Title: Restart, Rebirth, Remembrance
Author: isumi'kivic'
Characters/Pairings: Kouji + Kouichi brotherly love, slight tiny bits of Takuya/Izumi; OCs.
Rating: Gen, I'm trying my best to keep it gen.
Warning: See previous chapters.
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, and I don't own The Last, either. I'm just writing a fic out of another brilliant fic. This fic is a continuation of The Last by Gemini Star01, which means that you're required to read it before delving into this fic. It's an awesomely sad one-shot that you could find in her author page. And while you're at it, read her other amazing works, too.
A/N: Sorry for the late update! I was challenging myself to do a weekly update, something I've never been able to do before, and planned to update every Thursday, but last week I was swamped by deadlines for work and school. I still have a deadline for work tomorrow, but I figured I don't want to fail the challenged even further and post this now. :]
This chapter is dedicated to Evide-san, who has been helping me bouncing ideas about "Japan 100 years later". It has been a very engaging discussion, and I'm really sorry I haven't been able to reply to your last e-mail, Evide-san! Also, this is dedicated to Asarikou-chan, for reviewing both previous chapters. Thank you so much for taking time to read and telling me what you think for the previous chapters, and I'm glad you liked the new kids. :] It meant a lot to me.
Please enjoy this chapter, and if you would take time to tell me what you think, that would be awesome. :D
Restart, Rebirth, Remembrance
A Digimon Frontier Fanfiction
With the Will
The resemblance was uncanny.
Granted, the other four new chosen children also bore strong similarities to his friends. Kawabara had the same brown hair Takuya had at eleven years old, despite the difference in hairstyle and the fact that Kawabara hated hats. The two of them also seemed to have inexplicable love for goggles and the color red. Takuya's eyes were a deeper shade of red, though—Kouichi could still remember them vividly—and while Takuya was an unbelievably optimistic bordering on idiocy (in a good way, really), Kawabara seemed to simply be a rash person through and through. Not to mention the fact that Kawabara ran his mouth worse than Takuya did.
Yamamoto Suzumi was, to put simply, a shyer and more reserved version of Izumi. They had the same blond hair—though Yamamoto's only reached her shoulders—and the same smile; one that reminded Kouichi of the endless blue canvas of sky spelling out freedom to those tilting their heads up—though that kind of smile was more rarely seen on Yamamoto's face. Their eyes were different, too; instead of the clear emerald color Izumi's gaze had, Yamamoto had light brown eyes. Also, Yamamoto blushed way far more often than Izumi did.
Himi Tokiya was even smaller than Tomoki was. Even so, Kouichi could see in Tokiya the exact nervousness and hesitancy he used to see in Tomoki all the time. They had the same exact color of gray hair and blue-green eyes, and whenever Tokiya lowered his gaze passively, Kouichi was reminded of the way Tomoki used to hold himself around the older children sometimes. Tomoki was far more cheerful, and the most important thing was Tomoki talked far more often. Himi Tokiya didn't seem to know what to say or what to do at all; a complete opposite of Tomoki's initiative nature.
Mashiba Kanpei had the biggest built out of them all, just like Junpei did. Kouichi noticed though that Mashiba's built, unlike Junpei, was thanks to a lot of working out, resulting in bulking muscles that made him look a little like a bully. That didn't mean Mashiba's appetite didn't rival that of Junpei's. Mashiba's got red hair, too, unlike Junpei's brown one. What was strikingly similar was their eyes—Mashiba's firm, grounded ones was what had surprised Kouichi the first time they met. There was a gentle strength there, much like the way Kouichi remembered Junpei.
Even amidst the similarities he found between his old friends and the new children, Kouichi could still find the opposing facts, to which his heart groped and clung desperately. They were the things that grounded him, telling him that they weren't his late friends. That he shouldn't hope for the impossible. After all, the dead were never meant to come back. He'd only end up hurting himself, if he lowered his walls to them thinking that they were Takuya and the others.
Even so, the resemblance was uncanny. Between Minamoto Kouji—his own, dearest, irreplaceable twin brother—and Minashiro Kouji.
-o0o-
The azure autumn sky stretching endlessly above them, with only several clouds hanging so that the sun could hide between them. The afternoon Sunday was getting a bit too cold for autumn, a sure sign that this year snow would come early. Shibuya was as crowded as ever, if not more. If he had had another choice, Kouichi would prefer to have this meeting somewhere more secluded and quiet. There were so many things to address, and even though Miyashita Kouen was now a very nice and relaxing park to spend time at, there were still too many people around. But this park was the easiest place for them to meet up; a neutral place not too far from Shibuya Station, not only was it easy for reach, but also easy for someone like him to be spotted.
