A Digimon Fontier Fanfic

BY Sakura Martinez

A/N:

Well, since I updated CoT:CW, I had to push back the release of this new chapter for a day or so. Anyways, this chapter is pretty much shorter and more on the explanatory side than the rest of the chapters so far. I wouldn't explain what the explanation is, since that would just be spoiling the story, but I will allow you to read on… lol

BTW, I really had made sure that I upload this today and finish this chapter today as well since I was pretty much being lazy yesterday night when I began writing this. I told myself that unless I finish this chapter, I wouldn't be able to play with my PSP and finish Crisis Core again. And since I am already in the last leg of that game, I decided to slap myself and get to work. So, I hope you guys like this chapter as much as I would be enjoying finishing that game before writing a new chapter.

-- End Author's Notes

The Rabbit on the Moon

The First Ignition

It had already been three days since Takuya and company learned of the capture of Izumi's father and the possible whereabouts of her father and their friend , Kouichi. Three days since they all agreed to train and make themselves stronger and ready for whatever awaits them in the place that they would be heading to – Lone Island.

Of this three days of intense training, it was only Takuya who had refused to let the Organization's Leader, or anyone else for that matter, to oversee his training. Of course, before he obtained permission for this, an explosive debate erupted among the three members of the Organization who are also Chosen Ones and the Leader against Takuya. But in the end, Takuya remained firm and stood by his decision. He did not explain what the reason was, but seeing as the young Kanbara was not about to budge, they just let him be.

In these three days of intense training, Junpei and Kouji finally managed to get complete control of their powers, being able to summon them at will; Izumi and Tomoki had managed to obtain their Level 3 powers, although it was only by luck that they did so and are still learning on how to be able to use it when needed; Chiaki, Teppei and Katsuharu have unlocked their Level 3 powers completely making them more advanced in their powers than the other four. As for Takuya, no one knew what was going on with his training as apart from going solo, he also asked permission to train in the woods – a permission which had been granted to him after he swore he wouldn't try anything funny.

"How do you think Lord Takuya's doing?" Tomoki asked after their third day's training session, and as they were making their way back to their rooms. "Do you think he managed to get his power back?"

Izumi was silent, and although Tomoki did not direct the question at her, he still hoped that she was the one who answers. However, it was Kouji who gave him a reply:

"I hope he has managed to get his power back, even if just a fraction of it." Kouji replied as he continued to wipe sweat off of his face as they walked. "Even if he could only shoot fireballs again, that would be better than not having his powers back at all and only relying on his swordsmanship."

"He'd only be dragging us down if he didn't." Junpei said. This earned his an elbow to the gut from Tomoki. "What?"

Whispering as to not let Izumi, who was walking up front, hear anything, Tomoki replied. "I know you don't like Lord Takuya, but don't talk about him like that when we're in the midst of Lady Izumi!"

Junpei grunted.

It would appear that even if they had talked with a much louder voice, Izumi would not be able to hear them for she was lost in deep thought. This was proven when Kouji directed a question towards her and she did not respond nor seem like she heard him.

"Lady Izumi?" Kouji repeated several times but to no avail. Finally, the Vice Captain decided to grab her shoulders and asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm sorry, what is it?" Izumi asked.

"I was asking you if you would like to visit Lord Takuya." Kouji repeated his unanswered question. "You seem to be out of it, Lady Izumi, are you feeling alright?"

Izumi nodded. "Oh, yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking back on how I called the use of my Level 3… I just can't seem to remember how I did it. And also, I am worried still of my father's wellbeing."

Kouji let go. "I see. Well, at least try to stay with us, Lady Izumi, rather than letting your mind wander off to worry. It will do you no good, after all. And I am sure you will find a way to remember how you managed to use your Level 3. So, would you like to visit Lord Takuya? I'm sure he wouldn't mind you visiting him."

"I would like that." Was Izumi's reply, then she added. "But first I need to take a bath… I think we all do."

And she was right. They were pretty dirty from their training. After going to their separate rooms, each did what each wanted to do. Kouji, in his room, decided to have some more push-ups before taking a bath and changing his clothes; Junpei, the moment he saw his soft bed, immediately fell asleep on top of it, he was burned out with exhaustion; Tomoki decided to take a bath as soon as he got into his room and rest up a while afterwards; and Izumi, who took a short rest before taking a bath, also took Kouji's suggestion afterwards.

