The Crystal Gate

Part Eight: Why Have You Come Here?

Standard Disclaimer Thingie: Digimon is not mine, but the plot is. Don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.

Moo.

A large celebration had begun almost immediately after the announcement, and Iori had been whisked away from the steps of the mansion, back into the entrance hall. The villagers seemed to be largely overjoyed by the news that he would soon be the new lord of Hida. Although Koushiro noticed a few in the crowd who were not as cheerful as most of the people present, none who dissented made their voices heard.

It was late afternoon before the wizard was able to slip away from the crowds and make his way to the room he'd set up as his own. Iori was surrounded by a crowd of people as he had been all evening – women offering to sew him fine clothes, men who hoped to find favor with the new lord, and even a few who offered their daughters as possible wives. Although a bit overwhelmed, Iori seemed to be holding his own, and so Koushiro felt no guilt leaving him to the crowds.

Though not a very social person by nature, Koushiro had another reason for leaving the festivities. He had sensed a strange, unrecognizable sort of magic somewhere inside the mansion. Although it had immediately dissipated and faded, the brief surge of power had alarmed and concerned him, as he had sensed no one with even the faintest hint of magic in Hida before then.

Thus, it was a completely unexpected surprise for the wizard to find someone sleeping in the room, feet resting on the rickety desk, head leaning against the bookshelf behind. After a moment in which the initial shock wore off, Koushiro recognized that the stranger was Takeru, and wondered how he had managed to enter the building without anyone noticing a visitor and why no one had sent word he was coming. Almost immediately, this thought was replaced by the knowledge that the visitor was dressed in nightclothes and a crumpled robe, and thus it was unlikely that he had recently stepped off a carriage.

"Takeru - ?"

He opened his eyes almost immediately, and, expecting as one ordinarily does to awake in a comfortable bed, promptly fell off the crate he had been sitting on. Thankfully, it was only a short distance to the floor and so he was not badly injured, although he did manage to bang his head soundly on the bookcase behind him as he fell.

"Ow," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head, and yawned. He gingerly took his hand away and saw, thankfully, that no blood had been spilled. "Today's not my day, is it?"

"Doesn't appear that way," Koushiro answered dryly. Stepping around the desk, the wizard held out one hand to help his visitor to his feet. "Do you often travel in your nightclothes? Is it a new fashion of some sort?"

"I'm trying to start it," Takeru answered, grinning. When Koushiro only shook his head, he shrugged. "I didn't think about it when I left, actually," he confessed sheepishly. "By the time I realized it, I was here, and it was too late and anyway I don't know how to get back."

"How did you get here?" Tentomon questioned, hovering as always a short distance above his partner's head.

"I was sort of hoping you'd be able to answer that," he admitted, rummaging in the pocket of his robe as he spoke. "Some sort of magic…." He found the crystal and held it out for the wizard to examine.

Koushiro raised one eyebrow. "You…?" he asked, taking the shiny object.

"Yes," Patamon answered, having sleepily awakened from his perch within the bookshelf. "Amazing, isn't it?"

Takeru could see that the wizard was having a hard time dissecting this information. He spent some time looking at the crystal itself and then looked up at the one who had brought it. "Are you telling me that you managed to harness the energy of this crystal to come all the way from the palace?"

"No," Takeru answered, shaking his head. "I don't know what I did or how I did it, and I came from Takaishi, not the palace."

"Takaishi?" he echoed. "That's…nearly two weeks journey from here by carriage, isn't it?"

"I suppose," came the answer with a shrug. "Didn't take me that long, though. Assuming that today is the same day that I left, and I think it is, I left Takaishi in the early morning, about three hours past sunrise, maybe four. I'm not sure exactly. We arrived here…I suppose it was around noon?" He glanced toward Patamon, who shrugged, not having paid any attention whatsoever to the time. "Made it downstairs in time to witness the announcement Iori made on the front steps."

"A bit after noon, yes," Koushiro answered, nodding. He sat down on the nearest rickety crate. It creaked loudly but didn't collapse. "You have absolutely no idea how you did that?"

Again he shrugged, and then recounted the morning's events – from his awakening in the middle of the night to the battles with fire to the appearance of Mummymon and the sorceress and then the finding of the crystal. "After the battle was over and the Musyamon were gone, I had this feeling I needed to be somewhere else. Next thing I knew, I was here. I guess this is where I need to be."

Koushiro shook his head slowly. "If it was for explanations, you came to the wrong place," he answered. "So far as I can tell, you somehow harnessed the power of the crystal. How you managed to do that, I don't know."

The desert was, as Shijo had always imagined a desert to be, endless and empty. The sun was relentless, the heat intense.

