Frontier 02: Home Frontier – Chapter 15: Papercut
madjack89: Hey everyone! Sorry I craped out on you last chapter, but you know how it is…short chapter, blah blah blah. That's why I'm making this chapter so super-uber long that it will blow your minds!
Takuya: That's the spirit! Power to the people!
madjack89: Yeah! And on that note, let's make this commentary longer, too!
Tommy: How?
madjack89: Um, we could ramble on about some random subject until we get bored.
JP: Like, why is Kouji always so mean?
Takuya: Yeah, really! He's always calling me names like 'stupid' and 'idiot' and 'retard' and 'moron' and 'dimwit' and 'knucklehead' and 'blockhead' and 'dolt' and 'dunce' and 'fool' and 'ignoramus' and 'imbecile' and 'numskull' and 'boob'…
Kouji: I've never called you a boob.
Takuya: You were thinking it!
Kouji: And I only call you those names because you act like an idiot and a retard and…
Zoe: I think we get the point, Kouji.
Kouji: Well, what do the rest of you think? Am I mean?
JP: Um…maybe.
Shino: You have a tendency to be a little...harsh.
Kira: You're a complete and utter jerk, pretty boy.
Kouji: I choose to ignore the Yankee's comment.
Kira: Not a Yankee!
Kouji: Moving on…what about you, Daiki?
Daiki: Dai. And yes, you are.
Hotaru: *nods*
Kouji: …Gee, thanks.
Zoe: Well, I don't think you're mean. You're just…uh…you?
Kouichi: I choose not to answer the question.
Kouji: Hey, what does that mean? You think that I act like jerk!
Kouichi: I think I'm gonna go now. *leaves*
Kouji: Hey, wait a minute! Get back here! *leaves*
Zoe: Well…at least now we don't have to worry about Kouji and Takuya fighting.
JP: Praised be the day!
Takuya: Ha ha, very funny. So, what do we do now?
Tommy: We could…draw pictures!
JP: That's a great idea, Tommy! Though, there is one thing you forgot to consider.
Tommy: What?
JP: No one will be able to see our drawings!
Tommy: Oh…well, we could always just answer reviews.
madjack89: An excellent idea, Tommy! So, who wants to answer them?
Takuya, Daiki, and Hotaru: Did it.
Takuya: Twice.
Shino: No thank you.
JP: Sorry, but no.
Kira: Hell no.
Zoe: Nope.
Tommy: I gave you the idea. I can't do everything.
madjack89: You guys are so lazy!
Everyone: Thanks.
madjack89: *sigh* Fine! I'll do it.
*break*
JewelledTears: Yeah, well…yeah. Sorry. Thanks for commenting anyway. Hee hee hee!
greywindfalcon: Thanks for the cookie! Sorry bout the shortness, yadda yadda yadda…yeah. Whee!
Kayland Elric: Thank you! And Kouji is about to spaz a whole lot, so get ready, buckle your seat belt, and let's go! (Oh god, I'm way too hyper!)
GoldenDragon326: Yup, awkwardness all around! And actually, before I wrote this story, I didn't really like the KouichixZoe coupling. But now I think it's my favorite one in Frontier! Yay! Thanks for your review!
*break*
madjack89: Wow guys, I just got really really hyper for no apparent reason whatsoever!
Shino: This can't end well…
Kouichi: Hey guys. I lost Kouji, so I thought I'd come back—
madjack89: Kouichi!
Kouichi: Um…are you really hyper right now?
madjack89: Yes!
Kouichi: See you later. *leaves*
Takuya: Um, maybe we should start the chapter now?
madjack89: Alright, let's get on with the chapter! Ha ha ha!
JP: Is it too late to leave with Kouichi?
madjack89: Yes!
JP: Shoot.
—
Kouji sat on the school clinic's bed, holding an ice pack to his forehead. The school doctor had had to run a quick errand, leaving Kouji alone with his thoughts. Which was exactly what he didn't want to happen.
Kouji sighed, taking the ice pack from his head. So, I take it you don't want anyone to know about you.
The voice chuckled darkly. –For the moment, no. But that brother of yours worries me…-
Kouichi's pretty perceptive. If you're going to stop me from telling my friends, they'll just find out about you on their own.
