Frontier 02: Rebirthing – Chapter 29: Lullaby
madjack89: Hi guys, we got cake!
Hotaru: Never put me in a helicopter with him again…
madjack89: Well, at least you got back in one piece!
Hotaru: And I thought Dai was hard to deal with sometimes…but he…
Zoe: Just lie down and have some cake.
Kira: Taki even got my favorite! Chocolate cake with strawberry icing! Thank you, Taki! *pecks him on the cheek*
Takuya: Heh…*blushes slightly*
Dai: *devouring cake* Yum!
madjack89: Hey Kouji, get out of your emo corner and have some cake!
Kouji: I don't want any…
madjack89: C'mon Kouji, it's chooocooolaaaate!
Kouji: No…
madjack89: Fine, whatever. Let's just get to some reviews!
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apapa155: Hi Kouu! And of course you can stay with us for a couple chapters, Allen! We've always got room here! Thanks for reviewing, apapa-chan!
61wisampa: Yeah, Kouji explained to the whole group about Seiko, but only Kouichi and Taki saw her picture (refer to chapters 17 and 18 of F2HF). Therefore, they were the only two that recognized her (other than Kouji)! (Kira: Thank you very much, though I'm kind of surprised I beat Dai myself!) Alright, thanks for reviewing! And I do enjoys me some Kouichi torture! (Kouichi: *sigh*)
fg1fg: Finally people see the genius of the phrase horizontally challenged! I've been saying it for years and no one understood! (lol) Thanks for reviewing, and thanks for the vote! (Mua ha ha…)
garnettfox: Well, since his name is Japanese, it's pronounced Die-ki, making his nickname Die. A little trivia: Dai means "great" in Japanese, while Daiki means "big" or "shining." (I'm such a nerd.) Wow, sixteen words for 'the'? I love you, English! (lol) Alright, I hope I've thoroughly answered your question. Thanks for reviewing!
GoldenDragon326: (Seiko: I'm likeable?) Well, you got pretty boy to like you so yeah, I'd say you're pretty likeable! (Seiko: Oh…well, thank you!) Taki had fun with the helicopter, but I'm not so sure about Hotaru…pobre Taru. Oh well, glad you liked the chapter! Thanks for reviewing!
hazeleyedharmony: Yay! (lol)
1st: Hey Kouji, want some cotton candy? (Kouji: No…) How about a slushie? (Kouji: No…) Wow, this IS serious!
2nd: You've got a point there. I just like Kumamon cuz he's cute!
3rd: …Wow, I just got a really bad mental image when you said she should have ridden JagerLowemon. (I'm so perverted!)
4th: Yes, they are indeed screwed, especially with me writing the story! (lol)
5th: Yeah, I gotta admit I did for a little bit, too! (JP: *glares*) (Dai: It's okay!) Heh heh, horizontally challenged. (JP: *glares more*)
end: Oh crap, he's a gamer, isn't he…oops! No wonder Taru's so traumatized!
The kitty thing is meant to be creepy, so that means it's working! (Nina: Kitty!) (Kouichi: How could I go about getting a restraining order on Darkness…?) Alright, thanks for reviewing!
Aldamonburst: Naughty, naughty Night! *smacks him* You don't deserve a beagle! Anyway, thanks for reviewing, Burst! (Seiko: And thank you very much for the compliment!) (BTW, congratulations, you're the 300th reviewer! Yay!)
13wolfsbane: Hey Kouji, want to reply to Yin's reply to your reply? (Kouji: No…) But she's dissin' you again! (Kouji: I don't care…) Wait…zomg, she said sorry to you! (Kouji: Really?) Yeah! (Kouji: Well…thanks.) Alright, well, I don't know why Taru didn't get more votes, but at least he got some votes! Right? (Hotaru: Thanks for voting for me, by the way. That was nice of you.) Okay, thanks for the review!
Crystal-Chan: If you like KoujixSeiko, you'll probably enjoy this chapter, particularly the last part! As for Seiko turning back into a human…we'll see. Alright, thanks for reviewing!
