Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Faith in Darkness ❯ Crossroads ( Chapter 1 )

"We're here. You know, once I leave, you won't have a way to get a hold of me. Are you sure about this?"

The girl turned back to the boy, watching as his brown hair was blown a little from the wind. "It's fine Ryo. You should go back before Ruki thinks you've disappeared again."

Grinning, Ryo shook his head. "Nah, I bet she's telling everyone how happy she is with me gone."

Watching him blankly, the girl turned away. She walked up to the edge of the roof, looking over as she smoothed out the black dress she was wearing. Feeling the wind blowing by on the cloudless night, she looked over the sleeping city, realizing this would be the place she would be calling home now.

"Look… Are you sure about this? Wouldn't it be better to stay back home?"

Looking back, she watched the nervous look on Ryo's face. It seemed a little weird on the normally overconfident boy. "I'll be fine. This is the place you spoke of then?" She watched the fast nod before she continued. "And they will give me a place to live? Then I will be fine."

Nodding slowly, Ryo watched as she started to walk towards the steps leading into the building. "Listen… I'm sorry about your part…"

"Goodbye, Ryo." She didn't turn back, cutting him off before she slipped into the building.

**********

Faith in Darkness

Entry 1 ~ "Crossroads"

Written by Rocker Starlight

A/N ~ This story is dedicated to Lady Iapetus, who's story inspired this idea, as well as being the only female of the Diaries group. The fact that she can deal with us is something to be admired. Iap, consider this story your V-day present, if quite a bit late. ^_^;;

**********

"Hey Kouichi!"

Turning from his locker, Kouichi Kimura watched as Takuya slipped through the crowd. Tucking his English book under his arm, he shut the metal door and waited.

"Dang it… I hate crowds sometimes…" Takuya muttered softly to himself. "Hey, do you have the history assignment from yesterday?"

"Did you fall asleep again, Takuya?" Watching the former Warrior of Fire laugh sheepishly, Kouichi sighed. "Alright… I'll get it to you during lunch, alright?"

Grinning, the wild haired goggle boy nodded. "Roger! I'll be there, buuuddy!"

Rolling his eyes, Kouichi walked alongside Takuya as they slipped back into the crowd. He listened as Takuya started explaining why he had fallen asleep, although he didn't really pay attention much. Knowing the brown haired teen, he would use some special excuse, when he simply didn't enjoy paying attention to the teachers.

"Hey, come on. What's the problem?" A rough voice seemed to ring out over the crowd.

Stopping at the voice, Kouichi turned towards the source, obviously a member of the kendo club since he wore the symbol for them on the school bag over his shoulder. He stood to the side of the side of the crowd, leaning over something, dressed in the schools uniform and his hands both against the wall.

"Looks like Tachi is at it again." Kouichi turned as he noticed Takuya had stopped next to him. "Probably hitting on another girl…"

Frowning, the blue haired teen stepped closer to the taller boy. "Excuse me."

The taller student turned his body partially, giving an annoyed look. "Hey, buzz off. This doesn't concern you."

"Oh, but it does!" Takuya spoke up, stepping from behind Kouichi's back and into the kendo member's vision. "See, you're being an eyesore. So, we thought maybe you should leave her alone and just head to class. I mean, Mrs. Urashima would just love to hear that you were at it again, wouldn't she?"

Turning to face the pair, Tachi opened his mouth to say something right as the last sentence came from Takuya's mouth. His eyes widened a moment, before he gave a simple glare, walking off swiftly.

"Mrs. Urashima?" Kouichi asked the brown haired teen.

"Yea. I heard he got in some shit with her, when she caught him hitting on a student at the start of her class. Never heard what she did, but apparently it wasn't nice."

Blinking, Kouichi simply nodded to the explanation. Turning back, he saw a girl with blonde hair, pulled into two pigtails with ribbons reaching from them. Wearing a black dress with small white trim around the shoulders and edge of the bottom, she stood tall against the wall, watching the pair impassively as she held her books to her chest.

