[Ocean Links]
Wave 01 – Realize
revised July 22, 2003
What is this place…?
It's so cold and dark.
I can't see anything.
But I can hear something…
It sounds like water.
This atmosphere is so familiar.
But why…?
Why do I feel connected to this?
Why is it so welcoming…?
Opening his soft blue eyes, Takeru Takaishi laid on the coarse cement of the roof at Odaiba Junior High. As he gazed into the azure sky, the blond child shielded his eyes from the warm amber sunlight. With the rays beating upon his skin, The Bearer of Hope rolled to his side. His vision spun as he found himself looking out of the wired fence around the roof's edge. Sighing, he absorbed the pleasant, calm atmosphere. As he closed his eyes once more, a flash of blurred memories rushed through his mind, causing his to sit up rapidly in response. Panting, he clenched his chest as he felt his heart beating hard and unstable. Glancing down at the ground, Takeru's eyes grew tired and wearily.
Rising to his feet, he cleaned his off any pebbles clinging onto his clothes. Placing his hand upon his forehead, his head felt like it was spinning. Shaking his mind clear, the golden haired boy took in a deep breath to calm his soul. What was that just now? That feeling… It's so strange. I've been sensing this for a while. What is it…?
Burying his hands into his pockets, Takeru shook his head once again, denying what he felt. As he walked towards the exit to return back before the lunch period ended, the door burst open with his slightest touch. With a surprise look glossed over his complexion, he held his breath as he noticed visible electric charges surging on the knob. Staring at his hand aimlessly, this incident certainly astonished him.
"Takeru…?!" a male voice called out. The Bearer of Hope's eyes followed the direction he heard his name being called. Walking down the steps, there was Daisuke waiting for him at the end. "Hey, man… Hikari-chan said you'll be here. Who knew you hang out on the roof during our lunch break."
"Heh, apparently Hikari-chan does," the blond child joked.
"Well, better head back before we're late."
As Daisuke began to pace steadily back to room 3-A, the Bearer of Hope trailed slowly behind as his eyes glared at the titled floor. Noticing this, the goggle boy stopped in his tracks and returned around. It wasn't until Takeru bumped into him that the spiky haired teenager was aware about his awkward behavior. Gazing at the other boy blankly, the blond quickly apologized.
"Are you alright…? If you don't mind me asking," Daisuke managed to add abruptly.
"Yeah… I'm fine, Daisuke-kun. What are you all worrying about? And about me especially… Heh, you're some strange guy, you know that. You're the one who stopped in the middle of nowhere and asking me if I'm okay."
"What…?! Now I'm the bad guy here? Geez! Sorry for caring in the first place." The goggle boy blurted unexpectedly.
"An odd way to care," Takeru commented.
"Stop asking like a smart-ass."
"Fine, fine… And our death march back to class continues."
Furiously, Daisuke pounded his feet on the floor, causing the other students to stare at him for his peculiar action. Rubbing his head, Takeru tried to stop the spiky haired boy to act like this public, but once Daisuke becomes all hotheaded, it's quite difficult.
Quietly, he followed the other boy back to class and took his seat. As he pulled out his notebook, Hikari tapped his back lightly. Turning his attention to the brunette girl, she whispered, "What did Daisuke-kun do this time?" Apparently, she noticed the other boy's attitude change immediately.
Closing his eyes, Takeru murmured, "Actually, the question is what I did to him."
"What do you mean?"
"Nevermind. You don't need to know."
Flipping to a random blank page in his notebook, Takeru prepared for the rest of the school day. Still, he was bothered about what had happened on the roof. Was he imagining things? When did he have that kind of ability? Is this all a dream or was it really real? If only he knew what will happen next…
****
The last school bell rang once the clock struck 3:45 PM. The students of Odaiba Junior High flooded out of the school, each heading to all sorts of directions. Scattering like insects, the school gradually became vacant. Standing at the school's gates, Takeru waited for Iori to join him. As he did, Goggle Boy Daisuke passed by him, giving him the cold shoulder. Disturbed by their current situation, the blond child called, "Matte, Daisuke-kun…!"
"Why should I?" he shot back as he continued walking. Frustrated, The Bearer of Hope grabbed the other boy's wrist quickly. Breaking the golden haired boy's grip on him, Daisuke glared daggers at Takeru as he rubbed his sore wrist. "You didn't have to grab my wrist so hard, you know. Damn…," he swore.
Looking away, Takeru glanced at the concrete ground. "Sorry…," the blond child muttered as he stared at his hand unconsciously.
"So what is it?"
"Hmm…?"
"Don't tell me you made my wrist ache for no damn reason."
