Title: Elisabeth
Author: Settiai
Disclaimer: "Digimon" and other related characters are all properties of Saban Entertainment, Toei, Akiyoshi Hongo, and other related corporations. No infringement is intended. This story, such as it is, was written as a sign of respect and love for the characters, the show, and their creator. I claim no ownership of the aforementioned show and characters.
Rating: PG
Summary: Ken and Miyako Ichijouji's oldest daughter, Elisabeth, will never give up... even as she's dying.
Inspiration: This story was written as a songfic, and its original version can be found on my personal fanfiction website. The song that inspired this story is Billy Gilman's "Elisabeth."
Feedback: Comments and helpful criticisms are always appreciated.
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Fate:
As Ken Ichijouji looked down at his daughter, Elisabeth, for the first time, a combination of pride, joy, and awe shone on his face. Held gently in Miyako's arms, the tiny girl seemed perfect to her proud father. Her dark blue, almost black hair, curled around her face, highlighting her intelligent-looking eyes.
"She looks just like her mother," Ken whispered softly. He couldn't help but smirk slightly, however, as he met his wife's gaze. "Beautiful."
Miyako merely smiled and squeezed his hand tightly. "That's strange, I thought that she looked more like her father," she said teasingly. "Blue hair, intelligent eyes…"
As she trailed off, she gave her husband an impish grin. "Now that you mention it, that does sound more like me than you," Miyako said mischievously. "I guess you're right after all."
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Ken stared at the doctor standing across from him, barely even aware of the shocked look that had made its way onto his face. Without saying a word, he gripped his wife's shoulder tightly. "It's not fair," Miyako whispered weakly. "She's our baby."
From where they stood to the side, Wormmon and Hawkmon both gave their human partners smiles. Then, without saying a word, the two Digimon looked over at the small Pururumon that was six-month-old Elisabeth's partner. The small, bird-like Digimon was staring at the tears streaming down Miyako's face in utter confusion, and it was obvious that the tiny creature didn't understand what was going on.
The doctor shook his head sadly before making his way over to where Ken and Miyako were sitting. "Most children with this disease die before they reach puberty," he said softly, "and, if they beat those odds, it's very rare that they make it to their sixteenth birthday. There have been a few exceptions, but… I wouldn't put my faith in that happening."
The doctor paused for a moment and glanced over at the three Digimon standing near the wall. Then, shaking his head, he turned back to the human couple sitting in front of him. "I'm sorry," he whispered.
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Miracles:
Elisabeth laughed happily as she blew out the sixteen candles on her birthday cake. Even though she pretending to be oblivious to the tears of joy streaming down her parent's faces, her own eyes were shining suspiciously. She knew that it was nothing short a miracle, but she had beaten the odds the doctor had given her when she was just a baby.
Deep down, she wondered if the events that had taken place in the Digital World only a few years earlier might have only delayed the inevitable though.
Shaking her head, Elisabeth quickly pushed those thoughts out of her mind. She grinned at her younger siblings as she pushed herself up from her chair and headed toward the pile of presents sitting on a nearby table. "Whose should I open first?" she asked teasingly.
Just as she grabbed the largest present there, however, everything around her started to fade in and out. Elisabeth let out a gasp and clutched the nearby table for support as she felt her legs collapse beneath her. She could feel her mother's arms around her, and she could hear her father frantically trying to calm her younger siblings down.
"I wanted today to be perfect," she whispered softly as darkness roared at the corners of her vision.
But miracles always have a price.
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Friendship:
Elisabeth smiled weakly as she glanced around her hospital room, her eyes moving over her friends, family, and their Digimon. Her Poromon was perched on her head, glaring at anyone who might possibly disturb her human partner.
Even though they all knew it wasn't allowed, all three of her siblings were sitting on the foot of her bed. Twelve-year-old Osa was propped up on his elbows with his Minomon planted firmly on his head as well, while eight-year-old Koro and his Leafmon used him as a pillow. Six-year-old Mae sat cross-legged beside them, her Pururumon held gently in her lap.
Elisabeth could see her some of her parents' friends and their children standing outside of the door, looking in on her with worried expressions on their faces. With a weak chuckle, she pulled herself to a sitting position -- much to her Poromon's chagrin. Then she waved at the worried people standing around outside her door.
"I'm going to be fine," she called out, "so why are you all standing around with worried expressions on your faces? Come on, it's not everyday a girl turns sixteen. Would it kill you to at least pretend to be happy?"
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Faith & Reliability:
Elisabeth didn't have to listen to her doctor's words to know that her condition was getting worse, so she let her mind wander slightly as he explained to her parents exactly what was happening inside her body. She could see Osa, Koro, and Mae stand outside the partially open door, obviously trying to listen in on the conversation.
