Memory
Chapter VI: The Reckoning Boat Ride
By Salamon2
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"What has happened... my beloved Kingdom of Takaishi gone... how... HOW?!" shouted Takevi
"Us beasts have feelings..." said Touchi's Tokomon, Takevi grabbed the poor Digimon by his ears, and started swinging him around, and was about to throw him out to sea, when Touchi grabbed his brother's arm.
"If he goes, I go too..." said Touchi, but Takevi shook Touchi's grip off, and wound up again, but gave up, dropped Tokomon, and sat down and cried. Kari motioned for Touchi to take over in rowing, and told him to keep rowing northwest, through this fog. She sat down nest to her fiancée, and put her arm around him. He rejected it, and moved so that it fell off.
"Why do you reject me?" asked Kari.
"It isn't supposed to be this way..." said Takevi, leaning against the side of the boat.
"Life tests us Takevi, you've had things easy all your life, now you must show you're worthy of earning back the same treatment..." said Kari, and at this Takevi slowly leaned onto her right shoulder.
"But how..." asked Takevi
"I don't know, but you will when the time comes..." said Kari, rubbing her fingers through his golden hair. He sighed and just leaned against her, taking in the air.
"You know Hikari... I know..." said Takevi
"Know what?" asked Kari innocently, biting her lip.
"About your origins... Touchi, my Patamon doesn't just report to you..." said Takevi looking at Touchi, then he turned to his Patamon "Though as of late I haven't had much time for you, forgive me... my friend..." said Takevi, and his Patamon, flew across the boat, and hugged him.
"Always Takevi... I'm just glad you're back to normal... I don't know what being King did to you, but I'm just glad you're back to being plain Takevi..." said the Patamon, however, Kari was in a state of alarm.
"When did you find out Takevi?" asked Kari
"A few minutes after Takechi did..." said Takevi smiling at Kari, truly happy for the first time in his life.
"You mean all that you've said yesterday afternoon, and last night... was how you truly felt... despite where I came from..." said Kari
"From my heart to yours... If you wondered why I hastily entered the relationship, let me answer it with this... I knew you were the one for me..." said Takevi, and he said it so dreamy eye, that Kari started leaning down towards him, lips about to meet.
"Could you not, please..." said Touchi, and both teens sighed, and Takevi returned to leaning his head against her shoulder, and she ran her fingers through his hair, and soon he drifted off to sleep. Just then his arm fell into the water, Kari fished it out, getting the Digimon wet, when suddenly two Poyomon, and two Digi-Eggs appeared where the Digimon had been.
"Oh No! We're in the Lost Sea of Memory!" shouted Touchi, and Kari noticed Takevi's clothes were getting bigger, or Takevi getting smaller, but when it stopped, there was an eight year old leaning against her.
"I knew Takevi was acting weird, like his old self... despite making all arrogant and conceited people who enter it less imperfect, it also can make someone relive their worst memory, if you enter it, by making you the age it happened, for Digimon, they return to normal, but not for humans, they stay the age until they drink a potion made from the nectars from the Pata Flower, and Salamon Love Flower, both available on Takenouchi, which is where we're heading at this course..." said Touchi, and after this Takevi, the eight year old stirred.
"Uh.. huh?" said Chibi Takevi, and he blinked, and opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Kari. "Mommy?" asked the child.
Kari did not know what to say, so she played along "Yes Takevi... what's wrong?" asked Kari
"It's Takechi... he's so mean to me... and Touchi.
"Takio does whatever Takechi does, and Takechi forces me to pretend to be him, and he goes to my lessons, instead of me..." said Takevi, laying his head in her lap.
"Now that isn't right..." said Kari, Takechi's words echoing in her head 'he and I would often switch duties, I'd go to his lessons, and he'd be free to do what he wanted...', and with the testimonial of eight year old Takevi, she saw how he never learned the history of the other Kingdoms, Takechi had been power hungry for the throne.
"And what's worse is that if I don't do what he wants, he hurts me..." said Takevi, showing Kari a bruise on his arm, she looked, and was shocked at how big, and dark it was. Takevi closed his eyes and sighed. "Where were you mommy... daddy had said you had died..." said Takevi sleepily.
