Author's notes: This was written during a writer's block, so it isn't the best thing I've ever written. I really don't like this ficci... but, since it's part of a triad, I have to post it whether I want to or not. ^_^
Ah... I promise, part three will be much better. If you have not read "Prelude to Darkness" before this, I recommend you do it now, because it is the first part of the triad.
"Minuet of Midnight"
It was night. Koushiro lay awake in bed, pondering the events of that afternoon. The day seemed to have flown by, after Jyou rescued him from the chat room... At the thought, he cringed as if in pain. Though it seemed odd, he wished that he could turn back time, and bring himself to close the window without his love's help. He hated seeming weak in Jyou's presence... but sometimes, it was unavoidable. Lately, it seemed as if the weight of the world were on his shoulders, and almost nothing would take that stress off. The slightest things would make him burst into tears... there was only one person who could take those tears away. Jyou.....
Following these thoughts came sleep, a soft velvet blanket over his troubles. The boy sank into a dream, the events of the day forgotten. In his mind's eye, there was nothing.. nothing but a warm, blue fog surrounding him. It was as if he were the only one within the mist... the only living, breathing thing in existence. But of course, that could not be so. It would be illogical to think that the only things left on earth were the blue mist and himself. So, unaware that it was merely a dream and he could wake up whenever he wished, he stepped out into the expanse, searching.. searching for something, anything which would offer him the comfort in knowing he was right yet again...
The mist became thicker. Soon it seemed to close in around Koushiro, threatening to choke the air out of his lungs, smother him like smoke. He shuddered as it began to turn cold and damp, pressing in around him like confining walls. So cold... so very cold. It was freezing.... But still, he continued walking, searching.
The mist thinned lightly, but continued to press in on him as if it were the silken threads of a spider web. Then- what was it? Koushiro squinted, desperately trying to see through the mist. A dark shape, looming up ahead. A human, possibly? It was just barely visible..
Koushiro shivered as the temperature dropped even lower. The object ahead, whatever it was, seemed so far away.. but still, he continued towards it. Perhaps it would hold the answer... the answer to the question he did not know.
As he neared the shadow, the mist thinned even more, but somehow grew even colder, damper. It seemed to Koushiro as if he would freeze to death any second... He looked ahead once more, and his eyes lit up with joy. Jyou! It was Jyou, standing there. Though he wasn't facing Koushiro, the youth knew it must be him, that his eyes would not dare trick him into thinking it was the one he loved when it might really be someone else. No. Of course not..
Koushiro tried to call out his love's name, get his attention, but somehow no sound came from his lips. The mist seemed to close in on him, choke him... but it didn't matter. Jyou was there.. He had to get to Jyou.
He rushed towards Jyou, though the mist bit coldly into him like the fangs of so many snakes. He was close, oh so close.. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he felt Jyou's warm arms around him. The chilling mist seemed to slip away like sunlight at the end of the day, and there was nothing left in existence but himself and Jyou..
"I love you," Koushiro heard himself say. And yet... Jyou made no reply, merely held Koushiro tighter. He gave no resistance, of course, and allowed himself to sink deeper into his lover's embrace. Warmth, enveloping him... gentle fingers caressing his cheek.. soft lips brushing against his. Three words, whispered.. "I love you".
Koushiro looked into Jyou's eyes lovingly. He wished he could just stare into them forever... and yet, as he looked into those sweet eyes, he realized something was missing. Any other time, Jyou's eyes would sparkle with light and love but now... his eyes held no warmth, no depth... they were merely black voids, with no life in them at all. Startled by this, Koushiro pulled away slightly, resisting the urge to step away from him, wondering what could have happened to his lover to change this. "Jyou.. what happened to you?" Koushiro whispered, eyes filled with concern for the older boy. "What's wrong?"
"What are you talking about, Koushiro?" Jyou murmured, tilting his head to the side. "Nothing is wrong... I have every reason to be happy. You are here, and I have made a new friend." At this he smiled, as if it was the best thing in the world.