He never blended well with open areas with trees and greeneries underneath a bright blue sky. Perhaps it was because his element was darkness, but Kouichi never really minded anyway. There was a calmness in darkness that light didn't have and it made him feel safe.
Sprawled on the grass next to him was Takuma, lying on his back as his hand stretched up holding his red digivice, eyes examining its shape curiously. Sitting daintily with her knees folded on Kouichi's other side was Yamamoto Suzumi, fidgeting a little with the edge of her blouse. Mashiba Kanpei was on her other side, leaning carelessly onto a tree trunk with a bag of chips in his laps as he munched away. In front of Takuma, making the group form an odd half-circle, was Himi Tokiya, looking somewhat lost and bewildered.
"Oi, Kimura-kun," Takuma rolled to his side, throwing Kouichi a curious, and at the same time, expectant gaze. "You're really going to tell us everything about what happened yesterday, aren't you? This isn't just a joke, right?"
Kouichi gave a small, reassuring smile, even as his eyes only held Takuma's gaze for a second before sweeping the other direction of the park again. It was an understatement to say that he was anxious now, waiting for the last person who would complete their group. To be honest, he was both scared to meet that person, and scared if that person was not coming at all. Funny, that he'd lived for so long and yet was still able to feel something so paradoxical.
"It was awesome," Mashiba piped up, pausing in his munching. "Though I was freaked out a little—I mean, I didn't even know if I could go back to normal!"
As the others responded to Mashiba's exclamation with a laugh, Kouichi closed his eyes, swallowing the lump in his throat and tried to calm his heart. It wouldn't do for him to have a panic attack right now—he wasn't supposed to be a normal eleven-year-old kid, was he?
It was Mashiba Kanpei's voice that started him: "Ah, there he comes."
Kouichi looked up, and found everything he'd prepared to say frozen at the tip of his tongue, unable to even move a finger.
Minashiro Kouji—that was the name of the new wielder of Spirit of Light—stood before him, giving the rest of the group a haughty glance, before dropping down to sit cross-legged right in front of Kouichi. The Warrior of Darkness himself had forgotten to breathe; because everything was the same exact replica of how Kouji was—every single thing, from the way he stared at people down to the deep color of his eyes (so identical to his, eyes they had inherited from Mama, did Kouichi also had such beautiful eyes?), from the way he held himself to the way he sat and moved his head, from the midnight-colored hair to the way his ponytail bounced on his back when he shifted, from the way his lips tugged into an almost scowl permanently to the way he exuded a distrustful aura to strangers—
—and it was so, so unfair.
Because in the end, he was not Minamoto Kouji. He was still Minashiro Kouji.
"So I'm here." Even his voice sounded the same, as did the disgruntled tone underlining his words. Kouichi might have had the luck of meeting his twin brother after said brother's attitude changed for the better, but he'd also witnessed his fair share of Kouji acting cold to strangers. The way Minashiro Kouji talked only reminded him further of that.
Takuma leapt up to a sitting position, grinning widely. "Can we start now?"
"How about," Kouichi said, trying to buy some time to get his head back in order. "We start with the introduction first."
They did. Kawabara Takuma insisted that everyone called him by his name, and even boldly started calling Yamamoto by her given name. The girl seemed flustered at first, until Kouichi decided to step in and asked everyone to call him 'Kouichi' instead of Kimura, too. As if his decision was instantly made to be a universal law, everyone started calling each other by their given names, dropping formality in favor of a much more relaxed and intimate conversation. Kouichi watched as tension gradually wore off Tokiya and Suzumi's shoulders; Takuma and Kanpei proved to be as good as Takuya and Junpei were in engaging conversations. His gaze drifted and landed on Kouji, fingers subconsciously playing with the edge of the yellow-striped bandanna tied on his left arm.
Identical dark eyes met his own, and Kouichi visibly flinched, averting his gaze as fast as he could.
The only thing he could do was reaching deep into himself, seeking comfort from Lowemon's presence—his spirit, his own half, his darkness—and steeled himself before he began the long story about the Ten Legendary Warriors Spirits and the Digital World.
