The Japanese/Russian Chosen Leaders Meeting...!
It was a temperature region. The earth beneath was dotted with trees-neither extreme, nor scarce in it's entirety. The region was characterized by the fair mountains which stood proudly, dictating what might inhabit the rough terrain. It was the wind that gave the pair-Chosen and Digimon-reserve as they climbed higher into the sky. It was almost treacherous, very different from what they had experienced days prior in the Digital World, but given the situation, Anna found that made sense.
Tightening her grip on her partner’s mane, she leaned with him to aid in the climb-Digivice clutched firmly in her free hand. Her eyes flickered as she glanced down briefly, observing the shift as they moved higher. Giving his mane a light squeeze, she looked ahead again.
‘We’re almost there.’ Anna thought to herself, drawing in a quiet breath, ‘I just hope this goes well.’
Unimon steadied himself, taking a direct path on the wind. The winds were strong enough that he could glide for a moment, and did so as he began his descent to a flatter stretch of land between the mountains. It was the first good bit he had found suitable for a safe landing…if any landing in such a region could be called ‘safe’.
“Hold on!” The Digimon called, prompting a tucking into the pocket of the Digivice and the grasping of the mane more fully before they drew closer to the ground.
A Digiport opened somewhere within the same region that Anna was heading toward; within seconds, Taichi exited it as gracefully as possible. He hoped that he wouldn't get in trouble for doing this, especially since he did plan to visit the Digital World sometime with Agumon in the near future.
Looking around, he couldn't help but grin-this was Agumon's old area that he'd used to protect during Ken's momentary lapse of insanity as the Digimon Kaiser! Talk about a spot to meet at!
The equine allowed his hooves to run over the ground, pounding steadily into the earth until his speed decreased-thanks to a few extra flaps of his wings. Shaking his mane, he neighed lightly, coming to a full halt. His rider gave him a pat on the neck, pushing her goggles up and back above her forehead with a gloved hand before moving to draw her Digivice.
“That was a great landing, Unimon!” Anna cheered, ignoring the usual cluster of strands that promptly fell back over her right eye.
Unimon chuckled as he turned his head to glance at her. “Maybe you should have gotten the ones with the clear strap.”
“You’re just jealous.” She stuck her tongue out as she held her Digivice up, pausing. “Alright…he’s not far. Let’s get moving. Think you can run on this terrain?”
“Hold tight!” The equine replied, waiting until he felt her hand grip his golden yellow mane once more before bounding forward-full gallop, all the way!
Taichi wished he could've brought Agumon with him so he could get a look at his old stomping grounds again, but the Child Digimon was busy eating...store-bought food and couldn't be pulled away from it one bit!
"I think he's just finally happy that he's not eating anything made by Kaa-san." Taichi thought, snickering a bit as his attention was drawn away from the trees by hearing a faint, but definite, sound of hooves.
"They're almost here...!"
“Uni-“ Anna said as they bounced up, carefully holding onto the equine Digimon using her legs as support, “-mon, when-are you-going to l-earn that-starting a g-gallop w-oh, neverm-ind!”
The equine Digimon laughed at his Chosen’s words, pausing as he spied a figure up ahead. Apparently, Anna did too, because he could practically feel her face lighting up…simply through the way her grip changed.
“Taichi!” The Russian called, waving slightly as Unimon slowed down with his approach.
Taichi allowed a grin to appear on his face as he pulled out his now standard headband and put it around his head once seeing the rider and her Digimon come in at full gallop.
"Anna!" The Japanese Chosen waved back as he noticed Unimon slow down and stop inches away from him. Though he couldn't help but let his grin grow a bit. "At least you didn't accidentally squish me like you did my partner, Unimon-or get us tangled up together in arms and legs."
The last comment had been directed toward Anna.
“Sorry about that.” Both said in unison, resulting in Anna giving Unimon a weird look as she began her dismount. The blonde grinned, nonetheless. “Hope I’m not keeping you out too late, Taichi.”
Taichi shook his head while putting his hands behind his head. "Not really-I just had dinner and would've brought Agumon with me but he couldn't tear himself away from the store-bought food we had. Anyway, thanks for meeting me at this specific spot.
"This area is where Agumon used to guard and protect during Ken's 'reign' as the Digimon Kaiser up until he was captured. Took us a while to get him back; a little longer to regain control of the area in general, to say nothing of the Digital World."
That's when Taichi noticed something very familiar-which caused his jaw to drop in pure surprise. "...Are those your goggles, Anna?!"
