Hey everyone! This chapter gave me some trouble and I had to take a few more days to finish, but here it is! Also, chapters 11 and 12 from the rewritten version are already up on AO3. The link is in my profile.I hope you like this chapter. Please review!

Chapter 24: The Dark Sea

A few weeks had gone by since the final battle against the Digimon Kaiser took place and he was defeated. We all returned home and are also about to start the second semester of the school year.

"I can't believe summer vacation is already over." Taichi complained when he walked to the kitchen table. "It went by so fast."
"That's because we had a lot to do. I also barely saw it passing by."
"At least we have nothing else to worry about in the Digital World anymore."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." I said before I could even process my thoughts.
"What do you mean?"
"I think it will be the same as three years ago. New enemies are going to come and we'll have to defeat them to protect the Digital World."
"We'll have to be ready for them then."
"Yeah."
"It won't be that hard for us this time. I mean, we already know what and how to do it."
"That's true, but I'm still afraid of what's gonna come next. I have a feeling it will still catch us by surprise."
"It can't be worse than being turned into data."
I bit my lower lip. I really wanted to say something positive right now, but couldn't think of anything. Besides, I had this very bad sensation inside my heart. It was almost suffocating me, but I decided I wouldn't voice it out loud because it would get everyone worried. So I simply took a deep breath and finished drinking my green tea.

.

Sora was making her way out of her building when she felt someone staring at her. She looked over her shoulder, but no one was there. Though she was relieved about this, she still felt nervous and anxious. She didn't even see Koushiro coming in her direction.
"Good morning, Sora. I was actually hoping to talk to you before school." He raised his eyebrows when he noticed her expression. "Is everything alright?"
"I thought I saw something behind me."
"What?" Koushiro stepped aside to look at the same direction as her.
"I don't know. It's probably nothing." Sora shook her head to try to get rid of these thoughts. "So, what did you want to talk about?"
"Oh." He blushed heavily when he remembered what he was going to tell her. "Now that everything at the Digital World seems to be at peace, I was wondering if you could help me with Natsuki again."
"Oh that's right!" Sora clapped her hands together. "We had this plan to get you two together. We can definitely go on with this. I'm sorry for forgetting about this for a while."
"It's okay. The situation at the Digital World was more important. I wouldn't feel right and good acting on my romantic feelings when things there were falling apart."
"Me too." Sora was so absorbed with what had just happened a few minutes earlier, that she didn't even bother adding something else to what she was saying.
"Is everything really alright, Sora?" Koushiro asked again. "I know you said it was, but I still have a feeling something is off."
"Everything's fine, Koushiro." She reassured him. "You don't have to worry."
"Alright, if you say so." He looked ahead and then blushed heavily. "Oh God, Natsuki is coming!"
"Huh?" Sora looked over and saw her friend very near now.
"Sora!" She said excitedly and jumped on the red haired's arms. "I missed you!"
She almost fell down because of Natsuki's action. "Calm down, Natsuki."
"Sorry, sorry." Natsuki pulled away. "I was too excited."
"Yeah, I noticed that." Sora smiled kindly. "I missed you too. Koushiro, aren't you… where is he?"
"I have no idea." The gray haired girl turned around looking for her friend's friend.

.

When I was getting closer to school, I couldn't help but look at the sea across the street. Ever since our last battle in the Digital World, I was feeling drawn towards large amounts of water. I couldn't understand why, but it was like someone was calling my name. Before I could even process what I was doing, I was crossing the street and heading towards the sea.

I always loved feeling the sand under my feet. It was one of the best feelings ever. So I sat down and took off my sneakers and socks. I knew it would be a bad decision later, but I decided to worry about this only then. I noticed the sea was very calm that day. I felt a strong urge to water my feet on the sea, so I stood up and grabbed my sneakers before walking towards the water.

