Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

"After everything we've seen and all the things we've been through, we're not about to let evil have the final victory!" -Takuya Kanbara (Season Four, Episode 47: When Knights Fall...)

Chapter 38: The Price Of Victory

Ryoko Ishida

Odaiba, Japan, Earth

"Ouch! Will someone please put some pillows here?" Dai shouted, sitting up and rubbing his back.

Ryoko pulled up his friend's shirt, and he glanced anxiously at the others. "It looks even worse than it did before. If Davis and Noriko see this, they're going to want to know what's going on."

"Are you kidding? Noriko's going to flip out!" Matty muttered.

"Do you mind not flashing my bare chest to the entire world?" Dai said sarcastically.

"Oh, please," Ryoko snorted. "It's not like I've never seen you naked before and trust me, there's not much there to look at!"

"Ryoko!" Takara squealed, turning bright red in the face.

Dai punched him in the chest and glared at him. "For your information, Ishida, I'm not planning on letting my parents catch a glimpse of my back. What? You think I walk around without a shirt on all the time or something?"

"Someone could accidentally see it," Sam pointed out. "What if your mom or dad walks in on you while you're changing? Or even Ami, for that matter."

"Trust me. No one's going to see anything," Dai replied. "I'll make sure of that."

"Come on, we'd better get you home," Ryoko muttered, helping Dai to his feet.

"I'll come with you," Sam said, moving over to stand on Dai's other side. "We'll see the rest of you tomorrow."

"Don't forget about me!"

Ryoko glanced down and smiled at his partner. Alopemon had reverted back to his in-training form, and the little digimon beamed at him.

"Who are you now?" he asked.

"Iramon," (eye-ra-mon) the little digimon replied.

Iramon was a small blue head with large sapphire eyes and a bushy tail.

"You'd better hide," he said softly, tucking his small partner into his backpack.

"Get some sleep, Dai," Takara said quietly, before leaving the room with Mickey and Matty.

It was obvious that she and the twins had wanted to come with, but that would have looked way too suspicious.

Ryoko motioned for Sam to take Dai's other arm, and they quickly helped the goggle headed leader out of the school.

It took them a while to get to Dai's house because the goggle headed leader could not walk very fast. By the time they reached the Motomiya's front door, they were practically carrying Dai. The goggle headed leader's eyes had fallen shut again, and he did not look very good.

Ryoko rang the doorbell and nervously bit his lip.

Someone's going to notice that Dai isn't acting like his usual annoying self, and then we're going to be in big trouble! I hope Sam has some answers ready because I have a feeling that Dai's parents are going to be asking us a lot of questions. I'm absolutely no use at all! My mind's a complete blank!

After several moments, the door opened, and his mouth fell open in surprise. He had been expecting Davis or Noriko to answer the bell, but instead they were standing face to face with Sam's father.

"Dad!" Sam gasped, his eyes growing wide with shock. "What are you doing here?"

Ken frowned and crossed his arms. "Davis and Noriko invited us over for dinner. I left you a note on the kitchen table, and I left one at the store, as well. Your mother was worried that you wouldn't get the message."

"Oh, I guess I must have missed seeing them," Sam replied, letting out a shaky laugh.

Ken raised his eyebrows, and Sam blushed.

"Um...I haven't actually been home yet," Sam mumbled, avoiding his father's eyes. "Dai wanted to talk to me so I decided to walk with him to his house first, before going home."

"Well, you're here now. I suppose that's what matters. Come on inside. Noah, Ema, and the others just left about five minutes ago.They were at the convenience store earlier today."

"Good," Dai mumbled, trying his best to keep his eyes open. "Ema's nothing but a pain in the but!"

Ryoko was about to step past Sam's father, but Ken suddenly put a hand on his arm to stop him.

He swallowed hard as Ken's deep blue eyes studied his face, and he frowned as Ken slowly turned to look at Dai.

"What's wrong with him?" Sam's father asked quietly.

Ryoko stared at Sam in horror, and they both glanced at Dai with fear in their eyes.

I knew this was going to happen! If only Dai hadn't tried to act like a hero...

"There's nothing wrong with me!" Dai muttered, straightening up and staring directly into Ken's eyes.

Ryoko jumped in surprise at Dai's sudden movement, and he accidentally lost his grip on the goggle headed leader's arm. His friend stumbled directly into Ken, and Ken quickly grabbed the goggle headed leader under the arms. If Sam's father had not reacted so quickly, Dai would have ended up falling flat on his face.

"Dai? Is that you?" Davis called from the kitchen.

"Davis, get in here!" Ken said sharply, wrapping his arms around Dai and glancing anxiously at the kitchen door.

