It all began on that field trip to Mt. Fuji. I was 15 years old at the time. It still amazes me that one simple slip can change the out come of destiny. Or is it destiny that causes the slip?

How can I ever know?

I, like the rest of my class, had made completely sure that my permission slip was filled out and signed by my parents, allowing me to go on the field trip to Mt. Fuji that day. It is so much more enjoyable to spend an autumn day outside than to stay cooped up in the classroom. And that day was such a beautiful day too.

Kazu and Kenta sat behind me in the bus as they usually did, laughing and talking loudly to each other about this and that. We always sat in the back of the bus, because the popular people sat up in the front and got to get off first. But we never minded. In the back, we could talk about the digital world without fear of being laughed at by the popular kids. The cheerleading girls were giggling in the front, sitting either four to one seat or on their boyfriend's laps. I always found that amusing. Why they would enjoy being squashed together is still a mystery to me. Their excuse is always that they're cold. So I, and everyone else in my group of friends, usually ignored the popular side of the bus.

At least, that was what used to happen. One day, Jeri's gymnastics had proven their point, and she was invited to join the cheerleading squad. We encouraged her to do it because, as Kazu put it, "they need someone cool to make those popular girls look bad." We all knew she really wanted to join, but she didn't want us to feel like she was leaving our group. But we made sure to tell her that that would never happen.

And so she had joined. Within a few months, she seemed to forget all about us. She got popular really fast, and then never had time for the rest of us.

So now she sat in the front, and I still sat in the back, waiting for her to remember that I existed. Instead, she sat on one of the seats with three other girls, giggling about jokes I couldn't hear. Often I watched her, or talked to her in passing at school, but either she pretended I didn't exist, or she simply smiled. But that was all. I wasn't anything to her anymore.

Kazu was speaking to me about something, but instead of listening, I watched Jeri with a jealous ache in my heart. Suzuki, the most popular boy in our class, was talking to her. Flirting with her. And she was flirting back.

"Takato?" Kazu waved his hand in front of my face. It got my attention, and I turned to him with a slight frown. I didn't have to tell him what I was thinking about. He rolled his eyes and sighed loudly. "Don't even pay attention to her Takato," he said with some distaste in his voice. "She is always with Suzuki these days. They're always like that. Last time on the bus, she sat in his lap." Kazu rolled his eyes, and then glanced at me with an apologetic face. "Sorry," he mumbled, seeing that mention of Jeri sitting in stuck up Suzuki's lap made me sick. "I keep forgetting that you still like her."

I crossed my arms and sighed, staring out the window at the road as we sped up the mountain to the place of our field trip. "I don't just 'like' her Kazu!" I complained. "I love her!"

"But Takato," Kenta reasoned, pushing his hair out of his face. He was always the practical one, and never failed to point out when we were exaggerating. He had switched from wearing glasses to contacts, and the outcome was that he looked less like a geek. We teased him all the time, saying the girls would probably be all over him, but he started wearing his glasses again because of it. So we reassured him and apologized till he felt comfortable wearing contacts again. Today he wore contacts, and the open window next to his head was letting in a blast of cold air that ruffled his black hair. I smiled secretly to myself, thinking that he did look much better than he used to, and wished I could tease him about being good looking again. But I knew that he hated that. So I kept my mouth shut.

"You're only 15. You can't possibly know what love is until you've matured enough. You're not ready to get married, so you're not ready for love. Just say 'like a lot' and you'll be more accurate." Kenta said all this with a straight face, and both Kazu and I tried very hard not to laugh.

"If what Takato has for Jeri isn't love, than I don't know what is," Kazu teased. "He's been crazy about her since he met her in….I don't know….kindergarten or something."

I rolled my eyes and gave Kazu's shoulder a punch. "It was not kindergarten. Dork. It was first grade. And can we quite talking about me as if I weren't here?"

"I wasn't," Kenta said with a yawn. "Are we there yet? My bottom hurts from sitting for so long."

Before I could open my mouth to reply, a loud popping sound split the noise in the bus, and our ride suddenly became a whole lot bumpier. Slowly, the bus slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road. The talking in the bus had ceased, and everyone was looking out the window to see what was happening.

