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Author's Note: End of third arc.
This was probably the most difficult chapter to edit thus far because of all of the dramatic elements. I did my best to improve the writing while trying to keep the elements from the older version the same. Alas, not all of the cheesiness could be removed, so please bear with me. If there are any mistakes, please inform me in a review. Thank you.

Love Knows No Bounds
Bind 14: Revelation III

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Slowly but surely the attack came, and every passing second forever lodged itself into Hikari's heart. She realized reality too late. "Crimson Lightning!"

"Takeru! No! Don't do it, Takeru!!" Hikari tried to pull the young man away, but she was too slow; she was too far behind Takeru to reach him. She watched in horror as Takeru stood still; he was calm, no fear reflected in his countenance at all. To Hikari, everything happened in slow motion; it was a long, endless torture Hikari was being forced to endure. Takeru stood in front of Hikari and BlackTailmon as the attack came.

The deep-red attack was about to strike Takeru until a flash of gold light surrounded him and Vamdemon. Hikari was blinded by the light, catching a small glimpse of Takeru's silhouette in front of her as she cradled BlackTailmon.

'Takeru,' Hikari cried, 'Oh, please, Takeru—please, don't leave me again—please be all right, Takeru!'

-

'Yamato…'

A chill raced down his spine, leaving a dreadful, dark feeling lurking in his heart. Someone had just called out his name—and at the same moment, someone had just been ripped away from his circle of reality. Instinctively, he knew that some part of him had disappeared. 'What happened? Could it—could it be Takeru?'

Sora stared at him and his sudden strange behavior. Without warning or reason, Yamato had just paled and began shaking. "Yamato, what's wrong?" she asked urgently. Her expression full of concern; she put a gentle hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently in assurance. Whatever the matter was, Yamato trembled from it; he shivered and shook; cold sweat could be seen dripping down his face. When she placed his hand on her cheek, she held back a gasp from the coldness.

The other Chosen Children stared at Yamato, their own hearts uneasy because of his strained expression; the older Children were the most frightened. Their numerous adventures proved Yamato's amazing ability to maintain a poker face, no matter what the situation. Seeing him suddenly react without cause, they grew nervous by the second.

Taichi felt especially concerned about his friend's sudden change. Had Yamato felt it too? 'Did he sense the change?'

"I-I feel as if—" A tear trickled down his face as he struggled to speak. "I feel as if I just lost a part myself, as if my heart was just ripped out my chest," Yamato barely gasped, his breaths short and quick. He clutched his chest in vain hopes to relieve the pain. "I don't know why, but I feel as if someone just stole a part of me."

Listening to his pained words, the Chosen Children looked to one another for understanding. No one understood any longer what had passed other than the situation progressively grew worse as time went on. First Takeru had disappeared; then Hikari vanished not long afterward; and some moments earlier, Taichi had acted peculiar; and now Yamato had a reaction to something no one comprehended.

Thinking of all the possible reasons behind Yamato's actions, Taichi tried to figure the specific cause when—"I feel it—I feel the pain, the suffering, the—hope?" He inhaled quickly. A sharp pain raced through his body, an indicator that the universe had lost balance: someone had just left the Digital World, Digimon or Human.

Taking Yamato's reaction into account, the brunette knew who.

"Takeru…" Taichi stared up at the stars, a stern, angry look etched across his face. His brown eyes became emotionless as Darkness took over. The delicate balance now ruined, Darkness crossed into the Light and spread like black ink in water: he could see it clearly. 'Takeru, I'm sorry I couldn't stop him—I'm sorry, Takeru, that he attacked you and Hikari. Forgive me, Takeru. Forgive me.'

