Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Ethereal ❯ Past Lives ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter VII

"Do I know you??"

"I know this may seem sudden, but do you believe in parallel universes??"

Ken rolled his eyes at Hikari's question and then glanced at Takeru, who seemed to wear the most impenetrable mask he had ever seen yet. Koushirou blinked in alarm as he stared at the petite girl before him. He then glanced at Takeru and Ken and then back at Hikari. "I repeat, do I know you?" he replied stoically. He had been in the middle of a study session when they interrupted, and quite frankly he wished to go back to it and not be bothered by silly questions. Silence answered him as Hikari turned to face Takeru and Ken in question.

Finally Koushirou sighed loudly and began closing the door, when Takeru's hand shot forward. The redhead looked at him in alarm. "I'm sorry, Koush. You think you could let us in?" Takeru asked, staring at the computer genius in the eye. Koushirou blinked once before dropping his hand to his side in shock.

"How…why did you call me 'Koush'?" he inquired in a dull tone as if he were dreaming.

Takeru sighed and closed his eyes for a second while Hikari placed an encouraging hand over his shoulder. "Please…I'll explain everything once we're inside," he murmured quietly. Koushirou frowned for a moment before moving aside, allowing the three to enter.

As they walked in, Koushirou eyed Takeru suspiciously. Perhaps he was being too analytical, but there was just something not right about the blond…or his friends. Koushirou then closed the door and sat down by his computer while waiting patiently for the three strangers to introduce themselves fully.

Takeru looked at Ken and Hikari before sighing. Ken grinned widely at him. "If you can convince me to believe you, then you can most definitely convince Koushirou," he whispered as Takeru braced himself. The blond shot a look of gratitude at Ken before facing the waiting redhead.

"Koushirou…I know we may seem like strangers to you, but in reality we've known each other for a long time," he began as he stared at Koushirou deeply. The redhead didn't make any sort of gesture so he continued. "I'm Ishida Takeru…and my friends are Ichijouji Ken and Yagami Hikari. And in repeating Hikari's question earlier, do you believe in parallel universes?" Takeru inquired while examining Koushirou's face for any sort of emotion. What he saw was shock, disbelief, and amusement. Takeru narrowed his eyes. Perhaps Koushirou thought that they were a group of pranksters.

Koushirou then leaned back in his seat for a moment before smiling curiously. "Say I do believe in parallel universes. What would you say next?" he replied with a glint in his eyes. Takeru smiled inwardly to himself.

Koushirou was still his same old self-cautious, quick, and questioning. The blond sighed and folded his hands over his lap.

"I'd say… Have you ever seen a mark in the palm of your hand? The mark of Knowledge?" Takeru queried, smiling a bit in satisfaction at the brief flash of shock cross Koushirou's face before he covered it. Takeru leaned forward. "You know what I'm talking about, Koush. I can see it in your eyes. We were all friends once and part of a team…a great team that went to another world similar to ours called the Digital World. We encountered digimon and even fought off evil…before that evil sent us back here, erasing all your memories of the digimon and Digital World. I…I was the only one who remembered because of a sacrifice of one of our teammates. And he's still there till this day. Are you with me so far?" Takeru asked, as he stared at the now open look of pure shock and bewilderment on Koushirou's face.

Takeru sighed and took another deep breath. "I know you still don't believe me; I know you, Koush. You're definitely not to be taken with lightly. But I am telling the truth and I know deep down inside you believe me," Takeru murmured almost to himself.

Koushirou continued staring at him, all emotion gone from his face as his mind contemplated what Takeru said. The theory of other worlds existing besides their own had always haunted Koushirou's mind. He had also always questioned the strange mark in his right palm. It only appeared in the moonlight, though. Koushirou had noticed that whenever he went out and if there was any sort of moon in the sky, all he would have to do was raise his hand and the mark would glow brightly. He never knew what it meant and it scared him so he never told anyone.

