Windstar: This is the second installment. Thank you to my one reviewer, I appreciate the come back from On A Winter's Day, and hope you find this to be a suitable rewrite.

Chapter Two:

Date: + Seventeen Days

Time: 0317

Author: Kouji Kohaku

This is all Kibo's idea. Kouichi cottoned to it right away I suppose, he's been writing in that journal quite a bit over the past few days, and I guess it's good for him. Kibo told me I didn't have to do this if I didn't want to, but I'm going fucking stir crazy and I suppose I might as well jump on the bandwagon before I lose my mind again.

We're somewhere in Wyoming right now, the mountains are nice I guess, and we've seem some cool wildlife…

Fuck this. Kouichi can do the God-damn writing, this is bull shit.

Entry Two:

Author: Kibo

Sources: Takuya Kanbara, Tomoki Himi, Izumi Orimoto, Junpei Shibayama, Kouji Kohaku, Kouichi Kohaku

Takuya Kanbara attended school like any other child. He went when he was supposed too, he played soccer more then he should have, and he procrastinated on his homework more then was appropriate. In the end, he was a perfectly normal person. Aside from being a champion of the digital world and all of that fun stuff, Takuya was relatively ordinary and he liked it like that.

When he attended school for the first day after they had returned home from their trip to the Digital World, Takuya had been annoyed and bothered and under the impression that life was dull. He hadn't thought about math or history or foreign languages for months and he truly wanted nothing to do with it now.

The only thing that made everything a wee bit brighter is that over time, all of the duly dubbed "Digidestined" were capable of finding one another. Kouji and Izumi attended the same school as he did, and he just had never noticed them before. Junpei and Kouichi weren't too far away in a neighboring district, and Tomoki was a few years younger so he wasn't even in the same building. Still, they managed a schedule and they saw each other every day after school.

Takuya had never before seen grades as poor as his, let alone worse. Yet somehow, against all odds – Kouji beat him hands down. "You realize that you said two plus two equals five, right?" Takuya had asked him once as they looked over their math scores one day. The vivid red marks all over the paper and the highly pronounced 'zero' at the top was hard to miss, and the older boy just had to goggle at the page in shock.

Kouji swiped the page away from him and shoved it into his bag, but the dark blush on his face and the way he shifted uncomfortably made it clear that he was more then a little embarrassed. He had mumbled something then, agitation rising. "I made a mistake alright?" The boy groused as they made their way towards Shibuya station where they always went to meet up with the rest of their friends.

"Mistake? Mistake? Kouji, you can't even add properly!"

"Yes I can, I know exactly how to add right, I just…don't do well on tests."

"Two plus two is an easy equation, Kouji." The boy scowled, glaring at him ruthlessly.

"It's none of your business anyway." They had made it to the station by then, and maneuvered over towards the elevator to wait for the others. They didn't have to hold out too long though, Kouichi and Junpei were on their way over, Tomoki bouncing ahead in front of them. Izumi showed up not too long after that. "Where are we going?" Kouji mumbled as he smiled towards his brother.

Kouichi shrugged. "It's up to you guys, I don't have to be home until later on…"

"I say the library; this is going to take a group effort." Takuya announced brightly as he once more snatched Kouji's brief case and opened it so he could pull out the test. The younger boy dove for him, intent on throwing him down the staircase if he didn't cease and desist like a normal person. The others seemed mildly surprised at the scene, but didn't step in to join either side. They just watched in confusion until finally Takuya managed to tug the test free and shove it into Kouichi's chest.

"You're like, a straight A student right? You get top marks on everything! So how come your brother's such a complete idiot?" Kouji punched out, knocking the brunette to the ground in true annoyance.

"You're such an ass hole Takuya!" Only no one was listening, they were staring at the zero that was still shimmering in bright red ink. Kouichi had a look of bemused puzzlement on his face, not quite understanding.

"You feeling alright?" He had asked, looking honestly concerned as he met his twin's eyes.

"I'm fine. I just don't like math." Kouji tugged the paper free from his brother's hands and retrieved his bag. "I'm going home, screw you all." He marched off in honest annoyance, incapable of even thinking about looking at his friends. Kouichi stared after him for a long while, before waving goodbye to the others and following him home.

They wouldn't know it yet, but this would be the last time that their group would be together many long years.

They went their separate ways, Takuya mumbling in annoyance and kicking his feet while the others told him that he really messed up there. It was annoying and frustrating, but whatever. Kouji did need help in school, and sure Takuya wasn't the best role model, but at least he knew how to add!

