Version 2.0 (April 29, 2007): I debated for a while, but I finally decided to abandon the format I used last time. (For anyone who is reading this for the first time, I wrote nearly the entire chapter in dialog only – phone calls to be specific. Entertaining? Perhaps. But for one thing it didn't fit at all with the rest of the story. Plus, in redoing this, I'm taking advantage of all the missed opportunities to explore relationships between characters. And this chapter had a LOT of opportunities. Thus the excessively long time between updates. Or you can blame it on lack of motivation. Either way.)

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon!

Old Demons

Chapter 4: Phone Tag

The path to our destination is not always a straight one. We go down the wrong road, we get lost, we turn back. Maybe it doesn't matter which road we embark on. Maybe what matters is that we embark.
-Barbara Hall

"That's terrible! Any idea what happened? … Oh. I see…Well, I'll talk to him... Mmhm…Alright. I'll call you back."

In the living room, Kouji clenched his pen in a fist, the tip hovering millimeters above the science homework he was supposed to be working on. His eyes were trained downward, but his ears strained to hear what his stepmother was saying on the phone. When he heard her hang up, he tensed. "I don't like the sound of this."

"Huh?"

Kouji glared at Takuya. It would have been bad enough if the goggleheaded leader had actually been focusing on the homework instead of paying attention to the phone conversation. At least he would have had an excuse. But if there was one thing Takuya wasn't, it was studious. No, he was absorbed in a game on his calculator – Kouji knew the white-knuckled grip well enough from science class. Normally, Kouji would have taken the opportunity to mess with his head, but not today. "Never mind."

Satomi Minamoto came into the room, a blatantly forced smile on her face. "Hello, Takuya. Kouji, have you seen your brother?"

"Not since yesterday," Kouji said. He felt his hands shaking. "Why?"

"Tomoko said he wasn't in bed this morning. She was wondering if he had come over."

"He's probably at someone else's house," Takuya said, catching Kouji off-guard by the simple fact that he was paying attention. "We'll call and ask." Kouji's stepmother nodded and left. Takuya sent the Warrior of Light a concerned look, setting the calculator down. "I'm sure he's fine."

"Whatever." Kouji stood up abruptly to get the telephone. This isn't like him. He wouldn't have just left. He was about to dial Zoe's number when Takuya reached around him and took the phone. "Hey!" Takuya ignored him, dialing. "I'm perfectly capable of making my own phone calls, thank you very much."

"Well, sure," Takuya replied, lifting the phone to his ear, "but you're too upset to actually explain the situation. The others can't help us if they don't know what's going on! No off- Hello! Mrs. Shibayama? It's Takuya. Is JP there?...Do you know where he went?...Oh, well tell him to call when he gets back. I'm at Kouji Minamoto's house…Thanks."

Hanging up, Takuya frowned. "He wasn't home."

"Well, duh," Kouji grumbled. "Now give me the phone."

"Too late. I'm already dialing." Takuya tapped his foot impatiently, then sighed. He mouthed the word "machine" to Kouji, apparently waiting for the recording to end, then left a message: "Hey, Tommy. This is Takuya…I need to ask you something…If you'd call me…soon…that'd be great…So, uh…yeah. Bye."

The kendo student was already rolling his eyes. "Great job explaining the situation, genius. Give me the phone."

Takuya backed away, clutching the phone to his chest protectively. "It was the answering machine. You don't explain a situation in a message, especially if you don't really know what's going on! What if he's not really missing? We'd be getting Tommy worked up over nothing!"

"Well we wouldn't want to do that before we check every lead, now would we?" Kouji's voice was oozing with condescension as he glared at Takuya. "Especially since he doesn't know you're at my house."

"Oops."

"Yeah, oops! Now give me the phone!"

"Why?"

"Because there's no way I'm letting you argue with Zoe instead of telling her what's going on!" Takuya backed away defiantly, dialing the number, but he was slower than Kouji. Just as he punched in the last number, Kouji pried the phone out of his grasp. Lunging, Takuya forced his best friend to hold the phone at an arm's length while it rang once…twice…

"Hello, Orimoto residence!"

Kouji struggled to get Takuya far enough away for him to reply.

"Hello?"

With one last deadly glare, Kouji retreated and put the phone to his ear. "Hello, Mr. Orimoto, this is Kouji Minamoto. Is Zoe there?"

