Wherever You Will Go

by Kimiko Heroux

Mirai is consumed by darkness. Upon receiving the Digital World's fateful call, she questions her ideals and struggles against the inner demons that have made her into the damaged being she has become. Her past can either make her or break her, and it's for her to decide which. A Frontier rewrite with a harsh, broken beginning and slivers of hope within its cracks. Koji/OC COMPLETE

21. Chapter 19

Yay for the burger episode~! The most carefree episode for the next while, since the Dark Continent part is up next! The plot is gonna take it's course! Yes, I can't wait for that! Anyway, this is probably the most random chapter I've ever written. But it was totally worth the effort, holding the record of my longest chapter, twenty-six pages! YAY! *crickets churp*

Aaannnyway, this chapter contains a lot of crap. Six paragraphs inspired by three words spoken by Koji that don't even have anything to do with him, weird perverted thoughts, Taky begins to gain strange suspicions, Mirai makes a stack of burgers. Oh yeah, and singing. There's a lot of singing. But anyway, enough of my blabbing, enjoy my favorite chapter to write thus far~!

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Chapter 19

"So what's the story on this Hamburger Village?"

The rest of the group got the idea of coming back into the train car as soon as we broke apart. So, to prevent any assumptions of gayness or something, Koji got the bright idea of shoving me down on the floor and just smiling in such a way one would expect from Takuya. He then said, answering the weird look everyone gave us, "Hehe, it's that gravity again!"

Bokomon cleared his throat and said, "Anyway, Hamburger Village is a hamburger-lover's paradise, my boy." He seemed proud that he knew that little piece of information, for whatever reason that may have been.

Zoe grinned, clasping her hands together. "Sounds great!"

"Bring on the beef, bab-ay!" Takuya's liveliness was shown by the fact that his voice rose to a high-pitched squeak at the word baby, a pitch I couldn't remember him hitting ever before this very moment.

I jabbed Zoe in the leg from my position on the floor. "Told ya I wasn't the only person that can hit really high notes here," I taunted quietly, my voice growing a bit smug from what I found as an absolute need to tell her, which made her send me a rough glare. There goes being on her good side. But either way, did I expect it to last?

JP balled his fists, grinning with his own type of determination. Or maybe determination just isn't the right word for this situation. "Yeah! I'm gonna eat my bodyweight—" Hey, save some for the rest of us. "—maybe even all of ours in burgers!" He put his hands upon his stomach and did a weird…thing with his mouth that I can't really begin to describe.

I crossed my legs and leaned my head back against one of the seats. "Dude, you make this too easy. Do you want to know how many responses I came up with for that?" I questioned rhetorically, tempted to use one of the acclaimed insults.

Takuya, who was sitting on the seat I was resting my head against, raised his hand to second my words. "Ooh, I got some too! Can I share them? Can I? Can I?"

Zoe gave him a death glare. "Takuya, be nice."

He gave her a 'duh!' kind of look. "Buddy, I am being nice! You saw me raise my hand. If that's not courtesy of a true gentlemen, I don't know what is." He crossed his arms and gave an expression that looked like he felt well-accomplished.

"If you only knew how courteous you really were…" I mumbled more or less to myself, in accordance to his occasional 'it's all me, baby!' attitude.

"Thanks, Kaz! At least someone is on my side!" Apparently, Takuya had heard me and was thinking my words weren't at all sarcastic. That just proved how dumb he really was sometimes. Sometimes being twenty-five hours a day. Though I'm not really sure how he accomplishes that time span.

"That wasn't a compliment, Gogglehead." I didn't hesitate to roll my eyes with him watching. It just made it all the more entertaining.

"Oh…Hey!" Now you get the picture? "Do you want to start something, Kaz?" Now he was a bit pissed off. Wonder why.

I stood up and followed Koji out of the train, sighing. "No, don't feel like wasting my breath today…" I got off the platform of the Trailmon station, following the group through the rough, stinging of blowing dust and sand. I watched as I saw memories of a younger me as Takuya slipped his goggles over his eyes. Memories of the day of that kiss.

I shook the thoughts away by physically shaking my head and trudged through what came to seem like an old town you'd see in movies about the Old West. Except I didn't figure the Old West had light posts whose lights looked like burgers. I had never seen a single movie with that before, so I did more than doubt that that was highly irrational. Though I'd be interesting to have a movie made in a town like this…

We saw some Digimon sitting at a table and walked over there. There were about six little brown flying dudes with rather high voices (not as high as Takuya can get, of course), all about the size of softballs (it'd actually be amusing to hit them with a baseball bat), and there was a taller thing that seemed like it couldn't fly that had its head down on the table. When you think about it, it was actually a quite strange scene to witness.

"What's up with them?" Takuya questioned, lifting his goggles back onto their place on his hat since the gusting wind had suddenly stopped right when we got over there. Kamisama knows why it decided to do that.

Zoe ran up to them. "Um, excuse me, are you alright?" Why do you think that you can solve everyone's problems for them? Maybe they need to do it on their own. Let them stand up and defend themselves until they ask you for help.

"Oh no, dear. A giant Digimon raided our village!" The larger Digimon looked up, its looks making me assume that it was female. Her face was stained with tears. "It said something about the three moons making him hungry, so my husband gave him a big plate of our best burgers."

"Now I'm hungry," Takuya commented, a random comment that made me chuckle in my head. It just sounded so weird and unnecessary that it was almost amusing. One of the times you'd say 'didn't see that coming'.

The Digimon continued, ignoring Takuya's statement, "He liked them so much, that he took my husband away to cook for him in his mansion!" Holy crap, he has to cook, something that he's been doing for a while apparently! I think I may have a heart attack!

"Wow…" Was all that Tommy could say. He looked like he was going to burst out crying right then and there.

"Man, that's really messed up!" Koji stated, his hand resting against his hip in a rather defying way. He actually didn't really seem to care.

"Yeah," I agreed somewhat flatly. "It's not every day that someone is kidnapped and forced to do their own profession. Most of the time, they make them—" I remembered the young ears that were present. "—do things I probably shouldn't talk about while uh… "uneducated" minds are here." When I looked around to see if anyone had actually heard that, I noticed Tommy was staring at me, looking a little irritated that he was the one being implied here.

"Yeah, how we supposed to get our hamburgers now?" JP snapped, mad that he wasn't going to double his bodyweight that day to about five thousand pounds. I thought for sure that I saw smoke coming out of his ears.

"Your compassion is astounding," Bokomon responded sarcastically. That was probably what everyone was thinking at that moment.

"Daddy is coming back, isn't he Mama?" one of the flying dudes asked, then joined by the rest of them when asking, "Isn't he, Maaama?" They all gathered around their mother as she got up onto her feet.

She seemed to have some sort of solution in mind by her expression. "Please, young man, will you and your friends be able to help me find my husband?" Of course, address Takuya. That shows just how well she knows him.

"I suppose," the gogglehead answered, seeming still unsure if it was really the best idea, which it probably wasn't, "but I wouldn't even know where to begin looking for him."

I eyed him. "Look for a big, conspicuous mansion. Besides, in a place like this, you'd think a mansion would stand out. Or possibly, you could ask Jessie James." I received a look from the Warrior of Flame that asked, 'Jessie James? Where? Where?'

"The monster will bring Daddy back if we make a bigger burger," one flying dude said quickly.

"He means a better burger," the mother corrected glumly, seeming not to care whether or not her child got the info wrong. No one else seemed to really care, either, for that matter. It was just a stupid kid making a stupid mistake. Like Takuya agreeing to help them. "But I'm afraid that's impossible. My husband makes the best burgers around. There's no way anyone could make a better hamburger than my husband. Oh dear, what are we going to do?"

"The monster said to get Daddy back we had to make a better burger ready before he moves three times!" one flying dude exclaimed. Dude, I think that time probably already expired. Unless the one that made the threat was glued to the ground or something.

"No, silly! He said before the three moons align! That's soon!" another yelled at it. Why do all things have to connect with the moon(s) in some, important way? Next thing you know, Koji will suddenly go into his Beast Spirit when there's a full moon and go berserker…That'd make for a good movie…

"He's right. We must do something. The three moons will align by nightfall, and the Chamelemon will be back for their master's burger," the mother stated, seemingly dropped all confidence from her first two sentences to her last by a significant amount.

And here came one of the group's bright ideas we just seemed so famous for. "Then it's up to us!" Zoe suddenly exclaimed. Oh crap. "We can make a better burger!" When everyone gave her weird looks, she continued, "C'mon, I think we've scarfed enough burgers in our time to be able to come up with something that at least looks right. And when the Chamelemon take them to the mansion, we'll follow them." Well, aren't you being Miss Smarty Pants today? Did you find a smarty oshiri to put them onto yet?

"Nice plan," JP complimented, being actually completely serious. Or at least he looked completely serious.

"Except that I've never cooked before…" Koji admitted, seemingly trying to find a way around that issue, ideas swirling around in that pretty little mind of his. When I locked his gaze with a look that said 'are you serious?', his face grew a little pink of embarrassment.

I gave him a light punch to the arm, trying to put on some fake enthusiasm, trying to make him feel good about himself. "C'mon, buddy—" That earned a hey-you-stole-my-word-you-stealer stare from Takuya. "—I'm sure the rest of the group sucks much more than you do! Because the fact that they all suck is an obvious fact that no one can deny!"

