Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Digimon seasons or any of its characters. The plotline is based off a Manga titled "Penguin Brothers", which has not been licensed in America. I don't own that either.
Shades of Gray: Chapter 5
"Deal."
Sora's body shivered as Yamato's hand took hers. His cold temperature startled her a bit, as did his azure orbs that stared sadly at her. Their hands parted; warmth returned to her small hand. Yamato's stayed as cold as ever.
"I'll make sure not to lose any of my devoted followers," Taichi grinned. "Where's Daisuke?" he ordered.
"Sir! I'm afraid… he's turned into a Gray."
The Leader snapped, "WHAT?"
"I don't want to repeat," the black replied meekly. "You're twitching…"
"TWO MONTHS?" Koushiro gapped at Sora. "You want to change half the school into Gray's in TWO MONTHS?"
"Calm down, no need for the emphasis. I was there, you know," Sora held up her hands in defense. "It shouldn't be that bad, right? You're the strategist."
The male redhead shook his head and sighed, "You're reckless."
"I know," she laughed nervously. "But! It's a new day – a good time to start anew!"
She's optimistic… Koushiro sweatdropped.
There was a knock from the door. Jyou emerged with a clipboard in his hand. "After that concert yesterday, Mimi recruited about forty new Grays. Around fifteen were Blacks and twenty-five were Whites. This makes a total of eighty-two Grays from Odaiba High School, and about seventy-two from Odaiba Middle School." Jyou shifted the bridge of his glasses and tossed the clipboard to Koushiro. "Not bad at all."
"Interesting," Koushiro nodded. "We have around 1200 students at this school. It's about divided evenly in terms of Whites and Blacks. If we get around 300 from each side we should be good. Considering we have two months, we might want to speed things up a little bit. I'm positive Taichi will try and get his members back, it's also good to have the Tamers into gear as well. Ruki, or Kyuubi, challenged us to 300 Grays, but that also include Odaiba Middle School, so there shouldn't be a problem."
"Alright then," Sora jumped up excitedly. "Let's get to work!"
"Something doesn't seem right…" Sora muttered as she walked around the building outside. She stuffed her hands into her slick black trench coat. Her brown boots made a slight click noise against the concrete, creating a foreboding sound in a quiet.
But it's too quiet…"C'mon guys! We gotta run to the basketball court or else the game will start without us!"
Sora tilted her head and focused on the group of boy in front of her. "Hey! You guys turned into Gray's yesterday! Why are you wearing your uniforms?"
The brunette placed an apologetic look on his face. "Because of this." He tilted his head, revealing three streaks of dry blood. "Sorry, Takenouchi, but you kind of forced us into this."
Sora's eyes widened. "What happened?"
"Taichi-sempai sent out a secret weapon: Kaiser Knuckles."
"Kaiser Knuckles?"
They nodded. "It's a gang… they wield three blades – like a claw – and then threaten us to return back to normal or else. In the end, they place their mark."
Nooo… her eyes almost filled with tears. This isn't how it's supposed to be!
"AHHH!"
The Gray's head swiftly turned towards the scream. It sounded familiar…
"Mimi!" Sora exclaimed, and ran after the noise…
"Mimi!" the redhead slid to a halt in the hallways. The pink-haired girl was slumped on her knees, her hands covering her face. Blood trickled down her cheeks.
A few Grays, Blacks, and Whites witnessed the horrifying scene. Sora stood in the center, looking at Mimi with her fists clenched.
"It's the new girl," a boy chuckled. He walked up behind Mimi. "This is what you've caused to others. Not very smart, are you?"
"Sora…" Mimi cried. "Get away while you can!"
"You can't escape the Kaiser and his people," the boy pulled her hair, causing her to wince in pain. "The name's Ichijouji Ken, the leader, of course. Feel free to call me Kaiser."
The group of boys behind him chuckled, cracking their knuckles and approaching the other Grays nearby. "If you go back to your color willingly, the least you'll get are three marks," one member offered.
A female Gray hid herself behind a male Gray. "Please don't hurt us!"
"This is what you get for defying the Leaders!"
"Stop it!" Sora cried. The hallway grew silent. "I'll take you on, Ichijouji."
He laughed, "A girl against a guy? Don't screw with me!"
The girl stood up straight, her legs spread out and her arms up about to fight. "Bring it on, then, if you're brave enough."
"You asked for it," he clenched the blades between his fingers and ran towards her.
Sora's cinnamon eyes shut tightly as she felt the tips of the blades scrape her skin. She could slightly feel the blood travel down her cheek. The wound throbbed as she wiped the blood away with her arm.
"You didn't even dodge it," the Kaiser muttered. "What are you thinking?"