Dawn of Glory: Uh-oh, someone finally noticed! Well, let me explain. You see, when I came up with this joke originally in F2HF, I accidentally put telekinetic when I'd meant to put telepathic. The words kind of just switched themselves around in my brain. By the time I'd realized my mistake, the name had stuck. However, since it's Taki's theory, I'll just blame it on his stupidity! (Takuya: Hey!) Alright, thanks for reviewing!
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madjack89: Okay, now it's time for chapter 29! Wootness!
Disclaimer: Well, since this is here I might as well say I don't own Digimon. The real reason I put this is because I don't own the song Masumon sings in the chapter. The song is "Lullaby for a Stormy Night" by Vienna Teng. It's a pretty song, if you're interested!
—
"Wow," JP muttered, chuckling hollowly. "That…that just…"
"That just plain sucks," Kira cut in.
The others said nothing, giving Kouji mingled looks of shock and pity. Kouji was staring at his feet, shielding his eyes from view.
"Just thought you should know," he finally muttered, turning to leave.
"Kouji, wait." Kouji stopped but didn't turn at the sound of Takuya's voice.
Nevertheless, Takuya continued, "Don't you want to, you know, talk?"
There was a pause. Then Kouji replied, "What else is there to say?" With that, he left.
Another moment of silence followed. "We shouldn't leave him alone like this," Hotaru stated, breaking the silence.
"I don't know," JP muttered thoughtfully. "Maybe we should just, you know, leave him alone, let him collect his thoughts."
"I gotta disagree with you there, JP," Kira said.
"Leaving him alone to think is the last thing we should do," Dai added, sounding uncharacteristically serious. "A depressed mind is a dangerous thing."
"Someone should go and have a word with him," Bokomon suggested.
"I'll go," Kouichi instantly volunteered.
"Are you sure?" Zoe asked worriedly. "He's already upset…"
"If I don't do it now, I'll keep avoiding this until it's too late," Kouichi said quietly, glancing at the others. "Besides, he needs someone, and that someone might as well be me."
Zoe hesitated, but eventually nodded. "Good luck."
"You make it sound like I'm going into battle," Kouichi commented, smirking. "Thank you, though." With a last glance at the rest of the gang, he left to follow his brother.
As soon as he was gone, the others turned to Zoe, suspicious looks on their faces. "Uh, what are you guys looking at me like that for?" Zoe asked warily.
"Alright, let's just ask straight out," Takuya said, stepping forward. "Zoe, what up with you and Chief lately?"
Zoe quickly glanced down, hiding her look of surprise. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, don't give us that, Zee!" Kira protested. "We're not stupid!"
Zoe gave Kira a quizzical look. "I'm still not following."
"We've noticed the way you and Chief have been acting…okay, the rest of us had to fill Taki in, but still," Kira explained, looking genuinely concerned. "You're always together, you go off randomly then come back and refuse to tell us what you were up to, you always look tense, almost like you're gonna explode. Just tell us what's wrong so we can help out."
While Takuya fumed about what Kira had said, Zoe addressed the others. "Guys, there's really nothing going on, just…relationship things."
JP sighed. "Zee, I really didn't want to go here, but…are you pregnant?"
Zoe was momentarily speechless. "WHAT?! What in the HELL would give you that idea?!"
"Well, like Kira said, you've been spending all your time with Chief, and you seem stressed all the time in a kind of prego way…" JP mumbled sheepishly.
"In a kind of please way?" Zoe asked, confused.
"No, not the Italian prego, I meant…never mind," JP said, dropping the subject.
"It was all JP's idea, by the way," Shino accused, pointing at JP. "We thought he was nuts, too."
"Traitor," JP muttered, glaring at Shino.
Zoe sighed. "Look guys, Kouichi's been going through a…rough patch lately, and I've been trying to help him. Hopefully, after he and Kouji have their talk, things can go back to normal. Okay?"
The others glanced at each other and nodded, trusting Zoe.
—
"Kouji, wait!" Kouji ignored Kouichi's shout, continuing to trudge quickly through the tunnels.
"Kouji!" Kouichi was in fast pursuit of his brother, keeping pace with him step for step. "C'mon Kouji, you know you can't outrun me!"
Kouji still made no indication that he heard Kouichi, which began to aggravate the older twin. "Kouji, for the love of god, I just want to—"
"Little child, be not afraid…" Suddenly the two stopped, hearing a soft but sweet female voice drifting into the tunnel from the cavern to their left.
