Frontier 02: Rebirthing – Chapter 24: Nightmares
madjack89: Wow, this place looks familiar!
Kouji: Ha ha, very funny.
Shino: Where've you been, anyway?
madjack89: I was kidnapped by pirates! Of the Caribbean!
Everyone: …
Shino: …Where've you been, anyway?
madjack89: Alright, I wasn't really kidnapped by pirates.
Kouji: We didn't think you were.
madjack89: grabs Kouji, shoves him out door, and locks door behind him Would you like to comment on what I just did, Kouichi?
Kouichi: Honestly, he kind of had it coming to him.
Kouji: from outside Screw all of you.
madjack89: ANYWAY, I actually got distracted by a plethora of different things, such as homecoming, New Moon, playoffs, New Moon, LOSING a game in playoffs, New Moon…
Takuya: You said New Moon three times.
madjack89: Yeah, that was one of the bigger distractions. I'm not much of a football fan, anyway. I go cause I'm in band.
JP: So New Moon distracted you from us, huh?
madjack89: nods sheepishly
Shino: Damn you, Taylor Lautner.
madjack89: Don't forget Jasper!
Shino: AND Jackson Rathbone.
madjack89: Hooray!
Kouji: still from outside Can I come back in now?
madjack89: You guys go let Kouji in while I answer reviews.
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61wisampa: Kouji should have a girl…oh well, we'll see what happens! And yes, I'm complicating the gang's matters to a very high level, but it's mostly for character and plot development! Thanks for reviewing!
apapa155: It depends on who you think the new character is. Yeah, I could probably use Mia's assistance next chapter, since Kouji might be a little mad at me in future chapters. Oh well, thanks for the review, guys!
TobiGB: Maybe Kouichi should punch Kouji again, that would be funny! OMG, KYON! I LOVE KYON! (Kyon: …I'm just gonna leave now.) Bye Kyon! Wow Sasori, want me to call Jeri for you? (Sasori: Why do you only pick on me?) Because you're a puppet! (Sasori: …That doesn't explain anything!) Whatever, Sasori. Alright, thanks for the sweets and the review! (Kouichi: Madjack, why is Itachi pointing a kunai at me?)
Kirae-Remi: Aw, poor Dusky! *fries you along with the other Kouizumi "fangays"* KOUIZUMI! Okay, I'm calm now. Don't worry, I promise that something good will happen for Kouji in this arc. (Kouji: Really?) Yup! (Kouji: …I don't trust you.) Alright, whatever. Thanks for reviewing!
GoldenDragon326: Yeah, I can't quite picture Kouji with goggles, either. He's more of a bandana/Light Saber guy. (lol) It wasn't anything big, it just annoyed Kira that someone was listening. Zoe's just intuitive like that! I'll give you a hint: the new character is indeed a girl! But that's all I'm telling you! Thanks for reviewing!
Aldamonburst: Yes, yes it does. Aw, tell your bro that I hope he gets better soon! And don't you go catching it, Burst! Silly Night, I'd never steal things from Burst! We're internet homies, yo! (lol) Thanks for the review!
hazeleyedharmony: You're welcome!
-He has both.
-Sorry!
-Yeah, I can't even successfully picture it!
-Indeed he is!
-Well, I'm glad I could make you a little happy!
-Sorry again!
-Just wait until you find out what's about to happen next…
-(Kouichi: It is creepy.) (Nina: Kitty!) (Kouichi: quickly leaves)
-You don't even know the half of it. (Kouji: …Yup, I'm gonna die.) No you won't, you big baby. Thanks for reviewing!
ladyaura12: Well, I'm glad Kouji's misery pleases someone! Once again, poor Taki. Yay, your story's up! That genuinely excites me! (Kira: Hey pretty boy, want a drink?) Bad Kira! grabs sword Looks like I gotta go stop Kira from poisoning Kouji. Thanks for reviewing!
DigiBleach: Oh, I should go check that out! Kassandra and Violet don't even need to be bodyguards; I'll just let them visit so they can make Kouji angry! (Kouji: You suck!) Besides, the more insane the better, right Nina? (Nina: Yuppers!) Alright, thanks for reviewing!
