---------------------------------------------------------{I}Begin log{I}---------------------------------------------------------
Kay: okay, I have been scolded by countless people to not write more than one story at a time... but I was reading this fic by flamegaruru (iz REALLY old), and I got to the part about Takato's horse, Duke, and Ryou and stuff like that, and I was like... 'well, this is a cool plot line! But let's add some things to it...' and that is baisically how I got this.
Shila: yes, and I am about to go to sleep now, as her parents are about to wake up and start yelling at us for staying up so late... walks away into a bedroom
Kay: anyways, let's get started... any other notes will be added at the end... some parts, like the term "Wyers" are taken from Anne McCaffrey's books in the trilogy "The Dragon Riders of Pern"- which I do not own, and NO fanfics about that trilogy are allowed on this site- which really, really sucks. I also do not own digimon, or any characters stolen... erm, borrowed, from there.
-----------------------------------------------{I}Ta-dah! (Curtains open){I}------------------------------------
Kingdom's Fate
Chapter One: The Princess and the Knight
---------------------------------------------{I}Story starts (no, really?!){I}------------------------------------------
She sat on the bench at her balcony, looking over the sea. So far away was the nearest piece of land... or, she assumed there was another piece of land, anyways. Being the Princess of an island Wyer was NOT at all fun. Not only were they separated from the rest of the land by water, but the King, her father, always had a certain... hate of change, or contact with the outside world. As such, those who lived on Ista not only never traveled anywhere, but no one even wanted to. They didn't have technology, nor anything else remotely resembling technology.
However, she knew nothing about 'technology', or the rest of the world- as far as she knew, Ista was the only place on the world. Although she had the feeling that there was something else out there constantly, she could never find any facts to prove it. And so she grew up, instead of exploring the world, exploring the small mountain range, that was actually just a grouping of tall hills to the East, or the Hold market, or the fields, or the forests... by the time she was 19, she had gone everywhere on Ista, including the small distance that boats were allowed to go off the coast.
"Milady... it is time for your fitting..."
She sighed as one of her maids tentatively poked her head into the room, without knocking first.
"Tell my mother that I shall be right there..."
"I am sorry, Princess, by she wants you there... immediately. Please... I do not wish to make her highness any more annoyed than she is already..."
She wasn't sure whether the maid ment herself or her mother, Princess Rumiko, nor did she care. She stood up from the bench, and followed the maid out of her room, to the Queen's chambers. Her mother sat there, her dainty face contorted with a small frown.
"Mother, you should not frown. It would give you wrinkles."
"None of that, young lady... you were to be here when your father and the Lord Holder's, as well as the Lord Holder's son Ryou, went off on their hunt. They will be back before long, and they cannot see your beautiful dress." The Queen gave a small sigh as she stood up and took her daughter's hands in her own. "Why must you make this so difficult? Can you not just accept that you will be married to Ryou in barely 1 months time?"
She stiffened. "No, mother, I cannot, as I do not l-"
"We have been through this before, and love has nothing to do with marriage." The Queen's voice now had a hint of anger in it, and the Princess knew her word was final. "I hated your father and the whole Royal line when I married him, and I still do. Did you not notice that we never exchange love tokens, nor do we have any other children than you?"
"Yes, but-"
"A 'but' should not be found in a Queen's vocabulary."
"I am a Princess."
"Please, dear! Just... at least let me make your dress for you... we need to have you measured..."
She sighed as her mother began to work. Although she would much rather be on the hunt, then saying good bye and welcoming them home every time... but, as a future Queen (as her mother constantly reminded her), she had to stay home at the palace, and make sure that things did not go amiss.
It took much longer than what she had hoped for the fitting to be done- each measurement was taken many times, just so that the dress would be perfect. She also knew that the measurements would be taken once again, closer to the wedding, so that it could really be perfect.
She sighed as her mother finally told her that she was free, and that she now had the time until the men- well, her mother never quite finished that sentence, since aright then the horns blared, signaling the King's return.
She and her mother quickly proceeded down to the courtyard, where he father and Ryou were dismounting from their horses.
"The Queen Rumiko wishes her King a great return."
"The King Hitsune wishes his Queen a wonderful dinner."
With that, her father, King Htsune, strode swiftly to the stables with his horse, and disappeared from view. She knew that her parents were simply doing the common thing- it was written in one of Ista's great many Books of Laws, which she had been made to study when she was younger.
"This Lord Holder wishes The Great Queen and her lovely Princess a good day, and must also say his good byes. However, he also wishes that his son, Lord Ryou, would stay at the Palace with the Princess until dinner, when this Lord shall return from his work. Good day."
The Lord Holder rode off, leaving Ryou there, standing beside his horse, looking obviously lost.
"Um... this... young lord... um..."
"Stop babbling, and come inside if you must." She told him quickly, and turned on her heel towards the large doors which opened before her, and stood open for the Queen and the young Lord to enter as well.
"She's been nervous all day, Lord." Rumiko whispered to the boy, also 19. "Her stomach is all in knots, what with the wedding so soon."
"Aye, as is my own... tell me, what might there be to eat or drink?"
"As many things as you could desire, milord..."
Ryou wandered about with her in the gardens for a while, before a servant found them, and told them that supper was ready. She thanked any Gods out there that she no longer had to spend any time with him, as, right after supper, he went back to his Hold with his father.
Midnight once again found her sitting on her balcony, looking at the sea. She thought for a moment that she saw something on the water, but it disappeared from sight- not before making a huge water spout, though.
Her thoughts swirled in her head, but she settled on only two, that were connected: one was that if she lived anywhere else, or was allowed to travel, she might yet know what that thing was- it didn't seem to be a boat, but what else could float on top of the water?
The second thing was a thought that occured to her everyday, was the first thing she thought when she woke up, and the last thing she thought when she went to bed: Ruki hated to be an island Princess.
The young man looked over what he had, for the past month and a half, ruled over. The destruction of the war was quickly disapearing, as all the creatures that once lived on the island called Igen returned. The breeze ruffled his brown mop of hair, and his crimson eyes gazed reminiscently over the land. Igen was a pretty small island- but, it was the most beautiful place on Earth... at least to his eyes it was.
Two creatures stood on either side of him- one, a large, red and black dragon with a strange design of four black triangles on his snout, and a different black triangle design on his white stomach. The other was a small, purple imp, with startling green eyes and a red bandana. Both creatures waited patinetly for the young man infront of them to say something- anything.
He was currently staring at the grove of pink not too far away from the mountain where the Igen Wyer had been built- unlike in traditional Wyers, where the connecting steps had been built on the outside, and one slip could send you over the ungaurded edge and to the chasm floor, possibly hundreds of meters below, the inside of the mountain, which had once been a dormant volcano, had been hollowed out, and the large, empty place where the laval once resided became the main Hall for Igen Wyer. Small nooks and crannies had been hollowed out as well, and a large staircase of rock had been hewn from the stone. The staircase was elegant, with small ledges of rock which pointed to where the different hallways were in the rock.
The different levels, or floors, were made out of different types of rock, and each level signified a different level of who ever lived in them- near the bottom above the kitchens, and where you could access the first five or so floors without flying or using the main staircase, were for the babes, and children. Also, a large section of the mountain near the bottom had been set aside for something like a school- a place where everone could learn Geography, Mathematics, Battle Strategies, world customs, and many other subjects... including which fork to use first when dining with important people.
Inside each of the separate wyers, was a sitting room, a bedroom, and a large pool that was heated by the old volcano. All the pools had a small drainage hole, and a small other hole to let the new, clear water in. The water was circulated constantly from deep below the surface to the very top of the Wyer, so all the dirt, grime, and other impurities satyed out of the water, and in the deep pool far below the mountain.
The bedrooms were furnished with a bed, a trunck, a small vanity, a table and a chair. The sitting rooms were furnished with a couple chairs, a table, some couches, and a small hole in the wall, which led directly down to the kitchens.
It was a palace, a castle, hidden within the stones- and it had hardly any occupants.
He sighed, as he turned around and walked down the path that led from the viewing deck to the top of the Hall. Near the bottom, he could hear the voices of the creatures working hard on finishing up the Wyer- the old one, which had been nothing more a few buildings clustered together, had been all that remained as evidence as the once huge population of Igen. Those small structures, though, had been torn down and their components used to make the many wyers, the kitchens, and the Wyer itself.
He was about half-way down the staircase when the few humans who were still on Igen (who were all gathered in the Hall) noticed him.
"Hey! It's our 'Great Leader'! Come on, Chumly, get your ass down here and help out!"
"Hirokazu!"
"What? I'm being perfectly reasonable... in my point of view!"
"Leave Takato alone! He's been through the worst out of all of us!"
"Yeah! He was the only one who actually knew the Dramatic Dozen!"
"KENTA!"
"What?"
"What did I say about saying stuff about... oh, Takato... please..."
He shook his head, as he jumped off the main staircase, and fell the last few feet to the floor, closely followed by his two partners. "Don't worry about it- it's been one and a half months since I became leader, and a total of 6 months, 1 week and 3 days since the war. I should get over it. That's all. Now... what do you need help with?"
Juri, the one who had scolded the other two known as Hirokazu and Kenta, sighed in relief. "Good, becuase I don't want you to be all mopey again today. The sun will rise soon, and we won't have done anything! Now, Hirokazu, Kenta, back to work! Get your partners to help move all this extra wood into the kitchen, then start building some kind of cooking place! I'm sure that you don't want to eat those supplies again tonight, and only partially cooked, too!"
"Yes ma'am!" They called, before hurrying to do as she bid. Juri was Takato's sister- she was normally kind, calm, and caring, but when she set her mind to it, she was fiercer then the most battle-hungry tyrant ruler.
She turned to Takato, with a gentle smile on her face. "Oh, brother, I think that Jen wanted a word with you... something about the new layout."
He gave a sigh, before turning to his two partners. "Guilmon? Impmon? I think you should both go help out in the kitchens- Guilmon, don't eat everything in sight, and Impmon, try not to blow anything up, would you?"
"Okiee-dokiee, Takatomon!"
"Yeah, sure Gogglehead... don't see why not."
As they headed to the kitchens, with some of the extra wood in their arms, both of their eyes locked for a moment, and turned their heads simultaneously to their partner. He hadn't been feeling very well for the last little while, and, although he tried not to show it, he was very tired. They both knew that the war had hit him hard- every other Wyer on the face of the planet had not only severed ties with Igen, but, whenever they took a trip to another Wyer for some extra supplies, the only thing they got was hate, foul words uttered behind their backs, and a strange feeling that if they stayed there longer than they needed to that they might not ever see another sunrise again.
The smell of food came from the kitchens, though, and Guilmon put his thoughts away to be dealt with after he ate, Takato's words completely forgotten. Impmon, on the other hand, was having a harder time not worrying about his human partner so much. Something wasn't right, and he wanted to find out what is was, as soon as possible.
----------------------------------------{I}Back to our hero{I}--------------------------------------
Takato followed Juri into one of the rooms of the school, which had already been set up. A young man with blackish-blue hair poured over a piece of paper, his bright orange vest over his loose, linen shirt. Juri smiled lovingly at the man, then walked over to him, so that she stood right behind him. When he still didn't notice anyone else in the room, she grinned evily at her brother, then reached over and pulled the black haired man's face up, so that he was looking at her. She kissed him lightly, then stepped back. With a small, "I'll leave you two alone... I don't trust those guys in my kitchen!" She walked out of the room.
