Thanks to those who read and reviewed :) Your reviews make me smile. I'm glad this story has caught your interest 'cause it definitely has caught mine. Here's the next long chapter. Yeah, this is still like an anime/manga to me.

The sky darkened and an almost ominous rumbling sound filled the air, just like that day six years ago.

Yuuki perked, "Taichi," he said, "There's going to be lightning."

"Oh, you want to come in?"

"I can't." Yuuki's voice turned serious, "Taichi, something feels off. It's almost like that day…"

"That day?"

Lightning suddenly crashed through the sky, making the griffin and the occupants of the house start. Before they could recover, another lightning bolt seemed to have hit the earth, and the house shook a little, as the lamplight dangled dangerously, the fire burning.

"What's happening?" Taichi asked apprehensively.

"This is no ordinary storm," his father said, as Hikari made her way over to her brother and he placed a protective hand on her shoulder, "There's magic in the air, I can feel it."

"This is the work of some powerful mage."

"I can feel it too, something's unusual," Taichi narrowed his eyes, "Dad, Mum, I'm going out."

"Taichi!" His mother protested.

"Onii-chan!" Hikari shouted, moving after her brother as he tore away from her.

"Stay here, Hikari!" Taichi said sharply. She started, and he smiled, "Sorry. I just don't want you to get hurt."

He smiled at his mother, meeting her eyes, "I'll be alright, Mum. Don't worry."

With that said, the brown haired warrior exited the safety of the house, leaving his family staring after him worriedly.

The house was filled with light and a sense of warmness, that it was almost a surprise to open the door to the outside world, and look up as lightning raged in the sky. The sky was so dark that Taichi wasn't sure if it was night, or if it was still evening.

It was a storm, but not quite; as it wasn't raining. Not a single drop of water was on the ground or falling from the sky. It was a lightning storm, and like his father said, probably the work of some powerful mage, judging by the magic in the air he could feel with his senses; a powerful Lightning Mage.

It was dark, and he couldn't quite see. "Yuuki!" The brunet yelled, "Where are you?!"

There was the sound of an eagle cry, "I'm here, Taichi!"

"Where is here? Are you still at the window?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright, stay there!"

Keep his mind open to his telepathic link with his griffin, Taichi sprinted forward. Darkness obscured his vision and he made an annoyed sound, holding out his hand and forming a small fire, holding it up in front of his face to light his way.

He soon caught sight of the tall griffin looking around, and smiled in relief, "Yuuki!" He yelled over. "Are you alright?!"

Green eyes turned their gaze to him, brightening even in the dark, "Taichi!" Yuuki ran to meet him.

Taichi grinned and increased his pace. The lightning was flashing across the sky with more frequency, and the thunder was getting louder, giving him a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. But he had to reach his partner, and then they would be able to figure out what was happening-

From far, the shadowed figure watched as the boy and griffin ran to each other. He smiled. "Such a strong bond."

"Now, let's test the strength of that bond."

Yuuki's sharp eagle eyes saw the flash of orange before he heard it, and his eyes widened as he saw it was heading towards his partner.

"TAICHI!"

The brown haired boy only had time to look up at the flash which blinded him for a split second before a huge shadow came over him and his eyes widened at the sight of orange and white, and he felt his heart stop as the griffin gave a shrill cry of pain as the lightning bolt struck the paw which he had brought up to shield his master.

Taichi stood, frozen, as he watched his partner get struck by lightning in front of his wide brown eyes, and collapse heavily to the ground, as thunder rumbled in the sky.

"He's fast, I slowed down the speed just a little…" The figure in shadows smiled. "Risking his life to protect his master- he's definitely the embodiment of Courage."

"And now, the boy…"

"YUUKI!" Taichi yelled, snapping back to his senses at the sight of his fallen partner. The sky flashed and suddenly another orange lightning bolt was heading towards him. But Taichi had already anticipated it and he had formed a fireball the size of a tennis ball in his hand, flinging it at the dangerous electricity without hesitation.