"Um… Are you alright?" Kouichi finally managed to ask.

The girl stared at them for a moment, her ice blue eyes shifting from one to the other before she nodded. Not giving them a moment to say anything further, she turned away, walking off into the crowd.

The two boys watched as she disappeared, before giving each other a confused look. Just as Kouichi opened his mouth to speak, the bell rang out, causing the pair to panic as they raced to avoid being counted late.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"…And she just walked off without a word." Takuya sputtered out around the sandwich he was eating. Sitting around the round table, Takuya had explained the small incident in the hallway to the other three former Legendary Warriors, not bothering to hold off his lunch for it.

"Takuya! For the last time, don't stuff your face and talk! That's disgusting!" Izumi scowled at the boy, taking a small bite of her own sandwich.

Ignoring the start of a possible argument, Kouji gave a tug on his bandana and turned to his twin. "So then, who was she?"

"I don't know…" Kouichi took a drink from his water. "She didn't even seem to care. She just walked away. It was like Takuya and I didn't matter anymore then Tachi did."

"Well, maybe she likes the pushy kind?" Junpei offered before he ate a few of his fries. "I mean, most girls have different things they like. Some even like those tentacle hentai and picture it happ…OW!!"

Junpei rubbed his head, looking up at Izumi with an enraged look on her face and her food tray in her hand. Sniffing loudly, the blond girl dropped the tray and stomped off, leaving the boys staring in confusion.

"And we learn yet again, Junpei has the foot in mouth disease." Kouji joked, patting the larger boy on the shoulder.

"Hey, it's not my fault! She's been like that for like for a couple weeks now whenever I mention hen…Ouch!" Junpei rubbed the back of his head from the rock that struck him, as everyone looked to see Izumi stomping off even faster then before.

Takuya slipped over, patting Junpei's other shoulder. "Junpei, the mysteries of women are not for us to understand. So it's best not to worry about it!" Grinning, Takuya quickly snagged Junpei's sandwich, taking off with the larger boy after him.

The twins laughed as they watched the former warriors of Fire and Thunder fight over the sandwich, although Takuya taking large bites as he ran didn't bode well for Junpei retrieving the food.

Kouichi stopped watching the scene his friend's were creating as a hand on his arm drew his attention. He turned, noticing Kouji was looking off towards the back of the school and tried to find what his brother was looking at. He blinked in surprise as the girl in black sat at a table far away from everyone else, slowly eating her food.

"That's her?" Kouji asked, glancing over as his surprised twin nodded. "Her name's Alice. She transferred into my class a couple weeks ago. Surprised the teacher a bit."

Kouichi blinked as he looked at his brother. "She's in your class? So she's the one you mentioned yesterday?"

"Yep. That's the girl who completely ignored the teacher for half an hour. She didn't get in trouble though, when she answered everything the teacher had been showing us. You should have seen Mr. Fujisaki's face though, he was in shock!"

Kouichi laughed a little with his brother, still watching the girl. Without warning, she turned her head, looking back at him eye to eye for a moment. Kouichi quickly turned away, resuming eating as his twin followed suit.

'Her name's Alice. I wonder why she acts that way though.' Kouichi thought to himself, risking another glance. The girl had returned to eating, almost seeming to have a neutral attitude about the food even. He turned back to his food before she caught him looking again.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Classes passed uneventfully for the rest of the day. Kouichi watched as Izumi and Junpei walked towards the bus stop they both took to their homes, leaving Takuya walking with Kouji and himself to the train station. The trio quickly packed up their books, listening to Takuya's latest story from his classes as they began walking down the street.

"So then, the teacher started screaming! I mean, you would think she never noticed me sleeping in class before!" Takuya grinned in that confident smile as they walked down the street. "So now, I need to have a 'talk' with her and my parents about my studies. My mom's going to go nuts!"

"Well, it's not like you would amount to anything, so why should she worry, right?" Kouji teased.

"Exactly! Hey, wait a…!"

