Today is 1st August 2012 and it's the Digimon Adventure Anniversary! It's been, thirteen years since the day the Digidestined; Taichi, Yamato, Sora, Jyou, Mimi, Koushiro, Takeru and later, Hikari, were pulled into the Digital World. Hard to believe it's been more than a decade...well, Happy Digimon Anniversary everyone!

And to kind of celebrate and per request of my best friend who gave me the courage to post this story, here's the next chapter posted earlier. Enjoy, and reviews encourage me to update :)

Butterfly

(By Wada Kouji ; who has put his career on hold (October 4, 2011) due to cancer that was previously treated - may we all pray from our hearts for him to be alright)

Gokigen na chou ni natte kirameku kaze ni notte

I'll become a happy butterfly and ride on the glittering wind

Ima sugu kimi ni ai ni yukou

I'll come to see you right now

Yokei na koto nante wasureta hou ga mashisa

It's best to forget the unecessary things

Kore ijou shareteru jikan wa nai

There's no time left to be fooling around

Nani ga wow wow wow wow wow, kono sora ni todoku no darou

I wonder, wow wow wow wow wow, what can I do to reach these skies?

Dakedo wow wow wow wow wow, ashita no yotei wo wakaranai

But, wow wow wow wow wow, I don't even know what my plans are for tomorrow

Mugendai na yume no ato no nanimo nai yo no naka ja

In this world of nothingness that arises out of an endless dream

Sou sa itoshii omoi mo makesou ni naru kedo

It seems as if our beloved desires will lose

Stay sighachi na imeeji darake no tayorinai tsubasa demo

But even with this unreliable wings, covered in images that tend to stay

Kitto toberu sa

I'm sure we can fly

On my love

The air was still and Taichi blinked. He turned his gaze to Yuuki, about to speak, when the sound of a bird cry made him start and raise his gaze to the sky.

The brunet stared in awe at the huge firebird in the sky. "W-What the hell is that?!" He yelled.

"It's a Phoenix!" Yuuki gave his own eagle cry, "It's a really rare bird, Taichi!"

"I know that! But what is a phoenix doing here?" Taichi exclaimed disbelievingly, "This is a forest! A-And why is it so big?!"

"It's getting bigger!" Yuuki shouted, blinking, as the firebird headed towards them. "I think there's someone on it!"

"What?!" Taichi started, "Is it an enemy?!"

It was the first time he had seen a phoenix, hell, he'd never thought he would ever see the legendary bird of fire in this lifetime, and it was quite the awe inspiring sight. The bird was literally on fire, it was coming closer and closer and its feathers were alight, a beautiful blend of yellow, red, orange and some shades in between, its huge wings shaded with an imposing dark red at the tips. Its body and wings were blazing with fire, and its tail reminded Taichi of a butterfly- a colorful orange and scarlet with dashes of gold at the flaming tips, the feathers fanning out beautifully and majestically. Its eyes were blue, contrasting the warm colors of its large body.

The phoenix swerved, turning its neck with a fire literally blazing on it and Taichi stared as it revealed someone on it- someone with short, eye catching orange hair which stood out even amongst the flaming bird's feathers. The orange haired boy was somehow unburnt by the fire of the legendary bird, and Taichi noticed he had orange eyes as his phoenix flew towards them, before he heard Yamato gasp.

"Yamato!" Yuujou said, "That's-!"

"Ya-chan!" The phoenix rider yelled.

"Y-YA CHAN?!"

Taichi stared, mouth dropping open, as Yamato's eyes lighted up and she raised her gaze, "So-chan!"

"So-chan?!"

Taichi watched, jaw dropping even further. He gasped and moved back out of reflex as the phoenix gave another cry that resounded throughout the forest, scaring birds out of trees into the air, and descended swiftly to the ground. The orange haired boy on it leapt deftly from the back of the huge firebird onto the ground, running past Taichi and towards Yamato and engulfing her in a hug. He blinked as their two symbols stopped glowing.

"Ya-chan where have you been?! I was so worried about you! Aijou and I have been looking for you everywhere!"

Yamato laughed, "Oh you know, dragon flying." The blonde said with a gorgeous smile that made Taichi's heart skip a beat, returning the red head's hug, "I thought I left a note."

"Saying, "So-chan, I'm off with Yuujou." Is not a note!" The red head drew back and looked at Yamato, brushing back orange bangs, and Taichi's eyes widened at the red symbol that decorated his forehead, "It's a good thing I found you!"

