Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, big surprise. But I'm going to borrow some of the characters.
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"So let me get this straight," Yamato said pacing through Takeru's cabin. He placed his fingers against his forehead and carefully massaged his brain as he walked the same four steps over and over again. "Let me get this straight," he said again. He continued to pace as Takeru sat patiently at a small table and Koushirou leaned against the wall next to the door. "So let me get this straight, you've gone totally insane."
Takeru was annoyed. "I'm not insane. It's my duty."
Yamato quickly sat down in the chair parallel to his little brothers, shaking his palm back and fourth. "But Takeru, you are expected to get married?!"
"It's my duty as the prince," Takeru sighed.
Yamato massaged his temples, trying to see where Takeru was coming from. A flood of emotion consumed his mind with the prospects of his young brother's marriage at such a young age to a girl he had never met for the sole purpose of uniting kingdoms and families. "No, TK. No way."
"Yamato," Takeru sighed. "I have to."
"WHY!?"
"You wouldn't understand. I just have to. The queen, I saved her life and in return she saved mine and Patamon's making us part of her family," Takeru sighed. "I can't betray her."
"Have you asked whether you could leave the kingdom?" Koushirou asked.
Takeru's eyes went wide. "You can't be serious. I couldn't do that to her, not after all she did for me!"
Yamato brought his eyes up to his face and squeezed his eyes tightly and breathed heavily. "Takeru, you can't be a prince and you can't be a king. You have another life! What about mom and dad and Kari and the others!"
"What about them Yamato!" Takeru sneered. "Do you see any of them here? Do you have any idea how to get off this world back to ours!?" Takeru stood up. "Yamato, I don't like it anymore than you, but I have to do this. You'd understand if it happened to you." Takeru sighed deeply and closed his eyes walking towards the door. He leaned his forehead against the back of the door and whispered to Koushirou and Yamato, "I'm too far into this to get out now. I am Prince Takeru, heir to the royal house of Qualaria, holder of the third chalice to the thrown of Qualaria and future king of Qualaria."
Yamato sighed and stood up, walking up behind Takeru, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. "You do what you have to do."
Takeru turned around and leaned against the door. "Please, tell me you'll stay in the kingdom until after I wed. Then be off on your journey, and write me your progress? Bring me back our loved ones."
Yamato smiled. "They got you talking like them now."
**
"Mega Kabuterimon!" Koushirou shouted over what was left of the deck. "The captain said you can stop now, we're right over Illaria!"
The giant red beetle stopped in the air and turned back around to break the chains that tied him to the damaged airship. He nodded to Koushirou and reverted back to Tentomon.
"It's weird, Takeru is getting married. He's gonna be a king."
Koushirou shrugged. "He's made his choice. We're gonna support him."
They walked out into the main parlor where servants were perfecting Takeru and Yamato's hair and clothes and faces. Three servants were brushing through Patamon's fur and shining his nails. Takeru said, "I don't see why you bother. Patamon will be going as Seraphimon. The queen said it would be more impressive for a first meeting." He saw Koushirou and Tentomon and waved to them, as three of the servants groaned as they were trying to straighten his sleeve.
"Do you want Tentomon to go as Mega Kabuterimon?" Koushirou asked.
Takeru's eyes wandered. "The queen, uh, asked that only Yamato come along to the first meeting. She wanted as few people as possible to go and Yamato is family I guess."
Koushirou smiled amused at how Takeru tried to protect his feelings. "Well," he said looking up the ceiling, "I'm very hurt that I'm not good enough. I suppose I could let this one incident go without holding a grudge."
There was a low rumbling before a loud thump as the airship rested down to the ground. Takeru took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He felt his brother's hand pat him on the shoulder followed by more groans from the servants asking them to hold still. The queen rushed into the room followed by her advisor Teika (Takeru's etiquette teacher), and several servants. Her face lit up at seeing Takeru and Yamato.
"You boys look lovely," she pinched Takeru's cheeks and shook his face a bit. She looked up at Yamato with a smile. "You both look wonderful."
