IMPORTANT STUFF: Digimon does not belong to me, and Squaresoft owns the Final Fantasy series.
A Digimon & Final Fantasy Tactics
Fusion
DIGITAL FANTASY: LEGEND OF THE TWELVE DIGI-CRESTS
written by K-chan
Characters of Fate: ARCHER
"Shooting the Dream"
She walked into the beige tent and stood a few meters from the entrance, letting her hazel eyes wander around the cramped space filled with various-sized boxes. Her thin lips protruded into a slight pout as she placed her hands on her hips, tapping her foot in deep thought. She looked from one end to the other once more, searching for a familiar crate. She sighed, walking over to a stack, "Geeze, how am I suppose to look for her knives through this junk?!"
A voice from outside called her, "MIYAKO!! HAVE YOU FOUND THEM YET?!!"
Irritated, she shouted back, "STILL LOOKING!! YA KNOW, YOU SHOULD LABEL YOUR OWN STUFF!!"
"WHATEVER!" came the response.
Miyako shrugged her sister's usual answer aside and began to go through the accessible boxes, opening them up, and when it wasn't the right one, she closed it and went through another. Just because she was the youngest of the four Inoue siblings, she was ordered around like a servant, but then again they could boss around any of their younger cousins if they wanted to.
She really didn't mind the chores and errands, but they should consider doing their share in the family business. Besides that, Miyako was missing precious practice time. She groaned and collapsed on the ground in frustration, knowing that she had about three hours before people would gather and their performance began.
She had been traveling with her large, extended family ever since she was born, entertaining people of all walks of life. She loved her lifestyle, roaming across the land without any attachments, but sometimes she would daydream about venturing on her own--for once be selfish in her own desires. Whenever she thought about it, her mind would always come back to her family, especially her father.
Even though her siblings ordered her around, they knew very well that Miyako played an important role in the famiy troupe of entertainers. Ever since her father's accident with a chocobo during one show, he wasn't able to ride again and perform the Inoue's exhilarating archery demonstration. It was one of the best exhibits of the entire show that drew many customers, and of all the Inoue family members, Miyako seemed to be the most promising one to inherit the talent. She carried on her father's work with great pride and ease, and it wouldn't surprise anyone if she would later on surpass her father too.
Having what she was looking for, Miyako left the tent of equipments and whatnot and grabbed a bow and a quiver of arrows just outside the exit. She carried the quiver diagonally on her back, strapping it over her right shoulder while the bow just hung over her left one as she walked pass a few more similar tents until she reached a large, double tent propped up at the far end of their campsite. She entered the open entrance and strolled over to an older girl, brushing a golden chocobo in its pen. There were several other chocobos in separate pens that were responsible in transporting the family's carts and carriages of equipments and supplies from place to place.
"Hey Chizuru," she called, "I found them." The girl turned around as Miyako showed her the case.
"Great!" she chirped and immediately opened it. "Oh my precious babies are all here!"
Miyako rolled her eyes, shaking her head at the remark. She left her sister alone with her daggers and walked over to her favorite chocobo at the second to last pen. "Hi Bliz," she cooed, brushing her face against her soft feathers. The creature answered with a happy 'wark', nuzzling her beak against her owner's arm.
She had known 'Blizzard' ever since she was six, practically raising the chocobo herself, but the caretakers were usually her uncles and cousins, who were also in charge of breeding them too. And from one of the recent breeds back then, Blizzard grew up along side with Miyako, and the pair became an inseparable team in the fields of entertainment. The friendship didn't come easily because Blizzard was a rather difficult chocobo to tame when it didn't like the presence of humans near it--hence her name--but little Miyako never gave up on befriending it.
"I'm taking Bliz out for practice," she informed her sister, who just waved it off, too busy with preparing the other chocobos. Miyako opened the pen and saddled her friend up for a short break from being cooped up in the tent. Blizzard knelt down, allowing the girl to easily climb onto her back. "Let's ride!" she cheered, and Blizzard didn't hesitate to rush out into the open fields.
The pair dashed by a group of men assembling a stage by a grove of trees, and Miyako informed them of her practice. A young man paused and shouted to her, "Change of schedule, Miya-chan! You'll be the first act instead of Momo-chan!"
"Okay!" she called back, "And tell Momoe she owes me, brother!" He waved her off and returned to his work while his little sister and her chocobo disappeared to the practice fields, which would be the same place she would perform. Several targets were already set up within a large, fenced area to keep the spectators out and safe, and the weather was perfect for the afternoon show. The Inoue family traveled to so many places, not a single town wouldn't know about the talented troupe.
Blizzard slowed down as she passed through the gates, and Miyako was holding the reins in one hand while the other had a strong grip on the bow. She gently pulled back, causing the golden creature to stop on the spot. "Okay Bliz, it's the same, ol' routine," she informed her partner, who warked in comprehension, as she pulled on a pair of tan, leather gloves. Being together and going through the same act for so long, she would understand.
Miyako pulled an arrow from the quiver and prepared it against the bow. With a short cry and a gentle kick to Blizzard's side, the chocobo sped off towards one of the target as the girl waited until the right moment came to get the aim in. The arrow snapped from her gloved fingers, spinning through the air until it hit the red circle on the target.
