Chapter 10: "Until the Purity Fades pt. 1"
Dark fog surrounded the area making any scenery unrecognizable. In this cold darkness a young girl about the age of 10 stood isolated in an elegant pink dress. She turned to catch sight of two monsters approaching her. Shrinking back the russet haired girl shivered in fear. It was then that creatures resembling frogs and tadpoles appeared before the proclaimed princess. "Geckomon! Otamamon! Save me!" The girl commanded looking to the creatures who had been bending over backward to her every demand.
"No, tama!" "No, ribbit" The creatures responded in unison.
Hearing the defiance, the girl grew angered as she shot back to her "servants". "Fine! I won't sing for you anymore!" She threatened angrily.
"That's okay, ribbit." One responded right away. "You wouldn't sing for us even if we did help you, ribbit."
"We're going home to sleep, ribbit." A second stated before the group of creatures turned from the girl leaving her to fend for herself.
"Wait! I'll sing!" The girl pleaded in desperation reaching out to the creatures. "So please, help me!" With no such luck of support, the girl turned to her assailants in fear.
A gracious smile found the girl's panicked features as her friends appeared before her. Relief washed over her, "You guys! Help me!" She pleaded.
The two boys before her wore scowls upon their faces. As they began to fade away the bushy haired teen spoke first. "You are no friend of ours!"
Next, an orange dinosaur spat at the girl, "It serves you right!"
The older of the boys with dark hair scuffed, "Have you forgotten what you've done to us?"
Realizing that her friends were not going to help her, she could only reach out to her partner before her. "Palmon!" She practically begged the flower her stepped away from her.
"I hate you, Mimi!"
Hurt and loneliness filled the child as she turned to look at the evil beings closing in on her. There was no one willing to help her as she stood completely alone in the darkness. Her worst fears taking over her as the end approached. "NOOOO!"
Images of her friends flashed through her mind as the horrible actions she had done came to mind. "Taichi-san… Agumon… You guys… Wait... Palmon…" Tears filled the child's eyes as darkness surrounded her.
Suddenly a bright light broke through the darkness releasing the child from her nightmare. Slowly a now fifteen year old strawberry blonde rose from her sleeping position to look around to the other children sleeping beside her. From within the storage of the pocket of her dark washed khakis came a beaming light from her digivice. As soon as she regained her composure, the light slowly faded leaving the sleeping chosen children and their partners in the looming darkness. It had merely been a dream. The same dream she had experienced all those years ago…
Mimi rose to her feet as she allowed her muscles to stretch and awaken from their slumber. Quietly, she grabbed her olive hat she had been resting her head upon as she turned to her slumbering friends. Her caramel eyes softened as she gazed upon the plant creature sleeping peacefully beside an orange dinosaur. 'Palmon…' Her heart seemed to cry out as those feelings of fear and rejection overtook her once again.
Letting out a soft sigh, the teen allowed her feet to take her away from the group. Ever since they had heard of the prophecy and the trouble plaguing this world once more, Mimi had felt herself somewhat on edge. Inwardly she wanted nothing more than to help her dear friend Taichi who appeared to be struggling more than anyone. His sister had been kidnapped after all. There were sure to be many emotions he was battling, to make matters worse, he wasn't willing to open up and release those feelings. It wasn't as though Mimi could blame her close friend. Admitting weaknesses was hard for anyone to do.
The girl found herself at a stream before she stopped walking and knelt beside the water. Wind gently played with her long locks of hair as her eyes gazed to her own reflection within the rippling waves of water. Despite her concern for her friends and most importantly Hikari, Mimi couldn't get her mind off the nightmare that plagued her. It was that nightmare from so many years ago. Ever since the prophecy had been recited, Mimi had been preoccupied with the line she assumed related to her.
"Until the Purity fades." The strawberry blonde recited quietly as it felt as though the wind around her reacted in a violent manner to the words. This reaction from the elements caused Mimi's heart rate to increase as she found herself short of breath. What was this feeling within her? She desired more than anything to be able to decipher the ancient text and know how to keep such a thing from happening. In the past Mimi had turned from her friends and her destiny and her purity nearly had faded. Picodevimon and Vamdemon had attempted to lure her away from the light and purity and almost succeeded. Perhaps the duo would have succeeded if Sora had not been watching over her and saved her from the darkness.
How could Purity possibly fade now? Mimi had vowed to stand by her friends and to stand up against the darkness. But as with prophecies, the girl felt there was truly no way to stop them from happening. The awakening day was drawing closer and closer. Before the 4th of August Purity would fade.
"I can't let it!" Mimi's face showed her determination as she clenched her hands tightly around her digivice. She couldn't let her friends down and that meant whatever the darkness threw at her, she'd have to be prepared for and stand against. "I won't let the purity in my heart fade! I won't!" Little did Mimi know there was so much more to that line of text than she could ever imagine.
Rustling came from beyond the bushes causing the teenager to jump in panic. Her caramel eyes desperately looked for the source of the rustling and found herself relieved to see a boy slightly taller than her with golden blonde hair. Attempting to slow her heartbeat the girl held her chest and inhaled a deep breath. "Yamato-san, you scared me."
