No reviews yet, that makes me sad D: Oh well, I'll just keep writing anyway! Thought and Digimon-speaking/thought system is the same. Oh, and some things were changed in chapter 1. Just a few minor things, reworded some speech, etc. Anyhoo, onward!


Chapter Two -- Chronicle of Reliability
Meanwhile in Osaka! KoKabuterimon, Guardian of Thunder!

Kenji lay down on the grassy hill, glad to have a moment's peace. It had been a... strange day, to say the least. At least school is over, he thought, closing his eyes. Don't have to worry about being stuck in a room... That thing can't corner me now. He rubbed his eyes. I must be going insane...

The teen sighed, spreading his arms out onto the soft grass. He wore a blue sleeveless jacket over a bright yellow t-shirt, making him easily stand out in the crowd. His hair was light brown, a little odd for a Japanese person. Of course, everyone at school knew by now that his mother was American. Not that anyone really cared. To them, he was just another face in the crowd.

However, after his explosion today, he doubted anyone would ever ignore him again.::Ah, Kenji! I'm glad I found you!::

Kenji bolted upright, glancing wildly around him. "Where are you?!" he shouted. "Leave me alone!" He hastily jumped to his feet, looking for the owner of the voice.

::Come on, give me one minute!::

"No! Go away!" Kenji looked to his right. There!

A faint blue light climbed the hill, obviously tired from chasing after the teen. It was empty in the middle, with only a distorted ring of blue marking its position, and had two green glowing eyes. Kenji backed away a few steps, the figure getting closer.

::Please...:: the creature begged, ::Just one second!::

"Well, time's up!" he shouted, backing away a few more steps. He pointed a finger at the figure accusingly. "I don't know what you are or what you want, but I don't want anything to do with whatever it is!"

::Well, that's not very fair! What have I ever done done to you?::

Kenji growled angrily. "You've been following me all day!" he roared. "Why the hell won't you leave me alone?! You're ruining my life!"

::Ruining your life?:: the spirit scoffed. ::Oh, hardly! You think you've got it hard? Well, I--::

"Ahhg, just go away! I don't want anything to do with you!"

::Hey, wait!::

Kenji turned on his heel, then ran off in the opposite direction of the spirit. He didn't look back, but he knew that the spirit was following him. I have to lose it...! He switched his concentration over to deciding on his path of choice, the more crowded the better.

When he reached the bottom of the hill, the teenager headed down the main path, out of the park. In the busy city streets, it would be easy to get away from his pursuer, as long as he didn't run into any dead ends. Though there were usually lots of people in the park, there was way to much space between everyone, and downtown was very crowded. As long as no one got in his way, he would be able to lose the spirit in no time.

The faint outline of the figure wasn't too far behind him, having the advantage of moving through every obstacle that Kenji had to go around. Because of this, he guessed that the thing was some kind of ghost. Yeah, a ghost only I can see and hear, he grumbled mentally. If someone--at least one person--could see it, maybe he'd be able to get some help, but everyone seemed to be oblivious of the spirit and its antics.

Moving into the streets, Kenji waded his way into the crowd, glancing back once to see if he was still being followed. He spotted the odd 'Y' shaped spike that extended from the spirit's 'head', still moving steadily toward him. He skillfully weaved his way through, trying to get the ghost off his trail. He zigzagged a few times, then turned at the next corner. Kenji glanced back again--no spike this time. He sighed with relief. walking further down the road.

From there on, he took his usual route. Ghost stalker or not, he had to pick up his younger brother. It wasn't that long of a distance from his location to the elementary school, but it felt like miles to him. Kenji looked behind him every few minutes, hoping that the spirit hadn't caught up with him yet. Fortunately, he escaped undetected this time.

As soon as he stepped onto the school grounds, he was hailed from afar. "Keeeen!" The boy, no older than nine, ran right up to him, giving his older brother his best pouty face. His short black hair was messy, as usual, and he wore a plain white t-shirt and yellow shorts. Kenji smiled.

"Ah, sorry for being so late," he apologized. Best not to mention the ghost or anything.

"I waited for this long!" the child exclaimed with a pout, showing off ten fingers. "Where were you?"

Kenji shrugged. "The park," he said plainly.

"Ken, you better not be late tomorrow! Next time, I'll just go home without you!"

The pair began their trek back home, the older brother feeling a little more at ease. It had been difficult, but in the end he had successfully lost the strange spirit. Now on his way home, he felt like he was finally rid of the nuisance.

