A/N Once again, I own nothing.
Out of nowhere, Zhao sensei's firm hand shot for his forehead and a sharp pain exploded in front of his eyes. Takuya lost his footing and fell backwards, his bum hitting concrete. Okay, maybe it wasn't out of nowhere, because he's-
"-Otherwise occupied, Takuya. Your low skill level aside, how do you expect to defeat your opponent if your mind is elsewhere? Because I assure you, his will not be." The older man scolded, his stern face unchanging and betraying nothing.
"Apologies, sensei. I was just thinking about what happened yesterday. But never mind that."
"Do tell."
"Nah… I think sensei's time will be better spent-"
"If it's something that has to do with your group, then I want to know. Remember why we're doing this- to preserve however many human lives we can at the hands of those creatures." Sensei's voice was firm.
"Right." Takuya conceded, remembering the time when he'd first met sensei.
It was less than a week ago when the first digimon had attacked him. It had been a mere child level digimon, but even then Takuya knew he was no match for it. He slumped against the wall after taking a brutal beating, teeth clenched, mourning the power he had possessed and ineffectually furious that now he couldn't even take on a small fry. As he prepared himself to be finished off, this man came along and to Takuya's immense surprise, managed to hold off said digimon. Get up, he had said, walking slowly but confidently up to Takuya. Unless you'd rather roll over and die like a victim. Easy for you to say, old man. Takuya thought cynically, his body heavy like lead. His whole world was pain. There was not one nerve that was not screaming in agony. Outwardly, however, he did not respond. He was dimly aware of that man looming over him like a grim reaper, his face stoic and hard. Fire seemed to consume him, licking his every limb. Takuya didn't know what happened afterwards or what the man was supposed to have said, because what came out of his mouth next just couldn't be human. It just couldn't. Nobody should be able to say this save for one being who most definitely wasn't human.
Kanbara Takuya. In all your life I haven't known you to be this pitiful. Have you forgotten me? Have you forgotten who you are? After all we've been through, you would let the spirit of fire die within you?
How much time had passed after that, Takuya couldn't tell because the next thing he knew the digimon was on the verge of defeating the old man. He struggled to his feet. Fight! The man shouted hoarsely. Unless you want both of us to die! The digimon's paw hit him with sickening force on the back. Miraculously, he had not fallen. Narrowly dodging the next blow that came his way, he regained his solid footwork and launched another furious kick at his opponent, who yelped in pain. Fight! He urged again. Fight with the fire in you! And if you have none, at least act like you do! At this point Takuya wasn't sure whether the man was saying those things, or something else entirely. FIGHT! Alright, old man. Takuya thought. Just shut up already. He stepped onto the burning debris and the flame immediately lit up his whole frame. Because we're not going down today! An animalistic voice, coupled with his own, roared, and he drew back his fist. Then Takuya shot forward, fire in his limbs, fire in his fists, fire in his soul. BURNING SALAMANDER! It was that day Zhao sensei agreed to train him.
…
"Did he have a name?" Zhao sensei asked almost knowingly after Takuya had finished his story.
"Yeah. His name was Lee Jenrya."
"Then I think you can trust this boy."
"Huh? Do you know him, sensei?"
"I suspected, from your description of him. The short answer is, yes, I've trained him for many years. He is a fine young man, that one, and one of the finest fighters in his age group. He is beyond even my competence as an instructor now, so he's training with one of the grandmasters. You may know him as the boy who helped defeat the D-Reaper."
So that's why he found it so easy to trust Jenrya. In retrospect, it was easy to spot the parallels between Zhao sensei and Lee-kun: the same knowing eyes and inhumanly calm demeanor that betrayed a sort of agelessness. Damn! Takuya suddenly felt cowed.
"Heh. Maybe he'd like to lead the group instead! With a resume like that…" Then something within him bristled. Have you forgotten who you are? Takuya flinched. If Zhao sensei had noticed, he didn't show it.
