Disclaimer: The muses would like to remind everyone that Angel Spirit doesn't own Digimon, just the plot of the fic.
Author's Notes: So, a funny thing really…I got this back from my beta reader earlier this week and almost completely forgot that I had it…heh…my bad! I apologize immensely for not getting this out sooner to you guys, because I know that a lot of you have been eagerly awaiting for this fic to be updated! Anyway, here's the update for everyone to enjoy, and I really do hope that you guys enjoy reading it because I actually did have fun writing this chapter. Early warning in advance that I've made Kouji mostly uke in this chapter-but heh, for those of you who know me that's pretty much how I prefer my Kouji…((winks))…he's so much more fun to torture that way-LOL! This chapter's also on the long side-because I just couldn't find any good place to cut it off where I wouldn't be getting evil glares from people for another evil cliffhanger…as it stands, this chapter doesn't really have any…enjoy!
Rating: PG13
Warning: This fic contains slash/yaoi (and carries a dark tone of angst with the fluffiness of Takouji mixed in)…if you're not a fan of male/male pairings then I suggest you hit the wonderful back button to the top left of your page and run far, far away.
Pairings: Takuya/Kouji, a Izumi/Kouichi/Junpei triangle (as I can't seem to make up my mind who to pair who up with here so therefore, the triangle still stands and will probably remain that way for the rest of the fic), and some Shinya/Tomoki hints
Time Setting: Four years after 04-ages of the Digi Destined are listed in the beginning of the first chapter (and yes, I know I still need to change the time setting for the first few chapters-it'll be done eventually)
Confessions
Author: Angel Spirit
Chapter 10: Ghostly Encounters
When Kouji woke, his vision was blurry, he was cold…and he was outside?
Blinking several times to clear his vision, Kouji shakily got to his knees and gently shook his head a couple of times to try and clear his mind. His head hurt…it throbbed…
And he just couldn't imagine why in the world he was outside on a stormy night like tonight…dark clouds moved above him and in the distance, lightning flashed. An echo of thunder could be heard, and Kouji could practically taste the rain in his mouth as the air smelled fresh and sweet-like a summer storm should.
Gently getting to his feet, Kouji wrapped his arms around himself and glanced about him-nearly freezing in his place as he did so, unable to speak and unable to move.
He was in a graveyard.
And not just any graveyard…he was in the same graveyard that his parents-Kousei and Satomi-had been buried in. Kouji bit hard on his bottom lip to keep himself from screaming as goose bumps rose on his bare arms, and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.
"This is someone's idea of a sick joke…a very sick joke. And when I find out who did this, I'm going to make them pay." Kouji muttered to himself, rubbing his hands up and down his arms to keep himself warm as a strong wind came up and wrapped itself quickly around him, before leaving again.
"It's not a sick joke." The voice seemed to come from nowhere, and Kouji spun around as he heard it come from behind him-but there was no one there. In fact, there was no one else in the graveyard but himself. And as he looked for the owner of the voice who had tried to assure him that no one was playing a horrible joke on him, Kouji also saw that he was suddenly standing directly in front of his father's grave. It was as though someone had picked his father up and moved him like a chess piece in a blink of an eye-and he'd missed the move completely.
"Dad?" Kouji whispered, the wind carrying the word away like it meant nothing.
And it did mean nothing. It meant nothing because his father no longer existed. Because of a stupid accident…One that might not have happened if he hadn't started the argument with Satomi and distracted his father from driving. If his father had been keeping an eye on the wet roads that night, he might've been able to stop in time, and no one would've gotten hurt-or worse as it had happened-killed.
Kouji covered his face with his hands, partially protecting it from yet another sudden gust of wind that seemed to blow directly at it, and partially because he didn't want to cry. But the tears were already threatening to flow. He'd cried too much already, and believed that he hadn't had any tears left to cry with.
"Stop blaming yourself, Kouji, what happened was not your fault, and you know it. So stop tormenting yourself with the thought that it was your fault. No one could've stopped what had happened that night." Suddenly, Kouji knew who the ghostly voice belonged to, and his dark blue-gray eyes opened wide with shock-and this time, he knew it wasn't his imagination either.
"Dad?" This time, Kouji spoke the question a bit louder, and he thought he saw something in front of him-right in front of his father's grave. It was so faint, though, that Kouji wasn't even sure if he was seeing anything.
"Kouji…come back…please, please come back to me, wake up! You're scaring me!" The second voice was distant. Far more distant than the voice that was telling him not to blame himself-something Takuya and Kouichi both had been trying to tell him since the dreadful accident. In fact, it seemed as though the far off voice, that was telling him to wake up, was just riding with the wind, leaving as soon as it came.
"I hate seeing you like this." As Kouji blinked again, the figure before him materialized a bit more and Kouji nearly fainted again when he saw who it was. Though, he shouldn't have been as surprised as he was…a part of him had known all along who was talking to him.
"Y-You're dead." Kouji murmured, taking an involuntary step backwards as the figure reached out to try and touch him-and was actually successful, gripping tightly onto his right shoulder and preventing Kouji from going any further beyond his ghostly reach.
His father only shook his head and gave Kouji a small smile.
"I might be dead…to others. But I'm not dead to you…not yet. There's still business that I have to finish here before I can go completely, and you're the only one who believes in me enough that I can speak to you this way. You're not afraid of me, are you Kouji?" It took several minutes for Kouji to register what his father was telling him, before he meekly shook his head. And his father laughed gently.
"Good boy, I know I could always count on you. Knee got banged up in the accident?" Kousei gestured to the cast on Kouji's left knee, and Kouji nodded again-finding himself incapable of speech at the moment, as he still wondered how in the hell that this was possible. He was speaking to his dead father-just great. Kouji knew if he told any of the others about this, then they'd think that he was even more crazier than he already was. And that he didn't need.
"It'll heal. So I've heard…and it'll heal well, you'll be able to fully walk on it-it still might bother you from time to time, but for the most part, it'll be just fine. It'll just take time. I also hear that you and Takuya have finally hooked up?" Another nod came from Kouji at his father's question. Why was he unable to verbally answer any of them?
"Good. You're going to need him. You need to stay with him as much as you possibly can, Kouji. Don't go anywhere alone without him-and if Takuya's not available, stick with your twin brother. They'll be the only ones who can help you fight this." Kousei sighed as he said this, and Kouji now found himself finally able to look into his father's eyes. The same color eyes that he had, except that his father's eyes had a bit more gray in them.
"Junpei…Junpei said that you and Satomi were murdered…and…and I think that I was supposed to die too. I don't want to believe him, dad…I…I can't." Kouji whispered fiercely, finally able to speak, as his father tightened his grip on his shoulder just a bit more.
"Listen to me, Kouji. I'm here for a reason…to help you understand that Junpei's telling the truth. Junpei knows a lot more, and he'll tell it all in good time. He'll feel threatened at first…someone will try to keep him from telling the truth. You and Kouichi-with Takuya's help too-have got to convince him that the truth must come out. The accident was not your fault, Kouji, and the sooner that you start believing that, the faster you'll get to finding out what really happened. You can't listen to the demons in your head-that little voice you're hearing is wrong! I know that the accident wasn't your fault Kouji, because there was something wrong with the breaks in the car. I wasn't able to stop, and I'd just gotten the car checked out the other week, and the mechanic had told me that it was all set and ready to go for another five months or so. I've been going to that mechanic for years, and he's never lied to me about something like that. Kouji, you need to get to the bottom of this, and with your friend's help, I think you can. But you know what the first step is." Kousei paused for a second, and again the distant voice that Kouji heard several minutes ago came once more; this time it was a low murmur, so that Kouji had to strain to hear it.