"New friend? Who?" Koushiro asked, confusion washing over him. He felt as if a wave of darkness was covering him as Jyou wrapped his arms around him and held him once more. He could hear Jyou whispering something to him, though it was as if it was merely a voice in his head... "You needn't worry," he heard him say. "I'll introduce you to her... though, she needs no introduction. She's been waiting so long to see you again..."
Koushiro opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced by Jyou's kiss, deathly cold lips brushing against his own, causing a chill to run down his spine. The younger boy felt faint, though it wasn't with pleasure... slowly, his eyes closed as he felt his life force drain away..
"Open your eyes, Koushiro... Open your eyes."
He could hear a voice calling to him.. someone, whose voice he knew well.
"Koushiro, love, open your eyes..."
Jyou. It was Jyou, speaking to him, calling to him.. Yet, something was missing. The warmth his voice had once held was gone... replaced with something indescribable. It was like his eyes... the darkness they had held in the absence of soul.
"Koushiro... open your eyes. Now." The voice.. harsh, commanding, it grabbed hold of Koushiro's heart, gripping it like a vice. Though he did not wish to, not at that moment, for his mind was still dwelling on the sound of his love's voice, Koushiro obeyed. His eyes opened, slowly at first, until he gazed at his love through eyes filled with confusion... for in seconds, his love had transformed from a sweet, kind soul into something warped and hideous..
"What is wrong, sweet one?" The one who might at one time have been Jyou whispered, smile twisting itself into a cruel grin as he dug his fingernails into Koushiro's flesh.
"I.." Koushiro stammered, the colour in his face draining away. This wasn't the Jyou he knew... this wasn't Jyou at all. Eyes which had once been a warm black were cold, blue as ice... expression evil, filled with a darkness he had never known, a darkness which could only be found spelt out in letters of blue.... Jyou was changing before his eyes, and as an aura of cold, dark blue surrounded the one he loved, Koushiro's confusion instantly turned to fear. It was not Jyou.. no, not any more. He was in the arms of a demon...
"Koushiro..... I have been waiting so long to see you again," the demon whispered, eyes flashing as she held him close, acting as if he had known of her presence the whole time. "I have been waiting so long... too long... It's been too long since I last saw you cry."
Though he was nearly petrified with fear of the paranormal being before him, Koushiro tried desperately to keep a clear head. He had once let her into his mind... this time, she would not have her way. "What have you done with Jyou?" he asked coldly, eyes narrow with anger.
The demon laughed mockingly, rolling her eyes skyward. "I have done nothing at all, little one. Nothing in the least. In fact...." she allowed her voice to trail off and as she did so, leaned in close to his ear to speak, so close that he could feel her cold breath upon him. "I did not destroy him, if that is what you think," she whispered, voice taking on a cruel tone. "No... that would be too good for him. I hold his soul... and I will crush it if I wish to do so. You cannot help him, little one... because, of course, your soul belongs to me. You are mine.. you both are. And you will die your deaths a thousand times over, if I so please."
"No! You can't mean that... you can't just do whatever you want with us! It isn't human!"
A cruel smile flashed across the demon's cold azure lips. "And you think I am anywhere near human, little one? Of course I am not. 'tis such a pity.... here you had me thinking you had a brain in that sweet little head of yours... what a mistake. Ah, but even I am wrong sometimes..."
Koushiro cringed as the demon's grip on him tightened. He struggled to hold in his cry, but despite his efforts a strangled yelp escaped his lips. At the sight of the brightness in the demon's eyes, the fear which had been welling up inside of him only intensed. At that time, it occurred to him that he should never have allowed himself to be drawn into the world that she had to offer.... but the past couldn't be changed, though he wished it to be.... actions had led him into a hole, and he was paying the price.... but Jyou? What about him? He had done nothing, nothing at all... nothing but make him happy. And now this demon was planning to destroy him for the simple fun of it?
