Frontier 02: Uninvited

madjack89: Hey howdy hey, everyone! Wow, I feel like Woody now…awesome!

Kouichi: *sigh* I'll take over from here. Madjack wrote a character origin one-shot for me now, like she did with Kouji and Hotaru.

madjack89: I sure did! This one-shot depicts the…two and a half week time period between Kouichi's grandma's death and his epic fall down the stairs!

Kouji: It wasn't epic! It almost killed him!

madjack89: …It was still epic.

Kouji: *glares*

madjack89: Okay, so this'll basically just be Kouichi reflecting, from his own POV, over what his grandma said and trying to figure out how to confront Kouji with the truth.

Kouichi: Why'd you make it a two and a half week time period?

madjack89: Because with all of your built up tension during this part of the series, your head probably would've exploded if your whole "stalking" thing had gone on any longer!

Kouichi: I don't think my head would've…never mind. You don't listen to logic.

madjack89: Nope. Okay, happy fanfic reading, guys! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I think if I owned Digimon, all the Frontier haters out there would hate me for making a season entitled "Digimon Frontier 02." ;) (Can't we all just be fans of Digimon together and love all the seasons?)

—

You need to know…Kouichi, you have a brother. You must find Kouji…

I did believe that Grandma had told me the truth. Or at least she THOUGHT she had. She'd been sick for awhile, and maybe all that pain had taken a toll on her mind. Maybe she'd started coming up with crazy delusions…no, she hadn't been delusional. I was sure of that. But still…a brother? How was that possible?

Well, it technically WAS possible. My dad…I'd never known much of anything about him. I didn't even know what he looked like; Mom had never shown me any pictures of him. Whenever I'd questioned Mom about where he was, she'd just say, "He went away." Of course, this answer had never been good enough for me, but I hadn't pried since I'd noticed how upset Mom would look whenever my father was mentioned. I'd pushed any thoughts of him to the back of my mind by this point, but what grandma had said made me wonder.

Where is my dad? Who is he? Why did he leave? Were we not good enough for him? Was I not good enough…?

These thoughts only served to fuel my curiosity until I couldn't take it anymore. I had to know the truth…but I had to find it on my own.

—

"I'm home!" I stated, stepping through the door to my apartment. I sighed with relief when no one answered. I hadn't expected Mom to be home since she'd told me before I'd gone to school that she'd be working later than usual tonight, but I didn't want to take any chances. After all, I was about to break one of my mom's cardinal rules.

There was this shoebox that Mom kept in a corner of her closet, one that I'd learned never to touch. When I was five, I'd stumbled upon it sitting on Mom's bed, probably right after she'd looked through its contents and left the room for a moment, not knowing I'd come in and see it. I was a kid, so of course I'd wanted to look inside. But as soon as I'd lifted the lid of the box, Mom had stormed in and yanked it away from me. She'd yelled at me for touching it and had warned me never to get near it again. I'd never seen her so angry before and it had scared me, so I'd agreed immediately.

Since then, I hadn't gone near that shoebox…until now. There was obviously something in there that she didn't want me to see, and with what Grandma had confessed to me three days ago, I could guess what her secret might be.

I entered Mom's room and went straight to her closet, opening the doors slowly. There it was, right in the same corner as always; Mom's shoebox. Instinctively, I looked around to make sure that no one was watching, though I would've heard Mom if she'd come home. I reached out and grabbed the box, hands shaking. Geez, Mom had really scared me away from doing this, hadn't she? Or maybe it was just the fear of the unknown…? Well, I wasn't letting fear stop me now.

I sat down on Mom's bed, figuring that if Mom got home before I was done looking through her box, I'd have a better chance of not getting caught red-handed if I could quickly shut it and place it back in her closet. Swallowing my last ounce of apprehension, I lifted the lid to reveal…

"What…?" It was just a stack of letters, all addressed to my mom. I raised an eyebrow, feeling confused. Why had Mom kept her old letters such a big secret from me?

As I began sifting through the letters, I realized that they were all from one person; Kousei Minamoto. I'd never heard that name before, but from the big stack of letters in the box, I guessed that Mom knew this person pretty well. (Bow chicka wow wow!) That's not what I meant. (Yeah, I know.)

