Author's Note: Ha HA!! You all probably thought I was dead or something! But nope, I'm back and I'm continuing this fic and all those other fics I've begun. *choruses of groans are heard in background* Oh come on, I know you all love me! *sound of crickets chirping* -_-
Um, anyway, to recap, since it's been such a looooong time since I've posted. I sincerely apologize for my long time absence also. I've been buried knee deep in homework and my writer's block doesn't help out that much either. Also, for a couple months, I'd lost interest in Digimon and had become a DragonBall Z/GT fan. And I mean, big fan. But now that the third season of Digimon has begun, I'm totally in love with it. Especially Henry, he's soooo cool!! I've gone a little out on the whole couples thing though.
So anyways, from where 'Pride and Love' left off last, the first day of training had just begun. Sora and Izzy both have a handful trying to keep her identity a secret, though they have already stumbled up a couple times. Our two blonde cuties are also hiding a secret... And let us not forget all about little ol' Mimi. And what's this? Another original character? And who is she?
Now, also, the usual notes I leave for this fic... I have no clue as to the names of any of the digi-destineds' parents. So the names in here are all made up. I've also found that I had to bump the rating up because of some certain things that some may find inappropriate. If you feel offended by anything, I sincerely apologize right now. I don't mean to offend anyone, but then again, I can't please everyone either.
I hope you accept my apologies for my absence from FF.Net for so long and for anything else that I may have to apologize for. I can take criticism, so if anybody wants to... I know this isn't exactly the best chapter. I've been going over it, over and over and over and... well, you get the idea.
On with the fic before I bore anyone else.
Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah.... (it's here, isn't that good enough?)
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The young prince and the auburn haired trainee walked in silence up the mountain trail on their way to find the girls. Matt looked at the person next to him. The silence was making him feel very awkward. Finally, he spoke up, "So, what happened?"
"What?" Sora looked at him in confusion.
"Back there," Matt said, "How come that guy, Joey Miyota tripped you? Why didn't you do anything about it?"
Sora nodded in understanding, "Oh that... Well, like he said, 'an eye for an eye.'" She shrugged unenthusiastically as she side stepped a few jagged rocks she hadn't noticed the first time she went up the mountain.
"I don't follow," Matt said. Instead of walking around, he'd completely missed the jagged rocks and stumbled over himself. Fortunately for him, Sora grasped tightly to his upper arm and pulled him back up to his feet, steadying him before letting go.
Sora sighed as she continued to trudge along the rocky mountain trail, "It was nothing. I, uh, I 'accidentally' shoved him earlier when we were jogging up the trail. I guess he just wanted to get me back." She didn't know whether it'd be a good idea to tell this boy everything that happened. The young cinnamon haired girl may not be very appreciative of it. Not everyone liked to be talked about, especially if it were about something as embarrassing as being harassed by some rascal.
"What did he do-?" As soon as he finished his sentence, Matt again stumbled over the rocky trail. Sora rolled her eyes and helped steady him once more as the young prince mentally wondered why it was so much harder to walk up the mountain, when he had so easily jogged up only a while ago. Was this not the same trail they had taken earlier?
"Walk much?" Sora stood still giving the blonde an odd look.
"I'm fine," Matt shrugged, "Probably a little fatigued from jogging."
"Whatever," Sora nodded, accepting his response. The two continued on toward the top, but not in silence as Sora had hoped.
"So, what did he do?" Matt continued to pursue, this time watching his footing as he spoke.
"What do you mean?" Sora asked.
"Well," Matt furrowed his brow, "You don't exactly seem like someone who would do anything without a reason. He must have done something to make you have to shove him. So, what did he do?"
Sora shook her head, "Really? I don't look like the type of person who would just go off and shove someone when I feel like it?" Matt shook his head. Hmm, Sora thought, that's not what Izzy usually tells me.
"So what'd he do?" Matt insisted.
Sora shrugged, "It's no big deal."
"He seemed to make it a pretty big deal," Matt countered.
Sora stopped for a moment and looked at Matt. Then she just shrugged and began walking again. "He was getting a little too close to one of the ladies and she seemed to be calling for help," Sora explained, "Don't say anything to them though. I don't know if she'd rather anyone know about it."
