Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ The Shepherd ❯ Chapter 5

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The Shepherd.

A Digimon-Sailormoon "what-if" crossover-fiction.

DISCLAIMER:

The The Digimon, the Digidestined, The Sailorsenshi and
their families (except for Kelly, Selena, Agamemnon, and Penelope ) are not
my property! They never were, and never will be.

The Digimon, the Digidestined, and their families are the property of
their creator, Miyoshi Houso, Toei Animation (in Japan), and Haim Saban
(in the USA).

The Sailorsenshi, their friends, and families are the Property of their
creator, Naoko Takeuchi, Kadansha Publishing and Toei Animation (in Japan),
and DiC (in USA) and CWI (in Canada).

NOTES:

Here are the "givens" in the actual Anime. In "Digimon",
Izumi Koushirou ("Izzy" in the English dubbing) is orphaned and adopted.
And in "Sailormoon", the parents of Mizuno Ami ("Amy" in the dubbing)
are divorced, and Ami lives with her mother.

I don't know if "Ayumi" is the actual name of Ami's mother
in Sailormoon or not, or if she's even named, but that's the name I've seen
in a previous fan-fic. So, that's her name, here !

The song I quote is one of my Country favorites_ "Eighteen Wheels a-Hummin'
'Home, Sweet Home'", by Red Sovine (died 1980, I think).

shepherdshepherdshepherdshepherdshepherdshepherdshepherdshepherd

Wizardmon's P.O.V.

I am quite sure we make an odd-looking gathering as we snake our way through the
streets of Odaiba! Since I can sense my fellow Digimon, I took the lead as the
official "bloodhound", with Kelly right next to me.

After Ikuko-Kaasas dropped us off in Odaiba, we quickly fall into line: Me
and Kelly, being as cautious as he ever was and trying to blend in, Amanda
Selena, Ami, and Usagi, who decided to join us, and Luna, watching our backs!

I could only guess that old habits of Senshi and Digi-Destined die hard!
Or, as Kelly says, "Don't die at all!"

As we snaked in and out of the traffic of Downtown Odaiba, my staff
kept pointing toward the beach-area! When we finally got to the beach, it
looked a bit deserted. But, as my partner often said, "looks can be deceiving"!

I felt the Digimon here.. including the Palmon and Tentomon.. scattered
along the beach. Then, as we got to the seawall and looked around, we became
even more quiet!

There, on the beach, on a bench under a tree, were Kelly's twins. And right next
to then were their Digimon. All four of them seemed to be staring intently at
Koushirou's Pineapple. They are too intent on the laptop to notice the group
sneaking up within a stone's throw of themselves! That,
I am sure, bothered Kelly, but I was able to reassure him with a glance and
a motion of my hands. He could tell then as well as I that we are being watched.
No harm will come to the children this morning. Then, we all try to peer at what
the Digi-Derstined and Digimon are looking at. I hand Kelly a small spy-glass.


**** Kelly's P.O.V. ****

Mimi and Kou are looking at a copy of the picture that's in my plane! I can
pretty much guess where they got it from. The picture shows me, Ayumi, Ami, and
Koushirou, and Mimi.. in happier days. I hand the glasses off to Ami. As she
sees what I saw I hear her choke back a tear. I snap my fingers at her, and
beckon with my hand. Ami then searches for and finds her copy of the photo and
hands it to me. The first thing I notice is the the picture's been taped
together after being torn neatly in two! Each part contains a full picture of
only Me and Mimi, and of Ayumi and Koushirou. Ami, of course, has been torn in
two.

"Your idea to help Koushiou and Mimi find each other?" I smile at Ami.

My daughter just turned a lovely shade of red!

"I had a little help."

I'm going to owe Uwada-san a great debt!

"Hmmm.." I muse. "The twins are probably trying to figure out who sent
them the picture-puzzle."

"Hai." Wizardmon chuckles. "And what do they want from them! Especially the
Tentomon and Palmon! I did not stay with them long enough to do more than just
meet them. But! From what I was able to see, Koushirou stays a little
too-focused on any ONE problem.."

"Gee!" Selena quipped. "I wonder where my nephew got *that* from?"

"Well.." I grin like a baka. "His mother's the same way."

"Not as much as you, 'One-track' Graham!"

"*Heheh* Guilty as charged. Next case?"

"What about my imouto?" Ami Katherine asked.