The man, finally coming out of his daze, looked up in time to see Takato with an evil grin on his face that matched his sister's.
"I see that you two are finally not so shy about showing your emotions...?" the brown-haired man questioned, wishing that he could do this to his brother-in-law more often.
"Only sometimes... but come, I must speak to you about something urgently."
"What is it?"
"Look."
Jen moved the schematics of the Wyer to the side of the table, and displayed a letter, on very important looking stationary. Takato leaned over to see it better. What he did see, though, surprised him more than ever- and it was not a pleasant surprise, not by a mile.
"What... what do they mean, 'no longer our concern'?! This... this is failing to help another when they are in need!"
"To them, I assume that we are no longer alies, and, therefore, need none of their protection. Just because of Yamato and his stupid ideas..."
Takato nodded, letting the fact that Jen had just dissed Takato's one-time teacher slide. He himself had recently been saying... none to flattering comments about the man. "So... wait... what does this mean?! 'As Igen has broken one of the laws of the Great Pact, Igen Wyer is now formally no longer part of this pact, and no longer may recieve any of the priveleges it used to have.' What... so, we're now on our own, huh?"
"Yup... and there's one more thing..."
"Yes?"
"Well... right here..."
"'...no longer part of the Great Pact, Igen Wyer must now change it's defender's names...'?! Do they really think that I'm going to change my name to something like Luchiel?!"
"...I think they mean that while we were once known as digidestined, we now have to come up with a new title for our group."
"Yeah... had any ideas?"
"No... I wanted it to be a group decision... anyways, you're the Wyerleader, Takato, not me."
"Yeah, but..."
"No buts. I didn't tell anyone only because I wanted you to be the first to know, so that you could apply some of your great calming charm on everyone out there..."
"They're not going to like this, Jen..."
"I know, Takato, I know..."
Takato gave a sigh, something he seemed to be doing a lot these days. If Igen was no longer part of the Great Pact, that means that if any Wyer wanted to try to take over the island, they would be able to- and none of the other Wyers would have to step up. It also meant many other things, but that was the most prominent on Takato's mind- there was only three fighting Ultimates, one healing Ultimate, three Perfects, and a small baby level two to defend Igen.
"Let's go and get this over with..."
Both men walked out to find the entire team remaining- 8 digimon, and 6 humans, their faces drawn in shock. "I... I'm sorry, but... we're... no longer protected by the Great Pact?" Juri asked quietly.
Jen remained silent- Takato was the Wyerleader, and the only one that could possibly give the remaining inhabiters of Igen the reassurance and courage they needed.
"I hate to say it, but yes." There was a simultaneous gasp from all 14 humans and digimon. "I... there's also something else. We can no longer call ourselves-"
"Digidestined, we heard." Hirokazy stated plainly.
"So... what will we call ourselves?" Suichon asked, alarmed- although she was barely 12 years old, she knew all about the Great Pact, and what no longer being a part of it entails.
"I... don't know..." Takato responded, trying to keep his voice level, but failing miserably.
"Hmm... what can we call youse guys...?" Impmon stated from his perch on Guilmon's head. "Um... Guilmon, you have any ideas?"
Guilmon cocked his head for a moment, as though listening to something, then looked back at everyone, who were all puzzling over something like a name. His eyes met Impmon's, and the imp knew that Guilmon had thought of something. Both of their eyes then went to Takato, who looked like he was about to crack. So, Guilmon just said the first thing that came to his mind:
"Tamer?"
Takato looked up at his partners, and grinned. 'Tamer' had been one of Guilmon's many nicknames for him.
"Yes, Guilmon?"
The red dinosaur shook his head. "I don't want anything, but, Tamer?"
Takato was confussed now. The others had started to observe the strange conversation bewteen the partners, and Impmon smacked his head, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"He means that youse guys should call yourselves Tamers!"
Everyone stopped for a moment to run the name 'Tamer' through their heads.
"It... sounds kind of mean..." Juri stated plainly.
Leomon spoke up- since his deletetion during the war, then his revival by Takato not too long ago, he hardly spoke to anyone other than Juri. "I would not mind being a 'Tamed' digimon. Most of us are wild, anyways, and being with partners tames us down. It makes sense to me."
"Speak for yourself!" Terriermon commented. "Not that I don't like the name 'Tamers', but there is NO WAY that I am going to be tamed any time soon!"
"Oh yeah... the one thing that we really need to tame is that mouth of yours!"
"WHAT?! NO! I love my mouth!!!!"
As the group stated laughing at Jen and Terriermon's demonstration, Hirokazu stopped laughing suddenly. "Hey... guys... we just laughed... for the first time in months! I guess that means that things are starting to change? And... does that mean that we are gonna be called Tamers from now on?"
A unanimous "yes!" defeaned the visored boy, and they all started laughing again.
Oh yes, times of change were certainly starting to come about...
Ruki could be found, once again, sitting on her bench on her balcony, watching the sea. She hoped that she would be able to catch sight of whatever she had seen last night again, but the only thing she saw on the water was a boat.
She hated not being able to do anything until her parents said yes, and that would only be if she went with Ryou. So, she decided to sit there for the rest of the day. Sadly, that was not to happen.
"Milady..." whispered her maid. Of course, Ruki struggled not to lash out at the maid for everything- her being married to someone that she hated, despised, and thought was a total prick, her mom refusing to listen to her, her father just plain refusing anything she said (even if it wasn't a question, request, or demand), Ryou trying to act nice... none of this was the maid's fault. However, Ruki felt that if she didn't relieve even a bit of the stress, she would surely crack under the pressure.
"Next time, miss, when you enter my chambers, could you please knock before you say anything, or poke your head in my room?" Her voice was filled with anger, and the maid started to bow continuously.
"Of... of course, milady, but... but the King, Queen, Lord Holder and young Lord are going on a boat trip out of the harbour today, and requested your presence..."
Ruki turned her violet eyes on the maid. She expertly kept the smirk off her face, as she wasn't being requested to go on this trip- she was being forced. Ruki, knowing this, would normally have done something quite... unlady-like, whether someone else was there to witness it or not, but as Ruki did want to go on a boat trip...
"Alright. Tell them that I will be there within the next sun step."
The maid hurriedly left the chambers, and Ruki, after shutting and locking the door, began to get dressed in a thin, pure white linen shift, before slipping on a light dress a startling shade of red. Although a nice blue color would have been better, as this was a water expedition, she wanted to be different. Different, to her, was one of the few things she could accomplish without being reprimanded constantly.
She fastened a saphire pendant that she had gotten from her grandmother many years ago around her neck- with the contrast bewteen the pendant and the dress, it was sure to make some kind of statement.
After making sure that her hair was properly curled and pinned up, she proceeded quickly to exit her chambers, about to set a plan in motion that she had been planning for a while. If she was to become the next Queen within a month, why not have some fun while she was able to?
-------------------------------------{I}Somewhere on Igen{I}-------------------------------
"Oy! Takato!"
The brown haired man looked up from his labours at re-editing one of the digital modify cards that he and Jen had developed not too long after he was appointed the new Wyerleader. They gave their partners special abilities, which might come in very handy, should another of the Wyers attack. He spotted Hirokazu, Kenta, Guardromon and Marineangemon hauling a boat towards the Western shore.
"We're gonna go to the banks, and catch some fish! You want to come?"
Takato grinned, but shook his head. "Nah, too much to do here. And don't you mean TRY to catch some fish?"
"Ha ha, VERY funny, Chumly... now, if you excuse us, we have some fishing to do!"
The four started to walk off, when Juri came up behind Takato. "Hey, wait up!" She called out. Hirokazu, Kenta, Guardromon and Marineangemon turned around. "Whats up, Juri?" Kenta called back.
Juri turned to Takato. "Takato... you've been working so hard, especially since this morning. I think that you should take a break. And don't worry, everyoneand everything here will be fine."
"But-"
"No buts! Now go!"
She pushed him towards the other two men, who grinned at him. Takato walked the rest of the way, but not before turning to Juri, "Fine, I'll go, but just tell Guilmon and Impmon where I've gone!"
Jokingly, she bowed and saluted, and replied, "Oui oui, mon capitan... have a great time!"
"Hey! So chumly's coming after all!" Hirokazu grabbed Takato's arm, and put him right between himself (Hirokazu) and Kenta.
"You're going to love it on the West Coast- it is where we used to live, after all!" Kenta told the Wyerleader.
Takato smiled. "Well, I can't wait to see where you used to live... but... if I come, there won't be any room for Guardromon."
"Not a problem! Whenever we used to go fishing, we'd always leave our digimon on the shore. So it'll be just us three on the boat!"
The five made it to the Western Coast a little past 8:30 am- or, as the time was known in other parts of the world, 2 hours since sun rise. "Ahh! HOME!" Hirokazu exclaimed. As he and Kenta set about getting everything organized for their little excursion, Takato survied the area around him.
The coast was a very strange sight- tall cliffs ended suddenly in gentle slopes down to the many beaches. Tall pieces of rock stuck up randomly from the water, forming different shapes, canals, and patterns. In the sky, the few clouds that there were skitted quickly across the deep blue, although on the horrizon he could make out some darker clouds- obviously storm clouds. He could see some more flat, low rocks about halfway between his vantage point and the horrizon, making a grouping of small islands- it was these that Hirokazu pointed to.
"You see those islands out there? They mark what we call the 'Awesome, Supper-Duper Fishing Spot!' The water there is pretty shallow, and there's a ton of fish, but a bit further out is something else that we call the 'Drop of Terror!' It's like, there's still the oh-so-good fishing banks a bit further out, and the water is still so clear... then you go a bit further, and there's like nothing there. It's just black, really dark water. Anyways, we're not interested with that- we're interested in everything between here and there!"
With that, Hirokazu gave Takato a shove into the boat, closely followed by Kenta and himself. He started up the gas engine- it was a new invention that had come out only a couple weeks before the war started. Soon, they were at the best spot for fishing, and there they anchored, and started to teach Takato how to fish.
------------------------------------{I}Somewhere off the coast of Ista{I}------------------------------
Ruki groaned as she stood at the railing of the boat. No, it was not because she was sea-sick, and even if she was she would never show it. It was mainly because of two different reasons- one, Ryou was leaning over the railing, puking his guts out to the fish that surounded the boat in curiosity. The second was that, for some unkown reason along the lines of, "there's supposed to be a storm today", she, as well as everyone else on the boat, had been secured to random parts of the boat with a short, twine rope.
Ruki wondered how much good it would be if the clouds that were almost right over them which promised rain opened up and soaked them, but she guessed it was a safety precausion- whatever you wanted to call it, it wrecked her plan of falling overboard, and hopefully being washed away in the water. However, her attention was once again drawn from the sickly Ryou beside her to the strange fish below them.
The fish were like none she had ever seen. They were blue, red, yellow, green, and every other color you could imagine. Everyone once in a while, a strange seal-like animal would sometimes appear with the fish, and seem almost to talk to them. The seals were white, with orange tufts of hair, and blue markings on their face and fins. Or, she assume they were fins- she had never seen an animal that live in the sea with hands.
