I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way! Nor any of the songs I will be using!
Speech Key:
"The" – Oral/Normal Speech
'The' – Thoughts
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE BEGINNING!
AN: Okay, this chapter isn't going to be very long, so I wouldn't get my hopes up. I think it's written well enough, though I know that some parts were easier said than written, most having sounded better in my head…
Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!
-The Ninth Child-
xX-The Unraveling Begins-Xx
-Hamasaki Academy-
"Hey, Kagome?" T.K called out to the raven-haired girl as she packed her books and notebooks away into her bag. "Could I talk to you for minute?"
Matt and Kagome gave the young blonde a worried look, but the latter nodded in assent. "Yeah, sure; just let me get grab my stuff and we'll talk."
It had been over a week since the DigiDestined's battle with BlackWarGreymon and about four days since she returned from her grandparents' home in Nagano. Just as the others had agreed, Kagome didn't go to the Digital World nor join them, as they felt it was more important for her to rest up and recoup. Of course, that didn't stop her from giving them some advice now and then whenever she received a vision, or because she used her Tarot cards to predict a possible outcome.
"What do you think he wants to talk about?" Matt asked, watching as the raven-haired girl stuffed the last of the notebooks she needed into her bag. 'And why couldn't he talk to me? Did he think it was too embarrassing?'
"I don't really know," Kagome shook her head, "Anyway, I should get going. Bye!" And with that she quickly made her way out of the classroom, leaving behind a baffled blonde teen.
"Okay, there's definitely something wrong here," Matt muttered. "I wonder if there's something wrong with Kagome? She's never that short with anyone and she's been acting a little weird lately…like she's hiding something…"
The~Ninth~Child
"So what did you need to talk about?" Kagome asked after T.K lead her into an empty corridor. "Is there anything wrong?"
The young blonde was silent for a few moments. "Kagome, are you in love with Matt?"
Kagome nearly fell off the bench at the unexpected question. Out of everything the young blonde could have asked, the raven-haired teen hadn't expected this! Quickly recovering, Kagome's first instinct was to lie or give a veiled truth at the most. But she stopped short after opening her mouth; did she really want to lie when the preteen already knew? 'But how did he? Am I really that transparent?' "How did you know?" she asked instead.
"Well, you've always been secretive," T.K gave a small chuckle, "And I don't think anyone's ever been able to tell just what you were feeling. But Matt's been worried about you and even Kari and Tai's noticed that something's been different."
"So you came to talk to me in their stead?" the raven-haired girl raised an eyebrow.
"No no!" T.K waved his hands around, denying that statement quickly. "I'm only talking to you because I was worried, too. You were acting a little…off lately and I just couldn't understand why. But when Matt told me about how you just didn't seem to talk so much with him anymore, I sort of just put two and two together." His cerulean orb stared straight into icy-blue ones. "How long have you liked him?"
"I don't know," Kagome shook her head, "I mean, realized it a while ago, but I don't know when I started liking him…"
Silence drooped over the duo.
"You know," the young blonde said after a moment, "It's probably not my place to say this, but I've always thought that you and Matt would look good together. But if you like him, why haven't you said anything?"
The raven-haired girl sighed. "Because I don't want to hurt anyone else," she whispered. "You see, someone else likes him, too, and I've only just found out. The girl that likes him is a good friend and I'm not about to hurt her by competing for the same boy. So I've been trying to put some distance between the two of us so it wouldn't hurt as much…"
"But it's not working out so well, is it?" T.K guessed. "Because you love him too much…"
Kagome could only nod as she blinked away the tears gathering in her eyes. Having talked to her grandmother and Mimi about the situation made her feel a little lighter, but she still felt the heavy weight of an unrequited love on her heart.
"But won't you regret not telling him?" the preteen asked, watching as Kudamon slithered out of Kagome's bag to settled around her neck as a scarf, offering silent comfort.
"Maybe," the raven-haired teen answered softly, "But at the same time, I know I'll be happy for them because they'd be happy together."
'That's Kagome for ya,' T.K's eyes softened on the older girl's figure, 'Always thinking about others and never herself…' "You know, it's okay to be selfish from time to time. You're always looking out for others and never yourself, so I think everyone would understand."
"Even if they did," Kagome shook her head, stroking Kudamon's fur lightly, "I couldn't hurt someone else for my own selfish desires."
The blonde just sighed and nodded. "I thought you'd say that," he got up and hugged the older girl as tightly as he could without hurting her, "So I just wanted you to know that if ever needed to talk about anything, anything at all, just remember that you've got friends and others there for you…Sis."