At first I assumed that "Kousei" was an old friend and Mom just didn't want me messing around with her stuff, but something made me want to open at least one of the letters, just to make sure my assumption was correct. I reached into the box and grabbed a letter from the middle of the stack, slowly removing it from its envelope. I felt momentarily bad for invading my mother's privacy…until I started reading the letter.

It was dated for last year, and it wasn't very long, but it was enough for me to confirm my Grandma's story as truth.

Dear Tomoko,

Kouji is doing better than he was a few months ago. I got him a dog, like you suggested. He doesn't seem to be as depressed now, but I can't honestly say I'm not still worried about him. I'm glad to know that Kouichi is doing well, at least. Thank you for the more recent picture of him. I've sent one of Kouji back to you.

Kousei

I slowly lowered my gaze from the letter, staring at the picture that had fallen out of the envelope and onto my lap. One look at this photo, and I knew the truth. My father had abandoned my mother. My father had abandoned me. And my father, to top it all off, had taken my brother…my twin brother, away from us.

—

That night, I couldn't seem to get to sleep. My mind was buzzing with too many nagging thoughts. The fact that I'd kept the photo of my brother didn't help much, either.

"Kouji." I kept whispering his name to myself, trying to get used to it as I stared at his picture. It was so surreal. He looked so much like me. I'd already guessed that we were twins before I'd gotten to the bottom of the shoebox and seenthe copy of his birth certificate, right on top of mine. We'd both been born on the same day, February 24, me at 4 PM and Kouji at 4:10. That made me…the older twin.

Wow…I have a younger brother. That thought actually excited me a little. I'd never had a sibling, let alone a twin. I'd never even had any good friends my own age before. I'm kind of…soft-spoken by nature, so people tend to ignore me. Frankly, I don't do much in the way of putting myself into the social spotlight. How would I introduce myself to Kouji if I couldn't even do the same successfully with students in my class? It made me nervous just thinking about it.

But I'd already resolved to meet him. If nothing else, I had to see him. I had to know he existed, that this wasn't just some elaborate joke, that I really did have a brother. Most of all, I had to find out if Kouji knew of my existence. I had to find out if we'd both been lied to, because if we had…then our own parents had betrayed us.

—

The next day, instead of running errands with Mom, as I always did on Sundays, I'd told her I had to go to the library and do some research for a school project. Despite my lack of ability when it comes to lying, she'd accepted my excuse and headed out to the store on her own. I felt bad blowing her off, especially since Grandma had always accompanied us on our errands and now…

I shook this thought off quickly. This is what Grandma would've wanted. For me to find out the truth.

I'd worked out a loose plan the night before. I had my dad's address; the fact that the oldest letters in my mom's box all seemed to come from different addresses had worried me at first, but about three years ago, the address had become consistent. Luckily, the street name was familiar to me. In fact, I could walk there in under half an hour. But once I got there, what then…?

Considering how skeptical I'd been of my Grandma's assertion at first, I knew I needed some kind of proof to show Kouji that I wasn't just some random kid who happened to look like him and that my story was true. I decided I'd take our birth certificates to prove that we'd been born on the same day, by the same person, around the same time. He couldn't deny the truth then, right?

With these documents and the address in hand, I set out. It actually took me more than thirty minutes to walk there, mostly because I wasn't exactly in a hurry. The walk to my father's house was giving me too much time to really think about what I was going to say once I got there.

What if Kouji didn't like me? I wasn't even sure what there was to like about me. I'm kind of boring, when you get right down to it. Just quietly blending in with the scenery, never once sticking out in a crowd, never having done anything worth mentioning. I'd always been sort of a nothing…

Finally, I made it to the right street, ignoring my depressing thoughts as I walked slowly down the sidewalk, checking address after address. No…no…no…no…where was it?

I found it a second later, nestled inside this little suburban neighborhood. This was where the Minamotos lived. My father and my brother lived here.

I should've done it. I should've gone up to the door right then and there and made myself known. But my plan had been a lot easier to carry out in theory than in practice. When I actually saw the house, everything suddenly became too real. It wasn't as if I'd thought it wouldn't be there or anything, it's just…now there was physical proof that these people existed. And I had to face them.

