In the Dark

Part Fifteen: Talking, Leaving, and Falling

***

Standard Disclaimer Thingy: ::sigh:: Digimon is not mine! Unless anyone would like to get it for me for my birthday (which is a few months away anyhow), all characters, etc, are the property of Toei, Saban, and a bunch of other companies. I think Disney has stock in it now, but that's the English Dub, and they can have that. Bleh. I am only borrowing from these nice, rich people, and I have no money to give them. The plot borrows heavily from the original series, but it's MINE! Therefore: Don't sue, don't steal, or I'll get mad at you. So there. Enjoy reading!

***

The thick, heavy blanket was now covered with ice and therefore twice as heavy as when it had first been hung upon the line. Sora tapped at the side of it with her fist and sighed.

"I suppose that's as dry as it will get," she observed with a frown. "Well, best get it inside before it gets any colder. Maybe it'll thaw in there."

Jun stood beside her with a less optimistic expression. "I don't know that we'll be able to carry it." She looked down, making sure that her mittens were secured over her hands. Then, she summoned all of her strength and gripped her end of the blanket.

***

Several of the Dark Tyrannomon had been injured, and three of the four Tyrannomon were inadvertently freed by the fire blasts of Skull Greymon. The battle in itself was quickly forgotten, and those remaining did their best to simply stay out of the large, powerful, and angry creature's way. This involved quite a bit of running and fleeing.

After a few moments of dodging and evading, however, the black aura glowing about Skull Greymon's body slowly dissipated and he began to shrink back into Agumon. Taichi took off at a run at the first sign of his partner's return to normal.

***

The clanking sounds continued within the cabin. Three stoves had been rebuilt and set in three corners of the cabin. With several extra blankets and cloths hanging as tapestries on the walls adding to the insulation and creating new rooms, the quickly-assembled building was slowly becoming normal. Jyou had lit two of the three stoves and was now getting to work on lighting the last. Koushiro was occupied with the fourth stove, trying to fit the exhaust pipe through a small hole in the roof of the cabin. This involved sitting on a beam some distance from the ground.  Tentomon was a bit nervous about this, but the wizard was as usual too busy involved in his projects to bother with things that might possibly endanger his life.

Jyou tossed the final piece of burning wood into the third stove and rubbed his arms for warmth. "It's finally beginning to thaw in here," he observed with some relief. "I was starting to think I was going to turn into ice myself."

"Well, you are almost as tall as a Yukidarumon," Gomamon joked from where he lay near the stove, warming himself comfortably in the heat.

"Funny," the doctor replied with little outward humor. He was thinking of an appropriate response to this when his thoughts were broken by the sound of grunting and struggling coming from near the door. He went to open it, and Sora entered a moment later, dragging a large rectangular object that barely fit through the door.

"Just a…little…farther…," she grunted. "Almost…through the…door…." As she pulled, some unseen figure on the opposite end pushed, and the mostly-frozen object was dragged through the door along the ground and into the cabin.

"Eh…Sora?" Jyou questioned hesitantly. He gripped the frozen blanket and attempted to assist in dragging it, but found it too cold to touch without gloves. He immediately began to search the pocket of his jacket for them. "What…uh…exactly is…this huge blanket for?"

"For a floor!" Piyomon interrupted from her perch in the rafters, having declined to go outside and watch her partner pull the giant object through the snow.

"A floor?" Tentomon echoed.

"Yes, a floor," Jun answered, finally having reached the door herself and therefore meaning that the job was finished. "Unless you'd prefer to have the dirt?"

"An excellent idea." Koushiro nodded his approval. He paused and frowned thoughtfully. "But I doubt it'll be much good if it's frozen."

***

Two and a half hours past high noon, and the group finally reached the edge of the desert. Exhausted, and with still almost an hour's walk back to the camp, they paused to rest for a few moments and put on their extra layers once more.

Miyako sank into the grassy patch in the sand and looked into the forest. Within sight she could see patches of snow and she knew that the cabin was just beyond that forest. "If I only had more strength," she sighed to Hawkmon. "If you could fly we could be home in a few minutes and I could be sleeping already."