"Takuya, you are who you are. He is who he is. As fine a leader he might have made, you founded the group. He might have the calm wisdom, but your spirit lights up everyone who comes into contact with you. You are different, but equal, and you helped save each and every one of them. There is no one they'd rather call their leader, and rightly so. This doubt is gnawing away at you like a cancer. Why?"
"Lately they've been… unhappy with my leadership. They can't understand why I don't have a D-Ark like them and I really don't know what to do." Sighing, Takuya confessed. "What do you think, sensei?"
"The truth. That's no less than they deserve. And if they oust you because of that, perhaps they don't deserve your leadership."
"Oh…" As straight forward as that sounded, Takuya really didn't want to be ousted.
"In other words," sensei pressed on, "if you deserve your position, then there will be members within the group who would stand behind you. Take the rest of the day off, Takuya. Think about what you're going to do."
"Arigato, sensei." Takuya stood up to leave.
"And before you leave!" Startled, Takuya looked back. "Think on my words, but do not take them as law! Your decisions must be your own. As to the consequences, you will not know until it's too late so it's fruitless to meditate on that. Remember that though you must listen to those around you, once your decision is made, you must never waver. That is what it means to be a leader!"
"Domo arigato, sensei!" With a deep bow, Takuya left the dojo.
"Hey Angemon! You're going to attract a lot of attention like this!" Lopmon said irritably. Angemon sighed.
"I'd like to de-digivolve too, but I can't seem to do it."
"Well just make yourself run out of energy!"
"I wish I knew how to."
"Oy, Lopmon! Leave him alone! Or are you jealous that we can hold our adult forms for so long?" Behind him, Tailmon piped sarcastically.
"Tch. Who's jealous of you? You're still a puny little kitty at the end of the day! Wait till I-"
"Hey, knock it off, you two!" Kouji growled, thumbing his newly acquired teal-and-silver D-Ark. "Especially you." He glared at Tailmon, who visibly deflated.
"Kids." Izumi shrugged, smiling defeatedly at Angemon.
"Lopmon may be right, though. Now that I'm in my adult form, I sense that we've been tailed for quite some time."
"What kind of opponent?" Ruki turned around and asked, alarmed.
"I'm not sure it's any kind of opponent. The signature's rather weak. Maybe they just want some sort of intel on who we are."
"Either way, I don't like it." Kouji said, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"Took the words right out of my mouth. We should confront him." Ruki said. Kouji nodded in agreement.
"Aw… Do we have to? If it's weak then it's not going to be a threat. We don't have to be so belligerent with everything! Maybe they just want to find out about us! If we turn around and attack them, who knows what they'll say? Maybe if we just talked to them-" Izumi objected.
"Yeah. With everything that's going on in their world, who are you to fault them for being suspicious? From everything we've seen, it's safe to say that we're the most powerful group in this area." Kouichi added, his face contemplative.
"How do you know they're benign? Can you prove it?" Kouji countered.
"No, I don't know. But I know fear. I know paranoia." Especially yours, Kouichi wanted to say. "I know what's in people's hearts."
"Might I point out that they're not people." Kouji said in a matter-of-fact voice.
"Nevertheless!" Kouichi's expression hardened.
"Whatever." Ruki said, putting a hand on Kouji's shoulders to stop him from biting back another remark. "I'm sure we can take it, whatever it is."
Kouji relaxed, both from Ruki's gesture and the look on Kouichi's face. You're doing it again, Kouichi's eyes told him. Yeah, I suppose you're right. Kouji has always been overly cautious, a stark contrast with Takuya, who always seemed too ready to gamble with his life. It's been a recurring problem with him that has only grown with time. Kouji always seemed fearful of… something. Perhaps it's his prodigious ability to see possibilities and implications that others miss, but others always seemed blind to him. Kouji, on the other hand, sometimes wondered if his seeing too much is a detriment to him. Is it worth it to live like this? This overly analytical nature of his, is it really cowardice?