UltimaEclipse: Mua ha ha, no resolution for them! (Dai: Cookies!) sigh…Children. Oh well, have some cookies, Dai. Just not too many! (Dai: Ai ai, MJ!) At least someone around here respects me…thanks for reviewing!
garnettfox: I thank you very much! Sorry all your brain power's getting sucked though. That…well, it sucks! (lol)
FE Girl 1: JP can have love when they get back to the human world! And Taki and Kira are very awesome! I don't even have to work hard to write for them! (lol) Thanks for reviewing!
Rain621: Heh, Kira can get a little too hyper at times. It's not just Dai! Speaking of Dai, he and Hotaru were in the chapter, they just…didn't do anything. They aren't special right now. (Dai: sniffle) (Hotaru: doesn't really care) Moving on…KOUIZUMI! Okay, I'm good. Heh, the twins are cute I must admit. They're also fun to pick on! (Hee!) I'm not really sure how I came up with the name Nina exactly. I was brainstorming one time trying to come up with a name, but I couldn't think of anything, then suddenly Nina just popped into my head, and for some reason, it sounded perfect! That's the best I can explain the crazy inner workings of my brain! (lol) Gracias para el…reviewo! (Espanol IV, baby!)
blossom1animefreak2 (aka FreakFactor): You enjoy breaking hearts, don't you? Well, you've come to the right story! Right, Shino? (Shino: …Shut up.) Thanks for reviewing!
fg1fg: It's a little more complicated than that, but that'll work for now! We'll see who the new character is when we get there (but for your info, it is a girl). Thanks!
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madjack89: Alright, time for some super-dee-duper F2R action! Ready, Kouji?
Kouji: No.
madjack89: Yes you are!
Kouji: sigh
—
Masumon buried her face in her hands, tears streaming down her cheeks. It seemed that each time Ilsemon tortured her, it took her longer and longer to recover from it. Surely she'd snap any day now.
Her only comfort was that, thanks to Witchmon's efforts, the Legendary Warriors had arrived safely at the Resistance encampment. She knew that they would be able to defeat her sister, hopefully before her brother was awakened.
When she thought of the Legendary Warriors she'd known long ago, she smiled. They'd all been so carefree and full of life…until her brother had ruined everything and they'd been forced to sacrifice themselves in order to defeat him. She hadn't witnessed that, of course; her brother had murdered her long before that. It was a miracle that she'd found a way to come back, with the help of…
Suddenly, a sharp pain split her temples, and she fell to the ground, clutching her head in agony. The pain was so intense that she soon slipped from consciousness, with one name flashing briefly through her mind.
Kouji…
—
"Hey pretty boy, quit napping! We have a rescue mission to commence!"
Kouji slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily. He'd had a strange dream last night, but he couldn't quite remember what it had been about. Not that it mattered, though. He'd found it increasingly hard to care much about anything that had been going on the past few days.
Kira noticed Kouji's somber expression and waved her hand in front of his face. "You okay, pretty boy?" she asked, concern entering her voice.
Kouji nodded, though it wasn't a very convincing nod. Before Kira could interrogate him further, Kouji was walking across the cavern, headed for the exit. "C'mon Kira, let's go save Masumon," he muttered half-heartedly, lifting up the flap to leave…
And running right into Kouichi. "Sorry," Kouji instantly mumbled an apology to his brother, not daring to even glance at the expression he knew Kouichi's gaze would hold. It was the same one he'd had around Kouji for several days. Fear.
"No problem," Kouichi muttered quickly, before hurrying farther down the tunnel.
Kouji could feel the pit of despair in him grow thanks to this new blow, and it was made even worse when Zoe passed by, following the route Kouichi had taken. "Hey Kouji," she greeted him cheerfully as she walked past. Kouji didn't reply.
