I apologize for how long it took me to get this chapter out! I…don't really have an excuse. Things just piled up and I got distracted…But here it is. So I hope you all like it, and enjoy this final chapter of Yin.
Mental note: Outside of the wake and the fact that cremation is the preferred form of burial, I'm actually not very well-versed in the funeral customs of Japan, so I'm kinda making it up as I go along. Don't mind me if I get anything wrong, just consider it a wizard…thing…
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon Frontier, nor anything related to Harry Potter. Just a normal girl with an overactive imagination, folks. Enjoy.
Yin
Chapter 20: Facing the Dawn
Harry yawned as the sun, filtering in through the not-quite-closed windows of the shrine, hit him directly in the right eye. The green orbs blinked open wearily, gazing around at the dozens of multi-colored blobs scattered around him through the fuzz of bad focus, then found his glasses and slipped them on to clear the scene considerably.
Upon arriving back in the extremely wee hours of the morning, their collective group had been so tired that they hadn't even bothered to change clothes, get out bedding, or figure out the way back to their rooms. Which is why they were now scattered all around the large main commons in various groups and states of sleep.
Ron had his head in Hermione's lap, a sight that made Harry grin, especially since the girl had her hand half-resting over his face. Not too far away from them was Takuya and Izumi, with their hands intertwined and their heads rusting on each other's shoulders. Tomoki had woken when they returned, pumped them for all the information he could get, and then fallen asleep again, stretching out on the ground besides the Japanese pair. The twins were in the far corner, Kouichi's head pillowed his arms on the ground, Kouji sitting up and still gripping his bokuto, ready for anything. And Malfoy…
Malfoy had been sitting a short ways from where Kouichi lay. But he wasn't there anymore.
For a moment, Harry's mind sprung to life with suspicions. Then he realized that his blonde rival was sitting just outside the door, looking out at the rising sun, his arms crossed sullenly as he leaned against the wooden building.
Not even the least bit tired now, Harry moved away from the bunch, careful not to wake the others, and moved, barefoot, out onto the porch. Draco barely looked up at him as he did so, though when he did the expression was cold, mildly distasteful, and tired. "…Hn."
"Yeah, same to you." Harry muttered, leaning up against the wall and cross his arms. He scowled down at the other distastefully. "What are you doing out here, anyway? Couldn't sleep?"
Malfoy gave him another cold, annoyed look. "Since when have my sleeping patterns ever been any of your business?"
Harry scowled, returning to his normal state of disliking the blonde boy greatly. "Fine, then."
For some reason, he didn't leave. He wanted to, of course, but he couldn't make his body walk the few feet it would have taken to get back through the door. Maybe it was the sunset, or the early hour of the morning, or the fact that the atmosphere between them was finally so heavy that he couldn't get his arms and legs to move anymore. So the Boy Who Lived just slide down the wall to sit on the ground, perpendicular to the one he'd been disgusted with every since their first meeting, and stared out at the orange, almost liquid-like sky.
"…Nothing has changed, Potter."
Harry glanced at the blonde. "You don't say."
"I still hate your stupid guts. You're still a brainless, Muggle-loving bastard."
"And you're still a self-righteous, stuck-up little prick."
They glared at each other a moment, as intense as ever even though their need for more sleep and the pure exhaustion of the days before. Draco broke the gaze first, turning his head away with a light huff. "That's how's always going to be, after all. There's no way I could ever put up with you in my life any more than absolutely necessary."
"Yeah, I know." Harry turned his head away as well, gripping his fists around his clothes to keep from punching the other boy. "The feeling's mutual."
Draco smirked a bit at that - Harry could hear the light laugh that escaped him as he did so - but it was almost a light-hearted sound, with a tinge of disappointment as he resigned to something like this. "But you know…It looks like we might just be on the same side for a bit."
Harry had not been expecting that.
"Say what?"
"Get your ears cleaned, Potter." Draco snapped, still not looking at him. "There's no way I'm going to take what those bastards did here lying down. I'm sick of playing a lapdog. I want to be there to watch Him die."
