Disclaimer: I do not own digimon, nor do I own any of its characters. (Aargh… am I
going to have to do this all the time?)
This fic is dedicated to Bang, Scarlet, Strife21, Soccerchic, firestarsolo, ChnkyPntBtr
and Jenna D. Thanks to your reviews, I have been inspired to greater heights! Just hope
that you guys don't give up on me before I have a chance to finish this story… it's
moving so so so slowly… if you guys want longer chapters, just ask… though that will
mean slower publishing of the fic ^_~
Skarred.
The Sound of Silence
By 5kaRreD
Dulce et Decorum Est
- Wilfred Owen
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs,
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots,
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame, all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of gas-shells dropping softly behind.
Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And floundering like a man in fire or lime.
Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams before my helpless sight
He plunges at me, guttering, chocking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace
Behind the wagon we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.
'Wait up, Tai!' Sora kicked up her speed by a notch. The change in speed caused locks of
auburn hair to spill around her face like a flame, caressing her cheeks, getting into her
eyes. Sora shook her head irritably in an attempt to shake off the golden tresses and
clear her confused mind at the same time. What the heck was wrong with Tai? Her eyes
narrowed in frustration. He had been avoiding her throughout History class, barely
spoke to her during Chemistry class and had ignored her in Maths… was it about the
note that she had received earlier? Evidently he knew something she didn't… she had to
find out what. She finally caught up with the lean, muscular figure before her.
'Tai… what do you know?'
Silence.
The two had shared secrets since young; secrets told lying on the soft grass of
the soccer field, drenched head to toe in mud… secrets told in the dark, bodies rested
against the uncomfortable hard ground, covered only by the canopy of leaves
overhead… secrets gently whispered into each other's ears on a soft spring day… they
were truly innocent. But now, now there was a deep, dark shadow in Tai's heart. He
refused to tell her what it was, and thus she was left helpless. The two walked on
listlessly, Tai barely concentrating on where his destination lay, Sora simply trailing along.
Sora looked up at Tai's warm, chocolate brown eyes… they were lifeless and dark. The
shadow in his heart was reflected upon his eyes, and this scared Sora as the true
seriousness of the situation struck her.
'Tai, you have to tell me. I'd rather be prepared for what's coming, instead of being left
clueless…'
Tai finally consented to look at Sora. The steely arms of his eyes seemed to
clamp around hers, causing her to look straight back into his eyes. And then she saw
the fear… Tai had been a fearless leader, not hesitating to kill digimon to protect her…
he had placed himself in the most precarious situations just to get her out of trouble.
Yet now, he was afraid. Sora had never known this emotion to be present in Tai… he
had always been her figure of great strength and courage. Seeing the fear in his eyes
made her frightened too. What did he know? She dared not ask, for fear of the
consequences. It would be better to leave this matter alone.
************************
Tai's aimless wandering had led the two to the soda shop two blocks from their
apartments. There was no use for words to communicate… Tai and Sora could read
each other's minds like a book, and now those two books read: soda shop… soda shop…
soda shop… I'm thirsty... The two headed into the shop and took their seats at their
favourite table- the one hidden in a corner yet located next to the window, where they
could rest comfortably in a sunlit area, yet not be bothered by faces peering into the
window from the outside, tongues hanging out with little rivets of drool upon their lips.
Seeing his two regular customers stepping into the shop, the triple-chinned
Mexican behind the counter instantly whipped up their usuals- for Tai, a lemonade with
extra sugar, served cold with a little Hawaiian umbrella as decoration… Tai loved
collecting those little ornaments. For Sora, a regular coke float topped with vanilla ice-
cream.
'For those two school kids in the corner.'
The waitress bounced over, her short skirt flapping up and down… supposedly
to attract the customer's looks, yet only managing to snatch up their appetites, which
were torn up into little bits and flung into the drain. With a silly smile, she handed them
the drinks and bounced away again. Tai was repulsed… how could someone smile
without meaning it? Sora's smile was always pure and true, like the newborn sun as it
dawned upon the earth. Pushing away these thoughts, Tai reached out for his drink and
gulped it down all at once. Wiping his lips with one grubby hand, he glanced up at Sora
who was looking at him bemusedly from behind an untouched coke float.
'What the hell!'