-Kouji, you speak as if you despise me.-
I do. But at the moment, there's nothing I can do about it. You're holding me hostage. And you're trying to keep me from getting near anyone. I know your plan, and it won't work.
-And my plan would be?-
Kouji's fist clenched. You're trying to get me to turn against them!
-Heh heh…Kouji, I'm not trying to hurt. I'm trying to help. You're the one who wanted this for yourself, after all.-
Kouji's jaw clenched angrily. Shut up.
-Remember how you wanted to be lonely. In your mind, friends equaled pain.-
Kouji winced as pain shot through his temples. Shut up.
-And don't tell me you've forgotten Seiko…-
"I said shut up!" yelled Kouji, punching the bed in frustration. His body shook with rage, knowing that he couldn't just make the voice go away.
-Heh heh heh…you're so amusing, Kouji! No wonder all the girls like you.-
Kouji smirked, trying to calm himself down. "They don't like me, because they don't know me," he muttered. "They just look at me and think I'm so cool, so naturally that have to swarm all over me. But that's not me."
-So who are you exactly?-
"I…I don't know." Kouji held his head in his hands. "This is just so confusing."
-Oh, it'll be alright.-
Suddenly, the door to the clinic swung open and Takuya poked his head around it. His eyes fell on Kouji and he smiled lopsidedly. "Hey there, buddy. How you doing?"
Kouji looked at him and was about to greet him when the voice said, -Didn't he call you a jerk earlier? Oh yes, what a lovely friend.-
Just shut up. "Hey Takuya. I'm fine," said Kouji. That's just what me and Takuya are like around each other. I don't know why.
"Good," said Takuya, breathing a sigh of relief. Then he looked down, seeming a bit embarrassed. "Um…I'm sorry about, uh…earlier. I mean, if I were having a headache, I probably wouldn't be in a very good mood either, so…"
Kouji stared at Takuya, surprised. He suddenly felt bad about not apologizing himself. After all, he had yelled at him. –Oh, what's this? You feel like a jerk yourself, because of him. Is this what friendship is about?-
I… Kouji didn't know what to think. It wasn't as if the voice was wrong. He suddenly felt angry, not at himself, but at Takuya. Why doesn't he just leave me alone?
Kill…
"Arghhhh!" Kouji fell onto the bed, clutching his head in pain.
"Kouji!" Takuya ran to Kouji's side. "What's wrong? Do you need anything?" He noticed the ice pack that Kouji had dropped. "Here," he said, holding the ice pack up to Kouji.
"Damn it, Takuya! Just leave me the hell alone!" Kouji swatted the ice pack away, shoved past Takuya, and ran down the hall.
Takuya stood still for a second, completely confused. "What…?"
"Hey Takuya! How's Kouji doing?" Daiki strutted into the clinic, Hotaru right behind him. He noticed that Takuya looked kind of freaked out and that Kouji was missing. "Takuya, what happened? Where's Kouji?"
Takuya placed the ice pack on a desk by the bed. "I really don't know…"
—
"Um…oh look, there's pretty boy! I'll just go ask him where Taki is now," said Kira, rushing over to join Kouji. "You guys just do whatever you were gonna do!"
The other four stared at each other awkwardly for the next few moments. "Uh…" began Kouichi.
"Zoe, I gotta tell you something right now! Wait your turn, Chief," JP interrupted, moving toward Zoe.
"Oh no, you don't, because I have something to tell YOU!" exclaimed Tomoyo, grabbing JP from behind and dragging him slowly away.
"Wait! Stop!" yelled JP, struggling against Tomoyo with all his might. Finally, he broke free of her grasp and she fell to the ground.
"Tomoyo!" said Zoe, making a move to help her up.
"Zoe, wait." JP stood in front of Tomoyo, blocking her way.
"JP…" began Kouichi.
"Just shut up for a second!" JP snapped, glaring angrily at Kouichi. Kouichi backed up a bit, stung by JP's sudden anger. JP's expression softened a bit as he looked Kouichi straight in the eye. "We all know you're going to win, Chief, so just let me say this one thing."