They had seen nothing. No digimon, no cacti, no bones, no mirages. Nothing but sand, rolling hills of sand as far as the eye could see. Every so often there was a brief gust of wind that cooled the skin, and Daisuke would pause as though listening for something, and then continue walking when it had stopped.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity and a half, the sun began to sink behind them, and the air began to cool. There was no sign of any place to take shelter, and so Daisuke paused abruptly and set down the bag he had been carrying at no place in particular and then sat down beside it. Shijo looked around him and saw nothing but sand and so sat down as well.

They had filled their canteens before leaving the forest, but they had not replenished their food supplies, and so there was only a little water and some three-day-old fruit and dried fish meat to eat. They ate the meat first, and then the fruit because it was less salty, and drank a little of the water. There was no wood to light a fire with, nothing to burn, not even cacti. Shijo pulled his cloak tightly around his arms as the temperature steadily plummeted.

There was no sound but the wind as it occasionally danced over the sand. Daisuke didn't seem inclined to sleep and Shijo, not wishing to disturb him, didn't dare break the silence asking questions that had so far not managed to be answered. Before long, both their digimon had fallen asleep in the sand and were snoring softly. Then it was dark, with only the stars overhead for light.

Shijo laid down in the sand, which despite everything still managed to be a bit warmer than the air, and looked up at the sky. With nothing to interfere with them, not even firelight, they seemed brighter and closer than they ever had at home. For a few moments he lost himself in the stars. Without even being aware of it, he said, "They're beautiful."

"Hmm," Daisuke agreed, sounding tired or maybe only distracted. "I never noticed before."

"You spent the night in the desert before?" Shijo boldly questioned.

"Hmm," he said again, which sounded like an affirmative answer. "Mostly days, though. Walked across the whole of it."

"What's on the other side?" he wondered.

"Snow."

Somehow (Takeru never did find out how) Koushiro managed to find him a set of clothes that was neither far too small nor far too large. The pants were a few inches too long and the sleeves of the tunic did not come past his elbows, but it was better than walking about in his robe, and so Takeru didn't complain. He had put on his own shoes and socks before his unexpected departure, which was fortunate as finding shoes would have been difficult and it was still a bit too cold to go barefoot. Even properly dressed, he and Koushiro decided with little debate that it would not be wise to confuse the villagers with his appearance (and no carriage to arrive in). Thus, he remained in the wizard's makeshift office-laboratory and busied himself by rummaging through some paperwork.

Shortly after sunset the celebration seemed to wind down and the villagers whose homes had been rebuilt wandered back to their new houses for the evening. Those who were still taking shelter in the entrance hall began to settle down for the night. Koushiro managed to locate Iori, who was looking a bit tired and overwhelmed, and persuaded him to leave the hall.

Takeru had finished perusing a particularly ancient book he found on the bookshelf. The office, it seemed, had once belonged to an accountant or secretary, and the books were largely ledgers keeping track of the former Lord's money. Not being of a financial mind himself, Takeru thumbed through the numbers quickly and tossed them aside. He had finished doing so with a dozen or so identical navy blue binders when Iori finally arrived in the office.

"It's a mystery," Koushiro was saying, in the middle of his sentence when they arrived. "Obviously the crystal has something to do with it, but how it was managed to be activated, I've no idea whatsoever."

"Takeru?" Iori said in the exact tone of voice Koushiro had used before – a mixture of disbelief and astonishment. He didn't bother to follow up with questioning how he had come to be there, as this was what Koushiro had obviously been explaining when he came in.

Setting aside the last of the ledgers, Takeru got to his feet, grinning. "I'm as surprised as you are," he admitted. "Seems this is where I'm needed. Congratulations, Iori, or should I say Lord Hida?"

"Needed?" Iori echoed, glancing toward Koushiro.

"Takeru seems to think that the crystal brought him here because this is where he's meant to be. I have, as I said, no idea whatsoever why he needs to be here," the wizard explained, shaking his head slightly to indicate his bewilderment.

"Surely there must be something I could do here," the unexpected visitor put in. "Even emptying your upstairs rooms."

"I managed to clear out the Bakemon," Iori answered, taking a seat on one of the crates in the room. "The rest of the junk I'd need help with. You could help clean, if that's what you want. This place is a mess. I'm tempted to burn it down and start over…."

"Oh, don't," Koushiro interrupted. "There's history here, you know. It wouldn't be wise to dispose of it all."

Iori sighed, suddenly looking tired. "No, and it would take a hundred years more to build a house – assuming this one doesn't fall down." He stared blankly toward Takeru for a few moments. "In a way, I'm glad you're here. I haven't a clue what I'm doing."

"No one does," Takeru answered. "I'm sure I don't. I'll help in any way I can."

Though it was late, Miyako traveled downstairs once more, leaving Hawkmon to his sleep in her bedroom. Before long, she found herself in Koushiro's laboratory, the candles lit. It felt cold and quiet, empty of people.

