Hi there guys! We're back with another chapter for you guys. I'd also like to thank all you guys for helping us get to the 200 review mark! We love all the support you've all shown us and we continue to appreciate the support you've given us! I hope you guys continue to read and review to the 300 mark. Fingers crossed!
"TsukiyoTenshi" - Well, I can't tell you much but I can say that you'll find out by the end of the chapter. ^^ Hope you enjoy it.
"Firehedgehog" - Betcha didn't expect that to happen. Let me tell ya, you're going to freak when you see what happens to him next.
"The Keeper of Worlds" - You know we never let the guy off easy. And let me tell you, he's in for hell till we get him out of there.
"Spirit Dragoness" - Wow, it's great knowing we have that affect on ya. It's scary that the military took Takuya away. Just you wait till we get back to him.
"DarkFlame" - Um... can't really make any promises. You're just gonna have to wait and see what happens.
"Kameo1" - That fight was a lot of hard work to write. We had to do a double take for that but we really loved working on it. It is a perk that his dad accepted him though, it's a little late for that after the kidnapping. But hey, it's not through by a long shot.
"Berry Doyle" - Good thing he's the Warrior of Fire huh? Ha ha... I apologize for the bad pun. Enjoy the chapter.
"BlueFlamedWolf" - Yeah, it really sucks to be Takuya. Even when things get better they still get worse for him. And regarding the Spirits, you'll see soon enough which Spirits that Mercurymon had with him.
"ryan" - Um dude, you got your backstories mixed up. Kouichi is definitely the Warrior of Darkness and was once under Cherubimon's control, not Kouji.
"SerenaTheHedgehog" - You think this is bad, you ain't seen nothin' yet. -insert evil laughter here- Enjoy.
"Fanime-club" - Glad you enjoyed the chapter friend. ^^; Hope you can manage the week long wait. Remember, we update every Wednesday. But here's the next chapter to tide you down.
"Digi-fanCapp" - Sorry but there's no stopping it. Just gotta hope Takuya can manage. Glad you're loving the story so far friend, hope you enjoy the rest of it!
"Digidestinedkid6" - Um... cuz it's fun? I mean, he is our favorite punching bag. We love messing with that guy but we're not afraid to shift attention to other people. -glances at a certain someone- Anywho, enjoy!
"ryuuka" - Yeah, that boy never seems to catch a break and getting caught by the military isn't much better. And yeah... humanity sucks sometimes. Hope you enjoy where we go with this.
Okey doke guys. Let's get on with the chapter, shall we?
Chapter 27: Underdog.
Kouichi and Zoe arrived on the scene with Ms. Kimura not too long after the military had left. "Takuya!" they called his name in vain, hoping to find him alive.
"Zoe! I found his D-Tector!" Kouichi called the blonde over to him. He noted the smell of burnt rubber gasoline, and car exhaust.
"What's Takuya's D-Tector doing here…?" Zoe asked, feeling ever more afraid with Takuya's absence. She looked around for any signs of where the boy could be. "Where's Takuya…?"
"I don't know…" Kouichi replied after trying to get a closer look at the rubble around them. There were definitely signs of a battle with heavy scorch marks on a building nearby.
"Do you see anything that can give us a clue?" the blonde asked after taking a look around herself.
The older twin shrugged, not sure if he had enough to go on. "I'm not sure… Man… where is he?"
Zoe looked at him with wide eyes, "Did he? Did he..."
"He's alive Zoe. Don't think like that- we can't think like that..." Kouichi offered her a hand, trying to calm the blonde. She hiccuped and swallowed her sadness and fears.
Police cars drove up, "Hey you lot! Clear out! This is a dangerous area!"
Ms. Kimura called them back to the car. "Sorry officer, we'll be on our way." She ushered the kids into the vehicle, turned it around, and drove away. "Takuya will be fine kids, don't worry."
Kouichi was about to respond when his cellphone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and answered without checking the caller ID. "Hello?"
"What the HELL is happening there?!"
"H-hi Kouji," Kouichi squeaked out, flinched from his brother's tone.
"Don't 'Hi Kouji' me Kouichi. I know something's up. I saw the news." Kouji replied sharply showing that he was in no mood for anything but the simple truth.
"Okay Kouji… look… we saw on the news that a Digimon was attacking the area and Takuya went in to deal with it…" Kouichi started to explain.