He turned to Zoe, a determined look in his eye. "Zoe, I love you. I just needed you to know that I always meant it when I said I loved you, and I still love you. I just wanted you to know."
With that JP turned and helped Tomoyo to her feet. "C'mon," he said gruffly, dragging her toward the school.
Zoe watched as they pushed open the door to the school and disappeared inside. She smiled and muttered, "Thank you, JP."
Then she turned her attention to Kouichi. "Okay, Kouichi, you tell me what-"
Zoe stopped, noticing that Kouichi looked extremely embarrassed and nervous, not to mention he was blushing like crazy. "Um…I-I have to g-go!" Kouichi stuttered, turning around to leave.
"Hang on, Kouichi!" said Zoe, poking him in the side.
"Argh!" Kouichi fell to the ground in defeat.
Zoe chuckled. "That really is your ultimate weak spot, Kouichi."
"You had to go there, didn't you," he mumbled, getting slowly to his feet. He brushed himself off and faced Zoe, looking down and shuffling his feet.
"So…what is it, Kouichi? You know you can tell me anything. You don't have to be nervous," said Zoe, smiling encouragingly.
Kouichi glanced at her, feeling his face getting hotter. It's so easy for you, JP. I…I just don't have your confidence.
He sighed. Perfect.
—
Meanwhile, Kira rushed up to Kouji. And she literally began running, because, as she noticed, Kouji was sprinting as fast as he could away from the school and down the street.
"Hang on, pretty boy, it's Kira!" she yelled, trying to get him to stop. Kouji stopped and turned around, waiting for her.
Kira caught up with him and stopped as well, breathing hard. "Wow, pretty boy…you sure gave me…a run for my money!"
Kouji didn't say anything. Kira blinked, noticing that he didn't look tired at all. "Wow. With that kind of stamina, you should be on the track team!" she exclaimed impressed.
"Kira…" Kouji finally muttered, taking a step toward her.
Kira tensed, realizing that something was wrong. "Kouji…?" She took a few steps back. "Are you…"
Kouji lifted his hand into his pocket, attempting to take something out. Kira's eyes grew wide when she realized that it was his D-Tector. "Kouji! What are you doing?"
Kouji stopped, seeming to come out of a trance. His eyes grew wide with fear. "Kira…" he said, breathing hard. He winced, clutching his head.
"Kouji! What is going on?" Kira began to come forward, but Kouji held up his hand, backing slowly away from her.
"No! Stay back! I…I need to…ah, damn it!" With that, Kouji continued to run down the street, turning a corner at the end.
"What the…?" said Kira. "Hmmmmm…either I go get everyone else and pretty boy gets away, or I chase after him and bring him back by force." She cringed, realizing that if she tried to bring him back, it could turn into a fight. There was definitely something wrong with him, so she would have to go up against him alone, and he was a better fighter with his spirit than she was.
Kira's fists clenched. "What am I thinking? Whenever there's a fight that needs to be fought, I'm the girl for the job!" She chased after Kouji, preparing herself for whatever was to come.
—
Zoe stood in front of Kouichi, waiting patiently to hear what he had to say.
Kouichi gulped. Okay, it's now or never! Here I go! "Zoe, I…I lo-" Suddenly Takuya rushed passed Kouichi, accidentally bumping into him and causing him to fall.
"Sorry Kouichi can't talk right now gotta go get your brother he's being distant and lone-wolfy and bleh again you should catch up with us later and we'll slap some sense back into him okay bye!" Takuya said in a rush, quickly running through the school gate.
"I like cookies!" exclaimed Daiki, following Takuya through the gate.
"Um…something random," said Hotaru obligatorily (in other words, I made him say something), following them.
Zoe blinked, then looked at Kouichi. "Um…that was…random. Do you need help getting up?"
"Uh…no," said Kouichi, feeling just as confused as her. He glanced around, making sure there would be no more interruptions.
"Okay…Zoe, I-"
"I love you! I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier, but I was trying to be polite and…oh, just give me a hug!" exclaimed Zoe, embracing Kouichi firmly.
Kouichi eyes widened. "Holy crap," he muttered. Zoe let go of him abruptly.
"Oh…so you really don't love me back…"
"No, no, no, I…I meant holy crap i-in a good way!" stuttered Kouichi, feeling at a loss for words.
