Notes: Not enough words can describe the pride (and hate) I have for this story. The plot is actually really, really good... I just don't like how I went about it in this way.
Title: Whisper the Imaginary Written: Late 2004 Rating: T to M
The party was becoming more and more of a success. Tomoki and Shinya shared a slice of cake together, reveling in the sugary goodness of the icing and the joyous and cheery feelings around them. The others were there too, but the only official couple that was there were themselves. Smiling shyly, the two boys did their best to ignore the occasional questions forced upon them by the others. Takuya had been one of the main offenders, enjoying the torment on his brother, and Yutaka had been the other. It seemed like an issue the younger siblings had that their elders really didn't care about. This was life however, and for it to be worse it was a birthday. Not just anyone's however, it was our little Tomoki's big day, reaching the great age of fourteen. Izumi wasn't one of the constant questioners on their relationship, but every time they did something 'cute' together she would give out such a squeal. Junpei really didn't care, as suspected he had been mindlessly following the girl that his mind decided would be the human to receive his utmost affection. Kouji never really commented on the relationship, but his approving glances were the only words he really did need to say. Kouichi when he first came was rather timid, but he loosened up soon enough.
"Finally, the unknown gift. Ooowwooowooooohhh!" Tomoki's mother said, trying to do so in a creepy voice that sounded ridiculous with the ghost noises. Shinya rolled his eyes at the woman's attempt to make the gift seem eerie, but it amused his koi so he didn't really care. Whatever made the other happy made him happy as well.
"All right, then I'll open it to know its secrets!" Tomoki said mock-bravely, and then ripped the wrapping paper right off the box. When all of the covering had been removed, he tilted his head at the box. It was a compass, binoculars, and a butterfly net. Interesting, and most certainly more complicated to pinpoint who exactly was insane enough to give him this stuff.
"Can you guess who got it? Huh? Huh?" Tomoki's father asked excitedly, grinning from ear to ear.
"Not really." Tomoki said, laughing nervously.
"Come on Tomoki, it can't be that hard. You and Shinya are together after all, nothing should be complicated after admitting, right?" Takuya asked, smirking at his younger brother's glare. It didn't really scare the brunette, for Takuya had faced the evilest glares from the master, Kouji himself. Of course these glares weren't really given anymore unless you just downright really ticked Kouji off badly.
"You be quiet." Shinya said glaring, but Takuya merely shrugged it off acting like the threat was small and insignificant.
"All I can say is, it's definitely not from me." Izumi sighed, placing her hand on her cheek and sweat dropping when Junpei nodded his head in agreement.
"Well… mom?" Tomoki asked, looking up at his mother. She shrugged and shook her head, as did his father who looked equally unsure. "Anyone? I give, just tell us and it's all good." He said, and frowned when they all looked at each other expecting someone to come forward. No one did; the silence reigned for a few minutes.
"Ah, they'll probably tell you after the party." Shinya said reassuringly, and grinned when getting a smile from Tomoki. "To make them feel better because we couldn't guess, let's play with it first!" He suggested, and the two then began to find some use for the items.
"Was it you, Kanbara?" Yutaka asked, getting himself another slice of cake.
"Nope, you?" Takuya replied, and then grabbed the plate Yutaka had just made from him. "Thank you." He said grinning, and took and plastic fork before eating the sugary goodness.
"Your welcome." Yutaka grumbled, working on making another plate seeing as his second one just got stolen. "No, and I can't think of anyone who would." He sighed here. "Any luck with the uhm… you-know-what?" He asked in a hushed tone, looking around to make sure no one heard.
"Ehh? That! Oh, uh… eheh, not really." Takuya said sweat dropping, trying to not let a blush free. The 'you-know-what' wasn't exactly obvious to most people at this party, because the outward signs weren't as strong as it was with Shinya and Tomoki over the past few years. The brunette had a nice, large crush on Kouji but more or less the only person who really had a slight idea about it was Yutaka. And he only knew because Takuya accidentally let it slip out when he was picking Shinya up once.
"You really need to start working on it." Yutaka sighed, and then moved his plate out of Takuya's reach who pouted. "Damn it, make your own plate!" He grumbled.
"But I'm a guest here!" The brunette whined.
"You make it sound like I'm not!" Yutaka growled. Meanwhile what neither of the two noticed where two piercing blue eyes glowering at Yutaka from a little ways off, a glare that most did not see everyday.
