Disclaimer: No, I still don't own digimon. I do own Eniale, Akariamon and Dracomon, though.
You Know You Love Her
The new girl was beautiful. That gorgeous blond with pale blue eyes. What was her name? Ellen? No, Eniale. Yeah, that was it. Weird name.
Ken lay awake under the stars, the sounds of his sleeping friends all around to comfort him. Stupid insomnia. It left time for thinking about feelings he'd rather not think about. Feelings for the new girl. Feelings that clashed with the ones he already felt for Yolei.
The violet-blue haired boy sitting awake in the clearing resolved to think of something else. He succeeded, eventually, and fell asleep. That sleep, however, was tainted with the clashes of his feelings for Yolei, and Eniale.
**
The new girl awoke screaming with terror. She sat bolt upright, clawing at the imaginary cockroaches crawling all over her body.
"Hey, hey. Calm down," she heard a calm voice beside her. "Ssh, don't worry. It was just a nightmare." Warm hands placed themselves on her neck and arm.
"Wh-who are you?" Eniale asked, a tremor in her voice.
"It's me, Ken. Don't be scared. You're fine." He rubbed her arm soothingly.
"Ken," she repeated. "I-I'm sorry. I don't even remember what I was dreaming about. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."
"Don't be sorry. It wasn't your fault." He reached up and dried her tears, sparkling in the moonlight. She reached up to feel her face.
"Oh, how embarrassing," she sniffed. She turned away her face.
"Are you okay, now? Do you want to try to sleep again?" Ken asked.
The blond haired girl checked her watch. "It's only an hour 'till sunrise. No, I know I won't sleep anyways. I think I'll just take a walk down to the beach."
Ken thought for a moment. He realized his hand was still on her arm and removed it. "Can I come?" he asked timidly.
A smile spread across the girl's lips, betrayed to Ken by the sparkle of moonlight on her teeth. "Sure."
The two stood and stepped over their sleeping friends, careful not to wake them. Ken led the way down the winding path to the beach. The surf could be heard crashing over the rocks.
Eniale caught her breath as the waves came into view. "Oh, it's so gorgeous," she whispered, barely audible.
Ken smiled. "Yeah, it is." Eniale shivered involuntarily. "Are you cold? Here, take this." He pulled his gray sweater off, tousling his indigo hair.
"Oh, Ken," she said, waving him off, trying to get him to take it back. "No, no, I'm fine."
"No. Look at you. You're shivering. Take the sweater." He pushed it further in her face.
"Fine, I'll take it." She took the sweater and slipped it on over her head. It was warm with his body heat and smelled good. She turned to the boy digidestined smiling. He was wearing only a wife-beater. "Oh, now you're going to be cold."
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me," he said, waving her off.
"Damn chivalry," she muttered under her breath, watching goosebumps rise on his arms. A loud wave caught her attention as it washed far up the beach.
She walked to a spot a few feet above the high-tide line and sat down. Ken sat down next to her.
A few minutes went by in silence. "So, what's your real life like?" Ken asked quietly.
"Um, I go to school at Center High School. Uh, I don't play any sports, but I do stats for the football team."
"What's that?" he asked.
"Stats? It's writing down yards and who runs 'em and stuff like that," Eniale replied.
"Oh, sounds...boring."
The girl laughed. "No, it's not." She paused. "So, what's your real life like?"
"I go to Odaiba High School. I play soccer," he replied.
"Oh, that's right. And you're really good, right? But..." she paused, counting on her fingers, "how long has it been since you first came to the digital world?"
"Five years."
"Oh, okay. Because I was thinking, you certainly don't look eleven. Besides, eleven-year olds aren't usually in high school," she said. Ken didn't reply. "Oh, that's right. You are a genius, huh."
Once again, he didn't say anything. She looked over and he wouldn't meet her gaze.
"Sorry," she apologized. "I didn't know you didn't like to talk about it."
"No, it's all right. I just-I don't like to talk about me much. Y-you know what I used to be." He looked down at his lap.
"Yeah, it's okay," she said, rubbing his back. "We can talk about something else." She squeezed his shoulders in a kind of half hug.
"Thanks," he said in a whisper. He reached up and covered her hand with one of his.
"Oh! You're freezing!" she exclaimed quietly, taking each of his hands in one of hers and rubbing it.
"No, I-,"
"Shut up. You're cold. If you won't take your sweater back, at least let me warm up your hands," she said, continuing to rub.
"I-," he tried to pull away from her grasp.
"Shh." They each looked up at each other and their gaze met.
She was so beautiful. Ken felt her fingers on his hands and her eyes on him. He lifter her hand to his lips, and kissed it gently, not taking his eyes off hers.
She brushed his lips with her forefinger, and he kissed it as it touched him. He brought her hand back down, and leaned in towards her face. She leaned in towards him, and closed her eyes. Their lips met softly and pressed against each other. She pulled away a little.
"Ken," she breathed. He stroked the side of her face with his fingertips. He leaned in again and gently kissed her lips. She kissed back, holding on to his shoulder.
Her mouth began to open, but before Ken could take the kiss further, she turned away, trying not to yawn. He sat up surprised.
"Oh, that was so embarrassing," Eniale whispered, refusing to look at him. She turned away, and took her hands off him. She could feel herself turning red.
"It's okay," he said, placing a hand on her back. "It is the middle of the night."
"No, I-I feel like an idiot."
"Don't." He scooted closer and slipped his arms around her stomach. He rested his head on her shoulder.
"Hm, it's not the middle of the night anymore," she said, noticing the lightening sky as she turned to look at Ken on her shoulder.
Ken glanced eastward. "No, I guess not."
"Oh, stop it," she giggled, pushing his head off her shoulder. "You're hair is tickling me."
"I'm sorry," he said before kissing her cheek.
She giggled again. "You're still doing it."
"I'm sorry," he said again. He got up on his hand and knees and crawled around to be in front of her. "Is this better?" he asked, before kissing her on the lips from the front.
"Mmm, much," she replied, kissing him again.
"Ken! Ke-en!" a small voice called from the forest in the direction of the other digidestined. There was a slight rustle in the bushes and out emerged a giant caterpillar.
"Wormmon?" Ken said, looking at the green bug. It was his partner digimon, sworn to protect him. "Is something wrong?"
"I woke up, and you weren't there. I got worried, so I came looking for you," Wormmon answered, walking across the sand to them.
"I'm sorry, Wormmon, I didn't mean to worry you," Ken said, taking the digimon onto his lap.
"I was also looking for you," Wormmon said, addressing Eniale.
"You were?" she asked, surprised.
"Well, I figured you might be in trouble, and you don't have a digimon to protect you. I wanted to help."
"Thank you," she said.
"So," Wormmon said, "what were you guys doing?"
"Uh, waiting to watch the sunrise," Eniale said quickly.
"Oh, cool." The green caterpillar turned to look out over the water. The sky was a brilliant shade of orangey-pink. "I think it's almost here."
A few minutes later, the sun crested the water in a dazzling display of light and fire.
"Oh, it's so beautiful," Eniale gasped.
"Yeah, we thought so," cam a voice from the bushes. Kari and Gatomon followed. They sat down on the sand next to the others, cat digimon in the girl's lap.
"Gatomon and I always try to watch the sunrise, but I guess we were a little late," Kari stated.
"Oh well. It's still pretty," Gatomon said.
More crashing in the bushes. "Hi guys. Whatcha doin'?" called Cody's voice. The young boy emerged, followed by Armadillomon.
"Sunrise," Eniale said, pointing as if the direction weren't obvious.
"Oh, fun," he replied, sitting down. "My grandfather and I watch the sunrise together sometimes."
One after another, TK, Yolei and Davis arrived, each with their digimon, to watch the sun rise over the ocean.
TK looked over, and turned back quickly. Ken had his arm around the new girl's shoulders. So, he'd already lost his chance with her. The blond haired digidestined was a little mad. After all, it wasn't his fault he actually slept at night.
