My Little Big Sister

I own nothing but my radio.

No, I'm still not MPD. I was stuck on how this was going to continue. I know the ending, it's just the bit in the middle that's bothering me. Still, I'm at uni now and have some time to myself. So, on with the show...

There's some romance in this chapter, too… just a smidgen of Hika x unnamed. Enjoy.

------------

Chapter Five

------------

"Hika, come on!" TK refused to stop tugging at the girl's tee-shirt. "Wake up!"

"What is it?" With catlike reflexes, Hika swung herself into a crouched position, ready to run if need be. "Are they after us again?"

"Might be." It was Joe who answered, standing over the two of them. "Mimi went out exploring and she's come back looking like something attacked her. Tai reckons we'd better get out of here."

The Digidestined were bandaging Mimi's arm with Joe's first aid kit. "It was some sort of trap," the girl managed. "I tripped over something and then all these insects shot at me..."

"The stings aren't poisonous," Izzy reassured the group. "I think she did more damage crashing through that bush trying to get away." Mimi fingered the scratch on her cheek, wincing at the memory of the thorny branches.

"Oh, a trap." Hika sighed. "Weren't you even looking? Sounds like the sort of thing that--" She stopped. "...Like the sort of thing that can be quite nasty if you're not careful. I'm glad you got back here safe, Mimi."

Tai had the feeling she was biting back a criticism.

They continued on. It was all they could do, really; permanent safety was a thing of the past, now. Tai had got used to carrying the unconscious Kari on his shoulder, and TK carried Gatomon when she was too tired to walk. Joe had put ointment on Mimi's cuts and scratches. It was strange, Tai reflected, how they'd all come together. Since Hika had begun helping them, they almost acted in unison, without needing to say a word.

But his happiness was tainted by worry, always. He knew that every step they took placed them in great danger, and yet… not to travel on would be even more perilous. And with every near-mistake the group made, every stumble of TK's foot, every insects' nest that Mimi blundered into, Hika's words came back to haunt him.

You really won't be around.

He was brought out of his reverie once again, this time by Sora's voice. "Tai? Are you all right?" Turning to her, he nodded and managed a weak smile. His friend returned it, but as he walked on he saw her following closer than before, watching him. Biyomon fluttered at her side like a tiny guardian angel, her little wings outstretched. On his other side, Hika was standing, though he hadn't heard her footsteps. Further back, Matt was walking alongside TK, but his voice could still be heard, talking encouragingly to the blonde-haired child.

Somehow, Tai felt better. Whatever he had to face in the coming days, he was not alone. He had Matt, his best friend. He had Sora, who wouldn't let him down. He had Hika…

"Don't worry."

He turned, startled, to see the young woman smiling at him. The next moment, she had turned away, the white cord of her rucksack swinging round and catching against his hand. The soft, almost furry touch of it reminded him of his cat, Miko, at home. But that thought was insignificant, buried beneath a stranger, deeper one.

You know me.

There was something deep within Hika's pretty, dark eyes that connected with him instantly. Although it was a powerful feeling, Tai knew it wasn't love, or even friendship. He couldn't put a name to it.

Now that he thought of it… how did Hika know him? How did she know any of them? She had never asked their names. Yet the very first words he'd heard her say, that day in the canyon, were the two words of a name: Joe Kido.

There was something. Something Hika wasn't telling him. It was something to do with the way she was; her dark eyes, her quick movement, the fall of her hair. He couldn't fight the feeling that the answer he was looking for was right in front of him, if only he could find it.

You know me.

Or is it… that I know you?

"What do you mean, don't worry?" were the words that he spoke aloud. "I have plenty to worry about."

Hika said nothing. She continued to walk, her eyes on the road ahead.

They camped, that night, in the depths of a forest. For once, TK fell asleep immediately, instead of sitting awake by Kari's side. The long day's walk had tired him, and he didn't even wait for Joe to set up the campsite before falling asleep curled on Mimi's shawl. As the other Digidestined decided in whispered voices who was to keep watch, Hika sat by the eight-year-old's side, just as he had by his friend.

Eventually, the duties were decided. Joe set his alarm clock to beep when Matt's two hours of watching were up, and the others lay down, exhausted, to sleep. Hika joined them, closing her eyes and letting herself slip into a peaceful dream.

Matt switched places with Mimi after the two hours had gone, lying down near TK. In the moment before he fell asleep, he saw Hika's outstretched arm. In her sleep, she was holding his brother's hand, clutching it as she dreamed of a friend she missed.

"No…"

Hika was clutching her pillow, sobbing until she could not see through the falling tears. She knew nothing, nothing save the terrible images that had come to her, again, in her sleep. After so long, after five years, the little thirteen-year-old had still never completely healed.

Her lips formed words, whispered through her sobs in the still darkness. "Please. Take me away from here. I can't do this any more…"

A hand touched her shoulder. "Hika."

She shuddered once with the cold shock of not being alone. Then, sitting up, Hika wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hands, and looked into the eyes of the boy she loved.

"Hika, are you all right?"

She reached up to him, still tearful. There was no need for any words.

The touch of his hand had woken her. And the silent love between them could not heal Hika's wounds, but it could bandage them, take away the pain until the time came for her to feel their presence again. She was lost in his eyes, lost in his love. She was lost, and she never wanted to be found.