"We need your help, Koushirou. I know you're good at computers and well…we need a portal to the Digital World that I know you can help me create," Takeru said, staring at the redhead intensely. He was not this forthright with Ken, but he learned from that experience that forthrightness was exactly what he needed when he facing Koushirou. The redhead was the type to not sit and wait for long explanations and excuses.

Suddenly Hikari spoke up. "Koush…um…" she began as Koushirou suddenly turned to face her, forgetting that she was even there. He narrowed his eyes at her as she sputtered to speak. "I know it's rather impolite of us to just burst in on you like this but you have no idea how strange this is for us. We were once a really good group of friends and now we're nothing more but strangers… Some part of me hopes that we can still be that same group of friends again…that same group that you were part of. We really need you here, Koushirou," she said quietly while staring at him hopefully.

Koushirou blinked slowly and faced Takeru again. Throughout their entire speech he hadn't said a word. It was all so much information to gather…parallel universes, these weird symbols on their palms, and a group of them actually traveling to this other universe? He would normally have never accepted it if not for the feeling in his heart that told him to go for it. He glanced at the three companions and stood up for a moment. All gazes were instantly turned on him.

The redhead sighed and smiled slightly at Takeru.

"So what was this portal you were speaking of?"

The blond suddenly broke into a smile of immense relief as he stood up and waved to Ken, who instantly flew to his side. He eyed Koushirou carefully. "Here's Ken, he'll be helping you out with that portal," he said as he nodded towards the dark-haired boy. Koushirou glanced at him and nodded.

As Koushirou started up his computer, Takeru placed a hand on Ken's shoulder. "I gave you the program and hopefully the coordinates are still the same. You and Koush should be able to break into the defenses pretty easily. Me and Hikari are going to check up on Taichi and Yamato. We're trying to find a way to shed some light on them," he whispered into Ken's ear. The latter nodded and glanced at Koushirou, who was silently waiting for him.

Takeru smiled slightly and clapped his hand hard on Ken's shoulder while looking over at Koushirou.

"Take care you two!" he called out as he and Hikari began heading out the door. Ken grinned and sat down beside Koushirou, handing him a disk. He cracked his knuckles in anticipation. He had been waiting for a good time to check out this Digital World for himself. He looked at Koushirou and smiled.

"Let's get started shall we?"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Did anyone ever tell you how insane you are?" Hikari groaned as Takeru dragged her through the subway stairs. The blond merely grunted but didn't turn back as he continued his hurried pace to her apartment building. A wave of cold air greeted them as they walked out and Hikari pulled her scarf around herself tightly. Takeru promptly dropped her arm and she allowed herself to slow down and catch her breath as Takeru rushed on, not noticing his friend's discomfort to the slightest. He muttered on quietly to himself.

"It's so simple that I can't believe I never thought of it in the first place! God, I'm an idiot!" he exclaimed as he suddenly stopped and turned around, staring at Hikari darkly. She muttered a curse under her breath as she jogged up next to him.

"So what is this 'plan' of yours?" she muttered between clenched teeth.

She should have agreed to stay with Koushirou and Ken. Takeru was her best friend, but even she didn't have the patience to deal with his awkward mood swings. As Takeru continued ahead silently, ignoring her question, she frowned. He never used to be so absentminded nor grim. Hikari eyed the tall blond more carefully as she made a mental observation. There was most definitely a deep sense of grief in his eyes that wasn't there before. It was hidden well, but the thing that scared her the most was the fact that he seemed so utterly determined to get back to the Digital World. It was good, yes, but the idea seemed so completely burrowed into his mind that it made him appear almost maniacal about it. Hikari started wondering about that determination when Takeru stopped abruptly. She eyed him irritably.

"Will you stop that??" she complained.

The blond didn't pay any attention to her, however, as he looked up at the tall building before them. A strange look crossed Takeru's face before he covered it up again.

"Is your brother home?" he quietly inquired of Hikari. The girl looked at him in surprise before nodding mutely. A bizarre sort of smile made its way to his lips as he whipped out a cellphone from his pocket.

