He sat alone in the dark apartment just two floors up and across the street from where Taichi lived. Looking out the window, waiting for the right time. He turned around. He looked at the dead body sprawled out on the floor behind him. Who was this? He did not know. A man, the person who lived here before he required its use. Looking at him he remembered something. A night; much like this one, several weeks ago. The night he had killed Iori. It all came back to him in a flood of horrible memories…
A
dark figure stood alone in a dark hallway. He walked up to the door; room 317.
He was crying. When was the last time he had cried? He did not know. He held
the large target rifle under the long trench coat, a knife in his right hand.
He knocked on the door. A man in his mid-thirties answered.
"What's
the matter, young man?" He asked cautiously. But the he did not answer, the
tears continued to roll down his face. The man could see that he was very
scared, for whatever reason. "Why don't you come inside and sit down. I'll make
us something to drink and we'll talk." That made it worse. Someone kind enough
to invite a total stranger in and talk to them about who knows what kind of
bizarre problem. The crying became a violent sobbing, but he walked into the
apartment peacefully enough, the man went to the kitchen. While he was working
on the drinks the kid pulled his right hand out of his pocket. He walked
quietly to the kitchen, trying with every step to control the tears.
The
man turned around just in time to see the flash of metal, but it was too late.
The blade penetrated the skin and sank deep into the flesh. Blood began to
trickle from the wound. The man staggered out of the kitchen leaving a trail of
blood behind. He fell to the floor, but he was not dead. The boy came up behind
him, tears still rolling down his cheeks, and put the knife through the side of
the man's neck finishing the job. His blood began to pour out onto the carpet;
it got all over the murderers gloves and trench coat. He walked to the window
and starred down into Iori's apartment. For now he would wait, wait for the
right time to call and claim his first victim.
…He had cried that first
time, the first time he had ever killed a man. He was an unintentional victim.
Someone living in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"I'm
sorry," he said aloud to the dead man in front of him. "Like the first, you
were just in a bad place." He walked back to the window and looked at the
Kamiya's empty apartment. All of them were gone, but he knew where they were,
and he knew that they would soon be back. The Digidestined that remained were
the ones that he both loved, and hated the most. He would both regret, and
cherish killing them. As he looked out the window he was hit by a new and more terrible
memory, he began to cry again…
It was a party; everybody
was having fun, the Digidestined, a celebration. They were all there. Then
there was a game, 'truth or dare'. It quickly changed into 'truth'. Then that
escalated into something like a very deep and personal conversation. Every one
of them telling their most intimate secrets. That's when it all went wrong.
Everyone was being very nice and respecting everyone else's points of view,
fears, hates, and passions. Then he said something, now he couldn't remember
what it was, but it was something simple; like being afraid of spiders.
Something that a large number of people had, or wanted, but was very simple and
natural. Well it seemed that none of these people had it, or wanted it. They
made fun of him, normally he would have hit them back, but now he was in a very
sensitive state of mind. It hurt him more than anything had hurt him before.
More even then she had hurt him. He left. After that it was all a blur.
His room. The music. Then a bridge. The cold, swift, water below. Then the
water surrounding him, taking his breathe away. Then the shore, and a
realization.
…The tears came freely now,
"How could they do that to me!" He questioned. "It was such a serious
conversation…" He paused and then anger came into his eyes, "I will make them
pay. All of them." Those words seemed to echo through the room. They were the
same words he said after he left the party that day so many weeks ago.
Less
than three blocks away Taichi, Hikari, and Takeru were all together in an
interrogation room of a police department. They were there with their parents,
who were not in the best of moods, waiting for Inspector Benjiro to show up.
The two officers in the room saw how mad the parents were and began to seem
somewhat nervous. Then Taichi broke the silence,
"Where
in hell is Ken in all this?" He got a look from his mom for that remark, but
Takeru gave him his answer.
