Unmei: Okey, so I hope this chapter came out quick enough for all you people! I hope you enjoy. Oh and before I forget, disclaimer:

Taichi: Unmei no Hana doesn't own any seasons of digimon, the characters, digimon, etc. All she does own is this plot.

Unmei: Haha, okay! Time for the story.

Of Clones and Outcasts

Chapter 3: Of Introductions and New Lives

Unmei no Hana

Previously:

"I don't think you'll have to worry about strange animals in these woods. But, you are correct to worry about outcasts."

And with that, mysterious people, covered in black so that they were unable to see their faces, surrounded Hikari and Miyako. Screaming for help, they tried to run, but everywhere they turned, there was another strange person. Hands grabbed their arms and legs binding them together. Hikari struggled, but there were too many of them. Someone shoved a fuming vial under her nose and then the world went black.

Night had fallen when Hikari had at last opened her eyes. Someone had bound her arms and legs together tightly, but no so tight that it hurt horribly. Looking around, Hikari saw Miyako lying on the ground next to her, and attempted to get her attention.

"Psst, Miyako, Miyako! Wake up!"

Suddenly, loud laughs caught her attention and she searched for the source. Quickly she spotted a large campfire and around it sat the mysterious people who had captured her and Miyako. They had taken off their masks and, gasping slightly, Hikari realized that they were outcasts.

Having heard her nearly inaudible gasp, one of the outcasts turned around and saw her awake. He had blue eyes that despite his soft golden hair, made him look cold and harsh. They showed no emotion and were dull, empty almost. Standing up, he walked over to her as his friends quieted down and gathered around him.

"So, I see your finally awake. Good, now we can have a little… fun together."

"Hey, Takeru, what do you think you're doing? Yamato told us to find some girls and to bring them back to the village… untouched."

Hikari turned to see who had spoken. From his looks, the outcast that had spoken seemed to be around the same age as this Takeru, and had brown hair that stuck out in every which direction along with warm chestnut eyes.

"Since when do you care what Yamato says, Daisuke? Anyways, it's not like he'll be able to tell any difference, so I say we just go ahead and have some fun. After all, the sooner we do, the sooner she'll have kids for our village."

Grabbing her roughly, he yanked her upright. Shouting out a cry of pain, Hikari glared at Takeru. The other outcasts, Daisuke, then objected again.

"Takeru, you're out of your mind. Just leave her, or else I'll …I'll report you to Yamato!"

"Hmphf, very well. "

Takeru pushed Hikari away from him. Unable to balance herself, she fell to the ground. Biting her lip in order to keep from shouting out, Hikari looked up at Takeru loathingly. Ignoring her look, he walked back to the campfire. All his companions followed him except Daisuke . Bending down near Hikari he whispered an apology

"I'm sorry for Takeru's attitude. Please don't be too frightened, I promise I won't let anything bad happen to you."

Having said these words, he then too joined Takeru at the campfire. Hikari filled with warmth as she watched him.

'I guess not all outcasts are barbarians like they say, though Takeru certainly is one. That Daisuke was so nice, so gentlemanly.'

She was shaken out of her thoughts when she heard a small whimper. Turning, she saw that Miyako had started to wake up. Coughing at the dust, Miyako looked at Hikari through her crooked glasses.

"H-hikari, where are we? Why were we captured? What do they want with us? Better yet, who are these people who captured us?"

"Miyako, calm down. Don't worry, we'll be fine. The people who captured us are a group of outcasts, but—"

"What! We're captured by outcasts? How can you tell me not to worry! Oh my god, do you know what terrible things could happen to us."

"Miyako just calm down."

After much talking, Hikari had finally calmed Miyako down a little. Sighing, she looked at the group of outcasts who were ignoring her and Miyako.

"Hey Hikari… what do you thinks going to happen now…?"

"I'm not sure Miyako… I'm not sure. But I just hope for the best." With that, Hikari closed her eyes, and hoped sleep would come soon to her.

The sun shone down on Hikari, waking her from her slumber. Fluttering her eyes open, she yawned, stretching her arms above her. She then realized that someone had cut the ropes off that had once restricted her movement. She jumped as someone abruptly spoke, breaking the silence.

"Think yourself lucky for having your bounds off. I'm trusting you won't try and run away, right?"

Looking up, she saw Takeru standing above her. With the sun shining directly above him, it seemed as if a golden halo was encircling his head. But, in contrast, his eyes were still ice cold. Mutely, Hikari nodded her head in agreement. Takeru eyed her skeptically for a moment before speaking.

"If you'd like something to eat, go ask Hiroshi, he's the cook around here."

With that, he stalked away. Wondering why he was so cold, Hikari remembered Miyako. She looked around her, but couldn't find Miyako anywhere. Right as she was beginning to panic, she heard Miyako's voice float from somewhere near .Getting up, she followed the sound until she saw Miyako sitting with a group of outcasts, laughing casually.

"Miyako!"

Looking away from the group, Miyako caught sight of Hikari and waved her over. She was sitting next to a young outcast with dark purple-ish hair that reached his shoulders and dark eyes. He had a air of intelligence around him. Hikari also spotted Daisuke joking around with an outcast that had chestnut hair and honey colored eyes. Smiling gently, the outcast held out a plate of food towards her.

