Evolution. The concept, the idea that over time creatures change to better adapt themselves to their surroundings. You, who had once been no more than emotion and faith… have evolved past that of human. Now you are less than God, but higher than the love which had allowed you to grow beyond your meager soul. Which path will you choose: the right which will lead you to take away everything, or the left which will steal away your everything?
It was night. For the first time in a while, Takuya got to sleep on his own futon while Kouji gazed silently out of the brunette's room window. He wanted to know what those things of light were, and who was shooting at them. They had been so caught up in getting away, neither bothered to look. There were so many things that befuddled his brain, so many thoughts that took hold of his mind… he just couldn't sleep. There was too much going on in his head, that sleep was a far-off desire. He turned his attention on the sleeping brunette.
Just days ago he hated Takuya so much. He couldn't stand him. Tolerate him. Even talk to him. But now… he couldn't even fathom being without the brunette. He had never been so afraid in his life than when he heard that gun shot and though… well, it scared him, the idea of losing the brunette. When did he let himself become so dependent on the other? More importantly, why? It all started with him wanting to be more civil… and now he found himself worrying about the brunette's safety and staying up until odd hours having fun with him. How did Takuya so easily steal away all of the cruelty inside of Kouji?
Blowing out a breath, the ravenette craned his neck back so that his blue orbs gazed silently onto the ceiling. Not that he expected to see much. None of the lights were on, and only the streetlamps from outside provided any sort of luminescence. He was actually more bothered by his pressing sense of urgency regarding his own personal inquiries, than by those brought upon by Kouichi's death. After everything the two had gone through, he should have been compelled to concentrate more on what was at stake. For Takuya, anyway. What was at stake for him, Kouji?
This made him frown, with his brows furrowing as they so often did. Indeed, what was at stake for him? Once they figured out what was going on, then what? Avenge Kouichi? Turn the ghost-murderers in? …what would happen to Kouji? How long would he live hidden in the brunette's room? If he was getting cabin fever this early on in his existence, what about a year from now? Two? With a frustrated growl, he ran his fingers through his ponytail. Then with a scowl, he undid the ponytail before stuffing the hairtie into his pocket as roughly at he could. There was that agitated sensation again. Before he was so content, but now he felt like pacing all over the room and screaming his lungs out.
What if their attacker had good aim? What if Takuya had been hit? There was a cold feeling in his pit at the thought. What would happen to me? He wondered quietly. Suddenly, a reality came crashing upon him. His world was so small, so tiny. Essentially, Kouji's life revolved around Takuya's. If anything ever happened to the brunette… yes, that had to be it. The jealousy, the desire to be around Takuya. That was all it was. If anything happened to the brunette, he would simply have nothing left. Surely, it was that simple.
But it wasn't. Something still felt wrong. There was… something, still completely out of place. That explained why he was so bothered by the brunette dying. On the other hand, what if their attacker had killed Kouji? All Takuya would see… was another friend getting shot. Trying to protect him… his eyes widened, and he glanced away from the ceiling to stare in confusion down at himself. He could have run off without the other, but instead he had grabbed the brunette's hand. He wanted them both to get to safety.
Slowly, almost shyly, the ravenette turned to look at the sleeping brunette. "I have… a friend." He whispered quietly, reminding himself. A friend I want to protect. Just like… him… Was it normal to feel this way? Did all friends want to protect each other? Or did he just feel this way, because Kouichi did? With a sigh, he shook his head. Kouji was just going in circles, confusing himself. Quietly, he tiptoed over to where Takuya was sleeping.
The brunette appeared so… well, content. He looked so safe, wrapped up in his blankets. As if nothing happened earlier, as if nothing life-threatening had transpired. For reasons he was unable to grasp, Kouji wanted the other to remain that way. Always. To just be safe, and to even be happy. With a slight smile, he flicked some of the brown cowlicks sticking in strange angles away from the sleeping face's forehead. "Now, where am I going to sleep?" He asked with a soft chuckle. "But I guess…" He lowered his voice as many octaves as he could. "If it helps you sleep… I won't complain this time."
