Midnight Blossoms (Epilogue)
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
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A/N: Hey hey, Cracker sama, thanks for the reviews. I appreciated the kind words and here it is, the epilogue. One day late but I couldn't help that. There was a party the other day and my attendance was mandatory.
The ending to this may feel a bit rushed but I didn't think I needed an extensively long epilogue, even though this is longer then the infamously short, chapter two and is longer then both chapters one and two. Btw, did I ever explain why Chapter two was so short? I feel I should. That chapter was short because in one of my A/N's I said this would be a four to six chapter story. One of the chapters needed to be shortened and the pacing, I think, worked better this way. I also wanted to profile Takeru and Hikari's characters without any separate action scenes detracting from them.
Now, this epilogue ends quickly, without much of a resolution. I will get to that in the first chapter of the sequel, The Final Battle. In fact that chapter is likely three quarters the length of this entire fic and is filled with character development. In many ways, Midnight Blossoms is the prologue while The Final Battle is the main course. That is why I rushed through it so quickly. I will delve into the other characters in the sequel. I will also probably rewrite this fic eventually to clear up grammatical errors and clear away a discrepancy at the beginning of the third chapter. See if you can spot it.
P.S. Let me know if you think I should adjust Hikari's character because if you think she's a bit hard in this story, you'll think she's on steroids in the sequel.
Now without further adieu:
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He sat under a Sakura tree, Hikari beside him. The details seemed sharp, vivid. She was wearing a white blouse with a knee length gray skirt. Her arm was draped over his shoulders, his face pressed into the crook of her shoulder. There was a gentle rainfall of Sakura petals around them and then a sudden gust of wind, scattering the petals. With the wind came the faint sounds of someone screaming in the distance.
"They're hurting me again," he whispered softly.
"Shhhh, I know," she said, gently caressing the side of his face. "But I won't ever ......" Her body began fading gently, voice carried away by the wind, leaving him alone.
The screaming grew louder then and he shuddered uncontrollably. Then there came a loud voice, "Remember this moment boy. Remember how weak you were and how your family paid the price for it." The voice repeated over and over and there he lay under his Sakura tree, alone.
___________________________
Light flakes of snow gently tickled her nose and gasping, she awakened. The sky was a cloudy white and she could hear the sounds of a lively city. Getting up, she shook off the light layer of snow that covered her body. She had been lying on the rooftop of an apartment complex. Groaning, she stretched a bit trying to work out the kinks in her aching muscles. Judging by how much she hurt, she'd been lying up here for quite a while. Looking down, she noticed an unconscious Gatomon beside her. A gentle mental probe suddenly touched her mind and she closed her eyes.
'Yes Sora, I'm still here.'
'Takeru?'
She was silent for a moment. 'Follow the signal from my D3 and find my body and Gatomon's. I'm going after Takeru.' With that, she shut off the mental contact. For what she was about to attempt, she would need all her powers. Marshalling her strength, she sat down Indian style in the snow and hurled her mind into the void of thoughtscape.
A long time ago, when the Chosen had first learned of their powers, she, Sora and Mimi had devised a method for locating any of their friends across the thoughtscape. With the consent of the rest of the Chosen and Destined, they had set up wards in everybody's mind. The thoughtscape was a hazard to normal methods of navigation but with a beacon like that in a person's mind; it was much easier for a psychic to traverse.
Takeru did not have such a beacon, or rather, he had not had such a beacon until she had hurled a single thought deep into his mind as the portal closed around her. However, it was still a long shot. He was not even in this world anymore. However, the portal he had sent her through was, and was still giving off enough energy for her to slip a thought through and find him.
She did not even think of the possibility that he might not be alive.
___________________________
"These are chains of your own making."
'You should have left this alone .....'
"You're not him. Leave!"
'...... you cold-hearted bitch.'
"Why won't you listen to reason?"
'Who gave you license to interfere in my life.'
"I SAID LEAVE."
'Who gave you the right to play God with me.'
With a sigh, the cloaked figure turned and left.
___________________________
Desperation hurrying her search, Hikari looked for any sign of Takeru. She had not found him anywhere near the site of the portal which was disturbing and spoke of a possibility she did not want to consider. There would be no giving up though. She would not leave here until she found him or at least his body to confirm her worst fears. At least that way she wouldn't have to continue living with the crippling hope that had lead her to this moment. However, there was time to consider. She could not stay here for too long or the portal would close completely, snapping her connection to this plane of existence.
Abruptly, there came a faint signal from far off. It frightened her with its weakness. She took off for it as fast as she could and then became aware of two other presences. It almost seemed like there were three minds here and two of them were human. She had only been expecting one human mind. There was a sudden pressure and she felt herself being pulled inextricably pulled towards one of the minds.
The gray nothingness of the thoughtscape gradually resolved itself into a small sparse room as she made mental contact. She found herself facing a small, open window that looked out onto a blue, cloudless horizon. The gentle sound of waves crashing against rocks drifted up from below. Turning away from the window, she studied her surroundings. There was only one bare cot set in the corner of the room as the only decoration. Upon the cot sat a hooded figure, studying her. She couldn't see his face as the folds of his hood hid it effectively.
"What is this place?" Hikari asked detecting no malice from the figure.
"It's a lighthouse in France. My Grandfather brought me here a long time ago." The man, she could tell from his voice, cocked his head sideways. "You've grown taller, little sister."
Hikari frowned, only one person had ever called her that and the voice matched. "You must only be a figment of Takeru's imagination." She said, eyes narrowing in understanding.
"You're smarter than that," the figure proclaimed, flipping back his hood and revealing Yamato Ishida's youthful features. "I was watching that whole clone/double thing out there and well, at least one good thing came out of it. I got to see what I would look like if my untimely death hadn't interfered. You have no idea how scary it is to think that you'll have to live out the rest of your existence, such as it is, in the body of a sixteen year old."
"Ok, that'll do." Scowling, Hikari gathered the full extent of her powers and tried to make the scene vanish. There was a brief flicker but the scenery didn't change.
"That was unpleasant," Yamato remarked. "Please don't do it again."
"What are you?" Hikari said, a little disturbed.
"You sensed two human minds out there. I'm that other mind. The thoughts and memories of Yamato Ishida."
"That's nonsense. Yamato died years ago."
"You should know better then most that what dies in the Digital World, doesn't remain dead for long." Yamato rose to his feet. "I did die but you guys buried me in the Digital World. The rules work differently there. Instead of undergoing regular decomposition, my body began to break up into data. The Digital World would have absorbed it but the Guardians harvested the data. However, some of it was still lost. In many ways, I am incomplete. Much of what I know, I've picked up from Takeru. My own memories just consist of flashes. There are things ...... people, I remember more then others. You, oddly enough, are one of them. It is probably because of your relation to Takeru.
"That is a rather convenient excuse you have there," Hikari said crossing her arms. "Even if I took what you say seriously, why would the Guardians put you in Takeru's mind?"
"So very much like him," Yamato muttered under his breath. "My purpose here was twofold. I was supposed to safeguard Takeru's mind from mental attacks. When Takeru came to the Guardians after that day at Sumeragi's citadel, Gennai saw a rare opportunity. He had proven himself a very capable young man and had put an end to the biggest network of renegades out there. However, there were still a sizable number of them that still had influence inside Sanctuary. That's the main base of the Guardians, by the way." Yamato walked over to the open window, staring out at the cloudless horizon. "Takeru was to hunt down these renegades. However, if he was captured, I was to act as his protection against mental probes or if worst came to worst, erase his entire mind to protect the secrets of the Guardians."
"And the other reason for your being here?" Hikari still wasn't sure how much of this she wanted to believe but had decided to play out the scenario till its end. This construct could be helpful in tracking down Takeru's real presence.
