While making sure, one by one
I'll become myself toward tomorrow."
Takato Matsuda—"Across the Tears"
(Translated by Riah-chan)
With Broken Wings
Chapter Nine: "Across the Tears"
Nothing yet, Kouichi thought as he held his D-scanner. But soon he'll be forced to evolve. It's only a matter of time… There was a knock on the door to his study. "What?" he asked, more than just a little annoyed.
The door opened and Sakuyamon entered, followed by Agumon, Guilmon, and Lilymon. These were the same four Digimon who had deposited Kouji in Cell 24 in the first place, and were therefore in charge of recapturing him. Of course, Renamon had become Sakuyamon, but the others had learned to evolve as well. Palmon had become Lilymon not long after Renamon's evolution, and Agumon and Guilmon had the ability to evolve at will to WarGreymon and Dukemon respectively, but they remained at their Child levels in order to conserve energy.
"Kaiser, we have taken the town Kouji Minamoto was hiding in," Sakuyamon informed.
"And?"
She lowered her head in disgrace. "There was no one."
"But we did manage to locate a Trailmon heading for the Digital World," Guilmon pointed out.
"So they all decided to run," Kouichi realized. He then shrugged it off. "It really doesn't matter. Once Kouji evolves, I'll have him. Thank you. You are dismissed." The Digimon bowed in the preferred Asian style and exited.
"Your brother is proving to be more trouble than he's worth," the Kaiser observed.
"He is no longer my brother," Kouichi denied. "We may share the same parents, stepmother, half-sister, and even DNA, but we are certainly not brothers."
"I am afraid we will be forced to fuse entirely," the Kaiser confessed.
"I believe so as well," Kouichi murmured. He had been dreading this moment. He didn't know if the Kaiser would overtake him completely, or whether they would share the same consciousness. It had been simple for the Kaiser to take over Kouji's mind, so what would stop him from overcoming Kouichi's defenses? But Kouichi closed his eyes anyway and allowed the last traces of the entity entirely consume him. The room filled with the deepest darkness any world had ever known. In his mind's eye, Kouichi could see images of his past as the Chosen Child of Darkness, and even some from his doings as Duskmon. He banished every image to the farthest corner of his mind until he was finally faced with the Chosen Children themselves. With his own bare hands, he slew each one: Takuya first, then Junpei, then Tomoki, then Izumi, and then finally Kouji. With each murder, he grew stronger and stronger. The original Kaiser, Ken Ichijouji, appeared before him, and Kouichi glared at him in disgust. How could a being that powerful succumb to something as pathetic as the Crest of Kindness? His complete and utter disgust with Ken forced the darkness to slip away from the study, seeping into the atmosphere of Earth. But he didn't want that. He didn't want his power to control him. So he held onto each shadow, taking the darkness deeper and deeper within him, just as he'd absorbed the attacks of the Legendary Warriors in his days as Duskmon.
He opened his eyes and flexed his fingers. His hands seemed to be a little bigger, stronger. He then walked over to a mirror and observed a very well toned body showing through the Kaiser's robes. And even the robes were different. Instead of the royal blue color, they were now all black with a long black leather cape attached to a silver chain, holding it in place. Silver gauntlets rested on his arms, and shiny black leather boots adorned his feet. He was the Kaiser now.
"Now let me see," he commented cruelly. "What to do about that nuisance, Kouji?" He lifted his digivice in the air, releasing a terrible darkness into the Digital World. "Excellent. Those two are in for an unpleasant surprise when they reunite with their friends."
-------
Kouji and Izumi sat down on the bench of the Soyokaze Terminal in defeat. After six days, they still hadn't located any trace of the Fuji Resistance, and all that failure had been getting to them. Kouji began tugging at the Black Ring while Izumi watched in curiosity.
"Still haven't figured out how to break it?" she asked. He shook his head and pulled out his digivice.
"This worked last time." He pressed it against the cold metal of the Black Ring. Just as it had last time, the D-scanner released a bluish-white light, burning at the evil collar. Kouji withstood the power drain as much as he could, hoping the light from the evolution device would work, but after several minutes, he gave up and began breathing heavily. "This one's a lot stronger than the last."
