The Reign of Courage

Part Eight:  The Night Before – Stress Relief

***

Standard Disclaimer Thingy #1: Digimon does not belong to me. This includes all characters, digimon, and whatnot. That belongs to the suits and important peoples at Toei, Saban, and a bunch of other companies. This story, however, is mine!

Not-so-standard Disclaimer Thingy #2: Despite the innuendo in the title of this chapter, there is no more or less romance than previous chapters. Just thought I'd warn you. ^_^

***

Taichi peered blankly out at the scenery for the second time in the last week. "This is getting to be a habit," he mumbled under his breath.

"Staring out at the world while you're upset?" Agumon questioned. "Yes. You should be careful. Eventually it may take up all your time."

The human half of the partnership responded to that statement with a simple glare before turning back to said scenery. "I've made up my mind, Agumon," he stated instead.

"What do you mean?" the dinosaur questioned.

"I'm going to leave Hikari here tomorrow in case of trouble and I'm going out to find Sora."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Agumon wondered. "What if Hikari objects?"

"Then the place can run itself for a day."

Agumon frowned, opened his mouth as if to say something, and then shut it again. "Whatever you say, Taichi," he decided instead.

"I'm just sick of sitting here, Agumon!" Taichi defended himself as though the digimon had opposed. "Everyone else gets to go out and search for Sora and save her and I'm just stuck here worrying. Well, I'm not going to sit here and worry anymore. I'm going out there with the rest of them, and if they have any objections they'll just have to deal with them."        

"I don't have any objections," Hikari noted. "As long as you don't leave me behind."

After jumping nearly a foot in the air, her brother sighed. "I need to find a place to think that's more private."

Hikari shrugged. "A balcony isn't very private," she noted. "What's this about going out?"

"I'm going with the others to look for Sora."

"I'm not staying here," she retorted. "I think I'll be needed just as much as you, and Sora's my friend, too."

"Fine. This place can run itself for a day."

"You really think it'll take only a day?" Tailmon questioned from the doorway.

He frowned.

"She has a point, Taichi," Hikari noted. "This might be something that takes a while. I certainly understand your need to look for Sora, but I wonder how much time you're willing to put into it."

He sighed in response and was silent for a moment. "I can't stay here and do nothing anymore."

"How much do you really want to help Sora?" Tailmon questioned. "And how much is simply boredom?"

The brown-haired boy spun around then. "It's not about boredom!" he defended adamantly. "It's because I can't stand the thought of people going out and risking their lives for me while I do nothing here!"

"All right, calm down," Hikari said in a soft voice, designed to keep the peace. "I have no problems with you coming, and I'm sure no one else will, either. If you'd like, I'll ask them their opinions tonight. But it's really your decision."

He nodded, turning back to the scenery. "Do that, then. And I'll think about it."

***

Koushiro was nose-deep in one of his six hundred and twenty four books when the knock came at his door. As Tentomon was involved in one of his numerous social functions involving the other digimon, the young wizard did not immediately respond to the knock.

It sounded again and again, the knocker apparently being of the intelligent persuasion and therefore possessing the knowledge that the holder of said crest was most likely involved in such pursuits of knowledge himself.

Eventually, on about the twenty sixth knock, the wizard noted the annoying pounding noise that was coming from the entrance and realized his partner was indisposed and got up to answer it. Unfortunately, this required him to navigate his way past several piles of books, which took some time.

By the thirty fourth knock, the young wizard opened the door. "Sorry," he began in apology. "I was busy –"

"Reading. I know," Hikari nodded. "I figured. I need to ask you something."

"Certainly," he replied. "What question may I answer tonight?"

"Actually, it's a sort of personal question. A matter of opinion."

"Oh," Koushiro sounded slightly disappointed. "Well, I guess I can answer that, too. What is it?"

"My brother is having something of a crisis," Hikari stated, briefly detailing the situation that had occurred previously. "I need your opinion."