"What was that!" The entire group, aside from one confused Koji, gathered around and glared daggers at me, like they were a gang getting ready to beat me up and mug me or something. But with their expressions, I actually didn't doubt it. And the wondering of who actually snapped the 'what was that' didn't really come to mind, even though I had no clue who it really was.

I grinned cheesily, a smile usually only Takuya made when he just either broke something or was about to bend over and pants someone. "You gotta admit, no one sucks less than Koji."

"You must be having a really good day today," JP commented, causing everyone to turn and look at him with a substantial amount of confusion. "One, you're complimenting Koji—while insulting the rest of us, nonetheless—and two, you're smiling a lot more than normal…Did you come up with an evil plan to kill us and take over the world?"

I crossed my arms and eyed him with slight amusement. "If I said yes, would you run away and I'd never have to see you ever again? Because if that's the case, yes. Yes I have. And can Zoe run away, too? She's annoying me, as well. She keeps volunteering us for stuff. What are we, some town committee?"

Takuya cleared his throat. "Annyway, back to the current topic…I never cooked either, but I'm willing to try." He looked at Koji, who had a look that seemed to say, 'are you trying to speak to me or something?'

"Me, too," Tommy agreed, looking at the bird things. "Hey, I always used to watch my mom cook back home." He bent down to look at them even though he was already at eyelevel with them in the first place. He had his head craned forward like he was going to do this weird little walk with a head-bobbing-thing like a chicken does when it struts. "Don't worry, we'll make the best hamburger ever and get your Daddy back."

"I think—" I cut Zoe off before she could get to her topic of point.

"Did it hurt?" I questioned rhetorically, causing her to give me a look of sheer annoyance. I merely gave a half-smile that showed all—which was none—the care for her or her feelings and then said, "Okay, moment's over, go ahead."

She rolled my eyes at my immaturity and continued, "Well, despite what Kazuma may or may not say, I think this will be a good experience for us." Of course you do. To find something that you don't like that we don't either is simply impossible.

"Anything with food is a good experience for me!" JP exclaimed, smiling in such a way at Zoe like he was just going to walk over to her and take a bite out of her or something completely deranged like he was.

"Yeah, especially when it's burgers!" Tommy added when the bird-things had got bored and flown away from him. The hat must have scared them off. It's like this giant…sofa pillow or something and he just conveniently decided to plop it onto his head.

"I bet this group couldn't go an hour without the mentioning of food, hunger, or cooking. It's like no one here has a life beyond the next meal of the day," I mumbled, mentally adding ''Cept Koji, he's got more important priorities. He's the one in this lot with the highest chance to be the reason the world actually gets saved in the end. While he's off being all spiffy and butt-kickingly awesome, everyone else will be here, sitting around at the dinner table and saying, 'Hey, get off your stupid oshiri and pass me the dang pepper!'"

"I don't even know what's in them—" In what? Are you talking perverted again, Takuya? "I guess I'll have to make it up." Oh my Kamisama, Takuya? Stop talking about—oh wait, he's talking about the burgers. That just made me feel really dumb. And…awkward.

"That's the whole idea. We can each make one and have judges taste 'em!" Tommy blurted, getting really excited about this whole concept that we have to save someone's life by doing something that we all really suck at. Yeah sure, Tommy, that's the spirit! Be happy about our low chances of saving the burger-guy! Everybody say yay!...boo.

"Takuya, this will be a friendly competition, right?" Zoe questioned, sending a glare right the gogglehead's way. Why does it need to be a competition at all? What's so difficult about the concept of making burgers without a 'ready, set, go'? Honestly, Blondie gives everyone way too little credit.

Takuya stifled a laugh. "You worry too much, Zoe," he stated, looking at the Warrior of Wind like she was the dumbest person on earth, which she actually had a good chance of being. Or at least the most pathetic.

"Yeah, no problem," Koji agreed, standing by the Warrior of Flame's side, smiling in a rather charming demeanor. It was this side of the wolf-boy that he had to show more often. And by the way this day was going so far, it seemed like he was going to become a lot more open under circumstance. It maybe just the fact of working with burgers, but his smile—when he smiled like that—was complete and irrevocably genuine.

But this thought made my heart sink a bit when I had come to the word genuine. To note that it indeed had been a very long day, in a sense feeling more like many years stretched and molded into a single period of daylight. And the fact that it was only mid-afternoon made it almost unbelievable. Time was messing with me, everything felt like it was going slower than normal. Maybe it was because my D-Tector was taken by Avaruusmon, and that just put me out of whack for whatever reason. Maybe she did something with it she shouldn't have, something I knew not that it did. Or maybe this was just me being totally paranoid.

But nonetheless, just hitting the word genuine held more significance than I wished it had. I had caused that significance, for my own thoughtlessness and stupidity. If I could go back to change it, I really would have. I never would have made that thoughtless suspicion about Koji, one that I knew would cause cuts and bruises. It drove me to the extent of physical harm, something I promised myself I'd never lead to. But then again, I promised myself I would never fight with the Warrior of Light in the process. Yeah, some friend I am…

I still found myself in disbelief that I had convinced myself of my own lie that I had managed to conjure up so quickly. I assumed that had been Avaruusmon's whole idea, the subeta always found my weak spot, despite every method I tried. How she knew me so well is one thing that bothered me. She found a way that almost tore me away from Koji. And I didn't really want to think of what would have happened afterwards, if I would have actually cut myself away. Because he was the only one that actually connected me with the rest of the group, I couldn't stand the rest of them worth kuso. I probably would have died, to be completely honest. Inside and out. I had no Spirit, no physical protection. But then I had nothing to comfort me from that feeling of betrayal I would have felt. I would have crushed myself under the pressure of my own worries and convinced myself that there was no reason to be alive, and thus, let myself grow weak under the conditions that hailed upon me.

All of this was caused by a single spark. But after all, that's how it all started in the first place. A single little instantaneous spark can make an entire forest set ablaze and burn to nothing but black cinders. That's what got me here. The smallest spark of expectation that maybe I could find something I could be known for, something that would get me out of the shadow of Yukio, just something that made me feel better about myself than I had before.

I had no real idea why I was so angry. I knew the reason behind my family issues, that was the easy part. Dad was always gone and even when he was home anyway, he never really paid much mind to me. He had always seemed to have other priorities when he was home, things that just never really included me. And then my problem with Yukio was even simpler. Despite how much higher my IQ was than his, he had been the one to find more favor with Mom and Dad. I always got the hand-me-downs, he got the new stuff. He had more friends than I, more popular than me even in my best of moments. And that made me hate his guts. It felt like the more he got, the more bigheaded he got, the more I detested him. I didn't mind this envy. It made me feel content inside, a satisfying feeling, though painful to bear straightforward, it gave me this substantial amount of comfort. It seemed to give me power to do things I was always afraid to do before, things my conscience once said was totally wrong and now said to go for head-on. And this is what I loved.

This new insight and view I developed had opened my eyes to so many possibilities, but it never truly satisfied me. I always found myself looking for more than things that Yukio didn't have, things that never really turned out to be as good as I had thought. After a mental struggle with myself, a fight for the answers I just wasn't receiving, I soon came to the conclusion I just didn't like my life as it was. I wanted some sort of far-reaching change. And when the day rolled around, the day that Yukio received that message from Ophanimon, I knew opportunity had arose. My mind had worked faster than I could actually comprehend, I was just focused on this single chance that I knew I had to grab with both hands to make it work. And thus, it brought me to this very moment, weeks later. I had never for a second considered what could have happened if I hadn't come here. The spark had always been made contact and ignited.

"Hey, Kaz, find a cavern in your head that you've never seen before? Explore it later! C'mon!" Takuya snapped me out of my thoughts with his words. He then grabbed me by the shoulders and veered me into the building we were standing by. "I'm not letting ya get out of this just because you dozed off, buddy!"

"I didn't doze off, Takuya," I retaliated, crossing my arms, allowing him to push me into a building of which had the setup of a kitchen. In truth, I technically did doze off, but I refused to give the gogglehead the ultimate satisfaction of being right about something. "I can safely say that I was just deep in intense thought."

"Sure you were, buddy. C'mon, we're gonna have a blast making burgers today! What do you think makes a good burger?" he questioned, steering me over to a counter that I can seriously claim was totally covered with food.

"Uh, beef, ketchup, mustard, and pickles, all on one of those circular buns?" I responded unsurely, naming off everything that was in the classic burger you could buy at McDonald's. "And for those weird people, onions, lettuce, and tomatoes?"

He suddenly erupted in laughter, surprising the kuso out of me. His loud cackling deafened me in one ear, the one that was closest to his mouth. "That's a good one, Kaz! Who puts that stuff in a burger?"

"Uh…most of the world?" I raised a perplexed eyebrow at his latest statement. Even he couldn't deny that's what was on a burger, I'd seen him eat one with all that on there before. And then all the while, he was ranting on how it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. I can remember clearly that that had turned out to be an interesting day. "Give you a little plastic toy and French fries with it, and I'm pretty sure they define it as a Happy Meal."

He seemed to ignore my last statement, bringing his hand up to his chin while eyeing the food Koji was walking away with. "Well, I guess you could never have too much meat…" he concluded, seemingly plotting to steal all of the seafood that was on Koji's platter.

I noticed his little amount of staring. "Don't even think about it, Takuya. If you're plotting to mess with Koji's food—" He cut me off quickly, giving me a suspicious stare.

