The Final Battle

by Shinmechslade

[Sequel to Midnight Blossoms] At the end of every legend, there is a final battle, a clash betwen good and evil. This is the story of one such battle. [Updated: Chapter 13]

1. Chapter One

The Final Battle

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or X/1999 (yeah, that last bit will become clear when you read the fic)

_______________________________________________________________________

A/N: Well, here it is. The sequel to Midnight Blossoms. This first chapter is a monster and it'll give you a good idea of how long this fic is going to be compared to Midnight Blossoms. I wasn't kidding around when I said Midnight Blossoms was the prologue to this much bigger work. As always, Read and Review. I, unfortunately, can't make any guarantees concerning when chapter two will be out.

Oh and Hikari is very Out of Character. I've tried to explain why but don't know if it'll work. Tell me if it does or if it doesn't.

________________________________________________________________________

Images: death, fire, destruction. The world on fire, consumed by darkness. The bodies of comrades lying broken on the ground. And then the voice, always the same voice. "Your destiny approaches. Do not fail us." Afterwards, nothing but a cold darkness until awakening.

______________________________________

Takeru fell into the lake with a loud splash. Sputtering, he swam up to the surface and glared at the closing portal above the lake. This was the third time he'd been dumped into a lake. It was fate that was against him. He had gone through more attempts then he cared to count, ended up in countless different dimensions and still, he hadn't found his own reality. Oh well, maybe this time would be the charm.

Swimming over to the shore, Takeru checked his surroundings. The lake was pretty small and was surrounded by forest on all sides. Overhead, the sun was high in a clear cloudless blue sky. Judging by its position in the sky, it was mid-afternoon.

Dragging himself onto the grassy shore, Takeru collapsed on the ground. Turning over onto his back he stretched out his arms behind his head. His dark gray shirt and pants were soaked but he didn't really care. The sun would dry them soon enough and he needed to recover his energy. Opening and traversing gateways was taxing work.

Concentrating, Takeru tried to de-merge from Angemon and found that he couldn't. Frowning, he stood up and tried again. It still didn't work. That was weird. No dimension he had been to had affected him like this. Taking off his shirt, he concentrated and two white wings burst out from his back and a golden staff appeared in his hands. He transferred the staff to one hand and stretched out the other and caused a small flame to appear there. Closing his fist, he quenched the flame. It seemed that all his other powers were intact except that he couldn't de-merge.

'Sorry old friend,' he thought inwardly. 'Looks like we're stuck like this until we figure something out.'

Angemon's tone, when he replied, sounded amused. 'Take your time. I'm finding some of your memories quite hilarious.'

'Have fun in there,' Takeru thought back. 'Although I'm surprised you can still find memories in there that you haven't already seen.'

There was a small grunt of amusement but no reply. Shrugging, Takeru lay back down on the ground and wrapped his wings around his body as a makeshift blanket. Closing his eyes, he fell asleep. Much later, he awoke to a loud noise. Rubbing his eyes, he watched as a strange looking craft, which bore a remarkable resemblance to one of those spaceships in the American Star Wars movies, sped overhead. Unfurling his wings, he flew up and watched the craft disappear into the distance. He wasn't fast enough to follow it but at least now he knew in which direction civilization lay.

Evening was giving way to night and Takeru realized that he was hungry. Retracting his wings, he plummeted down and landed on the ground. However, as he was descending, something further up the shore caught his eye. Heart suddenly drumming in his chest, he grabbed his now dry shirt and made his way to the object. 'It couldn't be, it just couldn't be.' Vaguely, he was aware that he was holding his breath. His suspicions were confirmed as he came upon a small television set, tilted upwards diagonally, its back sunk into the earth. Scrambling to his knees, he touched the front panel and slid it aside. Engraved beneath the panel was a symbol that caused his heart to skip a beat. The sideways eight signifying eternity was the symbol of the Guardians. Which meant:

"I'm home," he murmured, unable to believe his eyes. Quickly sliding back the panel with the engraved symbol revealed the familiar dashboard. There were a number of buttons here, carved in the shape of different runes. His fingers ran over the dashboard of their own accord. He still remembered the code for Earth and couldn't wait to get there. There was a promise to be kept.

The monitor's screen flickered and then the words, 'unable to comply,' flashed across the screen. Scowling, Takeru inputted the code again but it still wouldn't work. He tried a few other codes that would allow him to travel within the Digital World itself but those had no effect either.

Takeru leaned back, resting on his knees. Something was definitely wrong with this whole scenario. Earlier elation wearing off, he unfurled his wings and flew up. He had traversed the Digital World from one end to the other but he didn't recognize anything among what he now saw. Floating gently back down to the earth, he became more aware of just how hungry he was when his stomach growled. The next few minutes were spent foraging for food in the woods around the lake. He didn't find much but he didn't need much either. He had gone long lengths of time without food. After he had eaten his meager scraps, he flew back up and headed into the direction the aircraft had taken.

Three hours later he saw the city.

The woods had continued unbroken underneath him, gradually growing more and more sparse until finally he had arrived at a flat grassless plain. It was across this plain that he had seen lights in the distance and had approached cautiously. He had never seen this particular city before and the biggest concern he had were the numerous humans manning the walls. That was an anomaly in itself; humans did not have cities in the digital world. How long had he been away?

Cautiously flying closer to the city, he began to pick out more details. The outer wall of the city rose approximately forty feet into the air and was manned by sentries. Beyond the wall was a rather small city consisting of two or three blocks and right in the middle of the city, surrounded by yet another manned wall was a citadel. Takeru narrowed his eyes, squinting in the darkness. It was a good thing that his sight was greatly enhanced in his merged state. There was a moat that surrounded the wall around the citadel. Whoever had built this city had built it for defense.

He was hanging in the air observing when suddenly a huge light blinked on atop the walls and nearly blinded him. A loud voice blared for him to come down and reveal his intentions. It seemed that the sentries had seen him. Raising his hands to show that he meant no harm, he landed near what could only be the main entrance to the city. The light stayed on him, following him down.

As he landed, the gate started to open and a small army of young men burst forth. He watched them curiously as they surrounded him. They were wearing the long flowing white and gray robes of the Guardians yet he hadn't seen any of them before. How long had he been away?

The crowd of figures in front of him suddenly parted and a young blonde haired man walked forth. Takeru started forward to meet him but stopped as there was a bright green flash and the earth at his feet suddenly became charred and blackened. It was then that he noticed the blaster like attachment that most of these young men were wearing on their wrists.

Retracting his wings into his body and donning the shirt he had taken off earlier that day, he said, "The hospitality of the Guardians seems to have changed since my day."

The blonde haired youth frowned. "We're not Guardians," he said. "Who are you?"

His answer was puzzling but Takeru decided to mull it over later. "Just a traveler," he responded to the boy's question. It paid to have anonymity until he discerned just which side these people were on. "I know I'm in the Digital World but which continent is this."

The boy ignored him. "Where is your id?"

"Since when was an id required to travel in this world?"

"Get the cuffs," the boy yelled out and so Takeru found himself inside a cell, in a dungeon underneath the citadel he had been observing.

In retrospect, things would not have been so bad if the cuffs they had put on him hadn't robbed him of his powers or if the cell had not been so small or if it had not been quite so dark. He pleaded for a light but they ignored him. In the end, he was left in a small cell, draped in darkness.

He made his way over to the small cot set in one corner of the cell as the guards left, taking the light with them. Scrambling onto the cot, he lay down. The position was uncomfortable because they had cuffed his hands behind his back and had not bothered to switch the position. Swinging his legs up, he slid his cuffed arms underneath and fixed that particular problem. Then, he closed his eyes and retreated within his own mind just as the last trace of light disappeared into the distance. He would not be getting much sleep this way but at least he did not have to deal with the dark and in any case, he didn't need much sleep because of his earlier nap.

He was awakened an indeterminate period of time later when somebody unceremoniously kicked him off the cot. Blinking his eyes, he raised a hand to cover them and looked up to see the same boy that had arrested him last night, standing over him. In his hand, he carried a flashlight, which he was shining right into his eyes.

"Was that really necessary?" Takeru asked struggling to his feet.

The guard frowned. "The lady will see you now."

"The lady?" Takeru questioned. "Is she your leader, the ruler of this city?"

The frown on the guards face deepened. "Either you're a really good actor or you're telling the truth about being a clueless traveler. In any case, Lady Yagami will decide what to do with you and, yes, for lack of a better term, she is our leader."

"Lady Yagami," Takeru said softly. "That wouldn't be Hikari Yagami, would it?"

"Yes, now let's go."

"Hikari Yagami, the little sister of Taichi Yagami?"

"Yes, but he's in Rayne right now. Let's go."

"What year is this?"

The guard blinked at that, then scowled. "Enough questions. You can ask everything of the lady herself."

And then he was being prodded forward. It was a long way to the top level and Takeru covered his eyes from the harsh light when they finally got there. It seemed that he had spent the whole night and most of the morning in the dungeon. There was no time to sight see though as the guard prodded him in the back again. Pretty soon they were standing at the end of a hallway in front of a plain looking wooden door.

Apprehension filled Takeru as the guard opened the door. Things had obviously changed a lot in the time that he had been gone. How much had the chosen changed? He suddenly wondered how old Hikari had gotten.

As he entered the room, his eyes shot straight to her of their own accord. She was sitting at a desk, in the sparsely furnished room, going over some documents. Her brow was furrowed in a familiar look of concentration that he remembered from long ago. He studied her closely and was relieved to find that she had not aged remarkably. Her hair was a mass of wild curls atop her head tapering off to a single braid that hung down to the middle of her back. On anybody else it would have looked unkempt but it framed her face rather nicely, highlighting her crimson, brown eyes. Frowning, he noticed the dark circles under the very same eyes signifying a lack of sleep and made a mental note to ask about them later.

Beside him the guard coughed politely and she looked up...... and visibly stiffened upon seeing him.

Takeru waved at her, as best he was able with his cuffs. He could feel himself grinning like an idiot. "Hello, I was hoping for a more dignified or flamboyant entrance but......" he held up his cuffs and deliberately trailed off.

There was a sudden pressure within his head and he dropped his mental defenses allowing her inside. He stood that way a long time, his eyes locked with hers. Then, her presence within his mind retreated and her physical self broke contact with him, leaning back in her chair.

"It's you," she said softly, a tone of wonder in her voice. She began to get up from her chair. "Ta......" Suddenly, Iori was beside her side, his hand on her shoulder keeping her from getting up.

"Are you sure," he asked looking down at her.

Takeru stared in amazement at Iori's sudden appearance then surreptitiously checked his surroundings to make sure if anybody else was there. He had not done such a great job of checking out his surroundings when he had come in. Hikari had taken up his entire focus.