"Who was it?"
At that Kouichi sighed before explaining further. "We think it was ShadowSeraphimon… it fit the description given on the news." The next part he knew his brother was not going to take well. "We don't know what happened during the fight but… they're both gone."
"Gone? What do you mean gone?!"
"I don't know! We looked around… all we could find was Takuya's D-Tector." Kouichi answered quickly know that his brother wanted answers immediately.
"Goddamn it… Okay, I'm coming home right away." Kouji stated, startling his brother. "I'll be on the next train back if I can."
"Wait, are you serious?" the older twin couldn't help but ask.
Kouji half growled at him, "Of course I'm serious! I can't leave Takuya alone for a few days and expect things to not get completely out of hand! He can't stay out of trouble! None of you can!"
"We were fine right up until Cerberumon attacked and-"
"Cerberumon too?! What else have I missed? It's only been a week!"
Kouichi flinched and swallowed hard, "Then you need to know something else too..."
"What."
"Takuya... Kinda... Is full Digimon at the moment..." Kouichi murmured, bracing himself for the inevitable outburst to follow.
There was a stunned pause on Kouji's end. A deep breath was taken and exhaled, "Details. All of Them. NOW."
"Well… a few days after you left Takuya went out for some fresh air… we followed after him and found him. Ceberumon was about to kill him but he fled when we got there… but it had already stolen his human data."
"When the hell did you plan on telling me?"
"We didn't want to worry you. We knew you weren't going to be coming back for a while and you'd worry the whole time you were away." Kouichi tried to explain, or at least let him know his reasoning.
Kouji was silent for a moment, probably trying to gather himself before he snapped. "What else?"
"He was able to recover from the fight but… he couldn't turn back into a human. He was depressed for a little while but we were able to help him yesterday."
"How?"
"We hooked him and Zoe together." Kouichi knew he should have been ecstatic having to deliver that bit of news to his brother but now wasn't the time for that. "And that's it. We heard the news, and now Takuya's missing… we have his D-Tector though… he must have dropped it during the battle but… I'm not sure how that's going to help."
"A lot actually." Kouji sounded relieved at this point, most of his anger melting away. "I used my D-Tector to track my spirits- We can probably use it to track Takuya."
Kouichi smiled a bit, "We'll try it once you get back. How long until the next train can get you here?"
There was another pause, "This next one will pull into Shibuya in about two hours- three tops. In the mean time, Rally the troops and make a plan. I want to start searching as soon as I get there."
"You've got it bro. I contact you if we get anything from the D-Tector."
"You'd better," Kouji muttered darkly. "I'll call you when I get in. I need to board now."
Kouichi sighed softly, "Alright. See you soon." The line went dead. Kouichi sunk in his seat.
"What's happening?" Zoe asked curiously.
"Kouji's coming home. He'll be in Shibuya in the next two to three hours."
"Thank goodness. Maybe we can figure something out and find some leads." Zoe muttered to herself and looked over to Takuya's D-Tector. "Can you find anything in that?"
Kouichi shrugged and tried tinkering with the device. "I'm not sure. Only so much you can do with a few buttons. JP'll know what to do."
Zoe nodded and pulled out her phone. "I'll give him a call."
"Zoe? Hey, what's up?"
"JP… we're in a lot of trouble. Did you see the news?"
"Uh… no? Why?"
Zoe sighed and started to explain the situation to her friend as Ms. Kimura drove them back to the Minamoto residence. JP agreed to pick up Tommy and get them over to the Minamoto's in a few hours.
Everyone gathered in the kitchen all hovering around Takuya's D-Tector, which hadn't moved from its spot on the table since Kouichi set it there. Kouji hadn't appeared yet, having to wait for the local trains to begin transit as usual again.
"Takuya could be hurt! Or in trouble- this waiting is killing me..." Zoe complained, hugging her arms tightly. She clearly wasn't taking this well.
Kouichi sighed softly, "I know... we just need to remain calm okay?"
"We're trying." JP put in softly, trying to comfort Zoe. "This is very stressful."
"No duh," Kouji said bluntly. He dropped his bag on the floor. The others smiled weakly at his arrival; hope being restored now with the rest of the team present. "What have you guys come up with?"
JP shook his head; "I can't get it to respond- I don't even remember a map function on the D-Tectors."