She too snatched up her glass and emptied its contents into her mouth all in one
go. Her eyes grew wide as saucers as the acidic fizz of the drink burned into her
tongue, torturing the raw flesh like a fire inside her… this was followed by the
numbness the cold ice cream inflicted on the insides of her mouth. In one fluid
moment, Sora spurted out the drink from her parted lips. The coke- ice- cream mixture
flew in an arc across the table as a rainbow of brown… it sailed over the flower
arrangement in the center of the table… over the empty lemonade glass…Tai spluttered
profusely as he found himself drenched in a disgusting, sticky substance. The
concoction of coke, ice cream and saliva dribbled down his shocked features and down
his neck. The next thing she knew, Sora was banging her fists on the table, tears pouring
down her cheeks as the uncontrollable laughter escaped her. The two forgot all the
past events… the locker… the note… they were too caught up in the tiresome act of
laughing as they raised a racket loud enough to make the other customers in the shop
turn and stare.
Sora's heart was flooded with happiness… it was in rare moments like these that
the two ignored the world about them and shared a special moment together. This was
one of their moments. She glanced up at Tai's face… it was scrunched up like a used
tissue… his 'laughter wrinkles' deepened as he laughed almost noiselessly, completely out
of breath. Tai's well-proportioned nose dripped with brown liquid… the mixture
traveled down his face in little streams, weaving strange patterns on his tan cheeks and
collecting on the point of his chin again… Sora fumbled around the table, looking for a
napkin to wipe off the muck on Tai's face. Her unsteady hand brushed past two glass
figures, tipping them over… they wobbled for a split second before connecting with the
hard floor in a tinkle of breaking glass. The glasses were shattered… and next to them,
a little red and yellow umbrella lay lifelessly on the cold marble…
'Oops…' Sora mumbled a low apology as the frantic waitress that had attended to them
earlier scuttled over and began cleaning up the mess.
'Miss, you're going to have to pay for that!'
'Uh… how much is it?' Sora stammered. She wasn't sure she would have enough money
to pay for the broken glassware. Sora fished around in her pocket for her wallet and
opened it gingerly. Great… only $5 left.
'It's twice that amount, girlie.' The waitress drawled.
'I'll pay!' A comforting voice spoke up. Taichi whipped out his wallet, extracted a ten-
dollar note and thrust it at the waitress.
This is about the billionth time I have to depend on him to help me out…
'Oh dear, is the girlie too poor to pay? She's definitely one of the mentioned people… my
dear, you won't last long.' The waitress stated this as though it was a fact.
Sora was puzzled. What did she mean by that? Before she could react, Taichi
grabbed hold of Sora's hand and forcefully yanked her up and out of the soda shop. His
face burned bright red with anger and Sora could almost swear his eyes were emitting
little tendrils of golden smoke. The two smoldering pupils cast a hateful glare back at
the soda shop, then turned back to the road. Tai finally released his tight grip on Sora's
wrist and instead vented his anger on a little rock on the pavement, attacking it with
furious kicks. Sora was astounded… how could this happy, cheerful angel turn into a
fierce monster so quickly? That was like asking for a storm on a sunny day… or for the
calm and peaceful sea to bare its fangs and become a wildcat in the blink of an eye…
Something was evidently wrong.
'Tai, I need to know what's going on. Tell me… please?'
Tai could not hold back anymore. He spoke in a low, growling voice, making the
hairs at the back of Sora's neck prickle… she had never heard him speak in this way ever
since he had lashed out a final, fatal blow at Datamon years ago…
'Sora… the… the truth is painful, but I can't hide it from you any longer… I can still
protect you from it though… don't forget that I'm always here for you…'
Tai turned to Sora and grasped her hands tightly, yet not in the vice-like grip as
he had earlier, but in a firm, gentle manner… he looked straight into her crimson eyes as
his own chocolate ones softened…
'I don't want anything to happen to you Sora… no matter what happens, we must live
through it together…'
Sora lowered her eyes as she nodded her consent. Even if it hurt her, she had to
find out what it was that had been kept a secret from her al this time…
************************
Feet planted firmly on the wooden platform, General Sohiko turned to his
people. This was a day never to be forgotten; its events scrawled untidily into students'
notebooks as they tried to keep up with their history teacher's lecturing… it would be
recorded as the day of 'justice' to some… or dooms day to others… General Sohiko
lifted his voice to the heavens above as he addressed his people in a passionate manner.