"Kouji…I'm so worried…please open your eyes and wake up…please…don't do this to me, not now…"Kouji found himself looking up at the blackened sky in search for the owner of the other voice that sounded so worried about him. He closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them, he found himself staring back into his father's eyes…and knew who the owner of the other voice was.
"Takuya." Kouji whispered, and Kousei nodded as he let go of his shoulder.
Suddenly, Kouji felt his father's absence a bit more strongly than he had for the past several days. The pain of losing him that fateful night that Kouji had thought had long since numbed over came back full force, and as he opened his mouth to say something; a sob came out instead.
Oh how he very much wanted to throw himself into his father's arms at that very moment, and to have Kousei tell him that everything was going to be okay again, and that when he woke up, everything would be as it should. That this was all just some kind of terrible nightmare.
Kousei only shook his head at his youngest son as he saw the intentions in Kouji's eyes.
"Don't think about that right now, Kouji. What's done is done and you've got to find a way to move on…I know I'll always have a place in your heart-and deep down, Satomi knows that too. You need to go back now. You need to wake up. I'll come again to you, when the time is right. I promise, Kouji. It's time to wake up…"
The darkness of the sky seemed to descend upon him, and Kouji fought the urge to scream, as it seemed to suddenly take over everything. He could no longer see the image of his father-he was gone.
Before Kouji knew it, the darkness was all he could see…
He woke to Takuya's musky outdoors scent.
In fact, as he came a bit more to his senses, he realized that he was staring directly at Takuya's sleep shirt…and it took him a couple of seconds to realize that he was being carried by Takuya.
Feeling a bit dazed and confused, Kouji lightly tightened his grip around Takuya's neck, so that he felt more secure. His right arm was slung around his koi's neck-his left arm rested gently against his own stomach, as Takuya was carrying him bridal style up the staircase.
Takuya, upon having felt Kouji's sudden motion, almost tripped on the staircase-not having sensed that Kouji had come around yet-and tightened his own grip around the dark haired youth in his arms, so that way he wouldn't drop him.
Smiling softly, Takuya soon found his own dark brown orbs staring into Kouji's-and Kouji saw a look of pure relief in those chocolate brown eyes that stared intently back at him.
"Hey…" Takuya murmured softly as he shifted his grip on Kouji, so that he was a bit more comfortable, before continuing his expedition up the staircase.
"You're awake. You scared us back there, you know." All Kouji could do was nod and fight the urge to bury his face into Takuya's shirt. He suddenly felt awful and he didn't know why…his head was pounding, making it feel like it was about ready to explode any moment. He needed some Advil, Tylenol…anything to help get rid of the pain.
"I know…I'm sorry…I heard you calling me, I just…I don't know." Kouji replied back, finishing with a sigh-that quickly turned into a groan, as this time, he did bury his face into Takuya's shirt…trying his hardest not to tighten his grip even more on his koi, as he really didn't want to strangle him.
Suddenly, all Kouji wanted was Takuya's warmth-he felt so cold. All he wanted, was to be cuddled right next to Takuya, and for the brunette to not leave him alone…ever.
Takuya, realizing that Kouji was trembling in his arms; stared down at his koi as he continued to make his way to their bedroom. Lightly kicking the door open as he'd partially closed it when they'd first heard Junpei's screams a little bit earlier that night, he made it to their bed, where he gently arranged Kouji, so that he was comfortable once again. Seeing a pained expression on Kouji's face, Takuya frowned.
"You all right?" In response to Takuya's concerned question, Kouji brought up his right hand and started messaging his forehead with his fingertips…trying his hardest not to shake his head as an answer, because he feared it would only make the pounding against his skull worse.
"No…can you get me something to kill this headache? Please…?" Takuya blinked as he heard Kouji's question, and wondered just how bad his dark haired koi was feeling. It was very rarely that Kouji begged for anything (well, not including lately when he'd beg Takuya for a kiss-but Takuya didn't count that), and here he was begging him for some aspirin-or something along the likes of it.
Takuya nodded and removed Kouji's fingertips from where they were still messaging his forehead, and gently placed a kiss there.
"Sure, I think I saw some Tylenol in the bathroom cabinet earlier…I'll be right back, okay?" Taking one look at Kouji before he left, Takuya headed to fetch the pain reliever and decided to also dampen a wet washcloth, having the feeling that that might help ease the headache his lover had.
When Takuya got back to the bedroom, Kouji's eyes were closed and, Takuya smiled softly once more as he placed the glass of water on the bedside table along with two white pills…putting the cool, damp washcloth on Kouji's forehead to let him know that he was there.
Kouji shifted slightly at this, and opened his eyes long enough to take the Tylenol before closing them again. When Takuya snuggled down next to him and wrapped his arms around him to hold him close, Kouji only moaned in content.
"Why is it that you always seem to be able to read my mind these days?" Kouji whispered, leaning his head against Takuya's shoulder, which shook with unheard laughter, as the brunette reached over to adjust the washcloth that he had put on Kouji's forehead…somehow, having the feeling that it wasn't going to stay on for very long.
Kouji felt Takuya shrug in response, before he actually answered his question.
"Because I know you oh-so well. Your mom's got Junpei's situation under control, and I think that Kouichi was going to watch over him for the rest of the night. Since I caught you before you hit the floor, your mom's not worried about you having a concussion, so she suggested that I take you up here to sleep off your faint." That was all Kouji needed to know, and he wiggled a bit more at Takuya's side, wanting to get closer to him without being uncomfortable.
Takuya seemed to sense this, and adjusted both of their bodies-making sure that Kouji's injured knee was propped up a bit on a pillow-before flinging the covers over them and reaching over to turn out the light that he'd left on earlier.
"I suggest we get some sleep…who knows what tomorrow will bring, hmmm…?" All Kouji did was nod, fighting a yawn. Tonight had really been too much. Whether or not he'd tell Takuya that he had spoken to his father in a dream-because that's what it had been, nothing but a dream-well, he'd make that decision tomorrow.
"Mmm…sounds like a plan to me…night 'Kuya." Takuya sighed softly and adjusted his arms around Kouji once more, his breathing pattern softening out, as Kouji knew that he was quickly falling asleep. It had been a long night…and waking up as early as they had, definitely hadn't helped their sleeping habits much.
"Night Kouji." Before both boys knew it, they were once more sound asleep…not even the sound of the rain starting up again much later woke them.
"Awwwwww…don't they just look soooooo cute together?" Groaning, Takuya allowed his eyes to slowly open, making a face when he saw who was in the doorway of their bedroom.
While he valued Izumi's friendship-really and truly he did-he just really didn't like seeing her so early in the morning. And her cheerfulness was definitely not a plus when one was just starting to wake up. Izumi sounded like she had been awake for hours. And depending on how late Tomoko had allowed him and Kouji to sleep in; it very well could be hours.