"Yes, just a moment."

A muffled conversation ensued, then a female voice came through: "Kouji?"

"Finally, someone's home," he grumbled, hiding his relief well.

Nearby, Takuya pouted. "Of course! She would be the only one home," he muttered.

"Shut up, Takuya!" Kouji snapped. He desperately hoped that if Zoe had heard, she didn't take offense at the Warrior of Fire's words.

"Was that Takuya?"

Zoe's voice had a dangerous edge to it, and Kouji tensed. "Yeah," he admitted hesitantly, quickly changing the subject. "Listen…have you seen Kouichi?" Too bad the alternative was worse than an argument.

"Not since last night."

"Oh."

"Why?"

"He's…gone."

"Gone! What do you mean? Did something happen?"

Kouji hurried to explain about Tomoko's phone call, afraid Zoe would hyperventilate if he didn't.

"Wouldn't he have left a note instead of just going out?"

Kouji's composure wavered at the question. He had thought the exact same thing not ten minutes ago; if Zoe could come to the same conclusion, there had to be some basis for his anxiety. Where are you, Kouichi? He took a deep breath to calm himself, managing to speak evenly, though quietly. "That's what I thought."

Zoe paused, and Kouji had to wonder what she was thinking. Was she trying to think where Kouichi had gone? Searching for words to comfort Kouji? Even after a year, she was still a mystery to him. She could go from angry to sympathetic in a heartbeat, and she always said the last thing he was prepared to hear.

"I'll do anything I can to help."

Kouji had to turn away from Takuya to hide his smile. Zoe's earnest tone and slight emphasis on "anything" assured him she didn't mean just making phone calls or searching the city. She was there to talk or to listen. Kouji glanced over his shoulder. Not with Takuya around. "…Thanks. Bye, Zoe."

"Mm-hm. Any time."

-(--)-

Zoe hung up, tapping the phone in her palm as she thought. Kouji would doubtless go searching Shibuya (and all of Tokyo, if he didn't find anything), and Takuya was with him. Not about to sit home and twiddle her thumbs, she hurried to the front closet and slipped on her tennis shoes, bending over to tie them. Halfway through the second bow, she paused.

Something was going on; that much she knew. Kouichi had no reason to sneak off, and he definitely would have left a note otherwise. The twins were the most responsible out of the group, maybe even more so than Zoe, though she wouldn't admit it, so there was no way either would just "slip" and make everyone else worry.

No, something sinister was going on.

"Get a grip, Zoe," she told herself. "This isn't the Digital World; there doesn't have to be evil behind every unusual event. Stop freaking out!" Kouichi hadn't been feeling well the day before last. Maybe that had returned and he'd just gone out for fresh air, not realizing his mother would worry. And lost track of time. It wasn't the perfect rationalization, but it was better than jumping to conclusions.

Still, her heart fluttered nervously at the thought of going out alone. On the off chance something bad really had happened, she didn't want to be defenseless. She decided to call JP. His crush on her had mellowed in the last year, though it still broke through from time to time, but she knew she could trust the fourteen-year-old. A tough guy like him would be able to protect her from everything.

Zoe had to giggle at the thought of JP sucker-punching some shadowy attacker. JP was too much of a teddy bear to do that. But she wasn't about to pass up the company. Besides, if the worst happened, she would feel a lot better with him there.

She dialed the number and waited through three rings.

"Hello?"

"Mrs. Shibayama. Hi! It's Zoe Orimoto."

"JP isn't here. Your friend Takuya already called."

"Oh." Zoe could have hit herself. Kouji and Takuya had both indicated that they had already called the others and that only Zoe had been the only one home. She had completely forgotten. "Does JP have his cell phone with him?"

"Yes. Whether it's on is a different story, but he has it."

Zoe bit her lip, wondering if the boys had thought to try his cell already. Oh, well. It was a chance, at least. "Thanks, Mrs. Shibayama. Bye."

"Goodbye."

Zoe barely paused to hang up before she dialed again. The phone rang six times, much to Zoe's irritation. She was just about to hang up when her call was redirected to voice mail. JP's voice came through the earpiece a second later.

"Hey! You've reached the cell phone of JP Shibayama, junior magician extraordinaire! I don't have my phone with me…or I can't hear it…or it's just off."

Zoe rolled her eyes. Leave it to JP to have such a random recording.

