"The future I must walk
Is illuminated by the light that guides me
Courage is born in my hands
The future I must walk; a new future
Ahead of where I pointed, I'll go there soon
To the future I must walk, overflowing with light."
Jenrya Lee—"Mirai"
(Translated by Megchan)
With Broken Wings
Chapter Five: "Mirai, Part Two"
"Shutumon," the Kaiser recognized, his voice no more than a low growl. Instead of answering, Shutumon grabbed a shocked Masaki and flew toward the forest, where a dark green SUV was waiting. She deposited him inside and devolved to a human form: Amiko Toyowa, or Izumi Orimoto as she was better known among the Resistance.
"Not bad," Masaki complimented, removing the dark contacts that had been covering his irises. Instead of dark gray, his eyes were a clear deep blue, vigorous and full of life. Izumi's contacts were also removed, revealing her aqua-green eyes. "Great work, Izumi."
"Thank you, Kouji. Your act inside with Kouichi was great too."
"Yeah," Masaki, or Kouji Minamoto, replied. "But I got too tense in there."
"Why?" Izumi questioned. "Agoraphobia attack?"
"No. It was more instinct than anything. He was using his 'onii-san wants to murder ototo-chan' voice," Kouji explained.
"Hate to interrupt," their driver intervened, "but we're not exactly out of the woods. This is Imperial territory, remember? You'd better lie down back there until we get to the settlement."
Kouji nodded at the red-haired, naturally steel-gray-eyed man, and lay down under the backseat, grateful (and not for the first time) that his long hair had been cut as he tried to keep his head below the wad of gum somebody had rudely placed under there.
Reiji Takamoto drove them to safety at the Mt. Fuji town they had claimed three years earlier. He positioned the SUV into the driveway of the house they and Kouji's family shared and opened his door, using his cane to stabilize himself as he got out. Then he opened the back door, allowing Kouji to get out.
Yes, at the age of twenty-one, Takamoto was dependant on a cane. Even now, he marveled at the irony: He shot Kouji in the left leg, but didn't bother to help him. But he'd been hit in the left leg as well, and Kouji never thought twice about turning around to save him. The bullet had hit his left leg muscle and sped through, destroying his leg bone. He hit the floor, rapidly losing blood, and helplessly watched the Trailmon leave without him. But Kouji had heard the gunshot and rushed back to help him, followed quickly by Shutumon. Takamoto couldn't believe the kindness he'd been shown. The whole ordeal still shocked him to that day.
Kouji's knee had made a full recovery as shown by his skill that day on the track. Though if it still pained him remained a mystery, as he never showed his pain to anyone. With his wolf-like reflexes and speed earned though practices and battles in his evolutions, he'd quickly become the fastest student in the school.
Takamoto, in contrast, had been told that his leg would never heal. Surprised out of selfishness, he had the skin, muscles, blood, and marrow of what remained of his amputated leg donated to those who would need it. He gladly accepted a prosthetic leg, triumphantly securing it to the small stub of leg that existed below his knee, and walked with the aid of a cane.
Inside the house, a group of Resistance fighters cheered loudly when Kouji entered, spurring memories of the last time they'd cheered him—three years ago, for admitting his feelings to Izumi.
"What's so exciting?" Kouji questioned.
"Kouji!" three-year-old Kouri cried, running up to him, begging to be held. Kouji lifted the tiny girl and held her as he looked around.
"What's going on?" Izumi asked.
"'Zumi!" Kouri recognized, reaching over to hug her. Kouji kept his sister from falling as she quickly hugged Izumi and returned to a more upright position.
"Glad to see you too, Kouri," Izumi commented.
"You're okay!" Kouri noticed, hugging Kouji tightly.
"Why wouldn't I be?" he questioned.
"Shh!" Sakiko ordered. At sixteen, she still stayed the same, only she had grown taller and developed a little more fully. "It's back on!"
The Resistance gathered around a television, where they saw a live press conference from Kouji and Izumi's high school. Kouichi was there, answering questions from reporters.
"Are there any suspects in the kidnapping?" one asked.
"As I've said before, the Resistance is our number one suspect," Kouichi answered. "One of their agents was seen carrying him off. But I have reason to suspect the fugitive Kouji Minamoto is behind all this." An age-progressed version of Kouji's fifth grade yearbook photo appeared on screen. It proved once and for all just how "accurate" computers could be. The picture still had Kouji with long hair, and his facial features were entirely different. "If anyone spots him, contact the local police at once."