That night, Takuya ate dinner with his family like nothing odd had happened. He crawled into bed and slept blissfully with nothing to distract him and nothing to make him think of the danger that was circling around his friends.

The phone rang sharply at 0700. He groaned and sat up, looking at it blearily. His fingers fell onto it and he groggily lifted it up so that it was pressed against his ear. "Hello…?"

"T-Takuya?" Sleep started to leave him as he heard the desperate voice on the other line. He barely recognized it, but he did know who it was.

"Yeah?"

"Is…Is Kouji or K-Kouichi…are they at your house?" He frowned, why on earth would Satomi Minamoto want to know that?

"Uhh, no. They ditched early on last night, I thought they were heading over to your place." He told her honestly, not understanding the cause of her concern.

"They did…they were…only…they're gone. They're gone and we can't find them. Do you know where they might have gone? Please Takuya?" The panic was genuine, and the concern was pure, and yet Takuya could not honestly answer her. His mind just went numb and blank. For several minutes after the conversation had ended with him saying he didn't know, but he would call the others and ask them for her. As he listened to the dial tone, he sat in bed in shock. He kept running over the events of the previous day in his head. He couldn't work out what went wrong, or if there was any insinuation that they would be going anywhere. He honestly had no idea where they could be.

Takuya called up Izumi, his heart pounding violently in his chest as he heard the trill ringing. She answered in annoyance asking him if he knew what time it was, and he quickly went over what had just occurred. Izumi didn't know anything either. Tomoki and Junpei were just as oblivious.

Something was wrong.

Takuya threw himself out of bed, it was now 0834, he raced down the hall and skidded into the kitchen where his mother and father were preparing the morning time meal. "Dad, Kouji and Kouichi are missing. They just vanished from their beds last night!"

Hiroaki Kanbara, age thirty seven, and detective for five years in Shibuya's Serious Crimes Unit, had seen more then his fair share of things in his day. The worst though, the worst memory that he could recall up to this date though…was the sight of his son running into that kitchen and announcing that two boys that he knew had vanished without a trace.

He could recall later how he laughed it off and saying that it's just a kid thing, and that the twins would show up. He could recall how Takuya ran from the apartment with only his cell phone and a crazed look in his eyes. He could recall then, how for weeks they would search tirelessly for the twins.

He would then recall, the brutal and honest truth, which they all tried to ignore: Kouichi Kimura and Kouji Minamoto, had been kidnapped from their home sometime between the hours of 2300 and 0300 on November the Fifth 2006. They were fourteen years of age.

At 1300, only six hours after the phone call made to Takuya had been completed and the brunette child ran out into the street to try to search for the twins, things were not looking up for the boys. Kouichi was crouched in his cell, his knees drawn up to his chest and his head bent between them. He would admit later to have cried as he sat there waiting for news about his brother.

The dark walls and the cold interior of the room was hard to stomach, and he desperately wanted to know about the well being of his other half. The darkness that he was used to feeling comfort from was doing nothing to support him through this time of need. All he could think of were…Haruka's…eyes as she stared at them with such a blank look.

He wanted to know if his brother was safe, he wanted to know if he was going to be alright, and clearly, he wasn't going to get answers any time soon.

Kouji, at that moment, was staring defiantly into the man's eyes as he looked at him sternly. His hands had been chained to the ceiling above him and he was thrashing angrily trying to escape. He knew that he wouldn't get anywhere, and from what Kouichi was shouting at him in his mind he also knew that his brother was going to be a handful when he saw him next. He could actually feel his brother shaking him angrily and asking him why he was being such and idiot.

The man stepped up to Kouji and looked him dead in the eye. They spent a few moments glaring at each other and then and only then did the man say the only once of compassion that he was going to give Kouji for the rest of their time together.

"This is going to hurt. I wouldn't try resisting that much." Before Kouji could question that he felt the sharp sting of a whip coming down on him from behind. He gasped in surprise and couldn't hold back the yelp that was forced out of him. He screamed on the second lash as well, but by the third his anger had solidified and he glared ruthlessly into the eyes of his kidnapper. He was not the one behind the whipping, but he didn't care. He wanted to stare into the eyes of this man and let him know just how much he hated him. Twelve lashes later he was still staring into the man's eyes. "Stop." The man said suddenly. "This isn't going to work."