Curious, Kouichi crept over to the cavern opening, carefully peeking inside around the cloth covering the opening. Kouji remained motionless, head lowered.
What Kouichi saw in the cavern was a small group of baby Digimon, staring in wonder at Masumon. Her voice had been what the twins had heard, for she was currently singing softly to the other Digimon.
"And someday you'll know that nature is so. The same rain that draws you near me falls on rivers and land, on forests and sand. Makes the beautiful world that you'll see in the morning…"
Kouichi quickly withdrew from the opening, not wanting to be discovered. He listened to Masumon a moment longer, then turned to Kouji.
Kouji felt his stare and, without turning, muttered, "She loved to sing."
Then he was off again, followed quickly but quietly by Kouichi.
—
"Hey Gotsumon!" Witchmon said cheerily, popping her head into Gotsumon's room. "Good job bringing Masumon back. Now we're one big group 'o friends again!"
"Yeah," Gotsumon muttered listlessly in reply.
Witchmon's face fell when she finally noticed how upset Gotsumon looked. He was sitting alone at the back of the cavern, staring glumly at his magnifying glass.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Witchmon asked gently, approaching Gotsumon.
Gotsumon glanced at Witchmon, then down at the ground. "You don't know what happened, do you?"
Witchmon cocked her head. "What do you mean?"
"It's about…Gaomon," Gotsumon began, saying Gaomon's name with difficulty. "He didn't…make it out."
"You mean he's…" Witchmon trailed off as she comprehended what Gotsumon was saying. "No way. How can he be…dead?"
"Your brother took him out," Gotsumon explained matter-of-factly. "Shino managed to save Gaomon's Digi-Egg, though. That's a bit of good news."
"Wizardmon killed him?" Witchmon said, horrified. "I…I'm sorry, Gotsumon."
"It's fine, Witchmon," Gotsumon reassured, holding up a hand. "You can't help who your family is."
"Yeah, but Gaomon was your friend." Witchmon sat next to Gotsumon, looking as upset as him now. "He was one of the only ones around here who didn't think Shino was unstable."
"It is what it is," Gotsumon muttered, hanging his head dejectedly.
Feeling sorry for him, Witchmon tentatively but comfortingly placed her hand on top of Gotsumon's head. "Gaomon was a good Digimon. He'll be missed."
"He'll be missed because I couldn't protect him," Gotsumon muttered, gripping his magnifying glass tighter. "And this isn't the first time I haven't been able to protect my comrades. I let my home get destroyed by the Royal Knights years ago because I wasn't strong enough. Now, thanks to my faulty planning, Gaomon was killed. I should have known not to pair him with Shino! I should have known that he'd be an easy target for Wizardmon! I…I should have been in Gaomon's place!"
Suddenly, Witchmon wrapped Gotsumon firmly in her embrace, muffling his next sentence. "Don't say that!" Witchmon snapped, shutting her eyes tight. "What would we do without you, Gotsumon? You're too important for us to lose!"
Gotsumon's eyes widened in astonishment, then softened at Witchmon's words. "Thank you, Witchmon. You always seem to know how to slap some sense back into me."
"Damn right I do," Witchmon muttered, still holding him tightly so he wouldn't see her blush. "You big stupid rock."
—
"Kouji." Kouichi, unable to wait any longer, finally grabbed Kouji by the shoulder, stopping him. "Can we please talk?" he asked, sounding desperate now. "It's important."
Kouji didn't say anything for several long minutes. "Fine," he said at last. "We'll talk."
Kouichi sighed with relief. "Thank you, Kouji." He glanced around the tunnel, making sure no one else was near. Then, to be on the safe side, he lifted up the cloth of the cavern to their right to find that it was empty. "We can talk in here, you know, for privacy."
"Fine," Kouji repeated, following Kouichi into the cavern.
There was silence for several moments as Kouichi tried to find the right words. Eventually, he began. "Kouji, I've been keeping something from you. Something big."
When Kouji didn't respond, he continued, "When I went after Duskmon and it seemed like he killed me…"
"He actually did something else," Kouji finished for his brother.
Kouichi faltered, surprised. "Well, yeah. How did you…?"
