A Digimon Frontier Fanfic
By Sakura Martinez
Author's Notes:
Sorry about the delay everyone. My college thesis defense was so unbelievable bewildering and frustrating which is the reason why I am unable to update any of my fanfics and why this certain chapter got uploaded a little off my schedule.
Thanks to my defense as well, I am unable to answer any emails that have found its way into my inbox and I may not be able to answer any of them anytime soon – well, at least not until the whole thesis fiasco has come and gone (which thankfully, we are now on the Revision Phase).
AHEM. Anyways, enough about that. Please enjoy reading what I could conjure up as I await any word from our adviser about a certain something.
Another thing, to everyone who has been very supportive with this fanfic and to those who have continually read this and reviewed, and to those who added to the hits, I have made a little "gift" for all of you. It's a little something which more information could be found on my profile, so be sure to check it our after reading this chapter.
End of Author's Notes
The Rabbit on the Moon
Kousei's Story
Thunder roared across the darkness. The powerful gusts of wind wailed and howled as trees swayed violently. The intense rain brought by the storm continued to fall creating ripples in the ocean which turns into large waves crashing through the harbor with as much force as it could muster.
In the midst of such ferocity, two figures stood locked in a battle. Neither cared much of their surroundings, nor of the fact that they were already soaking wet. Their concentration was so powerful that the fatigue that one would normally feel under such conditions never registered into their minds.
"What are you doing?" Shouted Chiaki, as she grew impatient of their prolonged battle which had turned into a staring contest more than anything else. "Finish him off already!"
"Shut up, woman!" Shouted Kouichi as lightning streaked across the sky and the sound of thunder soon followed. "Do not tell me what I should do for this does not concern you!"
Kouichi's eyes, which glimmered with pure hatred and malice every time the lightning flashed across the sky and give shadow to his face, was enough to silence Chiaki who did not bother to hide her distaste for the young man in the foray.
Kouichi then faced his foe and asked with a demanding voice, "Tell me! What do you mean by that? What do you know about me?"
Kouji stared back at him. There was seriousness in his face as well as conviction for the task at hand. With his sword in front of him, held by both of his hands over the hilt, he spoke: "I know… the truth…"
Takuya found it very hard to steer the Omni-craft thanks to the lashing waves and the very strong winds. To fly at such a condition would be suicidal, but to challenge the seas was no different. Despite this, he had no choice but to continue on, there was a hint of determination on his face as he guided the said craft to their destination while stealing glances at the sleeping figure of Izumi.
He still could not understand what was taking her so long to awaken, nor of how one could sleep so soundly in such a state that both of them were in. He was worried much on her safety than his own, and this was nothing new to the young man.
A sudden jolt caused by being hit by another large wave cut him off of his thoughts of the sleeping woman who had caught his heart. He shook his head of whatever thoughts were in it, to focus on the task at hand – finding a safe place to dock the Omni-craft and to wait out the storm.
"What truth do you speak of?" Kouichi shouted as their blades locked once again.
"I think you know what it is very well, Kouichi." Kouji shouted back.
"Is this one of your tricks?" came another question, "A trick to catch me off guard or perhaps to make me falter in this battle. You should know that no such trick would work on me."
"Is that what you keep on telling yourself?" retorted the knight, "I can see it in your eyes, Kouichi. Your heart is already faltering."
Four hours ago…
"Hurry, make sure that all civilians have already been evacuated." Ordered Kouji as he directed several of the Organization's volunteers. "Search the harbor for any civilian that has yet to evacuate, make sure that the harbor is free of any people. We do not want casualties from this storm!"
"Yes sir!" shouted the volunteers as they scampered their way to follow Kouji's orders.
General Kimura stood watching at how the young Vice-Commander ordered the men and he saw what Commander Orimoto saw in the young man to hold him such high regard. He smiled as he could not believe how matured Kousei's son had become and how he was so much like his father.
The General cleared his throat, and the sound of it made Kouji whirl around to see who it was only to be surprised.
"General, what brings you here?" Kouji asked. "Is there something you need?"
"There is something, I came here to have a word with you, Lord Kouji." The General replied as he moved towards Kouji, his armor clanging as he walked.