Harry stared, quite openly. He'd never imagined the words coming from Draco Malfoy of all people, and they weren't even wavering. Sure, the other boy's face looked a little less than confident, but Harry could almost write that off as pain from the wounds that were still half-healed on his back. "Are you serious?"
"Hell yes, I'm serious!" Malfoy snapped, finally turning to look at him. "I'm going to get my family back where we belong. Malfoys aren't subordinates, not anymore. And if I have to kill the Dark Lord himself to do it, I will."
For a moment, Harry had to admit that he was impressed…these were some noble words coming out of a slimy little mouth…but then Malfoy smirked again.
"And when I'm done with that…" He glanced up at Harry, his eyes revealing an expression that was almost playful, though still teeming with disgust. "I'm going to hunt you down and show you the proper respect that my family deserves."
"You…!" Harry's voice was angry at first, then fell into a bit of a laugh. He kept right on laughing, even as Malfoy's glare got colder and colder.
Finally, the blonde stood in a huff. "Gryffindor. You're all the same. You'll never change."
With that, he stormed back into the building and returned to his spot, going back to sleep almost as though to spite the other. Harry remained where he was, though he turned to follow the other with his eyes, and was about to call him back - thinking that one never knew, that perhaps they might even get off on the right foot this time - when Mizuki's harried, overworked Squad scribe suddenly Apparated less than a foot from Harry's left knee.
"Mizuki-sensei, about the contraband…"
"Shhh!" Harry hissed, grabbing the man's arm. "Everyone's asleep."
The Squad member looked down at him, very surprised, but soon blinked in recognition. "Oh…It's you. You're the young man who wanted to know about the quill belonging to Rowena Ravenclaw-san, aren't you?"
"Yeah, that's me." Harry winced a bit at the thought of the possible Horcrux - probably long gone by now, and so selfish to think about after everything that had happened. "What of it?"
"Well, if you're still interested, I have it here with me…"
"You what?!"
Harry was on his feet in an instant, grabbing the man's arm in order to haul himself up. The Squad member drew back, startled, but Harry chose to not notice. "Well? Where is it?"
The Scribe yanked his arm away and dug into his jacket, his hand deep into the Hammerspace pocket. With a light yank, he pulled it out - a beautiful, foot-long feather with an elegant curl at the tip, tied a deep navy blue and tipped with shining silver. Just looking at it, Harry could tell that it was charmed - it sparkled lightly, and the ink on the tip seemed to be perfectly fresh. A small R with a raven perched atop it was inscribed just above the grip.
"We've confirmed it at the lab - it's totally authentic." The Scribe said brightly, laying it in Harry's hand. "It's the proper age, the seal is genuine. This belonged to none other than Rowena Ravenclaw."
Harry held the quill at arm's length, giving it a light swish. Nothing happened. He hadn't felt anything strange, either, and his scar was no different than it had been before. "Did you test it for spells, curses, anything?"
"Of course we did. It's very advanced for its age." The man reached into his normal pocket, removing a piece of parchment and scanning over it. "Unbreakable, ever-inking, spell-check and optional self-writing spell for dictation…"
"But no curses?"
"What? No, of course not!" The Squad member laughed, shaking his head. "This was Rowena Ravenclaw's favorite quill, you know. Why on Earth would there be any sort of curse on it? Then she wouldn't be able to use it!"
"No, I guess not…" Harry sighed, lowering the pen, and shook his head. The pen wasn't a Horcrux. There was no way that Voldemort would not make sure that it was properly protected, with a curse or someone to watch over it…
The Squad member noticed this, and frowned a bit. "What's wrong? Is it not what you're looking for?"
Harry shook his head, a light smile crossing his face as he handed the pen back to him. All this way…They'd come all this way and gone through all of this for nothing. Wasn't that just typical? "No. It's not. Thank you though."
"I see…I'm sorry." The Squad member bowed. "I hope it wasn't any trouble for you. I would hate for something so trivial to waste your time."