"I was supposed to fill in any missing gaps in my own memory by looking through Takeru's. He is my brother, after all. Plus, I could observe all of you when I got the chance." Yamato turned back to her. "I have a feeling that there is some higher purpose waiting for me. It may be that I won't have to stay here very much longer and may one day find a body constructed for myself. The Undersea Master is stirring again and you will likely need the power of my crest to deal with him."
"My time here is growing short," Hikari replied. "Help me find Takeru."
Yamato cocked his head sideways. "You still don't believe it is me, do you?" He sighed. "I suppose I should have expected that. You are so much like my brother at times. Will it convince you if I told you something that only you and I would know?"
"And how would I know that Yamato hadn't told that to Takeru in the first place. No, there's not much you can do to convince me."
"Yet you did detect a third mind when you were coming here."
"There is that in your favor, if nothing else. Tell me then, how would I know that you aren't someone else pretending to be Yamato. This dimension was filled with a slew of dark Digimon recently. I'm surprised that Takeru even managed to survive."
"Yes well, that was through no doing of his own." Yamato turned back to the window. "Angemon, get up here."
There was a flap of wings and then the Angel Digimon was climbing in through the window, which had suddenly grown to accustom his size. "She won't believe you?" Angemon asked softly.
"Which was as we expected. You try to convince her now."
Angemon turned towards Hikari. "He's telling the truth."
Yamato groaned. "I think she's going to need a little more assurance then that."
Hikari quirked an eyebrow and then stepped forward and touched the Digimon. "Stay still," she said quietly, "this won't take long." Using her powers, she scanned him. He definitely wasn't a construct but rather a sentient mind. She had scanned him once before and was able to confirm his identity now. But that meant ...... She turned back towards Yamato. There were times for taking leaps of faith and now seemed like one such time. Besides, what was one more bit of strangeness next to everything else in her life. "All right, I'll take you at your word. Why are you talking to me now though? Judging by your mental control, you could have contacted either Sora, Mimi or myself anytime."
"Truthfully, I should not be talking to you right now. I was instructed by Gennai to keep a low profile."
"Then why ......"
Yamato held up a hand silencing her. "I'm talking to you now because I'm concerned about Takeru and I made a promise of my own to protect you long ago." His lips suddenly twitched in a smirk. "You should know how we Ishida's are about our promises."
"And you're going to help me by wasting my time talking. Let's hurry this along. I don't have unlimited time here."
Yamato scowled at her. "Bear with me a bit. I have a lot to tell you and it may be that you are the only one that can get through to him. In any case, before the inferno consumed Takeru, I, with Angemon's help, took control of his powers. My brother has always been a contrary person. He may want it all to end but there's a spark deep down inside him that refuses to let go. I used that spark much in the same way that Jyou and Ken used it to fan the flame of life back in his body. However, his mind is gradually buckling under the strain of these past six years. I've tried to help him but he won't listen to either Angemon or myself. You're my last hope Hikari."
"Take me to him then," Hikari said impatiently.
"Patience, little sister. This isn't going to be so simple. Tell me, do you still love him despite everything he's done to you. He pretty much betrayed your friendship."
Hikari closed her eyes thinking back to that day. "Yes, I still love him." She said softly. "He betrayed me but I still love him."
Yamato smiled sadly. "This will be your only chance to get him back then. Listen and learn."
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All around her was white, a nothingness, yet there was an oasis in the form of a Sakura tree in this nothingness. He was slumped under it, his knees drawn up to his chest and his head cradled in the crook of his arms. There were whispers in the air and shouts, a thousand memories seemingly coming undone. A maelstrom of sound that seemed to be causing him to whither further and further into himself. As she approached him, his voice stopped her in her tracks.
"You left a ward in my mind. Very clever Hikari." He had not looked up at her, his head still lowered, face concealed by his arms.
Sighing, Hikari crossed over to where he was reclining and sat down beside him. Gathering her thoughts, she said, "We need to talk and we need someplace quiet. You can shut all this off if you want. Why are you continuing to torture yourself?"
There was no response.
"All right then, I guess I'll have to do it." Hikari waved her hand. There was an odd hum but the voices stayed, becoming louder. She stared in surprise at Takeru; he was actually fighting her. They struggled for a bit before she brought forth the full extent of her powers. His resistance gradually weakened until finally an audible hush fell over the clearing, a marked difference from the whirlwind of noise moments before.
Leaning back against the tree, Hikari gazed at the boy sitting beside her. "Was that really necessary?" She asked, than added. "By the way, don't try to run. I've hooked your presence here."
"Why won't you just leave me alone." It was a whisper, barely audible to her ears.
"Where would be the fun in that?" She hoped that a bit of levity would get him to open up a bit more. It didn't seem to work though as the only thing that greeted her was silence. "Ok, don't say anything. I have a number of things I'd like to get off my chest. For the record though, you're being entirely too pig headed about this."
Hikari composed her thoughts, figuring out how best to approach the current situation. "Do you remember our first kiss?" From the barest twitch of his shoulders, she knew that she had surprised him. Smiling, she continued, "It has been five years since then. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. Daemon had escaped the Dark Ocean and kidnapped Ken. We couldn't find either one of them anywhere and then Gennai contacted us and informed us of a prophecy dealing with the situation. As such things often end up, I had to trek to some unknown corner of the Digital World to find the scroll ......"
____________________________ FLASHBACK
Around her arose dark skyscrapers, swathed in shadows. The sun had set nearly an hour ago and there was no light to be had anywhere. She hadn't been allowed to bring Gatomon because some ancient idiot had decree that the scroll had to be found only by worthy humans. So, here she was, alone at night in a deserted city with god knows what out there. And to make matters worse, for the past hour she had felt someone's eyes on her.
Hikari sighed, pausing to rest a moment. At least all the trials were behind her. Getting to the city had been a nightmare in itself. One challenge after another had been presented to her and she had barely passed some of them. Whoever was following her had to be a pretty formidable person.
Suddenly an arm snaked around her neck and clasped over her mouth. Immediately, she drove an elbow back into her opponent's midsection. There was a short grunt of surprise and her assailant stumbled back. However, he kept his grip on her. Hikari bit the hand clasped over her mouth and the guy released her. Whirling around, she pressed the attack. Falling back, the boy deftly avoided her punches and kicks. She feinted with a punch to the face masking a kick to the stomach. To her surprise, an elbow blocked the kick.
Frowning, Hikari backed off, studying her assailant. In the gloom, all she could make out was a tall boy wearing black pants and a black shirt whose sleeves had been ripped off. A dark hood covered his face. The most disturbing though was that he wasn't pursuing the attack but was rather, standing still studying her.
"Who are you?" She called out.
In response, the boy slowly cocked his head to the side and then suddenly rushed forward. This time it was Hikari who was driven backwards. Nimbly dodging his blows, she left a deliberate opening in her defense. The boy fell for it. She grabbed the punch aimed her way and twisted his arm up behind his back. He swung backwards with the other arm and she blocked and grabbed it as well. Twisting both arms brutally, she was in the midst of forcing him to his knees when he stamped down hard on her foot. The pain made her release his arms. He stumbled forward a step and then spun on his heel and tackled her. They rolled around on the floor trying to put each other in submission moves until he finally rolled her over onto her back and pinned her arms above her head. Slowly, he forced bother of her wrists together and pinned both of them with one hand. She was surprised he had the strength considering how she had twisted his arms. With his free hand, the boy reached down and playfully tweaked her nose.
"Hah, I told you I'd beat you someday."
"Ta ...... Takeru." She stammered, at a loss for words.
He rolled off her and rose to his feet. She took his offered arm and he pulled her easily to her feet. Then, reaching upwards, he pulled back his hood, revealing a head full of black hair. Seeing the look on her face, he laughed and took off the wig, revealing the familiar locks of blonde hair.
