Calmer of the Storm: I have time! Although I have to say that this will be the last chapter until September (unless by some chance I have a little time over the summer), and for that, I am very sorry. I'll barley have TV! Not that that really matters to me…anyways…suggestions are great, they help me lots, so if you have any, tell me! I'll probably use it…..'till then, on with the fic!
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"Gee Tai, you seem happy today." Matt commented while looking at his friend, the sarcasm dripping from his voice.
When Tai didn't respond with some smart remark, the blonde immediately knew something was up. He sat down beside him.
"What's eating at you? I can't say that I've ever seen you like this before. Not since Sora and I…" he trailed off as it dawned on him.
"It has something to do with her, doesn't it." he stated as a matter-of-factly.
A sigh escaped Tai's mouth.
"Tai if you're worried about the wedding thing, it's all going to work out."
He shook his head, "No no, it's not just that. It's…I just…I…"
Yamato rolled his eyes. "Spit it out."
"Thanks for the support." Taichi grumbled back.
"You're welcome" Matt responded.
Tai glared.
"Seriously, what's bothering you?"
"Well, she…she just kept telling me how she wanted to be with me…well, the exact word was 'you', but I don't know if that's plural, or singular? I know it sounds stupid, but after you've gone through what I have, even the smallest things can send you over the edge."
"And…" Matt pressed, he knew there was more.
Tai was silent a moment. "I kissed her."
Yamato was taken aback, to say the least. "You did?! What did she say?"
He shrugged. "I don't know, and frankly, I'm not sure if I want to know. It was a spur of the moment thing…It just sort of happened. I don't know if I can face her tonight after what I did."
"Did she kiss you back?"
"There wasn't time. I sort of sprung it on her, then left. I could tell she was stunned. I just…I don't want to lose a friendship over something stupid like that…she means so much to me."
Matt sighed, "I know she does, Tai. But I'm sure that even if she doesn't feel the same way, which I'm sure she does, she wouldn't let something like that get between you guys. What you have is something special, and to tell you the truth, even when we were dating I was jealous of it. I was also worried that I would destroy it…you guys are my best friends, and I don't want anything to change."
The two boys fell silent, and waited.
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Sora stood nervously at the front of the chapel. She was afraid that her friends wouldn't make it on time, or that something would go wrong. She was afraid that she would be stuck here for her life, married to a man who disgusted her in every way. She also wanted to see Tai, and asked him what he had meant by his actions the night before. She as almost afraid of his answer, though she wasn't sure why.
She became more nervous and jumpy as the evening grew old, and the ceremony was coming to an end. She had made her point that she wanted to be by an open window, as she hated being locked up. They bought it and agreed to this. She had done her part, and all she had to do was wait until the others came to do theirs.
Suddenly, something caught her ear. She heard a familiar noise, and almost had to hold in her laughter and joy as she heard it. It brought back memories of old times when they were younger, and also she was relieved that they had come for her. She inched closer to the window, and waited.
Shadows running through the yard caught her eye, but there were many more than he had expected. They had brought help.
An arrow whizzed through the air, and pegged the ground up at the altar. The crowd gave a collective gasp. A line of men rushed in the back door, men whom she had never seen before.
A hand came from behind and grabbed her, catching her by surprise. She tried to scream out of reflex, but it was muffled by someone's hand. She turned to see that it was TK who had grabbed her, and felt herself feeling disappointed that it hadn't been Tai. He led her out the window, and into the woods.
Inside, there was an all out brawl. She caught a glimpse of Matt using a sword, something she never knew he could do. She then saw Tai right behind him, doing the same.
Takeru led her deeper and deeper into the woods, not slowing his pace.
"TK!" she said.
"Shh! There's no time to talk now, just keep going and don't look back."
"But what about the others?"
"They'll be fine, don't worry about it."
They continued to run, until she noticed that they had come about a clearing. Without explaining, he opened a large cellar door and motioned for her to follow him down. He lit a small lamp at the back, and sat down.
Sora planted herself beside him.
"So, now will you explain?" she asked.
He nodded. "This is the church where Cody's staying. Of course, he went with the others. Even Mimi was in on it. She was in the audience as a spy, if you didn't see."
She shook her head.
Takeru smiled, "That was the point. She was there the whole time, and she said she was quite disgusted by all the men…apparently they were eyeing her in ways that made her want to sick Palmon on them."
Sora smiled, and continued to listen.