"I'm sure," Hikari replied. "I placed wards in his mind that would identify him to me and he has memories that none of the other copies had."

"Still, we should run all the checks," Iori replied. "At this time we can't afford to take any chances."

Hikari attempted to get up once again. "I'll......"

Iori kept his hand on her shoulder, firmly keeping her in place. "You have several important appointments today. I'll deal with him."

Hikari looked up quietly, meeting Iori's gaze with her own. Moments later Iori looked away. Takeru smiled inwardly. He had never been able to stand that gaze for long either. Truthfully, he doubted anyone could. He had seen her make even Tai back off with it once.

Suddenly Hikari sighed, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes. "I suppose you're right," she admitted. "I shouldn't get my hopes up. Still, he does look a lot like him, right down to that goofy grin."

"The other one had that too, didn't he?"

"Wasn't the same."

"Heh, I guess you would know."

Both suddenly turned towards Takeru who quirked an eyebrow. "Before we begin with these...... checks, could I know how long I've been away."

"It's been two and a half years," Iori replied.

Takeru turned towards Hikari. "My count stands at two years and seven days."

"Mine stands at two years, six months, fifteen days, twelve hours and fifty two minutes."

Takeru chuckled softly. "I suppose this six months gives you a full year of seniority to hold over my head."

Hikari turned back to Iori. "Well, he's certainly got Takeru's subtlety. In one stroke he's gotten information from us and demonstrated something only Takeru and I knew."

"Still as perceptive as ever, I see." Takeru said softly.

"I think you better take him away Iori before I change my mind."

Iori nodded and started forward. However, Takeru stopped him before he could lead the taller man out of the room. "One moment. I want to leave something behind as further proof that I am who I appear to be."

Iori glanced back at Hikari who nodded.

"Unbutton the top of my shirt and reach in for a side pocket to the left. There is an object there that carries great value for me." Takeru nodded towards Hikari. "I will leave it with you but I expect it back when we meet after these checks have been run."

Working methodically, Iori quickly retrieved said object. He stared at it for a long moment, then turned and tossed it to Hikari. She snagged the object out of mid-air as Takeru and Iori left the room. Opening her fist, she found that she was holding a small, battered harmonica.

___________________________________

"This is our medical center," Iori said spreading his hands expansively.

"You're being overly dramatic," Takeru replied studying the small white, bare room whose only consent to furniture was a chair.

"Yeah well, the actual center is actually quite large. This is just a small part of it. Now, we've got all your medical records on file from your time with the Guardians. We'll do a standard DNA check first although it won't exactly prove anything. The last Takeru clone had all of the real one's genetic material."

"Oh? What happened to him?"

"Long and tragic story," Iori replied quickly. "Now please sit down." He indicated the lone piece of furniture in the entire room.

"One thing first," Takeru quickly interjected. "I am bio-merged at the moment. I can't de-merge for some reason."

"I know," Iori said. "Don't worry, we have a strong enough needle to penetrate your thick skin and we have records of your bio-merge data from the Guardians as well."

"All right." Takeru sat down in the chair. Immediately, metal clasps closed around his wrists and ankles.

"Relax," Iori said calmly upon seeing Takeru stiffen. "The restraints are to keep you from jerking around too much."

"I see," Takeru spoke stiffly. "Remind me to tell you about the other time I was strapped to a chair like this."

Iori didn't reply, instead, he walked over to a sidewall and flipped a switch. A giant hole slowly slid open in the ceiling of the room and a giant apparatus lowered through it. Takeru couldn't help but grin upon seeing it. The whole thing stank of Koushirou's sense of humor. The apparatus was cylindrical in shape with a massive end that gradually tapered off into a thin needle. The effect was at once menacing and comical.

The device slowly swiveled over to his right side and plunged the needle forcefully into his bicep. After an interminable period, the needle withdrew. Shortly thereafter, the lightshow started. A horizontal beam of light ran over Takeru's body several times. And then, it was over. He was a little surprised since a full physical checkup, when he had been with the Guardians, had taken a lot longer. Apparently, Koushirou and Ken had helped along the process.

The restraints binding Takeru to the chair snapped opened and he rose to his feet. "It will take some time for us to check the results." Iori said from his position beside the wall switch. "Meanwhile, you can come with me to our tech room. There's something there I want you to open."

The tech room lay at the heart of the citadel. It was a large room with a humongous machine at the center, which, Iori explained, powered the citadel and the surrounding city. The room was ringed by platforms where individual monitors were displayed. Iori took Takeru to one such platform using one of the many hover-lifts floating around the room. At least that's what Takeru thought they would be called. They were made up of a round surface affixed with a podium like control panel.

"How long did it take you to construct all this?" Takeru asked a little awed.

"The whole city?"

"Yes."

"It took Hikari and I three days of working in tandem to create this city."

Takeru blinked at that. "Just you and Hikari? You'll have to explain that."

"Actually, more Hikari then me. Her powers have grown exponentially ever since she recovered her crest."

"Crest? That's impossible. We gave up our crests a long time ago."

Iori glanced back at him. "There is a lot that has happened in the last two years. I'll explain everything after you pass the next two checks. Ah, here we are." He said guiding the hover-lift aside one of the platforms. Jumping off, he led Takeru to a computer panel set inside a wall. "This particular monitor contains the files of various Guardians including one large folder which apparently belongs to you."

Takeru grinned. "Let me guess, Koushirou couldn't hack into the folder because of my extra security precautions. The particular virus I used was rather brutal. At the slightest hint of a break in, the folder would delete itself and take along the majority of files on its server." Then something else occurred to him. "I take it that something has happened to Sanctuary if all these files are here."

"Yes," Iori replied enigmatically. "Now, please open the file if you can. You will only get one chance for the obvious reasons."

"I understand," Takeru replied, stepping up to the monitor. His fingers flew across the small touch screen. The system was familiar considering that it was practically the same one the Guardians had used. Beside him, Iori watched impassively as he deftly navigated the security measures he'd set into place long ago.

"What is in this thing?" Iori asked, curiosity coloring his voice. "The size of it is quite large."

"A number of things," Takeru said distractedly. "A personal study into the theories regarding the Digital World's existence and whether it is a bi-product of Earth's own technology or whether it is a separate dimension altogether. I never arrived at a pure conclusion. Then there are several older texts from the Guardian Library, which I copied but wasn't supposed to as well as the Prophecy of Darkness and Light and my own partial trans...... oh, there, I'm done." Takeru stepped back and motioned Iori forward to take a look. It was then that he noticed that Iori stood frozen in shock. After a moment, he finally moved forward and started scrolling through the contents of the folder.

"You probably have no idea the wealth of information you've just unlocked for us." Iori spoke finally. "The actual prophecy was lost in the first attack on Sanctuary. Without it, we've been stumbling around blind against the Undersea Master." He suddenly turned back to Takeru. "There's just one more test left and afterwards I promise I'll explain everything."

Their next destination turned out to be the same room where Takeru had met Hikari and Iori earlier that day. Iori quickly took the vacant seat Hikari had been sitting in and motioned for Takeru to take a seat on the opposite side of the desk. Opening a drawer within the desk, he took out a small device and slid it towards Takeru. It was his D3.

"Nobody has been able to get into this either," Iori said. "Open it."

Takeru hit a few buttons, entered his password and slid the device back towards Iori.

"Welcome back," Iori spoke, studying the blinking screen of the D3. "Some of us were beginning to lose hope of you ever getting back."

"I understand. Dimension hopping, especially the way I was doing it, isn't a precise art. My biggest fear was to come back and find all you long dead. Instead, I come back to find the world radically changed. What has happened in the last two years?"

Iori sighed and leaned back in his chair. "That, is a long story. It all began on that night when all of us got together for Mimi's visit. You obviously know the events that occurred soon after, so I won't dwell on them but after you destroyed the gate, we started our attack on the generator sites. After we had destroyed those machines and returned to normal time, we received an urgent communiqué from the Guardians. While we had been displaced in time, the Undersea Master had launched an attack on Sanctuary. We arrived too late to do anything. The attackers had burned down the Great Library and had introduced a virus into the Guardians' computer systems, which was destroying all of their files. Koushirou and Ken managed to save as many as they could but we lost a lot of information. Afterwards, we tried to get back to Earth but found that we couldn't. The attackers' virus had shut down and blocked all portals to Earth. Neither Koushirou nor Ken had foreseen this because it boxed the Dark Ocean inhabitants with us. It had other side effects too. We found that we could not de-merge and nearly all of us were bio-merged at the time. Daisuke, Miyako and myself nearly died. However, Azulongmon and the other protectors chose that moment to step in. You and the rest of the chosen had given up your crests but recognizing the danger, Azulongmon and the other protectors had crafted the crests again. I, along with Daisuke and Miyako didn't get any obviously but we were granted some extra power, enough to stay in our bio-merge state for longer periods of time now. It was after getting our powers back that the Protectors told us about the rest of the humans stranded here with us. The total number was five thousand. We knew that we could not stand against the Dark Ocean alone and so we split up to track down these humans. Koushirou and Jyou went to the Continent of Sol, Miyako and Sora went to the Continent of Igniz, Mimi and Tai to the Continent of Aisa, Daisuke and Ken to Ellum and Hikari and I stayed on the continent of Sever."

"We established the Cities so we could have a base of operations on each continent. As you could probably guess, Koushirou was the designer for this one. In fact, he pretty much designed all of the cities with painstaking detail. Anyways, we were not the only ones trying to recruit the other humans. The Undersea Master had once again established a presence here. It quickly became a war of propaganda but we did fight more then our share of pitched battles, which ended up costing, lives. In the end we both got roughly half of the human presence here. Ever since then, it has been one running battle after another between our forces. The Undersea Master has established his own presence on each continent through guarded portals that link the Dark Ocean to the Digital World."

Takeru sat still, absorbing the information. "Where are the Guardians in all this?"

"Some are with us while some are trying to rebuild Sanctuary."

"Rebuild?"

"Yes, earlier this year, Sanctuary was destroyed completely. It was retaliation for us trying to nuke R'lyeh."

"The Undersea City."

Iori frowned at him. "Yes, how did you know that? We didn't know what it was called until Koushirou and Ken started dipping into ancient Earth legends."

"I was working with the Prophecy of Darkness and Light and it mentioned the city." It was lie but hopefully Iori wouldn't see past it.

"All right," Iori said buying the story for now. "Anyways, Koushirou and Ken started into the ancient Earth mythos because of the parallels between the Kyoto legends and the Digital World. They chanced upon the Cthulhu Cycle. At first we just dismissed it but after a bit more delving, we began to see some parallels. Cthulhu was a dark God that was banished to a city, which later sank beneath the waves. He was banished by the Elder Gods. We think that those are supposed to be Azulongmon and the rest but can't be sure."

