Disclaimer: I don't own any of these Digimon characters—I just borrow them, I do this out of pure boredom—so they all still belong to their respective owners and I get no money from any of this soooo don't sue me 'cuz you'll get nothing—I have no money, duh! If I did have money then I would have bought some of the Digimon characters and I wouldn't have to do this disclaimer, now would I?
S&A: Thanks very much for the reviews Ichijouji Karina and Mouse—I really appreciate it and you have no idea what it means to me! Now to the questions: Karina—where's your story? What happened? Need help—?
Kaiser: You're the one that needs help—and a lot of it!
S&A: Quite! Mouse—the child, the child is….? How 'bout you tell me who you want and I'll see if I can do it but if I find somethin' else that works better than…donno. Why is the child so childish?
Kaiser: Could it be…because he's a child?
S&A: No one asked you! Ano, anyway…where was I?
Kaiser: In the realm of insanity.
S&A: Oh, yeah…thanks *insane grin*
Kaiser:….
S&A: Didn't finish….? What's that mean? I did finish that chapter…. Oh, but look what I finally found! *waves papers*
Kaiser: Another installment to a fic that sucks.
S&A: Yes, I think so *grins* But perhaps it will be better than you expect it to be?
Kaiser: Why? Have you come to your senses and written me into it yet?
S&A: Hn, maybe. I guess you'll just have to see, ne?
Kaiser: You mean that I have to read this crap? *snatches papers*
S&A: Hey! I need those! *reaches through the bars*
Kaiser: *grabs S&A's arm* Well, what do we have here?
S&A: Oi, I need this arm to write…! Shouldn't have said that…
Kaiser: Really? *grins insanely*
S&A:…Ano, help?
Kaiser: Help means read and review people.
S&A: No it doesn't, it means—
Kaiser: Enjoy. We need some alone time here.
S&A: Wai—
*muffeled voices fade into silence*
____________
The Sound of Innocence
Chapter 2: Stuck in Mihanasu
By ShinkuAme
There they were. But were they hiding? Perhaps. Living there? Most certainly not. Who could live in such a place? Apparently many people—with various questionable backgrounds—could.
People milled about the streets but not because they were out doing errands—no. This was the "bad" part of the beautiful city of Mikake. This place—where dirt and blood were permanent stains upon those dark creatures who lurked within the shadows—was known to all as Mihanasu.
Reputations ran deep into the heart of Mikake and without them—these creatures who were cast aside—it was almost certain that the great city would fall because these people built the glanderous city. These dirty dealers were also the only real thing that kept Mikake going and they would not let it fall, if they did they'd lose everything. They would hold on tight and so, it would seem, that everyone else would too.
Travelers and fugitives alike found homes in the copious amount of space that Mikake offered. Awed by it's splendor they were blinded by the fact that only lowlifes ran all within its walls and slowly fed off its own residents to sustain its own existence and thrive—this city was like no other in many more ways that one could ever imagine. The one aspect that set it apart from any other of the flourishing cities was that Mikake had evolved from those before it and had an eerie hold on its people, several had gone mad over the years of its existence, but it was different from any other just like Mikake itself.
These…symptoms that were bestowed upon various parts of the populace were mainly centered in one place in Mikake. And thus, Mihanasu was born. But it didn't settle to be content with that which it had and Mihanasu grew by "feeding"—as it was so named by those who lived far from it—meaning that the mental illness increased, which in turn caused Mihanasu to expand its borders. So it continued to spread its way of life—or madness—like so many other diseases, which plagued mankind to no end least man, himself, perish, flanking the prosperity that was Mikake.
Many were not blind to these facts but didn't want to call attention to themselves so, for the most part; they abided by all that was set for them to follow. If it did not directly affect them and their mental stability than it just didn't concern them or at least not their immediate attention.
Two were thrown into the middle of it all. Unwillingly so? Each would answer the opposite. They complimented and contradicted each other always. They were the perfect duo. But did they meet up just by chance or was it preordained? The answer they shall never know…or will they?
"Hey! Watch it!" He yelled at the kid that stood before him and had bumped him none too gently.
"Sorry," the kid murmured without lifting his head and obviously did not care a damn about this stranger that he had specifically picked out from among those wandering about the streets.
The young man walked off, grumbling about the stupid and irresponsible kids that loitered the streets while the boy hurried off before his victim could realize what had truly happened. The boy ran out of sight and did not look back once as the young man stopped in sudden realization.
