Wow folks, it's been a while, seems like I've been dealing with my own stuff as well as major writers block. It always seems like I can picture individual instances or flashes of where my story will emotionally impact the readers and characters but it needs to be fleshed out better. I'll be doing my best this summer to keep updating because I've decided this story needs telling. As always, credit to Takaondo for beta reading, not even sure he's still on this site anymore because he's actually working on a novel but all the same. Without further ado, on with the fic!
Legend of the D-Knights
Chapter 9
Goodbyes
Takuya flew around the ravished building's corner with Zoe in his arms, squealing. "Go faster, go faster!"
Rika massaged her temples "Oh the squealing."
Takato started laughing in spite of the growing pain and small puddle of blood forming around his foot. "Well she's excitable. Hey Takuya, who's this?" he asked, pointing to the bubbly blonde. Takuya slowed down, stopped right in front of them and she jumped off and offered a hand to Takato. "Hi, I'm Zoe!"
"I'm Takato." He shook her hand and she immediately proceeded to Rika. "Your hair is so cool! What's your name?"
"Rika…." She looked a bit freaked out at Zoe's enthusiasm, but otherwise tolerated her. She heard the sirens in the distance and cleared her throat. "I think we'd better save the introductions for later. I'm not in the mood for questioning." She stuffed her hands in her pockets and started walking down the alley. "Let's get to my place; it's the big, gated house a few blocks down."
Takuya scooped Zoe up and took off, only shouting back. "Race you Takato!"
"Go Takuya go!"
Rika smacked her forehead and then gasped when she felt her feet leave the ground and the wind move past her. Takato had scooped her up and was now racing to catch up to Takuya. She bonked him on the head. "What's the big idea gogglehead?! Just because I let you do it once doesn't mean you can do it casually!"
Takato wasn't really listening, but a sly grin spread across his face and a mischievous twinkle dawned in his eye as he gained on Takuya. "Would you have liked it better if I had left you back there to walk?"
Rika opened her mouth so say something, but then simply huffed and crossed her arms. "Stop doing that."
"Doing what?"
"Stop making up valid excuses to carry me." She felt a small blush grow on her cheeks and suddenly frowned after that last comment.
The two flew on in silence for a few seconds, but she felt his grip a little more secure around her this time around. "Should you be talking like that Rika? People will think you've gone soft."
Rika grabbed him by his collar and brought his face closer to hers. Takato blushed as he had never been in such close proximity to her, but his hopes were dashed when she put her forehead on his with a look of death on her face. "Look goggles, if you tell anyone about this…"
Takato sighed. "Yeah, always protecting your reputation…."
Rika detected a hint of sadness in his eyes but shrugged it off as imaginary and turned back away. "Just get me home."
Takato wordlessly sped up and soon caught up with Takuya, who chuckled as he looked over to the competing pair. "Hey buddy, where you been?"
Takato simply smiled and left his friend in the dust on the way to Rika's, leaving Zoe giggling like mad. "Dang Takuya, he just kicked your butt."
Takuya frowned and willed his wings to flap faster, but in doing so, missed the turn into the courtyard. "Ah Damn it!" he looked back at the gate, but a shriek from Zoe called his attention to where he was flying, which was straight into a telephone pole.
"Oh hell…." He shifted his body at the last second to cushion the blow for Zoe. *THUNK*
Takuya gritted his teeth as he slid down the incredibly sturdy pole. "Ow, just ow." He landed on his butt with Zoe still on his arms and she knocked on his helmet gently. "Hey, you ok?"
Takuya winced as he stood back up. "Uh huh…" he managed to crack out. A little shakily he jumped over the fence into Rika's courtyard and put Zoe down, before clutching his head and falling to a knee. "Ugh, my head won't stop ringing."
Zoe put her hands on her hips. "It might help if you take off your armor. Although…" she knocked on his helmet again, a little louder. "...The brain damage might be permanent!" she said as she ran around front laughing her head off.
Takuya frowned jokingly. "You're so mean Zoe." He managed to get to his feet and slowly walked after her.
Takato, who had landed a minute or so earlier, now, leaned extremely casually, almost smoothly, up against one of the beams supporting the porch roof. Zoe looked around and noted the lack of digimon. "Hey, where are the other two?"
Takato pointed a thumb at the gate. "They'll probably be along soon, Renamon's smart enough to convince Guilmon to rush over here."
Takuya walked shakily over and leaned on the beam opposite, allowing his wings to fold over in front of him. "Careful there Takato, almost sounds like you don't care."