“’Digimon…Kaiser’?” Anna tilted her head the words, pausing when Taichi erupted-jaw seemingly down to the ground, much to the blonde’s surprise. “Ha ha, yes! You like?” A flick to the lens was issued as she posed, flashing a peace sign-something of a mother-daughter trademark; though, she rarely performed it without her mother.
“Weird,” Unimon scoffed, pawing his muzzle lightly with his leg rather than hoof.
"Yeah...they look great." Taichi admitted quietly, taken aback that Anna could actually find his old pair of goggles in Russia. He wondered what Daisuke would think of this if he ever met her.
"I used to have a pair of goggles like that when I was younger. Then around 5 years ago I gave them to Daisuke, my successor and leader of the younger Japanese Chosen." he explained before eyeing Anna intently. "So...what's going on that calls for every leader of the Chosen worldwide to be on alert?"
Anna paused at the question, her smile dimming once hearing it. Glancing at her Digimon partner, she exchanged what could only be considered a ‘silent message’-prompting a de-evolution into his second baby form, Cupimon-who flapped his wings gratuitously before moving to her side. Looking back to Taichi, she nodded in the direction past him.
“You’re a clever one, ne?” She shoved her hands into her pockets and began to walk past Taichi, waiting for him to catch up before continuing to walk. “I wish I had better news, really...but it shouldn’t be anything new. Have you…been to the Digital World lately?”
Taichi whistled lightly at seeing Unimon's de-evolution before catching up with Anna and walking alongside her slowly.
"When it comes to the safety of the Digital World...sometimes the better news comes only after we've saved it. And...I wish I could say that I have, but it's been quite a while. I had planned on coming sometime this week with Agumon."
A part of Taichi wished that Sora could be here to listen to this, but Anna had said 'leaders only.' Why she'd chosen him first was somewhat surprising.
The blonde nodded, looking up at the sky as she continued walking at an easy pace. She was formulating her words, choosing them carefully. “I see…then you wouldn’t have noticed the changes.”
Anna came to a halt and inclined her head slightly, indicating that she wanted him to look up. “Look at the sky…just look at it for a moment…and listen to the wind.”
Cupimon stopped at Anna’s side, holding onto her pants leg with a pink claw. He was quiet, uncomfortable with the feeling of foreboding he received. He knew what she was talking about; he could hear it, feel it…it was in the air. It was…everywhere...
*********************
Taichi's eyes narrowed a bit as he did exactly as Anna requested-as he looked at the sky, he was reminded of the time when the Digital World had been seen upside down back on Earth. As he listened to the wind, he was reminded of the time that the original Chosen had to return to their old summer camp just to get back to the Digital World during one of their last adventures against BelialVamdemon.
"The Digital World is in trouble again...isn't it, Anna?"
“Mmh,” Anna nodded, closing her eyes as the wind zipped by her ears again. She clenched her fists from inside her pockets, opening her eyes to gaze up at the sky, “Yes, yes it is, Taichi…I only wish we knew what it is that’s coming…”
Cupimon’s expression changed, his grip upon his Chosen’s leg tightening. All the laughter went out of him at this discussion-not that it was the first he had heard of it. The trip home from the Digital World on Friday had been a solemn one. He knew…
A hand was placed atop Cupimon’s head and a light smile given to the Digimon before Anna continued, gaze rising, falling upon Taichi again, “I visited Gennai on Friday…and we had a long discussion about…a lot of things, actually.” She smiled slightly at that. “I can’t say he isn’t worried. He told me that the last time he fell so ill, great trouble was coming to the Digital World. His condition, it’s tied to the Digital World. If he is ill…”
Taichi closed his eyes while clenching his fists together so tightly he almost drew blood. He hadn't been as paranoid as Sora had claimed. Something bad was coming, and the Chosen would be needed once again! Not just the Japanese Chosen, but the Chosen worldwide...
"We'll find out what this great evil is that's coming to the Digital World...and stop it! I promise you, Anna!"
“I know we will,” Anna returned, eyes flickering as she nodded, “but we’ve got to go about this carefully, too. Gennai wants to build defenses, but he can’t do that by himself and…he’s also worried about the Chosen. Lately, so many of the Chosen have been busy doing their own things and with their own problems that they’ve just…forgotten about the Digital World, about their responsibility to the Digital World and its inhabitants. It’s kind of disheartening to Gennai-san. I think, in a way, he was afraid to tell us…and he shouldn’t be, Taichi.”