"Oh," Matt smirked, "Was this a lady that you have your eye on?"
"Of course not!" Sora cried out almost too quickly, "Why would I have my eye on any of those girls if-?" She stopped herself immediately, "I- uh..." Oops, she thought, Spoke too quickly.
Matt took a step back giving Sora a surprised look, "Look Takenouchi, I'm sorry. You didn't have to get so worked up... I won't pry any further on this subject..." He then squinted at her curiously because of her sudden reaction. It was then that a thought hit him and he mentally slapped himself. He absently took a step further from his companion, "You didn't exactly seem like the type to, um... Well... But I understand. It's no... problem."
"It's not like that," Sora said trying to cover her fault. She sighed exasperatedly. The last thing she wanted was for any of the guys here to think that she was... "different." But of course she was different. She was a girl disguised as a guy... as opposed to the actual guys at this camp. But at a time like this, she wanted to be able to blend in with the rest. She opened her mouth to speak, "It's not what you're thinking-" and under her breath she muttered "-I don't even know how you came about with that idea." She sighed and spoke up again, "I, uh... I have a girl back home already..." Oh good, she thought sarcastically, Nice cover up. Why not just tell him that you're happily married with four children and a three legged dog? Well, looks like he's buying it though.
Matt nodded, "Oh." He couldn't help but to feel like this person was not telling him the whole truth, but then again, he, himself was hiding a secret from everyone at camp too. And a pretty big secret at that.
"Let's hurry it up so we can get back," Sora said. She began to jog up the trail with Matt following behind her. After thinking about her explanation, some thoughts began to cross his mind. It had never occurred to him until now, because of Sora's careless cover-up, that somebody else on this training camp, besides him and TK, could possibly be hiding a secret.
He shook his head. Don't pry into others business, the young blonde thought. He too was hiding a secret and he knew that he wouldn't appreciate someone prying into his business. He decided not to dwell on that matter, although his curiosity continued to tug at his mind.
"Whoever Tai decided to ask to come up here," Kari said sitting herself down onto the barrow, "is taking his sweet little time." She turned to Yolei who yawned in boredom. Mimi sat resting her whole body against the logs at the brink of sleep.
"Why don't we just head down and hope that whoever gets here can find his way back?" Yolei asked, "I'm tired."
"You and me both, girl," Kari said. She looked at Mimi, "The poor girl. She must be dead tired by now." She shook her head and chuckled inwardly at the muffled mumbling escaping from the dainty young princess's lips as she drifted into the twilight moment right before a person fell asleep.
Kari furrowed her brow a little catching bits and pieces of the mumbling. Something about a little puppy and beautiful silk clothing-
"I think I hear footsteps," Yolei stood from where she was sitting and walked over to the trail, "I say we make him push the barrow."
"Good idea, but isn't that what they're here for anyway?" Kari said standing next to Yolei who just shrugged. She watched as two boys began to ascend to where the girls were somewhat resting, "He sent two?"
Mimi, realizing that the other girls had walked away, sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She looked out in front of her as a blonde boy and an auburn haired trainee arrived. "Well, it's about time," Mimi stated abruptly.
"Captain Kamiya told us to come up and help you ladies out," Matt said smiling warmly.
"Took you long enough," Yolei rolled her eyes, "Take the barrow and follow us." She and Kari headed off in a different direction from the trail.
"Where are we going?" Sora began as she took one side of the barrow. Matt took the other side.
"There's a smoother trail we can take back down," Kari said, "It'll be faster and easier."
"I just want to get back and take a nice long dip in that lake I saw when we came up here," Mimi stretched her arms and caught a glimpse of the blonde boy as his cheeks became highlighted with the faintest tint of red. She giggled at the thought of the boy blushing about her one little statement, but then became confused when the other boy didn't even show a sign of nervousness at all.
"I have never been so tired," Sora sighed flopping herself onto her bed, "I could go to sleep for days." She extended her arms to stretch and then yawned to prove her statement. She tugged at the collar of her shirt to air out some of the heat from the day's training.
"I don't want to imagine how it's going to be tomorrow," TK leaned back against the wall. He didn't even bother to shoot his brother any more death glares, though he was still a teensy bit ticked. He'd been scowling at Matt all day and he just felt too tired to do anything right now.