"It won't be long before we're home," Hikari tried to reassure her, offering her a sip of water from her canteen. "We'll be back at the cabin in no time and then you can rest all you need."

"I think we could all use a few days sleep," Yamato agreed, wiping the sweat from his eyes and searching through his bag for the cloak he'd brought.

"This seems so odd," Takeru noted, chuckling as he threw his own cloak over his shoulders and put his winter hat on his head. "Here I am sweating and putting on a warm cloak." He shook his head.

"What sort of magic is responsible for this?" Iori questioned, turning to Miyako.

"I'm not certain, exactly," she confessed, looking around her. "I'm not that knowledgeable about magical forces. I'd guess, though, that this is a natural occurrence and not created."

"Natural?" Daisuke echoed. "What do you mean?"

"Meaning that Ken didn't create it. It's been here for quite some time," she answered. "Yes, this barrier is definitely of a different sort of magic. It's not dark magic, and it doesn't have the same feel. It has a very ancient feel to it. If it was created, then it was created centuries ago…"

"But for what purpose?" Taichi wondered. "It doesn't keep people out, it only drastically alters the climate. What need would anyone have for such a boundary?"

Miyako shook her head. "I can't even begin to speculate," she answered. "Perhaps Koushiro has some answers. I don't."

***

Sora tapped the side of the heavy blanket again. It now hung from the rafters of the cabin, thawing in the heat of the four stoves assembled and burning at full blast.

"It will take an awful lot of fuel to keep so many stoves burning," Jun was observing as she watched Jyou pile a few more pieces of wood onto the stove.

"No more than it would take to keep a large fireplace going," Koushiro replied from his perch assembling the fifth and final stove.

The four-cornered cabin was arranged simply. One half of it was designated for communal activities such as eating, planning, and talking. A makeshift table and several crates serving as chairs were arranged in that section. The other half was for sleeping, and was sectioned through the use of the blankets and curtains into three separate sections, each holding three people. Only two cots had been spared from the destroyed original tents, and Yamato and Sora had brought only two more with them, so until more could be fashioned, some would have to simply slumber on blankets on the floor.

In each corner was set a stove, and then a third stove was placed in the middle of the third sleeping section, allowing for equal heat for all the inhabitants while sleeping. One stove in the main sitting area was set aside specifically for daily cooking, although in truth any of the stoves could serve that purpose. Near that stove, they had assembled in a somewhat organized fashion the extra food supplies and cooking and eating utensils.

"Almost thawed," Sora announced triumphantly as she tapped the side of the blanket. It was large enough to serve as "floor" for the entire communal area. Smaller blankets had already been laid down for the sleeping areas. She looked about the cabin with a peaceful feeling. "This place already feels so much more homely than before."

"Like I said, they won't recognize it," Jun agreed, grinning back in response. She paused then and looked toward the door. For all its comforts of home, the cabin still had no windows. And it lacked certain people.

"Do you think they'll be back tonight?" Alraumon wondered from where she sat on one of the crates used as seats.

"Maybe not," Piyomon answered, still perched in the rafters. "If they had to travel a long distance…"

"It's almost dark already," Tentomon noted, perched near Piyomon. "It gets dark early this time of year."

"But they won't want to stay out late in that territory," Gomamon pointed out from his spot near the stove. "So they'd best hurry."

Sora grabbed her warm cloak from where it hung near the stove and slipped her feet back into her boots that sat beside it. She began to lace up the strings on them and tied them quickly.

"Where are you going?" Piyomon asked.

"Outside," she answered. "To wait."

"Wait," Jun interrupted. She picked up a lantern, delivered that morning with the extra supplies. "I'll go with you."

***

"Sun's going down," Yamato noted with a frown. "Think we should stop?"

"Not a good idea," Takeru answered. "Stay out here? In the cold? In the dark? In enemy territory?"

"Yeah, but will we make it if we keep going?" Patamon questioned from atop his partner's head.  The brothers turned back toward the group.

They were deep within the forest now and the snow was deep. The going was slow. Miyako was visibly exhausted, their digimon were all tired, and Agumon was unconscious still. The small digimon needed to be carried over the deep snow, and the extra weight slowed their tired partners down even more.