"Good."

Hikari shook her head in silence. So this was Takeru's great plan: call up Yamato and tell him to pick him up at Nagasaki. And then once he got there, Taichi would just be waiting ever so patiently in the living room with them and hopefully some kind of reaction would occur. Well, the part where Taichi was waiting with them wasn't a problem. Hikari suspected that he didn't really want to leave his little sister alone with some boy he never even met supposedly. However, those two immediately sparked up a conversation about soccer. Hikari never remembered Takeru being a soccer fanatic.

The wait for Yamato, however, proved to be a long one.

The three had been waiting in the living room for well over three hours doing all sorts of things to keep them sane. Takeru and Taichi played against each other in some video game and Hikari watched them, all the while not sure who to cheer for. After one vicious battle that Takeru won, Taichi sat back and dropped the control with a loud sigh of aggravation.

"Okay, okay, that does it! I am not playing against you anymore!" he exclaimed while pointing an accusing finger at the blond, who smirked back at him. Takeru shrugged and glanced at his watch with some concern.

"I don't understand what's taking my brother so long," he murmured quietly. And then to their utmost surprise, the sound of the buzzing bell was sounded. Takeru shared a secret glance with Hikari, who was trying hard not to laugh at the coincidental occurrence. She nodded as he stood up, cracking his knuckles.

"I guess that's him! Well, it's been nice getting to know you, Taichi," he said as he nodded towards Taichi, who merely grinned back at him.

Hikari suddenly flew to her feet. Now came her part. As Takeru made his way to the door, she grabbed his arm. "Wait! You should at least bring your brother us and introduce him! Besides it's cold outside and maybe we could offer him something warm," she said as Taichi stood up, nodding in agreement.

The spiky-haired youth looked once at Takeru. "It's a good idea. And besides, Hikari would never let you get away with it," he said with a laugh. Hikari grinned back and Takeru hid his own smile. It was fortunate for him that Hikari was always the polite host.

"Yeah, why not. I guess Yamato does deserve a break after that long trip. I'll go get him," he said as casually as he could muster. They watched him in silence as he left down the stairs.

Hikari breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God they lived on the second floor. She leaned against the doorway and Taichi went back to sit in the living room, reading a sports magazine he managed to produce from behind the couch. Hikari tapped her finger against the door and she could hear Takeru talking faintly below her. She nearly froze when she heard Yamato's voice. It's been so long, she wondered faintly to herself. Suddenly the sound of tramping feet was heard along the stairs and Hikari quickly settled herself in the kitchen, getting something to drink while hoping to herself that Taichi didn't think it strange that she rushed so quickly from the door.

"…I don't want to be an intrusion, Takeru…"

"Intrusion? You're an intrusion whether you want to be or not, Yama."

Hikari coughed loudly to hide her laughter and Taichi stood up from his place to greet the newcomer. She turned her head slightly to see around the corner and was rewarded by the sight of Yamato and Takeru approach the apartment. Taichi stood before them, sticking his hand out.

"Hey, Yagami Taichi, Hikari's older brother," she heard him announce. She smiled to herself. It was no wonder Taichi had so many friends. The way he spoke practically screamed out of friendliness and welcome.

"Oh… Ishida Yamato. Same with this rascal over here," Yamato replied in his cool tone.

Hikari marveled at how much Takeru sounded like his older brother. It was always a possibility she supposed when they were in the Digital World that Takeru would grow up to look and sound like Yamato. Their appearances were definitely similar, though Yamato retained more of that rebel look to him. Their voices were almost identical save the fact Takeru had a deeper tone. She smiled to herself. They were definitely brothers all right. She then quickly grabbed a cup and poured some green tea into it as she walked out of the kitchen, greeting Yamato with a warm smile.

"I'm Hikari," she introduced before holding up the cup before Yamato. "Tea?" she offered in a sweet tone. Yamato blinked in mild surprise but took the cup graciously.

"Thanks," he said as he sipped it. Hikari looked at Takeru and winked.

