[Demon Voice]
Ballad 02 –Rising
revised July 25, 2003

I can't help myself from being worried about him. I feel it's my obligation to always protect him no matter what. Maybe he'll hate me for doing that so much, but he means too much to me. I don't want to lose the very thing I have been searching for so long. Still, maybe I should give him some space. I mean, the way I act it's like some deadly criminal is after him and I want to be there to save him. Maybe I'm weird that way, always wanting to protect my brother. But he's the same age as me, an hour or so apart, but still the same age. I should trust that he can look out for himself.

But why…? Why do I feel like something bad happened to him? What's this feeling that submerged right now? Where are you, Kouji? What happened to you?

Kouichi looked through the blinds and gazed outside, hoping that his twin brother had arrived. Nothing but the city sights and front of his apartment were captured in his vision. Sighing, he closed the blinds and stepped away from the window. Sitting alongside his closest friends -- Takuya, Izumi, Junpei and Tomoki -- he patiently waited for Kouji. Everyone was silent at the moment as Kouichi arched his head over his knees depressingly. Picking up the glass cup before him filled with iced tea, he drank solemnly.

Placing his hand over the dark haired boy's shoulder, Takuya gave Kouichi an enthusiastic grin to cheer him up. Seeing the other boy's attempt to brighten the mood, the Wielder of Darkness tried to smile but couldn't find himself to do so. Feeling glum, Kouichi's expression displayed only worry.

Clearly his throat, Takuya felt frustrated by the other boy's attitude. "Stop feeling all down in the dumps, Kouichi," he suggested. "Kouji will be here. Don't you worry! I bet he's already heading over here right now."

"Then why he's not here yet?" The dark haired boy uttered coldly.

Takuya held his breath when he stated that. Gazing to his side, the auburn haired leader did not know how to lessen the tensed atmosphere in the room. Sighing, he sat next to Kouichi, leaning back with his arms behind his head. "It's not like him to late. He's always punctual."

"Yeah, I know…"

"Well, it's nothing to be bummed out about," Izumi remarked as she stood in front of the two with her hands on her hips. "Come on now…!"

"Izumi-chan is right. Maybe Kouji got caught up with something and that's the reason why he's late," Junpei supported. "I mean, there's has to be some explanation, right?"

"If he did get caught up with something, Kouji would've called," Kouichi muttered wearily.

"What's the matter with you?" The blond girl nagged. "You usually give more effort than this. Nothing happened so far and now you've given up already." Grabbing his hand, Izumi tried to pull him up. Struggling, Tomoki wanted to give it a try.

"Stop pouting," he groaned as he attempted to help Izumi. "Come on, you big baby. We might just have to look for Kouji-san instead of waiting for him."

"Takuya~!! Come on, give me a hand here!"

Rubbing the back of his head as he moaned, the Bearer of Fire obliged to her command, although he too felt out of it like Kouichi. Aiding Izumi and Tomoki, he replied as he heaved, "They're right. Let's go, buddy."

After a few minutes of straining, they finally got Kouichi onto his feet. Panting lightly, everyone except for Junpei and Kouichi collapsed into the sofa tiredly. "Man, you're such a dead weight, Kouichi!" exclaimed Izumi as she pulled off her cap.

"No kidding!" Takuya joked. Tomoki elbowed the Bearer of Fire hard in the rib so adding that quirk.

"Takuya-niisan~!!"  Takuya heard Junpei chuckling in the background in response to Tomoki's action.

"Hehe, gomen gomen." The Bearer of Fire apologized as he rubbed the back of his head once again. "Anyway, we should get going."

The other Chosen Children nodded in agreement. As they were heading out, the phone rang. Turning around in response, Kouichi stopped in his tracks. Everyone else noticed his action. "Maybe that's Kouji…," he muttered as went to pick up the phone. Raising it to his ear, he replied, "Moshi moshi. This is the Kimura residence."

"Kouichi-kun…?" a female voice answered back. Her voice sounded distorted and coarse that it was difficult to determine who it was. Kouichi paused as she continued. "This is Kanami Minamoto…"

"Minamoto-chan…? Are you alright?" the dark haired boy asked as he heard her sob.

As she tried to hold back her tears, Mrs. Minamoto managed to say, "Kouji is missing…"

"Missing…! Are you sure? What happened?" Kouichi replied immediately. Everyone's eyes widen in shock to hear this. Joining Kouichi, they awaited for more news.