After tackling through the bushes, the blonde haired boy was relieved to find the girl he had been searching for. He had awakened to find she was missing from the group and this had brought concern to him. It wasn't that the two of them interacted directly very often, but she was still one of his friends and a part of the team, he was concerned if anyone were missing especially with the current situation at hand. "Mimi-chan? What are you doing out here?"
The girl brushed a strand of her strawberry blonde hair behind her ear as she thought about what would be the best way to answer that question. Quite honestly she wasn't even entirely sure why she had left the group. Perhaps it was because she wanted to find somewhere to splash water on her face or because she didn't want to bother anyone by being unable to sleep. Her eyes looked to the boy noting the obvious concern on his features. He must have thought something bad had happened to her. It made sense after all. She had left without even bothering to wake her partner. That must have been very startling. However, it wasn't as though the girl had expected anyone to wake up and notice her absence. "I'm sorry Yamato-san, I didn't mean to worry you. I guess I just needed some air." She replied calmly with a soft smile on her face. It wasn't as though she really wanted to worry him.
Running a hand through his hair, the older boy let out a sigh. Of all people he understood feeling as though he needed to be away from the group. Although when this happened in the past is hadn't proven to be such a good decision. Then again, he remembered that the girl before him had done the exact same thing. The only difference was that she hadn't been alone; Jyou had offered to accompany her. "I understand needing to get away, but you need to be careful. We don't know what's going on. This could have been really dangerous."
Instinctively, the strawberry blonde puffed her cheeks out and puckered her lips in frustration. It wasn't as though she were a completely helpless damsel and she didn't want others to think she was week. After a moment of huffing in anger, the girl thought about the kindness the boy was offering her. He wasn't scolding her, but instead demonstrating his concern for her. The girl's facial features lightened as she let out a soft sigh and found a rock to sit on. One foot remained planted on the ground while she brought the other to her chest and wrapped her arms around it. "I know, I just needed to think I guess."
Yamato noticed the distress the girl's body seemed to be displaying. It wasn't as though this girl had ever shown personal conflict to him. In fact the only problems Mimi seemed to have in the past were with killing creatures and even then it wasn't like her to quietly express her troubles. Out of anyone in the group, Mimi had probably been the loudest at voicing her opinions. Seeing this side to the girl intrigued the boy as he leaned against a tree and looked to her. It wasn't as though he was close to her, but Yamato knew that the battles with darkness were going to be tough. Having fought them in the past he knew how easy it was to let those dark thoughts in. They would all have to be on their guard and willing to assist those that struggle around them. "What has you upset Mimi-chan? Is it the battles we're probably going to have to fight?"
Mimi opened her eyes slowly, but didn't look to the other chosen. Her eyes remained fixated on the ground as she thought about what was truly bothering her. She shook her head softly as she felt her shoulders tensing lightly. "I know we need to fight. Back there… When that darkness tried to take us, I knew that I needed to stay strong. The darkness mocked me by bringing up that we wouldn't be able to save everyone. It told me that lives were going to be lost…" The teen paused for a moment as she took in a deep breath before slowly exhaling. "I know that by not fighting lives would be lost either way. I learned that during the battle Jyou and I had with MetalEtemon all those years ago."
Listening to her talk, Yamato was surprised at how well-grounded it appeared Mimi was. Of course it was to be expected with the time that had taken place between their adventures. The girl had only been 10 during their original expedition and now she was 15. Something then bothered him, if it wasn't the loss of lives that was bothering the girl, what was it? "Ok. I'm glad you are willing to fight with us. But… if you don't mind me asking, what is bothering you then?"
It should have been obvious that the boy would want to know what was bothering the girl. That's what friends did after all. Being the bearer of Friendship it was only customary for Yamato to be concerned for his friends. Deep down Mimi wanted to voice her concerns and have them reassured by those around her. However, her concerns seemed so trivial compared to everything else taking place. Those feelings of rejection were nothing compared to darkness consuming her best friend's little sister or the war being waged between worlds. How could she complain about not wanting to be part of a prophecy and battling nightmares from the past?
Silence filled the air between the chosen children. Mimi truly wanted to talk about what was bothering her, but the words just wouldn't seem to form. Yamato looked to the girl noticing that she seemed to be struggling with something internally. He knew what it felt like to harbor feelings that felt like they couldn't be shared. There was so much he had learned in their previous adventures about being able to open up and not let those dark feelings overtake him.
As the teen went to open his mouth and urge the girl to talk things out with him, an explosion sounded over the distance. Instantly both teens stood straight up and turned their attention back towards their campsite. Flames filled the darkened air causing panic to overtake the chosen children. "That explosion came from our camp!" Mimi shouted in horror as her caramel eyes watched the flames dance high above the tree tops and rush relentlessly in their direction.
A/N: Dun dun dun! I know, I know I had promised adult-ish content and still none. I'm terrible with my estimations. It will come in the upcoming "Until the Purity Fades" chapters, but it just didn't work into this chapter. I am actually thinking this will be a 3-part section. For now I hope you enjoyed the first part~