A Digimon Frontier Fanfic

By Sakura Martinez (a.k.a Haru Glory)

A/N:

Okay, so I must admit that I have delayed my updates far too longer than I had expected and planned. I didn't think that it would take months before I can actually update another chapter in this fanfic. I find myself so busy for the past months and even now, what with so much projects: two games that I am making, a contest I am now a part of, and a bunch of other things, I find it hard to update as frequently as before. But I do plan on updating as much as I can while I am on vacation. Anyhow, more of my Author's Note after you guys have read this ninth chapter of this story. Hope you like it, enjoy!

The Rabbit on the Moon

The Still Village of Ciel

It had already been three days since Takuya and Izumi finally arrived at Ciel and since Takuya had finally got his wound cared for. In the course of those three days, there was not a sign of their two other companions and this began to worry them both.

Ciel was a little town near the eastern borders of the kingdom. It was quite a simple town, the kind of town where farming was the major source of livelihood and where neighbors knew each other very well.

When they first arrived at Ciel, Takuya and Izumi could already sense the hospitality of the villagers. They were too hospitable that it first aroused the suspicions of them both, but, they soon found out that it was customary in that particular place to always treat guests with respect and kindness – a custom that is quite surprising.

Takuya had been taking things easy, although keeping a close watch on the people that surrounds him even as he was recuperating from his injury. Despite the continued orders of his companion for him to stay indoors and in bed, he kept his stubborn attitude and continued to accompany her even when she was merely strolling.

"Why are you so stubborn, Sir Takuya?" Izumi finally asked, aggravated. "Don't you want your injury to heal faster?"

"Of course I want my arm to be better as son as possible, my lady." He replied. "But lying in bed won't do me any good. Besides, my arm will heal when it heals and that's that."

"You are even worse than my bodyguard back at home when it comes to stubbornness." She finally said as she sighed in defeat.

"I'll take that as a compliment then." He said. "We can never be too sure, Lady Izumi. An enemy may be within our midst."

The two continued on walking around Ciel in hopes of bumping into either Kouji, the Vice-Commander, or Kouichi. After hours of walking, they finally gave up and returned to the inn that they were staying at.

When they have at the inn, they were surprised to see the inn-keeper waiting for them more eagerly than he had been for the past few days.

"You two had finally returned, I've been waiting for the past hour and a half." The inn-keeper said.

"Waiting for us? Why?" Izumi questioned.

As soon as the question left her, the inn-keeper immediately handed her a piece of paper which was folded neatly and was addressed to her, immediately she recognized the handwriting.

"A young man with long, black hair tied behind his head came here and asked me to deliver that letter to you." The inn-keeper explained. "If I am not mistaken he was with another man with short, black hair."

"That must be the Vice-Commander and Koichi!" Takuya whispered over at Izumi.

Izumi nodded and with that, they both thanked the inn-keeper and went directly at their room.

It was a funny thing how they managed to find themselves sleeping at the same room. When they first arrived, disheveled and with Takuya injured, they were immediately brought over to the inn-keeper. All Takuya could remember at that point was the inn-keeper asking them several questions.

At that point, the pain in Takuya's arm had already doubled due to the fact that it was already in dire need of medical attention – a medical attention that Izumi's first aid was not able to do. With Takuya in agony and with Izumi flustered, both of them were not actually listening to what their host was saying. All they could remember replying was 'Yes' to every single question that came their way that night. Of course, one of the queries was about the room that they would be taking, and thus, unknowingly, they booked themselves only one room.

"It was a good thing that there are two separate beds in this room." Takuya thought to himself. He would not risk what scene Izumi would bring upon the matter if it was otherwise.

As the two seated opposite each other on the chairs that were part of the small and simple dining set of the room, Izumi quickly folded open the parchment which was obviously a letter to the both of them.

"So, what does it say, Lady Izumi?" Takuya asked after Izumi had read to herself the contents of the letter.

At that, Izumi read the letter out loud, and it goes as so:

Megumi and Shin,

You should not worry about neither Kouichi or myself for we are both safe. We have heard yesterday from some of the villagers that you both manage to arrive at Ciel safely. Unfortunately, we cannot meat there as I first thought. It seems that the Western Commander had already learned of us meeting there somehow, either that or they read our movements.