::Kenji, wait!::

The hairs on the back of the teens neck stood on end. Oh, please, no! He bit his lip. What do I do, I can't do anything without worrying Tori! To make his situation even more hopeless, the street light decided that now was a great time to change to red.

Though he wasn't looking at it, Kenji could tell that the spirit was getting ever closer. ::I know you're probably mad at me, but it's really important that you listen!::

Yeah, like hell I am. He sighed. I guess I'll just... "Tori," Kenji said, catching his brother's attention. "I want to drop by, uh, a friend's place. Can we take a different route, just this once?"

"Huh?" The boy paused, as if the simple question was far more complicated. He's doing that on purpose! "...Well, okay, Ken, but just this once!"

Kenji sighed. "Great, this way!"

Hastily, he steered his brother down the block, hoping that would be enough to throw off the spirit. He took a few deep breaths. Being stalked is stressful, especially if it's by a ghost that only you can see.

After a while, Tori began to catch onto his brother's change in behavior. "Ken? Are you okay?" Tori asked, worried. "You're breathing funny, and I don't remember you having any friends around here..."

"O-oh?! Uhm, yeah, I'm fine," he replied sheepishly. "He... moved."

The child pouted and stepped directly in front of his brother, blocking his path. "Keeeeeen! Stop lying!" he cried. "I wanna knooow!"

Kenji sighed. There's no hiding anything from him... "It's kinda complicated."

"Tell me! I'll keep it a secret, I promise!"

"Er, well..." Where do I even start? "It's a... ghost, or something." Tori folded his arms stubbornly.

"Come on, Ken, I'm too old for that! Ghosts aren't real!"

"I'm telling you the truth! I told you it was complicated!" Kenji cried, dramatically enough to get a few odd glances. He quickly lowered his voice to more of a whisper. "There's this ghost-thing following me, and it won't leave me alone! That's why I was late, I took a detour to try and lose it."

The younger sibling was silent for a while, contemplating what he had just been told. Gradually, the doubt began to fade from his face. Tori frowned.

"Keeen, what does it want?" he whined.

"Well, er..." Kenji paused. What does it want? I guess I never really listened... "I'm not exactly sure, I was too busy trying to get away from it."

"Maybe if you do what it wants, it'll leave you alone!" Tori grinned.

"Uh... well... you know..." The teen groaned mentally. He couldn't deny it, it was a better idea than anything he could think of. "Yeah, I guess I could ask it..." He sighed.

"Yay, then everything will be normal again, right Ken?"

"I hope so..." Unless I already lost it, it doesn't matter to me as long as that thing leaves me alone.

::Kenji, don't go, just wait one minute!::

Kenji sighed. Perfect timing. "It's back," he muttered to his brother, moving along the street again. Tori gasped, looking around to try and see the ghost. This part of town was much less crowded, so now he had no choice but to go with his brother's plan--listen and hope that it goes away. The spirit caught up with him, panting heavily.

::I'm really sorry for causing you trouble, but this is extremely important! Both of our worlds are in danger, and I need your help! You have to listen to me!::

The teen raised an eyebrow. The world's in danger? What's this about? "What do you mean?"

::Well--::

"Huh? Ken, are you talking to the ghost?" Tori interrupted. The spirit glanced at Kenji's younger sibling.

"...Yeah," Kenji replied, "So could you wait a few minutes?"

"Aww, that's not fair, Ken! How come I can't listen?" Tori pouted, folding his arms as he walked alongside his brother.

::Perhaps we should carry on this conversation elsewhere,:: the spirit suggested. ::After all, other humans might wonder who you're talking to. I know they can't see me.::

"Hm, good point," Kenji muttered. "Tori, come on, let's head home, we're already half-way there."

"Aren't you going to talk to the ghost?" Tori asked.

"When we get home. I don't want people staring at us, I must look crazy..."

"O-kay."

::My name isn't 'ghost', by the way,:: the spirit added, raising a transparent claw. ::My name is KoKabuterimon.::

"KoKabuterimon... That's a bit of a mouthful, don't you think?" Kenji commented with a slight chuckle. "Got any nicknames?"

KoKabuterimon sighed. ::Just call me 'spirit'.::

"Work's for me."

"KoKabuterimon? Is that the ghost's name, Ken?" Tori chimed in, grinning eagerly. "Woooow, that's so cool!"

The spirit chuckled. ::Sweet little thing, isn't he? Tori, huh? Tell him I said thanks.::

Kenji rolled his eyes. "It says thanks," the teen said.

::I'm a 'he', but good enough.::

"Cool!" Tori grinned more broadly than before.