-o0o-
"So…" Takuma said deliberately, interested eyes fixed on the red digivice in his hands. "You're saying that back then, using the spirits of the Legendary Warriors, we turned into Digimons? And that from now on we're going to fight other Digimons?"
"The ones who are breaking through to our world, yes." Kouichi nodded, feeling somewhat strange to be referring the real world as 'our world'. It had been ages since the last time he had felt any sense of belonging to the human world; nothing had tied him back to it after everyone was gone, after all. "The Three Great Angels worried that their data would just be gone if they were simply killed; they would rather we scan the data and bring them back to the Digital World where they could be reborn. Besides, I have my doubts if even the most advanced technology would be able to hurt Digimons much."
"But you said the portal to our world was closed after the last chosen children saved the Digital World." Kanpei countered. "How could that Birdramon broke through to our world, then?"
"That's also our job to find out. Normal Digimons couldn't just open a portal, if they were able to break through, there should be something in our world that makes a crack between the two worlds. We need to investigate it, while the Three Angels investigate from the other side." Thinning his lips, Kouichi once again recalled the explanation he was given before leaving the Digital World. "There are more and more Digimons who turned violent back there, too. I don't think the problem is simply about the crack between the world."
"…this is kind of hard to believe, isn't it…" Suzumi's tone was contemplative; eyebrows drawn together in a way that reminded Kouichi too much of Izumi when the girl was turning things in her mind. Her digivice made a beeping sound when she pushed a button, and almost simultaneously, the other five digivices bleeped. Suzumi visibly jumped, hastily snatching her hands away, wide-eyed as she stuttered a panicked "What? What did I do?"
"They're also communication devices," Kouichi added. An awed chorus of "oooh.." resounded from Takuma, Kanpei and Tokiya. Kouichi caught Kouji rolling his eyes from the corner of his eyes, and involuntarily, the corners of his lips tugged upwards wryly. Even the small gesture was a perfect replica of what Kouji used to do when Takuya was—well, simply being Takuya.
It was then that Kouji—who had been ultimately silent before—finally spoke up. "You said there were Ten Legendary Warriors."
All eyes turned to him. Kouichi hesitated—those eyes identical to his own was filled with distrust and it felt weird. Kouji had never looked at him like that. Even back when he was Duskmon and his younger twin had no idea who he was, there was only anger in his eyes. Not distrust—never distrust. Distrust was not meant for Kouichi; distrust was something Kouji's eyes held when they were staring at strangers.
"I only see six, including you." Kouji continued, jerking his head at the digivices.
Kouichi swallowed. Yes, this was not his Kouji. He couldn't compare this person to his younger twin—even if the resemblance was disconcerting.
"The rest stayed back to protect the Digital World." He answered, feeling pride welling up in his chest when his voice came out steady and firm. "As I said, lots of Digimons turned violent, and it wouldn't do to leave the Digital World unprotected. The Great Angels also hadn't had the energy and power to open up a way through to get here, so I was sent as the only one to deliver the spirits."
"Guess they aren't as powerful as you made the sound." Kouji snorted.
"It wasn't like that. It took a lot out of them to change Lowemon and the others back into spirits." Kouichi had no idea why his voice took on a chiding tone—perhaps it was his old habit of chiding Kouji gently when his brother was being not nice to people—but his answer earned him a raised eyebrow.
"So they don't have the energy and power, but you do?"
Kouichi blinked. "I'm sorry?"
"You said the Angels didn't open up a way here. But you came from there, meaning that you opened up a way for yourself, right?" Critical eyes bored deep into Kouichi's own. "Are you even human?"
Abruptly, silence fell.
For a second, the atmosphere turned suffocating. Kouichi could feel five pairs of different eyes staring at him in curiosity, but that wasn't what made something in his chest clench. Kouji's last question had hurt—even more than he'd thought.
But this wasn't his Kouji.
He fought the urge to lower his eyes. The wind was getting chilly, swirling around his feet and rustling the dry leaves under them. "…Of course I am." As human as he could be, even with the fact of his immortality. But as Cherubimon had said, there was no need for the new children to know what he'd gone through in the past. "I just have… a very unique tie with the Digital World. It's what enables me to go back and forth as I wished."
Takuya made an interested sound and leaned forward. "Think you could get us to Digital World next time, Kouichi?"
He smiled apologetically. "I can't bring anyone else with me, Takuma-kun. That's partially why I only bring the spirits."