Izzy agreed, "Captain Kamiya did say that he was going easy on us today. One can only assume that our training will be much more vigorous for the days following."
"Well," Matt stretched, "We'll think about it when it comes tomorrow. Are you all still too tired to take a nice swim?"
"Yeah," Davis chimed in agreement, "The lake looked like it'd be cool enough to take a nice bath in. Especially after the long day we had."
Sora's eyes widened at the words 'swim' and 'bath.' She immediately sat up and there was a look of panic on her face as she looked to Izzy for help. Izzy, despite the amused grin on his face, also felt a wave of panic. This was also one of the things that he had neglected to think about.
"But, uh, didn't the girls say that they were going to take a swim?" Sora recalled something that Mimi had said. She hoped to keep away from having to bathe with these boys for as long as possible. At least until she could figure out what to do...
Matt smirked at the thought. That same faint tint of redness appeared upon his cheeks again, but he shook his head, "They did plan to. That was hours ago after our first exercise, though. I'm pretty sure they're done by now." He chuckled as his brother and Davis jokingly snapped their fingers and faked a disappointed, "Darn!"
"Is something wrong?" Ken asked noticing Sora's face become a couple shades paler.
"Uh, n- nothing's wrong," Sora squeaked, "Nothing at all."
The boys, minus Izzy, all gave each other confused looks. One thought crossed their minds as they pondered the actions of this Nicolas Takenouchi ever since he'd shown up at the camp, Weird.
"Well, come on then," Matt said heading toward the door. He dismissed the thought, remembering that he'd promised not to pry into anyone else's business. But what if there was something really wrong with this kid? He shook his head and decided not to dwell on that matter too long. Opening the door, he stepped out while stating, "After that work out, the feel of cool water on ourselves will feel great." He was followed by Davis, Ken and TK.
"You two coming?" TK stopped and looked in. There was something about these two that gave him a funny feeling. He just couldn't seem to put his finger on it...
"You go ahead," Izzy said, "We'll catch up." TK gave Izzy another skeptical glance, but walked out the door.
"Izzy," Sora hissed, being careful to keep her voice as low as possible, "What am I going to do? I can't bathe with them!"
"Maybe they won't notice anything," Izzy shrugged and smirked deviously, trying to contain his impending fits of laughter.
Sora narrowed her eyes. If looks could kill... Well, looks can't, Sora thought. Evil thoughts floated through her mind of how to dispose of her best friend, But I can. She took a step toward Izzy, intending to strangle him. The only problem she'd have would be where to hide the body.
"Come on, Sora," Izzy took a step back from his friend after catching a glimpse of that murderous expression on her face, "Can't you take a little joke?"
"I don't know," Sora spoke unenthusiastically, "Can you take a little pain?"
"Okay, okay," Izzy chuckled, "I'm sorry. But you have to admit, that was quite humorous how you became entirely pallid when they mentioned bathing." He shut his mouth as soon as Sora's murderous glare returned to her face.
"Izzy..." Sora hissed.
"Look, this is a dilemma that neither of us had considered," Izzy said slumping down onto his bed, "Something you didn't take into account when you decided to 'play hero.'"
Sora pouted. Her eyes no longer narrowed in anger. Instead, they were downcast grimly. Izzy was right... She was in deeper than she had thought. She groaned as she laid down onto her bed, "What was I thinking?"
"That's the thing, Sora," Izzy said, "You weren't."
"Could you be a little less supportive?" Sora said sarcastically. She covered her face with her hands and let out another groan. She could remember when she had made her decision to take her father's place. That was the only thing she had thought about.
"I could undertake that suggestion," Izzy shrugged innocently, "But at a time like this, I think what you need is my support."
"Argh!!!" Sora had pulled her pillow over her head, screaming in frustration. What was she going to do? She could go on the rest of the training without bathing. That would be disgusting and she wasn't about to walk around for the next couple days, or maybe even weeks, all sweaty and stinky.
"All I wanted to do was take Papa's place so that he'd be safe," Sora almost cried out, "No other thought really crossed my mind at the time." She removed the pillow and looked at Izzy, "What do I do now?"
"Here's an idea," Izzy said, "I'll go ahead and if anyone asks, I'll just tell them that you had something important to attend to."
