Sorry I didn't get this up 'til the 16th. Sunday was a busy day for me.

War of the Crests

Part 1: Light

-Chapter 1: Rainy Days-

Three Years Later…

The twin knocks were quick, not like the kind you hear in TV shows or movies at all. Just two quick raps, one-two. That's how Tai knew it was Matt, it was the way he always knocked. He rushed to the door from his place in front of the TV and unlocked it, opening to find his buddy standing before him. He was soaked head to toe, his long blonde hair dark and wet, plastered to his face. He wore a frown, and his eyes were tired. Something was wrong. He held a backpack strap with one hand, the backpack slung over his shoulder. It, too, was soaked. And whatever was in it probably was worse for wear, too. Tai noted that there was a distinct lack of a case containing Matt's bass. Something was definitely wrong.

"You look like hell," Tai said, stepping aside.

"Imagine how I feel," Matt stepped in and, with one hand, pulled his hair away from his face and swept it back behind his ears. It stayed like that, which wasn't supposed to happen. He shook his head and the wet locks fell back into their usual position as a frame around his face.

"Should I ask?"

"You don't have to. Sora broke up with me," Matt said. It wasn't a pleasant sound coming from his lips.

"Geez," Tai said. He almost said more, but the look on Matt's weary, rain-soaked face told him that 'geez' was probably enough sympathy for now. He wanted his friend. "Go ahead and toss your stuff in my room. I'll…make coffee or something," Coffee was their usual 'rainy days suck' drink of choice. Matt nodded and made his way to the back hall that led to Tai's room. Tai watched him stop off in the bathroom and grab a towel. Evidently, he'd noticed that he was dripping on the carpet. Damn. Matt and Sora had been dating off-and-on for…what was it, four years now? They'd had their fights, but Tai had never seen Sora literally throw Matt out into the rain like this.

He turned off the TV, walked into the kitchen and set the coffee pot a-brewing as he searched the fridge for liquid creamer. They had two kinds, a french-vanilla and some kind of honey-cream flavor. He grabbed both. Matt liked the honey. Kari emerged from the hall, smart phone in-hand, probably texting someone. Probably TK.

"What's Matt doing here?" She asked, choosing not to look up from her phone. "And why is he soaked?"

"Sora kicked him out," Tai reached into the cupboard above his head and grabbed two mugs. They clinked together as he pulled them down off the shelf. Kari looked up from her phone, her eyes wide.

"Like, out out? Or they-had-a-fight-and-he-has-to-sleep-here-tonight out?"

"The first one. She broke up with him." Tai poured some creamer into each cup. A little extra into Matt's. He needed something sweet.

"You want me to handle Sora when she calls, then?" Kari asked.

Tai smiled. Sometimes, Kari was just awesome, "It'd be very much appreciated."

Kari stood by the phone and continued texting. While Tai waited for his coffee, he looked over her shoulder. It was TK. They had, apparently, planned to meet up tonight. While she was in the middle of informing him that she couldn't talk about why she had to cancel, the coffee pot beeped, informing Tai it was finished with its job. He took the pot and, taking both mug-handles in one hand and the full pot plus creamers in the other. It was quite a feat of dexterity, but he'd done it enough times that it wasn't too hard. He gave Kari a smile and, as he reached the door to his room, the phone rang. Right on cue.

"Hello?" Kari asked, cradling the home phone between her shoulder and ear as she sent another text to TK, informing him again that she couldn't talk about it; it wasn't about him; and that she'd talk to him soon.

"Kari? Hey, it's Sora." Sora said from the other line. It was almost like a dance, phone greetings. Rehearsed.

"Hey, Sora. Tai's not available right now," she said, glancing at her phone as TK's incoming message blinked up on the screen. "What do u mean? Dont u trust me?"

She texted yes she did, and that it was out of her hands while Sora said,

"Oh. Okay, I'll call later, then."

"He's talking to Matt, Sora. If you want both sides of the story heard, then talk to me," Kari said.

"Of course he is. Where else would Matt go?" Sora sighed, and TK sent over, "OK. TTYL? Tmmw?"

Kari sent a yes, a love you, a goodbye, and asked, "What happened?"