The boy looked genuinely disappointed instead of doubtful as Kouichi previously predicted, but he wasn't going to ask why. Now that the explanation was done, there was still another thing he had to do; something that Ophanimon never forget to give them back then: a choice. It was what had matured the six of them back then; the knowledge that they were doing things they had chosen whole-heartedly and therefore, they are responsible for anything that came with what they had chosen.
"As much as this seems like a game, it's not." He said quietly, looking back towards the digivices scattered on the ground. "This is going to be very dangerous, you could die or worse, you could cause someone else to die. You're wielding the Spirit, and that means you're the one responsible to control it. So I'm going to ask you again: will you fight? Or will you not?"
There was a contemplative silence that stretched a little longer amongst them, broken only by the whisper of the wind and the rustling leaves under their feet. There was a faint sound of birds flapping their wings somewhere in the park, and the sound of excited children chasing them. Kouichi was secretly glad they took a moment to think of an answer—at least they're taking this seriously, right?
Takuma was the first to break the silence with a grin. "I'll do it," he exclaimed proudly. "I said so last night, and I'm not going to back off now. Besides, it's interesting, isn't it?"
"And cool. So I'm in." Kanpei added with a tone of agreement.
"I—" Suzumi worried her bottom lip, trying to catch Kouichi's eyes before quickly letting her gaze drop to the digivices, and then turned to Takuma. "I suppose it's only… fair to be responsible after what happened last night. If I could help, then I'd be glad to."
"Sweet." Takuma grinned, before throwing an excited glance towards Tokiya. "How about you, Tokiya? You're in, aren't you?"
Tokiya started, opened his mouth to say something, but apparently thought twice about it because he closed his mouth again and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm—I'll do it."
Kouji seemed to be considering the youngest of the group, but then turned towards Kouichi seriously. "Is there any consequences if we back off?"
Kouichi's heart sank. "…no, but…"
"Then I refuse. Sorry, but I was only trying to stay alive last night, and that's all." The long-haired boy gestured to his digivice on the ground, in line to Kouichi's digivice, before briskly rose to his feet. "I came here to give that thing back."
"Oh," was the only thing Kouichi could let off his mouth. If he said anything more than that, it'd probably come out shaky. He stared blankly at Kouji, dimly catching Takuma's protest and Kanpei's snort. Kouji didn't seem to bother dignifying his refusal with a reason. He kept his eyes on Kouichi's, and for once, Kouichi felt like this boy was trying to unravel something—seeking something, asking something from him that he had no clue what. Then he opened his mouth, and Kouichi tensed visibly.
"You're…." he trailed off; Kouichi distinctly heard his head buzzing and prayed his eyes weren't as wide as saucers. He felt a bit faint, and that was ridiculous. "… I feel like I've seen you somewhere." Kouji paused, and his gaze hardened a little before his head gave a shake. "Nevermind."
And then he was gone. Just like that.
It took him a bit longer to recollect himself, predictably earning him confused glances from the other children. He took a breath, painted another smile on his lips and began reassuring them that the Spirit of Darkness would find another wielder—it wasn't like Kouji was the only one listed as possible wielders—then pocketing Kouji's digivice along with his own. His chest felt strangely empty now, as if he'd just let go something ridiculously important and he knew it. But that was just a feeling, right? Because Minashiro Kouji happened to be an exact replica of his long gone twin brother—he just subconsciously let himself hope for the impossible, didn't he?
It was getting late, and they were walking back to the station when Takuma asked him where he lived. Kouichi shrugged—he'd gone back to Dark Trailmon last night and slept there; it didn't really matter to him. Besides, he didn't have any money with him, and it wasn't like he could just apply for a job when he was eleven years old again.
"Well," Takuma sounded excited when he made his proposal. "Why don't you come crash at my place, then? It's just my grandma and brother with me; they'd be glad to have you around."
-o0o-
Takuma's brother was named Kazuma, and he seemed to have an odd case of brother-complex.
"I told you to bring your jacket, Taku!" was the first thing out of Kazuma's mouth when Kouichi followed Takuma into his apartment. Before them, a teenager—most likely a high school student—with a slender built and identical brown hair stood, clad in simple trousers and a white shirt and an apron, waving a spatula threateningly. Takuma let out a groan, one that earned him a swift smack on the side of his head with the spatula.
"Oww! Kazu-nii, that hurts!"
