The Footsteps are Fading

by Saki

 

“It needs no uncommon eye to see that the finger of death has rested on the church.”

                                                                                                                  - Sampson Reed

 

Chapter Five

 

Masafumi Tanaka, one of Japan’s top reporters, could be seen flying from household to household, asking this, asking that, and all around shoving his camera in their faces while they picked at the remainder of their lives. Some blatantly ignored him, others insulted and cursed him, so when he made it over to Yamato’s house, he wasn’t expecting a hug and a “how do you do”. He asked them a question politely enough, and when they answered equally civil like, it struck a humanitarian string in his heart (a thing to behold in reporters) and he asked if they needed any help. Concern actually rang true in his voice, but there was little he could do. They shooed him off and continued to rummage through the ruble, picking up odd things and then tossing them to the side. If Sora ever got home, Yamato thought, there’d be some “ss’plaining’ to do.

 

Sora, as of that time, was looking down upon the digital world’s most ferocious and damaging opponent ever. And as if his reputation wasn’t enough, he sure looked the part of it.

“Massive” fell considerably short of describing his bulk. He could perhaps fill the description of a fourth of the size of the room they were in. His eyes could not be thought of as less than the devil’s own. He had hair, but it was crimpy and unnatural, trailing all the way down his back in dark spurts that had to be crawling with some bug or another. Fortunately, he wasn’t facing them, though Sora guessed they could have smelled his breath from their position so high above. She couldn’t clearly see his face, but what she did see was enough. Protruding canines popped out of the lip corners, dripping saliva that would no doubt burn one to death (fitting descriptions of some terrible giants she had once read about). Rough, leathery skin stretched itself painfully around his overgrown body, giving the impression that he would burst out of it any second. Raptor-like claws adorned his feet and hands, randomly clicking on the floor as if they had a mind of their own. She groaned outwardly.

“We have to fight him?”

Taichi passed a look that said “oh-my-god-what-have-you-done”, as the chthonic beast on the ground cracked his head to their vicinity, gaping out of wonder or stupidity. The woman, whom had been staring at Taichi and him at her, dashed towards the wall they were in and soon vanished from sight in the shadows. Taichi spun Sora around and pushed her back to the tunnel, hoping to get out of this creepy, sanity-threatening place, but a pale hand shot out and grabbed him roughly by the collar.

“Run!” he shouted, shoving Sora further into the tunnel. “Get out of here and take -”

His mouth was covered suddenly with the woman’s hand, who’s strength was amazing, and he was twisted around, forced to stare at her golden eyes. She slammed him up against the wall and brought her mouth to his ear, whispering sardonically: “Help me, help me, where did I come from, little boy?”

He struggled against her grip, but she pinned him to the wall again, her face scornfully close to his.

“What’s the matter, little boy, aren’t you going to tell me where I came from, or are you so ignorant and weak as to not answer?”

He relaxed his back against the cool concrete and stared her in the eyes hatefully, trying to ignore the fire engulfing his shoulder in pain. She smiled and daintily brushed a hair back from her eyes, then rested the same hand on his forehead.

“Poor Taichi,” she whispered, “it was never in your stars to die now.”

She moved her hand so that it covered his eyes, and leaned her head against his, laughing at his predicament.

“You’re such an interesting person,” she continued, “living such an isolated life, letting your one love get away from you…I thought I might help you out, but then I discovered your delightful design! Why, you’re so gullible and strong; just the right person I need to help me, if help can be so expected from a human.”

He frowned at her, removed her hand from his eyesight, and bodily thrust her against the opposite wall. Instead of saying ‘ow’ like a person would expect, she giggled at his attempts and with one hand had him back up against the wall, biting his lip in pain.

“Aw, why are you fighting me? Don’t you remember our little conversation that one morning…The time when you said that I’d always be with you and that was okay?”

Taichi shook his head and averted his gaze, redirecting his thoughts to Sora, to wonder if she was running down the tunnel now, far away from this nonsense.