There was a bottle of ink and a pen on the table mixed in with the piles of books she had already sifted through, and a pile of parchment on one of the bookshelves behind her. Taking up the pen, she dipped it in the half-dried ink and scratched down the important points – what she could remember – of what Ken had told her.

Five crystals. North, South, East, West, and Center. North – Kido. South – Takaishi? East - ? West – Motomiya.

She set down the pen and looked at what she had written for a long moment. Then, she felt tiredness overtake her and she laid her head down on the table and shut her eyes. Before long, without realizing it, she had fallen asleep.

When she awoke, the candles had burned down to only stumps and her neck felt sore and stiff after what had undoubtedly been hours of sleep. Hawkmon was in the doorway, frowning severely at her. It must have been his shout that awakened her.

The bird digimon shook his head with an expression, Miyako thought, rather like her mother's. "I thought you were going to sleep in a bed," he said. "Upstairs."

"I was," she answered groggily, rubbing the sore spots on her neck. "Then I was distracted by a visitor." She showed him the paper she had written on the night before. "Ken."

He examined it with narrowed eyes, and then sighed. "Now what?"

"Now, I think he's gone East, too. I think I should follow as soon as possible."

Now Hawkmon cast his gaze over his partner with a slightly disapproving look in his eyes. He sighed again, giving in to her wishes, and followed her from the room before she left him behind.

Only a few minutes after the sun appeared over the distant sand dunes, the air was hot beyond hot and drier than dry. Shijo awoke to find himself bathed in sweat, his mouth dry, his cloak uncomfortably clinging to his bare arms, sand scratching at his scalp. He had never so much longed for a bath.

Daisuke had gotten to his feet a moment before and was squinting through the bright sunlight, eyes scanning the distant horizon. He turned northward for a bit, and then to the south. "Which way?" he mumbled.

Shijo felt a momentary twinge of panic somewhere in his stomach. They had barely enough food to last the day – certainly not enough water – and the desert seemed to have no end. He had been following under the assumption that Daisuke knew not only his destination but how to get there (despite his claims to the contrary). Now, suddenly, he realized the grimness of their situation – in the midst of the desert, easily a day's walk back to the forest and the village, who knew how many days further before they reached the end.

As though sensing what was going on in the boy's mind, Daisuke glanced toward him briefly, noting that he'd awakened. "You can go back, you know."

Briefly, Shijo considered, but realized that he was not certain of the direction from which they'd come. Even if he made it as far as the woods, the Primary Village was not likely to appear to him again, and he would probably die if he tried to walk all the way home. He shook his head. "No," he said finally. "I'd rather stay with you."

"He's crazy," V-mon said, lying in the sand, eyes shut. "Like you."

"Seems that way," Daisuke agreed, shrugging, and went back to scanning the horizon. Shijo pulled himself to his feet, his legs wearily wobbling beneath him. He took the smallest of sips from his canteen and found his thirst quenched not even in the slightest. With some difficulty, he put it away.

The desert seemed as empty as it had the evening before. There was no sign of life, not even the occasional burst of wind. The sky above was clear with only a few faint clouds, high up. All around was nothing but sand. Distantly, somewhere toward what he guessed was northeast, he spotted something other than sand. It was hard to make out from so far away, but it looked like a black blur poking above the sand.

"What's that?" he wondered, pointing, and Daisuke turned to follow his gaze, squinting in the glare of the bright sun. Oddly enough, a grin spread across his face.

"That's the way we're heading," he stated firmly. "Let's go." With that, he hefted his bag and began to walk in that direction.

"What is it?" Shijo asked, wondering even as he spoke if it was a pointless sort of question to be asked, either because Daisuke didn't know or because he didn't feel like answering.

"It's a dark tower," V-mon said, having climbed on to his partner's shoulders. "We saw one before, demolished, at the edge of the forest, remember? That's one that's still standing."

"A tower? In the middle of the desert? Who would – why would anyone build towers in the desert? Did someone live there?"

"No, it wasn't that sort of tower," the blue digimon answered, shaking his head and peering down at the boy.

"It was built of evil," Daisuke said before V-mon could attempt to explain further, a strange look in his eyes. "Forged with dark magic, made of hatred and sadness." He shook his head.

"W-what was it for?" Shijo stammered, knowing that the answer to this question was not a pleasant one.

V-mon hesitated for a few moments, thinking of the right words. "It was for holding magic," Daisuke answered instead. He sighed. "It's a bit of a history lesson, if you can believe that."

"History?" V-mon echoed indignantly. "So it's ancient history now, is it? It was only last season! Now I feel old."

"All the same, it's in the past," his partner said, shrugging. "Hard though that is to believe."