When I was coming back and tried to find a way to dry my feet, I was surprised by a white towel being thrown at me. I was really taken by surprise and ended up letting it fall on the sand. It was only when I looked up that I noticed Sora was the one who threw it towards me.
"There's something different about the sea today, isn't it?"
"So you noticed it too?" I asked her, though I already knew the answer. I 've seen the way she was affected by the darkness at the Digital Kaiser's headquarters.
"I've been having a strange sensation for a few days. It makes sense now. It's like it's calling for me."
"Yeah." I turned towards the sea too. "I have the same feeling."

.

Takeru rushed towards the school patio as fast as he could in hopes to find Taichi. He bumped into several people along the way and made a quick apology over his shoulder.
"Taichi!" He called my brother from a few meters away.
"Takeru, what happened?" He approached him with a confused expression. "Yamato is in another class, if you're looking for him."
"No, I'm actually looking for you instead." Takeru had his hands on his knees while he tried to recover his breath. "Have you seen Hikari today? She hadn't come to class."
"What do you mean she hadn't gone to class today? She came with me."
"Was she alright this morning?"
"Yeah, I don't remember seeing anything wrong with her. Maybe she went to the Digital World to see Tailmon."
"But she wouldn't miss all classes for that. Something must have happened to her."
"Okay, we should split up and look for her then."
"We can meet here again."
"Got it."

.

Yamato was sitting by a tree outside the school building enjoying the last minutes of lunchtime when Koushiro stopped next to him.
"Hey, is everything alright?" The blonde asked after seeing his friend's expression.
"I was hoping Sora would be here."
"You need to talk to her?"
"I wanted to check on her actually."
"Check on her?" Yamato raised his eyebrow. "She was perfectly fine at class this morning. Or so it seemed."
"She was a little off on our way here, but since she seemed fine during class, I guess there's nothing to worry about."
"You said she was a little off early in the morning?" He sat up straight and looked at the red haired boy. His tone was alarmed and worried. "In which way, exactly?"
"I don't know. All she said was that she thought there was someone after her. She looked over her shoulder quite a few times."
"This is strange." Yamato stood up. "I have to find her."
"The second period is about to start."
"I know. But I have to make sure she's alright and that nothing happened to her."

.

I was sitting on a bench on a distant part of the school, hoping not to get disturbed. I knew it would be impossible though.
"There you go." Sora handed me a water bottle. "This will help you feel better."
"Thank you." I took the bottle from her hand and opened it. "Do you think this will go on?"
"I would hope not, but I have a feeling it will."
"I don't think we'll be able to run from it much longer."
"Honestly, me too. But I'm scared of what is going to happen next." She sighed. "I need to go back to class. Are you going to be okay alone?"
I shook my head positively and smiled reassuringly. "I'll be fine, don't worry."
"Okay. If you need anything, don't hesitate to reach me."
"Alright."

Sora wasn't very far from where we were when Taichi found her.
"Sora, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be in class already."
"Yeah, I wanted to have some fresh air before going back."
"Here? There's hardly someone around."
"Exactly, I wanted to be alone. Now if you excuse me."
"Hey, are you alright?" He grabbed her wrist as she passed by him.
Sora looked down at his hand around it and then at him. "I'm fine. I don't know why people keep asking me that. It's so annoying."
"I'm sorry, I just thought you were acting a little strange."
"I'm acting normal, Taichi. I need to go back to class."
He watched her walk away for a moment and then shook his head, remembering he had something else to do. "Hikari, where are you?"
"I'm here, brother." The words escaped my lips before I could even stop them.
"What are you doing here? Takeru told me you didn't show up in class so far."
"I…" I couldn't find a good reason to say.
"What happened?" He asked firmly and I just couldn't look away from him. "You weren't this distant when we came to school."
"Nothing happened. I just needed to get some air." I walked past him towards my school building.
"Hold on a minute." He grabbed my wrist. "You never did such thing before. I want to know what is going on."
"Taichi, you're hurting me." I tried to get free from his grasp.
"I'm sorry, sis. But you're gonna tell me what is happening with you."

.

