-Full Summary-

The Chosen Children have returned from the Digital World.
On that fateful day in the hospital, a coin is tossed into the air.
On one side of the coin, Kouichi Kimura lives; on the other side, he dies.

5 years have passed since the outcome that would forever change the course of their lives.
5 years since their final goodbyes were uttered in sterile hospital halls.
5 years since they began to navigate their friendships underneath the looming spectre of mourning.

An unexpected reunion begins to weave together the frayed threads of their relationships to each other- But just when it seems like everything will be alright, digital distortions begin to present themselves in the real world, beckoning the children back into familiar chaos whether they like it or not.

Content Warnings: Major character death alongside themes of depression, violence, abuse, bullying, PTSD, suicide, language and horror.
This work takes place in an alternate timeline sequel where Kouichi stays dead in the final episode of the season rather than waking up, with an eventual progression into a more action-based plot.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Digimon Franchise nor the characters involved.

-On that Fateful Day, Five Years Ago-

"Kouichi, can you hear me? It's me, Kouji! I came back to meet you!"

The sound of the heart monitor flatlining rang like tinnitus in his ears.

"I promised to meet our mother, remember? You can't.. you can't die here!"

The pervasive scent of hospital antiseptic burned at his nose.

"Don't leave me.. please.. !"

The four other children watched the scene unfold, the sting of tears welling in their eyes.
Kouji was desperately shaking Kouichi's shoulders on the medical cot in front of them. Kouichi was so still, and his eyes were lifeless like glass.

"Kouichi.. !"

A single teardrop escaped Kouji's eye, illuminated by the stabbing light of the surgical lamps. The tear almost appeared to be glowing, the way it reflected the harsh light.
With bated breath, they all watched as it silently fell and landed on Kouichi's forehead, dripping down his lifeless face. Then, there was another tear. Then another. And, then...

...

Nothing.
Nothing could break Kouichi's stillness.

Large hands suddenly grabbed them from behind. It was the hospital security.
"You kids can't be in here right now," rang a deep, adult voice, amidst the alarm of the flatline.

"No!" cried out Kouji's voice, as he clung to Kouichi's body. "H-he needs me! He needs me here! Don't take me from him.. !" his panicked voice resounded throughout the room as they were forced apart by both doctors and security.

"The doctors are doing their best to save this boy. You need

to let

them work."

The security herded them out of the room, and they had all found themselves escorted to a nearby seating area down the corridor. Reassurances were given that the doctors were still doing all that they could.

The seconds and minutes that passed there felt as though they were never-ending. The ticking of the clock never sounded so loud before.
It was a surreal feeling- Not yet able to grieve, nor able to sigh in relief. Stuck in a liminal space, like a toss of a coin hanging in mid-air.

Takuya was sitting next to Kouji, his hand placed on Kouji's shoulder in a tight grip. Kouji was doubled over in his chair, shaking, his face hidden behind his own interlocked hands.
Across the way sat Izumi, Junpei, and Tomoki. Izumi had her arms wrapped around herself tightly. She stared blankly at the floor, tears brimming in her eyes. Junpei, though clearly just as distressed, had his arm around Tomoki and tried to comfort him with jokes and stories told through a shaky voice.

'Lowemon told us he could sense Kouichi was still alive. So..'
'.. Everything's going to be alright, isn't it?' was the thought that hung in all of their minds.

Still, something didn't quite feel right. The air was heavy, and their chests were tight, as though dreadful shadows crept in at the edges of their hearts.

Finally, the large and heavy double doors to the room where Kouichi lay slowly opened with a metallic creak as a doctor exited. Kouji immediately stood up as he approached the group.

"M-My brother.. is he-? I-is he.." he struggled to finish the question.

The doctor didn't answer Kouji right away, and instead began to inquire about their relationship to Kouichi, deciphering who was friend and who was family, apart from the obvious. He asked if they witnessed the incident, and lastly, where all of their parents were and if they had any means of contacting them.
After he received the information he was looking for, he asked to speak to Kouji privately, away from the group.

Takuya watched as they walked down the hallway.
He watched them both stop in front of the double doors.

There was a back and forth exchange with Kouji looking increasingly frustrated in both his eyes and his body language.
The doctor's face looked worryingly sympathetic.

Kouji's angered voice then bellowed from their direction.
"Just tell me already!" he yelled, "just tell me whether my brother is alive or dead-"

Behind the anger of his voice lied both hope and despair. The two sides of the coin.

