Chapter #3 ~ Explanations and Darkness

-separater-

A/N:

I am changing the formatting of this story. I understand, that the few who reviewed it had issues understanding it. I must admit, when I read it again, I had trouble too.

Key:

" normal speech

( and ) talking between digimon [fused hybrid] and their spirit

Thoughts will now be written into the story. They will look like the normal part of the story unless there are two people thinking at the same time. If so:

… Kouji thought.

… Takuya thought.

I have found that the itallics thing is hard for me to do. The italic key looks like it's off and it's not.

Frantic thoughts will be the same.

: ' frantic thoughts

Before we start the story I think I need to explain the P.O.V. formatting in this story. It might get confusing. I am writing this in third person, with a first person perspective. I am doing this to add more detail.

-separater-

I leaned on Kouji for support. We were walking back to camp now. After being changed back from Vritramon I had stayed as Agunimon. This way, if we got attacked, I could defend us.

The battle had really taken a number on Kouji. In his human form he was fine, but his digimon one was really weak.

That digimon … Wwhat was it doing here?

"Takuya?"

"Yes, Kouji?"

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Why don't you change back. There isn't really a point in staying that way."

"I will change back when we get to camp. There might still be digimon after us." I said.

Paranoid …

"If you're sure. I must admit though …" I said.

"What Kouji?"

"I like you this way." I said as I planted a kiss on his lips. He was a little surprised but responded almost immediately.

I could get used to this …

"What took you guys so long?" Junpei asked when we made our way back to camp.

"We got cornered by a digimon." I said.

"Takuya?" Izumi asked.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Why are you still Agunimon?" Tomoki asked. I sighed and turned to Kouji.

"We might as well explain," I said.

Nodding Kouji said,

"A Slashmon attacked us." was all he said.

"A Slashmon? Not only are they rare … how did you two survive?" asked Bokomon.

"Vritramon," we both said at the same time.

"Is that all you did?" Junpei asked with a smirk. We both groaned and glared at him.

"That's not something you need to know," Takuya said.

"Yeah," Kouji said.

"I don't believe you," Junpei said.

"Neither do I. You two did do something else didn't you …" Izumi accused.

"I know you did." Tomoki said.

They both gave him questioning looks.

"… um … You look a lot happier than usual." The youngest boy said.

"Really?" Kouji asked as he placed a hand on Tomoki's shoulder. The hand tightened and the shorter boy began to struggle.

"Stop Kouji," Takuya said. The dark haired boy sighed, and let go.

"What's with you Kouji?" Asked Izumi.

"Don't mind him, guys. He's just protective." Takuya said.

"And why don't you change back now before I jump you." Kouji said with a smirk. Hearing that Takuya clasped his D-tector in one clawed hand.

In a flash of orange light he could no longer be seen. Before Takuya could do anything pain lanced up his legs. It traveled through his arms, shoulders, and eventually exploded throughout his entire body. Gasping he dropped his D-tector to the ground. The light faded and he sunk to his knees on the ground.

"Takuya?" Kouji asked as he knelt down beside Agunimon.

"I can't …"

"What do yu mean, you 'can't?'" Izumi asked as she came over. Junpei watched from his place beside the fire.

"I can't change back. It hurts too much."

"I wonder why that is … Shouldn't you be able to change back to your human form." Izumi mused.

"Maybe it has something to do with how he was acting last night … Takuya?" Junpei asked.

"What?"

"What happened to you last night, before you came back?"

Takuya sighed and turned his head in the direction of the 'child of thunder.'

"I was attacked by a digimon. I don't know what it was. All I can tell you is that it used an attack called 'poison barb.'"

"I might be able to find out." Bokomon said as he brought out his book. After searching for a few moments he said,

"That could be Laracmon. It could also be Naturamon."

"What's the difference?"

"Laracmon would have been trying to kill you, while Naturamon would have been trying to pass judgement on you."

"What else seems to be wrong?" the rabbit asked.

"I am blind too."

Before anyone could comment any further the fire hybrid gripped his righgt shoulder tightly, and closed his eyes. Hissing through his teeth he turned away from the group.

"Hmmm … that is interesting. If it's Laracmon, that could be the effects of poison. If so, you may not survive more than three days."

This shocked the inhabitants of the campsite.

"W-what?"

"If it's from Naturamon, that could be a form of judgement."

"What the fuck are you trying to say?" asked Kouji angrily. Tomoki stepped in front of Kouji. The dark haired boy blinked at him stupidly.

"Calm down Kouji," Agunimon [Takuya] said softly.

The fire digimon clutched his head and groaned.

"Why does it feel like my head is going to split in half?"

"If it feels like that … It must have been a Laracmon. Naturamon would never deliberately put someone in pain like this." Bokomon said. Agunimon [Takuya] grasped onto Kouji's hand tightly.