Ruki found them very interesting. And, although some did pay attention to the strange stuff slowly being emptied out of the man and into their water, most of them stared back at her with even eyes, as though they were waiting for her to do something. The seals in particular seemed interested in her, and their eyes shone with an inteligence that even some humans didn't have.
She was glad that no one else had noticed the group of strange fish that seemed to surround only the part of the boat where she was- they would probably try to catch the fish and eat, and scare the rest away. Normally, she wouldn't care what happened to some dumb fish, but these ones almost seemed to call out to her, calm her, almost seem to want to be her-
She stopped her thoughts right there. No fish or seal could possibly want to be her friend- they weren't smart enough, and they couldn't communicate properly to her. Her head shot up as she heeard a peel of thunder, and Ryou beside groaned.
"Don't worry, milady, with us all tied in nicely to the boat, there's no way that we'll be going over board today..." The captian told her, a large smile on his face. Ruki returned to watching the strange fish near the surface of the water, which the captain saw. "Aw, no milady, I don't think that you should try ter eat er catch any of those. Although, I'd give you points fer trying to."
This caught Ruki's interest, as well as the Queen and King's.
"And why not, good sir?" She asked the captain politely.
"It's the strangerst thing- they'm can actually breathe out of water, and if you shoot 'em, er try ter kill 'em, they'm just tern inter small dots an float 'way on the breeze."
"Really?" Rumiko asked, perplexed.
"Yes milady, they'm do. 'Ere, I'll show urs." With that the captain reached into the water and grabbed a fish. He pulled out a blue one, and placed him on the deck. The fish didn't ever try to get back to the water, let alone flop around.
"Wow, that is amazing!" Rumiko said aloud.
"Yes milady, but watch thers!"
He grabbed his pocket knife, and sliced open the fish. Moments later, it's body disintegrated into small bits of who-knew-what, and, just as he said, floated away on the breeze.
"Amazing!"
"Yes... now if only those that are hanged for treason and the other dead here on Ista did the same thing that these fish do." the King put in.
Ruki said nothing. She had just noticed the clouds that were not too far away from them get much darker, and another peel of Thrunder sounded. She noticed how the previously calm water suddenly started to turn and how white caps were suddenly visible. Although it certainly felt like one, Ruki had been old enough to know- this was no ordinary storm.
"Let's see another one!" Rumiko exclaimed, reaching into the water herself this time to grab a fish. Ruki found it amazing how her mother didn't even notice how the water was suddenly very rough. The capitan did, though.
"Oh, milady, this'll be ther last one, as the storm is picking up er pace."
He reached over to once again kill the small, this time red fish, when a huge wave suddenly rocked the boat, with the rain starting right away as a pour. The fish either slipped or jumped out of the Queen's hands (no one was sure which), and the knife out of the captain's. Although the fish made it back in the water with no scratches, the knife barely missed stabbing Ruki- but, it still managed to severe the twine rope which held her to the boat.
Ruki was already planning how to fall over when the next wave hit the boat even harder, and she was sent into the sea.
The last thing that Ruki remembered seeing was her mother's stricken face, and the last hearing was someone yelling out "Ruki!", and, strange enough, someone else with a voice that she had never heard before, but which seemed to be muffled with water, calling out something along the lines of, "Marching Fishes!"
-------------------------------------{I}Our trio of fishermen... well, almost-fishermen{I}-------------------------------
"Well... that was interesting..."
"ARE YOU KIDDING?! We haven't been able to catch a SINGLE FISH! There's not even a Gomamon or their fish around here... Takato, you're bad luck."
"Watch us come tomorrow, and there be a ton of fish, all hopping into our boat..."
"Yeah, right Kenta..."
"Um, you guys? I'm not talking about the fishing."
That got both Hirokazu and Kenta to listen to him. "Oh really, Chumly? Well, I don't see whats so weird. Do you, Kenta? ...Kenta?"
While Hirokazu had been talking, Kenta looked to see where the Wyerleader's eyes were trained, or what they were trained on- and fell speechless. Both were looking right past Hirokazu's shoulder, at something on the water.
"What? What's up?"
Hirokazu also turned around to see the storm clouds in the distance rapidly disappearing at a rate too fast to be natural, and a dark shape speeding towards them.
"Oh well, nevermind..." Hirokazu said, also looking on in interest.
Suddenly, a Gomamon popped out of the water, and turned towards the three in boat- namely, Takato.
"Sir! Wyerleader! We've found a woman dressed in very nice clothes, and we're bringing her this way! She's out cold!"
"And how do you know that, Gomamon?" Hirokazu asked, looking as though he couldn't care less.
"Because she hasn't been responding to anything we do!"
That was enough for Takato. He immediately jumped over the side of the boat, thanked all the Gods that the water was shallow for a bit further out, and began swimming to where the Gomamon was heading- albeit rather clumsily. "Gomamon! Think you can help get me there a little bit faster? If she's still alive, I want to make sure that she stays that way!"
"Sure!" Gomamon offered his two back fins to Takato. "Just hold on tight- we won't get there as quickly as I could by myself, but it'll certainly be faster than you!"
Takato held on tight to Gomamon's back fins, as the seal-type digimon sped for open water, and the frothing water moving towards shore. They were almost about to go over the 'Drop of Terror!' when the dark spot suddenly met them, dragged Takato on top of it, and quickly moved towards the shore. After getting his bearings, the young Wyerleader realized that he was riding ontop of a large school of fish- meaning that this was Gomamon's attack, "Marching Fishes". He decided not to complain about the transport- it could be worse, anyways.
The quickly passed by Hirokazu and Kenta, making them and everything else fall out of the boat in the process.
"Hey! Watch it, Chumly!"
When the mound of fish got to the shore, they dumped Takato and a strange red thing onto the rocky part of the beach (Takato, and the red thing getting a few bruises, as it WAS rock).
"Sorry... but we're all in a big hurry to get back to Ista..." Gomamon explained tiredly.
"Why... why do you need to be at Ista?" Takato dimly remembered that Ista had separated itself from the rest of the world, and that it was located not too far West of Igen- half a day's boat ride, at least.
"Well... we're supposed to be looking after the royal family. When she-" he indicated the red thing beside Takato that was finally starting to stur "-fell off the boat, we couldn't let her drown- and, with all those pretty clothes on, she would of. So we couldn't bring her back to Ista... I hope you don't mind..."
Takato shook his head. "No... we've been through hard times lately, and- wait, how did you know that I was Wyerleader?"
Gomamon grinned as he hopped back into the water. "Digimon's intuition, sir!" He dove under, before resurfacing, and asking Takato, "Are... are we Gomamon and our friends allowed to beach here at Igen? We heard about the war and what REALLY happened, and since we're pretty easy targets with our huge group..."
Takato nodded and grinned, replying: "Of course. There's no reason why you shouldn't. Make yourselves at home if the need arises."
Gomamon grinned. "Thank you sir!"
"Just call me Takato!"
"Or Chumly!" Hirokazu shouted as both he and Kenta dragged the boat and all their supplies out of the water.
"Okay... Takato!" Gomamon grinned, then dove into the water and was gone withing a matter of seconds.
"Well... that guy was fast..." Kenta stated obviously.
"Hey, Chumly... what's that?"
Takato looked back to the red thing to find it was a young woman staring at him shocked, who couldn't have been any older than himself. Her hair, which had apparently lost all it's curl and whatever held it in place, was quite messy and clung to her face, shoulders and back. Her red dress was torn around the cuffs and hems, as well as in some other places. The thing that drew Takato most was her eyes. They were a pure violet, but Takato could barely detect a hint of blue in them.
He quickly got onto his knees and hands, and sat down beside her. "Are... are you alright, miss?"
She didn't respond- only struggle to sit up. Takato immediately aided her, and told Hirokazu and Kenta, "Get some of the medical supplies!"
"They fell in the water!"
"THEY'RE WATER PROOF, HIROKAZU! GET SOME!"
Both other men being shocked by his voice hurried to do as he bid. Takato once again turned his attention to the woman in his arms. She was stunned, and he could easily guess why- if what Gomamon had said was right, she was from Ista- they had cut themselves off from the outside world so badly that they had no idea that there were even other people out there.
"Are you okay?" He asked again, his voice calmer, gentler than it had been only a few moments ago.
She began to shake in his arms. "I'm... I'm cold..." She stated slowly. He began to grow worried. Even though he didn't know much about first aid, he knew enough that she was close to having Hypothermia. Hirokazu and Kenta got back just then. Takato deicided something quickly, then turned to them. "Hirokazu. Do you have a blanket?"
"Yeah, but it's sopping wet, dude."
Takato sighed. Then he though of something. He stripped off his blue, light sweatshirt (which was also soaked), and underneath was a semi-dry white long-sleved t-shirt. He took that off over his head, revealing to all his muscular, well-toned body. But the things that caught most people's attention were the bruises, cuts, and scars that were souvenirs of the war.
He placed the shirt over the woman, and held her tightly to his chest. Both Hirokazu, Kenta, and their partners were unable to say anything about the sight before them. Takato sighed. "I want to get her back to the Wyer so that Juri can look after her..."
"Don't worry, Chumly, we'll get Juri here!" Hirokazu said enthousiastically, quickly getting over the shock of Takato's battle-torn body. "Come on Kenta... let's go!" Kenta, although not nearly as fast to get over things as Hirokazu, stared at Takato for a bit longer, before asking the question that was on his mind.
"Takato... are all those from..."
"Most of them are from the war. A few are products of us building the new Wyer, and some are really old from my training. Any that I received on my face are healed, or at least partially-healed. Now... we need either Juri here, or this young woman at the Wyer."
"We're going, mon capitan! Let's move it, Kenta!"
"Coming, er, going, er..."
"Let's go!"
"Gotcha!"
Hirokazu and Kenta quickly disappeared from sight on Guardromon's shoulders, Marineangemon on the mecha digimon's head.
Takato slowly got up, carying the woman with one hand supporting her back and one her legs. He walked up the grassy slope to the small ridge which over looked much of the coast, and a bit into the interior of Igen. Panting slightly as the woman was infact quite light for her size, but her dress added an extra 20 or so lbs onto the total weight, he found a small dip near the top of the ridge. You could still see everywhere, but, if the need arose, it was deep enough to hide in. He sat down in the same position that he had been in before with her, his back against one of the sides of the dip.
Takato looked down to the woman in his arms, and noticed something. A small, saphire pendant hung around her neck. How it still managed to stay on even through the storm and her ride was anyone's guess. But the design around the edge of the pendant- he had seen those same patterns carved into one of the walls that made up the Wyer's Hall, and on the old Wyerwoman's necklace...
She noticed where he was looking, but mistook his gaze to be for another part of her body.
"Hentai!" She told him, and tried to slap him across the face- however, although she would have been too weak to do barely more than a light tap on his cheek, her position in his arms made it harder for her to move or turn around. She had always been told that if a man was to hold her like that, and was not her husband, he should be sentenced to death, as it was the most rude position to be in- it indicated that he had sexual intentions.
He gently loosened his arms from around her body, and stood up. She had barely recovered enough strength to sit up, and she did so now, as he moved around to face her. It was 4:45, and the sun was still out, although the hottest part of the day was alerady over. However, there was still enough warmth to be able to warm both of them up quickly.