Yamato smirked, and shrugged, looking to the side, "Oh yeah, this is Taichi. Taichi, this is Sora."

Sora gave a grin and extended a hand to Taichi, "Nice to meet you, Taichi!"

"…Tch! I can't believe she already has a boyfriend! And he has a phoenix too! I thought those didn't exist, in this world at least! And how the hell can he ride it and not be burnt- don't tell me he's immune to fire too?!"

"…Nice to meet you, Sora." Taichi said, reluctantly taking Sora's hand, noticing he was as tall as his blonde companion. He hesitated, before asking, "Are you her boyfriend?"

"…Huh?"

Taichi blinked. "Oh you aren't?" He said, unable to keep the tone of relief out of his voice.

Sora was, to his surprise, grinning, "Wait," he said, "Did you mean Yamato?"

"Yeah…?"

The red head baffled him when he doubled over in laughter, "Oh my god, Ya-chan!" He managed, "He thinks you're a girl!"

Yamato froze. Slowly, he turned his gaze to the puzzled Taichi, "You mean, you thought I was a girl the whole time?" His voice was dangerous.

"Yeah- wait, you mean you're not a girl?!" Taichi exclaimed, eyes wide, "You're a GUY?!"

"Impossible! How can someone so pretty be a GUY!?"

"Poor Taichi!" Yuuki sympathized with him at his stricken look, "It's alright, I also thought he was a girl!"

"IT'S NOT ALRIGHT!" Taichi yelled mentally, his brown eyes increasing in size further, "Oh my god, I feel like a total idiot! I mean if I'd just crossed that one inch and a bit further, I'd have discovered his gender!" He wailed mentally, "No wait, that would have still made me a pervert!"

"But weren't you already being a pervert when you attempted to see through 'her' shirt?"

"That's not the point!" Taichi grimaced, "The point is, that I like a guy! Not that I have anything against it, but well I've never liked a guy before! I should have known when he spoke but nooooo I was too busy looking at his beautiful blue eyes!"

"And I thought I was finally going to have a girlfriend! I mean, it's not like I expected Yamato to say yes or I was going to ask her-him- to be my girlfriend, uh, boyfriend- GAHHHH! What should I DO?!"

Sora laughed even harder as if he could hear his thoughts, and Yamato's scowl got even deeper, "Sora, stop laughing," he said tersely, "He mistook you for a guy."

"Yeah, but that's normal!" Sora said, standing back up with a wide grin, "Since my hair is short!"

"And, I'm supposed to be a guy."

Yamato grumbled something that her hair wasn't that short and it wasn't her- no his fault that people mistook him for a girl; as Taichi stared at him.

"Wait. He's a girl?! I was sure he was a guy!"

Taichi stared some more, then shifted his gaze to Sora. The orange haired boy-no wait, boyish girl, was clad in blue pants made of a tough material and a yellow collared shirt over her flat chest, wearing black riding boots. A sheath hung at her waist, and her orange bangs swept across her forehead as she grinned at him, the image of a teenage male warrior.

"What do you mean by that?" Taichi asked curiously.

Sora shrugged, "Long story short, my father wanted a boy to carry on the family tradition." She said. "And since I wasn't born a boy, I had to dress and act like one."

"Doesn't that bother you?"

"What is with these people from outside and cross dressing?!"

"Not really! It's better than being a girl," Sora grinned. She gave a wink, "Anyway I'm Takenouchi Sora, or the Warrior of the Sky."

"Takenouchi Sora- wait, Takenouchi?!" Taichi exclaimed, his brown eyes wide, "You mean the famous family of elemental warriors?!"

"Yup!"

Taichi stared, "Wow…" he said, "I thought that family was a legend!" He said in awe, "I've never met anyone from that family before, I've only read about it in books!"

Sora laughed, "We're that famous, huh?" She said in amusement.

"So, what's your specialty?" Taichi asked eagerly, "And your element?"

"Well I was named the Warrior of the Sky because I have Aijou, and I ride the skies with her," Sora smiled as she looked at her phoenix, "As for element, it's Fire."

She held out her hand and produced a ball of flame, and Taichi's eyes widened, "You can do that too?!"

Sora blinked. "What do you mean by that?" She asked, confused.

Taichi blinked back, "You can produce fire as well?" He asked, as he stretched out his own hand and formed his own ball of fire, tossing it casually in the air and catching it back in his hand, causing Sora's eyes to widen, "Like this, right?"

"H-How did you?!" Sora stuttered, as Yamato's eyes grew wide. She closed her hand over the ball of flame. "This is a special skill passed down in my family for generations! You can't just learn it!"

