A/N: Okay, this chapter is a little serious and Taichi's gonna act like a bit of a jerk in the beginning okay? But...hopefully...everything'll work out...
Voguish Fib
chapter nine - That Smile
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"Oh."
Taichi couldn't believe his ears. He just gave Koushiro one of the biggest confessions he'd ever have the courage to give in his entire life and all he could say was, "oh?"
"I can't believe my ears! I just gave you one of the biggest confessions I've ever had the courage to give in my entire life and all you can say is 'oh'?"
Koushiro gave a slight shrug. "What do you want me to say? 'Oh, congratulations! You're in love!'?"
"I don't expect you to say anything of the sort! I just wanted you to say something smart...is all... And I never said I was 'in love' with her! I just said that I think I'm falling for her. It doesn't necessarily involve love," Taichi explained as he stood from the futon and walked about the room in a thoughtful haze.
Koushiro gave a small smile. "Do you even know what you just said?" Taichi blinked in confusion. Koushiro continued. "Look my friend, when a man says they are falling for someone, it doesn't mean 'it doesn't necessarily involve love', it, in fact, does necessarily involve love, whether the man likes it or not. The term, 'falling for someone' means falling in love with someone, but we stupid creatures just decided to make up some phrase to confuse the rest of the world or are just too uncomfortable to use the full, and direct term, 'falling in love with someone'. Do you catch my drift?" Koushiro asked.
Taichi simply nodded. How can someone respond to something like that?
"All I'm saying is, if you have any feelings for the girl whatsoever, I propose you don't continue on your little hostage, kidnap trip."
How'd he know that? Taichi wondered. "Koushiro...I never told you--"
"I know. I can just feel it you know? Or rather...heard it. You two weren't very clandestine in your little private conversations yesterday. I could hear every damn thing you argued about."
"Well...look Koushiro. Don't tell her about anything I said tonight, okay? And I can't have you interfering with my assignment," Taichi scolded, turning to his futon.
Koushiro scoffed. "So, she's just an assignment?"
"Will you shut up? I can't do anything about it. It's between her, or my father. And I choose family first."
"Okay, fine...whatever suits you...Prince Yagami."
Taichi's head shot up in his direction. "Koushiro, you dumbass! What the hell are you trying to do, calling me that here?" he snapped.
"Calm down, it's not like anyone heard us. Just get to sleep," he said, sitting in his futon, staring at Taichi as he turned onto his side. "I hope you have nightmares," he added, muttering.
"Do let the bed bugs bite, Koushiro," Taichi barked back.
Unbeknownst to the two young men, a pair of ruby eyes stared off into the darkness, the owner of them, unsure of what feelings clogged her body...anger? Fear? Confusion? Maybe even...broken hearted?
Well, whatever it is, she told herself, I'm not giving 'Prince Yagami' another chance to butter me up before he sends me to my deathbed. If he's gonna drag me with him, I'll give that son-of-a-bitch a hard time.
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Taichi had woken Sora and Koushiro early the next morning, before the sun even got a chance to shine it's rays. But by this time, Miyako had awaken, and so had Sora's young friend, Ruki, helping a couple other people clean up the town before everyone else woke up.
They said their goodbyes and even left the villagers some presents as well as promises of coming back to visit. It had been only a day, but the village had really grown on the trio.
Down the road, the trip was unusually silent. Taichi had decided not to talk to Koushiro because of their little argument last night and he didn't want to talk to Sora because of his frustrated feelings for her. Koushiro decided not to talk to Taichi because of the fact that he had kidnapped Sora and yet, seemed to have feelings for her. And Sora, of course, didn't want to talk to either of them because of her new found knowledge from the previous night.
Koushiro was the first to try to break the ice. "I'm gonna miss that town," he blurted out.
Sora scoffed. "You know Koushiro, you're so fake! Couldn't you just come out with it? I know you know," she said.
So breaking the ice, wasn't one of Koushiro's brightest moves.
"Know that Taichi kidnapped you? Yes I know...what do you want me to do about it?" he asked.
"Help me of course! I want to get away from this--this...Prince Yagami," she finished sullenly, looking up at Taichi to see his reaction.