Kouichi smiled as he watched the pair start up, well used to the small insult fests that the former leader and his brother would get into. Moving ahead, he continued down the road until he arrived at the train station well ahead of the pair he had left behind.

Buying the three tickets, Kouichi relaxed against one of the walls, waiting patiently. He watched the crowd slip by, idly remembering when he had followed Kouji through the bus stations of Sabuya before having his spirit brought into the Digital World.

Shaking off the thoughts, before he trailed back into some of the more painful ones that came with thinking about the Digital World, Kouichi looked around, trying to find his brother and their friend. "I hope they didn't stop this time… I don't want mom to worry about me again…"

A flash of blond in the crowd caught his attention, distracting his search. Looking closer, he watched as Alice walked up to one of the ticket dispensers and bought herself a ticket. She moved through the crowd again, not even seeming to notice the people as she moved to a bench and took a seat by herself.

'Wish I could ignore the crowd that well.' The former Warrior of Darkness thought as he watched her pull a book from her book bag and start reading. She barely moved, simply turning the pages and acting as if she were the only person in the terminal.

Kouichi watched her quietly, forgetting about looking for his brother and friend for the moment. All he could seem to think about was the look in her eyes after Tachi had walked away. 'It was cold… Not like she directed it at Takuya or me, but like… Like she didn't care at all….' He thought to himself, grimacing about it.

Shaking his thoughts clear again, the blue haired teen picked up his school bag and slipped it over his shoulder. Making his way through the crowd, although it turned into pushing his way through, he finally stepped next to the bench with the girl. She still hadn't moved, flipping a page, as she remained oblivious.

"Pardon me…" Kouichi almost regretted speaking up, watching her impassive gaze look at him out of the corner of her eyes. Keeping his hands from fidgeting nervously, he watched as she marked her place with another ribbon, black like the ones in her hair, and turned her face to him directly.

'Well… Don't just stand there like an idiot, Kouichi Kimura, say something!' Staring at her for a moment, the teen finally swallowed deeply, mustering something of the courage Takuya never seemed to run out of and opened his mouth. "My name… It's Kouichi Kimura."

The girl simply stared at the boy as he stumbled over his words, the blank expression making him even more nervous. 'Great, now she probably thinks I'm nosey AND an idiot…' He thought as he waited for some form of a reaction.

As the call for one of the stations came over the intercom, the girl finally stood up, turning her eyes away as she slipped her book back into her bag. Just as she moved to turn away, she looked back for a moment, making the boy freeze up as he expected the worst.

"I'm Alice. Thank you for earlier." Her voice was soft, just as emotionless as her actions. With the sentence done, she turned and walked away. Kouichi could see through a window as she took a seat near the back of the cab, no one sitting near her as the train finally started up again and left.

"As if you could do it! I'd like to see ya try, buddy!" Kouichi turned to see Takuya and Kouji finally pushing there way past the crowd to him.

"Sorry we're late, bro. Goggle head here decided he wanted to shoot his mouth for awhile." Kouji stepped up next to his brother, smiling apologetically.

"Yea yea, just because you can't handle it." Takuya grinned, plopping down onto the bench. "We made it in time, didn't we? Not like we missed it this time."

"Only because you don't want to hear your mom complain about you being home for dinner." Kouji laughed as Takuya pulled his hat out of bag, putting it on and adjusting it with his goggles. Looked at his twin, he noticed Kouichi staring off after the train, ignoring the two of them. "Hey, Earth to Kouichi. You going back to the Digital World without us or something?"

Kouichi blinked as he realizes Kouji was talking to him, her cheeks gaining a slight flush. "Sorry, I was just distracted. Here, I got tickets already."

The pair took their tickets, although Kouji watched his brother still as he went back to watching after the last train again. "You sure everything's ok? You seem a little spacey right now."

Nodding, Kouichi took a seat on the bench with Takuya, the pair making room as Kouji joined them. "It's nothing… Just a little tired I guess…" He said softly.