"What is the deal between you and Koji?" he pried, probably getting to a topic a lot of people were wondering about up until this point. He went into thought, looking back and forth between me and the busy Warrior of Light. "He kinda looks like a girl…" His voice suddenly became rather loud. "Is he a chick in disguise? Did you get him—her pregnant?"

I facepalmed, shaking my head and letting out a groan, as Koji (having heard that last bit) stomped over, enraged by Takuya's deduction. "Why the hell would you think that?" His face became red with fury, looking like he wanted to tear the gogglehead into many little pieces. But then again, I did too, for that very matter.

"Yeah, Takuya! Only your twisted mind could think of that!" I bit my tongue from cussing more that one would think possible for someone for my age and size. They'd probably wonder where I got all that air from and where I stored it all, 'cause I'd be going for a while.

Takuya threw up his arms. "Well, you never know! And you gotta admit, put Koji's hair down, and you could think he's just a tomboyish chick!"

"Dude, you were in the same dressing room as him at the Toucan Paradise!" I gave him a hard whack over the head. "Think for once! Haven't you ever just thought we're just friends?" I eyed him, in my gaze saying, You really are a moron, aren't you?

He rubbed his head, looking at me warily for the possibility that I may decide to hit him again. "Okay, okay…" He then suddenly asked, "Gay?"

I crossed my arms, trying so hard not to beat him into the pulp I have wanted to for the past while. "That's a question for Tommy." I glanced over at the big-hat-wearing kid off on the other side of the room and found myself shuddering. In my mind I was asking Shorty, What the hell do you do in your spare time?

At this particular moment, I saw him talking to the little flying dudes with a bun in his hands. Just the way he was holding it looked gay. I then turned back to Takuya and just said, "You know what? You're causing me too much irritation for what you're worth, so just go and put whatever you want in that burger that you think won't poison anyone…"

He looked suddenly very excited that I had said that. A grin the size of Mississippi wouldn't compare to the size of his. He grabbed a big platter and a slice of meat. "All right! Meaty meat burger!" he exclaimed, darting over to a counter and throwing some more meat on, "Some of this!" In a flash, he was over to a different one, tossing some onions on (literally), "Ha-ha! Maybe some of that! And I'm gonna make me a MASTERPIECE!" He crept over to the other side of the room, his voice in this weird grunt, "Meat, meat, meat!"

I looked at Koji. "You're not gonna do that with all that seafood, are you? Ya know, run around and be obsessive over it?" I gave him squinty, suspicious eyes. Because, quite frankly, I could see him quite well running around, shouting, 'I love you, Fishies! I loved-ed yoouu!' Though the mental picture kinda scared me.

"Do you want me to?" Koji gave me a smirk that said that he wouldn't do it even if I paid him to. But that was expected. It's not like he was the type to do anything at a single word. He actually thought about what he was doing before he did it.

I shrugged indifferently, a feeling of not caring less either way coming over me. But there still was that substantial amount of curiosity that kinda bubbled within me. Though over time, it had been easy to contain. "It'd be interesting…" I crossed my arms, watching the Warrior of Light as he went back to cooking whatever he planned to make.

I closed my eyes and leaned my back against the wall. I had nothing really all that much better to do than think, and since so much had occurred that day, there was plenty of food for thought (I know, that was a lame pun) available to me. I bit my lip, mental images filling my head in reference to all that Avaruusmon had told me. By the way she spoke of things to come, it seemed to me she had it all planned out. She had my last day marked on her calendar and the alarm clock set, all ready for the very moment she would take me out.

I had realized I was actually truly afraid of Avaruusmon. She held the cards to my destruction; I was always one card short. It was only a matter of time—her decision completely—until I would wiped out of all I held dear, I would take my final breath. It didn't matter what I did, she had full control of my fate. She had my D-Tector, the only slight chance I had of survival, and would probably use it against me just to show how weak I was. I would detest her, and she wouldn't be at all fazed by such emotions as mine. Actually, I'd assume she'd find amusement out of it, knowing that I was totally terrified of her and there was nothing I could possibly do to change my fate.

"Hey, Kaz, you can cook, right?"

I snapped out of my deep thought and looked up. Takuya was making the hamburger patties by morphing their shape in his hands. He was making all these 'hi-ya!' ninja-karate-martial arts noises like that somehow affected something as he looked up at me, grinning, "Easy as pie!" The meat broke apart and slipped through his fingers, some splattering on the floor. "Hehe, oops. Hey, Kaz, how do you give the burger patty more firmness?"

I ignored him as I looked over at Koji, who was laughing for whatever reason that was apparently humorous to him. He was holding a squid in his hands (not a live one, you moron! I know what you were thinking!) while smirking. His laughter was slightly contagious, making me laugh lightly to myself, quiet enough that no one else could possibly hear. But then, much to my amusement, he kinda managed to…uh…pull the top off of it.

"Koji, did you mean to do that?" I questioned, letting out another small laugh. Crossing my arms, I gave him a disbelieving gaze to match his that said 'yeah, of course'. I changed my look and gave him a defying stare, cocking my head to the side. Before he could get his words out, I cut him off, saying, "Just make your burgers, Minamoto."

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In a little while, after Takuya practically burned down the building, all of the burgers were ready and laid out upon a table. I didn't know whether to say the aroma wafting from off of them was either alluring or to be the death of me. Because, quite frankly, I couldn't tell which smell came from where, and if it was even from the burgers.

"Kaz, I nominate you to go first!" Takuya exclaimed, slapping me on the back for what could have been for the millionth time since we got into the stupid world. And even more before then. I was surprised I didn't have back problems.

"Okay, I'm just about ninety-nine percent sure that I saw something move in one of them and then mold actually beginning to grow before my eyes on another," I stated in a grumble. I pointed to the one at the farthest left. "What's in this one?"

JP held one of his burgers up high, like he was attempting to show it to someone that's hooked to the ceiling or something. "Meatloaf! And—" I have no idea what he just said. "—noodles! Ladies and gentlemen, an exotic combination for a new generation!"

"I just asked for the ingredients, not a stupid infomercial. Sheesh…" I picked up one of his burgers. "To be honest, it looks like there's huge brown worms in here. Are you sure you put those whatchya-ma-call-it noodles in here?" I ignored his glare and took a bite. I wasn't a big fan of meatloaf, personally, and the fact that JP was the one that made it didn't make it all better. I took another bite, and holding it in my hand, walked to the next one in silence.

"Hey, no comment or anything? Not even one of your trademark insults, Kaz?"

I turned back slightly. "You think I make my decision right away? I'm still holding the burger, aren't I?" And thus, I walked over to the next burger, of which was made by Zoe.

"Here, try my burger Italiano with cheese, tomato sauce, and lots of fresh-chopped mushrooms!" she exclaimed, holding it out to me with a smile on her face that said, 'I'm gonna poison you! Muhahahaa!'

But I went against my gut feeling that said to get away and took it from her. When she tried to talk some more, I held up my index finger and made a 'indibita,' kind of noise, a signal for her to shut up, and continued, "I'm not done yet!" I took out a chunk of it and chewed slowly. I instantly hit the taste of the mushrooms and spit it out in a flurry of half-chewed food. "Ugh! I can't even stomach that! I've had chicken crap in between my toes and was rained on by cow kuso, but neither compares to THAT!" [Both things have actually happened to me. (Disadvantages of being in a family of farmers) And yes, I hate mushrooms.]

She glared at me fierce daggers as I laid her burger on top of JP's upon my hand and walked on. It was then I realized I had forgotten to taste Tommy's burger, but I shrugged mentally and decided to get his at the very end. Next up was Takuya's, of which seemed to be substantially larger than everyone else's, filled with a ton of meat. I looked at it, trying to figure out just what all he put in there and which of my favorite meats he decided to conveniently leave out.

"Okay, buddy, what didjya put in this monstrosity?" I lifted the top bun off to get a better whiff of what I was about to be poisoned by. "You didn't go out and kill an innocent squirrel to put in here, right?" My gaze changed from being on the erm, dare I say burger? to the gogglehead standing proudly on the other side of the table.

"Nope. Mine's the meaty meat burger. Steak, pork, cutlet, and ground beef! I was going for volume," Takuya stated, placing his hands on his hips and beaming like he was the richest moron on the face of the earth. But I knew he wasn't, since he always complained he was broke and needed lunch money from me.

"Obviously." I picked it up and bit off a chunk, chewing it quickly and swallowing. I shrugged, it actually tasting not half bad to me, despite my earlier predictions of death and the will I was thinking up while walking over. And like the others, I placed it upon Zoe's, on my growing tower of burgers placed upon my hand. "What's that other flavor though?"

"Oh yeah! I also topped it all off with sardines and some peanut butter!" He practically blinded me with that bright grin, all of his pride and confidence shining through brighter than a spot light with a million LED lights.

I then walked on to Koji and his burgers, of which I could see a crab pincher-thingy sticking out of. He had this little, pleasant smile on his face. I returned the smile as I asked, "What do ya got for me, Ji-jers?" My smile grew as I morphed his dubbed nickname JiJi into something totally playful. And actually slightly strange.

"My deep sea burger has lobster, scallops, and shrimp!" he answered, showing a little bit of his own pride with his creation in his gleeful tone. "And my special sauce is made with puréed squid and white chocolate!"