As such, we cannot be seen together in broad daylight. Kouichi and myself already prepared for our journey. I hope that Shin is already healed if not, then we would have no choice otherwise.

We have secured four stags that we would be using as we make haste to Guara. We will meet both of you tomorrow night by the outskirts of the village. Be prepared by then and make sure that you tell no one that you would be leaving. Also, I would like to instruct both of you to burn this letter the moment you have both read its contents, we do not wish for them to know our trail.

Kouji

"Tomorrow night, huh?" Takuya muttered loud enough for Izumi to hear. "I guess I have no choice, it's a good thing that my arm doesn't hurt as much as it did before."

"I don't understand, how could your father know that all of us with meet here?" Izumi asked.

"Don't look at me, I didn't tell my father, if that is what you are thinking." Takuya quickly stated, his face was serious as he too wondered about the same thing. "We should really be careful, my Lady, it's safe to say now that we really have a traitor in our midst."

Izumi nodded, "I'm sure Kouji is also thinking about the same thing and I am sure that he had already questioned your companion, Kouichi, about it as well."

"Well, there is still that possibility that someone had been spying on us." Takuya said in a low whisper. "We should be careful when we speak, Lady Izumi, we don't know if the walls here have ears."

Izumi nodded.

Takuya then stood up and went over the door, creeping towards it while making sure not to make any sound. When he got to the door, he pressed his ear over it to hear if there is someone on the other side listening to their conversation.

It took a while before Takuya finally moved away from the door.

As Takuya was checking on the door, Izumi, with the letter still clenched in her hands went to the side of the window and peered over it. Like Takuya, she too did not find anyone near.

When they have made sure that no one was around, Izumi went over to where Takuya was standing and gave him the letter as well as telling him to burn it with his flame. Takuya nodded and did so. Soon, the parchment was burnt and was nothing more than black ashes on the wooden floor.

"So, how do we get out of this inn without the knowledge of the others boarding here and the inn-keeper?" Izumi asked in a whisper, they were now careful not to speak loudly in fear that there was someone they could not see who was eavesdropping on them.

"I actually have no idea at the moment, my Lady." Takuya whispered back. "One thing is for sure, though, we can't go out through the front door, we have to make our own exit."

Izumi nodded at that. Like Takuya, she could not think about any other way to go unnoticed. Both of them, however, agreed to prepare for their departure by buying supplies from the shop found on the northern part of the village. But, they also agreed that they would buy separately, and little by little, so as to not arouse any suspicion.

Hours have passed and night was already nearing the still and peaceful village. After having to go back and forth from the shop to the inn, Takuya and Izumi finally have enough supplies that would last until they get to the next settlement in their destination.

It was a tough job having to pretend that they kept on forgetting some things to buy just so they could complete their supplies. It was a good thing, though, that the old woman, who was in-charge with the shop that moment, did not mind them returning over and over again – she actually was thankful for the flow of money that day.

It was only after supper and after they had made sure that no one was near their room and listening to their conversation did Takuya and Izumi began to plan their 'escape'.

"What about if we use the windows?" Izumi asked as they began their brainstorming.

"That would not do us any good, my lady." Takuya replied. "We might cause a ruckus and besides, the window is facing at the direction of the village square and I have noticed that there are many couples out at such an hour."

"Very well then, the windows are out of the picture."

"We could sneak through the kitchen door…" Takuya said.

"That's not possible, Takuya." Izumi quickly said, "I've seen the cook guard the kitchen. Even a fly can't get pass him unnoticed."

"Okay then, where else could we get out from?" Takuya wondered.

Time seemed to fly by so fast that it was already late before they finally decided to rack their brains tomorrow morning. They were already both tired, and they knew that they would need to rest, especially since tomorrow night they would probably be riding the night away with their two other companions…that is, if they manage to find a way out of the village before then.

Morning soon came, and immediately after breakfast, Takuya and Izumi went out to think while walking around Ciel.

It was only when lunch was nearing, did they actually think of something…

"Takuya, tell me, do we actually need to get out of here when the sun sets?" Izumi asked.

"When the sun sets?" Takuya asked back, "Well, I don't really remember the Vice-Commander stating the exact time that we should get out of this place to meet them."

"Then, in that case, we could get out of this village earlier than we should." Izumi said.

"What do you mean?" The Knight Apprentice asked.