Our driver jumped out, muttering a few four letter words I refuse to write, and went to inspect the damage. One of the tired had blown, and we were stuck on the side of the road, half way up Mt. Fuji. What were we, the school kids supposed to do? Sit around and wait for the tire to be fixed? Of course not! We filed out of the bus as quickly as we can, and decided to take a look around. Our teachers congregated around the bus driver to discuss what was to be done, while Kazu, Kenta and I went to the edge of the road and looked down.

We stood in awe and the sight below us, our mouths hanging open. "Wow," I whispered. I usually tend to be quiet when I am surprised. Kazu, on the other hand, makes sure everyone within a hundred blocks can hear him. Kenta just says nothing at all. "Wow," I repeated, staring at the awful sight. "We're really high up!"

And so we were. A couple thousand feet I should say. The edge of the road had a railing, so that we wouldn't fall, but after the tiny fencing there was nothing but a thousand-foot drop into a rocky abyss below, to which we couldn't see the bottom. Talk about scary. We could see tall evergreen trees below us, but their tops didn't reach us. That scared us too.

"Sheesh!" Kazu yelled, his voice suddenly found. "Wouldn't want to fall down there!" His voice attracted some of the other students, and they peered over the edge in fright. "You aren't frightened," Kazu winked at me.

I stared down at the terrible cliff with wide eyes, unable to move from my spot for fear of falling. "Scared?" I asked? Thankfully my voice did not quiver with my nervous, anxious fear that I did indeed feel. I was so afraid of heights… "No," I lied. "Just awed."

Kazu nodded slyly. He could see right through me. "Okay then…." He stepped backwards, giving me some space, and then leapt at me in a mock attempt to knock me over. I jumped probably three feet into the air, landed on my back on the road, and then stood up angrily. He laughed good-naturedly. "No, just awed," he teased. "Yeah right! You were so scared you almost peed your pants!" he laughed some more.

"Cut it out Kazu!" I yelled, my anger ending in relief that I hadn't fallen, and that I was away from the edge. My adrenalin rush had been so great that I felt sick. "That's not true. You just startled me. And anyway, who wouldn't be afraid if someone came up behind them and almost knocked them into a bottomless abyss?"

"It's not bottomless Takato…."

"Whatever Kenta." I sighed and tried to slow my fast-beating heart. My eyes strayed as they always did over to Jeri, and I wondered if she had noticed me. I didn't care if she thought I was a wimp, or even if she simply scorned me. I just wanted her to notice me. I stared at her a long time, ignoring Kazu and Kenta as they broke into a harmless argument about it being a bottomless cliff or not, until finally, she turned and looked my way.

In her eyes was nothing. It was like she felt nothing when she looked at me. I was a background person, and she was looking right through me as if I wasn't there. I sucked up my courage, determined not to give up, and walked up to her. I felt the disdaining look from the cheerleading girls as I came up to them, and the haughty look of challenge in Suzuki's face as he turned his gaze upon me. Jeri simply stared at me like I was a stranger and an embarrassment to her.

But I ignored all that and gave Jeri one of my most friendly smiles. "Tough luck huh?" I asked casually, as if it were only the two of us standing there. "Looks like we'll be here a while."

Jeri stared at me strangely, and I could tell that she wanted me to go away. Suzuki chuckled, and placed a hand on my shoulder. "You're not trying to make a hit on my girl now are you Takato?"

I turned my head and gave him and disgusted look, trying to cover it up with a smile. "I'm surprised you even know my name," I said sarcastically. "But I'm not talking to you am I?" I turned back to Jeri. "I'm talking to Jeri. Because unlike you, she is my friend."

"I seriously doubt it," Suzuki chuckled, a dangerous challenge in his voice. "Don't say something you'll regret Takato."

I ignored him. "So Jeri," I said, shoving Suzuki's hand off my shoulder. "How come you haven't come to hang out with the rest of us in a while? We've missed you."

Jeri bit her lip, looking anxious, and shrugged. Tanako, the lead cheerleader, leaned into my face with a sneer. "Because, idiot, Jeri is cool and popular, unlike you and your little group, and has better friends now. She hangs out with us."

I raised my eyebrow, an amused expression on my face. I could feel nearly everyone's eyes on me, and an intense silence. The only people speaking were us. "Better friends?" I asked dubiously. I glanced at Jeri. "Really? So where does that put the rest of us?"