"In any case, I can't answer the phone, which should be obvious, seeing as how you're listening to this…"

Her amusement faded to impatience, and she wished there was a way to skip the rest. With a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down and wait out the few seconds that remained. It wouldn't do her any good to get upset.

"If you're still listening, I guess you really need to tell me something, so leave a message!"

Something about that last sentence irked Zoe, as if the whole recording was designed specifically to mess with her mind. JP obviously realized that he had talked for too long, possibly impeding an urgent message, yet he didn't even attempt to shorten it! When the phone beeped, Zoe abandoned all pretense of patience.

"Why do you have to say so much?! There could be an emergency, and no one would be able to get a hold of you! And why is your phone off, anyway? You may as well not even have a cell phone, for all the good it does you! How's a girl supposed to ask you a vital question if she can't talk to you? You're such an idiot!"

Hanging up, Zoe slammed the phone down on the table and stalked towards the front door. Halfway there, she stopped and groaned. Great job, Zoe. You probably just ruined any chance of getting him to go look with you! Now you'll have to go alone! Zoe shuddered and pulled at her hair nervously.

Wait a minute, what am I saying? I'm the Legendary Warrior of Wind! I can take care of myself! Besides, what kind of friend would I be if I just abandoned Kouichi?

Squaring her shoulders, Zoe tucked her cell phone into her sweatshirt pocket and strode through the door.

-(--)-

Tommy sighed as the phone rang. Nearly an hour after Takuya had called, Tommy had returned home from the movie he had gone to see with his family to find a message waiting. The older boy's breathless, restrained tone had worried him, and he quickly grabbed the phone and shut himself in his room. A call to Takuya's house proved fruitless, except to inform Tommy that Takuya was at Kouji's house. So he tried again.

"Hello?"

The voice sounded tired, strained. Tommy frowned. "Hi, Mr. Minamoto. Is Kouji or Takuya there?"

"No, they just left."

"Where are they going?"

After a hesitation, "To look for Kouichi."

Tommy couldn't hold in his shock, nearly dropping the phone. "What?!" he sputtered.

Kousei sighed. "He wasn't at home this morning. No one knows where he is. Kouji and Takuya had been trying to call people, but no one was home, apparently. They decided to go out to look, instead."

Missing? Tommy found himself unable to speak. Nothing like this had happened since the Digital World. "Oh," he said absently. "I wonder what happened."

"I don't know."

Tommy bit his lip nervously. "Well, alright. Bye." Pacing, Tommy hung up and dialed Takuya's cell number. With any luck, he and Kouji had already found Kouichi and this was all just a misunderstanding. Irritated, he hung up when it went straight to voice mail. Maybe Kouji had his phone on. After only one ring, Kouji answered tersely:

"What?"

So much for luck. "Kouji?" he asked hesitantly. Even having grown closer in the past year, when Kouji got like this, he intimidated the Warrior of Ice. Still, Kouji's voice eased with obvious relief when he spoke next.

"Tommy!"

In the background, Tommy heard Takuya exclaim, "Tommy? Hey, why didn't he call me?"

"Your phone probably isn't on," Kouji growled.

"Yes it is…oh, wait. No it isn't... Hey, look! A missed call…from Tommy. Never mind!"

Tommy sighed. "So, did Takuya call about Kouichi?"

"Yeah. You haven't seen him, have you?" Kouji asked hopefully.

"Not today. Your dad told me he's missing. I wonder what happened."

"I don't know…Where were you, anyway?"

"My parents took my brother and I to the movies. We just got back. I'll go out to look for Kouichi."

"…Thanks. Takuya and I are looking over by the school. Why don't you check the parks?"

"Okay. I'll have my cell phone."

"'Kay. Bye."

Kouji hung up, not waiting for Tommy to reply, but Tommy didn't take offense. It must be hard to not know where his brother was. If anything ever happened to Yutaka, Tommy knew he would be a wreck.

Though it took some convincing, Tommy's parents finally allowed him to go searching. At the first park, he happened to run into Zoe, who was nearly as frustrated with not being able to get a hold of JP as she was over Kouichi's disappearance. They stayed mostly silent, walking in unspoken agreement from park to park, then from there to the mall, though they called JP every fifteen minutes. Each time they would be met with a recording, and each time Zoe would harrumph, muttering something under her breath.