"Hey Zee!" Kira said, shoving past Kouji in order to talk to Zoe. "I thought we were headed to the other side of the Uber Tunnel to meet up with Gotsumon!" she continued, referring to the meeting place Gotsumon had told them to meet at earlier for their debriefing (there had been much snickering among the gang when this term was used). "Uber Tunnel" was the name Kira had given the main tunnel in the Resistance's series of tunnels, and was the tunnel they currently stood in.
"We'll meet you there a little later, okay?" Zoe replied quickly, following Kouichi around the turn he'd just taken.
"Okie-doke," Kira said nonchalantly, turning back to Kouji. "Ready to go, Kouji?"
Kouji quickly changed his expression so that Kira wouldn't see how upset he'd been a moment before. Then he smirked and said, "Wow, I didn't think you actually knew what my name was, Yankee."
Kira frowned. "Same goes for you, PRETTY BOY!" she replied angrily, stomping down the Uber Tunnel and muttering about her efforts to be kind being wasted on deaf ears.
Sighing, Kouji muttered, "Sorry, Kira," to himself before following Kira down the tunnel to be "debriefed." (snicker snicker)
—
"Hi Kouji!" The girl was waving at a boy walking toward the school. It was obvious that she was elated to see him, but he paid her no attention and walked past her without a word.
She sighed, her hopes dashed. Ever since she'd met this boy, she'd felt the overwhelming urge to get to know him better. He didn't have, or seem to want to have, any friends. But she could see how lonely he was, and she knew that if he had just one friend, maybe he wouldn't be so lonely. Plus, he was kind of cute.
But she'd failed miserably, just like she did everything else. He hadn't even greeted her, even though they'd talked all throughout lunch yesterday. She must have annoyed him somehow, or done something to get him angry…
"I'm sorry." The girl looked up, and there he was, staring guiltily at his feet. "I guess I just…I didn't…" She watched him struggle to come up with a good excuse for having ignored her a moment before.
He didn't need to, though. She understood that he was scared of making friends, for whatever reason. Perhaps he'd been hurt in the past. It didn't matter to her, however. She was just glad that he was actually willing to give her a chance.
She beamed at him, saying cheerily, "Let's start over, okay? Hi Kouji!"
Kouji hesitated before replying, "Hi Seiko."
"Wait…what is this? Who's Kouji?"
—
Kouichi took another calm breath, eyes shut tight. He had to make sure he was completely calm before he came back into the presence of the others. Particularly Kouji. In fact, especially Kouji.
"Are you okay now?" Kouichi opened his eyes slowly and flicked his gaze to the right where, miraculously, Zoe was standing. It was miraculous because, when Kouichi had told her what had really happened to him several days ago, he'd expected her to start avoiding him out of fear. But she'd done the complete opposite.
He nodded, smiling slightly. "I'm still among the sane, despite Nina's best efforts."
Zoe scowled at the mention of Nina. "That Nina girl," she muttered, hands balling into fists. "I mean, what kind of name is 'Nina,' anyway? Hardly threatening, in my opinion." (The next villain I make up is gonna be named Deathy McKiller…)
Kouichi shrugged. "She's darkness. She can name herself whatever she wants, I guess."
"Sure," Zoe huffed, expression softening as she stared at Kouichi. "So you're really okay?"
If your definition of okay is barely hanging on to myself by a thread, then yeah. Kouichi took another deep breath, dispelling this thought. Then he simply replied, "Yeah."
"Thank goodness," Zoe said, embracing Kouichi tightly.
Kouichi wound his arms around Zoe tentatively, much more concerned than he'd let Zoe know. He'd nearly slipped up this time. He could still hear Nina's gloating, that's how close she'd been to taking him over. The pain had been almost unbearable. But all these things combined couldn't scare him as much as the fact that, for one second, he hadn't cared. He'd wanted it to be over with, just to get rid of the agony. Not even the fact that he'd be forced to kill Kouji had mattered…
Suddenly, Kouichi grabbed Zoe by the arms and pressed his lips firmly against hers. He could feel her tense up in confusion, then relax and kiss him back.
