Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon.

A/N: Okay, well another chapter is here, and before I say anything else, I do want to inform you all that I don't have an idea of when the next chapter will be. As I mentioned on the FTFOD thread on my forum, lately I've been suffering from really bad panic and anxiety attacks, and it's been a difficult time for me. If you want to know the full story you can take a look at the forum. I'm doing what I can to solve the issue, but in the meantime I ask all of you for your patience. It's basically a day to day thing. When I feel good the updates will come, if not they'll be a little longer. I have not lost my passion or inspiration for writing, it just might take me a little longer to post. I hope you all enjoy the new chapter and send your prayers my way. Thank you to everyone for your support. I love you all and you've all been my inspiration to keep on going with this story. Enjoy and have fun reading! I will check the chapter again for missed mistakes.

Following the Footsteps of Destiny

Chapter 219: A Chat Between Cousins

Masato 'Matty' Takaishi

Server, Eastern Hemisphere, Digital World

Kneeling on the floor of the cabin, Matty frowned at the sleeping bag in his arms before rolling it out on the wooden planks next to the sleeping bag that belonged to Dai, his amber gaze drifting over to Takara, who was pulling all the curtains shut on the windows. She seemed a bit more quiet than usual, her mind on something other than the task of setting up their sleeping quarters, and considering the fact that she appeared to have lost some of her nerve ever since Dai had helped save her from that sinkhole earlier, he had a pretty good idea of what might be bothering her at the moment, even if it might not be the only thing on her mind, which he was sure it wasn't.

Yolei and Rosa had disappeared into the back rooms of the cabin, where the adults would be staying for the night, and because he, along with the rest of his friends, were sleeping in the front room, Matty had been given the task of putting out the sleeping bags they would be using for the night. Takara had been ordered to tidy up the front room to make it livable, and all of their digimon partners were helping out as well.

Though there was a bit of a kitchen in the cabin, which was sort of combined with the front room, none of the appliances seemed to be working, so it looked like Sam's group was going to have quite the job ahead of them. Matty just hoped it didn't start raining too badly to keep the fire going. Despite the fact that it was warm outside, Matty was in the mood for a hot supper, and having to eat cold food did not sound very appetizing to him, especially since he was both exhausted from all the walking and incredibly hungry.

I wonder if maybe I should talk to her...

Matty began to roll out Sam's sleeping bag next to his own, and glancing once again at the female Digidestined, who had her back to him, he couldn't help smiling in amusement. The mud still clinging to Takara's clothes had begun to dry, giving her a somewhat dirty and grimy appearance, and it was flaking off the bare skin on her arms and legs as she worked, leaving a trail of dirty dust in her wake. There was even mud drying onto the ends of her dark ponytail, though she didn't seem to notice.

Apparently she no longer cared about the mud covering her body, having become too lost within her own thoughts to notice the state of her appearance.

And everything else going on around her, too, by the looks of it.

"Hey, Kara?"

Takara jumped, her head whipping around to stare at him, a startled look on her face. "Oh, Matty! I'm sorry, did you say something?"

Matty watched Dovemon and Halomon, who were fluttering towards the back hallway with some spare blankets for Rosa and Yolei, for a moment before deciding to answer. "Why don't you come help me for a bit since it looks like you're almost done your job."

Takara hesitated before coming over to sit next to him, a slight smile on her face. "Considering the fact that Yolei and Rosa gave me a bigger job than the one they gave you, you should have been done a long time ago. What's the hold up?"

It was true. He hadn't been given a particularly difficult job, but because his brain kept constantly harassing him with thoughts and memories he didn't want to delve into, it had interrupted his task of setting out the sleeping bags more often than he would have liked to admit.

Stupid brain...

"Matty?" Takara questioned, raising her eyebrows.

Matty let out a deep sigh, and turning away from his cousin, he proceeded to dig through Mickey's personal belongings, the task of searching for his twin brother's rolled up sleeping bag giving him a chance to think about what he wanted to say.

"What's that?" Takara asked suddenly, pointing to Mickey's open backpack.

Matty glanced uninterestedly at his brother's backpack, his thoughts still focused on that dratted sleeping bag he couldn't seem to find. Where had it gone? Maybe it rolled under the sofa or one of the two arm chairs situated around a big fireplace located on the left-hand side of the room. That was always a possibility. "What's what?"

"This," Takara insisted, holding up something she had pulled out of Mickey's backpack, where it had been stashed between the older twin's school books.

Distracted, Matty frowned at the object in Takara's hands before finally realizing what it was. "Oh, that. It's Mickey's sketchbook. Or...I guess one of many, I should say."

Takara stared at him, an incredulous look on her face. "Seriously? I always knew he liked to doodle, but..."

Matty, having just spotted Mickey's sleeping bag where it lay squished underneath Dai's heavy backpack, barely heard his female friend's words. Instead of replying, he let out a cry of triumph and proceeded to roll out Mickey's sleeping bag next to Sam's.