"I was traveling incognito," he explained.
Seeing him standing in front of her, grinning his familiar grin, brought back all of the memories of the past year. "You ...... you jerk." *SLAP* "You could have at least said goodbye." *SLAP*
"Ouch!" He exclaimed cupping both cheeks. "Geez Kari, wasn't nearly twisting off my arms enough." At the look on her face, he held up both hands and took a small step backwards. "Alright alright, you don't have to get crazy."
Her anger began to quickly vanish upon seeing his antics. She had never been able to stay mad at him for long.
"What are you doing here?" She said exasperated.
His expression quickly sobered. "I had heard that there was a scroll somewhere in this city that could tell me Sumeragi's whereabouts."
"I'm after the same thing," Hikari said, "except that Gennai told me the scroll would tell us of where Daemon's taken Ken."
The two stood silently, absorbing the weight of the words just uttered. "You haven't discovered how Daemon got free of the Dark Ocean, have you?"
Hikari mutely shook her head.
"Then it looks like we're on the same path. I'll come with you to recover the scroll." Takeru eyed their surroundings critically. "We should set up camp."
Hikari nodded and working side by side, they quickly set up a mini fire. She observed him out of the corner of her eye noticing the corded muscles in his arms that hadn't been there before. There was also a cold hard look in his eyes that occasionally vanished only to reappear again. This Takeru looked a great deal harder then the one that had left her a year ago.
As they sat side by side, eating in companionable silence, a thought suddenly occurred to her. "Hey," she said nudging Takeru with her elbow, "why did you attack me if you knew who I was."
He looked down at her. "I wanted to see how far I had come. You've been taking self defense since you were ten and could usually kick my ass so I thought it would be fun to try out some moves on you."
"I could have dislocated both your shoulders."
The same infuriating grin appeared on his face. "You probably could have," he admitted, "but I would have been screaming my lungs off before then. Besides, the foot stomp, although it was an improvisation, did work."
Hikari scowled at him, then turned back to her food. More silence but this time it was he who broke it. "Hi ...... Hikari," he said hesitantly. "I want to apologize for leaving. I handled that situation wrong. I'm sorry."
"Do you know how much you hurt me."
He flinched at that. "I ...... I know. It wasn't easy for me either. I didn't think I could face you in the morning and still be able to leave."
"Would it have been so bad if you had stayed?"
Takeru sighed, throwing his head backwards. "I don't know but I have to do this," he said sadly.
"I ...... I understand. In your place, I would have probably done the same." She reached up and tenderly brushed a lock of hair away from his forehead. "But, what about us?"
"I ...... don't know. I told you that I cared about you. That hasn't changed and it never will. But, I have to do this Kari. He'll come after you if he finds out and you're all I have left."
"I can take care of myself."
He smiled ruefully. "Trust me, I know that all too well but this whole situation is a lot more complex than you know. The things I've learned over the past year, you wouldn't believe half of them. This guy's network is widespread and it crosses both our world and the Digital World. You should warn Daisuke and Tai to keep their eyes open."
"Well, Daisuke will find out about it but you should really be addressing me." Takeru raised an eyebrow and she explained. "The poor guy blames himself for your loss and Daemon taking Ken. He's given leadership over to me."
Takeru grinned down at her. "Meaning, you don't have to pull strings from the background anymore."
She scowled at him. "That's not funny." He seemed to think it was though and burst out into open laughter. She shoved him playfully and he shoved her back and moments later they were rolling on the floor, giggling and laughing, trying to tickle each other into submission.
She had missed this, the open physicality between them. It was a closeness strengthened by eight years of friendship. Takeru never treated her like she was fragile and weak. Something, she appreciated more then he probably knew. Her family still remembered her frequent fevers as a child and more often then not, treated her with kid's gloves. It was irksome and she had begun to resent it but with Takeru, she could just let go and drop the mask her parents had come to expect her to wear.
She was jolted out of her thoughts as Takeru howled his submission, laughing uncontrollably. He had always been extremely ticklish. As his laughter subsided, they both realized the position they were in. She was sitting atop him, both arms poised over his ribs. His own arms were clasped around her waist.
"Hikari, I ......" He got no further as she leaned down quickly and kissed him. It was impetuous, it was stupid but she didn't care. She didn't want the moment to end. She didn't want him to get up and leave her again. He had stood by her for eight years through good times and bad and the past year without him had been empty.
She could tell he had been surprised by the kiss. His eyes had widened and his arms had shot up to her shoulders as if to pull away. However, he had not attempted to do so and had closed his eyes, his arms falling to his sides.
The kiss between them intensified as he poured his own passion into it until abruptly, it became something more. She was vaguely aware of the fact that she had unbuttoned his shirt and was running her hands over his chest. His own hands were underneath her sweater and shirt, trailing fiery tracks upon her torso. She gasped as one of his hands brushed across the underside of her breasts.
A small voice cautioned her to turn back but she paid it no mind. Another thought had gripped her. Maybe she could make him stay after all. It was a purely selfish thought but again, she didn't care. He was hers and she wasn't ready to give him up.
She moved atop him, to get a better position and he moaned softly. It seemed to be some sort of indicator as the next thing she knew, his hands were on her shoulders pushing her away. He looked up at her, his face flushed and a lingering trace of desire still in his eyes.
"I can't do this." He said raggedly. "Not when I know I'll have to leave you tomorrow."
"When then?" She asked quietly.
"When this is all over and Sumeragi's dead."
__________________________ END FLASHBACK
Hikari smiled wistfully. "I waited two more years. All I had was my duty as leader, in that time. Then, you finally got your revenge on Sumeragi but instead of coming back, you tried leaving again. Of course, I had been expecting that and confronted you. You said some pretty harsh things to me but you never explained why you wouldn't come back."
Beside her, Takeru stirred. "You wouldn't understand. Just ...... just go away Hikari."
"Well, that's progress at least," she muttered, " and no, I won't go away. We're going to work this out once and for all. Now try explaining to me what I wouldn't understand."
Takeru raised his head slowly. She was shocked at how haggard he looked. His eyes were bloodshot but had a dangerous glint in them. She remembered the look. He had always had a hint of something wild just underneath the surface but right now it was shining uncontrollably in her eyes.
"Leave. It. Alone. Hikari." He grated.
Hikari met that baleful gaze levelly. He wouldn't make her back down. She would be as hard as she needed to be. He had forgotten that he was dealing with a Yagami. Making her voice firm, hard, she said, "No."
Takeru's eyes narrowed and Hikari suddenly became aware of a pressure building along the wards she had placed on his mind. They began crumbling one by one until only the last was left which linked their minds together. She couldn't help but feel impressed. He had trained himself well in dealing with telepaths.
All at once, he was on his feet, glaring down at her. "So, you want to understand." He waved his hand and all about them grew dark. "Look at this and tell me if you can understand."
Hikari looked up as a blonde woman suddenly materialized in front of her. She was completely naked and floating horizontally in the air. A small lamp suddenly appeared above her and Hikari realized that the woman was bound to a table, unable to wiggle a toe. A voice, Takeru's, suddenly rang out in the stillness.
"Your name is Sofia Alexander?" The scene moved forward and Hikari realized that she was viewing things from Takeru's perspective. He was looking down at her now. "It doesn't matter if you answer that or not. It isn't an important question. However, I do have some important questions that I want answers to." She spat at him but missed. "You will answer my questions, Ms. Alexander." A pair of knives suddenly came into view and Takeru's voice boomed out, "Let's start."
She was a brave woman who managed to hold out for a full five minutes. However, when he started on her breasts, she broke completely, sobbing out detail after detail. Afterwards, he gently wiped the sweat from her forehead and plunged one of the knives into her heart.