I shrugged, figuring that since it was Koji, he wouldn't purposely try to kill me. Or at least I hoped he'd give me some sort of warning first. But maybe telling me what was in his burger was his warning. So I grabbed a burger and stuffed a portion between my lips. I let the taste settle for a moment, a debate going on that determined whether or not I actually liked it or not. Taking another bite, since I really couldn't decide, I walked back over to the first table to test Tommy's burger and set Koji's burger upon Takuya's. I had a cute little stack made already.

"Okay, you little gay pervert…" I mumbled in a tone that no one heard. Or at least I hoped no one did. "What are you going to make me sick to the stomach with this time?" But to his face, I asked, "Okay, Shortie, whatchya gonna poison me with today?"

"Well, I don't know exactly what to call it. I kinda just accidently mixed a bunch of stuff together…" His face turned red with embarrassment in his unbeatable klutziness. "So I don't know whether or not it's even gonna taste good…"

"Don't worry, Kid. Worse comes to worse, instead of upchucking on your burgers, I'll do it in your giant hat." He didn't seem all that relieved, but I understood why, since that was the exact definition of sarcasm. So in my one free hand (I didn't want to knock down my mini Tower of Babel, now do I?), I took up a burger and took a bite of it. I could honestly say I was nervous, since the homo didn't even know what was even in this stupid thing. "Well, I can safely say, it's better than a piece of cow kuso, so rejoice." My voice came out monotonous as I added his burger to the stack.

"My boy, Kazuma, may I ask you two questions of distinct importance?" I looked over at Bokomon, who was standing with Neemon by Koji and Takuya's table. I gave a small nod for him to continue. "One, why do you have all your burgers one on top of another?"

"He's practicing a balancing trick for the circus!" Neemon answered enthusiastically. "I love the dancing bears!" *SNAP!* "Oh-hoo…!" *collapse*

I put my free hand into my pocket. "So I can save 'em for later and decide which one I like best. And I can compare them by looking just up and down." Bokomon noticed the smile on my face and knew I was just messing with him. "Anyway, next question?"

The radish seemed to forget his next question momentarily. Or maybe it was just a tension-builder. "…Oh yes, how could you eat their burgers and not die?" At this moment, he lost all of the Bokomon-ness I knew him to have, the ever-constant wisdom I thought he held with zero moments of un-seriousness. Guess not.

I gave a shrug that showed I hardly knew the answer myself. "Takuya's wasn't actually that bad, and then Koji's…I'm not sure if I actually like it or not. It's sorta…neutral, neither acid nor base, so to say." I cocked my head to one side as if that would actually help me figure out what was going through his head at that moment in accordance to my words.

"Which one do you like better?" Takuya interrogated, eyeing me with a look that had I-know-you-think-mine's-better-cuz-I'm-just-that-awesome written all over it. His beaming was bigger than his burger. Big enough he could engulf it all in one bite. "Out of mine and Koji's, which one is the better burger?" His tone was confident and smug.

I hid my grin, knowing this could prove to be somewhat interesting. "I don't know, Takuya. Koji may have you beat. His is quite unique. After all, he combined fast food and sushi." I saw Koji's dominate expression. "But don't get too overconfident, Koji. Maybe you guys should check your burgers…just in case."

They both picked up one of their burgers and shoved it in their mouths. But then, for a way of double-checking, they practically thrust them down each others' throats. But then their expressions, ones that made me almost believe that they had indeed cast death upon each other with a horrible toxin, caused me to deride at them with a substantial amount of hilarity.

"You guys are incorrigible!" I laughed, learning at that very moment that I actually knew a word that big. "Let me know if there's anything else that you vie against." I took the top burger off my pile and began to eat it. I didn't even bother to remember whose was whose.

"Hey, guys, we're going out to eat Tommy's burgers!" Zoe flagged us down, but aside from me, no one really seemed to notice, since JP and Tommy were already out the door, and Takuya and Koji were busy being poisoned. But even though I had heard her calling, I ignored it, since I was getting way too much enjoyment out of the on-going scene.

"If we cared, we would have came, wouldn't we?" I retaliated, sorting through my tower of burgers and finding Takuya's meaty meat burger, taking a bite out of it. Who knew a moron such as he could make such a good burger? Quite frankly, I found delight in it enough to go to one of the many counters in the building and start dissecting it in order to figure out what all the ingredients were. With a little piece of paper, I copied down what I remembered him saying and everything else I saw. This was something I had to save so I could make it back when I got to the real world. I could make millions...

When I flipped the paper over, I realized that I had already written something on it. I smirked lightly at the realization of what it was. A song I had begun to write. I couldn't remember when or why, but I knew I had scribbled it down after I had arrived in this world. So, finding my work incomplete, I had continued to write it all down as it came to me. I wasn't much of a writer myself, but I knew significance when I saw it. Although it didn't mean I remembered it. But nonetheless, I found myself finding a melody within my own mind and mixing it with the lyrics before me,

"Time after time, I find myself trippin' and fallin', damaged 'til I'm crawlin'. Yeah, I thought there was no point, no real reason to even care…

"When I see my mistakes all written out for me, I look away from you face. I try to deny, try to plead my case, but now I see…you're all I see…

"When the stars bring to light the whole night sky…I'm reminded of our intertwining fate, and all the love you radiate…

"But when I see the stains upon me, tainting and blemishing, I can't find myself able to turn away from all my wrongs and all I contemplate…!

"I will run for my future, hoping for tomorrow to somehow redeem myself. I know the rain will cease, the sun will shine…I'll smile and look into your eyes…"

I laughed to myself, noting how horribly written and short the song was. I now knew that song-writing was indeed not my forte. That was the primary reason why I stuck to songs written by actual bands and singers. I, as I figured out, wasn't very good at writing songs. I'll just hang with singing songs that are already written by professionals and save myself the self-humiliation…Ugh, maybe I need a new hobby altogether…

I shoved the paper back into my pocket where it had been originally, deciding I had enough ingredients written down to get the recipe at least vaguely correct, and walked back over to Koji and Takuya, who scowled at everyone's exit out of the room.

They both grumbled simultaneously to express their seemingly endless annoyance. "It wasn't that bad. Mine was better…" But then, they realized they both had said the exact same thing and sent each other fierce death glares, daggers that seemed to have been sharpened by their constant rivalry, that would have made JP and Tommy wet themselves.

"What are you talkin' about, Takuya?" Koji questioned, looking both surprised and angry at the same time. Sometimes, that's just not healthy. And it was then at his statement that I realized he had something on his face. "Yours was horrible!"

"At least mine was edible! Yours even smells bad!" Takuya retorted back, making me notice that him, too, had something on his face as well. "You just about killed Bokomon and Neemon! And did you see that look on Kaz's face? I think he was going to lose it! Right, Kaz?" He looked at me, looking for instant support.

I just stood there dumbly with my eyes wide like Frisbees. A bomb could have gone off and I wouldn't have noticed. Hell, even if I did have enough luck as to notice, I wouldn't have given a single sign of even giving a kuso. "Uhh…"

"Maybe we should have a rematch, then!" Koji yelled, flying off the handle and blowing the whole situation out of proportion. Who knew the level-headed lone wolf had it in 'em? Deep down, he was just waiting to blow his top…

"Fine, anytime!" The Warrior of Flame turned away and began to stomp off. "You'll lo-o-o-ose!" He stifled an evil laugh, and I knew he wanted to follow through really bad. That was just typical for when he got like this.

"Yeah right! In your dreams, Botulism Boy!" Koji did as Takuya had just mere milliseconds before and turned away, trekking off to make a better burger than the gogglehead could possibly think of.

Koji, at this particular moment of time, perplexed me. How he, the lone wolf of the group (ironic about the Spirit, huh?)—the only one remotely sane in this entire little dare I say team of Warriors here could be so…carefree and light at other times, times where I would normally expect him to say something about being on guard because Cherubimon's moronic henchmen could attack at any given moment. This light-hearted side of him was something that made me believe that maybe through all my mistakes and darkness that I could be like that too. If I could only remember why it's all this way in the first place…

I merely shrugged, figuring that this wasn't the best time to get moody and deep in thought, since this was one of the few moments that I could really see Koji as he truly was. So I decided to live in the moment and for once have a good time. Though I figured that it wasn't the best idea to actually say that Takuya's burger was actually a little better…Which reminds me…where did those burgers go that I was saving? I looked around the room for my missing fast food. I saw them almost instantly, and at my running to them, took a chunk out of one. But then, to my dismay, realized it was it was none other than Zoe's creation.

So in my outmost disgust, chucked the burger to the other side of the room. But to lighten the mood, it nailed Koji in the back of the head. He turned and sent me a glare, only for me to send him a cheesy smile back with the addition of a small hey-how-ya-doing-that-was-so-not-my-fault-so-don't-blame-me kind of wave. And then I called, stating the absolutely obvious, "Kooooji, you kinda have something on your heeeaaad!"

I walked over and pulled his bandana off his head, smiling like nothing had happened that had anything to do with me. "Here. I'll get that all clean for ya," I stated, even though there actually wasn't anything on his bandana to begin with. But then I laughed, pulling a chunk of mushroom out of his hair, "Are you gonna eat this?" Awaiting no response, I threw it back behind me. And, using this chance I had with having my hand up by his ponytail, I wrapped my index finger around it absentmindedly. His hair was very silky and soft, as I had always assumed it was. It was nice to touch it, but I couldn't imagine actually having hair that nice.

He gave me a 'what the hell are you doing?' look. "May I ask?" he questioned, eyeing me warily.

