Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
A/N: Another chapter done, and I'm dedicating this one to all the Daikara fans out there! There'll be more to come, trust me. Anyways, the poll for the FTFOD contest is going to open soon, so please make sure you place your vote for the story you feel best represents not only the FTFOD characters, but the original characters, as well. Remember, the winner will get to place a character of their own creation into FTFOD. It'll only take you about two seconds to vote, so please make sure you do. The authors have taken a lot of time and effort to write their entries and they deserve some recognition. Visit my forum for details. As usual, enjoy!
Following the Footsteps of Destiny
Chapter 135: Lighting the Way
Daichi 'Dai' Motomiya
File Island, Eastern Hemisphere, Digital World
"Come on, Dai, why can't we just fly to the top of Infinity Mountain on my back?" Embermon complained, his forked tail twitching irritably in the air behind him. "I don't mind digivolving into Dragermon and carrying everyone directly to the Spirit Chip. If we walk, I doubt we'll reach our destination by the time the sun sets and I don't know about you, but I don't want to be climbing Infinity Mountain in the dark. Isn't that what you and your friends were trying to avoid when you made us leave Gennai and the others behind so abruptly?"
Daichi Motomiya frowned down at his partner and crossed his arms over his chest. Embermon's scarlet skin was shining brightly in the sunshine and his green eyes were sparkling like jewels beneath his pointed ears. At the moment, the little lizard digimon didn't look too pleased about being unable to digivolve and clearly he didn't like missing out on a chance to stretch the wings he lacked as a rookie, but unfortunately there was nothing Dai could do about his partner's obvious disappointment. At least, not until they got a little bit closer to Infinity Mountain. "Embermon, how many times do I have to tell you? No offence, buddy, but when you become Dragermon, you stick out like a sore thumb, and we can't afford to have Vampiramon coming after us until we've gotten our hands on the Spirit Chip."
"Dai's right," Takara said sympathetically, bending over and gently scratching Embermon between the ears, "you're too easy to spot from the air. It was one thing when we were trying to escape from DarkAngelicmon's castle; at that point we were too busy running for our lives to worry about being seen, but it's another thing when you're purposely trying to be inconspicuous. If Vampiramon or one of her evil digimon allies spotted you, they would know instantly what we were up to."
And then we would be lucky to come anywhere near the Spirit Chip, much less get our hands on it. Either that or Vampiramon will just wait until we have the Spirit Chips in our grasp and then force us to hand them over to her.
"It's still not fair," Embermon grumbled, wrinkling his pointy nose and glaring stubbornly at his clawed feet.
Dai stifled a sigh, and crouching next to his partner, he gave the little rookie a quick, reassuring hug. "Look, maybe we can risk it once we get a little closer to Infinity Mountain, but right now I think it's best if we avoid any unwanted attention as much as possible."
"Dai's right. There's no use announcing our presence in the Digital World until we absolutely have to," Tai said firmly, Agumon nodding vigorously in agreement.
Matt snorted loudly and raised his eyebrows. "Tai, did I just hear you say something sensible? Since when have you ever given up a chance to be reckless? I guess times really have changed since the days when you and I were trying to stop evil digimon from taking over the Digital World."
Tai shrugged his shoulders and grinned at the golden-haired Digidestined. "Maybe you're rubbing off on me."
This time it was Ryoko's turn to snort and roll his eyes.
"Cheer up, Embermon. You've helped us out a lot of times in the past, and I'm sure you will again if Vampiramon gets her way," Dovemon said encouragingly, hovering anxiously over the scarlet rookie's head. "In fact, you'll probably be helping us out sooner than you think, if Vampiramon's previous attempts to destroy us are anything to go by."
"You're not still upset about being unable to help us fight in the castle, are you?" Takara asked, gazing curiously at Embermon.
The little rookie allowed Takara to give him a warm hug and let his large, emerald eyes flutter closed. "I don't like having to stand by and watch when my friends are in trouble."
"Oh, Embermon, you're just like your partner."