"Hey, TK, what's wrong?" Kari asked, scooting closer to him.
"Nothing," he replied, trying to sound normal.
"Sure?" the girl asked, concern in her eyes.
"Yeah, I'm sure," he said.
"Okay, if you say so," she replied, laying her head on his shoulder. It was probably just because Davis was there, but who knew? Maybe she really did like TK. Not that having Kari would exactly be settling; she was gorgeous in her own way, she just wasn't Eniale.
The digidestined of light snuggled closer to the blond haired boy. He sighed, giving in, resigned to the fact that he couldn't have his first choice. Even so, he couldn't bring himself to put his arm around Kari.
**
Later, back at the clearing where they'd camped, Yolei was trying to help Davis cook breakfast. He kept refusing her help, and consequently half the food was basically charcoal.
Ken and Eniale were sitting over to one side of the clearing, conversing in low tones.
"Eniale, I- about this morning," Ken said, refusing to meet her eyes.
"Yes?" she asked, lacking any enthusiasm. His downcast tone didn't sound too promising.
The blue-haired boy finally looked up at her. She gasped. There was so mush in those steely-gray eyes. Pain, worry, and most of all longing. The longing of a type he couldn't fill. And pity. He didn't at all want to say what he was about to.
"Oh, I see," she said, rocking back. He was obviously going to tell her that he was sorry bout that morning, that he couldn't be with her.
"No, you don't see." The boy genius looked as if he could cry on the spot, ripped between a hundred different emotions. "Or, if you do, at least let me say it. I owe you that much." He looked at her with raised eyebrows, awaiting an answer. She didn't trust her voice, so she just nodded. Ken ran a hand through his navy hair. "Okay. I do like you, it's just that-," he broke off, voice full of emotion, blinking away tears. His gaze dropped to the ground.
"Hey," Eniale said softly, bringing his eyes back up to hers. "Go ahead and tell me. I won't hate you for it."
He looked as though he didn't exactly believe her, but continued anyways. "I do like you," he repeated, "but not just you." He paused to let it sink in. "And the problem is, I don't know who I like most. I think we should kind of stay away from each other for a while until I've had time to cool off and sort things out."
Eniale only nodded again, trying not to cry. When she thought she could manage it, she said, "Yeah, okay." It wasn't what she'd been expecting, in that she still had a small chance of having him back. But how could she compete with these other girls? Kari, Yolei, yeah, right. Fat chance.
Both teenagers stood up, still staring each other in the eye. Ken took a step toward her.
"I know I have no right o ask this," he said in a low voice, barely audible, "but could I- that is- can I have one last kiss?"
Eniale smiled slightly. "You're right. You have no right to ask. But yes, Ken Ichijouji, you can have one last kiss." She closed the distance between them with a single step, slid her arms around his neck, and leaned in toward his face. His arms slid around her lower back, and their lips met. It was a great kiss, and they stayed like that for several moments, until both released each other, breathlessly, at the same time.
Eniale licked her lips, tasting him still. She stared upward into his eyes.
"Thank you," Ken whispered, then leaned down. He brushed her lips just barely with his, then slipped out of her arms. He walked over to the campfire to watch Yolei and Davis fight, and sat down.
"Hey are you okay?" a voice behind Eniale asked. She turned. It was Kari.
"Yeah," Eniale replied. She sat back down on the log she'd been sitting on, as the petite little digidestined moved around her and sat on the rock where Ken had been.
Kari reached over and put a hand on Eniale's knee. "He is a heartbreaker."
The blond haired girl glanced over at the ex-Digimon Emperor. "Yeah, I noticed."
Crashing in the bushes cut off whatever Kari would have replied with. More crashing and a two-foot tall dragon leapt into the clearing.
"Gatomon!" Kari yelled. The cat digimon jumped over to the new-comer.
"Who are you and what do you want with us?" Gatomon asked, putting up her gloved hands defensively.
The dragon digimon looked terrified. It's deep blue eyes darted to everyone in the clearing.
"I don't think it means any harm," Cody said, approaching cautiously with Armadillomon.
The digimon looked at the boy with scared eyes. The boy kneeled down. "I'm Cody, one of the digidestined. This is Armadillomon and Gatomon. Who are you?"
The digimon looked a little calmer. It stuck out its chest a little. "I am Akariamon. I belong to the newest of the digidestined, but I can't find her." It looked around again, and spotted Eniale. "You!" it cried in its squeaky little voice. It ran over to her.
"Am I the newest digidestined?" Eniale asked the digimon, only partly surprised. Obviously she'd been brought to the digiworld for a reason, but no one seemed to know why.
"Yeah, it's you," the digimon said. "I'm Akariamon, sent to protect you and fight with the other digidestined." It stood on its hind legs and put its front legs on Eniale's leg.
"I'm Eniale," the girl said. "But I don't see how I could be a digidestined. I don't have a digivice."
Akariamon produced a small, silver, hand-held device. It almost looked like an ultra-small Gameboy, complete with a screen and buttons and everything.
"Silver?" Davis asked, eyeing it. He sounded a little jealous. All the other digidestined had normal colored digivices: Green, purple, blue. Having been the evil Kaizer, the Digimon Emperor, Ken was notorious for having a dark digivice, a black one.
"What's this?" Eniale asked her new digimon, pointing to a symbol engraved in the digivice. It almost looked like cursive "L" with two dots underneath.
"It's your crest. Your digimental," Kari said, looking at it.
"Don't I have to find it or earn it or something?"
"I guess not," Kari answered. "What does it stand for, Akariamon?"
"Loyalty," the small dragon beamed, as if the trait transferred into it. Which it probably did, Eniale thought.
Listening closer, Eniale decided her digimon was female. "Loyalty," the newest of the team repeated. Damn, she thought while smiling outwardly. She didn't want something to have to live up to. It wouldn't have been so hard if all the guy digidestined weren't so sexy.
"Davis!" Yolei screamed. "You're letting all the food burn!" She turned back to the fire and the frying pans. "Here, let a pro do it."
"Don't touch it!" Davis cried, trying to shield the food from the purple haired girl.
"Davis, don't be so stubborn..." and the clearing went back to it's earlier busy state.
A few minutes later, the food was served. It was eaten, too, despite the taste, and managed to fill everyone up. That or take away their appetite. One of the two.
"So, what were you guys doing here in the digiworld, anyways?" Eniale asked Davis over burnt bacon.
"Well, " he said, mouth full, "weef ere atro-," he cut off and swallowed. "We were just patrolling File Island, like we do every so often to make sure nothing's wrong. We finished yesterday right before you got here. Now we're waiting for the others to get here. We're having a beach party."
"Oh, cool," she said, trying not to grimace as she swallowed.
"You're invited, you know," he said. "You're one of us now, and I'm sure there'll be enough food."
"Thanks," she said. She didn't think she'd be doing much in the digiworld without the other digidestined, but it was still nice to have the invitation.
"Are you going to eat that?" a voice asked, interrupting her thoughts. It was Akariamon, inquiring about the bacon.
"No, be my guest," Eniale replied. She held out her plate. The digimon promptly ate the bacon, and went on around the circle, cleaning everyone else's plates.
"Wow, she almost eats as much as Agumon," Veemon commented from between Davis and Eniale. The group burst out laughing, though Akariamon, mouth black around the edges, failed to see the humor.
"What's so funny?" the small digimon asked, looking around from person to person. They were all too immersed in their laughter to be able to answer.
"You'll understand when Tai and Agumon show up later for the party," Armadillomon spoke up.
"Did someone say my name?" called a voice from the path into the clearing. All eyes turned that way.
"Hey Tai! Hey Agumon!" Davis called as the two stepped out into the open.
"Hey," Tai greeted. He stopped short when he spotted Eniale. "I'm Tai. This is Agumon. Who are you?"