"We waited outside a while, I was appointed to grab you, because I was the fastest I guess. We recruited some men from the village whom we've helped out and they owed us favours, that and we promised them money if they came with us. Some of them are very skilled bow and swordsmen."
She recalled something, "How does your brother know how to fence?"
"He doesn't. Then again, it seems that we've all acquired talents that we never knew we had since coming here. I guess it's all part of the package."
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, we've come to figure out that we've been placed into the past, somewhere in medieval times, in both fact and fiction. I guess that's all part of Oraclemon's trick. We've found that this is Sherwood Forest, and I guess it doesn't take a genius to figure out who we are."
It was becoming clear to her, "So we've been placed in some soft of story, and we have to figure it out!"
"Exactly. Do you remember what Oraclemon said? We've got to make things right…which means that something is wrong. However, we haven't been able to figure that out yet."
"I see…have you found Kari or Yolei yet?"
He shook his head sadly, "No. Though, I'm going to go check out the castle tomorrow. I haven't told anyone this, so don't say anything. I want to go by myself. It's the only place we haven't looked, and we could be running out of time. Having someone come with me could jeopardize my mission."
"I promise not to tell anyone if you promise to lay low."
"I promise."
The two of them chatted a while, until they heard footsteps outside. What sounded to be a heard of elephants came storming down the stairs, followed by the crashing of the cellar doors.
Sora looked up to see that it was Davis, Ken, Matt, Tai, and Mimi. When they reached them, TK put out the lamp.
"Cody's upstairs as planned…now we just have to keep quiet." Tai whispered.
More footsteps were heard, followed by voiced. Sora could make out those of Cody, her 'father' and her 'fiancé', and some other voices she did not know.
Finally after what seemed to be hours, they let. A few minutes of silence followed, then the hatch opened once more. Takeru put the light back on and they all relaxed.
"Well, I've sent them on a wild goose chase, and our help has all gotten home safe and sound. Now, let's dress these wounds."
Cody pulled out some cloth and what looked to be water, though it smelled like alcohol. She watched as the boy peeled back the sleeve of Tai's shirt, and covered her mouth at the sight of the blood.
"Tai!" she exclaimed.
"It's not that bad, just a little stab wound. Daisuke's got it worse." he pointed to the younger boy, and she saw the bloodstained bandages he already wore.
Daisuke had fought the hardest out of all of them, never giving up even after being stabbed and slashed a few times. Yamato had a deep gash in his leg, and even Mimi got away with a few scratches. Ken sprained an ankle, and was knocked on the head. Other than these few injuries, they were alright. Takeru was the only one to get away unharmed.
After dressing the wounds, Cody went back up to put the dirty bandages away.
"I'm just going to go outside for a little while." Tai told them, and left.
Sora watched him go, then Matt caught her eye. His look told her to go follow him, but she wasn't so sure. Eventually, she did.
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Tai sat on the same log that he had earlier that morning during his conversation with Yamato. He was deep in though and didn't even realize Sora had followed him until she had sat down beside him.
"Hello", he said softly.
"Hey", she replied back.
There was an awkward silence between them, until Sora had had enough.
"Look, Tai, I want to ask you strait out what that was all about last night. I want your honest answer, and I swear I won't change how I feel about you after what you've said."
He sighed, "That's just the problem."
She became confused. "What is?"
"How do you feel about me?"
She blinked, and blushed though it was dark and he couldn't see. "That's not fair, I asked you first."
He nodded slowly, and gave in. "I…I did it because it's something that I've wanted to do for a long time. I did it because I couldn't hold myself back any longer and I would rather face the consequences than never get the chance to do something like that. I did it because…." he trailed off, and continued at a whisper, "because I love you."
Sora let all of that sink in, then turned to him.
"Would you like to do it again?"
"What?"
"I said would you like to do it again, but if you don't want to, I mean, that's fine with me, well, it's not really fine, but it just-"
She was cut off and caught off-guard again by the sensation of his lips on hers. This time, he didn't back away. She deepened the kiss, and the two stayed like that a long while, before the need to breathe overcame them both.
They were both glowing red, and could hear nothing save for the pulse pounding in their ears.
"Well, I think we should uh, go get some sleep…it's been a long day." Tai said between breaths.
She nodded, still blushing furiously. They stood up, and she slipped her hand into his. They walked back to the cellar, and drifted off into a deep, much needed sleep.
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Takeru couldn't get much sleep that night. His mind was on how he would get into the city and castle unnoticed, and on what he would find. He prayed to God, literally, that he would find her. He was afraid that she wouldn't be there, or that something bad had happened to her.