The lightning bolt ripped through the fireball, causing brown eyes to widen, "What?!"

"Good try," the figure smiled in amusement, "But you're not strong enough."

"Yet."

Taichi just had enough time to hold up his hand to block his face before the lightning struck him and he howled in pain, collapsing onto the ground. "F-Fuck!"

He didn't know how long he lay there, until the voice sounded again, "I apologize for using such a drastic method," the voice said, "But it was necessary to test your capability."

"Don't worry, I did not use enough energy to kill you. If you had died, well, it would have meant you were not the One."

"W-What?" Taichi managed weakly as the pain slowly started to fade away, "W-Who are you?!"

"You do not need to know that, Yagami Taichi," the voice said, "What you need to know, is what you must do."

"What the fuck do you mean?!" Taichi gritted his teeth against the pain, "That fucking hurt you bastard!" He said as he crawled his way towards his fallen griffin. "And how dare you hurt Yuuki?!"

"I did not hurt him- he was willing to sacrifice himself to protect you," the voice said logically. "That is, of course, expected, as I identified this trait in him when I sent him to you."

Taichi stared in shock. "Y-You were the one who sent Yuuki from the other world?"

"That is correct."

"…Right." Taichi gritted his teeth, "So what exactly was that lightning for again? To test us?"

"Yes, and to give you and your partner the power that is rightfully yours."

"Power?" Taichi smirked weakly as he forced himself to his knees. "All I feel is pain!"

"T-Taichi…"

"Your partner is calling you." The voice said as Taichi's eyes widened.

"Yuuki!" Taichi shouted as he stumbled to his feet, "I know that you bastard!"

He hurried over to his griffin and dropped to his knees, "Yuuki!" The brunet said, placing a hand on the feathery neck, "Are you alright?!"

"Hang on, I'll get Hikari-"

But the griffin shook his head weakly, "Taichi," his beak opened. "This was meant to happen."

"What- what are you saying!?" Taichi exclaimed. Then he paused, eyes widening, "Wait! You can speak?!"

Yuuki nodded with a weak smile, "Yeah."

"That's great! But wait- what did you mean by that?"

"Do you hear the voice, Taichi?"

Taichi hesitated, but nodded. Yuuki smiled and said, "Well, I hear it too – and I heard it, six years ago…" he murmured, "It sent me to you."

"I know that, he told me that," Taichi sighed in frustration, "It said something about giving me power…"

"That's right, I can feel my being pulsing with energy," Yuuki said, and moved to stand on his feet, Taichi following him. "Don't you feel it, Taichi?"

"Not really." Taichi said, blinking. "I don't really feel any different, well, I feel less pain now, but that's it."

"Yagami Taichi and Yuuki," the voice resounded in their minds and green and brown eyes blinked, "Hold out the palm of your right hand."

Taichi frowned but did so, and stared at the unknown orange symbol on the palm of his hand, "T-This…" he muttered as he touched a finger cautiously to the symbol.

He gasped as the symbol began to glow with light, "W-What the hell?!"

There was another gasp and he snapped his gaze to his partner, whose own symbol which was identical to his, on the underside of his right paw, was glowing; causing an orange light to envelop the griffin's body. "Y-Yuuki?!" Taichi exclaimed, staggering back, "You're glowing with light!"

"Taichi…" Yuuki murmured, his voice deeper, "I feel…powerful!"

He lifted his eagle head, opened his beak, and shot a blast of raging fire into the sky, as his master watched in awe. "W-What…"

"Yuuki, the griffin who holds control over the element of Fire, just like his partner," the voice sounded satisfied, "Now that the bond has been solidified, his strength has increased quite substantially, as has his capacity to breathe fire."

"B-But…" Taichi said, stuttering again and feeling like an idiot, as he moved his hand in front of his face, staring at the unknown orange symbol, "W-What's this?"

"That is the symbol of your heart."