Zoe cocked her head, confused. "Holy crap in a good way? Is that possible?"
"Um…" Oh my god, I'm ruining it! But oh my god, she loves me back! But oh my god, I'm ruining it!
Zoe giggled. "Kouichi, you're so cute! This is one of the things I like the most about you. You can be shy and a little awkward at times, but you mean well, and you have a good heart."
Kouichi blushed and glanced down at his feet. "I'm not that great," he mumbled.
Zoe got closer to Kouichi, resting her hand on his head and ruffling his hair. "I don't care what you did in the past, Kouichi. I don't care that you were Duskmon, and I don't care that you tried to hurt Kouji, and I don't care about any of that. After all, everyone has a dark side. You just have a bigger one than most."
Kouichi reached up and took Zoe's hand in his. "I didn't know you thought so big of me and I don't know if I can live up to your expectations."
Zoe began to retort, but Kouichi raised his other hand, stopping her. "It's my turn to talk big about you. You know, back in the Digital World, you helped me more than you know. You were always just…willing to encourage me when I really needed it, and you never ostracized. Of course, none of you really did that, but still, you're the one who really first talked to me. You know, when we stopped at that station before getting to the Rose Morning Star."
Zoe smiled mischievously. "You mean, when you were being all emo and blaming yourself for everything?"
Kouichi frowned, then smiled along with her. "As I recall, you said I was almost as cute as Kouji."
Zoe blushed. "Hey, I'd just like to point out that I did have a slight crush on him back then, and you are his identical twin." Kouichi cocked his head, wondering where this was going. "But you know what? You have a certain charm all your own that Kouji will never have."
Zoe hugged Kouichi again, and this time he hugged back. "Plus you make a pretty sexy emo!"
"Well, there are plenty of those in anime," said Kouichi, chuckling to himself. "Zoe, I love you, too."
Zoe smiled. "Yeah, I kind of figured that out."
—
JP stood by the front window of the school, watching Kouichi and Zoe hug. "Told you, Chief," he muttered, hanging his head. "I lose."
Tomoyo glanced out the window, and then looked at JP. "JP, I'm sorry…"
"No you're not," said JP, interrupting her. "After all, now you can have me all to yourself, can't you?"
Tomoyo frowned, anger brewing. "No, actually, I just thought that maybe we should let them be happy with each other instead of Zoe going into a one-sided relationship with you!"
JP chuckled. "You think I'm not happy for them? I knew that this day would come eventually, which is why I wanted to make the time I had left with her special."
"Time left with her?" said Tomoyo, confused. "But you see her almost every day!"
JP sighed. "But now she has a boyfriend, and a good one, I might add. Things aren't ever going to be the same." JP paused, watching Kouichi and Zoe rush after Takuya and the others, who had left earlier. "I lost her."
Tomoyo looked at JP for a moment, and then went forward and put her hand on his shoulder sympathetically. "JP, I love you. I hope you know that now, more than ever." She paused, trying to gauge his reaction. "After all, you said that date we had wasn't horrible, right?"
"Tomoyo…" murmured JP, reaching his arms out to Tomoyo. Tomoyo blushed and held out her arms, waiting for a hug. But instead, JP grabbed her shoulders and shoved her gently but firmly away from him.
"Why is it that you can be a one-sided relationship, but not Zoe?" Tomoyo stared at the ground, tears forming in her eyes. JP stepped back from her. "You know, you and me are a lot alike. We both keep striving for one thing, but in the end, it slips from our grasp."
"But that doesn't have to be the case with you and me!" cried Tomoyo, eyes brimming with tears. "We can have a relationship! I don't care if it's one-sided because I just want to be around you! I just want to be near you! Please just give me a chance, JP! I love you!"
JP stood still, watching calmly as Tomoyo burst into sobs. "Tomoyo, I really don't understand why you love me so much, but right now, even if I wanted to, I couldn't have a relationship with you."
"And why is that?" she yelled slightly hysterically.
JP glared at her. "Because it would endanger your safety!"
"JP, how would you endanger my safety? I mean, all of our safeties are already endangered every day by those monsters that are running loose throughout the city!"