The scene faded only to be replaced by another. This time it was a man and Takeru began randomly cutting off body parts until he started talking. The scenes followed one after the other, each more horrific then the last. He actually began skinning a person in one of them until he broke. As it went on and on, she sat and watched, unable to turn away. Yamato had prepared her for this but seeing it in all its horrid glory was hard. Beside her Takeru stood still, his face locked in a mask of impassiveness.
Abruptly, the scenes stopped and there was a long silence. Then, "Do you see now, do you see the things I did. And I regret none of it."
"We've all made hard choices." She wished her voice sounded a bit firmer. The truth was that despite any warnings, the scenes had left her shaken.
"Hard choices," he scoffed. "I tortured, I killed and I even enjoyed it. I was a monster and in many ways I still am."
Hikari rose to her feet, eyes flashing. "That's not true. You feel remorse for your actions. Otherwise, you would not be beating yourself up over this."
He laughed, a short bitter sound devoid of mirth. "You're a damned fool Hikari. I feel no remorse for what I did. I only feel sorry that I couldn't get you to drop this silly school girl crush."
Takeru's head jerked sideways as Hikari slapped him. "Don't you dare trivialize my feelings." Her temper was dangerously close to snapping. He would not listen to reason and now it seemed like time for more direct methods.
Opening the floodgates of her own psychic power, she pushed him backwards until he was pinned against the tree. He did not put up any type of resistance; probably because he had exhausted himself breaking down her wards.
Walking up to him, she forcefully jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "You are mine Takeru Ishida. You belong to me. I will decide when I'm ready to give you up."
He glared down at her but his eyes had lost the dangerous glint in them. "You're chasing a fool's ......"
Hikari backhanded him hard. "Shut up," she said quietly, gazing into his eyes, daring him to defy her. He wisely kept quiet. "I've been patient with you for three years but now you're beginning to stretch it. So, be quiet and listen:" She paused for a second. "I forgive you. I don't care about what you did and it means nothing to me."
He looked incredulously at her. "You have no idea what you're saying."
"Is it so hard for you to believe that I love you." He started to speak but Hikari grabbed his chin, silencing him. "You made a vow to me when we were fourteen that you would come back to me after you'd had your revenge. You didn't keep that vow and your reasons for not doing so are inconsequential to me."
Takeru jerked his head sideways, freeing his chin. "Why should I honor the vow of a boy that died three years ago," he said coldly.
"If I believed that was true, I wouldn't be here. No, let me tell you what happened to that boy. He pursued a vendetta that required him doing some pretty dark things. He sacrificed every principle he had to do what needed to be done and when it was all over, the boy realized his mistake. That same boy has been regretting his actions ever since." Hikari looked up at him. "You didn't think I could still love you after all you had done. You were wrong. Now drop this insufferable cloak of self pity you've wrapped around yourself." When he didn't respond, she reached up and laid a hand on his brow. "If you still don't believe me then feel this."
Takeru felt her mind open up to him. A flood of emotions, he had no protection against, hit him. They were what broke him in the end.
He had given up on love the day he had tortured and killed his first person. It had been an act of desperation. All his leads had run out and he had nowhere to go. The first interrogation had been crude and he had very nearly killed the person before getting any information. The guy had died in the end anyways, but not before giving him the location of someone who knew more. And he'd set off on that path, becoming further and further disillusioned until at last he'd given up altogether, wanting it all to end. He had been close, so close, but they had dragged him back. Back to life, back to pain, back to her. But how could she love him when he despised himself. She would hate him after all he'd done and so he'd tried to leave only to be thwarted once again. He had let his rage loose that day, hurting her so badly that she was driven right into Daisuke's arms. He had thought to move on and had managed to bury all memories of her until a year ago when fate had reunited them. He still cursed Gennai for setting him up like that. The meeting had lead to a renewal of their friendship. Surely that could not be so bad. He could at least retain her friendship and she would never have to learn what he'd become. Only, he could still see the love in her eyes. It frightened him with its intensity. Learning that she had left Daisuke had been a blow he wasn't prepared against and it had left him off balance. And then when she had held him, he had become even more confused. He should have made her let go, to leave him with his sins but it had felt so right and for the first time in six years he had felt safe. He had known then that he couldn't fight her that eventually, she would break through and see what he had become. He could almost imagine the love turning to hate then but did he want that? Their destinies were so entwined that they would intersect no matter how far away, he ran. He knew that now because he had tried running. And every single time they met, there would be that look in her eyes. The cold indifference when she gazed at him. He could imagine it because he had seen it in the eyes of Iori. That was another regret but he could live with it. He wasn't sure he could live seeing that look from her. And so, he'd tried to end it all only he'd been thwarted, yet again. And now she was showing him her mind, her emotions and the depth of her feelings for him. He couldn't deny this and destroying it required a lot more ruthlessness then he was capable of and so, he broke.
As the rush of emotions faded, Takeru found himself on all fours, staring at the ground. She had taken down the wards holding him to the tree. There was a drop of water, next to his hand and he found that he was crying. It had been a long time since that had happened.
Hikari looked down at him barely holding herself back from taking him into her arms. She knew he had to deal with this himself, that the next step needed to be his and so waited, holding her breath as he raised both hands to his face and sobbed quietly into them.
The crying didn't last long. Removing his hands from his face he looked up at her, his eyes red. "Damn you Hikari," he said thickly but his tone lacked any malice.
Hikari finally knelt down and embraced him. Tentatively, he put his arms around her as well. They sat silently, holding each other until finally, "Can you find your way back?" Hikari asked softly.
Takeru was quiet for a long time. "It will be hard without the D3," he finally replied. "There are a couple of ways but none of them are as certain as the D3." His voice took on an optimistic tone. "But I will try. I have to now."
"Promise me," Hikari said pulling away and looking into his eyes. "Promise me that you'll do everything you can to come back."
"Do you really need another hold on me?" Seeing the look in her eyes, he sighed. "Yes, I suppose you do. Ok, to make up for the promise I broke, I'll promise now that I will do everything in my power to come back to you."
Hikari stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly lunged forward, tackling him to the ground. She kissed him ferociously. Dimly, he was aware that she had dropped the barriers around his mind and that his body was reacting to the kiss. He tried raising his hands but found that they were pinned to the ground. She was in complete control of the moment.
After an inordinate period of time, she pulled back. "I will put as many holds on you as I need to, Takeru. I am not going to let you walk away from us, from me again."
"You don't trust me despite the promise."
Hikari shook her head. "I trust you but I also know you. The longer you're away from me, the more you'll begin to doubt all this. You'll convince yourself that my feelings for you were just an illusion and all of your old barriers will go back up stronger then before. And when you come back, I will have to work twice as hard to get you back."
Takeru reached up, he could move his arms now it seemed, and gently caressed her face. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry about what I said three years ago."
Hikari slowly reached up, grabbing his hand and turned her head, kissing his palm. It was a curiously gentle gesture from a woman that was one of the most forceful personalities he'd ever met. The gesture was another chain over his heart but he had no idea how or why that should be.
"My time here is growing short. Do you need anything before I go."
Takeru shook his head. "No, just stay here with me a while."
She lay down beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. He put his arms around her and they lay quietly until her time to go came.
"Remember your promise, Keru." Hikari said softly as her body began to fade away.
"Thank you," Takeru replied. "For everything. Your strength has always been my guiding light."
Hikari chuckled. "You always did have the soul of a poet."
"It's what you love about me, isn't it."
"It is one thing, there are others."
"I love you."
"I love you too. Remember." The last word softly echoed in the air as the mental link between them dissolved.
Takeru lay still for a while, thinking over everything that had happened. Then, with a groan, he rose to his feet. There were a lot of things to do and he needed to get to them. He had purpose now and a feeling that had been absent in his life for too long, hope.