She stood. "I'm Eniale. This is my partner digimon, Akariamon. Nice to meet you." She smiled and held out her hand. He shook it, somewhat absentmindedly.
"Partner? You're a digidestined?" he was staring at her in a weird sort of way.
"That's what Akariamon told me," Eniale said. "And I have a digivice." She held it out.
"Silver," Tai said, taking it in his hand and looking it over.
"Why does everyone think that means something?" she asked, thinking maybe the leader of the older digidestined might know.
"Well, I don't know. The color of your digivice as well as your crest/digimental usually says something about you." Tai looked back up at her as he handed her digivice back. She took it, and put it in her pocket. When she looked up again, he was still staring at her.
"Right," she said uncomfortably. "So, um," she turned and went back to where she was sitting, "I'd offer you some bacon, but Akariamon ate it all." She smiled.
Tai broke out of his trance. "All?" He walked over and sat on the grass by her.
"Davis burned all the food, cuz he wouldn't let Yolei help," Kari said, casting a meaningful glance at the former. "No one wanted to eat it, and Akariamon here has the appetite of Agumon."
Tai laughed and his digimon beamed, taking it as a compliment.
"So, a beach party today, huh?" Eniale asked, after a few minutes of silence.
"Yeah," Tai said. "Oh! I came early to set up the barbecue. You wanna help?"
"Sure," she replied. Akariamon flew over, leathery wings beating.
"Can I help?"
"Sure, as long as you promise not to eat all the food before the others get here," Tai said.
"Hey, give her a little credit," Agumon said.
"Okay, I'm sorry Akariamon," Tai apologized.
"By the way," the little dragon said, hovering in the air, "what kind of food will there be?" Everyone laughed.
Eniale and Tai stood and went to where Tai had left the bags that he'd brought. She hadn't even realized he'd brought anything. They each took a bag, and headed toward the beach. Agumon and Akariamon stayed behind.
They reached the sand, and began to set things up.
"You know, Tai, you don't have any food," she said, checking the bags. Or any charcoal. Course, we could always use Davis' bacon, if Akariamon hadn't eaten it all." She made a face, and Tai smiled amusedly at her. "It really was awful." She smiled back.
"Glad I missed it," he said, still looking at her and smiling.
"But seriously," Eniale said, breaking away her attention, "you don't have any food."
"You expect me to do everything? The others are bringing stuff, too. Food, charcoal, beach ball, stereo, music. I think that last one is Matt's department." Matt was the lead singer of a rock band. Tai stood from his crouch and announced that the barbecue was all set up. "Hey, didn't Akariamon say she was going to help?"
"Yeah, I thought so, but she didn't come down to the beach with us," Eniale said, looking around and frowning.
"I'm here!" Akariamon cried, flying out of the bushes. "I was chasing a butterfly," she admitted, somewhat sheepishly.
"Well, you missed it. It's all set up," Eniale told her digimon partner.
"Oh, darn," she answered. She thought for a minute. "Well, I'm going to go back. I wanted to talk to Hawkmon."
"Uh, okay. See ya later," Eniale said.
"Bye!" Tai called to the departing digimon.
The two humans sat in silence for a minute.
"So, uh, how old are you?" Tai asked.
"Sixteen. You?"
"Nineteen."
Once again, the conversation came to a dead stop. A rustle in the bushes caught their attention.
"Another butterfly Akariamon?" Eniale called, a smile on her face.
More rustling, and a Veggiemon jumped out. It looked different from a normal Veggiemon, though, with various areas made of metal.
"Veggiemon!" Tai cried, turning to a defensive position. He put himself between the digimon and the girl. "What do you want?" he spat.
"Ah, but I'm not Veggiemon," it said, causing surprise to flash across the faces of both teenagers. The digimon grinned evilly. "I am MetalVeggiemon!" it cried, eyes glinting dangerously. It laughed, and reached out with one of its vine-arms, tipped with a spiked club. It caught Eniale across the middle and threw her down into the sand. She screamed with pain as the vine wrapped and squeezed her.
MetalVeggiemon lashed out with its other vine-arm, and caught Tai around the waist.
"Agumon!" Tai screamed for all he was worth.
"Eniale!" screamed the voice of Akariamon from behind.
"Akariamon, help!" the girl cried, trying to get the digivice out of her pocket. She succeeded. "Akariamon! Time to digivolve!"
"Akariamon, digivolve to............................Dracomon!"
A full size dragon, complete with smoking nostrils now stood on the beach.
"Dragon breath!" the dragon cried, breathing flame at MetalVeggiemon. It hit the vegetable head-on, and it turned to digidust, releasing Eniale and Tai to cough in the sand.
"Are you all right?" Dracomon asked, gently nuzzling Eniale. The girl nodded, not having enough voice to speak amidst her coughing.
When the coughing subsided a bit, she rolled onto her back and asked weakly, "How's Tai?"
"I'll go check," Dracomon said. Eniale couldn't turn to watch her go, but when she came back, she'd returned to her rookie form.
"Tai's fine," the digimon reported. She looked down at the sand. When she looked back up, there were tears in her big, blue eyes. "I'm sorry, Eniale. I should have been here to protect you." The tears began to slide down her face.
Eniale sat up, and pulled her digimon onto her lap. "No, Akariamon, it's not your fault. Shh." She petted the small dragon's back, and wings which always seemed to be beating. "Hey you couldn't have known. Don't cry. I'm not mad, and I'm not hurt."
Akariamon lifted her head and sniffed. "You're not mad?"
"No, of course not," the girl replied.
"Oh, thank you! I'm so happy!" the little dragon cried, lifting up in the air. Eniale smiled too.
She stood, very slowly, and walked down the beach until she reached Tai. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked.
Tai was sitting in the sand. "Yeah, I'm fine." He looked to the hovering digimon. "Thanks, Akariamon."
"Sure!" she replied, doing a flip in the air.
Tai moved to get up. "Want some help?" Eniale asked, holding out her hand.
"No, I'm fine," he said, shaking his head for emphasis. He tried to rise and fell back down hard.
"Don't be such a guy. Take my hand," she said defiantly.
"I'm going to go tell everyone that you're okay," Akariamon interrupted and flew away.
"Well?" Eniale said. Tai grinned, grabbed her hand, and pulled himself up. "That's better," she said.
"Yeah," he agreed quietly, still holding her hand. She suddenly realized how close he was standing to her. And how attractive he was, too.
Tai leaned his face in to kiss her, but she stepped back, freeing herself from his grasp. She turned her back to him. It wasn't that she didn't like him, but Ken had just broken her heart this morning, and she couldn't risk it again so soon.
"Eniale, I'm sorry," Tai said quietly. She turned back to him. He looked like it.
"No. It's not your fault. I do- I mean," she said, stuttering over what she was trying to say. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "It's a long story. I just, can't yet." She looked at him with sad eyes. The last thing in the world she wanted was to hurt him, but what choice was there? She managed a weak smile. "Don't count me out, though."
Tai smiled back. "Sure. Friends for now?" He held out his hand. She ignored it and threw her arms around him.
"Friends for now."
**
Agumon watched from the bushes. He had arrived too late for the battle, but hadn't come out of his spot. He knew a bad time to butt-in when he saw one, and this was definitely a bad time.
The digimon felt terrible for failing Tai, but they'd been friends for so long that Agumon knew Tai wouldn't be angry.
The girl turned away after hugging Tai, and walked towards the path. Tai lingered for a moment, then took a step to follow.
"Tai, wait!" Agumon called, jumping out from the bushes. He ran after the digidestined.
"Hey, Agumon. Where've you been?" Tai asked, turning around.
"Sorry I got here too late, Tai. I was off in the forest," the digimon apologized, catching up to his friend.
"That's okay," Tai said. "We were attacked by MetalVeggiemon."
"MetalVeggiemon?" Agumon asked. "That's weird."
