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Chapter 4: Big brother

The first time Taichi saw the Merchant was when he had returned home briefly, during his first adventure in the Digital World, although the boy believed it had been a dream. He was resting on the couch and spotted the strange figure dressed in black taking a look in the house's computer. Is that a Digimon? The leader of the chosen children asked himself in concern. As if sensing the boy, the Merchant turned to him; his mask made Taichi shiver.

"Hello, Yagami Taichi. Happy to be back to this world?" The stranger greeted with a polite and happy intonation.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Taichi asked rudely, jumping off the couch.

"Well, the answer to the first question is too expensive. You can refer to me as Merchant, if you wish. The second question has a far simpler answer." The Merchant's voice was now lower and deeper. He slowly walked away from the computer and approached Taichi. "I'm here to warn you."

"Warn me? About what?"

"Don't return to the Digital World. Forget about it and about those kids stuck in there. Just live your life peacefully from now on."

"Huh?" Taichi looked at the stranger in disbelief. "My friends are still trapped in there and you want me to abandon them?"

"It's not your problem." The Merchant's tone was dark and frightening. "Keep telling that to yourself every day. It's not your problem neither it is your fault. You might actually believe it someday."

"DON'T BE STUPID!" Taichi roared. "Like Hell I would be able to do that! If they stay trapped there, they'll be in danger!"

"Leave them there to die and live on. You don't really want to go back there, do you? You have the choice to stay here with your family. If you do as I say, I'll close the doors to that world forever and you'll never have to fight again."

"What?" Taichi was trembling slightly. He couldn't possibly accept that. However, the boy felt conflicted. The idea of staying in home and to never have to fight again was delightful. A part of him wished for that, wished to accept those conditions. But he couldn't do it. He could never do that to his friends.

"I can't… abandon them." His voice sounded weaker than he intended.

"You are a fool, Yagami Taichi." That was the last thing he heard the Merchant say before Hikari woke him up. Taichi believed it had been just a dream and the fact that Digimon seemed to be attacking Odaiba made him forget about the Merchant quickly.

However, he met the stranger one more time. After Mugendramon's attack, Taichi found himself underground. Koushiro, Agumon and Tentomon were unconscious close to him. He couldn't see Hikari anywhere. It was when he heard that voice.

"Already regretting coming back here, Yagami Taichi?" The Merchant was standing behind the boy. Like in their first meeting, Taichi got up in a jump.

"Am I dreaming again? Are you real?" He sounded slightly frightened.

"It's not important whether you are dreaming or not. However, I am indeed very real." The Merchant's voice sounded darker and colder than ever. "Look at you. The brave hero! Bringing your little sister to the Digital World just to see her die!"

"I didn't… I…" Taichi felt like crying.

"You are a terrible big brother who can't keep your sister safe. Just like that time you made her go to the hospital. You won't stop being reckless until you kill her, will you?"

"SHUT UP!" Taichi let a few tears escape his eyes. "HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT? HOW CAN YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?"

"I know many things from the past and the future. Things you wouldn't believe." Taichi thought he had heard a tone of sadness when the Merchant said those words. "I know for instance whether Hikari will live or die."

In that moment Taichi felt fear. The greatest fear he had ever experienced. He could feel his body shake as he imagined the last thing he wanted to imagine.

"She's not… she can't die… she can't…"

"Whether the girl lives or dies is up to you to decide." The Merchant sounded strangely empathic. He got on one knee and held the boy's chin with delicacy. "I can save Hikari if you do a thing for me."

"S-save Hikari? Can you do it?" Taichi regained a part of his hope.

"That's easy. When you had your little quarrel with Ishida Yamato, Homeostasis used Hikari's body to communicate with you. When God does that to someone, the vessel is changed forever."

"The thing that possessed Hikari… wait, but that thing said it wasn't a god!"

"You could say that Homeostasis doesn't have a very high self-esteem." The Merchant mocked. "What is important is that thanks to God's action, it's possible to awake a power in Hikari. A holy power based in light and that reflects what resides in her heart. That power can easily save her."

"Then do it!" Taichi ordered. "If this power can save my sister's life, go awake it and save her!"

"How rude. Is that how you ask favors?" The Merchant reprehended coldly.

"I-I'm sorry." Taichi quickly apologized. "Please, save Hikari."