Taichi had to admit-Anna and Gennai both had a point. In recent years, the Chosen had been so busy with their own lives that they hadn't paid much attention to the Digital World as of late, if at all.
"How should I tell my friends about this? Yamato has that tour he's gonna go on at the end of the week." The hardest part for Taichi was how he was going to tell Sora, much less the others, how he received this information to begin with.
Anna leaned back against a tree, crossing her arms under her chest as she took the matter into consideration once again. She had already decided what she knew to be the best course of action, but she had to repeat the process…she had to be sure.
“I think you should wait,” she said, nodding firmly, “until after all of us have gotten together and spoken about this.” The teenager paused, looking at the ground for a moment. Should she mention her meeting with Yamato? Well…it was relevant, and Taichi was Yamato’s friend. “Nn, I know. I saw Yamato Saturday, actually…but I didn’t say anything to him about this. He’s stressed enough with the tour and I didn’t want to upset him any further. Gabumon thought maybe I could cheer him up.”
“I don’t think you did half that bad,” Cupimon said, crossing his little arms with a smirk. “Both of you are weird. I still can’t believe you made be-“
“Cupimon, if you say ‘belly baby’, I’m disowning you.” Anna stated flatly, slightly annoyed by her Digimon’s lovely thought pattern.
“Sorry,” Cupimon replied, clinging to his Chosen’s leg with a toothy grin, “but it’s so hard to resist…and I think he was happy. He smiled a lot-you know he did!”
“Anyway,” the blonde shook her head, eager to get back on topic, “I…just think we should wait until after the meeting to tell the others. We need to decide on a course of action together. It’s senseless, making the others panic when we haven’t even addressed the issue.”
Taichi nodded, staring at the skies for a moment longer before turning to look at Anna. "Yeah-then again, he might get more upset if he finds out when he gets back. You never really know how things will turn out, ne?"
Taichi rolled his eyes at hearing the "familiar" comment, but refocused his attention back on Anna. "So, what are we going to do? And when are we gonna have this meeting?"
“I’d like to talk to as many of the leaders as I can about this before bringing us all together for that meeting.” Anna said, biting her lower lip and chewing for a moment before nodding again. “It would be easier if they had some idea what we’ll be discussing. I mean, the gravity of the situation is…”
Taichi snickered a bit while observing Anna bite her lip. "It would be easier if they knew more about what was going on. And, yeah-that was what I was gonna ask next."
A serious look appearing on his face, Taichi stared intently into her eyes. "What is the gravity of the situation? Other than the Digital World close to falling into disarray again?"
The leader of the Russian Chosen was taken aback upon making eye contact with Taichi. She had managed, up until that point, to remain focused…and fought to tear her gaze away from his, which she did…but not before a light tint of red found its way to her cheeks. She turned her attention immediately back to the matter at hand, pretending that nothing had happened, nothing at all.
“I’m not sure just yet,” Anna replied, placing one hand upon her hip as she continued to speak, “but it’s enough that Gennai wants to build defenses. We don’t know what is coming or how bad it’s going to be-all we know is that something is coming, and it’s not the Easter bunny with chocolate eggs for all. I spoke to Gennai about Oikawa-sama’s spirit…he told me it was safe, that he can feel his heartbeat within his own…if whatever is coming can bypass the joint protection of Oikawa-sama and Gennai…in our current state, it will force the Chosen into the soil.”
Taichi was tempted to head home and inform the others about this immediately, but Anna was right-it wouldn't do any good to worry everyone right off the bat. Not to mention Yamato would be torn-deciding between his career and the protection of the Digital World.
"It's that powerful huh? If that's the case...we're gonna have to become even more powerful quickly." Taichi replied, placing his hands onto Anna's shoulders. "And, if it's gonna drive the Chosen into the ground, we're gonna fight back together!"
Anna looked up and met Taichi’s gaze, searching his eyes for a moment before nodding strongly. She smiled, placing her hands on his as she felt her resolve bolstered by the words of her fellow Chosen. “You’re absolutely right, Taichi!”
Taichi blinked in surprise; he hadn't expected to feel Anna's hands on his, nor could he hide a tint of red from his cheeks at the same time.
"I am...? About which part?"
“Everything you just said!” The teenager smiled back, nodding yet again before replying. “I guess I’m just glad someone else agrees with me. I mean, individually we can only do so much…but together?”
Taichi allowed a smile to appear on his face while nodding in agreement. "Yeah, it's nice to have someone actually listen to what you have to say for a change.