Kouji rolled his eyes, "Give it here, I'll show you." Tommy reached out and passed the device to JP then to Kouji. He yelped as it shocked him upon touching it. He clutched the device tight instead of dropping it like most would.
"Are you okay?" Kouichi asked, concerned.
"It shocked me!" Kouji growled, glaring at it.
JP looked down at the device and turned his attention back to Kouji. "And you're okay?"
"Yeah, I dunno why it did that but yeah." the younger twin replied and shook the device lightly. When it didn't respond he decided to try messing with it to get the map function to work.
The others watched carefully as Kouji tried making the map appear.
"What the hell is wrong with this thing?" Kouji grumbled as the device remained unresponsive to their tinkering.
"Um… doesn't it work normally only for the owner?" Tommy asked.
The younger twin sighed, agreeing that it made sense that way. "I guess we'll have to open it up and try there. JP?"
"Um… are we sure that's okay?" the tech savvy teen asked after being handed the device. "I mean sure we got that Digimon encyclopedia working but this is a little different."
"Well, we are just looking for the map function." Zoe offered.
Kouji nodded but suddenly felt apprehensive. Opening the D-Tector felt wrong; invasive. He knew it could help them find Takuya but at what risk? "We're all in agreement here then, open the D-Tector and try and turn on the Map function?"
The others nodded. Zoe spoke softly, "Yes. Are you okay Kouji? You look... pale?"
"I'm fine..." He nodded to JP, "Open it."
JP nodded and began to pry the plastic cover from the device. They all watched with baited breath, hoping they had a shot of finding Takuya before something horrible happened to him.
"That's odd…" JP muttered under his breath after getting a look at the circuitry of the device. "I don't remember these lights being lit when we opened it before."
The others looked over JP's shoulders and saw the two red lights glowing amongst the rest of the circuitry.
"I think… those are Spirits." Tommy stated, remembering when he saw Datamon open up the D-Tectors in his shop back at his shop in the Digital World. "When we were looking for them after the Toucanmon stole them I saw Datamon open mine and Takuya's up. His had two lights while mine had one."
"Really?" Kouichi asked and looked back down at the device. "So, these are Spirits?"
"I think so." Tommy nodded.
Zoe looked confused. "But how'd he get these back?"
"Maybe he's had them the whole time..." Tommy suggested.
Kouji looked down at the two small orbs in the device. "Hard to believe how small they are... How much power they possess..." He leaned back, holding his head.
"You okay Kouji...?" his brother's worried voice reached him.
The younger twin looked up, his world spinning. His vision blurred, and Kouji closed his eyes trying to feel better. "I... Um... ugh..." He staggered, leaning against a wall for support.
"Kouji!"
The D-Tector was easily forgotten as the group rushed over to Kouji's side. The younger twin had a hand tight to his head, like he was trying to fight a headache.
"Kouji, you okay? What's wrong?" his brother asked, trying to help Kouji get steady.
The younger twin groaned weakly but managed to get himself to his feet. "I'm fine. I'll be okay. I just felt a little dizzy. Don't worry." He then felt an aching pain in his jaw.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Tommy asked, noticing Kouji rubbing his jaw as if to hide away an ache.
"I'm fine." Kouji grumbled, gritting his teeth with his response.
Kouichi righted his brother, and forced him into a chair. "You need to relax- You're getting all worked up."
The younger didn't argue, feeling lightheaded and dizzy. He obliged and sat holding his head in his hands, trying to regain his senses.
"So... The spirits..." Kouichi started, trying to get the focus off Kouji who just needed space and back onto the absent Takuya. "perhaps he did have them the whole time. What difference does it make?"
JP snorted, "well why wouldn't he evolve to Agunimon if he had the ability to? We've all witnessed his battles, he never once evolved- or even tried to."
"Maybe he couldn't," Tommy suggested, "maybe it was too tiring."
"Even if it's tiring, you'd think it would have been needed against someone like Ogremon." JP countered. "Ogremon sounded pretty nasty from your description. I'd think if Takuya could have been Agunimon for that fight he would have."
Zoe sighed. "I don't think that's the point. We're trying to find Takuya."
"Well, I can try getting the map to show up." JP replied and took his seat back at the table. He pulled out his tool kit and set himself to work on making the device work for them. "This might take a while though."
"We know you're trying your best." Tommy told the oldest. "You can do it."