"I don't think it's a good idea to stop," Gabumon voiced. "If we keep going we might make it."

"We will make it," Takeru disagreed.

"Hey," Iori noted suddenly. "Do you see a light?"

***

"Ta-da!" Koushiro voiced triumphantly. "Finished. Finally." He sat back on the rafter and looked down at the cabin. "Now we'll never freeze again."

"Good, good," Tentomon answered dismissively. "Now could you please come down off that rafter? You're making me nervous, you know."

As soon as the young wizard had reached the ground the door to the cabin opened unexpectedly, and a crowed of people immediately hurried quickly in, all complaining loudly of the cold or the exhaustion or the long walk.

"See Koushiro?" Jun's voice called over the din. "We've found them!"

Jyou emerged from behind a curtain where he'd been arranging some of his things and medicines in the sleeping sections of the cabin. He carried a candle in his hand. "I'm here," he announced. "Who's badly injured this time?"

He was slightly disappointed when he learned that nearly everyone was basically all right.

***

The evening meal that night was better than they could have remembered eating in some time. There was fresh food for the first time in nearly a week, the cabin was warmer than the tents had ever been, and almost everyone was healthy, though all were exhausted.

The food-making was a communal effort. Sora and Jun, seeing as how they had been the least endangered and exhausted, worked together to put forth a near-feast, and everyone marveled over the state of the cabin. The blanket-floor finished thawing shortly before the meal was finished cooking, and a larger communal effort was required to lower the still-heavy item on to the floor.

Only Miyako wasn't present for the feast. Too exhausted to even bother with food, she went almost immediately to the cot set aside for her, and fell directly to sleep. All agreed it would be best not to wake her for the food.

***

When she awoke, Miyako found herself in an unfamiliar place. She was lying in a cot – that at least was familiar, but she was warmer than she could remember being in a while. She sat up slowly, letting her vision return to normal and saw that she was in a small room made from blanketed walls. Slowly, her memory returned to her, and she recalled helping Sora and Jun to make this room before she'd left to find the others. Surprisingly, the 'room' was comfortable in temperature. She looked up and saw that Hawkmon was perched in the rafters directly overhead, enjoying a leisurely nap. She had just started to move the blankets off of her when one of the curtains moved and Hikari appeared, carrying a small tray made from a board with a bowl of soup and a cup of tea on it.

"Oh, good, you're awake," she observed as she entered.

"Just woke up," the other answered, yawning. "How long was I asleep?"

Hikari set the tray down on the trunk beside the cot. "Not as long as I thought you'd be. It's only just past noon."

"I'm not as exhausted as the last time," she admitted, sniffing the hot soup cautiously. "Is it edible?"

The younger girl laughed in amusement. "Surprisingly, yes. We did get some new supplies, thankfully."

Miyako nodded. "I'd forgotten about that," she admitted, and carefully raised the bowl to her lips, sipping a bit of the hot liquid. "Mmm…that is an improvement." She let the soup warm her and her mind drifted, thinking about the consequences of her magic. 

'Two big spells in one day, that's a lot. Not long ago I could barely do a little one, and now two in one day. That's a pretty big step. I wonder how strong this magic gets. What will I do with it when all this is over?'  She'd never before thought about the consequences of having magic. It seemed natural to study it and practice it in order to help the Chosen, but what about when the time came that they were no longer needed? For the first time, Miyako began to think seriously about the future. Would she become a full-fledged magic user? A sorceress, even? What sort of thing would that entail? Would she still be able to have some sort of family in the future? What if practicing magic involved going farther away from her family? She already felt horrid about leaving Momoe behind and not being there through the pregnancy. She decided that she would have to ask Koushiro about all those things, and about the odd climate changes they'd seen. She wondered if any of the others had thought to ask him about it. Perhaps he was already at work researching it. She pictured the wizard pouring over the books he'd brought to the cabin and wishing he'd brought more from the castle.