Dai's father came into the room with a frown on his face and gave Ken a curious look. "Ken, what-"

Davis fell silent at the sight of Dai, and his eyes filled with sudden fear. "Dai? Dai, are you okay? What happened to you?"

"I'm fine," Dai mumbled into Ken's chest.

Sam's father sat down on the floor with Dai in his arms, and Davis knelt next to them.

"No, you're not," Dai's father said quietly, and Ryoko jumped as Davis turned to look at him. "What happened to my son?"

"Um...well...you see..."

His voice trailed off, and he glanced frantically at Sam.

"He got hurt playing soccer," Sam quickly blurted out. "It happened on the bleachers. We told him to be careful, but he wouldn't listen to us!"

Dai turned slightly to glare at Sam, and Ryoko felt a sudden crazy urge to laugh.

"I thought you said Dai just wanted to talk to you," Ken said softly, staring calmly at his son. "Did you forget to mention the fact that you were trying to help him home?"

Sam blushed bright red and stared at the floor with a guilty expression on his face. "Dad-"

"We'll talk later," Ken said quietly, giving his son a very disappointed look.

Ryoko winced and gave Sam a sympathetic smile. Poor Sam. I'm glad my parents aren't here!

"Come on, Dai. Let's get you upstairs," Davis said softly, placing a hand against his son's pale cheek.

Ken gently let go of Dai, and Davis lifted his son into his arms.

"I can walk," Dai mumbled, his head coming to rest against his father's shoulder.

"Sorry, Dai. I can't have you falling down the stairs. Your mother would kill me if I let that happen!" Davis replied, resting his cheek against the top of his son's head. "You're too stubborn sometimes, you know that?"

"Kind of like someone else I know!" Ken replied, giving Davis a warm smile.

Davis laughed and smiled back at his best friend.

"Davis, what's going on in there?" Noriko called from the living room.

Davis froze, and he exchanged a look with Ken. "Nothing, honey. Dai and a few of his friends just came home, that's all."

"Is Sam here?" Yolei shouted, making Sam wince.

"Yes," Ken called back.

"Good, because supper's almost ready."

"Okay," Davis replied. "We'll be downstairs in a few minutes."

"Davis, how could you lie to Noriko like that? You're setting a bad example for the kids," Ken scolded.

Ryoko laughed, and Davis rolled his eyes.

"You know what Noriko's like," Dai's father whispered in Ken's ear. "She'll freak out if she sees Dai in this condition. I know it might not always seem like it, but she worries about him a lot. That's why she yells at him all the time."

"Yeah right!" the goggle headed leader muttered.

They entered Dai's room, and Davis gently laid his son on the bed. "How are you feeling?" he asked, brushing Dai's hair out of his eyes.

Dai shrugged and allowed his father to pull off his shoes. "Okay, I guess."

"What exactly happened?" Ken asked, sitting on the edge of Dai's bed.

"He fell down the bleachers and hurt his back," Ryoko said quickly. He felt guilty about lying, but they did not really have a choice.

Davis slowly lifted up Dai's shirt and flinched when he caught sight of the bruises on his son's back. "I hope you haven't broken anything."

"I haven't," Dai mumbled, lying on his stomache. "Trust me. I'd be in a lot worse pain if I had!"

"Are you sure?" Davis asked, gently running a hand over his son's back.

Dai nodded and buried his face in his pillow. "It's not like I have to go to the hospital or anything. Don't worry, Dad. I'll be fine after I get some rest."

Davis sighed and leaned over to give Dai a warm hug. "Will you please be careful from now on?" he murmured softly into the back of his son's head. "I don't want to lose you."

"You won't," Dai mumbled, turning slightly so that he could wrap his arms around his dad's neck.

"I love you," Davis whispered.

Dai smiled and closed his eyes. "I know."

"What about Noriko?" Ryoko asked, glancing at Sam.

Sam's face was very pale, and he kept staring at his father as if hoping that Ken would forget that he was there.

"I'll tell her that Dai's sick or something. She'll worry, but at least she won't be hovering over him like he's on his deathbed! That's the last thing he needs right now!"

"Thanks, Dad," Dai said softly.

Davis crossed his arms and gave his son a stern look. "I'll cover for you, this time, but don't get use to it. Next time you're on your own!"

Ryoko stared nervously at the ground as Davis suddenly turned to look at him.

"Um...Davis...listen..."

He broke off as Davis suddenly put a hand on his arm, and Dai's father smiled at him.

"Thank you for looking after Dai, especially considering how you feel about him."

"What?" Ryoko blurted, his whole face turning pink.

Davis raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Or at least how you pretend to feel!"