I let out a chuckle acting as if I hadn't disrupted the rule of personal space, unwinding my finger from his ponytail and beginning to tie his bandana around my wrist. "Sorry, it just looked really pretty." He then turned away and groaned in slight annoyance. I took a moment to try to see his face, but couldn't, so just looked at his shiny, sleek hair. "Ya know, I can't see your face, but your ponytail looks very happy!"

He turned back around, this time with a small smile on his face, but still his confusion was obvious. "That's officially the weirdest thing you've ever said. And—" He paused, noticing me busy tying his bandana to my wrist. "Uh…what are you doing?"

I gave a brief glance up before returning back to my work and replying rather simply, "Taking your bandana."

He raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Yeah, that I can see that. May I ask when I'll get it back?"

I gave a light laugh. "When you forget I have it."

He then suddenly made a small, sweet smile come upon his face. "If you get my bandana, then what to do I get?"

I knew exactly how to answer. "You get to deal with my bright and cheery personality." And then I added, putting a sly grin on my face, "And my substantial amount of lying." I turned around, looking out the window to the dark world outside, and began to head out the backdoor. "I'm heading out for some air. Be back…eventually." I turned the doorknob and dismissed myself out into the moonlit scenery of nature.

The three moons had aligned, a shining mixture of color. And combined with the radiance of the twinkling stars, the night had been bright enough to see in distinct detail. The wind blew gently, rustling my still-growing-even-longer bangs into my eyes, of which were transfixed onto the hill nearby that I had begun walking over to. Waves of the blowing grass gave the illusion I was treading through water, and the thought made a small twinge flow up my spine. Water…the ocean…. I had caused my own fear; my own lie turning to be true. Gah, stupid irony.

I stopped atop the small hill, an open area away from all the trees, and providing the perfect place to just gaze upward to the heavens above. The warmth of the nice day remained as a warm, tender feeling, the heat catching on the breeze and stroking my face. Looking up at the small, glowing celestial bodies floating above me, they began to create shapes with the assistance of the figments of my growing interest and imagination. Faces and figures, things of my life back home. When it was empty, all of it was of things horrid.

I couldn't remember when I felt whole, when my life was actually fulfilling to a contentment that fully gave me an unmatchable satisfaction. I could remember that instance with Takuya, that day he first got the goggles he had to this day, the day he got the classification of 'gogglehead'. I could still feel the pulsating of my heart sending its vibe throughout my being. I could feel the warmth of the day, a likeness of today with remarkable similarities. And the memory that remained in my mind; I could still feel the vibrancy of such a small touch on my cheek. Something so unexpected, so…break-taking. Yet, I found much more feeling behind that same touch from Koji. And still, nothing held the same meaning of the first. I'd never have a First Kiss ever again…

But that still didn't really help me or my unrelieved desires. A face I saw woven within the stars, one I only could imagine was familiar. I had no assurance, only the assurance that this is what I wanted the face to look like, designed based on how I wanted it. Sweet, shining eyes…beautiful caring smile… golden auburn hair….just as mine once was…

I really wanted to remember, but as far as I could possibly know, I may not actually receive these wishes of memory. Although visions were returning to me, it had been so long since my last Memory Aura vision. I just wanted to see what he was like.

My nii-san.

My Koichi.

"C'mon, start running now, to a place that's not on maps. Things to be afraid of, there are none.

"Only courage can be put into a little chest. In the rain, I'm alone. The insides of my pockets are empty, but I'm only looking forward.

"Open the unknown door to the other side of the world. Advance, advance. I'm not lost anymore.

"C'mon, start running now, to a place that's not on maps. Things to be afraid of, there are none. Because it's only the now that can create tomorrow. Take off, my faraway tomorrow.

"From the valley of buildings, the wind blows through on a night when even stars disappeared. My clenched hands are trembling, but I'm looking up at the sky.

"In the flowing time, to the things I truly want hold on, hold, unhesitatingly.

"The day when the clear brilliance will envelope me will come, because surely, surely, I'll be able to change.

"C'mon, start running now, on this path that I choose. Not something that looks like it, I wouldn't want that. Since only I can create the future, wake up my new tomorrow.

"Start running now, on this path that I choose. Not something that looks like it, I wouldn't want that. Since only I can create the future, wake up my new tomorrow."

Finishing my song, I fingered Koji's bandana around my wrist, a mindless comfort. My mind was swimming with various things, but through it, I found my thoughts residing upon one person, someone who had never crossed my mind since my hair was turned black. I don't know why she happened to cross my mind, just a weird in-the-moment kind of notion. Karin.

Back then, she was almost what could have been considered my archenemy, my foe above all foes. We were complete opposites: She was popular, pretty, and prissy (what I classify as the 3 P's). And I, on the other hand, was not. We had found each other to be hard rivals, making life for each other hell as often as we could possibly muster. We never really tried to get along, there was just always something about the subeta that kinda brought out the worst in me, some little characteristic that made me want to throw her off a cliff. And that something: Everything about her.

There was always something that bothered me then. And when I had come to this thought, it began to nag on me. Karin has this little…thing about her that really made my anger and jealousy tick out of control. She had a way with guys. She'd have this method of either flirting with a guy and then swooning for Kamisama knows how long, or just find a way to spill a drink down the front of her fairly thin shirt.

Methods like that made me debate whether I wanted to get a chance to screw up that perfectly proportioned—and fake—face (that's right, she was spoiled, rich, and got plastic surg.), or just go and find a rock to crawl under and manage to crush myself under. I would have easily preferred the first, but there were indeed times that I wanted to just go and shoot myself.

I felt a memory visualizing in my mind, but I instantly shoved it away. I didn't want to work myself up over someone who wasn't a part of my life anymore. It just really wasn't worth it. But she affected someone who still is… She never ceased to be annoying when she was there flirting with him…I refuse to forgive her… things could have been different, maybe I wouldn't have even needed to change schools. Gah, stupid subeta… you've made my life hell…

I brought my fist down on the ground beside me, letting out a little bit of stored anger. I figured I should get off this topic of thought, since this was a night I told myself I would enjoy. Though the little window of the building, I could see Koji and Takuya hard at work making burgers. They stopped to eye each other up in a determined glare, before flashing around and returning to their work. They seemed completely absorbed in their work. I assumed that if I threw more burgers at them and nailed them in the head, they wouldn't even notice.

I looked down at Koji's bandana. I wondered what kind of significance it held for him. I tried to imagine where he got it, when he got it, why he got it. I could imagine a tiny, big-eyed Koji walking around with a bandana too large for his head, his ponytail not yet grown out and still just a little bitty tail that stuck out only inches from his head. I smiled at the mental picture, not hesitating to let out a little 'aww' kind of sound in the process. Maybe he has a childhood picture of himself somewhere…I should talk to him about that…

I got up and peered through the door into the kitchen of which they were working. I walked in casually, grabbed Koji by the arm, and said, "I need to borrow Koji for a moment." I gave Takuya a cheesy, I-am-not-gay smile, making sure he got the message I was projecting to him, and all he did was shrug and sigh. I figured I wouldn't be able to change his mind. This is namely because he was the stubborn hothead he's always been known as Takuya Kanbara.

"What's this about? Planning to steal more of my clothing?" Koji questioned once we got out and a safe distance from the building. I could tell he was just teasing with that second question. But I could expect that much.

I made a deep-in-thought-you-just-might-have-stumbled-onto-something 'hmm' noise as we again made our way to the hill. "Not a bad idea," I mumbled, secretly plotting for another article of clothing. "Actually, Koji, I wanted to ask you a question. But if it's out of place or personal or anything, you don't have to answer."

Koji eyed me suspiciously, wondering just what this is really about. It was one of the only times I just up and asked him a question (or it quite possibly could have been the first; I couldn't really remember). "Ask away," he responded, though seemingly still unsure what he was getting himself into at this particular moment.

I again glanced down at the bandana around my wrist as we sat down in the grass atop the hill. "What's the story behind the bandana?" I asked, getting the notion I was going into unmarked territory by bringing something up such as this. I decided to tread lightly, and if things got too personal, cut the discussion short and let him go on his merry way.

His face dropped down to look at his lap at my words. He bit his lip, pondering for some time before clenching his fists and blinking, probably keeping tears away. "My mother wore it all the time. She was wearing it the day of her death. Dad said it was the only trace they found of her. And back then, since she was no longer going to be around, I thought maybe I'd forget her. So I wore it as a reminder and to keep me from forgetting," he confessed, his face tightening to hold back the tears that were beginning to collect at the corners of his eyes.

I scooted over close to him and wrapped my arms around him in a warm embrace. I honestly didn't know what to do at that moment, I wasn't very good at the whole comfort-thing. I figured a hug was the best solution. "Koji, it's okay to still hurt from loss. I…" Trailing off, I was at a lack for words. I couldn't find a good way to explain how I related. Sure, I lost someone too, but I wasn't even sure what happened to him. That was the exact situation that Koji fought to prevent. He didn't forget his mother, her death, or anything. I was the exact opposite. I forgot everything about Koichi.

"As long as you never let your mother fade from your heart, she'll never be truly gone, Koji. And if you're worried of forgetting, that's assurance that you never will. You can go through life using her spirit within you to guide you. She'll never leave you," I whispered, my voice the same texture as the wind. "…And I promise I won't either…"

I put my hands to his soft face and turned his head toward me. With my index finger, I wiped away the single tear that escaped. His stormy blue eyes focused into mine and I felt my face turn a bright red. But I dismissed the fear that tried to control me, putting my focus into the force that brought me close to him. I wasn't going to disobey it.