Hikari had remained, seating herself on the opposite cot. She absently picked up a book that was lying on the ground and flipped through the pages. Miyako watched over the edge of her soup bowl as she peered at the pages. From the cover, Miyako could tell it was a book of magic. Immediately, her thoughts drifted towards what she knew of Hikari's magic…and what she was not permitted to tell. She sighed, setting the bowl down for a moment.

"Is something wrong?" Hikari asked, sensing her discomfort.

There was most certainly something wrong – there were several things wrong, in fact – but Miyako couldn't exactly explain any of them to Hikari. She shook her head instead and peered at the ceiling, watching as her partner began to rouse himself from his midday nap.

***

Koushiro was pouring over a book at that very moment. "I really should have brought a different book with me," he muttered as he flipped the pages quickly.

"You couldn't very well have brought all six hundred something books with you, you know," Tentomon responded sensibly. He was perched casually in the upper rafters of the cabin, peering over his, partner who was seated at the makeshift table in the common area.

"Oh, I'm sure he could have if he'd tried hard enough," Jyou disagreed. He was at the opposite end of the room, organizing bottles of herbs, medicines, and bandages on to shelves that he and Yamato had just installed that morning. He found most of Koushiro's frantic book searches quite amusing, and was in good humor as he worked.

"I don't see how he manages to keep sane, looking at all those spells all day," Takeru commented. "It would hurt my eyes."  He was loading some wood he and Iori were carting inside to help keep warm. Five stoves meant a lot of wood had to be carried. The three stoves in the sleeping areas would be used only at night, but the other two were needed almost constantly for cooking and heating purposes. Yamato and Taichi, eager to be outside, had volunteered to help chop wood, leaving the younger boys the task of carrying it back to the cabin. Beside the cabin, a large woodpile had already begun to take shape.

"I can't see how you manage to carry wood all day," Koushiro retorted good-naturedly. "It would hurt my arms more than your eyes."

Patamon, as usual perched on his partner's head, laughed aloud. "He has a point, Takeru."

Tailmon, curled up sleepily by the stove and possibly the warmest of any of them, offered her opinion: "I'd rather read books all day if it meant staying inside." She shivered to make her point, yawned, and returned to her nap.

Takeru only shrugged. "Someone's gotta do it," he explained cheerfully as he departed, off to carry the next load.

"I should think carrying wood is not as bad as chopping it all day," Jyou commented, polishing one of the glass bottles with a cloth and setting it on the shelf. "I'm much more content to stay in here and organize, thank you."

The curtain leading to the sleeping area parted and Miyako and Hikari entered the larger area, carrying Miyako's used soup bowl and tray with them. Miyako looked around her at the sitting area, which, with half-built table and several crates for seats, looked only slightly homier than when she'd last seen it.

"It still needs some work," Hikari stated, as though sensing her thoughts. "Perhaps some cushions?"

"A window," Hawkmon announced. "A window is what it needs. It's much too boxed in."

"Both would help," Miyako agreed, nodding. "But what it's lacking for the moment is people. Where is everyone?"

"Outside freezing," Tailmon mumbled sleepily, rolling over again.

"Chopping wood, I think," Jyou added. "Although I don't expect Gomamon is helping. He's probably sliding in the snow." He shook his head with a sigh, thinking all this desire to run around in the cold snow to be quite insane.

***

Morning dawned a bit warmer the next day, much to the relief of the inhabitants, especially those that planned to leave that day. Yamato managed to coax and bully the two Monochromon back to the carriage (which was now thankfully empty of all of the supplies it had previously carried) and then maneuver the carriage back on to the road.

"It's been an exciting few days," Jun told her brother as she lifted her bag into the back of the carriage. "I am anxious to return to civilization, however."

"I don't blame you," he replied with a somewhat wistful laugh. "I'd guess that I have some time before I'll join you though."

She paused a moment and then looked directly at him with a glance that reminded him for a fleeting moment of their mother. "Take care of yourself," she said then in a motherly tone. "Try not to get yourself killed."

"Who me?" he joked, shrugging. "Don't worry."

"Ah, but I will anyway," she answered, and climbed into the back of the wagon, Alraumon following behind her.

"You know, something occurred to me last night," Taichi commented as he climbed into the wagon behind his partner. "I left the two of you in charge. And then you both came here…"

"Yes," Sora replied, taking his hand and climbing in after him. "We weren't about to let you go crazy alone."