Dai blushed and quickly turned away from Takara and Embermon to hide his embarrassment and his dark eyes came to rest on the forest off to his left. For a moment, he thought he saw a shadow past through the undergrowth beneath a dense canopy of leaves hanging from the branches of several large trees, but when he jerked around in order to get a better look at what he was seeing, there was nothing there.
"Dai, is something wrong?"
Dai jumped at the sound of Takara's voice and quickly turned to look at the female Digidestined. "Huh? No, not really. I just...I thought I saw...don't worry about it. It was probably just my imagination."
"You thought you saw something in the forest? Well, that's better than hearing voices. At least, to me it doesn't sound half as crazy."
"What?" Dai nearly dropped his D-Coder, which he had not realized he had been holding, in surprise and felt his heart leap into his throat. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure the others were still going over their options with regards to climbing Infinity Mountain, he crouched next to Takara and placed his hand on her shoulder. Frowning slightly, he leaned towards the female Digidestined and placed his lips close to her ear. "Did you just say you've been hearing voices?"
Takara's cheeks turned red and she quickly lowered her hazel eyes to the ground. "Dai, I..."
"What is it?"
"Well, you see..."
Could it be? Did she hear the same voice I heard when we were waiting at the gate for Whamon to arrive, or did she somehow find out about the strange voice I heard inside my head?
Dai studied Takara's face for a moment and raised his eyebrows. For some reason the female Digidestined seemed unable to look at him and she kept glancing at the hand he had placed on her shoulder, as if she couldn't quite believe it was really there. "Come on, Kara, since when have you ever been afraid to tell me what's on your mind?"
The blush on Takara's cheeks began to spread to the rest of her face and she quickly looked away from him. "If I tell you something, will you promise not to laugh at me?"
Dai gently slipped his arms around his female friend and rested his cheek against the top of her head. "I would never laugh at you."
Takara snuggled against his chest, and before he could fully grasp what was happening, she had hidden her face against the side of his neck. He could feel her warm breath caressing his skin, and a shiver raced down his spine. The warmth of her hands resting between his shoulder blades was a bit distracting, but the sensation was more pleasant than it was annoying, and for the first time in his life, he was fully aware of the sound of his own heart beating almost painfully in his ears.
"Do you remember when we were trying to escape from DarkAngelicmon's castle?"
Dai was so busy admiring the female Digidestined's shiny brown hair that it was almost a full minute before he suddenly realized she was speaking to him. "Huh? Oh, yeah, of course I remember. What about it?"
I can feel her heart beating. Why...why is it beating so fast?
"Well, just after I managed to escape through the East Tower door, I...I thought I heard a voice speaking to me. It told me to...to hold onto my dreams...and my friends."
Dai froze and pulled back slightly so he could look into his female friend's hazel eyes. "Are you serious?"
I don't believe this...
Takara shrugged and tugged nervously on her ponytail. "Look...I know it sounds crazy, but-"
"I believe you. You know I do. I'm sorry if I sounded a bit skeptical, but I never expected you to...I mean..."
"Dai, what is it? What's wrong?" Takara asked hesitantly, gazing anxiously at him from beneath her eyelashes.
Dai slowly slid his arms back around his female friend's slim waist and felt her lean comfortably against his chest. Tai and the other Digidestined were still huddled in a circle, their hands waving every so often in the direction of Infinity Mountain, and Ryoko appeared to be having an argument with Izzy. As a result, no one seemed to have noticed there were several members of the group who had failed to join in on the conversation.
"Listen, Kara, you're not the only one who heard a voice yesterday. When we were waiting by the gate on Cyber for Whamon to show up, I thought I head a voice speaking to me on the wind. It seemed familiar somehow, and yet I know I've never heard that voice before. It told me to hold onto my friends, which is pretty much the same thing you heard when you were standing outside DarkAngelicmon's castle. Do you think the voice I heard and the voice you heard could have been the same voice? I mean, was it the same person speaking to both of us?"
Takara shifted slightly in his arms and cuddled her cheek against his shoulder. "What did the voice you heard sound like?"
