Author's Note

Year 12 IB has started for me, which is going to really slow down my updates, but since I had written this before school started, I'm posting it up now. Now, unlike my other multi chapter stories, this one will be quite short. Might be a bit confusing now, but should make sense towards the end.

There is also one more I started during the holidays and will post up some time either this month or next (hopefully), called The Aftermath, Reflective Accounts, which will be a collection of oneshots based on character reflections on some of the things that could have happened but never did, if anyone's interested.

Now, without further ado...

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. I'm just a girl with a hyperactive imagination.

Pay your Price

'How...odd it must be to fear oneself. You are me, no matter how you try to deny it. Your fear created me, your anger and jealousy strengthened me. I've paid my price, and it's time for you to pay yours.'

Kouichi K. & Kouji M.

Chapter 1

'Kouichi! Kouichi! KOUICHI!'

Kouichi started, immediately jumping to his feet and looking for the voice that was calling him, to no avail. It sounded familiar somehow, as if he should know who was calling him. And then, it suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks.

'Kouji!' he screamed into the darkness. Everything was so pitch black here, it was impossible for him to see anything, except a strange glimmer out of the corner of his eyes. He turned sharply, receiving nothing but a sharp stinging in his neck for his troubles.

Confused, or more so, he raised a hand and fingered the offending area, before hurriedly pulling back at contact with something moist.

Frowning now, he pulled his hand away from his neck and brought it in line with his vision, only being able to see a glint of red due to the lack of light.

Wait a sec...red?

That liquid...that coated his fingertips...was blood?

But then...why was he bleeding?

Why was he even here in the first place? The last thing he remembered, was...

'We'll take our payment in blood Kimura…'

'Kouichi! Wake up!'

Said boy was currently screaming unintelligibly and trashing around in his bed sheets, the edges off which were trailing on bedroom floor, trapped in a nightmare. Kouji was hovering worriedly over him, trying to hold his brother down to prevent him from hurting himself, while attempting to wake him up at the same time. His attempts weren't working too well though, as Kouichi was just squirming and thrashing more viciously in his grip. But still he fought to maintain his hold; there was no way he was going to let his twin get hurt if he could prevent it.

Although I should probably be worrying about myself right now, the younger twin thought wryly as one of the elder's flailing limbs connected solidly with his stomach, knocking him to the floor, and consequently dragging Kouichi off his bed in the process, as he was yet to relinquish his vice like grip.

Kouji hit the ground first, the air in his lungs leaving in a rush as his back collided with the hard, wooden floor, a corner of the bedsheets trapped beneath him. Momentarily disoriented, it took him awhile to notice the bundle of bedsheets over him, and noticeably longer to realise that the figure trapped in them was talking to him.

'... you okay? Kouji?'

'I'm fine Ni-chan,' he grumbled in reply after regaining his breath. 'I should be asking you that anyway.'

Kouichi's eyes instantly showed various levels of discomfort, and of fear, but no way was Kouji about to let him go without some sort of explanation after a reaction like that. 'Erm..well...'

The door flew open suddenly, saving Kouichi the need to answer. Kouji on reflex, instinctively flew up, forgetting that both he and his brother were tangled together with the bedsheets, and only wound up falling to the floor again and trapping the two further.

There was a click of a light switch, then the bright glare of the overhead ceiling light glared into Kouji's deep blue eyes. Kouichi, who was far more photosensitive than his brother, was lucky enough to have his head stuck in the white sheets, which somewhat lessened the harshness of the glare.

Kouji rolled over and managed to untangle himself from the sheets as his eyes adjusted to the light. Perhaps it was the disruption of sleep that had made the glare so harsh in the first. After all, light was his element, it shouldn't hurt him...

'What are you two still doing up at this hour?!'

Kouji jumped slightly at his father's angry tone, worry laced into its underlines. His father wasn't exactly the best at showing emotions, but he really cared about his children, although the disturbance of sleep was making him more than a little irate. It seemed as though he was starting to regret letting his elder son sleep over on a school night.

It took him a moment to realise that neither twin had answered his question, and he made to repeat his concerns, when something caught his eyes on the white bedsheets. A certain decent sized spot dampened and stained with red. With blood.

It was the sight of that blood that spurred Kousei into both alertness and action; the prospect that one of his two sons had somehow been injured during the night. After a quick check, a very annoyed Kouji was declared free of injury. Kouichi, completely covered in the bedsheets, struggled to free himself, and Kousei moved to help as soon as his younger son's inspection was complete, ordering Kouji to stay right where he was. Sensing the seriousness of the situation, Kouji obeyed.

He could feel something was wrong, as his father managed to uncover his barely conscious twin from the numerous blankets, something metallic clattering to the floor as he pulled the last bedsheet free. Blood was splattered on the blankets that had entangled themselves around Kouichi's head, leaving a trail right up to the pillow he had originally been resting on. It's a wonder no-one had noticed the blood before. It's a wonder he hadn't noticed the blood before, having hovered above his brother on that bed for a good quarter hour. But then again, he wasn't the one with night vision, and there aren't many natural sources of light at 2 in the morning.

Kousei hadn't noticed the clattering, and immediately set about checking his elder son. The source of the blood soon became apparent, a deep 5cm long cut along the side of his neck, partly obscured by his hair, and slashing a fair sized vein.

Satomi appeared at the doorway at this moment, before leaving immediately to call an ambulance upon seeing the situation. Kouji remained frozen, both in shock and confusion. How was his Ni-san hurt? And more importantly, why?

Kousei pulled the dazed Kouichi to his feet. 'How did this happen?' he demanded, indicating the injured area.

'Dunno..,' Kouichi mumbled, barely comprehensible. '...thought it was...just a night...mare.'

His eyes grew unfocused suddenly, and his father started, shaking him hard. 'Kouichi!'

'Otou...san...' he slurred, before slumping into his father's arms, unconscious.

Raised voices could be heard downstairs, followed by a door slamming, and pounding feet up the stairs. An ambulance had arrived.

'Duskmon...' he whispered, afraid. It couldn't be Duskmon in front of him, could it? The spirits of Darkness had been purified. But despite that, the corrupted Warrior of Darkness stood before him. He could never forget those eyes.

Duskmon shook his head in amusement. 'How...odd it must be to fear oneself.'

'I'm not like you!'

'Oh, but you are Kouichi. You are me, no matter how you try to deny it. Didn't you ever wander how it happened that a corrupted spirit would only bind to you and no-one else? You've seen the wraiths that dwelled in Cherubimon's castle. If you are any less than I, you would be there as well.'

'No..I'm not...I can't be...'

'But you are, although you refuse to accept it. I've paid my price, and it's time for you to pay yours.'

'My..?'

Kouichi was suddenly cut off as Duskmon's gleaming twin blades suddenly swung in the air. He felt something fly into him, but his senses had become so muddled that he could not tell anything more.

Duskmon's presence suddenly faded, although not disappearing completely. Less familiar presences could be felt all around him, but not familiar enough for him to be able to discern their specific identities with his muddled senses.

But he knew they were victims. And they had come to him for compensation.

'We'll take our payment in blood Kimura…'

The paramedics loaded the elder twin's pale and unconscious form onto a stretcher and carefully carried him down the stairs, his father following closely behind. Kouji made to follow, only to be stopped by a flash of purple light from underneath the blood-splattered sheets.

Kouji bent down, removing the bed sheets of the floor, uncovering two very familiar objects.

Duskmon's blade...and his brother's D-scanner.