Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ For They Shall Be Filled ❯ The Coming Storm ( Chapter 15 )

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For They Shall Be Filled

The future is only a reaction to the past.

By: Vain 5/31/2001-1/26/2002

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I do not own Digimon, Ichijouji Ken, the Digidestined, or the Digital World, nor am I making any money off of this. Kazunori, Sanghee, the Golden Triangle, the Revelationas Arch, all its OC's and original concepts all belong to me.

Please DO NOT use or "borrow" them without my written permission.

Special Thanks goes to Herongale and the Guardian for betaing and thank you's are extended to everyone who reviewed on FF.net, especially Athena, ShinniJekka, KA, Pan-chan, Crew of the Clow, Mink, and Soulfull Ishida.

Because of the FF.net situation, this story will be posted here gradually. The entire fic and its sequel can be found here: http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=91738

Thank you and please read and review.

~ Vain

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~"Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."

-Matthew 12: 37

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Chapter Fifteen

The Coming Storm

Outside the window the Odaiba sky was steel-gray and thunder boomed loudly. Rain had turned the red sunset black, but the wild-haired figure on the bed didn't notice.

Many Worlds . . . Ever since returning from the Digital World, Davis's mind had been working rapidly, Gennai's revelations burning through him. I can't believe that there is so much more out there and NO ONE knows it. Man, I'll bet even real smart people like Ken don't have a clue. The thought of the dark-haired genius brought a smile to Davis's face. Finally. I knew that I could get him on our side. The smile abruptly turned into a slight frown. I wish I knew what was up with him and T.V., (A/n: T.K.) though. Then the frown vanished altogether. But hey, this could mean my chances with Kari are getting better!

In reality, Davis didn't really think that he had any chances with the enchanting Child of Light, but, hey, a guy could dream, right?

The phone rang loudly in the other room. He heard Jun pick it up halfway through the ring. "Hello, Matt?!"

Davis sighed and shook his head. He loved his sister, brat that she was, but sometimes she came on a bit . . . strong. Chibimon dug himself out of the mess on the foot of Davis's bed and yawned, his little mouth opening to fantastic proportions. "I'm hungry, Davish," the little creature announced in greeting.

The younger Motomiya grinned, the left side of his mouth sliding upward. "You're always hungry," he protested halfheartedly.

"Says you! I'm a growing digimon!"

"Humph," the Child of Courage eyed his fuzzy blue partner dubiously. "You're gonna start growing the wrong way if you keep shoveling food down your hole like that."

"Shoveling?!" Chibi blushed purple. "I do not shovel! Unlike you!"

"Oh, yeah-"

"DAVIS!!!!!!!" Jun shrieked, rudely interrupting his insult. "I SAID 'COME GET THE PHONE!' IT'S CODY OR SOMEBODY!!!!!!"

"Alright; I'm coming!" He turned to his digimon. "You want Oreos or Chips Ahoy?"

"Umm . . . Both!"

"You da 'mon!" Dais said laughingly as he left.

He ran downstairs and received the phone and a rather nasty look from his sister. "What took you so long, squirt? Get into a fight with the voices in your head again?"

"Yeah," he retorted sharply, "we couldn't agree on where to hide your body."

"Oh, funny."

He grinned at her retreating back and lifted the phone to his mouth. "Hey, Cody."

"Er-um . . .This is TK, Davis."

"Oh, hey P.K. What's up?"

The other boy sighed but didn't correct Davis; he knew a lost cause when he saw one. "I talked to Matt, Tai, and my Dad. They all agreed to cover for us."

"Cool. So we're all going 'camping' again?"

"Yep. At least we have an extra-long weekend to blow this time."

"That's us: saving the worlds before bedtime."

"Um, Davis?"

"Yeah?"

"You watch way too much T.V."

The brunette laughed good-naturedly. "I am just trying to get my daily dose of radiation waves, thank you very much!"

". . . Right."

"So what did he say?"

"Who?"

"Duh: Ken! What did you two talk about?"

"Why're you asking me?"