Takuya watched Kouji's facial expression as the doctor kneeled down, placed a hand on his shoulder, and gave him his answer..
.. and witnessed the moment Kouji's heart shattered.

And when Kouji's agonized cry pierced through the heavy atmosphere, they all knew what the outcome was.

The coin had finally landed.

At that exact moment, the ticking of the clock froze, as did everything and everyone else. The entire world became silent.
A now 16-year-old Takuya Kanbara found himself standing among the scene as a watcher. He stood in the center of the waiting area.

'A dream,' the older Takuya thought to himself.
He glanced aside at his own younger self, who had gotten up from his chair and was frozen mid-run towards Kouji.
'This dream, again,' he turned to look at the rest of their friends. Izumi's face was in her hands. Tears streaked down Junpei's cheeks as he gripped Tomoki, who had buried his face in Junpei's chest and was sobbing.

'How many times have I had this dream.. ?'
Finally, his eyes glanced down the corridor. At Kouji, who had slid down the wall behind him, eyes hidden in his hands, mouth agape in a harrowing wail.

He would never forget that sound.
This memory would continue to haunt his mind for years.

Takuya took a step forward. The frozen image of Kouji didn't move any closer as the hospital corridor stretched to match his movement.
'I already know, no matter how many steps I take,' he tried again, picking up his pace, 'I can never reach him. That's just how this dream works.'

'But..'
He broke out into a run, 'I can't seem to stop myself from trying.'

'How do I reach you?'

He outstretched his hand.

'Kouji?'

Just then, a flash of light stung at Takuya's eyes, and he quickly raised his forearm to cover them. He winced, stirring in his bed, realizing the bright flash was simply the sun, intruding in through a crack in his curtains. Instinctively, he grabbed his pillow to cover his face. Then, quickly recalling his dream, he shot up from his bed and reached for his phone- 6:39am. While far too early for his tastes, it was not long before he had to prepare for the school day. He didn't think he could get back to sleep after that particular dream, anyway.

He glanced down at his hand, the one he tried to reach out with, and gave a heavy sigh.

'It's been a little awhile,' he thought, '.. since I had that dream.'

Five years had passed since that fateful day they had returned from the Digital World.
Five years since their final goodbyes to Kouichi, and..
Five years since any of them had seen Kouji last.

He opened his phone's text messages, scrolling down to Kouji's name. The last sent text was from Takuya, dated two years prior. Takuya's fingers ran across the digital keyboard, and began to type
"Hey,"
when he suddenly paused. His eyes couldn't help but wander back up to his previously sent messages.

They were a garbled, somewhat ineloquent, and rather long-winded mash-up of anger, worry, and pleading for Kouji to respond. Various stereotypical phrases were sprinkled in, such as, "So you're just going to run away from it all, then?" and "How can you do this after everything we've been through together?" amidst larger walls of memories and ignited emotions.

'We fought side by side.
We overcame foe after foe.'

The thing is, Kouji never did respond. He never responded to anything, the moment they parted ways from the hospital. For the last five years, he had all but ghosted each of them without so much as a word, a call, or any sign of life.
Takuya, stubborn as he was, kept trying to reach out for years and years. His messages started out as innocent prods, invitations to hang out, offers to talk, offers of support, happy photos, memes- slowly spiraling into an escalating concern - before eventually devolving into his final frustrated rant after so many years of silence.

As he read through the messages, that familiar anger flared back up in Takuya's heart, like a spark amidst the ashes- uncertain of whether to burn up or to fade away. He erased the message he was typing, convincing himself that if Kouji didn't respond back then, he wouldn't respond now, either.

'We relied on each other.
We trusted each other with our lives, we fought as one inside of Susanoomon-
You just want to pretend like that all never happened?'

Inside that smouldering ire lied the grief- it always cycled just like this. First came the anger, then the sorrow. Not only for Kouichi's passing, but also for the thought of Kouji going through all of it entirely alone.

'I had your trust back then, didn't I?
And, now..'

Like two ghosts looming over him, there also sat the grim realization that if he never saw Kouji again, then-

The last memory that he would have of him is of him sobbing in that hospital.
Both of them would have been lost there on that day.

He didn't want it to be that way.

The light of dawn illuminated the house through open curtains and blinds as Takuya groggily made his way towards the direction of the kitchen. The voice of his father, Hiroaki Kanbara, called out to him as he noticed Takuya's presence.
He held a messenger bag and appeared prepared for work with a button-down shirt and dress pants, his dark brown hair tied back neatly as it normally was.

"Morning, champ! You're up early. I don't often get to see you before I leave!" he said cheerfully as he approached Takuya and ruffled his hair.