Dai wrinkled his nose, trying to remember, and frowned thoughtfully at the D-Coder he held in his right hand. He didn't remember pulling it out of his pocket, but he must have sometime after coming to the Digital World, since he had almost dropped it a couple of minutes ago. Shrugging slightly, he held his female friend a little closer, and his D-Coder came to rest gently against her back. "It was definitely a man's voice, and to me it sounded kind of...sad. It was also pretty deep."
"Well, from your description, it sounds like we heard the same voice, but...who do you think it could have been? Now that you mention it, it did sound kind of familiar, but it can't be someone we know. I mean, no one we know has a voice like that, and none of the people we met yesterday, like Gennai's counterparts or any of the digimon guarding the castle, had a voice like that."
"Good point. I hate to admit it, but I don't have a clue who would have wanted to waste their time talking to us. Do you think Ryoko and the others might have heard something?"
Takara frowned and shook her head. "I don't think so. None of them seem to be hiding anything. Well, not anything new. Just the same stuff they've been hiding since long before yesterday ever happened."
"What about Ryoko? He's been acting really funny today."
"If he has been hearing voices then his behaviour today would make at least a little bit of sense, but I don't think that's what's bothering him," Takara said softly, her expression growing cloudy. "Remember, Dai, Ryoko didn't start behaving oddly until today. If he had heard a voice like the two of us, I think he would have starting acting weird around the time we escaped from DarkAngelicmon's castle yesterday evening."
"Unless he only started hearing voices today, but I guess that's pretty far-fetched. What do you think is wrong with him?"
Takara sighed and tightened her arms around his neck. "I don't know, Dai. I just don't know."
If Ryoko's not hearing voices then what could possibly be bothering him? He wanted to tell me something about Sam's father, but why would anything having to do with Ken upset him so much? Kara's right. Ryoko can't be hearing voices. That wouldn't make sense with what he tried to tell me earlier.
"Maybe he's just having a bad day," Dovemon suggested, nudging Kara gently in the back with her beak.
"If you guys want, I could singe his shoes for you and see if that snaps him out of his nasty mood," Embermon suggested.
Dai rolled his eyes and smiled in amusement. Embermon looked just a little too delighted at the thought of Ryoko hopping up and down with his shoes on fire, and Dai could tell the little rookie was eager to test a theory that more than likely would have amusing, yet disastrous, results.
Not that I blame him. Ryoko has got to be the most frustrating person on the planet. I'm willing to try anything if it'll get him to open up to me, especially if it'll start making him treat me like a real friend.
"Oh, Embermon," Dovemon scolded, shaking her head and pecking the scarlet rookie lightly on the nose.
"Hey, Dai?" Takara asked. "Why didn't you tell the others about the voice you heard?"
"Why didn't you?"
Takara blushed and let out a small sigh. "I wanted to, but...I kept making excuses for myself because...well...I guess I was afraid they weren't going to believe me. I mean, hearing voices isn't exactly normal. I didn't want everyone to start thinking I was going crazy or something."
"Same here. You know what Ryoko's like. How much do you want to bet he would have accused me of lying?"
"Well, I don't know about lying, but you do have a tendency to get just a little bit overly dramatic when something interesting or unusual happens to you, especially if it makes a good story," Takara giggled into his shoulder.
"Hey, I get enough of that from Matty and Ryoko. Don't tell me I'm going to have to put up with it from you, too!"
"I'm sorry, Dai, but look on the bright side. You definitely know how to capture everyone's attention!"
Dai rolled his eyes and let his fingers slide through his female friend's dark ponytail. The two of them had been good friends ever since they were babies, and yet, only now, after thirteen years, did he suddenly realize just how perfectly she seemed to fit in his arms. It was almost as if they were made for each other.
"Dai, do you think maybe we should tell the others?" Takara whispered, turning slightly to watch his fingers brush gently through her ponytail. She looked a little flustered, but instead of pulling away, she merely smiled and let her eyes flutter closed again. "Now that I know I'm not the only one hearing voices, I don't feel so nervous about what my parents and our friends might think. What we heard was real, and that scares me a lot, but it also forces me to confront my fears and do what I know is right. We don't have a choice anymore. Besides, they'll have to believe us. There's no way we could have imagined the same thing."