Koushiro frowned momentarily. "Well, answering from a logical standpoint, it is best that the ruler of the country remain in the castle where he is needed. However, he may be needed in the coming battle, especially if our opponent is as strong as I suspect. And, if he does not participate in the battle, he may be seen as weaker than he really is. From hearing your brother's current state of mind, I can predict what his crest may be, and it would be best to activate such a crest – or find it if he went along."

"My brother's crest? What do you think it is?"

"Yuuki, of course," Koushiro replied.

"Courage." Hikari nodded in agreement.

"Exactly. I think that because Daisuke possesses the digimental of Yuuki and has many of the same opinions. Wanting to protect his friends and a dislike of being useless come to mind."

Hikari nodded again. "Your opinion then?"

The wizard shrugged. "Let him come. I'm sure the staff can successfully run the kingdom for a bit without him – especially since he's not even crowned King yet. It'll be better for his mental health, at any rate."

***

Daisuke scrutinized the board and the little wooden pieces resting in front of him for several moments. Finally, he lifted one of them and moved it a few spaces forward.

A sigh. "You're pathetic, you know that? Checkmate."

"Not again!"

"Yes, again. I'm done. You're too easy."

"Come on," Daisuke protested. "One more time?"

V-mon shook his head. "No. This is boring. Can we play a different game?"

With a sigh, the redheaded boy agreed. "I guess," he decided, sweeping the chess pieces off the board and into the small wooden box in which they belonged.

There was a knock on the door. "I wonder who that is?" V-mon wondered.

"Only one way to find out!" Daisuke flung open his door to reveal Miyako.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," she apologized. "I guess I was just feeling kind of lonely."

"No, no, it's all right. V-mon was just beating me at chess, that's all," he assured her. "Want to play a game? I'm kind of bored."

Miyako shrugged. "Sure."

"How's cards sound?"

A few moments later the two were involved in a game of cards and had progressed steadily through the game. "Where's Ken?" Miyako asked.

Daisuke shrugged as he observed his hand of cards. "I never know anymore," he sighed. "He used to tell me every time he was leaving, but now I look for him and I don't know where he is. I just hope it's not doing something stupid."
"Why? Because it's your job?" V-mon quipped from where he sat on the couch, looking through one of Koushiro's six hundred and twenty four books.

Miyako laughed. "Very funny," the boy noted dryly.

A few minutes later, the door from the adjoining bedroom opened, and Ken stepped into the parlor. "Who's winning?" he wondered conversationally.

"I am!" Both Miyako and Daisuke announced in unison, which caused their observer to laugh.

There was a knock at the door. As neither of the two combatants seemed eager to relent their game, Ken strode easily to the door and opened it.

"Hello," Hikari greeted. "I've just come by to ask an opinion."

"On what?" he questioned.

"A very complicated matter. Can I come in?"

"Sure. Just don't disturb the players."

"Players?" Hikari peeked around the door and stepped in. "Ah."

"Hikari! Hi!" Miyako and Daisuke spoke in unison. Then returned to their game.

"What's the question?" Ken wondered, since he was the only one not preoccupied with something else.

"Actually, it's for everyone. But I think I should wait to ask them until they're less distracted."

He nodded. "Good plan."

Quickly, Hikari went over the conversation she'd just had with Taichi. "He's unsure if he should go or not."

Ken thought for a moment, and then shrugged in response. "I don't see why not," he replied. "He has a digimon that can evolve, and therefore will be useful in the battle, right?"

"Yes," she agreed. "We hadn't considered that."

"In that case, he should go."

"You don't think it would be wiser for him to stay home and be safe?"

He shook his head. "No. If this new enemy is serious about a war of some sort, then he probably won't be safe for long."

"Better if he doesn't repeat the mistakes his father made," Daisuke noted from behind his hand of cards.

"What mistakes are those?" Miyako wondered, setting the card she had chosen on the table.

Daisuke set his own card down. "The kind that Kings always make," he replied. "Staying inside their castle and having no idea of what's going on in their kingdom. Leads to rebellion, revolution, wars."

Hikari was silent for a moment. "I don't think Taichi will be one to want to stay at home at all," she noted.

"No, and I don't think so either," Daisuke agreed. "Which is good. I think he should go, too. It's best if he breaks out of the habit of staying in the castle behind locked doors all the time." He set down his hand. "I win."