"Just tell him." Kouichi sighed, shaking his head at Kouji's death-glare zapping Yutaka. If life was a video game, and his twin had laser vision, many would currently be mourning the tragic loss of Yutaka.
"And get rejected, I don't think so." Kouji growled, turning away from the scene of Yutaka and Takuya arguing over a piece of cake.
"I bet he won't reject you." Kouichi said with a smile, then scowled upon realizing Kouji wasn't even listening to him. "Fine, ignore your brother who tries so very hard to help you from falling into the depths of misery and becoming dependent on Prozac or Zoloft."
"What are the two of you talking about?" Izumi asked, smiling down at the twins. Kouichi jumped, and turned a light shade of red from being startled so, and began to mumble nonsensical lies that neither the blonde nor himself understood.
"Okay okay, just calm down though!" Izumi said sweat dropping.
"What… were you trying to say?" Junpei asked, scratching his head dumbfounded and standing next to Izumi.
"Uh, that we were talking about music!" Kouichi said, hoping this was believable. The last thing he needed right now aside from further embarrassment was his twin trying to kill him. For some reason Kouji just didn't feel comfortable telling two of his closest friends ever. Then again, this was Kouji and it was doubtful that there was a soul out there that ever had the faintest idea how his twin thought. Why, Kouichi was willing to make a wager not even Kouji himself understood his own thinking patterns.
"Oh, what bands? Genre?" Izumi asked excitedly, and a minor hint of tension rose. It was between Kouichi and Junpei, but everyone was suffering through their own problems and such so this went unnoticed. In fact, not even Kouichi and Junpei noticed this tension, how they couldn't is a bit complicated.
"I'll get us some water bottles, be right back." Shinya said, and then pecked Tomoki on the cheek before running inside. A light tinge of pink lingered on Tomoki's cheeks, which soon melted away as he blinked at the compass. The needle pointed straight at north, and it had pointed in that direction for the past five minutes. Slowly though, it began to move in a fluid direction without the wavering it generally had. Tomoki furrowed his brows together, trying to understand this odd sight. It pointed southwards, right at the woods behind his house. Curiosity got the better of him, and he tentatively walked into the woods. Moments later, you couldn't even tell that the youth had went into the woods.
"Hey uh… where's your brother?" Takuya asked, glancing around for the younger boy. Yutaka ceased trying to reclaim his other stolen plate, and raised a brow.
"The lie would be in the house, the truth however… is I haven't the faintest idea. Hey mom…?" Yutaka called, heading over to his and Tomoki's mother.
"What's going on?" Shinya asked walking outside with the bottles of water, unsure why everyone was hollering out for Tomoki's name.
"Is Tomoki inside?" Kouichi asked Shinya, and seeing the younger Kanbara shake his head no he frowned.
"Why? What's wrong?" Shinya asked, worry rising inside of him.
"I hope he didn't wander into the woods, it's getting late." Tomoki's father murmured, glancing up at the setting sun. A zephyr sent a cold shiver among the guests at the party and they all exchanged confused glances. That was a bit on the creepy side, now wasn't it?
"I'll check inside." Izumi said, laughing nervously. "He's probably in the bathroom or something…" She walked inside, with Junpei and Kouichi at her heels. Not exactly at her heels, but they did follow her inside the fair sized house. It wasn't any sort of a magnificent house, but it was well suited for a small family. It was a three-bedroom house, one room that was now a guest room instead of Yutaka's room. There was Tomoki's room, and then his parent's room with two bathrooms in total. There were no bathrooms in any bedrooms, and meaning the house had two bathrooms hanging about in the hallway. It was a nice one-story home, with bricks that gave it a sturdy appearance and a chimney that puffed out smoke during the cold wintery days.
"Uh guys, we are now missing two midgets." Takuya murmured, then gulped when realizing all eyes where on him now. "Well… do you guys know where Shinya went?" Now they had two of the youngest missing, and this most certainly wasn't heading in a promising direction.
"I bet he went off into the woods to search for Tomoki. Great, now he's going to get lost in there!" Yutaka scowled, annoyance apparent in his features. "I'll go look for them." He sighed, grabbing a flashlight and heading towards the woods.
"I'll help." Takuya stated matter-of-factly, grabbing another flashlight. "My brother's in there too you know." He scowled, glaring at the woods trying to resist the urge to not run in there and choke his younger brother. Just their luck, to have the two go off and get themselves lost.