**
"Greetings my liege," the queen said, bowing her head to the king that kissed her on the hand. It must have been hard for her, the headdress that she wore was quite heavy looking, as it draped down across her body to the back of her legs. "We are honored to take meet of you."
"The honor is ours," he said, "to have our surrogate daughter wed with your surrogate son. We are confident that any boy you chose to take under your wing is more than worthy to carry the bloodline."
Both Takeru and Yamato were hidden behind long robes and heavy headdresses. They couldn't see a thing behind the cloth masks that showed emblems of the royal house of Qualaria in golden silk. Teika stood in between them with similar clothing but less heavy. Takeru could feel his insides tighten at the knowledge that in only moments would he meet the girl that would be his princess. He swallowed tightly. Behind the four of them, Seraphimon stood high above their heads standing completely still.
"We apologize for the condition of our airship," the queen continued. Takeru wanted to scream at how long this was all taking. "We were attacked by a dark Cherubimon for unprovoked reasons."
"No apology is necessary my lady," he assured. "You must tell us what happened."
"In due time, your Highness." She took a deep breath and pulled on Takeru's sleeve. She pulled Yamato forward, careful not to make him trip over his robes. "May I introduce Yamato," he uncovered the robes from his face, "the elder brother to the Prince whom we have only recently met."
Takeru could hear a gasp from somewhere behind the king. Yamato nodded to the king and said not a word, as he was instructed earlier.
"This is Teika, my royal attaché," the queen introduced her advisor. She finally pulled Takeru up and he stepped forward, removing the headdress from his face. He saw the king standing before him, an advisor to his side, and a girl hidden behind robes to the other side. "This is the prince."
Takeru nodded. The king pulled on the princess and she stood forward. He removed the headdress for her, revealing a young girl of Takeru's age. The sunlight glinted off the flower shaped golden clip that kept her short brown hair from her face. Takeru bit his lip as her eyes widened at this site of her future husband.
"Ta- ke- ru…..?" she whispered.
"Hi- Hikari?" his voice was thin and without energy. He had no breath in his lungs and gasped for air.
"Takeru!" she cried. She forgot about protocol, she forgot about rules, and she threw herself to Takeru and hugged her tightly.
The king and the queen both gasped, as he asked, "You two know each other? Prince, how did you know her true name?"
Neither Hikari nor Takeru heard the questions as they hugged each other tightly, spinning around and laughing as tears formed at their eyes. After a moment, Hikari let go of Takeru and looked to Yamato, before jumping to him and hugging him as well.
"These, these are my friends," she finally said, letting go of Yamato. She stepped over to be closer to Takeru. "These are the ones I've been looking for all this time." She rested her hand against the back of Takeru's and looked up the the steel angel that stood high above them all. "Is that Patamon?"
Explanations and further introductions followed far into the night, and given the strange history that the children shared, both the Queen of Qualaria and the King and Queen of Illaria allowed the children great freedom to roam the castle alone and unattended. Hikari soon found out that Tentomon and Koushirou were also with Takeru and Yamato. She had been so lost in happiness, all seemed as if it were a dream.
"Why did you take the name Kieka?" Takeru asked. He and Hikari walked slowly through the royal garden in the late night, the stars now shining brightly in the sky.
"The king asked me to take a royal name when I became princess," she said. Hikari had rescued the king and queen much like Takeru had, with the help of her own miracle angel. "It was the least I could do, I mean, he did make me a princess."
Takeru smiled. "You were always a princess."
"Don't be so corny," she commanded. She shivered a moment, before Takeru put his arm around her as they walked. She looked up to him. "Hey husband."
He blushed in the twilight. Being forced to marry Hikari might have been the best thing that ever happened to him. With this arrangement, Takeru would never have to tell her exactly how he felt. It was one awkward moment they could skip. "This is all like a dream."
She rested her head against his chest as they walked. "I didn't think I would see you or any of the others again."
"That's the way I felt. But I always had hope," he assured. "Yamato said that Daisuke is at a monastery in the forest and he can't walk. We have to go see him."
"Yeah," she agreed. "He told me about it. Poor Daisuke. We have to bring him here and get him rehabilitated."
"He might not be thrilled over this arrangement that you and me have going," he laughed.