Takato crouched down in front of her, and looked into her eyes. Rebellion, hate, but mostly confussion emanated from them. Takato wondered why there was rebellion, as the other two were easy enough to understand. "Listen. I'm not going to do anything to you- but hear me out. That pendant that you have around your neck-"
"It was my grandmothers. She gave it to me for my 12th birthday- before she died."
"Well, I find it interesting-"
"Why?"
"Why? That's what I've been trying to say."
"Then spit it out already, Gogglehead." A gasp of surprise followed, by the young woman covering her mouth, her eyes widened in shock. She had never said such things before- it was rude, improper, and made her look like she was from a poorer family than what she was.
Takato smiled. "Don't worry. Properness, and ladyness, and all those other really strict rules that you were probably taught are thrown out the window here. Speak your mind, when you want, where you want."
She nodded, and allowed her shoulders to slouch a bit, as she got into a more relaxed position. "Are you ever going to tell me what's interesting about my necklace?"
"Well... the pattern around the saphire... it's an old design, and one of quite a few that's carved on Igen Wyer's walls."
"Igen... Wyer?"
"It's like a kingdom, only not so... divided, more relaxed, and not nearly as strict and rank-oriented as Kingdoms like... Ista. It's also not as... separated from the rest of the world as Ista is, which I'm sure you know, since you live there, but I'm pretty sure that Igen might be soon..."
"How do you know that I come from Ista?"
"Gomamon told me."
"You mean the weird seal thing?"
"Yup! They're quite fun to talk to- hardly say an intelligent thing, but they're not NEARLY as bad as Terriermon. Oh- remind me, if you stay long enough, to introduce you to my friend's partner. He's quite... talkative."
"So... you can speak to those creatures..."
"So can you. It's not like they only speak some weird animal language like other animals do. Digimon- or Digital Monsters- are special, and can only be found in Wyers. I'm pretty sure that over the next few days, once again, if you stay that long, you'll see a lot of digimon returning here to their home, after the internal war we had a couple months ago."
She looked at him. He was smiling gently, the sun light bathing his face in a bright, orange glow. She couldn't help but notice the scars that the other men who had been there had pointed out earlier. Indeed, even to her eye, the scars looked brutal, and she was surprised he was even out of bed.
"Those scars..." she started. He looked at one of them on his chest, touched it gingerly, and obviously winced.
"They don't actually hurt that much... it's just the one or two, especially this one, that were deep from the war, and got a tiny bit infected. Of course, Juri's special salve put an end to the infection..." he winced worse than when he touched the scar, "...makes one not even want to be sick again."
She let a small smile creep onto her face. His eyes, face, everything about him indicated to her that he had no wrong intentions- of course, with her being the only daughter of the Ista Royal family, she was taugh quite a bit how to tell what a man's intentions are.
"You... keep talking about a war... but... this place just seems so... so... peaceful... beautiful..."
He grinned again, sitting down perpendicular to her, his face tilted up towards the soon-to-be seeting sun, letting the warmth wash over him. "You think so? I've always wanted an outsider's opinion. I think that myself and the few people left here did an excellent job cleaning everything up, don't you think?"
"How long has it been?"
"A little over six months."
She remained silent. If it had been six months since a war, it still would have been impossible for all the plants just starting to grow to een be there- the winter months had just past. She turned her gaze away from his face, and looked over the water. It was glistening gently in the afternoon sun, and she could see many fish swimming around in the bay below them. There were many colors, and they darted gracefully in the water. She saw some of the seal things, which she now knew to be Gomamon, swimming among the fish, and some other creatures, that she had never seen before, swimming with them.
In the darker water, she could make out some darker and lighter shapes- more of those Digimon, she realized.
"Hey... um..."
"Takato?"
"Yeah, Takato... Gogglehead..."
He didn't respond to that name, but she could have sworn that, from the corner of her eye, she saw his grin broaden slightly.
"Why are there so mant fish and... digimon... down there?"
He looked down, and promptly cursed. "We spend almost a WHOLE DAY trying to fish, you come, and there's suddenly a TON of fish, swimming there leisurely. I think they're moking us..." He groaned.
She couldn't help but giggle. "No offense, but... it doesn't seem to be that hard to mock you."
"Gee, thanks for the encouragement..." he replied sarcastically, but his customary grin was still there. She couldn't help but smile as well. That was about when she realized something.
"I know your name, but..."
"Oh! Right, I forgot... I am Takato, current Wyerleader of Igen Wyer, and all 16 occupents. Although, if the other Wyers make us change the name from 'Wyer' to 'Kingdom', or something else along those lines, I think I just might resign... and you, milday?"
She cringed. "You said properness was thrown out the window here. PLEASE don't call me 'milady', 'highness', or anything other such title-"
"Highness? You mean... you're the Princess?! no wonder those Gomamon saved you..." Takato muttered.
"Do you want to hear the rest of this or not?!"
"Yes, please continue."
"Alright. My name is Ruki, only child of King Hitsune and Queen Rumiko of the Island Kindom of Ista. I'd much rather be a servant girl, or someone of the like, although there would be obvious and draw backs, and I'm currently..."
"Yes?"
"I left off that sentence. I thought that you, being a Wyerleader, which I assume is equal to the King's position, would know that when someone leaves off, or does not finish a sentence that they do not want to continue it."
"Good point. Please forgive my stupidness. Although, based on what the others say, I'm pretty sure that you're going to have to do that a lot..."
She couldn't help but let her angry mood be washed away by the goofy smile he currently had on his face. She looked back to the sea once again, and saw a dark dot on the horizon. She wondered what it was, and assumed that it was another island. Her eyes traveled to the bay again, where the digimon and fish were swimming happily.
"Ruki?"
"Yes?" She responded without looking back at him.
"When ARE you going to leave?"
"Why? You want me to?"
"No! No... it's just... everyone at Igen looks up to me for support and leadership, and I care for them all very much, but... whenever I look at the old Wyer, or anything that was a part of it... I just feel so... lonely, like I'm the only one that could possibly be going through what I am."
"...what does this have to do with me leaving?"
"When we were talking... that was the first time in a while that I've smiled."
That surprised her. "But... you seem so happy..."
"I guess... that's just because I'm happy when I'm with you... Ruki..."
She looked over her shoulder to find him still sitting there, with a gentle, kind smile. His almond eyes radiated the amount of pleasure and happiness that he felt at that moment, and Ruki couldn't seem to looked away. She found herself simply staring into his eyes, and she noticed that sitting here, with his shirt around her, and Takato so close, that she felt, for the first time in her life, relaxed... almost whole...
"So... when?" he asked quietly, in a soothing tone.
She lowered her gaze, before responding. "I'm... not sure... if I am to leave... Igen?" he nodded, "Igen, then you would have to take me. My parents wouldn't send out anyone to look for me, if I'm not in Ista territory. So, it's up to you."
Takato looked at her quietly, his mind thinking up a solution. "You just say the word, and we shall bring you back to Ista." He tried to sound cheerful, but the sadness in his voice was obvious. He lowered his head, not wanting to see her expression.
She turned around so that her whole body was facing him, and forced him to look at her. When he did meet her gaze, she saw the true depths of his eyes- the almond that filled msot of his eyes gave way to a crimson color near the center, and in that so small redish area, she was able to see the extent to which he cared for every living thing- including herself. She saw the pain that filled his soul, she saw a great, hidden love- for what, she could only guess, and she saw the happiness, which seemed to be so natural, and yet foreign to him.
"Takato... I... my family... they'd assume me dead, anyways... I... I want to stay here..." she told him simply.
She was able to see how the surprise showed in his eyes. "You... want to stay?"
Ruki nodded.
"But... you've only been here for a bit... not enough time to really..."
"I've been here for long enough to know that I like Igen... I can stay, can't I?"
Takato looked at her closely. She seemed to be strong, both physically and mentally, and she had good sense, and yet a personality that made it seem like she was just an ordinary person- no one would think of her as a Princess. He thought for a moment, but decided.
"You can stay, but if you want to leave-"
"I don't think that I will ever want to leave." She replied happily.
"Well-"
"Takato!"
Both Ruki and Takato turned around to find Hirokazu, Kenta and Juri on the flying Guardromon, with Leomon and Marineangemon running and flying along below. Beside Leomon was a strange, demonic creature, riding a motorcycle. He had three red eyes, and guns strapped to his legs. Behind him on the bike was a red and black dinosaur, who promptly hopped off and tackled Takato the moment that he was in distance.
"Takatomon!"
"Guilmon! I'm glad to see you too, but... I CAN'T BREATH!"
Ruki just starred in amazement as Takato slowly pushed the large red dino, apparently named Guilmon, off him, and sat up, while looking at the three humans, and the other dreatures with them.
"Takato! We heard something about someone being-" it was then that Juri noticed Ruki. "Omigosh! Come on, now... let's get you some warm, dry clothes..." Juri hopped off Guardromon, and began rumaging through the large pack that Leomon had just seemed to pull out of nowhere. She gave an exclamation of triumph, as she pulled some pants, dark blue in color, a light, aqua blue, cotton shirt, and a hair tie out of the bag. Juri then proceeded to walk over to where Takato and Ruki were still sitting.
Guilmon, after getting off of Takato, had started sniffing Ruki. Even though it was quite annoying, it still tickled, and Ruki was giggling in no time. Takato smiled again, seeing his partner torment his new friend.
"Takatomon?"
"Yeah, Guilmon?" Takato was slightly gald to see his partner stop sniffing Ruki.
"Why does she smell weird?"
"Weird?" Takato repeated, unsure of what his partner was getting at.
"Maybe it's because I was just dragged through the water among a ton of fishes not too long ago." Ruki replied with a slight annoyance in her voice. NO ONE called her, or her smell, weird.
"It's not fish... it smells like a Renamon I met yesterday. We played tag, but she always won..." Guilmon said thoughtfully.
"Renamon? I thought that they were rare, hard to find digimon. Besdies, why would a Renamon come here?" Kenta asked, scanning the surroundings anxiously.
Ruki looked at the clothes that Juri was offering her. "You want me to change... into these?"
Juri nodded, with a smile on her face. "Yes... they're quite comfy, once you get used to them..."
Ruki took the clothes from the other girl, and inspected them. "Well... they're not as bad as those smelly old dresses that I've had to wear... where can I get changed?" Juri pointed over to a cluster of bushes not too far away, that hid the forest behind them. "If anyone peaks, they're dead." Ruki warned them all, and proceeded over to the bushes.
The demon got off his bike, and de-digivolved to Impmon. "So, pineapplehead..." he gestured to the red-headed girl who had just ducked behind the bushes, "who's the dame?"
Takato sighed. "That 'dame' is the only child of King Hitsune and Queen Rumiko of Ista Kingdom- Ruki."
There were a few gasps from the surrounding Tamers and digimon, while Guilmon helped Takato to stand up.
"She's... a PRINCESS?!" Hirokazu exclaimed. Kenta and Impmon were quick to jump on Hirokazu to shut him up.
"Shh!" Kenta hissed.
Impmon decided to just give a good old fashioned death-glare.
"What?!" Hirokazu asked, annoyed.
The Tamers just shook their heads. Impmon turned to Takato and Guilmon. "So... since it's almost dinner, we gonna bring her back to the Wyer?"
Takato nodded. "Of course... we can't just leave her here. And even if we could, I wouldn't."