Wizardmon chuckled. "As a floating spirit, I was able to watch a little
of the children's lives! Your imouto is very open, Katarzina, with what she
has in her life! But, she seems to have always been in a tight coccon! Her
aunt and uncle kept her very secure! I guess they realize what a treasure
they were keeping safe. But, in that security, Mimi never realized how big
and complicated the outside-world was! And, since they have been reunited,
the Palmon has always been afraid that the Outside World would harm Mimi-
Sama!"

"Well.." I sigh. "The Japanese-world offers little for Gaijin, and even
less for half-breeds."

Slowly, we make our way to the quartet.

Then, as we get - surpriseingly - rediculously-close enough to touch them,
we stop to listen to them.

"So, Koushirou, we now see what must be our family. I wonder.. if.. we
will meet any of them."

"I.. do not know. It was.. so much easier.. Mimi.. believing Soun-haku,
when he and Kana-oba first said.. that our parents were dead. It.. was
certainly easier.. than realizing.. your Okaasan never wanted you."

I look at Ami. Even through the tears that threaten to escape my eyes I
can tell she's crying herself. My kids shouldn't have had to go through this
Hell! No one should.

"What about our Chichi-ue, Kou?"

"I do not know! I do not know if he is alive, or if he knows we are! It
has been over two years since his last letter. Soun-haku still does not know
I know of the last letter he sent our Chichi. If it were not for Kana-obasan, I
would still be ignorant of it. Sometimes, I wish I were. I know.. my Uncle
loves me.. but he can be distant in that love at times.. and cruel with it
at others. And, he has never been that comfortable raising a Gaijin."

"I have been lucky then.. with the Tachikawas.. especially Yoko-oba!"

"Hai."

It is then that Ami pulls a mimi-cassette-player out from her pocket, and
turns the thing on:

sovinesovinesovinesovimesovinesovinesovinesovimesovinesovine

"There's raindrops on my windshield, and teardrops on my steering wheel,
this lonely truck's the only thing I own.

"And in my heart I'm pining, while her old engine's whining,
with eighteen-wheels a-hummin' 'Home, Sweet Home'."

"I had a gal in Texas, she walked away and left us.
Now, this old truck's the only thing I own.

"Sometimes I overwork her, but I never would desert her,
with eighteen-wheels a-hummin' 'Home, Sweet Home."

"We got alot in common, we keep each other goin',
me and this ol' truck are a-hangin' on.

"We just keep right on rollin', that lonesome stack a-blowin',
with eighteen wheels a'hummin' 'Home, Sweet Home'."

"It ain't the latest model, and it can't take much throttle.
Them shiny rigs ain't been where this one's gone,

"And, we ain't in a hurry, we loaf alone and worry,
With eighteen wheels a-humin' 'Home, sweet Home'."

"There's raindrops on my windshield, and teardrops on my steering wheel, this
lonely truck's the only thing I own.

"And in my heart I'm pining, while her old engine's whining,
with eighteen-wheels a-hummin' 'Home, Sweet Home'."

sovinesovinesovinesovimesovinesovinesovinesovimesovinesovine

My Katazrina then matched her small voice to next to the refrain:
"With eighteen wheels a-hummin' 'Home, Sweet Home'."

Koushirou and Mimi, and the Tentomon and Palmon, turn around slowly, as the
song ends. At the Same time, me and Wizardmon, Selena, Ami, and Usagi slowly
rise up off the beach. What happens next is an uneasy stand-off! None of us,
obviously, are quite sure of what to do. This stand-off is finally broken by-

"TENTOMON! Digi-volve to.. KABUTERIMON!!"

"PALMON! Digi-volve to.. TOGEMON!!

Oh, dear! I can't help but smile. Unfortunately, I am sure this alerted
the ones watching us. I hope there's not a fight.

"KABUTERIMON! Digi-volve to.."

Oh, shit.

"TOGEMON! Digi-volve to.."

"WAIT!" Wizardmon holds up his hand. "There is no need for this! We wish
no harm to come to Koushirou Odell, or Mimi Ann."

"To WHO ?!?!" The Digimon confronting us asked. "And who are..?! WIZARDMON??"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, I laugh. I can not help it!
The calmness of the Wizardmon is a welcome relief from the building tension
here.

"Wizardmon?" Koushirou asked. "Why are you here? And What did you just call
Mimi and I?"