"He's
got some kind of work that he's doing. His mom said that he didn't want to
leave the house. She couldn't even coax him out of his room." Taichi didn't
like that, Ken gone while the rest of them were being, or were going to be,
interrogated by some inspector. Finally Inspector Benjiro walked through the
door. Taichi's dad was the first to say something this time.
"What
in the hell is going on here?" He to got a look, "I thought that we were all
supposed to be here for this and yet one boy is missing and no one is even
questioning it."
"The
boy that is missing, Ichijouji Ken, was given special permission by me to miss
this interrogation. Apparently he has had some bad experiences in the past year
and-a-half that makes him very unstable in tense situations."
Taichi's
dad was not satisfied with this but in light of the situation he sat down
anyway.
"Well,
lets begin," Inspector Benjiro, said as calmly as possible. "We'll start with
you, Taichi, if you would just take a seat right over here." He said motioning
to the empty chair in the center of the room. He got up and reluctantly sat in
the chair. "Now then, Kamiya Taichi, you have not witnessed any of these
murders, is that true?"
"Yes,"
"When
did you first find out about the death of Hida Iori?"
"It
was the day after it happened. I talked to Takeru, he lives in the same
building."
"When
did you find out about the death of Hida Iori, Takeru?"
"It
was early morning the day after, I was on my way to school and went to his
apartment room to him. We walk together with Miyako."
"Kamiya
Hikari, when did you first learn of his death?"
"It
same day as Taichi, I learned before him because I am in the same class as
Takeru."
"Is
it correct that you witnessed Ishida Yamato's death, Takeru?"
"Yes,"
he said calmly, but Hikari could see tears mixed with anger in his eyes. "So
did Hikari, she was at the concert with me."
"Of
course," Benjiro replied, "Hikari, how did you feel witnessing Yamato's death
like that?"
But
before she could reply Taichi spoke, "WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH
ANYTHING,"
"Kamiya
Taichi, you watch your language young man!" His mom said angrily. But he did
not listen.
"YOUR
ASKING US ALL THESE STUPID QUESTIONS THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING!!
ARE YOU GOING TO HELP US….OR TOURCHER US ALL NIGHT?"
"I
disagree Taichi, the questions have everything to do with the murders."
"BULL
SHIT!" and with that he stormed out of the room in a fit of rage. His dad got
up to stop him but the detective stopped him.
"He
wont be able to leave the station. The rest of the officers know who he is;
they will stop him." He turned his attention once again to Hikari, "How did you
feel?"
She
was reluctant to answer, her brothers words made sense to her; the questions
didn't. She gave her mom a worried glance but got nothing in return. "I felt
cold," she said finally, "almost like part of my own life was being taken
away."
Taichi's
words also made sense to Takeru, "Taichi's right, what do all these have to do
with finding out who the murderer is? I feel like where visiting a shrink not
an inspector."
"Your
right," Benjiro replied. The look of shock and surprise was on everyone's face.
"What?"
Hikari said sounding somewhat angry now. "You mean that even you think that
your questions were dumb and pointless?"
"No,"
he replied, "But I think that I have found out all that I needed to know, and I
also believe that I know what to do about it."
But before he could tell them what he intended to do about they heard a voice from outside the room. "LET GO OF ME YOU BASTARED!!!" The door opened and a large man walked in. He was carrying a very high-strung Taichi under one arm who was fighting and cursing all the way. Both his mom and his dad were at his assistance once they saw what was going on. The managed to get the guard to let go of him even though they way he did was not as gentle as they would have liked. He was dropped head first on his chair, when he hit there was a loud crash and he rolled to the ground groaning in pain.
"Are
you ok, son?" His mom asked. A long, painful, sigh was all that she got in
reply.
"Very
well," Benjiro said happily, "now that we're all here I can explain what we are
going to be doing." All eyes were turned towards him now, "We've had this plan
for some time now, but we were not totally sure who all the targets were until
now. We just recently looked up all the victims past records and we discovered
that they have all been in several strange incidents. Those will remain unsaid
for government reasons."