I brought my lips to his, all things falling into its place as soon as I had done so. He seemed taken back that this time it was me leading, but that momentary confusion was soon replaced with the soft yet sure feeling I was used to. I felt the burning of his touch, the ever-alluring fire that harmed me never, but kept me drawn to his aura, making me beg for more. His touch was something I craved, a desire that was never truly appeased. The heat of this fire brought me near, out of the cold of loneliness and the darkness that enveloped heartless souls. This fire gave me reason to believe I was wanted, I wasn't alone, I had a heart I could hold those I loved in.

Eventually, we had to pull away, gasping for breath. I still felt the hot sting on my lips, my heart running a marathon in my chest. My face was flushed from the lack of breath as I made out the words, "I'm…I'm sorry."

He transfixed his eyes upon my face, a bit of confusion displayed upon his facial features. "What are you apologizing for?" he questioned, touching my hand. It was then when he glanced down at my hand I realized it was shaking. "You did nothing wrong." His fingers wrapped around my hand and held it with a tight hold.

I bit my lip and looked away, my face reddened from him grasping my hand in such a way I never anticipated. "No, I—" I stopped quickly, not really sure why I felt so guilty for kissing him. "…It was completely uncalled for, I reacted too quickly…" I glanced back at him, but made sure as to not lock eyes with him.

I looked up at the sky, gazing intently at the colors displayed in vivid joie de vivre on the moons' clear beauty. I glanced back down at the bandana and reluctantly removed my hand from his to untie the cloth. I smoothed it in my lap, and got up, sitting behind Koji. I lifted up the bandana and tied it back into its normal place over his hair. I again used this chance to run my fingers through his hair and then allowed my hand to slide down his back. From there, it proceeded to graze along his back and around his waist into an embracing lock.

"If you think you reacted too quickly, then I made that same mistake twice already," Koji stated, chuckling to himself. I joined him in his laughter, causing me to forget the whole reason I was giving my apologies. But that's how it was; Koji always made me forget all my problems. If we weren't attacked by things pretty much daily, I'd have nothing to worry about whenever he was around to soothe me. Maybe that was why I fell apart whenever I was away. He allows a special healing to begin so I could withstand the trials of being in this world.

I smiled lightly, letting myself get into a vibe that wanted me to tease the Warrior of Light. "Don't worry, JiJi, I forgive you." With one hand, I removed my hat and let my ponytail fall down. I took out the hair band and it spread apart down my back like a black river. My head suddenly felt a heck of a lot lighter by doing so.

He surprised me by presenting a question. "Where'd you find the nickname?" I could see the smile on his face as he asked me this. I knew he had heard me call him by such at other occasions, but now was the only good time to ask.

I instantly thought of Lekismon, putting a frown on my face. "Long story…" I sighed, thinking of all the complications I faced with that evil Energizer Bunny. But I couldn't let her keep me down, so I tossed those thoughts into the deep depths of my mind. The corners of my mouth curved upwards back into a smile. "But that doesn't matter, JiJi. Don't ruin the moment."

We sat in silence for a moment, taking in the warm night and the celestial bodies gazing down at us from above, until Koji broke it by asking me, a small laugh escaping his lips in the process, "You're not used to this, are you?"

I pondered his question a moment, thinking a considerable amount before actually coming up with an answer. It had been years since I stayed up with someone to talk under the night sky. And that person had been Takuya. "It has been a long time for me, Koji." I didn't hesitate to hide the sigh that fell out of my mouth.

He gave me a small grin. "Uh-oh, you used my real name. Should I be prepared for something big?" he questioned rhetorically, his smugness easily distinguished in his tone. I should have expected something sarcastic.

I stood up and stretched my legs, flexing all the joints. "Not really prepared to explain here. It's quite the soap opera, my life back home. I'm afraid if I went through everything, it'd be dawn before I was done." I looked at him, awaiting a response of some sort. It wasn't like Koji to leave a statement like that hanging.

He leaned back, holding himself up by propping his palms into the grass behind him. "I didn't ask for your life story, but nonetheless. Do I get to hear a name so I can go and kick his oshiri for making you this way?" He seemed actually rather eager for me to answer, so either he really cared or I was just boring him with our talk.

I sighed. "No, you can't kick his oshiri—not that I don't think you can; you could kick anyone's butt no sweat—but…that guy was…" I made sure to add a bit of acid in my voice, but not enough that showed just how angry I still was. "…Takuya."

He stood up in a casual manner, but before he could say anything, I cut in, "But don't worry about it, Koji. He's never a jerk on purpose." I let myself chuckle a little to show I was behind my words. "It just sometimes comes along with the stupidity. I think it's a buy one, get one free deal." Even though I doubted Koji would go and act all irrational, mostly likely blowing my cover at that very moment, it was still for a good safety precaution. I knew for a fact that he wouldn't go all protective-I-don't-want-anything-to-happen-to-you-I'll-always-be-with-you-forever-Edward-Cullen-stalking-Bella mode. I doubted he even watched Twilight.

I put my hair back up into its ponytail and then under my hat. I took a single look at Koji and cocked my head to the side slightly. I walked over to him and adjusted his bandana ever so slightly. I smiled in slight triumph and said, "Okay, now I'm content."

As I began to make my way back to the building, Koji didn't move, asking me in such a way that I could distinctly hear the slight perplexity in his voice, "Uh, what was that about?"

I let out a small laugh. "It was my OCKD acting up," I replied simply, knowing for certain he was going to question my latest response.

"What?" Who called it? Me!

I grasped the doorknob, but didn't turn it quite yet. "Obsessive Compulsive Koji Disorder." I laughed out loud and let myself inside, where I was greeted by the scent of freshly-made burgers of a different smell than I had been used to.

"You didn't burn anything, right Takuya?" I eyed him warily with narrow eyes. Through the smell of burgers, I took whiff of something rather foul, which I assumed was indeed something that had been—or currently was—burnt. "Wait never mind, flame boy, that's your specialty. So of course you did."

He gave me a small scowl, one similar to the one he always gave me when I was blaming him for something. Some things just never change. "It wasn't me this time. It was Neemon. He set the kitchen timer for more than a half an hour and then when it went off, he just ignored it!"

Neemon ran past with a bunch of hamburgers all on a pan. They were all charcoal black. "Black is a cool color! Wahoo!"

Takuya let out a light laugh as I facepalmed. As Koji walked over, I could hear him grumble in annoyance, "I never should have trusted him to cover for me when I was gone. Now all the burgers he made are gonna be crap…" Why would you get Neemon of all people to make burgers for you? That's like asking Takuya to take semester exams for you; that's a flunk waiting to happen…

I was tempted to laugh at the occurring situation, but realized who exactly was standing nearby so stopped before a sound came out of my mouth. "Peachy Koji, just peachy," I stated rather flatly, crossing my arms, but still unable to conceal the small smile that made its way onto my face, causing the corners of my mouth to rise.

That seemed to have given him a very good idea, because he suddenly got the look on his face like I just said the most ingenious statement ever in the history of all burger-making-schemes. He brought his hand to his chin, going into deep thought. "Peaches huh…?" he mumbled, seemingly putting things together in his head. I can just see him now. He taps his fingers together like Montgomery Burns from The Simpsons and says darkly 'Excellent…' "Hmm…"

Takuya kinda nudged me to get my attention and let out a whisper, holding his hand at the side of his mouth so Koji couldn't hear. "Great, you got him thinking. This can only end one way—" I cut him off, already knowing the answer.

"In a way that'll get your oshiri kicked," I finished rather confidently. I knew that for a fact, 'cause Takuya wasn't exactly the luckiest person on the planet, but then again, neither was I, so he may not be the only one that'll suffer tonight. I could be the next one of the painful waiting list and I wouldn't even know it.

He suddenly grinned really wide as he grabbed my arm and dragged me to where he was cooking. "While Koji's over there making his burgers, we can be over here where you can help me make mine, and we'll both be out of harm's way!" he exclaimed, somehow pretty much reading my mind of my thoughts of my own bad luck. Or maybe it was just a lucky guess, an excuse to have me help him cook without actually admitting that he couldn't cook worth beans.

A few minutes of watching Takuya attempt to cook, I heard him begin to hum a popular tune. But it didn't at all last that long, as he began to sing (oh, well, kinda), "Hee-eey he-ee-eey hee-ee-ee-eey…!" He then stopped, pausing for a long while. But then again he sang, "Hee-eey he-ee-eey hee-ee-ee-eey…!"

I eyed him with a deranged look plastered onto my face as I asked, "You don't know that song, do you?" Quite frankly, I wasn't surprised that he didn't know the lyrics. He normally left the singing to me, only singing songs that he knew and were fond of.

He gave me a look that proved my question to be answered and right. "Do you?"

I sighed, making a mental note to keep my voice in a guy-ish pitch and began, "Your lipstick stains on the front lobe of my left side brains. I knew I wouldn't forget you, and so I went and let you blow my mind. Your sweet moonbeam, the smell of you in every dream I dream. I knew when we collided, you're the one I have decided who's one of my kind."

Takuya put a look of realization on his face, remembering the words now and joined me in the refrain, "Hey soul sister, ain't that mister mister on the radio, stereo. The way you move ain't fair, you know. Hey soul sister, I don't wanna miss a single thing you do tonight.

