Frontier 02: Rebirthing – Chapter 34: …Forgiven
madjack89: Hi guys! You know, I forgot to mention something last chapter.
JP: Madjack, why is there a purple hedgehog-lookin' thing staring at me?
Kokoro: Hewo, evwyone! I'm Kokowo the hedgecat!
Zoe: Aw, it's adorable!
madjack89: I'm babysitting Kokoro, so be nice, Kouji!
Kouji: Why are you only…never mind, it's not worth it.
madjack89: Okay, back on topic. I didn't mention before that it was Frontier 02's second anniversary a couple weeks ago! Hooray!
Kouji: Great timing on THAT one, considering everyone's depressed out of their minds right now.
madjack89: I wouldn't say everyone's depressed, and shut up, Kouji!
Kira: You're just ticked off 'cause Chief's all sad and what-not.
Kouichi: *still quite depressed*
madjack89: What happened to that happy attitude you had last chapter, anyway?
Kouji: I saw how depressed Kouichi was and now I'm annoyed.
madjack89: ANYWAY, I am going to celebrate the second anniversary, but I'm not done preparing the special surprise yet. I'll try to have it done within a few weeks, but I'm not making any promises. On another note, with the release of this chapter, F2R officially has more chapters than its predecessor! Yay!
Dai: Cake?
madjack89: Yes Dai, I have cake.
Dai: Yay! Cake solves everything!
Kokoro: Can I have some cake? Pweeeaaase?
madjack89: I'm sorry Kokoro, but I was told not to give you any sugar. I brought grapes for you, which are like sugar only they're a fruit, so they're healthier!
Kokoro: Thank you, pwetty Maddie-chan!
madjack89: That's it, I love you! *hugs Kokoro*
Hotaru: Uh, Madjack? Reviews?
Dai: Why don't you answer them, Taru?
Kira: Yeah Taru, go kick some review ass!
Zoe: It'd be a good way to celebrate our anniversary, especially since your popularity's been going up!
Hotaru: Well…okay. I'll try.
*break*
TobiGB: Uh, thanks for the compliments, GB. Madara, why would you swear vengeance against all the Digimon seasons when they had nothing to do with this? Oh well, I guess evil and logic don't always go together. Um, thanks for the review and the treats, GB. Am I doing this right?
Zanzibar1: Yeah, Kouichi's feeling pretty down on himself right now. I kinda get the feeling…anyway, we were all shocked by what Zoe did, but I guess crap happens. *shrugs* Well, thanks for the review.
silver fire wolf: (Kokoro: Konichiwa, Sil-chan! Pwetty Maddie-chan is a vewy good baby-sitter! *smiles cutely*) (Seriously, I love you! *hugs Kokoro*) Uh…thanks for the review, um, Sil-chan? Sure.
GoldenDragon326: I think the song's called "Forgiven" according to Madjack's iPod. Wait, how'd you get her iPod, Dai? She loves this thing. (Dai: I have my ways…) I wonder about you sometimes. Anyway, I'm sure Kouichi and Shino appreciate your love. Unfortunately, they're too depressed to show it, so…thanks for reviewing, I guess.
Aldamonburst: Hm…interesting. Uh, no offense Kouji, but your weapon is a Light Saber. It's cool, though. (Kouji: Et tu, Hotaru?) Ha ha, very funny. Alright, uh, thanks for the review.
Shadowfox94: Uh…I guess I'll answer all this to the best of my ability. Well, knowing Madjack, Shino may get a girl eventually. I'm apparently getting a girlfriend at some point, so anything's possible. I don't know what happened to Nina and Ellie, but it appears that Ellie won this round. Yay. Here Dai, have some cookies. (Dai: Yay, cake and cookies! This is the best day ever!) *rolls eyes* Well, I suppose that's all. (Duskmon: Do you really need to ask why I dislike him? Just look at him.) (Takuya: Hey!) *sigh* Thanks for reviewing.
fg1fg: Wow…that is kind of harsh. (Kouichi: …) (Kouji: *glares at fg1fg*) Kouji, stop glaring at him. You know, I sorta thought Kouichi might've been gay at first too. (Kouichi: …) Well, you're really nice and you did read all the Twilight books…anyway, here are some more snacks, Dai. They're from L. (Dai: Which makes them twice as delicious!) Yeah. Okay, thanks for reviewing.