Kagome smiled softly at the title the preteen had bestowed upon her. "Thank you…"
No one noticed the figure hiding behind the corner walk away, a pensive expression on his features.
-Digital World
"Kagome," Kudamon asked slowly, "What are we doing here?"
"Looking for someone," the raven-haired girl told her partner. "BlackWarGreymon, to be exact."
"Oh?" Kudmaon blinked. "Well that's ni—wait…WHAT?!" He looked at his partner in shock. "Have you gone mad?! Why on earth would you go looking for that beast?! Don't you remember what he did the last time we saw him? Not only did he harm T.K, Kari, Gatomon, and Patamon, but he hurt you, too!"
"And I think he's just lonely," Kagome said softly, walking along the sandy ground.
'Oh dear Sovereigns,' Kudamon looked up to the skies, as though asking for salvation, 'My Lady's gone mad!'
"No, seriously, though, think about it," the raven-haired girl continued, "All the other Control Spire Digimon we've faced were made of one or just a few Control Spires, like Okuwamon or Golemon. But BlackWarGreymon was made up of a hundred of them. The other Control Spire Digimon were much simpler in composition, and therefore had no real mind of their own, which pretty much made them dependable on Arukenimon's orders. And don't forget what the others told us, that when Arukenimon gave him orders, he just ignored them. I think that having been created from so many Control Spires, he became self aware and formed a consciousness of his own. And I get the feeling that he's going to be very confused."
"How so?" Kudamon tilted his head curiously. "Did you have another vision?"
"Call it a feeling," the raven-haired teen chuckled. "Anyway, I think that since Arukenimon created BlackWarGreymon with no other purpose other than to destroy us and to probably terrorize the Digital World, since he's become self-aware, he'll probably be facing different emotions and feelings that he's never felt nor thought of before. It's like…take Gatomon, for example. When she worked for Myotismon, all she knew was evil, but when she came to our world and met Kari, she felt something for her, but couldn't explain it because she didn't understand what kind of feeling it was and why she was feeling it in the first place."
"I think I understand now," the fox-like Digimon nodded, "But are you sure it's wise to seek him out like this? And do you even know where he could be?"
"To answer both your questions: I honestly don't know," Kagome answered, "For all we know, he could be roaming around aimlessly or leaving a path of destruction behind. As for if it's a good thing to find him, maybe and maybe not. When we do, let's just pray and hope that he won't destroy us on sight…"
'That's comforting…' Kudamon sweat-dropped.
The raven-haired girl stopped in her tracks when she felt a large wave of dark energy. "Oh? Now that's interesting…I wonder, could it be him?" 'Since BlackWarGreymon was created from a hundred Control Spires, that massive amount of dark energy would make sense…now to pinpoint where he's going…' She closed her eyes and concentrated on the trail BlackWarGreymon's energy left before opening her eyes to find a black trail only seen through her eyes.
"And that's interesting, too…" Kagome trailed off, seeing where the path led to.
"Kagome?" Kudamon asked. "What is it?"
"It looks like we're going to be seeing an old friend," Kagome replied, "Kudamon, if you would?"
"Kudamon Digivolve to: Reppamon!"
Kagome climbed atop her partner's back before they set off for their destination, the raven-haired teen shouting off directions now and then.
The~Ninth~Child
"Then I have nothing to talk to you about," Kagome and Kudamon heard a semi-deep voice say, "You couldn't possibly understand me whether or not you can become WarGreymon or any other real Digimon."
"But maybe I can help," they heard Agumon say.
"And does someone need to be the same as you to be able to understand you?" Kagome added, walking out into view of the two Digimon.
"Kagome! Hey!" Agumon grinned.
"Hi, Agumon," Kagome smiled gently at the little orange dinosaur. She looked up at BlackWarGreymon, whose back was still turned, though he'd stopped in his tracks. "Well?"
"Maybe I will stay," BlackWarGreymon turned around and looked considering at Kagome and Agumon, Kudamon draped around his partner's shoulders, "Maybe you can prove the answers I seek."
"Uh, I didn't know there was gonna be a quiz involved," Agumon frowned.
Kagome and Kudamon sweat-dropped at that. "T-That's not exactly what he meant, Agumon…" She and Kudamon recovered before turning to the Mega Digimon a few feet away from them. "So…What do you want to ask?"
The Mega Digimon looked at them for a moment before answering. "Where is your heart?"