The sound of wheels clanking along the train tracks disrupted the stillness of the Soyokaze Terminal. Both Izumi and Kouji turned as Trailmon Franken made his way up to them.
"Well, if it isn't the human I raced with," Trailmon recognized. "Someone told me you and the girl would be here. I didn't believe him, but I went along to humor him."
"Who was it that told you?" Kouji questioned.
"He wore a long brown coat with a hood. He looked human, but he could have been a human-type Digimon in human clothes. I couldn't make out any facial features because his hood covered his face. And he wore black gloves on his hands so I couldn't tell if he had claws or nails."
"Not much to go on," Kouji realized.
"Thanks anyway, Trailmon," Izumi added.
"Well, I suppose you'll be needing a ride," Trailmon continued, "especially if you want to reach your friends in the Gotsumon village."
"The Gotsumon or the other Chosen?" Kouji checked.
"Well, it could be the Chosen, but the guy who sent me said that there was trouble with a Gotsumon friend of yours—one that wore a magnifying glass around his neck."
Izumi put her hand on Kouji's shoulder, understanding that he was worried about his friend. If not for Gotsumon, Kouji never would have found his B-Spirit, and therefore could never have used his Beast Spirit form or Advance Spirit form. So in that aspect, Izumi also owed Gotsumon, for without him, Kouji wouldn't be there and she quite possibly might not be either.
"We'd better go," she decided, assuring him that this slight change in their plans was all right.
"By the way," Trailmon added. "That guy left something for you in my third car."
Confused, the two humans entered the third car to find a navy blue duffel bag and a green backpack waiting for them on the seats. Cautiously, they unzipped the bags, finding in each a change of clothes, a lantern, canteens filled with water, and a plastic bag. The clothes were green camouflage pants and black hiking boots—both of which looked standard for the United States' Army. But they each had a T-shirt from home: the tan T-shirt Kouji had been wearing the day before Takamoto's plan had been put into action, and the shirt and bandana Kouji had given Izumi. And each plastic bag was different as well: Izumi's contained a first aid kit while Kouji's had a Swiss Army knife and thousands of Fox Leaf Arrowheads. Remembering how he'd used them for light in Cell 24, he removed the lids of the lanterns and filled them with the arrowheads, gaining a light source that didn't require heat. Each lantern also had a black cloth cover to block the light when it wasn't necessary.
Whoever thought that something good could actually come out of torture? Kouji thought.
It had been several weeks after his initial capture. Kouichi had a meeting to attend, so it was up to Renamon to enforce punishment when the younger twin had removed his Licht Sieger blades to disarm a landmine that someone had stepped on.
Renamon had forced him all the way to Cell 24, using her Wisteria Punch to keep him from moving away. Next, she locked him in the rusted iron rack.
"Wisteria Punch!" she ordered, hitting him over and over until he was forced to devolve to his human state. In his smaller form, he was easier to beat. "Fox Leaf Arrowhead!"
The arrowheads pierced Kouji's skin like tiny daggers. And unlike some attacks, Fox Leaf Arrowheads didn't disappear once their purpose was served. A victim was always forced to pull them out if he was lucky enough to survive.
Somehow during all this, the right arm cuff broke off, exposing Kouji's back, which Renamon took advantage of immediately.
"Fox Leaf Arrowhead!"
The arrowheads struck his body, pinning his clothes to him. His T-shirt and jacket were now uncomfortably attached to him, and he couldn't move at all for fear of tearing his skin apart.
After a lifetime, Renamon finally released him and exited, leaving the young warrior on his own to tend to his wounds. Pulling out the arrowheads was even more painful than having them pressed in. A small pile formed from whole arrowheads. The broken ones just showed their DigiCode, giving Kouji the idea to press his back against the wall, breaking those ones as well.
"DigiCode Scan!" he ordered. The tiny rings entered his digivice easily, causing the arrowheads to fall apart. But he managed to grab one before it disintegrated and saw that it was really a leaf, hardened and sharpened by the light into an arrowhead.
Now there was the question of what to do with the arrowheads. Kouji had no trashcan, so it was up to his improvisation to find a place to dispose of these small weapons. But the light from them was too much of an ally to throw away. His mind made up, he took a lantern and filled it with the leaves. The bright light proved to be much more useful than candlelight, and easier to brighten. He pressed his D-scanner against the glass of the lantern and released the DigiCode, making the light even brighter.