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
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A/N: Hey hey, Cracker sama, thanks for the reviews. I appreciated the kind words and here it is, the epilogue. One day late but I couldn't help that. There was a party the other day and my attendance was mandatory.
The ending to this may feel a bit rushed but I didn't think I needed an extensively long epilogue, even though this is longer then the infamously short, chapter two and is longer then both chapters one and two. Btw, did I ever explain why Chapter two was so short? I feel I should. That chapter was short because in one of my A/N's I said this would be a four to six chapter story. One of the chapters needed to be shortened and the pacing, I think, worked better this way. I also wanted to profile Takeru and Hikari's characters without any separate action scenes detracting from them.
Now, this epilogue ends quickly, without much of a resolution. I will get to that in the first chapter of the sequel, The Final Battle. In fact that chapter is likely three quarters the length of this entire fic and is filled with character development. In many ways, Midnight Blossoms is the prologue while The Final Battle is the main course. That is why I rushed through it so quickly. I will delve into the other characters in the sequel. I will also probably rewrite this fic eventually to clear up grammatical errors and clear away a discrepancy at the beginning of the third chapter. See if you can spot it.
P.S. Let me know if you think I should adjust Hikari's character because if you think she's a bit hard in this story, you'll think she's on steroids in the sequel.
Now without further adieu:
_______________________________________________________________________
He sat under a Sakura tree, Hikari beside him. The details seemed sharp, vivid. She was wearing a white blouse with a knee length gray skirt. Her arm was draped over his shoulders, his face pressed into the crook of her shoulder. There was a gentle rainfall of Sakura petals around them and then a sudden gust of wind, scattering the petals. With the wind came the faint sounds of someone screaming in the distance.
"They're hurting me again," he whispered softly.
"Shhhh, I know," she said, gently caressing the side of his face. "But I won't ever ......" Her body began fading gently, voice carried away by the wind, leaving him alone.
The screaming grew louder then and he shuddered uncontrollably. Then there came a loud voice, "Remember this moment boy. Remember how weak you were and how your family paid the price for it." The voice repeated over and over and there he lay under his Sakura tree, alone.
___________________________
Light flakes of snow gently tickled her nose and gasping, she awakened. The sky was a cloudy white and she could hear the sounds of a lively city. Getting up, she shook off the light layer of snow that covered her body. She had been lying on the rooftop of an apartment complex. Groaning, she stretched a bit trying to work out the kinks in her aching muscles. Judging by how much she hurt, she'd been lying up here for quite a while. Looking down, she noticed an unconscious Gatomon beside her. A gentle mental probe suddenly touched her mind and she closed her eyes.
'Yes Sora, I'm still here.'
'Takeru?'
She was silent for a moment. 'Follow the signal from my D3 and find my body and Gatomon's. I'm going after Takeru.' With that, she shut off the mental contact. For what she was about to attempt, she would need all her powers. Marshalling her strength, she sat down Indian style in the snow and hurled her mind into the void of thoughtscape.
A long time ago, when the Chosen had first learned of their powers, she, Sora and Mimi had devised a method for locating any of their friends across the thoughtscape. With the consent of the rest of the Chosen and Destined, they had set up wards in everybody's mind. The thoughtscape was a hazard to normal methods of navigation but with a beacon like that in a person's mind; it was much easier for a psychic to traverse.
Takeru did not have such a beacon, or rather, he had not had such a beacon until she had hurled a single thought deep into his mind as the portal closed around her. However, it was still a long shot. He was not even in this world anymore. However, the portal he had sent her through was, and was still giving off enough energy for her to slip a thought through and find him.
She did not even think of the possibility that he might not be alive.
___________________________
"These are chains of your own making."
'You should have left this alone .....'
"You're not him. Leave!"
'...... you cold-hearted bitch.'
"Why won't you listen to reason?"
'Who gave you license to interfere in my life.'
"I SAID LEAVE."
'Who gave you the right to play God with me.'
With a sigh, the cloaked figure turned and left.
___________________________
Desperation hurrying her search, Hikari looked for any sign of Takeru. She had not found him anywhere near the site of the portal which was disturbing and spoke of a possibility she did not want to consider. There would be no giving up though. She would not leave here until she found him or at least his body to confirm her worst fears. At least that way she wouldn't have to continue living with the crippling hope that had lead her to this moment. However, there was time to consider. She could not stay here for too long or the portal would close completely, snapping her connection to this plane of existence.
Abruptly, there came a faint signal from far off. It frightened her with its weakness. She took off for it as fast as she could and then became aware of two other presences. It almost seemed like there were three minds here and two of them were human. She had only been expecting one human mind. There was a sudden pressure and she felt herself being pulled inextricably pulled towards one of the minds.
The gray nothingness of the thoughtscape gradually resolved itself into a small sparse room as she made mental contact. She found herself facing a small, open window that looked out onto a blue, cloudless horizon. The gentle sound of waves crashing against rocks drifted up from below. Turning away from the window, she studied her surroundings. There was only one bare cot set in the corner of the room as the only decoration. Upon the cot sat a hooded figure, studying her. She couldn't see his face as the folds of his hood hid it effectively.
"What is this place?" Hikari asked detecting no malice from the figure.
"It's a lighthouse in France. My Grandfather brought me here a long time ago." The man, she could tell from his voice, cocked his head sideways. "You've grown taller, little sister."
Hikari frowned, only one person had ever called her that and the voice matched. "You must only be a figment of Takeru's imagination." She said, eyes narrowing in understanding.
"You're smarter than that," the figure proclaimed, flipping back his hood and revealing Yamato Ishida's youthful features. "I was watching that whole clone/double thing out there and well, at least one good thing came out of it. I got to see what I would look like if my untimely death hadn't interfered. You have no idea how scary it is to think that you'll have to live out the rest of your existence, such as it is, in the body of a sixteen year old."
"Ok, that'll do." Scowling, Hikari gathered the full extent of her powers and tried to make the scene vanish. There was a brief flicker but the scenery didn't change.
"That was unpleasant," Yamato remarked. "Please don't do it again."
"What are you?" Hikari said, a little disturbed.
"You sensed two human minds out there. I'm that other mind. The thoughts and memories of Yamato Ishida."
"That's nonsense. Yamato died years ago."
"You should know better then most that what dies in the Digital World, doesn't remain dead for long." Yamato rose to his feet. "I did die but you guys buried me in the Digital World. The rules work differently there. Instead of undergoing regular decomposition, my body began to break up into data. The Digital World would have absorbed it but the Guardians harvested the data. However, some of it was still lost. In many ways, I am incomplete. Much of what I know, I've picked up from Takeru. My own memories just consist of flashes. There are things ...... people, I remember more then others. You, oddly enough, are one of them. It is probably because of your relation to Takeru.
"That is a rather convenient excuse you have there," Hikari said crossing her arms. "Even if I took what you say seriously, why would the Guardians put you in Takeru's mind?"
"So very much like him," Yamato muttered under his breath. "My purpose here was twofold. I was supposed to safeguard Takeru's mind from mental attacks. When Takeru came to the Guardians after that day at Sumeragi's citadel, Gennai saw a rare opportunity. He had proven himself a very capable young man and had put an end to the biggest network of renegades out there. However, there were still a sizable number of them that still had influence inside Sanctuary. That's the main base of the Guardians, by the way." Yamato walked over to the open window, staring out at the cloudless horizon. "Takeru was to hunt down these renegades. However, if he was captured, I was to act as his protection against mental probes or if worst came to worst, erase his entire mind to protect the secrets of the Guardians."
"And the other reason for your being here?" Hikari still wasn't sure how much of this she wanted to believe but had decided to play out the scenario till its end. This construct could be helpful in tracking down Takeru's real presence.