"You aren't going alone." Kouji growled, feeling both annoyed and threatened. Annoyed because everyone was just going off and leaving him there, and threatened because he downright did not trust Yutaka and Takuya alone in the woods, at night. Insecure at this moment was an understatement in Kouji's mind right now, in the gentlest of words.
"All right, at this rate those two little rats won't be hiding for long." Takuya grinned, tossing Kouji a flashlight of his own. Kouji gave him a wry grin back, and the three started towards the words. At least until they heard a shriek of terror. Then they ran.
Three flashlights lit the perimeter in a confusing and fast-paced manner. One moment it'd be pointed in one direction, then the light would be pointing in that of an entirely different one. Yutaka, Takuya, and Kouji were running with the flashlights on, not even actually using the lights other than to avoid the trees and at times not even for that. The screams and loud sobs were loud enough to lead them exactly to the owner, and hopefully the owner was only disturbed by a deer's dead carcass or something. None of the three wanted to think of what else might have caused such a horrible noise, or else the images would come. The images themselves were almost as horrible as the noises they were hearing, and combining the images and noises would be too much for their stomachs. It wasn't until the three finally reached where the noises came did the noises stop entirely, and with frantic glances they searched the area for where it all came from. Silence, and nothing were their only clues.
"Tomoki?" Shinya's voice called from not too far away. Takuya's eyebrow twitched, and he promised himself that if this had all been a joke his brother would die a slow and painful death. "Tomoki? Where are you?" The young Kanbara called again, though this time the crunching of leaves his feet made when walking ceased. "What? Tell me where you are again!" He yelled out, as the small search party of three looked at one another quizzically. They never heard Tomoki's voice reply, and from how close Shinya called they should have heard it no matter how soft.
"Shinya?" Takuya called out, and he waited for an answer. None.
"I'm coming Tomoki, don't worry!" Shinya's voice yelled, and the crunching of leaves started up again. Yutaka, Takuya, and Kouji all looked at each other somewhat fearful. Why didn't Shinya answer his brother? How come they couldn't hear Tomoki? And most of all, what was that horrible noise?
"Shinya!" Takuya hollered, his voice echoing in the empty woods. "Will you answer me already?" He yelled, straining his voice determined to get a response.
"There you are Tomoki! I was so worried about you! They had said you were dead, but of course I didn't believe them! How could you die after all?" Shinya's cheerful voice said, echoing back to them. Yutaka's eyes widened, and he looked at the other two. They nodded and began running towards where the noise was coming from. They were no longer driven by curiosity, now it was worry. They never heard Tomoki's voice, and how they heard Shinya say this. Their nerves were at the breakable point, and they each had to ensure the two boys were okay… and nothing happened, that it was all a joke.
"Hey guys, find Tomoki yet?" Shinya asked, walking out of Tomoki's room.
"No… when did you go in there?" Izumi asked, tilting her head.
"When you all said that he might be in the woods… I went in here to get a coat in case he did and a GOOD flashlight to go with everyone to look for him." Shinya answered, confused. "Did they already leave?" He asked, panicking. If anyone were to find his boyfriend, it would be him!
"Hey Izumi, there's something you need to know." Kouichi called, walking back inside. After checking the bathroom, he was sent outside to tell everyone that Tomoki wasn't there and they'd search the entire house.
"What?" She asked blinking. Junpei started to question Shinya if this was some sort of prank he and Tomoki were pulling, saying how it wasn't polite and such.
"Yutaka, Takuya, and Kouji already went into the woods to go look for Tomoki. They thought Shinya went in there, and right before they went in it looked like they either heard or saw something that worried them so they ran on in. Ah, so Shinya isn't in the woods…" Kouichi blinked, scratching his head at the sight of the small Kanbara.
"What? No fair, they left without me!" Shinya scowled, then took off out of the room.
"Wait, Shinya!" Junpei yelped, as he and Izumi chased after him and leaving a very lost Kouichi standing there.
"…no wonder no one knows if someone is missing or not. These people never stay still!" Kouichi sighed, then followed after in a feeble attempt to help keep up with Shinya.
"It's so funny, they said a monster ate you! But I know no one could get my Tomoki! Nope!" Shinya's voice chirped happily, talking to who they hoped to really be Tomoki.
"Guys, do you get this really sinking feeling that something is not right?" Yutaka asked, and received only nods in reply.