Miyako frowned. "You cheated, I'll bet."

"Miyako? What do you think?" Hikari interrupted before an argument could begin.

Abandoning her losing hand, Miyako thought silently for a moment. "I think I agree," she decided. "He could be useful in the battle that'll probably take place. And if he wants to help Sora, why not?"

Opinions received, Hikari nodded. "Thanks."

"Wait," Daisuke interrupted. "Don't you want to stay - play a game?"

"Sorry," she apologized with a smile. "I'm on an opinion-gathering mission."

***

"So you're saying that your grandfather learned Kendo from people that had learned it from the ancients?" Jyou questioned. He sat on a small stone wall beside a shallow pond, watching as Iori moved a stick and his body in rhythmic movements.

The youngest Chosen nodded without stopping his movements. "Grandfather was a Kendo master," he replied. "He ran his own dojo and taught the finest students in the kingdom. I was privileged enough to learn from him after my father died."

"It appears you've learned a lot," the doctor observed.

"I'm still a beginner in many ways," he answered modestly as he paused in his workout. "My grandfather's life ended before I could complete my training."

"Excuse me," another voice interrupted. "I'm sorry. Do you mind if I sit and watch, Iori?" Takeru appeared beside the shallow pond.

The brown haired boy nodded. "Feel free," he replied. "But I'm resting for the moment."

"I've always thought Kendo was a fascinating self-defense," Takeru stated conversationally. "Is it much different from fencing?"

"In some ways," Iori replied. "And in others it is very much the same." He paused for a moment. "If you'd like, I can teach you a few things."

"Would you?" the blond boy questioned eagerly. "Thanks!"

Before the lesson could begin, the conversation was interrupted once again. "I'm sorry if I'm intruding," Hikari apologized. "But I need to ask you all something."

"Of course," Iori replied.

"What is it?" Jyou wondered.

Quickly, Hikari explained the conversation with her brother for the third time that evening. "I need to know what everyone thinks. Taichi's not certain he should go."

"It would be safer if he stayed," Jyou noted. "Although we could use him."

"The Kingdom could survive without him for a day," Iori stated. "It's only if it takes beyond a day that he would need to be concerned. He should follow what's in his heart."

Takeru agreed. "If he feels that going to save Sora is a good idea, he should do that. Our ideas are helpful, but it's his own feelings that will decide. If I were he, I would go."

***

Hikari left the gardens and re-entered the castle. She still needed to talk to Mimi and Yamato, and was unsure of who to approach next. Since her re-entrance was closer to Mimi's room, she decided that it would be best to approach her first.

It turned out that Mimi was not in her room, but in fact in the main hall, overseeing some of the workers arranging flowers. Perched on tall ladders, the men secured the flowers to the windows and walls while Mimi directed from the safety of the ground.

"No! The pink flowers go over there. For that section, we need the red ones!" she was shouting as Hikari entered the massive room.

"Does this color banner go over the throne or the entrance?" another woman questioned.

"Neither. It goes under the red flowers," Mimi replied. She glanced at a piece of paper on which she'd written nearly all her plans, and then turned to an assembly of horn-blowers. "No, no, you need to stand a little to the left. That's it! Right there!"

"Excuse me," Hikari began, but was interrupted.

"Are the horn players wearing hats?" another worker asked.

"Yes, big black hats," Mimi replied.

"They might not be ready on time."

Hikari flinched as she saw the look that briefly passed over her face. "They've got to be. Tell them to work faster."

"Mimi – I," Hikari tried again, but again was interrupted.

"Excuse me," a woman apologized as she hurried past her. "Mimi, are we having the purple flowers behind the throne or the red ones?"

"I think we decided on red," Mimi replied, looking at the list. "No, no, purple. That's right. It's more regal. Two big tubs."

"Excuse me," Hikari tried again, and this time the other girl finally noticed her.

"Oh, Hikari, there you are. I need you to come and try on this dress. It's in my room. Come on."

"Actually, I needed to ask you something. It's about my brother."