He loved her more than anything, and had just admitted that to himself. He knew he was young, and maybe even still considered a child by some, but he knew without a doubt that he loved her. He'd seen his parents' marriage crumble, and at first he was worried that the same fate would befall him. He didn't want to put the woman that he was to marry, whoever she may be, through that pain. But now, he knew that he could never do that to someone like Hikari.
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Morning came by quickly, and Takeru stole away in the hours just before dawn. He did not want to be seen by anyone, friend or foe. It would just make things harder for him.
He travelled through the forest, and finally came upon the village. He was surprised to see that there was a significant amount of people out. It was all the merchants and vendors getting their stands and shops ready for the day. This seemed to be their regular routine.
No one seemed to recognise him, but maybe that was because he was wearing a hood over his head. This didn't seem to bother them, they did nothing more than cast him a glance before carrying on with whatever they were doing. Obviously this type of this was considered normal around here.
He saw the castle looming in the distance. The walls were massive, and he had to find a way to scale them without getting caught. He found a spot where the forest met with the castle walls, providing him with a way to get in and out with ease. Takeru crawled up the tree, and was delighted to see that creeping vines had taken to growing all p the wall. He noticed that there were some up the castle itself as well.
Quietly lowering himself down, he snuck around to the back. Out here there were various balconies overlooking a vast and very beautiful garden. He decided to hang about the cherry trees for the time being. He climbed one, and sat in amongst its blossoms, which were in full bloom. He smiled as he remembered all the study dates he and Hikari had spent doing just this. However, she was the only one that ever got any studying done.
"Tell him I don't want any, as I'm not hungry. Tell him I don't care, but I'm tired. He made me stay up late last night, and he's just going to have to suffer the consequences. I'm locking the door, so there's no way he can get in."
He perked up at the sound of the voice…it was unmistakable. He couldn't exactly make out the words, but he could just make out her voice. He peered through the branches, and he saw her. His heart leapt to his throat and he almost screamed with joy as he saw her, but suppressed his desire to do so. He had found her!
Quickly, he looked for a rock or something else to throw. He found one small enough, and launched it up to her window. It was still early, and the sun was just beginning to rise, so it was dark.
The rock bounced off the balcony, catching the girl's attention. She looked over the balcony, but her back was to him. He threw another.
This time, she turned to face him, though he was still hidden in the trees. She was fairly high up, and didn't risk shouting at her.
Though, he threw another, and leapt out of the trees just as he did so. She saw him, he was sure of it.
She looked at him a moment, it didn't seem to register to her who he was. Her heart began to race; she knew who she wanted it to be, she knew who it looked like, but she also knew that it couldn't be him…Could it?
He rolled his eyes, and waved. He had little time, and he realized that she wasn't getting it.
Finally, it dawned on her. She began to wave frantically, and motioned for him to come up. He wasn't sure how, but realized that the stones seemed to stick out ever so slightly, and the vines climbed up the wall a ways too.
So, he began to climb. He had not trouble at the bottom, but by the third level, he was running out of places to grab.
"Hold on", she told him, and disappeared. He began to worry. The guards would be out soon, and he would most likely be shot down. He was relieved a little when Hikari emerged with a rope.
"Don't ask…" she said as she lowered it to him, "You have no idea how many times I've wanted to get out of here."
He smiled, and used the roped as a guide. Finally, he pulled himself up only to balcony railing. However, he lost his footing and toppled forwards, landing on top of Kari. She didn't seem to mind; she was too busy hugging him and wouldn't let him go even if he wanted her to. To say the least, he was content just to be there.
"I thought I was the only one here…I thought it was finally all over, that we digidestind had finally been defeated", she managed to choke out.
"Shhhh…It's alright. Everything's okay now. We've got everyone except Yolei at camp in the forest. We just have to find her."
She shook her head, "No, she's here with me in the castle. Though, she's my personal servant."
"Oh, good. At least you're together. And we don't have to worry about you either…we'll just kidnap you just like we did Sora…on her wedding day, too." he smiled as he said this.
"Oh Takeru, you have no idea how horrible it is here! This stupid ugly man is crawling all over me…they think he wants to marry me! And he's not the kind of guy that will take 'no' for an answer…I'm so scared…he orders me around, and he touches me and he…I'm so afraid!"
Takeru couldn't do much but hold her. It seems that she might have it worse than anyone. "What's the guy's name?" he asked.
