I know it's been a long time since the last part of this and I am sorry. I've been insanely busy at University. I haven't had time to read 'fic, let alone write it. That, and I've really battled to write this part. I'm still not completely happy with it, but I'm also a little tired of rewriting and rewriting. Basically, I suck at action scenes. ^.^;

I am going to do a complete rewrite of this story at some stage, I think, but I want to finish it completely before I do. It actually doesn't have much further to go. I'd say about another 2-3 chapters and then it's done. ^.^

Anyway, all the characters belong to Toei and Akiyoshi Hongo. If they belonged to me, I'd just use them as my personal slaves. "Make me some noodles, Daisuke!" "Do my homework, Jyou!" "Program me a website, Koushirou!" "Provide music, Yamato!" Kekekekeke. So, it's a good thing they don't.

A STORM OVER BLOSSOMS

CHAPTER 20

A METAMORPHOSIS

"Very soon this will all be over and you will be my queen," Dagomon whispered in Hikari's ear, as his hands fumbled with the ties of her robe. She choked back a scream, knowing that there was no-one to hear her. It would only make him angry, and she did not want him to hurt her any more. Her head throbbed from the blow he had given her the last time she had screamed, while every part of her body was bruised and sore from when she had been thrown against the washstand. Her skin stung where the shards of pottery had cut into her.

Evidently losing patience with the knot, Dagomon ripped open her robe. The thin silk of the garment tore easily, leaving her half-naked and exposed in a single movement. Instinctively, she fought to cover herself, but he grabbed her wrists and pinned her arms to the floor. He bent to press his lips to the hollow of her throat, a gesture that was obscene in its gentleness, "How very beautiful you are, Child of Light. I believe I will enjoy this."

Hikari began to tremble violently. Innocent as she might have been, she knew what was going to happen next. He would finish undressing her, and then . . . and then . . . . She squeezed her eyes shut against the image, trying to believe that this would all be over soon, that he would take what he wanted from her then let her go. If she could just survive the next few minutes, she would be free from Dagomon forever. It was not much comfort, but she clung to it like a drowning child in the middle of a vast and stormy sea.

She felt his hand slide up her leg and rest on her thigh.

"If you relax, you will enjoy this too. This is my doma -" Dagomon broke off with an angry sound, "Impossible."

Opening her eyes, Hikari saw that a patch of the air was shimmering with rainbow colours, shifting from blue to pink to yellow. It reminded her oddly of the pillar of light that had carried her into the Digital World for the first time.

Suddenly, a tall, slender boy appeared in the middle of the radiance, dressed somewhat incongruously in a white shirt and a pair of green basketball shorts. On his chest, there was a glowing symbol that could have been a shooting star or a rising sun. As she noticed it, it began to fade.

"Takeru," she whispered, tears of relief stinging her cut cheeks, "You came."

***

As the light from the portal faded and Takeru's eyes readjusted to the gloom, he looked around himself in amazement. Somehow, he had ended up in the strange castle that he had seen in his dreams. He recognised the twisted, luminiscent walls; the whisper of waves around him; the taste of salt and rot in the air. Was this the Dark Ocean? Was Hikari here? Had he found her at last?

It was then that he saw the two figures locked in an embrace in the corner of the room. One was a boy a few years older than him, dressed in a red, silk kimono. He had dark, glossy hair that fell in waves around his pale face and shadowed his grey eyes. Pinned beneath his body, the other . . . the other was Hikari.  She was naked except for her underwear, and he could see scratches and bruises tracing a roadmap of violence across her skin. Her silk robe lay next to her, torn and soaked pink with bloody water. Rape, the word formed itself in his mind. He was trying to rape her.

Takeru heard the blood begin to pound in his ears, as a hot and terrifying anger surged up in him.

"Hikari? Get off her, you bastard!"

What happened after that was a red blur. One moment, he was standing in the fading light of the portal. The next, he was pulling Dagomon off Hikari and shoving him roughly against the wall.

Baring his teeth in what could have been a smile or a snarl, the boy pushed himself away from the glowing surface and swung a clumsy punch in Takeru's direction. He ducked the blow, before slamming his own fist into Dagomon's face and sending him staggering backwards. He barely noticed the pain that exploded in his knuckles.