"Well, I just thought that we could act as if we are going to have a picnic outside town." Izumi stated. "If we were to act like we would do so, then we could get out of this city without being suspicious as early as this afternoon."

"But would they believe us if we say we are going there just to have a picnic?" Takuya asked.

"Well, I've heard from some people that that place is a good place to have a picnic, so we'll only have to say just that." She replied. "If we were to be asked why we would have a picnic at such an hour, then I could simply state that it could help you relax a bit or something like that."

Takuya thought for a moment. He thought long and hard searching for any holes that may jeopardize everything, but he could find none. Smiling he faced Izumi and told her how brilliantly she thought that up.

"I can't believe we were actually trying hard to escape from here as if we were some kind of prisoners." Takuya said with a laugh.

"Yes, it is quite funny, isn't it?"

"But, we have to hide after we get out of here, my lady." Takuya said. "We can't risk being followed when we get out of the village."

Izumi nodded in agreement.

Quickly, the two finished their lunch and prepared the belongings that they have. Some were hidden underneath large picnic baskets while others were merely hanging on their back.

The moment that they were questioned by the inn-keeper where they were going, they immediately made up and excuse of having a picnic and when they were asked if they were going to spend the night at the village, Takuya quickly answered, without the consent of Izumi, that they would be camping that night.

The inn-keeper was surprised at their sudden decision, but merely shrugged doubt out of his head as he promised Takuya and Izumi that their rooms would still be available when they return the next morning.

Takuya and Izumi thanked him, although they knew that it would be quite a while before they would actually be returning and even they were not sure if they would actually be stopping by the village on their way back.

They made their way towards the entrance of the village while making sure that no one was following them and that they were not acting very suspicious. They guarded their every movement believing that their lives could be at stake.

Finally, they were outside the village. With as much haste as they could muster but still acting inconspicuous, they began to head towards the small forest just beside the village outskirts. They have both agreed, at that moment, that they would hide from view – anyone's view, while making sure that they have a good view of everything themselves.

"Takuya," Izumi began when dark was already nearing. "I would like to remind you to act as though we both still don't know who the other really is, okay?"

Takuya nodded with the small flame still lit on one of his fingers, "You don't have to remind me of that, my lady. I know full well the consequences otherwise. I would not like the Vice-Commander to think ill of me just because I am my father's son."

"That's good that we both understand our predicament." Izumi said as a finishing sentence.

Takuya agreed with her, and they both continue to sat silently in wait for their companions to arrive.

It was only when the moon was already overhead and casting its silver rays with the stars in the horizon that they heard the neighing of the stags that Kouji had told them of and heard the voices of the companions that they have not seen in a while.

After making sure that these people were indeed Kouji and Kouichi, Takuya and Izumi went out of their hiding place to meet up with them.

"We were worried, brother." Izumi said. "We thought that you two have been captured…or worst…killed."

"Sorry for worrying you both." Kouji said, then faced Takuya and said. "Thank you for keeping an eye out for my sister. I really appreciate it, Shin."

Takuya smiled, then replied. "It's really nothing, Vice-Commander. It is my duty after all."

Kouji nodded.

"You had me worried for a second, Shin." Kouichi added. Then saw the bandage on Takuya's arm. "I've heard you were hurt but I did not expect to see a bandage around your arm still."

"It's just a minor mishap on my part, Kouichi, nothing to worry about." Takuya replied. "Besides, my arm is mostly healed now."

"That's a good thing, Shin." Kouji said. "We don't know if those bandits or some other group of people would continue to pursue as, we better have enough offense and defense to fend them off if they intend to do so."

"I will do my part, Vice-Commander!" Takuya said with a salute.

After making sure that their baggage was well strapped on the stags, all of rode off into the night towards their next destination – the City of Guara.

To be continued…

A/N:

Okay, so that's all for the ninth chapter. I have to thank all of you who continue to patronize my work despite being late at updating it. Don't worry though, I plan on finishing every fanfic I submit here.

I plan on updating this comming sunday, if I could, which I do hope I could as I also want to know the ending of this fanfic as much as the rest of you, lol.

Anyhow, that about wraps this update up. Hope you guys take time to review on this chapter since I would really appreciate it if you do.

With that said, this is Sakura Martinez saying "PEACE" and signing out! See ya all soon!