Twenty minutes of silence passed as the trio waited for their train. When it finally arrived, they slipped on with everyone else, quickly finding some free seats and taking them before others in the crowd did. As Takuya began humming to himself, Kouji watched his brother closely, still a little worried.

"Kouji." The bandana-wearing boy looked up to his brother as he spoke. "Did they say anything about Alice when she moved here?"

"Alice? No, not really. They just said she's a transfer student from the Kyoto district. Since she never talks to anyone, no one knows anything about her. Why do you ask?"

Kouichi listened, nodding. "No reason. I was just thinking about the way she acts."

"What, you mean the dead look she always has?" Takuya added, leaning against the window with his hands behind his head.

Shaking his head, Kouichi's expression got a little more serious. "Kind of. Just the way that she acts like no one around her matters. After Tachi left, she didn't even seem to care less about it. When she was waiting for her bus, she didn't even seem to realize anyone else was in the station until I said something."

"Wait, you mean you saw her?" Kouji asked, a bit surprised. "But she's been here for two weeks, why haven't we noticed her before?"

"Maybe she doesn't want to be noticed. The way she acts, she could very easily blend in with people."

"Yea, aside from the pale skin and black clothes. She looks like one of those vampire fans I saw once at an anime convention my parents took me to. Tens bucks says if she wore make-up, it'd be black too." Takuya added in.

"Maybe… It doesn't matter anyway, I was just curious." Kouichi quickly said, ending the conversation quickly. The rest of the ride went by quietly, Kouichi still wondering about the mysterious girl well past when he got home.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hey, have you guys seen the new karaoke club that opened down the street from the Tokyo Bay mall? Izumi said, her voice sounding rather excited.

Most of the group groaned at the suggestion as they walked down the park path. It had been two weeks since Kouichi's odd meetings with the blonde girl, and he hadn't spoken with her since. Although now that he was looking, he had been surprised to find her in his P.E. and Math classes. It surprised him slightly that he had never noticed her in his classes before this.

"Aww, come on guys! I think it would be fun! Better then playing laser tag again." Izumi pouted at the five boys as she walked ahead of them, still facing the group.

"You're just saying that because you always lose." Tomoki grinned up at Junpei, who returned the cheesy grin.

Kouichi watched as Izumi started to respond to the teasing rather loudly. As the group stopped, he looked to the pond near by and slipped away. Taking a seat on the bench over looking it, the blue haired teen watched the water for a few minutes, enjoying the tranquility of the water's surface.

"You look like an old man, bro." Kouichi looked up as his brother, dressed in his favorite blue attire, jumped over the bench's back, slipping his hands into his pockets as he settled in. "You've got that 'I have so much on my mind, I just wanna stare' look on your face. You still wondering about her?"

Kouichi nodded to his twin as he leaned back against the back of the bench. "A little… It just seems kind of sad, you know? She never seems to hang out with anyone, she's not involved in anything. No one even seems to notice her really."

"Well you said so yourself, maybe she doesn't want to be noticed? And besides, someone has been noticing her…" Kouji grinned as his brother's cheeks flushed slightly.

"You don't need to say it like that. I'm just concerned, that's all. You make it sound like I've got a crush on her or something."

"You tell me bro." Kouichi frowned as he noticed the look in his brother's eyes, like he knew something he wasn't sharing.

Standing up, Kouichi tried to ignore the blush on his face as he looked over the water. "Well I'm telling you. It's nothing more then concern. Alright?" He looked back at his brother as he finished speaking.

"You say so." Kouji's grin never left his face as he stood up, standing with his twin overlooking the surface of the pond.

"Hey, you guys just gonna stare all day?" Takuya's voice cut through the silence. The siblings turned, noticing everyone was watching them quietly.

"We just might. Wanna go ahead?" Kouji asked, ignoring the surprised face on his brother's face.

Takuya blinked for a moment, looking between the other teens standing with him before he shrugged. "Yea sure. Better hurry though, so Junpei might eat your food!"

