Disclaimer-I don't own Digimon.
Dedication: To Aurel, who is turning one year older. Feel old? Feel the power?
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Revival
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...the hell are these things?
They're called digital monsters. Digimon. I know you're familiar with them.
Haha, very funny. Kouji peered at the screen, eyes half-lidded with sleep. Hey, careful with what you're doing to my body! I still need it! He managed a glare as he saw a cut on his wrist. That better heal nicely.
His eyes left the screen to scan his surroundings, as had been ritual for the past hours. Even if he couldn't see Duskmon, he could feel the digimon smirking. He could even tell the digimon was forcing his shell to smirk, too.
Come on, I'm not a smirker! Scowling, Kouji returned his gaze to the screen.
Right. You'll have to excuse my mistake. 'Scowl' was read as 'smirk.'
When I get my hands on you...
Kouichi will first.
At the sound of his brother's name, Kouji fell quiet. He hadn't forgotten his brother...far from that. The fact was that he was dreading to see him again. Smiling bitterly to himself, Kouji asked aloud, "Do we really have to suffer this twice?"
Yes, strange, isn't it? First your brother, now you.
"Shut up," Kouji said in a loud voice, glaring up at the gray, unchanging sky.
He had never hated gray more in his life.
The truth was the truth, and Duskmon had been correct in saying what he had. But do we have to suffer this twice? Why couldn't I just have been possessed by Lobomon? He let out a frustrated sigh and turned away from the screen.
Duskmon offered an answer. Because Lobomon wouldn't be trusted by Lucemon. It's obvious Ophanimon would send him to spy, and even if he was possessed to possess you...well, the concept is tricky. Where are you going?
"Is this my mind?" Kouji asked, standing up. He couldn't understand the concept, though he imagined it to be simplicity itself. He couldn't understand how a sky could always be gray, or how a screen could pop out of nowhere and show him the outside world when he demanded for it. Duskmon had told him he couldn't demand a way out, but Kouji had tried. After all, what reason did he have to trust Duskmon?
Where are you going? Duskmon demanded again.
Did it matter? Kouji shrugged. "Somewhere." Away from here, he thought, hoping Duskmon hadn't heard. Then again, it didn't matter much if Duskmon had heard. Nothing seemed to matter much anymore. He shrugged to himself and began to walk around aimlessly. It all seemed like an exact replica of Kouichi's neighborhood in gray. I hate that color, Kouji told himself for the who knew what time. It wasn't like anyone was keeping track.
He walked down the seemingly familiar street for what seemed like minutes (but no one was keeping track of time there, so it could have just as well been seconds), then came to a sudden stop. Something was wrong. It just ends here and repeats? Kouji, now annoyed, turned around and walked back. Several seconds later, he was back where he started.
Kouichi's house apparently didn't exist in this world.
Kouji looked at what other options he had. Duskmon, if you're doing this, I'm gonna kill you, he thought, scanning his surroundings with skeptical eyes. There had to be some way out. Any way. Well, there's the sewer grate down there, but I think I prefer that street over there, Kouji thought, wondering how the sewer would look like. Probably gray.
He turned into the street and looked around, feeling strangely nostalgic, but at the same time afraid. "Hello," Kouji whispered to himself, mainly, as he encountered a deserted cul-de-sac. "This was never...on...Kouichi's street," the boy observed, swallowing at the dead silence.
He didn't ever think he could be so afraid. In fact, Kouji was sure he had never been so afraid for himself. Aware, yes, but never afraid for himself. Maybe because I always considered myself the strongest and the one that had to take care of everyone when there was trouble, Kouji told himself. Now, he wondered if everyone else needed protecting more than he did. The bandana boy broke into a grin. "Yeah, the probably do," he told himself reassuringly, and they'll pull through.
He examined the gray surroundings, and decided to investigate the houses. There didn't seem like too many in total, and he was bored. The fear dissipated and was replaced by and overwhelming amount of curiosity that made Kouji wonder whether the place was bad for his health, what with all the emotional switches. Making sure his emotions were in check, he picked a random house and walked up to it.
Immediately, he froze, recognizing it. Takuya's? The boy stared in wonder before running away and staring at the other houses.
He recognized all of them. And right smack dab in the middle was Kouichi's house. Who cares about Takuya! Furiously, Kouji ran towards the house, threw the door open, then yelled, "Mom! Kouichi!"
No one answered.
"I'M HOME!"
No one.
Kouji let out an annoyed growl and raced back outside. Maybe I should have gone to Takuya's first, he thought, racing into the Kanbara's house.