The only thing that was visible to either her or Koushiro was the back of his head. He had stopped walking, so naturally, the other two stopped as well. Taichi seemed to be thinking, but as he turned, Sora saw the expression on his face.
"Sora..." he whispered. "Don't call me that."
"Why not? Are you really a prince, huh Taichi? Or should I say, 'Your Highness'? Ha! And you're always teasing me because of that stupid title!"
"Oh, shut up you stupid nymph princess! What kind of nymph are you anyways? Living in a castle and whatnot? Don't nymphs live in the wilderness where they can be in nature and shit? Aren't you guys supposed to be gods and goddesses of nature? Why are you dressed in kimonos anyways? Why do you have villages? Why do you have a fortress around your castle? Oh, and by the way, nymphs don't fucking live in castles!" Taichi shouted, stepping up to Sora, unaware that his height was slightly intimidating.
"We...upgraded?" Sora suggested.
"So this is all a joke to you?"
"Oh, and apparently, I'm just an 'assignment' to you!"
"Family's important to me!"
"So let's say your father gives you three thousand men, then he tells you to kill off one thousand of them because of financial problems, are you going to do what Daddy says? Is that how important family is to you that you'd hurt others who might have families too?"
Taichi walked up to her silently, the leaves under his feet could be heard crunching softly under the pressure. Koushiro wordlessly stood a distance away, unsure of how to break up the intense argument. All the while, Taichi languorously trudged up to Sora until his nose was just barely touching hers. Sora's wide crimson eyes were frozen on his brown ones, gazing indecisively until the words came out of his mouth.
"At least I have a father."
Then without another word, he stepped back and continued to walk. Sora was suddenly confused. She briskly followed after him, ignoring the still-wordless Koushiro who trotted close behind.
She arched a brow before standing in front of him. "What does that supposed to mean? I do have a father. He's at home in Furugawa."
"Nothing...forget I said it," Taichi said, shutting his eyes for a second. No...he shouldn't have said that...Sora didn't deserve to be hurt now. Not now...not ever...
But she seemed to be insisting. Sora grabbed the collar of his yukata and yanked him back. "Tell me what you meant by that Taichi," she asked darkly.
"No, your right Sora. Your father's at home right now...safe..."
Something about the way he said that made Sora believe he was lying. But somehow she didn't want to press on. Taichi continued to go straight ahead, mentally kicking himself in the head for saying that. Sora didn't need to know that her parents died on that day...that same day Hikari was taken away from him...the day his own father started treating him as if he had partially disowned him...the day the Kingdom of Yagami reached an almost apocalyptic end...
Out of curiosity, he took a glimpse at Sora somewhere at the corner of his eye. She was looking down at the ground, a bit lost in her thoughts. Koushiro was close by, deciding to avoid interference and just keep quiet.
Koushiro was suddenly aware of the fact that Sora never even tried to run away from Taichi. Since their first meeting, Sora never looked to escape from him. Why was that?
She had so many chances. First, there was his shrine up in the mountains. When that Birdramon had attacked, she could've escaped and Taichi would never have been able to keep track of where she was beyond all that debris.
Then there was the village. Taichi was barely with her throughout the day. She could've probably been half way home by then if she fled from the village instead of going to the bath with Miyako...
And there was now. Taichi was up ahead and she wouldn't even attack him from behind or try to knock him out in order to run from him before he could catch her.
Was she willing to go with him...without...realizing that she was willing to go with him?
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A night's rest was wordlessly agreed upon. It was for the best after that long walk.
They set up a small camp near the trees. Taichi created a fire and sat in front of it, picking at the twigs and branches that sizzled under the orange flame. He watched it, the flame reflecting its rhythmic movements in his eyes.
Sora was still a bit disoriented. What happened? she asked herself thoughtfully. We had such a nice time last night... oh what am I kidding myself for? He kidnapped you Sora! You're not supposed to care if he's nice to you or not! You're supposed to be plotting and scheming against him, but so far the only plan you have is in your dreams...and even then you can't remember them.