"Interesting," Dagomon purred, wiping blood from his nose with a hand.

"Looks like you're losing," Takeru spat back.

"We'll see."

As the words left his lips, he launched himself at Takeru and caught him around the chest. It was all he could do to keep on his feet and get his own arms around Dagomon. The two of them grappled for a moment, but Takeru's fury lent him strength and he hurled him down onto the floor. His head cracked against the hard surface, and he lay motionless as a corpse. Takeru knew that he was just dazed, that he'd be up and fighting soon. It was too much to hope that he had defeated him so easily.

Shaking, he turned to check on Hikari, "Are you okay? Did he - ?"

****

"Are you okay? Did he - ? Hika-chan, tell me I got here in time . . . ."

Looking up at Takeru, Hikari could see herself reflected in miniature in his eyes: a girl in mismatched, blood-stained underwear with scratches and bruises all over her pale body. She wished he would look away from her - she didn't want him to see her like this, any more than she wanted to see her reflection. She felt so ashamed and dirty, as if all the water in all the oceans couldn't wash her clean.

Dropping her eyes from his, she saw the figure on the floor begin to stir. He lifted a hand to touch his head, and his fingers came away red. Takeru had hurt him, but he had not killed him. A little shiver of fear ran down her spine. If he was not dead, he could still get to her.

Wrapping her arms around herself, she shook her head, "No . . . n-no, but, T-Takeru-kun, he's . . . Dagomon's still . . ." she took a deep breath to steady herself, "Dagomon's not beaten yet. He's . . . he's waking up." 

"Dagomon?" he sounded puzzled, then his eyes widened in understanding, "Him?"

"Yes."

Takeru spun back to face the other boy, his fists balling at his sides, "I should have stopped you three years ago, but it ends tonight."

Dagomon's mouth curled in amusement and he got back to his feet, slipping slightly on the bloody water that covered the floor. His black hair was plastered to the side of his head, his silk robe was dark and heavy.

"And you think yourself capable of stopping me? You stupid child, you could not even defeat one of my servants without your pet Patamon."

"If it's the only way I can keep you from hurting Hikari, I'll kill you."

As Takeru said the words, Hikari knew he meant them. He was no longer the eight year-old boy who had been unable to pull the trigger, who had turned and fled from the monster. She was both relieved and saddened by that. He would save her, but he would not be the same after it. He would have lost the very thing that made him Takeru - innocence. (1)

"You might love her, but love will not be enough to save either of you. You serve a different god."

Takeru looked confused, "A different god? What the hell are you talking about?"

Dagomon showed his teeth in what could have been a smile, "No matter. You will be killed and I will take her as my bride."

"Rape her, you mean! I won't let that happen!"

"You cannot stop me," he said, then murmured a few words in the fluid, oddly obscene language of his kingdom.

Hikari watched in horror as he began to change. It was almost like watching a butterfly break free of its chrysalis but there was nothing beautiful about it. The boy's skin began to stretch and bulge, and it seemed as if there was something moving beneath it.

Dagomon's tentacles suddenly burst through, thrusting and twisting to strip away the rest of the skin, until he stood bloody and wet in front of them. Somehow, he had grown in size during his metamorphosis. His head brushed against the ceiling; his arms could have measured the width of the room. He opened his mouth in a snarl, revealing wickedly pointed teeth.

"Arrogant boy, I am a god and this is my kingdom. You cannot stop me."

One of his tentacles shot out, wrapping around Takeru's waist and smashing him into the wall. There was the sickening crack of bones breaking. When Dagomon dropped him, he fell limply to the ground, blood dying his hair red. A little blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth. He was breathing, but barely.

As another tentacle twisted its way towards her, Hikari began to scream. . . .

*********

TO BE CONTINUED

*********

NOTES:

(1) As I'm sure most of you know, this scene was cut out of the dub. If you don't, the episode with Pinnochimon (Puppetmon) had both him and Takeru with guns. Takeru gets Pinnochimon in his sights, but then doesn't pull the trigger for whatever reason. It seems to be because he just can't hold up a heavy gun.