"Morning, dad," Takuya tiredly mumbled in response as he pushed his disheveled bangs away from his eyes.

His mother, Yuriko, chuckled at the scene. She was dressed more casually than his father with a knit turtle-neck sweater and khaki capris, and comfortable looking house slippers were on her feet. "Your hair is starting to get long again, isn't it, Takuya? Want me to cut it soon?" she inquired as she noticed him brushing it back and pointed at her own hair, the outward flips of it sitting at the top of her neck just as his used to.

"s'fine for now," he responded as he huffed the last strand of hair off his face.

She smiled. "Taking after your father, now?"
Takuya's hair was a touch longer now than he normally preferred, the length of it reaching more closely to the bottom of his neck and with bangs that just barely threatened to obscure his vision. He had no aspiration to grow it out as long as his father's, though - it would get in the way of soccer, he thought. That, and other things.

"Be good in school today, okay?" Hiroaki said to Takuya as he turned to take his leave, giving Yuriko a quick peck on the cheek. Takuya groaned at the sight.

"Hey, Takuya," she turned to him after his father left, "could you go and make sure your brother is awake?"
She scratched her head as she looked at him with a peculiar expression. "Goodness, it's normally the other way around, isn't it? What made you get up so early today?"

"Sun's bright," Takuya grumbled. He turned back around and to the direction of Shinya's room - their old shared bedroom.
After a good deal of pestering, Takuya finally convinced his parents within the last couple of years that he was too old to be sharing a room and a bunk bed with his little brother, and they decided to give him the guest bedroom for himself, much to their dismay of figuring out where to put visiting family or friends from then on.

The reasonings he gave them were all true; he was older now and did in fact need his privacy, and they now both had more space for their personal belongings. For Takuya, this consisted of all his assorted soccer paraphernalia, video games, and manga.

What he didn't mention was that he also desired it for the sporadic nightmares that occasionally tore through his sleep - often involving BlackSeraphimon forcing him into a coffin or watching Kouji get cut down by Duskmon or clutching Tomoki in Vritramon's claws - which would cause him to accidentally wake his brother as he shouted in the night. He didn't want Shinya to worry about him.
It was better this way.

He knocked on Shinya's door. "Shinyaaaa," he called out when he received no response, then gave an exasperated sigh as he slowly pushed the door open. The room was still dark with Shinya's closed curtains, and Takuya quietly stepped in and crouched beside the bed.

Shinya was curled up and asleep, his short brown hair a complete and utter mess, much like his own in the mornings. Takuya smiled warmly at him.
He reached out a hand in order to shake Shinya's shoulder, but he hesitated before he did. He stared at Shinya's sleeping face and thought back to his dream - or rather, what occurred afterwards.

He remembered coming home that day from the hospital, hours late for Shinya's birthday celebration, as he had stayed by Kouji's side for as long as he could. He was the last one to leave him there, after Kouji's parents arrived.
He remembered the disappointment on his own parents' faces when he walked through the door, Shinya's anger, and how quickly their expressions changed when they realized he was crying.
He remembered hugging a very confused Shinya as tightly as he could, holding onto him as if he could lose him at any moment, because.. he could lose him at any moment.

What if he were the one shaking Shinya's lifeless shoulders on a medical table?

He couldn't imagine what it was like. He couldn't imagine.

"Hey.. Takuya, are you okay?"

The familiar voice broke Takuya out of his thoughts. He turned to Tomoki, who was standing next to him on the train. He tightened his grip around the grabrail. "Yeah, sorry, I'm fine," he reassured him, "just thinking."

Takuya and Tomoki were still fortunate enough to see each other often, as when Tomoki reached junior high age, they both ended up on the same train in the mornings headed towards their respective schools.
Tomoki had to exit the train a couple of stops earlier than Takuya did, but he was always grateful for the small amount of time they had together most mornings. Sometimes, they met up after school or on weekends if their schedules allowed.

Tomoki Himi, now 14 years old, had shot up in height since their days in the Digital World, now just the slightest hair shorter than Takuya. He was wearing a green school uniform, and always presented himself very neatly. Shirt tucked, tie straight, hair combed and currently without his signature oversized hat he had back in the day. Takuya mused to himself, that if you looked up "Straight-A Student" in the dictionary, you might just find a photo of him there.