"I saw a spring on the way here. I'm going to go take a dip if you don't mind," Koushiro muttered softly before walking off into the trees. Sora and Taichi watched him leave before absent-mindedly turning their eyes towards each other.
But the instant they did so, they turned away.
Sora glanced back and sighed before heading towards him.
"It was a war," she told him.
Taichi turned to her, poking a branch that slowly fell from the flamed heap. "What?"
"The reason we nymphs don't live in nature anymore. It's been almost 700 years since then," she explained, taking a seat right next to him. Taichi turned back to the fire.
"Oh."
"See, we used to be peaceful creatures, living in nature and all the things that you said. Until there was this small dispute over territory. We became like most men after that. Savage and cruel to others because we thought that we earned part of the earth that we didn't create. Then of course we needed weapons because...what's a war without weapons?"
Taichi glanced back at her, seeing the saddening expression on her face. Man...even her history's sad, he thought.
"Then there was a need for armor...which eventually led to the invention of clothes...then we realized that the fortresses we built for the war was really good to us during the horrible winter season so we decided to make houses as well...We built until our world became like that of a human's. Some of it isn't bad though. Our technology improved, giving us better medicine."
Taichi didn't realize it, but he was giving her a smile. It wasn't an ordinary smile though. It was lopsided and positioned in a way that probably wouldn't look good on anyone else--except him. It was one of those sincere types of smiles that he rarely gave to anyone unless there was a deep, latent emotion that he felt for that person he gave the smiles to. Usually, he wasn't aware of it until that person calls his attention to the fact that he'd been staring at them for quite a while now...
"Taichi? Are you all right?"
Taichi shook his head and held up a hand. "I'm fine...I was just...thinking..."
"About your family?"
"Yeah..." Taichi grabbed Sora's hands and placed them on top of each other, his own hands right on top of hers. When he looked up into her eyes, she followed suit, showing that she was thoroughly confused by his actions.
"What are you...?"
"Sora, I'll tell you what I know."
"About what?"
"About why I kidnapped you."
"All right..."
"Well...you're a nymph."
Sora blinked in confusion. "No I'm a crocodile," Sora replied sarcastically, when Taichi didn't continue. "Taichi...what's this about?"
"You didn't let me continue! I was going to say that you're not an ordinary nymph. You have the most incredible powers known to humans and nymphs and all creatures of this world! You hold the key that can free my sister and all the other children whose souls were taken by Omnimon nine years ago...if..."
"If...?"
Taichi seemed to have been holding his breath the whole time up to this point. "If they're still alive."
Now it made sense. But...how could she, a mere, little, tomboyish nymph, hold such a key? "Are you sure? Maybe you have the wrong girl--"
"My father never goes wrong. Besides, I can feel it. If you wanted--and if you were trained, you could destroy the entire universe with the kind of power you have. Hey, I never thought about it, but...I think we might even be saving you by kidnapping you!"
"What do you mean?"
"If Omnimon got his hands on you, you could be dead before you can use your powers for anything else," Taichi replied. His hands had tightened around her own. In her shock, she didn't seem to notice. "Now if we brought you back to the Yagami territory, our teachers could train you to use your powers."
"Then why didn't you just ask me? I could've just come willingly!" she shouted, pulling her hands away from him and swatting him in the arm.
Taichi stood up. "Hey! This was all supposed to be a kept from you! My father doesn't know if this...method is even safe to use..."
"What method?"
"The method to free the children," Taichi answered, his voice was a little strained, but it was only because he was afraid to tell her that there was a bit of bad news as well. (Besides kidnapping her and bringing her to places she'd never even heard of, thus traumatizing her causing her to drink large amounts of alcohol upon reaching small quantities of society at a time, of course.)
The only reply she could muster was, "oh."
Suddenly, Taichi's mood changed. "Oh shit! Why did I even tell you this?" He grabbed her shoulders out of frustration and looked her straight in the eyes. "Why do you do this to me?"
"Do what? I don't seem to recall doing anything harmful to you."
"Why do you make me feel like telling you everything, anything that is supposedly a secret?" Taichi asked, desperation spitting itself in every direction.
