Hello again! I could give a million excuses to why this hasn't been updated in so long, like how my computer crashed and I lost this chapter, or how I just plain forgot about it...but it is now back! I plan to have the fourth chapter up in not too long.

So, read it and tell me what you think. I hope it's not too rusty or anything... As promised (a very long time ago), Miyako is introduced in this chapter.

Chapter Three: Beaks and Talons

Miyako raced through the abandoned streets, waving her arms wildly above her head and yelling at the top of her lungs the worst insults she could think of.

"Die, you stinking, idiotic, brainless, psychotic-agh!"

Unfortunately, this didn't seem to stop the birds from dive-bombing her, their talons outstretched and sharp beaks poised to strike her flesh.

Completely fed up with her situation, Miyako picked up a toolbox that had been lying haphazardly on he ground and tossed it at the birds. It flew in a small arch, which the birds easily avoided, and landed uselessly back on the ground. She stood staring in horror at her failure for a brief second before quickly retreating to a narrow alleyway where the birds couldn't reach her.

Miyako leaned her head back against a building and groaned. It was her first time out alone in a long while, and she was hiding from a bunch of annoying little birds. She was supposed to be doing Daisuke's job: scouting around the area and locating monsters.

She clenched her fists and wished she didn't feel so helpless. She was Miyako for goodness sake, the group handy-woman and idea person. She was known for thinking of ingenious ways to solve everyone's problems. So shouldn't she be able to figure this out?

The self-pity, shame and frustration finally grew to such a point inside of her that she let it out with a loud, guttural sound. Stomping her foot, she decided she would take care of those stupid birds once and for all.

Miyako knelt in the alleyway cluttered with old, half-rotten junk and eagerly went to work.

In less then five minutes, she had comprised what could be called one of her finest inventions, and it had only taken some yarn, two chair legs, and an old laundry basket.

Now she just had to get to a place where it would work.

Ken sat in the center of the tent with the other three, sharing a can of fruit Hikari had found in storage.

"Remember, this is the last of it, so eat sparingly," she said, her eyes turning to Daisuke, who was using his spoon to shovel as much as he could into his mouth.

"Daisuke," Iori said harshly, causing him to choke a little.

"Sorry," the older boy finally managed with his mouth full, trying as discreetly as he could to swallow what he had taken.

A rusty-sounding laugh came from Hikari and Iori. Ken found himself smiling a little. He had barely been with these three a day, and already he was starting to feel a bond.

They had all been shockingly kind to him, and for the first part of his stay he found himself sitting in the corner and trying to make himself as invisible as was humanly possible so as not to be bother. But his new found friends seemed to frown upon his methods of being thankful, especially Daisuke, who would try to strike up a conversation with him about every minute.

Eventually, they managed to draw Ken into their circle, and he couldn't remember ever feeling so at home. He got the strong sense that they made up a family together, each one having their strengths and weaknesses. Hikari was like the mother, always calm, patient and caring. Although Daisuke seemed to be the troublemaker of the group, he was also the one who kept spirits high with his light-heartedness. And of course, there was always serious and just Iori to keep him in line.

In no time at all, the can of fruit was empty.

"Aww, now we're going to starve," Daisuke moaned, leaning back on his cot.

"Don't think that way. Miyako will be back soon, I'm sure," Hikari replied optimistically.

"Yeah. And then we'll starve."

Before anyone could say anything else to dispute this, Daisuke abruptly jumped up from his cot. He limped to the entrance of the tent and pulled on his other boot.

Hikari and Iori exchanged stunned looks. From what Ken had seen, the thing Daisuke most complained about was his ankle. How it would never heal, how Miyako would have to keep doing his job. He had never once got up from his bed.

Since the other two were obviously too shocked to speak, Ken promptly jumped up and joined Daisuke at the entrance.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To find Miyako," Daisuke stated simply, as it were obvious. "You coming?"

Ken looked back at Hikari and Iori, who sat in wide-eyed silence. He shrugged at Daisuke. "But, your ankle..."

Daisuke tested his weight, then shrugged back at him. "It feels fine now." He grabbed a long wooden walking stick and waved Ken forward. "Let's go."

"All right then." Ken nodded, still a bit confused as to exactly what this was about. They walked out of the tent and into the early morning air, where just a bit of sunshine was peeping through the constant gray clouds. Daisuke led the way out of the camp.

"So why exactly are we finding Miyako?" Ken asked a bit hesitantly.

"If she's not back by now, she might be in trouble," Daisuke replied, a slight note of irritation in his voice. "And, since I'm healed, I'm going to want my job back."

Ken wasn't sure if the other boy was grinning or not as he strode forward, still not putting too much weight on his ankle.

"How will we know where to find her?"

Daisuke stopped in front of a large mound of junk which was blocking their way. Ken proceeded to help him scale it. Once both boys made it to the top, panting with a bit of exertion, they stared out over the bleak horizon. Most of what lay ahead of them was a vast wasteland, with the occasional broken-down building. Farther out there were fairly intact buildings, standing at least half of their original height.

"She probably went to the North, since that's where I told her not to go," Daisuke explained, pointing slightly to the left to a cluster of buildings. He gave Ken a meaningful look. "That's where the Silver Beaks are."

Ken was going to ask what those were, but decided he'd probably find out soon enough.

"What happened to this place?" he breathed, still in awe of the terrible state of this city.

