Author's notes: Well, here's part three of KAJ. I just realized that with the way I wrote it (this is a much earlier writing than most of my stuff, mind you), I wrote it so that the characters seem to be acting younger than I usually write their personalities. Usually, I write it so that they seem very mature, perhaps thirteen or fourteen years old. But in this one, the ages are different.... so, here is an explanation:
16 years: Kaylasii
13 years: Joe
12 years old: Matt, Tai, Sora, Mimi
11 years: Izzy
8 years: TK, Kari (Kari shows up at the end)
I mostly wrote that to clear things up for me, but perhaps there are a few readers who were interested. Any way, on with the new chapter....
Chapter three: Number Nine
"You're the ninth digi-destined," he whispered, taking a step closer.
Kaylasii slackened the bowstring slightly and looking at him, arching an eyebrow in amusement. "What did you say, little man?" she asked, trying hard not to smile.
"Your digivice and tag. We've got ones exactly like them," Izzy explained.
"What of it? Just because I have them doesn't mean I'm like you..."
"Actually, it does." All fear leaving him, Izzy stepped closer, pushing the bow out of his way so he could get a better look at the girl's tag. "Fascinating," he muttered to himself. "You don't have a crest yet..."
"Izzy, get away from her!" Tai cried out, face flushed with astonishment at the fact that the prodigy could be so stupid as to go near someone potentially dangerous.
"Yeah, you don't know _what_ she might do," Matt added, running over to TK. "I mean, she almost shot my brother! How could you trust someone like that?"
Izzy looked up at Kay, studying her face. She merely glared back at him, eyes cold, yet filled with something... something indistinguishable.
"You're wrong, Matt... Tai... she's one of us, I'm sure of it. Besides, she could have killed any one of us faster than you could say 'prodigious'.... if she wanted to, that is."
"He's right about that one," Kay muttered, leaning on her bow. "I could have, if I wanted. But you've caught my interest now, with this.. tag and crest thing. I'm not convinced, mind you, but..."
Izzy looked her up an down, as if trying to decide something. "You don't have a digimon..."
"I'll explain about that later," she snarled in reply, looking agitated. A brief pause managed to return her to her previous state. "Question: where are you all going?"
"Wherever we want!" TK piped up, ignoring several whispers of protest from the other digidestined. "Though, Tai said we might as well head to the river... we don't really know where we're going." He quickly shut up at the sight of Matt, who glared at him as if to say 'Be quiet, or I'll kill you myself'.
"The river mouth...," Kay mused. "My den is there.... it's only a couple of runs away from here, actually." She turned to Tai. "You want to go there? Fine. I'll show you the way. I want to find out more about this... digi-destined thing.... and I can only do that if I stay with you brats. Besides, you guys look tired.... you'll be able to rest easy for one night, at least.:
Should I trust her? Tai thought nervously. Izzy seems to think she's okay, but... it might be a trick...
"All right," he said finally. "I don't trust you, but I have a funny feeling we're safer with you than without you."
The night was growing darker and colder, and yet the sen still peeked over the horizon. The digidestined had been hiking for an hour, led by Kay. Something's up, Tai thought. She said it was only a couple kilometers away..
"Uh... Kay? When you said it's only be a couple kilometers..... exactly how many did you mean?"
"Huh?" she asked, turning to look at him. "I said runs, not kilometers. In my world, a run is twenty kilometers. We've still got a ways to go...."
"Oh, peachy," Matt muttered. "And how do you expect us to hike that far in the middle of the night? Some of us are worn out, you know."
"....Sorry," Kay replied, turning back to the path ahead of them to hide the blush of embarassment upon her face. "I guess I shouldn't expect from you kids what I expect from myself." After a moment's pause, she added "There's a clearing up ahead. It'll be okay for a camp, I guess, if you guys are really that tired..."
And hour later they were gathered in the clearing, roasting fruits over the camp fire. Kay had left them earlier, saying she had some 'business' to take care of.
"I don't like this," Matt muttered to himself. "She's being too friendly now..."
"Oh, c'mon, lighten up. It isn't all that bad. Who knows, she seems like a good person," Tai replied, adjusting his goggles.
Matt shot him a cold look. "If you didn't notice, she almost shot my brother. I don't know about you, but I find that reason enough to not trust her."
"Matt's right...."
Everyone turned to look at Joe, slight expressions of surprise on thier faces. He hadn't said anything for hours, most likely because he was scared to death of the dark, and it had seemed as if he wasn't even there.