"…Huh?" Taichi said, eyebrows furrowed, "The symbol of my heart? What's that?"

The voice chuckled, "It is your most significant quality when you met your partner six years ago," the voice said, "When Darkness befell this world."

"Do you remember that day, Yagami Taichi?"

"Yeah." Taichi said seriously, his brown eyes narrowed. "I remember."

"Good. Now you must know that that Darkness is approaching again, and that confrontation with it is inevitable."

"Let me guess," Taichi said wryly, "You gave us this power," he looked at the symbol on his hand, "To help us fight off the darkness."

"And if you've given us this much power," he looked to Yuuki, meeting his griffin's eyes, "The darkness is too much for you to beat."

The voice was silent, before it said, "Very astute, Yagami Taichi," it said, "You are truly fit to be the leader."

"Huh? Leader?" Taichi frowned, "You mean there are others like us?"

"Yes. Together, you are the Chosen Ones, chosen to help fight off the Darkness."

"And what if I don't want to help fight off this darkness?"

"You cannot do that. If you do, the world will fall into Darkness," the voice said bluntly. "And that includes your friends and family."

Taichi clenched his teeth, "Fine." He said. "I'll do it." He looked to his partner, who nodded. "We'll do it."

"A wise choice. Then, your next task will be to go on an…adventure," the voice sounded amused, "To find the other Chosen Ones and their partners."

Taichi sighed, raising a hand to his head, "And I suppose you aren't going to tell me where they are?"

"No. You must find them on your own." The voice said. "As the leader, you must bring everyone together."

"And, you should not be so disgruntled, I have fulfilled your birthday wish, have I not?"

"…Stalker." Taichi muttered, feeling his face warm slightly, "Hey. After I find everyone, what do I do?"

"When that time comes, I shall contact you again." The voice informed him almost kindly. "Good luck, Yagami Taichi."

"…Hey!" Taichi said, raising his gaze to the clearing sky. He smirked wryly, "I don't know who you are and you kind of piss me off with your ambiguous words."

"But you sent Yuuki to me," Taichi smiled at his partner, who smiled back. He nodded, and looked at his hand, "And gave me this power, to protect the people I care about."

"So, thanks."

The voice was silent, and Taichi thought it had gone away until it spoke, voice almost fond, "There is no need to thank me. Yuuki was destined to be your partner, and you destined to be his. Just as you were destined to be a Chosen One to protect your world."

There was a pause, "Yagami Taichi, you have a truly courageous heart," it almost seemed like the person was smiling, "The power you have been given is yours. It is dormant, and you have to activate it with the symbol of your heart."

"Courage."

"Yes. Courage," the voice said, smiling, "Your hold Courage in your heart. Once you figure out how to harness that power-"

The voice was cut off. Taichi blinked. "Hey!" He said. "Hey! Are you there?!"

The shadowed figure blinked as he looked at his blank crystal ball. "Well," he said, bemused, "Looks like it ran out of magic."

He leaned back and smiled, "What an interesting boy. He really is unaware of the potential he holds."

He shifted his gaze to another crystal ball, eyes on the blue dragon smiling at a blond, as blue lightning crackled in the palm of his hand. He smiled.

Taichi scowled when he received no reply, "What- did his connection get cut off or something?" The brunet muttered.

"Well, it's alright, isn't it, Taichi?" Yuuki grinned at him, holding up his paw and displaying his own orange symbol, "Thanks to the power he gave us, we can protect your world! And go on an adventure!"

"That's true!" Taichi returned the griffin's grin, smiling as he looked at the symbol on his hand.

Now that he was looking at it carefully, he could see clearly that it was a symbol of an orange sun, with a circle in the middle and two rings outside the circle. There were eight triangles altogether, four small ones and four bigger ones. The big triangles were pointed in the four basic directions; north, south, east and west, while the four small triangles were pointing diagonally, in between the bigger triangles. Together, the shapes formed the image of an orange sun and Taichi smiled.