Juri sighed, with a starry look in her eyes. "Ah... I guess chivalry isn't dead..." she turned her attention to Takato, "especially when you're a knight, AND you're in love with someone!"
Takato stuttered while Hirokazu and Kenta started chuckling. "Wh... what do you mean, in LOVE?! WE JUST MET!"
Juri grinned. It was obvious that Takato was lying- his face was beet red. She was about to make another comment, when a voice from behind her spoke out. "I'm ready... now what?"
Everyone turned around to find Rika, dressed in the typical Wyer clothing that Juri had brought for her.
"You sure recover quickly." Hirokazu commented.
"Hmm? I guess you're right... what?" Ruki noticed how they were looking at her- everyone except for Takato, who had a look on his face that showed he was very pleased with her new look.
"Well... we thought you are a Princess..." Kenta said, quiet as usual.
"Yes, I am. I was told that I don't need to act like one here, and that's what I plan to do. INCLUDING using contractions." Ruki stated happily, with a slight smirk on her face.
This made everyone turned their attention towards Takato. He noticed their looks, and, sweatdropping, backed away. "Eh? You guys... um... we should be heading back now! GRANI!"
There was silence for a moment, and Ruki was about to ask why Takato had just called out for his grandmother, when a large red, white and gold synthetic dragon shimmered into space, hovering just a few inches off the ground beside Takato. Guilmon hopped up, with Impmon on his head. The motorcycle came to life quite suddenly but itself, and drove out of sight into the forest.
Ruki watched it leave, but turned quickly when she felt a breeze on her back. Her eyes widened at the scene.
Takato, looking as majestic as ever, was leaning off the side of Grani, his hand extended for her to grasp. She did so, and he pulled her on, placing her infront of him, and holding her tightly to his chest. She was about to comment on their position, but he turned to the rest of the group that was standing there.
"I want everyone back at the Wyer by sundown. Tonight, we're going to relax."
She was barely able to see the grins on Hirokazu's and Kenta's faces before the dragon she was standing on took off into the sky. She was about to look down, but she found that just looking in front of her was enough to make her dizzy, with the speed they were going. She turned around, and, almost on instinct, burried her face into the crook of his neck.
She stayed like that for a minute or two, before she felt them slowing down, and finally stopping. Still she did not look up or move from her spot, until she felt his arms loosen around her.
"What are you-"
She was cut off by his finger on her lips. He then pointed to behind her, and looked over- only to realize that they were safely on the ground, or at least what looked like a landing spot, and Guilmon and Impmon were already out of sight.
Ruki looked back at Takato, and noticed a blush on his cheeks. She wanted to tease him about it, but felt a strange heat in her cheeks, and understodd that she was also blushing.
"Welcome to Igen Wyer." He told her in his soothing voice, and she turned around once again to look at her surroundings. They seemed to be at the top of a mountain, with a staircase going down a bit to a ledge, which she presumed led to somewhere else. She could see the sea in the distance, with forests that spread for miles in every direction. Suddenly, something pink floated into her field of vision. She reached out her hand and plucked it out of the air. Examining it, she found that it was a pink petal. Her eyes widened, and she let the breeze catch the petal again, and gently lift it into the air.
Ruki turned around to Takato. "What... was that a petal?"
He grinned. "You... don't have Sakura, or Cherry Blossom, trees where you live, do you?" She noticed that his grin seemed to be fixed into place- not since she had first seen him had he stopped smiling.
"No... we don't... can you show me them?"
He turned his head towards the Eastern side of the island, and she looked as well. There were open plains filled with crops, but, in the middle of those plains was the strangest forest she had ever seen. It was not because they were planted in straight rows, nor because the limbs twisted around in many different directions. The forest was a mass of green and pink.
"What..."
"Those are Sakura trees. They won't fully bloom for another month or so, but when they do, they're beautiful." He told her, still grinning. She turned back to him again, walked up so that her body was barely a few inches away from his, and held her face close to his. "What's with the smile? Are you afraid that you might forget how if you stop?"
She noticed how his cheeks became slightly redder, and she felt her own start to burn lightly.
"I'm not afraid of not smiling- I just haven't had a reason to smile for a while, and I feel like I'm getting out of practice."
Her cheeks burned a tad hotter, as she just realized how close they were. She was able to feel his breath on her skin, and she couldn't help but be grateful that they both knew the proper customs for two people of rank- if not, she might have admitted to herself right then and there something that she did not want to.
"So... do you want to come inside and choose your accomadations until we can get something fixed up nicely for you?" He asked, in an almost teasing way.
"Hmm... why not? But... you don't expect me to actually climb down those... stairs, do you?"
"No, I certainly do not. Instead..."
"Hey! What-"
"Just helping you down. You don't mind, do you?"
He looked down at the woman that he had just finished sweeping off her feet- litterally- and into his. She remained silent, and he felt his grin grow a bit bigger. He easily jumped down from the ledge they were on to the small out cropping below them, while his passenger let out a small yelp of either surprise or fear- however, knowing her, probably surprise. He set her down on her feet, and was about to walk inside, when he remembered his manners.
"Shall we?" He asked, and indicated that he wanted her to come with him by extending his arm, which she latched onto easily.
"Of course. Now... what kind of rooms do you have?"
-----------------------------------------{I}I got bored of Igen, so here's Ista!{I}-----------------------------------------
It had been almost one week since Princess Ruki disappeared from Ista, and was assumed drowned. The people were in mourning- Queen Rumiko and Lord Ryou especially. They dearly missed Ruki, but for different reasons. Rumiko missed her daughter, because, well, Ruki was Rumiko's daughter, and if Rumiko didn't miss Ruki, then the Queen would certainly be heartless.
Ryou, on the other hand, felt as though he had just been cheated of something. Yes, he didn't think of the situation as though someone dear had been lost to him forever- he felt as though someTHING dear had been lost. He walked down the streets, a scowl constantly on his face, 'accidentally' knocking things over, bumping into people... he continued walking until he reached the harbour, and followed the coast around to the Eastern shores.
The Eastern shores were extremly hard to get to, as all the roads that had ever been built to them were always hidden the next spring by the foliage growing back. A road had once tried to be maintained, but, after a few years, everyone gave up on it. Now, the only way to get there was the coast line, and if you didn't keep following the coast, and instead followed one of the river inlets, then you'd end up in the middle of the jungle.
The Eastern shores were known for their fishing grounds- Ista seemed to be built on a plateau that extended far into the Eastern sea. However, Ryou was not interested in the fish today- instead, he wanted to find his cove, where he could go and relax, and think about nothing, or everything.
"Hm... this would have been the perfect spot for our honey moon... and every time after that..." He said, a slightly evil grin playing on his face as he imagined himself and Ruki here on the shore, under the moonlight...
He was about to continue his fantasy when he heard something coming from just around the next corner. He proceeded silently over to the bushes there, in which he hid, as he listened to the conversation going on.
"Can you believe it... barely a week, and already..."
"Sssh! We can't let anyone here know!"
He noticed that the voices sounded rough and scratchy- nothing like any human voices he knew.
"Why?"
"Because..."
"Because what?"
There was a sigh.
"Because she is this place's Princess!"
"Oh! So... is she going to become our Princess?"
It seemed as though a thousand of the talking creatures groaned all at once.
"WHAT have we told you?! It would be an insult to call our Wyerwoman 'Princess'..."
"Besides, she would be equal to a Queen."
"Oh... so... when...?"
"We don't know. Humans work at different speeds than us digimon. They court each other for much longer than we do before they mate."
"What are their names?"
"What do mean?"
"The Wyerleader and Wyerwoman!"
"There is no Wyerwoman for Igen Wyer currently."
"But I thought-"
"The once Princess Ruki will be the Wyerwoman in not too long a time, if there is no interuptions. With the small population of Igen, there is nothing extremely urgent for the Wyerleader, Takato, to do, so he can spend more time with her."
Ryou stopped his breathing, his heart, everything he could to make less noise. If Ruki was still alive, as the creatures were saying...
"So... are we going to belong to Igen now?"
"Yes. After the war, Igen is the safest place to be right now. Hardly any humans, beautiful shores, stunning land... I have only been there once, and it was more beautiful then any other place on Earth."
"Even after a war?!"
"Yup!"
Ryou noticed how the last voice seemed to be more squeaky and high-pitched than the others... actually, it was a lot more squeaky and hight-pitched.
"What would YOU know? You're just a Gomamon!"
"I'm just a Gomamon who saved the new Wyerwoman's life, and who was invited to beach at Igen. Takato is VERY kind, and I can see why the humans left look up to him for leadership. He can be quite... persuasive... when he wants to be."
"So... you've been there?"
"I sleep and live there now! I just wanted to come and get the rest of the Gomamon to come to Igen! And, it is much more beautiful then it was before. It seems that with all the repairs going on in the last few months, that the humans and digimon have worked closer than ever before, and made Igen better than before!"
"And what of the new Wyerwoman?"
"Ruki? She's... well, she's certainly not the type of personality that I would court... but humans are strange, like the ones here. I can't understand why they would isolate themselves from the rest of the world..."
"Yes, the humans on Ista are strange. But... how is her... relationship, with the Wyerleader?"
"They go to the Western Coast everyday, without fail. They talk, eat, laugh, swim, they both even try to fish... although, it seems like neither has ever fished before."
"Really? Then we must see that... Gomamon, when are you leaving?"
"Before nightfall, of course. If you want to get there, just follow the sandbar out for 39 leagues, until it ends. Then, it's only another 14 leagues of deep water until you come to the other fishing banks, and barely a half-league until you reach the shore."
"That... is quite a distance..."
"Not when you're a Gomamon! See you, Whamon!"
Ryou heard a splash, and then a couple more huge splashes after the first. When silence once again filled the air, with the exception of the birds around him, chirping endlessly. He grit his teeth. If Ruki had been alive all this time... if she could have come back...
He turned on his heal, and started making his way quickly back to Ista Hold. He had no idea what Wyerleaders or Wyerwoman were, or even where this 'Igen' place was, but he was sure to find out- as well as get his Ruki back...
She opened her eyes, waiting for her vision to clear up. When it did, she saw herself underneath the just-past-bloom of the Sakura trees, and the winds was filled with the pink petals, while many more still clung onto the trees. It was a warm evening, and she felt as though she could sleep under the trees forever.
A rustling noise caught her attention, and she looked into the tree above to see a yellow fox with a white stomach, purple gloves, and crystal blue eyes watching her, steadily. She smiled at the fox, who let a grin appear on her beautiful features before she disappeared.
For no apparent reason, she looked down at her feat, and, through the Sakura-petals storm she saw a dark figure walking towards her. Their hair was short, and was being tossed about randomly in the wind. They walked with a purposeful stride, and she could tell just by looking at them that they had some kind of power. She watched as the figure got closer, and as other parts of the silhouet became more visible, she realized that it was a young man with brown hair, and redish-brown eyes.
He continued walking to her, and kneeled down beside her head, which he then, gently placed in his lap. She grinned, enjoying her new pillow. His face still darkened, while his well-made, expensive clothes were visible, he brushed his lips against hers, before resting his back against the Sakura tree beside them. She let herself be enveloped by his warmth, and his almond scent.
She was having the nicest time, with no worries, not doing anything, just lying there with her head on his lap... that was about when she realized that she had no idea who 'he' was. She tried to get a better look at his face, but all she saw was a kind grin, and shinning, brownish-red eyes, and then...