Ha, take that stupid sleeping bag! I knew you couldn't hide from me forever!

Next to him, Takara suddenly let out a soft gasp of surprise, interrupting Matty's thoughts yet again, and turning to look at his cousin, he froze when he realized what Takara was staring at.

Mickey's sketchbook was lying open in the female Digidestined's lap, and she was staring at a drawing that even Matty had yet to see, though the drawing itself didn't surprise him. He had long been aware of Mickey's talent for drawing, even if the rest of their friends hadn't been quite as aware, which seemed to be the case judging by Takara's expression.

The drawing itself was a picture of Angelicmon and Gabrielmon, and standing with the two angels, Matty recognized the image of himself and his brother. Not only was the drawing both detailed and accurate, but it was so lifelike the figures in the drawing seemed almost to be alive themselves. Looking at the drawing of himself, Matty could see his own soul glimmering from the depths of his penciled on eyes, as if Mickey had captured not only his physical image perfectly, but also his heart and everything that existed beneath the surface of his physical form.

Mickey...

Unaware of the internal battle taking place within Matty, Takara turned the page, and a second gasp escaped her lips at the new image displayed before her eyes.

It was a drawing of all six of them with their rookie digimon partners, and Takara seemed unable to stop staring at the image of herself. Mickey had captured Takara's smile and her beauty with amazing accuracy. In the drawing she sat next to Dai, and even though it was only a drawing, somehow Mickey had managed to capture the chemistry between them, powerful yet subtle at the same time.

"Did...you know?" Takara whispered, turning to look at him, the sketchbook lying forgotten in her lap.

"About Mickey's talent for drawing? Of course I knew. I've known ever since he drew his first picture. I haven't seen any of his recent ones lately, what with us spending so much time in the Digital World, but usually he shows them to me when he finishes a new one."

"Oh. Why...why did he never..."

Matty smiled at his female cousin, his arm going around her shoulders in a quick hug. "You know Mickey. He's really self-conscious about his talent for drawing. Other than myself, I don't think anyone knows just how good he is, not even Rina and our parents. He doesn't think he's that good, despite the fact that I keep telling him he is."

"But..."

"He's probably afraid everyone will laugh at him."

"But...we would never laugh at him!"

"I know that and you know that, and even Mickey knows that deep down inside, but that doesn't make it any easier. Don't take it the wrong way, Kara. I know he'll show you guys and the rest of our families when he's ready to."

"What a goofball. Well, he better not wait too long," Takara grumbled, cheerfully ignoring Mickey's right for some privacy as she flipped through the rest of the sketchbook. "I wonder when he had the time to do all these ones with our digimon in them."

"Probably during class or at lunch when you guys thought he was doing homework or something. He usually finishes his work early in class so it's not like he doesn't have plenty of time to draw."

"True enough."

With a sigh, Takara shoved Mickey's sketchbook back into his backpack, and digging through their pile of personal belongings, she pulled out her own sleeping bag and proceeded to roll it out on the floor next to Mickey's in the spot Matty indicated. Staring at the spot, her eyebrows rose in surprise and she gave him a suspicious look. "Did you purposely put me next to Mickey?"

"Guilty. Since Mickey's your cousin and pretty much the perfect gentleman, I figured you'd be safest next to either him or myself. Wouldn't want someone like Dai to frisk you in your sleep or something."

"Matty!" Takara squealed, her cheeks turning a brilliant shade of red.

Matty let out a yelp as Takara launched herself at him, and she proceeded to punch every organ in his chest and belly that she could reach. Her reaction was priceless, and his protests quickly turned into laughter at the embarrassed look on her face.

"Hey, it's not like I think Dai, Ryoko, or Sam would really do something like that, but it's the principle of the thing, right?"

"Jerk," Takara grumbled, slumping against him. "I hate you Masato Takaishi."

"No, you don't. You love me and since both Taysuke and Ryoko aren't here, someone's got to act like the overprotective brother."

Takara laughed at that, and pulling back slightly, her forehead suddenly wrinkled into a frown.

"Hey, what's wrong, Kara?"

"Nothing. It's just...I guess you guys have all figured it out then, huh..."

"You mean about Dai? Well, it is kind of obvious. Everyone knows. Well, everyoe except Dai that is."

"Figures," Takara groaned, putting her face in her hands.

Matty felt a spark of sympathy for his cousin, and reaching out he pulled her into a comforting hug, ignoring the dried mud flaking off onto his clothes. "Hey, come on, it's not the end of the world. You know what Dai's like. He's a smart guy, but sometimes he can be a little on the clueless side, especially when it comes to girls."

"You think so?" Takara asked, lifting her head to give him a hopeful look.

Matty shrugged his shoulders, feeling a little bit embarrassed. "Well, I'm not exactly an expert on girls either, so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about, but I'm pretty sure Dai will come around eventually. It might take him a little longer to figure it out compared to someone like Ryoko, but in the end he'll get there."