"It's love. Why aren't you taking a good care of yourself—oh, who is this?"
Kouichi smiled as Takuma launched into a babble of explanation. Apparently, he didn't think that the whole Digital World and Spirits story as something to be kept secret—at least not to his family, perhaps. To Kouichi's astonishment, Kazuma only nodded and stared at him, almost like measuring him in every aspect possible, before pulling off his apron and said, "Alright, Kouichi-kun, is it? You're coming with me."
"Huh?" Kouichi blinked.
"We're going shopping," the older boy announced, shoving his apron to his younger brother and promptly slipped into his shoes—they were, conveniently, still standing in front of the door after all and Kouichi hadn't even had the chance to take off his shoes. Takuma spluttered something about Kouichi being a guest, but Kazuma ignored him and suddenly, Kouichi was walking with the other boy towards the shopping district.
The shopping district in this era, Kouichi realized once they got there, was completely different from what he knew. Sure, it was still a block of more traditional shops: liquor stores, antique shops, small cafes and food stalls like ramen and takoyaki, small convenient stores, several flower shops and a book store. There was even a small shrine at one corner of the district—looking lonely despite it obviously being well taken care of. But there were little things Kouichi found surprised by: the fact that the cashiers used a flashy, five dimensional and hologram-like computer monitors, or how the ramen stalls used touch-screen monitors to take orders instead of the customers simply yelled their orders like how it used to be back then.
Kazuma led him to one of the ramen stalls, easily touched his order on the monitor. Kouichi followed, feeling a bit disconcerted, the way someone would feel when a part of their daily routines was suddenly disrupted. Telling his orders to the seller directly was a part of eating in traditional food stalls he'd taken for granted for so long, and the fact that that simple action was now replaced by a machine, surprisingly, unsettled him a little.
Kazuma was less talkative than Takuma; they didn't even talk about anything when their orders came and they dug in. Regardless, Kouichi could feel his eyes watching every gesture the Warrior of Darkness made—probably judging if he was a dangerous person unlike Takuma had claimed. It wasn't until the two of them finished their food that Kazuma leaned back on his seat and regarded the blue-haired boy with suspicion.
"What Taku said, was that true?"
Kouichi stared back evenly. "What do you think?"
"My brother does not lie." The answer made Kouichi smile a little. "But those were impossible stuff. Even I find it hard to believe, and while I know Taku wouldn't lie…"
Kouichi shrugged, and his smile turned polite. "I don't have any intention to do anything bad. I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do."
"No, you don't seem like a bad guy to me." Kazuma didn't even hesitate to let his next point across. "If anything bad happened to my brother, you do know I won't ever let you off."
Kouichi understood that—the feeling of protectiveness. After all, he was an older brother, too, even if by mere minutes and even if his brother no longer existed in this world. Instead of saying anything though, he nodded with a sympathetic smile. Kazuma looked taken aback for a second, before letting a smile of his own graced his lips and rose to his feet. The older boy paid for their meal—so now the ramen stalls even accepted credit cards?—and gestured for Kouichi to go out ahead.
Then all of a sudden, the shop around the corner exploded and turned ablaze.
-o0o-
His stepmother loved flowers, especially lilies.
A white petal of lily under his fingers bent into an odd angle, making Kouji hastily snatch his hand back before the florist caught what he'd done. He didn't quite mean to; his mind was miles away and he wasn't even aware he had fingered the flower petal. The long-haired boy let out a small sigh, lips thinning as his thought went back on the previous track.
That Kimura Kouichi looked disturbingly much like him.
True, it wasn't the first time he'd seen someone who looked like him. One of his neighbors when he was little was often mistaken as his older brother because they look so much alike. It was just one of those things called coincidence; just another coincidental meeting that could happen to anybody. This one was just a bit too bizarre, thanks to the whole Digital World thing.
Even so, was it normal to feel so strongly for someone he had just met?
His cell phone buzzed insistently in his pocket, pulling him back into reality. Flashing a glance towards his wrist watch, Kouji inwardly cursed—he had been wandering around all day and completely forgot about the time. His mother was probably worried. A finger touched the screen of his phone, sliding across the smooth surface to answer the call. It blinked once and a his mother 's fretful face appeared on the screen.
"Yes, Mom."
"Kouji? I thought you said you'd be back around midday. It's almost six now and it'll be dark pretty soon. Where are you?"