He had—repeatedly—been warned about pickpockets, and yet, he reached for his valuables nonetheless and knew that it was already too late. They were gone.
He turned around swiftly and scanned the street but the boy, too, was gone. Both gone—which included all his possessions that he had held within his pouch. There was nothing he could do.
Sighing the young man continued on his way.
Should have known better. It serves him right leaving it clearly exposed as he did. Hopefully the young man had learned his lesson well enough not to let it happen again. Probably not, a dark haired observer thought as the young man caught sight of him and came to stand before him looking rather sheepish.
"See, wha'd I tell ya? They have no respect here," he told his dark haired companion.
"Please, Daisuke. What the hell am I ever going to do with you?" Although he asked this with a mischievous smirk, indicating that he was only teasing his younger friend. "But you really shouldn't leave things out for greedy hands to grab, Daisuke."
"Yeah, yeah." He let a moment pass for effect before he continued, "So, I shouldn't have brought you out with me then, ne Ken?" Daisuke shot a triumphant grin at Ken.
"Oh, shut up. And besides, if I wanted to leave your company that badly I wouldn't wait for someone to "steal" me—as you so eloquently put it. Anyone I pick would gladly want me as their partner and you know it too, so don't pretend that you don't," he countered as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his blacker than black jacket.
"Such as?"
"Well…" Ken hesitated, he did not want to go into this again but he needed to prove more than one point. And, for once, Daisuke was paying attention so he couldn't let that go to waste, now could he? "Remember that guy Takeru?" Ken leaned against the side of a brick building as he allowed Daisuke a few moments to search his memory.
"Wasn't he the guy that had that Robin Hood fetish?" Daisuke asked at last.
"It wasn't a fetish, it was just coincidence. But he did ask me to join them in their fight—"
"They were fighting for something?" A genuine expression of shock had crossed his face with this bit of news and he was in for some more surprises.
"Well, if you had pried your eyes off of that girl for more than a second, you would have known or didn't you notice that at one point they—and we—were being attacked?"
"Hey, 'Kari was cute."
"Cute enough to almost get skewered with arrows?" Ken shot his cohort an ugly look.
"I don't know what your talkin' 'bout. 'Sides I didn't even get a scratch." Ken said nothing to this and Daisuke continued to ponder about that little adventure before hesitantly asking, "…but you did, didn't you?"
"I'm surprised that you even noticed since you were still drooling over that girl. But, yeah, I did get an arrow in my back—"
"See, maybe you wouldn't have been hurt if you were more like me and saw how beautiful she was." A goofy grin broke out on Daisuke's face and his eyes glazed over as his mind conjured up the smiling face of the girl Hikari that had warmed his heart.
"Please," Ken rolled his eyes toward the heavens as if asking 'Why me?' "The only reason I got hit was because I jumped in front of you and took the shot that was meant for you." If it were not for me you would have died too many times for even me to count. As an after thought he added, "And all I got was a nasty scar, thank you very much."
"Really? That happened?"
A curt nod from Ken answered him.
"So then…why didn't you join them?"
"…I don't know really." Maybe it was because I wouldn't be able to look at that Hikari without being driven insane and gladly stepping into the line of fire. Or perhaps fate smiles down upon you because I still need you. Even if Ken did not require the assistance of Daisuke he was fairly sure that he would still save his life time after endless time, but the thing that truly irked him was that he didn't know why that was.
"Well, for what its worth, I'm sorry." And it honestly did seem as if he truly was sorry for overlooking his partner in crime for just a pretty face and almost getting them killed, once more—and probably not for the last time either.
"Hn." Ken replied as though it was too little too late for such an apology and that he simply didn't care anymore.
"So then, shouldn't we get going, Ken?" With that Daisuke started to walk off but was stopped by Ken gripping his arm, "What? I thought we had t' go?"
"We can't." Ken simply stated as he pushed himself off the building's wall.
"Huh? Why not?"
"I think with your…little display back there, that perhaps it would be best if I were to take care of the…item. At least then my mind would be at ease, if nothing else." Ken stared at his friend to insure him that it was indeed the best course of action for them to take and held out his hand as if he assumed that Daisuke would do as he asked—and Daisuke would have…if it were possible.