Sora's shaken look turned to that of pure sincerity. A hand went up to the side of his jaw, stroking it softly with the pad of her thumb. She was smiling at him with the, "you're insane!" look she always gave him--but he never seemed to notice before.
"It's better that you told me Tai-kun," she said softly, surprising Taichi with the endearing nickname. "That way, I'm completely up to helping you with your sister," she added, only imperceptively aware of the fact that her face was closer to his now than it was a moment ago.
"You know that we're eventually going to kiss, right?"
Sora managed to nod before her eyes moved down to his mouth. She'd never kissed a boy before, let alone a human who was also her kidnapper. She knew it would be awkward for her because of the knowledge of the fact that this was definitely not Taichi's first kiss. (Proof: Fuyuko, the village sex symbol.)
Maybe she should warn him? "Taichi, I've never kissed..." She paused, watching Taichi as he slowly leaned in further. "...anyone...be...fore..." she slowly explained before her eyelids fell on impulse and a small pressure was felt against her lips.
Taichi's lips began moving against hers at a slow pace as he adjusted his position in front of her. Sora's arms moved up his forearms until they were tightly wrapped around his neck while her mouth's movements became more demanding. Taichi's hands moved to her jawline to the back of her head where he ran his fingers through her red locks. He fisted it when the kiss became a little less chaste and a little more passionate. Taichi felt the soft tap of Sora's tongue and, without hesitation, allowed it into his mouth, returning his when he got his turn.
Unnoticably, Taichi's hands moved to the sides of Sora's abdomen where he heavily applied pressure, pulling her closer to him as their mouths became more insistent. Taichi grasped her thigh, draping it over his leg, gently stroking it in a way that gave Sora goosebumps. Sora's hands had flown up to his yukata, tugging at it impatiently, but without realization, and tearing it slightly, making the two pull away at the sound of the ripping fabric.
When Sora saw the tattered piece in her hand, she looked up at Taichi, breathless. "Oh! Taichi...I'm sorry--"
Taichi shook his head and took the piece from her hand, throwing it in some random place on the ground. "No, no, it's fine! No problem."
"I think we should be stopping anyways..." Sora said with a small chuckle. Taichi chuckled as well, nodding his agreement. He was afraid that if he opened his mouth, he'd say something dumb.
On the other hand, Sora was sure she was blushing herself to death, but by the looks of it, Taichi was too. She coughed nervously and tucked some hair behind her ears before moving a distance away from Taichi. Her heart still raced from the adrenaline rush. Who knew what would've happened if they didn't stop when they did?
Taichi had turned towards the forest. He really hoped his blush would fade by now...
Still...that was a damn good kiss, he thought, lightly wiping his lips.
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The rest of the night was silent. After what happened between the two, they seemed to avoid the fact that they had actually kissed each other and liked it! They hadn't turned back and vomited, spat in disgust, or promised to eat their own limbs (like they had once sworn they would do before they'd even touch each other, let alone kiss each other), but instead settled for not talking about it for the rest of the night.
Sora had fallen asleep after Taichi offered to wait up for Koushiro and be the first to watch for the night. Who knew what lurked in the forest at night? Now he really wished Yoshinobu was around...
Strangely, Koushiro hadn't come back yet and Taichi was starting to worry. He had argued with himself before realizing that he should be looking for his friend.
So, he was definitely relieved when Koushiro came walking back before he had even gotten up to look for him. Taichi knew it was Koushiro and not some bloodsucking demon of doom by the dark red hue of his shaggy hair and the robe Miyako had insisted he take as a keepsake before they left the village.
But something was a bit off...
As Koushiro neared camp, he seemed dazed...almost as if he was unconscious?
Taichi's eyes widened when he realized what it was. Or what they were...
Koushiro was coming, all right. But he wasn't coming alone.
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A/N: Dum! Dum! DUM! Wonder who they are? I do too...just kidding! Of course I know! I'm writing it! Ha, ha, ha, ha...I'm writing it? Ha, ha...see? Joke? Funny? Ha, ha! No? No...
Anyways, chapter ten will probably be up next Saturday, if I get the chance. I hope you liked this chapter! I'm not quite there yet, but I'm probably thinking of reaching...12...13 chapters? I think I'm about three-fourths done. Weehee! Bye for now!