"Maybe."

Matty could tell his female cousin was still a bit skeptical, but since Dai had yet to show Kara what Matty could tell were growing feelings for the female Digidestined, he couldn't really blame her.

"Listen, Kara...I'm not really good at this kind of thing. Maybe you should talk to Mickey or Ryoko..."

"Is that honestly what you think?"

Matty frowned at his cousin, unsure of what she was trying to say. "Well..."

"I don't think you give yourself enough credit sometimes. I think you give great advice. I know I feel a lot better now, thanks to you."

For a moment, Matty didn't know what to say, but then he smiled, feeling suddenly warm and happy inside. "Thanks, Kara."

"Matty, do you...really think that Dai might like me?"

Matty thought back to the earlier incident with the sinkhole, and he found himself nodding his head in answer to Takara's question. There had definitely been more going on there than just Dai's embarrassment at being tackled and kissed by a girl. The fear in his eyes for Takara's safety, the emotion when she had thrown her arms around him, holding him tightly against her body in a fierce hug. That wasn't something anyone could fake, and because of that Matty was pretty sure Dai felt the same way Takara did, even if he hadn't admitted it to himself yet.

"Matty?" Takara repeated, an anxious look on her face.

"Do I think Dai likes you? Of course, but it doesn't mean anything if you don't believe it."

Takara was silent for a moment, and Matty frowned, sure that Dai wasn't the only thing on his female cousin's mind lately. "Hey, what else is bugging you?"

"Huh?" Takara stared at him in surprise, slightly taken aback by his words. "How did you..."

"Come on, you're my cousin and my friend. I've known you since we were born. Do you really think I can't tell when something's bugging you?"

"Well...it's just, with everything that's going on with Sam, and then there's you and Mickey, and also Dai and Ryoko, I feel like...maybe sometimes I don't always give out the best advice."

Matty was shocked, to say the least. "What do you mean by that?"

"With all these problems going on...I don't know, I just...I feel like I've failed you guys somehow. Like...maybe if I'd given you all better advice or been there to help you more..."

"Kara...Hey, none of this is your fault."

"I know that, but...I feel like I could have done more, you know? Mickey and I are the ones you guys usually come to for advice, and I feel like I've been leaving all the work to Mickey instead of helping as much as I can. And now look what's happened to Mickey...I feel like it's partly my fault..."

Scratch that, Matty wasn't just shocked. He was baffled beyond belief. Never had he ever pictured Takara to be the self-conscious type, and yet here she was, full of guilt and self doubt.

"It's not your fault. That's not true at all. Mickey and I...we're doing it to ourselves. It's not because of you."

"But...Dai and Ryoko, I know there's more I can do to help them, and even you and Dai. I just feel like I'm not trying hard enough. With Sam, too. I care about all of you guys, and I don't want anything bad to happen to any of you, especially if it's something I can help prevent. If I'm going to be honest, I guess I feel pretty useless at the moment."

"Just like me..."

Matty hated seeing his cousin so upset, and tugging on her ponytail, he gave her a warm smile. "You and Mickey have always been there to comfort me. I think maybe it's time I returned the favour."

"Huh?" Takara looked at him curiously, her head tilting to the side.

"Kara, you and Mickey both understand other people's feelings in a way I never can, and you always know what to do. You always have the answers, even if you might not realize it yourself. That kind of combination...being brave and using that courage to look deeply into other people's hearts...that's a pretty rare gift. You see things that even Ryoko can't always see, despite how perceptive he is. You can see what exists beneath the surface, but unlike Mickey, you always seem to know what to do about it. There's no hesitation or second guessing with you."

Instead of responding, Takara simply stared at him, and he felt his cheeks turn a deep shade of red. "What?"

"Nothing."

"O-okay, if you say so. Anyways, you can do what most of us can't do. We're always trying to look at things in terms of black and white, but you're always focusing on the shades of gray and what lies between what's actually on the surface. You always look at everything in terms of the heart, and if you ask me, I think that's pretty smart, even if you don't feel that way."

"And you said you weren't good at this kind of thing," Takara snorted, blushing at his praise.

"Huh?"

"Matty, listen to yourself."

Matty thought back to all of what he had said, and the blush on his face deepened by several shades. "Oh, um...well..."

"Not too bad, I would say," Takara said softly, giving him a warm smile.

Matty shrugged, his own face once again flushing in response to Takara's compliment. "Well, it's easier when I'm not thinking so much about what I'm saying."

"Maybe you should use that tactic on your brother then."

"Huh?"

Takara slowly stood up, and backing towards the hallway where they could hear Yolei and Rosa chatting with the digimon, she smiled at him and said quietly before disappearing around the corner, "Don't think about it, just act. Forget what your brain says. Just go with what you feel in your heart, and you'll find your answers."

And with that she left the room, leaving Matty staring after her in thoughtful silence.