The brothers laughed as Takuya took off with Junpei in tow, followed by Tomoki and Izumi. Kouichi looked to his brother, not feeling very confident as he noticed that grin still on his face.

"So Kouji… Where are we going?"

Turning to his brother for a moment, Kouji simply shrugged and started walking. Without any other options, Kouichi followed feeling a little more confused as they walked down a different path.

They walked out of the park, moving into the bustling mid-day streets. Kouichi looked around, recognizing the area they were in, but he couldn't think of anything that Kouji could want to show him here. Giving up on trying to figure it out, the blue haired teen simply watched the crowds walking around him.

"We're here."

Kouichi almost bumped into his brother as he stopped. Following his twins gaze up at the tall building, he recognized the church standing before them, a cross standing out tall on the steeple. As he started to wonder what his brother was bringing him to the building for, he watched the bandana wearing teen slip past the front doors, quickly following.

The interior was simple compared to some of the churches Kouichi had seen with his mother years ago. The door lead to a small hallway going left and right, with doors on the ends as well as right before him. Following Kouji through the door ahead, he looked down the two rows of pews, one on each side, ending before the pulpit, with a large cross standing behind it. Along all the walls were glass windows depicting things he could only guess were biblical.

Kouji walked to the front pews, slipping into one and taking a seat. Kouichi watched his brother curiously as he took a seat next to him, feeling a little more nervous about being in the church while it was empty then Kouji seemed to be.

"May I help you, my children?" An elderly man stepped out from a door behind the pulpit dressed in the robes of a priest. His hair was a chestnut brown, reaching a little past his shoulders and simply combed out. The thing that surprised Kouichi the most was that he appeared to be American, despite how well he spoke Japanese.

"Hope were not intruding, Father. My brother and I have been looking for some answers lately, and I thought this might be a good place to look for some." Kouji sat up straight, pulling his hands from his pockets as the priest walked down, pulling a chair up as he took a seat before them.

"Well, perhaps you would like to use the confessional? It can often help one find answers, if not at least allowing you to purge any troubling thoughts you may be having."

Kouichi stiffened a little, relaxing as his brother spoke up first. "No thanks. Actually, what we are looking for answers about is a person. A girl at our school who seems to be having troubles adjusting to having moved here."

The priest's face shifted from the kindly smile to a more neutral one, looking as if he were watching the both of them a little more closely now. "Why would you seek answers about a specific person here? After all, this is a house of God. Perhaps you would be better speaking to this young woman herself?"

"That's the thing, she never speaks to anyone. She simply goes to classes, never talking to anything unless the teacher calls on her. Since she wore a cross around her neck, I thought that you might be able to help us out, you know?" Kouji's smiled relaxed, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

"I still do not see why you would come here though. If she does not speak, it perhaps means she isn't trusting of the people she is around? But if you would permit me to ask, why would this trouble you? If she is as unsociable as you say, surely she has not caused a problem then."

"Actually, she hasn't. To be honest, my brother is the one worried about her." Kouichi's eyes went wide as he listened to his brother, he cheeks starting to blush again a little. "He helped her out from a bully around the school, and spoke with her later that day. Ever since, he seems to be unable to concentrate on things because of his concern."

The priest's gaze moved to Kouichi, watching him a moment before he spoke. "She spoke with you? Surely, if she has talked to you, then you have no reason to worry, do you not?"

"It's not that." Kouichi said quickly. "It's… Well, she just seems lonely. It's as if she doesn't care about anything. I honestly don't know why my brother brought me here to ask about this, but if you have an opinion that may help us to help her, it would be appreciated. Uh…Father." He added the title quickly, bowing his head as he finished.

The older man sat back in his chair, watching the pair again as they sat in silence. Kouichi shifted nervously, wondering why he seemed so serious about this, before the noise of a door opening caught his attention. He looked up to a door opposite the one the priest had walked out of, a look of surprise as Alice walked out with a thin metal stick in her hand, the end splitting into a candle snuffer and a wick lit on the end of the other.

