A/N: Ugh, I have SUCH writer's block it's not funny. Oh, well. I'll force
myself to get through this chapter. Having your fic come to a standstill is
not good! O_o! I'm going to try and wrap things up soon, if I can think of
a good way to smoothly remove Hikari and the guys from the sticky situation
they've gotten themselves into. This installment WILL be short, and I
apologize about that, so don't expect anything groundbreaking, all right?
Well, here's Chapter Eight, and as always, R+R!
Chapter Eight
Aya gestured with her arm, and Hikari's breath caught in her throat. She was falling!
She had no time to scream, only enough to brace herself for the impact against the cold concrete below, but it never came. She cracked open an eye warily when her descent had come to a sudden halt, and saw Takeru's grim face peering down over her in concern. "Are you okay? What was that person talking about?" He lowered his voice to a hiss. "Something about me?"
Hikari sighed. "I don't think we have the time to discuss this now. Oh, and good catch." Despite the circumstances, a tiny blush crept cross her cheeks at how close she was to the blonde haired boy.
Aya broke her out of her dream-like stupor. "So what are you going to do, Yuna? Will you allow me to do this the easy way?"
"One, my name is Hikari," she retorted, feeling braver since Takeru was holding her. "And two, you really need to stop holding grudges. I don't know how long ago this was, or why you seem so intent that I'm truly this Yuna you seek, so let us go!" Instinctively, she rubbed the air where her Crest of Light used to dangle. Even though she had been forced to give it up for years now, she still knew it was with her. In addition, rubbing it always seemed to grant her good luck, which she decided they all needed.
Aya snorted. "Whatever. You always were a terrible liar."
"What?!" Izzy suddenly gasped.
"What is it?" Yamato asked anxiously, as he, Miyako, Jyou, and Ken all gathered around the computer Izzy was huddled over.
"I'm picking something up," he murmured, "a light pink aura. I'm sure of it! It must be . . ."
"Hikari!" Miyako gasped. "The Crest of Light!"
"I'm going in there after them," Yamato announced, as they all watched a small sphere of pink pulse on an area of the Digital World map.
Jyou glanced at him nervously. "But . . . it's probably dangerous. We'd have to get everyone else together and our Digimon--"
"Screw that, I'm going in after them!"
Taichi's eyes darted around. There was no way to escape. Four walls of sheer concrete blocks surrounded them, and unless they found some way to shatter rock, they weren't going to get very far on their en route back home.
'Where's Izzy when you need him? Or Agumon?'
Hikari and Takeru straightened themselves. His eyes darted over to the girl standing rigidly next to him, rubbing hair between her thumb and index finger, right above her breast. Suddenly, an idea struck him. Well, a hollow shell of an idea. Okay, a ghost of an idea. But it was the only chance they had now.
Would it work?
It'd better. They were weaponless against such a powerful being . . . well, nearly weaponless. But there was still their crests, right? Was it possible?
Takeru concentrated. 'Please, Kami-sama, let this work.'
Hikari saw small beads of sweat break out along his forehead. 'What's he doing?'
Aya raised an open hand into the air. She shouted something incomprehensible, and a dim outline of a circle became visible, hovering above her palm. It slowly filled in, and with each moment passing by, it became thicker and grew in dimension.
'Something's happening,' Takeru realized through a hazy stupor. 'Something . . . it feels as if . . . as if . . . something is warping inside of me . . .'
Small cracks in the cold concrete snaked out from beneath the rubber soles of his sneakers. He took no heed of this, and continued with his dire plan. 'It's working . . . I think . . .'
Aya shouted a phrase again, and made a motion with her arm as if she was tossing a baseball. Hikari watched in horror as the glowing sphere traveled right at her. She cried out and covered her head, as Taichi yelled her name.
There was a huge explosion.
"What the hell!?" That was Aya. Hikari could tell, but she was unable to see her due to the immense amount of dust and dirt. Something had deflected that attack. There was now a gaping hole in the wall to her right. It dawned on Hikari slowly, and even then she didn't feel as though she could believe it.
Had Takeru been the one to save her?
"Hikari, Taichi . . ." Takeru's voice was soft. "You two . . . get out of here. Now."
"What? Are you crazy?" Hikari gasped.
"Just go through the hole! Don't worry! I'll follow!"
Aya watched in disbelief from her perch up high. A yellow aura was surrounding the boy now.
"Go! NOW!" He shouted.
"IIE! I won't leave you, Takeru!" Hikari screamed, and lunged for his outstretched arm.
A sad grin played upon his pale face. "Aishiteru, Hikari. Take good care of her, Taichi."
And with that, everything suddenly disappeared. Tears flowed freely when she realized she and her older brother were outside, back in the Digital World. Birds squawked in the distance, as if they were mocking her. Hikari fell to her knees in the choked undergrowth and wept.
'Hikari, I love you more than you could ever imagine. I'm sorry it had to end this way. I'm still not sure how I did it. The power of the Crest just seemed to kick in and . . . I don't know. It just took over. I couldn't bear if that woman hurt you. The thought of you dying just took over all my senses . . . at least you're safe. I don't know if you ever returned my feelings, but that doesn't really matter now, does it? Find someone. Be happy. Oh, and I know Yamato will be devastated by the news, so onegai, comfort him. Arigato, love. Good-bye.'