"Not far from Grandmother's house. I'm about to go home." He frowned, catching a terse underlining tone in her voice and the tense lines on her face. This was the woman who had raised him since he was a mere baby after his mother died in childbirth, and he didn't like the notion of anything bad happened to her. "I'll be home around seven. Mom, did… something happen?"
"No!" the respond was too quick for Kouji to believe. His eyes narrowed, watching his mother on the screen shaking her head vigorously. "Nothing—nothing serious, Kouji, don't worry."
"Was it Dad? Home drunk, again?" He let out a soft 'tch', turning around to leave the shop. "Did he say something again, Mom?"
"No, no, it's alright. It's just the usual, about your—your birth mother and your brother—"
"You know better than to listen to him, Mom." Kouji stepped out of the shop, nodding to the shop clerk who smiled him a thanks and come again. "I'll be home soon, is there anything you want me to—"
His words were cut abruptly as a loud explosion reverberated through the street. There was a beep from his phone, and then his cell screen flickered before his mother's face vanished and the phone itself died. A string of swear left his mouth when the corner of his eyes found the source of the explosion: the shop at the next corner was ablaze—tongues of flames licking the darkening sky, sending scorching heat towards every direction. But that wasn't what shocked him. It was the sight of a dinosaur-like being that stood in the middle of the road, breathing fire.
Digimon, he realized with a sinking feeling.
His feet felt like they were frozen, unable to move even as people around him scattered to every other direction, running off in terror. His ears buzzed with the sounds of people screaming, shrieking, calling their family and friends, shouting for others to get the hell away from the creature. Kouji could practically smell the fire and breathe the ashes, and something was banging inside his chest, making it hard to breathe.
He was panicking. Calm down, he told himself harshly, forcing himself to breathe hard through his nose. He only needed to get away, and as long as he got home safely—
Hot. Thick smoke everywhere he could barely think. Where were they? Trapped. They were trapped. He had to get out, had to get his brother out, had to—mother. Where's mother?
Kouji swayed, wide eyes still locked into the sight of fire and the creature in the middle of the chaos. What was that? What had just flashed in his mind? What—
"Endlich Meteor!"
A shadow of something black—a figure?—flashed from the corner of Kouji's eyes. He took a sharp intake of breath, and something in him snapped. Power returned to his legs, and, wasting no time, he backed off towards an alleyway that offered more safety than the place he previously was. There was already a little kid there, whimpering with wide, terrified eyes, but Kouji couldn't bring himself to care. His gaze was locked at the somewhat-familiar figure of Lowemon, jumping from roof to roof as he tried to avoid the flames licking out towards him.
Something in his chest sank into his stomach. Fear, he realized, but not quite for himself. He watched as Lowemon dove onto a burning roof, staff straight upwards to dodge a ball of fire sent towards him by the dinosaur-like Digimon. The movement stole his balance, though, and Kouji's whole body went rigid when Lowemon suddenly slipped off the roof almost right into the inferno. Lowemon's hand shot off, stabbing his staff onto an edge of the roof and swung himself upwards just before the Digimon's humongous hand swept at his hanging body.
Kouji let out a shaky breath. His eyes followed Lowemon's movement as he charged head on against the dinosaur-like creature—where were the other kids? Didn't they say they would help?—as his staff collided with the Digimon's claw. The difference in power too far, Lowemon was easily knocked off. He landed on the roof, instantly facing a fire orb sent right at him and shot off his Endlich Meteor to counter. Kouji's breath hitched when the two energy spheres exploded, swallowing Lowemon's figure along with the roof he stood on.
No!
His ears were ringing, and something buzzed inside his head, making him feel dizzy. Something—something was skirting the edge of his mind—ghostly fingertips tickling its corner, as if trying to push something to the forefront. Something important, something he should remember—
He was coughing, dragging someone by the arm towards the door. The fire was going to reach the door, and before that happened, he needed to open it. It was stuck—dammit dammit dammit—and he turned desperately towards the person behind him, finding identical midnight eyes hazily looking back. Shit, shit, shit he needed to get them out there was no way he was going to lose him, not again—
Lowemon reappeared—Kouji subconsciously heaved a relieved sigh—the Warrior of Darkness looked a bit worse to wear, but still charging ahead as the Digimon roared, shooting another ball of fire. The staff split the ball into two, making a way for the Warrior of Darkness to get through, but a clawed, huge hand was already sweeping out—Lowemon only had the chance to let out a gasp before the hand slammed into his side, throwing him off as easily as if he were a rag doll. His back crashed onto the burning shop's wall hard, knocking all air out of his lungs.