Kouji sighed weakly, still feeling a shooting in his jaw. He tried his best to ignore it though. He didn't want his friends to worry about him. Takuya was their main priority.
He sighed softly, feeling tired. Maybe all this stress was finally getting to him. He yawned tiredly, trying to combat his exhaustion. "Did you guys find it?"
"No, I can't get Takuya's D-Tector to respond," JP replied sullenly. He quietly began to reassemble the device.
"So we have nothing to go on..." Kouichi summed up softly, "Just a fight with ShadowSeraphimon."
"I don't think that'll give us anything." Tommy remarked, stating the obvious. "What do we do now?"
There was no answer from any of the others. They had no idea how they were going to find their missing friend. There were no leads, no clues, only a device that would not work to help them.
"Damn it… what the hell are we supposed to do?" Kouji cursed. He had been gone this whole time and things just seemed to go straight to hell during his absence. "I never should have left."
"It couldn't be helped Kouji." His brother tried to reassure him. "We had no idea things were going to play out like this. No one saw any of this coming."
"We just got to think of a plan. Possible theories." JP added, trying not to give up hope in finding their friend. "I'm sure we can think of something."
Kouji slammed a fist down on the table in frustration. "And if we can't!? This isn't the Digital World guys! Takuya's alone out there stuck as Flamon. He won't survive like that for long!"
Everyone looked at Kouji, startled by his outburst. His body shook with anger and frustration.
"Bro... you need to settle down..." Kouichi stated slowly.
The younger twin looked at his brother, eyes blazing. "Takuya needs us."
"Not like this," Kouichi reasoned, "You nearly split the table in two."
Kouji blinked and looked down at the wooden table. A long deep crack divided the table, clearly caused by Kouji's fist. He recoiled, pulling his hand away in shock. His hand was completely unharmed as well.
"How did I…?" Kouji couldn't believe he nearly broke the table with just his bare fist. And there was no pain. And no bruises or anything of the sort.
"Are you okay?" Kouichi asked, feeling worried for his brother's sudden change of behavior. "You're hand's not hurting too bad is it?"
"It's… not hurting at all." The younger twin answered weakly.
The others turned to look at Kouji's hand. It really didn't look like it had suffered any from the contact.
"How's that possible?" Tommy asked.
"I don't know…" Kouji asked still feeling a little nervous about what just happened. "I didn't even hit it too hard. But look, let's just try not to worry about that. Takuya's still top priority."
"If you say so." Kouichi replied though not sure how to make out his brother's sudden action.
Kouji became very quiet following the crack he made in the table. Kouichi would glance at him every one in a while. He felt ill, and sick to his stomach. He could feel it churning. His palms were sweating. The room felt warm and he couldn't breathe.
He stood slowly. "I'm... I... I need to lay down," he choked out. His head pounded as his rose from his seat. Kouji took a step and staggered.
JP caught the younger twin's arms, "Easy there Kouji..." The boy swayed where he stood.
Tommy brought Kouji's chair over, and he helped ease him back into it. "Are you feeling alright Kouji?" Zoe asked softly, coming to his side. She felt his forehead, "You're burning up."
"I'm fine." Kouji insisted despite how ill he felt. He tried getting back up but the others made sure he stayed in his seat. "Guys… I'll… I'll be fine… I really just need to lie down."
Kouichi bit his lip and sighed. "Okay, let's get him to the couch. I'll go see if Mom can help out any here."
"Gotcha." JP replied and helped the younger twin over to the couch. "Just try to take it easy, alright buddy?" "I told you guys, I'll be fine." Kouji tried telling them. He really didn't want them worrying over him. It didn't stop him, however, when Tommy offered him a glass of ice water. "Thanks."
Kouichi came back into the living room with his mother in tow. "Alright, just let me and Mom check you up."
He groaned, but made no more complaints as they would be ignored anyway. He laid back, closing his eyes and falling asleep almost instantly.
"Kouji's making himself sick with worry..." Zoe said softly, looking out at her friend's sleeping form on the couch.
JP nodded, "No kidding. I think he feels responsible... Cuz ya know, he wasn't here. It's not his fault, I'm not saying that, but I'm almost positive he's blaming himself for not being here."
They all nodded in unison. They all knew how valuable Takuya was to Kouji. He was the boy's first real friend. They were partners. They were best friends.