"I know the right spell to awake that power in her. I can do it in the comfort of my carriage." The Merchant stood up and walked towards Koushiro, who was lying on the ground a few meters at Taichi's right direction. The Merchant crouched next to the red-haired boy and leaned to him. Taichi couldn't see the stranger's hands from where he was standing, but assumed they were resting on his lap.

"You know, Yagami Taichi, there are a few conditions for this job. You must fulfill them, so I can save Hikari." The Merchant said, without turning around.

"I'll do anything." Taichi stated. He was afraid of what the stranger would ask him to do, though.

"The first thing is rather obvious. Never mention that you know me or what I did to anyone. If you disobey this order, I'll consider our deal invalid and I'll kill your sister immediately." The Merchant spoke slowly and made sure to sound terrifying. "I have ways to know when I am mentioned."

"Of course, I can keep this as a secret. There's no problem at all." Taichi sighed in relief.

"The other condition you will fulfill in a near future. It has to do with Koushiro." The Merchant added, standing up and apparently fixing something in his left sleeve before turning around to face Taichi.

"Koushiro?" The leader of the Chosen Children was confused. "What do you want with Koushiro?"

"I have an interest in him, nothing that concerns you. In a few years, he'll feel troubled. He will want to discuss a family problem with you. I need you to tell him, when this day comes, that you can't hear what he has to say." The stranger explained.

"What? Why? What's the reason for that?" Taichi didn't like the idea of refusing to help Koushiro if he needed to talk to him.

"You only have to do this once. It's going to happen in the middle of a mission in the Digital World, so you'll have the excuse that you are too busy to listen to his problem. Since I feel generous, I'll make you this offer: one hour after you refuse to hear Koushiro, the first condition will be extinct and you'll be able to tell everything you know about me to anyone." The Merchant made an effort to sound reliable.

"Then… one hour later I'll be able to explain everything to Koushiro, apologize to him and listen to what he has to say!" Taichi was enthusiastic now. "He's going to understand, Koushiro is very reasonable. Besides, as far as I know, he has a great family! His family problem can't possibly be something too serious!"

"It seems that you agree to my terms." The Merchant commented in delight.

"Yes. We have a deal! Now, go help Hikari!" Taichi said.

"It will be my pleasure." The Merchant replied in a mysterious tone. He took a black knife out of his left sleeve and stuck it on the ground, disappearing next. It didn't take long to Taichi to realize that he didn't actually have any guarantee that the stranger was really going to save Hikari. As far as the bearer of courage knew, the Merchant could have been just messing with his head. That made Taichi anxious and angry. His sister was in danger and the only reliable thing that could help her was the medicine. Instead of losing time believing in fishy stories, he should have moved right away to Hikari's aid.

"Hey! The three of you! Wake up already!" Taichi said in loud voice. Agumon, Tentomon and Koushiro seemed disoriented at first, but quickly remembered what had happened.

"Mugendramon attacked… and we fell here." Koushiro was still putting his thoughts together, standing up with Tentomon's help.

"Koushiro-han, your elbow!" Tentomon sounded alarmed. The boy took a look at his right elbow and noticed there was a small cut on it, from where a little trail of blood was visible.

"The injury was probably caused by the fall, but it's not a big wound. I'm going to be fine, don't worry." The bearer of knowledge assured his partner with a smile.

"If you're done talking, we should get going!" Taichi urged the others. He would eventually break down and talk about what had happened to Hikari long ago, being listened and consoled by Koushiro. The older boy wasn't expecting for the red-haired to be so understanding and emphatic. Truth be told, Taichi had believed that Koushiro was a person who didn't have the capability to deal with people's emotional problems. To be helped by him like that surprised the leader at the same time that made him feel guilty about his deal with the Merchant. But that was probably a bunch of lies; I don't have any real reason to believe in that, the boy thought. Of course, when he saw Hikari using a strange power based in light, Taichi had no other choice but to believe that everything the Merchant had said was true. When the time arrived, he would have to refuse to hear Koushiro's problem. It's going to be okay. He's going to understand, right?

Years later, when Taichi, Koushiro and the new chosen children were reunited in a big saloon filled with tall bookshelves and strange objects to talk to the Merchant (according to Koushiro, the interior of the carriage was probably part of a different dimension), the original bearer of courage couldn't stop thinking about the events that had brought the Merchant to his life. Leaning against a wall, he watched the backs of those who were younger than him. The man in black had walked to the front of the group.

"First I need to cast a spell to prevent your memories from being rewritten by the Word. I can't restore your old memories, so you'll have to figure out what was real and what wasn't on your own." The Merchant explained as he looked for something in a nearby shelve. "Then I'll explain what I can, if you attend to one condition."

