"Koushiro and the Koushiros" is fanfiction of The Song of Love by Koukacs, which is fanfiction of Digimon Adventure. I wrote it shortly after reading chapter 36. (It might contradict her canon because I can't remember 300,000 words of plot!) Fate is the protagonist of this story; in TSOL, then Fate is the equivalent of Homeostasis. I avoid directly spoiling the truth about Fate from chapter 30, but I strongly hint at it.
This story is also loosely based on the episode "Steven and the Stevens" from Steven Universe.
The plot and the characters in this are pure nonsense. I also take creative liberties with Koukac's original characters (including a brother for Koushiro named Makoto). Please don't take this story too seriously, since none of it is canon, and the only purpose is to make Kou smile for her birthday.
Enjoy!
Koushiro and the Koushiros
Fate had lived in a million universes and known a million different Koushiros. He hated every single one of them. Every button-down orange shirt, every pair of lightning loafers, every strand of red hair. But there was no Koushiro who annoyed Fate quite as much as the Koushiro who sang.
Koushiro was not meant to sing. His voice was grating, high, obnoxious. And yet this one insisted upon singing. In the shower. In the subway. In the classroom. He would sing the periodic table of the elements. He would sing in binary code. He sang of the majesty of fulgurite to anyone who would listen on the playground. Fate sent bullies to make the boy shut up, but Koushiro's friends Taichi and Sora defended him. And so the noise continued.
How could Fate have screwed up this universe so badly? What did he do to produce a singing Koushiro? Did he explode too many stars after the Big Bang? Did he cause Tchaikovsky to write the wrong violin concerto in D major? Fate had no idea. But every time Koushiro opened his mouth, it felt like Fate's personal hell.
There were other people in Koushiro's life who could sing. Fate considered himself to be a fine computer program connoisseur of music, and so he knew that his opinions on the matter were objective facts. He knew that Mimi had a beautiful voice. In some universes, Mimi grew up to be a Tony-award-winning star on Broadway in New York. Meanwhile, Yamato had the potential to become a talented musician. In many universes, Yamato grew up to compose symphonies. And then there was Makoto. In the precious universes where Makoto survived, he grew up to sing in the Sydney Opera House. Yoshie and Masami Izumi stood in the front row and clapped for him. Makoto had music in his blood.
Koushiro did not.
Fate was determined to stop this noise, even if he had to delete the universe and start over!
One day, Koushiro was making sandcastles on the beach by himself and whistling. Fate turned himself into the figure of Koushiro's football coach and marched to him.
"Mr. Himura!" Koushiro's eyes widened. He quickly stood up and bowed. The fourth-grader was covered in sand. Fate curled his lips in disgust, but he tried to adopt a friendlier expression. He knew that Koushiro respected Mr. Himura.
"Koushiro, my boy, where are your parents?" Fate asked.
"They're over there." Koushiro pointed behind him. The Izumis were eating hamburgers on the pier. "I finished my lunch and wanted to build sandcastles."
Fate laughed. "We're out of earshot. From over here, your singing can't bother them!"
Koushiro turned pale. "But…my parents love my singing…"
"Oh, so do I! So do I, my boy. Don't worry!" Fate lied. "Tell me. Are you going to perform in the school's talent show?"
"Um…" Koushiro looked down. "I would be embarrassed singing by myself in front of everyone…"
Fate resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The Singing Koushiro's logic made no sense, since he sang at school by himself all the time. "Why don't you ask your classmate Mimi to sing a duet with you?"
"Mimi? But she's so popular! She probably doesn't even know I exist!"
"She sits right behind you and says 'Good morning Koushiro' every day. And sometimes she puts flowers in your hair to try to get your attention."
"She does? Oh, I wondered where those dandelions came from." Koushiro didn't question how his football coach knew that. "But I couldn't ask a popular girl! She would be so insulted!"
Fate sighed. You're so stupid! I hate you so much! He thought to himself. But he forced himself to smile. "Why don't you ask your friends Taichi and Sora to join you?"
Koushiro shook his head. "They already do too much for me."
YOU FOOL! Fate screamed internally. I'm done trying to help you! It's time to end this world! Fate decided to cut to the chase.
"Koushiro, as a matter of fact, I have a time-travelling device."
Koushiro's jaw dropped. "What?!"
Fate pulled out a small hourglass from Mr. Himura's pocket. "You can use this device to create multiple copies of yourself. Then you can form a band and sing in the school's talent show. You won't have to sing by yourself! In a manner of speaking," Fate chortled.
