A/N: When I uploaded this, I know that there are some random lines in the middle of this. I'm not sure why. Anyway, just ignore them. And then read and review!!

Yolei rustled through the long grass until she found Hermemon. "Hello? Um, we talked about it, and we would be very grateful for any help you could give us."

The digimon smiled. "I'm glad to hear it. Come, we have a long walk ahead of us. I have bread and cheese with me if either you begin to hunger."

Yolei called back to Ken, who soon joined them. Hermemon led the way in silence across the wide plain, dotted with low trees rising above the grass that waved in the wind. They walked for several hours, and both humans were lagging by the time a low building rose over them. Yolei could hardly believe that they had finally arrived at their destination and stared blankly at the building until Hermemon addressed her. "Yolei? Are you feeling well?"

She blinked, jolted out of her reverie. "Oh... oh yeah I'm fine. Is this it?"

Hermemom bowed. "This is my home. After you children have had some sleep, I will show you the route you must take if you are to find the star in time."

Yolei exchanged a look with Ken, who hung behind the other two. This digimon called them 'children' and knew of their quest, just as the spirit had. Was there a digimon gossip column she didn't know about, or what?

"Thank you. I don't know about Ken back there, but I'm about to fall over right here."

Hermemon smiled and gestured for them to enter his home. It was a wooden building, lit with hundreds of small candles that lent a golden glow to the simple furnishings. Ken and Yolei were led to bedrooms beyond a kitchen and dining room. Yolei barely registered a bed before falling into it, exhausted.

Several hours later, Yolei awoke the the sun streaming directly on her eyes. She shaded them with one hand and looked around. The candles were extinguished, and none looked any lower than she remembered. Well, she had been tired then and probably wasn't recalling things correctly. She stretched and lay a few more moments on a soft mattress, a thick cover pulled up around her shoulders. There was a whisper of an elusive something in the air, like a scent she couldn't quite identify. All she knew was that she felt better than she had in days.

For several minutes, she dozed, then reluctantly tossed the cover and sheets aside. She stood, padded across the floor, and peered out her door. Nothing but wooden walls greeted her eyes, but she heard a low rumble of conversation some ways down the hall.

Ken and Hermemom sat in the bright kitchen, talking over bread, cheese, and stew. As she approached the pair, the aromas of the meal hit her. She picked up her speed.

"Yolei! It is good to see you up and about. Would you like some food? I'm afraid I cannot treat you as I should."

Yolei smiled. "It looks wonderful, Hermemon." She pulled up a chair at the small, round table. "So what were you guys talking about?"

Ken had subsided into silence as soon as Yolei had appeared in the doorway, so it was up to Hermemon to converse with his guest. They talked about the Digital World and its inhabitants, this shadow and their quest. After Yolei had finally finished her breakfast, Hermemon disappeared for a few moments, only to return with a bundle of cloth. When he carefully unfolded it, the bundle revealed itself to be two long cloaks, one a dusty lavender and the other a deep navy.

"You will need these after you leave my home. The next stage of your quest will lead you through a desert, and without these, the sun will burn you during the day, and icy breezes will freeze you at night. I'm afraid that they will offer little protection from the sand, however. If you would like, I can give you some clothes to wear while yours are washed and repaired." Yolei nodded eagerly; hers were caked with mud and torn. Hermemon produced two shirts and two pairs of breeches, both of ivory cotton. Yolei took hers and changed in her bedroom, just as Ken did.

She was shocked to see Ken out of his Emperor get-up. He looked almost as he had as a twelve-year old boy in Odaiba, innocent and somehow sorrowful. Even his glasses were gone, and his hair rested quietly on his head. She could see his surprise at her appearance, and a distant part of her mind chuckled at the sight of the two staring at each other as if they'd never seen a teenaged boy or girl before.

"Hey Ken. H-how did you sleep last night? I slept great." His dark eyes gazed intently at her, and she quieted under that glance.

"It was very pleasant. I wonder if you noticed the candles."

Yolei smiled, the strange moment gone in an instant. "I did! When I woke up, they were all out, and it didn't seem like they had burned down at all."