"Speaking of Azulongmon and the others; have they taken an active hand in this."

"Afraid not. They expanded a lot of energy when they created the new crests and haven't fully recovered yet. We are pretty much alone in this like we have always been. We are currently at our highest alert because over the past few weeks there have been stirrings. Something big is about to happen and we have no clue what it is going to be."

"Ok, I've just got one more question. When I came in last night, the guards asked me for ID."

"Yeah, that was a system we came up with to reduce infiltration. At first it wasn't necessary because our forces were relatively small but as they grew, we had to come up with a system. This city alone holds up to three hundred people. Nowhere near as many as we need but still, it makes infiltration easy."

"And the cities themselves. You said that you and Hikari constructed them yourselves."

"How much do you know about matter manipulation in the Digital World?"

"I've read the theories," Takeru said thoughtfully. "In a world seemingly composed of data, it shouldn't be hard to reorganize that data to suit your own needs. Nobody has done it before though. I assume that is what you and Hikari did?"

"Yes," Iori replied. "Normally, such activity would put a lot of strain on us but with the power given us by the four Protector's, it was a cakewalk. The hard thing was planning the details like plumbing, power and other stuff. Koushirou took the majority of that upon himself and well, these are the results."

"How soon can you have an ID read for me?"

Iori looked at him with hooded eyes. "Are you thinking about leaving already? Hikari will not take that well and I'm not about to let you distract her again."

"Relax," Takeru said absently rubbing his shoulder. "I have...... changed. Hurting her is the last thing I want to do. In any case, it was just a question. However, what are you planning to do with my copy of the Prophecy and the others should know that I'm back."

"The prophecy is already on its way to Sol via one of our couriers. We can't e-mail it because as you can guess, each city exists on a closed network. You're never really safe in this world unless you exist on a closed network. As for the others, Hikari and I will present you to them at our semi-annual summit next week."

"That seems a bit risky. What if you need to contact each other hurriedly?"

Iori tapped the top of his head. "We've each got wards in our mind. Set up by Mimi, Sora and Hikari, they let us communicate with each other. However, due to mental stress, they are only to be used in case of emergencies."

Takeru leaned back in his chair. "How is she?" He asked suddenly.

"She'll tell you that herself," Iori said rising to his feet. "I'll show you to your quarters. I have a few appointments of my own today."

His quarters turned out to be the size of a small apartment. There was a small main room with a bathroom and single bedroom attachments. After locating a towel and picking out an outfit from among the dozens he found in the closet of his bedroom, he took a shower. After that, he sat down on the sofa in the living room and began to wait. Iori had posted guards outside his quarters and told him not to try leaving.

Abruptly, he found himself being poked awake by one of the guards posted outside his door. Apparently he had dozed off while waiting. The guard informed him that Lady Hikari would see him now. Which, of course, presented a few problems in itself. Nearly ten minutes later, he found himself standing outside the door to her quarters. Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door and stepped into darkness. After a moment he amended that description; it wasn't complete darkness, just a real deep gloom. In the entire room, he could make out a dim outline of a sofa and a small round table set a little ways behind it. There was a small candle on the table giving off the only trace of light in the entire room. She was seated at the table, a vexed expression on her face.

Looking up, she saw him and rose to her feet. His breath caught in his throat. In all the years he had known her, she had never looked like this. He took in the short black dress she was wearing. It barely came up to her knees, leaving her arms bare. Glancing down at his own rather drab attire composed of black pants and a light gray shirt, he felt rather inadequate.

"Well, are you going to stand there gawking all day?" Hikari spoke walking up to him.

"Uhm......" He was totally out of his element here. His eyes kept darting over her body of their own volition. With considerable effort, he managed to focus on her face and kept his eyes from darting southwards. "Umm, that's a different look on you," he managed feebly as she came to stand before him.

Reaching forward, she took his hand and pressed something into his palm. There was a soft jolt of electricity that tingled through his body followed by a slight feeling of nausea. He stared at the back of his hand in surprise and found the Crest of Hope imprinted there. He looked questioningly at Hikari and she raised her own hand to show him the Crest of Light tattooed on the back of her hand.

"You can de-merge now. It'll help with the nausea."

Takeru nodded and concentrated. A short moment later Angemon appeared beside him.

"Angewomon is out on a scouting mission at the moment," Hikari said, grabbing Angemon's arm and steering him towards the door. "Have the guards show you back to Takeru's room or wherever else you want to go."

There was a light sardonic grin on the angel's face as she nearly shoved him out into the hallway. Closing the door, she turned around and saw Takeru still staring at her. She quickly walked forward, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him softly.

Stepping away, she said, "You went crazy on the mouthwash."

"I...... uh, yeah," he replied laughing nervously. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and opened them again. She was looking at him with a small smile playing upon her lips. She probably knew how badly she was affecting him. Collecting himself as best he could, he asked, "What is all this?"

"It occurred to me earlier today that we've never had a proper date and well, what better way to welcome you back." She grabbed his hand tugging him after her. "Besides, you must be hungry. There's just one rule, no shop talk."

He obediently followed along after her and took a seat at the table. Then, something occurred to him. Jumping up, he raced to the other side of the table, barely beating Hikari to her own chair and pulled it out for her. She stared at him, her lips twitching upwards as she fought to contain her amusement. He could feel himself turning beet red.

"Well," he said after a moment, "sit down already." With a slight giggle, which made him blush even harder, she took her seat. Trying to maintain as much dignity as he could, he walked the short length back to his own chair. It seemed like eternity.

They ate in companionable silence, occasionally glancing at each other.

"So...... umm, Lady Yagami?" Takeru said, finally breaking the silence.

Hikari chuckled softly. "Yeah, it is a bit silly. It started with the Digimon and just sort of spread through the ranks."

"What, nobody picked up on the Queen title?"

She made a face at him. "The Numemon still call me that. A few of the guys picked it up but I had Iori stamp it out before it got too far."

"So, you still have guys fawning over you wherever you go," Takeru said grinning. It was an old joke between them and he teased her about it any chance he got. Of course, this engendered the usual response from her.

"Ouch," he yelped as she kicked him under the table. Bending down to rub his shin, he muttered, "I see you haven't lost your vicious streak."

She gave him her best looking innocent expression.

"Oh, ha ha. Don't give me that sweet looking, Angel of Light look. I was the innocent one. You were the one that dragged us into one misadventure after another."

"You were hardly innocent. I seem to remember somebody once doctoring my sandwich with three different types of hot peppers."

Takeru waved his hand dismissively. "That was only because you tricked me into giving you my bottle of soda and besides, it didn't seem like such a good idea when you were holding me down and trying to stuff the rest of that sandwich down my throat."

Hikari grinned. "Hehe, yeah, I was still two inches taller then you back then. You're lucky Tai showed up when he did. I was ready to kill you that day. You knew how much I hate spicy foods."

"Nah, you wouldn't have killed me. You needed me to bail you out whenever somebody caught your mischief."

"You weren't that important. I could get out of most trouble myself. It was just that one lady......"

"Ms. Sazaki," they said together and burst out into laughter.

"Remember the time, she caught us in the janitor's closet," Takeru said grinning.

"Yeah," Hikari replied smiling fondly at the old memory. "I thought we were busted for sure and then you started crying at the top of your lungs and attracted that huge crowd allowing me to sneak out unnoticed. I would have been so dead if she had seen me too."

"And you repaid me by stealing my only bottle of soda, one week later."

"Funny, I thought I repaid you by saying 'thank you.' And besides, I didn't steal it. I flipped you for it."

"With your brother's two headed coin."

"Not my fault you were so naïve."

"Yeah, I suppose it was too much to think I could trust my best friend."

"Oh c'mon, don't get all huffy. We were barely nine years old when that happened."

"It was a very traumatic experience. Like you said, I nearly died."

Hikari burst out into laughter at that. "Oh, very clever. You always did get some perverse pleasure from throwing my own words back at me."

Takeru raised his cup in mock salute. "I learned from the Quee...... yowch."

Hikari smirked at him. "You're not that clever."

"You cruel woman, I wonder why I stayed friends with you."

"I suppose you were another one of those guys fawning over me. You should be glad I kept you around this long."

"Who's throwing words back at who now."

Hikari took a sip of water. "So, where have you been for the past two and a half years."

"Just jumping from dimension to dimension. Because of time disparity between dimensions, I didn't stick around in any for long. Well, except for the last one where a priestess sensed my presence and enlisted my help. I guess that is where I accumulated those extra six months."

"What did you have to do?" Hikari questioned, leaning forward seemingly intrigued.

"Very little actually. The priestess transported me to a ruined city. It took me a while to realize that the city was Tokyo. Anyways, a boy lay dying in the midst of a place, which had likely been the epicenter of the battle that destroyed the city. I was told to heal the boy and I did. Afterwards, the priestess combined her powers with mine and sent me on my way. I ended up here."

"What were their names?"

"The priestess was called Hinoto. I didn't ask about the boys name."

"That's it? You're away two years and that is the best story you can tell?"

"Well, if you'll remember, I made a promise to a rather forceful young woman and frankly she scared me enough that I didn't want to dawdle too long."

"I...... I wasn't...... I'm glad...... I was.... afraid."

"I know," Takeru whispered, reaching across the table and taking her hand. "I will never be able to make up for how much I've hurt you. And it was all for nothing in the end. I learn my lessons too late sometimes."

"It's okay. Even then, you thought you had my best interests at heart."

Silence, and then:

"Wow, you realize that we've been sitting at an empty table for over an hour now."

Hikari stared down at the table in amusement. "I remember when we used to do this all the time."

"Things were different back then."

"Yes they were." Hikari smiled wistfully. "The thing I missed the most when you first left were those Friday nights we used to spend together just talking."

"I missed those talks too. We could start them again even if we don't have as many things to talk about as we did back then."

Something flashed in her eyes. It went by too fast for Takeru to place it but he felt strangely unsettled.

"Excuse me," Hikari said, pushing back her chair and rising to her feet. "I need to go freshen up. Make yourself comfortable." She clapped twice and the room brightened a bit.

Takeru stared wonderingly around at his surroundings as Hikari retreated to a side door and vanished inside. Her quarters were set up much the same way her apartment in Odaiba had looked. He knew because he had spent quite a few of his younger days there. Rising to his feet, he was led almost against his will to the familiar balcony he remembered from so long ago. Sliding back the glass door, he stepped outside. Glancing up at the stars, he quickly spotted a few familiar constellations. Judging by their positions in the sky, it was sometime between nine to ten o' clock.

"Beautiful, aren't they." Hikari said from behind him. "Living in a big metropolis like Tokyo, you never see all that many stars but here, they shine brightly every night."