"I knew there was going to be a trick!" Takeru whispered angrily to himself.

"What condition?" Koushiro asked in a calm and controlled tone.

"No chosen child will ever fight me." The Merchant stated. "Not that any of you would be able to hurt me, anyway."

"Then who is going to stop you?" Takeru questioned loudly, not containing himself. At that point, everybody was staring at the blond boy and wondering what was his History with the Merchant.

"Don't be so cocky, Takaishi Takeru." The stranger's voice had now a horrifying cold tone. "Not even Homeostasis itself can stop me. Don't think you can."

"Homeostasis?" Myako wondered in loud voice.

"Gennai-san told me about it once." Koushiro replied. "He is indeed an agent of this entity. Homeostasis chose us to be chosen children and it surveys the stability of the Digital World, like a security system. Homeostasis created the Agents, who are Gennai-san and his companions, to act like its arms and legs because it doesn't have a physical form."

"Well, not anymore!" The Merchant suddenly exclaimed, as if he had found something funy. "Homeostasis is now pure energy and data trapped out of the tissue of reality and can never get out of there. However, it can sometimes use someone's body to communicate with us mere mortals."

"This Homeostasis… is it the thing that possessed Hikari back when we were fighting the Dark Masters?" Tailmon suddenly asked.

"Yes, it was one of the few times God interfered in the world." The Merchant spoke vaguely. "The Society claims to worship Homeostasis, though I doubt those Digimon ever communicated with the entity. But that didn't stop them from pursuing their objective."

"What objective?" Ken questioned, anxiously. "Why are they doing all those atrocities?"

"I will tell you when you accept my condition." The Merchant said. "Or you can refuse, leave my carriage and wait for your memories to be changed for… I lost track of how many times that happened so far but you got the point."

It was evident for Taichi that everybody was conflicted. The original bearer of courage decided to express his opinion.

"We should do as he says. Our only chance to win this battle is to know what the enemy is plotting. Besides, I don't want them to keep messing with my head."

"But Taichi-san!" Takeru tried to argue, but the majority seemed to agree with Taichi. Koushiro was the last one to manifest his thoughts. He stared at the Merchant, who turned his hidden face to the boy. An intense atmosphere could be felt between the two of them.

"You will not fight us either." Koushiro stated, firmly.

"I am not a fighter." The other replied.

"You will not harm my friends in any way." The boy made the sentence sound like a threat.

"I have no interest in unimportant people." The Merchant phrased that sentence slowly, as if he expected Koushiro to grasp the true meaning behind those words. He knew, however, that nobody knew his real intentions. "I suppose we can get down to business now."

Far from there, in the real world, it was getting late and Izumi Masami had just entered his house and kissed his wife when it was heard a knock on the door that had been just closed. Yoshie opened it and found a boy with curly black hair wearing a white jacket over a black shirt, standing in front of the entrance. Masami approached his wife to take a glance in whoever was outside. The boy looked at those two people as if he had longed for them, his light brown eyes shone with intense emotion.

"Are you Koushiro's friend?" Yoshie asked the boy, studying his features with interest.

"It's complicated." The boy answered, trembling. "It's an unbelievable story. You'll think I'm crazy. You'll think I'm telling some bad joke but I swear it's all true." His voice had started to crack and his eyes were now filled with tears. Yoshie and Masami felt the strange urge to hug that boy. "I-I shouldn't be here… I'm just being selfish… I'm so sorry."

The young man tried to leave the place, but the woman instinctively held him by the hand.

"Please, tell us what you came here to say." She asked. Yoshie could feel that it was something extremely important.

"Who are you?" Masami didn't understand why he needed the answer for that question so much. There was something strange about that boy.

"I was brought here from a parallel universe by a powerful man who wears a white mask… he told me that he could make my wish reality…"

"What wish?" Yoshie asked.

"I had lost my entire family… I was all alone… then he appeared and told me that he could give my family back to me…" It was getting harder for the boy to speak. His face was now being washed by tears, "… I just had to go to a universe where there wasn't a version of me… where I had never being born or… was already dead…"

Yoshie and Masami felt their hearts become heavier.It can't be… he can't possibly…

"Who are you?" The woman asked in a weak voice. She was about to start crying.

"I attend by the name Katsura Shinsuke… but that's not my real name." The young man made his best effort to speak clearly. "My real name is Makoto… I-Izumi Makoto… I am your son."