"I was supposed to fill in any missing gaps in my own memory by looking through Takeru's. He is my brother, after all. Plus, I could observe all of you when I got the chance." Yamato turned back to her. "I have a feeling that there is some higher purpose waiting for me. It may be that I won't have to stay here very much longer and may one day find a body constructed for myself. The Undersea Master is stirring again and you will likely need the power of my crest to deal with him."
"My time here is growing short," Hikari replied. "Help me find Takeru."
Yamato cocked his head sideways. "You still don't believe it is me, do you?" He sighed. "I suppose I should have expected that. You are so much like my brother at times. Will it convince you if I told you something that only you and I would know?"
"And how would I know that Yamato hadn't told that to Takeru in the first place. No, there's not much you can do to convince me."
"Yet you did detect a third mind when you were coming here."
"There is that in your favor, if nothing else. Tell me then, how would I know that you aren't someone else pretending to be Yamato. This dimension was filled with a slew of dark Digimon recently. I'm surprised that Takeru even managed to survive."
"Yes well, that was through no doing of his own." Yamato turned back to the window. "Angemon, get up here."
There was a flap of wings and then the Angel Digimon was climbing in through the window, which had suddenly grown to accustom his size. "She won't believe you?" Angemon asked softly.
"Which was as we expected. You try to convince her now."
Angemon turned towards Hikari. "He's telling the truth."
Yamato groaned. "I think she's going to need a little more assurance then that."
Hikari quirked an eyebrow and then stepped forward and touched the Digimon. "Stay still," she said quietly, "this won't take long." Using her powers, she scanned him. He definitely wasn't a construct but rather a sentient mind. She had scanned him once before and was able to confirm his identity now. But that meant ...... She turned back towards Yamato. There were times for taking leaps of faith and now seemed like one such time. Besides, what was one more bit of strangeness next to everything else in her life. "All right, I'll take you at your word. Why are you talking to me now though? Judging by your mental control, you could have contacted either Sora, Mimi or myself anytime."
"Truthfully, I should not be talking to you right now. I was instructed by Gennai to keep a low profile."
"Then why ......"
Yamato held up a hand silencing her. "I'm talking to you now because I'm concerned about Takeru and I made a promise of my own to protect you long ago." His lips suddenly twitched in a smirk. "You should know how we Ishida's are about our promises."
"And you're going to help me by wasting my time talking. Let's hurry this along. I don't have unlimited time here."
Yamato scowled at her. "Bear with me a bit. I have a lot to tell you and it may be that you are the only one that can get through to him. In any case, before the inferno consumed Takeru, I, with Angemon's help, took control of his powers. My brother has always been a contrary person. He may want it all to end but there's a spark deep down inside him that refuses to let go. I used that spark much in the same way that Jyou and Ken used it to fan the flame of life back in his body. However, his mind is gradually buckling under the strain of these past six years. I've tried to help him but he won't listen to either Angemon or myself. You're my last hope Hikari."
"Take me to him then," Hikari said impatiently.
"Patience, little sister. This isn't going to be so simple. Tell me, do you still love him despite everything he's done to you. He pretty much betrayed your friendship."
Hikari closed her eyes thinking back to that day. "Yes, I still love him." She said softly. "He betrayed me but I still love him."
Yamato smiled sadly. "This will be your only chance to get him back then. Listen and learn."
____________________________
All around her was white, a nothingness, yet there was an oasis in the form of a Sakura tree in this nothingness. He was slumped under it, his knees drawn up to his chest and his head cradled in the crook of his arms. There were whispers in the air and shouts, a thousand memories seemingly coming undone. A maelstrom of sound that seemed to be causing him to whither further and further into himself. As she approached him, his voice stopped her in her tracks.
"You left a ward in my mind. Very clever Hikari." He had not looked up at her, his head still lowered, face concealed by his arms.
Sighing, Hikari crossed over to where he was reclining and sat down beside him. Gathering her thoughts, she said, "We need to talk and we need someplace quiet. You can shut all this off if you want. Why are you continuing to torture yourself?"
There was no response.
"All right then, I guess I'll have to do it." Hikari waved her hand. There was an odd hum but the voices stayed, becoming louder. She stared in surprise at Takeru; he was actually fighting her. They struggled for a bit before she brought forth the full extent of her powers. His resistance gradually weakened until finally an audible hush fell over the clearing, a marked difference from the whirlwind of noise moments before.
Leaning back against the tree, Hikari gazed at the boy sitting beside her. "Was that really necessary?" She asked, than added. "By the way, don't try to run. I've hooked your presence here."
"Why won't you just leave me alone." It was a whisper, barely audible to her ears.
"Where would be the fun in that?" She hoped that a bit of levity would get him to open up a bit more. It didn't seem to work though as the only thing that greeted her was silence. "Ok, don't say anything. I have a number of things I'd like to get off my chest. For the record though, you're being entirely too pig headed about this."
Hikari composed her thoughts, figuring out how best to approach the current situation. "Do you remember our first kiss?" From the barest twitch of his shoulders, she knew that she had surprised him. Smiling, she continued, "It has been five years since then. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. Daemon had escaped the Dark Ocean and kidnapped Ken. We couldn't find either one of them anywhere and then Gennai contacted us and informed us of a prophecy dealing with the situation. As such things often end up, I had to trek to some unknown corner of the Digital World to find the scroll ......"
____________________________ FLASHBACK
Around her arose dark skyscrapers, swathed in shadows. The sun had set nearly an hour ago and there was no light to be had anywhere. She hadn't been allowed to bring Gatomon because some ancient idiot had decree that the scroll had to be found only by worthy humans. So, here she was, alone at night in a deserted city with god knows what out there. And to make matters worse, for the past hour she had felt someone's eyes on her.
Hikari sighed, pausing to rest a moment. At least all the trials were behind her. Getting to the city had been a nightmare in itself. One challenge after another had been presented to her and she had barely passed some of them. Whoever was following her had to be a pretty formidable person.
Suddenly an arm snaked around her neck and clasped over her mouth. Immediately, she drove an elbow back into her opponent's midsection. There was a short grunt of surprise and her assailant stumbled back. However, he kept his grip on her. Hikari bit the hand clasped over her mouth and the guy released her. Whirling around, she pressed the attack. Falling back, the boy deftly avoided her punches and kicks. She feinted with a punch to the face masking a kick to the stomach. To her surprise, an elbow blocked the kick.
Frowning, Hikari backed off, studying her assailant. In the gloom, all she could make out was a tall boy wearing black pants and a black shirt whose sleeves had been ripped off. A dark hood covered his face. The most disturbing though was that he wasn't pursuing the attack but was rather, standing still studying her.
"Who are you?" She called out.
In response, the boy slowly cocked his head to the side and then suddenly rushed forward. This time it was Hikari who was driven backwards. Nimbly dodging his blows, she left a deliberate opening in her defense. The boy fell for it. She grabbed the punch aimed her way and twisted his arm up behind his back. He swung backwards with the other arm and she blocked and grabbed it as well. Twisting both arms brutally, she was in the midst of forcing him to his knees when he stamped down hard on her foot. The pain made her release his arms. He stumbled forward a step and then spun on his heel and tackled her. They rolled around on the floor trying to put each other in submission moves until he finally rolled her over onto her back and pinned her arms above her head. Slowly, he forced bother of her wrists together and pinned both of them with one hand. She was surprised he had the strength considering how she had twisted his arms. With his free hand, the boy reached down and playfully tweaked her nose.
"Hah, I told you I'd beat you someday."
"Ta ...... Takeru." She stammered, at a loss for words.
He rolled off her and rose to his feet. She took his offered arm and he pulled her easily to her feet. Then, reaching upwards, he pulled back his hood, revealing a head full of black hair. Seeing the look on her face, he laughed and took off the wig, revealing the familiar locks of blonde hair.