The increasingly frantic beeps from Ruki's D-Ark interrupted Kouji's thoughts, and he saw that they had reached a large crevasse whose depths couldn't be measured from the top. A strong gust of wind blew at Ruki and she almost lost her footing, stumbling near the edge of the crack. In the nick of time, Kouji pulled at Ruki on her arm, preventing her from falling through. Some rocks broke off and fell into the darkness. Regaining her ground, Ruki put a hand on Kouji's forearm to release his vice-like grip.
"Thank you, Minamoto."
"What's the matter, Ruki?" Izumi said, concern written across her features.
"It should be here…" Ruki trailed off, staring at the screen of her D-Ark.
"Maybe it's wrong?" Izumi suggested unhelpfully, sensing that Ruki's about to blow a fuse. Kouji couldn't tell whether Ruki was naturally this unstable, but whatever the cause, the girl certainly was in the short time she travelled with them.
"No, it's not wrong. It can't be. It's never wrong." Her eyes were feverish and acquired an inhuman glint. "What's wrong with you? What's wrong with you?!" She shouted, throwing down her D-Ark in an almost animalistic anger.
The digivice bounced. Almost in slow motion, Ruki's widened eyes watched as the device fell over the edge of the crack. Her mouth made the shape of an "o" as she sucked in a silent breath. Almost in slow motion, Kouji saw Ruki leap after it, forgetting where she was. A strong gust of wind blew at Kouji, preventing him from grabbing her arm like he did last time. FUCK! And he watched, helpless, as the red-headed girl slowly disappeared into the abyss, her shocked face finally beginning to comprehend her mortality.
…
…
…
…
A hand gripped hers as Ruki closed her eyes and resigned herself to death. Gasping, she was suddenly wakened out of her stupor.
"Yes! I'm glad I got to you on time!" Izumi's voice rang as Ruki's vision readjusted, suddenly not dying after all. As her vision cleared, she saw that they were both slowly floating downwards, a strong gale swirling around her. Gradually she was able to hear the frantic shouting of the twins.
"You-" Ruki stared at Izumi, who was almost vertical.
"It's ok, Ruki. You're safe with me."
"No, it's just, you-"
"It's o-"
"You have wings!" Ruki exclaimed, finally making out her thoughts.
"Oh…! Wait. Huh?! What?!" Izumi was suddenly confused. Looking behind her shoulders, she saw that she, indeed, had grown clear wings that took the shape of a butterfly's. "EHHHH?!" Izumi let out happily and suddenly they were both screaming from freefall.
THUD.
Ruki felt her backside hit the ground and Izumi landed right on top of her.
"Hey, what're you doing? You could have gotten us both killed!" Ruki's irritated voice came out muffled from under Izumi's torso.
"Oh quit complaining! It was only a meter at most!"
"It could have been a long fall!"
"Well, it's not! Get over it! Don't take it out on me just because your butt is in the mud and you couldn't look more ludicrous if you'd tried!" Izumi retorted, trying to hold in her laughter.
"Oy! Who're you calling ludicrous!" Pushing her off roughly, Ruki sat up.
"Oh god, your hair's all messed up too. Oh god, you're a real killer!"
The back of Ruki's ears reddened and she was about to explode.
"Awwww she's so CUTE when she's angry, isn't she!" Izumi squealed and glomped the hapless redhead. "Eh? That's too bad. My wings are gone. I was looking forward to trying them out!" She did not let go.
"You just don't know when to quit, do you?" Ruki said through clenched teeth.
"For someone who just threw herself off a cliff you're in remarkably high spirits." Kouji's voice remarked drily. The two girls turned to see Angemon carrying the two brothers and their digimon in his arms. That snapped her out of it. Pushing Izumi's arms off herself, she started to look for her D-Ark. It was not a particularly difficult task- half buried in the sand, it was beeping wildly. In her excitement to get to the device, Ruki stumbled over herself. As she closed her palm around it, however, she noticed someone standing in front of her as the group suddenly fell silent. She inhaled sharply and her eyes widened in recognition. That pair of feet didn't belong to anyone she was traveling with but was painfully familiar.