"Hee-eey he-ee-eey hee-ee-ee-eey!"

We began to do an unexpected duet, going back and forth in the verses, as I started with the first couple of lines,

Mirai: "Just in time, I'm so glad you have a one track mind like me. You gave my life direction, a game show love connection; we can't deny I'm obsessed."

Takuya: "My heart is bound to beat right out of my untrimmed chest. I believe in you, like a virgin, you're Madonna, and I'm always gonna wanna blow your mind."

Both: "They way you can cut a rug, watching you is the only drug I need. So gangster, I'm so thug. You're the only one I'm dreaming of. You see I can be myself now finally. In fact there's nothing I can't be, I want the world to see you'll be with me.

"Hey soul sister, ain't that mister mister on the radio, stereo. The way you move ain't fair, you know. Hey soul sister, I don't wanna miss a single thing you do tonight. Hey soul sister, I don't wanna miss a single thing you do tonight. Hee-eey he-ee-eey hee-ee-ee-eey! —Tonight— Hee-eey he-ee-eey hee-ee-ee-eey! Tonight."

It was actually kinda strange that we both just sorta jumped into song like we had. But we never really talked about the weirdness, I just immediately jumped to a rhetorical question again, "Hey, guess what?"

He merely looked at me, as if he really didn't know what to expect now. "What?"

"You're kinda a sucky singer," I retorted rather flatly.

The expression on his face told me that he could have easily saw that remark coming a mile away. "Yeah, I've been told." He merely shrugged, going back to his burger-making as if none of that just happened. But this didn't really surprise me; back home, I told him he sucked many times before, but none of the times really took him back all that much. He claimed he had much better, worthwhile talents worth showing off.

I gave the smallest hint of a smile, noting that he actually remembered me, as how I actually was, though making sure that he didn't see me get that satisfaction. But dismissing all thoughts of the stupid gogglehead, I made my way back over to Koji, to see what he was up to at the present moment, and maybe to get a general idea of what he may be making. It seemed substantially different than his first creation, different ingredients, looks, odor. Though I wasn't saying his was bad or anything. Uniqueness comes on many different levels.

I rested my chin on my palms, while leaning my elbows on the counter. "Whatchya makin', JiJi?" I questioned, putting that smile I had hid from Takuya onto my face, unafraid to do so in front of Koji. I couldn't deny that things were different between me and him. Because for me and Takuya, even though there might have been in the past, there was nothing now to call anything.

He merely gave me a light grin back, cocking his head only slightly to the side, and answering, "Wait and see…uh…crap. No dice…" He had a look on his face that instantly gave me the signal that he was about to put a little nickname in there or something, but couldn't think of one. Yeah, my name was just that difficult. Or maybe I was just that difficult.

"Heh, I know. It's hard," I admitted, noting that that was probably so because my name was rather short. Though Takuya had given me one so quickly, coming up with it in probably like a second and then pretty much using it every time he addressed me.

As if reading my thoughts (that's been happening a lot lately), he then asked me in a tone that the nearby gogglehead wouldn't hear, but still not the hoarse pitch of a whisper, "What did Takuya call you? Or was he uncreative?"

I momentarily took a second to look back at Takuya, just to make sure that he wasn't at all eavesdropping on our conversation, before replying quickly in the same voice quality as Koji, "Miri. He called me Miri." I shrugged indifferently. "Well, he took out an 'a'. One letter. But I guess that's his creativity in motion."

He gave the hint of holding back a small laugh, smiling very lightly. "I'll think of something. Don't worry," he told me after a moment's intermission.

"I'll try not to worry myself sick." My tone was flat, but there was still a tiny grin laid upon my lips that showed my sarcasm. But he didn't see that smile for long, since I began to walk way, seeing what Neemon was up to at this particular moment in time. He seemed to be "putting the finishing touches" on his charred burgers. "Hey, Neemon. What are…those?"

He seemed pleased that I asked. "They're sumi burgers!" he exclaimed happily, holding one of the black masses out to me and grinning as wide as a bunny that hung out with a vegetable possibly could do.

I groaned. "Of course they are…" I mumbled, my eyes gazing up at the ceiling and shaking my head. But not wanting to disappoint the yellow rabbit with the red pants, I took the burger in my hands, stuck it in my mouth, and bit a giant chunk off. I expected instant food poisoning, but actually, the burgers weren't actually half bad. No, they were better than that. They were much better than anyone else's surprisingly. "Dude, what did you put in these things? They're amazing."

Neemon crossed his arms proudly, looking down to the floor as if he was someone of high, hidden confidence. "A little of this and a little of that. A true master cook never reveals his cooking secrets." He turned away, making a 'hmph!' noise that I just figured I'd be better off dismissing as normal Neemon behavior.

I blinked a few times, a bit perplexed about that last little thing. "Alright, then…I guess I'll leave you to your…uh, sumi burgers." I began to walk away, eating the burger as I did so. I noticed Bokomon near the corner of the kitchen, pretty much keeled over from whatever eating the food gave him. I decided to leave him as he was, since that'd be strange if I just walked up, stood him upright like a knocked over garden gnome, and walked away. Dude, so he's not just a radish. He's a garden radish gnome! I have you figured out, Bokomon!

Noticing that I gave him a glance, the garden gnome began his complaints, "It's smells like a garbage dump!" Then he mumbled, "I'd leave, but I can't walk."

I put a small scowl on my face for getting that remark out of all of the ones that he could have said. "Hey, don't look at me," I scoffed rather uncaringly, not too in the mood to talk to someone who talks rationally twenty-four hours a day. "You wanna issue your complaints, go to the ones that are actually cooking."

"All done!" Takuya exclaimed, slamming his tray of newly-created burgers on one of the counters nearby. He looked upon his creations with an undisguised pride and overconfidence. I knew he was gonna get a big head.

Koji then walked over with his tray as well, putting it on the other side of the same counter as well. "Just in time," he stated with a rather self-assured smile. He too, looked upon his burgers with a substantial amount of certainty.

He held up his burger up high, gazing upon it smugly with a big smirk placed on his face. "Presenting the vista burger! A super spicy burger made with hot curry, cinchy, and chorizo! When you eat it, your whole body burns!" He put extra emphasis on the last three words, as if they were the most important.

Koji didn't let me get a word in edgewise, holding up his burger in the same demeanor as Takuya and smiling sweetly in a way that made me want to both steal his burger and hug him both at the same time. "And the rainbow burger! Apples, oranges, melon, bananas, strawberries, and garlic sauce! Healthy, colorful, and guaranteed to flush out the pipes!" So this is what idea I gave Koji when I said peaches…but hey! There's not even any peaches in that thing! Grr, Koji…

Bokomon and Neemon (who had walked over without my even noticing) both fell over, groaning when Takuya and Koji held out their burgers, smiling really wide while letting a little blush fall upon their cheeks. This was something that was both worth seeing and unexpected to be seen. Though I was glad I didn't miss it.

I walked over and took a look at both of the burgers. Taking on of each in both hands, I took a bite of Koji's and then after a moment of absorbing the taste of it, took a chunk of Takuya's. I pondered while chewing, debating about which one I liked better. After a few moments of anxious looks from both of the Warriors, I shrugged and answered their stares, "I don't know which one I like better. Their both too unique to choose."

And then came a simultaneous exclamation, "Whaaa~! Mine's better!" Again they looked at each other, stabbing each other with invisible daggers. I could just see the angry tension flowing between them, something I didn't want to get into for the concern for sparing my own life. Getting between them was like voluntarily taking Daniel's place in the lions' den.

I immediately took a step back. "Uh-oh…"

And that's when it began. In about the amount of time it takes to blink, they were trying to strangle each other, rolling on the floor trying to pin the other down. And quite frankly, even though Koji would have probably won, no sweat, Takuya was actually putting up one hell of a fight. It seemed rather evenly-matched, to be honest. No offense to Koji, though, of course…

"Kazuma, don't you think you should stop them before they kill each other?" Boko—I mean, the garden gnome asked, probably rather surprised and a bit ticked off that I didn't do anything to stop their quarrel, only watched it progress.

I crossed my arms, continuing to watch with outmost interest. I never knew how entertaining it was to watch two guys try to beat the crap out of each other. It was better than cable TV. "No. I don't like to mess with other people's affairs. Besides, I wanna see how this all turns out. Aren't you at all curious?"

Neemon was the one to speak up, instead of Neemon this time. "Oooh! I am! I'm gonna be a champion boxer when I grow up! Yehaa!" He spun around and nailed Bokomon in the head, knocking him onto his back and leaving him unable to get up, struggling with flailing of the arms and kicking of the legs like a flipped-over turtle.

I almost laughed at that scene that only lasted like two seconds. Almost. "Who knew you had it in ya, Neemon?" I questioned, not knowing whether or not to watch to see if the yellow rabbit will do more, or Takuya and Koji, who were still battling it out. I then decided the battle between the Warriors was more entertaining, but still, watching a bunny kick the kuso out of a garden gnome radish was interesting, nonetheless.

"I did!" he replied arrogantly, putting his clenched fists at his waist and looking out to an invisible horizon. "I awoke the power within me right here!" He poked himself in the stomach, gesturing to himself. "I have awakened the power of the pants! And now I deserve full respect!"