The End!
A/N: The epilogue will be posted soon . . .
Chapter Eight
Aya gestured with her arm, and Hikari's breath caught in her throat. She was falling!
She had no time to scream, only enough to brace herself for the impact against the cold concrete below, but it never came. She cracked open an eye warily when her descent had come to a sudden halt, and saw Takeru's grim face peering down over her in concern. "Are you okay? What was that person talking about?" He lowered his voice to a hiss. "Something about me?"
Hikari sighed. "I don't think we have the time to discuss this now. Oh, and good catch." Despite the circumstances, a tiny blush crept cross her cheeks at how close she was to the blonde haired boy.
Aya broke her out of her dream-like stupor. "So what are you going to do, Yuna? Will you allow me to do this the easy way?"
"One, my name is Hikari," she retorted, feeling braver since Takeru was holding her. "And two, you really need to stop holding grudges. I don't know how long ago this was, or why you seem so intent that I'm truly this Yuna you seek, so let us go!" Instinctively, she rubbed the air where her Crest of Light used to dangle. Even though she had been forced to give it up for years now, she still knew it was with her. In addition, rubbing it always seemed to grant her good luck, which she decided they all needed.
Aya snorted. "Whatever. You always were a terrible liar."
"What?!" Izzy suddenly gasped.
"What is it?" Yamato asked anxiously, as he, Miyako, Jyou, and Ken all gathered around the computer Izzy was huddled over.
"I'm picking something up," he murmured, "a light pink aura. I'm sure of it! It must be . . ."
"Hikari!" Miyako gasped. "The Crest of Light!"
"I'm going in there after them," Yamato announced, as they all watched a small sphere of pink pulse on an area of the Digital World map.
Jyou glanced at him nervously. "But . . . it's probably dangerous. We'd have to get everyone else together and our Digimon--"
"Screw that, I'm going in after them!"
Taichi's eyes darted around. There was no way to escape. Four walls of sheer concrete blocks surrounded them, and unless they found some way to shatter rock, they weren't going to get very far on their en route back home.
'Where's Izzy when you need him? Or Agumon?'
Hikari and Takeru straightened themselves. His eyes darted over to the girl standing rigidly next to him, rubbing hair between her thumb and index finger, right above her breast. Suddenly, an idea struck him. Well, a hollow shell of an idea. Okay, a ghost of an idea. But it was the only chance they had now.
Would it work?
It'd better. They were weaponless against such a powerful being . . . well, nearly weaponless. But there was still their crests, right? Was it possible?
Takeru concentrated. 'Please, Kami-sama, let this work.'
Hikari saw small beads of sweat break out along his forehead. 'What's he doing?'
Aya raised an open hand into the air. She shouted something incomprehensible, and a dim outline of a circle became visible, hovering above her palm. It slowly filled in, and with each moment passing by, it became thicker and grew in dimension.
'Something's happening,' Takeru realized through a hazy stupor. 'Something . . . it feels as if . . . as if . . . something is warping inside of me . . .'
Small cracks in the cold concrete snaked out from beneath the rubber soles of his sneakers. He took no heed of this, and continued with his dire plan. 'It's working . . . I think . . .'
Aya shouted a phrase again, and made a motion with her arm as if she was tossing a baseball. Hikari watched in horror as the glowing sphere traveled right at her. She cried out and covered her head, as Taichi yelled her name.
There was a huge explosion.
"What the hell!?" That was Aya. Hikari could tell, but she was unable to see her due to the immense amount of dust and dirt. Something had deflected that attack. There was now a gaping hole in the wall to her right. It dawned on Hikari slowly, and even then she didn't feel as though she could believe it.
Had Takeru been the one to save her?
"Hikari, Taichi . . ." Takeru's voice was soft. "You two . . . get out of here. Now."
"What? Are you crazy?" Hikari gasped.
"Just go through the hole! Don't worry! I'll follow!"
Aya watched in disbelief from her perch up high. A yellow aura was surrounding the boy now.
"Go! NOW!" He shouted.
"IIE! I won't leave you, Takeru!" Hikari screamed, and lunged for his outstretched arm.
A sad grin played upon his pale face. "Aishiteru, Hikari. Take good care of her, Taichi."
And with that, everything suddenly disappeared. Tears flowed freely when she realized she and her older brother were outside, back in the Digital World. Birds squawked in the distance, as if they were mocking her. Hikari fell to her knees in the choked undergrowth and wept.
'Hikari, I love you more than you could ever imagine. I'm sorry it had to end this way. I'm still not sure how I did it. The power of the Crest just seemed to kick in and . . . I don't know. It just took over. I couldn't bear if that woman hurt you. The thought of you dying just took over all my senses . . . at least you're safe. I don't know if you ever returned my feelings, but that doesn't really matter now, does it? Find someone. Be happy. Oh, and I know Yamato will be devastated by the news, so onegai, comfort him. Arigato, love. Good-bye.'
The End!
A/N: The epilogue will be posted soon . . .