"You can't save him now, Koushiro.... not you, not your digimon, no one. Everyone's time comes... his is merely coming sooner than you had wished. And so, the tale ends.... as well as his life, and yours."
"No!! It's not true! It's not... true.."
Eyes snapped open, fear and tears sparkling in their depths. As he sat up, the breath catching in his throat and sweat beading on his brow, he tried to sort through his rapidly clouding thoughts. The demon.. the one from his dream.. she said she would kill him.. kill Jyou... Jyou... he couldn't let her get to him... couldn't let her...
Somehow, his mind clicked. He had to talk to someone... now, no matter how late it was... had to tell someone about this... and, of course, that someone was Jyou.
Ringing in his head.... a familiar sound, and yet it seemed as if it was a million miles away... what was it? Jyou opened his eyes slowly, mind taking its sweet time in adjusting from the fog of his dreams to the sharp edge of reality. Ringing... perhaps it was just his imagination? No... that couldn't be right. It wasn't going away... Then, he realized it. The phone...
"What kind of idiot would be calling at one o'clock in the morning?" he muttered in annoyance, glancing at his watch. It was late... too late. And though it was obvious that no-one was going to answer, the phone kept ringing, as if the person on the other line decided that they would let it ring for hours if they had to.
Sighing, Jyou lay back in bed. Whoever it was, they could wait until morning... there was no way in the world he would get up now...
A full minute passed. Then another. And still, the phone rang.... until, at last, Jyou felt as if he would go insane. "Damnit... whoever this is, they're not giving up. Stupid crank callers.." he muttered as he stumbled out of bed and grabbed his glasses from his bedside table, fumbling with them for a moment before getting them on straight. The world was suddenly clearer, though just as dark as it was before.... and still, the phone rang. Sighing, he gave up and felt his way to the door. Carefully he stepped out into the hall, the only light being the dim glow of the night lamp. Eerie shadows were cast upon the wall, the reflected souls of what had been and what might be. He could see the phone, its glow-in-the-dark numbers standing out in the dim light. It was still ringing....
"Hello?" Jyou muttered sleepily into the receiver, still very much disturbed from the very fact that there was a call so late at night. If only he wasn't such a light sleeper.... "Who the heck is this?"
"J-Jyou? Is that you?"
Jyou blinked. There was no mistaking that voice.... one he knew so well. But now? At one in the morning? "Koushiro?" he asked, confusion flooding his mind. "What's up? Why're you calling so late at night?"
"Jyou.." his love's voice seemed small and soft, as if distant. That alone was enough to make Jyou worry. And then there was the fear, silent but still noticeable...
"Koushiro, what's wrong?" Jyou said softly, absentmindedly winding his fingers around the telephone cord. "Are you okay?"
"Jyou... I... no, I'm not okay. I'm not okay..."
A million possibilities flashed through Jyou's head. There were a thousand things that could have happened, a billion things which could go wrong... and yet, hardly any of them seemed right. Koushiro seemed too calm... terrified, yes, but still... calm.
Jyou bit his lip, trying to think as fast as he could. It was like a repeat of the previous afternoon... Koushiro could be so hard to coax information out of, even when he was in a tight spot.. But somehow, it was as if this was completely different.... something he had never encountered before.
"Koushiro... please, tell me what's wrong... I'll listen to you, no matter what you have to say... I can help you... but only if you let me. You were right to phone me, no matter how late it is... if something's hurting you, tell me. What's wrong?"
Koushiro closed his eyes, not bothering to wipe away the tears which spilled readily from them. "I'm sorry, Jyou... I'm just so scared...."
"Scared of what, Koushiro?"
Though his love's voice was gentle, soothing, Koushiro felt a piercing pain inside of him. He doesn't know the danger he's in, he thought in a rush. He doesn't know what could happen..
