Author's Note: Well, hey guys. I'm back! This fic is considerably long, and because I don't want to bore you guys to badly, I broke it down into parts. That way you can finish one part and come back later for the rest. I'm not sure if you'll like this fic, but the idea had been in my mind for sometime and I just had to write it down. Believe me this is part is long, usually the first part to a story is, but I'll understand if you guys will want to flame me for writing so much. Anyway, on to the fic. There's no need for me to tell you things ahead of time, like when this takes place, any of the characters ages or anything like that, I have a way of getting all the information into my fics, without saying anything ahead of time. I hope you enjoy it. Rated PG for a few, uh, words here and there.
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Of Demons and an Angel
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"Now pay close attention to Biyo and I," said Sora facing the three children she had been chosen to train.
Four years had past sense the second Digital War, and through those years great changes had been made. Now the Digital World wasn't a secret kept only by the young and innocent. It was opened to the eyes of all. The young, old, innocent, and corrupt. Having a digimon partner had become second nature among the human race. Children were being born everyday, and as they were a young digimon would appear by the sleeping infants' bedsides, to claim its place as a digital partner. There was no such thing as Digidestined anymore, just digitally enhanced. And before the eyes of Humanity, a new race had evolved, the Hybrids.
Most Hybrids were young children, no older then three or four, who were born after the wars, into a world where the digital gates were open. They were digitally processed at birth, and grew up knowing digimon and the powers that they possessed. The older Hybrids were children who were lucky enough to interact with the Digital World in some way during the wars. As result they were given digimon of their own.
Humanity is not known to take things that are different very well. And out of fear of what they did not understand, the adults who had lost their innocence and chance of knowing the digimon placed a restraint of power against the Hybrids. There were increasing laws that kept the Hybrids and their digimon at bay. Government officials had called it a way of keeping the public safe, but others, the ones who did understand the nature of digimon and the Hybrids, called it a simple act of prejudice.
But the Hybrids did not retaliate; most were to young to know that they were feared so greatly. But those who did understand the prejudice that was being placed against them did nothing yet. They were still children, and were too small in number to place an all out rebellion against the entire human world.
But the threat to the hybrid race was not a great one for now, just a growing one that would have to be addressed in the future to come. For now, the laws that restrained the power of the Hybrids and their digimon did not apply in the Digital World, only in the human one. It was here where the younger Hybrids were trained by the older Hybrids, the ones once called the Digidestined.
It was a very simple system. Hybrids of similar digimon type were placed with older Hybrids with the same digimon type. The children would take nearly daily ventures into the digital world, to learn of the entirety of their power. In Japan, the place were the discovery of the Digital World all began, lived the strongest of the Hybrids. Once known as Digidestined, now these veterans of the Digital Wars devoted themselves to training the future of the Hybrid race.
Sora had been especially passionate about her role as a teacher. She had taken to the children much more readily than her fellow Digidestined, and had gladly spent the majority of her time as a teacher in the digital world. Usually she taught different classes through out Japan, journeying through out Japan searching out children who had been partnered with bird type digimon like herself. But today she had taught the Tokyo class, meaning she did not need to go out of her way.
"Now pay attention. You want your digimon to have good aim; a missed hit can decide a life or death situation. I hate to sound morbid, but it is true." she began facing three children with bird type digimon of their own. "Biyo!" called Sora. "Ready Sora." answered Biyomon. "Okay go for the targets down there."
Sora pointed to a set of targets about 20 feet away. Biyomon placed herself in front of Sora, and began to charge for her first strike. "Spiral Twister!!" shouted the little Digimon. A beam of lime green energy began to form around Biyomon's beak then, once reaching an efficient size, it was released. The energy raced through the air, cutting it with its speed, and with a loud explosion, the first target was demolished before their eyes.
"Spiral Twister!" again the energy formed, and soon the second target was gone. "Spiral Twister!" and the last target was also gone in a cloud of smoke and fire.
"I want you all to do the same, have you been doing the target practices I told you to do?" she asked looking back at the children again.
"Sora-san?" said the youngest of the children. "Yes, Miyama." answered Sora kneeling down to meet the little girl. Miyama was a sweet, quite, little girl. She was only five, going on six, and she was probably the most dedicated of all of Sora's students. She was always very respectful towards Sora, which made sense, seeing how she was from a very wealthy family. Miyama never looked the part of extreme wealth though; she always wore a simple sundress, which was blue at this time, and sandals. Her brown hair was kept evenly cut and at her shoulders, with bangs that were cut evenly across as well. She was overall adorable as well as sweet.
"Sora-san, Yokomon still hasn't digivolved yet. So I don't think she can do what Biyo did," said the girl looking down at her little digimon. Miyama's Yokomon was just as shy as Miyama; she peaked from behind Miyama's leg, blushing slightly. Something she had always done. "Oh, but her Bubble Blow is better! We practiced!" exclaimed Miyama smiling, her big brown eyes shining.
"Well than we'll work with that. Don't worry Yokomon will digivolve soon, just keep working up her skill level and you two stay close to each other. Everything will work out in the end." Sora returned the smile.
"Okay Sora-san." said the girl picking up Yokomon.
Sora stood up from kneeling and looked at the other two kids waiting for their orders. "As for you two, I want you and Hawkmon to work on the non-moving targets." Sora pointed to the only boy among them, Otaru. Otaru was another student that Sora was fond of. He wasn't as extreme with being respectful as Miyama was, but he did do as he was told with almost no question. The only reason for that though, was because of the crush he had on Sora since the first day they had met.
Sora could never forget her first day with Otaru. He had clung to her like white on rice, and she knew that it wouldn't take much for him to do what she asked. "Otaru there are about six targets left, I want you to stand at this line and try to hit each one from a 30 foot distance." Otaru looked annoyed at what she asked of him. "Okay?" she finished looking the eight year old in his blue eyes. They were pale, nearly sky-blue, and were in direct contrast to his deep, black hair, which was always covering his face in a messy sort of way.
Immediately he began to blush, turning his face an adorable shade of red. "Yeah, sure thing Sora." he agreed without hesitation.
"Oh please." the last of Sora's students had proven to be a much more difficult task. She was sixteen, and had already developed a full mind of her own. So she wouldn't give in to charm like Otaru or do anything out of natural respect like Miyama. She had a tough exterior, something she had acquired from living a hard home life.
She looked defiantly at Sora with her lavender colored eyes. She just had "rebel" written all over her. Her black hair was streaked with lavender, and tied up in a spiky ponytail. She wore a sleeveless mid-driff, and dark colored jeans. A bandana was always tied on her upper right arm, and the color of it changed accordingly with her outfit. She had looked like trouble from the beginning, and she had stuck with that reputation.
"Raiko, I have something better for you." Sora smiled wickedly at her. "Oh really." The girl returned the smile. She may have been two years younger than Sora, but she was a tough thing. And she had already gotten her Biyomon to digivolve to champion, only after about a month or two with it, something only the Digidestined were capable of. "Yeah, I want you and Tenshi to work on the moving targets."
"Fine with me, c'mon on Ten, you ready?" Raiko looked up to her Biyomon, which was flying just above her. Tenshi was named after Raiko and Sora had met, realizing that having the same type digimon with the same name would be way too annoying. Naming a digimon was now done commonly among the Hybrids and Digimon. It was a way of identifying one digimon from the next, plus it made the bond that the Hybrids shared with their digimon even more personal. Raiko's name for her Biyomon was a bit of a mystery. Tenshi was a lovely name, but it meant angel. Sora had seen that as sort of odd for a girl who had put on such strong front, it made Raiko's hard core look a little softer. And whenever she was questioned as to why she had chosen the name Tenshi, Raiko would hastily answer, "I have my reasons," and leave it at that.