"You're right. It's not like they can accuse us of being crazy, since like you said, we both heard pretty much the same thing. Well, unless they just assume we've both lost our minds. I don't know, Kara. I think maybe we should still keep what we heard a secret for now, at least until we find out a little bit more about what it might mean. Right now, we definitely have more important things to worry about. I don't want to cause the rest of our friends even more problems than the ones they have to deal with already. Besides, I think we should tell all of the Digidestined about that voice we heard, not just a few of them, and that means we'll have to keep our secret anyways, at least until we can get everyone all together."
Takara slowly opened her eyes and gave him a weak smile. "I hate keeping secrets from our friends, but...I guess we don't really have a choice. They've all been under a lot of stress lately, and I really don't want to make them feel even worse."
"We'll go along with whatever you two want to do," Embermon said firmly, leaping into Kara's lap and wrapping his forked tail lightly around her wrist. It was a surprisingly affectionate, almost protective, gesture and it made Dai's face feel like it was on fire. He wasn't really sure how he felt about Takara, but for some reason she kept drifting into his thoughts a lot more often than usual.
It's like I can't get her out of my mind. She's really pretty, but that's not why I like her so much. The best thing about her is the fact that she's really nice, and she's also really fun to hang around with. This must be how Ryoko feels when he spends time with Kara, or is it the other way around? Does Kara have feelings for Ryoko? They are really close...
Dai felt a sudden stabbing pain in his heart and he hid his face against Takara's shiny, brown hair to stop himself from letting out a loud gasp. Earlier, he had started to suspect that Ryoko may in fact not be guilty of having feelings for Kara, and instead of having a crush on her, he merely cared for her as he would a sister, but what about Kara? Just because there was a chance Ryoko didn't intend to cross the boundaries of friendship, that didn't mean Takara felt the same way.
Why wouldn't she like Ryoko? He's handsome, blond, charming, at least when he wants to be, and pretty much everything else I'm not. Most girls would probably choose him over me...
He was neither angry at Ryoko for the possibly of capturing Takara's heart nor jealous of the blond's seemingly effortless friendship with the female Digidestined, but he knew if they ever got together it would hurt a lot. He would still support them, of course, but that wouldn't stop the thousands of needles he knew would be piercing his heart every time he saw them together.
Why does the thought of Kara being with someone else bother me so much? It couldn't be...well...maybe I do like her a little bit...
"Dai, why do you have such a funny look on your face? You're not getting sick or something, are you?" Takara asked, tilting her head towards him and studying his face.
Encouraged by Embermon's earlier actions, Dai felt a sudden desire to do something bold, and before he could stop himself, he leaned into Takara's embrace and gently pressed his lips against her smooth cheek. It was a quick kiss, and it was over before he could even fully grasp what he had done, but the same could not be said for Takara. Her hand flew to her cheek as soon as he pulled away, and she stared at him in shocked silence. He couldn't blame her. Not once in all the years of their friendship had he ever tried to make a move on her before, so her astonishment at what he had done was entirely understandable. He wouldn't have been surprised if she had slapped him, but instead she turned a brilliant shade of pink and gazed uncertainly at her hands. Dai did not know how it was possible, but somehow she looked even prettier when she blushed.
She doesn't look angry. Does that mean she might like me after all?
Grinning at his small amount of success, he leaned his forehead against Takara's forehead and gazed directly into her eyes. "Don't worry, Kara, somehow we'll manage to make things work. We always do. It's not like we're never going to tell the others about the voice we heard."
Takara beamed at him, her face inches away from his own, and shyly brushed her fingers against his cheek. "I know. You're a great guy, Dai. How can I not trust you?"
"I'm not as great as you are."
"A lot of people think you're great, like...like Ayako, or Yukari, and what about Megumi?"