Yes. He had to remind himself why he was fighting against Nina. It was because he wanted this. His friends, his family, Zoe, everything. It was worth the pain. He would bare it, because if he didn't, everything he loved would be gone.
—
The girl skipped down the sidewalk, humming to herself. She'd never thought of running errands as a chore, especially when the sun was shining down warmly on her. She smiled to herself, thinking that nothing could make this day better.
Then she saw a person turn a corner ahead of her. It was a boy with dark hair and blue eyes…
"Kouji!" Her day had just gotten better. She rushed at the boy and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "Wow, this is great meeting you here randomly! I thought you were away visiting relatives this weekend! Now maybe we can hang out…"
"Um, hi there." The girl's head snapped up, and she quickly let go of the boy. That hadn't been Kouji's voice. This boy wasn't Kouji.
But she quickly realized why she'd made the mistake. This boy looked exactly the same as Kouji. He was identical to Kouji in nearly every single way, as if he were his twin or clone or something. But Kouji didn't have a twin or clone, as far as she knew.
"Who are you?" she asked the boy curiously.
"Wh-what?" he stammered, confused. "Could I maybe ask who you are first? And why did you hug me? And…who's Kouji?"
"He's a boy I mistook you for," she replied simply, still giving him a quizzical look.
"Okay," the boy said, accepting this answer. "Well, my name is Kouichi. That's close to Kouji, I guess."
The girl nodded, still staring at Kouichi curiously. Feeling uncomfortable, Kouichi said, "Well, sorry to disappoint you. I guess I'll be on my way."
"Hold on," the girl said, stopping Kouichi's departure. She turned to him and asked, "What's your last name?"
Kouichi was confused by the question, but replied, "It's Kimura. Why?"
"No reason," the girl muttered to herself. This sure was a crazy coincidence. Kouji's mother's maiden name had been Kimura. "Thank you, Kouichi."
"Sure," he said, turning and continuing down the street.
The girl watched his departure, then shrugged and continued on her way.
"What's going on? Who are all these people?"
—
"Okay, I found pretty boy napping," Kira declared, entering the meeting cavern with Kouji on her heels. "Chief and Zee said to go on without them, so take it away, Gotsumon," she added, taking a seat on the ground next to Takuya.
"Alright," Gotsumon began, starting the "debriefing." (I love this word a little too much.) "What did you guys do to get into the Rose Morning Star last time?"
Takuya, Kouji, JP, and Tommy glanced at each other. "Uh, you mean, how'd we 'sneak in'?" Takuya asked, making air quotes.
"Well duh!" Witchmon said exasperatedly.
"What else would you do to attack an enemy base? Walk through the front door?" Dragramon added sarcastically.
"Kinda," JP muttered sheepishly.
The others all turned slowly to stare quizzically at JP. "What the hell are you talking about?" Witchmon asked.
"Well, you see, last time, we kind of…walked right up to the front door," Takuya explained, realizing as he said it how stupid it sounded.
"But when we got to the door these mini grim reaper things came out of nowhere and attacked us!" JP said enthusiastically, trying to save face.
"Yeah!" Takuya agreed. "And they had these crystal thingies that they trapped us in until Kouichi went all bad-ass ninja on them!"
"Then we walked through the door and ran up this long-ass flight of stairs," JP continued. "Then we were in this creepy room filled with mini staircases and swirly colors."
"Don't forget the creepy claw things that tried to grab us!" Tommy added, joining the explanation.
"Yeah!" Takuya nodded. "Then this goat came out of nowhere and rang a bell and the claws went away and Patamon sat on the goat's head and we followed the goat to this really really bright room and in the middle of the room was Ophanimon and she gave us a history lesson."
"Then Cherubimon showed up and kicked our asses into next week, but we don't need to get into that," JP added.
Everyone else in the cavern merely stared in shock and bewilderment at the four boys, confused by their story.
Finally, Kira said, "So, what the hell were you guys smoking when all this happened?"
"Hey!" JP and Takuya exclaimed, insulted.
"As stupid as it sounded coming out of their mouths, all of that actually did happen," Kouji said with a sigh. "Do you want me to explain it again?"