Trying her best not to draw any attention to the eavesdroppers, she craned her neck ever so slightly. She grinned as she caught sight of their cousins, eighteen-year-old Hiroko, fifteen-year-old Kaori, and twelve-year-old Rie, standing behind her siblings and pretending not to be casually listening in as well. Even though she couldn't see them, she knew that her uncles and aunts were probably out there as well.
As she watched, Elisabeth knew that there were probably several nurses and doctors out there watching her family's antics. They wouldn't doing anything to stop the kids, or the adults, from listening in though. She had been in the hospital so many times over the years that she knew they had gotten used to ignoring her family's spying.
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Knowledge:
Elisabeth propped herself up in her bed at home, shaking her head at Osa and Koro -- both of whom were wearing suspiciously innocent looks on their faces as they held out their homework toward her. A smile is playing at the corner of her lips as her brothers gave more and more horribly wrong answers… every single one designed just to get onto her nerves.
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Love:
As Elisabeth gently tucks Mae into bed, her sister gave her a wide grin. "I love you," the little girl whispered as her sister gently placed a kiss on her forehead.
"I love you too," Elisabeth whispered as she pulled away from her sister, a momentary grimace of pain appeared on her face as she straightened up.
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Kindness:
Seventeen-year-old Elisabeth tried her best not to laugh as she held Rie and Osa apart, quickly stopping their attempts to kill each other. An annoyed expression appeared on her face as she dragged the two of them over to the nearby couch. "Sit down," she said firmly, "and start explaining."
Both of them started talking at once, and in less than ten seconds Elisabeth found herself having to separate them once again. "Okay, let's try something else," she said dryly. "Both of you are going to apologize to the other. Now."
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As Miyako and Elisabeth sat in front of the large mirror hanging on the teenager's bedroom wall, the older woman gently brushed her daughter's long, silky hair. "I'm surprised you're letting me help you," she whispered softly. "Usually, you try to kick me out of the house when you need to get ready for an important date."
"My hair doesn't usually refuse to cooperate," Elisabeth replied playfully.
Miyako rolled her eyes as she ran the brush through her daughter's hair one last time. "So I'm just here to make sure your hair looks good?" she asked with a grin.
"Of course," Elisabeth said wickedly. "And to make sure that Daddy doesn't hyperventilate when I kiss Satoshi in front of him."
Miyako froze in mid-stroke, and she shot the younger girl a warning look. "You wouldn't dare," she said with a raised eyebrow.
Elisabeth merely smirked.
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Sincerity & Purity:
Elisabeth couldn't help but laugh as she watched her parents hurry to get ready for a night out on the town. "What did you get Mom for your anniversary?" she called out as Ken rushed past her.
He froze in his steps and shot her a frantic look, and Elisabeth couldn't help but grin. "You owe me one," she said with a smirk as she tossed him a small jewelry case.
"I most certainly do," Ken said gratefully as he planted a kiss on her forehead. As he turned away from her though, Elisabeth quickly reached up and brushed aside the tears that were threatening to well up in her eyes.
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"I can't believe this will be our last year as high school students," Kira, one of Elisabeth's friends, said with a sigh. "Just think, a year from now we're all going to be on our own… starting college, getting jobs…"
"Yeah," Elisabeth said softly, "we have our whole lives in front of us."
An uncomfortable silence filled the room as all of her friends carefully avoided Elisabeth's gaze.
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Hope:
After a few seconds, Elisabeth shook her head and let out a quiet laugh. "Well, I don't know about you guys," she said with a sly smile, "but I'm hoping to meet a gorgeous, yet rich, guy this year who'll let me seduce him in a heartbeat. Then I'll be set for life."
"Like that will ever happen," one of her friends said with a grin.
"You never know," Elisabeth shot back with a smirk. "I could secretly be having an affair with a gorgeous actor."
"Dreams don't count," Kira said teasingly, moments before her friend threw a pillow at her head.
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Elisabeth wore the confidence of an upperclassman like a cloak as she walked down the hallway of the school with her friends. She could feel the younger students staring at her, and she knew that they were all wondering why she looked so pale and sickly.
She merely walked past them like she didn't have a care in the world though. Grinning weakly at her friends, she put her head up and walked into their classroom.
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Light:
Elisabeth collapsed onto her bed, her body shaking with silent sobs for a moment or two. She quickly pulled herself together though, and within seconds she standing up. For a moment or two, she stared at her reflection in the mirror, her eyes moving over the pale girl that was staring back at her.
"I guess this is what all those books mean about someone's inner light growing dim," she whispered. "Right?"
From where she stood in the doorway, Miyako smiled weakly. "I don't know," she choked out. "But, in my opinion, you seem to practically be glowing."
"Liar," Elisabeth whispered softly, her eyes never moving from her reflection.
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Courage:
Elisabeth finally glanced over at her mother, and Miyako slowly walked over and sat down on her daughter's bed. She gently motioned for the teenager to sit down beside her, and the dark-haired girl paused for a moment before joining her.