"Well, it's kind of cool," he admitted, raising his gaze to the sun in the orange evening sky. "Courage, huh…"

He blinked, before his eyes widened and he turned his gaze to his griffin, "Yuuki!"

Yuuki blinked. "What, Taichi?"

"TAICHI!"

Taichi blinked. He shifted his gaze to where his mother was running to him, his father behind her. She reached him and engulfed him in a hug, holding her son protectively, "Taichi! Are you alright?! What happened?!"

"I-I'm fine…" Taichi said, feeling slightly uncomfortable in his mother's embrace. She wasn't one to initiate personal contact.

His mother seemed to believe him and let him go, staring at him with worried brown eyes, "We heard Yuuki cry out, but we couldn't get out- there was a barrier placed on the door!" She spoke quickly, "And we couldn't see anything but darkness from the window! There was a barrier on it too, we were trapped inside the house!"

"And then we heard you call Yuuki's name." His father said, staring at his son. He bit his lip. "We saw this…orange lightning bolt in the sky, and then we heard you yell."

"And the stupid door still wouldn't open!"

"Hikari was ready to use her magic on it to remove whatever spell it was, and we were about to try and burn the door down," Taichi's mother sighed, "But Hikari said we should wait a while. So we waited, and the next time we tried to open it, it worked."

Taichi looked at Hikari in surprise, who smiled, "I was worried about you, Onii-chan!" She said, wrapping her arms around him and giving him a smile, trust in her ruby eyes. "But somehow, I knew you would be alright."

"…Yeah," Taichi found himself smiling. He returned his little sister's hug, murmuring. "Yeah. I'm fine, Hikari. I'm sorry for making you worry."

"It's okay. I love you, Onii-chan. I'm glad you're alright."

"I love you too, Hikari." Taichi said fondly. He smiled and hugged his little sister one last time before releasing her. He would miss her. But as long as she and his family were safe…

"Yuuki's alright too, isn't he?" His father asked.

"He's fine-"

"I'm fine, Taichi's father!"

Everyone except Taichi blinked. Then their eyes widened and his mother shouted, "H-He can talk?!"

Yuuki blinked at her, then smiled widely, "I can talk now!" He said happily, "I could only talk to Taichi in the past, but I can really talk now!"

"W-What happened?" Taichi's father stared in surprise, "A talking mythical creature…I haven't heard of such a thing before!"

"I mean, it's common for mages to have familiars, but they shouldn't be able to talk!"

Taichi shrugged with a grin, "Eh, I don't know either!" He said cheerfully, "Just, after we were struck by lightning-"

"YOU WERE STRUCK BY LIGHTNING?!"

Taichi winced at his mother's scream. "Y-Yeah. But I'm fine!" He said quickly, holding out his hands, "See?!"

"W-What's that on your hand?"

Taichi blinked. "Yeah, I was going to explain that," he put down his hands, looking up into the darkening sky.

"But it's a long story, so we should go inside."

"The Darkness, huh…"

"Yeah, the darkness," Taichi said as he scraped icing off his birthday cake. He looked up. "The darkness that befell our world six years ago."

"When I first met and protected Taichi!" Yuuki grinned from the window. Taichi grinned back at him.

Taichi's father nodded. He smiled gratefully at the griffin then turned his gaze back, "I thought the Council had done something about that."

"The Council?"

"Yeah, the Council of Mages. The Council for short," he said, "It's our organization of sorts, to gather mages together to discuss any important issues."

Taichi blinked. "How come I've never heard of it before?"

His father wryly at him, "Because you've always wanted to be a warrior, not a Mage," he said, "We decided not to involve you in our politics."

Taichi flushed at that, and his mother sighed, "I told you about the Council before, but you weren't listening!"

"Yeah, yeah," Taichi said distractedly, running a hand through his messy hair, "So, what's up with this darkness?"

"Darkness is a very powerful and dangerous element," Taichi's father said seriously, "It's an ancient element, along with the element of Light. There must be both Darkness and Light."