His mouth fell open, but Davis had already turned away from him to look at Sam and did not see his expression.

"You, too, Sam. Dai's lucky to have such great friends."

Sam shook his head and gave Davis a hug. "No, we're lucky to have Dai!"

"Will you stop embarrassing me?" Dai shouted, his face turning red.

The goggle headed leader's cheeks were bright pink, and Ryoko did not fail to notice the fact that Dai was avoiding his eyes.

I've never seen him look so uncertain before. Is it because of me?

"Alright, alright, I'll leave!" Davis laughed. "Come on, Ken. We'll bring you guys up some supper later on. I'm sure Noriko will understand. Besides, Dai could use some company."

"Bring me some food, too!" Dai mumbled, sounding half asleep.

"I will," Davis replied, looking amused. "And I'll be back to check on you every once in a while to make sure that you're okay."

Both Ken and Davis gave Dai a hug before they reluctantly left the room. It was obvious that they wanted to stay, but that would have made Yolei and Noriko suspicious.

"Don't forget to tell Ami to leave me alone!" Dai shouted after them.

Ken paused for a moment to stare at Sam before disappearing around the corner. Although Ken had not said anything, it was plainly obvious that he was not very happy with his son for lying to him.

Takara 'Kara' Kamiya

Odaiba, Japan, Earth

"I'm home!" Takara called out, bouncing into the living room and smiling at her parents.

Her mother was curled up in an armchair, and she was reading a book. Her father was seated on the couch, next to Taysuke, and they were watching television.

"Hi, Kara. Did you have a good time playing soccer?" her mother asked, giving her a warm smile in return.

"Yes," she replied, crossing the room and giving her mother a hug.

"We weren't sure what time you'd be home at so we went ahead and ate. There's some more in the fridge if you want to heat it up," her father added.

She nodded and let out a sigh. I hope Dai's doing alright.

"Is something wrong, Kara?" her mother asked, kissing her cheek.

"No," she mumbled, feeling guilty.

If you don't count the fact that I lied to you earlier about playing soccer!

"Are you sure?" her father asked, watching her closely.

She nodded and jumped when she realized that Taysuke was watching her.

"Um...I think I'll go eat some supper now," she said quickly, avoiding her brother's eyes.

She headed into the kitchen, and she was about to open the fridge when someone suddenly touched her arm. She let out a gasp and spun around to find her brother standing right behind her.

"Tay! You scared me!"

"Sorry," he replied, glancing towards the living room.

"What's wrong?" she asked, feeling suddenly nervous.

Taysuke motioned her towards the table, and she quickly sat down across from him.

"I wasn't going to tell you this, but I've been having second thoughts," her brother said softly.

"Tell me what?" she asked, feeling confused.

He looks so serious.

"Ema's determined to find out what you and the others are up to. That's why we were following you this afternoon. Ema thinks that Dai skipped his practice a few days ago, and she won't give up until she can prove it."

Takara stared at her brother in shock and felt her heart sink. She had known that Tay and his friends were following them, and she had known that Ema was suspicious of Dai. Unfortunately she had not realized just how determined the younger kids were to find out the truth.

"You weren't playing soccer today, were you?" Taysuke asked quietly. "And you weren't watching Dai's soccer practice when you showed up late for my game a few days ago."

"Tay, I-"

Her brother shook his head and smiled slightly. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but there is one thing that's bothering me, and all you have to do is answer yes or no."

She hesitated and finally nodded.

"You do have a good reason for skipping my game, right?" her brother asked, his voice trembling. "It's not because you don't want to watch me play anymore, is it?"

"No, of course not," she said softly, reaching across the table and giving him a warm hug. "I'm really sorry that Ryoko and I missed your game, but there was definitely a good reason for it."

"So you weren't at Dai's soccer practice," Taysuke said quietly.

She shook her head and sighed. "No. I was somewhere else."

"What were you doing?"

She smiled softly and sat down next to her brother. "The most important thing I've ever done."

Taysuke studied her for a moment, and she smiled at the look of concern in her brother's eyes.

"Be careful, okay?" Taysuke whispered.

"I will be," she said quietly.

Hopefully that will be one promise I won't have to break!

"Um...Kara? Don't tell Ema I said anything, otherwise she'll kill me!" Taysuke muttered.

"Don't worry, I won't!" she said with a laugh.

"Tay, you're going to miss the rest of the show!" their father called from the living room.

"Coming!" Taysuke called back.

Her brother turned to look at her, and he smiled. "Thanks for being honest."

"You're welcome," she whispered, watching her brother leave the room.

I just hope that I can keep being honest with him. At least I know what Ema's up to. Now I just hope that I can stop her from finding out about what's going on.