It was just as neat as Kouichi's had been, and just as empty. Kouji tried not to be frustrated as he ran back out, checking house after house. Izumi, Tomoki, Junpei...even Kako...all their houses were empty.
Finally defeated, Kouji walked outside and staggered to the steps of his brother's house. He stared at them for a while before letting out a gentle sigh and sitting down, staring emptily at the ground in front of him.
Gray.
He felt a certain need to just stand up and let out an uncensored string of profanities. He could, if he really wanted to. No one would know but Duskmon. "What I wouldn't do for some blue...or white...or pink, even," Kouji thought. His eyes suddenly widened. Pink...? Oh, yeah. He let out a chuckle. "Like Kouichi's room," he said aloud, remembering the entire painting incident. But it was pure genius!
Kouji wondered if there was an end to this. He stood up, and realized his feet felt sore. He hadn't even been walking for so long, had he? Whatever, the boy thought, shoving his hands in his pocket and staring at the ground as he walked back.
He didn't know what to expect anymore.
Kouji stopped, halfway out of the cul-de-sac, and looked up to his left. A two-story house stood towering before him. It was white, and Kouji was greatly reminded of his own house. Shrugging, he walked towards the building and opened the door.
Yeah, home, he thought, leaving the door open and heading to the stairs, up to where his room would be. He threw the door open and headed straight for the bed, not taking a single glance at his surroundings. Sleep, thought Kouji, falling back onto the bed and shutting his eyes. Sleep.
He fell asleep quickly to the smell of fresh air and a distinct buzzing sound that seemed so familiar.
And just as his eyes shut, a light from the closet flashed brightly, only once.
It was an all too familiar feel. His house.
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"This is it?" scowled Kouichi and Kako at the same time, glaring at what was inside the box. "What kind of lame gift is this?" Both pulled out a folded piece of paper and threw the box aside.
"He wrapped it in nice wrapping for nothing!" Kako shrieked at the same time Kouichi muttered, "I should have known by the newspaper wrapping."
"A note. Ichiro is lame," the two growled before exchanging confused glances. "You too?"
"Comparing time!" shouted Kako, sitting so her legs were dangling over the hole and shoving her paper, now unfolded, towards Kouichi. "Let's see how original Ichiro is."
"Do you have, 'Dear Kako, I know you probably hate me right now for extravagantly wrapping up a box with a mere paper, but do forgive me. I intend to make it up to you with the best knowledge ever.' Or did you get something stupider?" Kouichi asked, glaring at the paper. "And what knowledge? He sure fooled me..."
Izumi watched the two with amusement. So cute. "If only I had my camera," Izumi whispered disappointedly.
"I could sell this for major money."
She whirled around and glared up at Hideki. "You've got a camera?"
Grinning, Hideki drew a camera out of his pocket. "I keep it with me all the time," he told her, aiming it at Kako and Kouichi. That only attracted more people.
"Well...what's in this?" Curiously, Kako opened her second package and stared at it for several seconds. "He...knows I don't wear jewelry, right?"
Kouichi stared at the contents of the box jealously. Letting out a huff, he muttered, "Well why can't I get something like that?"
"You want jewelry?" Kako asked, raising an eyebrow.
The boy reddened. After sputtering unintelligibly for several seconds, he screamed, "THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!"
Grinning, Kako poked his shoulder. "Riiiight."
"Anyone else notice how Kouichi's back to normal now?" Takuya shouted loudly, looking away from the two.
Kouichi let out an indignant snort and Kako stared at him, one eyebrow raised again. After looking him over curiously, she demanded, "What?"
Calmly, he returned, "What?"
"What?" Kako snapped again. When Kouichi didn't respond, she rose to her feet and glared down at him. "I'm not stupid! What does he mean you're back to normal now? What were you doing before?" she demanded.
"Kako, get over here!" Kanaye shouted. Had he not been Kanaye, Kouichi would have probably hugged him, but he was Kanaye, and that settled matters.
Still furious with Kouichi, Kako stormed towards the other boy, only stopping by Takuya to mutter, "You better tell me what happened..."
"NOW," Kanaye barked, glaring at her.
"I'll do what I want, thanks!" Kako retorted, returning the glare.
Both continued their staring contest until Naoko clapped her hands twice. "Hey, people," snapped Naoko, looking from Kanaye to Kako, "we're here for a reason. Kako, do you have a digivice thing?"
The other girl just blinked. "Wha...?"
"So it's hers?" Kanaye muttered, eyeing Kako with obvious dislike.
Noticing this attitude, Kako stuck out her tongue childishly. "Just because you don't want me as a leader, because you know I'll totally out rule you-"
"Who said anything about leader?" Naoko muttered, shaking her head in disbelief.