Ruki woke up to the sound of some Byiomon and Hawkmon chirping happily outside her Wyer. She opened her eyes, blinking the dust and stuff that had gotten into them out. When she was awake enough to move without running into a wall (which she had done the first day here), she proceeded to stand up and make her way to the bathing room. She slowly got undressed, and slipped into the water, while letting her hair spread out in a fan around her. Her mind returned to the dream, and she wondered if it was an omen, or premonition... and then she scolded herself for even thinking of such things. Omens and premonitions were not real.
She slowly got out of the large pool, and then proceeded to slip on the simple red linen shirt and blue cotton pants that she had come to wear almost everyday. Juri had found a few more, and they become almost like her uniform.
Her almost week now at the Wyer was more fun that anything that she could have imagined. Although the other members of the Wyer got up rediculously early, Ruki didn't have to- it was apparently still a habit from the war. When she did get up, she set to work either helping to cook or clean, or help out with the building of new things for the Wyer. Since she arrived, the mountain fortress had acquired a few more pieces of furniture- an almost completely finished kitchen, a long table in the main room with chairs, a smaller table for everyone to eat around in the common dining hall with chairs, and a few more lamps and couches.
She was surprised that so much had gotten done in the last seven days, but when Juri showed her the Wyer's new food supplies...
--------------------------------------{I}GAH! FLASHBACK!!{I}----------------------------
It was the second night that Ruki had slept at the Wyer, and the third day that she had been there.
"Ruki!"
The red head turned around only to find Juri standing there, running up from a tunnel that sloped down to the kitchens.
"Yes, Juri?"
"Come on! I want to show you something!"
"Um..."
However, Juri wasn't listening, and, grabbing Ruki's hand, dragged the other girl down to about halfway between the kitchens and her room. A large, stone door was placed in the wall here, and Ruki knew that on the other side were some of those hollow metal things that the others called 'Pipes' which ran through the Wyer. When Juri did open the doors, though, Ruki was stunned.
Inside was many pools of water, all crystal clear, and all, she noticed, freezing cold. There were some meats, fruits, vegitables, and many other edible things with in the freezing cold room.
"This is our storage room. Thanks to you, myself and Leomon have been able to work on it, and now it's fully operational! With the help of a Renamon, of course..." Juri added the last part, after looking at a strange symbol imprinted on the inside of the door. Ruki looked where Juri was looking, and saw both symbols, on either side of the doors.
"What... do these mean?"
"Hm? Well, this is the Hazard- my brother's symbol. And this-" she indicated a cirlce, divided in half by a curving line, with two dots opposite each other on either side of the line, "-is the Ying and Yang symbol- it means balance... I think..."
As Juri pondered the meaning of the Ying Yang symbol Ruki couldn't help but feel almost drawn to it. She was slowly walking closer to it, when Juri got her attention. "Hey! Ruki! We should be getting down to the common room before everyone else eats all the food!"
Ruki nodded, and followed Juri out of the room, the Ying Yang symbol still clearly etched in her mind.
------------------------------{I}END THE SCARY FLASHBACK!{I}------------------------
And there it stayed, until this morning, when Ruki, once again, walked by the cold room. She stared at the door with the symbol on it, like she did every morning, and was about to leave when the doors opened, and out walked-
"Takato?" She asked him unsure if it was him behind the large box he carried.
"Yeah? Oh, Ruki? Hi! I just need to bring this to Juri, then we can go to the coast again."
"You mean after you bring that to Juri, eat, and have your morning meeting with Jen."
"Nope! Already had the meeting... asked Juri to packed a basket with food so that we could leave right away!"
"...you really are something, aren't you?"
He was quiet for a moment. "Am I... a good something?"
She grinned, and playfully punched him in the arm, causing him to drop the apparently heaving box onto his toes.
"Ow! Owowowowow!!!!" He said as he began to hop around on his left foot, while holding his right in his hands. Ruki's smiled widened, especially when he tripped over the box he had dropped and landed on the floor by her feet.
"Hmm... does your poor little foot hurt, Gogglehead?" He asked in a teasing tone. He nodded his head, about to say something, but she cut him off as she kneeled down by his feet and gently touched the foot in question. "Does it hurt when I do... this?" She asked him as she jerked his foot into a position that would be impossible for other people who's feet weren't in pain to get into.
"OOOWWWW!!!! YES!"
She grinned as she set his foot back into the position that it was originally in. She slowly crawled up so that her head was hovering a few inches above his own. "And... what if I kiss it better?"
"Um... depends where you kiss..." he replied, a small grin appearing on his face, even though it was obvious that he was still in pain.
She also grinned. They always teased each other like this, although a part of both of them wished that it wasn't just teasing. She began to move closer to his face.
However, something happened that she didn't account for. Part of his shirt was underneath her hand, and she slipped on it. This brought her face crashing down onto his own, their lips meeting somehow.
She wanted to move herself, but for some reason was unable to. And, Ruki couldn't believe she was thinking this, but she even wanted to not only extend the kiss, but make it more passionate. Even as the thought ran through her mind, Ruki tried to erase it- but, when she did, it only gained more influence over her. This wasn't proper, she dimly noted, for a lady to not only be kissed, but for it to be her first kiss...
She felt him switch positions underneath her, and, although both of them suddenly tried to make the kiss more passionate, he was having the same thoughts that she was.
'I... this isn't right, but... I can't help it... we shouldn't be doing this... and yet... it feels so... right...'
Ruki opened her eyes, to find herself staring right into the red part of her eyes, and in that part, she saw both confussion, and longing- and another emotion, that she had never seen in her life. She remembered there being something close to it in Ryou's eyes, but it had never been this pure, nor this innocent looking. As he closed his eyes again, she immitated him, manuevering herself so that she was ontop of him. She let herself lower her body so that it was pressing into his, as her tounge gently pressed against his lips, seeking entrance, with her gladly provided.
She felt his body go rigid, and she realized that he also had the same thought that she did- this was so wrong. Especially in the middle of the hallway... as that thought came to her, she quickly, although quite reluctantly, pulled away and got off of him, and then proceeded to help him up.
They were both slighty dazed, and leaned against opposite walls, catching their breath.
It seemed as though Ruki came to her senses just in time, as barely 30 seconds later (when they were much calmer, and were looking at each other with lop-sided grins on their faces) Juri, Jen, Kenta, and all their digimon came running up the hallway.
"Are you okay?! We heard Takato screaming..." Juri stated, when she saw how they were smiling.
"Yes, we're fine... Takato, being so smart, dropped that box on his foot!" Ruki said, still grinning.
"Yeah! After you punched me in the arm!"
"I didn't punch you THAT hard..." She scoffed, but both still had their grins.
Juri looked between the two- there was obviously something that they weren't telling her, but that could come later. "Well... I made your food for you... I guess I can get Jen and Kenta here to carry the box the rest of the way, if you want to leave right now..."
The two in question looked at each other. Takato nodded, and Ruki turned to Juri, smiling. "Yes, we'll leave now... I sincerely hope that Jen and Kenta here don't break their feet like what Takato did... thanks, Juri." She told the other girl, after recieving the large basket of food.
Takato turned around after offering Ruki his arm, and they headed off up the sloping, turning passage together. Jen turned to Juri.
"They weren't telling us something, were they?"
"Nope... but, let's get this box downstairs! Now, MOVE IT!"
Takato sprawled out comfortably on the grass, Ruki sitting with her legs folded neatly under her, beside him. They had just finished eating breakfast, and were watching the waves crash upon the beach not too far below them.
Over the last few days, a lot of Gomamon, Whamon, and other types of digimon had been arriving by the hundreds from all over the globe. Most of them went to talk to Takato and Ruki as soon as they got there, but it seemed that today was a special day- many, many more digimon had arrived, and, after Gomamon, who had become Takato's new source for news about water digimon, had reported that they were all from Ista, not a single digimon came to bother them.
Ruki turned to Takato. His brown hair was being tossed and turned by the wind, although it was, miraculously, still held slightly in place by his goggles. The wind also gently turned her hair around her face constantly, but it always seemed to leave a gap through which she could see the goggled man.
She looked to their right, where, slightly hidden by bushes, was the huge flying, mecha, dragon, which Takato called Grani.
"Takato?"
"Hmm?"
She grinned, not wanting to disturb his thoughts, but then again...
"What's up with Grani?"
It must have been either the way, or what she said, but when she finished her question, he bolted up to check on the mecha, who was still resting peacefully in the shade be some trees.
He turned his gaze towards her, and she felt the same, strange feeling that she had outside the cold room. However, she put that feeling aside to be dealt with later, as he asked her, "What do you mean, what's up with Grani?"
"Well... he doesn't appear to be a digimon... Grani is a he, right?"
Takato thought for a moment. "Actually... I have no idea. Gender never really bothered me, or Dukemon."
"Dukemon?"
"Guilmon's Ultimate form. It's kind of strange how we reach it, though..."
"Wait, first, explain what all these different 'forms' are."
"Every digimon has different levels, and for each level, they have a different form, which also has a different name. The order from weakest to strongest is Egg, Baby level One, Baby level Two, Child, Adult, Perfect, and Ultimate. And there might be more, but Ultimate is the strongest."
[A/N: I just realized something. Due to my need to have Grani in this fic, Dukemon CM will NOT appear. Sad, isn't it?]
"Okay... you just lost me there. But... Dukemon is really strong, huh?"
"Yup!"
"And what does this have to do with Grani?"
"Well... Dukemon can't really fly, so Grani was created from his data, or something along those lines..."
"Good explanation, smart one. So... why can you call Grani then, if he/she only listens to this Dukemon guy?"
"Well... remember when I told you how it was weird how myself and Guilmon reach Ultimate?"
"Yeah... so?"
"Well... we go through this process called 'Matrix Evolution'. I'm not quite sure how, but somehow my body merges with Guilmon's. Jen can do this as well, and he tried to discover the trick behind it... but... he has absolutely no clue. We think that it's the result of an extremely strong bond between Tamer and Digimon, but we're not one hundred percent sure."
"So... you are partially a digimon?"
"Um... I guess so..."
He turned away from her, thinking that it would effect her in a not-too good way. Upon hearing only silence from behind him, he turned around only to be greeted by Ruki throwing herself onto him, in the process knocking them both to the ground.
Once again, their lips touched, only they went straight away into the more passionate version of their kiss. Ruki, instead of placing her body right against his, stradelled his hips, all the while letting her tounge dance with his. Takato's arms came up to wrap themselves around her waist, and, as he tried to sit up to match her position, fell to the side, causing them to roll over, and for Takato to then be on the top.
They broke apart for a minute, but then noticed that Ruki's legs were still wrapped tightly around Takato's waist, and his arms were still firmly pressing her brests, stomach, and hips into his own.
They both blushed and sat up again- however, Ruki did not leave Takato's arms, and they continued to sit on the hill, watching the digimon play in the water.
They remained like that for a few more minutes, before Ruki decided to look up and see Takato's face. It was still a bit red, but when he felt her shift in his arms, he looked down. Their eyes met once again, and soon after their lips and tounges did as well. She felt his arms tighten around her waist, and she reached up to pull his head down towards hers more, as he was slightly taller than her.