"No, let's just move on," Gotsumon said, head in hands. "Witchmon, would you like to explain the plan to them while I take an aspirin."
"Digimon have aspirin?" Dai pondered while Witchmon nodded, setting a sheet of paper in the middle of the group. The group stared at the paper which was, in fact, a map of the Rose Morning Star.
"Alright," Witchmon began.
"Wait, I have a question!" Tommy said, raising his hand.
Witchmon sighed heavily. "What's your question, Tommy?"
"What's with those squiggly lines on top of the Rose Morning Star?" Tommy asked, pointing at what appeared to be a very poorly drawn stick-person standing atop the structure.
Witchmon examined it for several seconds. "Hey Dragra, do you have any clue what this is?"
"Not really," Dragramon replied, scratching her head thoughtfully with a claw.
"It was supposed to be Ilsemon," Gotsumon said flatly, gulping down some water after having taken an aspirin (which Digimon apparently have).
"Wait, you drew that?" Tommy asked, glancing guiltily at Gotsumon.
"Yes," Gotsumon replied stiffly, looking slightly insulted.
"Uh, good…nice…oh forget it, you suck at drawing, Gotsumon," Dragramon said, trying and failing to be nice about it.
"Well I think it's a great drawing," Witchmon declared, smiling at Gotsumon.
Gotsumon's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Yup," Witchmon nodded. Yes! He's finally gonna notice that I've been hitting on him and dropping hints for months! That skull of his can't be that thick!
"Well I'm glad that SOMEONE appreciates my talent!" Gotsumon said, glaring at the rest of the group. "You guys just don't know a quality stick figure when you see one!"
The others glanced warily at Witchmon, whose eye was twitching in disbelief.
"Uh, I think I'll take over explaining the plan for Witchy," Dragramon said quickly, slowly pushing Witchmon farther away from the circle as Witchmon muttered to herself about Gotsumon's head "being even thicker than a freaking rock."
"Okay, here's the deal," Dragramon began, pointing out a particular spot on the map marked by a big black "x." "This is the location of that secret way into the RMS that Kouichi showed us. It turns out that you can pass right through a small section of the wall, which is probably a glitch."
"The Digital World has glitches? Like a computer program?" JP asked.
"Yup," Dragramon replied. "Wait, what exactly is a computer program?"
"Nothing," JP muttered. Likelihood that the Digital World is an out-of-control computer program: 89.95%.
"Anyway," Dragramon continued, "this glitch is useful and all, but the problem is it's right smack-dab at the front of the RMS." The others saw Dragramon's point as they stared at the map, noticing the "x's" position.
"Kouichi wouldn't have needed to worry about that back then," Takuya muttered thoughtfully.
"And why would that be, Taki?" Kira asked accusingly, glaring at Takuya. Dai and Hotaru glanced curiously between Takuya and Kira, also wondering what Takuya's statement had meant.
"Uh…" Takuya turned to JP with a "help me" expression on his face.
"So…how are we getting into the RMS with the secret entrance in plain sight?" JP asked Dragramon, quickly changing the subject.
"That, my friend, is where you come in," Dragramon said, pointing at JP.
"What do you mean by that?" JP asked slowly, beginning to get nervous. "And since when were we friends? You've barely talked to me."
"All trivial details," Dragramon muttered, waving off JP's comments. "Anyway, what I mean is that we need somebody to distract whoever's guarding the front entrance so that the rest of us can sneak into the RMS unseen. The one performing this task needs to have some sort of random inane skill and needs to be able to take out the guards if necessary. You fit both those qualifications. Congratulations!"
"What random inane skill are you talking about?" JP asked, still wary of his assignment.
"We heard you do magic tricks," Gotsumon explained. "We figured, depending on the guards' intelligence levels, that you'd be able to keep them occupied with a few tricks."
"Well, I have wanted to try out some tricks on people other than you guys," JP mused, glancing at the rest of the gang. "Alright, I'm in."