She sniffled, "That's just it. Guy…of Gisbourne or something rather. I could care less where he's from… I hate him! And I don't hate a lot of people…"
TK's face drained at the name.
"What's the matter? Do you know something?"
He sighed, and nodded. "Let's go sit down."
She took his hand, and led him over to the bed. Sitting down on its edge, she rested her head against his shoulder. Naturally, his arm found its way around her.
"We've been placed in some sort of story…kind of like a role playing game except this time, it's for real. We've been placed in the shoes of characters from the past, myth, legend and reality. We've been able to place some of us, and others I think are just there. We've come to figure out that I've been placed as Robin Hood. Cody is Friar Tuck, and the others are the merry men…and women…Sora and Mimi are there now too. You, I'm assuming, have been given the role of…maid Marion. And Yolei, well, who knows. This man that is after is after me as well, though he wants a noose around my neck and he wants to watch me hang from the gallows…"
Kari looked at him, wide-eyed. "You have to get out of here!" she exclaimed. "He'll be up here soon, looking for me. I'm afraid that he's going to ask me soon…TK you have to hurry! You've just got to get me, and Yolei, out of here!"
"I will, but I just have to tell the others first. We'll think of something, I promise."
A knock was heard on the door. Hikari shoved Takeru into the bathroom, and shut the door.
She pretended to be groggy, and opened the door. Sure enough, on the other side was the red-headed Sir Guy of Gisbourne.
"I was just about to have my bath, I'll be down in an hour." she told him, then shut the door. He stopped it with his hand, and forced his way in.
"I'll wait here, then."
"Excuse me? I'm sorry, Sir, but not even you have the right to be in here."
"Oh?"
"Yes."
"But you are about to become my wife, why can't I?"
She was shocked. "I have heard nothing of this, and the last time I checked, you needed two people for marriage. I have no plans for that whatsoever."
He approached her, and grabbed her face in his hand.
"I assure you, girl, that you will marry me, or it will be your neck that I hang. I've been itching to hang someone for a while now, and this will give me an excuse to. Besides, it will also force your precious Robin out of hiding. Don't think I don't know about that, but I assure you, he's as good as dead, and if you refuse me, so are you."
He forced his lips upon hers, and gave her no time to react. He held her there against her will for a while, then stormed out of her room, slamming the door behind him. Hikari fell to her knees, and Takeru came rushing out of the washroom.
"Hikari!" he exclaimed.
"What am I going to do? He's going to kill me…and you…and…" she broke down.
"There there, it's alright. We'll get you out of this. I promised that we wouldn't leave you, and we won't. Even if I have to come on my own, I will. I swear it. I promised you once that I would never leave you, and I still hold myself to that."
She collapsed onto him. "Thank you…thank you so much.
Takeru stoked her hair, wanting to do more. His heart went out to the broken girl, and wanted to make everything okay. He wanted to hold her, to heal her. He wanted to kiss all her tears away. So that's just what he did.
Gently, barely touching her cheek, he kissed her. Her tears stopped flowing, but he didn't stop. He looked into her eyes and saw something that he had never seen before. He saw the broken, innocent child that she really was. He saw the longing in her eyes, though for what, he wasn't sure. All he was sure of was that she wasn't pulling away or resisting him, in fact, it was just the opposite.
Soon, his lips found their way down to hers. Softly as not to scare her, he claimed them as his own. He noticed that her arms had found their way around his neck, and she was playing with his hair, twisting it around her fingers. The kiss deepened ever so slightly, so little that it was barely enough to notice, but all the passion and longing had finally come out. They came in soft, butterfly like touches, each one never lasting any longer than a few seconds. They melted into each other, seemingly never to part.
Reluctantly, he pulled away from her.
"I have to go before the guard watch gets too heavy…" he whispered softly into her ear.
She held on tighter, like a small, frightened child.
"Please…don't leave me…" she pleaded.
"I have to, but not for long. I'll come back, I promise you that."
Unwillingly, she untangled herself from him. He stood up, and she soon followed suit. He headed to the balcony, and looking back once more, his gaze softened. "I'll be back soon…wait for me…" his words carried more meaning than one, and to this she caught on to.
With one last longing look, he disappeared over the balcony.
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Calmer of the Storm: Well, there you have it! You guys wanted romance, I gave it to you! Lol……I hope you ALL have a super fantastic summer, and I'll see you guys when I get back! Again, if you have any suggestions, feel free to tell me!
p.s. Reviews are always nice…..