Hello and Happy New Year, everyone! I was glad to finally be able to finish this chapter; sorry if the first part feels rushed at all. Anyway, hope you enjoy it!

Chapter Five: Separated

The two of them sat heaving inside what was left of the sky scraper, breathless from having just barely escaped with their lives.

"They're still out there, aren't they," Iori said. He sat hunkered down behind a large overturned desk, clutching his knees.

Daisuke ran his hands through his hair and squinted through the large dusty windows lining the front of the complex. He could make out a silhouette of one of the prowling cats. "Yeah. I think Ken and Miyako made it away, though."

Iori looked grim. "At least. But Hikari..." he faltered.

Hikari. How could Daisuke have forgotten her? He cursed under his breath. They couldn't possibly hide here and leave her for dead. Even if he had to face the cats all by himself, he'd rescue her.

"Daisuke, where are you going?"

Daisuke thought he had never seen the younger boy look so frightened. Honestly, he always forgot that Iori was two years younger. He often showed strength and wisdom beyond his years.

"It's better if you stay here," Daisuke replied, heading for the doors. "I'm going to go get Hikari."

Iori sprang up from his spot at once. "Don't be foolish, Daisuke!" he rebuked. "If this is about playing the hero, now is not the time."

Daisuke was so dumbfounded by the response that Iori actually got in front of him. "We'll handle this together, understand?"

Daisuke could do nothing but nod as Iori opened the double doors. At first, he couldn't see anything. Maybe the cats had finally left.

But just as Daisuke let him guard down and tried to walk out past Iori, a black shape shot toward them. Daisuke didn't even have time to blink before a flash of light burst from Iori's crest and sent the cat sprawling.

"That's one down!" Daisuke cried, rushing out of the building. Iori followed.

Three other cats stalked toward them at once.

"We have company," Daisuke said. He held his breath and expected some crest-magic, but nothing happened. He took hold of his chain and shook it, hoping to force light out of it. Still nothing. "Uh, Iori...?"

The younger boy looked back at him with worry. Daisuke had a feeling he couldn't control his crest, either.

"Okay, Iori, you go find Hikari. Make sure she's okay. I'll...hold them off," Daisuke told him, then didn't believe that he'd actually said it. Those cats looked pretty hungry.

"All right," Iori nodded.

Daisuke figured he'd need to distract the cats so they didn't go chasing after Iori. Slowly he inched to the right.

"Hey, big cats. I look pretty tasty, huh?" He couldn't believe he was going to die like this. Stripping himself of all dignity by telling big black panthers that he looked good to eat.

But Iori managed to get away. Daisuke let out his breath. He was surprised that he was more worried about his two friends then the fact that he was about to be a cat's lunch.

But just as one was about to strike, his crest exploded with light. It struck one cat down and made the other two skitter away in fear.

"That's right, you better be afraid!" Daisuke called to them, taking advantage of their disorientation to rush over in the direction Iori had gone.

"Is she all right?" Daisuke yelled. "Where is she?"

Iori was standing very still, looking at the ground. Unless Daisuke was mistaken, it was the exact spot Hikari had fallen.

"I don't know. She's gone."

Gone. Gone. Daisuke's mind was numb from thinking it.

Since the cats had retreated back to where they came from, the two boys searched the entire area. Hikari was nowhere in sight.

"She was unconscious. How far could she have gone?" Iori pondered, his brow deeply furrowed.

Daisuke punched a building to let out his frustration. He instantly regretted it, sticking his injured fist into his mouth. "Ugh! Where could she be? We even checked all the buildings!"

"Do you think Ken and Miyako managed to...take her along?" Iori asked, sounding uncertain.

"Maybe they did. But I sure didn't see her go with them."

"And we would be able to tell if the cats...you know..." Iori looked at the ground and didn't finish his sentence.

"Ate her?" Daisuke said incredulously. "Yeah, unless they swallowed her whole!"

Iori's face was tight. "I guess the only thing to do is keep moving."

"Keep moving...?" Daisuke stared at the younger boy. How could he even think that way?

"I know it sounds ridiculous. But there's nothing more we can do. There's always a chance that she escaped and headed that way."

Daisuke frowned. He didn't like it, but as usual Iori was right. It was their last hope of finding her.

"All right. Iori, we're going to complete this mission."

Exhausted as they were, they continued on their course in silent determination. Daisuke was glad they had already walked more then half of the way in the morning, because not too much longer and it would be dark.

They made it to the building as the sun was sinking down on he blood-red horizon.

"Here we are. The ape's territory." Daisuke stared up at the open window on the second floor.