"Re…namon?"
Was this some sort of a joke? Ruki didn't know. She didn't dare to believe it. She reached out and a three-fingered paw met her hands.
A crowd had gathered in a secluded alleyway near Shinjuku Central Park, a crowd of diverse demographics. The oldest of them was nearly forty, and the youngest merely six, namely, Sato Makoto with her seven-year-old sister Ai and their partner Impmon.
"Takuya-nii, what are we going to do today?" Ai asked happily, blushing from her innocent schoolgirl's crush on the charismatic leader.
"We're going to have a new member of the family!" He said brightly. A murmur ran through the crowd, some of dissent.
"Ehhhh? Whowhowho!" Mako demanded, tugging insistently at Takuya's sleeves.
"Mako! You can't just go around being a brat all the time! Especially to Takuya-nii!" Ai scolded her younger brother, mortified.
"You're just going to have to wait and find out! I'm sure we'll all love him!"
"Pffft. Love, love, love. Don'tcha just sound dandy. Love this, love that. Is this the extent of your mental capacity? I swear ya humans are so dense!" Impmon quipped.
"IMPMON!" Ai shouted in frustration, turning even redder than before.
Someone snorted in the background. It was a twenty-three year old doctoral student with a Dracmon.
"I can't believe I'm being fed this drivel from a high school student."
Takuya sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. It had only been ten minutes and already this was not his day. Where the hell is Jenrya? Come to think of it, did he say he would show up?
"I just wish I knew where Lopmon is… Right, Terriermon?" A distant female voice was heard.
"I wish I could tell you, Shuichon. But since you hated being at home so much, the least I could do is introduce you to this group. They'll probably keep you safe, if nothing else." Came Jenrya's tired voice.
"Thanks, nii-san… if Lopmon were here I'm sure I could be much more help…"
"Nah… Don't be so hard on yourself, Shuichon! Even Jenrya's not much help right now and he has Terriermon! None of us knows what's going on, but I'm sure we'll understand soon!" An unfamiliar male voice chirped.
Jenrya sighed.
"You didn't have to put it like that, Takato…"
"Heh. Sorry." Takato said sheepishly.
Well, at least he came. Then the three came into view and the group fell silent. Takuya cleared his throat.
"Everyone, this is Lee Jenrya. Please make him feel welcome."
A collective gasp.
"HEHHHH? This is the Lee Jenrya? Matsuda Takato and Lee Shuichon as well! They defeated the D-fucking-Reaper! Good god! We're in luck!" A sixteen year old girl without a partner exclaimed excitedly. Jenrya looked abashed; Takato blushed and Shuichon looked gleeful to be a celebrity. Well that saves me the trouble of introductions. Takato thought, and shrugged. These people would never know what Takuya and his friends had done for the city, and nobody would believe him even if he'd told them. Well, it is how it is. Takuya would just have to deal with being an unsung hero and a maligned leader, if he can even keep that post for long before someone starts hollering for-
"Lee-kun! Why don't you be our leader instead! You have so much experience, and you're an actual Tamer instead of a high school punk! What do you think we should do?" A twenty five year old man said. The forty year old woman looked like she wanted to say something but merely rolled his eyes.
"I… I think… Um… Maybe we should split into units since there's an even distribution…" Jenrya mumbled, something about "efficiency". "But that leader thing…"
"YESSS!" The twenty five year old said. The crowd exploded into animation. Even Ai, who was Takuya's staunchest supporter, looked moved by the idea of having Jenrya as their leader, presumably because they knew each other very well. Jenrya looked horrified while Takuya's heart sank. They ousted him before he could even open his mouth! Defeated, Takuya leaned against the wall and didn't move to speak. In the end, it was Takato who broke through the wall of chaos.
"People!"
The commotion continued.