Staring at the ground, Takeru bit his lower lip. His throat tightened as he struggled to say the words. "The thing is I want to apologize…"
There, he finally said it. Takeru could never find himself to be so sincere to the other boy for some apparent reason and likewise. It was such a strange friendship. When they fought alongside with each other, it seems like they lose consciousness about the other person. Was that normal or was it just him noticing it?
"For what…? What could you possibly be apologizing about?" Daisuke wondered innocently.
"Are you acting dumb on purpose so you can mock me?" Takeru asked as he raised a brow.
Unable to continue playing his little game, the goggle boy chuckled heartily. "Yep, pretty much."
Clearing his throat, the golden haired boy continued. "Anyway, sorry for acting like an ass and verbally attacking you like that."
Nodding his head, Daisuke felt victorious, causing his ego to increase a few notches more. "Apology accepted. Now you must grovel before my feet and worship me."
"Let's not go that far. Apologizing to you is hard enough," The Bearer of Hope noted.
"Really? I don't find it that hard. 'I'm sorry, Daisuke' See, it's easy," he teased.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Takeru remarked, "Now, who's acting like a smart-ass now?"
Grinning, Daisuke was guilty as charged. That cheerful smile slowly became flat as his copper red eyes became stern and hard. Gazing at the sapphire jewels before him, the spiky haired boy's lips twitched. The other boy's numb stare was difficult to communicate with. "Seriously, why do you have such a hard time?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean. Why am I so hard to apologize to?"
"I don't know. Maybe because it's you that I have a difficult time," Takeru admitted.
Did his ears heard right? Did The Bearer of Hope say he just can't be courteous to him and him alone? Was he misinterpreting the other boy's words? It bothered him why Takeru would say such a thing. Since when did he pay attention to every word he said? Takeru being important to him…? That can't be possible, can it? Maybe he's an idiot to think that way. Maybe he's the only one who believes so.
"What does that suppose to mean?" Daisuke asked hastily.
"Nothing…," he muttered as he adjusted his schoolbag. "It doesn't matter."
"Ta--"
"Sorry I'm late!" A young boy's voice interrupted him unexpectedly. Dashing out of the front of the school was Iori. As he joined the blue-eyed blond, he bowed respectively to him as well as Daisuke. "I needed to run some errands. It took more time than I thought."
"That's alright," Takeru reassured. "I was in no hurry. Well, we better get going."
"Ja matta ne, Daisuke-san," Iori said as he walked ahead. As he drifted slowly away from them, The Bearer of Hope faced the other boy.
"Daisuke-kun…," Takeru uttered.
"Yeah…?"
"Forget what I said, alright. It's not important." With that said the blond left him by his lonesome and headed home with Iori.
****
Daisuke paced back and forth in his room with his fists gripped tightly. His mind was entangled by the thought of Takeru's request. Frustrated, he gripped his head and threw himself onto his bed. Staring at the blank ceiling, he wanted to know the answer to his question. Of course an empty ceiling won't get the response he needed. Slamming his fists onto the mattress, it really bothered him.
"What were you talking about, Takeru? What was it did you say that you wanted me to forget? I really don't know… Man, now I feel all shitty because of this! Argh!" He pounded his fists once again. Restlessly, he grabbed his soccer ball from the corner of his bed and played with it to keep his mind off of things.
"I don't know. Maybe because it's you that I have a difficult time."
After a while, that method lost its purpose once the question arose in his mind once again. "What do you mean, Takeru? 'Because it's me…?' Perhaps I'll never know."
****
In the chilly deep cerulean night, Takeru stood idly at the balcony. Staring at a clear view of Tokyo Bay, his head quaked. Grasping his head in pain, the blond crouched down to his knees as he gasped for air. Shaking his head, he removed his hand. His palm was covered with sweat from his forehead. Standing properly, The Bearer of Hope stared out once again. This time, his body did not react.
Shivering, the blond teenager walked back into the apartment as he rubbed his arms. As he closed the glass sliding door behind him, Takeru leaned back and let his body curled. Crossing his arms over his knees, the golden haired boy covered his face and isolated his senses. "What's happening to me…?" he uttered to himself.
Suddenly, the glass door shattered and blew inward. The wind caused the shards of glass to pierce through his skin and cut his face as they flew into the apartment's living room. Shielding his head, the blond teenager tried to protect himself. His thick warm blood flowed down his face and soaked his clothes. It wasn't that dark crimson he normally saw but black. Pure darkness had been coursing through his veins. Since when was he blood was such an ebony raven color tone?
Confused about the situation, Takeru quickly rushed to grab the telephone to call someone, anyone if possible. Hysterically at the moment, it took him much longer than usual to get a hold of the phone. Once he picked it up, the lights in the room were zapped out, leaving him shrouded in darkness. Putting his head against the earpiece, he hoped to hear a tone at least. Nothing. The telephone line was also shorted out.