"Jyou.... I... I know this sounds crazy, but... there's a demon inside of me.... I spoke to her, I know she's there... Oh, gods, Jyou, I don't know what to do... she said... she said.... she said that..." He paused, letting out a strangled sob. "She said.... oh, damn it, Jyou... you wouldn't believe me even if I told you..."
Demon? Thought Jyou, arching an eyebrow. A demon.... suddenly, it made sense. Koushiro had had a simple nightmare, and over-reacted... After all, demons weren't real. They were just stories, just myths... and Koushiro had been so tense lately.... that had been obvious, at least. He was so jumpy, so easily angered, and though he didn't cry or curse often it had become a regular occurrence. And now, it wasn't a surprise that a bad dream had sent him over the edge. Still, the pain was there.... no matter what caused it, Jyou knew he had to take that pain away.
"Shhhh, Koushiro.... it's all right.. I believe you. I know you'd never lie to me... But... what did the demon say? What did she say that scared you?"
"She said that.... she owns my soul... and she's going to kill me, Jyou. She's going to kill me... and... she's going to kill you, too."
It was the dark of morning, and the sun had not even begun to think of rising. Slowly, the hall clock tolled three, its low tones booming in the stillness.
Jyou stared at the phone in his hand, trying to make sense of the matter. Though Koushiro had told him everything before he had hung up only a few minutes ago, there were still so many questions unanswered. I wish I could help him, he thought as he hung up the phone. I wish I could just take all that fear away...... "Gods," he whispered, though there was no-one else to hear. "I wish I knew what to do.."
A reply came from out of the darkness, seeming to echo as if it were the voice of a supernatural being, though it obviously wasn't. "I wish I could tell you, Jyou.. I wish I could tell you."
The light switch was flicked on and for a moment Jyou stood, blinking and nearly blinded, as his eyes adjusted to the bright light. As his vision cleared, he saw someone in the hall, standing over him... someone very familiar. "Shin?" Jyou stammered, squinting. "What're you doing awake?"
His brother smiled slightly and glanced at the telephone on the hall stand, a look of obvious amusement on his face. "Maybe I should ask you the same question."
"Er.. well, I-"
"You don't have to explain," Shin interrupted quickly, shaking his head slightly as if to brush it off. "I know you were talking to him. Does he always phone you when he has bad dreams, or is this just a one-time thing?"
Jyou swallowed hard and looked away, cheeks flushing slightly with embarrassment. "It's the first time," he mumbled, sighing slightly. "He never called before. Then again, I don't know if he's had nightmares like this before..." he paused, and frowned. "Were you listening to me?"
"The phone woke me up," he explained, stifling a yawn. "But obviously you beat me to it. Good thing, too... he needed to talk to someone... and you were the one."
I was the one, Jyou thought silently as he looked up at his brother. I was the one... but I couldn't help him. "Shin... I... I just don't know what to do about Koushiro. He's been a mess lately... and tonight, he was so scared over something so small, so illogical..." He could feel tears welling up in his eyes, and he quickly blinked them back. "I'd do anything for him, if I could... but now, I don't know how to help him.... I love him too much to just let him hurt like this, but I just... don't know what to do..." He closed his eyes and bit down on his tongue, the pain distracting him from his sadness, though only for a brief second. "I don't know what to do..."
Tears welled up in large innocent eyes and spilled, slowly sliding down a cheek which had, at times, been caressed by those who had other things on their minds than love and kindness. Though hearing the voice of his love had been a relief, there was still something missing. He doesn't believe me, he thought bitterly. He said he did... but he really doesn't believe me.
The eyes opened, only to be greeted by a sight which filled their soul with dread. A blue light filled the room, glowing, pulsing, seeming to grow more intense as each second passed by. Pain, fear, sorrow and most of all, regret were obvious in Koushiro's voice as he closed his eyes and whispered "She's back..."
End notes: Well, what do ya think? Loved it? Hated it? C'mon, peeps! ^_^