For a moment Dai had no clue what Takara was talking about, but then he suddenly realized the three girls she had mentioned were actually students from their class at school. Ayako Kobayashi was a raven-haired girl who always said hello to him in class and when they passed each other in the hallways, and Yukari Kamata was a green-eyed, sandy-haired girl who was always sitting in the stands during his soccer games. The last girl Takara had mentioned was Megumi Takayama, a girl with long, blond hair and grey eyes the colour of silver, who was always smiling and fluttering her eyelashes at him in class. Feeling confused, Dai scratched his head and gazed curiously at his female friend. "Megumi? What about her?"
"Are you two coming or are you just going to sit there staring at each other all day? The Spirit Chips won't find themselves, you know."
Dai jerked his head up at the sound of Ryoko's voice and he felt his face heat up when he realized everyone was staring at both him and Takara. Somewhere along the line, the group must have finally come to a decision about the best way to climb Infinity Mountain, but unfortunately he hadn't caught on quite soon enough to place a respectable distance between himself and his female friend before the others could start getting ideas. He wouldn't have minded so much if Takara's parents had remained in the human world, but that was not the case, and as much as he hoped Tai and Sora hadn't noticed anything, it was obvious they had. Tai was gazing curiously at him, a slight frown on the former leader's face, but it was Sora's expression that had captured his attention. Takara's mother was watching him with a gentle smile on her face, and there was a look of understanding in her ruby red eyes.
She doesn't seem angry or upset, but...what about Tai?
Dai turned slowly to look at Takara and frowned when he realized she had somehow managed to pull herself out of his arms without him noticing. As much as he hated to admit it, her sudden desire to put some space between them made him feel a little bit downhearted, but the female Digidestined didn't seem to notice. At the moment, she was gazing nervously at her parents, and her cheeks were once again beginning to turn a rosy shade of pink. Surprisingly enough, both Tai and Sora chose not to comment on the fairly intimate scene they had just witnessed. Instead, they merely studied their daughter's face for a moment before turning back to Izzy.
"Oh, are we going now?" Dovemon asked cheerfully, fluttering around Takara's head in a lazy circle and beaming at Ryoko.
"Does this mean we do get to fly to the top of Infinity Mountain?" Embermon asked hopefully.
Dai let out a sigh and shook his head in amusement. As expected, the two digimon were being their usual clueless selves, since neither one of them appeared to have noticed the sudden tension or the electricity crackling between their partners, but unfortunately the same could not be said for Ryoko and the other Digidestined. Dai could feel Ryoko's eyes on him, but he did not dare look at the golden-haired Digidestined for fear of what he might see.
"I think I'm going to have to agree with Daichi and Tai," Izzy interrupted, acting just as clueless as Embermon and Dovemon. "We don't want to be seen trying to make our way to the top of Infinity Mountain. We might be able to risk it once we get a bit closer and the D-Coders start to react, but for now it's best if we walk."
"Forget the Spirit Chips. I think Dai has other things on his mind at the moment!" Matty smirked.
"I'll say," Ryoko snorted.
"Guys!" Takara squealed, glaring at the two cousins and burying her face in her hands.
Dai slowly turned to look at Ryoko and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not through with you yet, Ishida. We'll finish our talk later whether you want to or not!"
"What talk?" Ryoko snapped, his face turning a ghostly shade of white.
"You know which one I mean, and next time I'll make sure there's no Mrs. Hanari hanging around to get you off the hook again."
Without waiting for a reply, Dai turned his back on Ryoko and quickly made his way towards the front of the group. They had only been walking for a few moments when the goggle-headed leader suddenly realized he was being watched. Tilting his head slightly to the side, he was surprised to find himself strolling down the worn path next to Matt, and the look on the golden-haired Digidestined's face made him blush. Matt's sapphire eyes were watching him closely, and for some reason he felt suddenly vulnerable in the former musician's presence. "What?"
Matt raised his eyebrows and his lips twitched into a small smile. "You know, last time I checked, I'm sure Mimi and I gave our son a first name when he was born. Would it kill you to use it?"