"A word with me? Can I ask on what matter?"
"This is not the place to discuss it, have someone take over your duties and come with me."
Kouji nodded. He then called for Teppei and Junpei to handle things in his post then followed the older man into a room not too far from where they had met. Once the room was closed and both men were seated, Kouji repeated his earlier query.
"What is it that you wish to speak to me about that we have to speak in private, Lord Kimura?" Kouji asked.
"I have heard that it was you who spoke with my grandson back on Lone Isle." General Kimura spoke, at what he said Kouji nodded. "Then, I suspect that he already said some things – disturbing and confusing things."
Kouji remembered the words that Kouichi spoke during their battle, about what he was doing as something he deserved, about how he spoke of his grandfather's deeds. He nodded as he answered, "Yes, I still cannot understand what his words meant, but I suspect that you know full well of what this is all about, General?"
The older man nodded. "I believe I do, however, I do not know how much the King has poisoned his mind already of what 'truth' he had told him. However, if you wish, as Takuya did, to break him from the chains of darkness that bind him now, then you must listen to what I have to say… of this story that I am to tell you."
Kouji nodded once more, and braced himself for what he felt would be a long story.
The sound of clashing swords and thunder echoed through the forest as they made their escape. They knew that they were being chased, they knew that Chiaki's brother was after them. They could not stop to rest lest Kouji's sacrifice be in vain, but the weight that was caused by the storm was already tiring them and should they be unable to make haste, they knew that he would be catching up with them soon.
"How far before we get to your ship, Leader?" the Commander asked making sure not to mention her name.
"We're almost there." She replied.
"At this rate," Teppei said as he ran along with the group, "that guy will catch up to us."
"Yes, I agree." The General said, "It would appear that the King and Takuya's father had modified that Minami child into a monstrous machine capable of withstanding anything. If we do not hurry, we can be sure that all our efforts would be in vain."
Silence amongst them filled the stormy air. They were focused to make it through the dense forest and into the ship that the Leader had prepared for their escape. All of them were hoping to make it, and all of them were hoping for Kouji to be victorious in his battle, and in whatever he had in mind asking to stay behind and make sure that neither Chiaki nor Kouichi would come after them.
After a while Teppei stopped running and turned around. This caught everyone's attention.
"Teppei, what do you think you're doing?" Asked the Leader.
"Don't mind me, Leader." Teppei replied. "Leave that guy to me, I'll buy you guys enough time to get to that ship of yours."
"That's suicide Master Teppei." Commander Orimoto spoke. "Have you not heard a word that Lord Kimura said? That guy, Terou Minami, has been enhanced. He is not just an ordinary Chosen One, he is much stronger, perhaps even as strong as Takuya's Clone. You cannot hope to defeat him."
"I do not plan to." Teppei replied, his backed turned on them but his voice held conviction that told them not to argue and just run. "I just plan to stall him long enough for everyone to reach the ship, after that, just come and pick both Kouji and I up. I know I won't be able to beat him, but I can at least hold him down long enough, so run!"
They were supposed to argue further, but Teppei summoned his powers and created a barrier between him and them. Before he run back to face Terou, he shouted to them, "Now go! Run!"
The General took a deep breath before he began his story.
"Seventeen years ago, the King unearthed an ancient text speaking of a power that Kings of Old held in their grasp. It was the power of the Dragons, so the text speaks. It was said that Ten Elemental Dragons descended upon the earth two centuries ago when the Kingdom of Frontiria was first established, as a gift to the first King of the Old Kingdom, the Dragons granted him protection in the form of ten orbs sealed with each of the dragons' powers.
"With the power of the Ten 'Dragon Orbs' as it was called back then, the Kingdom of Frontiria grew in strength and became feared throughout. However, as the power of the Kingdom grew, the Kings that followed grew more and more ambitious. Each wanting to surpass the other. Each wanting their territory to expand, thus, wars broke out more frequently than before the arrival of the Dragons.