Takato actually managed to pull off a semi-decent impression of Rika's death glare and Takuya shuddered. Takato winced and relented his staring once the desired result was achieved. "It's not that Takuya. Guilmon's not as childish or oblivious as he used to be, and I know Renamon can keep him in line."
Takato gripped the beam hard and drew a sharp breath. "My leg is killing me."
Zoe bent down to look at his leg, and tried to lift the shin guard a smidge, but it clamped firmly tight. "All the adrenaline must have worn off." She posed in thought for a moment before remembering what Shin had said to Tai. "I don't know how we're going to fix your leg though, Shin told Tai that, other than the helmet, the armor seals around you."
Takato's head lolled back in exasperation. "Just perfect…. Hey wait, why'd she meet the others already?"
Takuya rubbed the top of his helmet. "Right, almost forgot about that, well….it seems like…."
The trio heard the door open and a worried Seiko Hata, along with an unreadable Rika appeared at the doorway. "I assume you fine gentlemen are friends of my granddaughter?"
The two nodded a little stupidly. Seiko turned her gaze to Zoe. "You as well young lady?" Zoe bowed politely. "I'm new, my name is Zoe."
Seiko bowed politely back. "Very nice to meet you." She gestured to the other two. "And you two are…?"
Takuya tipped his helmet politely. "Takuya, I'm also new."
Rika and Takato looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Rika crossed her arms before speaking. "Grandma, you remember Takato?"
Seiko smiled at Rika. "Of course dear, such a fine young lad, if not a bit scrawny."
Takato flexed his bicep to himself and hung his head low. Takuya barely contained his full-blown laughter as Zoe giggled a bit louder. Rika pointed to the crimson D-Knight. "That would be gogglehead."
Seiko smiling face was momentarily in a state of slight shock and she eyed the tamer suspiciously. "Takato? Is that you?"
Takato nodded and reluctantly tried to remove his helmet, which popped right off in one piece. "Yes ma'am, it's me."
Even with the hair pressed down from the sweat and weight of the armor, he didn't look much different facially. Overall though, there was a new air about him. Rika stared for a bit longer than she knew necessary and cursed herself for it. Seiko's smile again graced her features as she ushered the digidestined in.
"Come in children, come in and rest for a while."
Zoe bowed politely and walked in without any problems, Takuya however, was a tad skeptical about the weight of the armor. "I'm not sure I want to ruin your floors."
Seiko waved him off. "Nonsense, walk out back and take a seat, I'll make some refreshments."
Takuya nodded his thanks and proceeded in after his girlfriend. Takato however, was still leaning on the beam, with his hidden arm gripping it for dear life. Rika raised an eyebrow at him. "What's the matter gogglehead? Suddenly too good for my house?"
Takato chuckled nervously and shook his head. "No, it's not that Rika." He lifted his shin up a little. "I just don't want to get any blood on the floor."
Seiko gasped in worry and removed the hand towel from her shoulder before clamping it to the bottom of the shin guard. "Rika, take him to the bathroom and give him some first aid." She retreated into the house and immediately headed for the kitchen. "And make it fast, while I make a few grilled cheese sandwiches."
Rika stared at her grandmother disbelievingly and then back at Takato, who shrugged in response. "You heard her."
Rika mumbled a half-hearted death threat and flung Takato's arm over her shoulder to help support his weight. Surprisingly, she was able to help him in with no problem, which impressed Takato in the back of his mind. "Wow, you're really strong."
Rika smirked. "I try."
Takato's nose picked up the scent of lilacs on her and when he fully grasped her proximity, his heart caught in his throat. "You know, you smell nice too."
Rika fought the urge to twist his arm and simply gave him an irritated "Don't push your luck goggles."
Takato snickered a little. "Hey, this armor took on a crazed mega digimon; I figure it can buy me a few more seconds of life if you decide to kill me."
Rika rolled her eyes and sat him down on the toilet. "You've seen me ticked…" she poked two fingers into his chest and they walked their way up as a wicked smile grew on her face. "If I decided to kill you, you'd be shaking as I opened that armor like a tin can."
The ending of her statement radiated an edge that sent a somewhat pleasant tingle shooting through Takato. "I know I should be more scared than this. "He chuckled nervously. Rika sighed and sat down at the edge of the tub, lifting Takato's leg into her lap. "Just keep quiet and let me take a look at this."
She flipped a knife out of her pocket and Takato tried to pull away. "Whoa! What's that for?!" Rika held him in place firmly. "Stop squirming would you? I'm just going to lift the plate up."
Takato settled as he watched her slide the knife between skin and metal and pry the plate upwards. "Careful Rika, don't cut yourself."