"I've known all along what happened to you," Kouji interrupted, voice harsh. "Duskmon's made a pact with the devil, hasn't he? Or Nina, in this case."
Kouichi eyes grew wider as Kouji continued his explanation for him. "Duskmon purged you of light for Nina, didn't he? So she could get to you, brainwash you, make you hers. Am I right? You only gave me so much to go on. I had to piece the rest together myself."
"Kouji…" Kouichi muttered quietly. "How…?"
"I overheard you telling Zoe," Kouji explained, not bothering to conceal his malice any more. "And that's not all I heard. Nina wants you to kill me, probably so there's no chance of you breaking from her control. But that's not what's kept you from giving in all this time, is it?"
Kouichi didn't answer, eyes still wide with confusion. Kouji smirked, then said bitterly, "It's because of Zoe, isn't it? SHE'S the one that's been helping you all this time, because SHE'S the only one you decided to tell.
"Well what about me?!" Kouji shouted, all his repressed emotions finally coming out. "I felt it too, when Duskmon stabbed you with that sword. Damn it, I thought you were dead! I felt like a part of my freakin' soul had been ripped out, and I've felt that way ever since! But you didn't even want to clue me in as to why I felt so horrible even though you were alive, did you?! Because you'd much rather tell HER about it!"
"That's not what I was trying to do," Kouichi protested.
"You didn't want to tell me," Kouji continued, ignoring Kouichi. "You said it was because you were ashamed, but I think I know the real reason. You told Zoe instead of me because you trust her more than me! Don't you?!"
"That's not true…" Kouichi said weakly. "That wasn't why…"
"Shut up!" Kouji snapped, silencing Kouichi abruptly. "I've seen you two together, how you're always so lovey-dovey around each other. You'd do anything for her. You'd even let her be with someone else if she wanted to. You love her so much that…that sometimes I wonder if she's more important to you than me!"
Kouichi took a step back, horrified by what he was hearing. "Kouji…I…I didn't mean…I'm sorry…"
"I don't want to hear your apologies!" Kouji yelled angrily, hands balling into fists. "You can't deny what I've said, anyway. You don't give a damn about me anymore. You only wanted to talk to me so you could ask for my help with Nina, right?"
Kouji looked his brother right in the eye, glaring coldly at him. "Well here's my answer. Go help yourself!"
Kouji took a deep breath and stepped back, tirade over. However, the damage had already been done.
Kouichi wasn't hurt. He wasn't devastated. He wasn't even sad. He was just…nothing. The small piece of his soul that Kouji had still held deep inside him was crushed, leaving…nothing. At least, nothing but darkness.
~I told you this would happen, kitty.~ Nina's voice echoed in Kouichi's head, sounding genuinely sad for him. ~I told you he would hurt you. The ones you love always hurt you the most. The only way out…is with me.~
A dark aura began to slowly surround Kouichi, catching Kouji's attention. "Better run off to Zoe, because my help isn't wanted," he muttered irritably. "And here's a message for that Nina chick: bring it on."
Suddenly, Kouichi chuckled bitterly, eyes lowered. "And you say that I don't care about you? How hypocritical!"
Kouichi's gaze shot up as he gave Kouji a harsh glare. "You know, I think Takuya's been right all along; you are an asshole!"
Kouichi stomped toward the cavern opening, shoving past Kouji on his way out. Before he left, though, he turned back and added, "By the way, Nina says 'right back at you, stupid puppy!'" With that, he was gone.
Kouji stared at the cavern opening for several minutes, feeling the guilt slowly set in. What had he done? He'd just single-handedly alienated the only person that he'd have felt comfortable discussing Seiko with, the only one who would have completely understood him, the only one he felt comfortable…crying in front of.
Kouji dropped to his knees, finally letting the tears flow. The one miracle he'd secretly desired for three years had come true…at too high a price.
"Seiko's gone," he said to himself, staring at his falling tears. "She doesn't love me…not anymore…and now Kouichi hates me."
Kouji fell to the ground, letting his grief consume him. "I hurt him so much that now he'll turn to Nina to calm his pain! And then…he's gonna kill me!"
Kouji hugged his knees to his chest, repeating, "All my fault," quietly to himself, referring to both Seiko and Kouichi.