"But…"

"Don't worry, everything's fine at home," Yamato interrupted, waving his hand dismissively.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that everything is fine," he repeated. "Just trust me."

"I know better than to do that," Taichi retorted. "Who exactly is now running things?"

There was a moment of silence. Sora and Yamato exchanged glances. "You tell him," Yamato said, turning and walking around the cabin toward the front of wagon so he could begin anew his battle with the Monochromon.

Sora hesitated a moment before she answered: "Mimi."

"Mimi?" Taichi blinked. "Mimi?"

"She'll do a fine job, you know," Sora tried to reassure him. "She didn't have much to do anyway, she was looking for some sort of purpose; we all were."

"Mimi." He sighed heavily. "If there are any flowers where there weren't before…."

"It'll be fine, trust me."

"Oh, I do. You, I trust. It's Mimi I'm worried about. Hey! What are you waiting for? Let's get moving!" he shouted to Yamato. The Monochromon slowly began to walk forward, and as the carriage rolled out of sight the others could hear Sora continually trying to reassure Taichi of the safety of the kingdom.

***

"And so…" Hikari sighed, watching as the carriage disappeared from view. She let her statement beginning trail off into nothing and wrapped her arms around herself for warmth.

"So…?" Miyako questioned. The other simply shrugged.

"So…quiet," Takeru said, speaking softly in the silence, as though he was afraid speaking would disrupt something vital.

Iori cleared his throat. "We do have a reason for being here," he reminded them. "Would it not be best if we tried to decide what to do next?"

Daisuke nodded, agreeing with his statement. He folded his arms across his chest and turned his head in the direction of the forest which lead to the desert – to the territory of the enemy. "But where do we start?" he questioned. "We don't have a plan."

Takeru was also in agreement. "We've never had a plan before," he recalled. "Just – go in and do what we can. If we had some idea of what to do…" He trailed off, uncertain of where he was leading this.

Miyako spoke up. "I think perhaps I can find his base," she reported.

"That's right," Hikari nodded. "The spell. Do you think you can find it again?"

"I think I can try," she answered cautiously. "I can make no guarantees of that."

"It's a place to start," Iori noted, pleased with the direction they'd finally managed to obtain. A boy who operated well within a structure, Iori was most happy when he had a purpose and a goal and a way of reaching his goal.

***

A few supplies needed to be gathered. No one knew for certain how long this latest venture into the desert would take – or where it would lead them. Miyako speculated that the base she'd sensed Ken retreating to was at least half a day's walk away, possibly further. It was decided that each person would carry as little as possible, but it was also necessary for them to be prepared.

A spare change of clothes was packed, as well as a small amount of food. If necessary, they could find some fish or fruits within the forest, but it would be difficult this time of year, and no one was willing to risk starvation. Miyako took her most useful book of spells, knowing she might need any of them in case of an emergency, which was likely to happen. After a quick planning discussion of which way to head, the group of five set out into the woods, leaving Koushiro and Jyou behind, waving good luck.

***

Iori had brought his own book along, a flat sketchbook so that he could draw a map as he walked. He had discussed his plans with Koushiro, and both hoped that if their travels were mapped out they could learn more about the strange territory. Koushiro had also urged Miyako to be on the lookout for the source of the magic which caused the unnatural border.

It wasn't long before they reached the edge of the forest, and all decided to rest briefly before they began the trek across the wasteland. Miyako peered out across the shifting sands for some time and tried to sense the magic, but got only a vague sensation. Sighing with frustration, she removed her winter cloak and set her bag on the ground.

"Miyako? What are you doing?" Takeru questioned as she turned and marched back toward the woods.

"I can't see anything from down here," she answered. "I've got to get up higher." She stopped directly in front of a large tree.

Hawkmon sighed and slapped one wing to his forehead, shaking his head. He sat down wearily on the sand. "One day," he muttered softly. "One day she'll break a leg and then she won't climb trees any longer."
"Hawkmon, stop sounding like my mother," Miyako scolded him from some distance away without looking in his direction. Her partner merely rolled his eyes and sighed, having learned the hard way it was useless to argue with Miyako. Instead, he took to the air and flapped into the upper branches of the tree to wait.