"It's true that girls are weaker… regardless, your job is to hurt everyone who's a Gray, right?" she turned on her heel and met face-to-face with Ichijouji. "Then I'll take all their scratches here and now as long as you swear not to hurt them!"
Ishida Yamato tapped his pen against his desk. His was getting impatient. "You know, I'm getting tired of this game."
"If we leave her be, she'll catch up, you know. People can't risk that."
"Life isn't fair," the blonde replied icily. "You and I both know that."
"Heh, well, it seems things are getting interesting down here. Your little piyo (bird) is very brave. Why don't you come here in Hall B?"
Immediately, Yamato slammed the phone down and rushed out the door.
"Sora, what are you thinking?" Koushiro pushed through the crowd. "Have you gone nuts?"
She placed her hands behind her back and closed her eyes. "I got these people hurt because I forced them to become Gray. This is the least I can do."
"Nice," the Kaiser smirked. "Make sure you don't move, or else you'll have a permanent scar. Wouldn't want to ruin your pretty face now, would we?"
The Grays whispered amongst themselves.
"She's taking the hit for us?"
"She's so brave…"
Ken coughed and scrolled his eyes to the group of Grays. "Prepare for twenty-five scratches."
Yamato panted as he stood in the back of the crowd. His eyes widened at the sight.
"Twenty!" Sora shouted, receiving another blow on the face.
Ken stopped short as the blades lightly touched against her cheek. "I give up, this is boring if you just stand there." He looked over his shoulder to Taichi, who was sitting on the windowsill. "I'm done here, Yagami-sama. This is a waste of my time. These people are worthless."
"Whatever…" he growled. He jumped off and disappeared into the crowd.
"Sora! I'm so… proud of… you…" Mimi's eyes fluttered and she fell forward. Koushiro quickly caught her. "I guess she's not too tolerant of blood…"
The Gray smiled, "I guess not…" Her face heated up. Immediately, her legs became weak and she fell back into someone's arms.
"You're going to the nurse," Yamato said calmly. "You're reckless."
As if I haven't heard that enough times… Sora's vision blurred. "And you save me once again…"
Unfortunately, she wasn't awake when he revealed a tint of red on his cheeks.
Flashback
Sora stood in a meadow, admiring the assortment of plants and flowers surrounding her. On her head she adorned a small flower crown made of daisies. She appeared to be only about six years old.
"Thanks… for being here with me on my brithday. I really like being around you…"
Her shining ginger eyes turned to the right, but there was no one there.
End Flashback
Who am I talking to? Sora's eyes blurred as she awoke, soon focusing on the blue-haired boy. "Jyou?"
"Glad to see you're back," he smiled. "How are you feeling?"
"Good, I guess," she sat up, her hands stroking her cheek. "I guess I took too many scratches, huh?"
He chuckled. "Same with Mimi… she was awake earlier. She went home since it was getting dark."
She turned her attention to the students behind him. "Hmm?"
"Um…" a Gray spoke up, "thanks for saving us today… you're awesome!"
Applause filled the room, causing the girl to blush. She noticed how most of them were basketball team members.
"You were so cool!"
"Admirable!"
The team leader stepped up. "We've become Grays, permanently. Don't get too cocky though, it's only cause we've been discussing for a while how worthless it is to always go against the same people. It's not much of a challenge. Basketball is basketball, why don't we all just enjoy it? We haven't had the guts to do this until you came along. So, thanks."
Sora nodded, smiling brightly. That's definitely 26 members…
"I have to say, I'm impressed," Jyou stated as he walked with Sora. "I didn't think you'd actually go this far. Luckily, there are students beginning to speak out for themselves."
She nodded. "I'm happy that there's more purpose in this." She gave him a thumbs-up and winked.
He smiled back. "I'm glad too. Oh yeah, Ruki wanted to speak with you tomorrow morning in the courtyard. She seems happy the way things are going."
"That's good, maybe the Tamers can step into play."
He nodded. "Do you want me to walk you home?"
"Nah, it's alright," she waved. "I need to go my locker quick to get some books for class. Bye!"
The boy waved and went the opposite direction. She ran to her locker and placed in her combination. A putrid odor emitted from inside.
"If you know it smells bad, don't open it."
Sorry, Ishida-kun, I have to open it someday.
"What the!" Sora refrained herself from cursing. "Gross!"
Rotten fruit and vegetables fell out from her locker. She found a note posted on the back of her locker door.
Takenouchi Sora, prepare to leave this school! We will prevail. – Anonymous.
"Lovely," the Gray muttered sarcastically. "I feel wanted."
However, there was another note, stained from the rotten food. Apparently this was slipped in through the slits of her locker door.
Takenouchi Sora – we will make you remember us! – Anonymous.
"…" She stared dumbfounded at the letter. "That's interesting."
To Be Continued…