"Well, we were sitting around in the living room. I was drawing him and he was tuning his guitar. Again. His band hasn't had a gig in a month, did you know that? Anyway, he was tuning his guitar, and I was drawing him, and then it comes to me. Why are we just sitting around, doing nothing? We're 18! We should be out there partying or something, right? Eating dinner, seeing a movie, dancing, something. Not wasting time doing nothing. I mean, I love to sketch, and he's fun to sketch. But I've done it like a million times. We haven't gone out and done anything for a while, either. So I ask him, 'why don't we do anything, anymore?' And he looks up at me with this bewildered expression and just says, 'what?' So I ask, 'why are we just sitting around here?'

"So she asks, 'why are we just sitting around here?' And at this point, I'm totally lost. I wonder what this is about. I mean, does she want to make love or something? So I ask her, 'is this about sex? Because I'm lost.'"

Matt paused to take a sip of his coffee, and Tai almost used the opportunity to comment, but decided on rubbing his temple and letting out a groan instead.

"So I say that, and then she's like, 'is that all you think about?' And then I stop tuning my guitar and look at her. I mean, really look, you know? I try to find out what I did wrong, what she wants me to say, but I just can't see it. So I ask her. I say, 'what did I do wrong? What exactly do you want me to say?'

"And she just explodes on me. She says something like, 'what did you do wrong?'" Matt made the imitation in a high voice that Tai was almost surprised to hear coming out of his mouth. "And I just say, 'Yeah. You're obviously pissed about something. Just tell me what it is, so I can fix it.'" Matt was going to continue. But Tai had to stop him.

"You really are an idiot," Tai said, looking Matt straight in the face. "You've been together with Sora for four years—"

"Off and on," Matt interjected.

Tai ignored him, "—and you can't tell what she means when she says 'why are we just sitting around here?' And you jump straight to sex? You know, for being a badass rock star, you really have to work on your people skills." He smiled, trying to provoke one from Matt. It didn't work.

Matt narrowed his eyes at him a little, but then rolled them in defeat, "Okay. You're right, o wise sage. Can I continue?"

"Please," Tai took a sip of his own coffee, letting the sweet vanilla creamer meld with the bitterness of the blackness.

"Wow. He said that?" Kari asked. She had put her mobile away, and was actively listening to Sora. Kari knew Matt was innocent, that he really did just want to know what was going on. But Sora was angry, and it was better just to go with it than try to explain the situation.

"I know. So then I just looked at him, you know? I really looked at him. And inside him, I don't know. I didn't really see anything. I mean, I know who he is. I know he's a great guy, and he's fun sometimes, and he's passionate. But…I didn't see a future, you know? He just doesn't get it, doesn't get me. He'd probably marry me if I asked him. But that's kind of the point. I don't want a guy who I have to ask something like that. I looked at him and I saw…four years of my life. Four years of fun and love slowly drifting into four years of…sitting around drawing and tuning guitars. We were getting old, I guess, and I'm not old.

"So I tell him 'we don't go anywhere, Matt. We don't do anything. We haven't done anything in months except sit around, go to Tai's soccer games and have sex. I feel old with you, like we're one of those eighty year-old couples you see at crappy restaurants that just sit around, eat their soup and don't talk to each other because they have nothing to do with their lives. I'm not eighty. I'm eighteen. I want to do things with my life.'" Kari felt like Sora wasn't just talking to Matt. "I called him stagnant, like a pool of old water. I said that he was making me the same way. And then he said, 'you want to go out? Let's go out.' And that was it. He just…he didn't get it. He couldn't. I decided right then and there that I was done. And I told him so. I told him we were through, and to pack his things and leave. He just stared at me, like some lost puppy dog who couldn't believe I wasn't taking him home with me."

Kari gave a confirming sigh. It was hard to respond to something like that. And any hopes of getting them back together died with that little speech.

"So this is for real then?" She asked. It was honest, and luckily Sora had calmed herself down enough to respond in kind.

"Yeah…yeah, it is. I just…yeah. Thanks for listening, Kari."

"No problem. I'll…tell Tai?" Kari asked.

Sora laughed a little, "Sure. Though he probably already has a better idea of what actually happened than either me or Matt."

Kari smiled. Sora was probably right. Tai had a knack for seeing through bias. He got people, understood them. Especially his friends. "It's why we love him."