If you have the tape, you have to be careful. His own words suddenly came flashing back to him, and his eyes widened. So if Yuri, and now us, had to be careful because we have the tape… All those hours of waiting for the phone to be answered. The florist suddenly disappearing, that woman appearing, and then them getting attacked… what does Wolf have, for them to have to be careful as well? They weren't missing.
They were hiding.
...
..
...
The two sat at the kitchen table, staring at one another. It was the afternoon, and the brunette had only just gotten back home from school. The morning had been… weird. At least, it fell into his definition of weird (which by the way, was constantly on the rise). When he awoke, Kouji was still up. Initially the brunette thought he just woke up early, but he quickly learned that the other had not been able to get a wink of sleep from the bags beneath the ravenette's eyes. Immediately Takuya made a mental note to give the futon up from henceforth.
The first thing he heard, while trying to make sense of the other's early-morning consciousness was, "We need to talk." Takuya thought that had meant right then, and simply groaned while attempting to fall back asleep. "I mean later. After school." Kouji had sighed, with more drowsiness in his words than exasperation. This was more reassuring, and immediately the brunette resumed trying to wake up. "And… I think I should walk you to school. After what happened yesterday."
"…what?" Takuya blinked, rubbing the crust from his eyes in confusion. "But… what if someone…?"
"Takuya. We almost got killed yesterday, and you're worried about someone seeing me?" Kouji scoffed, giving a peculiar sort of glare at the brunette. Peculiar because he was trying to make it as intense as possible, but because his eyelids kept trying to close on their own the brunette honestly had difficultly realizing that was even a glare.
"Yeah… but… Kouji, I'll be fine." Takuya murmured, throwing his legs off of the bed to place feet clad in gray wooly socks onto the floor. Giving a yawn, the brunette then just flopped back onto the bed. Reality had still yet to sink in.
"How do you know that?" Kouji had snapped, his glare suddenly flaring up. This time, the brunette could tell feel the heat coming from it and decided opening his eyes was not the wisest of decisions right then.
"Nnnmm… Kouji. It's early in the morning…" Takuya whined, and yanked his pillow over his face. It had taken several minutes, but the brunette who was slowly regaining an awareness only a fully rested person could have was able to sway the concerns of a rapidly tiring ravenette. Even so… Takuya was a bit perplexed by Kouji's sudden urge to walk him to school. Had yesterday's events been so… traumatic? The brunette spent his entire day at school wondering just that. And then each time he remembered, he began to wonder why he did not take the other up on the offer… the walk home had been terrifying. Every time he heard a strange sound, he would jump or whirl around while expecting one of 'them' to appear before him to finish their job.
"So… are you sure?" Takuya finally asked, looking up from his fingers to look the other in the eye. When he got home, Kouji had been waiting for him and sat the other down. The bags were gone, for the most part, so the brunette knew the other had finally passed out. Likely on the futon.
"I can't be one-hundred percent positive, but if you think about it… it's possible." Kouji answered, his eyes never having once left the other. "Takuya, these people…" He shifted, suddenly uncomfortable. His existence, the ravenette concluded, made his own self feel incredibly awkward. Had he just been born differently, that would have been fine. But the fact he had no childhood, no… nothing, until a few short weeks ago made him feel… so much farther away from humanity, even though that was technically what he was. "They created me."
"Yeah, but…" Takuya said quietly, and opened his mouth to say more but could think of nothing. He sighed, eyes becoming downcast.
"They aren't idiots, as much as I would like to think them to be. They received an e-mail, and filled out an… order." Kouji hated talking about himself this way, but it was the facts and there was no skirting around something Takuya was putting so much into. Distantly he was bothered by the fact he was continuously doing more and more for the brunette, but at the same time… "And were able to track down that it was Kouichi. Who is to say they didn't find out more, and just didn't tell us? The florist told us to be careful…"
"But I don't get that!" Takuya protested, suddenly bolting up out of his seat. "Those… those people! They initially went in there for her!" It was then he realized that he had never really filled Kouji in on all the details at the flowershop.
"They were?" The clone inquired, furrowing his brows.
"…yeah…" Takuya mumbled, and immediately plopped down. "Well…" He had to tell the other what took place. How could he expect Kouji to help him, if the ravenette was not even properly informed of all the details? Taking a deep breath, he was ready to begin explaining.