Harry thought about that for a moment. True, it had been an awfully long way to travel…dragging Ron and Hermione all the way out to Japan, fighting their way through Tokyo and its bizarre wizarding culture, getting caught up in a major battle and having to deal with, of all people, Draco Malfoy…but at the same time, he couldn't find himself regretting it all. After all the stress of the Prophecy and Dumbledore's death, it seemed such a relieve being able to see his friends, to help them, hang out, and, even just for a while, enjoy even a vaguely happy ending…
He'd really missed quiet times like this.
"No." He sighed finally, leaning back against the wall with a smile. "It's no problem. No problem at all…"
( - ) ( - ) ( - )
Himura-san rested one hand on the side of his glasses, holding them close to his nose as he examined the paperwork, then lowered them both to the desktop with a mild sigh. "So, the criminal responsible for the attacks was apprehended attempting another front and handed over to the demon plain for their own judgment, is that correct?"
"Yes, sir." Mizuki gave her superior a single sharp nod, her eyes narrowed into determined, patient slits.
Himura's gaze remained simple and calm, tracing from the squad leader over to Kouji, who was standing at the same attention just to his superior's left. "Do you really believe that this was a wise course of action to take, Minamoto-kun? Are you certain that this…Kinoshita…was truly the man organizing the attack?"
"Absolutely." The teen whispered quietly, not looking away. "His orders came from the prime Kegareru organization of England…the ring that supports Konton Motarasu…but Kinoshita's actions were his own."
"And we're absolutely certain that no further attempt will be made to breach the security of the Shibuya Shrine area?" Himura's tone was firm and cold. "We've already lost one life to improper security, and put two others at risk because of a careless investigation. Are you absolutely certain that this is finished, Mizuki?"
The woman glanced at her subordinate a moment, communicating silently, then turned back to the commander with one more sharp nod. "Yes, sir. Without a doubt."
"Very well, then." Himura sighed, setting his glasses down altogether, and reached for the ruby red bottle and personal seal sitting in a small drawer beside him. He folded the pages into a thick envelope, sealing the parchment with a dab of bright red wax, kept hot and melted within the enchanted bottle. He pressed his seal into the wax, finalizing it permanently. "The case of unprecedented demonic attack on the Shibuya Shrine location is now officially closed."
"Yes, Sir!" Both Squad Members saluted sharply, clicking their heels together at almost the same moment.
The man let a amiable smile come over his middle-aged face, putting the parchment to the side and folding his hands over the desk. "Well then, now that's all settled. Now, Minamoto-kun, I need an answer from you. Have you made your decision?"
Kouji kept his face carefully blank and impassive, even though he could feel the weight of Mizuki's cold glare boring into him alongside the Commander's even expression. "Yes, sir."
"Wonderful." The man smiled a bit more, motioning with one hand. "And…?"
"I won't do it."
The smiled vanished from Himura's face, instantly replaced by an expression of shock and surprise. "…What?"
"I won't do it, sir. I won't take the promotion, or the transfer." Kouji's voice remained even, calm and confident. He'd already made up his mind, and there was no way he was going to change it now.
But still, Himura floundered in his surprise. "But…Why?"
Kouji took a deep breath. He'd been prepared for this question, since he knew that it would come, but that didn't make it any easier to come out with it. "Kinoshita's presence confirmed something for me, sir. Something important."
"What?"
"That this isn't going to stop with England." Kouji took another breath, and his voice was a little louder now. "We can all feel it. The priests, the Squad, even the demons. We all know it's there, the corruption, the fear, the pain, and we know that it's spreading. Their Dark Lord is back, in power and in flesh, and with Dumbledore-sama gone he's not going to stop with the West. It's already spreading into our borders, onto our soil."
He took another breath and forced himself to keep eye contact with the other man, even though all he really wanted to do now was look away and withdraw like a small child. They'd never let him get away with that…
"This is going to turn into a world war, sir, and this time it will be a magical one." His gaze wavered just a bit, but his voice was firm. "When that happens, I want to be here to take care of the people who are important to me. My friends, my parents, and my brother. As long as I'm here, at home, with them, I won't have any regrets, no matter what happens."
