Calmer of the Storm: Hello!!!!

Cody:….

Calmer of the Storm: …hehe….hides from angry readers I'm soooorry! I just got…side tracked! Not to mention writer's block…and procrastination…I'm not dead! I'm still here!

Cody: ahem It seems they have forgotten you…

Calmer of the Storm: NOOOOO! cries hysterically

Cody: sweat drop Uh…let's just get on with this thing…

It was around mid-morning when Takeru made it back to the old monastery, for he was moving at a very slow pace. His mind was spinning…he could not believe what he had just done. He was still in a bit of a daze when he finally reached camp. Everyone else was awake.

"Takeru Takaishi! Where the heck have you been!" His older brother Yamato demanded, standing up.

Takeru looked up, his eyes not holding much emotion. "I was…out…"

Yamato rolled his eyes, "We kind of figured that. Now, do you mind telling us exactly where you were?"

Takeru shrugged, "I went for a walk…"

Yamato looked as if he were about to strangle the younger boy. The others only watched, amused.

TK sighed, "I went for a walk, down to the castle…"

This got everyone's attention. All but Sora's eyes were upon the boy.

"You what?!" Yamato yelled.

"I went down to the castle. I wanted to see if anyone was there."

"You could have been killed! That price on your head is way too big, Takeru, for you to be marching around in enemy territory, so to speak. What if they had seen you? Then were would we be? They would have hung you, and then we would all have been screwed, and had to stay here for the rest of our lives! And it would all be because of one of your harebrained ideas! Next time, do all of us a favour, and think before you do something!"

Takeru glared daggers at his older brother, but kept his cool. He realized that all these things could have happened, and he knew the stress his brother was under, for they all were under that kind of stress.

"For your information, Yamato, none of those things happened. No one even knew I was there." His tone was low, showing that he was annoyed. "And, I found out where Hikari and Yolie are."

The others, namely, Taichi and Ken, paid even closer attention to his words.

"Hikari seems to have taken the mantle of 'maid Marion'. Yolie is her personal servant. However, Mr. Gisbourne seems to have taken a particular liking to Kari, and his either going to kill her, or marry her." He stayed rather calm as he said this.

Taichi nearly chocked on what he was eating. "What?!"

Takeru's gaze flickered a moment, "You heard me."

With that, he left, leaving the other digidestind rather confused about the whole conversation. Sora quietly stood up, leaving Tai's side. She followed TK, leaving the others even more confused.

Takeru ran a hand through his hair as he headed out back. He passed the three hounds, who did nothing more than bat an eye at him. He found himself on the other side of the building, looking out into the forest. He gave a big sigh. The boy herd footsteps behind him, but didn't acknowledge them.

"What happened, TK?" A soft, feminine voice asked.

He shook his head, "A lot, and nothing."

Sora stepped forwards so that she was beside him. "Do you want to talk about it?"

The blonde was silent. He seemed to be thinking, for his jaw was tense, and his gaze fixed upon the ground that lay a few feet in front of him. His shoulders raised as he took a deep breath. He did not move, but responded.

"I suppose I should say something about it…And I think that you'd be the only person I'd trust. At least, at this moment in time." His voice was soft, barely above a whisper.

Her face flushed; she was truly flattered by his words. She didn't say anything in response, but waited for him to continue.

Taking in another breath of air, he did.

"I…I don't even know where to begin. It all just…happened so fast. I mean, I knew I cared for her. She's my best friend, how could I not?" He paused a moment.

Sora finally gained some understanding as to what this was all about. However, again, she said nothing and allowed him to continue. Sometimes, the best thing is just a listening ear.

"When this whole thing started, I mean, when she, and the rest of you guys were missing, I didn't know what to do. I felt so…helpless. I promised her I'd always be there for her, but this time, I couldn't. I felt like I was letting her down. I know it wasn't my fault, but I can't help but feel this way."

"Is that what's been bothering you?" she asked as he finished.

He gave yet another sigh. "That's just part of it. Actually, it's really only the beginning."

"You don't have to say anything more if you don't want to…" she told him.

He shook his head. "No, I want to. I need to talk about it. Anyways, well, as you know, I snuck out to go find her. I actually managed to get in, and without being spotted. She had stepped out onto the balcony while I was in the bushes. I found a few small stones, and I caught her attention. After I climbed up is the part that really gets to me." He turned to look at Sora.

"As I climbed up, she hugged me, quite fiercely. This was after I pulled myself up. I lost my footing, and toppled over, right on top of her." He swallowed and his face flushed. "I have to say though, I didn't mind in the least. Then, she began sobbing into me, and I really didn't know what to do." He turned away to look at a tree. "She was so…helpless, so vulnerable. I really didn't know how to react to her. I did the best I could, but I don't know what that did. She told me Yolei was there with her, which made me a little happier. Then, she starts about how horrible the place was, then she starts going on about some guy who's all over her, and I felt something well up inside me…though I don't know what it was. It's not the first time, though."

A knowing smile crossed the young woman's face. He didn't notice, so she didn't comment.

"Then she mentions is Sir Guy, or whatever, and yadda yadda yadda. I mean, not to say that I wasn't listening, but she rambled on a little. When she was done, I began to explain to her what was going on, and how we got here. While I was doing so, someone knocked on her door. She shoved me into the bathroom, and answered it." He paused, and took another breath. "It was him. I didn't know what to do, so I literally held my breath for most of the time that they were talking. My heart was beating so loud I could have sworn he heard it. The conversation made my blood boil, but again, I was helpless. I couldn't help her, because I know he'd just kill me. He threatened her a few times…and then he…he kissed her. I could tell because I heard her protests, and then there was silence. You have no idea how angry I was. When I heard the door slam shut, I burst out, and found her sitting against the wall. She had sunk to her knees."