13wolfsbane: …I wouldn't turn evil. (Takuya: I gotta agree with 13. I think the world would blow up if Nina got to you.) *slightly depressed* (Takuya: Aw, don't take it as an insult, Taru!) (Zoe: I didn't kiss him the first time! He kissed me!) (Shino: *depressed*) (Zoe: I'm sorry, Shino!) Uh, thanks for reviewing, 13. Yin's on her way back. And by the way, we didn't beat Madara up, we just pulled a prank on him.
Dawn of Glory: Dai, don't eat these cookies, they're for Kouichi and Shino. Understand? (Dai: *nods*) Good boy. Your OCs should be counting their lucky stars that Madjack isn't in charge of their fates…speaking of Madjack's OCs, I'd be worried if I were Nina. Oh well, thanks for the review.
garnettfox: Oh, you're Dragramon's creator, aren't you? Uh…hello. I think Madjack's working out the details of a one-shot for Dragramon, so it's safe to say she'll be writing one, giving ample credit to you. Alright, thanks for the review.
D'artgirl-Kshina: …Wow, our group is really screwed up right now. I guess we'll get it all fixed up eventually. (Kira: Y'know, I'm beginning to see a pattern with all these fight sequences.) And that would be? (Kira: You always get the stuffing beaten out of you, Taru!) …Huh, I guess you're right. (Kira: Aw, poor Taru!) It's okay, Kira. Hm, I don't know how Shino would react to you saying you'd be his girlfriend. I guess he'd be flattered if he weren't so depressed. Anyway, thanks for reviewing.
Grovy: Thanks, man.
shadica: Wow, Kouichi's getting a lot of hugs. That's not too surprising, though. (One of season 6's trailers shows Agunimon? Where is it? Where? WHERE?) Calm down, Madjack. She's very excited about season 6. I'll take the cookies, and thanks for the review.
*break*
Hotaru: I think that's all of them.
Takuya: Good job, Hotaru!
madjack89: Yeah, thanks Taru! Alright, let's see if we can cheer Chief up in this super-awesome chapter of F2R!
Kokoro: Don't wowy, big Kouichi. Be happy!
Kouichi: …
Kokoro: *sad eyes*
madjack89: It's okay, Kokoro. I still love you! *hugs Kokoro*
Kokoro: Yay!
Shino: Everyone's ignoring me…
Zoe: I'm sooooo sorry, Shino! I'm really, truly, completely sorry! I didn't mean to ignore you! Please forgive me!
Takuya: Uh…let's get to the chapter now.
—
"Hey, I've got a brilliant idea," Gotsumon said, still chewing Witchmon and Dragramon out. "Next time one of the freakin' Legendary Warriors goes completely insane, perhaps you should, I don't know, inform me about it!"
Witchmon and Dragramon fidgeted uncomfortably under Gotsumon's harsh glare. "We kind of had to take care of the situation quickly," Dragramon explained, chuckling nervously.
"And you were asleep," Witchmon added weakly.
"If I'm asleep, wake me up!" Gotsumon retorted angrily. "Things that involve Nina are way too important to keep from me! I mean, what if something had happened to you?"
Witchmon instantly perked up. "So, you're angry because you're concerned about me?"
"Well, yeah!" Gotsumon replied thoughtlessly. "You and Dragramon and Masumon and the rest of the gang are my friends."
"Friends…" Witchmon repeated, eye twitching.
"You didn't let me know what was going on either!" Bokomon wailed at the gang, more hurt than angry. Dragramon and Masumon calmed Witchmon down as he continued, "Neemon and I were always there to witness these sorts of events, but lately we've been pushed off to the side!"
"I haven't gotten beaten up or abused in awhile," Neemon added, missing even these unpleasant memories.
"We can't just take you guys everywhere," Takuya said, sighing. "Before we couldn't help it, but now you guys have a safe place to hole up in. (Pun!) It's way too dangerous for you out there, anyway."