"…Yeah. Thanks again, Kari." Sora said and hung up the phone.

Kari pushed the End button and hung up the phone herself. She couldn't say that she knew exactly where Sora was coming from. In fact, she probably had a terrible idea of it. Six months ago, Sora and her mom had a falling out when Sora told her that she wasn't going to a university here in Japan, that she wanted to work as an artist for a year or two before going to an art school in Europe. Sora's mom, ever the traditionalist, informed Sora that she had two choices, either go to University following her graduation, or get married. If she didn't do one of the two, Sora was out of the house.

After about a week of living in Kari's room, Sora found a cheap apartment in the city. She moved in, paying the rent and buying food with a job at a printing office down the street, helping people design signs and power-point presentations. That and Kari's mom, who just couldn't stand to see her out there in the big wide world on her own, donated money to her every month to help her out.

About a month ago, Matt moved in with her, much to his father's approval and Sora's mother's chagrin. As far as Kari knew, until now they'd been just fine. Sure, they didn't have internet or cable, but they were getting along.

"I just don't get it. Things were getting along great, you know? I mean, we loved each other, we spent time together, the sex was good. I thought we were actually going to make it together. We fought, sure. All couples fight, though. I just don't get it," Matt drained his second cup of coffee and looked it for a moment. That was just the problem, Tai knew. Matt really didn't get it. This was far from their first fight, far from their first break-up, too, but this one was final. He knew it, Matt knew it, and it sounded like Sora knew it, too. After each fight, Tai generally got to play therapist to Sora and, quite frankly, he'd seen this coming for a while. Matt might know how to play to a crowd, but dealing with people had never been one of his strong suits. And as much as Matt was known as the "wild child" of their group, full of hot temper, piss and vinegar, it was Sora who needed action and independence in her life. Matt would have been perfectly happy tuning that guitar, sitting across from Sora for the rest of his life. Sora wanted something more...and someone more.

He looked up from his empty cup at Tai, "You have anything stronger? Beer or something? I feel like getting drunk."

Tai chuckled, "Nah. Nobody drinks it around here. We've got wine, and scotch, but I don't really feel like explaining to my mom why her good bottle of pinot noir is empty. And nobody touches my dad's scotch." Tai smiled, trying to provoke one from Matt.

Matt just nodded in solemn understanding, if not agreement, "Yeah. I just…I love her, man. You know?"

Tai almost responded to that question, but knew his answer would cause more problems than it solved. So he just grunted and said, "rainy days suck, man."

"Yeah, I guess they do," Matt poured himself another cup of coffee and took a sip without adding creamer.

Tai's mobile buzzed in his pocket three times. Somebody texted him. He took another sip of his own coffee and ignored it for now. He had other things to focus on.

Davis took a sip of his coffee and waited for a reply from Tai. Ten minutes passed with no response. Evidently, he had something more important to do. He checked it again, making sure the vibrate function was on so that he wouldn't miss it if Tai did get back to him. It was on.

"Expecting a call?" the girl behind the bar, Kimiko, asked him. Davis always sat at the bar when he went to Starbucks, and he probably went more than he should. The fact that he had a regular drink told him that. She was using a towel to clean up some spilled coffee and milk around the brewing station. He forced a smile, and could see that she knew it was forced. He liked Kimiko. She was pretty, with sharp eyes, pinkish-red streaks in her black hair and two Starbucks straws (reinforced with chopsticks) holding her hair in place. She went to school with him, though they had no classes together, and he sometimes walked her to work after school. He had thought about asking her out once, but shortly after thinking about it, realized that he didn't have anywhere to take her, nor any money even if they did go somewhere. He only ever went to school, here, home, Tai's place and the soccer field. And the only reason he had the 2000 yen he had now was because he took it from his mom's wallet (she wouldn't miss it. She never went anywhere either). So he didn't ask her out. But at least he had somebody to talk to. The weather outside was shit (a storm in the summer…seriously?) and he didn't want to go home. He'd already tried Ken, who was busy with Yolei, and Tai was…not responding.

"Trying to get a hold of Tai, maybe hang out for a while," he said, dropping the smile. "No response."

"You could always hang here. I don't get off 'til closing," she offered.

