What 'Love' Means to Me

By theladyknight

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or the song "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5.

-If you'd like to read the original version with the lyrics, e-mail me at theladyknight06(at)hotmail(dot)com And should you want the lyrics to any of these songs, check outhttp/lyrics(dot)astraweb(dot)com/-

Thanks to Aino Yuy aka Usagi-Hater, Yama-sama, B.R. Wells, thetwentyone, and BlueRag for the reviews! Enjoy and please R/R!

Chapter 2: She Will Be Loved

I fell back onto my bed, nearly dropping my guitar. Sora's words had really just started to sink in. She was leaving. Who knew if she was ever coming back. I held my hands to my head as I felt a headache coming on. There'll be no more walking to school together making fun of Taichi, no more late night hour-long phone conversations about how our parents really don't understand what it's like to be a teenager, no more prank calls to the local pizza place, sending twenty pizzas to the Yagamis, no more…Sora.

In the midst of all this I had to chuckle. When I first met Sora, four years ago I never thought I'd feel this way about her. Our first impressions were not exactly what you would call normal…

Flashback

I landed on the hard ground with a loud thump and opened my eyes to see a strange little creature in front of me. He introduced himself as a Digimon by the name of Tsunomon. Looking around, I had absolutely no idea where I was or how I had gotten there. One minute I was standing at camp with a couple of other kids, and then bam, here I am lost in the middle of a forest with this strange little creature who claims to be my partner.

This creature told me to follow him, and he'd lead me to my friends. I had to think a minute before following him; what friends? Was he referring to those other kids I'd been with before I'd somewhat magically arrived here? Tsunomon suddenly stopped next to another creature that looked somewhat like him but was pink and didn't have a horn. Standing next to this other Digimon, or I assumed it was a Digimon, was a redhead, one of the girls from the group I'd been standing with. This girl was in my grade at school, but I don't think I've ever talked to her. I think her name is Sora. She turned to face me and a gigantic smile crossed her face.

"Yamato, right?" she asked. I nodded my head in response. "Thank goodness I found another human in the place. I was beginning to wonder if I was alone. Do you have any idea where we are?" she asked quizzically, her brow creased in wonder. I felt my stomach do a flip and had to force myself to string a few words together to make something logical come out. What's happening to me?

"No idea. The last thing I remember is being at camp. I have no idea where we are or how we got here for that matter." I answered. What's wrong with you Ishida, it's just a girl! My stomach was leaping incredible bounds each time I looked at her. She was fairly tall and slim with brilliant red hair and ruby eyes that were so full of life. Looking at her made me want to smile uncontrollably. I turned quickly so she wouldn't catch me staring.

She shook her head in agreement. "I wonder where the others are? Maybe they're here as well. We'd probably better go look for them. What do you say, Yamato?"

I looked over at her once again. "I guess. We'd better take these two along, Tsunomon and…"

"Pycomon," she supplied, then reached out her hand. "I'm Sora, by the way. I know we go to the same school and are in the same grade and all, but we've never really talked or been introduced." I took her hand and shook it, feeling a jolt of energy rush though. Both Sora and I pulled away quickly and looked at the ground. "Let's go." She said, regaining her composure first, obviously getting the same feel from the handshake that I had.

Sora and I walked to a nearby tree and found a bunch of the other kids all gathered together, including my younger brother, Takeru. It had been ages since I had last seen him. He had grown up a lot and looked different then he had at our last encounter. Takeru, upon noticing me,darted over and gave me a hug. I returned it though only half-heartedly. Being able to love again and care about him or anyone for that matter was something I still had yet to learn. Since the day of my parents divorce I had vowed never to love, for fear of hurt or rejection and had basically forgottent the principle of love…

End flashback

I got up off my bed and replaced my guitar in its case. Slowly, I walked over to my dresser and pulled the lone picture off the top of it. I brought it back to the bed and examined it. This picture showed the group of us, all eight digidestined right after our defeat of Apocalymon. There was Taichi, the undisputed leader of the group, my rival but alsovery closefriend. He and I had had plenty of differences, but realized when we worked together and put those differences aside, things worked out much better, andwe had a lot more in common than different.

Taichi's little sister Hikari was standing next to Takeru, both of them eight, innocent, and the best of friends. I had a strong feeling that someday in the future they would be more than friends, though.

Good old reliable Jyou was standing behind them, next to Mimi, the bearer of sincerity, and Koushiro, who like usual was bearing his laptop computer. I'd bet almost anything there would someday be a romance between Jyou and Mimi or Mimi and Koushiro as well. Quite honestly I was leaning towards Mimi and the boy genius, but you never know what could happen.