"Yeah," the boy agreed. "Akariamon digivolved to Dracomon and saved us."
"So you're not hurt?"
"No, I'm fine."
"Good." The two turned onto the path and headed for the clearing.
**
Eniale walked up the path and entered the clearing. Several more of the original digidestined had arrived. Mimi, Joe and Izzy were all there. Only Matt and Sora were absent. Palmon, Gomamon, and Tentomon were also there.
"Hi!" Eniale said, kind of shyly form the entrance to the clearing.
"Oh, hi," Mimi said, coming over. The stars in her pink hair glittered in the midday sunlight. "You must be Eniale."
"Yeah, hi," Eniale replied.
"Welcome to the digidestined," Mimi said with a smile.
"Yeah, welcome," Joe said, coming up and slipping his arm around Mimi's shoulders. She turned her head and kissed him quickly.
"Hi, I'm Izzy," the frizzy-haired redhead boy said, walking up and offering his hand. Eniale shook it.
"I'm Eniale," she said. "Nice to meet you." She smiled. Everyone was being so nice; it was hard to be shy.
"I am Tentomon," a metal, bug-like digimon said from head height in the air.
"Hi, I'm Eniale. Akariamon should be around here somewhere. I'd like you all to meet her." She scanned for her digimon partner. "Oh there she is, with Gomamon and Palmon."
"What's that?" Izzy asked. A beeping was coming from Eniale's pocket.
"I think it's my digivice," Eniale said, taking it out of her pocket. She showed it to Izzy.
"Hm, I seems as if Sora and Matt have gotten into some sort of trouble." He looked up at Eniale.
"Well, let's go. Akariamon!" she yelled, already running for the opposite end of the clearing. She kept checking her digivice to make sure she was heading in the right direction.
"Tentomon, let's go!" Izzy called. Eniale could hear him running after her. She heard others coming, too.
"Eniale, what's wrong?" Akariamon asked, flying along beside her.
"Matt and Sora are in trouble," she replied.
"Who?"
"Two of the original digidestined," she said, panting and out of breath. She checked her digivice and took a right when the path forked. She rounded a corner, and found herself in a meadow. Sora and Mat were there, with Birdramon and WereGarurumon battling a giant spider. They weren't winning.
"Matt! Sora!" Eniale yelled. The two looked over.
"I don't know who you are, but you've got a digimon and we could use some help!" Matt called. He looked back to the battle. "WereGarurumon! No!"
"Akariamon! Digivolve!" Eniale screamed, holding out her digivice.
"Akariamon, digivolve to............................Dracomon!"
The dragon digimon flew into the brawl, spraying fire at the enemy. She was kicked aside with just one kick from one of the eight legs. Matt and Sora were cradling their digimon, who'd been defeated and had returned to their rookie forms.
The spider laughed and turned to the digidestined, leaving Dracomon behind. The dragon was struggling to rise off the ground.
"What do you want Arukenimon?!" Matt yelled, outraged that his digimon partner had been hurt.
"That's MetalArukenimon!" the spider cried, glinting in the sunlight. She was advancing on the teens and their digimon.
Just then Stingmon flew out from behind Eniale. "Don't you touch them!" Stingmon yelled, attacking the spider. Together with Dracomon, they defeated her. They quickly returned to their rookie forms, having used up all their energy.
"We work well together," came a voice from behind Eniale. She turned. Ken stood, hands in pockets, surveying the scene before him. Something in his voice reminded her of the old Ken, and she shivered.
She smiled, despite her sudden chill. "Our digimon work well together, Ken. I think we could use a little oil." She picked up Akariamon who had crawled over to her, and walked past him, headed for the clearing.
Okay, Ken thought. Yes, he deserved it, but it still hurt. He reached down and picked up Wormmon who had also crawled over after the battle. He kept his eyes on the retreating girl.
"You know you love her, Ken," the little digimon said, following his gaze.
"What?" Ken asked, looking down at him.
"You heard me," the green digimon said. "It's obvious to all of us."
"I've hardly known her for a day. I can't be in love with her," Ken argued.
"You just keep telling yourself that," Wormmon replied, jumping out of his arms, and walking to where everyone was huddled around Matt and Sora.
Distantly, Ken heard TK admonish his older brother, "You always have to make an entrance, don't you?" But the hazel-eyed boy's thoughts were somewhere else. Though she'd disappeared around the bend, he still watched the spot where he'd last seen her. Wormmon's words echoed in his head, "You know you love her, Ken." He knew his partner was right, but how could Eniale ever forgive him? And would she still care for him once she learned the details of his dark past? No, it wasn't possible. He was destined to be alone. "You know you love her, Ken." From somewhere in his head, a voice answered. "Yes, I do," it said, "and I had better do something before someone else steals her from me."
Almost of their own accord, his legs began to carry him towards Eniale. Walking at first, he broke into an all-out run.
He reached the clearing in a few moments. It was deserted, save for Eniale, sitting on the grass, her upper body draped over a rock. She was so perfectly still, and so perfect for that matter, that she could have been asleep, had she not opened her eyes at his approach.
"Eniale, I-," no, he couldn't do it. This girl, this angel, perfect in every way shouldn't be tarnished by his sinner's past. It wasn't right. He sought for something to say. "Where's Akariamon?" he managed, scanning the area.
"She went for a swim." She sat up gracefully, golden hair cascading around her shoulders. "You didn't come see me to ask about my digimon." She smiled, but in her eyes was a deep pain.
"No," he admitted in a whisper. He couldn't look at those eyes, and he let his gaze drop to the ground.
Eniale stood and walked over to him. She stopped very close, but not quite touching him. "Look at me," she commanded quietly. And he did. He began with her gracefully curving legs; to the toned stomach that her shirt barely concealed; across her chest, low-cut shirt not doing a good job of hiding there either; over her full, luscious lips, and up to those eyes again. They still held all the pain, and now longing, but it was masked with a thin sheen of curiosity. Just as he was masked with an outer sheen of calmness, but his insides roiled with conflict.
She reached up to brush a stray strand of navy hair from his face, but brought her hand back before contact. How he ached to touch that hand again. He watched it go back down to her side, and again looked into those deep, blue eyes.
"What do you want, Ken?" she whispered, her breath stirring the strand of hair in his face.
"You."
**
He breathed the word with such despair, like he could never have her. Couldn't he see she was standing here, ready to lose herself in him forever? She searched his heather gray eyes for some reason why he couldn't just pick her up and carry her into heaven.
"Ken," she breathed. She reached up with her hand, actually meaning to make contact, but he turned his face away.
"You don't understand," he whispered. In his eyes she could se how much he hurt.
"I want to."
"You can't," he pleaded "I don't want you to hurt like I do." He whispered at her, looking near tears.
Is that what it was about? "I don't have to hurt, too. I just want to take the pain away from you, and make your world perfect," she whispered, inching closer. "But I can't do that, Ken, if you won't have me." She looked down at the closing distance between their bodies, and back up. "That's what hurts me Ken, when you won't have me." She longed so much to touch him, but knew she couldn't. It was his choice to make, his wall to break down.
"I'm sorry," he said, a tear sliding down his face. He buried his hands in her hair, and she slid her arms around his back. His body racked with sobs. "I'm so sorry. The last thing I wanted was to hurt you." He pulled back his head from her shoulder and kissed her hard on the mouth. She responded with all the love she carried inside her, and kissed him back.
He pulled back from her kiss, both of them breathing hard. She could feel his tears on her cheeks. He stared into her eyes, and she into his, for a moment, before he leaned down and kissed her gently. He pulled back again.
"I love you, Eniale," he whispered.
Eniale smiled as a tear fell down her face, mixing with his on her skin. "I love you, too." She felt all her pain and longing melt away, and the only feeling left was total, uncontrollable love for the boy in front of her. She saw the same in his eyes, before she leaned in, to kiss him again.