"All right." Kouji simply nodded, stopping the other. "So if they were initially after her, why didn't they grab her later?" He murmured, and interlaced his fingers together before resting his mouth on them. "Well, they did but it was after we got the tape from her…" As he proceeded to talk to himself quietly, the brunette just stared in a dumbfounded fashion. Didn't Kouji want to know more details? Wasn't he… well, curious? …how much… had the other changed in the course of a few days? Or had Takuya himself changed? "Unless they were waiting for something."
"Waiting? For what though?" Takuya found himself speaking before he actually thought about responding. He had just been knocked off-track by the other, and apparently other parts of him were determined to get back where they belonged. The clone was silent, his expression revealing just how deeply in thought he was. Blue eyes suddenly widened, as though an epiphany of grand proportions had just gone off. He started to open his mouth to share his grand discovery, until the two heard the front door being unlocked. The two froze, their muscles tensing in fear and apprehension. Only Takuya's parents and his younger brother Shinya had keys. If it was 'them,' then they would have just appeared inside of the house.
Once logic kicked in, the two immediately stumbled over themselves and their chairs to hurry and save themselves from the more domestic danger. Kouji bolted towards the stairs, meanwhile Takuya tripped over invisible stones as he scrambled towards the front door in order to distract whoever just returned home. In came Mrs. Kanbara, who was somewhat confused in seeing her son groaning on the floor while holding a bag of groceries. This was… not what she had expected when getting home early. She quickly removed her shoes, before scuttling over to her child to check that he was all right.
"Sweetie, are you okay? Any bruises?" She inquired, maternal instincts kicking into overdrive.
"Y-yeah, fine mom…" Takuya said awkwardly, giving a weak grin that when combined with his strangely placed brows left his mother completely confused as to what sort of emotion he was hoping to get across. "Oh, here! Let me get that for you!" He yelped, and took her bag away from her before hurrying into the kitchen. In the process, he glanced over at the stairway to ensure that there was no one to be seen. Excellent, Kouji had returned to the safety of his room. The brunette let a small smile spread onto his face. This did not go unnoticed.
"Uhm… Takuya…" Mrs. Kanbara began, slowly walking over to her son. It took a great deal of self-control for her to not look over at the stairway as well. Actually, the only reason she was able to resist was because her son was smiling. Not the reassuring kind he always gave her these past two months, but an actual smile that was there to… just smile. A relaxed one. It had become such a rare sight for her. "Listen, sweetie… I need to talk with you about something." Her teenaged son stiffened. He thought that Kouji escaped… did she catch a glimpse of him?
"Y-yeah mom?" Takuya tried to not act nervous. But the more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. He could not involve his family into any of this, nor could he risk his mother flipping out and doing something crazy. He just… could not lose Kouji. The sudden thought caught him off-guard, and briefly his tension disappeared from his stance as a flash of surprise came upon his visage.
"Now, I know… you've had a rough few months." She went on, and bit her lower lip. Was this all right? Was it too soon? Should she… let him continue to think he was getting away with this? No. She was his mother, and it was her duty to teach him right from wrong. These past few days she let him have his freedom, with the excuse he was recovering… but now, she had to stop it before it became a habit. "Listen, Takuya. You know I love you. But sweetie, you can't just invite friends over and not tell me. It's rude. I mean, just eating leftovers? And are these new friends, sweetie? Are they safe? You… you aren't hanging out with those ruffians, are you?" She just let all the questions spill out, and all the while Takuya just stood there with his jaw hanging open.