When the door to the house suddenly began to open, I panicked and ran, cursing myself all the while for being such a coward. My curiosity wouldn't let me leave, though, so safely hidden behind a wall, I peeked out to see who had opened the door. That was when I saw my brother for the first time. Well, technically the first time in years, but we'd been separated at an early age, so it wasn't as if we remembered.

And, technically, I saw his dog first. I've never been the biggest fan of dogs (not that I hate them), but once Kouji was through the door, I barely paid attention to it.

There he was. There, right in front of me, was the brother I'd been hoping to meet, the twin I'd never known that I had. I should have been happy. This completely dissolved any doubt that my grandmother had told me the truth. This was the physical proof I had needed.

But for one brief moment, when I saw Kouji smile at his dog, when I saw what I'd thought at the time was blissful happiness on his face, I felt angry. Up to that point, I'd mostly been stunned by what I'd learned from my grandmother. There'd been small flashes of resentment when I'd found out more about the other half of my family, but I guess seeing Kouji's happiness had released all of it at once.

I'd never seen much of a problem with the life my mother and me led. At least, I was content with my life. But Mom…she worked so damn hard, just for me. I'd always felt like a burden on her, useless because I wasn't old enough to help her in any way that really mattered. I'd wished for so long that I could make her life easier…and seeing Kouji looking so happy, I realized that my father had not only left Mom, he'd made a better life for himself and left Mom with nothing but me, a helpless child.

I don't know whether my resentment at that moment had been directed more at my father or at me, but it dissolved when Kouji's dog jerked too hard on the leash in my brother's hand, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground. I'd never had a sibling before, so the sudden urge to rush out and make sure that Kouji was okay had been different, but not exactly alien. It was like that protective urge had always been inside me, waiting to burst out.

I would've revealed myself thanks to this urge if she hadn't spoken. "Are you alright, Kouji?"

I quickly ducked behind the wall as a middle-aged woman rushed toward Kouji, a worried expression on her face. For a moment, I was confused. She'd come from the direction of the Minamotos' house. Was she another relative I'd never heard of, come for a visit? Or was she…?

No. It couldn't be true. She couldn't be…

"Ouch, that had to hurt. You okay to walk?" A man soon joined the other two, and I instantly identified him as my father. Dad…my dad…and that woman standing there…were they…?

"I'm fine." That was my brother, still sitting on the ground after his fall. He looked a bit embarrassed by the fuss the woman was making. She almost reminded me of my mother…oh no…

"Let's go." With that statement, the three people, plus the dog, headed down the sidewalk, ready to enjoy a nice, sunny day on a walk with the family.

As I watched them go, I knew I didn't belong in this picture. That woman was the one who truly belonged. She was my father's wife.

—

To say I felt bitter is an understatement.

How could I have been so stupid? I'd thought that, if I could just let Kouji know that I existed, everything would work itself out. My mother would be happy, and I'd finally have, not just a father, but a twin brother. It would be so perfect…but I hadn't even considered what could have kept my dad away from us in the first place.

Of course he'd found another woman. I should have known all along. He'd left us for another family. A better family.

Maybe he hadn't wanted twins. That could explain why he'd taken Kouji. Yeah…he only wanted one child, not two. Kouji and I had ruined everything when we were born. That had to be the reason. What other reason could he have for abandoning my mother? It was all because of me and my brother's existence. We'd screwed everything up.

And now that I knew the full truth, how could I possibly ruin things for the Minamotos? My brother was as blissfully ignorant as I'd been, and why should I change that? My shattered piece of mind was enough of a sacrifice.

When I got to my apartment complex, I realized that I felt sick. Turns out I'd somehow caught a cold. It lasted through the night and into the next day, so I stayed home from school. Mom had wanted to stay and take care of me, but she couldn't afford to miss work. For once, I actually agreed with her boss. She's so frail that I knew she'd catch my cold if she stayed with me, and that would only make things worse.

I spent the day alone in bed, haunted by thoughts of my father and brother. Mostly of my brother. I'd been so excited to meet him. To think I'd believed that just seeing him would ever be enough for me. I wanted to introduce myself now more than ever.

