"Running"

By Fiery-chan

A/N: This is my first Koji/Zoe. And yes I'm using English names. Deal. After the success of "Cruising the Caribbean," I decided to try something new. Read and enjoy! And review! BTW, there MAY be some Takuya and JP bashing, but I LOVE them, so don't take it wrong. Be prepared, the elements may be popping in like they usually do.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon; it belongs to my idol, Akiyoshi Hongo. Although I'd love to own a certain little wolf.

"Talking"

'Thinking'

[Italian translations] I speak Italian so I know what it all means.

Chapter 1: The Message

"Zoe! You are so slow! Hurry up!" Takuya cried.

"Can't we stop, my feet hurt?" Zoe asked.

"No! We have to keep going. Unless you feel like being attacked, we just can't stop in the middle of a strange forest."

"Stopping can't hurt Takuya. Besides, we could all use a rest." Koji replied, sitting down against the trunk of a tree. Takuya sighed.

"Fine, whatever."

            Zoe sat down next to Koji and smiled at him.

"Thanks, Koji, my feet were killing me."

"No problem, Takuya just has to learn to think of others." Koji replied.

"Yeah, but it was nice of you to stick up for me Koji."

"Sure, whatever. Hey, you cold?" Koji asked, seeing Zoe shiver.

"Just a bit." Zoe replied. Koji took off his jacket and wrapped it around her.

"Here, wear this." He said. (Yes, I somewhat borrowed that from "Bizarre Bazaar" because that's one of my fav scenes). Zoe pulled on the jacket and smiled.

"Grazie, Koji." [Thanks, Koji].  

"That reminds me, you lived in Italy, what's it like?" Koji asked. "I've always wanted to go there."

"Oh its beautiful! The food is wonderful, the scenery is wonderful, the people are wonderful, everything is wonderful!" Zoe cried,

"That's nice, how are your feet doing?"

"Better, thanks."

"Hey Koji!" Takuya cried. "Stop flirting with Zoe and get over here!" Koji shot a death glare at Takuya and walked towards him. "You know exactly what I'm talking about lover boy." Takuya said, low enough so that only Koji could hear. Koji pretended not to hear and looked the other way. Takuya grinned. "I'll give you this, she IS pretty. Ok, let's keep going."

            The group continued walking, and began to struggle, as the forest grew thicker.

"This might be a problem." Zoe said, eyeing the thick branches. "But it also may be hard for others to get through as well. Let's camp out here for the night."

"Good idea Z." JP commented. "C'mon Tommy, let's go get some firewood." The two boys walked off leaving the other three alone.

"So now what?" Zoe asked.

"We set up camp." Takuya replied.

"Yeah, let's clear out a spot for the fire." Koji added.

            The three worked at making a small clearing and were finished by the time the two boys returned.

"Guess what we found!" Tommy exclaimed. "A meat apple tree!" He dumped a dozen meat apples onto the ground.

"Meraviglioso!" [Wonderful!] Zoe cried. "I'm starving."

"Me too!" JP added.

"But JP, you ate three on the way here." Tommy said.

"Ew! Raw?" Zoe asked.

"Yeah, well I was hungry, sorry guys."

"It's ok bud. But still, raw. That's so gross." Takuya replied. "Well, let's get this fire started!" Once the fire was prepared, they all roasted their meat apples, but Takuya burnt his. "Aw, man!"

"Here Takuya, take one of mine." Zoe said, handing him a cooked meat apple. "It's chicken cutlet."

"Thanks Zoe."

"Prego!" [You're welcome!]

***

            Later that evening, Zoe, Tommy, Neemon, and Bokomon went out to look for berries to eat for dessert leaving the three guys alone.

"So Koji, you got a crush on Zoe?" JP asked.

Koji glared at him and turned the other way.

"That's a yes!" Takuya cried. "C'mon Koj, don't be ashamed by it, we all like her."

"Well who else would you like, she is the only girl." Koji pointed out. 

"Thank you captain obvious!" JP exclaimed.

"She still has your jacket." Takuya added.