Well they had gotten the introductions down in a beat. But now they had to somehow find a way to actually make them remember. She, like Takeru, had also wanted to reveal their forgotten past to them last. Though Takeru was always the braver of the two; he finally decided to take them down at the same time. It would be hard after all, to keep disappearing everyday to look for the others with Taichi and Yamato being overprotective brothers. They would probably want to come along some time or later; it would have been better to actually have them on their side and know what was going on. She sighed quietly. Luckily she was on break from school, though she didn't know much about Takeru. His whereabouts the last four years were still a complete mystery to her.

"Enough of this standing around business. Come on into the living room, Yamato," Taichi suddenly interjected.

Hikari blinked out of her reverie and noticed that Takeru was looking at her strangely. She shrugged and followed Taichi into the living room where Yamato soon came in pursue. Takeru quietly closed the door and came in last and saw all three sitting in silence. Taichi and Hikari sat next to each other while Yamato sat bent over in the chair left of Taichi. Takeru sighed and shook his head. This was not at all how he planned it to be. But he supposed that it would also have been near miracle if the two recognized each other immediately like the way he and Hikari had. The two were best friends, but Hikari and him had linked crests that pretty much made the two almost inseparable. He still thought back with some amusement on how everyone kept saying they would end up together for that was not the case at all.

"Good tea."

The comment rang clearly through the entire apartment and everyone looked at Yamato in surprise. He placed the cup gently down on the table and cleared his throat with some discomfort. Even Yamato can get nervous, Takeru mused amusedly. Hikari stood up and took the cup.

"Do you want more?" she asked, looking hopefully at Yamato. The more time they wasted, the better chance they had of the two sparking some kind of remembrance of each other. To her disappointment Yamato shook his head and looked sharply at Takeru.

"We really ought to go, Takeru," he said in a surprisingly serious tone. The younger of the two nodded slightly, while smiling to himself inside. He knew that tone Yamato was using. It was the one he always used whenever he was uncertain about something and needed to think. Perhaps the silence hadn't been so bad. Yamato did always tend to think more than talk anyway.

He stood up and took his coat while throwing Yamato his. "Let's go then," he stated simply as Hikari stared at him jaw-dropped.

Even Yamato was a bit unnerved by the casualty Takeru responded with. He was suspicious of his actions ever since he invited him up to introduce him to Hikari. Takeru was an amiable boy, but he never sounded so willingly and excited to introduce Hikari to him, no matter how subtle his tone was. Takeru was his brother and he knew…or used to know every face he had. Yamato then glanced at Taichi. Somehow when he introduced himself, he was struck by the oddest familiarity. It completely baffled him and the more Taichi seemed to talk, the stronger the feeling got until Yamato was practically sure he knew Taichi from somewhere-and that just confused him further.

"Yamato?"

The blond turned his head sharply and saw Takeru waiting for him patiently at the door. He nodded quickly and gathered his coat into his shoulders, zipping it up. He then turned around and smiled at Hikari and Taichi.

"It was nice to meet you," he said, his gaze wondering on the both of them as Hikari nodded and as Taichi remained silent.

Yamato turned on his heel and then promptly opened the door and hurried out the hallway. He heard Takeru call out a good-bye and heard both Hikari and Taichi respond with an enthusiastic, "See you later!" As he rushed past the stairs, he wondered to himself. Yes, even Hikari seemed familiar now. Her warm face and smile haunted his mind along with Taichi's own friendly grin and voice. Perhaps he was going insane. He only met the two today!

"They're nice aren't they, Yama?"

Yamato nearly jumped at the sound of his brother and noticed that Takeru had already met up with his quick pace. He nodded mutely. He wasn't in a mood to talk about it, though he was sure Takeru would pester him about it later on. He couldn't help it, however, as one comment slipped from his lips: "They seem very familiar to me."

To that Takeru didn't respond and for a second Yamato wondered if he had said anything at all. Yamato turned to face Takeru and noticed a queer expression in his brother's eyes.