Himura leaned forward, resting his fingers against his lips and keeping his gaze locked firmly on the teen in front of him. "And you're absolutely sure about this?"
"Yes sir, I am." Kouji let out his breath again and closed his eyes for just a moment, lowering his head a bit. "I apologize for any trouble that I may cause you because of my decision, but I won't change my mind."
Mizuki snorted, covering her mouth with her hand in a half-hearted attempt to cover up the knowing, caring smirk that had slithered its way over her face. She turned to Himura with that grin firmly in place, looking very satisfied with herself. "There you have it, sir. I told you that he would say something like that."
"So you did, so you did." Himura sighed, and began rummaging for more paperwork, conjuring up a quill with his wand. "I had hoped that for once, Mizuki, you might have been wrong, but…" he looked up at Kouji almost sheepishly, giving him an awkward grin, "I don't suppose I could convince you to reconsider?"
This time, it was Kouji's turn to smile, and it was accompanied by a light laugh. "No, sir. Not for the world."
"I thought so." Himura sighed, leaning over the new page of parchment. "Well, I suppose it can't be helped…Mizuki-san, I'm going to need your signature on several these."
"Yes, sir. And you," the turned to her subordinate and clapped a hand on his shoulder, "have somewhere you need to be, don't you?"
Kouji was, for once in his life, taken aback. "But…"
"No 'buts', Minamoto. You've been dismissed." Mizuki cuffed him lightly over the head, smirking. "Now get going, or you'll be late!"
Kouji hesitated just a moment longer, then smiled, even as he bowed to both of his superiors brightly. "Yes, sempai. Thank you, ma'am."
Mizuki gave him one last curt nod and a grunt, her standard farewell. Kouji's grin spread a bit more as he came out of his bow, automatically turning on his heel and Apparating away before anyone could do so much as blink.
( - ) ( - ) ( - )
The ceremony had already begun when Kouji appeared just outside the temple gates. He cursed himself lightly - stupid, getting caught up in his business issues instead of being here for his brother! - but only spent a moment on the self-scolding before he slipped quietly to the rear of the shrine.
There was a platform set there, in a wide open field that was normally meant for festivals or celebrations. Today, it was decked out for a memorial - black draperies, white flowers, photos and mementos of the deceased. Atop the hill was a new monument, a thin stone pillar about two feet tall, engraved with a respectful name and covered with flowers and wreathes.
Kenkyo stood at the podium now, dressed in a respectful, tastefully dark kimono and looking grave, but happy, as she recounted the life of her colleague without leaving out any details. The service now was a special one, one for wizards alone, separate from the public service that had occurred earlier that morning. This one was for remembrance, for recalling the magic, and for passing on the torch.
Kouji slipped into an empty seat besides Takuya, saying a soft excuse me to Izumi. Harry slid over to give the guardian a little more room - it was something he figured that he would need, and besides, it put still more room between himself and a recently-healed Draco Malfoy, on the other end. In the row ahead of them sat Tomoki, Hermione, Ron and even Junpei, who had Apparated in overnight from Hokkaido especially for the ceremony and was greatly disgruntled that no one had even thought to call him during the entire incident.
Kouichi was on stage, sitting with their mother in the place normally reserved for family. He was holding onto Tomoko with one hand and gently petting Yugure, who rested in his lap, with the other. He caught Kouji's eye, and the younger twin gave him a comforting, tiny little grin, which Kouichi returned.
"Are you doing okay?"
"I'll be fine…"
"No you won't. You're lying again, Nii-san. You sure you don't want me up there?"
"No…I'll do it alone."
"Hakaishi was a gentle man, and a loving one, and devoted to his work and to his students," Kenkyo's voice lifted a bit, indicating that she had reached the end of her speech and was about to begin something new, something even more important. "Unfortunately, this means that he never branched out into the community in any other way. He never married or held a steady relationship, he was always very shy, and as an orphan, he had neither parents nor siblings.
"But it would be wrong to say that he was alone in the world."