"I was away..." said Kari
"Oh... where?" asked Takevi more tiredly
"In Takenouchi... where I'm taking you and your brother Touchi..." said Kari
"oh... that explains...(yawn)... the fog..." and with that Takevi fell back to sleep, in her lap. Kari sighed, at what she had just found out.
"If you're tired Touchi, you can take a break, come here, on this side..." said Kari, patting the open left side, Touchi nodded, stopped rowing, put the oars in the boat, got up slowly, and sat down. The Digimon, now back to normal, stayed on the other side of the boat, with the supplies that would last them three weeks, to keep it from tipping, though the bow did rise out of the water a little. Touchi leaned up against her shoulder, and starred out into the misty fog, as thick as ever.
"Touchi, do I really look like your mother?" asked Kari, after a few moments of silence.
"Yes... she was the only Ruler of Takaishi to be a Queen... she married my father, but he did not become King over her... she died a week after giving birth to me... neither Takio, Takechi, nor my father ever forgave me, but Takevi saw that it wasn't my fault, and fought for me, but Takechi was always a stronger, and more skilled athlete, even when he had been eight. Eventually Takevi was able to beat him in a fight, and then my brothers lessened their taunts, but Takechi still had some influence over Takevi, and persuaded him to give him the province of Takai, that was meant for me. When my mother died, Takevi was still too young for the throne, so our father took the position of lord protector, and then crowned himself King... only recently did he die, half a year ago... from an unknown ailment..." said Touchi.
"It must have been horrible for you..." said Kari
"Yes it was... I still have nightmares from what Takechi did... when he did the horrible acts he did, I often dreamt of my mother, her portrait is hung on the wall of Takaishi... but if Takechi had had his way, he would have been King, not Takevi... which would have been worse for everyone... it would have brought back slavery... and many other cruel tortures to not just Digimon but to people as well. Lately he has had plans to murder Takevi, and marry you so that he could be 'King'... Patamon told me so... and then influence you to make the wrong decisions, until he placed the country in darkness..." said Touchi
"A boy of your age should not be concerned in politics... it makes you worry more, and tires you out... take a break from the world Touchi... take a nap..." said Kari
"Alright..." said Touchi, and he closed his eyes, and soon fell asleep, and Kari starred at the two brothers.
"Takio would have followed Takechi to the grave..." said Nyaromon
"He would have?" asked Kari
"yes... Everything that Takechi believed in, Takio believed in... I was his vent for anger... when something went wrong... I got thrown around... literally..." said Nyaromon
"So was I..." said Takechi's Patamon
"My god..." said Kari, who then fell silent, not knowing what else to say, when suddenly Touchi started moving around violently.
"No... stop Takechi stop! Please!" shouted the poor boy throwing his arms in the air, kicking his legs, his head tossing and turning.
"Touchi... it's okay... it's only a nightmare..." said Kari soothingly, shaking his shoulders to wake him up, this sent his left leg into the water, and it coming up suddenly, and hitting Touchi, barely missing Kari, and Kari blinked and a three year old lay where the ten year old Touchi had been. 'Not both of them... God help me...' thought Kari
"no... No... NO!" screamed Touchi, sitting up and waking, both himself, and Takevi.
"Touchi... it's okay... it was a bad dream... it's alright..." said Kari rubbing his back, and the three years old turned to look at Kari.
"Whoo... whoo... are you?" asked Touchi, very scared. He was leaning against the side of the boat, as far from Kari as possible.
"This is our mom Touchi... she didn't die... she went away to Takenouchi... Daddy was wrong..." said Takevi, looking at his brother.
"Mommy?" asked Touchi, scared like. Kari nodded, to keep her story straight, then Touchi jumped at Kari, hugging her, and crying on her dress.
"Daddy, Takechi, and Takio said it was all my fault you died... Mommy... you're not dead... you were in Takenouchi... why?" asked Touchi, looking at her, tears in his crystal blue eyes.
"I left to see some doctors there that helped me... your father must have thought I had died, and the servants already had buried me..." said Kari
"That's what Daddy said... that you died in the night and the servants buried you in the night..." said Takevi.
"But all is right... I came back for you two... and I'm taking you to Takenouchi..." said Kari
"Yeah! Thank you mommy... thank you..." said Touchi, hugging Kari, Takevi, hugged her from where he was.
'Just great... yesterday I was a fiancée... today I'm a mother...' thought Kari
To Be Continued...