Rika scoffed and didn't look up. "Who're you to be telling me not to get cut?" Takato hung his head. "I was klutzy, just let it go, I'm not really cut out for this you know?"
The plate shut closed again and the knife opened up the side of Rika's hand. She winced and put the cut in her mouth. "Yeah, I know that." She took her hand back out of her mouth and back on Takato's leg. "And that's why I have no idea what's gotten into you."
Takato managed to pick up the knife and put it in the sink. "What do you mean?" She gritted her teeth, stared straight into his eyes and clamped her hands around his shin guard. "Don't play dumb with me Takato. One day you and Guilmon are messing around like a couple of 5 year olds and now you're stepping in front of stuff trying to save me and acting like a knight in shining armor. What's this all about?!"
Takato lifted up her hand gently. "I know it's been a crazy few days, but Rika, these powers were given to me, to my brothers, for us to protect people." His hands wrapped around the one he held. "If I'm not jumping into danger, I'm not doing my job right." He chuckled at her stern expression, but was genuinely glad to see it soften into a smile.
"I don't know what I'm going to do with you goggles. Keep this up and I don't know how long you're going to last." Takato started snickering and she did as well, easing much of the tension between the two tamers. Between laughs Takato said "I don't know either Rika."
Sitting up a little straighter and re-establishing eye contact, he'd caught her off guard. "But, are you ok with this?"
All the sudden eye contact with her friend made Rika slightly uneasy, however she swallowed her fear and with unwavering voice said "Just don't die gogglehead." She gripped his hands in return and reached her free one to grab the first aid kit. "What's more, I'm gonna help you as much as I can."
Takato leaned his head back and shut his eyes in relaxation. "I wouldn't have it any other way. You know….." his face grew hot as he wanted to say something flirty, but held his tongue. "…Never mind."
Rika gently pulled her hand back and looked at him questioningly. "What's the matter? I can see that blush on your face." The wicked grin from earlier adorned her face again. "That's another thing, you're saying romantic things and you're blushing a lot, kind of like when you had… a crush on Jeri….." as soon as those words left her lips, she regretted it.
Takato's face had fallen slightly, but she saw more pondering in his face than anything else. His eyes closed serenely and he simply spoke. "I'm not sure how you feel, but I'm not gonna bring it up if it makes you uncomfortable."
He retracted his hands as well as attempted to get up, but she sat him down. "Where do you think you're going? I still haven't bandaged your leg."
Takato sighed in frustration. "Just give it up, that shin plate isn't going anywhere unless I figure out how to take this armor off. I'll live."
That answer wasn't good enough for Rika. "Screw that, I said I'd help you right?" She clamped down on his leg again and moved the shin plate around a little, causing Takato to squirm from the discomfort. "Cut it out Rika!"
Rika's unwillingness to give up out of concern for her friend ignited something within her. "I'm going to heal you Takato, so sit still." Takato attempted to squirm out of her firm grip one more time, but stopped at the sight of a growing purple glow from Rika's hands.
"What in the…." Rika muttered as she noticed the cut on her hand heal over in mere seconds. She turned her hands over in shock and found not a scratch on them. "How…?"
Takato dared not speak as he had noticed the yin-yang symbols on the backs of her hands, he knew. "Love?" He muttered.
Rika actually looked scared as her hands hadn't stopped giving off the soft lavender light. She looked at Takato's leg and an idea soon followed. She gulped and steadied her hands towards his leg. "Hold still, I'm going to try something."
Takato held his breath as she wrapped her hands around his shin and with a bit of concentration, willed the leg to heal, armor and all. Takato sighed as he felt the pain leaving. "It's working!" his face radiated excitement. "Rika, its working!"
Rika exhaled in relief with a tired look on her face as it healed fully. "Yeah…" She wobbled a little. "I…don't feel so good." And suddenly she fell forward. "Whoa there!" Takato quickly kept her from falling and rested her head against his shoulder.
He wasn't sure whether to move her, so he called out. "Hey, Takuya, get in here!"
He heard metallic footsteps quickly approach the open doorway and Takuya poked his head around the corner. "Hey, is everything alright? Renamon's eyes just started glowing this freaky purple and…." He saw Rika unconscious against Takato's shoulder and rushed in. "What happened to her?"
Takato gently lifted her up and cocked his head toward the door. "The short of it is, she healed me and….. I think she's got powers like ours."
Takuya's mouth gaped as Takato pushed his way through to the living room and he laid Rika down on the couch. Seiko looked up from her cooking and rushed over as Renamon came running in. "What's wrong with my granddaughter?" asked Seiko.
Takato shook his head. "I'm not sure; she knocked out after she healed me."