Somewhere along the way, Tommy's shock began to wear off, which made him increasingly paranoid. Laughter in the park – was this all some sick joke that those other kids were in on? A black haired kid in the mall; Kouichi? Zoe's phone rang. Had they found him? Was that Kouji, saying it was all just a big misunderstanding? Or was it bad news, someone calling to break the news gently.

Zoe snatched her phone from her pocket, ducking outside through a nearby entrance before she answered. Tommy hurried to follow, leaning close in an attempt to hear what was being said.

"Hello?" Zoe asked tensely.

"Zoe! Hey--"

"JP! You idiot! We've been trying to get a hold of you all day!"

Tommy felt his heart fall at that. So nothing had changed. He supposed he should at least be glad there was someone else looking. Sighing, he missed JP's response.

"Yes, 'we'!" Zoe screeched. "Takuya and Kouji called you hours ago! Then I tried, which by the way, I'm assuming you got my message!"

"Yeah, what was that--"

"And Tommy and I have been calling you nonstop for the last three hours!"

"Tommy? … What's going on?"

What was going on? Where was Kouichi; was he alright? And why were they so helpless?! Tears of frustration welled in Tommy's eyes and he wiped them away hastily, turning around so Zoe wouldn't see. He had to be strong! He couldn't help anyone if he started crying. Come on! I'm not a crybaby anymore. Kouichi needs me. I can't let him down! He sniffled as softly as he could, but Zoe still heard. She looked over, concerned, and fumbled for an answer to JP's question.

"Just…" She gave an angry huff. "Just talk to Kouji!" With that, she hung up and turned to Tommy. "Hey…" she soothed, guiding him to a nearby bench while rubbing his back. "Hey, Tommy, it'll be alright."

Tommy nodded amidst sniffles, and looked bashfully away from the older girl. "I guess… It's just, we haven't found him yet, a-and I don't know where else to look. I don't know him enough to know where he'd go." He hesitated. "I…I'm no help to you at all."

"Sure you are!" Zoe argued gently. "If you weren't here, I'd be alone, and then I'd never get anything done!"

Tommy looked up in confusion, meeting her tear-filled green eyes. "Wh-what do you mean? You could do all this without me."

"No. I'm…I'm scared, Tommy," she admitted. "I won't lie to you. I don't know what happened to Kouichi and that has me more worried than I've been since…well, since last time we didn't know if he was okay. If I was alone, I'd be hysterical! Without you here, I'd be too worked up to think straight."

"Really?"

Zoe smiled mutely and nodded. "So what do you say?" She stood up suddenly, extending a hand to Tommy. "We'll keep each other sane and keep looking. Okay?"

Wiping one last round of tears away, Tommy took her hand eagerly. "Okay!"

-(--)-

Kouji snarled as Takuya came to a sudden stop in front of him. "Watch it, gogglehead!" he snapped viciously, but the other boy took no notice of him.

"That's it!" he cried, whirling around. "I've got it, Kouji! I know where he is!"

"Oh really?" Kouji rolled his eyes. Not likely.

Takuya grabbed his wrist and dragged him down the sidewalk. "Yeah! It's so obvious! I can't believe I didn't think of it before! Well, are you coming or do I have to drag you the whole way?"

"Where are we even going?!" Kouji demanded, fighting against Takuya's contagious optimism.

"School!"

Gritting his teeth, Kouji planted his feet so Takuya, too, was forced to stop. "We've already been to the school, idiot!"

"To the school, yes," Takuya said, wagging his finger. "But not in the school."

Kouji groaned, stupefied at Takuya's idea, yet also somehow impressed. In fact, Kouji himself should have thought to look inside the school building. If one wanted to be alone on a weekend, there were few better places to go than into a school, and Kouichi surely would have realized this. Despite himself, Kouji felt hope returning.

"Fine. Let's go."

Much to Kouji's annoyance, Takuya whooped. "This is it, I just know it! Kouichi has got to be here!"

Kouji's phone rang at that moment, and the Warrior of Light took the opportunity to gesture his best friend to silence. "What?" he answered sourly.

"Sheesh, Kouji. Could you be any more moody?"

"JP!" Kouji raged. "Where have you been!?"

"What is it with people today?" JP moaned, but when Kouji growled, he chuckled nervously and explained, "I was at Hamano Park. I had to check some experiments with my science partner." Kouji snorted. Of course. He had to choose today to stop procrastinating. "What's going on today, anyhow? Zoe wouldn't talk to me. She seemed stressed."