"Whoever packed this really thought things through," Izumi observed, interrupting Kouji's memory. "You think our helper's been to the Digital World before?"
"Probably. Check for a name on your bag."
They searched the bags for any identification that could be the clue to the identity of their mysterious helper.
"I didn't find anything," Izumi admitted. "This guy also went through a lot of trouble to hide his identity."
"Yeah, but I managed to find something," Kouji replied, holding up part of a tag that had been on the inside. The capital Roman letter "K" and a lowercase "i" were on it.
"Ki?" Izumi read.
"It's only part of his name, but at least it's something."
Izumi sat down next to Kouji and began to theorize. "So 'Ki' knows exactly what we need here. You think he might be Kage or one of the others?"
"We'd have to see him first to figure that out," Kouji replied. "For all we know, Ki could be Kouichi."
"You really don't think that, do you?"
"I really can't say. We don't have much to go on about Ki's identity—just these bags and what's in them." He placed an arm around Izumi and stole a quick glance out the window just in time to see someone standing along the side of the tracks. Not wanting to startle Izumi with his suspicions, he decided not to mention it.
Is that guy following us? he wondered.
-------
"Ki," as he'd been dubbed, watched Trailmon Franken speed by with Izumi and Kouji on board.
Good, he thought, they came. It'll be up to them to stop this. He looked up at the sky and noticed twilight was suddenly upon them—and an hour and a half earlier than usual. The powers of Darkness are rising. Kouichi must have used something more powerful than he normally does. But he doesn't have the ability to do that… His indigo eyes widened in shock. No! They've merged entirely! He broke the silence with several loud curses. I hope we can find the center of his power before time runs out. If dusk is approaching this quickly, then the sun might not rise again tomorrow.
-------
Trailmon Franken halted in the middle of nowhere and allowed his two passengers to exit.
"This is the closest the tracks get to the Gotsumon's mountain," he informed.
"Grazie!" Izumi thanked in Italian. "Goodbye!" Trailmon quickly headed off, leaving to avoid being detected by Kouichi.
"I have to admit this was a lot faster than going on foot," Kouji confessed. "We got here in only two days."
"But we also didn't have about a hundred distractions along the way," Izumi reminded him.
"True," Kouji agreed with a laugh.
"Now there's a change."
"What?"
"You're smiling. I hardly ever see you do that." His smile suddenly faded. "Oh, I'm sorry. I hope I didn't offend you."
"No, it's okay. I was just thinking how weird it was."
"How weird what was?"
"That I have little problem being myself around you, but I still have to keep my emotions deeply in check. The times I'm most restrained are the times when I'm happiest."
"How so?"
"Remember the night we sat on that log? Before Kage interrupted?"
"How could I ever forget?" She sighed dreamily.
"There had been so much I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't. There were so many times I'd been betrayed that I forgot how to trust anyone again, even you. But that one small part of me—the part I always held back, that I always fought so I wouldn't lose control—reminded me that you were always trying to be there for me, and I always tried to do the same for you."
Izumi was silent for a second as they both stopped walking. "You know, it's okay to lose control." Kouji looked at her, confused. "Losing control is something all living beings have the right to do. It's why we have emotions. We're not supposed to control them." The silence that accompanied her statement was deafening as they both stood there, unable to think of anything more to add. Suddenly, and without any reason for it, she playfully tugged at his hair. "Are you going to cut this again?" It was as random a question as possibly conceivable. Kouji's raven-colored hair had been reaching past his earlobes for several weeks now, and Izumi had never commented on it in the past.
"I've been trying to grow it out," he admitted. "I really don't like having my hair short. It reminds me of some bad experiences." The dark regret played in his blue eyes again as he said it, leading Izumi to logically assume that this seemingly normal response had something to do with his slave life.
"Well, I'm glad you're growing it out again," she commented. "I miss seeing Kouji instead of Masaki."
"Come on," he urged softly. "We've got a long walk ahead of us." But as they resumed their hike, he saw a shrouded figure out of the corner of his eye.
"Something wrong?"
"No. Nothing."