"My heart?" Agumon cocked his head to the side. "Hmm, maybe in here," he put his hands on his chest, "Or maybe…" he placed his hands on his head, his facing growing confused. "Oh I'm not sure! Kagome?"
"It is strange, you claim to be a real Digimon, and yet you do not know where your heart is," the dark-hued Digimon looked at the raven-haired girl. "Well? Where is your heart located?"
"Before I answer you," Kagome replied, "Will you answer a question of mine?"
BlackWarGreymon said nothing as he only nodded.
"Why do you want to know where our hearts are located?" the raven-haired teen asked.
"I am…unsure of my purpose," BlackWarGreymon answered with a moments' hesitation, "I was created from a hundred Control Spires and therefore am a much more complex being than my brethren. I feel strange things at time and yet I feel empty inside. Why is that?"
Kagome smiled gently at the Mega Digimon. "Our hearts are located in our chests," she placed a hand over hers, "they are what keep both humans and Digimon alive. They are the reason we feel emotions and interpret them. They're the reason why we feel happy, sad, angry, and so much more."
BlackWarGreymon looked down at his hand for a moment. "When I fought off a herd of Mammothmon, I protected a small flower. Why? It is not stronger than I and nor is it alive. Why would I protect something that has no purpose?"
"Plants, flowers, trees," Kagome spoke, "Everything is alive, even if you can't see it. They live and they die, just as we all do. Just because something doesn't speak or move doesn't automatically mean that they aren't alive, BlackWarGreymon. You probably protected it because you wanted to. Sometimes, when someone protects something, they don't always need a reason to do it. If they have a reason, that only gives them the strength to carry out their task."
"And the empty feeling I feel inside?" BlackWarGreymon asked. "Does that mean I have no heart and therefore no purpose?"
"That means nothing of the sort!" Kagome denied vehemently. "Look at me, I have a heart, but I don't know my purpose, either. I'm just seeing where life takes me as I make my own path. Everything and everyone is brought into this world because they are wanted by someone. As we all grow, we learn from our experiences and that helps us forge the path we take in life. Eventually everyone finds the thing or things they were meant to do."
"But I was brought into this world by that arachnid Digimon to destroy it," the Mega Digimon said, "Does that mean that she wanted me here?"
"She brought you in this world for a task she probably knew she couldn't do herself," the raven-haired girl replied, "But that doesn't mean that you're not wanted or that you don't have a purpose. As far as wanting goes, Agumon, Kudamon, and I want to be here with you, don't we? And your purpose? Well, that's something you need to discover on your own. You have the right to choose your path and whether it's bad or good, remains up to you."
"And my heart?" BlackWarGreymon brought the conversation back to where it had begun. "Do I have one? What if it really doesn't exist and is only an illusion?"
"It isn't an illusion!" Agumon protested. "When you care about someone more than you care about yourself, that's called 'Love'! I'm not sure where my heart is, but I know it's there! Like Kagome said, both humans and Digimon have them and that's how we're able to understand each other's feelings!"
"And what about me?" BlackWarGreymon reminded them. "I am not a true Digimon and neither am I human. I am a Digimon created through Control Spires, does that mean I have a heart, or was I created without one? Was I meant not to have a heart?"
"You feel emotion," Kagome broke in, seeing Agumon get flustered from question after question, "And that's enough to know that you have a heart, real Digimon or not."
"But I am an artificial being," the Mega Digimon squatted down so that he was eye-level with Kagome and Agumon, "What use would I have for a heart?"
"Well," the orange dinosaur said, "You could be a friend!"
"A friend?" the dark-hued Digimon said the words as though they were foreign to him.
"Yeah!" Agumon nodded. "If you become my friend, that means that you care and so you have a heart!"
"And if I'm not capable of being a friend?" BlackWarGreymon questioned.
"You feel emotion," Kagome reminded him, walking up and placing a hand on his arm, "and that's enough to know that you have a heart. Humans and Digimon know they have hearts because they feel. You said that you felt compelled to protect that flower, remember? So that should be proof enough!"
"But I crushed the flower not too long after," the Mega Digimon protested.
"Then you were probably just frustrated because you didn't understand what you were feeling or what feeling even was," Kagome shrugged. "But all in all, you should know that you have a heart, despite not being a Digimon that was born naturally." She saw the large Digimon was still unsure of himself, so she sought a way to wipe the uncertain glint from his eyes. "Hey!" she said suddenly. "Why don't I give you a nickname?"