Irritation rose in Kouji, but he curtailed it to a simple, "Big surprise."

"Would you just tell me what the heck is going on!?" JP cried.

Kouji's pace slowed, and he closed his eyes. I've got to keep my temper under control, he thought. I can't take this out on the others or none of us will do Kouichi any good! He took a deep breath, once more struggling to maintain control, only this time he wasn't fighting against anger. He was fighting against tears. "Kouichi's missing," he whispered.

The other end of the line was silent, and Kouji took the opportunity to shakily switch the phone to his other ear. He set his eyes on a tree across the road and spoke again:

"No one's seen him since last night."

JP hesitated once more, then murmured, "Oh, man! I'm…I'm so sorry Kouji. I should have realized my phone was on silent! Man… Missing…" Kouji swallowed hard, grateful for the other boy's concern. He wanted to apologize for his outburst, but JP continued. "Well, I'll go look, too. I mean, it doesn't make up for not being there earlier, but…I'll do what I can, okay?" Kouji tried to say something, but couldn't get the words out. JP waited for a second, then, seeming to understand Kouji's silence, sighed. "I'm sorry, Kouji. Bye."

Kouji quickly hung up and picked up his pace, keeping several steps ahead of Takuya so he could regain his composure. A bitter laugh escaped him. Of course he'd be worried, he berated himself. Kouichi's everyone's friend. Just because he's my brother doesn't mean they don't have a right to be upset. Blinking tears away, Kouji spotted the school ahead and sped up even more.

They all want to find him just as much as I do. He risked a glance over his shoulder to where Takuya was hurrying to keep up. Even Takuya. Kouji sighed. He'd always prided himself on remaining calm no matter what, and yet here he was, lashing out at his friends. Truth be told, he was beginning to wonder if he was hindering their search effort more than he was helping it. In everything else, Kouji could control his emotions in an instant, but when it came to his twin…he just lost it.

Kouji stopped several feet from the school's front door. Takuya gingerly came up beside him, glancing at him as if he wanted to ask a question. Seeming to decide against it, he walked up to the door and tried the handle.

"Locked," Takuya grumbled, already moving on to the next one. Each of them met him with the same defiance. Kouji sighed as they circled around the school, checking every door and window along the way.

After a moment of fiddling with his cell, Kouji dialed Zoe's number and lifted it to his ear.

"Hello?" she asked wearily.

"Hey, Zoe."

"Kouji! What's up? Any luck?"

"Not yet. JP's out looking, though."

"Good," Zoe said, though Kouji could hear that she was holding back.

"So…what happened?" Kouji ventured. "Between you and him, I mean."

"I was frustrated. Have you heard the recording he was on his cell phone? You have to wait like five minutes to leave a message!"

"It can't be that bad."

"It is," Zoe insisted. "So where are you now?"

Kouji paused to observe Takuya as he threw his full weight against a window. "Breaking into the school," he deadpanned.

"What!" Zoe shrieked, and Kouji almost smiled.

"We checked at the school and Tommy's elementary school. He wasn't there, so we started checking parks, stores… Then Takuya got the bright idea that Kouichi might be in the school. He dragged me back here and started checking all the doors and windows." Suddenly Kouji caught sight of Takuya apparently trying to dig his fingers and toes into the spaces between the bricks. "What…?" He lowered the phone. "Takuya! What are you doing?"

"I think this window might be open!" Takuya grunted, straining to pull himself up only to fall back to the ground.

Kouji looked at the windows around Takuya, finally catching sight of one directly above him that was, indeed, open. "It's on the second floor!" he pointed out.

"So give me a boost!"

"There's no way Kouichi could've gotten up there!"

After one last try, Takuya stopped to catch his breath and stalked away. "Fine! I'm going to check over here!"

Kouji rolled his eyes. "Sorry about that," he said into the phone, through which he could hear Zoe giggle. "Takuya's being…well, himself. Where are you?"

"I ran into Tommy a couple of hours ago. We finished checking the parks and the mall…We're headed for the library now."

The library, Kouji thought. Of course! "Well, good luck. I'll call you later."