Takeru turned around and looked at her standing just a few feet behind him. "Yes, very beautiful," he agreed softly, his eyes never straying from hers.

Hikari blushed, looking down. "Where did you pick up flattery?"

"What do you mean? I was just agreeing with you about the stars."

His voice held such a childlike tone of innocence and puzzlement that she felt herself blushing in embarrassment. That is, until she looked up and saw him struggling to keep his grin in check. Growling, she strode forward. 'So he wanted to play, did he.' She had the brief satisfaction of seeing his grin vanish completely as he took a short nervous step backwards. Grabbing his collars, she pulled him down and kissed him. This kiss wasn't like the first one though. She had restrained herself then, had been gentle. This time, she poured all her passion and strength into the kiss. Her hands went from his collars to around his neck pulling him closer. She forced her leg between his as he put his arms around her and returned the kiss. Returned it only as much as she let him as her mouth hungrily devoured his own. He had compared her to fire once and she meant to scorch him. It seemed to work as she felt him literally swooning in her arms.

It was lack of breath that finally drove them apart. Panting, Takeru grasped the balcony railing to keep from falling down. His knees seemed to have gotten strangely wobbly. Across from him, Hikari seemed to be faring much better. She stood, back straight and a small smile playing upon her lips. Takeru's eyes widened, she couldn't mean to......

"You owe me for a broken promise and five years of missed opportunities." Reaching forward, Hikari grabbed his arm and tugged him along.

'Oh hell, she did mean it.' His mind was awhirl with thoughts, protests and strangely enough, fear. He would have never thought he would be afraid when this moment came but there it was. Most of it probably had to do with the fact that he'd had so little time to prepare. Well no, that wasn't true exactly, he'd had two whole hours to prepare. He should have known the moment he'd walked in through the front door where this night would lead. And he'd asked for their Friday night talks. Damn, he was naïve.

The walk to her bedroom was way too short for him to come to terms with the situation. He hesitated outside her door and nearly had his arm pulled out of its socket as she yanked him roughly inside. He stumbled against her and she used his momentum to swing him around and shove him towards her bed. He fell back on top of it and then she was there atop him, straddling his waist. Quickly, he grabbed her arms before this went too far. She stared down at him questioningly.

"I...... umm.... sorry..... I don't..... NO, I want to, god, I want to but......"

Her eyes slowly widened in understanding. "You mean you've never ......"

"Uh yeah," He glanced sheepishly at her. "I just never found time for other pursuits."

Hikari reached down and gently brushed a stray lock of hair from his forehead. "What do you want to do? We could sto......"

"NO," he said a little too loudly and a little too quickly. She stared down at him, a light smirk on her face and he reddened. "I don't know," he sighed finally.

"This shouldn't be uncomfortable for you, especially when it's your first time. We don't have to do this tonight. I'm sorry, I just got a little carried away." She started to rise up off him but he kept her in place.

"No, wait." He took a deep breath. "Just lead me through it and I swear if you laugh......"

Smiling, she leaned down and silenced him with a kiss. Nuzzling his neck, she whispered, "Don't worry, just go with your instincts."

'Go with my instincts? What the hell does that mean?'

"You weren't doing so bad when we were fourteen."

He hardly remembered that. It was a blur in his mind. And then, she moved against him and all thought vanished.

____________________________

(Heh, this isn't an NC-17 fic) Four Hours Later

"So, what are you thinking?" Hikari asked as she snuggled back against him.

Takeru reflexively tightened his arms around her. "Actually, I was thinking about that bottle of soda...... yowch." He rubbed his stomach where she had just elbowed him. "Geez, would it kill you to be gentle with me for once in your life."

"I was gentle with you at the beginning and besides, I'm not the only one that lost control."

Which was true actually. He distinctly remembered being more then a little brutal himself, pinning her arms above her head and thrusting savagely against her. She had taken it though, had even laughed breathlessly as he held her wrists in a bruising grip. He felt himself stirring again at the memories and groaned inwardly. Knowing Hikari, she'd want another go and his healing powers notwithstanding, he definitely wasn't recovered enough from last time.

"So," he spoke, stalling for time, "who did you do it with your first time?"

There was a strangled choke at that. Her voice when it came sounded unusually embarrassed. "God, what kind of question is that?"

"A good one," he replied primly. "C'mon, I'm almost sure it was Daisuke."

There was a brief silence at that.

"You're not angry," she finally spoke.

"No, I'm not. I pushed you away in the first place." Takeru sighed. "So, how was he compared to me," he added trying to lighten the mood. However, this comment earned him another elbow. This one delivered with a considerable amount of force behind it. "Gah," he grunted in surprise, the breath knocked out of him. It was easy to forget what this woman could do to you if she got annoyed.

"Are you trying to embarrass me."

It seemed he'd taken it too far once again. "Awww, c'mon," he wheezed. "We've shared everything since we were young. You know me better then I know myself sometimes. You don't have to worry that I might be offended. You know me better than that."

Silence.

"It...... it's not that," Hikari said hesitantly. She took a deep breath. "God, how do you manage to unsettle me like this. Nobody, not even Tai has this effect on me."

"I guess it's the old Ishida/Yagami bond."

She laughed at that. "You know, I never put much stock into that old theory of yours but looking back now at how our brothers used to be at each other's throats, I'm not so sure."

He kissed her shoulder. "So, are you going to tell me."

"You're not going to let this go."

"Afraid not."

"I hate you."

He chuckled softly. "Yeah, I know."

Hikari sighed, leaning back against him. "I don't like to think about that time in my life. After our fight and when you left, I was angry, confused and went straight to something familiar. Daisuke was...... sweet, caring, understanding. I used him though, used him to try and forget you and I went further with him then I had any right to go. Like I said, not my greatest moment. In the end, he broke up with me saying that our relationship was doing me more harm then good and that I needed to come to terms with myself. It was surprising coming from Daisuke of all people."

"I'll say. We really underestimated him, didn't we."

"Well, later on but not at the beginning. I still think you should have been leader of the second team."

"We've been over this before," Takeru said. "You know my reasons, Kari. Daisuke was a lot more sure of himself then I was at that point, my prior experience notwithstanding. Besides, I've never been comfortable with leading. I prefer to do things on my own."

"You'd better adjust your way of thinking. All of us Chosen and Destined are leaders here. When we return from the summit next week, you will likely have a host of new duties to perform."

"You're such a killjoy."

"Yeah, I know," she replied in a fair imitation of his voice.

Takeru laughed and then something occurred to him. "Hey, wait a second......" he got no further as Hikari twisted around in his arms and kissed him with bruising force, rolling him over onto his back. She was about to pin his arms above his head when something wholly different occurred to him. Surging forward, he flipped them around so that he was on top, pinning her to the bed.

"Wait, not so fast. I've got one other question."

She growled impatiently.

"No, it's not about Daisuke. I'll get to that some other time although nice work on almost managing to divert......"

"Takeru." Her voice held a threatening tone.

"Ok ok, when I came in this afternoon, I saw some pretty dark rings under your eyes. How much sleep have you been getting? I meant to ask this earlier but everything else came up." He frowned down at her. "And that's not all. I look at you now and I notice that you're thinner then you used to be. Tell me, what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong," she snapped at him. "First Iori and now you. I don't need you two to mother me."

Takeru's eyes narrowed. "So, Iori's already brought this up. It must have been going on for some time then. Tell me." He voiced the last bit as anything but a request.

Her anger disappeared slowly. "I've been having bad dreams," she said finally. "That, and the added stress of running this place has been getting to me. At least that is how Iori explained it. It is more the dreams then the work, I think. Most nights, I can't even get back to sleep after having the dreams."

"What type of dreams are they? Could it be the Dark Ocean trying to reach you again?"

"No," Hikari shook her head. "I've considered that possibility. I've put wards on my mind but nothing seems to help. As for what type of dreams they are, you know, the usual death, destruction bit. There is a presence though and I don't sense any malice from it but I don't sense any compassion either. On the whole, it is rather confusing."

"You should take tomorrow off," Takeru said, looking down at her. "We've spent nearly half the night in...... ahem...... rather taxing physical activity."

Hikari shook her head. "No, I've got several important things to do tomorrow. Don't worry, it won't be the first time I've gone without much sleep."

"I'm sure Iori can handle the extra slack for a day."

"I'm not so sure he can," she shot back defiantly.

Takeru sighed. "Don't make me pull rank on you. You may be able to intimidate Iori but you can't intimidate me."

She raised an eyebrow at that.

"Ok," he amended quickly, "you can't intimidate me that much."

"What makes you think you can pull rank anyway or that I would let you."

Takeru grinned down at her. "There is not much you can do against this clause and Iori will back me up on it. Remember back when we were drawing up the command structure. Jyou insisted that a healer would outrank the leader if the healer felt that the leader was pushing him or in your case herself too hard. As the senior healer here at the moment, I'm making a judgment decision. You will stay in your quarters and rest tomorrow."

Hikari sagged back slowly as he spoke.

"All right," she said finally, "but only if you stay with me."

Which was what he'd been expecting she would ask.

"I will," he said slowly. "Just as long as we're clear that you're to sleep and nothing else."

"Of course, now let me up."

"Hah, what do you think I am, a complete idiot. I let you up and you're liable to try breaking my arm for forcing you to do this. No, I'm not letting go until you calm down."

"I was nine years old, Keru. Give me a little credit."

Takeru had to admit that she had a point. He let go of her hands and leaned back. Her eyes suddenly flashed. Too late he realized his mistake and lunged forward, trying to grab her arms. She twisted aside expertly and he ended up face down on the bed with his arm twisted behind his back. He had fallen hook, line and sinker for her act just like when he was young. It was patently unfair. Was he really this naïve.

"You lied." 'God that sounded childish.'

"Yes, and you fell for it just like the sweet, innocent, gullible cutie you used to be." She was silent for a minute. "You recognize this hold?"

"How could I forget," he responded wryly. "You used to put me in it whenever you wanted to bully me into doing something for you."

"Very good," she murmured and then stayed silent for a long while.

"Um...... Kari?"

She yanked back hard on his arm. "Be quiet, I'm thinking."

"Ow, that hurt you friggin' amazon."

She laughed which was a good sign. "That's a new one."

"What can I say, I'm good at improvisation." He needed to be excellent actually if he was going to get himself out of this. "Uh, Kari," he tried again.

"Yeah."

At least she was willing to listen. "Will you let me up, please." 'Oh really smooth genius. Like she's going to let you go because you said please. Remember who you're dealing with here. She's not one to forget someone challenging her in any way.'

"No."