Voguish Fib
chapter nine - That Smile
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"Oh."
Taichi couldn't believe his ears. He just gave Koushiro one of the biggest confessions he'd ever have the courage to give in his entire life and all he could say was, "oh?"
"I can't believe my ears! I just gave you one of the biggest confessions I've ever had the courage to give in my entire life and all you can say is 'oh'?"
Koushiro gave a slight shrug. "What do you want me to say? 'Oh, congratulations! You're in love!'?"
"I don't expect you to say anything of the sort! I just wanted you to say something smart...is all... And I never said I was 'in love' with her! I just said that I think I'm falling for her. It doesn't necessarily involve love," Taichi explained as he stood from the futon and walked about the room in a thoughtful haze.
Koushiro gave a small smile. "Do you even know what you just said?" Taichi blinked in confusion. Koushiro continued. "Look my friend, when a man says they are falling for someone, it doesn't mean 'it doesn't necessarily involve love', it, in fact, does necessarily involve love, whether the man likes it or not. The term, 'falling for someone' means falling in love with someone, but we stupid creatures just decided to make up some phrase to confuse the rest of the world or are just too uncomfortable to use the full, and direct term, 'falling in love with someone'. Do you catch my drift?" Koushiro asked.
Taichi simply nodded. How can someone respond to something like that?
"All I'm saying is, if you have any feelings for the girl whatsoever, I propose you don't continue on your little hostage, kidnap trip."
How'd he know that? Taichi wondered. "Koushiro...I never told you--"
"I know. I can just feel it you know? Or rather...heard it. You two weren't very clandestine in your little private conversations yesterday. I could hear every damn thing you argued about."
"Well...look Koushiro. Don't tell her about anything I said tonight, okay? And I can't have you interfering with my assignment," Taichi scolded, turning to his futon.
Koushiro scoffed. "So, she's just an assignment?"
"Will you shut up? I can't do anything about it. It's between her, or my father. And I choose family first."
"Okay, fine...whatever suits you...Prince Yagami."
Taichi's head shot up in his direction. "Koushiro, you dumbass! What the hell are you trying to do, calling me that here?" he snapped.
"Calm down, it's not like anyone heard us. Just get to sleep," he said, sitting in his futon, staring at Taichi as he turned onto his side. "I hope you have nightmares," he added, muttering.
"Do let the bed bugs bite, Koushiro," Taichi barked back.
Unbeknownst to the two young men, a pair of ruby eyes stared off into the darkness, the owner of them, unsure of what feelings clogged her body...anger? Fear? Confusion? Maybe even...broken hearted?
Well, whatever it is, she told herself, I'm not giving 'Prince Yagami' another chance to butter me up before he sends me to my deathbed. If he's gonna drag me with him, I'll give that son-of-a-bitch a hard time.
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Taichi had woken Sora and Koushiro early the next morning, before the sun even got a chance to shine it's rays. But by this time, Miyako had awaken, and so had Sora's young friend, Ruki, helping a couple other people clean up the town before everyone else woke up.
They said their goodbyes and even left the villagers some presents as well as promises of coming back to visit. It had been only a day, but the village had really grown on the trio.
Down the road, the trip was unusually silent. Taichi had decided not to talk to Koushiro because of their little argument last night and he didn't want to talk to Sora because of his frustrated feelings for her. Koushiro decided not to talk to Taichi because of the fact that he had kidnapped Sora and yet, seemed to have feelings for her. And Sora, of course, didn't want to talk to either of them because of her new found knowledge from the previous night.
Koushiro was the first to try to break the ice. "I'm gonna miss that town," he blurted out.
Sora scoffed. "You know Koushiro, you're so fake! Couldn't you just come out with it? I know you know," she said.
So breaking the ice, wasn't one of Koushiro's brightest moves.
"Know that Taichi kidnapped you? Yes I know...what do you want me to do about it?" he asked.
"Help me of course! I want to get away from this--this...Prince Yagami," she finished sullenly, looking up at Taichi to see his reaction.