---

If he had the correct facial structure, KoKabuterimon would have smiled. Not that anyone would have seen it in his current state. The spirit, however, was far beyond mourning over such a loss. He would find a way to survive, even if it meant living the rest of his life as a ghost.

::Ghost--no, that still doesn't sound right,:: he thought, walking alongside Kenji. ::Digimon don't have ghosts. We don't die, we're reborn as Digitama, that's always how it's been, but then again...:: He sighed. It still didn't make any sense, no matter how many times he thought it over. ::Why was I chosen?::

The spirit looked at Kenji again. The boy interested him. In a world with billions of people, only he could see him, but why? ::We're nothing alike, and not just because he's a human and I a Digimon. He's stubborn, quick to anger, but I see now that he's also very kind... Nothing like me.:: The spirit paused thoughtfully, raising a large claw. ::But who am I to judge myself? Maybe we are alike, and I just don't realize it.:: KoKabuterimon let his eyes wander, until an odd feeling began to creep up on him. He shivered.

It was at that exact moment that something plummeted from the sky, smashing into the hood of a parked car. Tori yelped, Kenji jumped back, his arms out in front of his younger brother. KoKabuterimon's head swiveled over to the crash, catching a flash of green as it flew out of his line of sight. People began screaming and running off in other directions. Kenji backed up to a wall, not wanting himself or his brother to get trampled.

"What the hell is this?!" the teen shouted over the screams of the crowd.

KoKabuterimon turned around to face him, his glow becoming more fierce. ::It's another Digimon!:: he shouted back.

Kenji gave the spirit a funny look. "A what?"

::Like me, only this one has a body!::

"What?!"

Suddenly, the sound of flapping wings became audible to the spirit. The people had begun to clear the area, now only a few people remained, taking quick pictures before joining the fleeing crowd. KoKabuterimon spun around again. ::Where is it?!:: He scanned the area, and saw another flash of green shooting toward him.

"Falco Rush!"

An automated reaction, KoKabuterimon raised his claws as if to grab the oncoming creature. However, it passed through him, reminding the spirit of how utterly useless he was right now. The Digimon that had just attacked obviously didn't mean well.

A scream sounded from behind him, and he remembered the two humans that still waited nearby. ::Kenji!:: The wall behind the spirit was smashed, and a short green and brown bird stood beside the impact site. For a moment, KoKabuterimon was sure Kenji and his brother were gone--be it they fled or died--but his worries were eased as he saw them sprawled on the sidewalk, having jumped out of the way just in time. The spirit sighed with relief.

::Kenji, you have to trust me!:: KoKabuterimon exclaimed, extending a claw to the startled teen. ::We can beat this guy, but only if we work together!::

---

Kenji's eyes shifted from he spirit to the vicious bird. His body was shaking. Tori sat behind him, probably too shocked to move as well. The spirit was offering his help. But can I trust him? What could he possibly do, he's a ghost

The green and brown bird stepped forward, moving through the transparent Digimon's body. It grinned, rows of sharp teeth poking out of its curved beak. Kenji winced. He's my only chance.

"...A-alright," the teen muttered, "We'll beat him, together!" He grasped the spirit's claw, and the owl-like bird squawked. There was a brilliant blue light, and the spirit disappeared to Kenji's surprise. He heard Tori gasp behind him. Instead of grabbing the ghost's claw, he was now holding a flat rectangular object. What...?

::Quickly, jab that jutting piece into your arm!:: The voice rung through his head clearly, this was definitely not an outside sound this time. How did...?

::No time, just do it!::

Kenji had no choice but to trust the spirit, especially because the bird Digimon was now looking irritated by the burst of light. Hastily, he found a small circular section on the side of the rectangle and, ignoring his better judgment, jabbed it into the side of his arm. He gasped, guessing that he'd drawn a couple drops of blood. Ahh, that hurts! What's this for again?

"Human Host Detected," a voice replied. Kenji looked around for it's owner. "Initiating fusion sequence." Wait, is that coming from this box thing? He looked down at it again, and the exact words were flashing across the small screen.

Suddenly, he was blinded by a burst of light, and the ground fell away from beneath him. The teen swore mentally, and tried to look at his surroundings, but a steady blue light was still blinding him. The first step was the worst--his muscles began to bulge, and it felt like they would explode. Kenji didn't dare to move, his arms and legs spread out as his skin began to harden. His clothing seemed to dissolve into nothing as his newly hardened skin began to thicken. A massive weight fell upon his back, but somehow he managed to stay upright. He felt heavy all over, but he also felt stronger than ever. He felt something growing out of his sides, but whatever it was, it stopped after only a few seconds. The skin around his face stayed the same, but plates formed over top it, leaving his eyes and mouth untouched. Next, his hands began to bulge even more, his fingers merging together to form three long claws on each hand, which hardened and stiffened as well. His feet did the same. It was painful, but pale in comparison to the initial step. He winced, feeling a bit stuffy inside all that armor. What is all this? What did KoKabuterimon do to me?