The End
How was it? Okay I hope? All reviews accepted, flames or not.
You Know You Love Her
The new girl was beautiful. That gorgeous blond with pale blue eyes. What was her name? Ellen? No, Eniale. Yeah, that was it. Weird name.
Ken lay awake under the stars, the sounds of his sleeping friends all around to comfort him. Stupid insomnia. It left time for thinking about feelings he'd rather not think about. Feelings for the new girl. Feelings that clashed with the ones he already felt for Yolei.
The violet-blue haired boy sitting awake in the clearing resolved to think of something else. He succeeded, eventually, and fell asleep. That sleep, however, was tainted with the clashes of his feelings for Yolei, and Eniale.
**
The new girl awoke screaming with terror. She sat bolt upright, clawing at the imaginary cockroaches crawling all over her body.
"Hey, hey. Calm down," she heard a calm voice beside her. "Ssh, don't worry. It was just a nightmare." Warm hands placed themselves on her neck and arm.
"Wh-who are you?" Eniale asked, a tremor in her voice.
"It's me, Ken. Don't be scared. You're fine." He rubbed her arm soothingly.
"Ken," she repeated. "I-I'm sorry. I don't even remember what I was dreaming about. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."
"Don't be sorry. It wasn't your fault." He reached up and dried her tears, sparkling in the moonlight. She reached up to feel her face.
"Oh, how embarrassing," she sniffed. She turned away her face.
"Are you okay, now? Do you want to try to sleep again?" Ken asked.
The blond haired girl checked her watch. "It's only an hour 'till sunrise. No, I know I won't sleep anyways. I think I'll just take a walk down to the beach."
Ken thought for a moment. He realized his hand was still on her arm and removed it. "Can I come?" he asked timidly.
A smile spread across the girl's lips, betrayed to Ken by the sparkle of moonlight on her teeth. "Sure."
The two stood and stepped over their sleeping friends, careful not to wake them. Ken led the way down the winding path to the beach. The surf could be heard crashing over the rocks.
Eniale caught her breath as the waves came into view. "Oh, it's so gorgeous," she whispered, barely audible.
Ken smiled. "Yeah, it is." Eniale shivered involuntarily. "Are you cold? Here, take this." He pulled his gray sweater off, tousling his indigo hair.
"Oh, Ken," she said, waving him off, trying to get him to take it back. "No, no, I'm fine."
"No. Look at you. You're shivering. Take the sweater." He pushed it further in her face.
"Fine, I'll take it." She took the sweater and slipped it on over her head. It was warm with his body heat and smelled good. She turned to the boy digidestined smiling. He was wearing only a wife-beater. "Oh, now you're going to be cold."
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me," he said, waving her off.
"Damn chivalry," she muttered under her breath, watching goosebumps rise on his arms. A loud wave caught her attention as it washed far up the beach.
She walked to a spot a few feet above the high-tide line and sat down. Ken sat down next to her.
A few minutes went by in silence. "So, what's your real life like?" Ken asked quietly.
"Um, I go to school at Center High School. Uh, I don't play any sports, but I do stats for the football team."
"What's that?" he asked.
"Stats? It's writing down yards and who runs 'em and stuff like that," Eniale replied.
"Oh, sounds...boring."
The girl laughed. "No, it's not." She paused. "So, what's your real life like?"
"I go to Odaiba High School. I play soccer," he replied.
"Oh, that's right. And you're really good, right? But..." she paused, counting on her fingers, "how long has it been since you first came to the digital world?"
"Five years."
"Oh, okay. Because I was thinking, you certainly don't look eleven. Besides, eleven-year olds aren't usually in high school," she said. Ken didn't reply. "Oh, that's right. You are a genius, huh."
Once again, he didn't say anything. She looked over and he wouldn't meet her gaze.
"Sorry," she apologized. "I didn't know you didn't like to talk about it."
"No, it's all right. I just-I don't like to talk about me much. Y-you know what I used to be." He looked down at his lap.
"Yeah, it's okay," she said, rubbing his back. "We can talk about something else." She squeezed his shoulders in a kind of half hug.
"Thanks," he said in a whisper. He reached up and covered her hand with one of his.
"Oh! You're freezing!" she exclaimed quietly, taking each of his hands in one of hers and rubbing it.
"No, I-,"
"Shut up. You're cold. If you won't take your sweater back, at least let me warm up your hands," she said, continuing to rub.
"I-," he tried to pull away from her grasp.
"Shh." They each looked up at each other and their gaze met.
She was so beautiful. Ken felt her fingers on his hands and her eyes on him. He lifter her hand to his lips, and kissed it gently, not taking his eyes off hers.
She brushed his lips with her forefinger, and he kissed it as it touched him. He brought her hand back down, and leaned in towards her face. She leaned in towards him, and closed her eyes. Their lips met softly and pressed against each other. She pulled away a little.
"Ken," she breathed. He stroked the side of her face with his fingertips. He leaned in again and gently kissed her lips. She kissed back, holding on to his shoulder.
Her mouth began to open, but before Ken could take the kiss further, she turned away, trying not to yawn. He sat up surprised.
"Oh, that was so embarrassing," Eniale whispered, refusing to look at him. She turned away, and took her hands off him. She could feel herself turning red.
"It's okay," he said, placing a hand on her back. "It is the middle of the night."
"No, I-I feel like an idiot."
"Don't." He scooted closer and slipped his arms around her stomach. He rested his head on her shoulder.
"Hm, it's not the middle of the night anymore," she said, noticing the lightening sky as she turned to look at Ken on her shoulder.
Ken glanced eastward. "No, I guess not."
"Oh, stop it," she giggled, pushing his head off her shoulder. "You're hair is tickling me."
"I'm sorry," he said before kissing her cheek.
She giggled again. "You're still doing it."
"I'm sorry," he said again. He got up on his hand and knees and crawled around to be in front of her. "Is this better?" he asked, before kissing her on the lips from the front.
"Mmm, much," she replied, kissing him again.
"Ken! Ke-en!" a small voice called from the forest in the direction of the other digidestined. There was a slight rustle in the bushes and out emerged a giant caterpillar.
"Wormmon?" Ken said, looking at the green bug. It was his partner digimon, sworn to protect him. "Is something wrong?"
"I woke up, and you weren't there. I got worried, so I came looking for you," Wormmon answered, walking across the sand to them.
"I'm sorry, Wormmon, I didn't mean to worry you," Ken said, taking the digimon onto his lap.
"I was also looking for you," Wormmon said, addressing Eniale.
"You were?" she asked, surprised.
"Well, I figured you might be in trouble, and you don't have a digimon to protect you. I wanted to help."
"Thank you," she said.
"So," Wormmon said, "what were you guys doing?"
"Uh, waiting to watch the sunrise," Eniale said quickly.
"Oh, cool." The green caterpillar turned to look out over the water. The sky was a brilliant shade of orangey-pink. "I think it's almost here."
A few minutes later, the sun crested the water in a dazzling display of light and fire.
"Oh, it's so beautiful," Eniale gasped.
"Yeah, we thought so," cam a voice from the bushes. Kari and Gatomon followed. They sat down on the sand next to the others, cat digimon in the girl's lap.
"Gatomon and I always try to watch the sunrise, but I guess we were a little late," Kari stated.
"Oh well. It's still pretty," Gatomon said.
More crashing in the bushes. "Hi guys. Whatcha doin'?" called Cody's voice. The young boy emerged, followed by Armadillomon.
"Sunrise," Eniale said, pointing as if the direction weren't obvious.
"Oh, fun," he replied, sitting down. "My grandfather and I watch the sunrise together sometimes."
One after another, TK, Yolei and Davis arrived, each with their digimon, to watch the sun rise over the ocean.
TK looked over, and turned back quickly. Ken had his arm around the new girl's shoulders. So, he'd already lost his chance with her. The blond haired digidestined was a little mad. After all, it wasn't his fault he actually slept at night.