Sora continued to listen. She couldn't think of anything to say, so she didn't say anything.

"Then I…I held her. She was so broken, so fragile…I didn't know what to do. She just cried, and it hurt to see her cry. I…I wanted to make it all better, I wanted to stop her from hurting, but I didn't know how. She was crying so much, so I…I just…"

Sora noticed that he was turning a nice hue of red, though through the dim light it was not easy to tell. "You…what?" she prodded.

"I…I kissed her."

Her eyes widened. She hadn't been expecting this reply, though, she had to admit, it was inevitable at some point in time. "Then what happened?" she asked him.

"Well, she kissed me back…We didn't really say anything to each other, she just told me that she didn't want me to leave. I didn't know what to do, I knew that I couldn't stay; I'd be killed. I promised that I'd be back for her, and then I left…"

Sora processed everything that he had said. She then looked up at him. "So what exactly is it that you are confused about?"

He sighed. "I'm just…It all happened so fast, and it felt so…so…"

"Right?"

"Yeah…" he paused, his voice still quiet. "But I don't know…I just, it's all so messed up. I mean, before, she was my best friend. I'll admit, I had this crush on her, but I don't know what I feel anymore. I'm…I'm afraid, Sora. I just don't know what to do. I don't want to lose what I have with her, she means the world to me. And I think I might have messed it all up. And what if she expects something of me that I can't give her? What if we were both caught up in the moment, and it means nothing? Then what would I do?"

Sora looked at him. "Well, if it meant nothing, then you've got nothing to worry about. If the both of you just discard it as nothing, then you're fine. But, if she sees it as something more, then you might have to worry. You've got to ask yourself what you're willing to do. Do you want to go to the next step, or do you want to keep everything as is?"

"That's what I'm not sure about. I mean, I was happy with the way it was before. But, after all this, I feel so different. I can't get her off my mind; I'm constantly thinking about her, worried about her, wondering about her…I don't even know what this is! I'm just a teenager. I'm not supposed to feel like this, am I? I don't even know anymore. Is this normal? What's happening?"

His questions were so frantic and they came so fast that Sora wasn't quite sure how to begin.

"First of all", she said, "you've got to calm down. Just take a deep breath, and collect yourself. Secondly, this is normal. Maybe not common among teenagers, well, maybe it is, but it's normal. Everyone goes through it at one point in their life. Whether or not something comes from this, is the question."

He looked up at her, his blue eyes full of evident confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that you, and Kari I suppose, need to make a decision. Are you going to let this behind you, or are you going to use it to build something else with it?"

He looked away. "I don't know…"

"Well, I think that you should just get some rest, first of all. Then, we'll think of some way to get both Hikari and Yolei back. After, you can figure out how you feel about Hikari then."

"How I feel…I suppose you're right. Thank you Sora."

She smiled sheepishly. "I hope I wasn't just rambling about nothing…"

He shook his head. "No, if anyone was rambling, it was me. Thank you for listening. You really know how to deal with this kind of stuff." He reached over, and gave her a friendly hug. As he disappeared through the trees, Sora smiled.

"Well, I am the digidestind of love…" she said softly, before following him.

…………………

When Sora returned to the cellar, the others were eating. She took her place beside Tai, who handed her some food.

"Looks like we're going to have to go fishing again." Commented Daisuke.

"No, it just means that you are going to have to learn to ration food, and not eat everything in sight." It was Ken who had replied.

A glare was fired from across the circle. "Don't blame me, I'm a growing boy!"

"Well then, Davis, did I just hear you volunteer to go fishing?" Taichi asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Yes…NO!" He crossed his arms. "Besides, Yamato is our star fisherman, why can't he do it?"

"Because I'm not whining for more food."

Takeru looked up. "May as well just give in now, Davis. You aren't going to win."

"Oh yeah, TQ?"

A smile crossed the younger blonde's lips. "Yeah."

"Well…nyah!" Daisuke stuck out his tongue. The others laughed.

Cody, who had been quiet, suddenly spoke. "There is some extra food upstairs." Everyone looked at him. Daisuke stood up.

"What? And you didn't tell us?"

The younger boy shrugged. "You never asked."

"Well don't just keep us in the dark…where is it?"

Cody shook his head. "Sorry, can't tell you. It would risk us loosing all our food."

"What?! My life has officially ended…" Daisuke wailed.

"I've shown Mimi where it is, so when I'm not here, she'll help you out."

"Why Mimi?" Davis asked.

"Because I'm responsible, and I can cook."

Davis looked thoughtful. "Oh."

The group fell into a lapse of silence. The whole idea of being lost in a forest was getting to them. They were all just avoiding the fact that they had to, once again, step out into the unknown with nothing but a few sticks to help them out.

Taichi leaned back. "Well, I suppose we should work of plans for getting Hikari and Yolei back."

The others readily agreed.

Discussion resulted, and a plan was decided on. They would have to wait a few hours, for cover of darkness. They were almost out of time…Two days left.

…………

Calmer of the Storm: sits behind toy bucket lid to avoid flying objects I'm sorry this chapter was boring! But it had to be done! I promise the next one will be out faster!

Cody:…..

Calmer of the Storm: peers out over the lid Reviews are always a morale booster! And they make me feel happy!

Cody: sweat drop