After the hit, Blizzard slowed down while the girl tilted her head to the side, staring at the target. "We really should update it," she sighed. "Hmm, maybe if we hit five in one run? What do you think, Bliz? It'll definitely surprise everyone--even dad!" She laughed and checked the number of arrows she had with her. A perfect five was left just for her.
Blizzard trotted off to one end of the field and was set to execute Miyako's new idea. The girl had the first arrow ready, keeping her body at a slight angle since her chobobo would be zipping straight to the other end of the field. She could feel the adrenaline churning in her body, and it would be needed at that crucial moment when speed was necessary to get the act perfect. The grip around the bow handle was too tight, and she knew she had to relax--at least her mind had to.
She wondered how she would react under pressure in front of a crowd if her forehead was already sprinkled with sweat, somewhat afraid of a possible failure, just during the practice run. She wiped the sweat from her face with the back of her gloved hand and took a few deep breathers, mentally scolding herself for being stupid. She had been doing this many times before, but just this once, she was experimenting with five separate shots into one run.
"If I don't try, I'll never achieve my dreams," she said quietly. If she could get pass this trial, then she could definitely get to her dreams all on her own. With great determination, she raised the bow into the air, ready to shoot. "LET'S GO!" she shouted, and Blizzard zipped across the field.
Her calm mind and her vigorous body seemed to be like two separate entities yet they worked together as one arrow after another flashed through the air until all five were used. The exercise was complete, and Miyako pulled on the reins to get Blizzard to backtrack to observe the outcome. And it was only natural that the five arrows found their targets in the central, red circles (because the writer likes to exaggerate and it's fanfiction).
The feeling was wonderful, accomplishing such an outrageous feat, but then again, anything was possible if you just believe and try. She held her hand to her chest, feeling her heart still racing from the excitement. "Is this... the feeling one would get from an adventure?" she pondered.
Sure, her life was always on the road, but to be out in the world on her own would be different than an every day life performing shows with her family. She didn't want to be just a name people would know about and never meet outside her family business life. She was supposed to be out there, showing the world who Miyako Inoue really was.
"The wind is calling my name!" she announced, laughing in the presence of a curious Blizzard. And then her stomach growled (definitely not the wind), so she had to return to her daily life for food until her dream resurfaced again.
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Well, now you know that Sora-chan isn't the archer! And sorrie, no one has gotten her job correctly... so the guessing's still on!!! For some reason, Miya-chan's chapter didn't turn out... well I really don't know what I wanted, but I guess this worked too. [sighs] Does she seem out of character? I don't know much 'bout her and her family anyway... Oh yeah, did the show ever say what her brother's name was? I was planning on naming him 'Mikado'--I like that name.
Anyway thanks for STILL reading this even though it's taking me a while to get to their encounters and interactions with each other. Oh and I'm glad you enjoyed Jyou's chapter! I had a great time writing his part. I know many weren't expecting his dull, worry-wart self in any unexpected action and danger, but I hope that your thoughts have changed for this story because everyone will have a piece of the action! I promise!
And now my responses to the reviews:
To Rocker_Starlight... Thank you for your encouraging emails!!! I'll reply to your latest email soon!!I apologize if I missed anyone's question--just let me know, and I'll be happie to answer it IF it doesn't give away anything important... Heh heh. And thank you once again for your wonderful reviews! I've been feeling down lately, but your reviews put a smile on my face. And for that, thank you!
To spooky cat... Sorrie, Sora-chan isn't a summoner... Err, not any of the DDs in this story is... so far... Like I said before, they might learn new things from each other, and other people. Yep, I like Digimon and FFTactics too!
To Digital Wonderer... Haha, I like KENYAKOs more than DAIYAKOs, but you never know what to expect... Sorrie, but Yama-chan's already the thief, so Ken-chan is... [winks] I'll talk more about him at the end... Thank you--I'm just glad you think it's 'good'. Heh heh...
To April... Hiyas! Waitress, huh? Unless she plans to be like Luna, Lina Inverse's sister from Slayers!
To digitalized... [blushes] Thank you, you and everyone are so kind!!! Okie, well I'll tell you guys what I WOULD LIKE this story to end up, couple-wise: TAIORA, MIMATO, TAKARI... I still haven't decided on KOUYAKO or KENYAKO... I did mention yaoi in the first chapter because I thought about a KENSUKE... but with some of the scenes I'm planning on, it MAY not end up that way... (I'm a MIMATO devotee all the way!!!) And err... as to how I do the cliffhanger thingies... well I don't know... I just write what I think... I've had something like this planned out for a while (say a month), especially each character's background story basing it on his/her own from the show. I'm sure it's confusing with the time frames for each part, but it will come together and make sense later. But overall, I'm pretty happie with it right now...
To Angry... Sorrie, but Koushiro's chapter will be the last one to come out because it will reveal the main plot, which is loosely based on the FFTactics' one. Oh say, could someone tell me all the names of the Gennai-look-alikes that help the DDs in the World Tour episodes?!! PLEASE! I can't remember them, and I've missed two episodes of it too.
Ken's chapter is next, and I just need to finish his up, so it might be a few days to a week once again... I'm keeping myself busy with other writing projects too... (I'm not sure if any of you are interested in a BSSailorMoon & FushigiYuugi crossover, but the long-overdue, second chapter will be out soon.) Oh anyway, I made this quite long again, and I just love to write nonsense and take up space--can't you tell?!
[smiling] Lotsa love! K-chan out! =o.O=
