Frontier 02: Home Frontier – Chapter 14 (I promise): I Love You
madjack89: HI, EVERYONE! I'M BACK!
Takuya: Yay!
Daiki: Hooray!
Hotaru: …Yeah.
Kouji: Why are you always so loud?
madjack89: Because I can be!
Kouji: *sigh*
madjack89: Anyway, I'm back and better than ever! I've had an entire week to think my story over (along with chillin at the beach) and I am now ready to give you the answers you've been waiting for! And I will also answer your reviews! Hooray! I'm excited!
*break*
Kayland Elric: Hey, you're back! How was your vacation? Mine was good! Sorry about your kitty…my kitty once ran away, but now I have a new kitty! I still miss my old kitty though…but thanks for reviewing!
babytigera: Well, I made Hotaru to be the stereotypical "silent type." Basically, he doesn't say much. But Daiki was there, so naturally, so was he. He's an enigma, even to me! I also find it easier to write lines for those five, so that's why they were doing the fake chapter. And I'm glad you think I'm funny, but please don't die! Then I'd feel bad…and thanks for reviewing!
greywindfalcon: First of all, they have enough puns in Digimon's dialogue without me adding to them. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, it was actually Takuya and Daiki that collaborated for that "not a chapter." They paid the twins to do it. They (I) thought it would be nice to give you guys something to read while I was gone. And I also love that part in the movie! I actually think it's kind of funny when those two fight…but I digress. Thanks!
JewelledTears: Yummy, cookie! eats Thanks! I actually did read that twin thing somewhere, but I didn't really ever think it applied to everyone…oh well! It's cool that you have a twin, though! I once got an immunization thingy on my arm too. It hurts! Once again, oh well! Hm…that is an interesting guess. Well, we'll see if you're right! Thank you!
GoldenDragon326: Yes, they are sneaky, aren't they? Host a chapter by themselves…but anyway, thanks for the nice review! I'm glad you enjoyed the not-a-chapter, too!
*break*
madjack89: Kouichi!
Kouichi: *jumps in surprise* What?
madjack89: What time is it?
Kouichi: Time for you to take your medication?
madjack89: No, it's time for chapter 14!
Takuya: Hooray!
madjack89: Oh, by the way, Hotaru is now fourteen. It's now February 4 in the story. I did a time skip!
Hotaru: Okay, so I'm the oldest.
madjack89: Yes you are. Okay, time for the real chapter fourteen!
—
Huh? Where…am I? "Hee hee! Kouji, you're so cute!" What? That sounds like… "Come on! We're not getting any younger!" That's…me! But that's…no!
"Kouji, look out!" Screech! NO! SEIKO!
Kouji's eyes shot open. His breathing slowed as he realized he'd only been dreaming. He sat up, grabbing his bandana off his side table. "Seiko…" he muttered, clutching it to his chest.
-Can you honestly tell me you've forgotten your vow?- "What?" Kouji turned, looking for the source of the voice he'd heard. –Heh heh…I'm not anywhere in your room.- Kouji realized that the voice was coming from INSIDE his head.
What…? Who are you? thought Kouji, realizing it would be pointless to talk to it out loud.
The voice chuckled. –Let's just call me that little voice in the back of your head, come to help you find sight of your goals again.-
Kouji tensed. What do you mean?
-You know exactly what I mean. That little vow you made…after the funeral.-
…What about it?
-Heh heh heh…we have much to discuss.-
—
"Ah, life is good!" said Takuya, slouching down in his chair. It was free time during school, and Takuya, Kouji, Kouichi, and Daiki were sitting in chairs in the back of the classroom.
"It sure is!" exclaimed Daiki, playing with his yo-yo.
The other three stared at Daiki. "Um, have you even put that thing down since you got it, Dai?" asked Kouichi.
"Well, duh! I have to sleep eventually!" The others sweatdropped.
Takuya broke the silence first. "What's up with you today, Kouji? You seem out of it."
Kouji was silent for a moment, fiddling with his Livestrong band (I don't know if they have them in Japan, but Kouji gets one because he's Kouji flippin Minamoto!). "Well...I did have this nightmare last night. But it's nothing to worry about."
Takuya chuckled. "What, did the boogey man jump out of the closet and scare you?" Kouji glared at Takuya and pushed his chair with his foot. "Waahh!" Takuya exclaimed as his chair fell over with him in it.
The others ignored Takuya and continued their conversation. "So, what exactly was it about?" asked Kouichi curiously.
Kouji hesitated. Should I tell them? "Well, there was this really weird voice-" Suddenly Kouji clutched his head in pain. "Urgh…my head…"
"Kouji!" Kouichi, Daiki, and Takuya jumped up.
"I'll get the teacher!" said Daiki, rushing to the front of the classroom.