"I don't care!" Bokomon cried, rushing over to JP with Neemon in tow. He then tried to stuff himself into JP's sweatshirt pocket, pulling Neemon by his waistband. "We're going to follow you 24/7 from now on!"
"Hey, get out of there!" JP exclaimed, trying to drag the two Digimon out of his pocket.
"He looks so sad," Zoe suddenly muttered, causing the others to mellow.
After Kouji had managed to get Kouichi back (through unspeakable means), everyone that was still conscious had carried their fallen comrades back into the tunnels. Kouichi had followed them with some prodding, but hadn't said a word the whole time. He was currently sitting against the farthest wall of the cavern that the gang was grouped outside, curled into a fetal position. They'd sent Kouji in to talk to him a while ago, but so far it looked like no progress had been made.
Zoe turned away from the cavern entrance, letting the cloth "door" fall swiftly back into place. "Aw, don't sweat it, Zee," Kira said sympathetically, noticing her friend's worried expression. "Chief'll be back to normal after a little moping. He recovered from the Duskmon situation, right?"
"Honestly, Kira, we're not sure if he will be okay this time," Takuya muttered, placing his hand on Kira's shoulder.
Anticipating her protests, JP explained, "Last time, Kouichi was corrupted by Cherubimon against his will. According to Zee's explanation, this time…"
"Kouichi chose this," Zoe finished dejectedly. "That's what Nina wanted, and she got it."
"Kouichi's probably really angry at himself right now," Tommy muttered.
"The poor boy's too hard on himself," Bokomon commented sadly.
Kira, Dai, and Hotaru lowered their heads, hope for Kouichi's recovery diminishing. Shino, who also hadn't spoken since entering the tunnels, didn't react to his friends' conversation, almost as if he couldn't hear what was said. He just kept his impassive gaze fixed on the ground, leaning slightly against the tunnel's wall.
"Hey Zee, maybe you should go give Kouji some back-up," Witchmon suggested, breaking the silence.
Zoe sighed in response, shaking her head. "I doubt Kouichi wants to see me right now," she muttered, glancing guiltily at Shino.
Surprisingly, Shino actually glanced back, though his blank expression betrayed nothing. Then, without a word, he turned and walked slowly down the tunnel, turning a corner and disappearing from sight.
"God, look how much I screwed things up!" Zoe cried, hiding her face in her hands. "He thinks I'm a whore now…"
Instantly, all the girls present were grouped around Zoe, patting her back and giving her words of comfort. "It's the Digital World female support group," JP muttered, rolling his eyes.
"Should we go after him?" Hotaru asked, nodding toward the tunnel Shino had disappeared down. "We aren't really supposed to be letting him out of our sight with the whole…you know."
"Nah," Takuya replied. "Let's just leave him alone for awhile. He'll bounce back. After all, we've all been shot down by Zoe at one point or another. It's pretty common among Digimon girls since all the Digimon guys seem to end up liking them."
"I thought irrational violence was their most common trait," JP muttered.
"That too," Takuya said, sweatdropping.
"Well, while we're all biding our time, perhaps someone can explain to me who exactly Nina is," Bokomon suggested, flipping through the pages of his book. "I can't seem to find anything concerning her in the book."
"That's not surprising," Masumon said. "Nina doesn't make herself known to many Digimon, or people, for that matter. She's a lot to try to comprehend."
"Not to mention she's completely insane," Dragramon added, growing somber. "She managed to drag my brother down with her."
"Dragra," Witchmon began worriedly.
"I have to tell them, Witchy," Dragramon cut her friend off, looking determined. "They need to understand what Kouichi was dealing with."
Turning to face the others, she began, "Well, you see, I've got this brother, Darkgramon. He's kind of…"
"He's got a homicidal, screw-the-world outlook on life," Witchmon provided.
"But it wasn't his fault," Dragramon said defensively. "He had a…bad childhood. Anyway, Nina decided it would be fun to screw with my brother's head. From what I can tell, she makes you feel sorry for her to lower your guard, then she turns around and corrupts you so bad that you just go 'hell with it' and do whatever she says.
"She tried to get Darkgramon to kill me, but he gave me one more chance," Dragramon muttered, smiling sadly. "He wanted to get me to join him and Nina. I have to admit, she almost had me. If Witchy and Masumon hadn't intervened…well, you saw what would've happened."