"It is?" Taichi said, surprised. Sora and Yamato stared at him and he flushed, extinguishing the fireball in the palm of his hand and raising a hand to the back of his neck, "Sorry, I didn't know…"

"…What family are you from?"

"Yagami. My full name is Yagami Taichi."

"Yagami…" Yamato spoke carefully, "The…family of fire mages?"

Taichi shrugged, "You could say that. "

"Then, you're a mage?" Yamato blinked, looking at Taichi's clothing and the sheath at his side, "You don't look like one."

"No." Taichi said. "I'm a warrior."

Confusion entered Yamato's and Sora's eyes, "But, you said…" Sora voiced.

Taichi sighed, "To cut a long story short," he said wryly, "My family is famous for its fire mages, just like your family is famous for your elemental warriors," he turned his gaze to Sora, "But I've never wanted to be a mage. I've always wanted to be a warrior."

"Then, that fire…"

"Oh, that? It's something I've been able to do since I'm young," Taichi shrugged, "Mum said I've been playing with fireballs since I was a child. Ever since then, she's been training me in spells, trying to harness my 'potential'."

"And can you do any other spells?"

"Well, I picked up on a few…"

"Where's your wand?" Yamato asked.

Taichi blinked, tilting his head. "Wand?"

"Yeah. Your medium." Yamato said. He opened his palm and brown eyes widened as a staff appeared in his hand. Blue eyes met brown, "This staff is my medium. It helps me to release my magic."

Taichi stared. "I don't have a wand."

Icy blue eyes narrowed. With a wave of his staff, Yamato sent an icicle hurling towards Taichi, who yelped and automatically threw a fireball in return, melting the icicle and causing water to drop onto the ground.

"What the hell?! What was that for?!"

"You're a Natural Mage!" Yamato yelled at him, pointing his staff at the surprised brown haired boy, "And you want to be a warrior!?"

"W-What do you mean by that?"

The blond boy gave an annoyed sigh, "You can control magic without a wand, without a medium," he said impatiently, "You were born with magic in your blood! Don't you see your potential?"

"Well, Sora could produce fire too!"

"That's different! She's an elemental warrior! And that's the only magic she can do!" Yamato narrowed his blue eyes, "While you- that's not the only spell you can do, is it?"

Taichi shrugged, looking uncomfortable. Yamato gritted his teeth, and, blue eyes flashing, sliced his staff through the air, sending a row of icicles at Taichi, whose own brown eyes narrowed and melted all five icicles just by looking at them.

Yamato stared and Sora gasped, as Taichi said, voice serious, "Sorry to disappoint you," he said, "But magic is boring. I don't plan on becoming a mage anytime soon."

Yamato gaped as Taichi stared at him stoically. He clenched his teeth and abandoned his staff on the floor, rushing forward and dealing a hard punch to Taichi's chest, causing the brunet to yelp in pain and fall onto the floor.

Yamato glared as Taichi got up. He leapt forward and grabbed the brunet's collar, lifting the taller boy off the ground, hand trembling, "Take that back!" He yelled, icy blue eyes narrowed in a harsh glare, "You bastard! How dare you insult my profession?!"

"Yamato!" Sora yelled as the cry of a griffin and the roar of a dragon echoed.

"How dare you hurt Taichi?!" Yuuki gave a cry of outrage as he neared the fighting boys, green eyes furious.

"I won't allow you to hurt Yamato!" Yuujou roared in return as he landed on the ground, shaking it with his weight as his red eyes glared at the griffin opposite him.

"Guys!" Aijou said as she put herself in between the growling griffin and the snarling dragon, her blue eyes wide as she spread her flaming feathers, "Stop! Fighting won't solve anything!"

Taichi stared at the magic swirling in those beautiful blue eyes. "Yuuki," he said, placing a hand on Yamato's trembling hand which was clutching the collar of his shirt, "It's okay."

"But Taichi!"

"I'm fine." Taichi said, smiling. His heart was beating fast in his chest, and he wasn't entirely sure what he was doing, or even what he was thinking. He knew Yamato was angry at him, furious actually, and he knew it was his fault. Yet, being so close to the blond, gave him an urge he had never felt with anyone before.

"Apologize." Yamato hissed lowly. "Now."

Taichi smiled. "Okay." He said, removing his hand from on top of Yamato's.

Without thinking, Taichi leaned forward, placed his hand on the ice mage's cheek, and bent to cover Yamato's lips with his.