Kouji didn't even realize he'd fisted his hand in anger. No—both in anger and panic, and there was an inexplicable rage sizzling in his chest. Defiance welled up, giving fuel for the rage to stir, because how dare it touched Kouichi like that, and Kouji couldn't just stand aside and watch, not when Kouichi's life was—
A small part of his mind voiced a confusion: why do I care?
The Digimon gave a roar, charging a huge fire globe in his mouth, facing right towards Lowemon. Kouji's fist trembled in fury. He had to do something. He had to—he needed to. He wouldn't just let Kouichi be hurt, or worse, die—not when he could help it. It was irrational, this feeling welling up his chest, and he couldn't understand any of it. Not the anger, not the fear for Kouichi's life, not the desire to protect. He could only feel it swallowing up his very existence, and there was that desperate voice in the deepest part of his mind, asking—no, begging—for power.
Power.
The power to protect.
He needed to protect.
"KOUICHI!"
Right before his eyes, something flared up, and Kouji saw the familiar shape of a digivice. It was calling, and there was undeniable power in it. The power he needed, the power he begged for. The power he wanted.
His eyes narrowed, and his hand moved even before he thought about it, reaching out to the raw power enticing him. There was a second of shock when his finger touched the digivice, but the burst of power—of light—that surged into his being was something he welcomed gladly.
"Spirit Evolution!"
-o0o-
He couldn't move.
"Damn it!" He gritted out, unable to take his eyes off the globe of fire charged in Greymon's mouth. He would have to slide evolve in order to access the raw power of the Beast-type Digimon, but he couldn't even find the energy to do so right now. Their difference in size should not have really mattered, but this Greymon, like yesterday's Birdramon, was different. There was an unexplainable power fueling the wild Digimon's strength. A Greymon shouldn't be this strong.
Kouichi wouldn't die, as much as he'd like to himself. It didn't mean he had to like the immense pain he'd go through if that fire ball slammed into him. And he could only watch in dread when the sphere of fire was released, charging towards him in an unbelievable speed.
"Licht Seiger!"
Something white blurred before him, blinding him for a moment (when was the last time he saw a light so… bright?) and Lowemon had to raise an arm to shield his eyes. There was an explosion—too close to his liking—and something in his chest leaping up in panic and disbelief. Was that—?
"Zwei Hander!"
Impossible. Completely impossible.
Lowering his arm as the light slowly vanished, Lowemon's eyes widened as a blue and white human-like figure stood before him in a protective stance, confirming his earlier guess. Wolfmon's back was tensed, ready to attack as his blue and light beige scarf flapped behind him, and Greymon was on the other side of the street, having been knocked back by Wolfmon's surprise attack.
"…Wolfmon…" he breathed out, a hand reaching out before he even thought of it. A jolt of pain from his side caused him to let out a groan, and he saw Wolfmon stiffened. The Warrior of Light didn't turn around, but reluctantly shifted his gaze to check on his friend. Lowemon could see him frowning. "Don't force yourself and get yourself killed!"
With that, the other Digimon leapt off towards Greymon, leaving Lowemon in astonishment. Dimly, there was another familiar shout followed by another attack—Chakkmon was there, fending off the blaze and trying to put off the flames with his ice. A blast of wind smacked Greymon across the face; Fairymon had arrived with Agunimon and Blitzmon, raining fire and electricity attack on the beast-type Digimon. Its roar echoed off the now empty street.
Lowemon forced himself to stand back on his feet. Blitsmon sped past, with a quick glance at him and shouted a "You okay there, Lowemon?" to which he gave a confident nod. Now that everyone was here fighting, there was no need for him to slide evolve. The fight would be a piece of cake, he thought as he sent off another Endlich Meteor, joining Agunimon's Burning Salamander and Fairymon's Brezza Petalo.
Wolfmon charged up behind the attacks, not giving a moment for Greymon to collect itself. A deafening roar rang in the air as Greymon's figure flashed once, revealing the circle of data around its body, and Wolfmon didn't hesitate for a second to scan and purify the data into his digivice.
When everything was over, what remained of the shop were just burnt woods, and a thick, black smoke was raising high to the sky. Faintly, from afar, the police siren echoed.