"And for those of you just tuning in, that was the Digimon Kaiser reporting on the kidnapping of high school student Masaki Nishigawa," the anchor informed. "Again, if you have any information on the kidnapping, here's a number to call…" Himi got up and switched off the television.
"Lucky for us that age progression isn't very accurate," he commented.
"All of Japan will be after you now, Kouji," Tomoko Kimura realized.
"But they are looking for the wrong man," her ex-husband reminded.
"Mom's right though," Kouji decided. "I will have to be more careful this time."
"You won't let Kouichi and the bad guys get you?" Kouri checked.
"Of course not," Kouji promised.
"We'll all help him to make sure the bad guys don't get him," Izumi added. Kouri smiled, content with that.
Kouji yawned and put his sister down. "I'm going to bed."
"We all better," Izumi realized. "It's going to be a long day tomorrow. Luckily it's a weekend, so we don't have to worry too much about incidents in school."
"Okay, party's over," Takamoto decided, politely shooing Himi, Gabumon, Sakiko, Koemon, and Kotemon out the door. "See you all tomorrow." He suddenly stopped the door with his cane. "By the way, Himi, you and Gabumon can go to Ultimate, right?"
"Yeah," Himi answered.
"Why?" Gabumon asked. "Is there something important for me to become MetalGarurumon?"
"Maybe. I have an idea, but it'll have to wait till tomorrow."
-------
"I want you to see this," Kouichi's voice spoke. "These are the horrors of war."
Kouji saw the images of World War II: the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, the concentration and internment camps in Europe and the U.S., fighter planes getting shot down while their pilots either died in the crashes or were shot as they parachuted to safety, troops of soldiers being murdered in senseless firefights, people burning alive in fires, people suffocating in gas chambers, and Hitler's inhumane experimentations on his prisoners.
And Kouji was experiencing that one firsthand.
He'd been stripped of his shirt and strapped onto some kind of bed. All around him, people were screaming, dying, as the Nazi guards injected toxins into the innocent people's bloodstreams.
"God save us," begged one dying man. "What did we ever do to deserve this?"
"What did he get you for?" asked a small boy who'd been strapped on a bed next to Kouji. "What did you do?"
"Hush, Jakob," urged an unseen boy. "He'll hear you."
"Who?" Kouji questioned.
A mysterious figure entered from the shadows. Kouji was in disgust to see that it was Kouichi.
The self-proclaimed Digimon Kaiser placed a dark cloth over Jakob's face and began injecting the boy with various chemicals. Each time he did, the boy screamed out in pain and began having violent spasms. Beside him, the other boy could be heard moaning with pain, as though he'd been feeling it too.
"Stop it, Kouichi!" Kouji shouted. "They're just kids!"
"I'll stop, once I'm through here," his brother answered. Soon, there were no more sobs or seizures from Jakob. Kouichi removed the black cloth, revealing the boy's blank face, his eyes sightlessly gazing toward the ceiling. Finally, Kouji could see the boy on Jakob's other side. The boy was Jakob's twin brother, and he was crying.
Suddenly, a leather strap was tightened around Kouji's forehead, pressing the back of his head against the bed. A cloth identical to Jakob's was placed over his face.
"Kouji, I doubt you'll know the answer, but I might as well ask you," Kouichi stated. "Do you know who Hitler did some of his worst experiments on?" The toxic substance was injected into his arm. If Kouichi gave an answer, Kouji didn't hear it over the involuntary shout of pain he'd released…
Kouji sat up immediately, finding that he was in the boys' dorm of their house. He had been lying on a futon placed near the wall, and his blanket was on his lap. Around him, the others were still asleep, unaware that their roommate was up.
What was it? Kouji asked himself, trying to remember what had happened in his dream. He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate, but no memory of the nightmare existed. Defeated, he stood up and cautiously made his way to a chair that he'd thrown his shirt on. The summer humidity was making the room hot and sticky, only adding to the sweat beading down his forehead. He pulled on his shirt, unconsciously avoiding touching part of his arm—exactly where the needle had entered in his dream. Having had enough of the heat, he carefully exited to turn on the air conditioning.