From his seat, Yamato stared at Taichi. The Child of Friendship knew that his friend had felt the same pain, the sudden chill that had surged through his body before; he had seen Taichi wince in pain and quickly disguise it. 'You have that blank look in your eyes again, Taichi. What are you thinking? What happened? Why won't you share with the others?' Knowing that his questions would not be answered, Yamato stared out the window as the bus continued its journey. 'Takeru…'

-

Light, smoke, and a dreadful cry filled the air; the painful, piercing scream frightened Hikari to near death. When the light and smoke had faded, she and BlackTailmon were alone; they stood alone in a desolate, grey place.

"Takeru," she whispered fearfully. She gazed at the area all around her, but she could not spot her friend anywhere. In immediate reaction, she began to panic. Oh, why did she ever let Takeru do that? Why did she hide behind him when he tried to protect her? 'Takeru, why am I such a coward?! Why can't I ever be brave like you or Taichi? Why don't I have the courage…?'

"Lord Takeru?" BlackTailmon groaned, waking from her unconsciousness. Hikari looked at the weakened Digimon in her arms. As she did, the human girl felt a sadness overwhelming her. BlackTailmon had no partner now; she was alone, like Hikari. Her heart felt for the cat, knowing that this Digimon's past would probably not be all too different from Tailmon's lonely history. The Chosen Child watched sadly as BlackTailmon looked around and found that she could not find Takeru. "Lord Takeru? Where are you?"

Wanting to hope like BlackTailmon, Hikari called out for him as well. "Takeru!" she shouted, her voice wavering from her compounding feelings. She could not believe what had happened; she could not believe it and would not accept it.

But the truth remained: she had lost her best friend, her love for the second time.

"H-H-Hikari…" Wandering through the battleground, she found Takeru lying on the ground behind upturned rocks. His body looked so frail and helpless, yet his blue eyes retained a strong and determined gaze. Hikari felt drawn towards his eyes, his beautiful, loving cerulean eyes.

"Takeru!" she cried, her tears blurring her vision. She and BlackTailmon quickly ran to his side. "Takeru, are you okay?" She tried to stop her tears from dripping onto his face, but her tears had no end and continued relentlessly. As she gently lifted Takeru's head into her lap, he smiled weakly at her, slightly coughing and gasping for air.

"I'm fine, Hikari—Don't worry about me. I'm just fine," he whispered softly. Hearing his weak assurance, she trembled. Fear, sadness, and happiness bombarded her simultaneously. She could not handle the sudden rush of emotions.

"You're a bad liar, Takeru, and you always will be," she sniffled while wiping dust from his radiant face. "You call this fine? You can barely breathe—you're in pain. That isn't fine at all." With a controlled inhale and quivering body, Hikari rested her head against Takeru's. "You're not okay at all." Takeru embraced her with a smile, brushing the back of her head.

"No, I'm really fine, Hikari. My heart doesn't feel troubled anymore. I'm not scared or mad anymore, Hikari." What a fool he was to ever feel fear or anger whenever she was concerned. How much trouble had he given her because of his mistakes, his weakness? Why had he gone back on his word, to always protect her? Why had he doubted her? "I'm sorry, Hikari, for causing you so much pain," Takeru apologized into her ear.

Hikari stared sadly at him and shook her head in response. "No, I should be the one who's sorry, Takeru. If I hadn't lied to myself in the first place, none of this would have happened." Hikari buried her face deeper against Takeru.

"I'm so sorry, Takeru. I'm so sorry," she whispered repetitively, her voice muffled by Takeru's shirt. She said the words sincerely and as feverishly as if a prayer. If only saying so would reverse everything! If only feeling so would turn back time!

Takeru's hand continued to brush her head. "I didn't know your hair was so soft, Hikari," he whispered sleepily into the girl's ear. He lied, of course; sometimes when she fell asleep next to him during their adventures, he would steal a brush of her soft, dark hair. If he could not touch, then he wafted her shampoo's sweet smell. In ways, he was worse than Daisuke when it came to her.