"I just used your first and second given-names!" Wizardmon said matter-of-
factly.

"You did?" Mimi asked quietly.

"Hai. As for why I am here?"

"He's our Dad's Digimon." Ami spoke up.

"Our.. Chichi-ue's.. Digimon?" Mimi's voice gets caught in her throat.

"Hai." I answer softly. I hand Koushirou and Mimi Ami's photo.

"This.. is..", Koushirou barely breathes out. Mimi just stares at it.

"Your aneue's photograph!" I say as they hand the photo back to me and I
hand it to Ami. "Mine is here!" I reach into my shirt pocket.

Koushirou and Mimi embrace their aneue, then we embrace, all four of us.

"And, this", I turn to Selena and smile, "is your obasan, Selena."

"I'm glad there is no trouble, then." A calm male voice to my left speaks
out. It almost sounds musical.

"So am I!" Another male voice answers to my right.

Hmmm.. caught by The Horns of The Bull! I look to either side of us. the
tall thin boy on the left looks a bit familiar.. though I'm sure I never met
him. The boy on the right looks as if I should know his face, too.

"Who ARE they?" Selena seems to growl out.

She's getting in her protective-mode...

"Imouto-chan!" I warn her. "One, they are children! Two, we are guests in
this country! *Three*, I am STILL not ready to drag your ass out of jail!" My
children seem to tense up at my mentioning number-three. "As for who they
are, Selena, I have never met them, but the Digimon I think I can identify!
The teddy-bear on our left with the horn sticking out of it's head is a
Gabumon! And the.. hamster?.. with the bat-wings for ears is.. hmmm.. I'm NOT
too sure, but I think that's a Patomon. They were always a bit skittish and
secretive when I was in their world."

The Patomon heard me! "You know of us? Of the Digimon?"

"He should," Wizardmon said, "with as much time as he spent in the
Digital-World!"

"Nani-yo?" A voice almost as small as the Patomon's rings out. "I KNOW that
voice!"

A cat-like Digimon comes up from the back, followed by a brown-haired girl
that, I can guess is her partner. "Wizardmon?", they both ask in semi-hopeful
voices.

"Hai." The Wizardmon removes his hat and bows. "Konnichi-wa, Gatomon!
Konnichi-wa, Hikari-sama!"

How did I wind up with such a polite, gentlemanly Digimon?

"You are.. alive.. Wizardmon?" Gatomon barely whispered.

"Hai. I am here because of my partner, one of the first Digi-Destined!"

"Your.. Partner?" Hikari asked.

"That would be me!" I smile shyly.

"You?" The tall, thin blonde to my left said. "But you are..?"

"Gaijin?" I answer. "Hai. I am.. an American, Kelly Paul Graham, at your
service!" I bow. "I am Koushirou's and Mimi's chichi-ue. And you are.. Ishida
Yamato?"

While the rest of the Digi-Destined suffer from information-overload..
plus the shock of my knowing about Ishida Yamato, Koushirou Odell and Mimi
Ann try as best they can to hide their laughter!

Then, I turn to the blonde in the seaman's cap:

"And you, I would guess, are Takaishi Takeru!"

"Ahhh.." The blonde fumbles for his words. "Hai. How.. do you..?"

"Know about you niisan and you?" I finish the answer.

"Hai."

I take a seat between Odell and Ann. "Because you, Takeru, look EXACTLY
like your father in the your face! And Yamato couldn't have looked more like
your mother- in all but coloring- if she had sculpted him, herself! You see,
Shigeru and Natsumi were somehow able to keep in touch with my wife and I
over the years, including when you two were born. I certainly was saddened
when I heard they divorced."

"Gomen nisai," Yamato bowed. "But.. how.. do you know out parents, Graham-
Sama?"

"Yama-kun," Koushirou Odell spoke up, "did you not tell us, when we fought
the Myotismon four years ago, that your chichi recognized Gabumon?"

"Hai."

"And, did the Wizardmon not just say that he was my chichi's digimon? And
that my chichi was one of the first Digi-Destined?"

"Hai."

I looked over to Selena. My imouto was doubled-over like a jack-knife,
knealing on the beach from laughter!

Damn! But, it was funny! And, my son didn't get that sense-of-humor from
his Hahai!

"Yama-kun?" Mimi Ann said in that tiny, angelic voice of hers. "Think about
it.. Your Chichi knew about Digion.. Our chichi was a Digi-Destined.. so..."