"Takeru?" he asked in concern.

The younger blond blinked slowly. "Maybe you knew each other in past lives," he murmured quietly with a hint of feeling Yamato couldn't quite understand. Then he realized something: Takeru was smirking. He scowled and punched Takeru in the arm.

"Stop kidding around!" he exclaimed, half in humor and half in wonder. Takeru's words brought a strange sort of flash in his mind. And there was a tint of seriousness in Takeru's tone when he spoke. It made Yamato confused and thoughtful at the same time.

"Well, back to my first question; they are nice aren't they?"

Yamato merely nodded. The two had actually been more than nice, especially Hikari. She served him almost like a customer at a restaurant. Then his mind crossed over Taichi. He had been nice, too. Though in the end, he seemed a little distracted when he had said good-bye. Yamato shook his head. Perhaps Taichi always had a short attention span. It certainly seemed like it from the way he first acted: very welcoming, loud, and quick to grow restless.

Takeru glanced at Yamato from the corner of his eye and smiled slightly. It seemed his plan hadn't turned out so badly after all. Yamato was still thinking about Taichi and Hikari-which was good. It gave him hope that something would trigger. And hopefully his hint on "past lives" would give him something to ponder on as well. He frowned slightly. Yamato was smart, he should be able to put the two together and get something. They approached the train station and Takeru couldn't help but sigh. He had used the train enough for that day. Hopefully Koushirou and Ken were doing all right. The sooner they found everyone, the better.

As the train halted to a stop by the platform, Yamato turned to face Takeru, a strange look on his face. "Takeru? It's strange, but I ran into this guy a few days ago after band practice," he said with a distant look in his eyes. Takeru blinked and looked at Yamato sharply.

"Is that so? What happened?" he inquired, trying not to sound too prying. It was odd that Yamato would even be mentioning something so trivial.

Unless it was one of the Destined.

"I don't know why I'm telling you this; it was just a bump in. I wasn't looking and when I turned a corner, he literally knocked me to the ground and we both fell. When I got up he just brushed past me like nothing happened at all," Yamato explained. "I was a little pissed by that," he added as an afterthought.

Takeru eyed him carefully before pushing his hands into his pockets in disappointment. He was almost sure now that Yamato said that only to get the topic off of Hikari and Taichi. "So how did he look like?" he ventured casually. Yamato was good at complaining.

He shrugged. "He was your average guy, only he had this shoulder length blue hair that seemed a little out of place cause he really looked like such a nerd. He was even holding a pile of books for Christ's sake," he replied with a bit of a grin. Takeru merely stared at him, dumbfounded. Yamato arched an eyebrow. "What is it?" he queried in mild suspicion.

Takeru quickly blinked and shook his head, trying in vain to make up an excuse in his head. "Yeah, well…I forgot how much you could complain like a baby," he said with a hint of a smirk. Yamato slapped his arm.

"You should talk!" he exclaimed in mock anger. Takeru laughed but inside, his mind was racing. Yamato had just described to him someone that fitted Jyou exactly.

And if Yamato crossed with him in Tokyo, then it's likely Jyou will be around there as well. Strange…I would have thought Pathogen would separate all of us far from each other. God, I hope I didn't just jinx it. Please let the others be in Japan as well…

"Kido Jyou," Takeru muttered under his breath while crossing his arms in thought. Yamato turned his head slightly, but decided to ignore the comment. He was sure it was not meant to be heard but he couldn't explain the feeling of warmth in him when he heard the name and it caused him great confusion.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

TBC

So sorry there was no Daisuke action in this part, but I just wanted to get this long ass section up first before we got to him. I have also revised all the other chapters before this one. I like this formatting with the double spaces a lot more so I decided to apply it to everything. Hard work, I tell you! Nah, I'm just exaggerating. Sorry for the tediousness in this chapter by the way. The next part holds the action. Hahaha…actually, from here on out there is going to be a lot more action. Maybe I should change the genre? Okay, I'll stop with the babbling…