"No problem, you can ask me while you're dressing," the older girl assured her. She opened the door to her room. "I know it's in here somewhere," she mumbled under her breath as she began to search through her closet.

"I think Taichi is having some trouble making a decision," Hikari began.

"Ah!" Mimi produced the dress, a light color pink, and held it out. "Perfect, don't you think?"

"It's very nice," Hikari agreed, admiring the dress. "I think it might be a little big, though."

"Well, try it on and find out." Mimi returned to her closet to search while Hikari began to change. "So, he's having trouble with a decision? Well, you tell him I think that Sora's a perfectly nice girl and he won't regret it."

Hikari nearly fell down. "What?"
"I know, I know, maybe she's not the kind of girl he wants to spend his whole life with, but he'll warm up to her. And besides, who else is he going to find?" Mimi continued from within the closet.

"Mimi, that's not what I meant." Slowly, Hikari began to breathe more easily, slipping the dress over her head. "Hmm. It's a bit loose."

The brown-haired girl poked her head out of the closet. "It's not?" She noted the dress. "Oh, that can be fixed easily. Turn around."

"No, not at all, although it does have to do with Sora."

"See? I was half right, wasn't I?" Mimi pulled on some strings in the back of the dress. "All you have to do is pull these a bit tighter. It's adjustable. Is that better?"

Hikari nodded. "Yes, that's a better fit. Do you have a mirror?"

"In the washroom. So what is the Prince's current decision?"

"He wants to go with everyone tomorrow when we search for Sora. He feels like he's sending people off to die for him," Hikari replied from behind the door. "Oh, yes, this looks very nice."

"I thought it was something you'd like. So, he wants to go? What's the decision?"

The younger girl sighed as she emerged from the washroom. "He's not sure if he should. If he should stay here and oversee things instead. But he doesn't want to abandon her."

Mimi frowned in thought. "Now it's just a matter of what to do with your hair. It's so short. Oh, maybe we can put a flower in it? I've got one in here somewhere." She began to rummage through the closet. "If he thinks he's a help, he should go," she offered from within the closet. "No sense in staying here and making himself miserable when he can be useful somewhere else, right?"

Hikari nodded, though Mimi couldn't see from inside the closet. "Exactly my thoughts," she agreed. "Thanks, Mimi."

"No problem," she replied as she emerged from the closet again, this time holding a white flower in her hand. "Let's see - "

***

"The scenery doesn't really change much, does it?" Agumon observed. His partner didn't respond. "You're not much fun, you know that?" Still no answer.

The yellow dinosaur shrugged as he turned back inside the room. There was a knock at the door. "Taichi?" he questioned. "Someone's here."

"Get it for me?"

Agumon sighed as he went to open the door. "What am I, a door - mon?" he mumbled under his breath. "Oh, hello Yamato, Gabumon."

"Agumon, hi," Yamato greeted. "I was actually looking for our fearless leader. Any sign of him?"

"Just the usual place," Agumon replied. "Out on the balcony, brooding and thinking too much." He turned to Gabumon. "Tentomon's out back playing a game with Gomamon and Patamon. Want to join them?"

"Sure," Gabumon agreed pleasantly.

"Great. I can't stand being here anymore. It's depressive!"

Yamato chuckled slightly as he watched his partner and Agumon leave. He shut the door quietly behind him and crept quietly across the room.

'In all the years I've known him, Taichi's never gotten any neater,' he observed mentally as he stepped over a shirt lying on the ground and tossed it into a pile of dirty clothes. Several years earlier, the young Prince, in his first act of rebellion, had flatly refused to allow a maid into his room. His parents had eventually forced him to relent enough for a monthly cleaning to rid the dust, but for the most part, he was in charge of his own cleaning. Therefore, his bedroom was the sloppiest in the castle.

Yamato paused just inside the door to the veranda. He knew that Taichi probably hadn't heard him talking with the digimon, and had no idea he was even in his room. He sighed slightly. One day, that would get him in trouble.

"Hmm, yeah, I'd say this was brooding," he observed from the doorway.

Startled slightly, the other boy turned around. "Who let you in?" he wondered grumpily.