Renamon inspected her Tamer closely. "I felt a strong rush of energy just now. Like my power had simply exploded exponentially."
Takuya and Takato looked at each other with concern. "Takato, I think we need to talk." Takuya motioned toward the back door and Takato nodded. As the two made their way outside, Takato turned back and said "If she wakes up, let us know, I fear she may be in danger."
The two females nodded and Takato closed the door. Guilmon immediately jumped on him. "Takato! You left me back there!"
Takato chuckled. "I know boy, but didn't you have a good time with Renamon?"
Guilmon frowned. "She didn't talk a lot. She's bossy and mean sometimes."
The three gathered laughed at Guilmon's comments, but after a minute or so, Takuya cleared his throat. "Ahem, Takato…"
Takato stopped laughing and paid attention almost immediately, noting the severity in his tone. "What is it Takuya?"
Takuya rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I think you'd better sit down for what I'm about to tell you."
Takato did so and Takuya breathed in deep. "You know these powers we have?"
Takato nodded.
Takuya acknowledged it and continued. "Well, Shin wasn't all that clear about what we're to do with them…."
After a few minutes, Takuya had relayed what Shin told the digidestined. Rika had silently opened the door and leaned against it right before Takuya had told him how dangerous it was and where they would have to go. While Takuya noticed, he didn't stop, Rika would find out eventually.
"…So that's it Takato. We're leaving tomorrow at noon from the Odaiba high school."
Over the course of the conversation, Takato had gradually paled from the words coming out of Takuya's mouth. Guilmon sat obediently by his Tamer's side with a worried expression focused on Takato and Rika now had her arms crossed in her normal pensive mood.
"Takato?" Takuya tapped him to see if he was alright. Takato held one finger up. "One second." He ran quickly to the side of the house and proceeded to violently empty the contents of his stomach on the grass.
Rika massaged her temples. "That's not good for the grass."
Takuya sighed and Zoe patted him on the back. "You softened it more than Shin did Takuya, don't feel bad."
Rika's attention turned to the other two. "So who's this Shin guy?"
Takuya shrugged. "Once he came around, all this sort of happened." He wrapped an arm around Zoe tightly. "In the process though, he told us we can do great things if we have courage." He looked into sweetly into his girlfriend's eyes. "And he was right."
Zoe smiled and the two kissed, earning an eyebrow raise from Rika. "..Oh, is that why Takato's been acting like that?"
Takuya started snickering as a blushing Takato took his seat again, now donning his helmet to minimize his embarrassment. "Just maybe, anyway, Rika, could you do me a favor?"
Rika placed her hands on her hips expectantly. "Depends on what it is."
Takuya cleared his throat. "Well, if we're gone, then nobody in my team will be able to spirit evolve and they'll all be sitting ducks. Could you and the rest of the Tamers back them up?"
Zoe shook her head. "You're worrying too much Takuya."
Rika put a hand up to ask for silence. "It's ok. The goggleheads need a hand, so we'll hold down the fort, right Zoe?"
Zoe jumped up and hugged Rika, much to the redhead's displeasure. "Yeah! We'll hang out and go shopping too."
Rika sweat-dropped. "That's not exactly what I had in mind."
Now it was Takato's turn to snicker, which earned him a death glare from Rika. Takuya chuckled at his companion's reaction, but moved to pry Zoe off of Rika. "Alright, that's a world of worry off of my mind. Thank you."
Rika nodded coolly. "Yeah, sure thing."
Takuya wrapped an arm around Zoe and picked her up. "Alright, so, I gotta go home and tell my parents….ugh. You want a ride home?"
Zoe hugged him tight and nodded happily. "Yeah! Let's go!"
Takuya smiled and turned to Takato. "Hey man, I know it came as a shock, but remember, we're all in this together."
Takato gave him the thumbs-up and Takuya nodded his goodbye. "Later Takato and goodbye everyone." He shot up into the sky and took off. "See you!" shouted Zoe.
The group waved their goodbyes and as Takuya took off, Takato's knees weakened and he laid out flat on the ground. "Oh man….."
Guilmon sniffed around his tamer. "Takato, are you ok?"
Takato shook his head. "I don't think so."
Rika grew a little annoyed at the laying knight and stood over him. "So that's it huh? Once you find out it's not going to be a piece of cake you quit?"
"Rika…I…"
"No Takato, the knight act's not supposed to disappear when you're going up against something dangerous." She sat down adjacent with back turned. "There's a lot riding on this if I caught everything Takuya said. But it looks like I can't do anything right now, is that right?"