"But when there is too much Darkness, the world will be in trouble," he continued, "The Darkness will overcome the Light. The balance will be disrupted."

"So, the cause of this disruption of balance," Taichi waved a hand, "Is because of this mage who controls darkness?"

Taichi's mother shook her head, "There is no mage who can control Darkness," she said, "Just as there is no mage who can control Light."

"To put it simply," Taichi's father said to his confused son, "Darkness and Light are…natural elements. They're dormant- they just exist. There is no controlling them."

"But Clerics can control Light, can't they?"

"Clerics are different. They have been given the holy power to protect and heal, not to fight." Mr Yagami leaned his chin on his hand. "But, if the Darkness is truly the work of a Mage, it is a serious matter. The Council will have to discuss this immediately."

He looked at his son, "You said that a voice was telling you that you were a Chosen One?"

Taichi nodded and he smiled, "Then the Prophecy must be true."

"The what?"

"The Prophecy. I'm forbidden from revealing details, but it's an ancient document which tells of the people who have been chosen to fight off the Darkness," his father smiled wryly, "They are called the Chosen Ones."

"So you mean, the Darkness is inevitable?"

"I suppose so. It is a document from a long time ago, and no one really thought it was true." His father said, "No one really believed the fate of our world would ultimately lie in the hands of just several people."

Taichi was silent, and his father said, "Taichi. It's time for you to leave this village." He said. "You and Yuuki."

"I know."

"But Taichi's only seventeen- he's just come of age!" The brown haired woman exclaimed, "And, he hasn't taken his Mage trial-"

"Yuuko," Taichi's father said, "Taichi doesn't need to take the trial. You know he will pass the exam with flying colors," he smiled wryly, "And whether he will be a Mage or a warrior, he will have to figure that out for himself."

"Our son is destined for something more, something bigger than himself."

"…I understand, Susumu." Yuuko said resignedly. "Taichi."

"Yeah, Mum?"

"Tomorrow, you will leave the village," his mother said seriously. He looked at her and she smiled, "But for now, just enjoy your birthday, alright?"

"Yeah, Onii-chan! We spent a lot of effort!" Hikari agreed heartily, smiling, "So you have to eat your cake! Mum and I baked it ourselves!"

"…Yeah!" Taichi grinned, turning his excited gaze to his cake, "Who cares about darkness or whatever? It's my birthday!"

Hikari smiled widely, holding out a plate and fork towards him, "Here, Onii-chan! Enjoy your cake!"

"Aw, thanks Hikari!" Taichi said, smiling. He took the plate and fork and took a big piece of chocolate cake onto his cake, stabbing it with his fork and bringing it to his mouth, "Mmm, delicious!"

"It's delicious!" Yuuki agreed happily, mouth full, "Thanks for the food!"

"Yeah! Have some too, Hikari!"

"Alright, Onii-chan!" Hikari smiled brightly, turning her gaze to her parents, "You two too, Mum, Dad!"

She got a plate and held it out to her surprised mother, who smiled, "Thank you, Hikari."

"Dad!" Taichi grinned as he held out the plate and fork to his blinking father. "Don't worry, I won't disappoint you!"

His father smiled, and took the plate from him.

"I know, son. Make me proud."

Yuuko washed her hands in the kitchen, staring somberly. She turned off the tap then moved to get the towel to dry her hands properly. Once they were completely dry, she turned, to the sight of her husband.

"Susumu!"

"Yuuko," Susumu smiled at her, placing a hand on her shoulder, "It's alright, isn't it? Taichi's grown up now."

Yuuko blinked, then looked away with a sigh. "I am proud of him." Taichi's mother said, biting her lip, "I just wish…"

"You want him to be a Fire Mage."

She nodded, "He has so much potential!" She said, frowning, "I've been doing my best for him, trying to get him to harness his potential, but he wants to be a warrior!"

"Taichi's a Natural Fire Mage!"

