Cody: So, why Calmer of the Storm?

Angel of Light: Because it's my favourite song. It's by a group called Downhere. They're Canadian too.=)

Cody: But you're still using Angel of Light.

Angel of Light: It's a trademark…an insider…that sort of thing…

Cody: I see. Well, anyways, here's the fic!

Takeru paced anxiously up and down the hall, in front of Joe's office. He had brought Hikari there after she had passed out. His mind was filled with many thoughts. He was thinking back to what she had told him. She was a spy. She was the enemy. She was out to have him killed, yet she told him. Spies don't tell those whom they are spying on, that they're spying on them. This confused him greatly.

But the first thing on his mind, was how she was doing. He hoped with everything he had that she would be alright. For the first time, he had found someone that he actually cared about, and she was dying. She had tried to kill herself.

After what seemed like an eternity had passed, the door slowly opened. Joe came out.

Joe was a young man, older than Takeru, but still young. Though, his works at the base had aged him. He looked a lot older than he really was. The endless nights working with dying soldiers had taken its toll on him. That night, he looked even older, as it was late and he had been brutally woken up.

Takeru stopped and looked up at the doctor. He waited for a response.

"She's lost a lot of blood, but I think you might have reached her in time. It's hard to tell at this point, though. I've managed to stop the bleeding, but she can't take the bandages off unless I'm there. The cuts are deep, and it won't take much for them to re-open. It'll take a few days for them to heal so that she can use her arms a little more freely, but it could take weeks for them to heal completely." Joe told him.

Takeru nodded, aching to see her.

"I know you want to see her, but she needs rest. I think that we should leave her alone for a while."

The boy's eyes went wide. "No! We can't leave her alone."

The Doctor was confused. "Why not?"

"Be-because…well, she tried to commit suicide, right? Well, she must have had a good reason for doing it, right? What if she tries to do it again?"

Joe looked at the younger man. "What do you know that I don't?"

Takeru fidgeted nervously. "Nothing."

Joe raised an eyebrow, "You're a horrible liar, kid."

He lowered his head. "Not anything that I have the place in telling you."

The doctor sighed, and nodded. "Alright. You can use the other bed, across the room. I'll send your brother in in the morning, and you can tell him what you know." His tone was serious.

The blonde nodded, knowing he couldn't win that one.

"Goodnight, then." Joe turned, and retreated to his cabin.

Takeru watched him disappear, then turned and entered the 'hospital' room. He looked at the sleeping girl on the bed. He walked over, and just watched her. Her brunette locks were fanned out over the white pillow. Her arms were bandaged heavily, and were resting at her sides. Her face had been drained of all colour, as did the rest of her. She was a ghostly white.

He felt bad for her. She had been torn apart. He wasn't sure exactly by what, but he knew something was eating at her. She wouldn't have done this if there wasn't. She was the enemy, but she wasn't like any of the rebels he had met. They were cruel, and would stop at nothing to kill. They didn't let anything get in their way, and would destroy anything that did. Takeru remembered something. His brother would be coming in the morning. When he found out, he would surely have her killed. His brother wasn't merciless, but hated the rebels and what they had done. But, he had no choice.

Sighing, he went to the bed across the room. Pulling back the white sheets, he climbed in. It was then he realized that he was still wearing his normal clothes, but it didn't matter. He lay down, still watching the girl. It was a while before he could even think about sleeping.

~*~

Takeru woke the next morning to see Joe and Yamato looking at Hikari. He could here them talking, but couldn't make out the words. He groaned lightly, and the two looked over.

"Good, you're awake." stated Matt.

Takeru sat up, nodded.

His brother walked over. "I hear from Joe that you have some important information for me."

Takeru hung his head sadly, and nodded.

"Let's hear it, then."

"Geez, let me wake up first."

"Sorry."

"It's fine."

It took the younger blonde a while to get out of bed. He really wasn't looking forward to telling his brother the truth. Finally, he forced himself up.

"Can I at least have breakfast first? It's hard to think on an empty stomach." Takeru was stalling. He didn't want to tell Yamato, or anyone else for that matter.

Frustrated, Matt greed. "Fine, but make it quick. I don't have all day."

Takeru nodded, and stood up, taking one quick glance at her before he left the room.

"So, what do you think he has to say?" Matt asked Joe.