For Sora this was how life was for the years after the Second Digital War. True, she was warrior with a fighting spirit, but the time of peace that the Digimon, Humans, and Hybrids spent in these four years was well appreciated, and Sora had learn to appreciate it as well.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"My goodness, it is so hot." said Sora flopping down on her bed. The weather that summer had been especially harsh. The sun wasn't gentle like it had been in the spring. Instead this year the sun's heat beat down on them roughly with no remorse. It was nearly unbearable, even the waters at the bay would heat up, making any chance of a nice cool swim practically impossible. But to add to the blistering heat was the thick humidity. It made the summer just that much more horrible. The air felt heavy, almost as heavy as the heat. To walk down a street would be like walking through heated molasses. You could feel your legs being weighed down, and almost instantly you felt exhaustion overwhelm your body.
"That bad, huh? Maybe I should just stay out here for the summer." Sora looked at her computer screen, a video picture of Mimi was on it. The girls had been voice chatting half the night, making plans for Mimi's stay in Tokyo for the summer. "Yeah right." replied Sora sitting up.
"Yeah right? What makes you say that?" questioned Mimi, one eyebrow raised.
"Because I know you couldn't stay away from Izzy, even if I had Garudamon Wing Blade the New York Airport." answered Sora.
Mimi blushed, it was true. Her and Izzy had been together for sometime, and though they were two countries and an ocean away, they had one of the strongest relationships that Sora had ever known of. It was honestly true love, and who would have guessed that Izzy and Mimi would be the first to find it in each other.
"Well anyway," Mimi began, "It's just as hot over here, and I've been to the Digital World with the younger kids that I have been training, and I see it's no better there either."
"I know, I mean it's night right now and I'm still burning up. That's it...tomorrow I'm wearing shorts and a tank top no questions asked." Sora had begun digging threw her dresser for a pair of shorts.
"Your going training again?" asked Mimi, looking at Sora like she had gone crazy for even thinking about going out into the heat again. Sora nodded, examining a blue top of her's before okaying it and throwing it on her bed.
"I'm leaving in the morning with Miyama, Otaru, and Raiko. That way we'll be able to get some good training in before the heat gets too out of hand." said Sora as she walked over to the computer.
"You're really dedicated to training those kids," Sora smiled. She was very dedicated. She honestly enjoyed the time she spent with the children, even if Raiko did make her job a little harder.
"Speaking of training, I need to be going, I'm supposed to be with a few of my kids now." Mimi looked down at her wristwatch. "We'll talk later, okay? Bye Sora."
"Later Mimi." and with a click the video screen was gone.
Slowly Sora dragged her body back towards her bed. Her mother had finally turned the air conditioning back on, after having it off for about two hours. There had been one too many power outages during the summer as well, making it harder for people to keep cool in the heat. And her mother, along with a lot of other people, had been doing their part to help keep the power outages down by turning the air conditioning and any other appliances off for a brief period of time.
"Thank goodness." said Sora as she felt the need for sleep overcome her. She curled up comfortably in the middle of her bed; her pillow felt even more inviting. Her eyelids had grown heavy with sleep, and before she knew it she was lulled into a deep slumber. The only sound in the apartment being the gentle hum of the air conditioning.
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Again the day began the same way, Raiko wanted to do her own thing, Otaru wanted to do everything, and Miyama couldn't do half the things though she had tried desperately to. It was routine. But on this day routine would have to be interrupted, forces that were beyond daily routine would come into play. And Sora could feel this. She had been fine tuned, along with the other Digidestined, to sense a change in forces in the Digital World. Though Sora did not want to admit it, the balance that her, Tai, and the others had fought so hard to maintain, was once again being disturbed.
Sora had chose to ignore it that cool morning; she didn't want to alarm Miyama, Otaru, and Raiko. And plus she felt as a Digidestined, she would bring it up with the others, before assuming any real trouble. But thanks to Gennai, this would not happen.
Over time modifications and upgrades had been done to the digivices, making them even more efficient. They had long since gone past their normal purposes as basic detecting devices and connections of energy between humans and their digimon. Now, thanks to Izzy, the devices were used as intercoms. Allowing all Hybrids to stay in contact with each other. Also the digivices were more informative, in that they could not only identify another Hybrid, but there were also capable of determining what digimon type a human was partnered with. It was a program Izzy had designed. The lights that indicated another Hybrid and their location would also blink in a certain color telling the digimon type. He had based the coloring system on the Digidestined's Digimon and their crest color. Ergo, a Hybrid partnered with a lizard type digimon would be identified with an orange light, in accordance to Tai and Agumon and his crest color. A Hybrid partnered with a bird type digimon would be identified with a red light, like Sora, a Hybrid with an insect type digimon would be identified with purple, like Izzy and so on. These were not the only changes made, but to name them all would be nearly impossible, for Izzy was constantly modifying the digivices, making them better and more efficient.
Gennai had called in the middle of Sora's practice. Sora had always hated being interrupted in the middle of her practices, but for Gennai to call for her personally and not through Izzy, must have meant that an emergency of great importance had taken place. So she excused his interruption.
"I apologize for interrupting your practice, Sora. I know how you feel about that," said the young man over the intercom. It was still a surprise to hear a young man's voice instead of the old, raspy voice that she had originally grown used to.
"It's fine, Gennai." She replied looking back at the others.
"Anyway, there has been a disturbance, But I'm sure you already knew that," said Gennai. It was true; Sora had sensed a something since the moment she first stepped through the digital gate. It was her gift as a Digidestined. Since their first encounter in the digital world, Sora and the others had developed a connection with their Digimon and the Digital World that none of the newer Hybrids could match. It was this tuning that they had with the Digital World that singled them out from the rest of the Hybrid race, making them the true Digidestined that they were.
"Yeah I thought I felt something when I first got here this morning." Sora looked nervously, she knew what it meant to be called by Gennai personally. She was needed for a battle, which was rather sad seeing how she had grown to enjoy the peace over the years. "So what's the problem?" she asked putting her hand on her hip.
"I've detected a large formation of energy in the Temples located in the south west peninsula of Server. Do you remember that place?" he asked.
"Yeah, that's where we found the digimentals of Love and Knowledge. Gennai is the energy good or evil?" She asked knowing what the possible answer might be.
"I haven't be able to find out, but either or, we cannot allow good nor evil to out weigh the other. An uneven shift in power can result in..."
"In the demise of both worlds. Really Gennai I know the drill." Sora sighed just a little. It was still morning and the day was still cool, but this would only last for so long, and she was not looking forward to going off on some adventure.
"Well, let me take Raiko and the other's back to earth. Then I'll have Izzy upload the coordinates and I'll go...." Sora was cut mid-sentence by Gennai.
"No. The energy is growing immensely large at equally fast pace. You don't have the time, take them with you. Consider this apart of their training. I'll upload the coordinates and have a portal open up by Data Falls. I want the four of you there in the next 30 minutes, is that understood?"
"Yes Gennai, We'll be there. Sora out." and with that the conversation ended. Sora stared down at the ground for a moment, thinking of the situation at hand. She had no problem with taking Raiko along with her. She was more than capable of taking care of herself, and maybe Otaru was too. But Miyama was younger than T.K. and Kari when they had first came to the Digital World. She wasn't ready to go on some life or death mission, and Sora almost couldn't bear to take her. But what could she do? She was needed now, and the Digital World was not known to wait.