-o0o-
There was an obvious relief on Kazuma's distressed face when the older boy saw the six younger boys emerged from an alleyway. Kouichi could still see the faint trace of shock and disbelief on the his expression; he wondered if he would need to explain everything more clearly to the elder Kawabara later.
"Taku! That was—highly dangerous… are you okay? You're not hurt? Tell Niichan where it hurts—"
"Ugh, Kazu-nii! Stop it—I'm just fine, see? We kicked that Digimon's ass!"
"Huh, I don't think it's called an ass, Takuma. People usually call it rear end—on dinosaurs, at least."
"Let's not get technical, Kanpei."
"Were you hurt, Kouichi-kun?" Suzumi's eyes brimmed with worry as she took in Kouichi's appearance closely. The boy didn't look too bad, but exhaustion was certainly apparent on his face, as well as a weary relief. He gave her a polite smile, reassuring the girl that he was just fine.
"That was really close," Takuma commented, a bright grin replacing the worried expression he had before. "We went out as soon as you contacted us using the digivice, but we almost didn't make it, did we? Thank God you were there, Kouji!"
Kouji spared him a glance and shrugged. Tokiya sent him a curious look. "But you gave back your digivice. How did you evolve?"
"He called it back." Kouichi was the one who replied, eyes looking straight into Kouji's. Something in his gaze was probing, and there was still a hint of disbelief in his look. "You were calling your digivice back, weren't you? You wanted power…"
He trailed off, but Kouji had already cut him. "I can't just let someone die right in front of my eyes."
"I thought you didn't want anything to do with this." Kouichi quietly said. For a moment, Kouji looked conflicted, but the expression disappeared in the next second. Slipping his hands into his pants pocket, the Warrior of Light averted his eyes, and mumbled lowly. "Don't ask. You—I don't know why but seeing you—I just… can't."
Silence fell between them, hanging in the air as if no one dared to break it. Kouichi swallowed, realizing with a sinking feeling in his stomach that there was warmth blooming in his chest, rapidly and uncontrollably enveloping him. He shouldn't feel like this, should he? This wasn't his Kouji. This Kouji wasn't his twin; he wasn't born together with anyone. And yet—
And yet, he couldn't stop himself from smiling a little and saying "Thank you for saving me."
Kouji looked uncomfortable, and he let out a soft humph. Takuma grinned, nonchalantly reaching an arm towards Kouji and pulled him into a friendly headlock. "You're not honest, Kouji! Man, it's a relief—welcome to the team!"
Kanpei, Tokiya and Suzumi echoed the sentiments, bright smiles etched onto their faces as the prospect of winning the fight seemed even possible now that the Warrior of Light had joined them. Kouichi kept the small smile on his face, until Kouji forcefully broke free from Takuma's hold to look at him seriously.
"I don't want to be blamed if anyone died." He said with a scowl. "I'm doing this just for that."
Kouichi fought the urge to bite his lower lip—the resemblance was more than uncanny. It was disconcerting for him that he had to finger the edge of his brother's bandanna that was still tied on his arm. It served as an anchor now, reminding him that this wasn't his Kouji. No one could ever replace Kouji, and Kouichi didn't want anyone to. Regardless, he nodded and forced another smile.
"Thank you," the words felt dry on his tongue. "For choosing to fight."
Something flashed in Kouji's eyes, but Kouichi couldn't quite read what it was, and it was gone in mere seconds.
The Warrior of Darkness sighed inwardly. This would be a long fight.
-o0ochaptertwoendso0o-
A/N: Thank you for reading! I had a lot of fun writing Kouji's point of view, though I have to say I wasn't quite satisfied with it. My brain seemed to be forgetting a lot of vocabularies so I feel like I couldn't describe things very well. I love Kazuma though. I have thing with characters having sibling complex, probably cause I've got one myself =))
Chapter title was taken from Digimon Frontier's insert song, "With the Will", sung by Wada Kouji. One of the most awesome Digimon songs, it is.
Miyashita Kouen is located in Shibuya. Evide-san and I were in agreement that "Japan 100 years later" would lack of space, but we believe there would still be parks made to be 'natural'. Thus, I used Miyashita Kouen. Speculating how Japan would be 100 years later was so much fun, and I hope to corporate the elements that have been discussed into the story, though some of it might be hard. xD
Thank you again for reading! Reviews are welcomed, and flames would be ignored. :]