Koushiro opened and closed his mouth. He had a thousand questions, but he didn't want to be rude. "If I create multiple copies of myself… Wouldn't that create a paradox?"
"No," Fate lied.
"Okay." Koushiro nodded and Fate smiled wickedly. The boy was always this gullible. "Do you really trust me with such an important device, Mr. Himura?"
"Absolutely. You are the smartest student in school. And you only caused the football team to lose twice. Take it!" Fate pushed the hourglass into Koushiro's hands.
Koushiro's eyes filled with tears as he stared at his precious gift. He seemed to not notice his coach's insult. Or maybe he simply agreed with him. "Mr. Himura… Thank you…"
"No need to thank me, just—"
Koushiro interrupted the man and burst into song.
"Thank you!
Thank you very very muu-uu-uu-uu-uch!
'Cause I love what you do!
And I love your whole crew!
Soo-oo please do stay in touch!
Da dum dee dum dee dum dum!"
The boy was now tap-dancing and kicking the sand joyfully.
"Just use it for the talent show!" Fate shouted and fled, covering his ears.
…
Fate used his "Mr. Himura" disguise to visit the school talent show the next week. He was delighted to see that "Koushiro and the Koushiros" had signed up to perform. Fate sneered evilly. If there was more than one Koushiro existing simultaneously, then that impossible encounter would create a time paradox and cause a chain reaction that would unravel the space-time continuum and destroy the entire universe!
Fate sat in the front row and rubbed his hands together. He wanted the best view for Singing Koushiro's upcoming destruction. He couldn't wait to reboot this world—!
"Mr. Himura!" Yoshie Izumi beamed and sat next to him.
"Hello!" Her husband Masami Izumi shook Fate's hand. "Koushiro told us that you encouraged him to sign up for the talent show!"
"Thank you for being so kind to our son," Yoshie said brightly.
Fate blinked. "You're welcome!" His throat felt dry as he watched Masami sit next to his wife. The Izumis had bought a bouquet of flowers to give to their son as a surprise after the show. Fate felt a pang in his heart as he stared at them. A kind of longing…
Fate shook his head. A glitch! Only a glitch!
Fate tried to ignore Koushiro's parents as he watched the children perform on stage. Parents cheered for their mediocre talents, but Fate saw objectively that the kids were obnoxious.
Then Mimi Tachikawa strutted onto the stage in a loud pink dress with a large feather boa. She sang a popular song from the 1960s that Fate actually liked. The girl's singing voice was mature and confident for her age. Her parents cheered the loudest when Mimi finished and then curtsied for the audience.
For a brief moment, Fate reconsidered his plans. It wasn't fair to naturally talented people like Mimi that the world should be destroyed.
Then four Koushiros walked onto the stage, and Fate's hatred of the world quadrupled.
"Oh my goodness!" Yoshie gasped. The Koushiros arranged themselves to be the lead singer, the guitarist, the bassist, and the drummer. It was an incredible sight for the whole school.
Taichi suddenly stood up, interrupting school activities, as he was wont to do. "Koushiro! How are you doing this?!"
All four Koushiros were delighted to be asked. "Time travel!" They answered.
Taichi gaped. "That is…so cool!"
Sora stood up next to Taichi, wearing a worried expression. "Isn't that dangerous?"
"Um…" The four Koushiros turned bashful, not knowing how to respond to that question.
"I'm sure that Koushiro knows what he's doing!" Taichi said confidently.
Sora worried that she had hurt Koushiro's feelings. "I'm really proud of you for solving the mysteries of time travel, Koushiro! I know that you'll sound even better this way!"
Behind the two friends, a boy named Yamato slumped in his seat. He had been too shy to perform in the talent show. If only there was some way that the pretty girl would smile at him the same way she smiled at those musician clones on stage…
Behind Yamato, Jyou adjusted his glasses and also stood up. "Of course it's dangerous! Koushiro, can you please stop this time-travelling thing? It's weird!"
"Koushiro isn't weird!" Taichi shouted.
"That's not what I meant, you insufferable—!"
At the front, Fate stood up and used Mr. Himura's strict football coach voice. "Everybody sit down this instant!" The children obeyed him and sat down quietly. "Play your last song, Koushiro!" He barked.
The Koushiros grinned. They didn't seem to notice that he said "last." But Mimi, who was sitting to the side of the stage, looked at Mr. Himura quizzically. Then the Koushiros started playing their song and she swiftly looked back at her classmate/s. Koushiro's parents held their breath.
"Can't you see it in my eyes?
There's the cornea, and the iris, and the retina!