"Sora!" called Raiko, startling her out of her thoughts.
"What's up?" replied Sora walking in Raiko's direction.
"I've picked up two other Hybrids on my digivice." she answered. Sora pulled out her digivice again, changing its mode from intercom to detect. Two orange lights blinked opposite two red ones, her and Raiko. "Hmm, lizard type digimon." she said to herself.
"Their lizard type digimon, most likely fire types as well." said Raiko looking up from her digivice. "Want me to check out who they might be?" she asked.
Sora checked her device one more time. She noticed Otaru and Miyama were going out of range, which was not a good thing. "No," she answered still looking at her digivice, "I want you to find Otaru and Miyama and head for Data Falls, I'll go check out the two unidentified Hybrids." Sora began to walk in the direction of the blinking lights, Biyomon close behind her.
"Sora, why Data Falls?" asked Raiko. Sora looked back at the girl, "I'll explain when I meet up with you." and she dashed off in the direction of the two unknown people.
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The forests of the Digiworld were always full with foliage. The rich colors of nature came together in a magical blending in the Digital World. Lush greens sprung out from the deep browns of trees while flowers of varying colors of red, fuchsia, lavender, and orange lined the base of their trunks. The leaves were huge in comparison to Earth's forest, and they provided a lovely canopy that blocked the heat of the sun. Earth was once blessed with such beauty, but that beauty was lost to Humanity and their conquering ways. Now glimpses of the majestic forests that once covered the globe existed. The forest of the Digiworld was a pure untainted form of nature, and in these deep forests one could lose themselves in the beauty or cover themselves from opposing enemies, giving one the element of surprise.
"Get ready, he's close." said a young man to his Digimon. He was a tall, well-built figure. It was obvious that he was exposed to extreme amounts of physical training. He had an athlete's body, and yet it seemed slightly stronger than the average man.
He stood steady, a low rhythmic breath coming from his mouth as he and the Digimon waited for their attacker to reveal himself. The Digimon, that wasn't even half the young man's size, let out an intimidating, low growl. You could tell that these two were well-trained fighters. They both looked of immense strength, and both looked like they had seen a few fights in their day. The man stood silently, listening to the sounds of the forest around him. A line of sweat trailed down his face, barely missing his strong, intimidating brown eyes. His hair gleamed in the little sunlight that the canopy allowed to come through. His Digimon was a lizard type digimon. It's orange scales also shined in the little rays of sunlight, it's muscle rippling with every move it made.
The silence was broken by a war cry from behind the Hybrid and his Digimon. "Now!" shouted the attacker. The digimon by his side, which was the same type digimon as the young man, let lose a huge fireball the zipped through the air, heating it ever so slightly. "Pepper Breath!" his digimon growled out in his reptilian voice. The young man and his Agumon quickly turned to meet their attackers. His Agumon too released a fireball of similar size at his opponent. The fireballs collided with a loud explosion of fire canceling fire and smoke. The young man met with his attacker, grabbing him by his leg then slamming him to the ground in a counter attack. The two Agumons charged at each other ferociously, then met in a head butt. The stronger of the two stood his ground while the other tumbled to the earth below. When the battle was over, a huge cloud of dust had settled leaving the young man and his Agumon standing over another boy and his Agumon.
"Sora did you hear that?" asked Biyomon halting in her flight.
Sora stopped in her tracks and listened to the sound of an explosion. In the distance a flicker of what looked like fire could be seen, Sora squinted her eyes to focus in, but was unable to make out anything. "Let's be careful," advise Biyomon looking down at Sora. Sora nodded, "Maybe we should make this a sneak attack from above, shall we?" she gave a half smile before jumping into the closest tree. Then, with Biyomon behind her, she jumped from tree to tree, closing in on her target.
"Do you give up?" question the young man looking down at the younger boy. The boy looked up at his opponent, he had no trace of fear on his face, just annoyance. He smirked, and then looked to his Agumon, who looked at him with the same look. "Yeah right." he answered, and then drop kicked the older boy. The boy's Agumon charged the other, catching it of guard as it watch it's partner fall. The two digimon wrestled for a moment, but the younger boy's Agumon had finally pinned the other Agumon down.
Sora watched quietly, perched on the branch of a near by tree. "Tai?" she asked to herself as she watched the battle below. "You want I should help him and Agumon out?" asked Biyomon excitedly. Sora held her hand up, quieting Biyomon. "Let's just watch for now," she said as the battle below became more interesting.
The younger boy stood over Tai breathing heavily. His digimon was just as tired. He stood in a defensive pose, waiting for the older boy's response to his attack. There was a moment of silence, then the older boy began to laugh. The younger boy looked down at Tai confused. "Tai?" he asked as he finally let his defense down and lowered his shoulders. Then without hesitation, Tai grabbed the boy holding him up in the air. The boy struggled for a moment then finally he gave in. "Remember what I told you." said Tai lowering the boy back down to the ground. The boy fixed the collar of his shirt then helped his Agumon up, "Never let your guard down until you are sure your enemy is incapable of any more attacks." said the boy looking Tai in his eyes.
"Well done, Toshiro." said Tai, he held his hand out for the boy to shake. Toshiro looked at his hand for moment, not sure if he should take it or not. "It's fine." Tai urged him on, hesitantly he took his hand. Then out of respect for one another the shook hands.
Sora chose this moment to come out of hiding; she jumped down from out of the tree laughing, Biyomon still flying just above her. Both Tai and Toshiro turned and took an attack stance, startled by Sora just appearing. Quickly, noticing that they were going to attack, Sora held her hands out. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Steady there, you two." she said, "Tai it's me."
Almost instantly Tai recognized her, his stance lightened and he dropped his fists. Agumon too calmed his posture and a huge grin formed on his face. "Taichi?" questioned Toshiro. But Tai ignored him. He approached Sora happily, a huge smile on his face. She returned the smile. The two met in a friendly hug, then stepped back to get a good look at each other.
"It's been awhile," said Agumon as he looked at Biyomon.
"It sure has." she replied.
Sora looked down at the two Digimon, "He's right, it has been awhile." Sora looked up at Taichi. The last the time they had met, he was on a campaign to gain the support of the Human race for the newly developed Hybrid race, becoming a sort of ambassador for the Digital World in the process. Though he wasn't actually appointed as an Official Representative of the Digital World, he had appeared at a few meetings that involved a congregation of some earth's most powerful leaders. None of the Digidestined had heard from him for about four or five months, they had started to think that he had forgotten all about them.
"No, now you know I could never forget about you," said Tai placing his hand to Sora's chin, causing her to blush a little.
"Hmm, you had better not have forgotten about me Yagami." she playfully scolded. The two laughed slightly, then looked at each other in silence. The two old friends had missed one another, though neither one could honestly full out admit it. But it was in these moments, the ones spent in silent conversation, that the bond Sora and Tai shared was truly evident, and it was obvious that one was not fully complete without the other.
Toshiro, who had stood off to the side observing them, broke the silence unexpectedly. He had purposely coughed quite loudly to get their attention, and then tried to play it off by folding his arms and turning his head the other way. Tai chuckled under his breath at his younger friend, then turned back to Sora. "Uh, Sora, I'd like you to meet Toshiro. He's been traveling with me for about two months now, as you can see he has an Agumon like me." Sora walked over to the young boy. A Hybrid with an Agumon as a partner was a very rare find, it was reported by Izzy and Gennai that Tai and one other person on earth would be partnered with an Agumon for reasons unknown. It had seemed that Tai had finally met this one other person.