Not really thinking it much through, Izumi then went out of her room and head straight to the kitchen. After grabbing some food and placing them in the basket, she went out of the mansion through the mansion's southern exit to find herself in the clearing before the forest. Having remembered where Takuya said he would be if they needed him for anything, Izumi went on the same way putting Takuya's directional instructions to mind.

Walking past the great, sea of trees and turning from the large rock by the lake, Izumi went on westwards. It took a while before she got into another clearing. She had remembered the clearing to have a lot of large boulders and rocks all scattered about, so it was a surprise to her when she saw that only a few of the bigger rocks remained. This was the place where Takuya had been training.

Scanning the area looking for Takuya, Izumi went on forwards. She understood, as she went on, why Takuya chose that place. It was secluded, far away from the city and the mansion and away from any possible creatures that could get entangled in his training. He had been thinking about the safety of those around him and she understood why.

When she was still under the Elders' tutelage and when they had asked her to train with her powers, they reminded her of the dangers that she could encounter while she did so. They had also told her of the possibility that someone might get caught in her training and she might end up hurting anyone. They had also said that none of those things should happen as it was, first and foremost, the duty of a Chosen One to ensure the safety of the people.

"It would seem that even though Takuya hated his training sessions back then," Izumi thought as she continued to search for him, "he still took the Elder's words to heart."

It was only after a while, and with Kaizen's help, that she managed to find a cave. With Kaizen's detection, she told Izumi that Takuya was inside of the cave. Suddenly, as they were about to go inside, a sudden display of red, yellow, and orange lights erupted in the cave.

"Kaizen, what's going on?" Izumi asked. She was worried, and so she added, "Is Takuya alright?"

Kaizen smiled. "Don't worry, he's okay. Besides, he's the one making all that weird lights."

"He's what?" Izumi asked, and even before Kaizen could answer and explain, she had already went straight to the cave and inside.

She was about to call out his name when she suddenly saw him standing, his back turned from her and saw that Kaizen was telling the truth – the lights that were flashing at the cave's entrance did come from him. Izumi could not see what he was doing clearly, but when she saw his stance, she knew that he was still following the Elders' methods that had been taught to him and to her as well.

Takuya's eyes were closed and his hands were in front of his chest. His left hand was on top of his right, his left palm inches away from his right. He stood straight and Izumi also noticed that he was not wearing his shirt, revealing his back and the symbol of fire was also visible on it.

In the space between Takuya's palms were where Izumi could see the lights coming from, and when she took a closer look, she saw that there was a small amount of compressed flame burning in them.

Izumi remained quiet as she watched the flames flicker and the lights do their magic. It was only after a while that the flame died out, the lights stopped and Takuya was on his knees, panting, that Takuya made known to Izumi that he knows she was there.

"I didn't expect you to come out here, Izumi." Takuya said with his back still turned and as he replaced his eye-patch back to his right eye.

"You knew I was standing over here the whole time?" Izumi asked as she walked closer. "How did you know that?"

Takuya turned around to meet her and replied whilst pointing in his right eye, "I guess it has something to do with this. Anyway, since I began training I could suddenly feel anyone's presence, especially if they have a Spirit Guardian along with them. That's why I knew you were coming and why I also know that Katsuharu, Teppei and Chiaki have managed to awaken their Spirit Guardians as well."

"If you knew I was here, why didn't you say so in the first place?" Izumi asked.

"I couldn't lose my concentration." Takuya simply replied. "Anyway, what are you doing here, and why did you come alone? What if the enemy attacks or something? You should have at least asked for another person's company."

"Everyone's been working hard in training, I couldn't ask them to come along not if they have such a short time to spare for a little rest and relaxation." Izumi answered. "I'm not as helpless as you think too. I can actually fight better now than before."

"Still I would rather have you NOT fighting." Takuya muttered low enough that Izumi could only hear a glimpse of it.

"Did you say something?"

"Ah, no, nothing at all." Takuya replied. It was then that he noticed the basket Izumi had been carrying. "What's that you're carrying?"

Izumi raised the basket higher to let Takuya have a closer look on it and replied, "Oh, this? I just thought you might be hungry after all your training."

Takuya's stomach began to growl. And at that Izumi added, "Well, I guess I was right."