'Well that was rather predictable.' Something suddenly occurred to him, something Yamato had told him long ago. "I love you Hikari." She remained quiet and feeling emboldened, he continued. "I know how much you hate showing weakness in front of anyone but if you're serious about this, about us, then you have to accept that I will want to protect you even if you get angry at me. You're the strongest person I know but even you can't do everything alone."

She let go of his arm and he rolled over onto his back just in time to receive a punch in the shoulder. Thankfully, there wasn't much force behind it.

"Damn it, I want to stay angry at you," she huffed, crossing her arms beneath her breasts.

He sat up and tentatively put his arms around her shoulders, not knowing whether she would accept him just yet. She seemed receptive though and sank back into his arms. He held her for a while, gently stroking her chestnut colored hair. And then, just because he was who he was and because she brought out the trickster in him or even because he was a contrary person, he leaned forward and whispered into her ear, "So, about Daisuke."

Growling, she twisted around in his arms. He managed one short laugh before she pushed him over onto his back. His last thought as she roughly slammed his arms above his head was that no amount of 'I love you's,' were going to save him now.

_________________________

'God, what a vicious woman,' Takeru thought smiling fondly down at the girl sleeping next to him. He hurt in places he didn't even know he had. Mentally, he filed away the fact that angry sex could be acutely painful. At least he'd gotten her to fall asleep a little before dawn. She lay curled up against him right now, her head resting on his chest. The situation presented its own problems. He had to let Iori know about today and he couldn't do that without waking her up. And if she woke up, he had no idea what she would do. Oh well, at least he couldn't say that life with her wouldn't be interesting.

Gently enfolding her in his arms, he delicately laid her down on the bed. Her eyes snapped open. 'Oh damn.'

"Where are you going?" She asked in a voice that didn't sound like she'd been asleep a second before.

"Uh... nowhere." He answered feebly.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

He quickly held up both hands. "Alright alright, don't get crazy. I was just going to call up Iori and tell him about today."

"Ok," she said simply, closing her eyes. "Use the vid phone in the next room. It's the same type the Guardians had so you should have no problems with it."

Takeru rolled out of bed and donned his pants and shirt, wincing, as the fabric stretched against the scratches on his back. Then, limping, he made his way to the main room.

The vid phone was set in the wall next to the door that led out of Hikari's bedroom. It was a small touch screen with a list of names as well as an integrated keypad. Takeru scrolled down the list of names until he got to Iori Hida. Clicking on the name, he placed the call.

"Takeru?" Iori looked surprised when he appeared on the small screen.

"Iori," Takeru bowed formally. "Hikari won't be in today. She has decided to stay in her quarters and rest. Can you handle whatever she has to do today?"

Iori nodded slowly. "Yeah, no problem. Our schedules are pretty light considering that we're leaving in a few days for the summit."

"She certainly fought me like she had a lot to do." Takeru said scowling.

"You know how she is," Iori replied grinning. "You should see what I'm doing because I forced her to sit out yesterday. Is there anything else?"

"Yeah, the DNA results from the test yesterday. Are they in yet?"

"Yes, you passed." Iori frowned. "But why should that matter. It seems that Hikari's already accepted you."

"Just covering all the bases." Takeru hesitated. "Listen Iori, we.... need to talk, about... things. My circumstances have changed. I'm not the same person I was two years ago. We should talk sometime."

Iori's expression was guarded. "I understand. When do you want to meet?"

"It is up to you really. Any time you can make in your schedule would be ideal."

Iori thought that over for a bit. "You should say what you have to say to all of us," he said finally. "It will be easier that way and you won't have to go from person to person. How about you wait till the summit."

Takeru nodded. "That seems ideal. Thank you."

"Till then."

"Till then."

Takeru signed off and then limped back into the bedroom. Hikari automatically curled up next to him as he got into bed. Smiling, he put his arms around her and closed his eyes. They both awoke eight hours later, hilariously, at the same time.

_____________________________

"So, what do you want to do?" Hikari asked as she stepped out of the bathroom.

Takeru looked up from where he'd been lounging on the sofa. His face lit up as he beheld her attire, a white blouse and a knee length gray skirt. "The schoolgirl look, very becoming."

She blushed slightly, crossing over to the sofa and lay down on top of him. Takeru groaned as she pressed herself against him causing his body to sink deeper into the couch.

"Didn't you get enough last night."

She grinned mischievously down at him. "I distinctly remember someone begging me not to stop."

Takeru reddened. "You heard that."

Hikari's grin widened. "Oh yeah." She leaned down and nibbled his earlobe. "Ever last word," she teasingly whispered in his ear.

Takeru groaned burying his face in her hair. Her laughter didn't help. It was still astonishing to him how all his vaunted self-control had deserted him last night.

He gasped suddenly, his back arching up slightly as Hikari rubbed her leg slowly between his. Her hands seemed to be everywhere, running through his hair and then unbuttoning his shirt. He buried his face in her shoulder, stifling an involuntary moan as her hands lightly ran down his chest. And then, she stopped.

"You know," she breathed in his ear, "I don't think I'm ready to forgive you just yet."

Takeru stared at her incredulously, than threw his head back groaning in frustration. "You cruel, mean, vindictive, abusive...."

Hikari swatted him playfully in the shoulder. "Hey, I'm your girlfriend now. You're only allowed to say nice things about me."

"Is that some new rule they invented while I was gone."

"Quite possibly." Hikari propped herself up on her elbows and looked down at him. "You look very cute when you're flustered."

Takeru rolled his eyes. "So, how long are you going to make me pay for being right."

"See, it's smart alec comments like that which get you in even more trouble."

Takeru sighed. "Could you at least get off me and let me...... recover."

"Let me think." Hikari pretended to consider. "No."

"Yeah, how did I know that was coming."

Her only response was laughter. They lay there a long time, her head resting lightly on his chest.

"Kari," Takeru said suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Takeru, I swear if you say something to ruin this moment, I'll kick your ass."

"Uh well, never mind then."

Wordlessly, she sat up, straddling his waist. "Something just occurred to me," she said. "How are you feeling?"

"What do you mean?" Takeru asked glancing warily up at her.

"Well, we both had our fair share of bumps and bruises after last night. You obviously healed them while we slept and since it takes you a while to recover from healing someone, much less yourself, how are you feeling."

"I'm not feeling too bad actually." Takeru raised his right hand and stared at the palm. "The scope of my power seems to have increased. So, since I'm feeling well what are you planning on putting me through."

"I was thinking about that night when we were fourteen. It occurred to me that in all the years we'd known each other and out of all the times we'd rough housed, you'd only ever beaten me twice. I avenged that first loss but never got a chance to do anything about the second."

Takeru gaped at her. "You can't be serious. Didn't you get enough rough housing last night."

"Oh c'mon, it'll be fun. There's practically nobody here I can go all out against without hurting them badly. You'll be the most decent competition I've had in ages."

"No," Takeru said shaking his head. "I'm not doing this. You can't make me."

"I'll make it worth your while."

That got his attention. He glanced cautiously at her. "What are you proposing?"

Hikari pretended to think for a moment, tapping her chin. "If you win, I'll forgive you for usurping my authority."

"And if you win?"

She leaned down, grinning seductively. "Well then," she whispered in his ear, "I get to do things to your to you tonight that would make any man envious." He trembled slightly as she blew into his ear.

Drawing in a shuddering breath, Takeru forced himself to calm down and fought back the desire that threatened to overwhelm him. It didn't help that her hands were back on his chest or that she was lightly kissing her way down his neck. He tried to hang on to the tattered remains of his self-control and failed when she moved backwards, grinding her hips against his. It was entirely ridiculous, he had held up for weeks under torture, had the scars to prove it, and yet she'd broken him in record time. He remembered whimpering her name over and over, pleading with her not to stop as she teased him in unimaginable ways. And then the final act, which granted him release and sent him spiraling over the edge into darkness. Down and down until he felt he would never be able to find his way out again. It was much the same right now as she coaxed him closer and closer to that edge. He moaned her name, his own hands coming up to her slender waist. She rolled off him, rising swiftly to her feet. He tried to hold on to her, needing the warmth and comfort of her touch but she twisted nimbly aside, avoiding his arms. Anger replaced desire then, a swift hot rage. He had always been slow to anger but this was too cruel.

"Damn it Hikari," Takeru growled in frustration, glaring at her.

Hikari held up both hands placatingly. "I know, I know. I took it too far."

He noticed then that her own face was a little flushed, her breath coming too quickly. Knowing he had leverage for the moment, he shot to his feet. It would help if he were staring down at her when he did this.

"Ok," he said glaring down at her now, "here are the terms for this contest. If I win, you forgive me and don't try to dodge this by getting angry at me for winning. I know well enough to know that you'll try something like that. Furthermore, if I win, all we're going to do tonight is sleep." That was a particularly hard edict to hold to, especially now, but he had no choice. He couldn't sabotage his own efforts to get her to rest and they would inevitably end up.... expressing their love till dawn again if he didn't take the proper precautions.

"And when I win?" Hikari asked simply, meeting his gaze levelly.

He could admire her poise at times, her stubborn unwillingness to bend under any situation and at other times, like now, he could find it irritating. "If you win, you get what you asked for."

She smirked. "I think I want to add a few more demands to that. For one, when I win, I don't want to have to put up with your flippant attitude. Secondly, I want you to drop the whole bit about Daisuke. Third......"

"Do you want a pen and paper to write all this down?"

"I will miss that wit when it's gone." She paused thoughtfully. "Well no, actually I won't. My third condition is that you give me your word that you'll never use that healer's clause against me again."

Takeru's eyes flashed uncertainly. She was taking it a little too far.

Hikari's smirk deepened. "What's the matter, too much for you."

It was a remark calculated to make him react and it did its work. He spoke without even thinking about what he was agreeing to. "Fine, I agree. Where do we do this?"

"There's a makeshift dojo in this place." She ran her eyes up and down his body. "But you might want to fix yourself up before you go there."

Takeru glanced down at himself and saw that he resembled nothing more then a victim of a quick ravishing. His shirt was half unbuttoned and his pants showed signs of disarray. Muttering under his breath, he strode towards the bathroom. She had courtesy enough not to laugh at him.

______________________________

'This might not have been such a good idea.' Takeru thought as he watched Hikari perform an intricate warm up kata. It was too late now though. They were in the dojo and a few spectators were now sitting on the sidelines, waiting for them to begin. They had been there when he and Hikari had arrived and were now gleefully anticipating the outcome of the match. Someone had even started taking bets and the odds were heavily against him. It didn't help that he was getting psyched out just watching her.

Takeru shook his head irritably, banishing all thoughts of losing. Attitude was an important part of how you approached a fight and it definitely wouldn't help if he approached this fight with a defeatist attitude. He focused on Hikari, observing her closely. She was clad in a simple white gi she had reformed around herself when they had arrived at the dojo. He had been surprised at the way her existing clothes had just reformed around her. Iori had mentioned the matter reformation theory but he had been surprised at seeing it in action. He had an inkling of how it was done. Banishing these thoughts too, he began studying Hikari's movements, trying to discern any weaknesses. Mentally, he ran over everything he knew about her.