"I was traveling incognito," he explained.
Seeing him standing in front of her, grinning his familiar grin, brought back all of the memories of the past year. "You ...... you jerk." *SLAP* "You could have at least said goodbye." *SLAP*
"Ouch!" He exclaimed cupping both cheeks. "Geez Kari, wasn't nearly twisting off my arms enough." At the look on her face, he held up both hands and took a small step backwards. "Alright alright, you don't have to get crazy."
Her anger began to quickly vanish upon seeing his antics. She had never been able to stay mad at him for long.
"What are you doing here?" She said exasperated.
His expression quickly sobered. "I had heard that there was a scroll somewhere in this city that could tell me Sumeragi's whereabouts."
"I'm after the same thing," Hikari said, "except that Gennai told me the scroll would tell us of where Daemon's taken Ken."
The two stood silently, absorbing the weight of the words just uttered. "You haven't discovered how Daemon got free of the Dark Ocean, have you?"
Hikari mutely shook her head.
"Then it looks like we're on the same path. I'll come with you to recover the scroll." Takeru eyed their surroundings critically. "We should set up camp."
Hikari nodded and working side by side, they quickly set up a mini fire. She observed him out of the corner of her eye noticing the corded muscles in his arms that hadn't been there before. There was also a cold hard look in his eyes that occasionally vanished only to reappear again. This Takeru looked a great deal harder then the one that had left her a year ago.
As they sat side by side, eating in companionable silence, a thought suddenly occurred to her. "Hey," she said nudging Takeru with her elbow, "why did you attack me if you knew who I was."
He looked down at her. "I wanted to see how far I had come. You've been taking self defense since you were ten and could usually kick my ass so I thought it would be fun to try out some moves on you."
"I could have dislocated both your shoulders."
The same infuriating grin appeared on his face. "You probably could have," he admitted, "but I would have been screaming my lungs off before then. Besides, the foot stomp, although it was an improvisation, did work."
Hikari scowled at him, then turned back to her food. More silence but this time it was he who broke it. "Hi ...... Hikari," he said hesitantly. "I want to apologize for leaving. I handled that situation wrong. I'm sorry."
"Do you know how much you hurt me."
He flinched at that. "I ...... I know. It wasn't easy for me either. I didn't think I could face you in the morning and still be able to leave."
"Would it have been so bad if you had stayed?"
Takeru sighed, throwing his head backwards. "I don't know but I have to do this," he said sadly.
"I ...... I understand. In your place, I would have probably done the same." She reached up and tenderly brushed a lock of hair away from his forehead. "But, what about us?"
"I ...... don't know. I told you that I cared about you. That hasn't changed and it never will. But, I have to do this Kari. He'll come after you if he finds out and you're all I have left."
"I can take care of myself."
He smiled ruefully. "Trust me, I know that all too well but this whole situation is a lot more complex than you know. The things I've learned over the past year, you wouldn't believe half of them. This guy's network is widespread and it crosses both our world and the Digital World. You should warn Daisuke and Tai to keep their eyes open."
"Well, Daisuke will find out about it but you should really be addressing me." Takeru raised an eyebrow and she explained. "The poor guy blames himself for your loss and Daemon taking Ken. He's given leadership over to me."
Takeru grinned down at her. "Meaning, you don't have to pull strings from the background anymore."
She scowled at him. "That's not funny." He seemed to think it was though and burst out into open laughter. She shoved him playfully and he shoved her back and moments later they were rolling on the floor, giggling and laughing, trying to tickle each other into submission.
She had missed this, the open physicality between them. It was a closeness strengthened by eight years of friendship. Takeru never treated her like she was fragile and weak. Something, she appreciated more then he probably knew. Her family still remembered her frequent fevers as a child and more often then not, treated her with kid's gloves. It was irksome and she had begun to resent it but with Takeru, she could just let go and drop the mask her parents had come to expect her to wear.
She was jolted out of her thoughts as Takeru howled his submission, laughing uncontrollably. He had always been extremely ticklish. As his laughter subsided, they both realized the position they were in. She was sitting atop him, both arms poised over his ribs. His own arms were clasped around her waist.
"Hikari, I ......" He got no further as she leaned down quickly and kissed him. It was impetuous, it was stupid but she didn't care. She didn't want the moment to end. She didn't want him to get up and leave her again. He had stood by her for eight years through good times and bad and the past year without him had been empty.
She could tell he had been surprised by the kiss. His eyes had widened and his arms had shot up to her shoulders as if to pull away. However, he had not attempted to do so and had closed his eyes, his arms falling to his sides.
The kiss between them intensified as he poured his own passion into it until abruptly, it became something more. She was vaguely aware of the fact that she had unbuttoned his shirt and was running her hands over his chest. His own hands were underneath her sweater and shirt, trailing fiery tracks upon her torso. She gasped as one of his hands brushed across the underside of her breasts.
A small voice cautioned her to turn back but she paid it no mind. Another thought had gripped her. Maybe she could make him stay after all. It was a purely selfish thought but again, she didn't care. He was hers and she wasn't ready to give him up.
She moved atop him, to get a better position and he moaned softly. It seemed to be some sort of indicator as the next thing she knew, his hands were on her shoulders pushing her away. He looked up at her, his face flushed and a lingering trace of desire still in his eyes.
"I can't do this." He said raggedly. "Not when I know I'll have to leave you tomorrow."
"When then?" She asked quietly.
"When this is all over and Sumeragi's dead."
__________________________ END FLASHBACK
Hikari smiled wistfully. "I waited two more years. All I had was my duty as leader, in that time. Then, you finally got your revenge on Sumeragi but instead of coming back, you tried leaving again. Of course, I had been expecting that and confronted you. You said some pretty harsh things to me but you never explained why you wouldn't come back."
Beside her, Takeru stirred. "You wouldn't understand. Just ...... just go away Hikari."
"Well, that's progress at least," she muttered, " and no, I won't go away. We're going to work this out once and for all. Now try explaining to me what I wouldn't understand."
Takeru raised his head slowly. She was shocked at how haggard he looked. His eyes were bloodshot but had a dangerous glint in them. She remembered the look. He had always had a hint of something wild just underneath the surface but right now it was shining uncontrollably in her eyes.
"Leave. It. Alone. Hikari." He grated.
Hikari met that baleful gaze levelly. He wouldn't make her back down. She would be as hard as she needed to be. He had forgotten that he was dealing with a Yagami. Making her voice firm, hard, she said, "No."
Takeru's eyes narrowed and Hikari suddenly became aware of a pressure building along the wards she had placed on his mind. They began crumbling one by one until only the last was left which linked their minds together. She couldn't help but feel impressed. He had trained himself well in dealing with telepaths.
All at once, he was on his feet, glaring down at her. "So, you want to understand." He waved his hand and all about them grew dark. "Look at this and tell me if you can understand."
Hikari looked up as a blonde woman suddenly materialized in front of her. She was completely naked and floating horizontally in the air. A small lamp suddenly appeared above her and Hikari realized that the woman was bound to a table, unable to wiggle a toe. A voice, Takeru's, suddenly rang out in the stillness.
"Your name is Sofia Alexander?" The scene moved forward and Hikari realized that she was viewing things from Takeru's perspective. He was looking down at her now. "It doesn't matter if you answer that or not. It isn't an important question. However, I do have some important questions that I want answers to." She spat at him but missed. "You will answer my questions, Ms. Alexander." A pair of knives suddenly came into view and Takeru's voice boomed out, "Let's start."
She was a brave woman who managed to hold out for a full five minutes. However, when he started on her breasts, she broke completely, sobbing out detail after detail. Afterwards, he gently wiped the sweat from her forehead and plunged one of the knives into her heart.