"Bad day?" Miyako asked gently as her daughter lay her head in her lap.
"It was just long," Elisabeth replied. "A few of the teachers at school think that it would be better for everyone if you found me a private tutor. Since it's… obvious… that things aren't going that well."
Miyako ran her fingers through her daughter's hair, an unreadable expression on her face. "Is that what you want?" she asked softly.
"No," Elisabeth whispered in reply. "I want to show them that I can do this."
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"Where do you want to hang these balloons?" Elisabeth called out over her shoulder.
"Wherever you want," Mae shouted back from the kitchen. "It doesn't matter to me."
Elisabeth shook her head as she tied the bundle of balloons to a chair and made her way toward the doorway. "Come on, it's not everyday someone turns eight," she said teasingly. "Where do you want me to hang these balloons?"
"I don't want you to hang them anywhere," Mae said with a sigh as she turned toward Elisabeth. "I want someone else to get off their lazy butts and help."
"Come on, you know that Osa's on a date," Elisabeth replied with a smile. She walked over to where the other girl was standing and gently ruffled her hair.
"But Koro's just writing down the answers to his test onto his arm," the younger girl said with a sigh. The moment that the words escaped her lips though, she quickly flung her hand up to cover her mouth.
Elisabeth raised an eyebrow and shook her head at the sheepish look on Mae's face. "I'll be back in a second or two," she said with a laugh. "I need to stop our brother from getting himself expelled from school."
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Elisabeth let out a burst of laughter as she opened her present from Hiroko, and she couldn't keep a grin off her face as she pulled out the extremely skimpy lingerie that was inside the box. "What do you think, Dad?" she asked impishly.
Ken's mouth dropped open as almost everyone in the room started laughing. Miyako shook her head as she reached over and closed his gaping mouth. "Your father loves it," she said primly.
Elisabeth laughed as loudly as everyone else as Ken's face turned pale, and she knew that most of the other people in the room weren't even thinking about her illness. She couldn't help but let the thought linger in the back of her mind though. Even though she was having fun, she was also careful not to overexert herself.
She knew from past experience that the hospital wasn't a fun place to celebrate her birthday.
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Elisabeth stared at her reflection in the mirror for a few seconds, and she hesitantly reached up push away a wayward strand of hair. She was wearing a beautiful violet dress, and her long hair was pulled up into a loose braid. For the first time in months, she knew that she didn't appear to be sick.
She took a deep breath and started to turn away from her reflection, but she froze as her mother suddenly stepped up behind her. "This is for you," Miyako whispered gently as she held out a small box.
There was a curious expression on Elisabeth's face as she opened the case, but it quickly turned to one of delight as she pulled out the bracelet that lay inside. Eleven charms twinkled in the light, each of them resembling a crest of the Chosen Children.
Elisabeth smiled at her mother as she gently slid the bracelet onto her wrist. "Thank you," she said softly before turning and hurrying out of the room.
Memories of her own trip into the Digital World come rushing back to her as she hurried down the stairs. That had been the one time where she had actually felt healthy… and the memory gave her a burst of strength.
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As Ken snapped photos of the happy couple, Elisabeth gave him a radiant smile. By the fifth roll of film, however, her patience was starting to wear thin. As he reached for the sixth roll, Miyako quickly ushered the two teenagers out of the house before he could start taking even more.
Elisabeth gave her mother a quick kiss on the cheek as she hurried out the door with her date. "We might be back kind of late," she whispered in Miyako's ear.
"I'll try to keep your father occupied," the older woman replied with a smile. "Enjoy your night."
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Elisabeth attempted to sit up in hospital bed, but she only made it about halfway before she sank back down against the sheets. She let out a tired sigh before glancing around the crowded room. "What did the doctor say?" she asked her parents weakly.
Ken and Miyako shared a look before he stepped up and grabbed her hand. "They think that you're going to be able to go home any day now," he said gently.
"Liar," she said weakly, smiling slightly as she met her parents' gazes.
"I made it through high school," she whispered weakly. "Didn't I tell you that I would?"
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As Elisabeth slowly faded away, she gave her family and their Digimon one last smile. Her Poromon has tears streaming down her face as she cuddled up next to her human partner. Tears were streaming down everyone's faces as they slowly said their goodbyes.
As Mae gave her sister one last hug, Elisabeth gently unclasped the charm bracelet Miyako gave her. She gently pushed it into her sister's hand as she lay back and prepared to finally rest.
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As Elisabeth's family gathered around her grave, there were grave looks on all of their faces. It has been exactly one year since her death, but she was still very much alive in their hearts. Mae gently fingered the eleven charms on the bracelet that now belonged to her as tears flowed down her cheeks.
Ken and Miyako shared a sad look as a gentle rain began coming down.