Hikari Yagami was one of the foremost warriors among their group. She had been taking martial arts and self defense since the age of ten and usually practiced at it every day, refining her skills. It was much like an obsession with her. Ever since she had been little, people had looked after her because of her frequent bouts with illness. After she had gotten well though and her parents and brother still hadn't stopped their over protectiveness, she had resolved to become stronger. Takeru had always wondered whether he had also played a part in her transformation. She hadn't always been this hard, confiding in him that she resented her parents' overprotection and telling him how it irked her. He had promised that he would never treat her that way and he supposed it helped that he had been weaker then her back in those days. However, that was before his growth spurt and before he had picked up sports. And then had come that day. It was strange how vividly he remembered it. The memory was over ten years old. They had been at Hikari's house, studying, and growing bored he had poked her playfully. Minutes later they were rolling around the floor in an impromptu wrestling match. He had handled her like a child. Afterwards, she wouldn't speak to him and her face had scrunched up and he feared she would cry. He apologized and it only made things worse. She asked him to leave. That had hurt in a way he had not understood till three years later. A distance sprang up between them in the following weeks until suddenly one day it had disappeared and things had gone back to normal. He had been extra careful from then on though until she had gotten fed up and tackled him one day at the park. He'd ended up with his arm twisted behind him while she calmly reminded him of his promise and threatened to break his arm if he ever forgot it again. It had been a particularly humbling experience but then again, what day with her wasn't.

This led him to wonder how things would have gone between them if he'd had a lot more male ego. Of course, foolish pride had never been a problem of his. He supposed it had to do with the fact that strong, independent women had surrounded him all his life. First had been his mother who had moved on after a particularly painful divorce and had fashioned a career and place for herself, all while raising him. Then there was Hikari herself and after her had been Sora, who seemed wiser then most of the boys had been on their first adventure in this world. The only positive male role models he'd had were Tai and Yamato and he'd lost one and walked away from the other. His own father had been little better then a stranger. Burying himself in his work after the divorce. Then again, considering what he'd done to deal with love, maybe he wasn't so different from his father. That was a frightening thought in itself.

He snapped out of his thoughts right as Hikari finished her kata. She stood straight, staring him in the eyes, the expression on her face, unreadable. "Are you ready?" She asked quietly. The dojo had gone deathly quiet around them.

Looking into her eyes, he knew this would not be some simple sparring match. Nothing with her was ever simple; least of all something she took as seriously as this. He knew she would hold nothing back; it was not her way. She would try to beat the living daylights out of him and had calculatingly tried to anger him enough so he would hold nothing back. He realized now, too late, how brilliantly she had played him. There was a lesson there but he would dwell on it some other time.

Takeru raised a hand, "one moment," and waggled a finger in the air. The light of his aura blazed brilliantly and under its cover he reformed his gray pants and shirt into the lower half of a gi. His upper body was completely bare, showcasing an impressive network of scars. There was a soft murmur from the spectators and he wondered just how many could tell that most of the scars were caused by torture. He gazed evenly at the girl standing across from him and nodded, "I'm ready." The dojo fell silent again.

Hikari bowed formally, her eyes not leaving his. He bowed as well and they began circling each other. He hadn't noticed before but she had gotten slightly taller. She was a good 5'11 now as opposed to the 5'9 figure she'd had two years ago. It was quite a bit taller then any full- blooded Japanese woman had any right to be. He remembered Koushirou's theory concerning the phenomenon. It had something to do with the innate powers that had begun to develop in them at the age of fourteen.

Suddenly, she rushed forward and he barely twisted sideways, avoiding the punch aimed at his head. He ducked under the elbow the punch became and tried to sweep kick her. She jumped over his leg and brought down her own in an axe kick. He blocked the kick, grabbing her leg intending to knock her to the floor. However, instead of trying to fight the momentum, she went with it and grabbed his shoulders, bringing him down on top of her. Both of her legs were suddenly under him though and for a brief moment they were face to face. He saw her smirk and then she uncoiled her long muscular legs sending him flying backwards through the air. He managed to curl his body and rolled gracefully to his feet. She was a bare second behind him. Whirling around, he blocked a kick aimed at his midsection and covered up as she aimed a rapid-fire barrage of punches his way. He managed to block the majority of them but a few still snuck past his guard. Grunting from the blows, he moved backwards. 'Damn, she had gotten faster.'

Hikari granted him no respite, pursuing relentlessly as he fell backwards. He didn't even see the kick that smashed into his ribs, doubling him over. She followed that up with a punch to the face that sent him reeling. He was down on all fours, which was a particularly vulnerable position, which meant: her leg thudded into his chest and he curled his body around it. 'Haha, gotcha.'

This time he was successful in taking her to the floor. She tried to kick him with her free leg but he was ready for it. They grappled and here he had the advantage. Her quickness was less of an asset then his strength in this position but her hand to hand skills still made her a dangerous opponent. With calm deliberation, he forced her struggling, writhing body underneath his. He had her arms pinned above her head when she suddenly curved underneath him and locked her ankles behind his neck. He had a brief second to wonder where she'd learned that before she jerked violently sideways. There was no choice really. It was either go with the momentum or suffer a cracked neck. He went with the former option since it kept him in the fight.

Tumbling sideways, he tried to roll to his feet and got up as far as one knee before she was upon him. Her rapid-fire punches and kicks kept him in place, not allowing him to move. He blocked them as best he could, responding every now and then with a punch, which she dodged with contemptuous ease. Gradually, more and more of her blows started slipping past his guard.

It was no good; he was slowing down while she only seemed to be getting faster. One of her kicks swept past his guard and smashed into his side. He gasped softly, that had been a particularly hard blow. It had also left him off balance. Hikari spun on her heel, driving a leg into the side of his face. That blow reduced him to both knees before her.

Tasting blood on his lips, Takeru could tell it was almost over. She had won. 'Oh well, at least tonight would be fun.' He closed his eyes, emptying his mind and prepared for the last blow. There was a flicker of air, a whistle of wind and his hand, out of pure reflex, blocked the kick a second before it smashed into the side of his face. He managed to block the next few blows easily and it astonished him. He opened his eyes, trying to control his reflexes and failed as a barrage of punches and kicks tore into his body. Quickly closing his eyes, he gave in to his reflexes. That served him a lot better. His arms moved of their own volition with automatic precision and then out of nowhere he sensed an opening and his arm reflexively leapt forward in a punch. He felt his fist bury itself in Hikari's stomach and she doubled over. Moving mechanically, he removed his arm and she stumbled forward, having nothing to brace herself against. Jumping into a squatting position, he swept her feet and she crashed to the floor. She was turning around when he jumped on her, turning her back over and twisting her arm behind her. He pinned her legs by pressing his knees into the back of hers. She was completely immobilized.

Takeru could hardly believe his eyes. He had her. He actually had her. As always, it was his tongue that got him in trouble.

Leaning down, he whispered in a fair imitation of her voice. "Recognize this hold." She growled angrily and then threw up her shield.

All Takeru saw was a sudden flash of light and then he was flying through the air. A detached part of him wondered why that was, exactly. He wasn't merged with Angemon. Technically, flight should not be possible. And then, he landed shoulder first with a loud thud. She was there instantly, sitting beside him.

"Are you okay?" Hikari asked running her hand lightly down the side of his face.

Takeru groaned opening one eye. "Why does everything fun with you always involve me getting hurt in some way."

"I see your tongue survived intact." She said smiling. "I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or not."

He managed to force a grin on his bruised face. "Get used to it sweetie. I won and you'll be hearing a lot more of it from now on."

Her face took on a serious cast. "I want a rematch."

That sounded strangely hilarious to him. He tried to laugh but it came out as a dry croak, not to mention that it intensified the stabbing pain in his ribs. One, or maybe even two of them were likely broken. He tried to rein in his hilarity and failed when she suddenly glared down at him.

"Sweetie?"

It was too much. That tone of indignation pushed him over the edge. He burst out into laughter or as close as what he was capable of at the moment. The blood came bubbling up minutes later and he rolled himself over with great difficulty and spat it out. Her arms were suddenly around his chest and he felt her power flood his body. He didn't need it but made use of it anyway and healed himself. It was the least she owed him for tricking him into this and then using her powers. Shutting the conduits of her power, he glanced up wearily. Hikari rose to her feet and wordlessly offered him a hand. He took it and she pulled him to his feet.

"I'm serious about the rematch," she said in a matter of fact voice. "And, if you call me sweetie again, I won't go so easy on you next time."

He grinned down at her. This was another old joke between them. She hated pet names and had only ever allowed him to call her 'Kari.' It was the barest concession to over six months of wheedling into her good graces. Still, being who he was, he'd managed to sneak in on or two every now and then and gotten off with a warning that usually had to do with anatomically incorrect acts.

"Of course you're serious about the rematch. You wouldn't be you if you weren't." He put his hands on her shoulders, "now hold still," and healed the very minor injuries he'd managed to inflict. It was galling really, he had barely even touched her.

"So, when do I get my rematch," she asked after he was done.

"Oh, I was thinking a year, maybe five."

"WHAT?"

Her shriek set him off again only he was able to express his mirth fully this time. He watched her as he laughed and saw the smoldering look in her eyes as she began fuming. He could almost imagine smoke coming out of her ears; that only made him laugh harder. And then she tackled him to the floor. He held up both hands trying to fend her off all the while laughing hysterically. She grabbed both hands and slammed them beside his head.

"Stop laughing you brute." She hissed down at him, her face a millimeter above his own.

He surged up and kissed her savagely. He could play rough too, given enough motivation. Strangely enough, she melted into the kiss, her fingers clenching and unclenching around his. It was strange. Here he was, pinned underneath her and yet he was controlling this encounter. He would never understand this woman. Stopping his thoughts, he started to enjoy this newfound feeling of control. Knowing her, he wouldn't be allowed to keep it for long.

A loud cough, sounding for all the world like someone trying to get their attention, interrupted them. Hikari broke away from him and got to her feet, a faint look of annoyance on her face. Takeru sighed, following along after her. A few feet away stood the same guard that had arrested him two nights ago. He now stood looking as if he'd rather be somewhere, anywhere else. A particularly wicked thought entered Takeru's head. Putting an arm around Hikari's shoulders, he said:

"Oy, come to arrest me for taking liberties with your lady." Her elbow hit him in the short ribs a second later, driving all breath from his lungs. "You mean, vicious woman," he wheezed, doubling over.

"Yes Yuri, what is it?" Hikari asked, ignoring him.