"Hey, TK, what's wrong?" Kari asked, scooting closer to him.
"Nothing," he replied, trying to sound normal.
"Sure?" the girl asked, concern in her eyes.
"Yeah, I'm sure," he said.
"Okay, if you say so," she replied, laying her head on his shoulder. It was probably just because Davis was there, but who knew? Maybe she really did like TK. Not that having Kari would exactly be settling; she was gorgeous in her own way, she just wasn't Eniale.
The digidestined of light snuggled closer to the blond haired boy. He sighed, giving in, resigned to the fact that he couldn't have his first choice. Even so, he couldn't bring himself to put his arm around Kari.
**
Later, back at the clearing where they'd camped, Yolei was trying to help Davis cook breakfast. He kept refusing her help, and consequently half the food was basically charcoal.
Ken and Eniale were sitting over to one side of the clearing, conversing in low tones.
"Eniale, I- about this morning," Ken said, refusing to meet her eyes.
"Yes?" she asked, lacking any enthusiasm. His downcast tone didn't sound too promising.
The blue-haired boy finally looked up at her. She gasped. There was so mush in those steely-gray eyes. Pain, worry, and most of all longing. The longing of a type he couldn't fill. And pity. He didn't at all want to say what he was about to.
"Oh, I see," she said, rocking back. He was obviously going to tell her that he was sorry bout that morning, that he couldn't be with her.
"No, you don't see." The boy genius looked as if he could cry on the spot, ripped between a hundred different emotions. "Or, if you do, at least let me say it. I owe you that much." He looked at her with raised eyebrows, awaiting an answer. She didn't trust her voice, so she just nodded. Ken ran a hand through his navy hair. "Okay. I do like you, it's just that-," he broke off, voice full of emotion, blinking away tears. His gaze dropped to the ground.
"Hey," Eniale said softly, bringing his eyes back up to hers. "Go ahead and tell me. I won't hate you for it."
He looked as though he didn't exactly believe her, but continued anyways. "I do like you," he repeated, "but not just you." He paused to let it sink in. "And the problem is, I don't know who I like most. I think we should kind of stay away from each other for a while until I've had time to cool off and sort things out."
Eniale only nodded again, trying not to cry. When she thought she could manage it, she said, "Yeah, okay." It wasn't what she'd been expecting, in that she still had a small chance of having him back. But how could she compete with these other girls? Kari, Yolei, yeah, right. Fat chance.
Both teenagers stood up, still staring each other in the eye. Ken took a step toward her.
"I know I have no right o ask this," he said in a low voice, barely audible, "but could I- that is- can I have one last kiss?"
Eniale smiled slightly. "You're right. You have no right to ask. But yes, Ken Ichijouji, you can have one last kiss." She closed the distance between them with a single step, slid her arms around his neck, and leaned in toward his face. His arms slid around her lower back, and their lips met. It was a great kiss, and they stayed like that for several moments, until both released each other, breathlessly, at the same time.
Eniale licked her lips, tasting him still. She stared upward into his eyes.
"Thank you," Ken whispered, then leaned down. He brushed her lips just barely with his, then slipped out of her arms. He walked over to the campfire to watch Yolei and Davis fight, and sat down.
"Hey are you okay?" a voice behind Eniale asked. She turned. It was Kari.
"Yeah," Eniale replied. She sat back down on the log she'd been sitting on, as the petite little digidestined moved around her and sat on the rock where Ken had been.
Kari reached over and put a hand on Eniale's knee. "He is a heartbreaker."
The blond haired girl glanced over at the ex-Digimon Emperor. "Yeah, I noticed."
Crashing in the bushes cut off whatever Kari would have replied with. More crashing and a two-foot tall dragon leapt into the clearing.
"Gatomon!" Kari yelled. The cat digimon jumped over to the new-comer.
"Who are you and what do you want with us?" Gatomon asked, putting up her gloved hands defensively.
The dragon digimon looked terrified. It's deep blue eyes darted to everyone in the clearing.
"I don't think it means any harm," Cody said, approaching cautiously with Armadillomon.
The digimon looked at the boy with scared eyes. The boy kneeled down. "I'm Cody, one of the digidestined. This is Armadillomon and Gatomon. Who are you?"
The digimon looked a little calmer. It stuck out its chest a little. "I am Akariamon. I belong to the newest of the digidestined, but I can't find her." It looked around again, and spotted Eniale. "You!" it cried in its squeaky little voice. It ran over to her.
"Am I the newest digidestined?" Eniale asked the digimon, only partly surprised. Obviously she'd been brought to the digiworld for a reason, but no one seemed to know why.
"Yeah, it's you," the digimon said. "I'm Akariamon, sent to protect you and fight with the other digidestined." It stood on its hind legs and put its front legs on Eniale's leg.
"I'm Eniale," the girl said. "But I don't see how I could be a digidestined. I don't have a digivice."
Akariamon produced a small, silver, hand-held device. It almost looked like an ultra-small Gameboy, complete with a screen and buttons and everything.
"Silver?" Davis asked, eyeing it. He sounded a little jealous. All the other digidestined had normal colored digivices: Green, purple, blue. Having been the evil Kaizer, the Digimon Emperor, Ken was notorious for having a dark digivice, a black one.
"What's this?" Eniale asked her new digimon, pointing to a symbol engraved in the digivice. It almost looked like cursive "L" with two dots underneath.
"It's your crest. Your digimental," Kari said, looking at it.
"Don't I have to find it or earn it or something?"
"I guess not," Kari answered. "What does it stand for, Akariamon?"
"Loyalty," the small dragon beamed, as if the trait transferred into it. Which it probably did, Eniale thought.
Listening closer, Eniale decided her digimon was female. "Loyalty," the newest of the team repeated. Damn, she thought while smiling outwardly. She didn't want something to have to live up to. It wouldn't have been so hard if all the guy digidestined weren't so sexy.
"Davis!" Yolei screamed. "You're letting all the food burn!" She turned back to the fire and the frying pans. "Here, let a pro do it."
"Don't touch it!" Davis cried, trying to shield the food from the purple haired girl.
"Davis, don't be so stubborn..." and the clearing went back to it's earlier busy state.
A few minutes later, the food was served. It was eaten, too, despite the taste, and managed to fill everyone up. That or take away their appetite. One of the two.
"So, what were you guys doing here in the digiworld, anyways?" Eniale asked Davis over burnt bacon.
"Well, " he said, mouth full, "weef ere atro-," he cut off and swallowed. "We were just patrolling File Island, like we do every so often to make sure nothing's wrong. We finished yesterday right before you got here. Now we're waiting for the others to get here. We're having a beach party."
"Oh, cool," she said, trying not to grimace as she swallowed.
"You're invited, you know," he said. "You're one of us now, and I'm sure there'll be enough food."
"Thanks," she said. She didn't think she'd be doing much in the digiworld without the other digidestined, but it was still nice to have the invitation.
"Are you going to eat that?" a voice asked, interrupting her thoughts. It was Akariamon, inquiring about the bacon.
"No, be my guest," Eniale replied. She held out her plate. The digimon promptly ate the bacon, and went on around the circle, cleaning everyone else's plates.
"Wow, she almost eats as much as Agumon," Veemon commented from between Davis and Eniale. The group burst out laughing, though Akariamon, mouth black around the edges, failed to see the humor.
"What's so funny?" the small digimon asked, looking around from person to person. They were all too immersed in their laughter to be able to answer.
"You'll understand when Tai and Agumon show up later for the party," Armadillomon spoke up.
"Did someone say my name?" called a voice from the path into the clearing. All eyes turned that way.
"Hey Tai! Hey Agumon!" Davis called as the two stepped out into the open.
"Hey," Tai greeted. He stopped short when he spotted Eniale. "I'm Tai. This is Agumon. Who are you?"