"Yeah, so? She was cold, I was courteous."

"Courteous my ass. You just wanna get on her good side." JP said.

"You know what?" Koji asked standing up. "So what if I like her. She's pretty, and nice, ok, so I do like her, now leave me alone! I don't need to deal with your bullshit!" Koji walked off and headed deep into the forest.

"Uh oh, Zoe and the others aren't going to like this." Takuya said.

"You're tellin me." JP replied. "Oh well, just means more food for us!"

***

"Come on Zoe! Let's try over here!" Tommy cried running off to the left. Zoe laughed.

"I'm coming Tommy, slow down!"

While the two picked berries, Tommy turned to Zoe and asked her a question.

"Zoe, do you like Koji?"

"Sure, I like all of you."

"No, I mean really like him, like you want to marry him." Zoe blushed.

'How can a child his age know about this stuff?'

"Um, I don't know Tommy."

"Well, you should get married, you already get along well, better than with JP and Takuya."

"It's a little early fir marriage." Zoe replied.

"No it's not! My mom told me a story called Romeo and Juliet and they got married the day after they met. My mom called it love at first sight."

'So that's where he gets it from.'

"But would you marry him?" Tommy asked.

"Um… yeah, I guess so."

"I knew it! You do like him! You should tell him or you'll never know if he likes you too."

"Tommy, you are wise beyond your years." Zoe said with a smile.

"Yep! That's what my mom said too!" Neemon and Bokomon walked up to them, ending the conversation.

"Are you to ready to head back?" Bokomon asked.

"Yeah, let's go." Zoe replied. The four headed back to the campsite with berries to devour for dessert.

***

"What do you mean he walked off?" Zoe asked, yelling.

"He got mad at something we said and walked off that way." Takuya replied; pointing in the direction Koji headed.

"How long ago did this happen?"

"About five minutes."

"Why didn't you go after him?"

"The guy does martial arts, kendo I think, he would have whipped out butts!" Takuya cried.

"I can't believe you two. Morons, I'm surrounded by complete and utter morons." Zoe walked over to a large tree, and sat down on the ground, leaning her back against the cool bark. "Koji…" She whispered, pulling on the jacket that she still wore, wrapping it around her tighter. "Why?"

            Later that evening after the berries were finished and everything was cleaned up, the others all fell asleep, but Zoe stayed awake, watching for signs of Koji. She was hoping he'd return, walking through the trees with a grin on his face, carrying a bouquet of beautiful and exotic digital flowers and giving them to Zoe, asking for forgiveness for his rude behavior. Zoe would smile and forgive him, like she always would, he would wrap his arms around her and they would ride off out of the forest on a white stallion, leaving the others in the dust.

"Yeah right, girl, quit dreaming. That is so un-Koji-like behavior that it would never happen in a million years. But he was really nice to me earlier today and that was definitely un-Koji-like behavior. Oh well, a girl can dream." Zoe said with a smile. "But Koji, where are you? What did Takuya and JP say to you that got you so mad Koji-kun?"

            Zoe stood up and walked off in the direction Takuya said Koji had gone. She was determined to find him and wouldn't come back unless Koji was walking beside her.

***

            Zoe walked through the thick forest, tripping over protruding roots and being scratched by thorns and branches.

"Koji! Koji where are you?" Zoe yelled.

Then, for an unknown reason, her D-Tector started to glow. Zoe took it out of her pocket and held in up in front of her.

"You must find the connection Zoe Orimoto." Ophanimon said. A bright light exploded from her D-Tector and engulfed Zoe. When the light faded, she was gone.

A/N: That's chapter 1 of my newest fic. I hope you enjoyed it. Do you know where Zoe was taken? And what connection is Ophanimon talking about? Guesses? Let me know. You can email me or just put it in your review. Emails are better because that way I can respond and let you know if you're right. Whizz20o0@aol.com. Hint: Koji is somehow involved in the "connection" and will play a crucial role later. And some old faces will pop up too! Review!

Luv'n'stuff!

Fiery