"Hmm, an Agumon, huh?" questioned Sora as she circled Toshiro and his digimon.
"Yeah what of it?" asked Toshiro defensively. "What of it?" Repeated the digimon. Sora smirked at the boy's attitude; she knew he had only did that because she had intimidated them slightly.
"Don't be rude." scolded Agumon from where he stood by Tai.
"It's okay," said Sora, "I'm used to the attitude thing. So, Toshiro, how old are? And does your Agumon have a name?"
"I'm sixteen," he answered.
"And my name is Rex." answered the Agumon.
"Oh really? I have a girl with a Biyomon named Tenshi under my training. Her name is Raiko, she's the same age as you, and she has just as much attitude," replied Sora walking back over to Tai. Toshiro stood still somewhat defensive; something about Sora had made him angry in a way he couldn't describe.
"So why are you here in the Digital World? Still training other kids?" asked Tai. Sora nodded; "Though today things might be a little different," she said pulling her digivice out. She had checked to see if Raiko and the others had already got on their way to Data Falls. They had, and so Sora figure it would be best to hurry up and meet them there, before Raiko had got restless and ran off to do her on thing.
"I'll explain on the way to Data Falls," she began as she hailed Biyomon and continued past Tai, "If you two care to join me."
Tai looked back to Toshiro, who was ready to go wherever he went. "Okay than..." answered Tai, and he, Agumon, Toshiro, and Rex all began to follow behind Sora and Biyomon.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Raiko why are we going to Data Falls?" asked Miyama.
"Because, Sora told us to meet her there, didn't I tell you that already?" she answered somewhat annoyed.
"No you told me," replied Otaru looking back at the two girls.
"Oh...anyway, we had better hurry. Sora sounded like going to Data Falls was important," said Raiko as the three of them made their way through the forests.
The three spent the rest of their small journey in silence. Raiko was never one to speak much, Otaru didn't really care, and Miyama was always a little afraid of Raiko, seeing how she wasn't the nicest person around.
Distant laughing coming from the direction of Data Falls interrupted the silence, which is where they were headed. Raiko was the first to pick up the laughing and out of natural instinct and the training by Sora, she quickly pulled Otaru and Miyama behind a large tree.
"What are you doing?" asked Otaru annoyed by how he was pulled by Raiko. She ignored him, trying to focus her concentration on the sound of the other people.
"Check and see what type digimon is up ahead." Suggested Tenshi as she landed beside Miyama and Yokomon. Raiko nodded and pulled her digivice from out her pocket, two orange lights and a red one blinked a few feet away from three red ones. Immediately Raiko was able to figure out who the people up ahead were, "It's Sora and she's with someone." She said coming from behind the tree that her and the others had been hiding behind.
"Sora-san!" shouted Miyama as her and Yokomon ran towards the falls.
"Miyama!" replied Sora holding her arms out. The little girl happily met Sora, Raiko and Otaru had came up from behind her a moment later. Miyama smiled as she looked to Sora and Biyomon, but then she noticed Tai and Toshiro, and becoming her usual bashful self, her and Yokomon quickly ducked behind Sora's legs.
"Hello there." Said Tai as knelt down to meet Miyama. She backed away a little further, blushing ridiculously and giggling.
"These are a few of the kids that I've been training." Tai stood back up from trying to speak with Miyama. "The little one here is Miyama." Sora said looking back at the little girl. Miyama shyly waved; peaking from behind Sora, then a fit of giggling she hid behind Sora again, her Yokomon mimicking her exactly.
"She's cute, how old are you Miyama?" he asked.
"Five, I'll be six in August." She answered from behind Sora.
"Then there is Otaru, he's eight, and Hawkmon." Continued Sora.
"Hey." Said Otaru nonchalantly, his Hawkmon giving an acknowledging nod.
"And one of the best fighters I've come across so far, Raiko and Tenshi." Sora turned to Raiko, her hands on her hips, and Tenshi who too had an intimidating pose.
"Hi, sixteen if your wondering." Said Raiko, "And you are?"
Tai was a little taken back by Raiko's forwardness. He looked back to Toshiro who watched the girl skeptically, "She looks like a hand full." Said Agumon to Rex, who nodded agreeing.
"Raiko, this is an old and good friend of mine Taichi and Agumon." Said Sora, annoyed by Raiko and her attitude. She never could understand why Raiko had felt this uncontrollable need to show that she was as tough inside as she looked on the outside.
"And you?" asked Raiko raising her eyebrow as she looked to Toshiro.
Toshiro looked Raiko over once more. It was obvious that a rivalry would be formed between these two, and that could prove to be a problem for Sora and the mission that Gennai has her going on. He smiled as though he came to some secret conclusion; he looked down to Rex, who looked as though he knew exactly what his partnered was thinking.
"My name is Toshiro, and this is my Agumon, Rex. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He said politely, bowing just slightly. Raiko looked nervously at the boy before her, blushing by how polite he was. He looked up at her past the bit of hair that covered his brown eyes. His hair was brown except for the few highlights that streaked the front. He had a very gentlemanly quality about him, and Raiko had no idea how to take it. She glanced to Tenshi; the pink bird just shrugged, seeing how she was clueless as to what to do too.
"That's the first time Raiko has never had anything to say, I think I'm going to like having Toshiro around." Said Sora looking down at Biyomon, who was laughing at the awkward moment. Raiko cut Sora an evil glance, and Sora shuttered playfully to tease her.
"So why are we all here?" said Raiko hastily trying to change the subject of the conversation. Sora sighed, turning to face the falls. Water sprayed up and out gently from the rushing colorful waters. The waters were cool; they didn't heat up with the day like the bay at home. The coolness was very inviting seeing how the day had already begun to heat up.
"Well, Gennai called me on my digivice earlier this morning." Sora looked at the little device in her hand, she had almost wished she had left it at home, that way Gennai could have left her alone for the day. But carrying that digivice around was like second nature to her and the others. She would reach for it without even noticing, and she was practically nowhere with out it.
"What did he have to say?" asked Tai, seeing how Sora was not looking forward to going on the mission. Sora began to explain the situation at hand, how there was unknown energy and that it needed to be either confined or destroyed depending on if it caused a threat or not. She also explained how she didn't want Miyama most of all to go with them, for fear she wasn't ready to handle such missions just yet.
"He should be sending a portal to upload us and take us to the temples in a few minutes." Said Sora. As if on cue, a light appeared from behind them. The light was incredibly bright, it was a pure white color, and it felt as though a wind came from it. "He never misses a beat, does he?" said Sora sarcastically, as she approached the gate. "Would you care to join us?" she asked Tai, holding Miyama's hand.
"Well should we?" he asked Toshiro. Toshiro looked down to Rex, the little digimon nodded excitedly to his partner. "Why not?" answered Toshiro as he followed behind Tai and Agumon and the others.
When the last to enter the portal finally did, the wind that once blew had stopped just as suddenly as it had appeared. The sound of the rushing waters that were for a brief moment drowned out by the wiping winds now filled the air again. The light sprays of water continued to come up and outward from the falls. And the natural beauty of the Digital World forest continued on undisturbed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Not the End...call it intermission...