The gang was momentarily silent, digesting this new information. Then Dai asked curiously, "So what happened to Darkgramon?"
Witchmon shrugged. "Your guess is as good as ours."
"He ran off after trying to corrupt Dragramon," Masumon explained. "We haven't seen him since."
"I'd always assumed that when Nina showed up again, Darkgramon would too," Dragramon said pensively. "Guess she found a new sucker." (Duskmon: Screw you!)
"So what the hell do we do to make Chief feel better?" Kira asked, staring at the closed-off cavern entrance. No one knew how to reply.
—
"Kouichi," Kouji said, once again trying to grab his brother's attention. Again Kouichi didn't respond, almost as if he couldn't hear his name being called. Or he didn't care.
Kouji's head drooped, feeling hurt despite the fact that he deserved the silent treatment. He'd been so happy after actually saving Kouichi that he'd momentarily forgotten to apologize. Now he was being ignored, though Kouichi could also just be too depressed to respond to anything. Kouji would honestly rather it be the former.
Figuring he could try to start a distracting conversation, Kouji muttered, "You know, we never really had a talk about Masumon. Normally you would've been all over me about her, asking questions and trying to cheer me up. You're so nosy that I can't easily keep things from you."
Kouji paused, hoping Kouichi might defend himself against the nosy comment. But he still didn't stir, his face completely hidden behind his raised knees. He was hugging his legs so tight to his body that Kouji knew his brother was bruising himself.
"Well, Seiko's just as angelic as she always was, especially with the wing upgrade," Kouji continued, trying to ignore the concern clawing at his insides. "It really scared me at first, seeing her alive after so many years. Then, of course, I felt guilty about her death all over again. Now, I guess I've just accepted it. More than that, I'm a little happy. I've wished before that I could go back and make sure that Seiko and I never met. I can't complain because I got my wish, just not in the way I expected. She'll never find out about us, and she'll be happy. That's all I ever wanted."
Kouji glanced at Kouichi, hoping that something he'd said would trigger some sort of response from his brother. Still Kouichi was silent, not making any indication that he'd heard what was said.
"Okay, I'm done beating around the bush," Kouji said, unable to hold back anymore. "I messed up. There's absolutely no excuse for my yelling at you, not to mention I went against what you wanted and told the others about Duskmon. You have every right to be mad, but I really hope that you can forgive me, because I'm so sorry. I'm probably the dumbest person ever."
To Kouji's relief, Kouichi finally raised his head, acknowledging his presence. Kouji's happiness was short lived. Kouichi looked miserable with big, dark circles underneath his eyes, probably from lack of fitful sleep, courtesy of Nina. As for his eyes, they were glazed with a tremendous amount of pain and guilt, also courtesy of Nina.
Gaze fixed on the ground at his brother's feet, Kouichi muttered softly, "I forgive you."
"Kouichi…no," Kouji uttered, instantly understanding that Kouichi had never been mad at HIM, even from the beginning. "Don't do this to yourself."
Kouichi didn't reply, sad expression fixed on his face. Panicking slightly, Kouji grabbed Kouichi's shoulders hard, forcing his brother to look him in the eye. "Snap out of it. Everyone's fine and Nina's gone. Your nightmare is over."
"That's just it," Kouichi muttered miserably. "It was never a dream to begin with."
"Guys, stop it!" Kouji turned with a start, releasing Kouichi just as Zoe was shoved roughly through the entrance to the cavern by various human and Digital hands (though some Digital hands weren't hands per say). She tried desperately to wrench herself free and escape, but it was a pointless struggle.
Takuya popped his head in after Zoe, a mischievous grin on his face. "Good luck with this one, guys. She's feisty!"
Zoe flipped Takuya off as he withdrew from the entrance, pulling the cloth closed behind him. "Damn that goggle head," Zoe cursed, turning to the twins. Instantly sobering upon seeing them, she muttered, "Hey guys."