"Whadya want, Izumi? I'm sleepin'." Takuya muttered, as Izumi chuckled and Takuya heard the snap of a camera, that sound alone, caused him to quickly bolt upright-taking Kouji with him (much to Kouji's dismay), and swear rather violently.
Kouji-now having been woken as Takuya had practically flung him upright-cursed as well and glared at their blonde friend in the doorway-smiling oh-too cheerfully for his liking.
"And I was sleeping!" Kouji declared angrily as he glared at Izumi, who only shrugged her shoulders, and tossed her long blonde hair over them.
"Don't be so angry! You guys have been sleeping for almost two whole days!" The blonde declared, and both boys in the bed looked at her with shocked expressions, as Takuya shook his head, feeling as though Izumi was playing some sort of joke on them or something.
"No…we have not." The brunette argued back, but Izumi continued to shake her head at Takuya's denials.
"No, you really have been sleeping for two days! Both of you! No one had the heart to wake either of you! That is, until a certain someone came over." Izumi moved to make a bow, but instead she stepped aside-and in her place now stood Shinya.
"Shinya! What are you doing here?" Takuya gasped, blinking at the sight of his younger brother. Wasn't he supposed to be in school? Shinya giggled at Takuya's stunned expression before replying.
"I think you must've forgotten what day it is, big brother!" Another face appeared alongside Shinya's as Takuya remembered that this must be the first day of summer vacation for his younger brother-not to mention their other friends as well-and Takuya fell back in exasperation on his pillows as Kouji nodded a hello at Tomoki, who had pushed Shinya aside enough, so that they both fit somewhat comfortably in the doorway.
"Did you forget that summer vacation was so soon, Takky?" Tomoki asked, using the nickname that Takuya had received from Junpei long ago. Takuya only shrugged, before nodding meekly as Kouji yawned, and glanced over at Takuya with a raised eyebrow.
"We slept for two whole days, hmm…? Who would've thought that that was possible." Kouji murmured, as their three friends laughed.
"Kouji, Tomoko says that she's got a late breakfast going for the two of you, so you'd better hurry it up, and get downstairs before Junpei and Kouichi eat it all! I know that they were both eyeing those pancakes that she was making…" As Izumi let her sentence trail off, Takuya heaved the sheets off of him and Kouji, and scrambled out of bed, Kouji trying to do the same-before cursing as he suddenly felt how stiff his left knee was.
"Note to self…don't sleep two days again, as long as I have this damned cast on!" Kouji whimpered, and Takuya winced as he reached Kouji's side of the bed and gently started massaging the upper part of Kouji's leg, as well as the lower part to try and get some circulation back into it. Kouji groaned and laid back far enough so that he was leaning completely against the mattress again without any pillows to support him, his eyes shut tight with pain.
The playful laughter from the doorway had immediately ceased as Izumi had shooed the younger two boys back downstairs and stayed-looking on worriedly and wondering if she should go get Tomoko or not. Takuya, sensing that Izumi was still there, looked up and gave her a small smile to let her know things would be okay.
"It's happened before, Z…don't worry about it, he'll be fine. Why don't you go downstairs and tell Tomoko that we'll be down in a few minutes, and to try and save us some of those pancakes before the others devour them all?" Izumi blushed a bit, one at having been caught looking on in her concern for her friend, and two because the only two people who usually called her Z were Kouichi and Junpei. Takuya, having realized his slip only grinned at her and waved her off. She nodded in consent before disappearing down the hallway.
"Feel better now?" Takuya asked, as Kouji had gone silent while he lay on the bed as Takuya slowed his massage. A soft grunt came from Kouji as a reply, and Takuya shook his head, giving Kouji a teasing smile.
"Now you know I don't understand that foreign language of yours." That statement, caused Kouji to open an eye as he stuck his tongue out at his koi before allowing Takuya to help him sit back up again, wincing at the circulation that he felt running through his left leg again.
"Yeah, well…I guess you'll just have to learn it then, ne? So what was that I was hearing about pancakes, and my twin brother and Junpei eating them all?" Chuckling at Kouji's sudden interest in food-and taking that as a good sign, Takuya helped him stand, noticing that Kouji was leaning up against him, and trying to keep as much weight off of his left leg as possible. Takuya frowned at this, but tried not to let Kouji know how concerned he was. Mentally, Takuya reminded himself to try and pull Tomoko aside and ask her when it was Kouji's next check up with the doctor that he was seeing for his knee injury, was going to be.
"Food? You mean you're actually hungry?" Kouji's stomach growling was the response to Takuya's teasing question, and Takuya laughed as he gave Kouji a swift kiss on the lips-one that Kouji started to return-before Takuya pulled away, grinning mischievously at Kouji's pout.
"I think we'll have to save that for dessert. Seriously, I think Izumi wasn't kidding when she said that the food down there was disappearing fast-it's awfully quiet down there!" Nodding in agreement, Kouji allowed Takuya to help him limp to the top of the staircase. Inwardly groaning when Takuya gestured for him to hop on his back, so that he could carry him piggy-back style once more down the staircase.
"I so can't wait for this stupid cast to come off!" Kouji declared, as he managed to maneuver himself onto Takuya's back with much more grace than the last few times he'd done it, and he grinned as Takuya heisted him up and secured him, so that he wasn't going to fall off as he started down the stairs.
"I think you're getting better at climbing onto my back, though." Takuya commented, having noticed that it hadn't been so awkward this time, and Kouji chuckled and playfully smacked his shoulder. Takuya pouted.
"Ouch, that hurt!" The brunette exclaimed, faking being wounded as Kouji clutched on a bit tighter-not wanting to fall off, and not wanting Takuya to drop him.
"Hey, remember who you're carrying here! I really am already wounded, Takuya!" At Kouji's reminder, Takuya grinned sheepishly as he stopped his horseplay on the stairs, and continued down the rest of the way with no incident.
Upon entering the kitchen, the two boys were greeted by the smell of pancakes and bacon, and Takuya found his mouth watering as he let Kouji down, who grabbed the pair of crutches that were leaning against the wall next to the doorway into the kitchen.
"Hey mom, you'd better have saved us some food!" Kouji hollered, announcing their arrival as he maneuvered his way into the kitchen. Their friends were sitting at the bar, and Kouichi waved at him as he entered. Kouji would've waved back, had his arms not been so preoccupied. Instead, he only nodded as Tomoko came over and kissed him on the cheek. Junpei sniggered, and out of the corner of his eye, Kouji saw both Izumi and Kouichi jab Junpei on each rib side…successfully making him shut up…almost making him choke on the piece of bacon that he'd just popped into his mouth in the process. Kouji smirked at this, and then nodded his thanks at the two of them, shrugging the incident off.
"Yes, I saved you some food…go sit down, I'll bring you both plates…you two sleep well?" Both Takuya and Kouji nodded at Tomoko's question and she smiled as she brought them their breakfasts-handing Takuya a cup of coffee, while she finished making Kouji's tea…bringing him the pain medication for his knee as well, when she set the steaming mug next to his plate shortly after Takuya had finished helping him sit on the stool.
