Some are chosen to have a place in history while others forge their own place in it. For all of them, there is a moment of choice where their decision will change the world itself. When that moment comes, is there truly any choice, or does destiny predetermine what will be?


Chapter 12: Uragiru

In the school hallway, Miyako Inoue and Iori Hida descended down the stairwell as Takeru Takaishi and Koushirou Izumi approached the door to the computer lab. Other than these four, the surrounding hallways were quiet and lifeless. Sunlight filtered in through the window on the opposite side of the hall from the lab. Outside, the weather was cloudy, but the afternoon kept it from being dark.

"I hate having to lie to them," Koushirou reflected, shifting uncomfortably in his school uniform as he followed Takeru into the computer lab. Inside, the lights of the room were already on, spaced out at even intervals across the ceiling, each above a computer monitor. There were four rows, each split into two halves by the center aisle of the room. Both the desks and the plastic casings of the monitors and towers were white, unusually clean for being in a school.

"You didn't exactly lie to them," Takeru replied with a shrug. He led Koushirou to the computer at the far end of the first row: the one beside the window. There was a second aisle along the windows as well as another on the opposite wall where the bulletin board hung. "You said you had to do some maintenance work on the computers and that it's related to yesterday's crisis." There was a short pause before Takeru added, "Maybe it's not, but we've got our money on it." He gestured to the computer. "I was sitting at this one, and Hikari was sitting next to me."

"Hopefully I can finish before those two get back," Koushirou muttered, not excusing the lie as easily as Takeru had. He pulled out the chair to sit, set his laptop on the small space of desk to the left of the computer, and turned on both computers with a quick movement. Unlike this one, some others in the room had been left on, forgotten by students in their haste to leave at the end of the school day.

"It'll take them about a half hour," Takeru informed him. "They live in the same apartment complex I do, and it's twelve or thirteen minutes each way, plus however long it takes to get the snacks from Iori's mom."

While Takeru was speaking, Koushirou slipped a cable into the side of his laptop and ran it to the desktop computer, needing to crouch under the desk to find an outlet for it in the other computer's tower. A wooden plank beneath the desk held the two towers for stations above. Both laptop and desktop finished booting, and Koushirou proceeded to log into each, simply nodding in automatic response to the younger boy's words.

The door to the computer lab opened a second time, and Ishimura entered the room. This time he wore a black leather jacket over a silvery black tank top. Jet-black jeans remained the same as always, and beneath them a discreet pair of Nikes had a coloring similar to the tank top. Both Takeru and Koushirou looked up at him once the door clicked shut.

"Sorry I'm late," Ishimura announced, casually approaching the duo and stopping at the intersection between the desks. "I knew it would take you a few minutes to secure the room, and I wanted to change. I can't stand the uniform they make us wear." His green eyes gave a confirming, distasteful glare at Koushirou's uniform, but broke away to look at both of the boys. "What do you think?" he asked, slipping his black backpack off so that he could spin around for them. "Is the leather jacket too much?" Takeru and Koushirou simply stared in disbelief. "Guess I asked the wrong crowd."

Ishimura picked up his backpack and walked to an open desk at the right side of the third row. Though there was a computer tower beneath the desk, no monitor or keyboard joined it on top. Ishimura opened his backpack and poured out a sample of tools onto the desk: a variety of screwdrivers, pliers, various types of wiring, and a cable designed to fit into a computer port with the other end open to fit a few of the extra tools that were unidentifiable to Takeru. From the front of the bag Ishimura withdrew a CD and set it beside the computer next to his workstation.

"Shouldn't the others be here?" Ishimura asked as Takeru approached him. He jostled the mouse to the computer beside him, waking it from its sleep.

"Taichi, Sora, and my brother all have practice," Takeru replied, staring down at the assorted tools. His hand fumbled into the pocket of his shorts and he withdrew the Digivice. Its screen was still blank. "Mimi's not up to speed yet, Jyou's probably busy with school, and Hikari needs to spend the afternoon with her mom."

Across the room, Koushirou had become absorbed in his work. A row ahead of him one of the windows had been left partway open, allowing a gentle breeze to cool the room of the heat from the computers. However, aside from the spot in front of the window, the room was still warm.