Kako just glared. "What's the point of this again."
I wish I knew, thought Naoko as she handed the remaining digivice to Kako. "We already gave Shinya his, and we have an extra that Ichiro gave us," she explained, dropping it in Kako's outstretched hand. "Thought it might be yours."
Kako examined it, nearly jumping back and yelling when the small screen shone a bright flash of white. She would have dropped it and broken it, had Kanaye's hand not been out under hers.
"Idiot," Kanaye snapped, handing her back the item. "Stop being so careless." Louder, he added, "Kimura, I feel sorry for you! Not even-" Kanaye stopped and stared at Kouichi before shaking his head. "He's just as bad as you."
"Thank you," said Kako, obviously satisfied by this. After tossing it up and catching it, she pocketed the D-Tector and turned around just in time to avoid Kouichi flying back into her. Kanaye's luck wasn't too high, and he took the hit instead, suffering as soon Takuya followed, along with Shinya. She turned to them and her eyes narrowed. "Spill it out. And Shinya, give me the sword, would you? It's a good way to threaten the truth out of people." She stepped forward and relinquished Shinya of the metal.
Kouichi's mouth opened, but his face reddened and he looked away. "Shut up, Takuya," was all he said.
The glare intensified. "Takuya..."
Feeling like nothing under Kako's gaze, Takuya shrugged. She really is worse than Izumi, he thought as he finally confessed, "Kouichi...was really upset about Kouji...while we were securing our point." It wasn't a lie...he just wasn't including all of the facts. "Shinya, get off of me."
Shinya scowled as his brother pushed him off. "I think-" he started.
"Shut up. No one cares what you think."
"I'm telling Mom!" shouted the boy.
"Bah! Mom's not here, idiot!"
"I'm really telling Mom!"
"Yeah...right...where Mom is Lucemon?"
"TAKUYA!" everyone shouted, obviously disturbed by the thought.
The goggle boy reddened and returned, "I'm just pointing out that our mom isn't here!"
"Quiet!" Shinya suddenly yelled. When everyone turned to him in surprise, he said, "I think...we need to sit down...and talk one at a time, because we're too big of a group." The thought was reasonable, and Rai nodded in agreement. Seeing this as a sign, everyone sat down where they were, save Takuya and Kouichi, who were thrown off by a scowling Kanaye.
After they were all situated and staring at Rai (who was still standing beside Hideki), Tomoki's hand shot up into the air. Too surprised to speak, Rai inclined her head in his direction.
"I'm still confused," the boy complained. "I lost track ages ago."
Biting her lip to hold back a sigh, Rai began to wonder how to explain this. As if to rescue her, Hideki stood up and walked up to her. "I'll take care of it," he offered, and turned to everyone. "Let's review. Lucemon has been gaining power. Lucemon wants a final match between us, so he told us...rather, Rai, and both sides have been preparing for a while now. Think of it as...World War I.
"Now, there are certain things Lucemon has plotted behind our backs. He doesn't intend for it to be a fair fight." Hideki paused, and his gaze fell on Kouichi as he continued, "Take Kouji for example. So you see, we have to expect anything and everything." Another pause. "Any questions?"
Tomoki just stared expectantly, waiting for Hideki to continue.
"What else is there?" Hideki scowled.
"The prophecy! The points! The Area! The Core! Lucemon! Kouji! The egg, Duskmon, Lobomon, Kouji's D-Tector..." Tomoki would have listed more, but Hideki seemed to give in.
"Okay, okay...in that order. The prophecy...well, they always have a prophecy and stuff like that. Don't you understand how the Digital World works?" A scowl appeared on his face before he added, "It's something from ancient times, so not even I understand it. The points connect to form the Area, which is the battleground Lucemon set up. Meaning that it's rigged for sure. The Core, which we are at, is the center of the Area. Lucemon is the idiot bad guy you guys will fight. Kouji is twerp's brother. The egg is somewhere. Duskmon is gone. Lobomon is somewhere. Kouji's D-Tector is somewhere."
Rai let out an exasperated sigh. Her palm came into contact with her forehead. "Maybe I should have explained," she muttered. Reluctantly, she walked over to Hideki and placed both hands on his shoulder. "Sit."
After Hideki did as he was told, Kako called out, "Lobomon's in the egg, if that helps."
"And the egg is in Kouji," Kouichi added. "Duskmon isn't gone, either. He's...he possessed Kouji."
"Did I mention my information isn't up to date?" squeaked Hideki, noticing the glares he received, especially from Tomoki.
"All information save your pictures of Kako and me," muttered Kouichi. He sent a murderous glare towards Hideki. "HINT, HINT."