" . . . Look, T.K., I know that the others aren't real thrilled to have him around and Kari's . . . well, I kinda think that Kari's a little bit scared of him. You're the only one other than her who's really not freaking out over the whole thing, so I wanted to know what you think of him."

" . . ."

"You still alive over there?"

T.K. sighed into the phone. "I don't know what to think. I do know that whether he wants to admit it or not, he needs our help."

"That's kinda what I thought too."

There was silence and it seemed to Davis as though they were each holding their breath almost afraid to ask the question on both their minds. Well, I'm not the Child of Courage for nothing . . . He took a deep breath. "Do you think . . . I mean could he still be-er, um-evil?"

T.K. didn't answer immediately. Then: "I don't really know. I doubt that that's something that you can ever really just walk away from. Maybe he'll just have to learn how to carry the darkness with him. When we talked earlier today, he told me 'I'm still learning.' Maybe that's what he meant."

" . . ."

"You still there, Davis?"

"Yeah."

"Listen, why don't you call Yolei and Kari and I'll call Ken and Cody to tell them about the trip. You won't have any trouble getting your parents to say yes, will you? They'll believe you, right?"

"They never believe anything I say. Don't worry, though; I've got it covered."

"Cool. Do you know Ken's number? It's unlisted."

"Um-hmm. Hold on a minute; I think he's on my soccer list." There was silence followed by some shuffling of papers and some soft swearing. "Got it," Davis declared triumphantly over the phone. "Got a piece of paper?"

"Yeah; go ahead."

"687-555-8730."

"Got it. Thanks, Davis."

"No problem, T.P."

" . . . Whatever. See you tomorrow. Don't forget we have a math test."

"Oh, joy," the other boy replied sourly. "Later." Davis hung up.

"What," demanded Jun, "was that all about?"

"Anyone ever tell you that it's rude to eavesdrop on people?"

"No. Besides, you're not a person, you're my brother: that's different. And you still didn't answer my question."

"That's because you're a pig."

Jun turned a fascinating shade of red. "I am not! MOM!"

"I DID NOT!" Davis yelled in protest. He pushed past his sister and dashed towards the kitchen to recover the promised cookies for Chibimon.

"Davis, stop making fun of your sister!" Mrs. Motomiya yelled from the living room.

Davis responded by slipping from the kitchen back up the stairs and to his room where he was promptly pounced upon by a ravenous digimon.

"Whash tup?" Chibi asked, chocolate and crumbs distorting his words.

"We," declared Davis while swiping a handful of Oreos, "are going camping."

Chibi looked confused. What about meeting the others and saving the Digital World tomorrow? Then he shrugged. "Oh. OK."

All that yelling over camping? Oh well, thought the little blue digimon philosophically. If camping was what Davis wanted to do, then camping is what they would do. Still, Chibimon had to agree with Wormmon on that point: sometimes humans could be so weird . . .

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

In Tamachi, the rain didn't just fall: it attacked the ground with a fury and deliberation unimagined in all the mythological hells of men. The torment and confusion of nature was reflected in the fragile looking person who walked unheeding through the onslaught, and while Ken was vaguely aware of the water assaulting his bare head, he simply could not bring himself to care that much. He walked the streets of Tamachi listlessly, oblivious to his surroundings. Thoughts swirled through his mind chaotically and he made no effort to restore them to a semblance of order. The chaos prevented him from lingering on anything for very long. It was still long enough to brood, but it was only when he focused his brooding that he was dangerous-or at least more dangerous than usual.

Despite his best efforts to lose himself in a stream of consciousness, however, one thought insisted on continuously interrupting him: tomorrow.

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

Gennai had declared that the test was to be tomorrow.

Creeps at this petty pace from day to day

They all had to attend school first, of course-it was Friday, but after that . . . it was to begin-the "testing."

Until all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death.

But tomorrow was something more, too.

Out, out, brief candle. Life is but a walking shadow.

It was the day.

A poor player who struts and frets his hour upon the stage

It was The Anniversary.

And then is heard no more.