"I suppose it's not important that they be here yet," Ishimura replied distractedly. He was rapidly becoming as absorbed in his work as Koushirou. "It won't do them any good if Koushirou and I don't find a lead." He began arranging the tools in a specific order on the desk, leaving the center open for his workspace. When his eyes broke away from the desk and settled on Takeru's hand, Ishimura finally turned his full attention to the blonde. "That's the Digivice?"

"Yeah, this is the Digivice," Takeru answered, opening his hand and cupping the device so that Ishimura could see it more clearly. "Are you sure you know how to put it back together after you take it apart?"

"As long as it's an electronic device," Ishimura replied. He popped the CD free of its case, and took it and his cable in hand as he crouched beneath the desk. "This cable will allow the computer to interface with some of my other tools," he explained. "Basically, as long as the Digivice has a motherboard, I'm going to hook it up to the computer. If it's just missing power, I'll give it power. If there's a short, I'll find and fix it. While I'm at it, I'll duplicate the program." Ishimura's voice was full of complete certainty. When he came back out from the under the desk he looked up into Takeru's eyes as he slid back into his chair. "If we can't figure out how to get the rest of your Digivices, I'll build them myself."

"Just try to be careful," Takeru cautioned, setting the Digivice at the center of Ishimura's workstation. "It's all we've got right now. I'm going to run to the bathroom, and I'll be back in a couple of minutes." Despite his words, Takeru stalled, staring down at his Digivice. With a swallow he finally turned and headed for the door. Koushirou, still distracted by his laptop and the computer in front of him, didn't notice as Takeru left. With Takeru gone, Ishimura became similarly preoccupied. The only noises in the room were the soft whir of the CD drive in Ishimura's computer and the keystrokes of both teens' fingers against their keyboards. Lost beneath those sounds was an inaudible whir by the other computers that had been left on, as well as the silent breeze from outside.

Takeru had been out of the room for nearly a minute when the progress meter in front of Ishimura showed that his software was being installed on the computer. He slid his chair over to his workstation and peered down at the Digivice. On the front, there were no signs of the screws that held the device together, but a line around the edges suggested that the outside was comprised of two pieces. He reached towards it, hesitating only a moment before touching the device.

When he did touch it, a light similar to that of the day before shined from the screen. It was not as bright as it had been, which made it blend into the white color of the room around it, but it shot far enough out that Koushirou could have seen it if he had looked up. Koushirou did not, however, and remained oblivious to the event while his attention remained focused in nearly the opposite direction. Lost beneath the light of the device was a soft hum different than that of the computers. Only a few short seconds had passed when the device stopped glowing, but the front panel now displayed the time.

Ishimura stared at it, dumbstruck. His hand cupped around the device, and he picked it up and held it in front of him to inspect it more closely. He carefully pressed the large button. A blank screen replaced the time, displaying nothing, so he pressed the button again. Now a nine-square grid appeared, black lines surrounding the white squares of the grid. Pressing the button again made the screen go blank once more, but a small, red, flashing plus sign appeared in the lower half of the left side of the screen. Ishimura's eyes pulled away from the device, following to his left as if the center the screen was the spot where he stood. Koushirou was in the vicinity of the red plus icon.

Pocketing the Digivice, Ishimura stood up and walked silently to the back of the room where Koushirou sat. The boxes and reference manuals on the shelf had still not been organized. Past Koushirou, in the corner of the room, was a dusty and cobwebbed television set. Ishimura slid out the chair beside Koushirou as if to sit, but instead lifted it into the air. Koushirou remained focused on the two monitors in front of him, unaware of anything else around him. Ishimura swung the chair, striking Koushirou in the side of the head with the chair leg. Koushirou fell forward from the blow, hitting his head on the desk on his way to the ground. Ishimura set the chair down casually, sliding it back in place, and frowned at Koushirou's lifeless body.

Behind Ishimura, Takeru stared at the scene in shock. Ishimura's legs concealed most of Koushirou's body from view, but the trail of blood running down the back of Koushirou's head was visible from where Takeru stood.

"Koushirou…" he whispered, eyes welling up with tears as they sharpened into a glare aimed at the attacker. "Ishimura!" In answer, the taller boy spun around to face Takeru, his eyes mirroring the same preparation of tears.