"Kouji, are you okay?" Izumi checked. She was standing outside the door of the girls' dorm.
"Yeah," he replied.
"You look like you haven't slept in days. I noticed it in school, but you had been training for all that time, so I thought you just got tired from that."
"I haven't been sleeping well this whole week."
"What's wrong?"
"I think Kouichi's been trying to reach me. I don't have any proof, except for nightmares I can't even remember just after waking up."
"Let's go see Dr. Yamamoto," Izumi suggested. "Maybe he'll know a way to help you."
They both retrieved their shoes and Izumi went to the kitchen to grab Takamoto's keys. But before leaving, they left behind a note for their housemates, assuring them that they were okay and that they'd be back soon.
Izumi drove because Kouji was too shaken up. It never really mattered which of them was the driver because they'd both had their fair share of driving instruction. But on this night, it was just better to let Izumi drive than risk Kouji causing an accident in the quiet town.
"How is Kouichi getting into your mind?" Izumi questioned. "I thought you figured out how to block him."
"I did, but I've been training for the past week, so I've been getting too tired to keep that barrier up. All I really know is that he's after me. And this time, he will kill me."
"Why? I thought he couldn't."
"Kouichi can't, but the Kaiser can. I think the same thing is happening to Kouichi that happened to Ken three or four years ago. Day by day, Kouichi and the Kaiser are becoming one."
"But how? And why isn't it happening faster?"
"I don't know how or why. But I do know that if this keeps up, Kouichi soon won't remember anything about who he used to be."
"You never answered my first question," Izumi pointed out. "Why is Kouichi going to kill you now?"
He shrugged. "Who can really say? But I think it's because according to his sick and twisted mind, I committed the most heinous crime of them all: I fell in love with you."
They remained silent throughout the remainder of the drive. Finally, the hospital was in sight. Izumi parked the SUV, and they both walked to the front doors, an uncomfortable silence between them.
"We're here to see Dr. Yamamoto," Izumi requested.
"Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asked.
"No, but he knows us. Tell him Orimoto and Minamoto are here," she informed.
"Just a minute," the receptionist answered. She picked up the receiver of her phone (which was on the secured hospital line so no Imperials could eavesdrop) and dialed the doctor. After only a few seconds, the receptionist hung up. "He'll be with you two in a minute," she explained in her stuffy-nosed monotone. "He's finishing up with a patient."
The couple sat down in the lobby, where only three years ago they'd gathered to help the Digital World Resistance Force. As he waited, Kouji closed his eyes but dared not to sleep, fearing the images that had plagued him the whole week.
"I hope I have not forced you to wait long," Dr. Yamamoto commented. Just with one look at Kouji, he understood with whom the problem laid. "Come into my office."
Inside the doctor's office was a coffee pot—uncommon for Asia, but the extra caffeine was something the aging doctor was coming to rely on for late-night patients. He offered a cup to each teenager. Izumi declined, but Kouji accepted graciously, slowly sipping the hot, bitter liquid.
"So what is the problem?" Dr. Yamamoto questioned.
"I'm not entirely sure, but this is as much as I know." Kouji went into description of his disturbing visions and how his memories of the events evaded him, yet every morning (or night for that matter), he awoke dripping in a cold sweat, instinctively being wary of injuries he might have suffered in the nightmares. "I think Kouichi might be behind it, but I can't prove it."
"I don't like this," Dr. Yamamoto decided. "There is a psychiatrist here, Dr. Matsumoto, and he's majored in several aspects of psychology, including psychoanalysis. He deals with the patients you and the others bring in: the ones who are trying to cope with recovering from the Kaiser's power. His office is on the third floor. Tell him I sent you." Kouji placed the half-empty coffee cup on Dr. Yamamoto's desk. "One more thing," Dr. Yamamoto interrupted. He held his hand out. Kouji sighed and handed over the gun Kage had given him all those years ago. "You've been sleeping with this in your pocket again. I know for the past three years, your parents and stepmother have lectured you on how dangerous that habit is, but even I have to take a stand." He handed the pistol to Izumi, who placed it in her pocket. "See to it that this ends up in a safe place for the night." She nodded, and they left for the elevator.
"You're wearing that shirt again," Kouji noticed as he stood in the empty elevator. His old green shirt fit nicely around Izumi's delicate frame.