Kouichi and Takuya went to Kouji's side, keeping him from falling out of his chair. By then a crowd had gathered around them, trying to see what was going on. A few girls looked especially worried.
"Out of my way!" ordered the teacher, pushing her way through the crowd with Daiki close behind. "Kouji, what's wrong? Is it a headache?"
Kouji didn't seem to be listening to anything that was going on around him. His eyes were open wide, staring at the floor. He had a scared look on his face.
"Mr. Kimura! Mr. Kanbara! Please escort Kouji to the infirmary!" said the teacher, gesturing to Kouichi and Takuya.
They nodded, slinging Kouji's arms over each of their shoulders and walking him through the door and down the hall.
After a few moments, Kouichi muttered, "Kouji, what kind of voice was it? You know, in your nightmare."
Takuya stared at him like he was crazy. "Kouichi! How can you ask that at a time like this?"
"This isn't some stupid question. This is important!" said Kouichi firmly. Takuya looked taken aback. "Well Kouji?"
Kouji still didn't seem to be listening to them. "Kouji!" yelled Kouichi, snapping Kouji out of it. Kouji blinked a few times.
"What voice? I don't know what you're talking about," he said slowly. Then he wrenched his arms from their grip. "I can walk, you know!" he snapped, walking ahead of them.
Takuya glared at him. "You big jerk! We were trying to help you! That's it; I'm going back to class!" Takuya turned around, quickly walking back down the hall. "C'mon, Kouichi!"
Kouichi paused for a moment, staring at Kouji as he continued down the hall. Suddenly Kouji stopped and turned to face him. "Instead of worrying about me, why don't you worry about your own problems, like your relationship with Zoe? Hasn't she been avoiding you since we brought you back?" With that, Kouji turned the corner and was out of sight.
Kouichi flinched. Kouji's words stung with the truth they carried. He had already apologized for making Zoe worry about him, and she had accepted his apology, but she was still avoiding him. Every time he was near her, she would make some sort of hurried excuse to leave.
Kouichi turned, walking back toward class. I don't know what's gotten into you, but you've made a valid point. I have to figure out why she's mad at me and fix it.
He gulped, knowing what he would have to do after that. "And then I have to tell her that…I love her."
—
Zoe, Kira, and Tomoyo were also sitting in class, enjoying their free time. Well, technically, Kira and Tomoyo were enjoying it. Zoe was busy worrying over her current love life situation, pacing in small circles near the side wall of the classroom.
"I don't know what to do. I mean, what if Kira's right, and I am in love with Kouichi? What if he doesn't like me back? And what if he does like me, but it turns out that I actually don't like him and Kira just imagined it? Then what do I do?" Zoe muttered, continuing to pace back and forth.
Kira sat slouched in her desk (similar to Takuya), reading aloud the questions from a teen magazine's quiz, "How to Know if You're REALLY in Love," to Tomoyo, who sat backwards at the desk in front of her.
"Alright, last question. 'Do you ever think that this may not be the right guy for you to be around? A: Yes. B: No. C: Kind of.'" asked Kira in a bored voice.
"B," Tomoyo answered automatically. "JP is the love of my life. Of course I think he's the right guy to be around!" she added matter-of-factly.
Kira rolled her eyes. "If you're so set on marrying pudge-gut, why did you make me read this damn quiz out loud to you, anyway?"
"Call him that atrocious nickname one more time, and I swear I will shove that magazine straight down your throat!" threatened Tomoyo, leaning over her seat and glaring Kira down.
"Easy, there; I didn't mean anything by it!" Kira said quickly, calming Tomoyo down. "I'm just confused as to why you love him so damn much. I mean, it's obvious that he is head-over-heels for Zoe, not to mention he's rejected you more times than I can count! Not to mention he acts like a complete flirt! Why do you like a guy like that?"
Tomoyo paused, smiling sadly at Kira. "I know. He IS all of those things. But-"
"But he's definitely a better person than you give him credit for, Kira," said Zoe, speaking Tomoyo's words for her. She paused in her pacing, smiling at Tomoyo. Tomoyo smiled back. "Right!"
Kira looked at them both, smiling coyly. "Well, while you two dream of going out with your dream dates, I shall be living your fantasy for you as I continue to date my ever-lovable goggle headed boyfriend, Taki!" she said smugly.
Zoe and Tomoyo stared at her, annoyed. Then Tomoyo smirked, saying, "Well, today I'm making my dreams a reality! I'm going to tell JP I truly, madly, deeply love him!"
"Um, isn't that a song?" commented Kira.
"But Tomoyo," said Zoe, ignoring Kira, "You've already told him before that you love him. You've even forced him to go on dates with you! What makes today any different?"
Tomoyo smiled, an evil glint in her eye. "Today I'm going to make him take me seriously."