Gradually, the light faded, and Kenji's feet hit the ground, hard. He nearly toppled over because of his weighted back, and had to bend his knees slightly to stay standing. He opened his eyes--a green bubble was over each eye, and there seemed to be something covering his mouth, too. He moved an arm carefully. It was stiff, but the joints were still flexible. He couldn't move his hands very much, though, because they were now massive, almost cylindrical claws. The claws themselves were thick, and he found that the best he could do was open and close them just enough to gently tap the tips together. He felt slightly numb all over, obviously because of his shell-like skin. He was blue and black all over, with some red markings on his hands and feet. He couldn't see if there was anything on his chest or back, though, because his neck had also stiffened a little. He did spot a flapping yellow scarf around his neck, though.

"...B-big brother?"

Kenji tried to turn his head toward Tori, but could only turn it halfway. Cursing under his breath, he carefully turned around to face his brother. Kenji frowned. He looked... scared. I must look like a monster...

"Scratch Smash!" It took Kenji a moment to remember what he was doing. He felt a dull, almost non-existent pain in his back. As if possessed, his body turned around on its own, facing down the bird Digimon.

::Let me handle this, Kenji,:: the spirit said softly. ::I won't let any harm befall you or your brother.:: Kenji blinked. What's going on?

::Just trust me, please.::

Something still didn't add up, but he decided to let it go for now. Okay, it's all yours.

---

KoKabuterimon quickly adjusted to his new body. It felt just like it used to, though he noted that his extra arms were just dead weights now. ::Oh well, I should be grateful Kenji is letting me use his body at all. Time to get to work! The spirit sized up his opponent--::Falcomon, it looks like. Fast runners and gliders, he shouldn't be a problem if I can catch him.:: The Digimon hybrid flexed his claws, he would finish this battle as quickly as possible.

However, catching Falcomon was easier said than done, the hybrid soon discovered. Before the fight could even begin, the bird had leapt forward for a quick claw-swipe, leapt back, and run off in another direction. KoKabuterimon barely felt the strike, and thanked the gods for his thick armor. He also couldn't help but curse them once he tried to chase after his foe. ::Damn shell, it's slowing me down,:: he cursed. ::How am I supposed to catch Falcomon like this?:: The insectoid growled angrily, giving up his chase as the bird reached a nearby building, chuckling atop a high window sill. Time to change tactics.

With barely a sweat, KoKabuterimon grabbed the front of the car Falcomon had smashed earlier and lifted it above his head with both claws. The bird stopped laughing when the vehicle was hurled at it. It barely flew out of the way as the hunk of metal and glass smashed into the side of the apartment building, falling back down seconds later and smashing another car as it hit the ground. KoKabuterimon smiled under his armor. ::Didn't like that much, huh?::

::What are you doing?!:: The spirit recognized Kenji's voice.

::Glad to hear you've been paying attention! It should do you good,:: the spirit replied cheerfully. ::Don't worry, I'll catch up with this bird soon and--::

Why did you... How did you throw that car?!

The Digimon frowned. Maybe humans just didn't have that kind of strength. Still, did he even have to ask? ::That's not really important, you know.::

Someone could have been hurt! the human fumed. Did you even stop to think that someone might have been in that apartment you just threw that car at?!

::Well, not really... I don't think anyone's still here, everyone left when the battle started.::

Stupid! How do you know that?! Maybe they holed up in their homes, or were just hiding? And what about Tori, he's still-- He stopped.

"Tori!" Kenji shouted, spinning around. Spotting the younger sibling watching from behind another abandoned car, the teen let out a sigh of relief. The boy looked terrified, but at least he wasn't hurt. It was nice and all that Tori was okay, but Falcomon was waiting somewhere for them...

::Don't worry about Tori, I'll keep an eye out for him,:: the spirit promised, ::But it's important that we defeat this rogue Digimon before it causes too much trouble.::

Yeah, I know... Kenji sighed out loud. Just... don't be so reckless, okay? I don't want anyone getting hurt.

