Note: I do not own the rights to Digimon Frontier or "Heathens" by Twenty-One Pilots.
Chapter 23
They say newcomers have a certain smell...
TK was having a hard time concentrating on his teacher's lecture. His blood buzzed uncomfortably under his skin. Mercurymon had escaped with Patamon's data and the Warriors had not been able to find him. TK tried to picture his partner in his mind, but the picture was fuzzy and his memory seemed to refuse to concentrate. TK sighed in frustration. The Taint was gone, but it's influence was still there.
TK jumped as he felt something hit the back of his head. Turning his head around, he saw Davis giving him a pointed look. Glaring at the hot headed leader, TK's eyes were drawn down to wadded up piece of paper. He picked the paper ball up, unfolded it carefully under his desk and read Davis' messy scrawl:
Dude! You're gonna get in trouble if you don't pay attention. And I'm gonna fail if you can't help me study later!
TK hid the note in his notebook and rubbed his eyes. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to listen to the rest of his teacher's lecture. When the bell finally rang, he practically whirled out of the room as fast as possible, leaving Davis and Kari staring at his back in bewilderment.
Koji felt a dull throbbing pain in his chest as he slowly opened his eyes. Groaning he slowly pushed himself up from the bed. Surprisingly he was alone. Koji didn't know if he should feel worried or relieved. He crawled to the edge of the bed and stumbled into the bathroom.
He splashed cool water on his face then studied his reflection in the mirror. His face was white as a dead man's. The dark bruise-like circles were more pronounced than ever. His eyes were dull, no life left. Koji lifted his shirt gingerly to reveal a blood soaked bandage fastened around his torso. He gently prodded the wound wincing as pain flared inside.
Koji looked back into the mirror and jumped as his heart skipped a beat and his breath hitched. Gripping the sink so he wouldn't fall over, Koji stared into Koichi's reflection behind him. He breathed slowly as Koichi moved silently and carefully toward him.
Koichi's familiar warmth radiated on Koji's back, but it no longer held the familiar comfort. "Koji."
"Koichi," Koji said without wavering. He winced as a sharp pain stabbed through his chest. Koichi gently encircled him in his arms.
"You should be in bed. You're still healing."
"I wouldn't need to heal if you hadn't stabbed me," Koji spat, eyes on the sink. His emotions swirled inside him threatening to tear him apart inside.
Koichi was silent but Koji felt him stiffen from the accusation. Koji's heart jumped and his body trembled. The pain was steadily getting worse. Suddenly Koichi evolved behind him into Duskmon.
Duskmon gently scooped his brother up into his arms and carried him back to the bed. Koji winced when he hit the mattress. Duskmon laid his hand gently on Koji's cheek as Koji met his eyes.
"Lady Ophanimon made a deal with it. It would leave the boy if it got a piece of you. Lady Ophanimon gave me a choice. Either I would do it or she would, but either way, it was going to get what it wanted," Duskmon said softly.
"I don't understand," Koji said drowsily. He was slowly losing consciousness. If Duskmon answered him, he didn't hear as the darkness once again consumed him.
Cody listened to Davis and Kari with a frown. It wasn't like TK to be so unfocused during class. It definitely wasn't like him to leave in a hurry without waiting for his friends. Currently, he was no where to be found in the cafeteria with the rest of the school at lunchtime.
"I'm worried about him," Kari admitted biting her lower lip.
"Of course," Cody said. "He's been through a lot. And we have no idea what the Taint did to him and no idea how to help him."
"Ugh!" Davis growled. "It makes me so mad! We should be out there helping the Warriors bring down Mercurymon."
Kari sighed and shook her head. "Are you forgetting what happened the first time we fought Mercurymon? He beat all twelve of us single handed."
"I know!" Davis said, frustration dripping from every syllable. "But I don't trust those Warrior kids. They're all fucked up in the head from being Tainted. How do we know they're not really protecting Mercurymon?"
"I don't know, Davis," Cody said slowly thinking. "I suppose it is possible, however, I don't think it is likely. At least not with Koji or his brother. They don't seem to like Mercurymon at all."
"They may not like him, but he is a Warrior just like them. We need to be more involved in this!" Davis argued.
Kari put her hand in Davis's shoulder. "Let's all calm down and think about this. We should at least talk to Yolei and Ken before we make any decisions." She audibly gulped and continued, "I know Tai would never approve and let us do something like this, so I don't think we should tell any of the older kids right now."
Cody's stomach churned at the thought of keeping secrets from Joe and Izzy, but he pushed those feelings aside and nodded. "Kari's right. Let's meet up with Yolei and Ken after school."