She pulled away from Takeru and grabbed him by the hand, urging him to follow her. "Come with me to the fountain. It's really pretty at night."
They sat at the fountain's edge as sprinkles of water carried through the night air onto their backs and faces. The edge was tall enough so that they could both dangle their legs. A few times, Takeru touched his foot to Hikari's.
"What do you think the others are doing?" Hikari thought outloud.
"Yamato and Koushirou are both inside with the royals."
She laughed, pushing him with her shoulder. "Not them silly, I meant like my brother and Sora and the others."
Takeru sighed and shrugged. "They're probably out there, somewhere. The four of us found each other, and Yamato found Daisuke. I bet they're all over this world, just scattered. We just gotta find them."
She rested her head against Takeru's shoulder. "I hope we find them all."
Takeru laughed. "Don't worry about it. We've been split up before in the Digital World."
"I know," she sighed. "But you know this place is different. Me and you can't go with Yamato and Koushirou to find the others."
"Yeah, I know," he sighed. He looked down to Hikari and kissed her on the forehead. When he pulled his face back he wondered why it was that he did what he did. She smiled at him.
"You've never done that before," she giggled.
"If we're getting married eventually," he said, "might as well get a head start."
"Lame TK," she laughed. She kissed him lightly against the lips before standing up and pulling him off the fountain. "Back home, I always knew how I felt about you, I just didn't know that I knew."
Takeru blinked a few times.
"Nothing like an arranged marriage to bring out someone's true feelings," she said laughing stupidly. She blushed and looked away. She felt Takeru's hand on her own and she looked back to him.
"Ya, nothing like it," he closed his eyes and tilted his head to the left with a stupid smile on his face.
Off to the side sitting atop a tall vertical bush, Gatomon and Patamon lay watching their human partners. Gatomon giggled under her breath, which was much unlike her to do. "They're cute aren't they?"
Patamon nodded. He looked down and watched them walk away back towards the palace hand in hand. Takeru swung their warms back and forth as he took large steps, pulling Hikari along. Before long, the two of them were out of site in the darkness. Gatomon jumped down and Patamon followed through the air.
"Takeru's teach said that the princess and her guardian fought in many battles," Patamon said. He looked down to Gatomon from his vantage in the air.
She smiled and shrugged. "I fought in a couple battles." Patamon flew down and sat on Gatomon's head.
**
They spent two weeks at the kingdom of Illaria, preparing arrangements for a marriage that would occur in the summer, several months away. Despite the circumstances of Hikari and Takerus' pasts, plans continued to have them marry. Takeru and Hikari would both rise to power of the Qualaria Empire becoming the King and Queen. And although Hikari and Takeru had both had to think about rules and etiquette, the two of them spent every free moment together remembering how they had fallen in love before. Late at night they would sneak out of their rooms to walk out through the garden and past the fountain, carefully monitored by Patamon and Gatomon who secretly followed behind.
Koushirou and Yamato both spent much time with the Queen helping with arrangements for the future marriage. Both of them gave their full support now, not at all questioning Takeru or Hikari. They had become quite useful to the royal families perfecting everything other than the writing of new laws and signing of contracts.
Shortly before they left their first visit, Takeru stole a kiss from Hikari since it was obviously forbidden for them to do so in front of their adopted parents. There was a royal banquet before a short ceremony to commemorate the Queens and Prince's visit. The next time they would see each other would be a month later, when the King and Queen of Illaria would visit Takeru's kingdom.
**
"Takeru!" Teika snapped.
"Eh?" Takeru said, lifting his head from his book.
"Stop daydreaming and answer the question," she ordered.
"The question, um, right," he said.
Teika sighed and grabbed a chair, sitting in front of him. "TK, I know you're excited, but please, you have to study!"
Takeru's face went red, he didn't confirm or deny her accusation. "The answer is, um, five and a half?"
"You don't even know what subject I'm trying to teach!" she snapped.
"Maybe I'm just testing you," he said.
She sighed and closed his book for him. "Go ahead and go play or whatever it is you do. Leave this old lady be."