"Agumon," the blond replied. "He said you were brooding and wanted to get out of here."

Taichi snorted slightly before returning to his post, viewing the grounds. "I'm not brooding," he replied defensively. "I'm thinking."

"Right. Big difference," Yamato responded sarcastically. He strolled to the edge of the veranda and leaned against the stone wall beside his friend. There was silence for a few moments as they both peered out at the scenery.

"You know, I seem to remember you saying something about not wanting to spend the rest of your life enclosed behind stone walls," Yamato began, still appearing to be interested in the scenery. "Yet you spend quite a bit of time in here, brooding. Oh, excuse me, thinking."

Taichi turned to face his friend, who was now apparently quite interested in watching whatever it was the digimon had decided to do on the grounds below. "Hikari sent you, didn't she?"

"Hikari? No, haven't seen her. Why?" Yamato appeared genuinely confused.

He shook his head. "No big deal," he replied. "So, did you just come by to admire the view from my room?"
"Actually, yes. You have a great view. Can I have your room?"

Taichi rolled his eyes. "Sure. If you clean it out," he retorted.

Yamato shook his head. "You couldn't offer me enough gold to do that," he replied.

"Well, then why are you here?"

"Am I not allowed to spend time with you anymore? I seem to remember us once considering ourselves friends," he replied with a slight bit of over-acted hurt in his voice and a pair of big, sorrowful looking eyes.

"Very funny. Very funny. You should be a clown."

"Hmm. Actually, I wanted to talk about tomorrow. If you have any plans."

"Plans? What are they?" Taichi wondered.

"Ha. Now who's a clown?" Yamato questioned sarcastically. "Surely you have some idea."

Taichi turned around and leaned his elbows on the wall of the balcony. "Not really," he confessed. "I guess we just head in and do what we can."

"Do – what we can?" Yamato repeated blankly.

"Yes." A nod. "Obviously the goal is to find Sora and get her out of there. If we can't accomplish that, then I'd say I'm hoping no one dies."

At that the blond boy went slightly pale. "Dies?" he repeated, and then shuddered. "I hope not."

Taichi glanced up at the sky. "Me, too."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." He turned his gaze back towards his friend, but now Yamato was peering out at the scenery intensely.

"How much of a friend do you think I am?"

Taichi blinked once, then twice. "What?"

"How much of a friend do you – "

"I heard what you said," the brown-haired boy waved the repetition aside. "I just don't know why you're asking this."

Yamato shrugged. "I don't know. Sometimes, I guess, I feel like – I don't know, like we're not as close as we used to be." He turned his blue eyes back to Taichi, and they appeared, for a moment, to peer right into the other boy's soul.

Taichi blinked again, and sighed. "I consider you my best friend," he replied. "You know that."

"Hmm." Yamato closed his intense eyes for a moment and then turned back to the scenery. "I'm trying to figure this thing out." He glanced down at his chest, where the crest of Friendship hung on a string.

"Ah," Taichi nodded then. He peered at the stars for a moment. "Well, I think you have to figure out what it means, first. And then figure out what it means to you."

"What friendship means?" Taichi nodded. "I'm not sure." He sighed. "Maybe that's why I'm having trouble with it. I don't know exactly what that means."

Taichi turned away from the stars. "Well, a good friend is one that – I guess would tell you if you were acting like an idiot. And they'd listen to you."

"Kind of like a digimon partner?" Yamato wondered.

"Yeah. I guess. I mean, Agumon's my friend, too, but it's more than that. It's – deeper I think. With a friend I can talk about things, and do things with them. With Agumon, it's more like he's a part of me."

"Hmm."

"Today's a good day for deep thinking, huh?" Taichi noted casually.

"Yeah, looks that way."

"How about we stop thinking and do something?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know. We could play a game. Or have a duel. Like we used to."

Yamato raised an eyebrow. "I remember our duels," he replied cautiously. "They usually ended with one of us bleeding."

Taichi laughed. "Yeah. We need that again. Let's go."