It made me feel lonely, thinking about Kouji. He was probably in school, completely oblivious to my existence. Or maybe what people said about twins was true, that we could somehow sense when our sibling was hurt or sick. I couldn't recall ever sensing something like that, but maybe I hadn't realized that what I was feeling was someone else's pain. Maybe Kouji could somehow feel that I was sick right now. The thought comforted me a little, even if I didn't fully believe it.

I started to feel better as the afternoon progressed, and by nightfall I'd completely recovered from my cold. Mom was relieved, since she'd been worried sick about me all day. Perhaps it wasn't good that she'd gone to work after all. She looked a little pale…

But she waved off my concern, insisting that she was fine. I knew she wasn't.

—

Between thoughts of my separated family and my mother's declining health, I could barely sleep, much less pay attention in class. Fortunately, even teachers ignore me, and I wasn't called on once to answer a question, nor did anyone think it was weird that I was being so quiet. It was just another typical day of class for them, with that quiet kid sitting silently in the corner, just taking up space, like he always did.

That was all I was good for, wasn't it? Taking up space. I'd been doing it all my life, in school, with Mom. And if I told Kouji who I was, I'd fill more unwanted space. Obviously, my father thought I was a burden. He wouldn't have left if he thought otherwise. If I ruined the happy family he'd created by reentering his life, I wouldn't just be a nuisance anymore. My dad would hate me.

But what could I do? How could I just let things continue as they were? My mom was growing weaker and weaker as the days went by. I still remembered what I'd proposed the other night. I'd suddenly blurted my thoughts out to Mom, saying that we should find her a less stressful job, almost pleading with her.

Of course, she just smiled and said, "I can't just take off any time I want. They need me."

Need her. They didn't NEED her. I knew they could easily find someone to replace her if she were to leave. And that was why she stayed. Like it or not, she needed this job to support herself…and to support me. Because I needed her.

I let the subject drop after that, since I knew it would be useless to try to ease her burden that way. But still, I had to do something. All the stress Mom had built up over the past week and a half, first from Grandma's death, then from my own brief sickness, was eating away at her. She asked much more frequently if I was alright, ignoring the fact that her own health was declining. All of this began to fuel my resolve. There was no way I could have saved Grandma, but I'd be damned if I didn't save my mother.

Wait…Grandma was the one who'd told me about Kouji in the first place, but why had she done it? Because she knew she'd never get another chance and didn't trust Mom to tell me herself? Because she didn't want to go into the afterlife with a guilty conscience?

No, it was something more than that. Mom had been close to her mother, and they'd remained close till the very end. Of course she'd felt upset after Grandma's death…and that, in turn, had affected her health. Grandma knew how broody Mom could be. (Like you're one to talk, Chief?) (Kouichi: -_-) She wouldn't have wanted her death to cause another…

So she told me about Kouji, hoping I'd reunite him with Mom! Of course! That had to be it. From the letters I'd read, it was obvious that Mom hadn't physically seen Kouji since we'd been separated. Sure, she still had me, but Kouji was also her son. She must miss him terribly.

And that was where I came in. I was the only one who could do this. If Mom were to meet with Kouji, I knew she'd feel so much better. Heck, maybe it would help Kouji, too. He had to be curious about where his REAL mother was. I was the link between these two. I could bring them together. All I had to do was get Kouji to trust me enough to follow me home, and my mom would finally be happy…

But how would I do it?

—

My first attempt to approach Kouji hadn't exactly worked out the way I'd planned.

I tried to catch him as he left for school the next morning, but I hadn't realized that his father usually dropped him off at his school on the way to work. I definitely couldn't reveal myself with HIM around, especially when that woman was waving them off, a troubled expression on her face, the same one my mother seemed to wear constantly nowadays…

Ugh, why did she keep reminding me of Mom? She wasn't even a true mother! All she'd done was fill the empty space left by my mom, trying to replace her in my brother's life. But she could never replace her, not in a million years! She was a sham, a fraud! That woman just deserved to…

I took several deep breaths, keeping my anger in check. There was no point in being mad at the ones who had done this to us. It wouldn't change anything. I just had to concentrate on my goal, and that was to tell Kouji the truth. So I pushed my rage to the back of my mind, ignoring it for the time being.

