Tak: well look here, another chapter to work on. Where does the time go?
Bgato: have you checked under the bed? When I lose thing it's nearly always where there are.
Tak: that's not what I meant.
Bgato: then what did you mean?
Tak: what I meant was that it seemed like only yesterday I was working on this fic.
Bgato: no it wasn't yesterday, I think it was some time last week.
Tak: I'm just going to stop this now. You are hopeless when it comes to things like this.
Bgato: I can't help it. But I get the jokes in the books you read, that's a plus for me.
Tak: I guess.
Bgato: well, maybe we should move on to the fic then.
Tak: that sounds like a good idea.
Bgato: looks like we're starting the chapter then.
Tak: you're right, it does.
Chapter 4
Kouji and Kouichi were on their way to Kouji's home, they always went over there for at least a few hours, then either headed over to their Mother's place or stayed with their Father. Most of the time they just both went their separate ways-just 'cause they were brothers didn't mean that they had to spend all their time together.
"You know, you really should just tell him," said kouichi suddenly.
"Tell who what?" said Kouji, sounding confused on the matter.
"Tell Takuya that you like him," said Kouichi.
"Of course I like him, he's my best friend," said Kouji.
"I didn't mean like that and you know it," said Kouichi.
"I am not in love with my best friend," said Kouji in a slightly angry voice.
"Is there any thing wrong with loving your best friend?" asked Kouichi.
"I am not in love with my best friend," Kouji repeated.
"What is love anyway? When you break it down to a basic level, what is it?" asked Kouichi.
"How the hell should I know?" Kouji asked in the same tone as before. He was starting to realise why people liked to be an only child.
"Well I think of it as a happy feeling you get when you're with someone, you're not really doing anything with them, just being there with them makes you all happy for no real reason, and you want to protect them and look after them and make sure they're always happy, even if it means doing something that doesn't make you happy," Kouichi explained. Of course, there was all that stuff about heart stopping, breath taking beauty, but when you got right down to it love was just a feeling that made you happy.
"That makes about as much sense as anything else to do with it," replied Kouji.
"So do you feel happy when you're with Takuya? Would you do anything to make him happy?" asked Kouichi.
"I guess so," muttered Kouji.
"Dear baby brother, there's nothing wrong with being in love," said Kouichi as he put his arm around Kouji's shoulder.
"I am not in love with my best friend," Kouji stated again.
"That's what you keep saying, but do you really want Takuya to go off and fall in love with some one else? Do you?" asked Kouichi.
"If it makes him happy," Kouji muttered softly.
"See? That's my point. You care for him so much that you're willing to let him be with someone else, if you think it will make him happy," said Kouichi.
"Of course I want him to be happy, I'm his friend and his life has been a bit rough lately," said Kouji.
"Kouji, you don't want to make the same mistake as our Father," said Kouichi softly.
"What, you mean the splitting us up when we were young, always moving so I could never find you, lying about my Mother being dead-" Kouji would have gone on, but Kouichi interrupted him.
"No, not that, I mean about the love thing," said Kouichi.
"What love thing?" asked Kouji.
"You mean you never asked why they spit up?" asked Kouichi.
"Why should I? It's in the past. There's nothing I can do about it and asking won't undo it. And I'm still mad about the fact that he kept you both from me for so many years."
"I asked Mother after she knew that I knew about you two, and I asked Father after I became comfortable talking to him. When he was young he was best friends with someone. They did everything together, they were inseparable-that is, until university, where he met a girl. They got on really well, they thought they were in love. So after a bit the girl suggested that they get married, and why not? That's what you do when you're in love, isn't it? And for a while they were happy, then he became a Father and the happiness carried on for a bit longer, but soon it started to fade away and not even the fact that he would never see his older son kept him from leaving, because even if he had loved her it had faded away until there was nothing left. She begged and pleaded with him not to go 'cause she was truly in love with him, but he didn't 'cause there was nothing keeping him there. So with his youngest son he left, leaving a distraught and heartbroken woman behind," Kouichi finished, with silent tears running down his face.
"Come on, Kouichi, there's no need to cry. We're together now, that's the main thing," Kouji said softly as he pulled his brother in for a hug to comfort him. He often wondered if Kouichi had taken the whole thing a lot worse than himself. Kouichi had known he had a Father and why he left for a long time before he found out he had a brother as well. As for himself, he had been told he didn't have a Mother because she died and that was it, but then Kouichi had come along and he found out they were brothers and that their Mother wasn't dead, and then it started to hurt to know that his Father had kept him from his Mother and brother. But Kouichi had been suffering from the pain of his Father not wanting to see him nearly all his life.