"Will it work?" Sora asked.
"Hopefully it will," Izzy said, "If you still think you need to take a dip in water to cool off, we'll go tonight, when the probability of someone being at the lake is very improbable."
"I guess..." Sora sighed sadly. It'd be the best solution. So when nighttime came, she and Izzy could- Hold on a second! Sora did a double take and thought over the words Izzy had spoken, "Izzy? 'We'll go?'"
Izzy nodded, not catching on to what Sora was implying, "Tonight." He was about to add something else to his statement, but didn't get a chance to do so as a stinging slap landed on his shoulder followed by a shocked sounding, "Izzy!"
"What?!"
"What do you mean 'we'll go?'" Sora asked not stopping to think about why her friend had made that suggestion in the first place.
"I'll go so I can keep a look out," Izzy sighed exasperated, "What did you think I was implying? I'm not a pervert you know." He rubbed his arm, "I can barely classified as one. You know me better than that!"
"Sorry, I wasn't thinking," Sora said. She hung her head, feeling a little embarrassed. Under her breath, however, she muttered, "You're still male."
"I heard that," Izzy said crossing his arms.
"Sorry," Sora mumbled, "Too much going on lately. You can't blame me for being a little tense."
"You could go and search out your own water source far away from here... if you don't trust me," Izzy offered, "While all the guys are off in the closer one. But from what I know, the second closest lake from here is relatively distant from the training grounds."
"I said I'm sorry," she sighed, "We'll go tonight," she added unenthusiastically, "It doesn't look like I have much of a choice. Finding another lake close by is probably one thing I don't want to do yet. By the time I do find one, it'll be past lights out and I'll be in trouble."
"It's settled then," Izzy said, "Problem is, we'll have to continue this escapade until the termination of our training. Fortunately, that time shouldn't be too far from now. Considering that we only have so many days left until the Kirik Clan arrives at the front."
"I'll think of something," Sora said.
"The last time I heard that from you," Izzy said heading toward the door, "I ended up having to get you out of a somewhat considerable situation." He darted out of the room just as a shoe went flying in his direction only to hit the closed door and thump to the ground.
~*~*~*~
Dr. Miko Kido surveyed the land before them. The lands outside the walls of his kingdom were so still, with only an occasional bird flying by, or a few unseen creatures scrittering into their nighttime hiding places. The land vegetation (grass, shrubs, trees and such), swayed slightly in the light breeze blowing from the easterly direction.
Though it seemed quiet and peaceful, the royal minister of medicine could not suppress the nagging feeling inside of him. Something didn't seem right... something didn't feel right. And he bet every bone in his body that it had something to do with the Kirik Clan.
"You're worrying about the battle before us," General Tejaka Kamiya startled the older man as he stepped noiselessly next to him.
Dr. Kido didn't respond, though he was sure that the general understood his silent meaning.
"The Kirik Clan are known to be very vicious," Tejaka nodded, "Strong and almost super human. This is going to be one difficult battle. I know what you're thinking." He glanced at the blue haired doctor once to confirm his assumption.
Dr. Kido nodded, "Something doesn't feel right."
"Their ships," General Kamiya stated, "The Kirik Clan's ships were reported to be, still, miles away from the continent shorelines... Something about that report doesn't seem right." He sighed, "What do you think?"
Dr. Kido made no movement, but he spoke, "I'm not the official tactics minister. But I am an expert on human anatomy and physiology. According to history encounters with people of that sort... A clan of that caliber, of that strength, aren't likely to still be miles away from the shoreline. They would spend days and nights rowing across that ocean just to get here. It's taking them too long. I had expected them to have reached the continent by now. Something must be up."
"I agree," General Kamiya nodded. He squinted at the horizon as if he were expecting the troops of the Kirik Clan to appear before the front at any moment. But all he saw was the peaceful flatlands outside the walls of Kingdom Tachikawa and it's neighbors.
"First thing in the morning," Tejaka seemed to be speaking to himself more than to his long time friend standing next to him, "I will take a third of our soldiers and head outside of the kingdoms... Something just doesn't seem right and I'm going to find out what it is."