"You gave it to me," she pointed out.
"I didn't mean for you to wear it all the time. You wear either that or my old bandana at least once every week."
"And since when do you notice what I wear?"
Four years ago, Kouji would have turned beet-red at the comment. But he was fifteen now, not eleven, and he'd been with Izumi for three years. "I always notice what's around me, but I choose whether or not to bring attention to my observations." He demonstrated by stepping aside to let her exit the elevator doors.
Dr. Matsumoto was a serious man in his mid-sixties or early-seventies, with a slight French (or was it Flemish?) accent from his years of practice in Europe. They entered his office to see him opening an envelope with a switchblade.
"Always important to have some kind of weapon during war," he commented. "But even more important is the knowledge of when to use it."
"Dr. Matsumoto?" Izumi questioned.
"Yes."
"Dr. Yamamoto sent us," she continued. "He thought you might be able to help."
"You two must be Izumi and Kouji," he theorized. "Dr. Yamamoto called me and informed me of the problem." He placed down his unread letter and knife. "Is there anything you can remember from your dreams?"
Kouji shut his eyes and forced himself to remember. "I remember something about World War II, and Kouichi saying something, but the rest is blank. Like I told Dr. Yamamoto, I think Kouichi is trying to contact me."
"Twins have always fascinated psychologists," Dr. Matsumoto explained. "Sometimes they are able to feel the other's pain or share thoughts. Some psychologists and doctors would do sadistic experiments on them."
"That's it!" Kouji remembered. "There was something about twins!" His expression grew more somber as he forced himself to recall the nightmare.
"Is there anything you can do to help?" Izumi asked.
"There is something, but I need Kouji's full cooperation. Hypnosis should bring about the remainder of his memories of the visions. But there is a chance that it could release intense imagery, for instance: his torture as the Kaiser's slave."
Kouji's face was set with an understanding of what could happen, but he slowly nodded with determination, complying with the concept. He then sat down in a chair near the doctor's desk. Dr. Matsumoto performed the hypnotism, and Kouji's eyelids began to droop in spite of the strong coffee he'd drunk before.
"Listen to my voice, Kouji," Dr. Matsumoto ordered calmly. "On the count of ten, you will fall into a sleep-like state. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten." Kouji's eyes closed and his body became still as his breathing slowed like he was asleep. "Now, Kouji, let your mind wander to the dream you had earlier. Are you there?"
"Mm-hmm," he replied, his voice tired.
"What do you see?" The young man kept his eyes closed, turning his head.
"Someone's calling me," he observed, getting up from the chair and heading toward the door.
"Kouji…" Izumi called.
"Kouji, concentrate," Dr. Matsumoto ordered.
"It was Kouichi," Kouji answered, his eyes still closed. "He wanted me to see this. He wanted me to see the horrors of World War II."
"What is it?" Dr. Matsumoto asked.
"People keep dying. Bombs. Planes crashing…their pilots either dying in the crash or being shot as they parachute away. War." He seemed to struggle against invisible bonds. His hands were at his sides, and he seemed to be trying his hardest to get them free. "I'm in a Nazi concentration camp. Everyone around me is either dying or dead. There's a boy lying on a bed next to mine, and someone next to him. Kouichi's here… He put some kind of cloth on the boy's face." He began fighting even harder. "He's trying to see if both boys share the same pain. Stop it, Kouichi! They're just kids!" He was silent for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice was much lower. "It's too late. The boy is dead." His head snapped back, as though restrained. "Someone's pulled my head back and Kouichi's covering my face with a black cloth. Now he's asking me something: 'Do you know who Hitler did some of his worst experiments on?'" He suddenly shouted in pain and had a convulsion. "'Twins.' He keeps injecting me with something! He's saying something again: 'I guess that tale about twins sharing pain is wrong. I don't feel a thing.'" He broke into pained shouts and violent spasms, each worse than the one before it. For three—maybe even four—years, he'd made an unspoken vow never to show any sign of pain, and he lived to it for the most part. Now he was suffering violent convulsions and screaming in pain as his brother tortured him through a dream. Dr. Matsumoto tried to bring Kouji out of it, but the boy was unable to hear the doctor.