"You are after all the Legendary Warrior of Ice, nothing can hurt you! You'll kick those Digimon's butt, no problem!" Shinya's voice laughed light-heartedly, and this sentence caused both Takuya and Kouji to stop in their tracks. Yutaka gave them a confused look, and the two looked at each other unsure of how to explain.
"Uh… must be a game they play…" Takuya murmured, and they continued walking cautiously towards the familiar voice. They weren't entirely sure why they were being so careful, but it was their instincts that demanded this movement or none at all.
"Hey, do you hear something Tomoki?" Shinya's voice asked, and the three stopped simultaneously. "Must be my imagination! Heh!" The voice said, a smile in the words. Swallowing the accumulating saliva in their mouths, the three shone their light in the area where the voice was coming from. And what they saw would haunt them for the rest of their lives.
"Kami-sama…" Yutaka whispered, begging this to be some sort of trick of the imagination. Takuya shuddered before looking away, and Kouji unconsciously took a step backwards. Shinya wasn't there like they thought he was, but Tomoki was. Just, the only thing was that the young boy was kind of… in pieces.
The funeral had been a very dreary, and sad event. Everyone around Yutaka, Takuya, and Kouji had been pounded with questions. Questions like, 'are you okay', 'how do you feel', 'did you do it', and finally 'do you think you should see someone about this'. The police had confirmed that a wild animal had attacked Tomoki, possibly feeling threatened by the boy being in its environment or it merely was very hungry. When hearing the small search party and seeing the lights, it was most likely scared off and didn't dare return to where the body was. Although Takuya and Kouji didn't think it was an animal, because that wouldn't explain the voice they heard. By now they found out Shinya was inside the whole time, so who was talking was beyond them. Certainly wasn't Tomoki that much they knew. Yutaka had seen a psychiatrist, and was currently being treated for nightmares and such.
"Of all the people, why Tomoki?" Izumi asked, shaking her head after the funeral. They all decided to go to her house; she being the more cheery of the bunch and her room was probably filled with more positive karma than anyone else's house. Although the mood destroyed whatever happiness once filled Izumi's room, and the light lavender walls suddenly seemed gray and dull. There was no Tomoki to be optimistic for them, nor a Shinya and Tomoki to bother and annoy.
"Who knows? It was his birthday, and that's what happened." Takuya said, his fists tightening as he clenched his pants.
"I just can't believe it. No matter how many times I try to understand it, I just can't. It's Tomoki." Kouichi said, attempting to hold his tears back. Kouji for the most part had been quiet the entire time, not saying anything because he wanted everyone to try and get through this and him saying something, at times, never improved these situations.
"I don't mean to pry… but…" Junpei began, taking a deep breath and ignoring the tear-filled eyes on him. "I know we all miss Tomoki, and what happened was horrible. But something doesn't add up, for some reason I just can't believe an animal did it." He sighed.
"Me either, but…" Izumi started, but cut herself off. They all nodded their head understanding; all of them were too busy mourning to really think about it.
"It wasn't an animal." Takuya said softly. Everyone slowly turned to look at him, and Kouji gave him a soft nod to say it was okay to say if he wanted to. "You might call us crazy though…" The brunette said, taking off his hat and goggles. Without Tomoki there, the entire team it just didn't seem right to wear them. Team, it almost sounded like they were back in the Digital World all those years ago…
"Tell us, we won't repeat it. After all we just lost Tomoki, I doubt any of us will risk losing anyone else." Kouichi stated softly. "And 'we' being you and Kouji, correct?" Here Kouji nodded, giving his silent response.
"Before we ran into the woods, we just thought the two had wandered in. Then we heard this horrible scream…" Takuya said, shuddering from the memory. Here everyone but Kouji looked confused.
"Wouldn't have… Tommy's mom have heard that?" Izumi said, using the young boy's nickname.
"We ran into the woods blindly, we never really thought about why no one else heard." Takuya said, trying to shake his head free of the memories of when they did find Tomoki.
"That's what didn't add up. Someone would have heard Tomoki scream if an animal attacked him, and no one even mentioned that." Junpei said, finally locating the one piece of logic that had eluded him so long.
"While looking we kept hearing these horrible noises, and when we reached where they were coming from they just… stopped. Then we heard Shinya's voice-"
"But Shinya was inside." Izumi said frowning.