She stood. "I'm Eniale. This is my partner digimon, Akariamon. Nice to meet you." She smiled and held out her hand. He shook it, somewhat absentmindedly.
"Partner? You're a digidestined?" he was staring at her in a weird sort of way.
"That's what Akariamon told me," Eniale said. "And I have a digivice." She held it out.
"Silver," Tai said, taking it in his hand and looking it over.
"Why does everyone think that means something?" she asked, thinking maybe the leader of the older digidestined might know.
"Well, I don't know. The color of your digivice as well as your crest/digimental usually says something about you." Tai looked back up at her as he handed her digivice back. She took it, and put it in her pocket. When she looked up again, he was still staring at her.
"Right," she said uncomfortably. "So, um," she turned and went back to where she was sitting, "I'd offer you some bacon, but Akariamon ate it all." She smiled.
Tai broke out of his trance. "All?" He walked over and sat on the grass by her.
"Davis burned all the food, cuz he wouldn't let Yolei help," Kari said, casting a meaningful glance at the former. "No one wanted to eat it, and Akariamon here has the appetite of Agumon."
Tai laughed and his digimon beamed, taking it as a compliment.
"So, a beach party today, huh?" Eniale asked, after a few minutes of silence.
"Yeah," Tai said. "Oh! I came early to set up the barbecue. You wanna help?"
"Sure," she replied. Akariamon flew over, leathery wings beating.
"Can I help?"
"Sure, as long as you promise not to eat all the food before the others get here," Tai said.
"Hey, give her a little credit," Agumon said.
"Okay, I'm sorry Akariamon," Tai apologized.
"By the way," the little dragon said, hovering in the air, "what kind of food will there be?" Everyone laughed.
Eniale and Tai stood and went to where Tai had left the bags that he'd brought. She hadn't even realized he'd brought anything. They each took a bag, and headed toward the beach. Agumon and Akariamon stayed behind.
They reached the sand, and began to set things up.
"You know, Tai, you don't have any food," she said, checking the bags. Or any charcoal. Course, we could always use Davis' bacon, if Akariamon hadn't eaten it all." She made a face, and Tai smiled amusedly at her. "It really was awful." She smiled back.
"Glad I missed it," he said, still looking at her and smiling.
"But seriously," Eniale said, breaking away her attention, "you don't have any food."
"You expect me to do everything? The others are bringing stuff, too. Food, charcoal, beach ball, stereo, music. I think that last one is Matt's department." Matt was the lead singer of a rock band. Tai stood from his crouch and announced that the barbecue was all set up. "Hey, didn't Akariamon say she was going to help?"
"Yeah, I thought so, but she didn't come down to the beach with us," Eniale said, looking around and frowning.
"I'm here!" Akariamon cried, flying out of the bushes. "I was chasing a butterfly," she admitted, somewhat sheepishly.
"Well, you missed it. It's all set up," Eniale told her digimon partner.
"Oh, darn," she answered. She thought for a minute. "Well, I'm going to go back. I wanted to talk to Hawkmon."
"Uh, okay. See ya later," Eniale said.
"Bye!" Tai called to the departing digimon.
The two humans sat in silence for a minute.
"So, uh, how old are you?" Tai asked.
"Sixteen. You?"
"Nineteen."
Once again, the conversation came to a dead stop. A rustle in the bushes caught their attention.
"Another butterfly Akariamon?" Eniale called, a smile on her face.
More rustling, and a Veggiemon jumped out. It looked different from a normal Veggiemon, though, with various areas made of metal.
"Veggiemon!" Tai cried, turning to a defensive position. He put himself between the digimon and the girl. "What do you want?" he spat.
"Ah, but I'm not Veggiemon," it said, causing surprise to flash across the faces of both teenagers. The digimon grinned evilly. "I am MetalVeggiemon!" it cried, eyes glinting dangerously. It laughed, and reached out with one of its vine-arms, tipped with a spiked club. It caught Eniale across the middle and threw her down into the sand. She screamed with pain as the vine wrapped and squeezed her.
MetalVeggiemon lashed out with its other vine-arm, and caught Tai around the waist.
"Agumon!" Tai screamed for all he was worth.
"Eniale!" screamed the voice of Akariamon from behind.
"Akariamon, help!" the girl cried, trying to get the digivice out of her pocket. She succeeded. "Akariamon! Time to digivolve!"
"Akariamon, digivolve to............................Dracomon!"
A full size dragon, complete with smoking nostrils now stood on the beach.
"Dragon breath!" the dragon cried, breathing flame at MetalVeggiemon. It hit the vegetable head-on, and it turned to digidust, releasing Eniale and Tai to cough in the sand.
"Are you all right?" Dracomon asked, gently nuzzling Eniale. The girl nodded, not having enough voice to speak amidst her coughing.
When the coughing subsided a bit, she rolled onto her back and asked weakly, "How's Tai?"
"I'll go check," Dracomon said. Eniale couldn't turn to watch her go, but when she came back, she'd returned to her rookie form.
"Tai's fine," the digimon reported. She looked down at the sand. When she looked back up, there were tears in her big, blue eyes. "I'm sorry, Eniale. I should have been here to protect you." The tears began to slide down her face.
Eniale sat up, and pulled her digimon onto her lap. "No, Akariamon, it's not your fault. Shh." She petted the small dragon's back, and wings which always seemed to be beating. "Hey you couldn't have known. Don't cry. I'm not mad, and I'm not hurt."
Akariamon lifted her head and sniffed. "You're not mad?"
"No, of course not," the girl replied.
"Oh, thank you! I'm so happy!" the little dragon cried, lifting up in the air. Eniale smiled too.
She stood, very slowly, and walked down the beach until she reached Tai. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked.
Tai was sitting in the sand. "Yeah, I'm fine." He looked to the hovering digimon. "Thanks, Akariamon."
"Sure!" she replied, doing a flip in the air.
Tai moved to get up. "Want some help?" Eniale asked, holding out her hand.
"No, I'm fine," he said, shaking his head for emphasis. He tried to rise and fell back down hard.
"Don't be such a guy. Take my hand," she said defiantly.
"I'm going to go tell everyone that you're okay," Akariamon interrupted and flew away.
"Well?" Eniale said. Tai grinned, grabbed her hand, and pulled himself up. "That's better," she said.
"Yeah," he agreed quietly, still holding her hand. She suddenly realized how close he was standing to her. And how attractive he was, too.
Tai leaned his face in to kiss her, but she stepped back, freeing herself from his grasp. She turned her back to him. It wasn't that she didn't like him, but Ken had just broken her heart this morning, and she couldn't risk it again so soon.
"Eniale, I'm sorry," Tai said quietly. She turned back to him. He looked like it.
"No. It's not your fault. I do- I mean," she said, stuttering over what she was trying to say. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "It's a long story. I just, can't yet." She looked at him with sad eyes. The last thing in the world she wanted was to hurt him, but what choice was there? She managed a weak smile. "Don't count me out, though."
Tai smiled back. "Sure. Friends for now?" He held out his hand. She ignored it and threw her arms around him.
"Friends for now."
**
Agumon watched from the bushes. He had arrived too late for the battle, but hadn't come out of his spot. He knew a bad time to butt-in when he saw one, and this was definitely a bad time.
The digimon felt terrible for failing Tai, but they'd been friends for so long that Agumon knew Tai wouldn't be angry.
The girl turned away after hugging Tai, and walked towards the path. Tai lingered for a moment, then took a step to follow.
"Tai, wait!" Agumon called, jumping out from the bushes. He ran after the digidestined.
"Hey, Agumon. Where've you been?" Tai asked, turning around.
"Sorry I got here too late, Tai. I was off in the forest," the digimon apologized, catching up to his friend.
"That's okay," Tai said. "We were attacked by MetalVeggiemon."
"MetalVeggiemon?" Agumon asked. "That's weird."
"Yeah," the boy agreed. "Akariamon digivolved to Dracomon and saved us."