“Nonsense?” the mouth breathed by his ear, “what makes you call it that? Why do you want to run away from your one and only girl, me?”

“I don’t even know your name, so why do you think I would associate with you like that?”

“Because it’s not names that matter, nor how long one has known the other – it’s a confidence, Taichi, a confidence that can tell the difference between wrong and right.”

“That’s not so hard to do consciously.”

“Or is it?”

He brought his eyes up to hers quickly, but refused to betray any emotion other than contempt.

“Well, seeing as you are so the strong and silent type, here’s a test,” she smiled dangerously, “go down there and kill that buffoon. He deserves it.”

“What will happen?”

“Why, you’ll be the hero!”

“No, I mean to you.”

“Such concern for one you so disrespect? I’m touched.”

“You shouldn’t be. I was wondering if I killed him, would that put you out of the picture, too?”

“Don’t believe you can be satisfied so easily, dear. If you kill him, which I’m sure you can (here she winked), I’ll become the ruler of the digital world.”

“A benign ruler?”

“Of course not, but wouldn’t you rather have a beautiful ruler than…” she indicated with a toss of her head the beast that was standing utterly still on the floor below them.

“Why do you want to be ruler of a few digimon?”

She shook her head.

“If you don’t understand it, then why should it bother you? Just be assured that you have to kill that beast down there anyway, and we’re on a good enough accord to talk to each other civilly after I become ruler, got it?”

“That’s insane. Why the hell should I kill him when you’re the one who wants him gone so badly? Plus, you’re obviously stronger than I am.”

“Nice observations, and a little persuading if I hadn’t already decided to fight with you. Now, come on, let’s get rid of that thing on a mutual agreement.”

She took a step back and held out her hand. It seemed hard to trust such a strong and treacherous woman, but they were in the same humour as of now. He extended his hand to hers and shook it cautiously, half expecting to have the life sucked out of him.

“Great!” she cried, “now let me see that shoulder of yours, for you can’t fight him without full strength.”

Not asking how she knew, the digidestined leader turned his back to her and waited apprehensively, somehow knowing that she could heal with maybe a touch.

“This’ll sting,” said she, and there was such a sudden jolt on his shoulder that he was flung forward and smacked into the wall. “Hm, that was a little stronger than usual, sorry.”

Taichi un-suctioned himself from the ground, stood up quickly, and inspected his shoulder. No cut came to his fingers, nor blood, and he would have called her an angel had he not just been severely beleaguered by her.

He turned to say thanks, but he found her already descending to their opponent, without explaining their battle plan at all. He sighed heavily, thought Sora far away by now, and followed the mysterious woman down.

 

Daisuke feigned surprise at Hikari’s sudden display of emotion. He had honestly expected such a thing, considering the situation and the fact that they were alone, perhaps witnessing the last moments of each other’s life, although neither of them thought of it that deeply. He didn’t kiss back, he didn’t know if he should. He was here to protect Hikari now, not indulge in a passionate love scene (that the author really doesn’t want to write). When she broke apart from him he could sense her disappointment, but it couldn’t be helped. It would be morally wrong on his part to entertain such fantasies.

“Kari…I’m sorry. It’s just not -”

“Don’t worry, I understand, I shouldn’t of done that.”

He grimaced at the cold shoulder he received. It was an odd transaction, going from philosophical tidings to depression, a road not traveled every day. And besides, she hadn’t answered his question. Or maybe she had with that kiss, but it was a negative answer that he didn’t really relish. But still…

He shook his mind, trying to clear it of such contemplations. It didn’t matter, it was just a…jeez! The child inside of him cried. This is the girl that you used to be crazy in love with! She just kissed you! Does that not click for you! Need someone to smack it into your head?

He unconsciously brought his hand up to smack himself, but instead used it to pull Hikari’s face towards his own.

“Hikari…”

But it was past words at that point for him. Maybe this wasn’t love that he was feeling, but he knew that she needed him right now and protecting someone would also mean entertaining them, too, right? Undoubtedly.