JP sighed. "I guess there's only one way to convince you," he said, leading Tomoyo outside and into a shady corner of the school. "You're gonna want to stand back a little, Tomoyo," JP said, walking deeper into the alley and making sure that absolutely no one was around.
Tomoyo glared at him. "JP, come on! There is no possible way that you can endanger my safety more than anything else would," she stated skeptically.
JP chuckled. "We'll see about that," he said, pulling out his D-Tector. "You see this device?" Tomoyo nodded gruffly. "Let me show you what it does."
With that, JP's hand began to glow with his data, and the process of spirit evolution began. Tomoyo stared wide-eyed into the alley as, standing in JP' place, was a giant blue and yellow beetle-like monster. Tomoyo began to back up slightly, horrified.
"Hey there, Tomoyo," it said, spreading its wings as far as the alley would allow. "Now do you believe me?"
Suddenly, Tomoyo recognized the monster's voice. "JP…?"
"Technically, now I'm Beetlemon, but yeah, it's me," he said. "I hate to blow everyone else's cover, but you know the other monsters that everyone keeps seeing? Well, they are none other than my friends, including Zoe."
Tomoyo shook her head, trying to process this information. "So, you guys are the monsters, huh?"
Beetlemon nodded. "But…please don't avoid Zoe or Kira because of it. If you avoid me, I understand. If you hate me, I understand that, too, so don't feel bad."
"Are you kidding me?" Tomoyo smiled, walking up and touching Beetlemon's arm. "I'll love you no matter what. You guys have been protecting all of us from day one. You could even say I love you more now, if that's even possible."
Beetlemon looked confused, and then sighed. "Tomoyo, you are one crazy chick. But not as crazy as Kira."
—
"I just got a feeling that someone is talking about me behind my back," muttered Kira, standing at a T intersection. "Damn it, where'd you go?" she wondered aloud, trying to catch a glimpse of Kouji.
Then she had a sudden idea. "I can use this thing!" she said, holding up her D-Tector. "The others said we could use these things to track stuff, so I could probably use it to track Kouji! I am a genius!
"Alright, here I go!" she exclaimed, looking at the various buttons on her D-Tector. "It shouldn't be that hard, right?"
~45 minutes later…
"Oh my god! Damn it! How do you freaking work this freaking thing! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
"Kira! Is that you cussing wildly?" yelled Takuya, coming down the street toward her and followed by Daiki and Hotaru.
"This thing is completely retarded!" Kira cried, getting extremely angry. "How in the hell are you even supposed to work these freaking things!"
"Um…truthfully, we're still not even really sure of how they work. We usually just keep pushing buttons until something happens," said Takuya sheepishly. Kira glared at him, feeling at a loss for words. "Why are you trying to use it, anyway?"
Kira sighed, telling them about her encounter with Kouji. "And I thought I could use THIS demon seed to find him, but no! It's too retarded to do what it's supposed to do!"
"Well, Takuya said that all we need to do to make it work are push a bunch of buttons until something happens, so let's push some buttons!" said Daiki good-naturedly, pushing a button on his D-Tector. Instantly, the device lit up, showing a map-type thing on its screen.
"Hey I did it!" said Daiki happily.
"Good going, buddy. None of us have ever gotten it to work that fast!" said Takuya, patting him on the back.
Kira looked at her D-Tector. "This thing hates me," she muttered, exasperated.
"How do you read this?" asked Hotaru, staring at the odd looking mapish thing.
Takuya looked at Daiki's D-Tector. "Hmmm…I believe that we need to go this way!" said Takuya, pointing to their right.
"You believe, or you know?" asked Kira.
"I believe that I know, now come on guys!" said Takuya, marching forward.
"Yay!" exclaimed Daiki, following him.
Kira and Hotaru sighed and followed them as well.
However, it didn't take them long to find what they were tracking, for as they turned the corner, they came face to face with…
"Um…hi guys," said Kouichi, Zoe close behind him.
"Kouichi!" exclaimed Takuya and Kira.
"Hi, Chief!" said Daiki cheerfully. "Looks like I accidentally tracked you instead of Kouji!"
"Um…sure, why not?" said Kouichi, confused.
"So you were trying to track Kouji, but you accidentally tracked Kouichi?" Zoe said, clarifying.