Takuya smiled sheepishly. "Well, why don't we go and eat then? I found a great spot for that the other day too."

Agreeing to what Takuya had proposed, Izumi then walked with him out of the cave and towards the northern end of the clearing. After going past several lines of trees, and with Takuya leading the way and assisting Izumi as they moved on, the couple finally arrived at the place that Takuya was talking about.

It was another clearing yet, as compared to the rocky clearing where Takuya had been training, this clearing was more lively and beautiful.

When Izumi and Takuya first arrived at the clearing, they saw a Doe and a baby Reindeer drinking water from the small stream in the middle of the clearing and a bunch of other animals grazing about and frolicking in this peaceful landscape. On the east from where they entered from, there was a bed of assorted flowers – all different in color and shape from each other. To the west was a well-trimmed grassy area where Takuya went and asked Izumi to follow him. When they got there, Takuya lied down. The sun was setting by this time.

Izumi was still in awe at the beauty before her when she asked. "How did you find this place?"

Sitting up, Takuya answered. "I accidentally found it when I was training back there and that young deer found its way to my training grounds. When I decided to find out where it had come from and what it was doing back there, I stumbled into this place. I usually come here to relax after I'm done training and the animals seems to think that this is their safe haven as well… and this is also the reason why I decided to train in the caves instead."

Izumi sat down next to Takuya and handed him the basket. "It's funny how different you are from back then. Back then, you weren't even interested in nature."

Takuya grinned as he began to dig in. "Yeah, I remember how you scolded me when we found that injured bird in Harim's forest grounds and I told you to leave it alone since it had nothing to do with us. You were so mad at me then."

Izumi closed her eyes as she remembered.

It was a year before her family left Harim. She and Takuya had always loved walking in the woods. Takuya found it adventurous while she liked being around the woodland creatures. She remembered how she always tried to make Takuya like nature a little bit more, but it didn't seem to work. It seems that no matter how hard she tried, the young auburn-haired boy only cared about having an adventure.

At that time, the forest of Harim was still safe. It would seem that even though it was a forest still, there seemed to be no harmful animals in the area, which is the reason why kids were allowed to venture into it.

At that particular day, the two of them had decided to take a route which was different from the route that they usually take. It was a far longer route from Harim's forest entrance to the middle of the woods where Izumi had loved going, and where Takuya had always accompanied her to. During their walk in this route, Izumi happened to spot a bird's nest in one of the trees. She went near it and when she was at the foot of the tree she saw a baby Mayan bird whose wings have been broken – most likely the bird was trying to fly and instead of flying, it fell on the ground and broke its wings.

Having pity for the said creature, she had asked Takuya to lend her the scarf of his warrior clothing as only males were allowed to wear such. Takuya, back then, had always stuck by the code of Harim, and one of the codes specifically states that a warrior of Harim should be properly dressed as a warrior. And because of his wrong take at what the code meant, declined Izumi of what she had asked for.

"No way." He had said. "Besides, you're just going to use it for that bird. Just leave it alone, it has nothing to do with us anyway"

At those words, Izumi became angry and upset with him. So angry that she ran back to the village by herself and locked herself in her room all day. Takuya, just ignored her then thinking that she would probably get over it soon. However, as the day ended and Izumi had not spoken with him nor allowed him to visit her, Takuya felt horrible.

In the end, he went back to the forest that night to get the wounded bird and ask his parents to help him treat it. When he got there, he saw a stray dog ready to attack the weaker animal. Immediately, Takuya leapt into action and defended the wounded animal. Remembering how to treat animals from Izumi, Takuya gave the bird first aid, ripping his scarf in order to make a cast for it before lifting it into his arms and walking back home.

Izumi had no idea of what Takuya had done, was still mad at him the next day when Takuya's mother came by and talked with her mother. She didn't bother listening in to their conversations thinking that it was only one of those silly grown-up women talk, but after Takuya's mother had left, her mother went up to her room and gave her a small basket. Wondering what the contents of the basket were, she took out the cover to see the wounded bird well bandaged cleaning its good wing with its beak. Her mother noticed the questioning look on her face and explained what Takuya did the night before. After that she made peace with Takuya.

Remembering all that, she remembered that she hadn't asked Takuya why he did it. Takuya was already eating his second serving of bread and soup when Izumi asked, "Takuya, back then you cherished your scarf a lot, right?"