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Author's Note: Arigatou!! Thank You!! Gracias!! And thanks in a million other languages for actually reading this to the end. You have no idea how appreciative I am to anyone who has read this first part to the end. I will try not to make the other chapters to this fic shorter, but before I even think of uploading the other chapters, I need some feedback from you guys telling me if it's too long and I need to kill it or if it's fine and you want more, or whatever. So please review guys, and thanks for your time.
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Of Demons and an Angel
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"Now pay close attention to Biyo and I," said Sora facing the three children she had been chosen to train.
Four years had past sense the second Digital War, and through those years great changes had been made. Now the Digital World wasn't a secret kept only by the young and innocent. It was opened to the eyes of all. The young, old, innocent, and corrupt. Having a digimon partner had become second nature among the human race. Children were being born everyday, and as they were a young digimon would appear by the sleeping infants' bedsides, to claim its place as a digital partner. There was no such thing as Digidestined anymore, just digitally enhanced. And before the eyes of Humanity, a new race had evolved, the Hybrids.
Most Hybrids were young children, no older then three or four, who were born after the wars, into a world where the digital gates were open. They were digitally processed at birth, and grew up knowing digimon and the powers that they possessed. The older Hybrids were children who were lucky enough to interact with the Digital World in some way during the wars. As result they were given digimon of their own.
Humanity is not known to take things that are different very well. And out of fear of what they did not understand, the adults who had lost their innocence and chance of knowing the digimon placed a restraint of power against the Hybrids. There were increasing laws that kept the Hybrids and their digimon at bay. Government officials had called it a way of keeping the public safe, but others, the ones who did understand the nature of digimon and the Hybrids, called it a simple act of prejudice.
But the Hybrids did not retaliate; most were to young to know that they were feared so greatly. But those who did understand the prejudice that was being placed against them did nothing yet. They were still children, and were too small in number to place an all out rebellion against the entire human world.
But the threat to the hybrid race was not a great one for now, just a growing one that would have to be addressed in the future to come. For now, the laws that restrained the power of the Hybrids and their digimon did not apply in the Digital World, only in the human one. It was here where the younger Hybrids were trained by the older Hybrids, the ones once called the Digidestined.
It was a very simple system. Hybrids of similar digimon type were placed with older Hybrids with the same digimon type. The children would take nearly daily ventures into the digital world, to learn of the entirety of their power. In Japan, the place were the discovery of the Digital World all began, lived the strongest of the Hybrids. Once known as Digidestined, now these veterans of the Digital Wars devoted themselves to training the future of the Hybrid race.
Sora had been especially passionate about her role as a teacher. She had taken to the children much more readily than her fellow Digidestined, and had gladly spent the majority of her time as a teacher in the digital world. Usually she taught different classes through out Japan, journeying through out Japan searching out children who had been partnered with bird type digimon like herself. But today she had taught the Tokyo class, meaning she did not need to go out of her way.
"Now pay attention. You want your digimon to have good aim; a missed hit can decide a life or death situation. I hate to sound morbid, but it is true." she began facing three children with bird type digimon of their own. "Biyo!" called Sora. "Ready Sora." answered Biyomon. "Okay go for the targets down there."
Sora pointed to a set of targets about 20 feet away. Biyomon placed herself in front of Sora, and began to charge for her first strike. "Spiral Twister!!" shouted the little Digimon. A beam of lime green energy began to form around Biyomon's beak then, once reaching an efficient size, it was released. The energy raced through the air, cutting it with its speed, and with a loud explosion, the first target was demolished before their eyes.
"Spiral Twister!" again the energy formed, and soon the second target was gone. "Spiral Twister!" and the last target was also gone in a cloud of smoke and fire.
"I want you all to do the same, have you been doing the target practices I told you to do?" she asked looking back at the children again.
"Sora-san?" said the youngest of the children. "Yes, Miyama." answered Sora kneeling down to meet the little girl. Miyama was a sweet, quite, little girl. She was only five, going on six, and she was probably the most dedicated of all of Sora's students. She was always very respectful towards Sora, which made sense, seeing how she was from a very wealthy family. Miyama never looked the part of extreme wealth though; she always wore a simple sundress, which was blue at this time, and sandals. Her brown hair was kept evenly cut and at her shoulders, with bangs that were cut evenly across as well. She was overall adorable as well as sweet.
"Sora-san, Yokomon still hasn't digivolved yet. So I don't think she can do what Biyo did," said the girl looking down at her little digimon. Miyama's Yokomon was just as shy as Miyama; she peaked from behind Miyama's leg, blushing slightly. Something she had always done. "Oh, but her Bubble Blow is better! We practiced!" exclaimed Miyama smiling, her big brown eyes shining.
"Well than we'll work with that. Don't worry Yokomon will digivolve soon, just keep working up her skill level and you two stay close to each other. Everything will work out in the end." Sora returned the smile.
"Okay Sora-san." said the girl picking up Yokomon.
Sora stood up from kneeling and looked at the other two kids waiting for their orders. "As for you two, I want you and Hawkmon to work on the non-moving targets." Sora pointed to the only boy among them, Otaru. Otaru was another student that Sora was fond of. He wasn't as extreme with being respectful as Miyama was, but he did do as he was told with almost no question. The only reason for that though, was because of the crush he had on Sora since the first day they had met.
Sora could never forget her first day with Otaru. He had clung to her like white on rice, and she knew that it wouldn't take much for him to do what she asked. "Otaru there are about six targets left, I want you to stand at this line and try to hit each one from a 30 foot distance." Otaru looked annoyed at what she asked of him. "Okay?" she finished looking the eight year old in his blue eyes. They were pale, nearly sky-blue, and were in direct contrast to his deep, black hair, which was always covering his face in a messy sort of way.
Immediately he began to blush, turning his face an adorable shade of red. "Yeah, sure thing Sora." he agreed without hesitation.
"Oh please." the last of Sora's students had proven to be a much more difficult task. She was sixteen, and had already developed a full mind of her own. So she wouldn't give in to charm like Otaru or do anything out of natural respect like Miyama. She had a tough exterior, something she had acquired from living a hard home life.
She looked defiantly at Sora with her lavender colored eyes. She just had "rebel" written all over her. Her black hair was streaked with lavender, and tied up in a spiky ponytail. She wore a sleeveless mid-driff, and dark colored jeans. A bandana was always tied on her upper right arm, and the color of it changed accordingly with her outfit. She had looked like trouble from the beginning, and she had stuck with that reputation.
"Raiko, I have something better for you." Sora smiled wickedly at her. "Oh really." The girl returned the smile. She may have been two years younger than Sora, but she was a tough thing. And she had already gotten her Biyomon to digivolve to champion, only after about a month or two with it, something only the Digidestined were capable of. "Yeah, I want you and Tenshi to work on the moving targets."
"Fine with me, c'mon on Ten, you ready?" Raiko looked up to her Biyomon, which was flying just above her. Tenshi was named after Raiko and Sora had met, realizing that having the same type digimon with the same name would be way too annoying. Naming a digimon was now done commonly among the Hybrids and Digimon. It was a way of identifying one digimon from the next, plus it made the bond that the Hybrids shared with their digimon even more personal. Raiko's name for her Biyomon was a bit of a mystery. Tenshi was a lovely name, but it meant angel. Sora had seen that as sort of odd for a girl who had put on such strong front, it made Raiko's hard core look a little softer. And whenever she was questioned as to why she had chosen the name Tenshi, Raiko would hastily answer, "I have my reasons," and leave it at that.