"Look, we're done talking to you. So why don't you just go hang out with your two dim-wit friends over there." Tanako pointed in the direction of Kazu and Kenta, and glared at me as if I was being rude to her.

I sighed, and looked at Jeri with a disappointed look. "So that's how it is? I don't exist any more? Is that it?" I tried to ignore Kazu's not so subtle motions for me to just get out of there before I made a fool of myself. "We've always been here for you Jeri, when you needed us. I've always been there for you." By the look in her eyes, I know she knew what I was talking about. She remembered our experience together in the digital world. She remembered the D-Reaper. Just as well as I did. "I guess that doesn't matter any more to you." I stepped backwards, shrugging in defeat. "Have it your way. I just wanted to make sure we were still friends…make sure you hadn't forgotten about us. But I guess I was wrong." I walked away, feeling incredibly depressed. I meant nothing to her. But when I was only five feet away, I turned around one last time.

"Even if you forget all about it, and become popular, and forget I even exist, I'll always be here. Because I promised you I would always be there if you needed my help." I tried to smile, even though my heart felt hurt because she could only stand there and hide behind Tanako and Suzuki. "We'll always be your friends Jeri. So try not to forget about us."

And then I walked back to Kazu and Kenta. They looked worried about me, and Kazu tried to ask me what I problem was, but I pretended like nothing had happened.

"Why did you do that?" Kazu asked in a hushed voice. "You knew she'd either blow you off or pretend like you don't exist."

I nodded sadly, and attempted a smile. "Yeah, I know." I did know. I had known she would do that. "But I wanted her to know that we're not the ones leaving her. I wanted her to know we'd still be there for her if something happened."

Kenta shrugged and sat down next to me, the wind tossing his hair into a mess. "I don't Takato. I think you're the only one who would still be there for her, after all is said and done."

I smiled. "I know." And I sat down on the road to look out over the cliff. Yeah, I didn't exist anymore to her. But I knew that somewhere inside her, she knew that I would always be there for her. And that alone was comfort for me, even though my heart ached like nothing else.

And then I heard someone scream. Thinking of Jeri, I jumped up and ran in the direction I'd heard it from. Everyone did. I found Jeri staring wide-eyed at the edge of the cliff, as Suzuki held her close to him. The sight sickened me, so I ignored them and looked warily over the edge of the cliff. There, on a ledge maybe ten feet below us, Tanako had fallen. She had dirt on her face, and was clinging to the side of the cliff for dear life, screaming.

"What happened?" our teacher screamed at the cheerleading squad. Leave it to a female teacher to add noise to the problem.

"She didn't realize how close she was to the edge, and bent down to tie her shoe. Someone bumped her, and she fell over!" One of the cheerleaders said, tears streaming down her face. "Please don't let her die!"

"Tanako, hold on, okay?" our teacher yelled down. "Don't panic, and don't move. Alright?"

Tanako screamed some more, about how they were asking the impossible, as our teacher called the police. The tow truck company with our spare tire was an hour away, and the police would be about the same time. I knew just by looking that there was no way Tanako could sit and wait for that long. And neither could the cliff ledge. It was already beginning to crumble at the extra weight.

"She has to climb up!" Suzuki declared. "Tanako! You have to climb up!"

"I can't!" she screamed.

The whole situation got louder as all the girls started screaming and crying, and all the guys tried to calm them down so that they wouldn't fall over either. The teachers were busy trying to keep everyone in order, and the drive was trying to find some rope.

I stared at the turmoil anxiously. Someone had to act, and yet no one here was qualified to do it. I clenched my jaw and wished fervently that guilmon was still with me, but it was a futile wish. Nothing would come of it.

And then suddenly, though the noise around me was louder than she could speak, I heard Jeri's voice. She was calling my name, fearfully. My heart soared, and quicker than Kazu could ask me a question, I was by her side.

"Takato," she practically whispered. And though Suzuki was holding her close, she still shook as if she felt unprotected.

"I'm here," the words slipped out before I could choose them, and I wondered if I should have said something else.

"No one else can save her Takato…" she said faintly. "But you go mountain climbing all the time. You can do it."

I stared at her in disbelief. Jeri was asking me to save Tanako. My inner self struggled, my fear and enmity fighting against my will to do what is right, and my will to do anything for Jeri.