Taichi
sat up in his chair and managed to say "No shit," Benjiro gave him a look but
continued to talk.
"All the murders have taken place when the subject was alone. This suggests that the murderer does not want confrontation with anyone but his targets. So are plan is simple, we will ser multiple traps for the murderer, in the mean time, that is until we catch or kill him, the four remaining survivors will live together. We will put them in rotation between houses in five-hour intervals. For five hours the four of them will live at the Kamiya residence, then the Ichijouji residence, then at the Takaishi residence." He waited a moment to let this new information sink in with the parents. He was not offering them a choice, no, he was telling them what was going to happen. The lost what rights they has the moment they became involved. Once it looked like the idea had sunk in a little (he knew it would not ever hit completely) he began to talk again. "They will not be left unwatched for more than thirty-minutes at a time. That means that all four of them will eat, and sleep in the same room. And, that room can only go unwatched for thirty-minutes, that is even more time than I had wanted to give originally, but I understand that there will be times when one or more the kids can not be watched for" he coughed "personal reasons."
Each
one of them gave him a very strange look at that remark. What does he mean
by 'personal reasons', Taichi thought to himself, but he dismissed the
thought almost immediately.
It
seemed that at that point the meeting was over without any of them knowing
about it. A large officer came in to escort the seven of them out and back the
Kamiya's apartment. It was a long and terrible ride back. Hikari just kept
starring out the window of the patrol car while Taichi and Takeru kept
exchanging nervous glance, then every once-in-a-while looking at Hikari to see
if she was ok.
Anyone
of those people standing on the street could be him, Hikari thought to
herself. "Anyone," she said aloud completely unaware of it.
They
pulled over. What was going on? The officer in the front of the car got out and
walked to the back door where Hikari was sitting. Taichi looked at the front
seat and saw a person, sitting on the passengers side, that he hadn't seen get
in the car. He couldn't make out whom it was, but he looked very familiar. The
officer opened Hikari's door and she stepped out, the he beckoned for the other
two to get out. They followed seemingly without thought…almost as if they were
under a spell. They all stood huddled together, the three of them looking at
the officer. He looked back at the car as if to signal the new person in the
front seat. The passenger door opened. The figure stepped out and walked around
the front of the car. Hikari looked into his eyes, and then saw his face. It
was Ken. He was holding a pistol in one hand. She looked back to the officer,
hoping that he would do something because she knew what Ken had come for; what
she saw terrified her. The officer was now Benjiro. This couldn't be true, she
turned away saying to herself over and over: "This isn't real, this isn't
real…" She looked back, there standing before her was Benjiro as real as he was
back at the station. Next to him stood Ken, he was holding the pistol to her
brother's head. He pulled the trigger. The pistol screamed it's awful report.
The blood flew from Taichi's head. He hit the ground, the blood poured from his
body, but it wasn't that that frightened her; nor was it Benjiro, or even Ken;
it was the look on Taichi's face, a look of nothingness, as if he didn't know
who or where he was. He didn't care.
Next
in line was Takeru; he fell in much the same way, the blank expression, and the
blood pouring from the wound. Benjiro stood back through all of this, smiling.
Hikari was next in line and she new it. She tried to run, but found that she
couldn't; she looked all around her, the streets were busy and she couldn't
understand why so many people saw the killings, but they just stepped right
over the bodies. She screamed the sound came out, pure and shrill, but Ken did
not stop his approach, Benjiro did not stop smiling, and the crowed did not
turn and look. She looked from the crowed passing by to Ken, she was in terror.
She saw something glimmering in his hand and knew that she would not die in the
same way that her friends did just now.
The knife was at her throat, she
could feel the cold metal pierce he skin; she could feel her warm blood running
down her neck… Then Ken began to speak…
"Hikari,"
he paused, "Hikari wake up, Hikari were back at the apartment."
Hikari
opened her eyes so suddenly and with such a great speed that it caused Taichi
to jump in surprise.