"Someone found his belongings near our home…"

Kouichi held his breath as he gripped the phone tighter. His dark sapphire blue eyes narrowed as he felt his body numbing. Taking a deep breath, the Wielder of Darkness attempted to calm himself. Being worried about his brother seemed to counter that though. "Then that means…"

"Someone probably kidnapped him or worse..."

"What do you mean?"

"Hikaru's also missing..."

"Kouji's dog?" he echoed as he raised a brow. Is the dog's disappearance a good thing? Perhaps he's with Kouji, Kouichi thought.

"Maybe he's not by himself," his voice said unconsciously.

"Yeah... I just hope they're both okay."

"Me too... Thanks for telling me. I'll be on a lookout for them."

"Alright... Kouichi-kun...?"

"Yeah?"

"Please stay safe."

"I will. Talk to you later, Minamoto-chan."

"Ja matta ne."

Hanging up the phone, Kouichi faced his teammates with such a gloomy look. Curling his fingers into a fist, he clenched his teeth furiously. Frustrated, he could only respond, "Kouji's missing..."

****

Waking up in a dark, drenched room, Kouji rubbed his eyes as he discovered where he was. It looked like an abandon warehouse of the sorts. Rising to his feet, his sapphire eyes searched around, hoping to find out he was transported to. As he did, the long haired boy felt his dog nuzzling him side. Kneeling down, he stroked Hikari's fur softly. With a smile, he was glad that his close friend did not get harmed. At the moment, he heard applauding within the room. Approaching him was the cruel angel, Lucemon.

Kouji jerked back as the angel Digimon became visible. As he did, he felt something nearby. Glaring down at the floor, the Wielder of Light saw a female body beside his foot. A cold shock spurred down his spine as he let out a gasp of fear. Hearing Lucemon laugh in response made his nerves tremble. "You should watch your step. There's more than that..."

The long haired Chosen observed the rest of the floor, seeing hundreds of bodies piled and in the corners. All of them were perhaps unconscious or worse, maybe dead. Holding his breath, Kouji eyed Lucemon nervously. "What did you do to them...?" he asked the cruel angel.

Lucemon crossed his arms as he paced towards the Wielder of Light. "I destroyed their weakness, themselves. Humans are foolish, selfish beings. Always dreaming for the better. What a joke. Perfection for humans will never be reached with that ambition. You keep searching for everlasting satisfaction that will never exist. A waste of energy..."

"That's not true!"

"Oh? Aren't you doing the same thing? Hoping... Wishing... And still, you gain so little and want more."

Kouji bit his lip by Lucemon's comments. Although he wanted to deny it, that fact is that it was true. "What's wrong about hoping for a future...?"

"Your future has been already decided like everyone else's. Death... Is that a future to look forward to? No matter what you do, it's futile because all that's waiting for you is your end."

"Death isn't what life is about!"

"Isn't it? Look around you, child. How many of these people actually enjoy their lives? How many of these people want to live? How many rather die? How many will actually make a difference? That is life! You are just one out of billions. How significant are you?"

"I--I..." Kouji uttered hesitantly. What could he possibly say back to the cruel angel? It's not like he's ever going to convince him to look the other way. This being before him has his thoughts straight unlike him. Always wavering by others so easily... Perhaps he was so gullible to try to believe in people. The truth is he can't even trust himself, trust his decisions. How could he possibly know what's right when he doesn't what is true? Was Lucemon right? How significant was he when he can't decide on something without being conflicted?

"I thought so... Worthless," Lucemon concluded. "You've been dreaming and accomplished nothing. Never acting... And when you do act, the results are pathetically insignificant. Isn't that right?"

Kouji kept silence as Lucemon's words became much stronger. Frustrated, the long haired boy clenched his fist until it shook.

"What do you want, child?" the blond haired angel wondered as he hovered close to the boy.

"To find out why my father lied to me...," Kouji admitted as he quickly looked away from Lucemon in disgust. Why did he say it so openly to the cruel angel? Why couldn't he tell this to Kouichi or Takuya or anyone else? Why him? Was it because he believed in the angel's words? Or was it because he believed in the same thing as him? What was it?

"Have you found out?"

"No...," he muttered softly.

"Did he ever tell you the truth himself?"

"No..."

"What did he tell you?"

"That my mom died and I was the only child." The Wielder of Light's eyes gradually became dull and cold. His expression saddened as Lucemon glided his fingers over his shoulder teasingly.

"Did that make you happy?" the cruel angel smirked as he witnessed the boy becoming more tortured by the idea.

"No..."