Tomoki had grown up too fast after their adventures, and the resulting grief, Takuya thought. The now mature and world-weary boy that stood in front of him today was a far cry from the child he recalled from years prior. Not all of the changes were bad, of course; Tomoki was, quite possibly, the most responsible of the four of them nowadays. Stalwart in school, protective of friends and strangers alike, and often the mediator of arguments among their own group. A peacekeeper.

He still looked up to Takuya a lot, for whatever reason Takuya couldn't fathom. He could only hope that he wouldn't let Tomoki's expectations down.

"You're acting a lot quieter than usual," Tomoki remarked with concern. Takuya waved his hand at him as if to physically dismiss his worry.

"It's just.. I had another dream," Takuya uttered quietly, "of.. the day we returned from the Digital World, and... of that day in the hospital," he sighed. It wasn't the first time he had relayed this particular dream to Tomoki.

"Oh.." Tomoki responded in the usual somber, knowing voice. "You know, sometimes I still have dreams like that, too.."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. And, I still wonder about Kouji, also.."

A heavy silence sat between them for a moment. Takuya stared down at the train floor, watching the lights from the window flicker as the train flew by various buildings and structures outside. Tomoki picked up on the ambient sorrow and quickly changed the subject.

"Ah! But my dreams aren't all sad! Sometimes I dream of the fun times we had in the Digital World, too. Like that time we all cooked burgers together. Or when I was playing video games with Monzaemon or- when we all raced on Trailmon!"

"Haha... I wish more of mine could be like that," Takuya responded in a bittersweet tone. The words came out more on the bitter side, though, than he would have liked.
He didn't like to drop his troubles on Tomoki, and even more so, he didn't like to be the cause of doom and gloom in any conversation. He lifted his head and gave a faint smile. "What I wouldn't give to have a lovely dream about Bokomon and Neemon, bickering with each other endlessly," he joked sarcastically. Tomoki gave a small chuckle in response.

This particular conversation didn't come up very often, but when it did, this was always par for the course. Takuya would mention the recurring dream, Tomoki would open up about his own dreams, and they would reminisce just a little bit about the Digital World together. Or at least, for another five minutes or so before Tomoki had to depart.

But today, nearing Tomoki's stop, he turned to Takuya and said something a little different than usual.

"I feel like some day..." Tomoki started suddenly, "we'll all get back together again. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, maybe not even soon, but... some day. And that includes Kouji, too."
He continued on, an odd determination present in his eyes, "the bonds that we made back in the Digital World... they can't be severed so easily, right?"

Takuya looked at him with a raised brow and wondered where this was coming from.
"I... yeah," he closed his eyes, smiling at the thought, "you know what? I hope you're right."

Another ordinary day.

Takuya made his way through large crowds of students in the walk leading up to his school. It was now an overcast day as heavy clouds had moved in over the course of his morning travel, and they hung over the school building, as if reflecting the mood his dream had left him in.

He made his way inside and glanced around, seeing the usual small, scattered cliques of fellow students amongst themselves. There was a strange vibe in the air. An odd array of hushed murmurs and whispers filled the school entryway as he swapped out his shoes at the getabako.

"Hey, uh.. what's with all the muttering going around today? Did something happen?" Takuya inquired to the student next to him as he stored his outdoor shoes.

"Didn't you hear, Takuya? There's rumor of a new transfer student coming in! Today!" the boy, a friend of his named Ryuhei, responded in a hushed yet excited tone.

"Huh.. it's a weird time of year for a transfer student, isn't it?" Takuya wondered aloud.
It was the fall for them, with the second semester of school already a couple of weeks in progress.

"That's exactly why people are freaking out, man," Ryuhei exclaimed with an exuberant arm gesture, "transfers like that don't usually happen unless, you know... something crazy went down at their other school!"
"This new transfer student, they say he's terrifying, a demon-boy! A gangster even! Someone who could beat anyone up- They say he put someone in the hospital-"

Takuya waved off the thoughts, scoffing. "If any of that were true, they wouldn't let this person into our school. They'd be expelled! And probably in juvenile prison-"

"Hey man, that's just what I heard. I didn't make up the rumors," Ryuhei shrugged.

Takuya stared blankly at his cubby for a moment, before a small smirk tugged at his lips. "Terrifying demon-boy, huh? We'll see about that," he laughed, skeptical of the claims, "don't worry, Ryuhei. If that guy gives you trouble, send him to me. I'll test those rumors." He gave an intimidating smile.

"Takuya.. ?" Ryuhei stared curiously, with a raised brow, as Takuya walked off with a blasé chuckle.

Classmates, exams, grades, routine. New friends that knew nothing of the Digital World.
And a "Terrifying" transfer student- there weren't many things that deserved such a title, after the decisive life-or-death battles they held in another world.