And then, Bokomon had his greatest moment ever. "Respect this!" And pulled down Neemon's pants, revealing underwear that was green with little carrots spread out everywhere on it. Wow, did NOT see that one coming. Nice one, Bokomon, I will never question your wisdom—and judgment, moreover—ever again.

At this, I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. "Kudos to you, Bokomon. Taking an opportunity such as that—and quoting Xiaolin Showdown episode one, in the process—, that was simply beautiful work." I crossed my arms, grinning only slightly, and gave him a you-have-done-well-Radish-Gnome nod. Though the thought came to me that maybe had never seen Xiaolin Showdown before. Or didn't even own a TV.

But, figuring that was over and done with, I walked over to one of the counters, jumped up onto it, and watched Koji and Takuya's struggle continue. Anything more and I'd have to give this brawl a name so it could live in infamy forever. Or at least until someone accidentally threw the napkin the story was written on away.

Koji got a Takuya caught in a headlock, but the goggle-head retaliated with whacking him one over the head. It was almost like Dumb and Dumber fighting, that's the impression I got of it. Yeah, Koji's in no sort of way dumb, but that was the first thing that came into my mind. So sorry to Koji, but it's a compliment to Takuya. A relation to a movie; that was something that was too good for him. Especially since I was comparing him to a character in it. A main protagonist, at that.

I couldn't help but stare a little bit, awestruck of how long this had gone on. I had instantly figured that Koji would pin him down and win, no problem, but Takuya didn't like my figuring, as it had come to seem. It appeared that the stubborn Warrior of Flame didn't want to go down without a fight, and thus, is what had occurred. He got his wish, now he had to see if it lived up to his expectations. Well, I could safely say it did for me.

Neemon, in the middle of the fight I was trying to watch, suddenly piped up. "Hey! Who's in the mood for a sing-along! I know a dandy song!" he exclaimed in effort to cease the fighting that I had got so much enjoyment in viewing. But then again, I was curious as to learn what song he could possibly come up with this time.

So, this new source of amusement coming into play, I jumped off the counter, and walked over to the two wrestling Warriors. I made a swift grab with each hand, and the fruits of my labor gave me an ear in each hand and two annoyed guys. "Okay, fight's over, I'm bored. Now it's Neemon's turn to do something worthwhile," I stated flatly, expressing my outmost boredom with them with the tone of my voice.

They both groaned, crossing their arms, but not before they gave a loud, "owww!" from my hands grasping their ears. They turned away from each other, scowling, knowing that this was indeed not over. Not by a long shot.

I looked at the lemon-colored bunny and gave a head gesture to go on. "All right, Neemon. Rock on," I stated, putting the smallest hint of a smirk on my face. Hopefully he would sing something of today's popular music.

And then, he began to attempt to dance, as he tone-deaf voice began to ring out, "Oh, turn up the music! Let's get out on the floor! I like to move it; come and give me some more!

"Watch me getting physical, out of control, ah! There's people watching me, ah, I never miss a beat!

"Still the night, kill the lights, feel it under your skin! Time is right, keep it tight! 'Cause it's pulling you in!

"Wrap it up, you can't stop, 'cause it feels like an overdose! Feels like an overdose!

"Oh, oh! Evacuate the dancefloor! Oh, oh! Infected by the sound! Oh, oh! Stop, this beat is killing me! Hey Dr. DJ, let the music take me underground!

"Everybody in the club! Oh, oh! Evacuate the dancefloor! Oh, oh! I'm infected by the sound! Everyone in the club! Oh, oh! Stop this beat is killing me! Hey Dr. DJ, come burn this place right down to the ground!

"Oh! My body's aching! System overload! Temperature's rising! I'm about to explode!

"Watch me, I'm intoxicated! Taking the show, ah! It's got me hypnotized, ah! Everybody step aside!

"Still the night, kill the lights, feel it under your skin! Time is right, keep it tight! 'Cause it's pulling you in!

"Wrap it up, you can't stop, 'cause it feels like an overdose! Feels like an overdose!

"Oh, oh! Evacuate the dancefloor! Oh, oh! Infected by the sound! Oh, oh! Stop, this beat is killing me! Hey Dr. DJ, let the music take me underground!

"Everybody in the club! Oh, oh! Evacuate the dancefloor! Oh, oh! I'm infected by the sound! Everyone in the club! Oh, oh! Stop this beat is killing me! Hey Dr. DJ, come burn this place right down to the ground!

"Come on and evacuate, feel the club is heating up! Move on and accelerate, push it to the top! Come on and evacuate, feel the club is heating up! Move on and accelerate, you don't have to be afraid!

"Now guess who's back with a brand new track? They got everyone in the club going mad, so everybody in the back, get your back up off the wall and just shake that thang!

"Go crazy! Yo lady! Yo baby! Let me see you wreck that thang! Now drop it down low, low! Let me see you take it to the dancefloor, yo!

"Everybody in the club! Evacuate the dancefloor! Everybody in the club! I'm infected by the sound!

"Everybody in the club! Stop this beat is killing me! Hey Dr. DJ, let the music take me underground!

"Oh, oh! Evacuate the dancefloor! Oh, oh! Infected by the sound! Oh, oh! Stop, this beat is killing me! Hey Dr. DJ, let the music take me underground!

"Everybody in the club! Oh, oh! Evacuate the dancefloor! Oh, oh! I'm infected by the sound! Everyone in the club! Oh, oh! Stop this beat is killing me! Hey Dr. DJ, come burn this place right down to the ground!"

After that, the only thing that filled the room was a very awkward silence. I didn't know if it was because everyone was amazed or because they fell into an immense state of shock. I wasn't too sure about myself, either, whether I should cheer at the performance or just drop my jaw and let my facial expression do all of the talking here.

Neemon took a bow, not really taking any measures to hide his confidence or whatever you wanna really call it. He apparently really liked that song, because with it, he…uh, acted out some choreography, that's all I'll say. It's not that I wasn't certain of what it was, it was just…yeah. Choreography, let's just leave it at that.

I allowed my eyes to grow wide, saucer-size. "Wow. That was just…wow." Simply put, I didn't really know what to say. I had never assumed that this digital rabbit with carrot underwear could possibly know a modern song. Sure, that's what I was hoping for, but truly, I never really actually took it into consideration that he actually knew one.

"And everyone thinks that I sing bad…" I heard Takuya mumble, not removing his eyes—of which were replicas of mine—from the very Digimon I was staring at. I don't think he even felt the pain from me grasping his ear anymore. Actually, I wasn't even sure if I was holding onto it anymore; I kinda lost sense of everything during his song.

"You do sing bad," I retaliated plainly, still not looking at the goggle-head as I said this bit of information, although it was to whom I was speaking. "But Neemon…he…kuso. He sings worse than you… somehow…"

"Any more and I thought my eardrums would bleed…" I heard Koji mumble in annoyance. I wondered how that would work, because I was presently grasping one of his ears. Would it all…drain out of only one ear?

Neemon grinned and then threw his arms up in the air. He then asked excitedly, hoping we'd take his answer in a delightful way, which at this point wasn't likely, "You wanna hear another one? I know Pants On The Ground!"

"NO!" Came our simultaneous response. The speed of which we replied was rather astounding, knowing that we were still in utter distress from that last, erm… "performance" that he had just put on for us. And now I was beginning to wonder if it was because he secretly hated us and wanted us to suffer miserably.

I gave a cheesy grin, releasing both boys with a simple flex of my fingers. "No, that's okay, Neemon," I answered, trying to keep my cool and recover from that sudden outburst that had just occurred. "Takuya and Koji were in the middle of something, right guys?" I looked at them and gave them a look that clearly stated, 'Start finding something you don't like about each other and start fighting about it, will ya?'

They got the message, ran over back to the counter that they had placed all their burgers on, and held up their burgers like they did earlier. Though instead of the cute little smiles, there were angry glares placed upon their faces. Again came that horrible tension, yet I could tell completely that it was partly staged.

"My hamburger's the best!" Takuya shouted, almost an evil grin curved in his lips that looked like he just wanted to go up to something and devour it whole, not really giving a crap what the hell it may be.

"Wrong again, Dorkus!" Koji snapped back, not removing his deep, you-are-so-dead stare from Takuya. I was actually slightly scared to confront him just about ever again, knowing that he could actually fake such an angry face.

Then, they both turned to Bokomon, Neemon (who was still depressed that no one wanted to hear another song), and I and demanded with evil I'm-gonna-kill-you-with-my-bare-hands glares, "WHICH ONE IS IT, GUYS?"

Even though that made the two Digimon run away in almost what seemed like sheer terror, I got the clenched, baring teeth, the eyes that were ninety-nine percent black pupil, I almost started laughing when seeing the way Koji's eyebrows curved. They almost reminded me of bent fishhooks. But, despite how much of a moron he almost looked like (it's Koji, he can't look all that dumb), that's just one of the qualities that I didn't mind.

But I had to like his qualities, since there had to be someone keeping me sane here.

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And there you have it! Please R&R, that makes me grateful to no end when people give me good reviews and compliments! Thanks guys to all you who read and review this! *blows kisses*

Oh yes, and it would also help me to take a simple poll that I have on my profile page. I would like my readers to tell me which of the Frontier character's (besides Koichi) personality I capture the best. It will help me figure out who I need to work on. The poll, btw, will be closed when I post chapter 20, or possibly 21 depending on how quickly I get them finished, so please help a fellow aspiring writer out! Thankies!