Sora managed to arrive at her building at the same time the remaining students were going up the stairs. She felt someone grabbing her right arm and turned around to see who it was.
"Get away from me!"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"It's okay. I'm the one who needs to apologize."
"You didn't show up for lunch. Where were you?" Yamato tried to sound chill, but he was worried.
"I was…" She bit her lower lip and looked away.
"Sora?" His eyes widened when he noticed the tears falling from her eyes. He instinctively pulled her into a tight hug.
"I'm scared, Yama."
"I'm here, okay? I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."
"Thank you." She whispered softly.
"Now, what are you exactly afraid of? Koushiro said you thought there was someone after you this morning?"
"Ever since we came back from the Digital World after defeating the Kaiser, I've been having this strange feeling."
"Why didn't you tell me?" He pulled away and held both her arms, staring right into her eyes. "I'm your… I mean, we could have figured out something."
"I didn't want to get you worried."
"Well, I'm worried anyway." He cleaned the tears from her face with his thumbs and then hugged her again. "Why don't we go take some air? It will help you calm down."
"Okay."
"I'm going to tell the teacher you're not feeling well. I'll be right back."

.

Luckily for me, Taichi had to go back to his class and I could get away with having to explain to him everything. I knew I would have to eventually though. I was aware I had to return to mine as well, but I simply wasn't able to move at all. I really didn't want to be taken to another world I didn't know, but deep down I knew it would happen no matter how much I tried to fight it.

.

Takeru was already waiting for Taichi when he arrived. He was so nervous he didn't even realize he was holding his breath. "Taichi, did you find Hikari?"
"Yes, I did. She was in a distant area in the school."
"Is she okay? Why isn't she with you?"
"She seemed a little strange, but I couldn't get her to tell me what was going on with her."
"You didn't pressure her to do it?" He asked him a little surprised.
"I can't force her to talk to me, Takeru. Hikari can be very closed up when she wants to."
'So you just left her alone like that?" Takeru was beginning to lose his temper and felt his voice raising. "She's your sister! You know she's not okay! You saw it with your own eyes!"
"Have you guys seen Sora?" Yamato asked as he got outside. He raised his eyebrow when he sensed the tension between the boys. "What's going on over here?"
"You're right, I shouldn't have left her there alone, especially in a situation like this."
"Now that's the Taichi I know." Takeru smiled and then turned to his brother. "Hikari is acting weird today, so we're keeping an eye on her."
"She too?"
"Sora came back to class, you missed her?"
"No, I actually bumped into her, but she disappeared and I can't find her."
"Maybe she just went to the bathroom at the meantime."
"Yeah, I don't think…" Yamato shook his head. "You know what? I'll just keep looking for her."
"What is wrong with him?"
"He's just worried about Sora. It's who my brother is." Takeru didn't want to say more than he had to. "Come on, let's go find Hikari."

.

As I got closer to the sea again, I could tell there was someone else there too. I had a confused look on my face as I tried to figure out who he was, but I haven't seen him before in my life. Still, I approached him.
"It's a beautiful sea, isn't it?"
He simply looked at me, surprised with the fact I was talking to him. I looked down at his hand and saw a black digivice. So he was the boy who was the Digimon Kaiser. Things made a lot of sense now.
"But of course you're not here to admire its beauty, right?"
"No." He said at last. "I feel like it's been calling me. I have no idea why."
"I've been hearing the same thing."
"Really?" He asked me with surprise. "Has this been happening for a while?"
I felt another presence on my right before I could answer, so I turned around and came across Sora looking intensely ahead.
"So you had to come here again too?"
"I tried to stay away, but it kept going after me. I suppose the same thing happened to you."
"Yeah, but I knew it was going to whether I wanted it or not."
"But why only us?" She wondered. "I mean, there were other people there too."
"I guess we're more susceptible to dark force than the others."
A pierce scream echoed around. Sora and I looked to our left and found Ken knelt down on the sand and his eyes widened. Everything around us was turning gray and cold and we lost our senses.