Kouichi lowered his head a bit, his eyes hiding behind his bangs. The cat in his lap reached up to butt his arm comfortingly, and his mother squeezed his hand.
"As you all know, tradition dictates that the surviving wand must be handed down through line from parent to child." Kenkyo reached down and lifted a finely decorated, hand-crafted wooden box from the inside of the podium. "But as I've said before, Hakaishi did not have any children. There is no son to inherit his father's wand."
Kouichi's head dropped a bit more. Why did they have to draw this out, he wondered, why couldn't they just…just…
"Hakaishi had no child, but he did have someone with him," Kenkyo turned and smiled at the young boy, trying to be encouraging and warm. "He had a student, an apprentice, whom he nurtured for many long years, and loved as dearly as though he were a son. The one who will now take his place as the Yin priest of the Shibuya Shrine: Kimura Kouichi."
From the crowd, a light applause rippled through the field as the boy stood. Yugure hopped from his lap into Tomoko's, mewing in encouragement as the woman squeezed her son's hand. Kouichi smiled at them, took a deep breath, and moved to the podium slowly.
Kenkyo gave him a soft, supporting smile, turning to him and opening the box slowly. Inside, resting safely within folds of soft purple cloth, was the graceful white wand, cleaned of its stains and waiting to be claimed. The boy's blue eyes flicked to it and stayed there, holding his breath a moment - there were so many memories connected with that wand…
"Will you take it?" Kenkyo asked softly, her voice dropped down so that no one could hear but the one before her. "I'm sure that Hakaishi-sensei would have wanted you to have it."
Kouichi looked up at the woman for just a moment, gave her slight smile, and reached for the wand. It responded to his touch as easily as his original one had, fitting into his grip and sending a pleasant chill up his arm as the core touched base with his magical aura. He lifted it from the box carefully and gave it a light flick.
A shower of black sparks came from the wand, leaving a trail of glimmering specks through the air. A whistle came from the crowd - Takuya - and the applause picked up harder than it had before.
Kenkyo clapped as well, moving a little closer as he lowered the wand. "The torch has been passed. Welcome home." She said for ceremony, leaning forward to pull the boy into a hug. She dropped her voice down and whispered into his ear, "He'll always be with you now."
Kouichi smiled a bit, for real this time, and hugged the woman back. "Thank you."
The crowd was standing now, the ceremony finally over, but the applause was still going. Kouichi pulled away from the embrace, bowed to the woman, and turned to his friends, most of whom were jumping onto the stage to get to him. His smile became a little wider, and a little more real.
He slipped Hakaishi's wand…his wand…into the safety of his pocket and ran to meet them, smiling all the way.
( - ) ( - ) ( - )
"I don't suppose we could convince you guys to stay a little longer?"
Harry grinned at Izumi's words, but shook his head and adjusted the Hammerspace bag over his shoulder. "I think we'd just attract more trouble."
"You? Nah!" Takuya laughed brightly, putting his arm around the girl with a big grin. "As if you three could bring anything down that we're not able to handle?"
"You wanna bet on that?" Ron asked, reaching for his wallet in a joking manner.
Hermione gave him a rather rough elbow to the side, pushed a smile onto her face, and bowed to three friends who had come to see them off. "Thanks for everything, really. All your help and everything."
"Help?" Tomoki grinned as well. "You're the ones who helped us! It's usually not like that around here, Tokyo's pretty peaceful for us magic-types."
"Though I'll be damned if it stays that way…" Everyone paused a moment to take in the seriousness of Takuya's otherwise joking statement, and for a moment it hung over everyone like a blanket. But the tension only lasted for a moment before the brunette grinned again. "Next time, you guys have got to stick around for a real game. If you thought that scrimmage was fun, what'll you see us during the regular season!"
Harry laughed as well, and it felt good to do so. "Yeah. We'll make sure to do that."
The ticket in his pocket made a high-pitched shrieking noise and vibrated, the signal that the wizarding train back to England was making its final preparations and about to board. The others had heard it, too, and were just gathering their things. Harry sighed a bit and looked up and down the airport for familiar faces.