"A nick…name?" the Mega Digimon's head tilted to the side curiously. "What is a nickname?"
"It's another name to call someone other than the one they were born with," Agumon piped up.
"I think," Kagome looked at the large Digimon, "I'll call you Eclipse!"
"Eclipse?" BlackWarGreymon looked at the small human girl before him.
Kagome nodded with a smile. "Uh-huh! I thought it would be perfect for you!"
"So does that mean we're friends, now?" Agumon asked BlackWarGreymon.
"I supp—ARGH!" the Mega Digimon doubled over in pain, clutching at his chest.
"Eclipse?" Kagome used the name she'd dubbed him. "Eclipse what's wrong?"
"The…pain…TOO MUCH!" his pupils became slitted as he took to the skies all of a sudden.
"Hey wait!" Agumon shouted. "I was gonna make smores!"
"Kudamon!" Kagome nodded at her Digimon, who'd dozed off the entire time so far.
"Right!" Kudamon nodded.
"Digi-Armour: Energize!"
"Kudamon Armour-Digivolve to: Sorcermon, the Mage of Compassion!"
"We need to hurry," Kagome said urgently, "I'm getting a weird wave of energy from where Eclipse is going!"
"But why didn't you have a vision of this?" Sorcermon asked.
"Oryu said that my gifts were changing," Kagome replied, "This that's probably why my visions have been so late or vague lately. I might still See things now and then, but I don't think they'll be as frequent as they were." There was another pulse of the strange energy. "Sorcermon, plase tell you've felt something like this before!"
"I'm sorry Milady," Sorcermon shook his head, "But I'm afraid I'm just as much in the dark as you are…"
'Oh I hope we get there before Eclipse does something he'll regret…' Kagome prayed.
The~Ninth~Child
"That can't be…" the mage Digimon breathed out in disbelief when he and his partner reached the place where BlackWarGreymon had been going to. "But I thought they were just myths…"
"What do you mean?" Kagome asked.
"That large stone over there is what's known as a Destiny Stone," Sorcermon spoke, "Legend has it that if all seven are destroyed, then a great calamity will befall the Digital World. Up until now, I thought the Destiny Stones were legends, but there where have one right before us…"
"Where the heck were you, Kagome?!" Davis burst out, when he saw the raven-haired girl. "And why didn't you warn us about this?!"
"Don't take that tone with me, boy," Kagome growled. "If I could've told you all something, I would've said so, but as it stands, I didn't have a vision, I didn't even know this would happen!"
"In any case," Sorcermon spoke up, watching in horror as Mummymon, Arukenimon, and Knightmon continuously attacked the giant stone lying ahead of them, "We need to stop them from destroying that Destiny Stone or who knows what could happen! And that's provided that the legend is true!"
"And we'd better do it fast!" Kagome added, sensing a familiar and dark aura headed their way. 'Or I'm afraid that Eclipse might want to do something about that…'
"But what can we do?" Ankylomon asked. "Anytime we get close enough to 'em, they just knock us all away easy as pie!"
"Then figure something else out or—" Kagome cut herself off. "He's here…"
"Hey, they're running away!" Cody exclaimed, watching as Mummymon and Arukenimon ran off, leaving Knightmon behind to whack his blade upon the Destiny Stone over and over. "Why?"
"They must know that it's impossible to defeat us," Yolei grinned smugly.
'A little proud, aren't you?' Kagome sweat-dropped. "That's not why they left, look…"
The group looked up to see a dark cloud heading towards them, and leading it was a very familiar dark-hued Digimon Kagome had been speaking to only mere moments before.
BlackWarGreymon.
The group could only watch in horrified awe as the Mega Digimon destroyed Knightmon with a single attack before starting to throw his Terra Destroyers at the Destiny Stone repeatedly.
"Come on, we have to stop him!" Silphymon shouted, leading Paildramon, Pegasusmon, Ankylomon, and Sorcermon straight at BlackWarGreymon to try and get him to stop attacking the Destiny Stone.
Unfortunately, this tactic didn't end well for the DigiDestined's Digimon as one of BlackWarGreymon's Terra Destroyers was aimed straight for the five Digimon. The sheer power of the attack, in turn, caused the five Digimon, two Ultimate and three Champion, to revert back to either their In-Training or their Rookies forms.
"One hit…" Cody breathed out shakily as he cradled Upamon in his arms, "One hit was all it took for him to beat them…"
"It's cracking!" T.K exclaimed in horror, watching a small crater appear on the Destiny Stone's surface, more and more of it getting chipped off as the attacks continued.