Dr. Kido wanted to protest to this action, but he remained quiet. Having known the general for such a long time, Miko knew that he wouldn't be able to talk Tejaka Kamiya out of anything he'd already set his mind on. Oddly enough, it had been his instincts and determination that had kept the kingdoms protected for so long, twenty years ago. All the doctor did was nod.
"You will stay here and await my son's arrival after he has trained his soldiers," General Kamiya ordered, "While I am gone, Major Hida will be in command. Make sure to assist him as much as you do for me, old friend." He smiled warmly at the doctor and then turned to leave. As he did so, he chanced a glance back in the direction toward the Mount Mihiroshi training camp. Taichi, he thought, I know you won't fail me. I'm proud of you son. Be sure to look after your sister.
~*~*~*~
Sora sighed and surveyed the scenery around her. In her opinion, everything always looked nicer from high up. She breathed in the evening air and then leaned back onto the thick branch on the tall tree, resting her head on her hands and propping her legs up onto another branch. She closed her eyes feeling the warmth of the suns rays as it descended to the west. How great it felt just to sit there and enjoy the end of the day... Especially after quite a bit of training. Sure it may have been the easy stuff, but it was still tiring, which made it feel all the more relaxing to be able to just sit and take in the feel of nature around...
Sora frowned, I wonder how much longer I'm going to have to keep up this act... It hadn't even been one whole day yet, and already she had stumbled upon problem after problem. She wasn't sure how much longer her identity would be kept. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to remain calm under pressure. She had Izzy by her side, but she knew she shouldn't rely on him all the time... This was, after all, something she had brought onto herself because of some stupid spontaneous decision. There was no way she'd be able to just back out of it all and go home... though she wished so much to be able to be in her own house with her family right now and with no worries at all.
"The stupid Kirik Clan," she muttered angrily. If it hadn't been for them, none of this would have had to happen. She sighed and then breathed in the freshness of the evening air once more.
"How's the weather up there?"
Upon hearing the familiar commanding voice, Sora whipped her head around so quickly that she shifted her weight on the branch and lost balance. Before she knew it, she felt herself in a familiar scenario- falling out of the tree, bracing herself for the painful fall and then landing in a pair of strong arms... which immediately dropped her to her feet this time.
"You and your sister must have the same love for climbing trees... and then falling out of them," Tai chuckled. For only an instant when he had caught Sora, did he feel a familiarity to the scene, but he immediately dismissed the feeling. It felt too weird to him.
"Sorry to have scared you there, soldier," the brown haired captain chuckled sheepishly.
"Thanks for breaking my fall, Sir," Sora stated hanging her head.
"Is climbing trees really that much fun?" Tai asked looking up.
"You've never climbed a tree before, Captain?" Sora asked.
Tai took a step toward the large plant in front of him. He looked up and then back at his soldier, "The last time I climbed up a tree was to grab my sister's cat, Miko. She went up and didn't know how to come down." He laughed a little, "Kinda like some people."
"Well, it's kinda hard to come back down properly when something unexpected happens each time," Sora muttered sarcastically.
"What was that?" Tai didn't fully expect an answer. He stretched his arms and yawned. For him, it had also been a tiring day. Not just the training part, but all the excitement of preparing for the training camp...
"Uh, n- nothing," Sora said. A thought suddenly came to mind when she sensed the stress from her captain. She no longer felt nervous, instead she smiled at him and beckoned that he follow her, "Come on." She walked to the base of the tree and reached up to the lowest branch.
"What?" Tai followed behind her.
"I wanna show you something," Sora began to ascend the large natural structure one branch at a time. Her movements were stealthy and smooth, from the fact that she had been climbing trees her whole life.
"Show me what?" Tai reached up to the lowest branch like Sora had and began to ascend after her.
"You'll see," Sora smiled. She stopped at the sturdiest branch she had discovered before and stood up steadying herself near the trunk. She then began scooting out slowly so Tai would have enough space to stand next to her.
"Is it just me," Tai pulled himself up to where Sora was standing, "or is this tree a lot bigger when you're actually standing on top of it?" He hugged the trunk a while until he was sure he had his footing, then he let go and scooted out the slightest, not daring to look down.
"You get used to it after a while," Sora chuckled, "You don't know how high a tree can really be until you climb it. You never know what something is like, until you experience it. Now look." She pointed out at the setting sun.
