Because I was mad you left us all alone."
"Well you could have just said that instead of staging a terrible death."
"But this made me feel better on the inside." He said whipping away his tears.
"So . . ." Gabriel spoke for the first time since they got in the cabin. "I was sent into a swirling vortex of depression because of a sick, cruel joke that you played to get back at us for leaving you here alone."
"Well, anything sounds bad when you put it that way but . . . Yeah." Answered Archermon.
After a long pause Gabriel burst into laughter followed by everyone else. They spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning up the mess the Digimon staged and soon the moon was climbing up the sky and it was night. In the morning they would go back to Odaiba. When they finished cleaning the two youngest collapsed on the couch with their two Digimon.
"Holy crap, did you have to make everything such a mess guys?"
"It seemed a lot easier taking things out." Replied an exhausted Agumon.
"You need to think of what the consequences will be before you start doing stuff like that." Taichi managed to say, face down on a pillow.
"Well I think I am going to hit the sack." Yamato informed them all.
"Good night." Everyone said none too enthusiastically to him as he left.
Hikari sighed and looked over at Gabriel who had just come back from outside in the rain. He as usual was wearing all black. The bottom of his trench coat, which he wore in both hot and cold temperatures, was soaking wet. She thought now would be a good time to ask him for some costumes.
"Gabe?"
"That is defiantly a nickname." Gabriel answered taking off his boots.
"Gabriel?" Hikari said a little annoyed and a little humored.
"I know that name, I have heard name before!" Gabriel exclaimed pretending to think she might be referring to.
"Now you're just being annoying!" She teased.
"Well you know I try. Anyway you wanted to ask me something."
"Yeah! You know how you have a big room in your house completely filled with costumes?" She asked noticing Takeru lifted his head for the first time in fifteen minutes.
"I don't know, I think I may have forgotten." Noticing Hikari starting to glare he deduced she had had enough sarcasm for a while. "Yes I know."
Hikari clamed down and continued. "If their was an event that required fancy masks and costumes to match, do you think you could provided some six people?"
Gabriel looked at her for a while then asked "What sort of event?"
"A dance of sorts." She replied starting to get hopeful.
A smile slowly spread across his face. "When we get back to Odaiba tomorrow you and your friends can look for what you want through my collection of costumes. But now we must all head off to bed as Yamato has done."
Lazily the four remaining Digidestined headed for their rooms. Taichi, Gabriel, and Takeru had gone into their rooms but Hikari snuck into Takeru's room without anyone noticing. Takeru faced his door and called out his last good nights to everyone. He closed the door and turn around to find a smiling Hikari standing about a foot away form him.
"OH MY GOSH! What the heck are you doing?"
"Well good evening to you too." She said not to happy with his attitude.
"Sorry."
"No problem. But you could do without waking everybody up after they all just got to bed."
Takeru laughed sheepishly. After all he did not anticipate his fifteen-year-old, brown haired, best friend to be standing right behind him. It kind of made him feel like he was in his own Disturbia.
"Well I just wanted you to know we are going to get costumes tomorrow. You looked like you were trying to listen but I think you fell asleep for a few minutes. Hence the little drool puddle on the arm of the couch. Well good night!"
She gave him a small kiss on his cheek and went off to her own room. He stood their with his had on the place she kissed him. 'Well she's never done that before.' Patamon who had been play with Gatomon popped his head out from under the stuffed animals.
"Where did Hikari and Gatomon Go?"
"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFREIND!!!" Takeru yelled surprisingly loud.
"Yeah, I am just gonna, you know, go back to sleep now." He then dismissed himself and went back under the stuffed animals.
Takeru realized how late it was and decided he best get to bed considering Gabriel would be getting him up in six hours more likely then not with his Trumpet. And with that last thought in his head he kicked off his shoes, collapsed on his bed, shut his eyes and began to dream. And after those six hours had passed Gabriel came into his room with a large black Trumpet case.