"People! Listen to me!" Takato raised his voice even more, and the noise died down. It was remarkable what his status as a "war hero" could do to a crowd.
"Jenrya and I just joined five minutes ago! You don't know anything about us except for what you've heard from the media! And in case you weren't listening, Jenrya said no! Kanbara-kun, on the other hand, is your founder and leader and probably saved a whole lot of you personally, so don't be so quick to turn your back on him! That's all I have to say, thank you." The crowd looked overawed.
Before anybody could make a sound, Jenrya stepped in.
"And I have something to say, if you please." All eyes turned to him. Takato nodded and stepped down.
"If anyone still persists in the notion that I should lead the group, I will agree- if that person can defeat me in sparring!" Jenrya tore open his jacket, revealing that he wore a gi underneath. Around his waist was a black belt. Ni-dan. Jenrya surveyed the group calmly, then, having made his point, went to Takuya.
"Kanbara-kun! Get yourself together! You can't be like this! I know you can lead, so why this?" He whispered in Takuya's ear.
"I… Sorry. It just seems that my confidence has taken a hit lately." Takuya confessed, regaining a gleam in his eye. He reflected on his recent setbacks: The loss, without a title, of his soccer team in the recent championship; all the pressure surrounding leading this group and keeping his secret.
"But… We can't even be sure that Kanbara is one of us!" The twenty-five-year-old said.
"I think you should tell them the truth, Kanbara-kun. It's no less than they deserve." Jenrya suggested. Damn. He really is Zhao sensei's prize student.
"Yeah. The truth. I guess I can't put it off forever, even if they think I'm a freak." Takuya conceded, and took a step forward, his gaze calm and firm, his silhouette lit by the afternoon sun. A burning ball of flame in his left palm erupted into the open.
"Re…namon?"
No doubt about it. Standing tall and proud in front of her, in the Valley of the Strong Winds, was her long lost partner.
"Ruki!" She called, her voice was full of the warmth that Ruki didn't even know she missed. "How… are you? You've grown!"
"I… Renamon! It's really you! I've been better, I guess… No, I am better! I've never been better!" Ruki suddenly felt the wetness of her eyes. Not wanting to break down in front of Izumi and her friends, she blinked them back. She suddenly blushed at having acted so emotional at all in front of them, but a split second later decided she didn't care.
"I was so scared that they had gotten to you!" Ruki exclaimed. Renamon laughed that warm, hearty laugh. When had Renamon learned to laugh? Ruki wondered.
"They could have. It was all thanks to Babamon and Jijimon." Renamon said, gesturing towards the little hut. In that moment, the old couple made their way out. Ruki's eyes lit up.
"Babamon! Jijimon! Once again, we owe you more than I can ever say!" She turned to them and bowed deeply. In that moment, Izumi thought Ruki sported the most tender smile she had ever seen. Was it even possible that a girl like her could smile like that? So this was what she was so on edge about! She was worried that her partner would be killed! Izumi suddenly felt like she understood her cousin even just a little; she would feel the same way if it were Patamon.
"So do we, you old geezers, so do we- owe you, that is." A voice rang from above. Three Skullsatamon loomed over them. "Now we can destroy all the Digimon Tamers in one fell swoop and report back to our lord! Another threat nullified… I can just imagine our promotion."
Angemon gasped.
"You were the ones following us, weren't you! But yours were not the presence I felt! It couldn't have been this strong!"
"Evolution, you stupid little swan. Or have you forgotten that the light of evolution has returned to us? And now we'll destroy those who got their powers because we couldn't evolve. Prepare to die, Digimon Queen! NAIL BONE!" The angel of death shot a potent beam of light towards Ruki.
Ruki was frozen in shock, and when she finally started to move, it was too late. Then the next thing she knew she was on the ground, and red data was rising from next to her. What-? Renamon?! No- Renamon was beside her, picking her up from where she fell. Then who-
"HOW DARE YOU- MY HUSBAND!" Babamon screeched with with a wild fury, and charged the Skullsatamon. JIJIMON!