Through his anguish Kouji barely noticed how much his arm stung where Kouichi had bumped into him…with that dark aura around him.
—
"Hey Chief! How'd it go with Kouji?" Takuya waved at his friend, noticing him approaching down the hallway. However, as Kouichi got closer, Takuya noticed something odd about him. His fists were clenched and he looked as if he were furious about something. The weirdest thing, though, was that Takuya could see a dark, almost purpley aura surrounding him…
"Kouichi, are you okay?" Takuya asked worriedly, stepping in front of Kouichi and stopping him in his tracks. "You seem really pissed. Did something happen with Kouji? Wait, did he yell at you? That's it, I don't care how upset he is, he's—"
"I deserved it," Kouichi muttered, interrupting Takuya. "I've deserved it since you guys first met me. I tried to kill you and what do you do? You accept me. Well, there'll be no more of that, will there?"
"Kouichi, what are you saying?" Takuya asked slowly, concern increasing. "Are you talking about…that's in the past. We forgave you for that, and you've made up for it a hundred times over!"
"It doesn't stop the guilt," Kouichi retorted, moving in order to get around Takuya.
Takuya quickly stepped into Kouichi's path, staring adamantly at him. "I'm not letting you leave, buddy."
In retaliation, Kouichi shoved Takuya down, shouting, "Just leave me the hell alone!" Takuya watched helplessly as Kouichi ran down the tunnel, quickly disappearing into the darkness with that aura still surrounding him.
"Kouichi," he muttered, worry creasing his forehead.
—
Zoe walked down the tunnel, going back to the gang's room after having checked on Gotsumon to make sure he was alright. She'd only poked her head in, though, because she quickly saw that Witchmon was taking care of it.
Zoe sighed. "She looked so happy," she said to herself, pondering her own relationship. "I wonder if Kouichi felt as frustrated as Witchmon does when I didn't take the hint…oh, he probably did! I'm so stupid!"
"I can't." Suddenly Zoe heard Kouichi's voice, as if it were on cue. She followed the sound of it until it led her down the tunnel to her right where she found him, hands against the wall and head lowered as he continued muttering to himself. He also had that horrible dark aura around him.
Zoe slowly approached as he continued, "I can't do it. I can't force myself to. Yes, he was a jerk to me, but that doesn't give me a reason to…I know what he said, Nina!"
"Kouichi!" Zoe yelled, forcing Kouichi out of his inner struggling.
He looked up with a start, seeing Zoe standing above him. He didn't say anything as he stared at her.
"Kouichi, what happened?" Zoe asked, watching his aura warily. "You look upset. Hold on, where's Kouji? You told him, didn't you? What'd he say?"
Kouichi glanced down, replying, "He said 'go help yourself.'" Then he fell to his knees in front of Zoe, tears beginning to bead in his eyes. "Oh god Zoe, he hates us! And I'm to blame!"
"Kouichi, what do you mean?" Zoe asked gently, crouching down to Kouichi's level. "Why would Kouji hate us? That doesn't make any sense."
"I don't trust him," Kouichi continued, dark aura slowly dissipating. "At least, that's what he said. He even said that…I didn't give a damn about him anymore! Not since we started dating! Zoe, he's jealous of you! And it's my fault!"
Zoe's eyes widened in shock. "But…that can't be true! How can he compare himself to me? You're twins! I could never get between that, and I wouldn't want to!"
"Apparently Kouji doesn't agree," Kouichi responded quietly, wrapping his arms around himself. "Now he hates me…it's hopeless…I'll be forced to kill him!"
Zoe quickly embraced Kouichi tightly, trying to soothe him as well as herself. "It's not hopeless. We'll find another way to help you. We have to!"
Kouichi rested his head on Zoe's shoulder, too tired to do anything but cry. This time, however, Zoe cried with him. The dark aura had completely vanished at this point.
—
Shino lay on his side in the cavern, trying desperately to fall into the embrace of sleep just to quiet his racing mind for two seconds.
Why'd he spare him? Shino asked himself for about the hundredth time. And for that matter, why'd he spare me?
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't come up with an answer to these questions. It wasn't like Wizardmon to show mercy. That was apparent from his mental torture of Shino. And yet, he'd let Shino go, with Gaomon's Digi-Egg intact. He'd even seemed guilty…
But that was ridiculous. Wizardmon was evil, right to his core. Shino despised him more than anyone…except maybe his ex-girlfriend.