"I hope we can find Takuya soon for both of their sakes..." Kouichi said with a somber tone. "What else do we have?"
"Besides the place where you found Takuya's D-Tector? Nothing." JP said softly.
They all collectively moaned into their seats, feeling completely hopeless in this situation. They really got nowhere with their attempts to find even the slightest clue as to where Takuya could possibly be.
"So what do we do now? Wait for a lead?" Tommy asked, not sure as to what their next step would be.
The older children didn't know how to respond to the little boy's question. None of them wanted to just sit and wait. It didn't feel right.
Zoe bit her lip. "I don't think we could go back and look for clues… the officials have probably already blocked the area off."
"Anything from the news show anything?" JP ventured to ask, hoping that it would at least give them something to go off of.
Kouichi shook his head, "No. Just coverage of the damage."
Kouji mumbled in his sleep but the others ignored it, taking it as a sign of his distress. He pulled at his bandana. Kouichi sighed and began to untie thinking it was bothering his brother as he slept.
"Leave it alone Kouichi," the boy growled, still seemingly asleep.
The elder twin backed up in fright, not expecting his brother to speak directly to him. "Are you okay Kouji?"
The younger cracked an eyelid open. "I'm fine," he insisted, "Just leave my bandana alone."
"Alright, done. Leaving it alone." Kouichi backed off, holding his hands up defensively. Kouji's mood had soured greatly in a matter of moments. "You sure you're alright?"
"I told you I'm fine!" he snapped, sitting upright. His bandana fell away from his face.
The others looked at Kouji in shock, by both his outburst and by his appearance.
The younger twin glanced at all of them, confused by the expressions on their faces. They looked like they were in complete shock and awe. "What?" he asked, taking the bandana in his hand.
"Your hair." Zoe uttered, still looking in awe.
He just raised a skeptical eyebrow at the answer. "What about my hair?"
The blonde dug into her bag and pulled out her compact mirror.
Kouji took the mirror and was completely shocked when he saw that his long black hair was turning an unnatural grayish blue at the roots. "What the hell? My hair's… going white?"
The other three exchanged uneasy glances. Takuya's hair had changed color dramatically overnight. Kouji seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Whoa, there is no way that's happening to me!" he exclaimed.
He looked frazzled which was extremely uncharacteristic for the boy. "Just calm down brother, we can figure this out."
"How!?" Kouji snapped, half growling at the same time. His eyes widened, "Did I just..."
They all nodded slowly. "Easy Kouji..." JP said calmly, forcing the boy to lie back down.
He glared at JP and pushed his hand away, "Get off."
"You need to relax Kouji," Zoe said firmly.
Kouji glared at her too, but didn't respond. He rubbed the back of his neck in frustration. He stopped suddenly, eyes widening again. It felt... furry? He raised the compact mirror over his shoulder, seeing more of the blue-gray colored hair descending down his neck and along his spine.
The others became quiet, watching from where they were standing, as Kouji remained frozen in his spot, staring wide eye at the reflection in the mirror. "Kouji…"
"W-w-what the freaking hell?!" Kouji screamed out, startling everyone and making them all jump backwards in fear. The look on Kouji's face was absolutely terrifying; looking both in complete shock and rage. "This is not happening!"
"K-Kouji?" the older twin called out, uncomfortable with how JP and Tommy were cowering behind him like a human shield. "W-what's wrong?"
Kouji growled weakly. "I… I have… fur…"
"It's okay Kouji… you're going to be okay." Zoe ventured to him, trying to think back about how they were able to help Takuya through his issue.
"How is this okay?!" the boy shouted, making the girl shrink away in fear.
Kouichi stepped up and took his younger brother by the shoulders, trying to calm him. "Kouji, you need to get a grip and calm down," Kouichi stated firmly, "Clearly something isn't right but you need to remain calm so we can all figure this out."
The boy shook his head, panicked. "How can this be happening to me?" he moaned, leaning against his brother for support.
Tommy spoke up timidly, "What if it's because Takuya's missing?"
Everyone looked at him. "That's... actually a good theory..." JP said softly, "Doesn't make it any better though," he added seeing Kouji's death glare.
"Why me?" the younger twin persisted.
Zoe crossed her arms, "Isn't it obvious? You're Takuya's best friend and you two were a team. You both received a higher form of power than the rest of us for a reason. It was your friendship that formed Susanoomon in the first place!"