"The ancient manuscript that was unearthed beneath the kingdom spoke of such horrifying war where the orbs were used for destruction, for conquest, and eventually for evil. As the story goes, the Ten Elemental Dragons, once again appeared to stop the madness, destroying the orbs and releasing its power… a power that, as it goes, did not vanish entirely, but resided on a person with pure heart and a sense of justice. These people, chosen by the Elemental Dragons themselves, are what are now known as 'Chosen Ones'.
"Of course, when the manuscript was dug out and translated, the King was fascinated by it. He wanted to know if such Chosen Ones still exists to this day. Because of that, he ordered a search – far and wide, for any humans possessing the characteristics of a chosen one that were written. Those who knew of this, are only the 4 Generals and the 4 Commanders that go with them as they were the ones personally ordered by the King to search for such 'legendary' beings.
"Years passed since the ancient texts were unearthed, and four children began manifesting strange powers. Their parents saw this and they knew of what it meant. Two of this four children are, of course, Takuya Kanbara and Izumi Orimoto. Now, you can see the dilemma that their parents faced. The King had, at that point in time, gave a strange order to capture anyone who manifests powers resembling that of what was written in the ancient texts. Hiroaki Kanbara and Ishige Orimoto knew that they cannot hand their children over to the King. They knew that they would have to hide them from him, who had now become strangely hungry for power. The same went for the father of the two other children who manifested powers resembling that of a Chosen One. As I was with the father of the two other children, and as they are also dear to me, I knew that I too would have to keep them safe from the King's grasp.
"Imagine our luck when the three other Generals called for us all to tell us that they had found a child who they believed to be a Chosen One. At first, Hiroaki, Ishige, the father of the two other children, and myself, were worried that perhaps one of the children we are now hiding had been found. We were able to breathe a sigh of relief when we were told that it was a child from the Minami family – a well-known family from the country of Oto.
"During the mission to retrieve the Minami child, the father of the two children was sent on a reconnaissance mission before hand. During which, he found disturbing things concerning the King and his plan of conquering the entire world with the use of the ancient power. He had learned that there was more to the ancient text than what we have been allowed to read. He had, in other words, learned of the King's true intent – to unlock the Gates of Gaia.
"The Gates of Gaia, we never did learn of what it was or what it contained, but from his final letter, it foretold of a great catastrophe that would befall the earth should the King's plan come into fruition. It also told of what would happen should all ten Chosen Ones be gathered. Not only would the host of the Dragons' powers be killed from whatever ceremony he had learned of, but it would also spell doom to mankind. We, of course, did not believe it at first and despite having been warned, we set out to carry our mission of handing the Minami child to the King along with four others who we made the king believe to be Chosen Ones in order to save those that were in our care…You can imagine how wrong we were when we soon learned that the person who risked his life to deliver us such information regarding the King's plan, was murdered."
"I don't understand," Kouji said. "What this has to do with Kouichi."
"Kouichi, was one of the two other children who was kept safe in exchange for the lives of the others who we have handed to the King." The General answered, a pained expression in his face as he went on. "I believe, the King and Hiroaki told him a bended truth and made him believe that it was his fault why several others were sacrificed."
"Can that also be the reason why he believes that the manifestation of the monsters are the manifestation of his power, General?"
"Yes, I believe so. The negative thoughts and feelings that were instilled in him by the King and Hiroaki are driving him to believe that that is what his power is only capable of doing. They have twisted his beliefs in such a way that he can no longer see the light in the dark tunnel of which he is currently in."
"Then, what does this have to do with me?" Kouji asked. "I understand that I may be able to save him from darkness using the power of light that I have, but why is there a need for me to learn of this?"
"The man who sacrificed himself to learn the truth, he was my daughter's husband." The General spoke. "He was Kouichi's father… and, he is also yours, Kouji."
"What are you talking about? What nonsense is this, General?"
"His name is Kousei Minamoto." The General spoke and he saw Kouji's eyes widen.
"That's not possible. I do not have a brother, I am an only child. Both of my parents have been dead for as long as I remember and it was only Lord Orimoto who raised me as a child. How can your words be possibly true?"
"When your father died, when Kousei died, your mother and I came to an agreement that both you and your twin brother be separated to ensure that you are both safe and hidden from the King and the other Generals and Commanders. It was also the reason why Lord Orimoto moved his family away and why both he and Lord Kanbara agreed to seal away Takuya and Izumi's memories. And why your memories as well as Kouichi's were also erased."