"Oh,
my God, Taichi!" Tears were beginning to run down her cheeks, "Your alive, I
thought you were dead…I thought I was going to die…he killed you…he killed you
and Takeru!"
"Who?
What!? You must have been dreaming."
"But
it was so real, I thought that Ken actually killed you! and Takeru!"
"Ken?
Ken was the murderer in your dream?"
She
only nodded; the tears were still running in a steady stream, she was having a
hard time believing that her brother was alive after a dream like that. She was
badly shaken, so badly that she had to check a few times before she would
believe that the officer sent to escort them was not Benjiro and that Ken was
still at his house. By the time they reached her front door she knew that
Benjiro was on his way to Ken's house to inform his mother about what was to
happen and to bring Ken here. She opened the door.
"I
thought that you would never get here." Ken's familiar voice rang out from the
darkness.
Hikari
screamed, Taichi dove for the lights and his father ran towards the sound.
Ken
was on his feet instantly; he expected surprise, not blind shock. "Hang on!
Hang on!" He yelled, "It's only me, Ken." By this time Taichi's dad had Ken by
his shirt collar and looked as if he would through him out the window.
"My
God, Ken," Taichi's dad yelled, "You scared the living shit out of all of
us!"
"Sorry
about that, Mr. Kamiya. It was not my intention."
"Intention
or not, it happened, and we are all very jumpy around here…hey, wait a sec…"
Taichi's dad stopped and thought for a second as if something didn't make
sense, "How in hell did you get in here?" He raised a very good point, the
doors had been locked and all the windows shut.
"Yeah,
Ken," Taichi, whose brain had just realized that it was only Ken, said
returning from the door, "just how did you manage to get in here?"
"Benjiro,"
he replied as if it explained it all. "He came and got me at my house,
explained the whole situation. I think it's a good plan."
"You
would," Taichi said angrily.
"Kamiya
Taichi," His mother said looking very annoyed.
"So
what's your plan," he continued ignoring her, "To kill us all at each of our
own houses, or will you do us all at once?"
Takeru
and Hikari, who were still standing by the door, had two very different
reactions to this statement. Takeru, being a guy, laughed harder than he had in
the past month-and-a-half. Hikari, however, looked at Takeru disgusted; then
gave Taichi and Ken a very nasty look. Ken, who was about to make a nasty
remark of his own, shut his mouth and looked the other way. Taichi walked off
to his room and shut the door; he had already forgotten about Benjiro's orders
and would soon be reminded, quite rudely.
Twenty
minutes past before Taichi was reminded of Benjiro's orders, "Taichi, it's time
to come out of your room." His mom said in passing by his door.
"No!"
This
caught her attention away from what she was working on; she was right back at
her son's door as if she had been standing there the whole time. "Kamiya
Taichi, you get out here this instant young man!" Uh-oh, the last name; at this
point in time Taichi was feeling very shitty and didn't want to mess with her.
He knew that she could do nothing to him in the lines of punishment; I mean
what was she going to do? Ground him? That would almost be a blessing in it's
own. He came out, his mom reminded him of Benjiro's orders, of which he really
had forgotten. She wouldn't believe that he did, but she couldn't punish him
for ignoring them, for obvious reasons.
The
four kids sat on the couch watching the TV for the next hour with Taichi's dad.
Three more hours until the move to the next house. The phone rang, all of them
ignored it and on the fifth ring Taichi's mom came in from the outside and
answered it. She hung up and delivered the message to her husband that there
had been a crisis at work and he was needed. It was something big, they didn't
tell her what it was, only that they needed him right away and that he would
most likely be gone the rest of the night. That left only Taichi's mom to watch
the four kids. She spent the next thirty minutes rummaging around in the
kitchen trying to decide what to make for a late dinner, when she finally
decided she realized that she had to go to the store because she was out of
wheat germ.
"I'm
going to the store, I'll be back as soon as I can; it might be a little longer
than half an hour but I shouldn't be much longer."