Grinning, Hideki replied, "No way in Lucemon's hell am I giving those up! I'd sooner be sacrificed!"
"That can be arranged," Kako retorted.
The grin disappeared. Glaring at his sister, Hideki's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't."
"I'm not promising anything!" The girl smiled triumphantly, then turned to Rai. "Well, we covered everything but the D-Tector. What's up with that?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.
Rai's lips were pressed tightly together. The look in her eyes was a distant one, and for a second Kako thought she didn't hear. When the girl was about to call out Rai's name, Kouichi's hand silenced her, and she realized what was the real case.
A sigh escaped Rai, and as her eyes shut, she shook her head. "I don't know..." she admitted in a whisper. "I don't know. I'm not sure of anything anymore. I..." When her eyes opened again, her gaze focused on Hideki. "Things don't seem to add up..."
"I hear you there," muttered Kouichi, hand dropping to his side. "Kanaye, what are you guys going to do?" he suddenly asked, looking up at the other boy, who was to his left.
Shrugging, Kanaye replied in a bitter voice, "There isn't much else to do. We'll fight. Ai is still with Lucemon, and LadyDevimon is a force to be reckoned with, sadly enough. Besides..." A grim smile appeared as he met Kouichi's gaze. "She owes me...a lot. Be glad you've got Kako-"
"WHAT IS THIS ABOUT?" Kako suddenly screeched, glaring at him.
"-instead of Ai. Then again, Kako's a completely different nightmare," finished Kanaye, now smiling smugly and openly.
"You idiot!" Furiously, Kako jumped into her feet, but Kouichi grabbed onto her arm, a frantic look on his face. "Let me go!"
"Aw, how cute!" Hideki commented, snickering and bringing out his camera.
"NO WAY!" Kouichi shouted, letting go of Kako to lunge at Hideki.
Rai watched in amazement as Kako and Kouichi were both restrained by people sitting around them. Impossible, she thought, watching Takuya and Junpei force Kouichi to sit back down. The boy was absolutely red, looking to the side in embarrassment. Kako, on the other hand, didn't seem to care she was causing a ruckus. The combined strength of Izumi and Naoko didn't do anything. What was more, Kanaye didn't seem perturbed at all. He sat there calmly, as if drinking tea, and nodded at Kako.
Impossible, Rai thought again, managing to find a seat on a nearby boulder. It's all impossible. How can they be so calm...? Why am I so worried? This is how it should be, right? Hideki...won't die. I'm just worried. Too stressed. Maybe it's because of all the papers I've been grading lately...
Her breath escaped her for a split second, before returning like a prolonged wave, crashing into her. Rai lurched forward, squeezing her eyes shut and closing her mouth, hoping to stop the pain. Please, let everything be alright.
"Rai...?"
Her eyes widened, recognizing the voice. "I'm fine," she said quickly, sitting up and opening her mouth to say more.
Hideki smiled and shook his head. "I know," he returned softly, leaning forward. "I just wanted to-"
"Where'd the sword go?" Kako cried, looking around her.
Kouichi, eyes wide, jumped to his feet. Pointing accusingly at Kako, he demanded, "You lost my sword?"
"Don't point!"
His hand dropped to his side. Again, Kouichi asked, "You lost my sword?" His eyes narrowed into a glare, and he took a step towards Kako, which resulted in him tripping.
Over his sword.
Kouichi crashed down, wincing and turning his face to the side. Ow, he thought, scrambling back onto his feet and taking the sword into his hand. "Uh...what am I supposed to do? Carry this around? I'd be better off without it..."
"Just keep it!" Kako snapped, walking up to him and hitting his head. "Idiot! You have a bruise..." Her hand reached up to the side of his forehead.
The boy shrugged and stepped back, trying not to cringe at Kako's touch. "I'm fine," he insisted, before sitting back down and staring at his sword.
Rai inhaled slowly, watching as Takuya was held back by Junpei and Tomoki, while Shinya stuck his tongue out at his older brother from behind Izumi. Ritsuo and Naoko were absorbed in a lengthy discussion of what sounded like their digivices, while Fujitaka and Kanaye quietly discussed other matters. Only Kako and Kouichi sat, side by side, not speaking, not looking.
"They're growing up," she whispered softly.
Hideki just nodded. "It's funny when I think about it. Twerp and Kako...years ago, they were only half of what they were now, but I always felt the twerp...Kouichi...he...made me feel stupid. I just realized a while ago that he's still a kid," he told Rai in a low voice.
"A kid..." Rai bit her lip. "Will kids be ready to fight Lucemon?"
"What were they doing before?" Hideki answered softly.
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A persistent buzz ran through the air.