-------
That was too close, Ki thought, trying to keep his breathing under control. I don't want anyone knowing that I'm here—at least not yet. He then watched Izumi and Kouji lug around two rather heavy bags of supplies. Ki felt a slight tinge of remorse. He'd come to the Digital World ready to make do with what he found. The only clothes he had were the ones on his back: a long brown suede jacket over a black T-shirt, the same type of camouflage pants and boots that had been packed in Kouji's and Izumi's luggage, and a reddish-brown hood sewn onto the jacket to cover his head. He didn't have to carry what they did. But soon the regret turned to mild sarcasm as he thought, You think Jyou could have packed any more for them? Jyou Kido was his friend, but the guy tended to go a little more than over the edge in trying to be prepared.
-------
The sun was beginning to set as the duo reached the field of overgrown grass. They each brought out a lantern, trying to illuminate their path. But even the brilliant light produced by the arrowheads was useless as the tall grass made for very little visibility. The stalks reached just over Kouji's head and were nearly impossible to see over.
"Maybe we should set up camp for the night," Izumi suggested.
"All right, but not here. It's too out in the open." And just as he was finished saying that, a loud cry pierced the twilight:
"V Breath Arrow!"
Kouji and Izumi quickly got out of the way as the attack plowed through the grass in front of them, creating a path for a very angry V-dramon. The large blue dragon sniffed the air and growled as he began walking past them.
"Where do you think he's going?" Izumi questioned.
"I think we'd better find out," Kouji decided. Rapidly, both pulled out their D-scanners.
"Spirit Evolution!"
"Wolfmon!"
"Fairymon!"
-------
Kouichi grinned at the blinking symbols on his digivice that alerted him to Kouji's evolution. Phase one had been successful, and now Kouji had moved onto phase two. He was making things a lot easier for Kouichi without even knowing it. At any time, Kouichi could initiate the plan, but…
"Not yet," he decided. "I'd rather make him suffer."
-------
The V-dramon turned for a moment at the burst of light, but decided to ignore it as he continued on his quest.
"V Breath Arrow!"
More grass was mowed down as the attack headed directly for V-dramon's opponent, who leapt into the air and released his attack:
"Angry Rock!"
"That was Gotsumon," Wolfmon recognized.
"Then let's go!" Fairymon decided.
"Licht Kugel!"
"Brezza Petalo!"
The two attacks struck V-dramon hard: the Licht Kugel between his eyes, and the Brezza Petalo across his body.
"Kouji, it's you!" Gotsumon recognized.
"What's this guy want with you?" Wolfmon asked.
"I don't know. I was investigating around where the statues were, and suddenly this guy attacked."
"Sounds like you came across something important to Kouichi," Fairymon surmised.
"If you're helping him, then you're no ally to me," V-dramon decided. "V Breath Arrow!"
"Licht Sieger!" Wolfmon leapt up and sliced the attack in half before taking a defensive position in front of Gotsumon, sabers in hand. The Black Ring began blinking brightly in the near darkness—crimson against dark blue.
The Black Ring! V-dramon recognized. Then that's Kouji Minamoto!
"Kouji, he's distracted!" Gotsumon whispered. "Let's take this opportunity to get out of here!" The Child took hold of Wolfmon's wrist and pulled him deeper into the forest of grass. Fairymon soon followed.
Once they were safely inside the Gotsumon village within the mountain, both Chosen devolved. Izumi was mildly winded, but Kouji was exhausted—not that he was going to show it though, but anyone who'd known him long enough could see that he seriously needed to rest.
"Everyone make room!" Gotsumon ordered.
"No, I'm okay," Kouji insisted.
"You used up too much of your trying to break the ring," Izumi theorized. "You shouldn't have evolved until you had rested. Two days wasn't…" Kouji shot her a long meaning, "Hold that thought" before he turned to Gotsumon.
"Would it be all right if we stayed here for the night?" he inquired.
"Sure," Gotsumon agreed. "It's not very comfortable, but it's better than being chased down by V-dramon all night."
"Right," Kouji answered, as though he wasn't exactly sure that was true.
An extra cavern had been cleared for them. They were forced to share the same room, but they trusted the other enough not to do anything. Plus, Kouji wasn't planning on hanging around the whole night anyway. They both lay down on the stone ground and pretended to sleep. At around midnight, when all the Gotsumon were asleep, Kouji stood up, prepared to leave.