***

Hikari sighed as she peered out the window. Taichi and Yamato had apparently begun a casual fencing duel, but now it had progressed into a serious battle, with both of them swinging violently at each other. If she hadn't known this was a common occurrence, she would have been concerned that they were trying to hurt each other.

"Strange," she mumbled under her breath, regarding the fight, the nature of the friendship, and life in general. Then she sighed, wondering what to do now.

A few moments later she found herself knocking on another door. She could hear Daisuke and Miyako arguing loudly from behind it, and Ken opened the door after a few moments with a finger in his left ear. "Sorry about the noise," he apologized loudly.

"I didn't cheat!" Daisuke was yelling. "Just because you stink at the game is no reason to accuse me of cheating!"

"You had to have cheated! I know it! Just confess!" Miyako shouted, without having paid a bit of attention to what Daisuke had yelled.

"Are they like this often?" Hikari wondered, observing the fight.

He sighed and rolled his eyes slightly. "It's not usually this – loud," he replied. "I think they're working out some tension or something."

"It seems to be a theme," she noted quietly, but because of the yelling, Ken didn't even hear.

A few moments later, the fight had not abated. "Why don't we break them up?" Hikari half-shouted to be heard.

Ken raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Break it up?" he repeated. "I guess. Which one do you want?"
"Doesn't matter to me."

A moment later, Ken was dragging Daisuke away from the scene, while Hikari was attempting to calm Miyako. They had decided that Ken was best suited for the dragging portion simply because nothing short of physical intervention would prevent the boy from continuing. Although Miyako was just as stubborn.

A few minutes after that, the fight was over, and they had decided that games would be best abandoned for the night. Instead, since the moon had recently risen, they decided it would be nice to get out of the building and go for a walk.

The moment they stepped out of the castle, they were able to see that the digimon had abandoned their game and were now involved in watching the duel between Yamato and Taichi. Hikari sighed slightly, but Daisuke appeared concerned.

"Are they mad at each other?" he wondered, and Miyako also looked confused.

"No, no, this is normal," Hikari replied. She sighed again. "I don't understand it either, but every so often they just have to beat each other up."

"Sort of like how you two need to argue," Ken noted.

"We wouldn't need to argue if Daisuke didn't cheat," Miyako replied.

"I didn't cheat!" Daisuke countered. "You lost."

"Enough!" Hikari announced loudly, and the exasperation in her voice was enough to make them stop arguing.

"Let's watch," Ken suggested to keep the peace, and headed for the crowd of digimon watching the fight.

By this time the duel had been going on for quite some time. The original group of Tentomon, Patamon, Agumon, Gomamon, and Gabumon had been expanded to include Tailmon, Armadimon, Palmon, Wormmon, and V-mon. As more digimon observed, their partners had decided to watch as well, so now Iori, Jyou, Takeru, and Mimi were watching, as well as quite a few people that had been helping to decorate the main hall. Also present were Momoe, Jun, and their partners, Terriermon and Alraumon.

Both the combatants were exhausted by this time, but neither relented. Sweat poured down both boys' foreheads, and the swings of the sword were a bit slower.

"Aren't they exhausted?" Miyako wondered.

"Most likely," Iori agreed. "But they're not going to stop."

"Why not?" Daisuke questioned.

"It's a matter of principle," Takeru replied with some sarcasm. "Their friendship has some element of competition involved. Each has to prove they're the best."

"They'll be here for ages," Hikari stated. "They always are."

"They've been fighting for at least forty five minutes already," Tailmon stated. "It's usually just under an hour."

"Man," Gomamon grumbled. "What will we do for amusement after that?"

"Hey, how about another fight when they're done?" Daisuke suggested. He turned to Ken. "You and me?"

Ken shook his head. "No, thanks."

"Takeru?"

"Me? You want to fight?"
"Yeah. Finish what we didn't the other day."

"Sure. You're on. And I'll beat you!"

"Ha! We'll see about that!"

Hikari sighed.

***

As it turned out the duel lasted another fifteen minutes before it collapsed into a punching match. At that point, Daisuke, Takeru, Jyou, and Iori chose to jump in and pull them apart. Then they shook hands, exchanged insults, and sat down to watch the next match.