In this way, he resembled the German leader Adolf Hitler… vigorous gestures
emphasizing each sentence, as though the audience was made up of musicians not
people… he seemed to be conducting an orchestra, not giving a talk.
'Japan… Japan is not a country… she is a nation. A nation of people. These people have
stood shoulder-to-shoulder and braved through many storms that lay in their path.
Throughout the long history of Japan, they have fought for glory, for peace, for their
country… some of these courageous people have died in the struggle for honor; the
kamikaze pilots sacrificed themselves to defeat the enemy… the samurais impaled
themselves on their own swords so as to die glorious deaths… Now it is our turn to do
something for our nation. Japan has given us so much; our food, water, shelter, care,
love… she is like a mother for all of us. Brothers, now I call upon you to help our mother
in her time of need… she is being plagued by a disease- an illness known as poverty. This
fatal illness could cause the fall of our great nation… can we let everything we have
slowly built with our bare hands for centuries crumble and die away in less than a
decade?'
'NO!' They shouted as a chorus of angry voices… the general's words seemed to ignite
the pride and loyalty for their country in them as a flame ignited the wick of a candle. In
this, Sohiko's speech was very effective… he smiled inwardly at the crowd's
enthusiasm… no doubt he would be able to get all these ignorant people on his side in
no time at all… then the purge would begin.
'We must cure this disease that is slowly killing our beautiful country… we must join
hands, as brothers, under one common goal: to remove all obstacles from Japan's path
of development. The sun must rise without any interference, yet poverty takes on the
form of clouds, blocking out the sun's rays from providing us with light and warmth.
Thus, we must rid our country of poverty! Out with the beggars hidden in dark street
corners! Out with the peasant children in the market, picking up scraps of food from
the floor to eat! Out with the people too poor even to afford a proper roof over their
heads! Japan must be cleansed!' The entire square shook and trembled like a lone leaf in
the wind… the crowd's roar of approval was deafening. Hats were whipped off heads
and tossed up into the air as the audience applauded the general.
Another thousand or so and he would have enough supporters to carry out his
plan… people were such blind fools… they would ignore prejudices and any other forms
of discrimination just to have their way. They didn't even question Sohiko's reason as to
why he hated poverty with such a passion. Nonetheless, they had fallen into his
clutches now…
Read on, oh brave ones…
going to have to do this all the time?)
This fic is dedicated to Bang, Scarlet, Strife21, Soccerchic, firestarsolo, ChnkyPntBtr
and Jenna D. Thanks to your reviews, I have been inspired to greater heights! Just hope
that you guys don't give up on me before I have a chance to finish this story… it's
moving so so so slowly… if you guys want longer chapters, just ask… though that will
mean slower publishing of the fic ^_~
Skarred.
The Sound of Silence
By 5kaRreD
Dulce et Decorum Est
- Wilfred Owen
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs,
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots,
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame, all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of gas-shells dropping softly behind.
Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And floundering like a man in fire or lime.
Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams before my helpless sight
He plunges at me, guttering, chocking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace
Behind the wagon we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.
'Wait up, Tai!' Sora kicked up her speed by a notch. The change in speed caused locks of
auburn hair to spill around her face like a flame, caressing her cheeks, getting into her
eyes. Sora shook her head irritably in an attempt to shake off the golden tresses and
clear her confused mind at the same time. What the heck was wrong with Tai? Her eyes
narrowed in frustration. He had been avoiding her throughout History class, barely
spoke to her during Chemistry class and had ignored her in Maths… was it about the
note that she had received earlier? Evidently he knew something she didn't… she had to
find out what. She finally caught up with the lean, muscular figure before her.
'Tai… what do you know?'
Silence.
The two had shared secrets since young; secrets told lying on the soft grass of
the soccer field, drenched head to toe in mud… secrets told in the dark, bodies rested
against the uncomfortable hard ground, covered only by the canopy of leaves
overhead… secrets gently whispered into each other's ears on a soft spring day… they
were truly innocent. But now, now there was a deep, dark shadow in Tai's heart. He
refused to tell her what it was, and thus she was left helpless. The two walked on
listlessly, Tai barely concentrating on where his destination lay, Sora simply trailing along.
Sora looked up at Tai's warm, chocolate brown eyes… they were lifeless and dark. The
shadow in his heart was reflected upon his eyes, and this scared Sora as the true
seriousness of the situation struck her.