My knowledge isn't like the other guys
(His knowledge isn't like anybody, well…)
That's not completely right
There's a few that I'm just like
Koushiro and the Koushiros
Science makes us smile!
Me, myself, and I, and him
Are atomically the same guy
Koushiro and the Koushiros
Come on, now, don't be shy
3.14159
Are the first six digits of pi!"
Koushiro's parents were immediately on their feet. They cheered even louder than the Tachikawas. Everybody in the audience followed suit and gave the boy a standing ovation.
Everybody, that is, except Fate. He turned around in his seat and stared at the crowd in shock. Why did they like Koushiro so much? Could they not hear that his voice was painful and his lyrics were awful?
On stage, the four Koushiros bowed, and then they all smiled happily at their parents in the front row. Yoshie awkwardly handed the bouquet to Lead Singer Koushiro, and the boy politely divided the flowers between the four musicians. Yoshie laughed. Then she ran onto the stage and hugged each of the boys, full of pride.
Fate's eyes were glued to the mother and her sons. As the world around them finally reacted to the time paradox and started to glitch out, Fate understood.
Fate couldn't hate Singing Koushiro like he could hate the other million Koushiros he had met. Koushiro had always been self-loathing in previous universes, and that was easy for Fate to despise. It was an objectively hateful personality trait. But Koushiro wasn't self-loathing in this universe. While it was true that Koushiro was still shy and awkward, he didn't hate himself. In fact, the boy loved himself enough to sing loudly about knowledge in front of everyone.
Singing Koushiro was the first Koushiro to live in a world where the Izumis told him that he was adopted.
Singing Koushiro was the first Koushiro to communicate healthily with his adoptive parents from the beginning. He sung along with his mother's violin from a young age. It didn't matter that music wasn't in his blood—that he wasn't naturally gifted. He always understood that his parents loved him, just the way he was.
Singing Koushiro had gone through his character development faster than any other previous Koushiro!
Fate couldn't hate Singing Koushiro. Fate was…jealous of him.
Around Fate, the world was ripping apart at the seams. Black and white holes appeared in the walls of the school's auditorium. Colors inverted. People were screaming and running in the aisles. Time ran faster and faster and suddenly slowed down. Objects glitched in and out of existence. Yoshie wrapped her arms protectively around the four Koushiros. Masami leapt onto the stage and hugged his family tightly.
Fate buried his face in his hands and sighed. It was too late…
"STOP!"
It was a girl's familiar voice. Pink light filled the auditorium. Fate finally stood up and turned around. He could see Hikari with her hands in the air. She met his eyes and glared at him.
Fate could never be angry at Hikari. He offered her a tiny smile. He was impressed that she had instinctively outsmarted him with her powers…
When the pink light faded, the colors returned to normal, and nobody seemed to realize that anything had happened. Hikari sat down, looking very tired, but now she was sitting alone, without her brother and Sora. Fate blinked in surprise and looked back at the stage.
Koushiro was on the stage again, about to sing in his band. But this time, he was performing with Taichi, Sora, and Mimi. Hikari had magically wound the clock back in time so that Koushiro had never made paradoxical copies of himself. Instead, he was performing with his friends!
"Hey, Mr. Himura! Sit down!" Hikari shouted.
Fate realized that he was still standing in awe. He sat down as everyone chuckled at Hikari's surprising outburst. On stage, her brother laughed especially hard.
Koushiro tapped the microphone. "Hello? Thank you for coming! We are Koushiro and the Chosen Children, and we'll be performing my song now!" He cleared his throat and his friends started playing their instruments.
"Can't you see it in our eyes
We're the one, we're the—
One!"
"Two!"
"Three!"
"Four!"
"We're not like the other guys"
"We're not like anybody!"
"By the way, don't go back in time
Or you'll destroy the world
Koushiro and the Chosen Children
We're gonna make you smile
I accidentally created
An alternate timeline
Koushiro and the Chosen Children
Come on, this is the end!
I learned to stay true to myself
By talking to my friends!"
Credits:
Koushiro's first song was based on the song "F*** you" by Lily Allen. Obviously, Koushiro should have sung the original song to Fate, but he didn't know any better.
Koushiro's second song was based on the song "Steven and the Stevens" by Jeff Liu.
Koushiro's third and final song was based on the song "Steven and the Crystal Gems" by Jeff Liu.
The line "The encounter would create a time paradox and cause a chain reaction that would unravel the space-time continuum and destroy the entire universe!" is lifted directly from the time-travelling classic Back to the Future: Part II.
Thank you for reading! Happy birthday, Kou!