The only thing that was visible to either her or Koushiro was the back of his head. He had stopped walking, so naturally, the other two stopped as well. Taichi seemed to be thinking, but as he turned, Sora saw the expression on his face.
"Sora..." he whispered. "Don't call me that."
"Why not? Are you really a prince, huh Taichi? Or should I say, 'Your Highness'? Ha! And you're always teasing me because of that stupid title!"
"Oh, shut up you stupid nymph princess! What kind of nymph are you anyways? Living in a castle and whatnot? Don't nymphs live in the wilderness where they can be in nature and shit? Aren't you guys supposed to be gods and goddesses of nature? Why are you dressed in kimonos anyways? Why do you have villages? Why do you have a fortress around your castle? Oh, and by the way, nymphs don't fucking live in castles!" Taichi shouted, stepping up to Sora, unaware that his height was slightly intimidating.
"We...upgraded?" Sora suggested.
"So this is all a joke to you?"
"Oh, and apparently, I'm just an 'assignment' to you!"
"Family's important to me!"
"So let's say your father gives you three thousand men, then he tells you to kill off one thousand of them because of financial problems, are you going to do what Daddy says? Is that how important family is to you that you'd hurt others who might have families too?"
Taichi walked up to her silently, the leaves under his feet could be heard crunching softly under the pressure. Koushiro wordlessly stood a distance away, unsure of how to break up the intense argument. All the while, Taichi languorously trudged up to Sora until his nose was just barely touching hers. Sora's wide crimson eyes were frozen on his brown ones, gazing indecisively until the words came out of his mouth.
"At least I have a father."
Then without another word, he stepped back and continued to walk. Sora was suddenly confused. She briskly followed after him, ignoring the still-wordless Koushiro who trotted close behind.
She arched a brow before standing in front of him. "What does that supposed to mean? I do have a father. He's at home in Furugawa."
"Nothing...forget I said it," Taichi said, shutting his eyes for a second. No...he shouldn't have said that...Sora didn't deserve to be hurt now. Not now...not ever...
But she seemed to be insisting. Sora grabbed the collar of his yukata and yanked him back. "Tell me what you meant by that Taichi," she asked darkly.
"No, your right Sora. Your father's at home right now...safe..."
Something about the way he said that made Sora believe he was lying. But somehow she didn't want to press on. Taichi continued to go straight ahead, mentally kicking himself in the head for saying that. Sora didn't need to know that her parents died on that day...that same day Hikari was taken away from him...the day his own father started treating him as if he had partially disowned him...the day the Kingdom of Yagami reached an almost apocalyptic end...
Out of curiosity, he took a glimpse at Sora somewhere at the corner of his eye. She was looking down at the ground, a bit lost in her thoughts. Koushiro was close by, deciding to avoid interference and just keep quiet.
Koushiro was suddenly aware of the fact that Sora never even tried to run away from Taichi. Since their first meeting, Sora never looked to escape from him. Why was that?
She had so many chances. First, there was his shrine up in the mountains. When that Birdramon had attacked, she could've escaped and Taichi would never have been able to keep track of where she was beyond all that debris.
Then there was the village. Taichi was barely with her throughout the day. She could've probably been half way home by then if she fled from the village instead of going to the bath with Miyako...
And there was now. Taichi was up ahead and she wouldn't even attack him from behind or try to knock him out in order to run from him before he could catch her.
Was she willing to go with him...without...realizing that she was willing to go with him?
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A night's rest was wordlessly agreed upon. It was for the best after that long walk.
They set up a small camp near the trees. Taichi created a fire and sat in front of it, picking at the twigs and branches that sizzled under the orange flame. He watched it, the flame reflecting its rhythmic movements in his eyes.
Sora was still a bit disoriented. What happened? she asked herself thoughtfully. We had such a nice time last night... oh what am I kidding myself for? He kidnapped you Sora! You're not supposed to care if he's nice to you or not! You're supposed to be plotting and scheming against him, but so far the only plan you have is in your dreams...and even then you can't remember them.
"I saw a spring on the way here. I'm going to go take a dip if you don't mind," Koushiro muttered softly before walking off into the trees. Sora and Taichi watched him leave before absent-mindedly turning their eyes towards each other.