For Sora this was how life was for the years after the Second Digital War. True, she was warrior with a fighting spirit, but the time of peace that the Digimon, Humans, and Hybrids spent in these four years was well appreciated, and Sora had learn to appreciate it as well.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"My goodness, it is so hot." said Sora flopping down on her bed. The weather that summer had been especially harsh. The sun wasn't gentle like it had been in the spring. Instead this year the sun's heat beat down on them roughly with no remorse. It was nearly unbearable, even the waters at the bay would heat up, making any chance of a nice cool swim practically impossible. But to add to the blistering heat was the thick humidity. It made the summer just that much more horrible. The air felt heavy, almost as heavy as the heat. To walk down a street would be like walking through heated molasses. You could feel your legs being weighed down, and almost instantly you felt exhaustion overwhelm your body.
"That bad, huh? Maybe I should just stay out here for the summer." Sora looked at her computer screen, a video picture of Mimi was on it. The girls had been voice chatting half the night, making plans for Mimi's stay in Tokyo for the summer. "Yeah right." replied Sora sitting up.
"Yeah right? What makes you say that?" questioned Mimi, one eyebrow raised.
"Because I know you couldn't stay away from Izzy, even if I had Garudamon Wing Blade the New York Airport." answered Sora.
Mimi blushed, it was true. Her and Izzy had been together for sometime, and though they were two countries and an ocean away, they had one of the strongest relationships that Sora had ever known of. It was honestly true love, and who would have guessed that Izzy and Mimi would be the first to find it in each other.
"Well anyway," Mimi began, "It's just as hot over here, and I've been to the Digital World with the younger kids that I have been training, and I see it's no better there either."
"I know, I mean it's night right now and I'm still burning up. That's it...tomorrow I'm wearing shorts and a tank top no questions asked." Sora had begun digging threw her dresser for a pair of shorts.
"Your going training again?" asked Mimi, looking at Sora like she had gone crazy for even thinking about going out into the heat again. Sora nodded, examining a blue top of her's before okaying it and throwing it on her bed.
"I'm leaving in the morning with Miyama, Otaru, and Raiko. That way we'll be able to get some good training in before the heat gets too out of hand." said Sora as she walked over to the computer.
"You're really dedicated to training those kids," Sora smiled. She was very dedicated. She honestly enjoyed the time she spent with the children, even if Raiko did make her job a little harder.
"Speaking of training, I need to be going, I'm supposed to be with a few of my kids now." Mimi looked down at her wristwatch. "We'll talk later, okay? Bye Sora."
"Later Mimi." and with a click the video screen was gone.
Slowly Sora dragged her body back towards her bed. Her mother had finally turned the air conditioning back on, after having it off for about two hours. There had been one too many power outages during the summer as well, making it harder for people to keep cool in the heat. And her mother, along with a lot of other people, had been doing their part to help keep the power outages down by turning the air conditioning and any other appliances off for a brief period of time.
"Thank goodness." said Sora as she felt the need for sleep overcome her. She curled up comfortably in the middle of her bed; her pillow felt even more inviting. Her eyelids had grown heavy with sleep, and before she knew it she was lulled into a deep slumber. The only sound in the apartment being the gentle hum of the air conditioning.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Again the day began the same way, Raiko wanted to do her own thing, Otaru wanted to do everything, and Miyama couldn't do half the things though she had tried desperately to. It was routine. But on this day routine would have to be interrupted, forces that were beyond daily routine would come into play. And Sora could feel this. She had been fine tuned, along with the other Digidestined, to sense a change in forces in the Digital World. Though Sora did not want to admit it, the balance that her, Tai, and the others had fought so hard to maintain, was once again being disturbed.
Sora had chose to ignore it that cool morning; she didn't want to alarm Miyama, Otaru, and Raiko. And plus she felt as a Digidestined, she would bring it up with the others, before assuming any real trouble. But thanks to Gennai, this would not happen.
Over time modifications and upgrades had been done to the digivices, making them even more efficient. They had long since gone past their normal purposes as basic detecting devices and connections of energy between humans and their digimon. Now, thanks to Izzy, the devices were used as intercoms. Allowing all Hybrids to stay in contact with each other. Also the digivices were more informative, in that they could not only identify another Hybrid, but there were also capable of determining what digimon type a human was partnered with. It was a program Izzy had designed. The lights that indicated another Hybrid and their location would also blink in a certain color telling the digimon type. He had based the coloring system on the Digidestined's Digimon and their crest color. Ergo, a Hybrid partnered with a lizard type digimon would be identified with an orange light, in accordance to Tai and Agumon and his crest color. A Hybrid partnered with a bird type digimon would be identified with a red light, like Sora, a Hybrid with an insect type digimon would be identified with purple, like Izzy and so on. These were not the only changes made, but to name them all would be nearly impossible, for Izzy was constantly modifying the digivices, making them better and more efficient.
Gennai had called in the middle of Sora's practice. Sora had always hated being interrupted in the middle of her practices, but for Gennai to call for her personally and not through Izzy, must have meant that an emergency of great importance had taken place. So she excused his interruption.
"I apologize for interrupting your practice, Sora. I know how you feel about that," said the young man over the intercom. It was still a surprise to hear a young man's voice instead of the old, raspy voice that she had originally grown used to.
"It's fine, Gennai." She replied looking back at the others.
"Anyway, there has been a disturbance, But I'm sure you already knew that," said Gennai. It was true; Sora had sensed a something since the moment she first stepped through the digital gate. It was her gift as a Digidestined. Since their first encounter in the digital world, Sora and the others had developed a connection with their Digimon and the Digital World that none of the newer Hybrids could match. It was this tuning that they had with the Digital World that singled them out from the rest of the Hybrid race, making them the true Digidestined that they were.
"Yeah I thought I felt something when I first got here this morning." Sora looked nervously, she knew what it meant to be called by Gennai personally. She was needed for a battle, which was rather sad seeing how she had grown to enjoy the peace over the years. "So what's the problem?" she asked putting her hand on her hip.
"I've detected a large formation of energy in the Temples located in the south west peninsula of Server. Do you remember that place?" he asked.
"Yeah, that's where we found the digimentals of Love and Knowledge. Gennai is the energy good or evil?" She asked knowing what the possible answer might be.
"I haven't be able to find out, but either or, we cannot allow good nor evil to out weigh the other. An uneven shift in power can result in..."
"In the demise of both worlds. Really Gennai I know the drill." Sora sighed just a little. It was still morning and the day was still cool, but this would only last for so long, and she was not looking forward to going off on some adventure.
"Well, let me take Raiko and the other's back to earth. Then I'll have Izzy upload the coordinates and I'll go...." Sora was cut mid-sentence by Gennai.
"No. The energy is growing immensely large at equally fast pace. You don't have the time, take them with you. Consider this apart of their training. I'll upload the coordinates and have a portal open up by Data Falls. I want the four of you there in the next 30 minutes, is that understood?"
"Yes Gennai, We'll be there. Sora out." and with that the conversation ended. Sora stared down at the ground for a moment, thinking of the situation at hand. She had no problem with taking Raiko along with her. She was more than capable of taking care of herself, and maybe Otaru was too. But Miyama was younger than T.K. and Kari when they had first came to the Digital World. She wasn't ready to go on some life or death mission, and Sora almost couldn't bear to take her. But what could she do? She was needed now, and the Digital World was not known to wait.
"Sora!" called Raiko, startling her out of her thoughts.
"What's up?" replied Sora walking in Raiko's direction.