The color drained from Daisuke's face as he realized that the object to which Ken was referring to was in his pouch—the same one that was stolen. "Uh…"
Reading Daisuke's reaction for what it was, a scowl appeared upon Ken's face, twisting the normally smooth features of his striking young face. Crossing his arms before his chest he took a moment to collect his thoughts and reflect on the situation at hand.
"Let me get this straight: You left the…" Ken stopped himself before he said something that might cause those around them to take interest in what was being said and instead replaced the word that he was about to use once more, "item—that nearly cost us both our lives," he hissed in a lower tone, "in your pouch, which many would mistake to hold money, and then left that in plain sight for all to see, so naturally someone took that opportunity and now we have nothing left to barter with, correct?"
"Yes," Daisuke said with regret clearly in his voice as he grasped the severity of what that now meant. "Damn. Well, so wha' d' we do now? We certainly cannot find that kid, not in this big a city and with all the places it offers t' hide in, not t' mention the people…"
Ken turned his back on his friend as he answered with finality, "Now we go face the music."
"What?! You're not serious…!" That's the same as committing suicide! Daisuke's mind screamed at him.
"Come on," and with that Ken started to walk away from him.
"But—but, we can't!"
Ken stopped but didn't turn back, "These people are not the kind that will just let you walk away, Dai. You run and they shall find you, how? I don't know, but they will…no matter how long it takes them."
He looked up to the gray clouds above, seeing the past once more and forgetting himself in it. The silence stretched on. Closing his eyes as if that would stop the visions of events long since past from assaulting his mind, Ken turned his head away, back to the street and reopened his eyes. He saw the path on which he was set. Now all he had to do was see it through…Some secrets will be unfolded before the end of the day, I know it.
Sighing Ken remember that he had to get there first and it wouldn't do to be delayed even a moment. "I don't want to be late. Now are you coming or not?"
Sighing also Daisuke caught up to him. "'Course I'm coming, just wanted to make sure."
"Hn." He replied nonchalantly.
And then they were gone. Engulfed by the crowd of wanderers.
Assigned to a fate that could not be altered, they faced it head on. But the rest of the world took no notice whatsoever of them. They were nothing, not even worth a passing glance. The little pickpocket hadn't even offered them more than that.
----
Elsewhere in Mihanasu, two figures stood watching the beggars, that lived upon filth, struggle—apologies of forgiveness, that they would do anything followed by whimpers, and even cursing the pair that looked down upon them with cold and emotionless eyes. Their words continued to flow forth from their dry and cracked lips as did blood and spittle.
A waterfall of tainted souls bleeding…And they all bleed for me, the taller of the two thought. All those tangled meaningless words…they were more akin to music in his ears than the dying's last words. And he devoured them with fervor. "Its time to pick another who will lose their head, and since you've been very good today, if you wish I'll let you pick. Who will get to know the guillotine intimately?"
"I don't know why you obsess over that guillotine so much," answered a female voice from the shadows but she did not pause in her…work, "especially when torture lasts longer and is so much more painful, drawing out their suffering to undeterminable heights." The crack of a whip was heard crisp and clear, it echoed off the stone walls as more blood* surged* out to meet and hail* the air with it's warmth while the cool air itself beckoned more of the red liquid forth, to leave the safety that was offered by the battered body of a blonde male chained against one wall.
"Umm," he replied thoughtfully, "it's just the sound of the blade, my dear, rushing down to claim what is rightfully it's own. And the screams! The cries that are ripped free of mind and body right before the blade falls and those that follow…simply delicious*!" His tongue darted out between thin graceful lips and wandered over their surface, wetting them in his rising anticipation. As they glistened in the faint light that was offered between the shadows, they moved once more, "They are so very different than those of the tortured, it's a beautiful thing all of its own, itself—not unlike a whole other universe when compared to those with tormented souls…"
Hearing this the female stepped away from the one that she had been…playing with, whip still gripped within the confines of her hand, she turned to look upon him and away from the broken form of a man she once thought that she loved and him her. He had played with her heart as if she were a toy—Well, who's the toy now? she thought, And a broken one at that!
After another moment's passing she came up with an appealing idea that tempted her so much that she could not help but perform. "Okay then, I'm willing to test that," her eyes wandered over the heathens in front of her before she recognized a head of unruly large brown hair. Is that…? The man seemed to feel her eyes upon him and he looked up into those very same eyes daring her, hating her. "I know precisely who deserves his turn," she purred with an evil glint in her gaze that danced with an insanity that was unprecedented for her and was mixed with such a level of abandonment that her companion thought that she would now finally be able to understand at least some of his thoughts—she was still nowhere near his state of mind.