Why do assholish people always decide that they're gonna make my life crap? Shino asked himself, bringing his ponderings to a close. However, he couldn't deny the nagging voice in the back of his head that kept telling him he was lying to himself, that he still loved Mai, despite what she'd done, that he loved a girl who was already taken, that he was so masochistic…
"JP, wake up! Now!" Shino had to force himself to keep his eyes shut so he wouldn't betray himself to Takuya, whose harsh whisper was followed by JP's grumbling.
"Taki, c'mon, I've been dealing with two femur-wieldin' ogres all day," JP complained. "Can't whatever you're gonna say wait until tomorrow?"
"No," Takuya replied firmly. A second later, Shino heard Takuya whisper, "Tommy, get up!"
"What's goin' on?" Tommy asked groggily.
"Something really bad, I can tell you that," Takuya said, sounding nervous. "Guys, there is a definite disturbance in the force."
"Judging by the Star Wars reference, this has to do with the twins, right?" JP asked.
"Yeah," Takuya replied. "I just ran into Kouichi in the tunnel. He…didn't look too good."
"What do you mean?" Tommy asked. "Was he sick?"
"No," Takuya said. "I just noticed that he looked really ticked off, so I asked him what was wrong." Shino heard Takuya gulp before he continued. "I don't know what happened between Kouji and him, but from what he said, I think Kouji yelled at him and shook him up pretty badly."
"What?" JP asked incredulously. "Chief was trying to help him! That little punk!"
"It gets worse," Takuya continued. "Kouichi told me he deserved it. I think he was agonizing over his leftover guilt from his Duskmon days."
Duskmon? Shino wondered to himself. Why would Kouichi be worried about that now? It happened almost two years ago.
"Why would Kouichi be worried about Duskmon now?" JP asked Shino's question for him. "I thought he knew that we forgave him for that."
"That's what I told him," Takuya replied. "But he said that didn't stop the guilt. Then he told me to leave him the hell alone, shoved me down, and ran off."
"Poor Kouichi," Tommy muttered, sounding worried. "What can we do to make him feel better?"
"That's why I woke you guys up," Takuya said. "I have an idea. Maybe if Kouichi were to be accepted by people who didn't already know what he'd done, he'd feel better."
"But everyone here already knows…the other four." Shino tried to keep as still as possible, feeling JP's gaze on him.
"That's right," Takuya agreed. "I think it's time they knew about Kouichi's past, and since he's too freaked to tell them, we'll just have to do it for him. Plus, Kira's been hounding me about it."
"Do you think Kouichi would be okay with that?" Tommy asked incredulously.
"Hey, he never said we couldn't tell them," Takuya retorted. "I'm sure he'll thank us for it later."
"Well…okay then," Tommy muttered his agreement. "I'm in."
"Me too," JP added. "You want to wake them up now and tell them?"
Shino flinched. Oh crap, they don't know that Kouji already told me about Kouichi and Duskmon! They're gonna expect me to be surprised! Alright, I'll just have to pretend I'm surprised…but I suck at acting!
"No, let's just wait until tomorrow." Shino inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. He had until tomorrow to prepare himself. Unfortunately, that gave him something else to crowd his mind with.
I'm not getting any sleep tonight, am I? Shino thought sarcastically.
—
"I'm curious as to why the alarms weren't raised BEFORE the Legendary Warriors infiltrated the RMS," Ilsemon said, staring at the two Ogremon before her. "Would you kindly enlighten me?"
"Milady," one Ogremon began. "There were two Digimon that approached us and provided us with much-needed entertainment."
"It was a Smileymon magic show!" the other Ogremon added.
Ilsemon raised her eyebrow quizzically, glancing at Hallucimon. "What is a Smileymon?"
"No clue, milady," Hallucimon replied, shrugging his cat shoulders. "Sounds like a pretty stupid name, though. I mean, Smileymon? Really? Digimon hasn't sunk THAT low!"
"Agreed," Ilsemon said, turning back to the guards. "Well, I've got some good news and some bad news for you two. The good news is that I'm letting you live. The bad news is that I'm in a torturing mood, so take them away, Renamon!"