"What happened?" Shijo questioned, having the increasing feeling that he knew way too little about anything.

Daisuke took a deep breath, as though preparing himself for something difficult. He glanced toward Shijo briefly, and he hurried quickly to catch up. "It's a long story," he said, "but we have a long walk, and so I suppose it's a way to pass the time."

"I'm interested," the boy assured him.

Then, suddenly, a sharp burst of wind came unbidden across the desert from the west. It was a cold breeze, for which they were all grateful, and yet it was a strong one, that scattered the sand in the air and blinded them momentarily.

"Damn it," Daisuke muttered under his breath, barely loud enough to be heard. He pulled his cloak around him to shield himself from the tiny speeding granules of sand. "Keep your eyes shut," he advised, shouting over the wind. "And your mouth. Shield your face."

"What is this?" Shijo wanted to know, but the wind took his words and they vanished into the desert, unanswered.

"Sandstorm!" V-mon shouted.

The wind died abruptly, the air once again becoming silent and still. Shijo ventured to open his eyes and saw that a young woman was standing before him, brushing the sand from her skirts, a small bird digimon following behind her. After a moment, he recognized her.

Daisuke recognized her, too, but seemed displeased to see her. "Were you trying to kill us outright or simply bury us in sand?" he demanded.

Miyako peered at him with narrowed eyes, an expression of equal displeasure in her own eyes. "Nice to see you, too," she said with the barest hint of civility in her tone. "If I wanted you dead, Daisuke, I would have left you to your own devices. You'd do a far better job of it on your own."

His own eyes narrowed as he met her gaze and fought with one of his own. Shijo stared with round eyes. "I don't recall asking you to interfere," he retorted. "I was planning," and here he glanced briefly toward Shijo, "on making this journey alone."

"Yes, and that's the wisest decision I've ever heard you make!" she returned. Daisuke turned away from her and took a few steps in the direction he had been walking. Shijo watched him go, glancing hesitantly toward Miyako. "Does Hikari know where you are?"

He stopped, as though the mention of Hikari were enough to bring him to his senses. "I don't know what she knows and doesn't know," he answered. He took a deep breath, as though to compose himself before he turned around to face her. "Why have you come here?"

"Why have you?"

He didn't answer, though not, Shijo could see, because he didn't have one. For a moment, a war seemed to be waging in his eyes, and then he shrugged.

Miyako sighed and shook her head. "I don't know whether to be pleased or annoyed with you," she told him, earning another angry glance from Daisuke. It was clear he wanted to inform her that he didn't particularly care about her opinion, and he opened his mouth to do precisely that.

"I saw Ken last night," the young mage interrupted before he could speak. "I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he's on his way here at this very moment. He seemed rather displeased that you were heading this way."

"Why did you tell him, then?"

"He helped me, and so I helped him," she answered simply. "Do you still have that crystal? Could I see it?"

He did, and he held it out to her. Miyako pushed her spectacles even lower on her nose so that she was now seeing over them instead of half-through them as she usually did. Without taking the object in her hand, she squinted towards it and then shut her eyes, feeling the magic in the air.

"There's another one around here, is that what you're telling me?" Daisuke questioned, his anger and frustration briefly replaced with curiosity.

"Ken says that there are five crystals," she answered, not opening her eyes, not breaking her concentration. "North, South, East, West, and Center. Here is about as far east as I can imagine going without hitting the ocean."

Daisuke frowned deeply, although whether he was displeased with the information or the source it had come from Shijo could not tell. "There are no villages here," he told her. "I thought you had said that the crystals were related to the Chosen villages."

"That's what I thought," Miyako agreed. Her voice was calm, somehow managing to convey infinite patience even thought a few moments ago she had seemed as though she might be willing to argue with Daisuke all night. "Yet, it seems I was wrong. I do sense a crystal near here."

"Good," he said shortly, obviously still displeased with her appearance, and stuffed the crystal back into his pocket. "You can go and find it then, and leave me in peace."

"Don't you want to find it?" she questioned in surprise.

"Not particularly," he replied, and was already several steps away. "If you're coming, Shijo, better hurry, or we won't make it by nightfall."

"Oh, right," the boy said. He glanced apologetically toward the mage and then followed quickly after, not wishing to be left behind. Daisuke had already nearly disappeared behind a nearby sand dune.

Miyako sighed heavily. "Infuriating," she muttered to Hawkmon, watching him go. "He has to regain the most disagreeable parts of his personality first."

Not so much action in this chapter, but I'm mostly happy with it, and there'll be some major, painful battles coming up in the near future, so I can deal with this.

Well, it seems people were really happy to see Ken again! He's not in this chapter, unfortunately, but he'll show up again before long, so stay tuned. Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter, and thanks for reading.