"Eclipse, don't do it!" Kagome shouted out to the dark-hued Digimon, ignoring the odd looks she received from the preteens and Cody. "Eclipse, please, you don't know what could happen if you destroy it!"
A gold eye spared a glance back to the one who called him by the nickname he was dubbed, but continued on with the task at hand as thought he hadn't heard her. "Terra Destroyer!"
This last attack did the long-standing Stone to give way.
Piece by piece, the Destiny Stone was decimated in the final attack from BlackWarGreymon. The after-effect, however, was something no one had expected. A giant, dark twister rose from the ground to the overcast skies, drawing in everything around it.
"We've got to get out of here!" Cody shouted. "That thing's sucking everything in and if we don't go now, we'll be gone along with whatever it takes in!"
The DigiDestined all nodded and ran away as fast as they could with their Digimon partners in their arms, all the while struggling against the power of the twister trying to draw them in.
Kagome looks back as a single solitary tear ran down her cheek. "Eclipse…" Her eyes then caught something she probably wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't looked back. 'A warp?!'
-Hamasaki Academy; Computer Lab-
"Okay, what was that about, Kagome?" Davis demanded. "First you don't tell us anything about this stuff happening, then you don't come and finally when you do, you gave BlackWarGreymon a nickname! What's up with that?!"
"Hold on, Davis," T.K tried calming the maroon-haired boy, "I'm sure Kagome has a good reason for what's happened, don't you, Sis?" He looked at the raven-haired girl.
"I've told you already," Kagome said icily to Davis, "Do not take that tone with me, boy. As I already told you, if I Saw anything I would have said something, but I didn't See anything! As for not coming, how would I have known to come? I never received a message on my D-Terminal that you needed me! If I hadn't sensed that power spike and if it weren't for Eclipse, I wouldn't even known to go there!"
"Speaking of," Cody broke in, "Why are you calling BlackWarGreymon 'Eclipse'?"
"I went to the Digital World so I could meet up with Eclipse for a little bit," Kagome confessed. She held up her hand to silence the questions and sounds of anger coming towards her. "I realized that since he left on his own, he must have become self-aware, something that the other Control Spire Digimon weren't. But because he was made with the purpose to destroy us and the Digital World, ever since he became self-conscious, I thought that he might have been a little confused."
"Confused?" Yolei blinked. "How would a Digimon like that be confused?"
"Because he didn't understand why he was feeling," Kagome replied, "When I met up with him, he asked Agumon and I what his purpose was, where his heart was, if he had one…he really was just confused about why he was in this world, if he had a greater purpose."
"But then why did he destroy the Destiny Stone?" Kari asked.
"I think…" the raven-haired teen answered, "That somehow, the Destiny Stone was hurting him, because he just up and left after looking like he was hurting. He must have thought that the only way to stop the pain was to destroy the Destiny Stone."
The group was quiet after hearing Kagome's side of the story. "If he destroyed this one," Salamon piped up, "Will he go after the others?"
"It's a possibility," the raven-haired girl nodded, petting Kyaromon as he purred quietly in her lap, "He'll want to stop the pain so he'll most likely go after the other Destiny Stones thinking that that's the only way he'll stop hurting." Her expression turned grave. "But I'm afraid that if he does, the legend of the Destiny Stones will come true. If all seven are destroyed then it's only matter of time until chaos breaks loose…"
"Okay, so all we have to do is protect the Destiny Stones!" DemiVeemon exclaimed.
"That's easier said than done," Updamon retorted. "BlackWarGreymon's one tough cookie! He took us all out with one hit, remember?"
"Then we'll just have to try harder!" Tokomon said from atop T.K's head.
"Whatever you do, you're gonna have to make do without me," Yolei spoke up, "My class and I are supposed to go on a fieldtrip to Kyoto for a week. Speaking of, do you think Izzy would mind looking after Poromon for me? I can't really take him without getting too much attention…"
"Um I don't think—" Kagome was cut off by T.K.
"No way," T.K shook his head, "I'm sure Izzy won't have a problem, just ask if he can; and if he can't, one of us'll look after him for you!"
'Oh dear,' Kagome thought, 'This won't be pretty…But I guess I can't really tell them, either…They need to see for themselves what happens when a Digimon is left in the Human World without his or her bonded partner…' Her eyes narrowed. 'I wonder if any of them noticed the warp?'
Ciao,
TsukiyoTenshi