"Kouji!" Dr. Matsumoto interrupted loudly. "I'm going to count again. When I reach ten, you will wake up. One, two, three, four, five, six…" Kouji suddenly opened his eyes, freezing the count. Breathing heavily, he stumbled back to the doctor's desk.
"Are you okay?" Izumi checked.
A dark shadow passed over his eyes, turning the blue to black—not gray, but black. There was no reflection in his eyes, as though the darkness was completely absorbing the light.
"He's not fine, but I am," Kouji replied in a cruel voice.
"Kouji, what's wrong with you?" Izumi questioned.
"You're not speaking to Kouji anymore. You're in the presence of the Digimon Kaiser."
If there had ever been any doubt in Izumi's mind that the Kaiser was a completely separate entity, fully capable of inhabiting another person's body, it was gone now.
"Kaiser, how did you get in there?" Izumi demanded, slowly becoming angrier and angrier.
"It was simple. When the good doctor over here hypnotized the Warrior of Light, he caused Kouji's defenses to weaken to almost non-existence. He had no way of keeping me out."
"What is it you want?" Dr. Matsumoto asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" the possessed Kouji replied, an evil glimmer in his vapid eyes. In a flash, he grabbed the knife from Dr. Matsumoto's desk and pressed it against his neck. "Try anything and Kouji has a rather painful death. Although, I can't guarantee he'll live either." He purposely let go of his control for a second, revealing a helpless Kouji Minamoto. The young man was still in a hypnotic trance, and completely unable to help himself. But the brief image of the real Kouji disappeared, and the Kaiser brought forth his full control. "Wouldn't want your helpless little boyfriend getting hurt, now would you, Izumi?"
"Kouji, I know you're still in there," Izumi calmly reasoned as he slid the knife along his neck, drawing blood. "I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm going to try. Listen to my voice now. On the count of ten, you have to wake up. One, two, three…" The knife pressed closer… "Four, five, six…" Another cut was sliced, just above the previous… "Seven, eight, nine…" The knife began moving away… "Ten."
The shadows in Kouji's eyes flickered and vanished. He pulled the knife away and stared at it in confusion.
"I didn't…" he began, searching for the correct words. "I wasn't…" He dropped the weapon as if in pain while the darkness fought its way through him, glazing his eyes over again.
"That was clever, Izumi," Kaiser-Kouji complimented. He pressed her against the wall, keeping his left hand just over her shoulder to prevent her escape. "I can see why both brothers love you."
"You separated from Kouichi just to get into Kouji, didn't you?" Izumi asked.
"I didn't have to. Kouichi and I are symbiotic. It just depends on whether or not he can control my power. I, as you can see, can control his fairly simply."
"Kouji was right," Izumi realized. "You are a monster."
"Only fitting that I now have complete control over the one person who figured that out."
"Not yet," Kouji denied, fighting for control of his mind. He let go of Izumi, but was unable to remove his hand from the wall. "Izumi, the gun!"
She cocked it once and fired. The low-power laser paralyzed him, keeping him against the wall.
"Stop him," Kouji begged as his consciousness began to lose control. Izumi slipped away on her left.
"Take this!" Dr. Matsumoto ordered, tossing her a small, heavy vase.
"I hate doing this," Izumi apologized.
"I understand," Kouji replied, losing all control.
Izumi brought the vase up and smashed it onto the back of Kouji's head. The hard bisque porcelain shattered and Kouji fell to the floor. Izumi knelt beside him as he lay in the fragments of painted clay, his eyes tightly closed. Was this the way their future was fated to be?
"Kouji?" she checked, forcing his eyes open to see that they were back to their normal dark blue. She hugged him carefully, but he was unable to move at all. His body was limp and immobile in her arms. "Aishiteru, Kouji."
"Aishiteru, Izumi," he whispered before falling unconscious.
Aishiteru: I love you
I had to ask Nic (Ken's luver) for permission to use that hypnosis session; it was directly from "Doppelgangland" (not Order of the Phoenix) A little bit was from an old fic that I killed long ago. Dr. Matsumoto was entirely based on Sydney from The Pretender. Also, the descriptions from the hypnotism were straight out of Jarod's Pretends. In addition, Jacob was the name of Sydney's twin brother. When Sydney found the Nazi doctor that had experimented on them and killed their parents, the guy had pronounced his name "Jakob" (which is pronounced "yah-cob" by the way).