I was there, of course, on the outskirts of the group; friends with them, but still requiring my own bit of space. And last but certainly not the least was Sora. Her eyes shined with laughter and joy. We had just defeated one of the greatest enemies we would ever face, and her face showed all the emotions we the chosen children felt, but love for all apparent more than anything else.

We'd all learned that our crests suited us more than we could have imagined. Taichi's courage was blatantly clear through his actions as leader, pulling us together in times of need and taking charge. My crest of friendship took time to understand, time by myself more than anything. But through the help of the others, particularly Jyou and Sora, I learned I really did deserve it.

Jyou's reliability is something no one ever doubted. He appeared at first glance just another scaredy-cat, ready to hide behind a tree or bush when times got rough, but he stuck things out and showed true bravery. Koushiro's gift of knowledge was probably the most apparent. He was book smart, never something anyone would challenge, but through our adventure, learned to be people smart, aware of those around him and their feelings.

Sincerity struck true with Mimi. She was never afraid to say what she really meant. While she did complain a bit, she always was there to offer encouraging words and advice. Hikari was the child of light. The battle against Mytotismon only confirmed the inevitable. She willingly gave herself up to save Sora and myself...if that doesn't describe her selflessness in a nutshell, I don't know what does.

My little brother carries more hope than anyone I know. Takeru, starting the days immediately after the divorce, always held out a hope our family would reunite, and he carried that trait over into the digi world. And finally Sora...no one fit their crest as well as she did.

Sora was like the mother of the group. Takeru and Hikari loved her like an older sister, Takeru once comparing her to a mother figure. She was always there for all of us no matter how big, small, complicated, or miniscule our problems were. Lending a hand was never a choice for Sora, it was an automatic reflex. She was the peacemaker, the reasoner, the encourager, and the shoulder to cry on. But though Sora was always the first to jump if others needed help, she, just like me, would bottle up her own emotions and problems, not letting them out till they got the better of her.

Flashback

We had defeated Etemon and were just encountering the new and dangerous evil Myotismon possessed. The group, once split up, was all back together with the exception of one person: Sora. She had been following us, it seemed, always sneaking in from the shadows to save the day and our friendships when it appeared all hope was lost. But now, as our digivices illuminated a dot, showing her location mere miles away from us, it seemed as though she was trying to hide.

Flymon had attacked us, and Birdramon flew to our rescue. Taichi, Takeru, and I, along with our Digimon, ran to find Sora, knowing she was close. Sora put up a fight, running through the land trying to evade us, but in the end it was to no avail. We caught up with her, and she revealed the source of her dilemmas, her crest of love.

To any of us, it was obvious why Sora received the crest she did. None of us had seen a better display of love from anyone other than Sora. It wouldn't be right not to call her the bearer of love. Unfortunately, Sora did not understand why fate had destined her to be the child of love. She explained, in great sorrow, tears flying freely, about her relationship with her mother and how she felt she had never known love and had no love to give.

Around that time, Taichi, though he was a strong leader, showed how little his level of sensitivity was. He tried lightening the mood by cracking a joke. It was a good gesture, but it backfired on him, ending up dissing Sora. I yelled at him to leave her alone; it was obvious she was upset, and I didn't want him adding to her already distraught mood. But really truthfully, the only thing I wanted to do was to take Sora in my arms and give her a hug telling her everything would be all right and not to worry. Of course, I didn't have the guts to do it, and I had no idea where the feeling came from in the first place! Maybe it was a result of someone never offering to do that simple yet loving gesture to me. I could only wonder. But Taichi would blow, and Sora would have to break up our fight. Besides, I had convinced myself she liked Taichi and it was only a matter of time before they got together.

But the hero of the situation, the one who got through to Sora, was the littlest one, Takeru. He walked up to her and told her how much he liked her and how she was always caring for him, just likeour mother. At that point, Sora began to understand how extensive love could be and what it really meant to love someone.

End Flashback

Because of Sora, I too learned how powerful love could be. Love isn't just a word to describe the feelings you get when you care about someone so much you would do anything for them. Love is so much more. I placed the picture back on my dresser taking one last glance at Sora's beautiful face. Sora is Love...

-Chapter title is rather understandable. Expect the others to appear soon along with hints of a few other relationships. I think this reformating it turning out for the better...-

A/N: Well, let me know what you think! Please review!