"Ok,
mom," Taichi said ignoring her.
Fifth-teen
minutes passed, suddenly Taichi looked up from the TV and realized that his mom
was gone. "I think I'll step out side for a minute," he said to no one in
particular, he knew no one would be listening. No one ever listens when there
bored, and nothing makes you more bored than sitting at home late at night
watching soap-operas and waiting for 'the first move'.
He
was wrong; someone was listening. As he got up and walked out the front door
Ken got off the couch and went into Taichi's room.
Taichi
took the phone with him outside, he didn't know why other than that he was the
oldest ant if the phone rang he ought to answer it. He never in his whole life
expected it to actually ring. But it did.
It
rang once; he looked at it in his hand with utter amazement. It rang again, he
continued to stare. It rang a third time, he answered it. "Hello, Kamiya
residence"
"Is
this Taichi?"
"Yes,
who are you"
"That's
for me to know and you to die trying to find out"
"What
the hell are you talking about?"
"I'm
going to kill you…"
"Not
if I kill you first!" Taichi screamed into the phone, but the only reply he got
to the lame hit was a dial tone. It had to be a prank, that wasn't the voice
of a murderer…it…it sounded like a kids voice… then it clicked, "Oh, my
God." He said aloud. "Oh, my God," The voice, he recognized it. At that moment
Ken came out of the apartment, he was holding a piece of paper in one hand, and
a gun in the other.
"Ken!"
Taichi shouted with joy, he hadn't seen the gun yet he was just glad to have
someone to tell his discovery to. "Ken," now he saw the gun, "Ken, what the
fuck are you doing?"
"What
I should have done a long time ago."
"Ken,
don't. I know who the killer is."
"I
know you do, that's what I've come for."
"No
Ken, it's not you!"
"I
never said it was, I've come to kill you, and you know why." He said, his eyes
as cold as steel.
"I'm
not the killer, Ken! Don't you believe me?"
"No
I don't, and do you want to know why," he didn't wait for an answer, he through
the paper at Taichi's feet. It was a list; a list with 11 names on, Taichi's
was not one of them. All but three of the names were crossed off.
"I found that in your desk. It proves that
you're the killer, and I will end it before you do."
"No,
Ken, No! I didn't write that! I've never seen that list before in my life.
Please! PLEASE!" Taichi was now pleading with Ken. He was on his knees and
tears were beginning to fall down his face. He was literally bargaining for his
life. Ken did not listen, he knew in his heart that Taichi was the killer and
had to be stopped. He pulled the trigger.
Taichi's
body fell forward; he was hunched over on the ground. Blood began to flow
rapidly from the gunshot. It stained the sidewalks; it flowed onto Ken's shoes;
he was not sorry at for what he did, he only felt emptiness. The phone rang.
"Ken
starred at it on the ground in the same Taichi had starred at it in his hand.
He didn't know what to think. He answered it.
In
the mean time Hikari and Takeru had been sitting on the couch watching TV. They
had heard the gun shot, and Takeru had turned around just in time to see Taichi
hitting the ground and Ken standing over him with his gun in hand.
"Oh,
my God," he had said. Hikari had just turned around, she gasped.
"It's
Ken, it was Ken this whole time! Oh, my God, oh my God!"
Ken
was not sorry for what he had done. He knew that he would be sent to prison and
tried as an adult; which meant facing the death penalty. It didn't matter; he
had done what he had set out to do. It was finished. The phone rang.
For
a moment he just stood there; the same shocked expression that Taichi had had
was now on his face. He didn't know whether to answer it or let it ring. In the
end it was inevitable. He answered it.
"Hello?"
he said cautiously.
"Is
this, Ken?" a dark voice replied. "Ichijouji Ken?"
"Yes."
He said, no longer cautious but now confidant. "Who is calling?"
"Just
a friend. I wanted to thank you."
"For
what?"
"What
you just did. You made my job easier." A brief pause, "I knew planting that
list would do some good."