"I wouldn't know, but my guess it's about something as to who she really is."

"Why do you say that? She's told us."

"Yes, but she's a girl of many mysteries. I'm usually pretty good to know when people are lying. She's been doing that most of the time. I didn't say anything because there's just something about her that gets me, in a good way, yet there's that inkling feeling that she's bad news."

Yamato nodded, "But she seems so innocent. I know what Takeru meant. She does look like she's been through a lot. Who knows, maybe he's going to tell us a good thing about her."

"Not by the way he's acting. He wants to avoid telling us as long as possible. If it was good, he'd have told us right away." contradicted Joe.

The leader sighed, "Yeah, I guess."

The two of them looked back over at the sleeping girl, and stayed silent for a while. Both were thinking of what news Takeru was going to tell them.

Soon, the younger blonde came through the door. He closed it gently, and stood with his back against it. He glanced over at the girl, and sighed deeply.

"Well?" Yamato prodded.

"Well…it's Hikari…she…she's…"

"She's what?! Stop it Takeru! It's not like she's out to kill us all, now spill!"

Takeru looked at his brother, not saying anything.

"What?"

He looked back down. "She's a rebel, Yamato. Her brother is Taichi Yagami."

"The rebel leader?"

He nodded.

"Well, then I guess we have no choice."

"No! Yamato, please. She…she told me everything. Why do you think she did this to herself? She said that her brother was coming…tomorrow. But she also advised to put out some lookouts today. She said that she gave us some good information on them. Please…"

Yamato looked at his brother. "Takeru, she's a spy. She wants us all dead!"

"But she's different! She told me some things, and I know that she meant them. She's been through a lot, Yamato, more than you or I could ever understand. She even gave me the reason why they're attacking us."

"Oh?"

"Well, I think it had something to do with their parents being killed. At least, that's what I gather. She didn't give me exact details, but she told me that her brother became a whole different person when they died. She said that even she's afraid of him."

Joe stepped in, "She told me that her parents were killed in a car accident, and that the rebels killed her brother. Obviously she was lying, but, how do you know that she wasn't lying to you too?"

"Because I could see it in her eyes. I knew she wasn't telling me the whole story, but what she did tell me, was the truth. I can't explain it; you'll just have to take my word for it."

A soft moan caught their attention. He three men turned to the sleeping girl, who was now starting to wake up.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked at them. Immediately, she looked away.

"Kari…." Takeru said, looking at her sadly.

"It's alright, you had no choice. You shouldn't have brought me here, though." she whispered.

"But I couldn't just leave you out there, to die." he replied.

"So you brought me here, just to have me killed anyway?" She said, slightly hurt.

"No…no…we won't kill you, at least, I won't let them." He said the last part with slight more boldness.

The girl didn't respond.

Yamato sighed, "Kari…we won't kill you. I realize that you're feeling guilty at this point, and I also realize that you, and only you, have the information that can save us, and help us win this war."

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she held them back. "Yes, I do have the information. I could tell you everything. I could tell you exact numbers, formation, attack patterns, secret codes. I could give you the names of significant leaders, and their weaknesses too. But, then I'd be betraying my brother. As ruthless as he is, I still love him. He's the only family that I have left. I know you hate him, but I can't let you hurt him."

Yamato leaned back in his chair, and sighed. "This is what I was afraid of."

"Matt, you can't blame her. I'm sure her brother is a really nice guy…I'm sure he'd negotiate, right?" Takeru said, with slight hope.

"Maybe. He's probably mad enough to kill me at this point though, so I don't know. Like I told you before, double cross him and it'll be the last thing you do. And that's exactly what I did to him. He trusted me, and I betrayed him." She paused, "But then again, you trusted me, and I betrayed you…"

No one made a comment.

Finally, Yamato spoke up. "So, you're sure he won't just talk? I mean, I might be willing to…"

She looked at him. "This is a war. If he wanted to 'just talk' he would have done it a long time ago. But, maybe there is something I can do. If I know my brother well enough, which I do, he'll be coming today. He hates it when the enemy has the upper hand. I'll go out. They'll come during midday, when everyone's on lunch break. I know it sounds odd, but trust me, it works. I'll go into the forest, and maybe I can talk to him. Don't send anyone after me. He will kill anyone he sees."