"So you're not hurt?"
"No, I'm fine."
"Good." The two turned onto the path and headed for the clearing.
**
Eniale walked up the path and entered the clearing. Several more of the original digidestined had arrived. Mimi, Joe and Izzy were all there. Only Matt and Sora were absent. Palmon, Gomamon, and Tentomon were also there.
"Hi!" Eniale said, kind of shyly form the entrance to the clearing.
"Oh, hi," Mimi said, coming over. The stars in her pink hair glittered in the midday sunlight. "You must be Eniale."
"Yeah, hi," Eniale replied.
"Welcome to the digidestined," Mimi said with a smile.
"Yeah, welcome," Joe said, coming up and slipping his arm around Mimi's shoulders. She turned her head and kissed him quickly.
"Hi, I'm Izzy," the frizzy-haired redhead boy said, walking up and offering his hand. Eniale shook it.
"I'm Eniale," she said. "Nice to meet you." She smiled. Everyone was being so nice; it was hard to be shy.
"I am Tentomon," a metal, bug-like digimon said from head height in the air.
"Hi, I'm Eniale. Akariamon should be around here somewhere. I'd like you all to meet her." She scanned for her digimon partner. "Oh there she is, with Gomamon and Palmon."
"What's that?" Izzy asked. A beeping was coming from Eniale's pocket.
"I think it's my digivice," Eniale said, taking it out of her pocket. She showed it to Izzy.
"Hm, I seems as if Sora and Matt have gotten into some sort of trouble." He looked up at Eniale.
"Well, let's go. Akariamon!" she yelled, already running for the opposite end of the clearing. She kept checking her digivice to make sure she was heading in the right direction.
"Tentomon, let's go!" Izzy called. Eniale could hear him running after her. She heard others coming, too.
"Eniale, what's wrong?" Akariamon asked, flying along beside her.
"Matt and Sora are in trouble," she replied.
"Who?"
"Two of the original digidestined," she said, panting and out of breath. She checked her digivice and took a right when the path forked. She rounded a corner, and found herself in a meadow. Sora and Mat were there, with Birdramon and WereGarurumon battling a giant spider. They weren't winning.
"Matt! Sora!" Eniale yelled. The two looked over.
"I don't know who you are, but you've got a digimon and we could use some help!" Matt called. He looked back to the battle. "WereGarurumon! No!"
"Akariamon! Digivolve!" Eniale screamed, holding out her digivice.
"Akariamon, digivolve to............................Dracomon!"
The dragon digimon flew into the brawl, spraying fire at the enemy. She was kicked aside with just one kick from one of the eight legs. Matt and Sora were cradling their digimon, who'd been defeated and had returned to their rookie forms.
The spider laughed and turned to the digidestined, leaving Dracomon behind. The dragon was struggling to rise off the ground.
"What do you want Arukenimon?!" Matt yelled, outraged that his digimon partner had been hurt.
"That's MetalArukenimon!" the spider cried, glinting in the sunlight. She was advancing on the teens and their digimon.
Just then Stingmon flew out from behind Eniale. "Don't you touch them!" Stingmon yelled, attacking the spider. Together with Dracomon, they defeated her. They quickly returned to their rookie forms, having used up all their energy.
"We work well together," came a voice from behind Eniale. She turned. Ken stood, hands in pockets, surveying the scene before him. Something in his voice reminded her of the old Ken, and she shivered.
She smiled, despite her sudden chill. "Our digimon work well together, Ken. I think we could use a little oil." She picked up Akariamon who had crawled over to her, and walked past him, headed for the clearing.
Okay, Ken thought. Yes, he deserved it, but it still hurt. He reached down and picked up Wormmon who had also crawled over after the battle. He kept his eyes on the retreating girl.
"You know you love her, Ken," the little digimon said, following his gaze.
"What?" Ken asked, looking down at him.
"You heard me," the green digimon said. "It's obvious to all of us."
"I've hardly known her for a day. I can't be in love with her," Ken argued.
"You just keep telling yourself that," Wormmon replied, jumping out of his arms, and walking to where everyone was huddled around Matt and Sora.
Distantly, Ken heard TK admonish his older brother, "You always have to make an entrance, don't you?" But the hazel-eyed boy's thoughts were somewhere else. Though she'd disappeared around the bend, he still watched the spot where he'd last seen her. Wormmon's words echoed in his head, "You know you love her, Ken." He knew his partner was right, but how could Eniale ever forgive him? And would she still care for him once she learned the details of his dark past? No, it wasn't possible. He was destined to be alone. "You know you love her, Ken." From somewhere in his head, a voice answered. "Yes, I do," it said, "and I had better do something before someone else steals her from me."
Almost of their own accord, his legs began to carry him towards Eniale. Walking at first, he broke into an all-out run.
He reached the clearing in a few moments. It was deserted, save for Eniale, sitting on the grass, her upper body draped over a rock. She was so perfectly still, and so perfect for that matter, that she could have been asleep, had she not opened her eyes at his approach.
"Eniale, I-," no, he couldn't do it. This girl, this angel, perfect in every way shouldn't be tarnished by his sinner's past. It wasn't right. He sought for something to say. "Where's Akariamon?" he managed, scanning the area.
"She went for a swim." She sat up gracefully, golden hair cascading around her shoulders. "You didn't come see me to ask about my digimon." She smiled, but in her eyes was a deep pain.
"No," he admitted in a whisper. He couldn't look at those eyes, and he let his gaze drop to the ground.
Eniale stood and walked over to him. She stopped very close, but not quite touching him. "Look at me," she commanded quietly. And he did. He began with her gracefully curving legs; to the toned stomach that her shirt barely concealed; across her chest, low-cut shirt not doing a good job of hiding there either; over her full, luscious lips, and up to those eyes again. They still held all the pain, and now longing, but it was masked with a thin sheen of curiosity. Just as he was masked with an outer sheen of calmness, but his insides roiled with conflict.
She reached up to brush a stray strand of navy hair from his face, but brought her hand back before contact. How he ached to touch that hand again. He watched it go back down to her side, and again looked into those deep, blue eyes.
"What do you want, Ken?" she whispered, her breath stirring the strand of hair in his face.
"You."
**
He breathed the word with such despair, like he could never have her. Couldn't he see she was standing here, ready to lose herself in him forever? She searched his heather gray eyes for some reason why he couldn't just pick her up and carry her into heaven.
"Ken," she breathed. She reached up with her hand, actually meaning to make contact, but he turned his face away.
"You don't understand," he whispered. In his eyes she could se how much he hurt.
"I want to."
"You can't," he pleaded "I don't want you to hurt like I do." He whispered at her, looking near tears.
Is that what it was about? "I don't have to hurt, too. I just want to take the pain away from you, and make your world perfect," she whispered, inching closer. "But I can't do that, Ken, if you won't have me." She looked down at the closing distance between their bodies, and back up. "That's what hurts me Ken, when you won't have me." She longed so much to touch him, but knew she couldn't. It was his choice to make, his wall to break down.
"I'm sorry," he said, a tear sliding down his face. He buried his hands in her hair, and she slid her arms around his back. His body racked with sobs. "I'm so sorry. The last thing I wanted was to hurt you." He pulled back his head from her shoulder and kissed her hard on the mouth. She responded with all the love she carried inside her, and kissed him back.
He pulled back from her kiss, both of them breathing hard. She could feel his tears on her cheeks. He stared into her eyes, and she into his, for a moment, before he leaned down and kissed her gently. He pulled back again.
"I love you, Eniale," he whispered.
Eniale smiled as a tear fell down her face, mixing with his on her skin. "I love you, too." She felt all her pain and longing melt away, and the only feeling left was total, uncontrollable love for the boy in front of her. She saw the same in his eyes, before she leaned in, to kiss him again.
The End
How was it? Okay I hope? All reviews accepted, flames or not.