But the instant they did so, they turned away.
Sora glanced back and sighed before heading towards him.
"It was a war," she told him.
Taichi turned to her, poking a branch that slowly fell from the flamed heap. "What?"
"The reason we nymphs don't live in nature anymore. It's been almost 700 years since then," she explained, taking a seat right next to him. Taichi turned back to the fire.
"Oh."
"See, we used to be peaceful creatures, living in nature and all the things that you said. Until there was this small dispute over territory. We became like most men after that. Savage and cruel to others because we thought that we earned part of the earth that we didn't create. Then of course we needed weapons because...what's a war without weapons?"
Taichi glanced back at her, seeing the saddening expression on her face. Man...even her history's sad, he thought.
"Then there was a need for armor...which eventually led to the invention of clothes...then we realized that the fortresses we built for the war was really good to us during the horrible winter season so we decided to make houses as well...We built until our world became like that of a human's. Some of it isn't bad though. Our technology improved, giving us better medicine."
Taichi didn't realize it, but he was giving her a smile. It wasn't an ordinary smile though. It was lopsided and positioned in a way that probably wouldn't look good on anyone else--except him. It was one of those sincere types of smiles that he rarely gave to anyone unless there was a deep, latent emotion that he felt for that person he gave the smiles to. Usually, he wasn't aware of it until that person calls his attention to the fact that he'd been staring at them for quite a while now...
"Taichi? Are you all right?"
Taichi shook his head and held up a hand. "I'm fine...I was just...thinking..."
"About your family?"
"Yeah..." Taichi grabbed Sora's hands and placed them on top of each other, his own hands right on top of hers. When he looked up into her eyes, she followed suit, showing that she was thoroughly confused by his actions.
"What are you...?"
"Sora, I'll tell you what I know."
"About what?"
"About why I kidnapped you."
"All right..."
"Well...you're a nymph."
Sora blinked in confusion. "No I'm a crocodile," Sora replied sarcastically, when Taichi didn't continue. "Taichi...what's this about?"
"You didn't let me continue! I was going to say that you're not an ordinary nymph. You have the most incredible powers known to humans and nymphs and all creatures of this world! You hold the key that can free my sister and all the other children whose souls were taken by Omnimon nine years ago...if..."
"If...?"
Taichi seemed to have been holding his breath the whole time up to this point. "If they're still alive."
Now it made sense. But...how could she, a mere, little, tomboyish nymph, hold such a key? "Are you sure? Maybe you have the wrong girl--"
"My father never goes wrong. Besides, I can feel it. If you wanted--and if you were trained, you could destroy the entire universe with the kind of power you have. Hey, I never thought about it, but...I think we might even be saving you by kidnapping you!"
"What do you mean?"
"If Omnimon got his hands on you, you could be dead before you can use your powers for anything else," Taichi replied. His hands had tightened around her own. In her shock, she didn't seem to notice. "Now if we brought you back to the Yagami territory, our teachers could train you to use your powers."
"Then why didn't you just ask me? I could've just come willingly!" she shouted, pulling her hands away from him and swatting him in the arm.
Taichi stood up. "Hey! This was all supposed to be a kept from you! My father doesn't know if this...method is even safe to use..."
"What method?"
"The method to free the children," Taichi answered, his voice was a little strained, but it was only because he was afraid to tell her that there was a bit of bad news as well. (Besides kidnapping her and bringing her to places she'd never even heard of, thus traumatizing her causing her to drink large amounts of alcohol upon reaching small quantities of society at a time, of course.)
The only reply she could muster was, "oh."
Suddenly, Taichi's mood changed. "Oh shit! Why did I even tell you this?" He grabbed her shoulders out of frustration and looked her straight in the eyes. "Why do you do this to me?"
"Do what? I don't seem to recall doing anything harmful to you."
"Why do you make me feel like telling you everything, anything that is supposedly a secret?" Taichi asked, desperation spitting itself in every direction.
Sora's shaken look turned to that of pure sincerity. A hand went up to the side of his jaw, stroking it softly with the pad of her thumb. She was smiling at him with the, "you're insane!" look she always gave him--but he never seemed to notice before.