"But what has any of this got to do with me?" said Kouji softly.
"Mother said that when they were young, people used to say that Father was in love with his best friend. She never knew if that was true or not, and when they started to date she didn't think anything of it-until the day just before he left. One of the things she asked was 'you're leaving because someone else already has your heart, aren't you?' And you know what he said? He said 'I don't know, but it's not here'. That was the last thing he ever said before he left us," said Kouichi. He was still crying, and they had stopped walking for now anyway.
"But I still don't know what this has to do with me," said Kouji.
"Are you blind Kouji, Father was in love with his best friend just like you are,"
"I am" started Kouji, before Kouichi cut in.
"Just shut up and listen! Father didn't follow what his heart told him, so when a girl fell in love with him something happened and he thought he was in love with her, they spent time together and then got married and had kids and whatever was keeping him with her left and so did he, leaving the girl completely broken inside because she truly loved him. Are you seeing the picture yet Kouji? If you keep saying that you don't love Takuya then one of these days a girl will fall in love with you and maybe something will draw you to her and you'll spend time together and maybe you'll get married, maybe you won't, but sometime something will make the thing which drew you to her stop, maybe it will be Takuya getting a girlfriend-or a boyfriend even-and then you'll leave the girl completely heartbroken because she loved you but you never really loved her! Ok, do you get the message? Tell Takuya that you love him or I will," Kouichi has gone from sad to angry in record time and it was kind of scary.
"But what if I tell him and he doesn't feel the same way?" asked Kouji.
"At least he will know you care," said Kouichi.
"But what if I tell him and he doesn't like me back and even though he said it won't get in the way of our friendship we slowly drift apart until one day he looks back and says 'Kouji who?'" asked Kouji, now being the one who looked liked he was going to cry.
"Takuya's not like that, you've been though too much for him to just let you go. You're best friends and that's how it's going to stay unless you both want it to change," said Kouichi as they continued to walk home.
"You're right Kouichi, he is my best friend, and I don't want to risk that," said Kouji.
"Kouji, you know how I feel about evil and true darkness," asked Kouichi from nowhere.
"Yes," answered Kouji, slightly worried about where this was going.
"So you know that this will hurt me a lot more then it will you," Kouichi carried on.
"Yes," said Kouji, now getting worried.
"But…" Kouichi paused again.
"Yes?" said Kouji, now getting really worried.
"If you don't tell him tonight that you love him, then on Monday I will," kouichi finally got out.
"What!" Kouji was shocked-his brother had never used blackmail before.
"Infront of his whole class," Kouichi carried on.
"What?" Kouji was totally shocked now, not only was his own brother blackmailing him, but also he was going to do it in public.
"Or the whole school," Kouichi continued.
"WHAT!" Kouji was now beyond shock and had entered terror. It was times like this that made Kouji think that maybe he hadn't Purified all the evil out of his brother's soul.
"But it might not be. I'm going to tell him the first time I see him on Monday, so that might be in front of the whole school, or it could be in front of his class, or even just in an empty hallways. You'll never know, will you?" said Kouichi.
"But Kouichi, you can't do that to me! I'm your brother, your one and only brother for that matter," this was Kouji's last attempt at getting his brother to not do it.
"You are my brother, that's why I want to see you happy. And if that means I have to hurt you to do it, then so be it," kouichi finished as they entered Kouji's home.
"Father, we're home!" called Kouji as they both entered and took off their shoes.
"Welcome home, boys. Kouji, will you come here for a bit? Kouichi, can you go into the garden and tell Davis it's time?" called Ken.
"Father asked me to tell you it's time," said Kouichi as he came into the garden. Davis was lying on a chair in the sun in just a pair of shorts. At hearing Kouichi, Davis rolled over so he was now on his back.
"You'd think that he would know that I don't get sunburn, and I know how to tan. Pale skin would so totally clash with my hair," said Davis in an off hand sort of way, like he would have said it no matter who had come out.
"Keifu, can I talk to you about something?" asked Kouichi.
(an: Keifu means step-Father. I don't know what Kouichi would call Davis, either his first name or maybe Motomiya-san, so I went for some thing polite but that still said 'we're kind of family'.)
"If you're comfortable about doing so, then sure," answered Davis.