"And...yeah. Individually we can do so much. It's when we're together-like that time against BelialVamdemon-that the Chosen can truly shine." Squeezing her hands with his own, Taichi gave Anna a confident grin while holding onto her gaze and not breaking it.
“Absolutely. We’ve done it once and we’ll do it again!” Anna said, pausing upon feeling her hands squeezed. Their hands were…still touching-it barely registered, but it did…and there was that grin, the one that so easily brought a smile to her lips.
“Yeah,” she nodded once more, feeling a good bit of heat rush into her cheeks. “Er…Taichi? You’ve…kind of got my hands.”
“…Weirdos.” Cupimon murmured under his breath, peeking out from behind his Chosen to glare at Taichi. ‘Great…now I have to worry about two of them…’
Taichi felt his cheeks turn a bit redder at hearing Anna's reply; quickly, he separated his hands from hers while smiling sheepishly at her. "...Sorry about that, Anna."
Taichi was pleased that Sora wasn't here; she would have his head for that!
“Aha, not a problem!” Anna rubbed the back of her head lightly, smiling despite the faint blush on her cheeks. Shaking her head, she crossed her arms under her chest once again. “I guess all we have to do now is…wait for the meeting. I’ve still got to get in touch with the other leaders, too.”
Taichi nodded while focusing his attention back on the skies, subconsciously focusing on Anna at the same time. "Yeah. Though if you'd wanted to get in touch with Mimi, you should've suggested she come along with me. She may be the leader of the American Chosen, but she's also one of the Japanese Chosen, too."
Why didn’t that name rub well with her anymore? Jealousy…? Or was it guilt…? Anna didn’t allow herself any more time to think on it, instead opting to take another look at the heavens above. “I didn’t know Mimi was the leader of the American Chosen…”
Taichi nodded, grinning a bit. "She moved to New York back in '01, I think. She was able to rally the majority of the American Chosen together and became their leader, due to her experiences with us. Hence why it could've been more agreeable for her to show up, too."
“I probably should have asked her here with us,” Anna replied a little sheepishly, “but…I don’t know. There’s less than a week before the tour. I figured she’d want to spend some time with Yamato or something…and I wouldn’t want to intrude upon that.”
It was a lie, a very double-edged lie. In reality, she wasn’t sure she was ready to face Mimi or Sora-not if it was a pre-arranged event and she was knowledgeable about it. If it were a random encounter, she would have forced herself to adapt and adjust, but…
“I mean,” she paused, looking at Taichi, “if your girlfriend was about to go away on tour, wouldn’t you want to get in all the personal time you could?”
Her stomach nearly did a back flip.
Taichi stared at Anna, his eyes focusing on hers, and nodded. "Yeah...if she was, I'd want to spend as much time with her as possible. Then again, the fate of both worlds is at stake here, so it wouldn't really matter in the grand scheme of things."
Taichi held her gaze with his own, knowing that the teenager was indeed beautiful in her own way, but also reminding himself that any chance of a relationship other than being just friends couldn't happen...not if he wanted what he and Sora had to survive.
There was something peculiar about the way the leader of the Japanese Chosen was looking at her, something Anna couldn’t quite place. It made her pause, tilt her head just slightly to the side…and for some reason, she held his gaze rather than look away. If anything, that look was dangerous, but…
“I guess you’re right,” she smiled just slightly then, “but I think Yamato deserves that much, ne?”
‘Why is he staring at my Chosen like that?’ Cupimon quirked a brow. ‘Does she have something on her face? No…’ He twitched.
Taichi smiled back while nodding. Yamato had been through a lot in recent months, before and after this year had begun. And they were already 1/3rd of the way finished with it. Only 8 more months to go before 2008.
"Yeah...Yamato deserves that much. I think we all deserve that much, especially when everything we've worked so hard to protect is in danger of being destroyed, ne?" Taichi gently stroked her hair back a bit with his hand, continuing to hold her gaze with his own.
Too close-for the second time within three days, it was too close…too much contact. Yamato hadn’t touched Anna, but what little distance had existed between them in those few moments had been too, too little…and sparked a similar effect to the contact made by Taichi. It was difficult not to get lost in those eyes, dark as they were…because the soul stood perfectly exposed within those two, circular dark mirrors…and it was beautiful.