—

My second attempt at talking to my brother had also been a bust.

Thanks to my little detour that morning, I'd been late for class, earning a scolding from my teacher and concern from my mother. She wanted to know what I'd been doing, but I knew I couldn't reveal to her yet what I'd found out. Not until I had Kouji with me.

Since catching Kouji on his way to school didn't seem to be a good strategy, perhaps I could catch him on his way home. With this thought in mind, I headed to the Minamoto's after class instead of going straight home, as I normally did. I had no way of knowing if I'd make it there before Kouji entered the house, but I had to try.

Luck was on my side, because as I approached the house, Kouji appeared around the corner, heading straight at me. His eyes were trained on the ground in front of him, so he hadn't yet noticed me. To even my own surprise, I didn't run or duck behind a wall. I just let my feet carry me forward, like a magnetic pull was drawing me toward my brother.

I let it guide me, excitement and terror coursing through my veins. This was it. I was going to introduce myself to my brother. Everything would be okay now. My mother wouldn't have to suffer anymore, and I…

I pulled the brim of my hat down over my eyes as I passed him, shielding my face from view. I stopped once he was past my field of vision, rooting myself to the pavement until I heard it. The opening and closing of a door. As if this were a cue of some kind, I unfroze and continued to walk down the street, vision blurry from unshed tears.

—

I tried to approach him several other times throughout the week, but these attempts also ended in failure. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find the courage to call out to him, even to just step out in front of him and let him make his own assumptions. I don't know what it was, but something about him…frightened me.

His constantly calm, collected expression, the hard look in his eyes, it all intimidated me to no end. I could never tell what he was thinking, whether he was happy or sad or angry. His face was a mask that I couldn't penetrate.

Then again, that was no different than what I always did. I may not give off such an intimidating aura as Kouji, but I also hide my feelings from others. Mom had been concerned about my behavior all week, pressing me with questions about where I'd been going after school and what I was doing. I may not be good at lying, but when it comes to protecting my mom from my problems, I can lie my ass off. I'd smile and tell her that everything was okay, that I was working on a school project, that it was nothing to worry about. Meanwhile, I felt like a ticking time bomb, ready to blow at any second.

Maybe that was also the case with Kouji. Perhaps he had his own worries to hide from the people around him. We must really be twins, I thought to myself, watching him walk right past me yet again. We're both good at hiding.

—

On Friday, I was forced to change my routine up a bit. Mom had been planning to do some shopping in Shibuya, but got a call from her boss at the last minute saying she had to go back to the office immediately. So she handed me a grocery list and some money, asking if I could pick up the items for her. Of course I agreed, happy with any opportunity to help out.

I made it to the station in time to catch the 5:45 train, paying for my ticket and heading toward the platform. As I stepped onto the train car, though, someone caught my eye in the car in front of mine. There, hopping quickly through the doors as if he were in a hurry, was my brother.

What in the world is he doing here? I thought briefly, then shook my head. It didn't really matter why he was here. In fact, this was a stroke of luck. This was the opportunity I needed. His father wasn't here. His stepmother wasn't here. It was just him, alone. And this time, I was going to tell him the truth, no matter the cost.

It was too late for me to switch cars, so I positioned myself near the window, training my eyes on Kouji. I couldn't let him get away now, not when I was finally ready to approach him. Just as the train was about to depart, another boy leaped into the car my brother stood in. The boy sunk to the floor as the train lurched forward, sighing in relief. I was a bit confused by his behavior, but soon my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of beeping.

I looked around as nearly everyone else in the train took out their cell phones which, strangely, had all gone off at once, creating a cacophony of ring tones. I'd accidentally let my cell phone's battery die earlier, so mine wasn't with me at the moment, but I noticed Kouji and that other boy glancing at their phones as well. The boy looked up and said something to Kouji, pointing at his phone, but my brother just shrugged him off.

I wonder if he'll try to do that to me…? I thought, growing a bit nervous. But I wasn't letting Kouji's standoffishness scare me now. If he didn't want to listen to me, I'd have to make him listen.