-(--)-

The streetlight beams pooled on the ground around Zoe's feet as she trudged along, Tommy at her side. Nothing. Zoe was sure they had checked everywhere, but there was no sign of Kouichi. The parks. The schools. Stores. Movie theater. Library. Restaurants. Gyms. Zoe's head swam with all the locations she had been to, though half of them (she couldn't remember which) she had not gone to, but had only heard of from the others.

In the back of her mind, Zoe ran over the city, certain there was somewhere she was forgetting. Over and over, she had to ask herself if she had gone somewhere. There had to be one place they hadn't checked, and that was where Kouichi was.

As her next step took her out of the bubble of light, she shivered. Was he even alright? He hadn't called home all day, or any of their cell phones. What was wrong?

He must be hurt! Zoe fretted. He was sick on Friday – that's what caused all this! He went out to get some air, then got even sicker and passed out somewhere. He hasn't woken up yet, and… Zoe choked back a sob, trying desperately not to disturb Tommy, who had almost fallen asleep as he walked. Breath coming in shaky gasps, the blonde covered her mouth. What if he's dying?! We have to find him – the hospital!

Zoe almost stopped to go back to the hospital, but one glance at Tommy changed her mind. The poor kid was exhausted, both physically and emotionally, and would be tired enough tomorrow. He didn't need another wild goose chase across town to keep him up later. And that's all it was – a wild goose chase. Kouichi wouldn't be at the hospital. On some level, Zoe was sure of it, and that unshakeable knowledge comforted her to some extent; at least he wasn't alone in a hospital bed.

Then again, Zoe almost wished he were in the hospital. At least then, she'd know he didn't have to fend for himself. If he was sick or hurt, she wouldn't want him lying helplessly in some alley.

Sighing, Zoe lifted her cell. JP had called a while ago, advising her to go home, and Zoe had volunteered to relay the message to Kouji. It was late, after ten, and their parents would be getting worried. At the time, Tommy had been falling asleep on a bench while Zoe checked one last park, so she had relented and walked him home. By now, his apartment building was coming into view.

But she had yet to call Kouji.

Knowing him, he was still out looking; the only thing Zoe wasn't sure of was whether Takuya was still with him. Well, if I call him now he might actually get home before midnight. As the phone rang, she silently framed her argument. Still, how could she tell him to give up on his brother so he could get enough sleep?

"Yeah?"

Zoe frowned at Kouji's tired, heavy voice. She could tell he was close to losing hope; he needed to get home before he collapsed on the street.

"Hey, Kouji," she began tentatively. "It's late, you know."

"I know." Already, the kendo student sounded defensive. And why not? He knew Zoe was going to tell him to go home, just as she knew he felt an obligation to keep looking. Kouji's sense of moral duty could drive him to do just about anything, and even farther when coupled with a brother's love.

"…Tommy's pretty tired," she said haltingly. "I'm walking him home. JP's headed home, too, I think…You should probably call it a night."

Kouji didn't say anything for a moment, and the Warrior of Wind wondered if he would even bother replying. "I already made Takuya go home. There's just one more place I'm gonna check."

"Can't it wait till tomorrow?" Zoe pleaded. One more place could turn into two, then from there into dozens, as long as Kouji was alone.

"No."

Zoe knew that voice well. It was Kouji's most stubborn tone, spoken by one far beyond convincing. Maybe if she were more awake, Zoe would have argued, but today had drained her of all energy. "…Fine, just don't stay out too late."

Kouji hesitated just long enough for Zoe to know he was being truly honest. "I won't."

"See you tomorrow, then."

"Bye."

-(--)-

Kouji hung up almost reluctantly, clutching his phone like a lifeline. Takuya had gone home over thirty minutes ago on the condition that Kouji would follow suit. Now Zoe had asked for the same promise. Leaning his head against the window of the nearly empty subway car, Kouji laid aside his doubts. He had intended to obey Takuya, knowing full well he was tired enough to walk right past Kouichi without realizing it.

Then it had slapped him in the face, the same fear that had lurked in the corner of his mind all day. It was the part of him that continuously insisted Kouichi wasn't in Shibuya, or even in the Real World.

No. Kouji shook his head to dislodge the unwarranted suspicions. The Digital World hadn't called on the Legendary Warriors in a year; why now? But that corner of his brain, like the rest of Kouji, was too stubborn to be ignored. Debating all the way, he had walked to the Jiyuugaoka subway station, bought a ticket, and entered the car.