"I'm … not sure how …. Long I can …"

The fire digimon slumped to the floor as his body began to flash a sickly purple color. He managed to blink his eyes open and say,

"… Kouji … I can't …" before falling unconscious. Kouji pulled Agunimon [Takuya] closer and laid his head on his lap.

"Bokomon, you better have a good explanation for this." The dark haired boy growled as he ran his hands through the dark red hair of the digimon.

Wait … dark red hair …

Kouji looked down to see Agunimon's [Takuya's] form changing. It was getting darker by the second. Now the orange and medium red coloring were a dark orange and blood-red color.

"What's going on?" he asked no one in particular. Bokomon glanced at the two and then flipped a few pages in his book.

"Ah, here it is." He said. All four turned to him.

"Laracmon, the Evil Poison Digimon. He is a mega level digimon who likes to make mischief. I can't see why one would attack Takuya … I mean Agunimon."

"So … this Laracmon is responsible." Kouji said as his hand found Takuya's wrist. It tightened and a gasp could be heard from the fire hybrid. Opening his eyes he stared blankly at Kouji.

"… was that necessary?"

"Takuya … Agunimon you're alright." The dark haired boy said. He smiled and grabbed Takuya's hand.

"Before things go any further I should inform all of you that Takuya shouldn't fight unless absolutely necessary. Putting more strain on his digital body will be extremely dangerous." Bokomon said.

They all glared at the 'keeper of the book.'

"Not like that wasn't obvious," Takuya said as he sat up.

-separaater-

Kouichi had come back as well. Unfortunately he had fallen prey to some dark digimon again. Now he sat in their castle, bored out of his mind. His master, DLeomon was pacing around the room.

"He should be dead by now. WHY ISN'T HE DEAD!"

"I don't know sir. They both managed to take down Slashmon without a scratch." Kouichi said.

"A scratch? That's it! The light child is weaker now!"

What are you planning master …

"I will do something about that. I want the 'child of light' killed. Kouichi?"

"Yes sir?"

"I think it's about time that you become acquainted with an old friend of yours." DLeomon said as he smirked at the blue eyed boy. Kouichi gulped and nodded.

DLeomon took his D-tector and dark energy was poured into it. A few minutes later he gave it back to the boy.

"Take this, and transform. We will destroy him together."

Kouichi tried to keep from taking his D-tector, but it was no use. As the device touched him he was surrounded in ablack light and screamed.

When his screams died down a digimon had taken his place.

"Duskmon, go and irradicate this world of those brats. I want Agunimon alive. I also want the dead body of that light child. We can use their attraction against them."

"Yes, master," the infected digimon said as he left.

-separater-

Takuya sat next to Kouji. It had been a long day. After getting poisoned, losing his sight, and ending up together with Kouji he was exhausted. He began to close his eyes, and think about what had happened since they returned to the digital world.

They had been called by a new ally, Salageramon, to return to the 'digital world.' Apparently evil was brewing again. Digimon who had been considered good were now turning evil. After they had left Seraphimon, Ophanimon, and the previously evil Cherubimon set up a way to make sure that darkness never took over again.

They appointed a ruler to each region, who would report if anything bad had happened. Salageramon informed the 'chosen children' that the three celestials had been defeated by a powerful dark digimon and his army. They didn't know anything about this 'dark digimon,' except that he resembled a lion. That left Bokomon to use his book to try and locate the 'dark digimon.'

Kouichi was supposed to come with them. Somehow, he had either gotten lost, or been taken over by the darkness again. Either way, they would probably end up fighting the 'warrior of darkness.' This would not sit well with either him or Kouji.

He had grown to understand Kouji more when they were back in the 'human world.' They had become friends and were now together of course. At least that's how Takuya saw it, whether or not it was actually like that was another story. Knowing Kouji, he would want to take things slow, which was alright with the brunette. Takuya wasn't that familiar with a relationship such as this anyway.

"Kouji?" Takuya asked as he laid his head on Kouji's shoulder.

"Are you alright Takuya?" Kouji asked as he shifted their position. He gently placed the head of the fire digimon against his neck and sighed contentedly.

"I'm alright," Takuya said as he closed his eyes. Kouji ran his hands through the dark red hair and closed his eyes as well.

"are you two going to always be like this?" asked Junpei. Izumi turned from cooking some food over the fire to listen.

"I don't know," was the soft reply from the fire digimon. He found one of Kouji's hands and squeezed it. The dark haired boy squeezed back and kissed Takuya's forehead.

"It'lll be fine, Takuya. We'll find the cure to this … infection."

"He's right Takky, we'll all help." Said Junpei.

"I think Bokomon might have found something." Tomoki said as he ran back into the clearing. He had followed the book carrying digimon to wherever he had left to earlier.

"There is a way to cure this." Bokomon said happily as he ran into the clearing. The 'chosen children' blinked. Bokomon running? Was it the end of the world?