The
shock was apparent on Ken's face. He looked at the list that now lay in
Taichi's blood. A fake. Even after this realization all he could say was:
"What…?"
"That's
right, Taichi wasn't me. Big surprise." Ken was too terrified to speak, that
was obvious, so the figure continued to talk. "Before we part I want you to see
who has done this masterpiece of death. I want you to look across the street at
the apartment to floors up from where you are. Look for a light."
He
looked, and even as he did he knew what would happen. He saw the light; there
was nothing but light shinning from one room two floors above his own. Then he
saw the dark silhouette of a man; no, a boy. He was standing tall and proud;
though ken couldn't see who it was, he saw that he was holding a large rifle in
his right hand. Ken's first thought was to turn and run. Then he was drawn in
by a curiosity; What was the old phrase, he thought to himself, 'Curiosity
killed the cat…' or something like that…
Every impulse in his body told him to turn and run, run as fast as he could and as far away as possible, but he didn't. He just stood there; his eyes fixed on the figure above him.
In the end he heard the shot. It was as if he, the figure, were waiting for Ken to make a move. Ken finally got a hold of himself, and just as he turned to run the figure pulled the trigger. The force of the bullet was astounding. It pushed Ken through the Kamiya's apartment window and onto the floor behind the living room sofa. Takeru and Hikari just stood there in shock at what happened.
"I feel sick," Hikari said, looking at Ken's body; watching his blood flow out onto the floor. She looked up and saw the trail of blood from the window to the spot where Ken lay. It was a sickening sight. Hikari leaned over the arm of the sofa and vomited on the floor. She couldn't hold it back this time. It was a total shock at Yamato's concert, but this…this was just too unreal. The only time that he parents were gone the killer strikes; it was as if it had all been planned from the beginning.
Takeru was now standing over her with his hand on her back and offering his comfort. "It'll be alright." But his words weren't reassuring, his voice shock with his body. He was almost as scared as Hikari; if he was ever good at hiding fear before that talent had left him now. "It'll be ok." He said, more to himself to her.
"Takeru, I need some air. I'm going for a walk." She got up and started toward the door.
"No, Hikari!" Takeru shouted while stumbling to grab her arm. "You can't go out! He'll kill you the moment you walk out that door!"
"And what's stopping him from coming up here and blowing us both away!? Huh!? Explain that to me!"
"But, Hikari, I…"
"I don't care. If mom or dad comes back while I'm gone you can tell them I beat the shit out of you or something. I'm going!"
Takeru started to go after her, but changed his mind. "Fine…I guess…I guess I'll wait here…." His voice trailed off into a low hum. He walked back to the couch and sat facing the door.
Hikari walked out past her brothers body trying to ignore the fact that he was dead, and that any second she could be too. She walked straight to the elevator, but by that time she was crying. She had held back in front of Takeru, she tried to be strong, and she was. But now they came; she could not control it. Had she not been crying she would have seen the dark yet familiar figure, dressed in a black trench coat and black gloves, get off the elevator as she got on. Because she was crying she walked right pass him. He, however, saw her. He saw the look on her face and the tears in her eyes. He smiled. He was not concerned with her leaving, she would come back; and he knew this. His path was straight ahead; straight to the Kamiya's front door.
Hikari walked aimlessly for what seemed like hours; when she got around the block and looked at her watch she discovered that it had only been about ten minutes. Why did I leave Takeru alone up there? She asked herself accusingly. He could've come with you. All you did was leave him in danger…
She decided that the best thing to do would be to go back to the apartment. So she boarded the elevator and began her assent.
Upon reaching the apartment she found the perfect murder scene. It was now dark, the door was forced open regardless of the fact that the window was broken, all the lights were off and the TV was on some channel that didn't exist. She went in, fighting the tears with every step. The sofa was empty save only a bloodstain that wasn't there when she left. Turning around she saw the cause. Takeru was sprawled out on the table his blood was in a pool on his chest and around his body, the knife was still lodged in his chest.