"I'll just leave you to it, then," Kouji blurted, jumping up quickly. Moving toward the entrance, he thought, I'm not going to be selfish anymore. Zoe will probably make Kouichi feel better, anyway…
"Where are you going?" Zoe asked, grabbing Kouji's arm as he tried to stride past her. She smirked at his startled expression and whispered, "I'm a little jealous of you too, Kouji. I mean, I'll never have what you have with Kouichi. That's why I need your help now, to fix what's been done. No offense, but you kind of sent Kouichi into his downward spiral."
"Don't I know it," Kouji muttered, feeling another guilty pang. At the same time, though, Zoe's words made him feel a bit happy. For the first time in awhile, he felt as if his brother needed him. And Zoe needed him, too. "I'm not walking out on him again."
In response, Zoe pulled Kouji into a sudden, quick hug. "Good. Now let's go do our job; Kouichi mood control." (Kouichi: Really?) Yup! (Kouichi: *sigh*)
Kouji quickly turned and crouched in front of Kouichi, a bit embarrassed by the hug. Smirking slightly, Zoe joined him. To her dismay, Kouichi looked away almost as soon as he saw her.
Noticing Zoe's hurt expression, Kouji said, "He's not mad, he's embarrassed. You saw his darker side, not just him being possessed by Duskmon. Now he's worried about your reaction. He's probably afraid that you might break up with him, but he believes that he deserves it."
"Wow Kouji," Zoe muttered, stunned by Kouji's insight. "I'm beginning to think you CAN read each other's minds." (Takuya: Freaky—)
"Takuya will never be right," Kouji growled. (Takuya: Aw…) "It's just easy for me to…read Kouichi, and vice versa. But you're pretty good at that, too…"
"Well, I'm not TWIN good," Zoe stated modestly. Then, turning back to Kouichi, she said, "Kouichi, I'm not here to dump you. I think I've broken enough hearts today. I just came to, you know, talk things out. Okay?"
Predictably, there was no response from Kouichi. Sighing with frustration, Zoe continued, "Alright, I'll talk while you listen. You know how I said all that stuff about liking Shino's kiss and whatnot? Yeah, that was lying. I really was being sincere all those times I told you that I love you, Kouichi. Shino's sweet, but he just doesn't compare. When I kissed him, I did it for your sake. It was selfish to use him like that, but it's what I did. I'm sorry I had to hurt you like that, but Kouji needed a distraction in order to save you, and I needed you to be saved. Please understand…"
Kouji stayed quiet throughout Zoe's speech, watching his brother's very subtle reactions carefully. He was beginning to realize how easy it had become to interpret Kouichi's thoughts through his expression since Ellie's…intervention. As Zoe spoke, Kouji pieced together his brother's thoughts. He knows…
"I know you don't love Shino," Kouichi said just as Kouji thought it. To Zoe, he went on to say, "Sometimes I acted like I considered him a threat, but I didn't really believe he would ever steal you from me."
"I'm not some jewel to be stolen, you know," Zoe mumbled irritably.
"But I couldn't help feeling at least a little jealous," Kouichi continued, glancing apologetically at Zoe. "The way Shino looked at you sometimes made me nervous. Despite your sincerity in saying how much you loved me, I thought that, maybe, if Shino ever tried anything, you'd…come to your senses. I always thought Shino would snap, though. Then again, what I did is worse than what he did. It's not like kissing you is gonna kill anyone."
"Kouichi," Kouji began.
"Don't even think about saying this wasn't my fault, Kouji," Kouichi quickly growled, eyes narrowing. "I could've just said no to Nina. I didn't. How can you be blamed for a choice that I made? A selfish, stupid choice that could have gotten everyone killed, and I would have been the killer. I'm such an idiot. I mean, how hard can it possibly be not to hurt the people you care about? I've been a liability to all of you from day one. And to think I believed that I'd changed. 'Done hiding in the dark'…what an empty promise!"
"Kouichi, that's enough!" Zoe ordered sternly.
"Why should I stop? Because you don't want to hear it?" Kouichi retorted angrily, emotions coming to a boil. "Like it or not, this is who I am. I've tried to be good enough, to do the right thing, but I'm just not good! I'm bad, and that's why I'll never be able to make up for what I—"
Kouichi halted as he was suddenly slapped by none other than Zoe. Both twins were shocked silent, though this was honestly something to be expected from Zoe. (Zoe: *glares*)
"Whoa!" JP exclaimed from the doorway, giving away the fact that it was his turn to peek into the cavern. "Digimon girl violence at its finest!"