The Ogremons' eyes widened in panic and fear as Renamon appeared behind them, escorting them from Ilsemon's presence.
"Such a shame, considering they did exactly what I wanted them to," Ilsemon muttered to herself, smiling wickedly. "Oh well. It's torturing time!"
—
"But I'll still be here in the morning," Masumon finished, taking a breath. The baby Digimon crowded in front of her were now fast asleep. "Sleep tight, you little cuties!"
"Thank you so much," Swanmon thanked her, bowing slightly. "They were so anxious when they heard those two Tentomon talking about Ilsemon. I didn't think I'd ever get them to sleep!"
"Oh, it was no trouble!" Masumon said reassuringly. "I love kids, and I love to sing, so it was win-win!"
"But you must be exhausted!" Swanmon said worriedly. "You've been through quite an ordeal."
"Well, I'll live," Masumon replied, smile fading slightly. "But I am pretty tired. I'd better go find a place to sleep."
"Thank you again," Swanmon called as Masumon exited the cavern…just as Kouichi stormed past, looking about ready to kill someone.
Masumon shivered, feeling that same dark energy she'd felt around him before. However, she also felt a familiar presence further down the tunnel, and its pull was stronger than Kouichi's. So she followed it down the tunnel until she came to the correct cavern. Peeking in, she didn't see anyone. Then she looked down.
Kouji was lying on the cavern floor in a fetal position, muttering something to himself. Listening closely, Masumon realized that he was repeating the phrase "All my fault."
"Kouji, what's wrong? What happened?" Masumon crouched down next to Kouji, looking concerned.
Kouji looked up slowly, eyes brimming with tears. Seeing Masumon, he quickly sat up, holding his head in his hands. "I didn't…want you…to see me…like this…" Kouji said between sobs.
"Kouji, you don't have to hide your emotions from me," Masumon reassured gently, smiling. "Everyone cries. It's a way to vent."
Kouji didn't reply, unable to stop his sobs now that they'd begun. Masumon scooted slowly over to Kouji, putting her arm soothingly around his shoulders. "Do you mind if I stay here with you? I promise not to ask any questions about why you're crying."
Kouji shook his head, feeling too distraught to deny her touch. So he didn't try to stop Masumon when she wrapped her other arm around him, fully embracing him. He didn't even bother to stop her from singing softly in his ear, despite the fact that it sent chills down his spine.
And eventually, her lullaby caused him to fall asleep in her arms, which he didn't mind in the least.
—
madjack89: Aw, that's soooo sweet, Kouji!
Kouji: *depressed*
madjack89: Uh…okay, what do you think, Kouichi?
Kouichi: *depressed*
madjack89: Um…Zoe?
Zoe: *depressed*
madjack89: Alright, whoever's not depressed, please raise your hand!
Takuya, Kira, Dai, Hotaru, JP, Tommy: *raise hands*
madjack89: Looks like I'm working with you guys this commentary.
JP: Well, that's kind of your own fault.
madjack89: *glares*
JP: …Never mind.
madjack89: So, looks like a lot of crap's gotta get fixed next arc, huh?
Takuya: No kidding.
Kira: You should probably rename this chapter "The Angst Corner."
madjack89: Heh, yeah!
Takuya: Or "Emos 'R Us."
madjack89: Uh-huh…
JP: Or "Can Someone Say Antidepressants?"
madjack89: Yes…
Dai: Or "Chocolate cake=yay!"
madjack89: Alright, that's enough!
Takuya: Aw, but it's fun!
Sasori: How about "Tormented Teens?"
madjack89: Get back in your cage, anime Pinocchio!
Sasori: One of these days, Madjack…
madjack89: What'll you do, throw a puppet at me?
Sasori: *eye twitches*
Hotaru: Uh…according to these cue cards, in the next chapter, the guys will gather me, Dai, and Kira together to tell us the truth about Kouichi, while Zoe drags Shino off to try and desperately plead for his help with Kouichi. And there will probably be more angst to come.
Dai: Till then, see ya!
Kira: Hey guys, watch! *pokes Kouji* He's fun to poke!
Takuya: *goes over and pokes Kouji* You're right, this is fun!
Kouji: *too depressed to care*