Author's Notes

Well, finally got the prologue done. Focuses primarily on Kouichi seeing as the first chapter doesn't have him in it at all. Short, but then again, most prologues turn out to be.

Up next: A Wrinkle in Time. Going to the digital world was and always will be an experience to remember. But never the same one.

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

Achilles' Heel

Sequel to Butterflies' Flight. It is a fatal weakness in humankind, an enemy they themselves created and fuelled with each step towards defeating evil. Because evil always exists; it cannot be defeated, as does much else...a broken balance needing repair.

Takuya K & Kouichi K

Genre/s: Drama/Friendship

Rating: T

1 – Prologue

Pain brought him back to awareness.

'Kouichi!'

Ouch. Too loud. He winced, forcing his eyes open only to squeeze them shut at the sudden bright light.

There was a hushed 'sorry' and the lights dimmed, prompting him to hesitantly open his eyes again.

The moment they did, he was swept into a tight embrace by his mother.

'Oh Kouichi-chan,' she sobbed, holding him tight. 'Thank goodness you're alright.'

How did his mother get here? And where was he anyway? Last thing he remembered was-

A spark of pain shot through his head as he remembered the dual attack slamming into him…and then nothing.

'W-what happened?' he asked hoarsely.

'You fell off the bridge,' she responded softly.

'Bridge?' He didn't remember any bridges at all, before his eyes travelled upward to see the man standing behind his mother, widening as the identity registered. ''tou-san?'

The man looked rather confused at the shock, and slight fear. The doctor standing beside him frowned, scanning over the notes from the paramedic, then the patient himself.

'Do you know where you are Kimura-kun?'

He looked around. 'The hospital?' he guessed, sounding extremely unsure.

'Yes, the hospital. Do you know why?'

He shook his head, only to wince at the pain it caused.

'You don't remember falling off the bridge? Drowning? Anything?'

'Iie.'

'Your friends and brother found you.'

Kouji was here too? What did that matter anyway? He hated him? And friends? Who was he talking about?

'What friends?' he asked, causing the three adults to exchange glances again.

'Kanbara-kun, Orimoto-chan, Himi-kun and Shibayama-kun,' Tomoko responded softly.

Kouichi's eyebrows furrowed. 'Takuya? He doesn't remember me. And I've never met anyone by Orimoto or Shibayama.'

The doctor's frown increased in intensity. 'He seemed to know you quite well.

'If he was just pretending, I'll-'

'Hold on,' Tomoko interrupted. 'When was this honey?'

The other thought about it a moment. 'From about a month ago.'

'That was about the time you fell down the stairs at Shibuya station and got a concussion,' the doctor noted, flicking through the pages.

'Concussion?'

'What's the date?' the Doctor asked instead.

He answered. Correctly, which baffled the medical expert to no end.

'This would be a classic case of amnesia,' he muttered under his breath. 'If it weren't for that date.' He sighed soonafter, before returning to his patient. 'About a month ago, you fell down the stairs on the first floor of Shibuya Station and hit your head. You got a slight concussion from the incident, but nothing more and it healed up nicely, so we released you the next day.'

'You had been trying to find Kouji,' Tomoko continued. 'After 'kaa-san told you about him. And-' She closed her eyes. 'It took us nearly losing you to realise once and for all we should never separated the two of you.'

'I remember looking for him,' Kouichi said quietly, and a little guiltily, flushing red. 'It was supposed to be a present for you, but then I somehow would up in the Digital-'

He cut himself off, realising it may not be a good idea to explain the Digital World to adults…especially since there was now a very real possibility that it was a dream. Unless he had been in two places at once, but everyone knew that was impossible.

'Perhaps that was a result of the concussion,' the Doctor said, looking at him critically. 'That whiplash may had caused more damage, seeing as your brain hasn't fully healed from the first shock.'

'So then…' he looked at his lap for a moment, before looking up again. 'Gomen nasai. I've made a mess of things.'

'Don't be,' Kousei said, speaking up for the first time and enveloping his son in a warm hug. The other, surprised, stiffened in the hold, before relaxing and taking comfort from the first hug he ever remembered from his father.'

'I'll tell the others they can visit now,' the Doctor said, finishing his examination and withdrawing, only to return a few minutes later. 'They're not in the waiting room.'

'If Kouji's left without telling me again…' Kousei growled. He frowned suddenly. 'How does he plan on getting home? He left in such a hurry I don't think he's got change for a ticket.'

'Call his cell,' Tomoko suggested.

'I would,' the other groaned, rubbing his temples. 'But he lost it last month and hasn't gotten a new one yet.'

'The others' numbers?'

'Don't have them.'

'Well…maybe he just went to take a walk or something.'

'He better have. Or he's in big trouble when I find him.' All witnesses knew he was worried beneath that threat.