"That doesn't make sense. Am I suddenly starting to turn into a Digimon just because Takuya's missing?" Kouji wasn't so sure any of their ideas were good enough to make sense out of all of this. "It took Takuya a few days to develop at this rate."
JP shrugged. "Well, we don't really have any other theories."
Seeing that Kouji's mood wasn't improving with JP's reply, Kouichi tried again at calming his brother down. "Look, we can figure something out. We were able to help Takuya through this. We know what to do."
"That's right. We can help you too Kouji." Tommy added on.
The younger twin just growled in aggravation. "We don't need this on top of what's happening. We don't have time for this crap."
"We just have to deal with it Kouji. Look, I know this has got to be… stressful, but we can find a way to make due with everything." Kouichi offered and put his hand on his brother's shoulder.
Kouji shrugged his brother's hand away, "How. I don't even know what I'm turning into!"
Kouichi forced his brother to sit back down, "Neither do we. But we're here for you Kouji. Try and think of the positive."
"What positives," he spat, growling softly.
The other four looked at each other apprehensively. "Well," JP started, trying to think of something and not get his head taken off.
Kouji snorted, "There isn't one."
"Stop being so negative Kouji," Zoe scolded, "Takuya told me how much he loves the freedom and how alive being a Digimon makes him feel. You two have a gift that any of us would love to experience again."
"You can have it," Kouji snapped, baring his teeth. They all gasped collectively, "What now?"
Tommy picked up the compact mirror Kouji dropped in his panic moments ago, "Your teeth are sharp... like..."
"Like a wolf." Kouichi supplied as Kouji examined his newest changed.
"That explains my jaw pain..." Kouji muttered.
"Does it still hurt?" Tommy asked and flinched away when he received a death glare from the younger twin. He went and hid behind Zoe. "Sorry. Forget I asked…"
Kouji rubbed his aching jaw and noticed the look his brother was giving him.
The older twin was not pleased with how his brother was snapping at them, especially Tommy who looked like he was on the brink of tears. The two glared silently at each other, waiting to see who would yield to the other.
The younger twin sighed weakly, relenting, and looked away from them, exhausted from the day's events wearing him down. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap."
Kouichi wasn't sure whether or not to buy the lame apology but decided it would do for now, Kouji was being put through a lot of stress; it's understandable that he'd be a little irrational.
Tommy inhaled softly, calming himself. "It's okay Kouji, I forgive you."
Kouji looked up at him, feeling guilty now, "I... uh... thanks... and I am sorry..."
"It's alright. We all get scared sometimes..." Tommy offered, smiling. Kouji nodded weakly. He didn't want to admit it openly but he was scared.
He sighed softly, "Look, I'm sorry everyone, I just..." Kouji lowered his gaze, "This is a lot." He clenched his fists. "Takuya's missing and now this... I..."
"We understand Kouji," JP said quietly, "Your bad attitude won't scare us off that easily."
Kouji growled at him lightly, shooting him an annoyed glare. "Thanks. I think."
"Try not to worry about it." Zoe insisted, trying to get them off the topic. "Why don't we just try and help you adjust to this?"
The younger twin sighed weakly. He was trying to understand what he was transforming into; he had patches of fur growing around his back and shoulders, his hair was turning a light blue color, and his teeth became more canine. This wasn't a Digimon he was familiar with. "So, what am I turning into?"
"Maybe it's something like Flamon." Tommy offered. "You know, like a rookie form for Lobomon?"
Zoe nodded with the little boy. "It's not a bad idea."
"I guess." Kouji shrugged but winced, feeling a small aching pain in his feet. Then he noticed his fingernails were growing, turning to long sharp claws. "Great… claws."
"Look how long they are..." Kouichi observed as Kouji's new claws finished growing. They were much longer and sharper than Takuya's.
He groaned softly, trying not to massage his temples and accidentally scratch himself. "This is ridiculous... why is this happening all at once?"
No one could offer the younger twin a good explanation as he sank back into the chair. "Sorry Kouji..."
"I'm going to bed..." he announced finally, "with any luck this will all be over by tomorrow."
"I'll come check up on you later then," Kouichi offered, "You need to rest brother."
Kouji nodded numbly, too tired and overwhelmed to continue to adjust to his swiftly changing body. He quietly slipped upstairs and collapsed onto his bed, falling asleep almost instantly.