"Wait a minute, twin brother?" Kouji asked, taken aback. He did not expect Kouichi to be his brother, much less his twin. "And you are also saying that our memories were erased?"
The General nodded. "Erased and new memories were forged into your minds."
"Then what of my mother then? Where is she? Is she still alive?"
"Tomoko, died shortly after she had taken Kouichi to the Academy." Came the somber reply.
Silence filled the air as neither wished to talk further. Kouji was confused. He did not know what to think. Such a revelation was not something he had expected to find when he pursued the quest to know the truth about the younger Kimura, but no matter how much he denied it, he could not deny the fact that his heart was telling him that the old man's words held no lie in them – that everything he had heard at that moment was the truth.
"I think I understand now," Kouji spoke after a while surprising the General as he did so. "I understand why I have this strange feeling that I should be saving him. Why I have this inkling to bring him back to his senses. Before, I thought it was because of the power within me. I thought it was because of the fact that I was light and he was darkness, but now I understand… there's more to it than that."
"Then, you also understand why you should be the one to save him?"
"Yes, I do."
"I understand the pain that you are going through now more than ever, Kouichi." Kouji spoke once more amidst the cries of thunder and the howls of the wind. "What I told you before that you are not alone, I meant it. I really do."
"How can you understand?" Retorted Kouichi. "The pain of knowing the truth. Of finding out the reason why your father died, the reason why you lost your mother, the reason why you lost your family? You can never understand because you never went through all of that!"
"You're wrong! I do understand for now I know the truth, not just about you but about myself as well, Kouichi." Kouji answered back, there was no way he was going to lose this fight. "We are not your enemy, those people – the King and his mind, they twisted everything. What you have come to know as your 'truth' isn't entirely the truth."
"What do you mean by that? What DO you know?"
"Enough talking already, Kouchi! Finish him off!" Chiaki screamed, she was losing her patience, what's more, she knew that she had to rush over to the runaways if she wishes to get her hands on Izumi. 'If only he didn't place a barrier here, then I would have run after them as well' She thought.
Annoyed at the interruption that Chiaki was always causing, Kouichi directed his attack at her sending her off flying.
Wounded and shocked at the attack, she cursed him. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"I told you to shut up!" Kouichi said. "Say one more word and I shall make sure that you will be unable to speak any more."
She gritted her teeth. "You'll pay for this, Kimura. I'll make sure of it."
With a puff of smoke, she retreated to their aircraft to recuperate.
"That should keep any interruptions from happening. Now, speak!" Kouichi said as he turned to face Kouji. "Tell me, what is it that you know of me?"
Kouji lowered his weapon and looked Kouichi straight in the eye. He paused before he replied with all of the things that he had learned from the older Kimura.
"H-how do you know of such things?" Kouichi asked, taken aback once again. "How is it that you know all of that? Did the old man tell you of them? Who are you really Kouji Minamoto?"
"Yes, the General did tell me about them, but not all of them." Kouji replied. "Some things I know for now I can hear the voice of your heart even more and it is your heart that told me of these things… "
"What are you saying? Who are you? What are you?"
"I am Kouji Minamoto, and I am… your twin brother."
To be continued…
Post Author's Notes:
And with that Kouichi learns that Kouji is his brother DunDunDunDun…
Anyways, I really apologize for the uber delay that my stupid thesis has caused. I am quite glad that all I need to finish now are the revisions for the system and the documentation – a much easier task than what I had to go through.
Like I've said, to apologize, as well as to thank you all for your constant support for this fanfic, I have made a little present that you can learn more about in my profile. If you haven't seen it, then I suggest you take a look at what it is.
I don't know how well I manage to do this chapter since I am very tired. Sorry if it doesn't suite some people's tastes but that's all I can come up with at this time. Hopefully, I'll be able to update again before this week ends (probably this Thursday or Friday).
Anyhow, I'm really tired so I'll cut this short.
This is Sakura Martinez saying "PEACE" and signing out. Once again, so sorry for the delay guys and thanks for understanding! Ja ne!
End of Post Author's Notes