KoKabuterimon knew that he chose right. This human was completely selfless, worrying about others when his own life was in danger. ::Thank you, Kenji.:: Now, where had Falcomon run off to? It would be a bit harder now that he had to watch out for other humans, but the Digimon hybrid was sure he'd find a way, somehow. He didn't expect Falcomon to just drop into his claws, but he was sure it'd work out.

But that's just what happened.

Before KoKabuterimon even knew what was happening, a gunshot sounded and Falcomon squawked, landing on he ground just a few feet away from the hybrid. Its wing was damaged, bits of data floating up from the wound. ::What?! Who did that?:: The insectoid shuffled his feet, turning around. ::An ally?::

He was met by a barrage of bullets. Again, the Digimon was thankful for his thick shell. However, since it was formed from what was once Kenji's much softer skin, the shell wasn't as hard as it usually was, and it had nerves scattered throughout, making him feel every little impact. The bullets were surprisingly weak, but it still hurt enough to make the hybrid notice. The attackers were all human, dressed in black body armor and helmets. There were three of them firing, with another in the back doing something else. From his current angle, the Digimon couldn't tell. Kenji didn't say anything--only a string of swears--but KoKabuterimon knew he was worried about his brother nonetheless. ::Best to ease his worries,:: he thought.

Ignoring the stings on his back, the Digimon ran awkwardly over to the child and picked him up, despite his sudden yelp of surprise. The firing stopped, whoever was attacking him obviously didn't want to hurt Tori. ::Here's my chance, while they can't attack!:: Despite a few protests from Kenji, KoKabuterimon grabbed a nearby bike rack and hurled it at the attackers, then made a break for the nearest alleyway. He didn't exactly need to escape, only get out of sight long enough to deactivate the transformation without them knowing.

The plan went smoothly. Diving behind a dumpster, he grabbed the D-Soul from his side (it had implanted itself on the inside of his shell after the transformation, but could attach and detach without any pain, which he found very convenient). His claws clumsily held the device, and with only a bit of difficulty he jabbed it into his other hand. KoKabuterimon was a bit shocked when it broke through his shell, even though he had expected it anyway. It just felt so unnatural for something so hard to suddenly break like wet paper.

"De-fusion initiated," the robotic voice stated. His body seemed to melt away; his claws broke apart, his muscles shrunk, his shell disappeared, and so on and so forth. The pain wasn't so bad, in the spirit's opinion. ::Maybe it's because I've died once before,:: he recalled. ::I've felt worse than this.:: Kenji, on the other hand, was trying very hard not to scream. ::He'll get used to it eventually.:: Kenji's clothing, which had broken up into data during the transformation, reformed around him. KoKabuterimon was sure he'd appreciate it.

The transformation was over in a matter of seconds. By the time their attacks arrived, all they could find was two boys hiding behind a dumpster.

---

"Hey, kid! Where did that monster go?"

Kenji just stared, he was at a loss of words. Who are these guys?

The woman, his ex-attacker, sighed, removing her helmet. She had long brown hair, blue eyes. "Must have dropped him," she muttered to herself.

Another man in black body armor walked up to her, his helmet under his arm. He had an eyebrow ring. "Damn, we'll never catch up with that thing," he said, "Whatever it was. At least we got the bird."

"Yeah, MIZU is going to have a fit over that," the woman commented. She looked over at Kenji and Tori again. "Are you boys okay?" Kenji just nodded, as did his brother. It was sufficient enough. "If you want, we could give you a ride. After that incident, I wouldn't want a couple of children walking home alone."

"Uh, th-that's okay," Kenji said quickly, glancing over at Tori. It's for the best. "It's a short walk, we'll be fine."

"Well, you two head straight home, 'kay?" the man added with a grin. "Last I heard there were a few other attacks around Osaka, even more across Japan. Might even be some in other countries by now, it's spreading like an epidemic."

"Vince!" the woman scolded, "Cut that out, you don't want to scare them!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, m'am."

The duo left, and Kenji got back onto his feet. He let out the breath he had been holding. For a minute there I thought they were going to kill me...

::Who are they?:: KoKabuterimon asked. The teen spotted the ghostly figure beside him.

"Dunno," he said aloud, "I've never seen them before."

"K-ken?" Ah, Tori! He looked at his brother, who just stared back at him. There was a silence between them for a while before Tori continued. "...Are you some kind of superhero now?"

There was another pause, and Kenji just burst into laughter. He didn't really know why, maybe he just needed to vent. All of his fear, excitement, confusion, all released in a round of laughter. It had been terrifying, but he made it.

He settled down, and replied simply with, "Hey, why not? Let's head home, Tori."