Kouji sent a glare in Izumi's direction as he saw the two pain pills, and Izumi avoided looking at him at all costs. He had the feeling that she had discreetly told Tomoko what had occurred upstairs.
"Mom, do I have to take these?" Kouji muttered, scooping both pills into his left hand, and weighing them with a sigh of dismay as he glanced pitifully in his mother's direction-his eyes begging her to say no. But Tomoko only smiled grimly and nodded her head at his question. Kouji held back the flood of curses that threatened to erupt, as he sent another glare in Izumi's direction-this time, his blonde friend caught the look, and her face flushed as she looked away guiltily.
"You haven't been moving for a couple of days now, Kouji, your knee is bound to be stiff and painful-the medication will help take some of that pain away." Tomoko said in a soothing voice as she came over and adjusted her son's ponytail, while Kouji groaned.
"Yeah, and put me right back to sleep in the process! I hate these things…they make me feel so nauseated and tired…and I think I'm done sleeping for awhile thank you very much!" Suddenly noticing how quiet it had gotten, Kouji felt as though all eyes were on him-but in reality, all of the ex-Digi Destined (minus Shinya, of course, though the younger Kanbara was also avoiding looking in Kouji's direction) were looking at anything, but the arguing mother and son.
Only Takuya seemed to be supportive of him, as he'd placed a hand on his right knee. Takuya sat in the first stool, to Kouji's right. Kouji sat in the second stool, and Kouichi sat to his left. To Kouichi's left, sat Junpei and to Junpei's left, sat Izumi. Tomoki followed Izumi, and Shinya sat on the last stool. Kouji was surprised that they'd all managed to fit themselves at the small bar along the kitchen, shrugging as he also realized that he wasn't about to figure out just how they'd done it. Maybe they'd just sat themselves in such an order, that it was possible. Either that, or his mother had secretly extended the long bar table in front of them without having told him.
"If you want to, Kouji, when I go in today, I can see if Dr. Crestman can't prescribe you something that's not so strong…but it might not work as well for the pain." Kouji sighed and lowered his head, grumbling as he took the two pills and used his tea to swallow them, making a face at their bitter taste despite the sweetness of the tea. Oh how he loathed the stuff.
"I know, I know, you've told me that before…it's just that…I don't know, everyone's here, and I really don't want to fall asleep on them…" As he glanced up at the others, he saw that they were all shaking their heads.
"Kouji, you should know that's not a problem with us! We want you to get better, and that's that! If that means taking pain medication that makes you fall asleep to help make the pain go away, then so be it! We'd much rather see you not in pain, than being in pain…okay?" Izumi said, softly chiding her friend for even thinking such a thing. Kouji only nodded and continued eating-though he had the feeling that he wouldn't be able to finish all of his breakfast now…soon the nausea would come, and he wouldn't feel like eating anything else for the day.
He was really getting tired of all of this.
The attention…the pain…the medication…having to use the crutches…everything.
Most of the other Digi Destined had finished eating, leaving Takuya and Kouji to finish. They chatted amongst themselves, as Takuya continued eating-still keeping a hand on Kouji's right knee, and staying quiet as he listened to the others chatter, smiling at something one of them would say every once in awhile. Kouji, had long since stopped eating…biting back a sigh as the nausea slowly started in, lightly dropping his fork on his plate to indicate that he was done, instead of using it to push his food around on the plate.
Glancing over to his left, he saw the look of concern that his twin gave him, and Kouji only shook his head as he leaned his head against Takuya's left shoulder, suddenly feeling guilty.
"'Kuya…I…need to go back upstairs…now." Kouji's voice was quiet, and hesitant as he murmured this, but Takuya nodded-finishing up the last of his breakfast (as Kouji had waited long enough to give Takuya enough time to eat)-before nodding at him that he was ready to go.
"I'll help…if that's okay?" Kouichi asked, concern still clearly written on his face. Takuya nodded, helping Kouichi get Kouji out of the chair. Kouji fought to stay upright…and clutched tightly onto his twin, really hating their mother right then and there for having made him take that stupid medication. Even if it did help take away the pain in his knee. He'd much rather have the pain in his knee, than this.
"Actually Kouichi, if you can…can you take him up? I…I want to talk to Tomoko really quickly, okay?" If looks could kill, Takuya would be dead from the look that Kouji was giving him, as he clutched a bit more tightly to Kouichi while he nodded at Takuya's question.
"Sure thing…c'mon Kouji, let's go see if we can't get you a bit more comfortable, okay?" Kouichi murmured, and Kouji only nodded as he allowed his twin to help him, still glaring at Takuya as they headed out of the kitchen…wondering what it was that Takuya wanted to talk to Tomoko about, and at the same time, trying not to snap at his twin. It wasn't anybody's fault that the pain medication made him feel this way…if anything, Kouji prayed that Takuya would convince his mother to really talk to Dr. Crestman to get him off of this stuff. He hoped that that was what Takuya was doing…and that the others would forgive him for his lack of social graces.
"Takuya?" Tomoko for her part, was surprised to see Takuya come back into the kitchen, a guilty look clearly noticeable on his face, and Tomoko mentally frowned at this, wondering what it was that Takuya could get so upset about.
"Tomoko I…I feel like…I don't know! I want to be there for Kouji, I really do, I mean, he's my soul mate, I know he is…but…I'm not sure how to be there for him when he feels as miserable as he does now! I want him to feel better, I really do! But I hate seeing him so down whenever he has to take that damned medication of his, and it makes him feel…feel…" Takuya paused, not being able to find the right words to finish his sentence. Tomoko on the other hand-who had been listening to his frustrating rant without blinking an eye; took a sip from her cup of tea and managed to read Takuya's mind.
"Feel so helpless? Though I'm sure that there are many other words I can probably use to describe Kouji's feelings and thoughts at the moment, I think that that's the best one really. I know how you feel about this situation, Takuya, and I feel the same way. I promise you that I'll talk with Dr. Crestman today, and see what I can try and do for him. I hate that Kouji's got to be cooped up like this all the time." Tomoko murmured the last part, but Takuya still heard it.
"I'm kind of hoping that the others will stick around long enough to give Kouji a chance to hang out. I know how bad he feels about him always feeling tired or in pain whenever they come around. I just don't want Kouji to close up again, you know?" As Takuya voiced his thoughts, Tomoko nodded.
"I agree. Hey…Takuya, why don't you invite the others to stay the night, okay? Tell them they're more than welcome to stay the whole day, and we can order a whole bunch of pizzas tonight or something…we can set up the living room for everyone and make Kouji a comfortable enough spot, so he won't have to get up as much, and he'll still be able to see and talk to everyone. Sound like a plan?" Not surprised once so ever that Tomoko had thought up of such an idea-and was willing to let a bunch of teenagers spend the night in a small apartment, Takuya nodded and gave Tomoko a thumbs up sign.
"Sure-I'll pass on the word. I think I'd better get up to Kouji now…the look he gave me when I told Kouichi to take him upstairs so I could come and talk to you was one of pure evil…it'll take me a lot of persuading now to get him to not hold a grudge on me for the rest of the afternoon!" Flashing Tomoko a smile as he admitted this, Takuya smiled a bit more when he heard Tomoko laugh.