"What?" The voice was unfamiliar, but as time went on, Kouji would know it well.

"He is determined to be uncooperative. Even if we flay him alive he will not bend to our will." The man left the room, leaving him hanging there uselessly.

He walked down the halls back to the prison where Kouichi was being kept. He pressed the numbers on the lock and then down the corridor to the cell where the irate twin was. It was not all that surprising when he saw the boy. Tears were streaking down his face and he looked like he had been the one beaten half to death and not his brother. He frowned slightly at the sight, but was more then a little amused when the boy was suddenly in his face showing the flare that was hidden mostly behind his brother.

"Where is he?" He shouted angrily. "Where's my brother? I want to see him." The man nodded and unlocked the door before throwing him out into the hall. He didn't need to force him at all; the boy would have run ahead of him if it would have gotten him there faster. He wondered if their bond could help them locate each other. If it could, it looked like the boy sure wasn't going to show him that.

He opened the door to the torture chamber where Kouji still hug by his wrists. The moment the older boy ran in though, Kouji's still form sprang to life. Anger and fear filled the boy's eyes as Kouichi threw himself to his brother's side.

"Kouji!" The older twin's hands went to the boy's face and their eyes met once again. For a moment they had a perfect conversation just like that, and the unchained boy looked at his brother's back. Hate coursed through the room so powerful that even their captor could feel it. He watched as the older boy turned his back on his brother and looked straight at him. His meaning was clear. He was going to kill them.

"What. The. Hell. Did. You. Do." His voice was so deadly that again he was startled. He never did get used to the way they flip flopped. One moment Kouji would be the threatening one and Kouichi the meek one, the next Kouichi was definitely the more terrifying.

"I'm going to make everything very clear to you boys." The man stepped forward and pulled roughly on Kouji's pony tail that by now was little more then a furious tangle of knots. Kouichi looked ready to kill him right then and there. "If either of you fucks up. If either of you goes and talks out of turn, or pisses on the wrong person's boots…the other is the one who gets the punishment." Kouji's eyes widened considerably. "Now that that's established. It's only fair that we start from scratch. Seeing as how your brother just received fifteen lashes…it makes sense that the kid gets thirty. After all, he messed up and took your punishment for you…we can't have that now can we?" Before the young boy could move, Kouichi was slammed heavily against a desk that was placed in the center of the room. He gasped in pain as the desk knocked the wind out of him and his arms were held down. The boy glanced around in pure terror and Kouji was shouting for them to stop.

"Stop! Please! I'll do whatever you say! Please! I'm sorry! I won't do it again! Please!" The man looked up at him slightly with pity in his eyes but it disappeared the moment the whip landed heavily against Kouichi's back. The boy screamed, but not nearly as loud as Kouji who was cursing insanities trying to get them off of his brother.

"Keep it up and I'll make it forty five." The man said coldly. Kouji fell silent. His eyes glaring heavily at the man.

The point was made though, and when everything was over, and they both had suffered for daring to talk back and argue, they were thrown into that damnable cell once more.

Kouji would explain the next few moments through a haze as he recollected. He wrapped his unconscious brother's back with the few bandages that their captor had given him. He used the drinking water they had received as a way to clean the majority of them, and then he set to just binding what he could.

In a typical and a rather selfless act, Kouji used all of their supplies on his brother. He did not know, nor would he ever truly know, what it was to think for himself. He was an entirely selfless person, and perhaps that was his greatest fault. His inability to think of himself and only think of others led him to much pain and troubles over the years.

For in truth, despite Takuya and his friends' desperate efforts, they would not see either brother again until they were nineteen years of age. For five long and pain filled years these dear friends would be separated. Even at the time of this story's completion they are not together.

Five years of struggling is bound to change any man, let alone children who had barely been into their sixth year of elementary school. By some divine prank, these children were taken away from their families after they had returned from the Digital World and they were bound to each other by the love that they bore for one another.

Kouji's undying love for his dearest companion that he'd ever had would lead him astray countless times. This was not the first beating that he would ever receive. This was simply the first of many occurrences that would change this child who had long since been considered a warrior of light.

The Yin to his brother's Yang, and yet such a burden that is.

The sunlight that was Kouji was the grace and gentleness that was generally hidden as he kept up his usually gruff exterior. It was mostly an act though, and despite his foul mouth and his atrocious habits at times, it was (and always has been) Kouji who was the self sacrificing fool that would always be tied to his brother's side.