"EMPRESS HAZE!"
"God, spare me from this ugly old hag please." He couldn't even be bothered to move. The other sighed.
"You could at least finish what you started." And he kicked the old woman in the back like a sack of potatoes. As she fell, he aimed his staff at her.
"Just die already."
The beam of light caught her square in the heart. The last thing Ruki saw of her was her face scrunched up in pain and shock before she, too, exploded into red data.
"A-a-ah…" Ruki's jaw dropped open uselessly as two streams of tears gushed out of her eyes.
"Ruki! Get yourself together!" Renamon urged nervously.
"LOOK OUT!" Angemon yelled and blocked an attack right in front of them. It hit him in the back and he de-evolved instantly. Elsewhere, Tailmon and Lopmon were put out of commission. They were no match for whatever was tailing them after all. 'I'm sure we can take it, whatever it is.' That's what she had said… like she knew shit. She brought them all to this. She did this to them. And now they're all going to die because of her. She was a useless waste of space, saved by Minamoto, saved by Izumi, saved by Jijimon, and the latter had died for her. And this whole time she was parading around like she was the shit, bossing everyone around and not even explaining why they were walking circles in the top layer like dogs chasing their own tails. Ruki wished she could eat her words. If only she could eat her fucking-
"RUKI, WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YOU?" Izumi yelled furiously at her. Another beam of energy aimed towards her. For the second time in the day, the blonde girl sprouted wings as she made desperately for her cousin.
"RUKI!" The three teenagers yelled in unison.
"BREZZA PETALO!" Shouted Izumi. To even her own shock, pink gusts of energy erupted from her finger tips and sliced apart the incoming missive.
"What a nuisance!" Skullsatamon said, casually swatting the girl aside. Izumi flew and hit the hut the old couple lived in, and fell into an unconscious heap.
"Izumi…chan?" A battered Patamon squeaked and weakly tried to make his way over to his Tamer.
"Well, that's the end of you. How boring. Not even a bit of fight in you." Skullsatamon flew towards the prone girl, preparing to tear his claws into her.
Ruki didn't know what came over her, but in that moment she saw red. Nothing but violently pulsing red. She knew nothing else but what they did and how dearly they will pay, because once she's done with them hell will be a pleasant vacation in the Maldives.
"MATRIX EVOLUTION!" She pointed her D-Ark towards the sky and the valley was filled with light as everyone shielded their eyes with their arm. "SAKUYAMON!"
When the light dispersed, a canine Shaman clad in yellow armor descended from the sky.
"What is that form?" Kouichi wondered.
"Probably her ultimate form." Lopmon speculated.
"Ultimate form?"
"Aye. That's the last form for a lot of digimon, but some digimon can achieve even higher forms."
In that moment, a sickening crunch was heard as Sakuyamon delivered a crush blow to the Skullsatamon about to finish off Izumi. The scene was silent except for the screams of pain from the three devils. Sakuyamon was not even attempting any of her special attacks. Her face was covered with a mask, but even then Kouji could tell Sakuyamon was not just aiming to defeat them, not even just to kill them. No, her sadistic intent was clear in her every move, in every spine-chilling craaack of the Skullsatamon slowly being dismantled, bone by crackling bone. Kouji inhaled slowly, both in horror and disgust. He had always known Ruki was unstable, but this? This was downright evil. How could he have misjudged her in such a grotesque fashion?
Ruki was screaming inside. Blood-curdling, murderous screams, colored with all her pain and stress and her cracking sanity. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIEDIEDIEDIEDIE- Screaming and battering. Despite her meager martial arts training with Jenrya, right now she felt like a Tenth Dan. No one was more powerful in her all consuming rage. No one came close. Ruki… A voice somewhere said. A feminine, comforting voice. She ignored it. They must die, and not just any death. They must die screaming until they cannot scream anymore, until their voices degenerate into futile rattles, until they rued the day hell had spawned them, until the last of their breath wither away in scalding pain. There would be no reprieve. Even Satan would not be able to- RUKI! Ruki gasped. RENAMON? Oh, so you can hear me? Good. Then hear this. I am truly, deeply, disappointed in you.