Yuri coughed nervously. "Uh, some of us were wondering as to the identity of this man." He glanced towards Takeru who was still doubled over.

"And you obviously drew the short straw," Hikari said knowingly. "Well, this man is one of my oldest friends and is also the lost Chosen bearer of the Crest of Hope." She nudged Takeru in the shoulder with her elbow. "Oh stop over exaggerating, I didn't hit you that hard. This is Yuri, the Captain of the Citadel Guard." She said addressing Takeru.

Takeru straightened, reforming his clothes around himself. "Hiya," he said cheerfully.

Hikari rolled her eyes. "Ignore him Yuri, he's still exulting over his victory. I apologize, he's likely to make the next few minutes highly uncomfortable for you."

Yuri took Takeru's hand, looking a bit uncertain. "Uh, nice scars," he managed after a moment.

Takeru grinned wolfishly. "Thank you, I managed to kill nearly everyone who put one there."

_______________________________

INTERLUDE

She found him sitting alone atop the highest point of the palace. His long blonde hair fluttered behind him, carried by the brisk wind. The scarred, dented battle helm he had worn through countless battles lay forgotten at his feet as he gazed out at the world. His wings were wrapped around him, sheltering him from the cold.

Tucking her wings, she landed lightly on the domed surface of the north watchtower. "I should have known you'd be here," she said taking off her own helm. "You always did like high places."

He turned his head, smiling softly at her. "Hello."

She sat down beside him, wrapping her wings around herself. "So, what are you thinking about?"

"Not much," he said quietly. "So much has changed in just two years."

"Nearly three for us. So, tell me, what adventures did you get into out there."

"Not much to tell really, although our last stop was with the Elders."

That surprised her. "Really? What did they have to say?"

"They weren't pleased," he sighed. "Especially at our lack of action."

"What can we do?" She replied defensively. "Setsuna's thrown everything into flux. They should never have met that early."

"He had good intentions and was trying to protect Takeru from what he went through." He smiled bitterly. "It was I that failed to protect them both."

"Just as I failed Hokuto."

He looked at her reproachfully. "That was not your fault."

"I should have protected her more. And what Setsuna is planning puts both Hikari and Hokuto in so much danger."

"We have to trust in his plan, old friend. He will cleanse both of their spirits."

"But the cost to Takeru......"

"That can't be helped. I just hope that his soul is not irretrievably lost."

She leaned against him. "They are so young. It isn't fair."

"It was never fair." He replied sadly. "Setsuna broke the chain, now Takeru must finish what he started."

"Will it end with this generation?"

"I don't know. It will be hard."

"Does he know about the elders?"

"No, they blocked it in his mind."

And so, there was nothing left to say. They sat in companionable silence as overhead, the first star began to twinkle in the sky.

___________________________

"You can't do this. I'll suffocate."

"You should have thought of that before you put on that nightgown." Takeru leaned back smiling. "There, now you can't seduce me." He wagged his finger at her. "And don't try anything fresh."

"Trust me, I couldn't even if I wanted to." Hikari glared at him from under the five heavy blankets she was pinned under. "Can I at least pull out my arms."

Takeru pretended to consider that. "I don't know. Last time I trusted you, I ended up with my arm twisted behind my back."

"Come on," she looked at him pleadingly. "I promise I won't try anything. Obviously the nightgown didn't work and I'm too tired to think up anything else at the moment."

"Ok," Takeru conceded. "But keep on your side of the bed."

Hikari sighed, pulling her arms out from under the blankets. "This is the last time I ever let you call the shots," she grumbled. "Where did you learn all that anyway?"

Takeru propped himself on one elbow looking down at her. "I honestly don't know. After you got out of my hold, I was pretty much prepared to lose and then my reflexes kicked in. It was strange."

"I'll say, you surprised me. It's the only reason you won."

He grinned down at her. "Are you still smarting over that?"

"I want me rematch, damn you."

Takeru groaned, flopping face to face with her. "You won't give up until you get your way, will you?"

"Why ask questions you already know the answers to," she replied.

"I think I'll sleep on it."

"What are you so scared of?"

Takeru snorted in amusement. "You nearly killed me out there. Can you blame me for being a little unwilling about putting my life on the line so soon."

Hikari glared at him, then turned around and closed her eyes. Takeru sighed, staring at her back. In the silence that followed, he wondered over a great deal of things until finally he decided to talk to her. She would still be awake if he knew her.

"Hikari," he whispered. "Hey Kari, are you still awake?"

Hikari turned around. "What? I'm trying to sleep like you wanted me to."

"I just....." he ran his hands through his hair, trailing off.

"Well?" Hikari asked impatiently.

There wasn't any easy way to do this so he dove head in. It wasn't like he was especially subtle when it came to these matters. "You know, we haven't really talked since I got back. We just fell back onto what was familiar, our friendship.... but we're so much more now."

Hikari reached forward, taking his hand and clasping it between her own. "What brought this on?" She asked quietly.

"I don't know," Takeru said shrugging. "Nights always tend to make me maudlin. Probably because I spent so many of them, staring into a campfire."

"Are you having doubts," she asked softly.

It wasn't any use lying. She could probably read it in his eyes. "Yeah," he nodded, "I am." Her crimson brown eyes coaxed him on and he continued. "Back when we young, I always knew that I cared for you but I didn't once act on those feelings. It took a lot of coaching from Yamato before I was even ready to act on them but that was before everything went to hell. I thought for sure that you could never forgive me for everything I had done but you did." He hesitated, gathering his words. "I've never had your strength, your force of will. I spent six years trying to become strong and at the end you showed me that you were still the stronger one between the two of us. My life has shifted twice and both times I've had to change. The first was when my family was killed and the second was when you forgave me. But, in this second change, all my old doubts are back along with a couple of new ones. I've been alone so long that I don't know how to approach the others, how to ask for their forgiveness. I talked to Iori this morning and he suggested that I say what I have to say to everybody. What do I say to them though? What do I say to Iori, for that matter. He used to look up to me as an older brother and I abandoned him. And then there's us. I was thinking earlier today about how I'm not so different from my father. I'm so scared that I won't be able to make all of this work and that your feelings for me will change. And above it all, I'm afraid of disappointing you. I... what we have right now, I don't want it to change. I'm... happy. For the first time since my parents died. I... I don't want to go back to what I was before."

Hikari was silent for a long time. "I was scared too," she spoke quietly. "For the past two years, I've been anticipating and dreading the day you would return. I was finally able to get you to open up only to have you taken from me again. Part of me always thought that you would return with your heart chained up tighter then before. But yesterday, when I scanned your mind, I could tell that you hadn't changed and my fear was gone. Now that I finally have you back, I'm not going to give you up again. And trust me, if my feelings for you could only get stronger during six years of separation, they aren't going to change." She gently caressed his face. "Now, why would you think that you could disappoint me."

"You had to choose the tough one first, didn't you." Takeru chuckled humorlessly. "I've followed your lead in just about everything we have ever done together. Ever since we were children. You were always so calm and self-assured. It intimidated me at times, in many ways, it still does. I feel inadequate... that I haven't earned my place at your side through any merit of my own but because you fell in love with me."

"You're being a fool."

"Well, that was characteristically blunt."

Hikari looked evenly at him. "I'm not going to be anything other then blunt with you regarding this. You know I was never a big fan of self- pity in anyone. Now, let me tell you what remember of you from when we were young. I remember a boy that vowed to protect me when everybody around us were dropping like flies. I remember that same boy stay true to that vow and rescue me from the Dark Ocean and then I remember that boy giving himself up to an enemy he hated, knowing that he faced certain death, because of that vow. You endured three weeks of torture for me and you didn't break. Your own strength has inspired me so many times through my own life. As far as I am concerned, you've more then earned a place at my side."

"Even with all these doubts I have."

"That doesn't necessarily make you unique," Hikari said gently. "We all have doubts. It comes with responsibility and it helps if you have someone to share it with. That is why we split up into pairs because we knew that it would be too much pressure if it was just one of us per base. Still, even with Iori here, the pressure sometimes gets to be too much. I can't talk to him the way I can talk to you." She hesitated a bit looking at him. "If you laugh at me at this next part, I swear the next time we spar, you'll end up with a lot more then just broken ribs. Now, I know that I'm not the easiest person to get along with and I make no apologies for that. However, you've always stuck by me and probably know how to handle me better then anyone. Like tonight for instance, I know Daisuke would have likely jumped me the instant he saw me that nightgown but you cared enough about me to keep yourself in check. That means a lot, Takeru."

"I... thank you."

Hikari wrapped her arms around him, snuggling against his chest. "As for the rest of it, the first step is always the hardest. All of us consider ourselves one gigantic family. I'm sure the others will welcome you back with open arms but you will have to take that first step."

Takeru sighed putting his own arms around her. "What about you?" He asked after some time.

"What do you want to know?"

He thought about that for a bit and then remembered something from yesterday. "Tell me about my last clone."

"Now who's choosing the hard topics." Hikari grimaced. "What made you ask about that anyway?"

"Just something I saw in Iori's eyes yesterday. He was too quick to avoid this topic."

"Yes, I suppose he would be. I... this is hard Takeru," she said suddenly. "I was such a fool."

"Was he that good?"

"No, I knew he wasn't you but......" Hikari took a deep breath. "It began when Iori and I first came back to this continent. We found him wandering lost, with no memory. Iori ran his tests and he checked out but he didn't pass my mental scans. He had none of the wards I had placed in your mind. Despite that and over Iori's objections, I kept him around. He was so innocent and was practically an embodiment of everything I loved about you. I knew he was probably a pawn of the Undersea Master but I didn't care. I wanted to save him and so warded his mind as best I could. The trigger though was innate and my wards were only designed to protect him from outer threats. It was designed to go off a month after he met us. A month of wheedling into our good graces. That month was pretty torturous for me. You were seeming right there in front of me but I knew it was an illusion. In retrospect, I should have listened to Iori and spared myself what came next. Your clone almost made off with the Crest of Hope because of me. In the end, I killed him myself. But, even then fate had a cruel twist in store for me. As I killed him, his prior personality came back. There was such a look of pleading in his eyes as he died that it broke my heart."

There was silence for a long time afterward until Takeru finally spoke. "Why did you keep him around so long?"

Hikari shrugged within his arms. "I don't know really. I suppose it was because a part of me thought that you would come back changed and I wanted something to fall back on. You'd hurt me so deeply once before. I didn't want to feel the same thing again."