"How?" Kouji asked in a whisper, as he kissed Takuya on the neck. The digimon moaned softly and rested a bit more of his weight on Kouji.

"You will have to find a Naturamon. Only with a Naturamon's healing powers can Takuya live."

"How long do I have?" asked the brunette.

"Two days, but I am sure …"

Before he could continue a fist met his face. Not in an intimate way either …

-separater-

Kouji reveled in the warmth that was Takuya's digimon form. The night was a little chilly, so it was a nice change. He laid Takuya's head underneath his own and ran his hands through the dark hair.

When did I fall in love with him again? Right, when I first met him.

Multiple times had they saved each other. Even though Takuya had virtually no fighting experience [unlike Kouji] he still persisted in saving his life. The fact that the 'fearless leader' was afraid of losing Kouji was a mystery to the raven haired boy. How could this be? It didn't even make any sense!

That's right … things did start to make sense …

Then …

Flashback:

They were fighting against a dark Digimon named Batmon. Kouji jammed his swords into the large digimon, but it had no effect. He cried out as he was thrown to the ground. The bat type digimon had been flying in the air and being dropped from such a high point did a lot of damage to Wolfmon. In fact, the drop nearly knocked him out. The others were down too …

A sharp cry could be heard and then a loud shriek. Wolfmon cracked his eyes open to find Vritramon burning the hell out of the Batmon. Ever since gaining control of his B-spirit Takuya had been extremely protective of the entire group, Kouji especially. The blast of flames took the bat digimon to the ground, where his digi-code began to swirl around.

As Takuya's eyes met Kouji's, a relieved look passed over the fire hybrid's face. When his eyes fell lower anger boiled within his eyes. He forced his eyes shut and made his way over to Kouji who had just transformed back into his human self. He stared wide-eyed as the dragon digimon reigned in his control.

The brunette had changed since they returned to the human world. He had gotten even more protective of Kouji, and learned to fight properly. Kouji was a little surprised when Takuya asked for fighting lessons from him, but smiled and accepted. Things had gotten better for them but they still got in the occasional fight. Niether of them knew why, but whenever they were truly angry they could bring each other back to their senses.

The dragon held out a hand and Kouji took it. He climbed up Vritramon's scaled arm and stopped at his shoulder. Taking the D-tector he pressed a button, and jumped. Takuya's human form nearly hit the ground, but Kouji caught him.

"Thanks, Kouji. Let's take the digi-code together."

"Alright,"

"Fractal code … digitize …" they both said. The landscape changed; flowers sprouted and grass replaced the burned parched earth.

-end Flashback—

Many times had things like that happened. Takuya even managed to bring Kouji out of the rages he experienced as Garmmon. This was surely difficult; he knew he didn't want to face Garmmon in a dark alley at night. But the brunette always managed to do so, without a scratch on him. What was it about Takuya, that made him melt?

He was brought out of his musings as Takuya found one of his hands. He immediately squeezed back to answer Takuya's unspoken question. He would protect the brunette until he died. He gently kissed the digimon's neck, causing the other boy to moan. If he could only hear that sweet sound again …

Bokomon just had to ruin it! Kouji listened intently as the 'book carrying digimon' explained his discovery. He held back a growl and opted for doing something else. He got up [gently placing Takuya on the ground] and slammed his fist into Bokomon's face.

"How do you expect us to do that?" the light hybrid growled as he watched the digimon fall to the ground. He shakily got up and scowled.

"Kouji don't …" Takuya said as his body flashed the same sickly purple again. Kouji was at his side immediately checking up on him. Bokomon rubbed his sore face and opened his book again. There had to be a reason for these sudden spikes of pain the 'child of flame' was experiencing.

"Kouji I would advise against getting violent in the next two days. If you want to save Takuya, you have to stop draining him of his energy. Laracmon play on feelings and their 'poison barb' attack is affected by how the ones closest to their victims are reacting."

"What do you mean?" asked Kouji.

"If you continue to let your anger consume you , Takuya will die even faster."

Sighing Kouji picked up the fire digimon and ran a hand through his hair. He stroked Takuya's neck and murmured,

"Sorry koi,"

"It's alright Kouji, just don't do it anymore. I'll try to help you control your anger, but I can't do that if I'm writhing in pain."

"yeah," Kouji said as he kissed Takuya on the cheek.

-separater-

A/N:

I know. I hate cliffhangers too. I think I did pretty well with this one though.

The characters may seem to be acting weird [even for me.] That is because of how I am writing the story. Takuya and Kouji are going to be different anyway. The fusion of the chosen children with their spirits will change their personalities somewhat as well.

I might as well clear something up. Here are the ages and grade levels:

. Kouji and Kouichi: 16 grade 10

Takuya and Izumi: 15 grade 10

Junpei: 17 grade 11

Tomoki: 13 grade 8

Hope this clears some things up.

Read and Review!