Anna was unable to find her voice despite the unusually shrill screeching within her head that demanded she move. Her boots might as well have been glued to the ground. When at last she managed to speak, it was a single word: “Taichi…”
“AHEM.” Cupimon coughed loudly, almost as though he were choking as he gripped his Chosen’s pants-an elaborate and carefully disguised attempt to keep any babies from being born. It was obvious to him that Anna was thinking about it-just look at how she was staring!!!
Taichi gulped as he continued to stare into Anna's eyes. The only other girl who's eyes he could get lost into like this were Sora's...and if the aforementioned girl was here right now, she would most likely have already stopped them from getting this close.
At hearing her simple response, he cleared his throat and was actually able to respond back. "Ne, Anna...?" Though he should've replied louder than with a much quieter tone.
Had it not been for Cupimon’s pink claws digging into her leg, Anna might not have found the strength to say much else. They were just too close. It was much harder to remember what it was that was keeping them apart, much less to actually listen to that voice in her head that was screaming bloody murder. Still, it was there, in the back of her mind, ringing clearly, faintly, to the point that her ears might have bled had it been allowed to continue.
“It’s…getting late, ne?” Anna smiled slightly, faulty, an image of Sora flashing in her mind. “Shouldn’t you be getting back soon…?”
Taichi saw an image of Sora flashing in his mind as well...though the image reminded him of last Tuesday, of when they had dinner at his and Yamato's hangout...her words came back to him at full force: "Taichi, I… you know how I've felt about you. I liked Yamato. But… I think I wasn't being honest with myself."
"...You're right." Taichi replied, pulling Anna into a tight hug and holding it before pulling away. He flashed her a grin once more before staring up at the skies. There was one person he could tell this before anyone else, if not two, and he knew they wouldn't get worried about it-much.
"Thanks, Anna...I'll see you around, ne?"
Anna was…surprised. It took her a moment to find her arms and return the hug; though, she was unsure of her actions. Maybe she was just being paranoid…or maybe there was something there, something that kept trying to come out that just…couldn’t. Shouldn’t. Did…he know? It wasn’t the time to wonder about such things.
“Of course! I’ll keep in touch, okay?” She waved lightly at Taichi, putting on that pretty plastic smile. “I’ll try to get in contact with the others as soon as possible. Take care!"
Cupimon, meanwhile, had crossed his small arms over his chest which had been thrown out, making him appear rather large. His cheeks puffed; he was practically seething.
Taichi's grin grew mischievous while waving back and tossing Anna and Cupimon the peace symbol. "You'd better, otherwise I'm sending Daisuke and V-mon to you by Air Express mail! You, too-both you, Cupimon and the Russian Chosen!"
“Hey, wait a minute!” Anna suddenly paused, dropping her backpack to the ground and pulling out a large container. “Taichi, hold up!”
“An-na,” Cupimon grunted, twitching slightly at his partner’s antics as she ran to catch up with the brunette.
"Hmm?" Taichi came to a stop, a confused look on his face as he noticed Anna running toward him with a container in hand. "There something else you needed, Anna?"
“Here,” Anna came to a halt a foot or two in front of him and held out the container. “I made these for Agumon, since he said he wanted to try my cooking. There should be plenty in there-cookies, a few cupcakes…oh! And some fudge brownies. I wasn’t sure what he’d like.”
Taichi took the container from Anna and, offering her one last grin, quickly kissed her left cheek before pulling away and winking at her. "Arigato, Anna! I'm sure Agumon will enjoy this just as much as he enjoys store-bought food! I'll make sure he shares with Tailmon, too. See you next time!"
That said, Taichi made his way back toward the Digiport again, looked at the skies once again and then headed back home, silently vowing to come back soon and find out for himself how badly in disarray the Digital World had fallen.
Anna blinked for a few minutes, cheeks having turned a light shade of red. Inwardly, she was scolding herself-practically certain her ears would bleed if that voice got any louder. She was rather surprised when Cupimon grabbed her hand and began practically dragging her in the opposite direction.
“Anna, we’re going home!” Cupimon huffed, cheeks still puffing.
“C-Cupimon!?”
“That wasn’t just weird. It was rude!” Cupimon exclaimed, continuing to drag his Chosen by the arm across the rough terrain and in the direction of the area in which they had landed. Hopefully, the winds hadn’t changed too much, but he was too upset to think about that. “He didn’t even ask my permission!!!”
“What!?” Anna sighed, smacking her free hand into her forehead quite abruptly. “Cupimon, you’re ma-“
“Don’t tell me I’m making a big deal out of this or I’m telling Yama-“
“Hey, is that a sugar cube?”
“WHERE?!?”