"Oh, I have a question!" Dai suddenly exclaimed, raising his hand.
"Why does everyone feel the need to raise their hand today," Dragramon muttered to herself. "What's your question, Dai?"
"Can I be your assistant, JP?" Dai asked, turning to JP with big, pleading, puppy-dog eyes. "I'm good at distracting people!"
"Uh, sure," JP agreed, glancing briefly at Hotaru for approval.
Hotaru nodded, thinking, This is probably better for him, anyway. He won't be in the thick of the action.
"Alright, that's settled," Dragramon said, preparing to move on.
"Wait," Kouji said suddenly. "Won't JP and Dai be defeating the purpose by distracting the guards? I mean, the guards will instantly know who they are because they don't look like Digimon, but if they use their Spirits, that ruins the plan too."
"That's why they'll be wearing cloaks!" Witchmon announced, rejoining the conversation. "Courtesy of me, of course!"
"Does that mean they're gonna have holes in them?" JP asked.
"Take what you can get," Witchmon muttered, glaring at JP.
"Okay," Gotsumon said, getting back on topic. "While those two provide a distraction, the rest of us will sneak quickly and quietly through the glitch-hole-thing…"
"Glitch-hole-thing?" Takuya muttered, smirking.
As a retort, Gotsumon grabbed Takuya's goggles, pulled them out as far as they would go, and let them snap back, hitting Takuya's forehead with enough force to knock him backwards.
"ANYWAY," Gotsumon continued, ignoring Takuya's complaints, "we, as in the rest of you Legendary Warriors, myself, and another Digimon that you'll be meeting later, are going to search the RMS until we find Masumon. We'll start in the basement, because we believe that's where the dungeons are."
"So basically you're saying that the success of this mission falls entirely on our shoulders?" Kira asked, clarifying.
"Well, we didn't want to take a big group, but we needed Digimon who could handle themselves so yeah, pretty much," Witchmon replied.
Kira nodded. "Well, then let's go save Masumon!"
"Wait, don't go yet, we're here!" Zoe and Kouichi suddenly burst into the cavern, breathing heavily as if they'd been running.
"Sorry we're late," Zoe apologized, looking sheepish. "There was just…something we needed to take care of."
The rest of the group smirked and started nudging each other, thinking that Zoe meant that she and Kouichi had been "taking care" of something. But Kouji knew the truth.
They have no clue what kind of hell Kouichi's being put through, he thought, staring at his brother from the corner of his eye. But I do.
"So, what's the plan?" Zoe asked, taking a seat next to Takuya. Kouichi sat beside her.
"You guys explain the plan to these two," Gotsumon said, getting up and heading toward the exit. "I have to make sure the other Digimon going with us is ready to head out."
"Alright," Takuya nodded, then turned to Zoe and Kouichi. "So, check out the 'x' on this map of the RMS."
"What's the little squiggly thing at the top?" Kouichi asked curiously.
"Don't go there," JP muttered, glancing at an annoyed Witchmon.
"Okay, here's the plan…" The rest of the gang began to explain the strategy to Zoe and Kouichi while Kouji watched from as far away as the cavern would allow.
I can't do this, he thought miserably. I can't talk to anyone about anything anymore.
Kouji glanced up at Kouichi. That's it. After this little rescue mission, I'm telling him everything, and I can only hope that he doesn't completely flip shit about my knowing what's happening to him.
Kouji's eyes burned with concern and he quickly lowered his gaze so that no one would see. You should've told me from the beginning, Kouichi. I could never be ashamed of you no matter what you become, because beneath it all, you're still my brother. Just…let me back in the loop. Please.
—
The girl walked slowly through the temple, passing grave after grave. The sky was gray with clouds and mist seemed to seep up from the very ground, threatening to choke the girl.
She glanced left and right, lost and afraid. She didn't know why she was here or what this place was, but she was all alone.
Then, as she made her slow way down the line of graves, she saw a figure standing in front of a grave a few feet ahead her, head downturned. "Hey there!" she exclaimed, rushing toward the figure. The person didn't respond, still staring at the grave.