Of all the days for Gennai to pick, he had chosen The Anniversary-that bastard.

It is a tale told by an idiot,

But it couldn't really be helped could it? There were worlds at stake, right? Right?

Full of Sound and Fury

The Anniversary . . .

And signifying nothing.

. . . Oniichan.

Ken came to a sudden halt and his head snapped up in surprise. Rain slid down his face carrying the scent of shampoo into his eyes. He absently brushed it aside with his hand and squinted at the sign above him.

Tamachi Cemetery.

Perhaps his wanderings hadn't been so aimless, after all.

After a moment of hesitation, he entered slowly. He knew the path by heart and had walked it numerous times, both awake and in his dreams. The farther into the cemetery he went, the less real the situation seemed to be. The rain didn't really seem to hit him and the ground rolled away faster than he was walking. The light was more silver than gray, catching the humid air and sending a thousand iridescent sparkles to him.

He knelt at the foot of the grave, neatly folded his hands, bowed his and began to speak in a dead, even voice. "I didn't bring incense, Sam. I didn't bring a candle or a flower. Actually, I didn't really mean to come here at all, but it would have been rude not to stop in when I was so close. I haven't been here for a while and I'm sorry for that. Things . . . things got out of hand. I created a situation and lost control of it. What I've done . . . I am beyond forgiveness."

The younger Ichijouji stopped and let out a bitter bark of laughter. Still looking down, he tilted his head slightly and ran a hand uselessly through his rain-blackened hair. "God, I'm turning into such a simpering twit. Is this who I was when you were alive, Sam? No wonder you despised me. It's funny, though; I can't really remember anything solid from the last few years. Not since that damnable digivice came from your computer."

He shook his head rapidly, flinging water back into the rain in a desperate attempt to unfocus himself once more. This line of thought could only lead to brooding. "What's happening to me, Osamu?" Ken whispered in despair. "Why do I feel so lost? Torn? Why do I feel like-"

The words lodged themselves in his throat and refused to be voiced. Saying them would make it real; make it something tangible that could consume him. But the thought could not be controlled and it slid through his mind like a snake through oil.

"Why do I feel-" Like I'm losing my mind.

Ken's head snapped up, face made ghastly pale by the unnatural light. His violet eyes stared straight ahead with a terrifying emptiness and absorbed the granite monument that Fate had so kindly erected to his stupidity. Immortal little flowers were carved into gray and two angels fluttered happily, forever trapped in the polished stone.

Here lies Osamu Ichijouji

Beloved Son, Brother, and Friend

He will be missed.

"You would have done better, wouldn't you?" Ken asked emotionlessly. His eyes were had become purple pits. "But you are dead now. For me. Because. Of. Me. And I am here to deal with these things alone." His voice cracked sharply. "You left me alone!" Ken dropped his head again, unaware of the tears sliding down his cheeks to meet the falling rain.

"Yet what does any of this matter to you now? You're dead. You can't even hear me. So this is all moot point. I would apologize for wasting your time, but I doubt it would matter."

The young genius stared at the stone in silence for a moment, looking deep within himself for something-he didn't know what it was, but he knew that he wouldn't be whole until he found it. Was it in this world waiting for him to discover it? Was it in the Digital World where he had sought to make himself immortal? Was it here, hidden somewhere in the earth with these rotting corpses? No, there was nothing in this place for him.

"There is nothing here for me, is there, Niichan? Why do I come here? This is not you; this a rock lodged in the earth. This is as much you as Mt. Fuji. You are not here and I am searching in vain." He cocked his head to the side as though he were debating something. Then he closed his eyes and his lips set themselves in a thin line of finality. "Fuck The Anniversary. What is it but another day? Goodbye, Osamu."

Ken rose smoothly and turned hard on his heel. Three steps away the boy stopped and turned his head to regard the headstone once more. After a moment's hesitation, he turned back around and approached the stone with something that was neither reverence nor caution, but maybe a bit of both. Long, delicate fingers gently ran over the edge of the granite and a few leaves fluttered to the ground with soft whispers.

" . . . I miss you."

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