Izumi said what he was thinking before he could finish, sighing as she pulled away from hugging Hermione. "It's too bad that Junpei and the twins couldn't be here to see you guys off."
"Well, they already said their goodbyes. Besides, that's how work goes." Hermione winked at the other brightly and patted her shoulders. "Take of yourself, okay?"
"You got it." Izumi grinned back. "And you take care of these boys, won't you? They somebody to watch out for them."
"Hey!" Ron exclaimed. "What do you mean by that?"
Harry muffled another laugh and shook his head, patting his friend's shoulder complacently before moving to extend his hand to Takuya. The Japanese boy grinned bright and shook it, perhaps a little harder than he needed to. "Good luck, buddy. You know, with…whatever."
The Boy Who Lived just smiled a bit as he backed off, offering his friend a small, awkward boy. "You too. With everything."
A whistle echoed from his pocket, calling them to the train. Harry grabbed his bag again, hoisting it over his shoulder, and gave the Japanese trio one last wave before running after Ron and Hermione. Tomoki, Takuya and Izumi were still waving until he reached the end of the terminal and they finally disappeared from sight.
( - ) ( - ) ( - )
Kouichi used a brush to clean a day's worth of dust from the gravestone, lighting a fresh stick of insense as soon as it was clean enough to do so. The smoke from the little stick of warmth was oddly shadowed in the light of the setting sun that framed the gravestone. Naturally, the dead priest had been buried facing the east, so that his spirit would be free to watch over the shrine that he loved so much and make sure that every new day and every new dawn would bring nothing but peace to his home.
Kouichi sighed a bit at the thought, running his hands over the deep engravings of his teacher's name. The wand he had inherited still rested safe in a special pocket of his robes. He hadn't used it yet, though he knew that he would have to, soon. He was taking over instructing the Yin classes on Monday.
"Sensei…" He whispered to the ashes hidden below the stone. "I'll do everything I can to help those kids. I won't forget what you taught me, either."
A footstep crunched against the ground behind him. Kouichi turned, a little tense, but relaxed when he saw who it was and straightened with a smile. "Draco-kun."
The blonde gave him a light smirk, pulling a bag over his shoulder. His wounds had been cleared by one of the medical wizards from the Squad, once they'd been reopened so many times that Kouichi was worried he would bleed to death. They had treated him as though poisoned by a demon, and it had worked wonders.
Kouichi nodded to the bag. "Are you leaving?"
"Yeah."
"This late at night?"
Draco rolled his eyes up to the orange sky. "I've got a ticket for the Night Bus. Two transfers to make it back to Wales, but I should home by tomorrow."
"The Night Bus?"
"Yeah. I've never used it before. Father thought it was too common."
Kouichi laughed at the thought, and for a while that was the only sound. There was silence after he'd stopped, an awkward sort of pause as the two boys shifted their eyes to various sides, searching for something to say. The priest's eyes drifted back to the headstone and rested on the name sadly. Draco noticed, and his eyes softened.
"There's something really bothering you."
Kouichi glanced at him, only with his eyes. "Are you looking into my mind?"
"I don't need to. It's all over your face."
Kouichi chuckled just a little bit at the comment, but it was half-hearted. "Yeah…I guess it would be, wouldn't it?"
He turned to the headstone, placing his hand atop the cool black stone. His eyes were misting, threatening to spill tears down his cheeks, so he focused on his own hand to push them away. He sighed, closing his eyes as he tried desperately to think. "Kinoshita…he went through Sensei's journals. Through his personal files."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." Kouichi's voice wavered a little, and his hand pressed tighter over the stone. "Sensei was…slightly precognitive. It's a traditional skill for priests, you know. He used to have dreams of the future, with animals representing the people he knew. And every time he dreamed of a black cat…it was always me."
He closed his eyes again and took a deep breath, steadying himself. Draco didn't say anything. He just waited, completely still, without a word, and listened to what the other had to say. It was something that he, all too obviously, needed to get off his chest.