Zoe turned sharply, giving JP a death glare. "Um, I'll just…bye," he mumbled, quickly retreating. Both Zoe and Kouji rolled their eyes.
"I'm sorry," Kouichi apologized quietly, holding his stinging cheek. "I probably deserved that."
"You want me to smack you again?" Zoe threatened. In a gentler tone, she continued, "I didn't hit you to punish you, I did it to make you stop bashing yourself. You're always so hard on yourself and I don't understand why. I mean, you're such a good person, but you can't see it. Why?"
"Because he's too nice," Kouji replied, knowing exactly why his brother was so hard on himself. "You don't want to be a burden on anyone. Growing up, you noticed that Mom always seemed so overworked and sad and automatically assumed it was all your fault. So you turned into the soft-spoken guy that you are, always trying to help out with everything. Then you tried to help her by keeping what you knew about me to yourself. You did the same thing with us, now that I think about it. Not to mention that to clear up your guilt, you beat the shit out of any Digimon that came near us.
"But you don't have to do that," Kouji said, staring Kouichi down. "You make up for what you've done by being you."
"Kouji is absolutely right," Zoe stated, smiling lovingly at Kouichi. "You make it impossible for any of us to hate you. That's why I fell in love with you. It wasn't your good looks or your cute smile, though you're well endowed in both those areas. Heck, if I wanted a guy that looked like you, I might've ended up with Kouji. I chose you because of your kindness and your all-around beautiful personality. Someone like you loving me so much is more than I could ever ask for. You're the best guy a girl could ever hope to have."
"And the best brother, especially for a person like me," Kouji added. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly the nicest guy out there. I never have been, even when Seiko was around. Most people would blow me off after finding out an asshole like me was their brother, but you didn't. You stuck it out, believing that I was actually a decent guy deep down. It's probably more than I deserve, which is why I don't really resent you for trying to kill me. It's not like the others haven't wanted to do the same at one point or another."
"You got that right," Zoe muttered, smirking. Then, placing Kouichi's hands in her own, she said, "You see? No matter what you do, me and Kouji will always be here for you. All that you've ever done has been forgiven."
"Damn straight it has!" Taking this moment as their cue, the gang swarmed into the cavern, crowding around Kouichi in a big, friendly huddle. Kouichi pressed himself against the wall, startled by his friends' sudden entrance.
"Don't be nervous, Chief," JP urged, smirking slightly. "We come in peace."
"And don't worry, you didn't seriously hurt anyone," Tommy reassured, gesturing to the others. "We're all okay now!"
"We actually want to apologize, me especially," Takuya mumbled sheepishly. "I really didn't know you were so hell-bent on not letting the others know about Duskmon yet. I thought I was helping by telling them. I'm sorry."
"Speaking of Dusky, I have something I want to say, too," Kira stated. "To restate my earlier point, you're still you, and Dusky's still Dusky. Who the hell cares that you used to pull a Jekyll and Hyde thing? The fact remains that you and Duskmon are separate now. Done and done."
"What she said, only with more references to cookies and Death Note," Dai said, grinning broadly. Hotaru just nodded, agreeing with their statements. (Half your reviews are gonna involve complaining about Taru's line count this chapter, aren't they? Admit it.) (Hotaru: Why not just give me more lines?) (Quiet, Taru.) (Hotaru: -_-)
Kouichi tried to hold them back, but everything his friends had said acted like a wrecking ball destroying a dam. "You guys suck," he mumbled, hiding his rapidly-tearing eyes behind his arm.
"We do suck, don't we, JP?" Takuya asked cheerfully.
"Why yes we do, Takuya," JP replied, grinning impishly. (Impmon: Did someone say imp?) You're coming back next arc, Impmon. (Impmon: Finally!) Baby…
Despite himself, Kouichi smirked at his friends' behavior. "Look guys, he's smiling!" Dai announced triumphantly.