Kouichi was the shadows and the background and he easily let his brother's 'leader personality' head through everything and take the spot light. Kouichi didn't necessarily mind it when people turned to him for advice or answers, but at the same time he preferred to do things in solitary and Kouji was the only person that he'd ever truly wanted to spend his time with.

True to the old Chinese beliefs, they were inseparable from the moment that they were aware of each other's presence. Where one went, the other invariably followed. There was nothing except their deep friendship and their constant compassion and love for each other.

Perhaps because it has been said how close they are, it is imperative for it to be said that they were not in love with each other. Do not confuse the two. They are similar but they are not the same. It has been said that "Sanskrit has ninety-six words for love; ancient Persian has eighty, Greek three, and English only one."

The caring and the emotions that are spoken here in this text cannot justify truly what exists between them. It is an intense, burning, passionate and completely platonic love. It is the love that can only be shared after trials and tribulations that are jointly overcome. Kouichi had formerly risked his life to save Kouji from Lucemon. That sacrifice is one that cannot be ever ignored – no matter what.

In a word, Kouji was grateful. Grateful; that Kouichi had saved his life nearly at the cost of his own. Grateful that at long last there was someone there who cared for him just the way he was with no obligations or attachments.

Perhaps it is important to now mention that Kouji's life as a child was very different from that of an ordinary child. Perhaps it is important to mention that memories of times long past are things that were better left forgotten and that the churning of those thoughts released an outcrop of pain and sadness that would never be capable of finding refuge in any place other then the shattered darkness of his light ridden soul.

The first memory that Kouji Minamoto ever had was of being in a hospital bed. He could not recall anything that had happened prior to that moment. His arm was broken in three places and he had apparently cracked his cheek bone. He was seven at the time. His father explained that he had fallen out of a tree he'd been climbing.

He didn't remember it.

He could only remember vague emotions and feelings towards things. His mother for instance. When he asked about her, Kousei told him she was dead and that was that. He didn't argue it and yet he couldn't feel satisfied. Perhaps the vague imprint of memories he couldn't quite reach had gripped his heart.

Kousei treated him as a burden most of the time, and he found himself doing his own thing more often then not. He accepted the fact that he was slower at things then what was the standard, so much was expected of him and yet he could barely put things together.

He didn't know how to tie his shoes and he barely was capable of managing simple tasks. Kousei worked all hours of the day, and hired a woman to raise his son. It was the first time that Kouji ever met his future step-mother.

Satomi was a good person, and he supposed that she was alright. However, sometimes he felt like a patient more then anything else. She never treated him like an idiot, and he appreciated it, however he always wanted to find something more, something that was missing.

It is that something, that second half, and that which has long since felt missing to him since he woke up in that hospital bed; which he found in a life with Kouichi and his mother, Tomoko. Until that point he had always lived a half life, a life that he never felt was his own.

That was the love that he had for his brother, and that was why he was would always sacrifice himself in an attempt to protect and save his brother.

So Kouji tended and cared for that brother of his, that brother who too and lived a life that was hard and filled with turmoil. Kouji's light was accumulated because of the fact that he could not recall any darkness, and Kouichi's darkness likewise was accumulated because of the fact that he could not recall any light.

For while Kouji lived a life that was filled with blank memories and a failure of a relationship with his father, Kouichi lived a life of constant worry and fear for the two people who were raising him despite their economic turmoil.

Ever since he could remember, he had been caring for his sickly grandmother and his over-tired mother. They worked three jobs a piece; their wages were minimum at best. Kouichi was required to care for the house and to tend to them when their illnesses overcame them.

There was no such thing as hope in that life. There was only suffering and darkness and more suffering. When his grandmother finally was on her last leg their house fell apart because there was only one income and everything went to support her in the hospital.

Then came the day, on her death bed, where she told an emotionally torn apart ten year old boy that he had a twin brother who lived in Shibuya. A twin brother and a father that were out there somewhere, and his mother and father had promised not to tell anyone. They'd promised to keep the boys separate.

Why? Kouji had asked his grandmother.

Why? Kouichi had asked his brother.

The lies were everywhere.

One lie specifically stated that it was simply for the best of everyone. How it was the fact that it wasn't fair to one parent versus another to have both children.

The truth was much more sinister.

The truth was much darker.

This truth, however, is to be discussed later.