"What was that, Joe?" Tai asked, arching an eyebrow.
"I _said_.... I think Matt is right," Joe repeated, swallowing nervously. "I don't think we should trust this Kaylasii person. I mean, what do we know about her? Nothing, that's what. We don't even know if she's really human, do we? She might be like Gennai, not digimon but not human either. Besides, it's not as if she's been particularely friendly. She _did_ try to shoot one of us..."
"Yeah! And then she tried to trick us into walking for hours and hours- my feet still hurt from that!"
"Let it go, Mimi," Tai muttered, sighing. "Come on.... Izzy had a point when he said all that stuff about her being a digidestined. We're the only ones with digivices and tags, right? And you can't get into the digi-world unless you are a digidestined, right?"
"But Tai...," Sora interrupted, glancing at him. "She doesn't have a digimon..."
Somewhere from deep in the shadows came the distant sound of voices. One of the voices surely belongs to Kaylasii, but the other was strange, soft and raspy. As the speakers came closer, they could be heard arguing.
"I told you, one kilometer! Can't you get it through your thick skull?" Kay's voice, cold and hard, rang through the forest like a dark spirit.
"Hey, is it my fault you don't speak clearly? Geeze....," Another voice, sharp and raspy, counered Kay's easily. "Besides, you know me. I would have bitten first and asked questions later."
There was a moment of silence, and then Kay stepped into the clearing, followed closely by a small dragonlike creature. "Yo, guys," she said, smiling slightly.
"Hey, Kay," Sora replied, being the first to speak up. She glances at the dragon, then back at the teen. "Who's that?"
"The name's Dracomon," the digimon hissed, exposing rows of razor-sharp angs. "Kay's partner in crime..."
"Yeah, right," Kay muttered, rolling her eyes. "You're the one who causes most of the chaos around here..." She glanced down at Izzy, and grinned. "See, kid? I _do_ have a digimon."
"Fabulous!" Izzy looked up from his laptop, eyes shining. "I _knew_ you were one of us..."
Smiling, Kay walked over to where the prodigy sat with his back to a tree, his laptop balanced upon his knees. She slid down until she was kneeling beside him, and placed her hand on his shoulder, trying to get a better look at the computer screen. "What're you doing?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.
"I'm trying to contact Gennai. So far I've been unsuccessful, but...."
"Who the heck is Gennai?"
"It's kind of hard to explain....,"Tai began, glancing over at her. "Pretty much he's just a weird old guy who tells us important stuff about what's going on in the digi-world."
Kay arched an eyebrow. "So you think he might know something about me?"
"Possible," Izzy mused. "What I really want to know is where your crest is...."
"Crest?" Kay stared at him.
"It goes inside the tag," he replied. Smiling slightly, he pulled his out from under his shirt. "See? Mine is the crest of Knowledge."
Kaylasii fell silent, the smile fading from her face. Sighing, she leaned against the rough bark of the tree, a thoughtful look in her eyes.
"What're you thinking about?" Izzy asked, looking at her.
"Just wondering what my crest will be..." she murmured in reply, a slightly strange tone to her voice. "I never knew about them until now..."
As the night wore on, Kay found herself growing more and more attatched to the strange boy with the computer. There seemed to be something about him, something special, something which set him apart from the others. Whenever she looked at him, she couldn't help but notice how his eyes seemed to sparkle as he told her more and more about the digidestined.
"So you see, it is more deffinite that you are a digidestined," he said, smiling slightly. "I have absolutely no doubts about it."
Kat shook her head. "Kid, what's your name again?"
"Izzy," he replied.
"Well, Izzy-man, I hate to say it, but you're wrong. I'm not... there's nothing special about me. I'm just a street dog. Nothin' more than that." There was a chuckle in her voice, and somehow she couldn't resist ruffling her friend's wild orange hair. "Sorry, bud, but for once you've got it wrong."
Izzy smiled at her, the spark never leaving his eyes. "You might think there's nothing special about you, but I'm willing to bet that you're wrong. I mean, just look at me! I'm just your average computer nerd." He paused, seeming to reconsider his statement. "Well, okay, so maybe I'm above average when it comes to computers. But, still..."
He was interrupted by a call from the direction of the campfire. Tai walked up, the light reflecting off his goggles. "Hey, Izzy," he said, yawning. "I need to talk to you about something before we all turn in for the night." He glanced at Kay and flashed a smile. "Mind if I borrow your nerd for a while?"
"He's not my nerd, but you can take 'im," Kay replied, voice having a sour tone to it.