After an age of time holding her in his arms, he stepped away. Silently, he left the room, passing the makeshift cat-basket on the floor, disappearing from her sight.

Hika climbed out of her bunk and threw her faded sweater over the tee-shirt she wore, shivering in the cold air of a new day.

"Eeeeeeeeegh!"

Hika woke, staring at nothing. So it was a dream. Nothing more.

Mimi's piercing scream woke the Digidestined from their sleep. Tai rubbed his eyes dizzily, covering his ears, then staring as the young girl's incoherent squealing gave way to a single word.

"Spiders!"

"Spiders?" Joe complained. "She gets us out of bed for spiders?"

Mimi stood a short distance away from the others, frozen in place. She had not stopped screaming. Palmon shot a long vine towards her, trying to pull her back to the group. Eventually, Tai came over to her. "Mimi, what—"

He stopped.

There were, indeed, spiders.

They were black-scaled creatures, about the length of Tai's arm. Each one was scuttling at a frightening pace towards the camp, eight hairy legs waving. The Digidestined leader paled as he saw them. "Matt! Hika! Joe! Sora!" he yelled, pulling Mimi by the hand. "Strike camp, NOW! Let's get out of here!"

They obeyed him without needing to ask why. TK snatched up the sleeping Gatomon, while Matt grabbed Kari and swung her across one shoulder. And they ran.

Izzy was one of the only ones who dared to risk a look over his shoulder. "They're following us, Tai," he gasped. "They're still following us!"

"We can outrun them," Tai panted, hoping it was true. "Don't slow down."

A sudden shiver ran down his spine as he heard, somewhere behind him, an anguished little cry of fear.

"Sora!"

Biyomon was trapped in a sticky silver web, flailing her wings to try and free herself. Sora whirled round and ran back, ignoring Joe's shouted warnings.

"Bi! Biyomon! Are you all right?"

"No!" the little bird screamed. "Sora—something's—got—me…"

Tai and Hika exchanged glances for a moment, nothing more. Then, without warning, both of them doubled back and ran as fast as they could.

Sora was struggling with a spider-thing, trying to pull it away from the web it had spun around Biyomon. She finally got it free, and hurled it across the clearing with the strength and speed that had made her a brilliant sports player, one summer and an eternity away.

"Sora, be careful!" Tai yelled, but the red-haired girl didn't even look round. She booted another spider and began to tug at the silver threads that held her Digimon in place. Around her, dozens of pairs of red eyes blinked sluggishly. The spider-creatures were slow of thought, but quick of instinct; it wouldn't take long…

before they realised that this long-legged, alien thing in a blue hat was trying to rob them of their prey. They clicked among themselves furiously, before closing in.

Tai could only watch in horror as Sora was surrounded by a ring of spiders, already too thick for him to break through. Only now did the young girl look up and realise what was happening. Panic flooded her mind as she stared around for an escape. The closely tangled branches above wouldn't support a Digimon, let alone a human, and spiders blocked the way on all sides.

Biyomon, locked in sticky thread, was sobbing and fluttering uselessly. Sora tore desperately at the strands with her fingers, finally managing to free the little bird. But the web was not designed only to imprison, and in the time it had taken to split the threads, it had done its work. Bi was unable to fly.

Unable to do anything to help, Tai turned and ran as Sora stood terrified in the circle of spiders, hunched over as she held Biyomon tight, protecting the little bird with all she had…

Matt, TK and the unconscious Kari were already some distance away. At the first sight of Sora's capture, the Digidestined of Friendship had fled the clearing, dragging the younger ones with him. Tai grabbed his little sister and gestured wildly at the others. "Come on!" he yelled, the raw power of his voice startling them. Not daring to question him, they followed at a run.

Only when they were well beyond the forest clearing, and their panicked dash had slowed to a walk, did TK finally form the question. "Tai, where… where's Sora?"

Tai found it best to pretend he hadn't heard the question; staring straight ahead, he continued walking, letting his face and manner betray nothing. Matt bent down and took his brother's hand, sharing wordless sympathy. "It… it's just us now, TK. Just us."

The blond child nodded, a tear stealing into his eye.

"Hey now, TK," Matt picked up, "you mustn't cry, or you might not see something coming… Don't cry until we're safe, little brother. Not until we're safe."

Hika's expression was one of intense concentration as she surveyed the scene. Then she turned. "Tai," she said. "I need you to help me."

"Pepper Breath!"

Agumon's attack scorched a strand of web, creating a briefly burning fire that fizzled into ugly embers at Sora's feet. Tai and the little dinosaur-Digimon were on the attack, wreaking havoc on the startled spiders. With a clicking sound of speech, the myriad monsters abandoned their assault on Sora and came for Agumon instead. But Hika was at Sora's side, pulling the girl's crest and Digivice out from amongst her torn clothes, almost forcing Biyomon to digivolve. Then the two girls moved fast, pulling their friends onto Garudamon's back, holding tight as the bird-Digimon rose high into the air.

"You…" Sora was out of breath. "Tai, you and Hika saved Bi. You're brilliant."

Hika blushed, looking away. Tai made a mental note of the fact.

It was the first time he'd seen her show weakness outside of her dreams.