Ken nodded. "That's what struck me, as well. I asked our host about that, and he never answered completely."

"Still suspicious of Hermemon?"

Ken shook his head slowly. "No, not anymore. Just... curious. You trusted him immediately, and it seems your trust was justified."

Yolei thought she felt a blush creep up into her cheeks. "Oh well, I just get these feelings about people--whether they're good or bad." She suddenly averted her eyes, recalling that she was speaking with one of the 'bad'.

"I see. I'm afraid that my own intuition has not been right for quite some time." He smiled at her. "Perhaps you will have to help me in these matters."

Now Yolei definitely felt her face heating. "Oh, okay, yeah. So... it's really lucky that Hermemon found us, huh?" She thought idly that if she were a cartoon character, she would've been completely crimson by this point.

Hesitantly, Ken stepped closer to her. His head was bowed as he began speaking. "Yolei... I know that we started on this quest only a few days ago, but I've felt... all along, I've been thinking about things. Like how we're going to go back to the way we were--or if we can." He raised his eyes to hers, and she saw that they were shining, as if tears shimmered there. "If we do survive this ordeal, I want you to know that... that I'm going to try to change things between us."

Yolei was stunned nearly speechless. "Ken, I... why? I mean, like you said, we've only been on this thing for a couple of days. Why the sudden change of heart?" She hoped that he knew that she wasn't trying to discourage him, but if he could change his mind so quickly one way, what would stop him from changing it back in another week?

"When we battled, even when I was losing, I knew that this world would be here tomorrow. I knew that I could return whenever I wanted, and before I realized it, the Digital World had become like a home to me. Ever since I left... the other world permanently, it has been my home. It means more to me than I could have admitted to myself before this." Ken's words rung of long hours of thought and reflection, some of it painful. "And if that wasn't enough, I've spent these days trying to save the Digital World with you. I've been so used to thinking of myself as an emperor... as a ruler and general... that I'd forgotten what I really am."

Yolei grinned. "A teenager with no social life whatsoever? A guy who needs a lot more exercise if he can't even keep up with me?" Her smile softened. "Human?"

Despite his solemnity, Ken couldn't suppress a chuckle. "One of those." His lips curved in a matching grin, and his eyes gleamed. "I'm not saying I give up, Inoue. Just that... things will be different when this is over."

The pair spent the day with Hermemon, asking his advice on their upcoming trek across the desert and up the mountain. If they followed the nearby stream as it curved north, the enigmatic digimon informed them, they would only have a day of walking across the arid land before Infinity Mountain. The stream would shrivel to weak trickle of tepid water through the sand, but it should guide them to their destination.

Yolei would have liked to stay longer in the calming house, but she had felt the nights becoming colder and colder, and even daylight no longer seemed quite as bright. She told herself it was just imagination, but she couldn't quite convince herself.

Hermemom gently deflected conversation away from himself whenever Ken or Yolei inquired about him. After several attempts, neither attempted to delve further into the digimon's personal business. They were happy enough to have a found a safe haven, however temporary--and there was real food for the first time since they had embarked on this quest. Hermemon gave them bread, cheese, dried meat, and clean water in small, convenient packages to take with them for the second half of their journey. Yolei checked her lantern, and Ken silently polished his dagger, brooding on something far-away.

They ate a simple dinner before Ken and Yolei went to sleep, and Hermemon gave them some parting advice with their meal. "I hope that you consider leaving early in the morning, as the sun will become too intense for you to brave during a few hours at midday. Even if the heat is overwhelming, I suggest that you wear your cloaks; you are both far too fair-skinned to dare the sun unprotected for any amount of time." He paused. "And I'm sure you both will be relieved when I tell you that no more digimon should bother you as you travel until you find your way inside the mountain. Inside the rock, there are wild creatures who have never seen the sun and will attack any who stray into their domain. I believe you will have need of your dagger before your journey's end."

He looked out a window and turned back to his guests. "The sun has set, and I advise you go to sleep now, so you may awaken early. I will be here when you rise, and we will break our fast together."