He leaned into her, closing his eyes, squeezing them shut, then leaning in further, and-

“Davis! Kari!”

Sora came rushing to them through the gloomy tunnel, running like Lucifer himself were bent on her destruction. She halted just close enough to see their faces (which were now no longer so close), jittery and sweating.

“What’s wrong? Where’s Tai?”

“We found the enemy! We found…” she trailed off, wondering at her first words and their overall irony. Why would this make her happy?

“Is my brother there?”

Sora nodded profusely. “We have to hurry back to him!”

“Why? What can we do to help him?”

“We can give him confidence!”

“I don’t think Tai would want us to see this fight…”

“Then don’t go! Stay here and rot; you’re too injured to walk anyway.”

Like a mule, Daisuke jumped up and shouted: “I’m fine!”

She grinned and soon all three of them were sprinting down the tunnel, towards the man that was ultimately walking into a death trap. During their race, Daisuke glanced over at Hikari and caught her eye, who seemed to be thinking about their interruption, too. But she only winked at him and said:

“It’s the thought, Davis, not the pleasure.”

 

On the floor, divine intervention could not have been more transparent to spectators, but for the players caught and suffocated in the bowels of the cavern it seemed like an everyday happening. God, Taichi thought, could never be so willing to converse with the worst part of himself or any of his subjects; yet such a simile could be placed on this time that it was frightening to such a mortal, and Taichi demanded of the woman to know who she was. If, though it would be impossible, our brave leader had played the role of the spectator, he would have pondered at the irony of saying “she”, but that is for later musings on our part. The blonde lady merely snickered at his ignorance, and then walked closer to the beast in front of her.

“O wise master,” she said, bowing low, “it is in my greatest distress to see you bound by our morals and conflictions, so that I will hope to ease your apparent suffering soon, if my lord so advises me to.”

The one in address only twitched a muscle by its eyelid, displacing an inquisitive fly.

“For,” the woman continued, “I cannot wish to achieve felicity (though it renders all of my softer sentiments to pieces to say such a thing) whilst you are so breathing and so ignorantly living a life that by all means does not prove fruitful to my designs.”

Finally, the beast stirred and mumbled: “They are evil designs.”

“And I, my lord, am an evil person, as should be expected of so despicable an upbringing as I have endured. But laying all past skirmishes aside, my ever valorous lord, I propose to uphold my end of the bargain if you agree as well. The bargain being, if your mind needs refreshing, that neither of us will impose upon the intentions of the other, which I feel you are incredulously carrying out.”

“How so?”

“By warrant of your merit, and I will confess as to wanting this ghastly place you dwell in to be called my own. Forsooth, if you would graciously give me what I desire, I would never be in like mind to harass or discourage you from whatever proceedings you wish to amuse, my great lord.”

“Petty, uneducated miscreant; do you believe that I would dare show my face in the light which you live in? This is the one place where I can rule in contentment, living in only your knowledge as the beast I appear to be, while you roam freely, masquerading wherever you go that you are nothing more than a beautiful damsel in neediness.”

“You dare call me needy and false when for all your life you have not seen once the creatures you rule for fear that they will reject you? What grounds do you have to call me unflattering names that do not describe one ounce of my character? I want nothing more than this property; you can go dig yourself a hole somewhere else - ”

“Desirous wretch!” The beast hollered, “I know what such a present to you would cause! You would have me give up my throne like a child unable to handle his inheritance, and I in result would be forsaken by all mortals on the planet and forced to live in misery for the remainder of eternity.”

“Stated bluntly, yes.”