"It wasn't the ring, was it?" Izumi guessed, sitting up. "Two days usually is enough for you to recover."
"It may have been the ring, but not because I tried to break it," Kouji whispered. "When Kouichi put it on me in the tunnel, he forced me to evolve into Beowulfmon. He can tap into my evolutions, just like he did with the first Black Ring. He's doing something. I'm not sure what, but it's not going to end well for us. And Gotsumon…"
"What about him?"
"Ever wonder why he let V-dramon chase him down like that? An Adult like that would be nothing for him. Remember, he evolved to Insekimon to help us fight the Royal Knights, and they were Ultimate levels, right? He killed part of the Knightmon team with one attack—deleting them at once. And he also challenged Gigasmon and had me recover the B-Spirit when I was thrown into one of the statues and devolved. He fought with all his heart then, so why didn't he this time?"
"Maybe he's learned not to challenge anyone too strong for him."
"That's like saying the same for Takuya. You know that he'd evolve the first second of the battle. I agree; Gotsumon is smart enough not to face down someone stronger than he is, but then why didn't he evolve? I told you his attack can delete whatever it touches. Why wouldn't he use it? Unless someone's sacrificed his evolution for something else." He slipped out of the cavern.
"Where are you going?"
"Wait here. I have something I need to investigate."
He silently walked past all of the Gotsumon and pushed away the large stone that sealed off the caves. Then he sprinted off to the cliff overlooking the sea.
Four years ago, there had been three statues that could unearth the B-Spirit of Light. Now, partially in thanks to that Spirit, there was nothing left except for a green-covered cliff, downsized from the original. The statues had been destroyed once again thanks to V-dramon's attack.
"I was investigating around where the statues were, and suddenly this guy attacked…" According to Gotsumon's testimony, V-dramon had apparently been guarding something there. Needing to find the answer, Kouji closed his hands around his D-scanner. He felt rather silly for doing this, but it usually worked. However, that didn't mean he wasn't glad that he was alone. He'd have rather killed himself than let anyone else see him doing this.
"Ancient Spirits of Light, guide me to the truth," he prayed. A bright white ray of light burst from his digivice and pointed to the forest. He was about to head off in that direction when a large stone narrowly missed his head. He turned to see Gotsumon, his long-time friend, now his greatest nemesis in this quest to find the answer.
"I assure you, the next shot won't miss," Gotsumon threatened.
"Double Spirit Evolution! Beowulfmon!"
-------
Kouichi looked at the brightness of the symbols on his D-scanner.
"Excellent. He's done exactly what I wanted him to. Phase two successful. He's playing right into my hands. Onto phase three…"
-------
V-dramon observed the bright flash of light that was Kouji's evolution and cursed under his breath.
"It's already begun!"
He rushed over to where the battle was taking place, only to be halted by Ki's voice. The mysterious figure was communicating via V-dramon's evolution.
"I'll keep an eye on how this goes," Ki assured. "You need to get Izumi—fast. I doubt Kouji will be able to win this one on his own, especially with the way I saw him."
"I understand," V-dramon replied, running off to find the female warrior. Silently, Ki was thankful he'd left his Digimon partner with a friend in his home dimension. He didn't need a jealous Digimon here now, he realized as he crushed the earphone he'd used to communicate to V-dramon with.
"Angry Rock!" Gotsumon attacked, sending several large stones in Beowulfmon's path.
"Licht Angriff!" he rebounded. "What's the matter? You haven't even tried to evolve."
"My evolution should be the least of your worries," Gotsumon taunted, observing the slightest of changes in his opponent's height. It was unnoticeable, unless one was actually looking for it.
V-dramon had better hurry, Ki thought. I don't like the way this looks.
-------
It's probably pointless to say that Izumi was more than a little surprised to see V-dramon standing outside the Gotsumon dwelling. Many of the Child level Digimon were prepared for a fight, but Izumi held up her hand to pause them.
"Let's hear what he has to say," she reasoned.
"Your friend Kouji is in danger," V-dramon alerted.
"Where?"
"The cliff. You have to evolve and help him! He can't hold out much longer!"
"It could be a trick," a Gotsumon warned.
"I'll have to take that risk," Izumi decided. "Spirit Evolution! Shutumon!"