"You have two choices, Takeru Takaishi," Ishimura told the younger boy. His voice was firm with a strength and deadly certainty he had never before used. "Fight a losing battle against me right now, or run off to get help for Koushirou, letting me escape."

"Why did you attack Koushirou?" Takeru demanded, clenching his right fist in front of him. In response, Ishimura reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew the Digivice. He held it out in front of him as he took a step towards Takeru. The two were now separated by the width of the aisle. Takeru stared at the device in surprise, able to see the seconds ticking by on its display. "You were able to activate it?" His fist lowered to his waist, and Ishimura leaped towards him.

Ishimura's left fist caught Takeru in the mouth, and the momentum of the leap sent the two tumbling over. Takeru returned a worthless punch to Ishimura's gut, but the older boy was on top of him. His left arm had been pinned, but with his right he attempted to fend off punches to his face as he squirmed beneath Ishimura's weight.

"I was disappointed when Jyou Kido didn't put up a real fight at the club," Ishimura told Takeru, getting in three punches before Takeru caught Ishimura with one of his own. Having been hit in the chin, the older boy lost balance, and Takeru pushed him off far enough that he was able to get out from under Ishimura and back into the cabinet behind him to the left.

"I knew we couldn't trust you," Takeru cursed, raising his fists in front of his face as both he and Ishimura rose back to their feet. This time Takeru went on a full offensive, catching Ishimura off-guard with a left hook. "I knew we couldn't trust you!"

Ishimura stumbled from the attack, landing against the desk behind him. His left hand sought balance, but when he gripped the keyboard behind him he slid with it. Takeru took the opportunity and kneed him in the chest, making Ishimura drop to the floor. In an instant, Ishimura threw his foot into Takeru's right shin and followed it with a kick to the left. While Takeru winced in pain Ishimura stumbled towards the door and spun back onto his feet.

"This wasn't my choice," Ishimura replied venomously, gaining balance to throw a left roundhouse kick as Takeru rushed him. It caught Takeru in the side and made him trip into the row of computers, hitting a computer monitor headfirst. The monitor toppled over, plastic casing shattering as it crashed into the tile floor. Ishimura pulled his leg back and sent another kick into the younger boy's head. Takeru staggered back, going into the aisle. Ishimura dove forward and twisted with another kick, tripping Takeru. He fell, hitting the back of his head on the desk behind him, and stared dizzily up at his opponent. Ishimura clarified: "This was my destiny."

He rose back to his feet, looming over Takeru for several seconds. His green eyes stared down at disoriented blue, and he stomped his foot down into the younger boy's groin. Takeru let out a shout of pain, beginning to doubling up as Ishimura stomped a second time into the Takeru's gut. The younger boy coughed, losing all the air from his lungs. Ishimura followed the stomp by kicking the younger boy's head, which slammed into the side of the desk, and he kicked seven more times in his rage. When Ishimura stopped, the only sound in the room was his heavy breathing.

Beneath Ishimura, Takeru's nose bled profusely from both nostrils, leaving the lower half of his face red and wet. His head was dented where the repeated kicks had landed. This spot bled as well, but more slowly than his nose. Red slowly stained the cream colored tile, tainting the image of cleanliness the room had started with before the trio had entered.

Ishimura gave a final glance to Takeru before turning back to Koushirou. The two wounds in this boy's head were far less severe than Takeru's, but Ishimura knelt down on one knee beside him anyway, pressing his index and middle fingers against the artery in Koushirou's neck. A slow, consistent pulse tapped against the fingers, and Ishimura withdrew his hand.

"I always knew you would change the world someday, Koushirou," Ishimura told the unconscious body in front of him. "I just didn't realize you already had."

Slowly, with respect in his countenance and posture, Ishimura rose to his feet. His gaze remained on Koushirou for several seconds longer, and he withdrew the Digivice from his jacket once again. He stared at it for a long moment before reaching out with it towards the computer monitor where the device had originated. The Digivice's screen lit up once again, as well as the computer monitor, and the glow enveloped Ishimura's body. The light lasted for only two seconds, and when it dissolved Ishimura was gone.