"Just before the demons attacked us…just an hour before…I thought Sensei told me that he'd dreamed of a black kitten being murdered by a fox while trying to protect a yellow bird." Kouichi's voice had dropped to a whisper, wavering, uncertain. "I was so sure…so ready to go through with that dream, if I had to. The whole time, I really, really thought I was going to die…"
He looked back at Draco, his eyes very sad. "But, according to Kouji, Sensei had already been dead for a week before I heard that."
Draco hesitated a moment, faltering. "Kimura…"
"Those dreams were so special to us. To me and Sensei." Kouichi rubbed his eye, pushing tears out and instantly absorbing them into the cloth of his robe. "He never told anyone but me that he saw me as a cat. It was our secret, our bond. Even Kenkyo didn't know.
"That bastard Kinoshita…He used that against me. He twisted it into something it wasn't…like it wasn't even important."
Draco bit his lip, not knowing what to say. Dealing with other people's feelings had never been his strong point. Normally, the only thing he was really good at was manipulating other peoples' emotions to meet his own ends. But that wouldn't do him any good now. He didn't want to hurt Kimura any worse than the priest was suffering already, not after everything that he had already put him through…but what else could he do?
"Kinoshita…Got what he deserved."
Kouichi looked a little surprised. Then he nodded a bit, the corners of his lips turning up just ever so slightly. "Yeah…He really did."
He ran his hand down the gravestone, his fingers slipping into the strokes of the first kanji, and smiled to himself sadly. "I'm going to do my best…to make him proud of me."
"I know that you will."
Kouichi smiled at his friend thankfully, turning back to face him completely. "What about you? What will you do now, Draco-kun?"
"Go home." Draco shrugged lightly and stuffed his hands into his pockets. His face was focused, cold and determined. "I'll slide back in and beg for his forgiveness, work my way back into his ranks. It may take me a while, but I'll figure out his weakness. Potter already knows…I can tell…but I'll figure it out on my own. I'll show them who has the real power now."
Kouichi nodded, but he looked worried. "Will you really be all right, Draco-kun? Won't He find out?"
"Not if I can help it. I've been practicing." Draco tapped his right temple with one finger smartly. "Not even the Dark Lord can break in here, now. I'm sure of it."
"I hope so…" Kouichi sighed a bit and looked down, just for a minute. He was smiling again when he lifted his eyes. "You know that you've got friends here, Draco-kun. No matter what you get yourself into, the Shrine's doors will always be open."
Malfoy smiled a bit more. He pulled his hands from his pockets, stretching out his right arm, and rolled up the sleeve to expose the green and black Mark on the inside. "The next time I see you, I'll expect you to know how to burn this piece of crap off."
Kouichi chuckled a little. "I'll have to study a bit more for that."
"See that you do." Draco pushed the sleeve back and turning around. He gave a light wave over his shoulder. "See ya around, Kimura."
Kouichi followed him, but paused at the top of the hill. He stood at the top of the stairs and watched as his friend decended quickly and quietly, all but disappearing into the dark. When he reached the bottom, Kouichi found his voice again and called out: "I will be here, Draco-kun. No matter what happens, I'll never forget. You'll always be my friend."
The pale figure paused, still looking out past the gates to the street. His blonde hair and thin figure stood out like a beacon against the darkness of the night, almost glowing with the reflection from the streetlights and cars as they went by. For a moment he just stood there, listening to the night, and then he slowly turned and smiled up at the priest.
"Yeah. Me too."
And with that, he stuck out his wand and disappeared into the night once more.
Yin - End
Well...That's it, folks. Finally. The end of Yin. Hope you enjoyed it, and make sure to leave a review. Oh, and if you're fond of this, please read my other Digimon Frontier crossovers. There's The X-Evolution, which crosses with X-Men: Evolution; Balance, a cross with the new manga/anime series Loveless, and Kingdom of the Elemental Hearts, my most detailed story yet, which includes the side story Inside/Outside and possible more, soon. Until next time...
Gemini Star out.