"It's all right, Kay, he was just goofing," Izzy explained, shutting off his laptop. He stood and glanced down at her, rather appologetically. "I'll be back later," he murmured, walking away.
To be continued..
16 years: Kaylasii
13 years: Joe
12 years old: Matt, Tai, Sora, Mimi
11 years: Izzy
8 years: TK, Kari (Kari shows up at the end)
I mostly wrote that to clear things up for me, but perhaps there are a few readers who were interested. Any way, on with the new chapter....
Chapter three: Number Nine
"You're the ninth digi-destined," he whispered, taking a step closer.
Kaylasii slackened the bowstring slightly and looking at him, arching an eyebrow in amusement. "What did you say, little man?" she asked, trying hard not to smile.
"Your digivice and tag. We've got ones exactly like them," Izzy explained.
"What of it? Just because I have them doesn't mean I'm like you..."
"Actually, it does." All fear leaving him, Izzy stepped closer, pushing the bow out of his way so he could get a better look at the girl's tag. "Fascinating," he muttered to himself. "You don't have a crest yet..."
"Izzy, get away from her!" Tai cried out, face flushed with astonishment at the fact that the prodigy could be so stupid as to go near someone potentially dangerous.
"Yeah, you don't know _what_ she might do," Matt added, running over to TK. "I mean, she almost shot my brother! How could you trust someone like that?"
Izzy looked up at Kay, studying her face. She merely glared back at him, eyes cold, yet filled with something... something indistinguishable.
"You're wrong, Matt... Tai... she's one of us, I'm sure of it. Besides, she could have killed any one of us faster than you could say 'prodigious'.... if she wanted to, that is."
"He's right about that one," Kay muttered, leaning on her bow. "I could have, if I wanted. But you've caught my interest now, with this.. tag and crest thing. I'm not convinced, mind you, but..."
Izzy looked her up an down, as if trying to decide something. "You don't have a digimon..."
"I'll explain about that later," she snarled in reply, looking agitated. A brief pause managed to return her to her previous state. "Question: where are you all going?"
"Wherever we want!" TK piped up, ignoring several whispers of protest from the other digidestined. "Though, Tai said we might as well head to the river... we don't really know where we're going." He quickly shut up at the sight of Matt, who glared at him as if to say 'Be quiet, or I'll kill you myself'.
"The river mouth...," Kay mused. "My den is there.... it's only a couple of runs away from here, actually." She turned to Tai. "You want to go there? Fine. I'll show you the way. I want to find out more about this... digi-destined thing.... and I can only do that if I stay with you brats. Besides, you guys look tired.... you'll be able to rest easy for one night, at least.:
Should I trust her? Tai thought nervously. Izzy seems to think she's okay, but... it might be a trick...
"All right," he said finally. "I don't trust you, but I have a funny feeling we're safer with you than without you."
The night was growing darker and colder, and yet the sen still peeked over the horizon. The digidestined had been hiking for an hour, led by Kay. Something's up, Tai thought. She said it was only a couple kilometers away..
"Uh... Kay? When you said it's only be a couple kilometers..... exactly how many did you mean?"
"Huh?" she asked, turning to look at him. "I said runs, not kilometers. In my world, a run is twenty kilometers. We've still got a ways to go...."
"Oh, peachy," Matt muttered. "And how do you expect us to hike that far in the middle of the night? Some of us are worn out, you know."
"....Sorry," Kay replied, turning back to the path ahead of them to hide the blush of embarassment upon her face. "I guess I shouldn't expect from you kids what I expect from myself." After a moment's pause, she added "There's a clearing up ahead. It'll be okay for a camp, I guess, if you guys are really that tired..."
And hour later they were gathered in the clearing, roasting fruits over the camp fire. Kay had left them earlier, saying she had some 'business' to take care of.
"I don't like this," Matt muttered to himself. "She's being too friendly now..."
"Oh, c'mon, lighten up. It isn't all that bad. Who knows, she seems like a good person," Tai replied, adjusting his goggles.
Matt shot him a cold look. "If you didn't notice, she almost shot my brother. I don't know about you, but I find that reason enough to not trust her."
"Matt's right...."
Everyone turned to look at Joe, slight expressions of surprise on thier faces. He hadn't said anything for hours, most likely because he was scared to death of the dark, and it had seemed as if he wasn't even there.
"What was that, Joe?" Tai asked, arching an eyebrow.