"It's just that I don't think Mother and Father would be able to help, and I needed someone who I trust and wouldn't interfere," Kouichi started.
"Well, I'm all ears, I'll help any way I can," said Davis.
"I think Kouji's in love with his best friend," started Kouichi.
"So…" said Davis, in a 'and the problem in that is…?' sort of way.
"The problem is that he won't admit it," continued Kouichi.
"Ah, I see the problem here. Let me guess-Kouji doesn't want to tell him incase Takuya doesn't feel the same way, and even though he says it won't get in the way of their friendship they'll slowly drift further and further apart until one day he'll look back and say 'Kouji who?', am I right?" asked Davis.
"What? How did you know?" asked Kouichi, completely shocked that Davis had guessed what he was about to say.
"Because no matter how hard he tries to fight it, he really is just like Ken," answered Davis.
"Like father, like son, I guess," said Kouichi.
"My thought exactly, but back to the matter at hand. As you may or may not know, Ken was in love with his best friend when he was younger but never said any thing about it, because it was always 'we best friends we meant to care for each other'. Then he meet your Mother and felt what was just friendship, but they weren't friends at the time so it was 'we're not friends so I must love her', and the fact it was what his parents wanted was one of the reasons he decided it was love. You probably know the rest-they got on really well, got married and had kids, but it was at this point that Ken realised that the only reason he was there was because it was what his parents wanted, so he left because he didn't want to lie to her any more."
"You mean he got married and had kids just to make his parents happy?" asked Kouichi.
"Yes, that's about right. When he was younger, he made a promise to himself that he would do whatever made his parents happy because he had hurt them so much, and as his parents wanted to carry on the family name and bloodline…but he did change his name, so he felt like he had to have children," Davis carried on.
"But how did you know all this?" asked Kouichi.
"Duh! Who do you think was his best friend?" answered Davis.
"Do you know why Father didn't come and see me when I was growing up?" asked Kouichi.
"Yes, but I think it's something that Ken should tell you. But for now, just know that it was never about keeping Kouji and you apart, more about keeping himself from you," answered Davis.
"But why?" asked Kouichi.
"There are things in his past that he didn't want to affect your future. So go on, I'm sure Kouji is looking for you by now," said Davis.
"Thanks, Keifu. I'm going to make sure at least one of them knows that the other loves them, otherwise they're both just going to get hurt," said Kouichi as he went back to look for Kouji. No sooner had he left then Ken entered the garden to talk to his life partner.
"Davis," said Ken, to alert the brown haired man of his presence.
"Humm, what is it Ken-chan?" asked Davis softly. The sun made him kind of sleepy sometimes.
"Something's going to happen, I can feel it," said Ken. At this Davis was up and holding him, he only got premonitions when something bad was going to happen.
"Are you sure, Ken? Last time you had a premonition we were given Takuya's case," asked Davis. Ken had started to shake in his arms. Being close to the darkness meant that he could sometimes sense when something was going to happen, but as it only happened sometimes, the time it did was really bad.
"No not like that, its feels darker, evil, it feels…" Ken paused, trying to match the feeling with a word.
"Inhuman?" suggested Davis. If he closed his eyes and really concentrated on his inner power, he could just sense some thing brush up against the side of his mind.
"I'm worried Dai-chan, something terrible is going to happen, I can feel it," said Ken as he clung to Davis. This premonition was making him feel very cold, and not even the heat coming off Davis' body from being in the sun so much was making him feel better.
"You know I'll always protect you, Ken-chan," said Davis softly as he held Ken even closer. He hadn't seen him this scared since he found out that he had passed on a spark of darkness to his son, and it's not like they could ask the others. The only other digidestined that could sense the darkness was Kari, but the only thing she would be able to feel right now would be her own heartache.
"I know you'll always be there to protect me, it's the boys I'm worried about. Kouichi still has an aura of darkness and Kouji's pride makes him easy to attack, said Ken.
"They're strong kids, they can take care of themselves and each other," said Davis softly.
"I know I just hate feeling so useless," muttered Ken.
Kouji was on the way to the place where Takuya had wanted to meet him. It was kind of late so most people would think that Kouji had to sneak out but he wasn't in a way, because his Father knew how important it was to be alone sometimes and to just walk about to think about things or clear your mind, so he didn't mind what time Kouji went out just as long as he left a note saying so and remembered to lock the door when he left. He used to think that this meant he didn't care about him, but he knew differently now, that was what he had wanted to talk about earlier in the day.