Takato remained silent as she continued. "Look goggles, I don't want to get all mushy here, but I'm trusting you to get this done." Takato stopped staring vacantly at the sky and turned his gaze at her. Even from behind, he could see how tensed she was. "You know what?" he said. "Even if I'm scared out of my mind, I was still gonna go through with it."
Rika turned on him with a bit of anger evident in her features. "Then why…?"
"It meant a lot to hear you say that." He sat up slowly, lifted his helmet and kissed her on the forehead before standing up. "When I get back..Maybe you'd like to get some dinner?"
For the first time, she let him see her reddening face. "Um…sure thing goggles."
Takato smirked and put his helmet back on. "Then I'll make sure I come back alive." He called over to his partner. "Guilmon, let's get going, we've gotta pack." Guilmon ran over and jumped on his back. "Giddy-up horsey!"
Takato hung his head in exasperation. "Oh Guilmon…."
Rika chuckled at the two, as did Renamon, who'd been silently watching over the proceedings. Renamon patted Guilmon on the head and said "You'd better come back as well Guilmon, Terriermon would drive us all insane without you."
Guilmon nodded happily. "Yep! Bye Renamon, bye Rika!" he waved as Takato's cape billowed and the D-Knight took off, leaving only with a "See you later ladies."
Takato leaped and took off in a speedy hovering. A smile tugged at Renamon's lips as she saw her tamer's expression. "They do have a boyish charm about them don't they?"
Rika's eyes were still on the sky when she smiled "darned gogglehead…."
As night fell, the D-Knights each had their own preparations to make, but none were as sluggish as Davis. His possessions were strewn all about his bed as he sat among them with Veemon playing through legendary campaign on Halo 3. "Grunts everywhere! Headshots all around!"
Shots rang out and children were heard cheering as the grunt heads exploded into confetti and it made the two start laughing. Master Chief was surrounded by brutes and grunts, but Veemon pressed. "Die!" he switched his weapon to the fuel rod cannon and all hell broke loose. "You can't stop the Chief suckers!"
Davis still chuckled at Veemon's fervor, but as his eyes passed over his desk, he saw the simple tools he'd used to shape the necklace as well as his half dangling from the drawer handle. For a moment, his heart sank, but he turned his attention back to his things.
Comics, video games, and a change of clothes were all that went into his back pack and he'd placed his sword on top of that. Shaking himself out of the stupor, he grabbed the sword and marveled at the mystic workmanship. Drawing it out slowly, every inch of the deadly blade shone like sunlight even in the dim confines of his room, illuminating it.
The sword pulsated with comforting energy, but Davis decided it best to put it away and watched Veemon decimate some more covenant forces. Blood starting to boil, the violence was suddenly so invigorating to him; he didn't notice that in his excitement, flames were building on his hands. "Take 'em out Veemon!" he shouted as Master Chief encountered a pair of hunters.
The flames erupted, forcing him to his feet in surprise. "Holy Crap!" looking around frantically, he saw his open window and thrust both arms out of it, blasting the flames into the empty air. Davis breathed a sigh of relief, but turned to meet the worried stare of Veemon, who'd paused his slaughter.
"What's that look for?" Davis asked.
Veemon shrugged. "Just wondering if you're ok…."
Davis shrugged and turned back to his items on the bed. "I couldn't give you a straight answer."
Veemon's face remained unchanged for a moment before he sighed and returned to his game. Davis had heard it, but his head was in turmoil. Feeling equally sore about Kari as he did about worrying his partner, Davis didn't feel like himself. "Hey Veemon…" Veemon paused the game again, but didn't turn "Yeah?"
"….just don't let me get distracted alright?"
Veemon nodded and resumed his firefight, leveling the remaining forces with more battle rifle fire. The glowing computer screen displayed a new IM, playing the first few notes of "Like the Angel" by rise against, which startled Davis out of his reverie. He'd set that sound to play when only a certain person messaged him and he swallowed hard. Risking a quick glance at the screen, his fears were confirmed.
"Davis, I'm sorry about what happened today, but I didn't mean to hurt you…" read the first IM.
Davis stare grew hard. "That was a pretty funny way of showing it…." He muttered to himself. He debated on whether to answer back, but saw she was typing again. "Please Davis, can we talk?" read the next.
For reasons unknown to Davis, her earnest pleas aggravated his mood. He clicked the 'sign off' button on the messenger and went back to packing. His jaw was clenched firmly, but unshed tears coated his eyes.
Yeah, wow, pretty heavy stuff at the end. So, let me know what you think. R+R. reviews always prompt me to up my pace for writing these chapters. See you guys next chapter.