"Monsters, I guess. Supposedly it used to be a lot worse then it is now, but I don't really remember anything from before..." Daisuke said this as he he was holding something back.

"So Hikari and Takeru...they're the only ones who remember?" Ken asked.

"Yeah. Well, mostly..." Daisuke turned his head. After a brief silence he spoke again. "I do remember one thing from my past. It's...it's not even that big. I just remember my sister. She...we used to fight a lot. I probably hated her but...looking back now I kind of miss her." Daisuke chuckled half-heartedly.

Ken gave his friend an awkward pat on the back in an attempt to be comforting. "We'd better keep going."

Daisuke nodded. They climbed down the junk-pile and headed northward.

Ken was struck by the sudden seriousness and determination shown by Daisuke as they trudged along on their impromptu journey. Perhaps he was a little more then the lazy, joking boy that he had seemed to be back at camp.

After awhile, the air began to feel dead and dry. There had been no conversation for some time, besides the occasional comment on direction from Daisuke, and the eerie silence around them was beginning to grind on Ken's nerves.

Then, with a sudden jerk of his head Daisuke exclaimed, "Hey, I think we're about there."

True to his word, a few more steps closer to the nearby buildings and they heard loud screaming accompanied by a chorus of sharp caws.

"Miyako," Daisuke decided.

The two of them hurried forward to finally meet with an odd sight. Ken had to blink before he comprehended the lavender haired girl hiding underneath a trashcan lid, using a board to swat away a dozen small birds with long, sharp beaks. Beside her, in what looked like a white plastic cage, about four of the birds were trapped.

"Aggh!" the girl yelled, not appearing to notice either of the boys. "Just...die!"

It was obvious she was in over her head.

"Okay," Daisuke said to Ken. "I'm going to run in and distract the birds. You go hide back there-" he motioned to a corner of a nearby building. "-and when the birds are distracted you call at Miyako!"

Before Ken could protest, Daisuke rushed onto the scene, waving his arms and screaming.

"D-Daisuke?!" Miyako cried, haulting in confusion. Daisuke was too busy scattering the birds with his loud noises. It worked for a minute, but then they started to peck at him.

"Agh! Ken!"

Ken realized it was his cue. "Miyako," he called from over by the building.

Not loud enough. She still watched, stunned, as Daisuke grabbed her trashcan lid and board and began beating the two together, running in circles.

"Miyako!" Ken yelled at the top of his lungs.

That got her attention. She scrambled up from the ground and ran toward the sound of her name.

"Who the heck are you?" she asked, standing dumbstruck in front of Ken.

"Uh, no time to explain," Ken replied. "We have to-"

"Guys!" Daisuke screamed, running towards them. His methods of getting the birds attention had worked a little too well, and now they were madly flapping after him. "Run!"

"-run," Ken echoed.

Miyako grabbed his arm and began sprinting in the other direction. Ken stumbled but managed to keep up.

"Are you the sixth Chosen one?" Miyako yelled as they ran out into the open.

"Yeah," Ken called back.

"Nice to meet you! I really hope we're not about to die!"

Ken wasn't really sure what happened next. But from what he could tell, Miyako faltered, then fell, sending them both sprawling. As Ken pulled himself up, he saw that the birds were now speeding towards them. Daisuke was nowhere in sight.

"M-Miyako!" Ken said, yanking frantically at her arm. "Get up!"

Miyako frantically scrambled up from the ground, but when she looked back, she stopped dead. There was no more time to run, nowhere to hide. Nothing to defend themselves with. This was it. The birds would overtake them.

Ken stared with both shock and horror at the scene before him. The birds were almost upon them. Then, Daisuke popped up out of nowhere. He stood up and began banging the board against the trashcan lid again.

"Hey, you stupid birds!" he yelled. "Get away from my friends!"

"Daisuke, you idiot!" Miyako screamed. "You idiot!"

Surprisingly, Daisuke's ploy worked. The birds turned to the sound, prepared to strike. Miyako stormed toward Daisuke in rage, as if she could stop everything by smacking him in the face. Ken rushed after her, not sure what he could do.

Then it happened. The birds were all upon Daisuke, like a cloud. Miyako and Ken both turned their heads away. But a bright flash of light and the sound of dying squawks made them promptly look back.

Daisuke was standing there with a shocked look on his face, virtually unharmed. And the birds were completely gone.

"D-did you see that?" Daisuke asked, trembling in fear and excitement.

"What happened?" Ken asked, his eyes wide.

"My crest! It just...it..." Daisuke was practically hopping up and down.

"Vaporized the birds," Miyako finished for him, looking equally astounded. "Your Crest of Courage vaporized the birds."

"Okay, that's never happened before," Daisuke said. "Hikari said the crests had power, but I never thought..."

"You were brave, Daisuke," Miyako said. "You were stupid, but you were brave."

"So that's why it worked?" Daisuke beamed.

Miyako shrugged. "I guess."

After the three of them had gotten over the bulk of their shock, Daisuke turned to Ken.

"This is Ken. We found him outside our camp a few nights ago."

"I'm Miyako," she said, smiling at him. "Nice to officially meet you." Hope shone in her amber eyes behind her large, slightly cracked specktacles.

"Let's go back to camp," Daisuke said. "We have a great story to tell everyone."

Ken and Miyako agreed, and they headed back the way they came.

There you have it. I hope you enjoyed. :) (Even if it had more dialogue then action?) There may be a surprise in the upcoming chapter so keep reading...