As I pondered this, the boy with the goggles suddenly stood up and yelled something, causing everyone else in the train to give him odd looks. I raised an eyebrow, a bit worried about this kid. Was he crazy or just an oddball? Once he calmed down, though, I decided to ignore him and my attention returned to my brother.

After enduring what must have been the longest train ride of my entire life, we arrived at Shibuya Station. Here I go, I thought as the doors slid open.

I tried to keep Kouji's bandana in my peripheral vision as he exited the train. Shoving through the crowd milling out of my car would have been a pointless effort, so I waited impatiently for the mob to disperse. This hadn't been a good plan on my part, since when I finally made it to the exit, Kouji quickly stalked past, and I soon lost him in the crowd.

"Damn it," I cursed under my breath, stepping into the throng of people in hopes that following their lead would take me to my brother. I quickly found myself in a less densely populated area of the station, but I still couldn't spot him.

Figuring I'd just continue in the direction he'd been headed and hope for the best, I took off at a sprint through the station, dodging past people like objects in an obstacle course. I was momentarily surprised by my sudden agility, a skill I'd never shown great aptitude for in gym class, but I just attributed it to adrenaline and kept going.

As I neared the far wall of the station, I finally saw him standing in an elevator, staring absentmindedly at the buttons that controlled the transportation mechanism, the doors slowly closing…

"Kouji!" I charged forward, rushing through the gates and making a beeline for the elevator. Please… I thought, praying to any god that would listen. Please let me make it!

Suddenly, someone else ran out a couple feet in front of me, also headed for the elevator. It was him, that boy who had rushed onto the train, the one who had tried to talk to Kouji, the one who had randomly started yelling for no reason. For a moment, hope filled me. If he could just grab the elevator doors and stop them from closing, we could both make it inside. My hope sank when I noticed that the doors were already halfway closed, and neither of us was close enough to reach them in time. I couldn't make it. My brother was slipping from my grasp, and I couldn't make it…but I could damn near try.

As my legs pushed forward as fast as they could carry me, the goggle-head did something both crazy and brilliant. I could only watch in amazement as he lunged forward, flying through the elevator doors before they shut on his feet. They weren't closed yet, though, and I was almost there. If I could just stick my hand, my foot, anything between those two doors…

I stuck out my palms to keep myself from slamming against the wall as the elevator doors shut, barring me from my brother. I was too late. I hadn't been fast enough to reach the doors in time. I had lost my opportunity…

DING! This sound caught my attention, and I looked at the screen next to the elevator. The number on the screen changed from 1 to B1 as the elevator descended, giving me an idea. I'll just take the stairs to the basement!

With this plan in place, I wasted no time in running toward the stairwell. I threw away all caution and safety as I sped down the steps, fixated on my goal. All I had to do was get to the basement. Kouji would be there, and I would finally tell him the truth.

I rounded the corner and started down the last flight of stairs…

I wasn't sure why, but suddenly I was laying on the ground, barely clinging to consciousness. I tried to move, but all my limbs felt heavy as if bricks were tied to them, weighing them down.

"Kouji…" I muttered with the last of my strength, feeling the darkness closing over me. I wasn't going to tell him after all. I hadn't been able to make it.

I'm sorry…

—

madjack89: Aw man, I just realized that this was the story I'd always work on to cure writer's block, and now I've finished it! Looks like I'll have to go back to writing stuff for Randomness.

Kouji: Oh great…

madjack89: Anyway, is it just me, or did I kind of over-exaggerate Kouichi's mental babble in this? Then again, he doesn't always share his thoughts with other people, so his mental babble level is probably pretty high.

Kouichi: Mental babble?

madjack89: You know, talking to yourself, only you do it in your head instead of talking out loud.

Kouji: That's called thinking.

madjack89: Well I call it mental babble, so shut up Kouji!

Kouji: Hmph.

madjack89: I also think I made Kouichi look like a bit of a pussy, but I think it works!

Kouichi: *sigh*

Takuya: So according to you, Kouichi, I'm either an oddball or I'm crazy? Thanks.

Kouichi: It was just a first impression. I'm sorry…

Kouji: It is true, though.

Takuya: -_- Screw you, Kouji.

madjack89: Alright, just R&R to tell me what you think! See ya!