Staring at his hand in the dark, Takeru breathed heavily. The wind stormed more strongly as the curtains fluttered. Rising to his feet, The Bearer of Hope paced back to the balcony unconsciously. As he stood in the cold night, he felt someone touching his shoulder. Spinning around quickly with his fist gripped tightly, the blond teenager was prepared to give that stranger some damage.
But the person before him was not a stranger at all. It was his brother, Yamato Ishida. Holding back his curled fingers, he was relieved. With shocked eyes, Yamato was certainly concerned about his little brother.
"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice was calm.
Touching his face, Takeru noticed he wasn't bleeding, let alone injured for that matter. What caught his eye was the sliding door. It was in perfect condition. Sighing, he released a small smile to reassure his older brother. "Yeah, I am… I guess I had some intense daydream."
"Yeah… Are you sure you're alright?"
"Quit worrying, Ni-san," Takeru replied cheerfully. "I'm perfectly fine."
Wanting to believe his brother's words, Yamato nodded to himself in response. "Okay, just making sure… You kinda freaked me out for a sec."
"Really?" The younger blond questioned as he gave him an odd look. "I thought the dream was a lot scarier. Anyway, what are you doing here, Ni-san?"
"I just needed to stop by to pick up something," he answered as he headed to the hallway closet. As Yamato dragged a box out to the living room, he realized his brother's gaze was so distant. Noticing the younger blond was staring at outside once again, Yamato couldn't help but expect something was bothering Takeru. He just couldn't place his finger on it. It was obvious that wanted to cover it up. But why…? Why couldn't he just tell him?
"Takeru, you seem disturbed by something. Wanna talk about?"
"Not really…"
"Alright. Tell me when you do want to talk," Yamato muttered as he continued to search through the box. Pulling out a folder of music sheets, the Bearer of Friendship placed it onto the coffee table. As he carried the box back to the closet, he heard his brother said, "Ne, Ni-san…?"
"Yeah…" he replied as he closed the closet door.
"I don't think I could ever dream again…"
"What do you mean…?" His voice became much clearer as he passed the hallway. Joining his brother at the balcony, Yamato leaned against the railing at he gazed at the cityscape.
"I think I'm afraid to."
"Takeru…?"
"Ni-san, I'm afraid to dream because it's always dark."
His brother's complexion suddenly grew cold and hard. It was like Takeru was tormented and suffering somehow. This certainly bothered him. He wanted to look deeper into this to understand his situation more, but after seeing him like this, Yamato feared that it would just worsen it more. He thought it would be best to cheer up instead.
"Well, it's only a dream, right? Maybe it'll be like this for a couple of days, you know. Don't worry about it. Dreams change eventually."
"Yeah, I guess right about that…," Takeru murmured. "Dreams are suppose to change."
Unexpectedly, Yamato felt his cell phone vibrate. As he pulled it out, The Bearer of Friendship flipped it open. It was text message from one of his band members. "Looks like I have to get going. Wish I could stay longer."
"That's alright."
"Will you alright like this?"
"Yeah, just go on ahead."
"Takeru…," Yamato nagged.
"I'll be fine," he replied with a soft smile. "Better not let everyone wait on you."
"Alright. Later then."
"Yeah, later.
As his brother exited the apartment, Takeru returned back to looking at the night silently by his lonesome. Eyeing Tokyo Bay once more, the sight of dark waters was awfully familiar. It was such a strange sensation but why his body reacts to it was the question. Lost to the idea, the blond teenager stood there as the night grew much darker and the glittering stars appeared.
"Was that for real? Was I really dreaming…? I don't understand anymore. Just what's going on…?"
END OF CHAPTER 01
Author's Notes:
Whoo-hoo! Another series to write while I'm brainstorming Heaven's Wish and Demon Voice…Why do I make things harder for myself? **shrugs** Anyhoo, I hope you guys like this first premiere chapter. Took me a day to plan out what I had already dreamt about for last couple of weeks. Do you know how hard it is to sort out fanfic dreams? O.o This is pretty much a Takeru-centric fanfic. I have yet decided if there will be a coupling in this. It's mostly like might end up as a Daikeru series… Maybe a Daikenkeru… I really didn't take relationships into consideration yet. ^^;; I only dream plots. XD
I would like to note the fact that the Digimon only exist in the Digital World. None coexist in the real world. I would go all out explaining this, but I'll just make this simple. In this scenario, Digimon are not allowed to live in the real world because of regulations and they are a probable danger to humans. Think of this like the Red Scare during the Cold War. It's practically the same.
I think that's all I need to say. Any other questions just e-mail me. Anyhoo, review time. Clicky-click! :D