"Forget it, Matt! I'm not calling him Ryoko until he stops calling me Daichi!"
"Wait a minute, did I miss something here? Your name is Daichi, isn't it?" the former musician said dryly, clearly amused.
Dai ducked his head, feeling extremely embarrassed, and determined not to look at the golden-haired Digidestined, he glared furiously at the forest. "He...he's supposed to call me Dai."
Great, now I sound like a complete idiot! This is all Ryoko's fault! Why do I let him get to me all the time?
After a long moment of silence, Dai felt Matt's hand on his shoulder, and lifting his head, he found himself gazing into the golden-haired Digidestined's bright blue eyes. Matt's expression was hard to read, but the sympathy in his gaze was something that could not be suppressed and it created a lump in Dai's throat. "If it means that much to you, why don't you just ask him to use your nickname, or better yet, give him a reason to call you Dai."
"You're kidding, right? No offence, Matt, but just so you know, your son is evil."
Matt stared at him and promptly burst into a fit of laugher. "Evil? Dai, if you only knew..."
Dai crossed his arms and frowned suspiciously at the former musician. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing, only...I wish Tai could have heard you say that."
"Why?"
"Evil is a bit harsh, don't you think? Listen, Dai, I won't deny my son has his moments, but if you keep trying to get through to him, I think you'll find he's full of surprises."
Dai glanced anxiously over his shoulder and spotted Ryoko deep in conversation with Mickey. The two cousins were so absorbed in their conversation, it was obvious neither one of them had heard Matt's laughter or noticed anything out of the ordinary. The same was true for Matty and Sam, who were whispering softly to each other behind Ryoko and Mickey, and even Embermon was too busy chatting with Gabumon, Agumon, and Dovemon, to pay much attention to what his partner was doing. In other words, the situation couldn't have worked out better if Dai had planned it himself. In his opinion, it was a perfect opportunity to ask Matt something he'd been dying to know for quite some time now.
Not that I expect Matt to give me an answer, but it's worth a shot.
Taking a deep breath, Dai turned his back on Ryoko and gazed directly into the former musician's sapphire eyes. "You know, don't you. My act isn't fooling you at all."
"Act? What act?"
"You know how I really feel about Ryoko. I know you do."
Matt smiled slightly, and lifting the Crest of Friendship over his head, he held it out in the palm of his hand. "Of course I do. How could I not know? I once felt the same way, or have you forgotten already? You think you know what's going on in Ryoko's head, but you don't. At least, not yet. I once made the same mistake with Tai and look what nearly happened to us. If there's one piece of advice I can give you, it's don't make the same mistake I made."
Dai smiled at the golden-haired Digidestined and placed his hand on the smooth surface of the Crest of Friendship. To his astonishment, it suddenly started to glow a pale blue and he jumped back in surprise.
"Dai, look!" Takara suddenly squealed, pointing at his back pocket where he had stored his Digivice. "Your D-Coder. It's starting to glow!"
"So is Ryoko's!" Matty announced, grabbing his cousin's arm and holding it up so everyone could see the glowing, blue D-Coder in Ryoko's hand.
Matt jerked around to stare at his son, but it was Takara's father who had captured Dai's attention. Tai was holding the Crest of Courage in his hand, and it too was glowing faintly in the afternoon sunshine.
"You guys know what this means, don't you?" Sora asked, reaching out to run her fingers over Tai's crest.
"That Spirit Chip belongs to either Dai or Ryoko," Sam whispered.
"And since both Matt's and Tai's crests are reacting, it must be the Spirit Chip of Bravery," Mina said quietly.
Dai turned slowly to look at Ryoko and blushed when he realized the blond was staring back at him. He wasn't exactly sure how it had happened, but somehow Ryoko had managed to step in front of him without him noticing any signs of movement, and he jumped when he suddenly realized the golden-haired Digidestined was standing less than a foot away from him. Feeling self-conscious, he quickly snatched his hand away from the Crest of Friendship and gazed uncertainly at his feet. Bravery. Does that mean Takara was right about me, or...does it really belong to Ryoko?