"I _said_.... I think Matt is right," Joe repeated, swallowing nervously. "I don't think we should trust this Kaylasii person. I mean, what do we know about her? Nothing, that's what. We don't even know if she's really human, do we? She might be like Gennai, not digimon but not human either. Besides, it's not as if she's been particularely friendly. She _did_ try to shoot one of us..."
"Yeah! And then she tried to trick us into walking for hours and hours- my feet still hurt from that!"
"Let it go, Mimi," Tai muttered, sighing. "Come on.... Izzy had a point when he said all that stuff about her being a digidestined. We're the only ones with digivices and tags, right? And you can't get into the digi-world unless you are a digidestined, right?"
"But Tai...," Sora interrupted, glancing at him. "She doesn't have a digimon..."
Somewhere from deep in the shadows came the distant sound of voices. One of the voices surely belongs to Kaylasii, but the other was strange, soft and raspy. As the speakers came closer, they could be heard arguing.
"I told you, one kilometer! Can't you get it through your thick skull?" Kay's voice, cold and hard, rang through the forest like a dark spirit.
"Hey, is it my fault you don't speak clearly? Geeze....," Another voice, sharp and raspy, counered Kay's easily. "Besides, you know me. I would have bitten first and asked questions later."
There was a moment of silence, and then Kay stepped into the clearing, followed closely by a small dragonlike creature. "Yo, guys," she said, smiling slightly.
"Hey, Kay," Sora replied, being the first to speak up. She glances at the dragon, then back at the teen. "Who's that?"
"The name's Dracomon," the digimon hissed, exposing rows of razor-sharp angs. "Kay's partner in crime..."
"Yeah, right," Kay muttered, rolling her eyes. "You're the one who causes most of the chaos around here..." She glanced down at Izzy, and grinned. "See, kid? I _do_ have a digimon."
"Fabulous!" Izzy looked up from his laptop, eyes shining. "I _knew_ you were one of us..."
Smiling, Kay walked over to where the prodigy sat with his back to a tree, his laptop balanced upon his knees. She slid down until she was kneeling beside him, and placed her hand on his shoulder, trying to get a better look at the computer screen. "What're you doing?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.
"I'm trying to contact Gennai. So far I've been unsuccessful, but...."
"Who the heck is Gennai?"
"It's kind of hard to explain....,"Tai began, glancing over at her. "Pretty much he's just a weird old guy who tells us important stuff about what's going on in the digi-world."
Kay arched an eyebrow. "So you think he might know something about me?"
"Possible," Izzy mused. "What I really want to know is where your crest is...."
"Crest?" Kay stared at him.
"It goes inside the tag," he replied. Smiling slightly, he pulled his out from under his shirt. "See? Mine is the crest of Knowledge."
Kaylasii fell silent, the smile fading from her face. Sighing, she leaned against the rough bark of the tree, a thoughtful look in her eyes.
"What're you thinking about?" Izzy asked, looking at her.
"Just wondering what my crest will be..." she murmured in reply, a slightly strange tone to her voice. "I never knew about them until now..."
As the night wore on, Kay found herself growing more and more attatched to the strange boy with the computer. There seemed to be something about him, something special, something which set him apart from the others. Whenever she looked at him, she couldn't help but notice how his eyes seemed to sparkle as he told her more and more about the digidestined.
"So you see, it is more deffinite that you are a digidestined," he said, smiling slightly. "I have absolutely no doubts about it."
Kat shook her head. "Kid, what's your name again?"
"Izzy," he replied.
"Well, Izzy-man, I hate to say it, but you're wrong. I'm not... there's nothing special about me. I'm just a street dog. Nothin' more than that." There was a chuckle in her voice, and somehow she couldn't resist ruffling her friend's wild orange hair. "Sorry, bud, but for once you've got it wrong."
Izzy smiled at her, the spark never leaving his eyes. "You might think there's nothing special about you, but I'm willing to bet that you're wrong. I mean, just look at me! I'm just your average computer nerd." He paused, seeming to reconsider his statement. "Well, okay, so maybe I'm above average when it comes to computers. But, still..."
He was interrupted by a call from the direction of the campfire. Tai walked up, the light reflecting off his goggles. "Hey, Izzy," he said, yawning. "I need to talk to you about something before we all turn in for the night." He glanced at Kay and flashed a smile. "Mind if I borrow your nerd for a while?"
"He's not my nerd, but you can take 'im," Kay replied, voice having a sour tone to it.
"It's all right, Kay, he was just goofing," Izzy explained, shutting off his laptop. He stood and glanced down at her, rather appologetically. "I'll be back later," he murmured, walking away.
To be continued..