"I hereby initiate a group hug!" Bokomon exclaimed, launching himself at Kouichi. "And I'd just like to point out that I'M not the one who gave away your secret this time!"
"Hooray for lying!" Neemon shouted, joining Bokomon. The others joined in as well, nearly suffocating Kouichi (mostly because Zoe was squeezing him too hard).
The remaining Digimon (a.k.a. Gotsumon, Witchmon, Dragramon, and Masumon) stood in the cavern entrance, watching the gang. Turning to her companions, Witchmon said, "Anyone else wanna join the cornucopia of love?"
"You know I'm in!" Dragramon replied enthusiastically, accompanying Witchmon to the hug pile. Shrugging, Gotsumon and Masumon joined in as well.
Once Zoe allowed him to breathe again, Kouichi muttered through his tears, "Thank you, everyone…" At that moment though, he finally realized that one member of their group wasn't present. "Where's Shino?"
—
"Damn it!" Shino punched the tree trunk yet again, despite his already bruised and bleeding knuckles. Wincing, he gave the backs of his hands a once-over. They looked beaten and defeated. "An outside to match the inside," he mused bitterly.
Feeling a sudden chill creep up his spine, Shino turned, glaring out at the looming forest. Was he here already? Either way, Shino decided to call him out. "Quit skulking around, Wizardmon! Come out so we can finally end this!"
Since learning the true origins of his mental unrest, Shino had known it would come to this. Now, finally pushed to his breaking point, he knew he had to kill Wizardmon. If he didn't, he'd slip into insanity, and he wouldn't let that happen. Not without a fight.
Shino waited, tensed for Wizardmon's arrival or possible attack. But nothing stirred in the surrounding trees. Gradually, Shino realized that Wizardmon wasn't coming, that he wasn't there, that he didn't give his victims fighting chances. He was alone.
Sinking slowly to his knees, all of Shino's bottled emotions bubbled up inside him until he had to let them out. "Why did she do that?" he asked himself, already knowing the answer. "She knew that I liked her. She knew it, and she still used me like that! If she knew how much a kiss from her really meant to me, then how could she kiss me and shove me aside? For HIS sake? Of course she'd choose him. She always does."
Before Shino knew it, tears of anger and frustration, resentment and bitterness were falling to the ground in front of him, staining the dust with darker, damp patches. Taking a deep breath, he muttered, "I loved you, Zoe. You had my heart and you used it. You're no different than Mai!"
"Hi Shino. Long time no see."
Shino was hearing things. He had to be. That couldn't be who he thought it was. She couldn't be here. Turning slowly, he realized that not only could she be here, she was here, standing right behind him with that cute little smile on her face that he used to love so much.
"Mai…?"
—
madjack89: Well, wasn't that a fun chapter?
Kouichi: Yeah, I guess I do feel a little better thanks to the chapter and what happened at TobiGB's party.
madjack89: Good old KH gang!
Kira: Yeah, we fixed Chief, but how're we gonna fix crazy Shino over there?
Dai: Maybe we should find somebody else who used to be crazy but got over it!
Takuya: Good idea! Neji, go talk to Shino!
Neji: What? When was I crazy?
Takuya: During the Chunin exam arc.
Neji: I wasn't crazy then, I was just angry at the world.
JP: You nearly killed Hinata for no good reason, then tried to do the same with Naruto.
Neji: …Shut up!
Kouji: Guys, don't pick on Neji. He gets enough abuse just being one of Madjack's favorite anime characters.
madjack89: I wuv u, Neji!
Kokoro: I wuv you, too!
madjack89: *hugs Kokoro to within an inch of his hugging life*
JP: Since when were you two such close chums?
Kouji: Same voice actor and same headaches.
Neji: We have mutual hate for our current situations.
Takuya: Stop sounding smart, Neji!
Neji: I'm a genius. I can't help it.
Hotaru: Okay, let's wrap this chapter up.
Dai: Next time we'll FINALLY find out who Mai is and what happened with her and Shino! I'm excited! Yay! Oh, and it'll also mark the end of this arc! I wonder what the next arc will be about.
Kouji: Probably more angst.
Dai: Yeah, probably!
Kira: Till then, catch ya on the flip side.