"Here… are you hungry? Sorry, it isn't much, but on such trips, it's difficult to cook decent food…but I hope it's to your liking. Oh, and by the way, my name is Hiroshi, I'll be serving as the cook on this trip, so if you ever get hungry just come to me."

Smiling gratefully, Hikari accepted the plate of food, which consisted of some fresh fruit, a pice of toast, and some kind of sausage, though she was unable to identify the type of meat used. Smelling the delicious aroma, Hikari began to wolf the food down, realizing just how hungry she was. Finishing in record time, Hikari listened to the group talk, thinking to herself.

'How odd it is…. Everybody says of how cruel and vicious the outcasts are, but here they seem just like normal people. Kami-sama (1), help me learn more about their ways and perhaps even learn to love them… onegai (2)….'

Soon after Hikari had finished helping Hiroshi clean up the breakfast dishes, Takeru announced that they should start traveling again if they wished to arrive at their village before mid-afternoon. He came to Hikari and Miyako with a serious look on his face.

"Don't you even think about running off. If you do, you'll sorely regret it. To ensure that you make no attempts at running away I appointed two guards to watch over you."

A young outcast, a little younger than Takeru by the looks of it, with short dark hair and a solemn look on his face approached with the ever-smiling Daisuke. Slinging his arm around Takeru, Daisuke laughed with merriment.

"Now, now, Takeru. Don't you go off scaring these girls so early."

Daisuke then turned his attention to the girls, winking flirtatiously.

"Don't you be worrying about anything now. Daisuke here will take good care of you. Oh, and by the way this is Cody."

The stoic youth nodded his head in acknowledgement. Shaking his head in disbelief, Takeru left. Quickly afterwards, they started to move.

Hikari gazed in marvel at the sights of the forest she had never seen before. Colorful birds graced the clear blue sky, singing in such pure voices as other forest creatures scampered across the lush green leaves of the majestic trees. Hikari breathed in the pure air and felt at peace.

She could hear the voices of the outcasts talking to one another and heard Miyako talking with Ken. Smiling gently to herself, she could see that her friend was already smitten over the shy outcast. And to think, she was calling them barbarians just a couple days ago. Coming up behind the pondering Hikari, Daisuke struck up a conversation, shaking Hikari out of her thoughts.

"So, what do you think of being captured so far?"

"Oh, you scared me there for a second, Daisuke, was it?"

"Yep, that's what all my friends call me. Here, let me properly introduce myself. I am Daisuke Motomiya, commander of the 2nd squad, at your service."

Hikari giggled with delight before she too introduced herself to the dashing youth.

"Pleased to meet you Daisuke, my name is Hikari Yagami. And about your previous answer, I guess you could say, it's not exactly what I expected it to be like. No offense or anything, but I never imagined all of you to be so… normal. In the city, we hear how you do terrible crimes to young girls that you capture…."

Daisuke looked darkly at the ground, muttering something incomprehensible before replying.

"Well, whatever they say, I assure you it isn't true. We may be outcasts, but we certainly aren't barbarians."

And with those words, he left. Worried that she had offended him, Hikari went after him.

"Daisuke.. did I offend you? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I just…"

Sighing, Daisuke replied to Hikari.

"Don't worry, you didn't offend me. I just wish that you people would get to know us before making such things up. Oh, and look, we've arrived."

Surprised at what little time it took, Hikari looked at the scene before her. The village looked like something straight out from an old movie. A majestic gate stood before the entrance with the words 'Welcome to Mura no Yume (3)' written on it. Designed in a traditional way, the streets were lined with stalls of merchants. Outcasts along with—much to Hikari's surprise—women and children walked down the street, buying food and other necessary supplies from the merchants.

Walking through the streets, Hikari could feel people staring at her, whispering things to their companions. Looking up to the clear sky, Hikari whispered a prayer.

'Please let no harm come to Miyako and me. I pray that we will learn of the pain of these people, learn their ways and traditions, and learn to love them….'

1. Kami-sama: God

2. Onegai: Please

3. Mura no Yume: Village of Dreams (Yes, I know it's cheesy, but I couldn't think up of anything else, so just bare with it please.)

Unmei: Yay! Finally done. I really did try to write, write, write in order to finish this chapter quicker than I usually do. I also really tried to make this chapter longer, so I really hope all of you enjoyed it. I stayed up so late working hard on it…. Oh, and thank you so very much to all of my reviewers. You have no idea how much I love you all!

happyplacegn: Hopefully this chapter answered your question. I'm so glad you enjoyed the last chapter. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well, and thank you so much for reviewing.

Kaydreams: Well, I guess being kidnapped wasn't all that bad, ne? Thank you for reviewing, all your support really helps me be motivated to write even more!

Moppy: Sorry for keeping all of you waiting for so long. Hopefully this chapter came out quicker and was longer. I really did try for you Also, thank you so much for reviewing often. It really means a lot to me.

shadowtailmon: Sorry… didn't mean to keep all of you waiting for so long. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thank you for the review!