At that moment, with the blood drying on their backs and their friends frantically searching the city in an attempt to locate the twins, the boys remained unknowing towards what had led them into this predicament.

Kouji refused to fall asleep as his brother rested. He kept his blood shot eyes locked on the cell hallway that led to their cell. They were alone for now, and his arms were trapped around his brother's body. They would never be separated as long as he dared to be this boy's shield and as long as Kouichi needed someone to light his way in the dark.

Still, despite the massive light that had always surrounded Kouji's mind, despite the countless times he'd never had a thought in his head and it was okay, just on the edges…just on the outskirts…shadows were leaking in, and even if he knew they were there…he wouldn't know how to stop them.

Izumi Orimoto was tall, blonde, and Italian. She sang in the school choir and she auditioned for the plays when they came through. In the past no one would have considered that she would have had the will to do something of the like, but after her experiences in the Digital World it seemed as though she honestly was willing to try to do things with those around her.

On most days she enjoyed talking with her new girl friends and hanging out with the 'guys' after school. They'd all meet at the station and then hurry off to some place fun and spend the rest of the evening doing homework and goofing off.

Now though, she wasn't doing any of that.

At that moment, she was standing in front of the nineteenth posting board that she'd come across that day. With one spot available, she reached up and placed the paper she was holding in one hand on it. Then she took a stapler with the other hand and she connected the page permanently to the board.

It was a photograph, or rather: an eleven by twelve piece of recycled paper with a photograph printed on it.

The picture was taken just a few days after they had returned from their Digital Experience. Kouichi was in the hospital still, and they had come to visit him while his mother was at work. The twins were arguing about something when they had first walked through the door, but whatever it was seemed to have settled onto the back burner in a few short minutes.

An impromptu version of "Win, Loose, or Draw!" started up somehow and it was the "shorts" versus the "talls."

"Kouichi, Izumi, and Tomoki on one team; Kouji, and Junpei are on mine!" Takuya had announced as he pulled a white board and a marker out of his pocket.

"Why do you get to make up the teams?"

"Fair's fair Izumi, you three are the shortest!" Takuya was grinning madly as he grabbed his teammates excitedly. The twin trapped under his right arm scowled and attempted to pull away, but failed at his half hearted attempt.

"Kouji and Kouichi are the same height!" Tomoki complained, frowning at the much taller members of their party.

"Nah, Kouji's always been a little bigger."

"Yeah, with his bandana sticking up off his head!" The only girl hissed, "And I'm taller then Junpei!" She motioned to the clear height difference, and Takuya sighed, he couldn't deny that.

"Fine; Kouichi, Tomoki, and Junpei against Izumi, Kouji and me."

"I don't want to be on your team!" Izumi shouted, and the unofficial team leader crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well then why're you complaining?"

"Maybe Kouji should be on our team!"

"Then we get Kouichi."

"No dice." She snapped angrily. Both of them were glaring at each other in annoyance and the others could only watch as they bickered back and forth.

"What's the big deal about who's on who's team anyway?" Tomoki asked as he looked at the others.

"Because the twins can't be together, if they are they're going to just tell each other the answers!" The oldest of the group told him .

"We're not psychic Takuya." The boys replied in unison, and disproving their statement the moment it was heard. Everyone ignored their attempt to calm things down, and in the end the twins really did end up on different teams.

They played the Pictionary knock off for hours, and Izumi took photos of them all while they did so.

The one that was on the page she'd hung up now, was of the twins both smiling at the camera – a rare shot of Kouji to be sure. They looked so happy then…how could things have gotten so tragically wrong?

She turned and started walking away, heart heavy with thoughts of her friends that had completely vanished into the night. It had been two weeks and no one had seen or heard from them. The police had dusted the place for fingerprints, but found nothing. The front door had no signs of being picked, and none of the windows were broken.

Suspicion fell immediately on the parents who couldn't explain how the door came to be unlocked. Things from there rapidly fell from a kidnapping situation; to a runaway case. There was no sign of anyone else being in that house that night. Clearly the boys had just up and left. There were discussions of an argument…and who would kidnap two teenage boys from their beds in the middle of the night without anyone realizing it?

Despite how Izumi and the others begged and pleaded, no one believed them. Which is why it was them, the children who had returned to their homes thinking all danger had passed and they were safe, who were putting the fliers around the streets of Shibuya and beyond all asking and pleading for any information on the twins.

So far, after two weeks…no one had responded.

No one knew where the boys were.

The shadows were growing.