Daisuke and Takeru had a tradition of fencing matches, though not as intense as Yamato and Taichi's. A few days before, they had begun the latest in a long series of matches. Neither were exceptional fighters, and neither was gifted when it came to fencing. They were fairly evenly matched.

This match began the way they always began. They picked up the swords the previous combatants had dropped and then circled around dramatically, as though sizing each other up. Then, without warning, both lunged at exactly the same time.

Miyako blinked. "How did they - ?"

Ken explained: "They've fought so many times before they always know exactly what the other will do. Even if Daisuke tries to pull a surprise move – see that? The way he suddenly lunged deeper? Takeru sees it coming and blocks it. Now Takeru swipes to the left, and Daisuke dodges. It's like they're always fighting the same fight."

"That must get boring after a time," Miyako noted.

"Only to watch," he replied. "I don't think they're even aware of it. They just think they're really good."

For one who had not seen them battle before, however, the fight was astonishingly  well choreographed. Each time Takeru attacked, Daisuke was able to defend. Each time Daisuke attacked, Takeru defended. The swords clanked rhythmically as they appeared to dance around in circles.

Suddenly, Daisuke pulled another of what Ken had described as his surprise moves. He swung at the left as though about to attack, and then pulled back, moved quickly to the right, and swung from that side. Expecting the attack from the left, Takeru moved to block, and then quickly realized it had been a fake. He moved to block his right side, but wasn't fast enough.

A slight trickle of blood appeared on his right shoulder.

"Ha!" Daisuke shouted triumphantly. Takeru frowned.

"I'm not done yet!" he shouted in response, and lunged violently at his opponent. Daisuke only just barely managed to back away in time.

"Shouldn't he stop now?" Miyako wondered.

"Probably," Ken replied. "But now he's out for revenge."

"It's pretty amazing, actually," Yamato noted from nearby. "That's the first time either of them has managed to score a hit."

"First time ever?" Miyako repeated. "Wow."

"They've been doing this for a long time," Taichi reminded her. "Most of the time they don't even try to hit each other."

The battle continued violently, the swords flashing brightly in the moonlight. Miyako felt she should cheer for one of the combatants, but wasn't certain which. Most of the crowd had the same dilemma, and cheered for both.

Yamato and Jun cheered for their younger brothers, and made something of their own competition out of trying to out-shout each other. If either Daisuke or Takeru noticed, they didn't show it.

Hikari sighed for the umpteenth time that night and thought to herself that there were probably better ways of working through stress, and that they'd be better prepared for the upcoming battles if they decided to sleep.

Eventually, Takeru's exhaustion showed, and his feet fumbled. He tripped over his own feet and landed on the ground. Daisuke laughed, helped him up, and both shook hands.

"Amazing!" Taichi shouted with some astonishment. "On the nine hundred and seventy-third fight, he finally scores a hit!" He was exaggerating, of course, but not by much, and no one seemed to mind. He was cheering for Daisuke merely because it would irk Yamato, who had been cheering for his brother. Since Hikari declined to participate in such fights, he had to improvise.

"Ha! I begin my victorious streak! Who's next?" Daisuke cheered.

"You couldn't beat me," Taichi replied with some slight animosity towards his supposed protégé. "That is if I wasn't already tired." He knew that even though Daisuke had just finished an exhausting fight, there would be no hope for him to have a chance against the energetic younger boy.

"He overestimates himself," Takeru agreed without resentment. "Just because I trip he thinks he's the best." There was no ire in his voice. In fact, he grinned.

"You're just jealous because you lack my supreme skills," Daisuke replied, and there was genuine pride in his voice.

Ken got into the insults game now, a snort his response. "You don't have supreme skills," he replied. "You were lucky."

"Luck, skills, whichever. I still won." The victor was not eager to relinquish his title because of a minor technical difficulty. "You think you have better? Try me."

"I think I will." The response was quiet, and Daisuke nearly overlooked it, returning to his gloating, before he stopped and blinked, reassessing what he had heard.

"You – will?" he asked, eyes growing wide and somewhat astonished. Ken had never agreed to such ritualistic fights before. Never against Daisuke, that is.