Ruki felt how his hands gently held her stomach, and how they would, every once in a while, trace a design upon it. She wondered where had this feeling come from, and why she was feeling it- with someone that she had only known for a week. The idea of fate and destiny once again made it's way into her head, and, to get rid of it, she indulged herself more in the kiss.
She felt that he was drawing away from her, and, worrying that something was wrong, also stopped herself to look into his eyes, searching for what had happened. He grinned lightly, and the idea that he needed air went out the window. The grin seemed almost forced, and she turned around so that she was completely facing him.
"Takato... what's wrong?"
He shook his head, as though trying to clear his mind. "It's just... we've known each other for a week. And... well, even though we are more free here than anywhere else, it still seems so weird to be.. well... this far into a relationship."
"You... don't..."
He looked at her, and immediately wished that he hadn't said what he was trying to say like that.
"It's not that I don't love you, because I do-"
Both of them stopped. Ruki looked into his eyes, and once again concentrated on the crimson part. Indeed, she saw in his eyes what she herself was feeling- and he had just given it a name.
"You... love me?" Ruki whispered, surprised that he had actually said that.
Swallowing more than just his pride, Takato nodded. "With... with all my heart, I do, Ruki. It's just... I'm not sure... if you really do love me... or... if... if we're ready for this... since it has only been a week, and all..."
She noticed that the end part was rushed, and realized that there was something else behind what he said. But first...
"I... I love you, too, Takato. But, I... I am more than ready for this." She spoke with sincerity in her voice, and he couldn't help but smile.
"Well, I'm gald that you also love me... as, if I'm not mistaken, I stole your first kiss."
Her eyes widened as he said that, and she was amazed. The backest, furthest, darkest part of her mind realized that all of Ista would be furious that the first person she had kissed was not Ryou. And then that thought drifted away, as she then remembered that she was to live on Igen, until the end of her days. She let a small smile creep onto her face, and turned to Takato.
"So, if I'm ready for this relationship between a Princess and a Wyerleader, the question is... are you?" She asked jokingly.
He let his smile spread over his features, as he encompassed her in his arms, and let his lips gently brush upon hers. He pulled away, and replied in a low, quiet voice, "I am more ready for this than anything else in the world."
She grinned as well- something deep inside her said that this was right, and better beyond anything that could have ever happened. She didn't realize that he had moved again until she felt his lips on the left side of her neck. She gasped, her eyes wide, as she felt his tounge and his teeth gently caress and nip at the tender spot. "Takato..." she whispered, too amazed to say anything else.
When he pulled away, there was a heavy blush on his face. "Ruki... I'm sorry, it must be..."
"The digimon part?" She asked with a small gasp, and an almost-invisible grin. He nodded meekly. She let her smile grow before making her decision, and suddenly lunged at him. He seemed to almost be expecting this, as they didn't topple over, but what he obviously didn't expect was when Ruki gently nipped and then sucked a small patch in the side of his neck. She wasn't sure why, but she somehow knew what to do.
As she pulled away, a large blush now on her face, she saw how his surprised look changed into a full-blown smile, as he looked at her.
"Ruki..." he whispered as he pulled her closer. Their lips met in a passionate frenzy, and they few digimon who were watching from the trees and the shore grinned as the two slowly began to become more entranced by the other.
All the land digimon took off at once to allert the others, while the ones on the shore waited for a few more minutes.
Gomamon grinned when he heard a female voice shout out loud, "Takato!", and turned to the other sea digimon.
"C'mon, guys! We've got a new Wyerwoman!" He took off into the sea towards Ista, where he was sure that the digimon who had stayed behind would like to know the news. The other sea digimon also spread out to tell others, while the bird-types flew over head, like ripples spreading out from a droplette that had just fallen into the water.
Takato sat up and gasped for air. He and Ruki were, once again, laying in the hollow that he had found a week ago. Although neither of them had taken any of their clothes off, as they both agreed that they could wait a bit for that stage, both were very into this make-out session. He had realized that Ruki was much more aggressive and passionate than her 'Princess Lessons', as she called them, would let her show.
He gently laid down beside her, and she immediately placed her head on his chest.
"Takato..." she whispered, her voice unsteady with nervousness.
"Yes, Ruki?" he replied, also keeping his voice low.
"Do... do you believe in destiny, and fate?"
There was silence for a while, and Ruki thought that her new, and first, lover had fallen asleep. But when she raised her head to get a better look at him, she realized that he was simply thinking about her question, his eyes looking at the sky as the few clouds that there was skittered quickly over them.
"I do and I don't." He finally replied. That just confussed her more.
"What do you mean?"
"Well... I think that it was destiny that we met, as one of my mentors, my predesessor as Wyerleader once told, that it was all because of destiny that you meet the one you love. If you think about it, there's millions of people in the world, and yet it's simply chance that you meet someone that you deem is good enough to be your mate, your partner, for the rest of your life."
Ruki thought about that for a moment, before agreeing. "But... why would you not believe in destiny and fate then?"
"I don't belive in fate period- I've heard too many stories, like that fates are three really old sisters that share one eyeball, and choose when someone should die. Then they get their scisors, and cut the thread of that person's life, killing them." Ruki grimmaced- the thought of three old woman, all wrinkled with lop-sided faces, holding a thread... no, her thread, and deciding when she dies did not appeal to her at all.
"So... do you also not believe in destiny?"
"Yeah. It's hard to explain, but I just can't understand how it is someone's destiny to die-"
"Everyone dies eventually." She cut him off, while reminding him of a painfully obvious fact in his life.
"I know, but... the way that they died..." he muttered, barey loud enough for her to hear him.
"I'm not going to ask who 'they' are... but, Takato..."
"Yes?"
"Do you think it's destiny for... things to happen?
"It depends what kind of things."
"Well... things like, meeting someone, or your parents forcing you to marry someone that you don't want to..."
He sat up, and looked her staright in the eye. "Ruki..." He reached out gently, and touched her face. She cringed away from his touch- she had just realized what she had said, and that Takato was not as dumb as he sometimes looked.
"Please... I'm sorry..." Ruki whispered to him, before standing up, and turned her back on him. She took one step away, but felt a hand restrain her. She looked down to see his gaze, burning into her soul, searching for something, anything to prove what she was thinking. However, she was able to see antoher part of his look that surprised her- hurt. At what, it was obvious to her, and she fell to her knees. "I.. I don't want to be a Princess, with all these damned responsibilities! I don't want to have to marry someone I don't want, I don't want to have to bear at least one child not by my own will, I don't want to have the 'marriage or death' punishment hanging over my head..."
Takato was surprised by this sudden out burst, but wrapped his arms around her shaking body, letting her continue to rant.
"...I want to be able to travel, and see those millions of people that may or may not know about Ista! I want to be able to love who I want, when I want, where I want! I want to be able to say things, promise things, and really be able to keep them! I want to experience the joy of having someone else there who will stand by me no matter what, who I can help make stronger, better, smarter, who I can look out for, and who looks out for me... I want a digimon partner! I want to be able to forget who I was, and become who I want to be..." She broke down into tears again, her whole body being raked with her sobbing. The only thing remotely comforting about her situation was that Takato was there, caring for her and loving her, regardless of what had happened in the past.
When she had calmed down, and gently forced her eyes to meet his own. "Ruki... no matter might have happened, or what is awaiting you at Ista, whether it be death, or a forced marriage, or whatever else there is, you are at Igen. You can be who you want to be, not who you are supposed to be. Ruki... I will love you, no matter what. And, I'm sure, that somewhere out there is a partner that's just waiting for you to find them."
Ruki tried to smile, but with all the crying she had done, her eyes were red and puffy, and the smile looked almost like a grimace. "Do... do you really think so?" He nodded, while wiping away her tears. "I must be acting pretty childish and selfish, huh?" She asked, as her smile became more pronounced as a smile.
"No... that would just be the poor, depressed child who was hidden away from so long coming out. Big things were expected of you right from the start- I was only to become a defender, as I couldn't get Guilmon passed Perfect level for the longest time."
That caught her attention. "Then... what...?"
He sighed. "Baisically, I lost someone dear to me, and it sent me into a rage. Something happened to Guilmon, and he became this monster. When he de-digivolved, he was weak, and could barely stand on his own. I wished that I could fight along side him, and help him to become stronger, better. I wanted to protect those few people who I had left, and I focused my energy on that, instead of revenge. And then cue the Matrix Evolution."
She was surprised. "So... what?"
"It was my will, my need to become something more than what I was, if only to help others, that allowed me and Guilmon to become Dukemon. And, Ruki, I'm sure that it will be your will, and your will alone, that will help you become who you want to be."
"Well... you're wrong about one thing..."
He was surprised. "Oh, really? And what would that one thing be, exactly?"
She grinned, and, wrapping her arms around his neck, and her legs around his waist, she pressed herself against him, while once again locking her lips with his own. When she pulled away, she responded happily, "It won't just be my will that is going to change things..."
Ryou sighed for what must have been the millionth time that day. As soon as he had returned to the palace, where he and his father were to have dinner with the Royal family, he had been sent home, the guards saying that the Queen was in too much of an emotionally charged period to see anyone.
The next morning, he returned right away to the palace, and was let in. He was guided by many maids, some of them looking lost and sad, while some looked at him hopefully- now that, to their eyes, Ruki was out of the way, he could easily choose any of the maids to become his partner, if only for a night.
They led him to the centre of the garden, where the King, Queen, and Lord Holder were sitting, drinking tea and eating what appeared to be part of a large steak. He sat down in the last remaining empty chair, and waited to be addressed by either of the royal couple.
Queen Rumiko looked up from her tea, and put on a face as though she hadn't seen Ryou come in- which, in fact, she hadn't.
"Oh, my goodness! Ryou! I'm dreadfully sorry... would you like something to-"
"Let's not play with formalities, my dear." King Hitsune said curtley. Rumiko glared a bit in his direction, before returning to Ryou, as did Hitsune and Ryou's father.
"Now, Ryou-" the Lord Holder started, but one of the maids entered suddenly, and, bowing to the four sitting around the table. "I am sorry, but the Lord Holder must attend some important matters immediately. Please forgive my intrusion."
"Of course. Now, Lord, be on your way." Rumiko said quickly, before her husband could say anything at all.
They exchanged a glance, which Ryou could tell was their private sign for "we'll fight about this later' before turning back to him.
"Ryou..." Queen Rumiko started, but Hitsune cut her off.
"We just want to let you know that, even if you do not marry our daughter, that you're still our number one pick for my successor."
Ryou nodded, wondering what they were getting at.
"But... because you are the only child of the only Lord Holder on Ista, you are needed to carry on the title, 'Lord Holder'. Therefore... you cannot be the next King."
Ryou froze. He had originally wanted to tell the King and Queen what he had learned, but now, he noticed, it would all be for naught. He was about to say something, when a pink bird landed on the table, looking quite tired. All three humans stopped, and stared at it as it began to peck with it's beak and talons at the piece of meat.
King Hitsune was the first to react to the bird's appearance. "Go I say! Shoo! That is our meat that you are eating!"
The bird swallowed, and, turning it's gaze on that of Hitsune, Rumiko, and Ryou, it replied in an annoyed tone, "Well, I never. I just flew all the way from Igen to here, spreading the good news, and I get shewed away from a bite of food? Really... no wonder no one ever tries to make contact with you people again. I'm surprised that they ever tried at all."