Then the relief ensued, and the brunette's knees nearly gave out from simply that. Thank Kami-sama she didn't see him… He relished this fact. "Uh, yeah. He's a new friend." Takuya assured her with a nod, and a burst of good consciousness came with those words. For the first time in weeks, he was being honest with his parents. "Ah, singular. I've only been having the uh, one friend over." He continued to explain, and set down the groceries. In a burst of improved nature, he was even helping to put various bits away. "He's a great guy. We uh, don't always see eye to eye, but… he's nice. Not a ruffian." Even though he tried to kill me once, "And… I'm sorry I haven't told you sooner. Or… asked." Now that the truth was partially out, he was impatient to resume his conversation with Kouji. Especially after the look of understanding the ravenette wore…
"I… I understand." Mrs. Kanbara began, taking this route cautiously. He was responding a little too well with this. And only one friend? She frowned some. "Well, what's his name? Is he here now? I would very much like to meet him." She was not accustomed to receiving answers so easily from him - was he lying to her? The sudden horrified expression he wore spoke volumes, even though he emitted no words. "I thought so." She nodded, and with her mind make up begin making her way towards the stairs. "I don't mind you having friends over, you know." She went on, her son making distressed sounds as he darted after her. "But there are rules - we have to know them first, and they cannot stay over after nine." She continued, following all of this up with a reminder about the importance of school.
"M-mom, wait!" Takuya gasped, and grabbed her wrist once the two reached the top of the stairs. Brown eyes gazed levelly down at him, and the brunette took in a sharp breath. "…listen. By now, he's probably already scrambled out of the window. As for meeting him…" He hesitated. He was already sliding so easily back into the lies. That relief he experienced with his brief brush with honestly as quickly receding once more. "I think that should wait. I know you want to, and I know the rules but… please. Trust me. That should wait. Wait until… we're ready."
Mrs. Kanbara stared at him, and she seemed unusually pale. Takuya could not figure out for the life of him as to why, but she simply took a deep breath and quietly nodded. "V-very well…" She stammered, and swayed. Alarmed, the younger brunette held tightly to his mother until she was stable once more. Dear Kami-sama, my oldest son is gay, was all the woman could think. "I'll… finish putting the groceries away…" She whispered, slowly making her way back down the stairs. Takuya remained confused and unsure as to what just happened, but he was relieved. She was going to trust him - or at least, he thought that was what just happened.
...
..
...
"I made these." Kouji placed down several note cards, each with rather sloppy handwriting. He knew the characters, but had little practice in actual usage. With time and practice his penmanship would improve. Until then, what he provided was acceptable. "After you went to school. Had to do something until I could fall asleep." With this, he proceeded to give the brunette a pointed glare. "By the way, more concern for your own personal safety would start to be a good idea." He was still offended, and even somewhat disturbed at how easily the attack was being shrugged off by the other. The two had been shot at - how could Takuya be so relaxed still?
"…" The brunette chose to ignore this. Then again, he did not have an answer. Grabbing one of the cards, he read, Oleander = to beware. So these were a collection of what the two knew. Rummaging through, he noticed there were two piles - one consisted of the writing on the blank side, while the other entirely of notes on the lined side. "What are these?" He asked, picking one up to read. Yurei: A person who has died in a sudden fashion, or whose body did not have the proper rights performed upon. Influenced by powerful emotions. Realization dawned upon him that, just as he had asked, the ravenette had been doing research.
"Notes." Kouji shrugged, and began turning on the laptop. "I found some sites that are a bit… interesting." He had hesitated - why? "And also, about what I was saying in the kitchen. What they were waiting for. I don't mean for this to sound as self-centered as it does, but… what if they were waiting for me?" He asked, voice strangely detached. The brunette felt a chill begin from within, before spreading out to his skin and making his arm hairs stand up. There was an unnerving logic in that sentence.
"I… I don't know." Takuya finally murmured quietly. He did not want to think about that.
Disclaimer: In no way, shape, or form do I own or have any affiliation with Bandai or the creators of the Digimon series past or present.
A/N: Hey dumplings! I have returned! ...with an immensely ornery power chord, BUT THAT IS OKAY. Kouji's potential Stockholm Syndrome is getting worse - and look! I think Takuya's getting it too! XD YAY FOR DYSFUNCTIONAL AND POTENTIALLY UNHEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS! UNF. What? Aaaanyway. So I am considering re-writing this crack Koukuya ficlet I wrote back in the day that I LOST. It was all kinds of ridiculous. Probably the bad kind of ridiculous, but even so it made me giggle. It involves a kingdom being invaded by ants, and babysitting while requiring you sustain your belief to THE MAX... OVER 9000! Yeah. See you next chapter! (My tone so does not match what I write...)