Takuya, having his mouth full with food gave a nod as his answer.

"Why did you give it up then and used it on that bird?" Izumi asked. She wanted to know what was on his mind back then.

Swallowing his food, Takuya gave it a thought as he tried to remember what he was thinking. After a while he gave his answer:

"Well, I guess I figured my relationship with you was more important than my scarf." Takuya replied grinning. "Also, back then, part of me regretted having to rip my scarf, you may not know this but, several weeks after we treated that bird, it came back to our house. I felt that it was thanking me or something, and it felt nice… even if it did come from just an animal."

Takuya's reply was more than what Izumi had expected him to say. The sun was almost gone from the horizon at that time, and darkness was beginning to cover the grounds. When Izumi pointed this out, Takuya nodded and instead of getting up, he just took his eye-patch off, closed his eyes and clapped his hands. When he did, four orbs of fire appeared around them to give them light.

Seeing the surprised look on Izumi's face, Takuya proceeded to explain. "That's just about what I can do with what power I can get back for now. Pretty useless unless it comes to a situation like this, if you ask me."

"But still, you're making improvements, aren't you?" Izumi said.

Takuya shook his head still and said to her Spirit Guardian, "You're Kaizen, right? Can you feel anything strong in these flames?"

Surprised that Takuya could see her, Kaizen could only say: "You can see me?"

"Something like that." Takuya replied. "It's more like Flayhm's eyes can see you. As long as I have the eye-patch on I could only feel you around, but when I take it off, I can clearly see you."

"That's amazing." Izumi said.

Kaizen nodded. "Anyway, as for your question, I could only feel a small amount of power from it."

Takuya nodded. "I could only feel the same thing as well. And in three days that's all I can come up with. I had managed to do it the night of my first training here, but so far, I have made zero improvements with it."

"That's great still!" Izumi said. "Wait until everyone hears that you have some of your powers back."

Takuya immediately looked at her and said. "Don't! Don't tell anyone of this."

"Huh? Why not?" Kaizen voiced out Izumi's question.

"If they found out about this, they will expect me to do something miraculous and get all of my powers back before we go save your father." Takuya explained. "I don't want that. I don't want anybody expecting too much and then feeling disappointed when I couldn't reach their expectations. So please, keep this a secret along with my new eye."

Izumi, although unsure, could only nod. In her mind she thought that it may be a trauma caused by his father. It was then that she remembered partly the reason why she wanted to see Takuya.

"Takuya, that power where you changed into an armored warrior, that's your Level 3, right?" Izumi asked.

Takuya nodded albeit surprised as well as why Izumi would bring that up.

"Can you teach me how to call that power at will?" Izumi asked. "I've managed to unlock it before, but I couldn't call on it again when I wanted to."

"So, that was what that powerful surge of power was the other earlier today?" Takuya asked. "I thought it was something else since it felt so different from the feeling I usually get when I sense your power."

"That's because Tomoki had also unlocked it as well, but he's also having the same problem as Izumi." Kaizen said before flying off to one of the animals and playing with it.

"Tomoki too?" Takuya said. "Well, that explains it."

"So, can you help me?" Izumi asked.

Takuya thought for a while. He tried to remember what it was that Flayhm told him when they were rushing towards everyone's aid back then. Then he remembered Flayhm's warning.

"Tell me, did Kaizen warn you of the dangers of using Level 3?" Takuya asked.

"Dangers?" Izumi asked, then she remembered. "Something to do with damaging my spiritual powers, sever my link with Kaizen or possibly wound me?"

Takuya nodded telling her that was the warning he was talking about. Then he said, "If you have already transformed before, that means you have felt pain at the transformation as well. Am I right?"

Izumi nodded. "It felt like I was drowning… I was quickly losing breath and I can't find any air to breathe. I thought I was going to die that I was so scared. But just when I thought I was going to die, I suddenly transformed. But I reverted back as quickly as I changed."

Takuya nodded once again. "It may feel different from one Chosen One to another, but I think the basics are the same. When I was trying to access it, I felt that I was being burned in a stake or something. It isn't a very pleasant experience. Kaizen called that feeling the "First Ignition"."

"First Ignition?" Izumi repeated.