'Tai, you have to tell me. I'd rather be prepared for what's coming, instead of being left
clueless…'
Tai finally consented to look at Sora. The steely arms of his eyes seemed to
clamp around hers, causing her to look straight back into his eyes. And then she saw
the fear… Tai had been a fearless leader, not hesitating to kill digimon to protect her…
he had placed himself in the most precarious situations just to get her out of trouble.
Yet now, he was afraid. Sora had never known this emotion to be present in Tai… he
had always been her figure of great strength and courage. Seeing the fear in his eyes
made her frightened too. What did he know? She dared not ask, for fear of the
consequences. It would be better to leave this matter alone.
************************
Tai's aimless wandering had led the two to the soda shop two blocks from their
apartments. There was no use for words to communicate… Tai and Sora could read
each other's minds like a book, and now those two books read: soda shop… soda shop…
soda shop… I'm thirsty... The two headed into the shop and took their seats at their
favourite table- the one hidden in a corner yet located next to the window, where they
could rest comfortably in a sunlit area, yet not be bothered by faces peering into the
window from the outside, tongues hanging out with little rivets of drool upon their lips.
Seeing his two regular customers stepping into the shop, the triple-chinned
Mexican behind the counter instantly whipped up their usuals- for Tai, a lemonade with
extra sugar, served cold with a little Hawaiian umbrella as decoration… Tai loved
collecting those little ornaments. For Sora, a regular coke float topped with vanilla ice-
cream.
'For those two school kids in the corner.'
The waitress bounced over, her short skirt flapping up and down… supposedly
to attract the customer's looks, yet only managing to snatch up their appetites, which
were torn up into little bits and flung into the drain. With a silly smile, she handed them
the drinks and bounced away again. Tai was repulsed… how could someone smile
without meaning it? Sora's smile was always pure and true, like the newborn sun as it
dawned upon the earth. Pushing away these thoughts, Tai reached out for his drink and
gulped it down all at once. Wiping his lips with one grubby hand, he glanced up at Sora
who was looking at him bemusedly from behind an untouched coke float.
'What the hell!'
She too snatched up her glass and emptied its contents into her mouth all in one
go. Her eyes grew wide as saucers as the acidic fizz of the drink burned into her
tongue, torturing the raw flesh like a fire inside her… this was followed by the
numbness the cold ice cream inflicted on the insides of her mouth. In one fluid
moment, Sora spurted out the drink from her parted lips. The coke- ice- cream mixture
flew in an arc across the table as a rainbow of brown… it sailed over the flower
arrangement in the center of the table… over the empty lemonade glass…Tai spluttered
profusely as he found himself drenched in a disgusting, sticky substance. The
concoction of coke, ice cream and saliva dribbled down his shocked features and down
his neck. The next thing she knew, Sora was banging her fists on the table, tears pouring
down her cheeks as the uncontrollable laughter escaped her. The two forgot all the
past events… the locker… the note… they were too caught up in the tiresome act of
laughing as they raised a racket loud enough to make the other customers in the shop
turn and stare.
Sora's heart was flooded with happiness… it was in rare moments like these that
the two ignored the world about them and shared a special moment together. This was
one of their moments. She glanced up at Tai's face… it was scrunched up like a used
tissue… his 'laughter wrinkles' deepened as he laughed almost noiselessly, completely out
of breath. Tai's well-proportioned nose dripped with brown liquid… the mixture
traveled down his face in little streams, weaving strange patterns on his tan cheeks and
collecting on the point of his chin again… Sora fumbled around the table, looking for a
napkin to wipe off the muck on Tai's face. Her unsteady hand brushed past two glass
figures, tipping them over… they wobbled for a split second before connecting with the
hard floor in a tinkle of breaking glass. The glasses were shattered… and next to them,
a little red and yellow umbrella lay lifelessly on the cold marble…
'Oops…' Sora mumbled a low apology as the frantic waitress that had attended to them
earlier scuttled over and began cleaning up the mess.
'Miss, you're going to have to pay for that!'
'Uh… how much is it?' Sora stammered. She wasn't sure she would have enough money
to pay for the broken glassware. Sora fished around in her pocket for her wallet and
opened it gingerly. Great… only $5 left.
'It's twice that amount, girlie.' The waitress drawled.
'I'll pay!' A comforting voice spoke up. Taichi whipped out his wallet, extracted a ten-
dollar note and thrust it at the waitress.