"It's better that you told me Tai-kun," she said softly, surprising Taichi with the endearing nickname. "That way, I'm completely up to helping you with your sister," she added, only imperceptively aware of the fact that her face was closer to his now than it was a moment ago.
"You know that we're eventually going to kiss, right?"
Sora managed to nod before her eyes moved down to his mouth. She'd never kissed a boy before, let alone a human who was also her kidnapper. She knew it would be awkward for her because of the knowledge of the fact that this was definitely not Taichi's first kiss. (Proof: Fuyuko, the village sex symbol.)
Maybe she should warn him? "Taichi, I've never kissed..." She paused, watching Taichi as he slowly leaned in further. "...anyone...be...fore..." she slowly explained before her eyelids fell on impulse and a small pressure was felt against her lips.
Taichi's lips began moving against hers at a slow pace as he adjusted his position in front of her. Sora's arms moved up his forearms until they were tightly wrapped around his neck while her mouth's movements became more demanding. Taichi's hands moved to her jawline to the back of her head where he ran his fingers through her red locks. He fisted it when the kiss became a little less chaste and a little more passionate. Taichi felt the soft tap of Sora's tongue and, without hesitation, allowed it into his mouth, returning his when he got his turn.
Unnoticably, Taichi's hands moved to the sides of Sora's abdomen where he heavily applied pressure, pulling her closer to him as their mouths became more insistent. Taichi grasped her thigh, draping it over his leg, gently stroking it in a way that gave Sora goosebumps. Sora's hands had flown up to his yukata, tugging at it impatiently, but without realization, and tearing it slightly, making the two pull away at the sound of the ripping fabric.
When Sora saw the tattered piece in her hand, she looked up at Taichi, breathless. "Oh! Taichi...I'm sorry--"
Taichi shook his head and took the piece from her hand, throwing it in some random place on the ground. "No, no, it's fine! No problem."
"I think we should be stopping anyways..." Sora said with a small chuckle. Taichi chuckled as well, nodding his agreement. He was afraid that if he opened his mouth, he'd say something dumb.
On the other hand, Sora was sure she was blushing herself to death, but by the looks of it, Taichi was too. She coughed nervously and tucked some hair behind her ears before moving a distance away from Taichi. Her heart still raced from the adrenaline rush. Who knew what would've happened if they didn't stop when they did?
Taichi had turned towards the forest. He really hoped his blush would fade by now...
Still...that was a damn good kiss, he thought, lightly wiping his lips.
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~*~
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The rest of the night was silent. After what happened between the two, they seemed to avoid the fact that they had actually kissed each other and liked it! They hadn't turned back and vomited, spat in disgust, or promised to eat their own limbs (like they had once sworn they would do before they'd even touch each other, let alone kiss each other), but instead settled for not talking about it for the rest of the night.
Sora had fallen asleep after Taichi offered to wait up for Koushiro and be the first to watch for the night. Who knew what lurked in the forest at night? Now he really wished Yoshinobu was around...
Strangely, Koushiro hadn't come back yet and Taichi was starting to worry. He had argued with himself before realizing that he should be looking for his friend.
So, he was definitely relieved when Koushiro came walking back before he had even gotten up to look for him. Taichi knew it was Koushiro and not some bloodsucking demon of doom by the dark red hue of his shaggy hair and the robe Miyako had insisted he take as a keepsake before they left the village.
But something was a bit off...
As Koushiro neared camp, he seemed dazed...almost as if he was unconscious?
Taichi's eyes widened when he realized what it was. Or what they were...
Koushiro was coming, all right. But he wasn't coming alone.
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A/N: Dum! Dum! DUM! Wonder who they are? I do too...just kidding! Of course I know! I'm writing it! Ha, ha, ha, ha...I'm writing it? Ha, ha...see? Joke? Funny? Ha, ha! No? No...
Anyways, chapter ten will probably be up next Saturday, if I get the chance. I hope you liked this chapter! I'm not quite there yet, but I'm probably thinking of reaching...12...13 chapters? I think I'm about three-fourths done. Weehee! Bye for now!