Oh god, what have I done? What have I become, Renamon? Silence, as the red subsided. The scene in front of her was horror.
A/N So it was another long hiatus... But nevertheless. With the trio's D-Ark color scheme I went with the secondary colors; Izumi: Goldenrod/orange, to suit Patamon's coloring, Kouji: Teal, for Ophanimon and Kouichi, Wisteria. Just because I can. I decided to leave out Plotmon's evolution because I decided it would be routine and not really worth writing. And yeah... I know. I pushed Ruki off the deep end. She will get better though... I swear. I'm really not that cynical. But just as a heads up... I'm sure some of you were expecting Ryuki to be in this story and honestly it diverged so much from my original plans and I have this other thing set up so clearly that I'm not sure I can even imagine it anymore. Well, as it stands I'm not even sure he will retain his status as a protagonist. Maybe it's because I planned to introduce Ryo so late, but Ruki's character arc just took on a life of its own and as such it's hard to fit him in (and there's so much plot I still have to get through before he comes in!). So I can pretend it's really Ryo's fault he went all cold on Ruki first (remember they hadn't spoken for YEARS) then took so long to come back to the story. Being realistic here, people move on. Especially teenagers. I'm sure I could squeeze in a bit of it at the end, but only at the end, because I don't know how to fit it in otherwise, or if it's even a good decision to, but I'm sure at least a bit will be in the story, because in my set up, anyway, there's a bit of unfinished... amorous business between them. Nothing official, of course. Just a bit of feelings here and there, and they will come into play later. But no, they won't be each other's primary relationship.
Just for a lighter scene, here's a snippet I wrote as a preview. I'm pretty sure something like this will make it into the "final cut", maybe a long time from now, but this isn't a slow and excruciating psychological horror story, I promise (yes, I took the gist of the lyrics from one of the Frontier songs, as well as a bit of Izumi's image song).
"Yeah, this is how my life's been. Pretty sad, right? Having to say goodbye all the time..." Izumi said, shrugging her shoulders weakly.
"But think about this way." He protested. "Wait, never mind. Look at THEM. Look at how happy you've made them! How strong! How full of life! Sure, you go places, but like the wind, you breathe hope into everyone you meet. Maybe that's why you were born. Because no matter what happens to you, you always seem to have an endless supply of hope."
He smiled at her. Did the boy know he was a sweetheart? Did he know? Was he doing it on purpose? Izumi wanted so badly to kiss him. She smiled wryly.
"Hope? Haha! Maybe I do. I know that much, because even if I know we will have to say goodbye soon, I hope to see you years and years from now, and I hope we will still be smiling then. Maybe there is a point to all of this. I shouldn't be sad, but I'm not strong like Ruki. All these... Goodbyes still make me want to cry." Tears suddenly gushed out of her eyes. "Why do I want to cry? That's right, because I'm weak. But I don't want to be like Ruki. She's scary sometimes, like she's almost inhuman. She's like an unstoppable tidal wave of power, a towering pillar of strength, but if something goes wrong, say, an earthquake hits, it just crumbles. Well, humans are weak, but I don't know why I would want to be anything else." At this point her face was so wet her vision was blurring, yet she pressed on. "Because there's something beautiful about humanity's weakness. We are so fragile and die so easily, yet... We are strong in our weakness. I am strong because I am weak... Jeez, I don't even make sense anymore, do I! It's all your fault!" She smiled through her tears as she gazed into the afternoon sun.
"Izumi... This is going to sound weird but you... You're so beautiful right now... You look like a goddess..." His face turned red as beet as he caught himself. "If this is too inappropriate I apologize please pretend I never-"
Aw. Screw that. And she kissed him.