"Eh – are you sure that's a good idea?" Daisuke questioned, glancing up at the tall tree. "Maybe one of us should go instead."

"Brilliant idea," she retorted sarcastically, gripping one of the lower branches and pulling herself up on to it. "Can you sense magic? Because without that, it's pretty useless to climb up, you know?"

Daisuke shrugged and glanced helplessly toward the other members of his group, as if to say that he'd tried and now she was on her own.

"Well, yes," Iori admitted. "But maybe someone should go with you, for safety?" He glanced meaningfully toward Daisuke as he spoke.

Miyako, now perched on the first branch of the tree, shook her head. "No, I can handle it myself."

"He has a point, Miyako," Hikari agreed. "That tree looks fairly dangerous. Climb up with her, Daisuke."

"Me?" Daisuke echoed. "Why me?"

"Can you climb a tree?" Iori asked.

"Yes," he admitted. "But…."

"Well, I can't. So you'll have to." Iori smiled, looking a bit pleased with himself.

Daisuke looked toward Takeru, who merely grinned and stepped aside to make way. "Oh all right," he grumbled, walking toward the tree. "I don't see how it will help, though…."

"Hurry up!" Miyako called, already two branches higher than she'd been before. "I haven't got all day."

He gripped the lowest branch and pulled himself up with relative ease, grumbling to himself as he did so. V-mon peered skyward, toward his partner. "Try not to fall," he advised, pleased that he would be staying on the ground.

A short while later, Miyako emerged at the top of the tree, poking her head out into the tepid air and pausing to catch her breath. Hawkmon perched a few branches away, still with a nervous but knowing expression on his face, as though he was both dreading and expecting his partner to fall so that he could say "I told you so."

"I'm not going to fall," Miyako stated, apparently reading his thoughts again. It was obvious they'd had this discussion many times before.

"That's good. It's a long way down," Daisuke commented, emerging on the branch beside her a moment later. Their heads both peered over the canopy of leaves. "I can't even see the bottom." He looked down toward his feet, and saw only sparse leaves, and bare branches below him.

Miyako looked down and saw, for a brief second, a flash of the magic currents that ran through the air before they cleared away and she too saw only a maze of wooden tree limbs below. "It is high up," she admitted, turning away from the ground. It was possibly the first civil comment she'd made to him since they'd returned from the last battle in the desert, and he was caught off guard for a moment.

There was a moment of silence as both relaxed, catching their breaths from the strenuous climb up. Daisuke peered overhead and saw a few clouds floating over head, but the sky was otherwise totally clear. He turned back toward the wilderness and saw a nearly endless field of treetops covering the land. He turned his head and saw then that they stopped with the tree they were now seated in and then there was only sand…and empty space.

"It's so…empty," he whispered, afraid of breaking the silence. "Why would anyone want to claim such an empty space?"

"It's not totally empty," Miyako contradicted, but her voice held a little less of the biting sting than it had before. "There's life there, I can sense it." She sighed.

Daisuke turned away from the sand to watch her face for a moment as she peered out over the wasteland. Sensing his gaze, Miyako bit her lower lip to control the tears that she knew wouldn't be too far away if she let them come. She shut her eyes and tried to sense the magic instead.

'She's really hurt,'  Daisuke realized suddenly, and felt stupid for not noticing it before. 'How could I have been so dense? I saw how she was around Ken, I know how she must have felt about him! How could I have thought this would be easy for her? Or me?'  He felt as though he should say something, and struggled for a few moments to find the right words before he finally blurted: "You were right."

The silence broken again, Miyako opened her eyes and turned to him, confusion written on her face. "What?"

"You were right," he repeated, and then in a rush of emotional explanation, he continued: "You were right about it being hard. To fight Ken, I mean. I guess I thought it wouldn't be, but it was." He turned away from her and looked out at the sands, but he didn't want to look that way either. He looked toward the trees instead.