"We didn't know that, and whoever was talking in his voice knew it too. When we called to him he never answered, and when he got an 'answer' from Tomoki we never heard it. We started following the voice, and as we did it was saying how it thought Tomoki had died. He said a monster ate him, then he started talking about how he was the Warrior of Ice…" Takuya said, trailing. "We hurried up, and found him." Here he shuddered again, and Kouji was already attempting to block the memory away.
"You think this has to do with the Digital World then?" Izumi asked, biting her bottom lip.
"It's all we can guess at, after all it makes sense. Sort of." Kouji replied softly startling everyone, and then they nodded.
"Wouldn't have Ophanimon or someone give us a ring then?" Izumi asked, and as if on signal her computer began to beep signaling she was receiving an instant message. Her face paled, and she looked at it. "I never… signed on. Anyone…?" They shook their heads. Gulping, she moved slowly to the desk and looked at the user's name, 'unknown'. She frowned, and looked at the message.
"The tourniquet came too late, and the murder never transpired. Wanna play a game?" –unknown. Izumi bit her lower lip, and moved her fingers across the keyboard fluently as if typing were as simple as breathing.
"Who are you?" –Kazekiller. Waiting, they all looked at the box with fairies dancing in the background.
"…say yes, and you'll find out soon enough." –unknown. Izumi gritted her teeth, then quickly typed her reply to this.
"If we don't know you, how can we trust you?"-Kazekiller. Ten minutes slowly passed by, and she was about to hit the small 'x' in the corner when the answer finally came.
"If you didn't know my name before, how will you trust me after I've given it to you?" –unknown. Izumi furrowed her brow in confusion, trying to make sense of the question before another response appeared. "Yes or no, be I friend or foe. Choose to play, or choose to stay. Make your choice and find out soon, whether or not your assumptions are true." –unknown. Izumi grinned. 'So he likes riddles does he?'
"A game you propose to us all, our answers given if from atop we do not fall. Tell us how you know each part, then yes your game we will start." –Kazekiller. She grinned, and then sweat-dropped realizing how confusing her own sentence was. She was so determined to make it rhyme; the sense it made was small.
"I am here, and I am there, and at times I am nowhere. Listen to what you all say, is what I've done since that day. Accuse me not of what had been done, the answer awaits in the end, and now the game has begun." –unknown.
"You sure that was such a good idea?" Kouichi asked.
"Of course, what could some random instant messenger do."? Izumi said. "Although I am a bit worried with how much they knew…" Here she frowned. "Not to mention how I got lo- wait a minute! I'm not even signed on!" She gasped, realizing the icon at the bar located at the bottom of her screen lacked the instant messaging provider she used.
"This… just keeps getting more and more creepy." Junpei murmured worriedly.
"Loading…" A woman's voice said through the computer.
"What? Loading what?" Izumi yelped, whipping her head at the desktop.
"Loading the portal… 70… 80… 90… welcome!" The woman's voice said cheerily, as a bright light flashed through the room.
"Izumi-chan!" Junpei yelled, knocking the blonde out of the way in fear of her safety. Like chocolate syrup is drowned in milk, the light enveloped Junpei.
"Kouichi, move!" Kouji hissed, yanking his twin away from the portal before gasping and finding himself and Takuya dragged through in a similar manner as Junpei.
"KOUJI!" Kouichi screamed, watching his brother disappear along with the portal.
"JUNPEI?" Izumi yelped, getting up immediately.
"Takuya?" Shinya's small voice squeaked, gaining the attention of both Izumi and Kouichi. They quickly turned, and saw a wide-eyed and pale-faced Shinya shaking. "…you too…?" He said softly, in such a small voice and with this he passed out. It seemed like everyone close to him just kept disappearing…
"Shinya!" Izumi yelled, running over to the boy. "Kouichi, you find out what happened to them!" She cried hysterically, finding herself starting to be unable to take the stress of everything that was happening. The strange events, the loss of Tomoki, and now they had no clue what happened to Takuya and the other two.
"Right." Kouichi said blankly, running to the computer and doing everything he could think of to find what that had all been. Then he paled. "Izumi…"
"What?"
"You know that unknown guy… well, he wants us to know the game just began. Wanna know what else?" Kouichi said, in such a calm and empty voice it creeped the blonde out.
"I don't think I have a choice whether or not I really want to know." The blonde girl said, already fearing what else there was to know.
"There are three sets of players, two of them on a team. That'd be us. The other set of players is who is causing all of this. So while Takuya, Kouji, and Junpei are 'playing the game' in the Digital World…"
"We're playing the game here, in the Real World…"