"We aren't here to cause trouble, Father." Kouji said, watching his brother who was watching the girl in the black dress lighting the candles along the back of the church. "But my brother isn't one to simply worry for no reason. If we can, we would like to help."

The priest frowned slightly as he noticed the boy watching Alice, turning back to Kouji. "I might believe you, but the fact of you appearing here and asking does make it sound a little suspicious."

Kouji smiled gently as he rubbed his hair through the bandana. "That would be my fault. I decided to see where she lived, after Kouichi said he saw Alice at the train station we go to after school. With how much he was worrying, I thought maybe we should talk to her parents or something."

The grown man nodded as he listened. "Well, what do you intend to do then, now that you are here?"

Kouichi didn't even notice the conversation as he watched the girl. She didn't even seem to notice the talking, going about lighting the candles one at a time without a single pause. Finally, as she turned from the back wall she looked straight at the blue haired boy, her ice blue eyes staring again. He simply looked back, before his embarrassment for staring made him look away, hearing the priest's question.

"We would like to help." Kouichi answered before his brother could, looking back to the priest. "I know you may not trust us, but we aren't here to do any harm."

"Then you're willing to take responsibility for your actions and their consequences?" The older man asked.

Kouichi nodded immediately. "Of course."

The priest nodded, looking back to Alice. "Alice, would you please go begin dinner? I think Ms. Jan would appreciate the help."

Kouichi watched Alice turn to the priest, nod and walk back through the door she entered, never giving a look back.

The priest mumbled to himself as the brothers sat quietly. "You two wish to help her? How?"

Kouichi blinked, looking to his brother and almost sighing as he realized Kouji was waiting for him to answer. "Well… We would like to try and be friends with her. That way, she can try and enjoy living here, instead of simply being here."

Listening to the answer, the older man cupped his chin as he listened. After a few minutes of silence he stood up. "Alright. We'll make a compromise. Ask your parents to come by for dinner this Friday night. I'll speak with them and we will see what happens. Do you have other friends you commonly hang out with?"

Kouichi nodded as he stood up as well followed by his brother. "Y…yes. We have a few friends we spend most of our time with, why?"

"Ask them to come with their parents then. I want to be sure of your intentions before I allow her to hang around you. I apologize if I am offending, but I am her guardian, and I prefer she does not get involved in any bad crowds."

"Oh, it's alright." Kouji smiled and nodded in agreement with his brother. "We understand. We'll let them know and have everyone who can come be here Friday then. Does six in the evening sound all right?"

"Six it is. Now, I have dinner to go eat, so if you will excuse me, my sons." Bowing to the pair, the priest turned and walked through the door Alice had used, shutting it firmly behind him.

Kouichi watched the priest leave, before turning to his brother. "You followed her here, then brought me without asking?" He asked, still a little shocked with the new knowledge.

"Hey, it all worked out. Since all you were doing was half moping and day dreaming, I thought I would try and help out."

Sighing, Kouichi stepped away from the pew, walking alongside his brother as they exited the church. "Next time, you could mention it…"

"What fun is that?" Kouji smirked at his twin. "The look on your face when she came out was worth it alone. Besides, now you can try and get to know her, right?"

"Maybe…" Kouichi watched ground as they walked, already worrying over the dinner that was they would be attending in a few days. "I hope she doesn't think we are trying to interfere…"

"Yea, whatever. Now come on, I don't want Junpei OR Takuya eating my share of the pizza. You?" Kouji took off into the crowd, barely giving his brother a chance before he started running to keep up.

*************

Rocker ~ *sweatdrops* That was interesting…

Flora ~ I thought it was cute.

Rocker ~ You would, this was mainly your idea… Even if you didn't help at all besides the general thoughts about it.

Flora ~ *blushes faintly*

Witchie ~ Hehe, anyway. Next time, the families meet, and people start learning just how much of the parent's personality is passed on to their children. Come and check it out next time!