"Wouldn't that go for you too?" Takeru asked with concern.

"I guess we'll just have to hope that he recognizes me before he kills me. But, it's a risk I'll take. I've already done enough to you; it's only fair that I do this."

Matt nodded, and stood up. "Alright then, that's what we'll do. I'll but the base on lock down. You'll go out, I don't know, whenever you think is best. If everything turns out fine, you come back with your brother, and only your brother. If anyone else comes, we will shoot on sight. Is that clear?"

She nodded, looking at the wall.

"Good. Now, I have to go. I guess I'll be seeing you later, then." He turned, and left.

"I'm afraid I must be going too. I've got lots of paper work to do." Joe bowed his head, and left.

The room was silent. Hikari could feel the burning eyes of Takeru upon her, but she couldn't turn to face him.

"Why did you do this to yourself?" he asked.

"Do what?" She replied, pretending not to know.

"Try to kill yourself."

"Because I couldn't watch you all die. I couldn't watch the looks on your faces as you came to the realization as to who I really was. I couldn't watch you all die at my hands, after what you had all shown me. This place is so much different than home. The people smile at you when you pass, even if you don't know them. This may not seem like a big thing, but it is for me. At home, strangers don't talk to each other, and if they do, it's because they want something. If you get in someone's way, they yell and curse at you. If you walk in on someone and they're busy and don't want to be bothered, you get shot. That's just the way of things. People are always getting mugged, shot, raped, and stabbed left right and centre. It's a horrible way to live.

"On the other hand, I couldn't watch my brother get killed. I know he's a killer, but he's my brother. I'll admit, I've killed a few too, but that's only started to affect me now. I have friends on both sides now, and I'm caught in the middle. I feel so helpless. So, that's why I did it, because I didn't want to face the consequences."

Takeru was silent, taking it all in.

"I know what you're probably thinking right now. I know I'm a coward, but I didn't know what else to do."

He shook his head, "No, I don't think that. Actually, I think the complete opposite. You were very brave to tell me this. Especially before. Sure, it hurt, but I know that you're sorry for it."

She only continued to stare at the wall.

"And, to tell you the truth, I'm glad you came to spy on us."

This made her turn, "Why?"

Takeru opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it. His face began turning a rather bright hue of red, as he lowered his head. "W-well, uh…gee, I um…"

She sat up. "What?" Hikari was confused. She'd never seen anyone act like this before, and she wondered why he was acting this way. "What's the matter? Did I do something wrong?"

He looked up, "No no! You didn't do anything wrong! It's just that I…."

"You…what?"

"I think that I-"

At that moment, Yamato burst through the door. He didn't notice the state of his brother, and in fact didn't even acknowledge that he was even there. Instead, he turned right to Hikari.

"Kari, some scouts of mine have spotted a group of people heading this way. Don't worry, they're all gone now, but I suggest that you get out there, and fast."

She nodded, and got out of the bed. Her arms were still very weak, weaker than she had expected. It felt weird for her to walk again, but she overcame that. Carefully, she made her way to the door. Before leaving, she turned back to Takeru, who was still blushing furiously.

"I'm sorry about this, but whatever it is will have to wait. I…I hope that's alright…"

He looked up, and smiled. "Oh, don't worry, it's okay. Really."

She nodded, and left.

After the door had closed, Takeru collapsed into a chair, and let out a deep breath. His heart raced, so fast that it would put the fastest of race horses to the test. He sat there for a while, thinking about everything, and yet also about nothing. It was a while before he could actually get himself out of the chair.

~*~

Hikari walked out of the base. She knew that the others were watching her, and counting on her. She also knew that the life of her brother depended on the outcome of this. She walked into the forest, and hoped that she would meet her brother before anyone had any time to shoot. She knew that he'd be mad, but she hoped that she could curb his anger. She was one of the few people that could.

Every little noise caught her attention. She heard twigs snap, which sent her shooting out of her skin. Slowly, she continued waking.

~*~

Back at the base, Takeru stood aside his brother. They weren't outside, but they were at one of the main posts. They could see and hear everything around them. Even though it was still early, Takeru's eyes darted back and forth, looking for any sign of Hikari.

"I hope she'll be okay…" Takeru thought out loud.

"Me too, Takeru, me too." his brother replied.

Just then, a shot rang through the forest.