"You aren't that old," Takeru said. He kissed her on the forehead and ran out of the room yelling thank you to her on his way out. He ran passed an open balcony. He ran out to it and saw Yamato and the queen playing light tennis in the courtyard below. Takeru watched them for a moment, both of them were pretty good. The thought that Yamato and the queen had developed a competitive friendship amused Takeru. It kind of reminded him of Yamato and his own mother's relationship. They weren't close, but they had an understanding.
A short while later the queen, Koushirou, Teika, Yamato, and Takeru were all prepped for the arrival of Hikari and her family. The queen was happy to have Koushirou as part of the welcoming since she had learned to respect and appreciate Koushirou as well as Yamato.
The Illarian royal family arrived late into the afternoon on their regal airship that was decorated with massive sails marked with Digicode and the family crest. The greetings were made on the entrance to the side of the palace, and both Takeru and Hikari struggled to not hug each other the moment they saw each other.
The tours through the grounds and the palace seemed to last an eternity to the young prince and princess who longed to run off and be alone together. As the queen walked them all over the property, Hikari and Takeru stayed close to the other's side gazing into each other's eyes.
After the royal banquet to which lasted forever, and for which was attended by virtually everyone in the kingdom, the royal ball commenced. After having a half of a dance, Takeru and Hikari managed to sneak off to the upper levels of the palace and onto a high balcony. The minute they were outside Takeru grabbed Hikari's hands and pulled her to the edge.
"I thought that would never end," he sighed, pulling her closer to him.
She rested her head on his chest and breathed deeply. "I missed you, TK."
His hand found the side of her cheek and brought her face up to his. "It's really cold out here."
She shivered, she hadn't noticed until after he said it. She stepped in closer to his body feeling his own warmth with his. She kissed him softly before looking out at the view of the kingdom; the twilight mixed with the lights of the city. She gazed in awe.
"Your buildings are so different from ours," she said.
"Kari," he whispered. "This will all be ours."
"I wish Tai were here," she sighed as she rested against Takeru. "We have to have the kingdom searched, along with every kingdom on this planet for our friends."
"Hikari, you know the only ones that can find Taichi and the others are you, me, Yamato, and Koushirou. We're the only one with Digivices tuned to the others."
"I want them to be here," she said. "All of them."
**
Three days later, Koushirou and Yamato stood at the outer gates of the kingdom in front of two large Monochromon with large cases strapped to their backs. It was a cold January morning and they were both huddled up in the robes and warm clothes that the queen had ordered made for them. Tentomon sat on top of one of the Monochromon's head watching the others. A royal Panjamon stood behind them with his hands to his side standing straight.
The wind blew through their hair from left to right, as Hikari and Takeru stepped forward through the cold, leaving their parents behind. Patamon and Gatomon stood to their sides. She handed Yamato a box of cookies, telling them she asked cook to make them special.
"Yamato," she said quietly. "In seven months, Takeru and I will be wed." A tear fell down from her right eye down her cheek. "Please Yamato, bring my brother and the others. Please bring them to us."
"I will," Yamato said.
"Promise me you'll bring me back my brother," she pleaded, looking up to him with wide eyes.
Yamato smiled. "I promise. I won't let either of you down."
Hikari hugged Yamato trying not to cry and then she hugged Koushirou wishing them good luck. Takeru shook Koushirou's hand and wished the same. He looked to Yamato and they stared at one another for a moment, giving each other a faint smile that the only the brothers could see. Takeru nodded and took Hikari by the arm.
"Panjamon," Takeru said. "Do your best in guiding my brother and Koushirou on their journey, and send us reports monthly."
The Panjamon nodded as his white mane rustled through the wind, the ultimate form of Leomon. "Yes my prince. I will do my best."
Yamato and Kourshirou sat on one of the Monochromon with Tentomon, as Panjamon guided them out of the palace walls to the first steps of their new journey. Not long after, they were unseen, far from the castle and alone in the wilderness. Takeru held Hikari tightly as he guided her back to the palace.
Authors Notes: I just love Hikari X Takeru. It's just like the best idea ever! Anything that has to do with Takeru and Hikari and their Digimon just drives me nuts I love it all. They're just so meant for each other!