"Please Takato….can you save her, like you saved me?"

I felt the burning hatred in Suzuki's eyes as he glared at me. And felt the burning pain in Jeri's as they asked me with unspoken words for forgiveness. After all she had done to ignore me, she was asking me to risk my life for someone I didn't even like.

But I nodded. I bit my lip and breathed deeply, preparing myself for what I knew would be a challenge, and placed my hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry," I whispered. "Just…think better of me Jeri. I'm not your enemy."

"I know." There were tears of shame on her cheeks and in her eyes.

I smiled reassuringly at her and hurried to the edge. Tanako was still screaming. I didn't want to go down to help her, especially since I usually had ropes to help me climb. And I wasn't that good at mountain climbing. But I still knew how to find some holds. "Kazu, Kenta!" I called. They were by my side before I could call them again.

"Oh no Takato, don't you even think about it!" Kenta's eyes grew so wide, they could have fallen out. "You are not climbing down there!"

The ledge under Tanako's feet began to crumble loudly, and she started screaming even louder. "If I don't, she could die!" I hissed. "Now keep people back so that rocks and dirt don't come sliding into our eyes. But when you see our hands, I want you to pull us up. Okay?"

Kazu clenched his hands into fists. "I'm going to get in trouble with the teacher for this but…."

Kenta sighed. "Why not."

I grinned at them. "Thanks." At least I could rely on them to help me. And then, disregarding my fear of heights, I swung myself down onto the rock face and started climbing down. I have climbed a few mountains in my short years, and every time I was dreadfully afraid. I hate heights. I hate them. But I climb because I want to over come my fear. Because I am stronger than that. I want my fears to also be my strengths. So that's why I climb.

They say climbing down is harder that climbing up. I agree. But climbing down was so fast, it took me a minute to realize I was already next to Tanako at the ledge. I called her name, startling her out of her screaming, and she turned to stare at me with red and puffy eyes.

"I'm here to help you climb back up," I said. "Now take it easy, and give me your hand."

"You?" she demanded in disbelief. "You're nothing! Get out of my face!"

I was beginning to get frustrated. "This rock is going to break under your feet!" I shouted at her. "Now you either shut up and do as I say, or you will fall to the bottom and DIE! Now GIVE ME YOUR HAND!"

It's amazing what fear of death can do sometimes. She quieted as much as a sobbing girl can, and gave me a shaky hand. With my right hand I guided hers to an easy hold in the rock, while holding myself up with my left. Then I showed her where to put her other hand. Then her right foot, then her left…and slowly she took the first step.

"That's it," I encouraged softly, giving her some more directions. "You're doing just fine." I avoided saying 'don't look down,' because that is always the WORST thing to say in this kind of situation. The noise above us had quieted some, and I knew that they were watching with held breaths to see if we'd make it. I also knew that I'd be in trouble for doing this. But the fact the Jeri was as close as Kazu would allow to see that I made it up okay was comforting to me, and gave me strength to continue patiently on.

Before I knew it, we were at the top. "We're almost there!" I breathed in relief. "One last step!"

Tanako suddenly became more shaky, and I knew that she was starting to panic again. She reached up with both hands, forsaking her hold, and tried to grasp the edge. But as any mountain climber knows, the edge of the cliff is never like it is in the movies. You can't just hang onto the edge. It's usually the most dangerous part because dirt crumbles and slides, and there isn't much for you to hold on to. Tanako had no knowledge of this, and as she gripped the dirt with her fingers and felt herself sliding away, she screaming as loud as she could.

It was like slow motion from there. She's small, and very agile. But she is also easy to pick up. Without thinking, I pushing her upward onto the edge where Kazu and Kenta grabbed her and pulled her up. They turned to pull me up as well, but by then it was too late. I reached for my hold, but my torso was too far away from the cliff face. I found myself falling backwards onto the ledge where Tanako had fallen.

There was a great deal more screaming, and I distinctly heard Jeri screaming my name, before the ledge gave one last crack and crumbled into pieces. I fell soundlessly into the void below me, too shocked to say anything. The only think I can remember is hitting branches on my way down, and trying to break my fall so that I wouldn't die when I reached the bottom.

And then, everything when completely black and I knew no more.

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