This is about the billionth time I have to depend on him to help me out…
'Oh dear, is the girlie too poor to pay? She's definitely one of the mentioned people… my
dear, you won't last long.' The waitress stated this as though it was a fact.
Sora was puzzled. What did she mean by that? Before she could react, Taichi
grabbed hold of Sora's hand and forcefully yanked her up and out of the soda shop. His
face burned bright red with anger and Sora could almost swear his eyes were emitting
little tendrils of golden smoke. The two smoldering pupils cast a hateful glare back at
the soda shop, then turned back to the road. Tai finally released his tight grip on Sora's
wrist and instead vented his anger on a little rock on the pavement, attacking it with
furious kicks. Sora was astounded… how could this happy, cheerful angel turn into a
fierce monster so quickly? That was like asking for a storm on a sunny day… or for the
calm and peaceful sea to bare its fangs and become a wildcat in the blink of an eye…
Something was evidently wrong.
'Tai, I need to know what's going on. Tell me… please?'
Tai could not hold back anymore. He spoke in a low, growling voice, making the
hairs at the back of Sora's neck prickle… she had never heard him speak in this way ever
since he had lashed out a final, fatal blow at Datamon years ago…
'Sora… the… the truth is painful, but I can't hide it from you any longer… I can still
protect you from it though… don't forget that I'm always here for you…'
Tai turned to Sora and grasped her hands tightly, yet not in the vice-like grip as
he had earlier, but in a firm, gentle manner… he looked straight into her crimson eyes as
his own chocolate ones softened…
'I don't want anything to happen to you Sora… no matter what happens, we must live
through it together…'
Sora lowered her eyes as she nodded her consent. Even if it hurt her, she had to
find out what it was that had been kept a secret from her al this time…
************************
Feet planted firmly on the wooden platform, General Sohiko turned to his
people. This was a day never to be forgotten; its events scrawled untidily into students'
notebooks as they tried to keep up with their history teacher's lecturing… it would be
recorded as the day of 'justice' to some… or dooms day to others… General Sohiko
lifted his voice to the heavens above as he addressed his people in a passionate manner.
In this way, he resembled the German leader Adolf Hitler… vigorous gestures
emphasizing each sentence, as though the audience was made up of musicians not
people… he seemed to be conducting an orchestra, not giving a talk.
'Japan… Japan is not a country… she is a nation. A nation of people. These people have
stood shoulder-to-shoulder and braved through many storms that lay in their path.
Throughout the long history of Japan, they have fought for glory, for peace, for their
country… some of these courageous people have died in the struggle for honor; the
kamikaze pilots sacrificed themselves to defeat the enemy… the samurais impaled
themselves on their own swords so as to die glorious deaths… Now it is our turn to do
something for our nation. Japan has given us so much; our food, water, shelter, care,
love… she is like a mother for all of us. Brothers, now I call upon you to help our mother
in her time of need… she is being plagued by a disease- an illness known as poverty. This
fatal illness could cause the fall of our great nation… can we let everything we have
slowly built with our bare hands for centuries crumble and die away in less than a
decade?'
'NO!' They shouted as a chorus of angry voices… the general's words seemed to ignite
the pride and loyalty for their country in them as a flame ignited the wick of a candle. In
this, Sohiko's speech was very effective… he smiled inwardly at the crowd's
enthusiasm… no doubt he would be able to get all these ignorant people on his side in
no time at all… then the purge would begin.
'We must cure this disease that is slowly killing our beautiful country… we must join
hands, as brothers, under one common goal: to remove all obstacles from Japan's path
of development. The sun must rise without any interference, yet poverty takes on the
form of clouds, blocking out the sun's rays from providing us with light and warmth.
Thus, we must rid our country of poverty! Out with the beggars hidden in dark street
corners! Out with the peasant children in the market, picking up scraps of food from
the floor to eat! Out with the people too poor even to afford a proper roof over their
heads! Japan must be cleansed!' The entire square shook and trembled like a lone leaf in
the wind… the crowd's roar of approval was deafening. Hats were whipped off heads
and tossed up into the air as the audience applauded the general.
Another thousand or so and he would have enough supporters to carry out his
plan… people were such blind fools… they would ignore prejudices and any other forms
of discrimination just to have their way. They didn't even question Sohiko's reason as to
why he hated poverty with such a passion. Nonetheless, they had fallen into his
clutches now…
Read on, oh brave ones…