He looked down at the man with unruly hair and smirked, "Yes, I think his time is far over due. Guards, if you please." And with that the man was hauled up into position, and then fastened to the guillotine. A guard took his place as executioner while another placed a basket to catch the unfortunate's head. The man did not speak nor did he struggle.
A door opened off to the side and revealed another man, younger than all those within the room but through his eyes one could detect an intelligence that a person his age should not possess. He closed the door with a deafening bang as he took in the scene that was laid out before him and he realized who was the next intended victim for the guillotine's blade. "Why did you not call me? You knew that I would want to see this."
"You haven't missed anything yet." The expression on his face spoke a million words and none of those were suited for one his age to speak either, "Alright, to make it up to you…you can do the count down," she wrung the whip between her hands, she had really wanted to do the count down, but at least she got to decide on the matter of who's turn it was.
The young man started to count backwards; there were a few cries because they knew what that signified but as he neared the end many were shouting out in indignation and anguish, although there was the occasional cry that was of joy—delighted that it was not yet their turn to face the guillotine but their's too would come soon enough, it was all just a matter of time.
"Two," he yelled in his eagerness. All eyes were glued to the man strapped into the guillotine, with the exception of those who were unable to see whether it be because they could no longer see at all or the direction they were placed and bound to did not face the guillotine didn't matter—they could still hear. But the man that had been the interest of the whip-wielding woman beforehand also ignored the scene before him, it didn't concern or interest him. The noise was mounting, excruciatingly so. "One!"
At last the doomed man could keep his silence no longer and screamed, "Yamatto!!!"
The blonde man's head jerked up at the sound of his name being used by that familiar voice, too late had he realized what was happening around him. Taichi!!! he thought. He was able to catch the other's gaze just as the blade reached his neck and Yamatto didn't break it even when the now severed head fell into the waiting embrace of the basket. No…no…If he could have yelled, or even cried, he would have but those liberties had long since been taken away from him. All he could do was hang there, chained to the stone wall, in disbelief and denial even though the truth lay there…looking him dead in the eye.
Yamatto's cries of anguish over his dearly departed love split the air with their pain and despair—or they would have if they could have been heard, that is. But this did not did not stop his silent cries or his dry tears, no, in fact it appeared to increase them ten-fold at his frustration of never even being able to speak his love's name again. He'll never feel his love's warm and strong, yet gentle, hand upon him once more….
At this thought his mind conjured up all the things that they had shared and now can do no longer.
They shall not be able to embrace as only lovers can…they can no longer bask in the love that the other showered upon him…and worse yet, in this lifetime they will never meet again.
Although a part of him could not help but to feel glad in a way—his love was finally at peace. True peace. Yes, rest in peace—no more torture sessions for you anymore, he thought. However, Yamatto wasn't as fortunate…he, like so many others, were doomed to suffer even more before their finale breath was spent.
But they who remained among the living that still had their voices were using both them and their breath at the moment. They did what Yamatto, himself, could not and they had been doing so since the beginning which he had only just become aware of now that they had grown as much as possible. And they demanded his attention, they would not—could not—be ignored.
The screams had conversed and become one, it had no beginning—no end.
"Hmm, about the screams," she said lazily, but delighted, above the voices that sounded more animal than human, "I think you're right."
"Well, that was fun," the youngest one admitted from her right.
To this the man flanking her other side, just smirked in pleasure and agreement. But now, with that done, what could they possibly do to pass the time before they had to get back to business?
____________
Kaiser: *finished reading and is standing outside of his cage alone* It appears that S&A chickened out on that last bit—nothing too graphic. And what's with these words (the ones with this * after them) in the third and fourth paragraphs after the scene change? *waits for an answer before remembering what had transpired earlier* Hn.
Wormon: *enters—also alone—from off to the side of the cage but stops some distance away when he sees that there is a gapping hole in it right behind where the Kaiser is standing*…who…let you out…? *starts to panic* And where's S&A?
Kaiser: *hides a small chainsaw behind his back and snickers—S-A (don't you get it?)* S&A's the one who let me out and I'm sure that Shinku's…hanging around somewhere. *thinking* Strange how the story (after the scene change) mirrors that of S&A's present predicament and that of the other two…
Wormon: I don't like that look… I hope S&A and the others are alive…and not badly injured….