He flinched at that, remembering the night in question. It had been raining in the ruined courtyard of Sumeragi's citadel. She had confronted him there as he tried to sneak away. Something had broken inside him as she stood, barring his way, demanding he tell her where he was going. His frustration and rage at still being alive had reached its boiling point and he had literally blown up at her. Using eight years of friendship against her, he had exploited every weak spot he knew she had. Things she had told him in confidence, he had used against her that day. He remembered afterwards how she stood, shoulders hunched, hair plastered to her forehead, eyes downcast. She looked nothing like the strong, proud girl she was. He had wanted to take her in his arms, beg for her forgiveness, had done no such thing in the end and had merely shoved past her on his way out.

"I..... I'm so sorry." Takeru whispered raggedly, tightening his arms around her. "I was so confused and I took it out on you. That excuses nothing though."

"It's okay," she mumbled against his chest.

"No it isn't." Takeru said vehemently. "I betrayed our friendship and lost your trust......"

Hikari broke away from him and raised a hand to his lips, silencing him. "I forgave you. There's no use dwelling on the past."

"But..."

"Let me finish," she interrupted. "If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't be here right now and as for our friendship, it managed to survive."

"I don't deserve you."

"Well, that's true enough," Hikari replied grinning slightly. "Just promise me," she added quietly, "promise me that you won't ever leave me again."

"I promise."

She smiled then, a genuine smile that had always caused his heart to quicken, and leaned contently against him, closing her eyes. He was exhausted too and gave himself over to sleep. The last thing he heard before darkness claimed him was her sleepily mumbling, "I still want that rematch."

________________________________

It was on the fourth day, the night before they were supposed to leave for the summit, when Takeru found the wall in his mind. Life in the citadel had settled into somewhat of a rut for him. The first day, after Hikari had left, had been spent exploring the castle with an escort she had provided. He had stopped off in the dojo for a while and watched the various soldiers train and had been asked to join in. By then, word had spread of his fight with Hikari. It had garnered him a reputation since nobody before him had managed to beat her. He heard that she had even equaled, if not surpassed, Iori's skill with a blade. It was an impressive accomplishment considering that Iori had been practicing with a sword since the age of nine.

He had been asked to give a demonstration of his own skill with a blade and had politely refused. His skill with a sword was negligent at best as he had always preferred his force pike. It was then that a rather arrogant young soldier had challenged him. He had been hard pressed during the fight until he had closed his eyes and let instinct take over. It was over rather quickly after that. After the fight, he had stayed in Hikari's quarters until she arrived hours later.

On day two, he had awoken to find Hikari already gone and had spent the entire day looking for Angemon. He had abandoned the search at midday and had gone back to Hikari's quarters to wait for her.

The beginning of day three had been much like day two but this time, he had asked to be escorted to Hikari's office. There, he had asked her to give him something, anything to keep him busy. In retrospect, he should have noticed the mischievous glint in her eyes. She had sent him to Digitamamon. The Digimon chef was responsible for feeding the entire citadel and was crankier then usual because he had run out of supplies. He'd had to stand there and form fruits, vegetables and meats out of thin air to the chef's satisfaction. It was painstaking, detail-oriented word and it kept him busy well past midnight. Still, it gave him an opportunity to test the breadth and scope of his new powers, which he suspected had been Hikari's intention all along. He stumbled into her quarters at two am to find her still awake. Murmuring something unintelligible, even to himself, he collapsed beside her and fell asleep.

On day four, he was back with Digitamamon. The chef wanted a replica of an Anar. Apparently, it was an ancient fruit of the Digital World. The only problem was that there wasn't an exact replica for him to taste and recreate faithfully. All Digitamamon had was a vague description. In the end, that didn't prove much of a problem. He remembered the fruit, remembered tasting it and the feel of its seeds as he swallowed. The memories were not his own.

That bit of strangeness, combined with his mysterious battle prowess, led him to terminate his session with Digitamamon a bit early. He arrived back at Hikari's quarters an hour before she was due back and started meditating, delving deep within his own mind for some answers. It was within the recesses of his mind that he found a block, which he was unable to get past. Someone had cordoned off a portion of his mind. The possibilities were a little frightening.

Exiting his meditative trance, Takeru crossed over to the sofa and sat down. He didn't know where he had picked up this block. Closing his eyes again, he focused on everything that had happened to him in the last two years. Going over the string of dimension hops in succession, he tried to determine where he'd been waylaid. The only real encounter he'd had was with that one priestess who had offered him a way home in exchange for his services..... No, she hadn't actually said she was sending him home. She had said she was sending him to his destiny. What had that meant? Afterwards, he remembered falling into that lake. Maybe Angemon could shed some light on the matter.

"What are you thinking so hard about?"

Takeru blinked in surprise. He hadn't even heard the door open, so deep had been his concentration. Hikari dropped off a bunch of reports on the small table behind the sofa and embraced him from behind. He stiffened involuntarily in her arms.

"What's wrong?" She asked, concern tingeing her voice.

He tilted his head sideways, looking up at her. "I have to show you something you're probably not going to like."

Moments later they were standing before the glowing blue field in his mind that signified a block. Hikari walked forward, running her hands over the field, probing at it with her mind.

"Can you get past it?" Takeru asked.

"No," Hikari replied after a moment. "At least not without causing irreparable damage to your mind. This block runs very deep. None of my initial scans picked it up."

Takeru sighed. "There's no other choice then. You have to put me under heavy guard. We have no idea who put this here and what purpose it serves."

"That's a little rash, isn't it?"

"Not when it means your life."

"Do you trust me?"

The question was unexpected and left Takeru surprised. "Of course I trust you," he said slowly.

"Good." Hikari smiled. "I want you to step out and leave me alone here for a little while."

"Why?" Takeru asked confused. The request seemed strange since he could be more help to her here.

"You're going to have to trust me on this." Hikari replied. "I know it's a strange request but it's necessary."

"All right," Takeru said, "but we will talk about this later." Saying that, he disappeared.

Sighing, Hikari waited a few moments and then yelled out, "Yamato, get out here right now." There was no response and she quit after a few more tries. Marshalling her psychic powers, she scanned Takeru's mind as thoroughly as she could. There was no trace of Yamato. Everything else was the same though which at least mean that this was her Takeru. Disconnecting from his mind, she stepped back into her own.

"Well?"

Hikari shook her head. "Sorry, no go."

"That's that then," he said getting up. "You should call in the guards and have me escorted to the dungeon."

She grabbed his arm, pulling him back down beside her. "Oh stop over- reacting and let me think for a moment."

He stared incredulously at her. "This doesn't concern you in the least?"

"Of course it concerns me," Hikari said fixing him with a steady gaze. "But I'm not going to act rashly."

"I could take this to Iori," he threatened.

She smirked at him. "You're welcome to try."

He tried to get up but found that he couldn't move. He had the barest mobility in his neck, allowing him to twist his head sideways, but that was it. All of his other limbs were frozen solid.

"I took a few precautions while I was in your mind," Hikari said by way of explanation. "As much as you like to challenge me, I'm afraid I can't allow it at the moment."

Struggling was useless, she had far too much power and knowledge of the thoughtscape. Besides, he couldn't really hurt her like this so he resigned himself to waiting until she asked the inevitable question. All things considered, at least he didn't have to wait long.

"Have you talked to Angemon about this?"

He shook his head, the only expression he was capable of.

"Do you know where he is?"

Again, a negative shake of his head.

"Probably with Angewomon," she muttered to herself before closing her eyes. A few minutes later she opened them. "He was with her atop the north watchtower if you can believe it. They are on their way here." She leaned against him, linking her arm through his limp one. "You know, I could get used to having you like this. Finally, your glib tongue can't ruin the romantic mood...... oh stop glaring at me like that. You wanted a guarantee that nothing would happen and I gave it to you. There are so many wards in your mind right now that it would be impossible for you to even lift a finger without my permission. Trust me, you don't want to spend another night in our dungeon. Especially with your dark problem. We'll have to talk about that later. You should have told me instead of me learning about it in your mind."

Takeru turned his head away from her, his eyes clouding over. She gently turned him around to face her again. "I didn't mean to pry but the memory was so dark and filled with its own brand of madness that I couldn't help myself. You don't have to go through these things alone anymore." There was a soft knock on the door. "That'll be them," Hikari said, rising to her feet. "Uh, don't go anywhere," she shot back over her shoulder as she moved towards the door.

He would have given anything to be able to roll his eyes at her. For all the haranguing she gave him about his flippancy, she could be just as bad.

"Come in." Hikari ushered the two Angel Digimon into the room. "We have a problem."

Angemon stared strangely at Takeru and then turned towards Hikari. "You found the wall in his mind?"

"So you do know what it is."

"Yes," the Angel nodded, "but I can't tell you anything about it."

"By whose orders."

"Takeru's." Angemon turned towards Takeru. "This will be hard for you to accept but you did instruct me to keep all details to myself. The wall will come down on its own when the time is right."

"All right," Hikari responded. "I still have one question though." She walked up to Takeru. "I'm sorry Keru, but I made a promise long ago. You can't hear this conversation." Waving her hand over his face, she watched as his eyes slowly clouded over and he slumped backwards on the sofa. "I don't like keeping this from him." She turned, facing Angemon. "Where's Yamato?"

___________________________

Groaning, Takeru opened his eyes. He was sprawled out on the sofa and it felt like someone was pounding a drum inside his head. Raising a hand to his temples, he stimulated the nerve centers there until the headache gradually subsided. His healing powers were such a blessing sometimes.

"Awake at last." Hikari's voice sounded from somewhere above him.

With a start, Takeru realized that what he'd thought had been a pillow was actually Hikari's lap. Turning sideways, he looked up at her. "You know, I could wish you weren't so take charge all the time."

She smiled down at him. "It comes with leadership."

"I don't remember you being a leader when we were kids."

She scowled at that. "Yeah well, you stuck around so you probably like it on some level."

"More like I was too afraid to leave."

Her eyes narrowed. "You're in a particularly vulnerable position right now."

Grinning, he reached up and pulled her head down close to his. "So, have you stopped beating yourself up over putting me to sleep yet."

Her eyes widened. "Oh damn."

Takeru laughed out loud. "Your lesson in power and manipulation wasn't lost on me. Even if I did think it was a bit heavy handed."

Hikari smiled ruefully. "I really should stop thinking of you as just another dumb blonde." Her expression softening, she asked, "you're not angry?"

"No," he responded, "I said I trust you, remember. Besides, I know all too well how stubborn you are. When you're ready to tell me, I'll be here to listen."

She kissed him softly. "I didn't think you'd give up that easily."

"Well, you took care of the bigger issue and I'm really too tired to put up much of a fight. Now let's eat, I'm getting hungry. Afterwards, I'll tell you how I found that spot two nights ago." He rolled off her lap and helped her rise to her fee. Leaning against each other, they made their way to the small dining table. Tomorrow would bring new responsibilities but right now belonged to them.

______________________________________

Next: Love and Friendship