Daiki nodded his head.
Zoe began to giggle. "Okay, you have to admit, that's just a little bit funny!"
Takuya sighed. "Looks like we'll have to rely on the freaky telekinetic twin powers after all. Alright Kouichi, do your thing."
"Freaky…what do I have to do?" said Kouichi, more confused than ever.
"We're the suckiest search party ever, aren't we?" muttered Kira sarcastically.
"Yup!" said Daiki.
—
Shino rested against a wall, breathing hard and clutching his arm in pain. Just a little farther, he thought, moving slowly forward again.
Finally, he reached his destination. The park. And there sitting on a bench, was the thing he was looking for.
"Kouji…" he muttered, limping forward.
Kouji heard some leaves rustle and, realizing someone was coming toward him, looked up to see Shino coming slowly and, by the looks of it, painfully toward him.
Kouji began to panic. "Shino, please, just stay back! There's something wrong with me, and you could get hurt!" He paused, realizing Shino already looked hurt. "Are you okay?" he asked, moving slowly toward him.
Suddenly Shino looked up, glaring at him. "Get away from me, you monster!"
Kouji backed up slightly, eyes wide. He smiled weakly. "You're right, Shino. You are completely right."
"No!" Shino yelled quickly, startling Kouji. "Not you. I mean that dark thing inside you!"
Kouji stared at Shino, confused. "How do you…?" he began.
Shino reached up and slowly rolled up his sleeve, revealing the burn that Wizardmon had given him. However, now it was glowing with a strange light. "I-I don't know what's going on, but something's telling me that you need our help, that there's something dark inside of you."
Kouji paused, stunned. "Shino…I think that's more than a burn."
"No kidding," remarked Shino, wincing in pain. "Now come on."
Kouji stood still. "Shino…I'm sorry," he said, coming closer. Before Shino could react, Kouji hit him over the head, knocking him unconscious. "I c-can't risk your lives."
Kouji turned, leaving Shino where he lay. "You're right, voice," he said, holding back tears. "I did go back on my vow. I thought that everything would be better if I just stayed away from people. But now," he paused, glancing back at Shino, "I ended up making friends after all."
-That can easily be fixed, Kouji,- said the voice seductively.
"How?" asked Kouji, mesmerized.
-Let's just say that everything must meet its end someday…heh heh heh…-
—
madjack89: Okie dokie, I'm guessing that was long enough!
Takuya: Wow, this was pretty long. This is like another super chapter!
madjack89: Yes indeed! That was the plan!
Kira: Alright, so what will happen next?
Zoe: Let's see. *picks up cue card* Next time we'll focus a lot on Kouji's little issue and figure out more about what happened with this Seiko character.
Takuya: And we'll kick the crap out of Kouji!
Zoe: That's not written here!
Takuya: I can only hope…
JP: Okay, so…what now?
Daiki: I want a cookie.
JP: Why?
Daiki: Because I like cookies! Weren't you paying attention?
JP: …To what?
Zoe: *sigh* We better just end the chapter here.
madjack89: Good idea.
Kouichi: Okay, is Madjack done being hyper now?
madjack89: Yup!
Kouichi: Oh good.
madjack89: Bye everyone!
Kouichi: Wait, it's the end? Darn, I missed everything.
Takuya: Kind of like how you missed out on our movie?
Kouichi: Shut up.
Tommy: Bye bye, everybody!
Daiki: I still want a cookie…
Shino: Here's an Oreo.
Daiki: Yay! Where'd you get this?
Shino: It was sitting on that table.
Neji Hyuga: *walks up* Okay, who took my Oreo!
Kouji: Hey guys, I'm back.
Neji and Kouji: *stare at each other*
Daiki: Hey, your voices are similar!
Zoe: In the English dub of Digimon Frontier and Naruto, they're both voiced by Steve Staley.
madjack89: Okay guys, it's seriously time to end the chapter. And why are you here, Neji?
Neji: Because I can be.
madjack89: Um…okay. See you in the next chapter, guys!
Neji and Kouji: Yeah. *stare at each other again*
Takuya: This is awesome! Bye everyone!
Kouichi: Please don't let Itachi show up…