'Is that an apology?' Miyako wondered, dumbstruck for a moment and unable to find words. "Thanks," she finally said, though it seemed somewhat hollow and inappropriate. "But you were right, actually."

"What?" Surprised by this response, Daisuke turned back to her. "How?"

Miyako took a deep breath and shut her eyes, trying to focus on sensing the magic of the boundary again. "You were right about fighting him. It's not abandoning him. It's keeping ourselves alive." As she spoke, she was able to sense the magic more and more strongly. "I didn't want to fight him, and I'd do anything to avoid it. But if we're going to free all those innocent digimon then it's what we have to do, whether we want to or not."

Nodding his understanding, Daisuke responded: "Even if it's hard." There was another silence as they both contemplated, and for the first time understood, what the other was saying. "Do you sense anything?" he asked after some time had passed.

"Yes," she answered. "But nothing that tells me anything. It feels ancient, and different. Almost like…."

"Almost like what?" he asked when she didn't continue.

Miyako shook her head. "Nothing. Let's get down." She turned and lowered one foot down to the branch directly below her, stepping down carefully.

"Do you want me to go first?" he questioned, climbing slowly behind her.

"I can handle trees myself," she retorted, lowering herself to the next branch. "I've only been climbing them since I was a child. And I've never yet gotten hurt."

"All right, then." He followed a branch behind her, paying careful attention to each move that both of them made, knowing that somehow he would be to blame if either of them made any miscalculation and plunged to the ground.

"I'm always having the same argument with Hawkmon," Miyako continued as she sat down on the branch on which she stood and gripped a higher one with her hands. "He's always afraid I'll fall and I never do. He's almost like my mother." She stretched her foot toward the branch below and touched it with her foot.

"Well, he is your partner. They're supposed to protect us," Daisuke reminded her, watching from above.

"Yes, from large enemy digimon," Miyako agreed. "But from trees?" She swung her second leg to meet with the first one and then gripped the branch above her with both hands.

Suddenly, a piece of still partially frozen branch in colder parts of the forest broke off and crashed violently to the ground, disrupting the previously silent and peaceful atmosphere and startling both of them. Miyako lost her footing, and her feet slid backward along the branch and then off it completely. She gasped, but managed to hold back a scream of surprise, and was grateful she was still holding on to the branch securely. Daisuke fell backwards, but was protected from falling further by a branch behind him. He slammed backwards into it violently, and waved his arms for balance.

"What was that?" he demanded.

"Branch fell, I think," Miyako answered, trying to catch her breath. She swung her legs toward the branch they'd previously been standing on, but they wouldn't connect.

"Are you all right?" he asked, pushing himself back to a sitting position and rubbing his back with one hand. "Ow."

"I think so," she answered, swinging her legs again. Still no connection to the branch. "Um, remember how Iori wanted you to come up this tree to help me?"

"Eh…yes," he replied hesitantly, climbing over a branch so that he could see her better. He pushed another, thinner branch out of his way and spotted Miyako hanging perilously from a not-so-stable branch, unable to regain footing.

"Well, I think I might need some of that help after all."

***

Finally! This section was half-written two weeks ago and then I decided it wasn't working and rewrote it. Twice! During finals week! Augh! And then I write this version, which is much better than the other two, in, like, two hours! Augh! ::bangs head in frustration:: Ah well, not much happened in this chapter, for all the time I spent on writing it…Sorry again for the delay! I promise the next chapter will be up soon. I'm done with school for the summer, and I'm so far VERY bored. Of course, I have to get a job, but anyway…. Positive thoughts!

This chapter was mostly one of those annoying transition thingies. Can't have people fighting ALL the time, you know. They have to occasionally take breaks to sleep. So there are these transitions where nothing really happens except that they sit around and talk about what WILL happen.

Next chapter, I promise, will not only be out sooner, but will also have MUCH more action. Those of you who read details might be able to tell what's coming up, but for those of you who don't, I'm not telling! HAHA! … Oh, all right, a few hints… The next chapter will explore more about Miyako and what she's feeling and some other stuff... I'm not giving away anything else!

Thanks for all the reading and the reviewing and the sending of nice comments. Till next chapter, Ja ne! Later! ^_^ ::Waves!::