"I've picked up two other Hybrids on my digivice." she answered. Sora pulled out her digivice again, changing its mode from intercom to detect. Two orange lights blinked opposite two red ones, her and Raiko. "Hmm, lizard type digimon." she said to herself.
"Their lizard type digimon, most likely fire types as well." said Raiko looking up from her digivice. "Want me to check out who they might be?" she asked.
Sora checked her device one more time. She noticed Otaru and Miyama were going out of range, which was not a good thing. "No," she answered still looking at her digivice, "I want you to find Otaru and Miyama and head for Data Falls, I'll go check out the two unidentified Hybrids." Sora began to walk in the direction of the blinking lights, Biyomon close behind her.
"Sora, why Data Falls?" asked Raiko. Sora looked back at the girl, "I'll explain when I meet up with you." and she dashed off in the direction of the two unknown people.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The forests of the Digiworld were always full with foliage. The rich colors of nature came together in a magical blending in the Digital World. Lush greens sprung out from the deep browns of trees while flowers of varying colors of red, fuchsia, lavender, and orange lined the base of their trunks. The leaves were huge in comparison to Earth's forest, and they provided a lovely canopy that blocked the heat of the sun. Earth was once blessed with such beauty, but that beauty was lost to Humanity and their conquering ways. Now glimpses of the majestic forests that once covered the globe existed. The forest of the Digiworld was a pure untainted form of nature, and in these deep forests one could lose themselves in the beauty or cover themselves from opposing enemies, giving one the element of surprise.
"Get ready, he's close." said a young man to his Digimon. He was a tall, well-built figure. It was obvious that he was exposed to extreme amounts of physical training. He had an athlete's body, and yet it seemed slightly stronger than the average man.
He stood steady, a low rhythmic breath coming from his mouth as he and the Digimon waited for their attacker to reveal himself. The Digimon, that wasn't even half the young man's size, let out an intimidating, low growl. You could tell that these two were well-trained fighters. They both looked of immense strength, and both looked like they had seen a few fights in their day. The man stood silently, listening to the sounds of the forest around him. A line of sweat trailed down his face, barely missing his strong, intimidating brown eyes. His hair gleamed in the little sunlight that the canopy allowed to come through. His Digimon was a lizard type digimon. It's orange scales also shined in the little rays of sunlight, it's muscle rippling with every move it made.
The silence was broken by a war cry from behind the Hybrid and his Digimon. "Now!" shouted the attacker. The digimon by his side, which was the same type digimon as the young man, let lose a huge fireball the zipped through the air, heating it ever so slightly. "Pepper Breath!" his digimon growled out in his reptilian voice. The young man and his Agumon quickly turned to meet their attackers. His Agumon too released a fireball of similar size at his opponent. The fireballs collided with a loud explosion of fire canceling fire and smoke. The young man met with his attacker, grabbing him by his leg then slamming him to the ground in a counter attack. The two Agumons charged at each other ferociously, then met in a head butt. The stronger of the two stood his ground while the other tumbled to the earth below. When the battle was over, a huge cloud of dust had settled leaving the young man and his Agumon standing over another boy and his Agumon.
"Sora did you hear that?" asked Biyomon halting in her flight.
Sora stopped in her tracks and listened to the sound of an explosion. In the distance a flicker of what looked like fire could be seen, Sora squinted her eyes to focus in, but was unable to make out anything. "Let's be careful," advise Biyomon looking down at Sora. Sora nodded, "Maybe we should make this a sneak attack from above, shall we?" she gave a half smile before jumping into the closest tree. Then, with Biyomon behind her, she jumped from tree to tree, closing in on her target.
"Do you give up?" question the young man looking down at the younger boy. The boy looked up at his opponent, he had no trace of fear on his face, just annoyance. He smirked, and then looked to his Agumon, who looked at him with the same look. "Yeah right." he answered, and then drop kicked the older boy. The boy's Agumon charged the other, catching it of guard as it watch it's partner fall. The two digimon wrestled for a moment, but the younger boy's Agumon had finally pinned the other Agumon down.
Sora watched quietly, perched on the branch of a near by tree. "Tai?" she asked to herself as she watched the battle below. "You want I should help him and Agumon out?" asked Biyomon excitedly. Sora held her hand up, quieting Biyomon. "Let's just watch for now," she said as the battle below became more interesting.
The younger boy stood over Tai breathing heavily. His digimon was just as tired. He stood in a defensive pose, waiting for the older boy's response to his attack. There was a moment of silence, then the older boy began to laugh. The younger boy looked down at Tai confused. "Tai?" he asked as he finally let his defense down and lowered his shoulders. Then without hesitation, Tai grabbed the boy holding him up in the air. The boy struggled for a moment then finally he gave in. "Remember what I told you." said Tai lowering the boy back down to the ground. The boy fixed the collar of his shirt then helped his Agumon up, "Never let your guard down until you are sure your enemy is incapable of any more attacks." said the boy looking Tai in his eyes.
"Well done, Toshiro." said Tai, he held his hand out for the boy to shake. Toshiro looked at his hand for moment, not sure if he should take it or not. "It's fine." Tai urged him on, hesitantly he took his hand. Then out of respect for one another the shook hands.
Sora chose this moment to come out of hiding; she jumped down from out of the tree laughing, Biyomon still flying just above her. Both Tai and Toshiro turned and took an attack stance, startled by Sora just appearing. Quickly, noticing that they were going to attack, Sora held her hands out. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Steady there, you two." she said, "Tai it's me."
Almost instantly Tai recognized her, his stance lightened and he dropped his fists. Agumon too calmed his posture and a huge grin formed on his face. "Taichi?" questioned Toshiro. But Tai ignored him. He approached Sora happily, a huge smile on his face. She returned the smile. The two met in a friendly hug, then stepped back to get a good look at each other.
"It's been awhile," said Agumon as he looked at Biyomon.
"It sure has." she replied.
Sora looked down at the two Digimon, "He's right, it has been awhile." Sora looked up at Taichi. The last the time they had met, he was on a campaign to gain the support of the Human race for the newly developed Hybrid race, becoming a sort of ambassador for the Digital World in the process. Though he wasn't actually appointed as an Official Representative of the Digital World, he had appeared at a few meetings that involved a congregation of some earth's most powerful leaders. None of the Digidestined had heard from him for about four or five months, they had started to think that he had forgotten all about them.
"No, now you know I could never forget about you," said Tai placing his hand to Sora's chin, causing her to blush a little.
"Hmm, you had better not have forgotten about me Yagami." she playfully scolded. The two laughed slightly, then looked at each other in silence. The two old friends had missed one another, though neither one could honestly full out admit it. But it was in these moments, the ones spent in silent conversation, that the bond Sora and Tai shared was truly evident, and it was obvious that one was not fully complete without the other.
Toshiro, who had stood off to the side observing them, broke the silence unexpectedly. He had purposely coughed quite loudly to get their attention, and then tried to play it off by folding his arms and turning his head the other way. Tai chuckled under his breath at his younger friend, then turned back to Sora. "Uh, Sora, I'd like you to meet Toshiro. He's been traveling with me for about two months now, as you can see he has an Agumon like me." Sora walked over to the young boy. A Hybrid with an Agumon as a partner was a very rare find, it was reported by Izzy and Gennai that Tai and one other person on earth would be partnered with an Agumon for reasons unknown. It had seemed that Tai had finally met this one other person.
"Hmm, an Agumon, huh?" questioned Sora as she circled Toshiro and his digimon.