She blushed and smiled at the blond boy; he had been and was always there for her, no matter what the circumstance. "Well, you never really took the time to pet me," Hikari teased, brushing a few blonde strands away from Takeru's eyes. He smiled weakly at Hikari; she felt deeply reminded of Taichi and Yamato's strength. Naturally, he had his older brother's independence and strength to stand up against anything. But then Takeru also held people together and guided them, just like her old brother.

Takeru then began to cough roughly and Hikari paled with worry.

"Takeru, please, just hold. Just hold on. Help will come soon," she whispered, her eyes betraying her; she and Takeru both knew that the others would not be able to come, not in time anyways. The nearest gate that would allow the others to enter the Digital World was too far from his house. They would take time travelling and opening the gate.

Takeru smiled wryly, his blonde locks that Hikari had just brushed away shadowing his blue eyes once more. He felt his body losing strength and knew he did not have much more time. "Don't worry, Hikari. Even if I go everything will be—"

"No! It won't be all right! It won't! Nothing will be fine if you leave! I won't lose you a third time, Takeru!" Hikari yelled out, holding him tightly.

Takeru smiled sadly. "Hikari—"

"Takeru, I thought I lost you—I thought you had died at the base. I didn't see you get out, and I was so scared. I didn't want to believe that you were gone," Hikari cried. "And I wish it were like last time, where I didn't know so I could keep on believing. I-I can't—I won't be able to take it if you leave me, Takeru."

He wiped away Hikari's tears as best as he could in his weakened state. "Please don't cry for me, Hikari. I'm not worth crying over—"

Hikari silenced Takeru by kissing him; she would no longer stand to be the one silenced. Takeru, at first shocked by the sudden action, delved deeper into the kiss once he felt Hikari's security. He pulled her closer to himself. The two stayed in that position for a while as they enjoyed each other's warmth and peace.

Takeru suddenly felt his mind fading away; he broke their enchanting kiss. "Hikari, please remember that I will always love you. Remember that forever I'll be here right beside you, Hikari," Takeru whispered.

Hikari then felt something pushed into the palm of her hand: two things, to be precise. "Keep them, Hikari. Let them protect you in my place. Keep them and remember me. "

Hikari looked into her hand and gasped. Takeru was giving her his Digivice and Crest. He was giving her his beautiful Crest of Hope. Hikari felt a harsh tug on her heart; it was getting hard for her to swallow. "Take them and remember me, Hikari. Take these and remember our hope, our promise. Remember our friendship."

Hikari nodded slowly, afraid of losing her best friend once more. Takeru kissed Hikari one last time before he finally faded away. "I love you, Hikari," Takeru whispered into Hikari's ear, "You're my best friend in all of the Worlds."

When he closed his eyes a final time, she dipped her head and kissed him on his forehead, his eyelids, his cheeks, and then his lips. "And I love you too, Takeru," Hikari replied brokenly into Takeru's ear.

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He anxiously bounced his legs, wondering if the bus could drive any faster. While staring outside of the window, Yamato thought about what had happened earlier. He knew instinctively something had happened to his little brother; however, he did not know what. Unfortunately, Yamato guessed that the nature of the event was bad. Takeru was hurt, captured, or even—

Yamato felt another chill run down his spine, his body losing all sense of warmth and happiness. "Good bye, Yamato…Good bye, Big Brother." A tear rolled down his cheek; a warm tear full of love and compassion dripped from his icy blue eyes and down the Child of Friendship's face.

"Takeru…" Tears began to flow freely, Yamato no longer able to contain his emotions. All feelings related to sorrow rushed at him and made him pay his dues in tears. "TAKERU!"

-

After their exchange of words, Takeru's body grew limp in Hikari's arms, and his heart beat had stopped. All sound disappeared and grew still as if in observance to their lost love. Hikari simply gazed at him with a blank face, unsure of how she should feel right then. BlackTailmon and her watched silently as Takeru's body began to digitalize and disappear. Hikari's eyes never left her beloved's body as it slowly deleted like data and disappeared into the wind.

In only a few minutes, the Child of Hope was gone.

Takeru was gone.

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