Damn it all, Kouji thought. He winced and rolled over in the bed. "Not now, Kouichi..." he muttered. "Give me ten minutes..."
The buzz remained, growing louder by the second. The air felt strangely humid, more so than Kouji remembered. Groaning, he literally rolled out of bed and onto the floor, laying there for a few seconds, blinking and tangled in his blanket. As soon as his eyes adjusted to the new light, he stood up and threw the covers back on the bed.
"Welcome home, Kouji," he muttered to himself, staring at the floor and sighing. "Must've fallen asleep. Where's-wait..." Kouji cringed as he realized he was still stuck in his own 'personal hell,' as he decided to call it. "Then what's with all the light...?" he wondered aloud. Last he remembered, it was gray outside. Even if he had woken up from his nightmare, the sunlight didn't ever shine so bright in his room, no matter the time of day. It was all rather depressing when he chose to think about it, which he never did.
Things just get worse and worse, Kouji thought with a grim smile, laughing bitterly to himself. His eyes scanned the room before falling on the closet. A sickeningly white light flooded through from the cracks, emanating more than heat.
"Why?" He took a step towards the door, eyes narrowing. "Why?" repeated the boy, demandingly. "What do you have to do with any of this?"
Kouji's breath hitched in his throat. His fingers trembled even as he reached out and grasped the doorknob. Why am I nervous? A breath was drawn deeper than ever before and held as he opened the door and threw it aside, holding his breath expectantly. What...?
The light extinguished itself. At least, that was what Kouji thought. When he released his breath, he nearly collapsed, not realizing he had held it longer than he originally thought. The light now came from the top of all his bandana boxes. Absentmindedly, Kouji's hand went to remove the bandana from his head. Fingers ran over the stitching on the side.
'Never give up. Never look down. Lose this and you'll lose a lot more.'
Almost immediately, Kouji looked up, surprised that the words entered his mind so easily. He had only seen the words once, hadn't he...?
The cloth crumpled in his hands. No way will I lose this, he told himself, eyes slipping shut. With renewed courage, Kouji pocketed his bandana and took the first box out of the closet. It was lowered to the floor carefully, but still managed to land with a loud thud. Trembling again, Kouji carefully removed the flaps, whispering encouraging words to himself and trying to imagine what it was.
The light grew brighter as all the flaps were undone. Kouji swore he went blind for those few minutes. He wasn't even sure when the light died down; it was enough that it had. His eyes opened, though he didn't remember closing them. Kouji let out a relieved sigh and collapsed onto his knees, hands on the rim of the box.
"D-Tector," he whispered, smiling to himself. "I get my...my D-Tector."
The smile faded.
How? Kouji rose to his feet and gingerly picked the blue and white D-Tector up into his own hands. "How is it you came from the box of bandanas?" he questioned aloud.
Figure it out?
Kouji cringed. No, he replied to Duskmon, eyes scanning the room in case.
Figures. Again, he could feel the ominous smirk. You still have a long way to go.
"We'll see about that!" Kouji retorted, furiously kicking the bandana box to the side.
An indignant sound echoed through the room and Kouji froze. What the...
There was a rustle, and the top few bandanas fell out of the box and onto the floor. "Do you mind?" came a familiar, now high-pitched, voice. A round, pink thing popped out of the box, followed by a familiar staff.
"NO," Kouji suddenly yelled, jumping back. "Duskmon, what is this?" Try as he might, he received no answer.
In front of Kouji stood Piximon, shaking a bandana off his head. "Hello! That was a refreshing nap, yup, yup!" said the digimon, beaming happily at Kouji. "And whom might you be?"
This can't be happening, Kouji thought, staring at his D-Tector in horror. Out of desperation, he allowed the stupidest question to escape his mouth. "Piximon isn't the rookie form of Lobomon, is he?"
Then again, there are no such things as 'stupid questions.'
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A/N-
I thought I'd cut it short here because...it wouldn't be right to continue! Everything's twisting, and I can't really stop it, so...sorry. .:bows:. Not the best chapter, I know. Only Kouji's part seemed okay. The rest seemed so...spontaneous.
We were doing a career thing in school a few days ago. I got Writing/Editing, and a bunch of things like Performing Arts and Design and such. Now, the only thing I'm interested in for Performing Arts would be Voice Acting, but they conveniently don't list that. Bah! Who said all the actors can steal the voice roles? XP And being an author sounds hard, so I'd be having a back-up in case. But I do have an idea for an original story...
Thank you for the reviews! I'm just extremely happy right now, so BIG THANK YOU to: GemmaniGirl, x.XWeirdxnxWiseX.x, The Light's Refrain
Review or PM or Flame.