"Yeah what of it?" asked Toshiro defensively. "What of it?" Repeated the digimon. Sora smirked at the boy's attitude; she knew he had only did that because she had intimidated them slightly.
"Don't be rude." scolded Agumon from where he stood by Tai.
"It's okay," said Sora, "I'm used to the attitude thing. So, Toshiro, how old are? And does your Agumon have a name?"
"I'm sixteen," he answered.
"And my name is Rex." answered the Agumon.
"Oh really? I have a girl with a Biyomon named Tenshi under my training. Her name is Raiko, she's the same age as you, and she has just as much attitude," replied Sora walking back over to Tai. Toshiro stood still somewhat defensive; something about Sora had made him angry in a way he couldn't describe.
"So why are you here in the Digital World? Still training other kids?" asked Tai. Sora nodded; "Though today things might be a little different," she said pulling her digivice out. She had checked to see if Raiko and the others had already got on their way to Data Falls. They had, and so Sora figure it would be best to hurry up and meet them there, before Raiko had got restless and ran off to do her on thing.
"I'll explain on the way to Data Falls," she began as she hailed Biyomon and continued past Tai, "If you two care to join me."
Tai looked back to Toshiro, who was ready to go wherever he went. "Okay than..." answered Tai, and he, Agumon, Toshiro, and Rex all began to follow behind Sora and Biyomon.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Raiko why are we going to Data Falls?" asked Miyama.
"Because, Sora told us to meet her there, didn't I tell you that already?" she answered somewhat annoyed.
"No you told me," replied Otaru looking back at the two girls.
"Oh...anyway, we had better hurry. Sora sounded like going to Data Falls was important," said Raiko as the three of them made their way through the forests.
The three spent the rest of their small journey in silence. Raiko was never one to speak much, Otaru didn't really care, and Miyama was always a little afraid of Raiko, seeing how she wasn't the nicest person around.
Distant laughing coming from the direction of Data Falls interrupted the silence, which is where they were headed. Raiko was the first to pick up the laughing and out of natural instinct and the training by Sora, she quickly pulled Otaru and Miyama behind a large tree.
"What are you doing?" asked Otaru annoyed by how he was pulled by Raiko. She ignored him, trying to focus her concentration on the sound of the other people.
"Check and see what type digimon is up ahead." Suggested Tenshi as she landed beside Miyama and Yokomon. Raiko nodded and pulled her digivice from out her pocket, two orange lights and a red one blinked a few feet away from three red ones. Immediately Raiko was able to figure out who the people up ahead were, "It's Sora and she's with someone." She said coming from behind the tree that her and the others had been hiding behind.
"Sora-san!" shouted Miyama as her and Yokomon ran towards the falls.
"Miyama!" replied Sora holding her arms out. The little girl happily met Sora, Raiko and Otaru had came up from behind her a moment later. Miyama smiled as she looked to Sora and Biyomon, but then she noticed Tai and Toshiro, and becoming her usual bashful self, her and Yokomon quickly ducked behind Sora's legs.
"Hello there." Said Tai as knelt down to meet Miyama. She backed away a little further, blushing ridiculously and giggling.
"These are a few of the kids that I've been training." Tai stood back up from trying to speak with Miyama. "The little one here is Miyama." Sora said looking back at the little girl. Miyama shyly waved; peaking from behind Sora, then a fit of giggling she hid behind Sora again, her Yokomon mimicking her exactly.
"She's cute, how old are you Miyama?" he asked.
"Five, I'll be six in August." She answered from behind Sora.
"Then there is Otaru, he's eight, and Hawkmon." Continued Sora.
"Hey." Said Otaru nonchalantly, his Hawkmon giving an acknowledging nod.
"And one of the best fighters I've come across so far, Raiko and Tenshi." Sora turned to Raiko, her hands on her hips, and Tenshi who too had an intimidating pose.
"Hi, sixteen if your wondering." Said Raiko, "And you are?"
Tai was a little taken back by Raiko's forwardness. He looked back to Toshiro who watched the girl skeptically, "She looks like a hand full." Said Agumon to Rex, who nodded agreeing.
"Raiko, this is an old and good friend of mine Taichi and Agumon." Said Sora, annoyed by Raiko and her attitude. She never could understand why Raiko had felt this uncontrollable need to show that she was as tough inside as she looked on the outside.
"And you?" asked Raiko raising her eyebrow as she looked to Toshiro.
Toshiro looked Raiko over once more. It was obvious that a rivalry would be formed between these two, and that could prove to be a problem for Sora and the mission that Gennai has her going on. He smiled as though he came to some secret conclusion; he looked down to Rex, who looked as though he knew exactly what his partnered was thinking.
"My name is Toshiro, and this is my Agumon, Rex. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He said politely, bowing just slightly. Raiko looked nervously at the boy before her, blushing by how polite he was. He looked up at her past the bit of hair that covered his brown eyes. His hair was brown except for the few highlights that streaked the front. He had a very gentlemanly quality about him, and Raiko had no idea how to take it. She glanced to Tenshi; the pink bird just shrugged, seeing how she was clueless as to what to do too.
"That's the first time Raiko has never had anything to say, I think I'm going to like having Toshiro around." Said Sora looking down at Biyomon, who was laughing at the awkward moment. Raiko cut Sora an evil glance, and Sora shuttered playfully to tease her.
"So why are we all here?" said Raiko hastily trying to change the subject of the conversation. Sora sighed, turning to face the falls. Water sprayed up and out gently from the rushing colorful waters. The waters were cool; they didn't heat up with the day like the bay at home. The coolness was very inviting seeing how the day had already begun to heat up.
"Well, Gennai called me on my digivice earlier this morning." Sora looked at the little device in her hand, she had almost wished she had left it at home, that way Gennai could have left her alone for the day. But carrying that digivice around was like second nature to her and the others. She would reach for it without even noticing, and she was practically nowhere with out it.
"What did he have to say?" asked Tai, seeing how Sora was not looking forward to going on the mission. Sora began to explain the situation at hand, how there was unknown energy and that it needed to be either confined or destroyed depending on if it caused a threat or not. She also explained how she didn't want Miyama most of all to go with them, for fear she wasn't ready to handle such missions just yet.
"He should be sending a portal to upload us and take us to the temples in a few minutes." Said Sora. As if on cue, a light appeared from behind them. The light was incredibly bright, it was a pure white color, and it felt as though a wind came from it. "He never misses a beat, does he?" said Sora sarcastically, as she approached the gate. "Would you care to join us?" she asked Tai, holding Miyama's hand.
"Well should we?" he asked Toshiro. Toshiro looked down to Rex, the little digimon nodded excitedly to his partner. "Why not?" answered Toshiro as he followed behind Tai and Agumon and the others.
When the last to enter the portal finally did, the wind that once blew had stopped just as suddenly as it had appeared. The sound of the rushing waters that were for a brief moment drowned out by the wiping winds now filled the air again. The light sprays of water continued to come up and outward from the falls. And the natural beauty of the Digital World forest continued on undisturbed.
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Not the End...call it intermission...
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Author's Note: Arigatou!! Thank You!! Gracias!! And thanks in a million other languages for actually reading this to the end. You have no idea how appreciative I am to anyone who has read this first part to the end. I will try not to make the other chapters to this fic shorter, but before I even think of uploading the other chapters, I need some feedback from you guys telling me if it's too long and I need to kill it or if it's fine and you want more, or whatever. So please review guys, and thanks for your time.