Zoe sighed. "You two have it so easy. I mean, I don't even know who I love anymore."
Kira and Tomoyo paused, staring at Zoe excitedly. "You mean you've had crushes before!" Tomoyo squealed, giggling with delight.
Zoe blushed slightly. "Well, of course. I mean after spending so much time alone with…" Zoe stopped herself, realizing that she couldn't talk about the Digital World around Tomoyo. She rephrased herself quickly in her head, and then continued. "I mean, most of my friends are boys, after all. It's only natural to have a crush on one of them."
Tomoyo squealed happily. "Oh, this is so exciting! Who'd you have a crush on, Zoe?"
"I bet it was pretty boy, right?" said Kira.
"If you mean Kouji, you're right," said Zoe, holding her hand up to halt Tomoyo's squeal. "But I don't have a crush on him anymore. We're just friends."
Tomoyo sank back in her seat. "Pretty boy gets all the girls, doesn't he?" said Kira, smirking slightly.
Zoe sat down too, resting her head on a desk. "But now I might have a crush on his twin brother! Oh, what am I gonna do?"
"Zoe…" Kira muttered sympathetically, patting her friend's head.
Tomoyo, however, was not so sympathetic. She shot up from her chair and stomped over to Zoe. "Listen up! You, my friend, are an Italian babe! You could get any guy you want to, but you know why you don't? Because you know deep inside you that you truly love someone else, and do you know who that someone is? Kouichi Kimura!
"So today, you and I are gonna march right on down to that school and we are going to tell the men we love what's what! And you know why? Because we are the Girls in Love Alliance!"
Tomoyo finished her speech with a flourish, pointing her finger towards the sky triumphantly.
"Okay, seriously, first the song Truly Madly Deeply then a line from the manga of Full Moon? This is ridiculous…" said Kira.
Zoe, however, seemed moved by Tomoyo's speech. "You're right. I have to stop lying to myself. I am in love with Kouichi Kimura, and today, I'm going to tell him!"
—
JP sat in class, barely paying any attention to the teacher as he droned on. Suddenly, he got a sick feeling in his stomach. Not like a stomachache, but like some seriously big butterflies fluttering around madly in his stomach, trying to tell him something.
Something's wrong, he thought, worry slowly creeping through him. He knew this feeling. He'd had it before. In the Digital World.
He had first noticed it during their original adventures in the Digital World. After all of them had gotten their spirits, JP sometimes got these feelings about everyone else. Sure, they were connected as friends, but he was connected in a way he didn't really understand.
It wasn't consistent, though, and it didn't happen frequently. The most painful feeling had been when they all thought Kouichi had died. He had felt like he was being torn apart by the sudden cloud of anguished emotion that had hit him like a bullet to the heart. He hadn't told the others about it, though. It didn't seem that important.
At the moment, JP was getting a feeling that was trying to tell him something. Something he needed to do…
"JP!" said Hotaru urgently, breaking JP out of his trance. "The bell rang. School's out."
JP nodded absentmindedly, gathering his things quickly and starting toward the classroom door. "Thank you Hotaru! Sorry I gotta rush off like this, but I gotta find Zoe right now and tell her I love her!"
—
Kouichi stepped outside the school building, leaving Takuya and Daiki to check on Kouji. There was something important he had to do first. He scanned the masses of children outside the school, looking for one in particular. He finally found her, standing by a tree with Tomoyo and Kira beside her, looking up anxiously at the school.
Kouichi swallowed his doubt, slowly making his way through the crowd. "Here I go."
—
JP marched through the school doors just after Kouichi, quickly finding Zoe in the crowd. He also made his slow way through the crowd, going a different way than Kouichi had. "Here I go."
—
"Here they come," said Kira, alerting Tomoyo and Zoe to Kouichi and JP heading their way. Tomoyo and Zoe glanced at each other and nodded. "Here we go."
—
Kouichi and JP pushed their way out of the crowd at the same time, both getting within hearing range of Zoe.
"Zoe!"
"Zoe!"
"Kouichi!"
"JP!"
Kouichi, JP, Zoe, and Tomoyo stood in a circle, staring at each other with wide eyes and confused expressions.
"Well, this is awkward," said JP sheepishly.
—
madjack89: Well, there you go! The real chapter fourteen!
Kouji: Joy.
Takuya: Let's see…the next chapter's about why Tomoyo and JP's relationship, Kouichi and Zoe finally getting together, and what the hell is wrong with Kouji.
madjack89: Yup, that about sums it up!
Kouji: You can't stand short chapters, can you?
madjack89: Nope!
JP: Who can?
Takuya: Yeah really.
Kouji: You know what? Forget I mentioned it.
Takuya and JP: Okay!
Kouji: *sigh*
madjack89: Okay guys, see you in chapter fifteen (Wow this is getting long)!