Tai's face softened to a calmer state as he watched the sun slowly duck down into the horizon. It was one of the most incredible scenes he'd ever witnessed. Captivating... entrancing and just... relaxing. He breathed in the fresh evening air, "Wow. That's amazing."
"You see a lot of things differently from up high," Sora said keeping her gaze on the golden red horizon, "That's one of the reason's why I love climbing up trees. It's almost the same as being on top of the world. Everything you see... the scenery... even the air, it's all so much more..." Sora trailed off trying to find the perfect word.
"Majestic?" Tai offered. Chuckling, he added, "You sound like a story book. Pretty corny..." He looked toward Sora as she nodded in response, ignoring the last comment. He caught his breath, for a moment, he thought that he was seeing the figure of the girl he couldn't keep his mind off of.
Sora turned towards her captain and caught his gaze. She looked deep into his chocolate brown eyes and took in the sight of his boyish handsome looks. Feeling a little awkward, though, she knew she had to do something to avert his attention away from her. She waved her hand in front of his face, "Sir. Are you alright?"
Tai shook his head and blinked as he remembered that standing next to him was not the young beauty he had run into a day or two ago, but one of his soldiers. He shook his head, "I'm sorry... I- How much do you and your sister look alike?" Those thoughts of the young girl from the mountain continued to enter his mind.
"We, uh," Sora turned her head away, "Um... Believe it or not, even though we weren't borne of the same mother, we have very, very similar looks." She chuckled nervously and then motioned for Tai to begin descending the tall tree. He complied.
"Her name was Sora, was it?" he asked, "I'd like to meet her someday... uh, to see how much you two really look alike."
Sora nodded in an exasperated way. Fortunately for her, Tai was below her so he couldn't see the look on her face. She sighed inwardly thinking, That would be impossible. However, she just faked a cheery tone and said, "Yeah. Maybe you'll get the chance someday. I'm sure she'd like to meet you."
The two landed onto the ground and looked toward the camp. Tai laughed, "I guess falling out really isn't the only way you get down."
"I've tried jumping before," Sora joked, "It works too. However, the landing is pretty hard."
"So, what are you doing out here, anyways?" Tai asked, "All the others are over in the lake."
"I, uh, I didn't feel the need to bathe yet, Sir," Sora lied. Then she looked back toward the horizon and thought of a better excuse, "I wanted to be able to see that on the first day of my stay here at training camp. It always relaxes me after a long day, Captain." Well, that wasn't a complete lie, she thought.
"Yeah, it does, doesn't it?," Tai nodded, "We should head back to camp now. The girls will have dinner ready soon." He turned and walked off, but stopped after a couple steps to turn back and say, "Thank you, soldier." He grinned, "And by the way, you don't have to be too formal around me. I don't really like formalities all that much. Just call me Tai."
Sora watched the muscular figure of her captain as he headed back toward the camp. She couldn't help but blush a little bit when she thought of his dreamy face while he was staring out at the setting sun. He wasn't a very rude and strict commander like she expected... He made all the soldiers, especially her, feel warm and welcome. And those deep chocolate brown eyes...
Sora, snap out of it, she scolded herself, You are here for one reason and one reason only. To train and fight your father's battle. She sighed. It was already bad enough that she was in disguise... it wouldn't be such a great idea to let her mind drift off toward any certain boy... Her heart sank... Besides, she thought, the matchmaker already found me a husband. How convenient...
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So, here ends another stupid chapter of my life... uh, hold on, I meant my fic. ^^; Heh... yeah. Here ends part 4 of 'Pride and Love.'
What did you think? I think I'm losing my touch... as if I had it in the first place.
Well, anyway, if you liked it though, please tell me. Review. Please!!! My ego is aching for some good reviews.
But anyways, I know I said I wouldn't be too obsessed with the couples thing... I lied. I'm still a Taiora and Kouyako supporter. AND if anyone has any good ideas for a Henry/Rika fic, feel free to let me know. They're my new obsession and I'd like to write a fic over that couple sometime soon. E-mail me at mystical_sakura@hotmail.com for any fic ideas that you don't feel like writing yourself. Maybe I can play ghostwriter and do it for you. ^_^ Heh... just kidding.
Thanx. And don't forget to review.