Laughter was a rare thing in the Kimura household these days…and Takuya kind of hoped that tonight would change all of that. He had the feeling, that with all of their friends around, things would look up a bit more tonight than they had for a while.
"I'm sure that you'll think of something to put him in better sprits, Takuya!" With a wink and a small wave, Tomoko grabbed her keys from where they hung on a hook by the kitchen door. After double-checking that she had her cell phone on, she hollered a good bye to everyone else (most of whom hollered good bye back, to Takuya's amusement) before the twins' mother left for work.
"How is he?" After having told Izumi and the others that they were more than welcome to make themselves at home, as they were going to be spending the night (whether they liked it or not, and Takuya was slightly surprised-but happy-to see Shinya's eyes light up like it was Christmas morning all over again at having been included in the offer), the brunette went upstairs to check on his koi.
He found Kouji lying down, his knee propped up on top of a pillow-his dark blue eyes were closed and his breathing was even-if not a bit shallow.
Takuya frowned as he noticed this, and went to sit next to Kouji on the bed, moving close enough to his koi, so that he could gently place an arm around his shoulders and not wake him. Takuya suddenly had the urge to hold Kouji close to him-and he wasn't sure why.
Kouichi-sitting near the bed on the other side in a chair he'd pulled up-had kept himself from answering Takuya's question until he saw that the brunette was ready to hear it.
"Kouji threw up on the way... I barely managed to get him to the bathroom when he warned me…it's those meds Takuya, I swear. I really hope that mom can do something to help him out. They must really upset his stomach or something, and I know that in the long run, it helps relieve him of the pain and stiffness in his knee…I just hate seeing my twin like this." Kouichi declared, saying something very similar to what Takuya had told the twins mother downstairs, as he got up from the chair that he was sitting in that was close to the bed that Takuya and Kouji shared.
Takuya nodded as he started to lightly brush his fingers down Kouji's bare arm. In response, Takuya felt Kouji shudder lightly at the touch and shift a bit more into him, and Takuya held him a bit more tightly-grinning as he did so. He'd just gotten the reaction that he'd wanted from Kouji…it partially meant that sub-consciously, Kouji wasn't too mad at him from having given him to Kouichi earlier. And Takuya was positive that Kouji knew it was him who had his arm around him, that he was leaning into.
When Takuya looked up at Kouichi, he saw that the slightly older twin was smiling softly, as he shook his head while he stood up.
"Looks like the two of you have made up already! You've been a good influence on him, Takuya, I remember dad telling me that Kouji sometimes wasn't half as forgiving as he is now when he used to get angry at someone!" Even though Takuya had the feeling that Kouichi was merely teasing, a part of him also knew that Kouichi was right…just from when Takuya had first met Kouji in the digital world and started interacting with him, it seemed that Kouji had been a pretty stubborn person back then.
Now though…
Smiling fondly at Kouji as he reached up with the hand that he'd been using to gently caress Kouji's right arm, Takuya slowly took out Kouji's hair from the hair tie that he'd used to put it back this morning when they found out that they'd had company. As Takuya started to run his fingers through Kouji's hair-untangling any knots in the process-he could've sworn that he saw Kouji smile a bit in his sleep-and move even closer to him.
It wasn't until Takuya heard the bedroom door softly clicking shut, that he realized that Kouichi was gone and a part of him felt guilty. And a part of him knew that Kouichi understood just how close Takuya was with his twin…it was part of the strong bond that the three of them had developed after Kouji's accident.
Mentally cursing himself because he had forgotten to tell Kouichi that his mother had offered to let Izumi, Junpei, Shinya, and Tomoki spend the night, he remembered that Izumi would probably tell him and sighed happily knowing that he wouldn't have to get up.
If need be, he'd stay here all day…with Kouji wrapped up safe and sound asleep in his arms…
Later on the same evening, found the ex-Digi Destined all downstairs in the Kimura's living room…all debating and arguing over which movie to pick.
"I want to watch Scream 3!" And Junpei held the movie high in the air, as Izumi vehemently shook her head as she tried to jump up to get it out of his hand…hating him for being taller than she was.
"No way Junpei, that movie's so stupid!" She hissed, and Junpei chuckled as he continued to hold the DVD high over his head, a triumphant smirk on his face as Izumi growled in annoyance.
"You're just scared of it, that's why you don't want to watch it!" Junpei teased, and Izumi continued to try and get the movie away from Junpei, as Tomoki giggled and held up one from the pile.
"How about this one?" The youngest of the group (as Shinya was older than Tomoki by a few months) handed Shinya the movie, and Shinya grinned with wicked delight-knowing that if Izumi was throwing a fit over watching Scream 3, she was bound to get even more irked from the movie that Tomoki had chosen. And sure enough, as Izumi gestured to see the label on the DVD box, she groaned and put her head into her hands.
"I'm doomed. Why did I have to choose to hang out with all guys tonight?" Izumi whimpered, as she seemed to be giving up, since Tomoki had chosen Final Destination-and shared a high five with Junpei, who winked ever so slowly at Tomoki, who silently giggled. Oh, yes, Tomoki knew why Junpei wanted to watch a scary movie-or at least, a movie that would scare Izumi.
And maybe he could help Junpei out and pick out one with Shinya that would scare Kouichi too. Yes, Tomoki knew about Junpei's feelings for both Izumi and Kouichi…and no, unlike what some other people would think, Tomoki was anything but against it. To Tomoki, as long as Kouichi, Izumi, and Junpei were happy together, that was all that mattered.
"I still vote for the 10th Kingdom, I never got a chance to finish watching it when they aired it, and Kouji found a copy of it in the video store one day, and bought it because we both liked it that much…and it's neither scary, or boring and has a bit of everything." Kouichi said, standing next to Izumi with his arms crossed over his chest, and eyeing Junpei with a look that clearly said 'stop tormenting Izumi.' Junpei sighed in defeat, and let Izumi have the DVD he'd been holding…knowing all of his chances of watching Scream 3 and getting to hold Izumi in any fits of fright she might've had were slim to none now with Kouichi's idea. Always the peacemaker he was…and that was one of the things that Junpei loved about him-he knew that Izumi would agree with him on that one.
"I've got a much better idea." Shinya declared, finally summoning up the courage to speak his mind. Normally Shinya wasn't shy around many people-but these were Takuya's friends more than his own, and he knew that he had to act accordingly. He looked up to his big brother too much to embarrass him…that, and since he and Tomoki were also growing closer by the day, he wanted Izumi, Junpei, and Kouichi to be his friends too. He was just grateful that they were starting to let him in, and hang out more with them-like tonight for example.
Any other time like this, Shinya would've resented the fact that he'd been invited to hang out with Takuya's friends. He usually hated being second to Takuya…his big brother. Not this time though, and he wasn't sure why…maybe because he knew that eventually, he'd have to tell Tomoki how he really felt about him, and would probably-hopefully-gain a boyfriend. And if it hadn't been for his big brother, Shinya would have never met Tomoki. But there was also always a sense of belonging when Shinya hung out with Izumi and the others…and he didn't usually feel that way around his friends from school.
And Shinya decided that he rather enjoyed the feeling of being included in activities, and feeling like he belonged.
Quickly snapping out of his thoughts as Shinya realized that all eyes were on him, Shinya cleared his throat and pointed to the stairs, where he'd spotted Takuya coming down with Kouji only a few scant seconds ago, before his thoughts had started to take over.