The girl stopped when she reached the person, realizing that she'd seen him before. The blue bandana should have been a dead giveaway. "Hello?" she said, waving a hand curiously in front of his face.
He still didn't respond, continuing to stare despondently at the grave. The girl noticed that his clothes were all black, and the pain and sadness in his eyes clearly showed that he was mourning someone. Probably the one in the grave before him.
The girl's expression softened. "Kouji?" she said, remembering the boy's name.
Kouji's eyes widened in surprise as he turned his head slowly to stare at the girl. Then he smirked. "So you actually know who I am this time? What a change of pace."
The girl flinched slightly as Kouji reached out to touch one of the small wings on her back. "They're soft," he muttered to himself. He then noticed the confusion in the girl's eyes. "You don't really remember me, do you?"
She shook her head, feeling slightly wary of Kouji. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, seeing the disappointment that flashed in Kouji's eyes.
"You shouldn't be," Kouji said quietly, glancing back at the grave. "This is your reward."
"My reward?" The girl cocked her head, confused by Kouji's statement.
"You were always so happy and full of life," Kouji continued, unaware of the girl's question. "And I took that away from you." Kouji's eyes clouded with pain as he stared guiltily at his feet. "I should've died instead."
"No," the girl said, grabbing Kouji's hands firmly to get his full attention. "I don't really know what happened, but I'm sure it wasn't your fault! Please don't blame yourself, okay?"
Kouji stared wide-eyed at the girl for a moment before replying, "But I killed you, Seiko."
"Seiko?" The girl took a step back, wondering why he'd called her that.
Kouji smiled, eyes tearing up. "This is your reward. You don't have to remember how I ruined your life. You can forget everything, like I wish I could."
"Kouji," the girl began.
"No!" Kouji snapped, turning away from her. "Don't use my name! Just forget it! I don't want you to remember!"
"What am I forgetting?" she asked, curious now. "Kouji…"
"Stop!" Kouji shouted without turning around, arms shaking. "Just forget me! Let it go! All I did was cause your death!"
"Kouji, I'm not dead!" the girl exclaimed, fearful now.
"Shut up!" Kouji yelled, sinking to his knees in front of the grave. "Don't try to make me feel better with lies. I'm nothing to you, anyway. Nothing at all…"
Mist suddenly began to wrap around the girl, shielding everything around her until there was nothing but empty white space. She felt blind and helpless and, once again, she was alone. So she called his name.
"Kouji!"
—
"Kouji," Masumon muttered in her trance-like sleep. She'd been trapped in her own nightmare for hours now, and this name had come up several times.
That was why Wizardmon had summoned Ilsemon, for he'd recognized the Warrior of Light's name. Now Ilsemon stood above her sister, smiling devilishly.
"Poor sister," Ilsemon said, staring at Masumon's twitching form. "She's accidentally trapped herself in a nightmare just to get away from my torture. She never was very good at handling her powers."
"What are you going to do?" Wizardmon asked, glancing impassively at Masumon.
Ilsemon considered for a moment before replying, "I'll just leave her as she is for now. After all, she's doing my job for me."
Then Ilsemon got to her knees, leaned down, brushed away the hair from in front of Masumon's ear, and whispered, "Don't worry, princess. Your prince is on his way."
Ilsemon got to her feet after this, chuckled, and left the cell, followed by Wizardmon. "Now," she said, smiling darkly, "we prepare for the guests."
—
madjack89: There's your new chapter! Happy?
Kouichi: Not really.
madjack89: Heh, sorry Chief!
Kouichi: sigh I can't honestly say I'm not used to this sort of thing by now.
Kouji: Hey, Madjack?
madjack89: Yeah?
Kouji: Is the new character you were going on about supposed to be Masumon?
madjack89: Sort of…
Kouji: What? That's a yes or no question!
madjack89: Alright, yes…and no.
Kouji: twitches
Shino: Next time, we'll find out what the hell Madjack is talking about with this yes and no thing.
madjack89: Indeed we will, Shino! Till then, see ya!