"Yes. First Ignition. It's like having a door with a lot of locks in them. The First Ignition is the process in which the first lock is released. You were lucky that nothing bad happened to you when you lost concentration. Flayhm once told me that if we tried that and lose concentration in the middle of it – letting the feeling of pain, fear and worry over us, we might end up dead. Either that or torn between our transformation."

Those words added more worry to Izumi. Takuya saw this and immediately added, "Of course, I'm going to make sure that nothing bad happens to you."

"Thank you." Was all Izumi could say.

"Anyways, just because you underwent the First Ignition doesn't mean that you won't be going through that again. Unless you have released the final lock, or what Flayhm called the "Final Ignition", you would have to keep going through all the phases over and over again."

"It's like instead of helping me feel more comfortable of doing it, you're scaring me instead." Izumi said as she crossed her arms.

Takuya scratched the back of his head. "Don't say that, I am trying to help you. Anyways, we'll make it so that the next time you try, you would completely unlock all the locks of your Level 3. And we'll make it in time too."

Izumi nodded. She was still scared but she reminded herself over and over again that Takuya would not say those things if he wasn't sure of what he was saying.

Just then, Kaizen came flying back. It was already dark and the stars have already appeared in the night sky.

"Izumi, aren't we going back yet? The others might worry if we don't make it back by dinner." Kaizen said.

"I think you should go back now, Izumi." Takuya said. "I'll walk you back."

"How about you?" She asked.

"I'll come back to the cave once I get you back." He replied as he replaced his eye-patch back on. "My power is still unstable, I wouldn't want to leave it uncheck. Even as I am here with you right now, I'm making sure to control those orbs."

Silence.

In the end, Izumi ended up being escorted by Takuya back to the mansion. It would appear that the two took their time as they made their way back. Somehow, it both reminded them of their time at Harim's Woods. Along the way, the two went on talking with each other. It was the first time that they talked without so much as getting into an argument. It would appear that both have forgotten the events of the passed – Izumi had forgiven him for not telling her he was alive and Takuya had already forgiven himself for not being able to tell her that he was alive.

When they finally got back to the entrance of the Forest, Takuya stood behind.

"Well, here we are." He said. "You better go inside now. I wouldn't want to get everyone worried of you and make then angry of me."

Izumi nodded. "You wouldn't mind if I come back tomorrow, would you? Maybe then you can help me with my Level 3."

Takuya replied, "I'll be waiting then." And Izumi went on her way to the backdoor of the mansion. When she was already ready to get inside, Takuya added, "Izumi, thanks for coming and bringing me food."

Izumi turned around and smiled. "Its nothing. Please don't do anything reckless on your training, okay?"

"Right." Takuya said. "Good Night, Izumi. And Kaizen a 'Good Night' to you as well. I can't see you now but I can feel that you haven't been called back by Izumi yet."

Izumi laughed and together with Kaizen, the two of them said "Good night." to Takuya before they both entered the mansion.

Takuya remained standing in his position for a while, contemplating on how he must hurry with his training before he went back to the cave and continue on with his agenda.

To be continued…

A/N:

Well, after 11 pages of that, this chapter is finally done! Woot! Crisis Core here I come! Ahem

What do you guys think, I hope it adds a bit more background story between Takuya and Izumi. Anyway, one more training chapter and we'll move on with the rest of the story. I just couldn't bring myself to skip this chapter's contents since well, I figured an explanation of how their level 3 works is in order rather than just having them obtain it like Takuya did since that would be too redundant for my taste.

Anyways, I won't be adding too much drabble here since I'd be working on my 'Healing Touch' fanfic next. For those who haven't noticed, I made a new fanfic, this time an AU First Person POV of Kouichi and Kouji. Yep, I just advertised another one of my fanfic once again, lol.

Well, that's it for now. This is Sakura Martinez saying "PEACE" and reminding everyone to please review! I'll be expecting your views on how the story is progressing, okay?

BTW, on another topic, like American Idol: It's sad how Kristy Lee Cook is no longer in the competition. Too bad, I find her improving as well. Anyways, when the bottom three were announced, I was betting for Sayesha Mercado (sorry if I have her name spelt wrong, don't know how else to spell it) to be taken out since I don't really like her. I can't feel anything from her performances unlike when David Archuleta, David Cook, and Brook White perform.

-- end post Author's Notes