"Our chichi..?" Yamato said slowly.

"And hahai." I corrected him.

"Were Digi-Destined?" Takeru said as slowly as his brother.

"Damn! They're quick!" I heard Selena gasp out between guffaws.

"But.. What are you doing in Japan, Graham-Sama?" A Boy with a brown
bird's-next of hair asked. He *has* to be their leader! He reminds me so much
of OUR Digi-team leader! I flinch at the memory.

Gennai was a good-enough kid.. but he wasn't too-terribly bright! I'd swear his
memory was worse than mine!

What did Takenouchi-chan see in him ??

"Yagami Taichi! Tai-kun?", Mimi Ann said, her soft voice growing a bit tense.
"Try to think! *We* are here, *he* is here, and our mother *is not* here! Our
father is trying to bring what's left of our family together." The hurt and
anger is becoming more evident in her voice. "Maybe.. my brother, sister, and I
will be able to finally go home!" She's not that good at hiding her feelings..
much like her father.

"Oh." Taichi whispers.. or is that whimpers? Even with such a small voice,
my baby-girl can make a deep cut!

"Gomen nisai, Taichi!" Miumi Ann than blurted out. "I did not mean..!"

"Iyaa! Gomen muyo, Mimi-san!" Taichi quickly said. "You are right, I should
have thought before speaking!" He then bowed.

"So!" Yamato speaks up. "You know of us, Graham-Sama? Of me and Takeru?"

"Some!" I try to smile. "Shigeru and Natsumi wrote me when they got married
and when they had you and your brother.. and when.. they started having..
problems... After the divorce, the letters stopped coming. I WAS hoping your
parents would be the ones to break the curse, but..."

"Nanyi-yo?" Taichi squinted, "What curse?"

"I've come to call it, 'The curse of the Digi-destined', though it may be
more-appropriate to call it 'The curse of the first Digi-Destined'! You see,
when we went into the Digital-world, there were eight of us. But, only five
of us made it out alive! Two of us kids died in the Digital-world outright,
as did two of our Digimon. And one had to stay behind as a living-sacrifice,
to see that the gates between the worlds stayed closed! But, in so doing, he
seperated himself from the one love he'd found.. and never learned about his
daughter!"

A thin red-haired girl off to the side started to shift around a bit.

Why does she look familiar?

"After that, things took a downhill turn! Shigeru and Natsumi, and Ayumi
and I, got married.. but, first, my family exploded.."

"Then, our family exploded." Takeru sighed. I could see tears forming in
his eyes.

"Hai."

"Shimatte!" Yamato swore softly. "And our parents' Digimon?"

"They are the two that died."

"That does not sound too promising for us", a blue-haired young man with
glasses and a Gomamon said.

"Cheer up, Jyou-san!" The Gomamon said playfully, "No one died in our group or
Iori-kun's! Maybe that's a good sign? Maybe the curse won't effect us?"

"Maybe it will not!" Jyou grinned.

"I hope it won't!" Mimi whispered behind a shy grin facing Jyou.

So... My youngest-daughter is in love, too? Leaving Japan COULD get
complicated!

"So.. our parents lost their partners and friends to the Digital-World!"
Takeru wore a mask of grimness and grave concern. "It is no wonder, then,
that Kaasan worried when we were gone!"

"As worried as I would have been," I hugged the twins protectively, "had
I known where they were!"

"Who is the young woman beside Mimi-Chan?" Takeru said. "She looks-
familiar- somehow."

She does?

"I would have been my Chichi's other worry," Katazrina said, "if he had
known of my other life!"

'I think I know where this is going..', I sing to myself.

"Mercury... Star... POWER!!!!"

I sigh. 'I hope you talked this out with the Bunny, my Kat!'

"Moon... Cosmic... POWER!!!!"

Well, my question has been answered! I really *should* have *seen* this
one coming...

Along with this...

*THUMPH!*

*THUMPH!*

*THUMPH!*

*THUMPH!*

*THUMPH!*

*THUMPH!*

*THUMPH!*

*THUMPH!*

*THUMPH!*

*THUMPH!*

*THUMPH!*

"Oh..", Mimi Ann breathed in softly.

"Dear", Koushirou Odell breathed out just as softly.

shepherdshepherdshepherdshepherdshepherdshepherdshepherdshepherd