'How can anyone go back to a normal life after that?' Takuya wondered, walking down the familiar hallway of his school.

'We were only kids. We fought for our lives.'

'We got hurt all the time, and...'

'Someone died.'

Worst of all, there were only four people in the entire world that he trusted enough to talk to about it all- And he felt like he was losing three of them.

He finally reached his classroom and sat down at his desk, which was situated near the back of the room, then glanced out of the window to his left. Their teacher began her morning spiel, but Takuya quickly zoned out, his chin resting on his hand as he watched the empty school field below.

Despite everything that had transpired, nothing could truly compare to being in the Digital World. Not even a down-to-the-wire soccer game could hold a candle to the rush and risk of fighting and surviving day to day- of facing real danger. There was an odd yearning left in his heart, a taste for adrenaline, and that familiar boredom he felt so many years ago had begun to creep in once again when nothing could satisfy it.

And try to satisfy it, he did- over and over, he had found himself getting into more physical altercations and arguments in both school and in life. He tried to justify it at first, targeting an obvious bully or, as he did with Ryuhei earlier, offering to beat up anyone who gave his little brother Shinya or Tomoki trouble.
He had earned a bit of a reputation at his school himself, though he had yet to gain a title like Demon-boy. He wouldn't mind if he did.

Some days, he saw it for what it was: wanting to fight just for the sake of fighting.

The feeling was like a growing hunger. Like a small candle's flame that dreamt of becoming a wildfire, longing to consume and leave nothing but ashes in the wake. Longing to be the flame himself, as a Digimon again. He tried as best he could to shake it off. He felt guilty, even, for wanting something more, when the scars of Kouichi's death and the fierce battles they barely survived still loomed over his life and the lives of the other DigiDestined so heavily.

'I shouldn't think like this. Maybe.. boring isn't such a bad thing,' he chastised himself.
When life is boring, people don't mourn. People don't have their souls absorbed by otherworldly beings. Friends don't share an unshakable grief for the rest of their lives. When life is boring, it's supposed to be comfortable.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet a new transfer student that will be joining us," the teacher's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He didn't think the new student would be in his particular class.

'Well, maybe this new kid will finally make things more interesting around here,' he sarcastically mused to himself as the sliding door to the classroom slowly opened. He turned to look, curious as to what this demon-boy could possibly look like.

The wisp of familiar long black hair caught his eye.

'No...' his eyes widened.

The student turned to face the class.

Jet black hair tied up in a high ponytail.
Flyaway strands of bangs framed his forehead.
Dark blue eyes.

'No way.'

".. Hello. Everyone,"

That voice.

"My name is-"

There was no mistaking it.

Before he could announce his name to the class, Takuya slammed his hands down on his desk, which jolted several other students, and stood up out of his chair with such force that it fell backwards behind him-

"Kouji!"

'The bonds that we made back in the Digital World..
 .. They can't be severed so easily, right?'

-Chapter 1 End-

Author's Notes:

I hope you enjoy this little work of mine! I had this prompt idea of "What if Kouichi died/stayed dead in the final episode?" a few years ago but I didn't have a clear idea of where to go with it back then, so I didn't write anything until now. Maybe it's due to the upcoming DigiFes and 20 year anniversary that I suddenly felt very motivated to write this up!

Some notes on this chapter:

**To those who may be confused about the timeline (given that I mention 5 years has passed but Takuya is 16, Tomoki is 14, and they were 10/8 in canon), this story takes place in the fall as mentioned above, so Takuya's birthday has already passed here, and presumably Tomoki's as well.

**In regards to quotes and references to canon, I will (mostly) be referencing the subbed/original Japanese version, hence the Japanese names. Some quotes, interactions, and characterizations may differ from the dub.

**Ryuhei is not an OC of mine, just a random background character that I legit made up on the spot for these early school chapters. Just imagine him as a very generic anime side character if you will.

**The first few chapters of this are going to start off sort of slice-of-lifey as we revisit and reestablish all the characters. Then the action stuff will come later!

**I decided to age up the entire series here, since 5 years after the original series would be 2008. We're just gonna put this fic in the late 2010s instead.
(This is me not caring to do extensive research on 2008 technology (；´∀｀)/ )

**I work multiple jobs in my day to day life so I can't guarantee any regular updates, so please bear with me as chapters may be released quite slowly and irregularly!

**This is my first published fanfiction, so please leave a review if you feel so inclined! Constructive criticism is also welcome!

Stay tuned!