()() Flash back, to earlier that day ()()
"You wanted to see me, Father?" asked Kouji when he walked into his Fathers study.
"I think this is the best time to tell you that I know something has happened to you recently," said Ken.
'What? He knows about the digiworld? How could he? Well he is in the police, maybe he has had me under surveillance or something! Ok, I should probably just come clean and tell him.'
"I don't really care what it was because it changed you for the better, helped you make some good friends and to find your brother," said Ken. He knew that Kouji was still mad about this. He had to tell Kouji why it had happened now, before something bad happened.
"Bet you didn't like that, did you? I found out about Mother as well, all your hard work down the drain," Kouji was mad and he was finally letting his Father know how he felt about all the lies he had been told.
"Kouji! Listen to me, this was never about keeping you two apart. I love and care for both of you and I wanted you to see each other, but I didn't trust anyone enough to take you there and I didn't know if the area was safe any more, and by the time you were able to be aware of your surroundings and understand what I told you about being safe you had already forgotten. The day you went out I was going to tell you when you got back but by then you already knew. I just wanted you to know that what I did was never to keep you two apart, it was to keep me from Kouichi. What I did in the past was to make your future better, I care for both of you a lot. I just wanted you to know that, ok? Maybe one day I will tell you everything, but for now just know that I love you both a lot," Ken finished what he was saying by giving Kouji a hug, something he hadn't done in quite some time. Kouji hadn't really wanted any physical affection and sometimes got violent when Ken had tried to give him any, so he had stopped trying. But Kouji was so shocked by what he had said that he didn't object to it.
"Ok," was the only thing that Kouji could mutter. He had been completely shocked by what his Father had just told him, and would have to wait until it all made sense before he did any thing with this new information.
"Go on now, I'm sure you have lots plans that's don't include your Father," said Ken as he stood up and smiled.
"Thanks for telling me, Dad," said Kouji softly as he started to leave.
"Sure thing, son," said Ken as Kouji left.
()() end()()
'Ok, I'm going to tell Takuya tonight, and if he feels the same way then great, but even if he doesn't I wont let him go as my friend. I'm a very stubborn person when I want to be and if I don't want Takuya to leave from being my friend I wont let him' thought Kouji as he reached the meeting point.
After a few minutes, Kouji called out in case Takuya was just around the corner or something.
"Takuya, are you here?" called Kouji, looking for any sign of his best friend.
"Takuya's not here, will I do instead," came an icy voice which sent shivers down Kouji's spine. Then a figure stepped out of the darkness, as if appearing from Kouji's worst nightmare, for in fact the figure turned out to be Duskmon.
"What have you done to Takuya!" asked Kouji, letting his anger block out the fear for now.
"I haven't done anything to him…yet," said Duskmon, in the same calm but scary tone.
"Kouichi, can you hear me? Don't let the darkness consume you, fight it, I know you can!" Kouji shouted for his brother to hear him in the spirit, hoping that if he heard something from outside he would be able to control the spirit again.
"Kouichi can't hear you and isn't around to save you this time, so digivole or die," said Duskmon as a warning shot landed in front of Kouji.
'Was this why Father told me all that stuff before? So that I wouldn't be fighting with anger in my heart because anger fuels the darkness and I would never win? Don't worry brother, I saved you once and I will again,' thought Kouji as he pulled his digivice from his pocket and activated the blue ring, then ran it over the top of his digivice.
"Execute spirit evolution!" shouted Kouji as the digivolving process started. In a few moments, the one left standing in Kouji's place was
" Lobomon" announced the new digimon.
"This time will be different, this time I will be victorious and you will be destroyed," shouted Duskmon as he started his attack.
()() place unknown()()
"Part A is complete, move on to part B and keep to the plan no matter what happens. Keep to the plan, it will work, just keep to it no matter what," the first figure said to the others in the room.
"But what happens-" started one of the others.
"No matter what keep to the plan, you all know what happens when you don't and when you try other things. This plan will work if you keep to it," said the first figure.
Tak: well, that's this chapter done.
Bgato: and she did get it done before the 6th of July like she promised dragi.
Tak: but I shouted at her and now she hates me…I just wanted to get the chapter finished…
Bgato: TT
Tak: I don't even know if she will talk to me again, which means writing the rest of this fiction will be very hard indeed.
Bgato: yeah, it will be, won't it.