"I know." Susumu murmured. He sighed, "But Taichi's power is his own. It's his choice what he wants to do with it."

"But…"

"You can't look after him forever," Taichi's father smiled wryly, "He's seventeen now, Yuuko. He's almost an adult. He's a Chosen One. He has to make his own decisions."

"…That's true. I guess it really is time for him to leave."

"Hikari will miss him," Susumu smiled sadly, "And so will we." He moved to embrace his wife, whispering, "Our baby boy's grown up, Yuuko."

An image appeared in the mother's mind- an image of her son who was taller than her now, as tall as his father, her grown up son- a man who could look her in the eye and smile, and tell her not to worry. Her son who had seemed so tense in her arms when she had hugged him to her, glad with tears that he was alright- that her son, Taichi, was alright.

It seemed so long ago that Taichi was just a kid, unable to even reach Yuuki's back. But even back then, he hadn't given up- had shouted at Yuuki to not help him; and stopping her short from doing so from where she was watching at the window.

"Yeah, Susumu." Yuuko murmured. She sighed, "But I can't help but worry about him. We've kept him in the village for so long…will he really be alright?"

"Well, Taichi may not have much experience, but he has a strong heart. He has his power, and that will serve him well," Susumu said fondly. "He'll be fine! Besides, he's always wanted to go on an adventure, hasn't he? He'll be happier out there, where he can explore the world."

"He's growing up, Yuuko," her husband had said fondly on that day six years ago when Taichi had finally managed, heaving and panting, to get on the tall griffin's back, a triumphant grin on his lips as Yuuki cried out in joy. She remembered the prideful smile on Susumu's face as the griffin flapped his wings and took off with the grinning brown haired boy into the endless sky, "That's our son."

Yuuko sighed. But she smiled at the memory, and brought her arms around her husband, closing her eyes and whispering.

"You're right, Susumu."

Taichi lay in bed, hands pillowed behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling, "Hey, Yuuki?"

The griffin looked up from under the tree outside Taichi's window, "Yeah, Taichi?"

"…I never thought the fate of the world would rest in my hands," Taichi admitted to his partner, brown eyes slightly narrowed, "All I wanted to do, was get out of this village and go on an adventure with you."

"I almost forgot about that day- well I didn't, but the thing I remembered the most clearly was meeting you," the brown haired boy smiled as he turned his head, "I remember the Darkness, and how dark the sky was then, but I haven't thought much about it since then."

"…Sorry Taichi," Yuuki replied as he looked up at the stars in the night sky with his green eyes, "I knew I was sent to you to protect you. But I was just happy to finally meet you- I wasn't really thinking about anything else," he smiled sheepishly, "But this had to happen sooner or later, right?"

"I mean, it's not so bad, isn't it? We do get to go on an adventure!" Yuuki smiled happily, "And well, with power comes responsibility. We have to use our power to protect your world, we can't just let it lie dormant!"

Taichi blinked, then smiled, "That is true." He said. He held his hand up, looking at the symbol of Courage, the symbol of his heart, "I guess I'm just kind of apprehensive. And I'm still not sure of what I should be. I really want to be a warrior, but maybe I'm more suited to be a Mage."

Yuuki blinked. "Warrior or Mage, Taichi is still human, right?" He smiled, looking down at his own orange symbol of Courage, "It doesn't matter what you choose to be, Taichi is still Taichi!"

Taichi blinked, then chuckled, "Yeah, that's true!" He said with a grin, "Thanks Yuuki!"

"No problem, Taichi!" The griffin smiled as he rested his beak on the grass, "Taichi accepted me, so I will accept Taichi too!"

"Yuuki…"

"I'm sleepy." Yuuki yawned, his eyes slipping closed. "Goodnight Taichi. We better sleep early today, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. We're going on an adventure, remember?"

Taichi smiled as he laid in bed. He turned over, gazing at the night sky dotted with shining stars before closing his eyes, a genuine smile on his lips.

"Yeah. Goodnight, Yuuki."