"Why do you think he lied to you?"

"So I wouldn't be bothered about him getting remarried."

"But he got remarried and still hided the fact your mother was alive. You found about her existence and still he denies it. How do you see him now?"

"He was selfish...," Kouji claimed.

"Did he really hope for his happiness or yours?"

"His..."

"Did he ever place you before anything?"

"No..."

"Should you been treated this way?"

"No..."

"Why do you allow him to?"

"Because he's my father."

"But he doesn't care about you. He would rather seek happiness for himself."

"But he helped the family when he can," the long haired boy believed.

"Wrong," Lucemon protested. "Your family is being used to display the character in which your father wants to show to the public. How the family benefits reflects that."

"That's not true...," he disagreed.

"Isn't it? This life that your father created is a lie. You are just a part of it."

"No, it isn't."

"Accept it."

"You're wrong!" Kouji roared as he pulled himself away from Lucemon's ideals.

"Deny all you want. But it's the truth... Something your father couldn't ever dare to say to you."

"The truth...? What is the truth? Truth can always be manipulated through different perspectives. Yours could be a lie instead!" The long haired boy shot back angrily.

"Perhaps it is... If you want to believe that," Lucemon noted slyly.

"Stop playing damn mind games with me!"

"Gladly..." At that moment, the cruel angel blasted an unbelievable force of energy at the Wielder of Light. Speeding towards him at a rapid pace, Kouji's body couldn't react fast enough to dodge his attack. Suddenly his faithful partner, Hikaru leaped in the way taking the hit. Still, the impact of the attack sent him and Hikaru flying, slamming them against the hard metal panels in the room.

As they fell to the ground, Kouji weakily groaned and called out to his dog. His partner's whelping was evident that he was in tremendous, excruciating pain due to Lucemon's attack. Attempting to reach for Hikaru, Lucemon beat him to it. Grabbing Hikaru by the neck, a Digicode data strip appeared around his animal friend. Hikaru cried out loudly as Kouji stood up carefully.

"Hikaru...!" the long haired boy called out. Instantly, in response to Kouji's cry, the cruel angel smiled maliciously as the data wrapped into his grasp, leaving Hikaru lifeless. Throwing the dog before Kouji's feet, Lucemon crossed his arms with such an evil look painted upon his complexion.

"Scanning complete...," he uttered victoriously.

In terrible shock, Kouji fell to his knees and touched Hikaru's fur carefully. No movement, no response... Absolutely nothing. His suspended stare drifted to Lucemon who floated there. The nerve he has to do such a thing...

"Hikaru... What did you do to him?!"

"The same like I did with everyone else... Scan the very living essence out of them." The cruel angel replied as he gasped the air.

"You mean... their souls?" Kouji murmured startlingly.

"If you wish to call your life that, then yes. I took their souls," he remarked.

"You monster..."

"Please, don't compare me with something so primitive. I'm giving these poor souls peace. It's much better than the Hell they're currently live in. I'm sure you'll agree."

"What?! I'll never agree to some damn-ass sadistic idea!"

"Words are meaningless. Actions say otherwise. And your soul tells me that you hate those who are happy and enjoying their lives... I have a final solution that could arrange."

Suddenly, the cruel angel appeared behind him, locking his arm over his neck. Gasping for air, Kouji cired out, "Lucemon...!"

Enjoying his suffering, he smiled and whispered to his ear, "You're the key element for the New Order."

At that moment, a loud scream echoed out of the room and branched outside, causing the ravens nearby to flutter away in fear. As they flew towards the horizon, the warehouse became absorbed by darkness and began to spread. Everything that the darkness touches falls in the void as the light slowly disappeared and dies.

After death, there is rebirth...

END OF CHAPTER TWO

Author's Notes:

Whoo~!! Anybody surprised about how this chapter ended? Heh, I really made Kouji really angsty, didn't I? Oh well, it's all good. ^o^ Kanami is just some random name I decide to slap on Kouji's stepmom. Just a future reference... Well, as a note for you readers, this is going to be a really short series. I say at most it'll end at 5-7 chapters and that's it. I don't have much to cover in this series since it's so Kouji-centric than brother love based. Maybe I'll make a better Frontier series after this one. **shrugs**

Anyhoo, expect some action in the next chapter because that's when total chaos erupts in Japan, the military gets involve and the Chosens try to find a way to get their Spirits back... Oh yeah, Bokomon, Neemon and Patamon are all going to appear. ^_^ Well, review away! Swoosh!