Ryou dimly noted, as his he got over his initial shock, that this creature had a strange accent (think British).
Taking another bite, and then swallowing again, the bird spread it's wings. "Well, I should be going. There's still many more places that the good news must reach, and I am not one to keep it from spreading. Besides... this meat is old."
It was about to take flight, when Queen Rumiko, also getting over her shock suddenyl pleaded with the bird. "Oh please, Ms..."
"Biyomon?"
"Please Ms Biyomon... what is this 'good news' that you speak of?"
Biyomon was about to leave anyways, but the look in the woman's eyes... it reminded her of how her mother used to look at her- before her mother was killed by THAT man...
"Alrght. It seems that there is officially a new Wyerwoman for Igen Wyer... not that you would even know what a Wyer is."
"How... is this good news?" Rumiko question once again.
"Well... Igen just went through a war not too long ago. The new Wyerleader, as the old one died, had been depressed, but still tried, with those few who remained on Igen, to make the island as beautiful as it once was. However, we all know now that I hand that works with love in mind always has a better result than the one that works with an empty heart. Or at least, all Biyomon know that. It's a saying that my mother used to say."
Ryou finally found his voice. "And the Wyerleader? Would he possibly be named... Takato?"
Biyomon froze for a moment, before turning on him. "And how would YOU know that?!"
Ryou grinned. "I heard two creatures yesterday talking about something like this... but they were saying that it was just a possibility, and that there wasn't much between Takato and the supposed almost-Wyerwoman. I think their names were Whamon and Gomamon."
Biyomon frowned. "Those two have bigger mouths than I do! Their whole species do!"
"Just one more question, to see if everything that I heard was right."
Biyomon thought for a moment, before nodding. "Why not. I'm sure that they weren't stupid enough to say anything that would endanger Igen's safety."
"Is the new Wyerwoman... name Ruki?" Ryou finished off his sentence quickly, so that the bird could not stop him.
Biyomon's eyes widened, and she quickly tried to take flight. Hearing his daughter's name, though, caused Hitsune to lunge and grab onto Biyomon's tallons. Biyomon struggled to try to get away, when Rumiko's voice cut through her squawking.
"Please! Please... if... if Ruki's there... won't she come home to us?" Rumiko's voice quieted down at the end. Biyomon, suddenly feeling a need to comfort the older woman settled down, and landed on the table. Hitsune let go of her, but still kept a close eye as she slowly walked closer to Rumiko.
"I... I'm not supposed to say anything to humans... and, if anything, then only those in Igen Wyer, but... if you know..." Biyomon gave a sigh, before finsihing. "Yes, the new Wyerwoman's name is Ruki. Apparently, she fell out of a boat, and some Gomamon, who's ancestors were sworn to protect the Ista Royal family, carried her through the water to Igen, where she was treated and is currently in perfect health."
Rumiko gave a light sigh, glad that Ruki was alright. But... "When is she coming home?"
Biyomon did not want to answer that question. If she didn't, she would probably be deleted, and if she did, she would still probably be deleted. She cursed fate for not letting her end at least be in battle. 'But,' she thought with a sigh, 'at least my daughter is living happily on Igen...'
"Ruki... from what I've heard, does not wish to return home. The exact reason why are unknown to us, although I believe I heard someone commenting that the humans here were 'too strict' with their ways, and were forcing her to do something that she did not want to do. I also heard that she thinks that you have just assumed that she was dead, and had given up on her. She is currently residing in one of the main Wyer chambers, near that of the Wyerleader's and his partners."
"Partners?" Rumiko asked, suddenly getting nervous.
"What KIND of partners, birdy?" Hitsune asked. Biyomon looked offeneded, and she decided that whether or not she told the men the truth did not matter, but the woman... the way she looked reminded her of her mother, and her daughter.
"Lady..."
"That's Milady, as Rumiko is the Queen!" Hitsune exclaimed.
Biyomon shot him a glare, before turning to Rumiko. "Queen Rumiko..."
"Just Rumiko will do, Biyomon."
"Rumiko. When I say 'partners', I do not mean human partners. Sometimes, pretty much all the time in the Wyers, humans can grow to have a strong connection with digimon. When they do so, the human becomes a Digidestined, and the digimon, like me, becomes their partner. My mother was a partner to the old Wyerwoman, Sora Takenouchi. The current Wyerleader of the Tamers, Takato, has two partners- and Impmon, which are very hard to find, and Guilmon."
"You said Guilmon. Isn't there more than-"
"Takato actually created Guilmon with his imagination and will, some paper, a pencil, and a couple digi-gnomes. Guilmon is a one-of-a-kind."
Rumiko looked at Biyomon. "And... am I to assume that you are not?"
Biyomon grinned a bit. "Nope. Guilmon is the only digimon in existance which there is only one of."
"Does... does Ruki have a partner?"
Biyomon had to think for a moment. "There is a Renamon with baisically the same thought-patterns and bio signature as Ruki, but I'm not sure if they're partners. However, I'm sure that they will be soon!"
"Biyomon... you explained how humans become Digidestined, but... is there anything... special about the human or their partner?"
"Well... it's said that there's something called 'Chosens'. If you're a Chosen, then it was pre-determined at your birth to become a Digidestined. However, in your daughter's case, she won't become a Digidestined. Many digimon nowadays are grateful for the separation of Igen from the Great Pact-myself included. It helps us to distinguish between the humans that we like, and the ones that seem to only like to annoy us."
"What... helps?" Rumiko was obviously confussed. Biyomon wanted to answer, but she refused to answer infront of the two men. They had nothing to do with her Wyerwoman, nor did they show any kind of kindness to her.
"May I speak to you privately on this matter, Queen Rumiko?"
"Of course Biyomon. Inside or outside?"
"Could we go into your chambers?"
"Of course... Hitsune? Ryou? Please do not bother us until we are finished our conversation."
With that, Rumiko walked out of the gardens and into the palace, Biyomon ridding lightly on her shoulder.
Hitsune looked at Ryou. "When we get Ruki back..." Hitsune started, an obvious warning in his voice, "do NOT ever let her talk to you like that."
Ruki lay in her bed, thinking happily about the day that had just passed. She realized she loved someone, and they loved her in return. To make things better, she and Takato loved each other unconditionally- regardless of what others might say. She Finally admitted to someone what had been buging her for the last week, and what had been plauging her for almost her entire life.
She turned over onto her side, and lay under the light sheets. Even though the soft, porous stone that they upper chambers were made out of muffled noise, it was still stone, and let her hear some of the things that was going on in the Wyer- for example, the Wyerleader and Jen were talking about something apparently important, or aggrivating to one of them- the sound of pacing in the room above hers could be heard down in the kitchens, she thought ammusedly to herself.
Ruki looked out the window at the night sky, pitch black but dotted with white specks in strange patterns. She had always looked at the night sky while trying to fall asleep at Ista, and only noticed then how much different Ista skies were from Igen skies. The stars were in different patterns, and they seemed to move at different speeds, too.
She sighed as the pacing stopped. 'Finally, I can get some sleep...' the pacing started again, and Ruki groaned. 'Or not.'
However, the pacing soon took on a pattern, which slowly became soothing to the young woman. Ruki had fallen asleep within five minutes of her last thought.
Takato paced back and forth around his room, Jen watching him the entire time. Something was bothering the Wyerleader, and his advisor could only guess as to what was up.
"They'll probably send a force. I don't care if she thinks that Ista will just forget about her- if what she said was true..." Takato turned to Jen. "Jen, how prepared do you think we would be if a kingdom, notable isolated, decided to attack us to get someone back?"
Jen sighed- he should have guessed that Takato was thinking about Ruki. She was one of the few things that he thought about at all now.
"Listen, if Ista-"
"I never said it was Ista." Takato pointed out.
Jen sighed again. "If this notably isolated kingdom decided to attack us, it probably wouldn't bring all it's forces- and if it did, then the arrival would be spread out. I'd say that we could easily defend ourselves against any kingdom- a Wyer would be a different story, but certainly a kingdom."
Takato sighed, and continued his pacing, before stopping by the window and looking out. While lost in thought, Takato told Jen sleepily, "I think you should head off to bed. I'll see you in the morning."
Jen, knowing a dissmissal when he heard one, told his Wyerleader "Goodnight," and proceeded to go to bed. Takato, still worried a bit, resumed his pacing- however, it was not as hectic, nervous and irregular as before. He eventually collapsed onto his bed, still in his normal clothing, and fell asleep.
Kay: Well, if you've haven't noticed, I became super-duper stupid near the end, when I was putting in the chapter titles. And, if you're even less observant, I left off in the middle of the story. Why, if this is supposed to be a one-shot, you ask?
Shila: No one's even here! Does the whole idea of the time being almost midnight make any sense to you?
Kay: Nope, none at all! Anyways, the main reason why I decided to split up my beautiful one-shot is simply because it was getting too long. Some people might know the feeling- others, might not. However, I refuse to put a 'part one' and 'part two' because... I dunno, I just do! And I'm being stupid again, and I have to stop typing and hit the backspace key ever five seconds or so because of a mistake I make typing. It's a very handy function- that and over write.
Shila: ...stop using techno terms and get your ass to bed. It will be so much less of a head ache then.
Kay: ...fine. Only for you. And good enws for people who read Running- I've started working on the fifth chapter! YEAH! Oh, and I'm almost done the second chappie of this. It's kinda funny- I wrote the first paragraph, then the ending, then the middle part. Wrong order, but oh well! Now, before Shila gets too tired and actually drags me off the computer, good night and Ja ne! AND I'M DONE EXAMS!!!!!!!!! OH, HAPPY DAY!!!!!!!!!!!
--------------------{I}Begin... the ending thing which makes me appear REALLY stupid{I}--------------------
CLICK THE BUTTON!
THE BUTTON!
BUTTON!
!
(grabs pointer from grafitied math chalk board that she and her friends did before her exam and points to the 'go!' button beside the drop-down menu)
!
BUTTON!
THE BUTTON!
CLICK THE BUTTON!
--------------------------------------{I}Hehe... I feel stupid now...{I}----------------------------------
Song of the chappie: "Obsession" from the .hackSIGN OST (opening theme... awesome song... have been playing it a million times over tonight!)
----------------------------------------{I}Random quotes!{I}-----------------------------------
"You... can't really expect me to dress up in a Neil uniform and walk into their school, sabotage their washrooms, then walk out again without being caught!"
"Actually, we can. It's not that hard- we've already done the P.A. system."
(Another serries of quotes... or what counts as a conversation)
"Wanda!"
"Helen!"
"Who the hell are you two talking about?!"
"This is Wanda..."
"And this is Helen..."
"Right... and I'm the f-"
"Elain!"
"What?!"
"No swearing infront of the children!"
"...children?"
"Yes! There's Hat, and Hatty, and Teddy, and... um... Angela!"
"HEY!"
(That would be me, Alison, Elain and Jacqui two Thursdays ago. Yes, Hat, Hatty and Teddy and inanimate objects, but Jacqui has a tendcy to come up with the weirdest things...)
Wanda= Alison
Helen/Angela= me
Elain= insane hat-loving person
Jacqui= insane anime/manga loving person
-------------------------------------------------------{I}End log{I}-------------------------------------------------------