The scene faded only to be replaced by another. This time it was a man and Takeru began randomly cutting off body parts until he started talking. The scenes followed one after the other, each more horrific then the last. He actually began skinning a person in one of them until he broke. As it went on and on, she sat and watched, unable to turn away. Yamato had prepared her for this but seeing it in all its horrid glory was hard. Beside her Takeru stood still, his face locked in a mask of impassiveness.
Abruptly, the scenes stopped and there was a long silence. Then, "Do you see now, do you see the things I did. And I regret none of it."
"We've all made hard choices." She wished her voice sounded a bit firmer. The truth was that despite any warnings, the scenes had left her shaken.
"Hard choices," he scoffed. "I tortured, I killed and I even enjoyed it. I was a monster and in many ways I still am."
Hikari rose to her feet, eyes flashing. "That's not true. You feel remorse for your actions. Otherwise, you would not be beating yourself up over this."
He laughed, a short bitter sound devoid of mirth. "You're a damned fool Hikari. I feel no remorse for what I did. I only feel sorry that I couldn't get you to drop this silly school girl crush."
Takeru's head jerked sideways as Hikari slapped him. "Don't you dare trivialize my feelings." Her temper was dangerously close to snapping. He would not listen to reason and now it seemed like time for more direct methods.
Opening the floodgates of her own psychic power, she pushed him backwards until he was pinned against the tree. He did not put up any type of resistance; probably because he had exhausted himself breaking down her wards.
Walking up to him, she forcefully jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "You are mine Takeru Ishida. You belong to me. I will decide when I'm ready to give you up."
He glared down at her but his eyes had lost the dangerous glint in them. "You're chasing a fool's ......"
Hikari backhanded him hard. "Shut up," she said quietly, gazing into his eyes, daring him to defy her. He wisely kept quiet. "I've been patient with you for three years but now you're beginning to stretch it. So, be quiet and listen:" She paused for a second. "I forgive you. I don't care about what you did and it means nothing to me."
He looked incredulously at her. "You have no idea what you're saying."
"Is it so hard for you to believe that I love you." He started to speak but Hikari grabbed his chin, silencing him. "You made a vow to me when we were fourteen that you would come back to me after you'd had your revenge. You didn't keep that vow and your reasons for not doing so are inconsequential to me."
Takeru jerked his head sideways, freeing his chin. "Why should I honor the vow of a boy that died three years ago," he said coldly.
"If I believed that was true, I wouldn't be here. No, let me tell you what happened to that boy. He pursued a vendetta that required him doing some pretty dark things. He sacrificed every principle he had to do what needed to be done and when it was all over, the boy realized his mistake. That same boy has been regretting his actions ever since." Hikari looked up at him. "You didn't think I could still love you after all you had done. You were wrong. Now drop this insufferable cloak of self pity you've wrapped around yourself." When he didn't respond, she reached up and laid a hand on his brow. "If you still don't believe me then feel this."
Takeru felt her mind open up to him. A flood of emotions, he had no protection against, hit him. They were what broke him in the end.
He had given up on love the day he had tortured and killed his first person. It had been an act of desperation. All his leads had run out and he had nowhere to go. The first interrogation had been crude and he had very nearly killed the person before getting any information. The guy had died in the end anyways, but not before giving him the location of someone who knew more. And he'd set off on that path, becoming further and further disillusioned until at last he'd given up altogether, wanting it all to end. He had been close, so close, but they had dragged him back. Back to life, back to pain, back to her. But how could she love him when he despised himself. She would hate him after all he'd done and so he'd tried to leave only to be thwarted once again. He had let his rage loose that day, hurting her so badly that she was driven right into Daisuke's arms. He had thought to move on and had managed to bury all memories of her until a year ago when fate had reunited them. He still cursed Gennai for setting him up like that. The meeting had lead to a renewal of their friendship. Surely that could not be so bad. He could at least retain her friendship and she would never have to learn what he'd become. Only, he could still see the love in her eyes. It frightened him with its intensity. Learning that she had left Daisuke had been a blow he wasn't prepared against and it had left him off balance. And then when she had held him, he had become even more confused. He should have made her let go, to leave him with his sins but it had felt so right and for the first time in six years he had felt safe. He had known then that he couldn't fight her that eventually, she would break through and see what he had become. He could almost imagine the love turning to hate then but did he want that? Their destinies were so entwined that they would intersect no matter how far away, he ran. He knew that now because he had tried running. And every single time they met, there would be that look in her eyes. The cold indifference when she gazed at him. He could imagine it because he had seen it in the eyes of Iori. That was another regret but he could live with it. He wasn't sure he could live seeing that look from her. And so, he'd tried to end it all only he'd been thwarted, yet again. And now she was showing him her mind, her emotions and the depth of her feelings for him. He couldn't deny this and destroying it required a lot more ruthlessness then he was capable of and so, he broke.
As the rush of emotions faded, Takeru found himself on all fours, staring at the ground. She had taken down the wards holding him to the tree. There was a drop of water, next to his hand and he found that he was crying. It had been a long time since that had happened.
Hikari looked down at him barely holding herself back from taking him into her arms. She knew he had to deal with this himself, that the next step needed to be his and so waited, holding her breath as he raised both hands to his face and sobbed quietly into them.
The crying didn't last long. Removing his hands from his face he looked up at her, his eyes red. "Damn you Hikari," he said thickly but his tone lacked any malice.
Hikari finally knelt down and embraced him. Tentatively, he put his arms around her as well. They sat silently, holding each other until finally, "Can you find your way back?" Hikari asked softly.
Takeru was quiet for a long time. "It will be hard without the D3," he finally replied. "There are a couple of ways but none of them are as certain as the D3." His voice took on an optimistic tone. "But I will try. I have to now."
"Promise me," Hikari said pulling away and looking into his eyes. "Promise me that you'll do everything you can to come back."
"Do you really need another hold on me?" Seeing the look in her eyes, he sighed. "Yes, I suppose you do. Ok, to make up for the promise I broke, I'll promise now that I will do everything in my power to come back to you."
Hikari stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly lunged forward, tackling him to the ground. She kissed him ferociously. Dimly, he was aware that she had dropped the barriers around his mind and that his body was reacting to the kiss. He tried raising his hands but found that they were pinned to the ground. She was in complete control of the moment.
After an inordinate period of time, she pulled back. "I will put as many holds on you as I need to, Takeru. I am not going to let you walk away from us, from me again."
"You don't trust me despite the promise."
Hikari shook her head. "I trust you but I also know you. The longer you're away from me, the more you'll begin to doubt all this. You'll convince yourself that my feelings for you were just an illusion and all of your old barriers will go back up stronger then before. And when you come back, I will have to work twice as hard to get you back."
Takeru reached up, he could move his arms now it seemed, and gently caressed her face. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry about what I said three years ago."
Hikari slowly reached up, grabbing his hand and turned her head, kissing his palm. It was a curiously gentle gesture from a woman that was one of the most forceful personalities he'd ever met. The gesture was another chain over his heart but he had no idea how or why that should be.
"My time here is growing short. Do you need anything before I go."
Takeru shook his head. "No, just stay here with me a while."
She lay down beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. He put his arms around her and they lay quietly until her time to go came.
"Remember your promise, Keru." Hikari said softly as her body began to fade away.
"Thank you," Takeru replied. "For everything. Your strength has always been my guiding light."
Hikari chuckled. "You always did have the soul of a poet."
"It's what you love about me, isn't it."
"It is one thing, there are others."
"I love you."
"I love you too. Remember." The last word softly echoed in the air as the mental link between them dissolved.
Takeru lay still for a while, thinking over everything that had happened. Then, with a groan, he rose to his feet. There were a lot of things to do and he needed to get to them. He had purpose now and a feeling that had been absent in his life for too long, hope.