He stood up restlessly, suddenly hit by a moment of déjà vu. This could have been the same car as a year previous. Kouji would have stood here, leaning moodily against the wall. Takuya would have come crashing in there, across from him, out of breath and quite possibly out of his mind. And there…over there, two rings from the door Takuya had used, was where Kouichi would have stood. His hands would have been gripping the ring, effectively closing out the rest of the world to his dark and troubled thoughts.

Here. Here was where the three of them had met for the first time – perhaps they hadn't introduced themselves, but they were together, all called by fate and soon to be inseparable.

Now approaching Shibuya Station.

Once the train had stopped, Kouji squeezed out among a phantom throng racing home. In his memory, he was dimly aware that Takuya and Kouichi were both following him, ducking and weaving through adults to keep his black ponytail in sight as he plodded to the elevator. Here and there, a present-day commuter would disrupt Kouji's illusion, but the station was nearly deserted tonight, so the parallel remained intact.

In both times, Kouji walked into the elevator, turned around, pressed the button for the lowest floor. But it was only in the past that Takuya flew in at the last second to hitch a ride to the unknown. It was only in the past that Kouichi came one second too late, though in the present Kouji could have sworn he had seen a face between the closing doors.

The elevator descended. When the present-day elevator stopped, the memory continued on, slowly disappearing into unfathomable depths and shattering the surreal moment.

No one was there. Kouji almost wished there had been someone there, waiting for a ride, so he could deny the truth. Never had he been so disappointed in a machine fulfilling its purpose. But even he had to face reality eventually, stepping out of the elevator and away from the prospect of a Trailmon station. He turned abruptly, opting for the stairs over the uncompromising elevator.

At a landing, one landing in particular, he stopped. This was where Kouichi had fallen a year earlier. Kouji could remember coming here after defeating Lucemon, a mad rush down the stairs ending in a heart-stopping emptiness. A year ago, Kouji had panicked, certain the empty landing meant Kouichi's death.

It had been Takuya who had found the blue baseball cap, and that had been enough to give Kouji hope.

Now Kouichi was missing. Again.

Kouji pounded the wall, wincing as his phone's antenna jabbed painfully into his palm. "Why does everything happen to him?" he muttered, fighting down fresh pain. "He doesn't deserve any of this!"

A face, smiling kindly, appeared in his mind's eye, the face of the only person Kouji knew who had suffered so much and maintained the purest heart despite it all. He saw Kouichi, memory upon memory flashing in sequence. The first glimpse of Kouichi, in Sakkakumon. The first time Kouji had heard his brother's voice. Ridding Kouichi of his corrupt Spirits forever. The true power of the Spirits. Fighting IceDevimon. The Village of Beginnings. Ophanimon's library. Kouji's promise to his brother.

A single tear slipped down Kouji's cheek.

"Why?" he whispered. He was always so selfless, even when he was faced with his own death. Out of all of us, why is he the one who suffers so much?!

The Dark Area.

Kouji flinched as the memory surfaced. He remembered every action, every word, as if it were happening at that very moment. Kouichi had been filled with a will that was beyond Kouji. He knew how painful it would be; he had heard the agony of Kouji and the others. But he also knew he was the only one who could do the task set before him.

No, Kouji corrected. Light and Darkness. Either of us could have made that sacrifice.

But Kouji couldn't ignore the peace that had come over his twin when the attack finally took its toll. He was sad, certainly, perhaps even a little upset that it had to end this way, but he had said something that Kouji could never forget.

'My brother, I can't tell you what it means to me to have met you. I have no regrets.'

"Why?" Kouji choked out, tasting his own salty tears in his mouth.

'No regrets.'

"WHY?!"

A warm tingling sensation in his hand brought another image to mind – the Spirits of Darkness, hovering contentedly in his grasp. His whole body had tingled then, filled with a new level of sorrow and doubt, but also with peace. Tingling with the Darkness.

"Kouji."

That voice. Kouji's eyes widened, tears running dry and memories fading. Ophanimon! Shocked, Kouji looked at his hand, glowing softly against the wall. He numbly pulled it back, tentatively opening his fist. Blue and white. A glowing screen. The symbol of Light staring him in the face.

His D-Tector.

Well, there you go! We've got one more chapter before we get back to Kouichi. Anyway, I think I've wasted enough of your time for today.

-Child of Healing

Word Count: 5661