"We could just let Kouji decide which movie to watch." As soon as the words were out of Shinya's mouth, the others' heads immediately seemed to glance over to the staircase; where Takuya was coming down with a still half asleep Kouji on his back.
"We heard shouting, what's going on down here?" Takuya asked, a grin appearing on his face as he had pretty much already figured out just exactly what was going on, and inwardly groaned. A movie fest…Takuya both hated and loved movie fests, because it meant that they could watch any movie they so desired-that was on hand, at least, unless someone was willing to go out and get something from the nearby rental store. The only problem with the movie fest, was that no one could seem to pick a movie to start it with.
"Oh, just the usual trying to pick a movie that suits everyone. And Junpei wanted to watch stupid Scream 3!" Junpei laughed as Izumi pretty much said exactly what Takuya had been thinking, before glaring right at Junpei. Takuya found himself laughing as well, as he stole a glance at Kouji-smiling softly as he saw that Kouji was trying his hardest to not fall asleep on his back.
"I wouldn't mind Scream 3." As Takuya stated this-with a mischievous look in his eyes-Junpei cheered and silently thanked Takuya, while Kouji did quite the opposite-and gently smacked Takuya alongside the head at his suggestion…awake enough to know exactly what Takuya was thinking…
"Hey! No abusing your ride, now!" Takuya teased lightly, as he helped Kouji settle down on the spot on the couch that the others had made up for him. Kouji only smiled sleepily before noticing that the room had grown quiet, and everyone seemed to be watching him. He sighed and shook his head.
"I'm fine, really…and I'll agree with Kouichi on the 10th Kingdom." As Kouji assured the others that he was alright, Izumi nodded happily and went to find the DVD's, as Junpei moaned and Takuya only smirked and shook his head.
Like Tomoki, Takuya pretty much knew why Junpei wanted to watch a "scary" movie…and he'd voted for it for the same exact reason. He actually hadn't seen the 10th Kingdom yet, but he knew that Shinya had seen it when it had aired, and had really liked it. So it was no wonder why his younger brother looked pretty pleased as he sat on the floor, with his legs sprawled out in front of him and Tomoki sitting in between them, his back leaning against Shinya's chest.
Takuya hid an all-knowing smile as he glanced over at Kouichi, whose dark blue-gray orbs seemed to be twinkling with approval as he met Takuya's dark brown eyes, and nodded ever so slightly. Takuya grinned as he made himself comfortable on the couch behind Kouji, who'd huddled up in a blanket that he'd found on the couch and maneuvered himself enough so that he was leaning up against Takuya in the same fashion that Tomoki was leaning up against Shinya.
When Izumi had returned and had seen that everyone was comfortable, she only shook her head and fought a smile as she went to put the movie on.
Minutes later, the 10th Kingdom had started and Izumi was happily curled up in between Junpei and Kouichi on the longer couch, while Takuya and Kouji were cuddled up next to each other on the much smaller one-that seemed to fit the two of them perfectly. Junpei's cot had been moved upstairs to Kouichi's room to make more space in the living room, and Shinya and Tomoki were on the floor in the same position that they'd been in earlier.
It wasn't until about halfway through the movie, shortly after the twins' mother had returned home with the mention of a couple of frozen take out pizza's having been put in the oven before disappearing upstairs, that there was an actual disturbance to where they had to pause the movie…as someone had started to knock on the door.
Technically though, one really could actually say someone was pounding on the front door.
Or at least, that's what Kouichi believed, because he'd been the one to pause the second DVD that they'd just inserted about a half an hour ago, as the movie couldn't fit on one DVD. He'd tried to ignore the pounding on the front door-just like everyone else, but he knew that he couldn't. It was that much of a distraction…that, and he didn't want his mother to have to come all the way downstairs to open the door, when there were more than enough capable teenagers down here in the living room to do it.
From the spot where he was comfortably lying up against Takuya on the couch, Kouji eyed the door wearily before his dark blue-gray orbs looked over at his twin-who was already moving for the door. Starting to sit up, he heard Takuya sigh in dismay at having to get up, as he followed suite and was standing with Kouji seconds later.
"I have a bad feeling about this, Takuya-a really bad feeling. Izumi, will you go up and get mom…something's just telling me that she'll want to be down here sooner than later." Izumi nodded, doing as Kouji asked her, as she glanced at Takuya for a second with a questioning look in her eyes (to which Takuya only shrugged at), before she headed up the small flight of stairs that led to the bedrooms.
Kouichi, having heard what Kouji had said, stopped halfway through the entryway, and allowed Kouji and Takuya to catch up to him. Kouji was leaning up against Takuya for support, since his crutches were leaning against the wall next to the entrance into the kitchen. Giving Kouji to Kouichi for a second, Takuya headed over to get them-allowing the
twins to have a somewhat private conversation, as Tomoki and Shinya had chosen to stay in the living room.
"Why do you have a bad feeling about this, Kouji?" Kouichi murmured, as Kouji adjusted his arm around Kouichi's waist a little bit more so that he could have a bit more balance, before answering his twin's question.
"I'm not sure why…I just do…looking at that door now is giving me the creeps." And it was true, Kouji's answer-he couldn't for the life of him, figure out why looking at the front door gave him the instinct that he wasn't supposed to open it. And he shuddered for a second, as Takuya came with his crutches, and he accepted them gratefully this time. For some odd reason, Kouji had the feeling that he needed to rely on his own method of transportation here, and not his twin or Takuya to provide it-as easier as it was, now just didn't seem to be the time.
The pounding on the front door-which, had stopped for a few seconds-started again, just as Kouji had regained his balance on his crutches, and both twins winced at how loud it sounded…and Kouichi wondered when a neighbor would start hollering for their visitor to shut up and knock just a bit softer on the door.
"Whoever is here isn't going to leave until I open up that door…so I might as well do it and tell them that whatever it is they want, they can come back later…unless, of course, if it's a parent of one of us, but all of our parents know that we're all here." Finally having made a decision, Kouichi headed for the front door and had his hand on it, when Kouji suddenly gasped and started shaking his head.
He was shaking his head for two reasons.
The first reason, was because he saw his father…standing right next to his twin. Though the image was rather faint, Kouji knew that it was his father. And the other reason why he was shaking his head was because his own father was shaking his head-and looked like he was trying to prevent Kouichi from opening up the front door. It slightly irked Kouji that he could see his father…but at the moment, that wasn't what really mattered to him.
A feeling of dread had settled itself in the pit of Kouji's stomach. If his father didn't want his twin opening up the front door, then it was definitely someone who didn't need to be here.
"Kouichi don't-please don't open that door!" Moving swiftly at his exclamation, Kouji found himself at Kouichi's side in just a few seconds, and the image of his father disappeared the moment he got there. Kouichi eyed Kouji carefully, as he'd just unlocked the front door-wondering what on earth had come over his twin, and the two brothers turned, as they heard Izumi coming down with Tomoko.
Kouichi groaned.
"Well, there goes all of mom's quiet time for the night-" He didn't get to finish his sentence though, as a loud shout could suddenly be heard from the pounding, the voice raw and hoarse as though it had been shouting all night long. The words were slightly slurred together, and the voice itself sounded furious. But the voice was very familiar to all the Digi Destined, whose eyes opened wide as they looked at one another.