It was eerily quiet; not even the sound of the wind. Feeling like something was out of place, Daisuke opened the door and stepped inside.

"Uh, Iori, you might want to see this."

In front of Daisuke's feet, a giant ape lay on it's face, a spear embedded in its back.

"Looks like someone got here first," Iori said quietly, craning his neck up to see a sizable hole in the ceiling.

Daisuke could only stare at the dead creature. It couldn't have been killed that long ago.

"It had to have been one of our friends," he said at last. "Maybe they're still here."

Iori was already heading up the rickety staircase. Daisuke turned away from the beast and quickly followed.

The two of them stood in the drafty hallway. All the doors were closed except for one.

"Hello, anyone? Ken...? Miyako? Hikari?" Daisuke called, walking slowly on the creaky boards toward the room.

Peering in the doorway at last, he saw a room exactly like the one Ken had described; a sagging cot, a partly boarded up window, and three musty boxes sitting against the wall.

Iori entered the room behind him.

"There's no one here," Daisuke said, his heart clunking to the floor. Standing in the shabby, dim room, he felt like having an angry tantrum, but Iori spoke up before he could even think of hurling himself onto the floor.

"I don't know where they are, Daisuke, but we'll find them," the younger boy said. Assurance and strong determination were very clear on his usually unreadable face.

For some reason knowing Iori was sane made him feel a lot better.

"Yeah," Daisuke agreed. "Yeah, we will."

Hikari's vision swam before her eyes. Her head throbbed, and visions of panthers prowling around skyscrapers kept divulging in her subconscious.

Cats don't belong in cities, she thought faintly.

Not cats like that, anyway. She remembered she used to have a cat. A small, sweet little kitty with a white belly. What was his name?

Miko. Miko...

"Miko!" Hikari shouted, reaching back for him as her parents hauled her out the door, too immersed in deep conversation to notice her distress.

"Taichi, Miko. He's still in the apartment," Hikari pleaded at her eleven-year-old brother who was following behind.

Taichi merely nodded and quickly rushed back into their apartment.

Hikari's mother glanced back just as Taichi slammed the door.

"Taichi, get back here! We can't stay here a minute longer." She exchanged a look with her husband.

"I'll go get him." Hikari's father let go of her arm and flung open the door. Only a second later, He returned with Taichi, who was holding a squirming ball of brown and white fur.

"Miko!" Hikari cradled the cat, petting his soft head.

"Hikari, you can't take the cat. Just leave him here," her mother said. Worry lines were etched in her face.

"C'mon, Hikari, we need to go," Taichi said gently.

"I know. But Miko's coming with us," Hikari answered. "He's scared."

Her mother sighed and relented. "All right."

The family left the building as quickly as they could. Hikari had not been outside in a long while. She knew bad things were happening in Tokyo, but her parents always turned off the news before she could put the pieces together. Taichi was the only one who didn't think she was too little to understand.

"Monsters are here, Hikari," he had told her. "Bad monsters. Nobody really knows where they came from."

From what she had heard her parents say, they were planning to leave by boat. But Hikari had a strange wish. She wanted to see the monsters. She wanted to know if they were as bad as Taichi had told her. Maybe they were just scared. She knew that Miko sometimes acted crazy when he was scared. If the monsters could calm down, maybe they would leave everyone alone.

The streets were jam-packed, but they finally managed to get a cab. Hikari wondered if she should hide Miko so she wouldn't get in trouble, but the driver didn't even seem to notice.

They arrived at the docking area for the boats. Lots of people were gathered around, and they looked scared. Hikari and her family stood by someone she recognized. It was Taichi's friend, Yamato, and his dad.

Closeby them was a woman and her young son, a boy about Hikari's age. She thought it might be Yamato's brother, since the two looked so much alike.

"Have you seen the monsters?" Yamato asked Taichi. "My dad says there's one in the ocean. It might not be the safest way to go."

Hikari gasped and sat up. Instead of by the docks with her family, she was lying in a large room full of odd items. The first thing that her eyes locked on, though, was a blonde figure crouching in the corner.

At first, she thought it was Takeru. Yet as she looked at him, she realized there was something not quite right about this assumption.

Then the figure stood and faced her, and at once it all clicked in her head. An odd feeling crept into the pit of her stomach like she was having some weird and twisted dream.

"Yamato?" Hikari whispered in shock, barely managing to get the name through her lips. But it couldn't be. How was it possible?

He regarded her skeptically before speaking. "How do you know my name?"

Hope you all enjoyed the Yamato surprise...my decision to include Hikari's flashback was a little spur of the moment, so apologies if it was kind of vague or confusing. With luck, the next installment should update you on Miyako, Ken & Takeru. Until then!