While such flabbergasting comments were being interchanged, Taichi stood next to the woman dumbly, not having the slightest inclination to what affairs these statements were made. So he soon lost his patience, and, deciding that the conversation was likely to go on for several more hours at the least, he paced around the room, staring now and then into the numerous blood puddles on the floor. He did not desire to run away from the sight of the beast, but felt oddly obligated to stay, though he had no reason to wonder at it. While he thus was exploring the room and its contents, Sora, Daisuke, and Hikari came to the entrance and stared down into the spacious cavern, eagerly searching for Taichi. They saw him standing at the edge of a particularly large puddle, and likewise watched him crouch down and stick a finger into the stillness of it. With horrifying slowness, a transparent hand escaped from the depths of the blood and came to rest near his feet, tapping idly at the stone floor. The three companions were just as scared of this hand as Taichi was, whom it was nearly on, and automatically repulsed when it slid up further and touched his pants. He shouted out in surprise, and tried desperately to get away, but the hand held him tighter and then began to drag him slowly into the pool of blood. During this gradual take over of Taichi, the woman and the beast were continuing their discourse, both of them taking color to their face now that the conversation was turning into an argument.

“I will never give into your barbaric, treacherous ways!”

“But our agreement!”

“I never made any such agreement and never will, traitor Akuma!”

A long pause gripped the chamber as even the submerging Taichi wondered at this new name for the woman. Akuma…?

“Wait, wait,” whispered Hikari to her friends, “let me guess: the other guy’s name is Kami?”

All three coughed simultaneously, and would have laughed had not their friend been down on the same level and proximity as the two powerful beings. Kami and Akuma…this would explain many things.

Taichi finally pulled himself out of the hand’s grip and stood up quickly. He stared at the hand he had used to shake the woman’s with. He had shaken hands with the devil? Didn’t that put him in some sort of eternal slave-like nature? He shuddered.

“Akuma…” the woman sighed, “this is the name you give to me?”

“It is a name you deserve, for you continually harassed me in such ways to be sure of your disposition.”

“The disposition of hell?”

The beast nodded.

“And so you would call yourself Kami, wouldn’t you?”

“It is without a doubt my destiny.”

Quieting herself for a moment, she soon burst out in such rage that her voice crumbled the stone of the very floor.

“Never could I have been Kami! My mother was so blessed with attributes of an angel, but my father was such a sinful thief! He has ruined me! The blood that runs in me is his, take it out! Take it out! TAKE IT OUT! I will never suffer to live with him in my blood, him in my mind; can’t a child forget the memories of their father! Can’t one just push out all of their father’s thoughts and actions! If I am the devil than I curse him to an eternal suffering with me as his master, me as his torturer; no other devil shall lay hands on him but me! No other of my kin shall give him pain but me, for I have had to endure all of his pains, all of his sins, and look what they turned me into! A child should not have to bare their parents’ sins! A child…shouldn’t be subjected to a life that they had no chance to choose. Kami! If you be so powerful as the notions are, why can a child not have the endearment of choice! What liberty, what rationale do you possess to dictate the very lives of innocent children who are to be punished under their father’s doings, and who cannot know otherwise! Oh, Kami, if only your own parents had been so hellish as he was, perhaps you would not be so harsh upon my soul when I choose to leave this place. But can I beg for mercy now when I have my entire life humiliated and insulted you, to your face and behind it; slinking in the shadows like the poor, worthless animal that I am. May my father forever be in the worst curses any of us can describe, and may he be at the end of every whip that is lashed, and may he loathe the day that he stained my mother’s dignity and ruined his child’s eternal soul.” After all her lamentations, she looked upon Kami with tears in her eyes that would move the hardest and cruelest of people.