"Oh…shit…" Kouichi said softly with feeling, as he glanced behind himself once more at Junpei-who now stood directly behind him, his face having gone white as a ghost at the slurred, angered words that were coming from behind the front door.
"What on earth is going on down here?" Tomoko demanded, as she pushed her way to the front door, putting her hand on the doorknob-but Kouji stopped her for a moment as he put his hand on her hand, causing her to look up at him for a moment, as she heard exactly what they were hearing.
"I want my son back! You have nooooo right to keep my son from me! Junpei, you need to get your ass home right now…or face consequences…dire consequences…"
Looking like he was going to be sick from his father's words, Junpei bit back a whimper, as he found himself wanting to flee from the entryway…and at the same time, stay and stand up to his father…who sounded quite drunk at the moment.
"I don't want him in here!" Junpei cried, trying his best to keep his composure. Both Kouichi and Izumi were at his sides for moral support, as Tomoko shook her head.
"We're not going to let him in here, trust me! He'll have to break down the door, and I'll have called the cops before he can do that!" As the twins' mother went to go and grab the phone from the kitchen, the pounding on the door got louder-and Kouji found himself staring at the doorknob, trying to find out what was wrong with it.
His dark blue eyes opened wide as he realized that Kouichi had unlocked it when he'd gone to open up the door the first time, and just hadn't remembered to put the lock back in place. As his eyes suddenly met up with Takuya's, they both seemed to think the same thing, and lunged for the doorknob, Kouji dropping one of his crutches in the process.
They didn't get there in time however, before Junpei's father-in his drunken sounding state-had gotten the bright idea to turn the doorknob…and started to open it. But not before Takuya and Kouji both got there, throwing all their weight on the door to close it again. Unfortunately for Junpei's father, he let out a howl of pain as his hand got caught in the door…
But the cry didn't last very long, and Junpei's father used the fact that his hand was still caught in the door to his advantage-and pushed with all his full strength to get it back open.
In the kitchen, Tomoko had heard the noise, and had gone out with the cordless phone in her hand-still talking with the dispatcher from 9-1-1 and her eyes opened wide at what she saw, and told the dispatcher to hurry before having hung up-having already given the other woman on the phone the much needed information.
Izumi and Kouichi had immediately started moving backwards, Junpei having already fled the entryway, and was now hiding in one of the bedrooms upstairs.
"How dare you keep me from my son. Do you know who I am?" Takuya shuddered at the rude, loud tone of Mr. Shibayama's voice, and he knew he saw the others do the same, as he moved to stand in front of Kouji. At the moment, he was really the only person who could, since Tomoko had moved quickly to get Izumi and Kouichi out of the room and harm's way, and had gone back even quicker for her son and his boyfriend. But she wasn't quick enough…and now Tomoko stood frozen in place, not quite sure what to do at this point in time, as she clutched the cordless phone tightly in her fingers.
"Yeah…we know who you are, all right. But we haven't been keeping you from your son…he chose to keep himself from you on his own accord!" Kouji winced at what Takuya had just said, gently placing his hand on Takuya's shoulder. Causing Takuya to turn his head a little to look at him, he saw the worried look in Kouji's eyes as his dark haired koi ever so gently shook his head, and Takuya sighed knowing exactly what Kouji meant.
Now was not the time or the place. The police could deal with this.
Mr. Shibayama sneered at seeing Kouji's gesture, his eyes narrowing tightly as he advanced on the two teens.
"And now I know who's been corrupting my son…I knew I shouldn't have allowed him to hang out with the likes of you!" Takuya closed his eyes as Junpei's father advanced on them, having the smallest inkling that he knew exactly what was about to happen, and yet knowing he couldn't do much about it-he couldn't just leave Kouji here, and he wasn't about to run away like some kind of chicken either.
When Takuya felt the fist of Junpei's father suddenly crash into the side of his face, he heard Kouji cry out his name as Takuya found himself falling off to the side-seeing stars as he tried to shake off the hit, knowing he had to protect Kouji. But the hit had been too hard, and Takuya wasn't able to shake it off quick enough, because when he stopped seeing stars in his vision, he saw that Junpei's father had managed to snag Kouji by his sleep shirt and had thrown him up against the wall-successfully heaving Kouji out of the way.
His dark brown eyes opening wide as he saw Kouji hit the wall, knocking his head harshly against it, Takuya was up in a matter of seconds as he dashed to his koi's side-his jaw still feeling plenty sore as he helped Kouji sit up-who thankfully was still quite conscious-and looking rather pissed off...his dark blue gray eyes narrowing in spite.
And Takuya suddenly knew why.
"MOM!" Kouji managed to shout this, as Tomoko took off running when she'd seen Kouji hit the wall, as much as she wanted to stay and fight, she knew that she had two younger children to protect as well, hoping that Shinya and Tomoki had had the decency to flee upstairs. And they had. She silently thanked any god that was watching over her and the rest of the others that was up there, when she heard Kouji's warning as she turned around to see Mr. Shibayama standing right in front of her. And once more, she thanked the gods above that neither her son nor Takuya had been hurt too badly by Junpei's father.
His dark brown eyes were looking around wildly for any sign of his son-and Tomoko knew that she had to keep him away from Junpei at all and any cost. She wanted to cover her nose from the stench of alcohol that she smelled on the older Shibayama's breath…he smelled like he'd practically bathed in the stuff and Tomoko wondered if this was something that happened often, and if Junpei just knew how to cover it up really well…
"Don't you dare come near me…I've already got the authorities on their way! How many times have you come home like this to Junpei, I wonder? And you call yourself a father?" Junpei's father chuckled and shook his head as he continued advancing on Tomoko, and she continued to back up-making sure she didn't run into anything in the process that would block her way.
She knew the only weapon that she had in her hand at the moment was a stupid, cordless phone…but that her next best weapon, would merely be a choice of words. It had been something she'd remembered one time when an EMR team had brought in an abused young adult-who's parents had been abusing her…more her mother than her father. Tomoko remembered that the girl had said that the one way that she'd been able to stay alive long enough for help to get to her, was that she'd had a will of words with her mother…often confusing her mother into thinking of something else, or getting angry enough about something else instead of thinking about hurting her further.
Though Tomoko no longer remember the girl's name, she silently thanked her, and decided to go in that direction…hoping that Takuya had taken Kouji to a safer place in the apartment.
"But you see Ms…Kimura…I am Junpei's father…and at least I'm still a father. I never gave you my condolences for what happened to Kousei…I can see it in your eyes that you still loved him." Tomoko fought from gasping out loud, as Junpei's father had somehow knew that. But she knew she had to keep him talking…keep him calm enough so that he wouldn't hurt anyone else…
"I did love Kousei still, you're very right, Mr. Shibayama, but-" Junpei's father cut her off, though, with a slight arrogant bow.
"Please, my dear, call me Junouichi. It would do me a great honor if you'd do so." The twins' mother fought from making a face, as she merely nodded.
"Alright-Junouichi. You're right-I did love Kousei-but I've always loved him, that's never changed." Junouichi snorted.