The other shrugged slightly, as though his statement was nothing out of the ordinary. "Why not?" he said, attempting to make a casual statement. The lightness of his voice fooled none of the spectators, however. The crowd was silent, sensing that something Big or Important was going to happen.

Even Miyako, who was unable to comprehend precisely why, felt as though the air was crackling with some sort of sparks. She shuddered inwardly as she watched the two latest combatants clash swords. Curiously, she glanced towards Hikari.

"Hikari?" she wondered. The Princess had wide eyes, too. "What's wrong?"

"Something weird is happening, Miyako," she noted. "Do you feel it?"

Miyako glanced back at the competition. "I think so…"

There was complete silence now as the fight continued. The strange atmosphere that hung in the air appeared to be felt by everyone now, and the spectators were enthralled.

Both fighters were oblivious, however, as they were lost in their own worlds. Their eyes never wavered from the others', and their swords moved, clashing equally.

Yamato let out a low whistle between his teeth. "Does he know what he's getting in to?" he wondered.

"Who?" Takeru wondered with some confusion, tearing his eyes from the fight for a moment.

"Daisuke," Taichi agreed. "He doesn't, I don't think."

"What do you mean?" Iori now questioned, turning to the older boys as well.

Yamato shook his head, waving both questions aside with his hand. "You wouldn't understand."

"Why not?" Takeru asked.

"You just wouldn't."

Takeru frowned, but turned his eyes, momentarily, back to the fight. "What is he getting in to?"

"Something serious," Taichi replied, just as mysteriously as Yamato.

"What?"

"Just something, Takeru. Drop it," Yamato half-ordered, his voice impatient now. "Just watch."

Takeru frowned even more deeply, but didn't respond. Instead, he turned back to the fight, trying to figure out what exactly his brother had been talking about.

The two opponents paid no attention to the conversation – or lack thereof – around them.  Daisuke had a strange serious – almost bloodthirsty glint in his eyes that sent a shiver down Miyako's spine. She glanced to Hikari to see if she had noticed.

Hikari had most definitely noticed. Her eyes were focused entirely on the boy in question.

Miyako wanted to turn away, to not watch anymore, but she turned back to the contest. Both boys now had that bloodthirsty glint in their eyes. 'Daisuke must know this isn't just fun…both of them must know…but why?'

The question was, for the moment, unanswerable, so she turned her thoughts to another question that was important – who was winning.

That, at least was answerable. Daisuke was definitely on the defensive, so it appeared, at least, that Ken was winning. But he wasn't, exactly, because, a moment later, Daisuke was on the offensive. With her eyes glued to the competition, Miyako had no choice but to analyze each and every blow. They switched back and forth between who appeared to be winning and who appeared to be loosing so often and quickly that it was impossible to determine who the true victor would be.

When the opponents of a match are as evenly matched as these two combatants were, there was only one way to end the fight. And that was with one of them making a mistake. In this case, since Daisuke was a bit more tired, it was his turn to mess up.

And he did – in exactly the same way Takeru had. By slipping and falling promptly on the ground. His sword fell from his hand and landed a few feet from him. He rolled over, trying to reach it before his opponent could stop him, but found a sword at his neck.

"Damn," he muttered slightly, and started to get up, conceding his defeat. But the sword didn't move. "Ken?"

Daisuke turned and looked up at the boy who had defeated him. "All right. You win," he said, with a grin. But Ken wasn't smiling.

***

Well, I promised foreshadowing, didn't I? Hope that's enough for ya. And sorry about the sloppily written fencing scenes. I want to add excitement, but I know almost zilch about fighting this way, so that's why they seem as though I don't know what I'm talking about. Apologies to anyone who has real knowledge of this; I admit my ignorance!

Well, those were the fights I promised you. In the next part, the plot actually advances, and the group heads off to fight the Enemy! Wow! About time! Sora will eventually return, I promise, and there will be a Big Reunion, but there will also be a Big Split. The foreshadowing here may clue you in, but I can't say any more than that!

Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews, I appreciate all the feedback I get on this! C-ya next chapter! ^_^