"Doesn't Eiko not like it if a customer sits around without a drink in his hand?" he asked. Eiko was the manager and Kimiko's boss. She was fair, but often fair meant asking Davis to leave if he didn't have any money. Lucky for them, Eiko was currently in the back doing books.

"That's a drink in your hand," Kimiko gestured.

"Not for much longer," Davis shook the cup. What little coffee was left splashed around inside. "Anyway, I should probably go and do something. You know, be a productive member of society and all that."

"Oh, screw that," Kimiko began, but a customer entered before she could give him the go out and live your life speech again, and she told him to wait for her while she took the man's order. She was right, of course. He really should be getting out there and doing something. He felt like a starving artist or novelist or something, coming to Starbucks after school and just sitting around. Sure, there was soccer and school and whatnot to distract him, but even soccer wasn't…doing it for him. Ken was already lined up on soccer scholarships to get him through university (he'd probably go pro), and Tai was currently playing in the local league. Davis…was on the school team. And he was good, there was no denying that. But he didn't get the rush he used to. It wasn't really a spectacle any more. People came to the games. Ken, when he wasn't playing, Yolei, Kari, TK, Tai, sometimes even Cody would drop by. He just didn't have the passion he used to four years ago. His life felt…empty. He wasn't sad, just apathetic, un-driven. There was nothing really holding him here. The others, they all had their anchors. Tai had his family, and soccer. Matt and Sora had each other. Joe had his drive to become a doctor. Izzy had his technology and his place in Tokyo U. TK and Kari had each other, just like Ken and Yolei. Cody was dedicated to his schooling and his family.

Davis didn't have anything like that. Even his family didn't really hold him here. His mom and dad were the same drink-and-fight duo they'd always been, and Jun had a social life to keep her busy. Davis just spent most of his time drifting. Or at Starbucks. Or in the digital world. The digital world was more of a home to him than Odaiba these days. Even Veemon stayed there most of the time, spending time at Gennai's house in the woods.

He polished off his coffee and hopped off the bar chair as Kimiko rang the customer up. He waved goodbye to her and threw the cup away. She frowned at him in frustration and finished ringing up the guy's order just as he got to the door and pulled the hood on his sweatshirt up over his head. Damn storm.

"Hey! Davis, wait," she rushed up to him and grabbed his hand as he took his first step outside. Cold wind and rain rushed in to meet him. He looked at her hand, and followed it up to her face. Her lips were straight, her eyes firm, "go out with me Saturday."

The man at the counter looked at them, one corner of his mouth upturned.

"What?" Davis asked. That was…not that random, actually, he thought as he mulled it over.

"Saturday, rain or shine. Let's go out and do something, you know? It's my day off," she replaced the serious face with a smile.

Davis blinked, "Okay. I only have two thousand yen to my name. Actually, sixteen-hundred after that coffee."

Her smile broadened, "Good. Meet me here around noon, 'kay? We'll go somewhere cheap, I promise."

"Noon," he said as a half-question.

"Right. Noon, Saturday. Be here," The smile stayed on her face, she squeezed his hand, and went back inside.

"Sorry about that," she said to the man, "personal matter."

"Indeed. No trouble," he said, turning and smiling at Davis, who managed a genuine half-smile back.

As he walked down the street, rain already soaked through his sweatshirt and into his hair and skin, he thought, Did I just get asked out?

Yeah, I think I did. I should tell Veemon.

He could feel the power. The object around his neck pulsated with it. Pure and raw. And the world reacted. Rain pelted his face and body as he stood prostrate atop a skyscraper like Jesus on the cross, opening himself to the sky. Lightning coursed through the clouds in time with a pulse of energy from the crest, and thunder followed—a deafening roar over Tokyo. It was all coming to pass. After two centuries of research and study, he finally obtained the unobtainable. What some called divine he wore around his neck, and the sheer energy it contained was near enough to bring him to his knees. He could feel its sentience. That power, it wanted out. It wanted to be wielded, to be mastered by one who was worthy..

"I am worthy," he said, and it was punctuated by another flash of lightning and another roll of thunder, as if to confirm the statement. "You are calling out to the world. This storm is your herald, and mine."

Another pulse of energy, another flash of lightning, another crash of thunder. Power. Pure and raw and beautiful, like the storm above. It was real, alive, and in his possession.

"All I need do is master you," he said. "And all shall see the true power of Light.