"Oh, my God!" She wanted to scream, but it only came out a whisper. She walked up to his body and saw that there was a heart shaped box on Takeru's chest, and on top of that was a note.
This is what it read:
My Dearest Hikari
My troubles are almost over.
Only you remain. It will soon be finished.
But through all of this, I
want you to know that I have always loved you.
And I always will.
Love,
-----
She didn't get to read the signature, but that didn't matter. A voice came from behind.
"He struggled terribly. He almost beat me." The voice said. She dropped the note. It was no longer important. The killer was standing behind her, most likely with a gun loaded and ready to fire. "Open the box," he said.
"Why?" Her reply was not calm; it wasn't anymore than a squeak. But she was holding her tears back, even though a couple slipped through she would not let the rest come.
"There is a little surprise in it for you."
She opened it reluctantly; in it was a cluster of bloody chocolates and…a whistle. It was the whistle, the whistle that she gave to Gatomon so many years ago.
"Put it on," the voice said, "then turn around."
She did, the tears were beginning to flow more freely now as she lost control of them. It was not the gift, but the fact that she new who she would see when she turned around. The whistle slipped over her head, and then she turned around.
At first all she could see was the barrel of a pistol sticking out of the darkness and pointing at her, but as her eyes adjusted she saw the black boots; the black pants, and the black trench coat. Then she saw his face, which set her off; she could not control her tears any longer.
"Oh, my God!" She gasped as tears began to run down her face, "Daisuke!" She started to back up and he just followed her. He was smiling. "Daisuke, what are you doing! Oh, my God! Daisuke please don't!"
He pulled the trigger, but he wasn't aiming for anything vital. He shot her in the knee; she fell to the floor, but still continued to crawl away from him. "You don't know how long I've dreamed of this night," He spoke at last. He fired another shot, this time taking out her other leg. She was moving on upper body strength only.
"Why, Daisuke? Why?" Her words were barely understandable, the blood from her legs was pouring out onto the floor.
"It's very simple, Hikari, in fact…almost too simple." He paused as if thinking it over, or remembering a speech he had prepared. "It all boils down to 'They hurt me, so I will hurt them back'" He smiled again, raising the gun for the final shot.
Hikari was against the wall, she could feel her strength leaving her due to loss of blood. Yet, his words made sense. She remembered the party, the day before he disappeared. "But Daisuke, we love you."
The words hit him hard, his stern eyes went soft, and his arm fell to his side. "You, love me?"
"That's right," Hikari said now gasping hard, "we all a love you."
Daisuke was facing a battle, a voice in his head shouted, No! It isn't true! And he did the same, "No! It isn't true." His eyes wend cold, the gun came up and his finger went to the trigger.
"Daisuke," she said in a shaky voice, "I love you."
At that moment he lost it. The chaos that had taken control of him lost it. He let out a cry of great anger and pain, and then in his eyes all the Digidestined were back, they encircled him and were chanting in a strange undertone, 'We love you, Daisuke. We love you.' "No! No! No!" He screamed and began pointing his gun in all directions and firing. In the blind chaos and confusion of shooting ghosts, he shot Hikari twice more; once in the left shoulder, and once in the stomach. Her blood began to rush from her body and onto the floor. Daisuke didn't know any of this had happened until he regained himself.
He looked around the room. What had happened? He had no memory of what had gone on for the post several weeks. Then he saw Hikari. It all came rushing back. Hikari was looking at him with her eyes, her beautiful eyes; tears still running down her cheeks. He remembered the party, then the bridge, then every Digidestined falling before him in a pool of blood. He felt something in his pocket. Upon pulling it out he found that it was a list. He saw all his friends' names written, and then crossed off in their own blood. Hikari's was the only that remained. He looked at her again, and then fell to his knees. He looked at the gun in his hand; then he looked at Hikari, then the gun. He put the gun to his head, then looking at Hikari one last time said: "I'm sorry." And pulled the trigger.
The End