"Even though he left you? He left you, took Kouji, and made you raise Kouichi by yourself? I hardly think that that's very fair. And now look…he's left you with both twins to look after…don't you think that you'd be in a much better position if Kouji had died in that car accident too?" Tomoko's eyes widened as she heard this, and she felt a hot, searing anger boil in her.
No one…and she meant no one…said anything like that about her children.
They didn't dare.
"How dare you…how…how could you? You're nothing but a ruthless son of a bitch! I love both of my boys very much, and if you know half of what I've really been through, Mr. Shibayama, you wouldn't have dared said what you just said to my face! I wouldn't trade my twins for anything else in this world!" And with that, she slapped the man towering above her-hard.
Junouichi only reeled for a split second, growling as he moved to grab Tomoko by the wrists.
"I've tried to be nice…I really have, Ms. Kimura…I tried to do you a favor, but no…you throw it back into my face-" Mr. Shibayama paused for a second, and Tomoko's eyes were wide open with thoughts of horror running through her mind, as she thought of what Junpei's father could try to do to her now.
Junouichi Shibayama never got the chance too, though, as he was suddenly hit in the back of the head with something rather heavy-and his eyes rolled to the back of his head as he let go of her wrists, passing out on Tomoko's living room floor completely.
Breathing hard, she looked up to see Kouji standing there-his crutch now in one hand, as he balanced himself on his right foot. Eyeing Kouji wearily, Tomoko stepped over Mr. Shibayama, and went to his side, giving him a look that just merely asked him how he'd done that.
"Kendo practice…" Kouji murmured as he knew what his mother's look meant, and Tomoko sighed as Kouji explained a bit further.
"If you hit someone in the head just right…just like I did…you can hit them with any object-blunt, or sharp, and it'll make them pass out. Sometimes the reaction's longer, but since Junpei's dad was pretty much drunk out of his mind, the hit just took him out of his misery…are you…are you okay, mom?" Tomoko nodded at Kouji's softly spoken question, knowing that she had tears that were threatening to fall, as she suddenly wrapped Kouji up in a big hug-one that he gratefully returned as he dropped the crutch he was holding.
"I love you…Kouji, I love both you and your brother so very, very much…believe me when I say that…" Kouji nodded into Tomoko's shoulder, and she found herself shaking as Kouji pulled away for a moment to look her in the eyes…his dark blue-gray orbs staring into her dark gray ones.
"I never doubted that you loved me, mom…never…don't let what Mr. Shibayama said affect you at all…what he said wasn't true! None of it…and I know that you would have never thought for once that you'd wanted me to die in that car accident…none of you would…I know that mom, I know…"
While Tomoko had thought that she'd have to be the brave one and keep in all of her tears, she soon found herself letting them loose, as Kouji's own tears started to fall and he hurled himself into her arms once more, holding onto her tightly.
Tomoko wasn't sure how long that she'd stood there like that, holding her youngest son as he stood there, her arms wrapped tightly around him, as though she could protect him from everything and anything. At one point, she saw movement from the corner of her eyes, and saw Kouichi coming out of the kitchen with Takuya-noticing that Takuya had an ice pack on the cheek/eye that Junpei's father had hit when he'd knocked Takuya forcefully out of the way earlier.
Takuya went to rejoin the others, while Kouichi came forward, and Tomoko nodded as Kouichi came up from behind Kouji, and wrapped his arms around him in a backwards hug. Kouji seemed to sag in the double embrace from his family, a feeling of relief flowing through him, as they all heard sirens in the background, indicating that the police were on their way and coming closer.
There was only one thing that would make this a bit more perfect…
Takuya, seeming to sense something amiss, glanced up and met Tomoko's eyes for the second time that night, and Tomoko nodded as Takuya came up next to Kouichi; who moved enough so that Takuya could join the hug as well-making it a three way hug with Kouji in the middle-still in his mother's arms.
Kouji sighed happily as he leaned his head against Takuya's shoulder, for once finally feeling safe…like he was home…
Unfortunately though, they had to break their protective circle as Tomoko had to deal with the police officer's questions and Takuya, Kouji, and Kouichi stepped aside to let the other officers, who had accompanied the first officer, collect the still unconscious Mr. Shibayama. Tomoko, Kouji noted, hadn't said a word about him hitting Mr. Shibayama over the head.
Takuya and Kouichi helped him over to the others, where Junpei still seemed a bit shaken up as he reached out to where the right side of Takuya's face was starting to bruise slightly.
"I can't believe my father did that…Takky…I'm so sorry…I…" But Takuya shook his head and placed a gentle hand on Junpei's shoulder-stopping his apologies.
"Don't worry about it, Junpei-it's really no problem at all, I'd have done it for anyone in this room. Trust me." Junpei hesitated, before nodding as he looked to where his father was being taken away.
"Great…now what do I do?" The light haired brunette muttered, as Tomoko made her way over to him.
"Now, you stay here for awhile…they're booking your father on bail, though how much we won't know until a judge declares it, once your father gets down to court. I doubt anyone's going to be bailing him out though, unless he's one lucky bastard…sorry Junpei." Junpei only shook his head at Tomoko's apology, though.
"No harm done-I call him the same thing half the time, and that's exactly what he was tonight-a bastard. I can't believe that he'd actually hurt my friends to get to me. I'm sorry." This time, all the other Digi Destined snorted-along with Tomoko-who decided that it was her turn to turn down Junpei's apology.
"Junpei-no apologies from you, either. You're all practically like family to me now-you've all helped my boys out so much-and all of you are welcomed here anytime…" Tomoko allowed her voice to trail off as she started to sniff the air, wrinkling her nose as the others-one by one-started to do the same thing.
"Mom…what's that…smell?" Kouichi asked, as Kouji raised his own questioning eyebrow, before Izumi put her hand over her mouth and dashed for the kitchen-Tomoko quickly realizing the same thing that Izumi had as she quickly followed.
They'd let the pizza's burn in the oven.
Kouji grinned at Kouichi, who grinned right back as he went to get the phone that their mother had just put away as Tomoki had gotten his crutches back together before joining the small group.
"Anyone feel like take out?" Groans were heard from all around as Kouichi asked the question, and Tomoko came back out of the kitchen, laughing as she left Izumi in the kitchen-who was currently swearing any curse word she could possibly come up with.
"Looks like we don't have much of a choice-the last time I let you kids cook in here, you had a big food fight! And I don't want another mess to have to clean up tonight!" Soft laughter all around as the last police siren was heard leaving the apartment complex, and Tomoko closed her eyes and sighed for a moment.
"Mom? You okay?" Kouichi asked, as Tomoko opened her eyes to see both of her sons-and their friends…her friends now, too-staring at her. Tomoko let out a small smile, wondering how she got so lucky…yes, she'd gained Kouji as a son awhile back after Kouichi had miraculously found him one day…but now it seemed as though she'd just added on quite a few more people to her family.
"Yes Kouichi…I'm fine…just fine…" Tomoko murmured, as she leaned up against a wall while she listened to everyone else argue over what they wanted to order for dinner…
Knowing that even though she felt just fine now, she had the feeling that this was far from over…and that she'd be keeping a very close watch over Kouichi-and especially Kouji for quite a long time after tonight.
TBC