She flew toward the site of the battle, followed closely by V-dramon on the ground. The Digimon was not only powerful but fast when he needed to be.
Finally, they reached Beowulfmon and Gotsumon. The battle was increasingly becoming more and more aggressive as neither fighter could manage to take down his opponent.
"Wind of Pain!" Shutumon shouted.
"V Breath Arrow!" V-dramon assisted.
Both attacks clearly struck Gotsumon at full force, but he never felt a thing.
"It won't work," Beowulfmon informed. "I've tried about a hundred times, and I haven't gotten any results."
Shutumon came to his side. "Then how can we stop him?"
"I don't know," he admitted, fixing his deep blue eyes on his adversary.
Blue? Shutumon silently questioned. His eyes were always brown before.
"Kouji, I think something's wrong with you."
-------
"Now, Kouji, it's time for you to learn just how far my power can go," Kouichi stated, holding his D-scanner in the air. "DigiCode Scan!"
-------
"Angry Rock!"
One of the miniature boulders hit Beowulfmon's face, crushing part of his helmet. A jagged edge of metal plunged into his skin, driven by the force of the stone. The metal, as it was already bent, nicked the bone below his right eye socket as it wedged itself into an uncomfortable position in the muscles of his face. He winced a bit, unable to blink or move any muscle in the right half of his face. Blood was beginning to run from the wound, staining the white metal. With the way blood was finding its way down the crushed metal that was the right side of his helmet, it looked as though he was crying blood.
"Kouji?" Shutumon checked.
"I'll be fine," he assured. "Just take care of Gotsumon."
"Feeling kind of tired, Warrior of Light?" Gotsumon asked. "This ought to help. Angry Rock!"
The stones knocked him off the edge of the cliff.
"Kouji!" Shutumon cried as Ki appeared from the shadows.
"You two handle Gotsumon!" he ordered. "I'll try and help Kouji."
The Chosen of Light hung off the side of the cliff, weighed down by the armor. His left arm was too heavy as his weapon covered it, so there was no chance of climbing up the rock, and he'd never survive a plunge into the sea below. He would sink instantly.
A brown suede coat was reached down to him, as a rope. Straining to move his left arm, he slammed it into the rock, bending the metal back to expose his hand. Now he was finally able to grip the coat. As he was pulled up, he began ripping off his gauntlets and shin guards, feeling crushed by them. He also kicked off the shoes, downsizing the weight. The removed armor splashed into the sea, seeming to be lost forever. Upon being pulled up to level ground, he stood up as Ki placed his jacket back on, pulling the hood up to conceal his face.
"You okay?" he checked.
"I think so. Where are Izumi and V-dramon?"
"They're chasing after Gotsumon. I told them to go on while I helped you."
They began running toward the others' location. But the whole time, Kouji had the feeling he recognized Ki from somewhere. And then it finally clicked.
"You're that student, aren't you? The one that helped us escape?"
"Yes, I am."
"So you're Ki as well?"
"Ki?"
"That's what we've been calling you. It's from the letters 'K' and 'i' on one of the bags you gave us."
Briefly, the ally remembered whom he got the bags from. When Jyou had been cutting the tag off his old blue duffel bag, he must have left the "Ki" behind from "Kido."
"Just keep calling me that," Ki requested. "It's better than being anonymous."
"But who are you?"
"That doesn't really matter at this point. Right now we have to…" A loud shout cut him off.
"V-mon Head!"
Both Ki and Kouji ran over to the sound of the attack. Gotsumon was fighting Shutumon, and a V-mon.
"Sorry I devolved," V-mon apologized.
"Gotsumon absorbed part of his DigiCode," Shutumon informed.
"We can't fight right now," Ki informed. "We have to return to the mountain. V-mon, I'm going to alter your evolution a bit."
"All right."
If not for the darkness, Shutumon and Kouji would have noticed Ki holding a digivice out to V-mon.
"V-mon armor evolve! Magnamon!"
"Kouji, Izumi, get to the mountain!" Ki ordered. "Magnamon and I'll finish this!"
"Madcap!"
"Plasma Shoot!"
Neither Legendary Warrior had any idea what the outcome of the battle was. They were too busy running for the mountain. Finally, it was within their reach. Almost immediately sensing what was wrong, the Gotsumon brought out the two bags of supplies.