“Akuma,” Kami said, “you are truly miserable beyond comparison, but not because of your ancestry, but because of the choices that you did have the liberty to make. Your understanding is muddled, and for such reasons I will reveal to you one of my secrets, so keep your ears wide, for you are not worthy of such honor as I am about to bestow upon your worthless soul. In your pitiful speech, you questioned my rationale pertaining to not letting children decide what parents they are born to, correct? Because, unworthy devil, it is not your line of blood which makes you, or your belief in me, but the choices that you make when you come to a conscious age. You could have not chosen to follow your father and could in all truth have replaced me, but instead you chose to be corrupted by your father’s evil doings, and instead of healing the weak, you killed, instead of loving, you hated, instead of growing, you destroyed, and there are so many other reasons which I could bequeath upon your weak heart and mind, but I am told to cut it short, for there are some listening who despise the word of me more than you do. Be at peace, though, for I have sentenced your father to burn unaccounted for in the inferno that hell is. There he sits, and will sit forevermore, wondering what happened of my renowned forgiveness. There is no such thing as forgiveness in divinity, Akuma. There are no shades of justice, no loopholes for criminals to peek through. There is me, and that alone forsakes that phony mortal belief of forgiveness. Are you content with this?”

“How could I be?”

“Yes, indeed, how could anyone but I be content with my word?” Here Kami smiled, but it was quick and hard to catch. “But for your treacheries, you are also bound to the fate of hell, so there you may reunite with your father and tell him now that you have the confidence how much you hate him.”

“For what am I sent to hell?”

“Many things, but I will list one and that will give you an idea of my “forgiveness”: you tore out a piece of grass purposely, consciously. That is but one reason, but that alone would have sent you to hell anyway.”

“That seems very harsh a sentence for so innocent a crime.”

“Innocent! Didn’t I tell all of you to never destroy life! I warned you, I gave you all fair warning! It is not my fault that you do not follow the rules and are banished from heaven.”

“But it is your fault for making such nugatory rules.”

“Do you want two eternities in hell?”

“Kami, may I ask how many people are in heaven as of now?”

“No, you may not, but when you’re in the fires of your own ungodliness, perhaps just by sight of the numbers burning alongside of your body you could make a reasonable judgment on the number who actually listened to me.”

She nodded curtly, and then turned to Taichi.

“Worthy human,” she said, completely taking Taichi by surprise, “forgive me for harming your friend long ago who spies now, but may he and you be witness to the carnage and inhumanity of God. May you be a messenger to your country of the inconveniences of God and his word. Your country, as I understand it, is under attack from none other than God, for it harbored my body for a time. Even though it was a fleeting time, it was enough to poison your country and for God to wish its annihilation. Forgive me, though I believe once I am gone all will return to normal at God’s will, and those who died will revive, and those who perished from faint will welcome their souls again. Let me be an example to all humans, though I care naught for them, only for you, and even that I do not understand, so that all will rival God and his ridiculous word, rise up in hatred against God and his demeaning actions. I am not sure if you shall win against such a being, but trust me that, though I be the devil, I am on your side, and that is not such a bad thing.”

She kissed his cheek, then his forehead, and held his hand for a second. There was nothing more to say. She turned, walked away into the shadows, and soon Taichi could no longer hear her soft footsteps. He looked to Kami, who sat passively and still, like nothing had occurred. He looked up to his friends in the threshold, and began to climb up the stairs to them. They received him with hugs and tears, though he had done no physical battle. They journeyed to the world outside and found the woman true to her word: all life was restored, and the desert turned into a savannah.

 

The End     …?

 

(Some notes from the author)

I understand I left practically half of what happened not completely tied up, but hey, if you’re seriously into the story and have some questions, just ask at OniiImoto@aol.com. I’d love to get comments, even flames, on this story because I particularly enjoyed writing it. Nya!

Also, I know towards the end that it’s pretty controversial “stuff”, so if I offended anyone in anyway: it’s just a story, so don’t take it personally. I would rather not have someone preaching to me via email about god’s good side, when I am so blandly interested in his bad side. ^.^

Mo ikkai: I suppose it’d be nice to say that Japan also returned to normal (though I was having so much fun with that part…not). Heh, maybe I’ll continue on this, but recently I was neglecting the story so I thought it would be best to end it. Hint the quick and unsatisfying conclusion…I was going to have so much fun with all the sentimental mushy stuff, too. But as I said, perhaps I’ll pick it up again some other day, some other time…

Take care,

Lauren (a.k.a Saki)

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