Shutumon devolved and sat in front of Kouji. First, she removed the pocketknife from his bag and opened the largest blade. Carefully, she used it to pry the metal from where it had been lodged below Kouji's eye. That taken care of, Kouji removed the helmet, revealing his bruised and bleeding human face.
"That wound's deep," Izumi commented. "I need to sew it up." She removed the first aid kit from her pack, as well as a canteen of water. She poured water onto a piece of cotton gauze and began dabbing at the cut, cleaning it carefully. While Kouji held the cotton against his injury, Izumi threaded a needle and cut the excess string away. Cautiously, she began stitching together the two separated pieces of skin. Upon finishing, she taped a fresh piece of cotton over the wound and washed her hands with the water.
"You're welcome to stay here for the night," a Gotsumon offered.
"Thanks anyway," Izumi started, "but…"
"But we need to get started on the rest of our journey," Kouji finished.
"At least take the opportunity to change," another insisted. "You won't be able to make the trip in that armor."
"You're right," Kouji surrendered.
"I'd better too," Izumi agreed, gesturing to her school uniform. The gray-and-blue sailor top and blue plaid skirt were not exactly the most comfortable clothes to run around the Digital World in.
The two re-entered the mountain, choosing separate caverns in which to change into their spare clothes. Kouji discovered that his clothes had been completely torn away from his body in order to add some comfort in wearing the heavy armor.
Not again, he thought, remembering a similar incident. In that aspect, he was grateful that Takamoto had packed that extra set of clothes. After changing, he was ready to abandon the armor, but a nagging feeling in the back of his head insisted that he keep it. He just wasn't able to win today. Giving in, he just stuffed the armor in the bag and joined Izumi.
Trailmon Dark was awaiting the two when they arrived at Franken's last stop.
"Your friend with the Magnamon sent me," he informed. "He's going to meet you in the desert."
Without wasting any time, Izumi and Kouji boarded Trailmon Dark. But as the scenery around them changed, Izumi noticed an uncomforting silence in Kouji.
"What's wrong?" she questioned.
"I don't know."
"Is it your Spirits?"
"That's not the whole thing. I'm starting to think that all this power was wasted on me. Maybe the whole reason I was supposed to come to the Digital World was to find my brother. Maybe the Spirits of Light weren't meant for me."
"But Ophanimon selected you for them."
"That proves nothing. Ever since I got that message, everyone around me has had to suffer."
Izumi suddenly took his hand in hers. "You told me that you don't have trouble being yourself around me, and you're not acting like yourself. I know a lot of tragedies have happened in your life, but you don't have to keep it to yourself. Whatever's wrong, just share it with me. I'm here with you and by my own choice. Please don't keep doing this to yourself. If you need to lose control, it's okay. No one will hold it against you if you just act human for once."
He smiled faintly. "Thanks, Izumi. That's kind of what I needed to hear right now."
A mischievous smile crept on her lips. "Besides, if all else fails, I know where you're ticklish."
He laughed and put his arms around her. "Remind me to kill Takuya and Junpei for that."
Thank you to Black Knightmon for telling me where I can find the Japanese names and attacks for the Digimon. Oh, and to let Dragon's star know, Mega is a dub term. The levels of the Digimon are as follows, in Japanese: American/Dub:
Baby I: Baby/Fresh
Baby II: In-training
Child: Rookie
Adult: Champion
Perfect: Ultimate
Ultimate: Mega
The "Ancient Spirits of Light, guide me" thing was based on Shaoran's compass in CCS. As for Ki, though... Here's what we do know: he's a guy, which rules out some CCs and Tamers. Also, he's the kid that helped Kouji and Izumi escape the school, so he's apparently their age—but he could be older, and he has blue eyes. Also, he knows Jyou. Here are the suspects: Yamato—who definitely knows Jyou, Takeru—who has the infamous hat that Ki was wearing, Ken—who would have reason to fight the Kaiser, and Ryo—who knows Jyou from being teamed with the 01 kids in Anode Tamers, who was partially responsible for Ken's becoming the Kaiser, and knows enough about the Digital World to survive through it. Also, he had V-mon once, so he knows the evolutions pretty well. Just see if you can figure it out before the end!